Forever Bound (9 page)

Ryan
leaned out of the bathroom door and winked at her. “I didn’t peek in the closet
and see your wedding dress, if you’re worried about bad luck.”

Jess
wasn’t worried about bad luck. She was worried about getting their relationship
right before it was too late.

She
got out of bed with purpose and stalked toward the sound of the running water
in the shower.

It
was time for a negotiation, one that would even the playing field.

* * *

Ryan
glanced over his shoulder when Jess appeared in the bathroom doorway, then
noticed how her expression filled with purpose. The shower was large and had
glass walls. He’d just been admiring the bench built into one side and thinking
it could be very useful when Jess appeared.

To
his surprise, she paused at the vanity. She applied that red lipstick as he
watched, her movements leisurely. The sight of her primping made his cock
instantly hard. She blotted her lips and applied the lipstick again, taking
great care with the edges. Ryan was transfixed.

Jess
posed and pursed her lips, opening her mouth and biting her bottom lip, running
her hands through her hair. She didn’t brush her hair, just left it loose and
wild. She checked her breasts and made a little moue at the pinkness of her
nipples as a result of the clamps, then massaged them herself. She threw her
head back and closed her eyes, purring with pleasure.

As
if oblivious to his presence.

But
she wasn’t and Ryan knew it. Long moments later, she met his gaze in the mirror
and smiled, a seductress who knew exactly how to drive him wild. By the time
she turned to face him, Ryan’s dick was thick and hard, ready for her.

Jess
opened the glass door and stepped into the steamy interior of the shower. Her
eyes flashed as she backed Ryan into a corner, then she caught his face in her
hands. “We’re going to make a trade,” she whispered, her breasts crushed
against his chest. Before he could answer, she stretched up and kissed him.

Her
kiss was wilder and hotter than it usually was, a passionate kiss intended to
completely obliterate any coherent thought from his mind. It worked perfectly.
His hands were locked around her waist and the water was pouring over them, her
one toe sliding up his leg and her tongue tangling with his. He could smell her
perfume and the scent of her puss, feel her soft skin pressing against him and
the hard tiles against his back. His cock was hard between them, pressing
against her stomach, and he knew in that moment that no release would satisfy
him but being buried deep inside her.

Both
of them coming at once.

Ryan
had no idea how much time had passed by the time Jess broke their kiss. That
lipstick was smeared, her hair partly wet, her lips swollen and her eyes
shining. Ryan opened his mouth but no sound came out. She slid her hands over
him with possessive ease, spared him a playful glance, then dropped to her
knees in front of him.

He
knew what she was going to do before her mouth closed over him. “Jess! I have
to meet my parents!”

She
ran her tongue over him, releasing him from for a moment, and smiled up at him.
“I won’t be the only one greeting our guests with a rosy glow.” She caressed
his balls, those slender fingers squeezing just enough. “I won’t be the only
one with something on my mind.” Then she took him in her mouth again and there
was nothing Ryan could manage to say in protest.

She
was in charge, and he loved it.

He
leaned back in the corner of the shower and surrendered to her caress, knowing
it wouldn’t take him long to lose control.

* * *

“And
here comes the happy couple,” Mark said.

Steve
just moaned and rubbed his temples, then drained a glass of orange juice.
They’d done some epic partying the night before, but Mark thought it had seemed
emptier without Ryan.

Maybe
he was just getting irritable. He’d never had such a run of bad luck with women
in his life.

Steve
said that Kade and Fiona had gotten it on, even though Fiona denied it. Kade
never messed around and even the idea that he had gotten sex—while Mark
had gotten none—was annoying.

Ryan
waved in their direction, then he and Jess went to sit with her mom.

“It
just isn’t right,” Mark complained. “What about friendship?”

“It’s
about more than drinking together,” Darren ventured.

Mark
scoffed. “Of course, it is. It’s about keeping each other from making big
mistakes.” He gestured to the couple with his fork. “Look at them! She’s
gloating that she’s got him nailed down and taken him off the market. He’s like
a trained puppy.” Mark shook his head. “I’m telling you that there’s no snatch
worth giving up your freedom forever. It just can’t be worth it.”

“Ah,
the confirmed bachelor,” murmured the waitress and the guys looked up as one.
She was petite with dark hair and a knowingness in her eyes. She was the one
who had given him a hard time the day before. “A familiar species.” She smiled
at Darren. “They hit harder when they fall.”

Darren
laughed.

Mark
bristled. “What do you know about it?”

“You
get to see a lot in a resort that caters to weddings. You done with that
plate?”

Mark
looked her up and down. She was cute, but he’d only seen her in the restaurant.
“You don’t work in the bar.”

She
laughed. “Not if I can help it.”

“Why
not? Tips would be better.” Customers would drink more just to have her come
back to their table. Mark knew all the tricks and she was that pretty. He’d
never have let her work in the restaurant.

“Too
many wolves on the hunt,” she said with a shrug. “I’d rather have my beauty
sleep.”

“So,
that’s why you’re so pretty,” Darren said, with a rare surge of charm.

She
smiled genuinely. “Thank you for that. You almost make up for your friend’s
so-called manners.”

“I
think you’re cute, too,” Steve contributed and she laughed.

“Thank
you both, but don’t imagine I’ll be rewarding you with anything more than a
clean plate for the buffet.”

She
turned to walk away, her tray loaded.

“What’s
your name?” Darren called and she glanced back.

“Laura,”
she said, smiled, then went back to work.

“Laura,”
Darren said with satisfaction.

“Don’t
kid yourself,” Mark informed him. “You could never be so lucky.”

He
watched Laura go, and wondered if he could be so lucky, though.

* * *

Jess
felt wicked to be wearing the vibrator as she and Ryan went down to breakfast
together. That little butterfly was pushed right against her, releasing a
periodic hum that kept her wet and ready. Ryan cast the occasional playful glance
her way, and sat right beside her at breakfast, his hand landing at intervals
on her knee. Jess was thrilled, not just by the vibrator and the game, but by
her sense that they were a team.

That
last encounter had softened Ryan’s resolve, leaving him charming and easygoing
all over again. Instead of him commanding her to wear the vibrator, they’d
agreed upon it. This was how Jess saw their relationship proceeding and she was
finally confident that she was doing the right thing. There would be a rehearsal
and rehearsal dinner on this night, and she wouldn’t have to pretend to be
happy.

They
sat with her mom and everything was easy, even though she was twitching with
the movement of the vibrator. Ryan leaned over to give her a kiss before he
left to meet his parents’ shuttle from the airport. Jess closed her eyes in
pleasure that he kissed her right on the sensitive spot beneath her ear, then
nearly fainted that he turned up the power on the vibrator.

She
smiled at him, knowing they’d have to relieve each other before the rehearsal
dinner.

Then
he was striding off, and she was watching him go with affection.

“Well,
I’m glad to see that you two have worked out any last minute issues,” Jess’s
mom said. “I’m thinking we should go to the spa today, dear. That would give
Ryan some time with his family, and it might relax you, as well.”

“That’s
a good idea, Mom,” Jess said, feeling so complacent and happy that she’d agree
to pretty much anything.

She
had a list of things to check and an interview to do with that journalist, but
she had a renewed confidence that all would go well.

* * *

Ryan
had expected comments from his parents, and he wasn’t really surprised that the
censure began almost as soon as his family set foot in the resort.

As
soon as his youngest sister, Aislinn, breathed that it was beautiful, he knew
he was in for it.

“Takes
a certain kind of bride to expect everyone to spend so much money to attend her
wedding,” his mother huffed.

“City
people have different ideas than ours, Maureen,” his father said, his tone just
as disapproving.

“I
told you that you didn’t have to come,” Ryan protested. “I would have
understood.”

“And
what would her family have thought of us?” his mother demanded. “Not even
attending the wedding of our eldest son?”

“And
it’s in the paper!” Sheila said. “I’ve been reading the blog about all the
preparations. You’re famous, Ryan!”

“I
hope not.”

“Come
on, it’s great. It reads like a fairy tale,” his middle sister Moira declared.
“So romantic.”

“And
so profitable for your bride,” his mom said under her breath.

“Do
they have internet service in this place?” Sheila asked, pulling out her phone.
“Because I want to get today’s blog post.”

“You
subscribed to it?” Ryan demanded. “You could just have asked me.”

His
sisters laughed in unison. “As if you know anything about it,” Moira teased.

“And
Jess is busy,” Aislinn added.

“It
found the Wifi connection!” Sheila said and the sisters crowded close to watch
her phone. Ryan told her the password for logging in and she smiled at him when
it connected.

“You
have so much email to pick up,” Moira complained.

“I
just have more friends than you.”

“It’s
almost done,” Aislinn said.

“The
entire town is watching the story,” his mother said, her tone acid. “Imagine
the neighbors knowing more about my son’s wedding than I do.”

Ryan
refrained from suggesting that his mom could have followed the blog. “You’re
just supposed to come and enjoy it,” he said instead.

“You
shouldn’t have put your mother in this position,” his father said.

“I
was thinking of Jess,” Ryan said firmly. “It was my idea that she use the
wedding to promote her services for brides.”

“Really?”
Aislinn said. “That’s so cool!”

“It
is what she does,” his brother Quinn said quietly.

“And
you’d think she’d do the best possible job for herself,” Moira added.

“She
never expected the journalist to pick up the story,” Ryan said. “But I think it
could work out well for her.”

“I
think it’s wonderful,” Sheila enthused. “They showed the flowers and the
dresses and the beach. It’s going to be so perfect.”

“Tons
of followers, too,” Aislinn said.

“And
Jess looks so organized. I’d hire her in a minute,” Moira said.

Ryan’s
parents exchanged a furious glance.

“Oh
look! It’s downloading!” Aislinn crowed.

His
parents scowled in unison. “I’d think a bride’s dream would involve spending
her life with the man she loved,” Ryan’s father said. “No matter how and where
they were married.”

“I’d
think
my
eldest son would be
enough of a dream for any woman,” his mother huffed, and Ryan knew it would be
a very long day.

“And
I’d think that supporting my bride and wife-to-be would be exactly what you’d
expect of me,” Ryan said firmly. “You always said that your spouse comes first
and I believe that.”

“You
wouldn’t be marrying her otherwise,” Moira said with a smile.

“Right,”
Ryan agreed. “We’re partners. Helping to make her business a success comes with
the territory, just the way she waits up for me when I get called in.”

He
looked hard at his parents and they averted their gazes.

“Come
on, let me show you around,” he said with false cheer. “I thought we could all
go to the restaurant on the point for lunch today. They say it’s really pretty,
overlooking the water, and that the food is good.”

“Oh,
my God,” Sheila breathed, her mouth falling open as she stared at the display on
her phone. Quinn and Patrick looked over her shoulder and Quinn started to
laugh.