“That was quite the performance,” I said. “Axel has some moves.”
“Yeah, it’s something I’ll never be able to unsee.”
“How was he ever convinced to do that?”
“He had to. It was part of the Puck Brothers Pact. His penance.”
“The what?”
“Puck Brothers. You know, what all of us younger single guys call ourselves. As each one of us succumbs to a monogamous relationship, we have to pay penance decided by the other guys. We let Steele handle this one. It was way worse than Easton’s was. He only had to polish our skates.”
“I do recall now that you’ve mentioned the Puck Brothers.”
“Yeah. I have a feeling we’re going to try to one-up each other. I’m not looking forward to my turn.” He shot me a sideways glance, but I didn’t take his bait. He wanted me to commit to staying, and I wasn’t. We had a few more nights together, but my plan was to leave on Monday after I helped Mandy clean up after the wedding on Saturday.
“Sounds brutal.”
“Oh, it is. Hockey players are known for pranks. It’s survival of the fittest.”
“I can imagine.” I was a competitive person, too. I’d always competed for the best grades, for my busy father’s attention, and whatever other ways I might be able to prove I was the best. I’d been a pretty decent tennis player and golfer on my high school teams, which was the extent of my athletic competition. Golfing had been a way to spend quality time with my dad, and I’d been golfing since I’d been old enough to swing a club. A lot of business happened on the golf course, including political maneuvering. I was a decent golfer, good enough not to embarrass myself.
“I golf and play tennis,” I volunteered, not expecting my meager athletic prowess to impress a professional.
“You do? We should play sometime. I’m not good at either, but I can hold my own. You’d probably kick my ass.”
“I bet I would.” I nodded, knowing we’d never find out who would win our personal battle of the sexes, but I didn’t want to ruin the evening by pointing that out.
“I’m going to hold you to it. The loser buys dinner.”
“Sure. I need a glass of wine.” Without waiting for him, I headed for the bartender. Kaden scrambled to catch up with me. He ordered a beer.
“Was the bachelorette party fun?”
“Actually, I usually hate those things, but this one was fun. I learned a lot.”
He shot me a sideways glance, confused. “What can you possibly learn at a bachelorette party?”
“You’d be surprised. Have you ever heard of a finger vibrator?”
“Can’t say I have. I haven’t needed to use much in the way of sex toys. I’m a natural sex toy myself. No need for imitations when you have the real thing.”
The bartender raised a brow and fist-bumped Kaden. My face burned from embarrassment. I hadn’t noticed the guy was listening. Maybe I didn’t need another glass of wine. Those women at that party put away the alcohol. I’d been struggling to keep up.
I rolled my eyes. Kaden and the bartender chuckled. I thanked him for my wine, and Kaden and I found a seat at one of the many tables with Geneva. Axel hadn’t returned yet, probably licking his wounds and gathering his courage to face these ruthlessly brutal men.
Steele sat down next to Kaden along with a few other teammates, and the conversation turned, as it always did, to hockey.
Geneva leaned toward me and lowered her voice, glancing around first. “That bridal shower was an eye-opener. Please tell me I’m not the only one who didn’t know what some of that stuff was for?”
“You definitely aren’t. Those sisters are naughty girls.”
“You mean Avery, Bella, and Izzy?”
“Exactly. They knew what all those toys were for.”
“So did Juniper and Cin. Makes you wonder.”
“I’m trying not to,” I said. “Speaking of Juniper, looks like she’s having a good time.” I pointed to the dance floor.
“She sure is. Wanna bet she gets some tonight?”
“No bets. She definitely is.”
Juniper was dirty dancing with Ziggy. The two of them were grinding hips together and lip-locked under the dizzying lights of the mirror ball. As we both watched, Ziggy’s hand cupped Juniper’s ass, and she wrapped one of her legs around his thigh, rubbing it against his crotch.
“Get a fucking room!” a couple of the guys shouted from a table nearby. Ziggy gave them a thumbs-up behind Juniper’s back. As they spun around, Juniper noticed me staring and gave me the thumbs-up, too. A few seconds later, Ziggy grabbed her hand, and they disappeared out the French door into the night together.
“I wondered when those two were going to ditch the party,” I said.
“I know, what took them so long? Cin’s picking up the slack nicely though.”
Cin had danced with every single guy in the room at least once, except Steele. She hadn’t sat down that I’d noticed, and she was guzzling the wine. Cave was circling her like the animal he was known to be, even when she was dancing with another guy. She wasn’t taking his bait though, preferring to play the field.
Cave pursued her as she finished the dance, and she blew him off, but we couldn’t hear her words. She headed straight for our table and held out her hand toward Steele. “Come on, Mr. Tight-ass. Let’s see if you can loosen up enough to dance.”
Steele stiffened and glared at her. “I’m busy.”
“You’re not that busy, puck boy. Let’s go.” She grabbed his hand, and with the jeering of the other guys, he gave in.
“He looks like a man being led to the gallows.”
“Yeah, he does. She’s just jerking his chain because she knows he hates her.”
“I know, but it’s fun to watch. I think I need to find my man. Later.” Geneva stood, waved at Kaden and the others, and ventured down the hall where Axel had gone several minutes ago.
Kaden winked at me from across the table, extracted himself from a heated discussion on the best skates or something equally uninteresting to the average person.
He rounded the table and held out his hand. “Would you like to dance?”
“I thought you’d never ask.” I took his hand and together we strolled to the dance floor for the slow song currently playing. We’d never danced together, and I was pleasantly surprised that Kaden actually knew a little about dancing. The song was an old Sinatra tune called “I’ve got a Crush on You,” and I easily followed Kaden’s lead. I’d grown up in DC, and my mom had made sure I knew basic ballroom dances for the various events we attended.
“Where did you learn to dance?” I asked after he spun me and pulled me back into his arms.
“My sister. She made me be her partner when she was learning to dance.”
“Made you?”
“I didn’t mind too much, but she’ll never know that. I like to dance.”
“So do I. How is it we never danced before?”
“I think we were too busy fucking in the limited time we had together. This has been good for us. We’ve gotten to know each other on different levels.”
I had to agree. I’d learned so much about Kaden these past few weeks, and I’d fallen in love with him more each day. He’d wow the matrons of DC with his good looks, rocking bod, and smooth dance moves. I easily imagined their envious stares as we cut up the dance floor.
The song ended, and I tucked my hand in the crook of Kaden’s elbow. Next to us, Steele and Cin argued about climate change or something. “Let’s get out of here. Shall we go outside? I’m a little warm.”
He hesitated and glanced around the room. “I’d love to, but I was trying to keep an eye on Cave and Ziggy. Shit, now I’ve lost track of them.”
“Hey, kid, don’t worry. Have fun. You’re relieved of command.” Cooper Black appeared from nowhere with Izzy on his arm. The two of them were visibly flushed and mussed up. I knew what they’d been doing.
“Huh?” Kaden blinked a few times in confusion.
>
“Sorry, I was walking past and eavesdropped. Don’t worry about those two. I’ll keep them under wraps.”
“No need to worry about Ziggy. He’s with Caro’s bestie, Juniper, and they’ve already left this party to start their own,” I spoke up.
Cooper nodded with a knowing smirk, having obviously been there and done that, probably more often than tonight. “Izzy and I’ll hunt down Cave. He won’t be far from the food.” He gave us both a nod and led Izzy away. She waved at us over her shoulder.
“Well, then, now that you’ve been relieved of command, perhaps your duty is making me happy.”
“Oh, baby, nothing makes me happier than to make you happy.”
We exited through the French doors onto the patio, down the stairs, and around the house. As we neared the edge of the lawn, near the woods, we both heard something and stopped.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I think it’s an orgasm.” Kaden grinned at me. For a moment, his words went right over my head until I heard the distinctive moans of pleasure again and the words fuck me harder, Ziggy.
“Oh, okay.” I wasn’t in the market to be branded a voyeur, so we hurried on past. I avoided looking toward the shaking bushes. At the front of the mansion was a curving circular driveway, in the center of which was a fish pond and a small waterfall.
“Oh, no, we’re not doing that where any of your teammates or coaches can find us,” I said, reading his dirty mind.
“You’re no fun.” Kaden stuck out his lower lip in an exaggerated pout.
“Oh, but I am.” I turned toward him and ran a hand down his chest, cupping his balls through his pants and squeezing. He groaned and his eyes rolled back in his head.
“I stand corrected.”
I moved away from him, not wanting to get him too hot when we weren’t in a position to do anything about it.
“Let’s check out the garden.”
We walked through the dimly lit garden, passing a couple in one dark alcove. We didn’t look too hard and hurried past.
“What’s this?” Kaden pointed out a barely noticeable opening in the bushes. He knelt down and crawled through. I was right behind him. On the other side was a secret garden with bronze statues of deer and other wildlife.
“Wow. This is incredible.” I stared at the scene in awe. There weren’t any garden lights back here. It was solely dependent on natural light in the area.
“Ever done it on a deer?”
“What?” I shook my head, then realized he was referring to the life-size deer sculptures. “I can’t say I have.”
“Get naked.”
“Only if you do.”
He snorted as if I’d said the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. Of course he was getting naked. I stripped off my sundress and underwear in record time, and Kaden did the same. Usually, he feasted his eyes on my body for a few minutes. I stood with my hands on my hips, breasts thrust out, shoulders back, and legs slightly spread, giving him a full view. Only tonight was different. He didn’t linger.
Without warning, he scooped me up and sat me down on the largest deer so I was sideways on its back.
“Hold on to the horns,” he ordered. Who was I to question his demands? He’d never steered me wrong before, and he’d steered me to a lot of right places. I gripped the deer’s horns and tail, wondering if this qualified for a threesome. I had to quit drinking so much wine at sex-toy parties. My brain was pickled, but my sex drive was in high gear.
Kaden reached for one leg beneath the knee and placed it over his shoulder and repeated the motion with the other leg. He smiled the feral smile of a lion as he gazed at my wet pussy. He didn’t have to bend down too far to reach his goal as the back of the deer was relatively tall. I hooked my heels together behind his back, running my hands up his chest to his neck. We kissed, but he broke it off early and travelled with his mouth down my body until he reached his goal.
Kaden was a pretty talented lover and more than open to suggestions. He was never insulted or ego-bruised when I told him what I liked. This time, I didn’t have to say a thing. This time he slid his tongue along my slit and opened me wider with his fingers. That fucking incredible tongue owned me, and he thrust both tongue and fingers inside me over and over until he built up a frenzy in both of us. I grabbed handfuls of his messy hair and held on, holding back as best I could and making him work for it. I didn’t hold out long, weak woman that I was. I screamed out his name as I came, realizing seconds later I was probably heard all over the garden, possibly even the patio.
Kaden lifted his head and kissed me, letting me taste myself on him.
“Do you think anyone heard us?”
He barked out a laugh. “If they were within one hundred yards, yes.”
“Great, just great.”
His smile faded and his eyes darkened with the passion of a winter storm. “I have to fuck you.”
“Do it.”
With my legs still around his shoulders, he had a green light to do what he wanted. And he did. He plunged into me in one hard thrust. Good thing I was flexible. This time I buried my head in his shoulder to muffle my screams. And scream I did. Kaden brought out the hidden sex-crazed goddess in me, and I didn’t hold back.
After we both came, he held me until we were sane again. He extracted himself from my body, backed up a few steps, and pulled a napkin out of his pocket. He cleaned me off the best he could and then himself.
The Parkers were into the environment, so I wasn’t completely surprised this secret garden had a discreet garbage can disguised as a toad. We dressed in silence.
“Want to go back to the party?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to say no, then shut it, having second thoughts. “Do you think we should?”
“I am one of the groomsmen.”
“Then I guess we should at least to say good night. But they’ll know what we’ve been doing.”
He shook his head as if he thought I was a little nuts. “You did notice that couple down the path a ways, right? And Axel and Geneva are probably still in one of the bedrooms. And Ziggy and Juniper? And—”
“I get the point. We’re all doing the same thing.”
“A horny bunch, aren’t we?”
“I guess that’s hockey players for you.”
He shrugged. Together we found a side door and a nearby powder room, where we washed off a little better before rejoining society.
We entered the grand ballroom or whatever it was. There were still quite a few people milling about. Steele stomped toward the exit as we walked in, his face red with anger.
“What’s wrong with you?” Kaden blocked his exit.
“That woman is the most infuriating female I’ve ever had the displeasure to be forced to spend time with.” Steele’s face was contorted with frustration, and he was gesturing wildly. My experience with Steele was limited, but his current behavior seemed out of character.
“What woman?” I asked, knowing as soon as I said it what a pointless question it was. Steele gave me one of those I-can’t-believe-you’re-asking-me-that looks. He pointed toward Cin, pushed Kaden aside, and stormed off.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Stuff on the Couch
~~Kaden~~
* * *
Lanie and I managed to get some sleep that night. After all, tomorrow night would be a late one, too. I expected the wedding festivities to last late into the evening or early morning.
I left Lanie’s room about nine a.m. She’d be working the rest of the day and into the evening. Once the caterers took over, she’d be off the hook. I was looking forward to having her to myself along with the hundred other guests.
I walked the short distance to the cottage. Steele had just come back from a jog, and we met at the front door. Opening it, we walked inside. It was oddly quiet.
I’d gotten used to the constant blues music Cin played from the moment she woke up to the time she fell asleep. She was a night person, another fact that drove my
buddy crazy. He got up early and went to bed relatively early. Another issue where they were constantly at odds.
“Where is she?” I mused aloud. “And Herc?”
Steele didn’t answer. He was too busy scowling at the pile of clothes and other stuff on the couch, the collection of open suitcases, and the random dog food kibble spread about the room. Herc liked to bury bits of food, saving them for later, I guessed.
“This place is a fucking mess. She’s leaving tomorrow, isn’t she?”
“No idea. I imagine so. She probably has a job to get back to.”
“She works? I doubt it. She probably lives off a trust fund while pretending to understand the downtrodden.”
I chuckled and turned toward the kitchen, pulling a frying pan out of the cupboard. “Breakfast?”
“Yeah. Thanks. She calls me Mr. Tight-ass even though she knows it pisses me off.”
“That’s why she does it. She’s chirping at you, just like an opposing player does to get under your skin. Only their words don’t seem to affect you, while she walks in a room, and you’re on edge.”
“I am not.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head in amazement anyone was so dense. “You keep believing that. I half expected a fistfight last night between Cave and you. You didn’t like Cave hustling her. What’s up with that? What do you care?”
“I don’t care.” Steele propped his hands on his hips and glared at me. I laughed at him.
“You have the hots for her.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Right.” I rummaged through the refrigerator, pulling out the eggs and bacon. “Toast those English muffins, would you?”
“Yeah, sure.” Steele didn’t make a move to do so. Instead he stared at me so long I was uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong?”
“Does it really look like that?”
“Like you’re attracted to her? Fuck yeah. You’re too emotional for someone who doesn’t care.”
“I can’t stand her. That’s why I’m emotional. She is the most irritating, selfish, obnoxious, self-righteous woman I’ve ever had the misfortune of being around.”
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