My Only Regret (Twisted Fate Book 1)

by James, Rhonda

  “What did I tell you about making promises you can’t keep?” I teased. We danced and drank well into the morning. We arrived back at our suite and Jesse stooped down and lifted me off my feet.

  “What are you doing?” I squealed.

  “Carrying you over the threshold,” he replied, nibbling on my neck.

  “Silly, that’s only for when you get married,” I slapped playfully at his arm.

  “Then let’s do it,” he said, his tone suddenly very serious.

  “Do what?”

  “Get married.” He looked at me, waiting for a response.

  “Jesse, that is really sweet, but I think we’ve both had too much to drink,” I replied, squirming to be set down. Once my feet were firmly touching the ground I placed my palms against his chest. “Maybe we should just go to bed.”

  His eyes studied mine for a moment before he leaned in and covered my now quivering lips with his. He drew back and smiled wickedly at me before dropping to one knee. My heart immediately jumped to my throat and I sobered up quickly. Surely he wasn’t serious. He cleared his throat and raised his eyes to meet mine.

  “Rhyann, I know we haven’t been together long, but I can’t think of anyone I would rather spend the rest of my life with. Would you please do me the honor of being my wife? Marry me baby, make me the happiest man in the world.”

  My hands flew up to cover my face and I felt hot tears stinging my eyes. I knew in my heart what my answer would be, and I prayed like hell that I wouldn’t regret it one day. I lowered one hand and saw him looking up at me waiting for my response. I lowered the other, and he took it between his warm hands. “Rhyann?” he urged, gently.

  “But... Are you sure this is what you want?” I whispered, looking into his eyes, finding warmth and clarity, and finally, my answer. I nodded my head slowly before opening my mouth. “Yes. Yes, I will marry you.”

  He stood and spun me around before kissing me fiercely. Then he took me by the hand and led me back down the corridor to the elevator. He held my hand tightly in his and stroked his thumb across the back of my hand. Once we exited the hotel he hailed a cab and instructed the driver to take us to the nearest wedding chapel. When we arrived at our destination Jesse paid the driver and we stood on the sidewalk just outside the chapel.

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked, giving him one last chance to change his mind. He didn’t answer. Instead, he gave me a quick wink and led me straight through the double doors.

  The next morning I woke to find the most gorgeous pair of green eyes staring back at me. I lifted my hand and cupped his face. Only yesterday we had boarded a plane as lovers, now we were husband and wife. It had all happened so fast, and even though his eyes showed no sign of remorse, I couldn’t help but wonder if we hadn’t jumped in too quickly.

  “Good morning,” I whispered, unable to hold back my smile. I took his left hand in mine and pulled it to my lips, kissing the fresh ink that decorated his ring finger. After our quick ceremony, Jesse had led me to a nearby tattoo parlor where he chose to have my name permanently inscribed on his finger in place of a wedding ring. Seeing that single word displayed proudly for the world to see had inspired me to have his name placed on my left wrist, in the exact spot he had given me his autograph less than two weeks ago.

  “Good morning,” he smiled and placed a wet kiss on my wrist. “How do you feel this morning?” he asked devilishly. After we’d returned to the room, he had carried me back over the threshold and proceeded to make love to me for hours until we fell asleep holding each other.

  “I’m a little sore. Why do you ask?” I giggled, suggestively sliding my toes up his calf.

  “Well, I ask because I’d like to make love to my beautiful wife if that’s okay with her.” His voice was raspy, and his body was still warm from just waking up. His lips found mine as he lowered himself over me and nuzzled my nose with his.

  “Hi Mrs. Montgomery.” He had a smile that could melt my heart, and often did. This morning, however, it did so much more to so many places throughout my body.

  “Hi Mr. Montgomery.” I giggled once more.

  We made love slowly and sweetly, nothing like the passion we’d shared last night, before we fell back asleep with his body spooning mine. We slept for most of the morning until we woke to the sound of pounding on the door.

  “Shit, that’s definitely Sam,” he said, rolling his eyes. “That guy has way too much energy.”

  “Go answer the door before he breaks it down,” I laughed, nudging him off the bed before I stretched and got up to get dressed. I heard everyone’s boisterous voices and couldn’t help but smile. This was officially my family now. I threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed out to join them. Upon entering the room I was greeted with hugs and hearty congratulations from everyone in the room. Stefani pulled me aside and hugged me tightly.

  “I am so happy for you both. He seems genuinely smitten with you Rhyann. I’ve never seen him this happy. I must admit that we had no idea you two would run off and get married after our teasing last night. Who knew that would spark such romantic thoughts,” she giggled. “How exciting. I wish we could have all been there with you.”

  “I'm sorry, but we have some pictures,” I replied, suddenly feeling guilty for excluding everyone. This was Jesse’s family and we had purposely snuck off and married without giving them a second thought. We shared the few wedding photos that were taken by our fake Elvis’s assistant and discussed plans for tonight’s charity concert before they all headed out to grab some lunch.

  Once they were gone I decided to grab a quick shower and had just finished getting my hair wet when I felt Jesse’s presence in the room. Through the steamy glass doors I watched as he quickly undressed and stepped into the spacious shower stall. He approached me from behind, and I smiled as his hands slipped around the front of my body, stopping when they reached my breasts. His calloused fingers stroked expertly, sending shock waves to my most sensitive areas. His right hand continued its work while the left moved between my legs, parting the tender flesh and causing a soft whimper to escape my throat.

  “I know you’re sore baby, I’ll be gentle.” One finger slid down to my opening and slipped gently inside. My breathing quickened as I rocked against the rhythm of his moving hand. I felt a second finger enter, and moaned loudly as his thumb moved slowly over my swollen nub. In just a few short moments he had managed to play me like an instrument. His lips pushed and pulled against mine, and his fingers played against my breasts. I was on the brink and about to fall over the edge. With one final stroke I found my release, sinking against his hardened body for stability. My insides trembled, causing my whole body to shake.

  “I love you.” The words spilled freely from my mouth, and I wondered just how it was that I was standing before a man that women looked upon as a living sex symbol. How in the world had I come to be the woman he had chosen to be his wife? Would he always be there for me? Would I love him forever? And did a forever love truly exist? All of these things flashed through my brain as he held me. Here we were, two damaged souls that through the course of fate had found each other, and supported each other through friendship, and somehow we had managed to fall in love along the way.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “I love you too, with everything that I am,” he professed, kissing me gently. We stepped out of the shower, and after drying off, crawled back into bed. The bed seemed like a safe place for us to be, and right now I wanted to lock out the world and keep him all to myself. He pulled me tight against him, my back to his front.

  “You know that I’m going to screw up from time to time don’t you? It’s going to take time to adjust. I’ve never had to commit to one woman before.” He covered my hand with his and squeezed gently. “I’m going to make you the happiest woman in the world. I just need you to be patient with me.”

  “And I need the same from you. I’ve never loved anyone before. I’ve never said those words to anyone other than my mother o
r Mel. I’m sure that I said them to my Father but …” my voice choked up and I felt Jesse’s arms tighten their grip around me, reminding me of his strength, a strength that I had only recently allowed myself to come to depend on. “You are the first man that I have ever loved. I just hope that I’m not the one to screw things up. Just promise me that there won’t be any more women in your life. I won’t share you. I have to know that I am the only one you need.” I cried softly.

  “You are. I told you baby, you are everything to me. There is no one else.” I turned and kissed him sweetly on the lips before settling back into him. He held me that way for more than an hour before the sound of a ringing phone interrupted us. The conversation was quick but I noticed his demeanor had shifted slightly.

  “I’m sorry, but I have to go rehearse and do a photo shoot before tonight’s show. Are you going to be okay if I leave you here?”

  “You don’t want me to come with you?” I asked, sitting up.

  He hopped on one leg as he pulled up his jeans. “I mean, you can come if you want, but you’d just be sitting around, and it can get pretty boring. You can hang out here and come down in a few hours. Maybe you can head down to the casino for a bit or go shopping. I loved what you bought yesterday,” he bent down and nipped playfully at my earlobe.

  “Sure, now I see what it’s going to be like. The honeymoon is already over,” I laughed. “Don’t worry about me, I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. You go on and I’ll see you tonight. Should I meet you backstage before the show, maybe for a little pre-show performance?” I asked, pulling him in for one last kiss goodbye.

  “No way this honeymoon is over. It hasn’t even started baby,” he growled, giving me a wet kiss. “Just meet me backstage afterwards and I’ll show you what rockstars do to burn off stage high,” he ruffled my hair and kissed me once more before shoving off the bed.

  After he left I watched some television and tried calling Mel. I wanted to tell her about my whirlwind marriage but the call went straight to voicemail. I hung up, not wanting to tell her like that, and wandered aimlessly around the room. I knew I couldn’t stay in this room all afternoon by myself. I decided to fix my hair and makeup and head down to the show early, maybe try to catch him before the show started even though he had discouraged that notion. I wasn’t sure how he would react when he saw me, but I felt that I belonged there. I wasn’t only his new wife, I was also his personal assistant, and it was my job to be there for him. I took my time styling my hair, and slipped on the pair of black leather pants that Jesse had bought me along with a low cut pink sweater that hugged my breasts. My tall black boots accented my behind nicely so I decided they would be a perfect addition to my outfit. I took one last look in the mirror and, liking what I saw, headed downstairs.

  I wove my way through the crowded casino, stopping only twice to place a bet on the roulette table, and one hand of black jack. I had two men buy me a drink, and I couldn’t help but smile knowing that I had made the right decision when choosing my outfit for the evening. I carried my second Cosmo with me as I made my across the sprawling hotel. I knew that Jesse would be performing in the Garden Arena so I continued my journey, praying that he would be happy to see me. As I approached the entrance to the venue I saw Stefani going in ahead of me. I called out and then sped up to catch her.

  “Hey, there you are. Where have you been all afternoon?” she asked, innocently.

  “What do you mean? I’ve been in my room. Jesse thought I should stay there. Have you been here all day?”

  “Well, yeah, they had an interview and a photo shoot. I’m sorry, I just thought that you would have been with him. He disappeared for awhile, and I thought you were backstage hiding and continuing your honeymoon.” I could tell by her voice that she was sorry she had mentioned it.

  I considered pressing the issue, but instead smiled politely and shrugged it off. “I’m sure I would have just been in the way. It’s probably not a good idea for people to see us together and get the wrong idea.”

  “The wrong idea? What do you mean? For crying out loud you are his wife now, you most certainly should be by his side. Don’t ever forget that.” She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a warm hug. “Now, let’s go find our rockstars.” I followed her down a corridor to a security checkpoint where we were given our backstage passes. Once we made it past security she went off to find Tyler and I told her that I wanted to walk around and get a feel for the space. I walked for at least twenty minutes and ended up in front of the green room where the band was set up. I went inside and found David and Sam sipping a beer and relaxing on a large leather sofa. Nate was over in the corner talking with their agent. I didn’t see Jesse, so I joined Sam.

  “Hey guys, are you ready for tonight? I’m really looking forward to seeing a live performance. This will be my first you know?” I smiled at David and he nodded his head while avoiding looking me in the eye. Puzzled by his peculiar behavior, I started nervously chewing my bottom lip. “Have you guys seen Jesse? I told him I would meet him before the show,” I lied.

  Sam shrugged and replied, “No, I haven’t seen him in the last half hour. He’s probably going over a lighting check with the stage director. Just hang out here with us until the show. I can show you the best place to park your behind while watching backstage.”

  “Thanks Sam, but I think I’ll keep looking for him, I kind of miss him,” I winked. Sam jumped up quickly and tried to convince me to stick around. Something about the way they were acting put me on high alert. I had read about performers being approached by fans before and after a show. Could they be covering for him? Was he off with some random girl? Was that who called him earlier, and did that explain why he had acted strangely before leaving?

  All of these thoughts raced through my mind as I shoved past Sam and headed back into the hallway. I walked another twenty feet before I heard the guys coming up behind me. I turned around and saw everyone except Jesse. I stepped back into the shadows and caught a flash of him exiting one of the rooms located just behind the stage. He fell into step with the guys and turned his head in my direction, one quick glance was all it took for me to see the red lipstick smeared on his right cheek. He continued walking my way and when he finally saw me he offered a small smile before turning his back to me, bounding up the stairs. I heard him shout into the microphone as the crowd screamed and called out his name. I glanced back at the door that he had exited and my heart sank as I watched a woman slip out and look nervously around before heading in the opposite direction. I immediately slipped into denial. Surely he hadn’t done anything with that woman. Maybe I had just imagined the lipstick. I had to give him the benefit of the doubt. It had always been my nature to jump to conclusions, and right now I needed to dig deep and find my happy place. Until I could speak with him face-to-face, I had to trust him. Without trust our marriage wouldn’t survive. If I couldn’t trust him, there was no way I could pretend, I would have to walk away.

  I stood off to the side, watching as the man I loved put on the performance of a lifetime. He sang all of the songs I knew so well, and I found myself singing along quietly from my spot in the corner. I was mesmerized by his stage presence, and soon it was easy to forget what had happened before the show. He was a natural performer who worked the crowd into a mad frenzy. I smiled as I watched Tyler rocking the guitar, and couldn’t help but laugh at Sam pounding away on his drums. Jesse made his way over to David and they sang a few lines together. He was totally at ease on stage and I was in awe of him all over again. How could I not be in love with this man? This man knew me. He knew my body. He knew how to make me laugh. He knew how to pleasure me. He knew everything about me. This man loved me. Surely he wouldn’t hurt me.

  As they finished the title song off their last album the crowd was as pumped as the performers. The intro for the next song began, but rather than singing the words, Jesse began talking into the microphone, his voice sounding a bit scratchy and sexy from singing for two hours.
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br />   “Is everybody having a good time tonight?” More shouting erupted from the crowd. “I’ve got a little announcement to make. You see, I’ve recently met someone, and we got married last night, in fact she is with me here tonight.” My stomach clenches out of fear for what I know is coming next. “I would love it if you would please join me in welcoming to the stage, the love of my life, Rhyann Montgomery. Come on out here baby.” The next thing I know Charlie is helping me up the stairs as my legs begin to shake uncontrollably. Jesse walks across the stage and takes me by the hand before walking me to center stage.