by Tania Joyce
“I know. But seriously?” She was with her girlfriends; he didn’t need to check on her every five minutes. “Can’t you leave me for one night?”
He pinched his brows together and jerked his chin back. “Don’t be mad.”
“I am mad.” She dug her fingernails into the pillow, struggling to keep her breath steady and her blood pressure normal. She loved him so much, their bond was uncanny, but she wouldn’t let him chisel away at her independence with his possessiveness and jealousy. “It was my night with the girls. You didn’t have to come racing to check on me.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw and his eyes took on a steely resolve. “Yeah . . . I did. It’s not like you to pass out. After running into Taylah, and when you didn’t respond to my texts, I had to make sure you were okay.”
Her breath hitched. She tossed her pillow aside. Her legs shot out straight. “You saw Taylah?” Well, now she felt worse. Taylah had popped up in too many weird places lately, constantly ramping up Gemma’s suspicions.
Kyle’s hand drew across her legs again. “She tracked us down in the nightclub. I tried to ask her about the letters, but my interrogation skills under the influence of alcohol failed dismally. I got nothing. Then I thought of you and panicked, thought something bad might’ve happened. Especially when no one returned my calls or texts. Once I got here, I didn’t want to leave. Gem, I’m sorry . . . I didn’t think crashing here would ruin your night.”
Staring at the cabinet at the foot of the bed that held the hidden flat-screen, her mood swung like a pendulum between irritable angry bitch and sweet adoring girlfriend. She loved Kyle being here; she hated it at the same time. He should be with the guys, partying, not here playing nurse. But she didn’t have the strength or energy to argue.
She took a deep breath and threaded her fingers through his messy hair. “You didn’t ruin my night. I did a fine job of that myself.” His caring soul was one of the reasons she loved him; his tightening grip on her ability to take care of herself, not so much. She had to remember with the threats looming over their heads, life wasn’t normal.
He traced her small tattoo of a treble clef centered in a tilted heart, peeking out the top of her panties. His soft strokes were cool against her flesh. Then he stopped. His gaze turned dark and distant. “Vicki had E. Did you take any?”
“No. God no.” Shit. Vicki would never try anything at the wild parties Everhide threw back in their early days; she was too much of a straighty-one-eighty. She guessed people changed. What kind of friend was Gemma if she hadn’t noticed? “I swear I didn’t take anything. Not that I’m aware of.”
She closed her eyes. Not being able to recollect the details of last night spread another layer of fear into her system, running from her head down to her toes. Did Vicki slip something into her drink? I’ll talk to her; kill her if she did. But this life-sucking aftermath draining her body felt like no club drug or hangover she’d experienced.
Kyle resumed his gentle swirls and massages on her hip. “You passed out, maybe you should go to the doctor and get checked?”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.” She slumped against the headboard. “I’m fine. With everything going on, everyone telling me what to do and how to do it, I guess I lost track of how much I drank.” Surely that was it. Too much work, extra security, Kyle’s overreaction, the wedding pressure and anxiety had gotten to her. Her life wasn’t her own. “Everything just sucks at the moment.”
He hooked his hands underneath her hips, pulled her down onto the mattress, leaned in and kissed her lips. “Not everything.” A warm glint rippled through his eyes. “Our life outside our doors may be crazy, but no one will ever take moments like this away from us. You. Me. Together forever. I know spending time with the girls is important to you, so I’m sorry I intruded, and your night didn’t go to plan.” A seductive smile promising all kinds of pleasure inched across his mouth. “Can I make it up to you?”
Oh—oh. She knew that tone, playful and suggestive. That look, seductive and ready to ravish.
He dipped his head and nipped along the inside of her arm, scraped his teeth over the ‘Live life to the fullest’ cursive tattoo on her inner bicep. Damn it! Her weak spot. Okay, if he kept doing that . . . Nope. Not even.
She shoved her hands against his shoulders. “Ergh. Later.” She just didn’t feel right. This was the weirdest hangover ever. “When I don’t feel like crap.”
He rolled off her, grabbed his straining erection through his boxer-briefs and clasped it. “Cruel, Gem. Cruel. You gonna leave me smurfin’ it?”
“Yep. You can wait. I’m still mad at you.”
He hooked one arm behind his head, his eyes twinkling. “Then let’s have hot, angry sex. I’m totally up for it.”
Resisting the urge to run to the bathroom and throw up and kick Kyle out to go back to the guys, she closed her eyes. “I’m not. I feel like shit.” Last night had turned into a huge scatterfuck and her performance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival the night before had been a train wreck. She didn’t know what to make of it. What was meant to be a weekend of fun had ended in a blackout and a hangover from hell. Was everything affecting her more than she’d thought? Maybe. But she was tough. This wouldn’t happen again.
Nothing about their life was simple or normal. When they’d been through so much together, little things, like him winding up in her bed after a crazy night, weren’t worth causing a fuss over. She’d just have to establish new boundaries and rules so she could spend time with her friends without him freaking out. He didn’t need to hold her hand. She wanted their future together to work. She didn’t want the honeymoon to be over before it began.
***
At brunch, Gemma sat under an umbrella-covered table with Kyle waiting for their friends at the poolside bar skimming through her cell phone. Social media had gone into meltdown with fans posting pictures of them entering and leaving their party venues, and Kyle and the guys at the club. Speculation about a wedding in Vegas ran hotter than a steaming pipe. A shudder ran through her. Her heart still constricted every time she was unable to recall everything she did last night.
What the hell did I do?
Slipping on her dark sunglasses, she tucked in underneath Kyle’s arm. As she sipped on a fruit smoothie, she kept herself turned from the other hotel guests gazing at their table. Smartphones were aimed in her direction. Most days she turned a blind eye, but she was under the weather. This was private time. She didn’t want every moment of her life on display.
Hunter and Hayden stumbled over from the bar and stopped at the edge of their table.
“What happened to you, you big pussy?” Totally tanked and swaying on his feet, Hunter hollered at Kyle. With his Ray-Bans on and beer in hand, he hooked his arm around Hayden’s shoulders to steady himself. Hayden didn’t look any better than Hunter.
“Knew you’d pike once you left.” Hayden slurred and staggered. Neither looked like they’d been to bed. “Got your text, you slackass.”
Kyle took a sip of his coffee and placed the cup back onto the saucer. His grin held no shame or regret. “Sorry. Gem was still passed out. Thought it best to stay with her.”
“I was fine.” Gemma sighed. But she didn’t feel well.
“Kyle, you’re so whipped.” Hunter waved at the bartender for another beer.
Gemma’s tummy churned at the thought of alcohol. More friends arrived, filling tables and nursing hangovers as they devoured brunch. By noon, many finally went to bed after partying all night.
Throughout the get-together, she didn’t eat much, her stomach was still on a bender. She left Kara and Lexi disappointed when they couldn’t convince her to go shopping and she said farewell to Laura and Vicki who had to head home to New York. By one o’clock she crawled back into bed to sleep the afternoon away. Were her hard-partying days over at the tender age of twenty-six? Were all-day hangovers her new thing? Better not be.
In the early evening, she woke t
o the sound of the bathtub running. As she faced the room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, the glittering lights of Las Vegas spread like a blanket of colored stars toward the horizon. She hadn’t heard Kyle open the blinds. The view across the city was magnificent, calming and serene.
She stretched her arms over her head, finally able to move without each limb weighing as much as an elephant. Images of her bachelorette party swiped through her mind like a slideshow in slow motion. Champagne, hot men, dancing . . . nothing. Still unable to recall what happened rattled her, pressed heavily against her chest. With a shuddering breath, she buried her concern down deep inside. It was just a bad night. She didn’t want Kyle to ramp up his worry. She didn’t want the small cracks in her resolve to stay strong to worsen.
God, she needed a vacation. Her honeymoon couldn’t come quick enough.
She rolled over to face the master bathroom and caught sight of Kyle undressing in the gilded mirror. His tanned body was toned to athletic perfection. A few tattoos decorated his arm and chest—her favorite armband of intrinsic swirls, their initials on his inner left wrist and his latest addition, the small tulip with her name on a ribbon over his heart, permanently branding her as his. Every sculpted muscle in his back flexed as he stripped off his T-shirt and dropped his boxer-briefs to the floor.
Oh yeah! I’m better.
Time to make up for being mad at him earlier.
She wriggled out of her clothes and waited until he submerged into the huge white marble bathtub and relaxed his head against the bolster pillow. Silently, she slipped into the steam-filled room and stepped into the hot water. A lazy smile curled across his mouth; his hand snaked around her calf muscle. Nestling between his legs, she rested back against his chest. The perfume from the jasmine-and-vanilla-infused bubbles filled the air. Hot steam and bath foam enveloped their bodies. If it wasn’t for Kyle’s arms wrapped around her, she would’ve sunk like a rock to the bottom of the tub.
“I hoped you’d join me.” He kissed the side of her neck, his wet hair tickling her cheek. “Feeling better? You’ve slept all afternoon.”
“Must have needed it.” She curled her hands around his forearms. “What did you get up to?”
“Had a nap, worked on some wedding stuff, and watched you sleep.”
“You being creepy again?”
“I like watching you.” His warm breath on her neck sent goose bumps charging across her skin. “I wonder what you’re dreaming about, and love watching you wake and seeing your smile.”
She pressed his arms closer to her chest. With the craziness of the past few weeks, she sometimes forgot how good he was to her. He was taking care of the wedding plans, made her life easier, and put up with her crazy. Sometimes the depth of his love scared her. She never felt worthy, didn’t know if she was giving him enough. Her family never showed her any real love, so his often felt surreal. She worried it would all go up in a puff of smoke. She couldn’t let that happen.
She had overreacted to him coming to her room last night. Being hungover didn’t help.
Turning in his embrace, she straddled his lap. “About this morning . . .” Bubbles and water swirled like silk around their bodies. She skimmed her hands across his smooth shoulders, kissed a trail across his collarbone, and licked the droplets of water from the side of his neck up to his lips. “I’m sorry for getting mad.”
“Hmm.” The deep rumble in his throat rippled through to her core, hardened her nipples into aching peaks. His hands glided over her back and he caressed the side of her face. “Me too. I’m sorry for crashing when I wasn’t supposed to. But I’ll never be sorry for worrying and caring about you.”
“Hmm . . . what are we going to do about that?”
His cock hardened beneath her. She took her weight onto her thighs and rubbed the tip against her opening. Teasing him. Taunting him. But not taking him in. Hovering her lips an inch from his, her breath quickened.
He buried his hands into her wet hair. He clutched the back of her head and drew her lips against his. Languid, tender kisses quickly turned hungry and hot. Every rush of his breath sent goose bumps charging across her skin. “I have an idea, but first, stop teasing and let me inside you.”
She pulled her head back and gave him a wicked smile. “Can’t I torture you first? Just a little?”
“If this is my punishment for making you mad, please continue.”
Wriggling her hips, she eased his erection inside her. Mmm. Clutching onto his shoulders, she rocked and rolled her hips, drove his length in deeper and deeper. Pulsed against him slowly. He heated her insides with each hard, throbbing penetration. Her eyes locked into his, dark and full of desire.
There it was.
That connection.
That moment when nothing other than him mattered.
She’d been an idiot.
He hadn’t been smothering her by checking on her last night. He loved her. She had to stop stressing over their wedding, the guest list, and the threats. When she was with him, she wasn’t afraid of anything. She tilted her hips and moved gently. “This is much better than angry sex.”
“I agree. But any sex is good sex.” He dipped his head and took her nipple into his mouth. Licking and flicking his warm, wet tongue over her aroused bud turned it into a hardened peak. Oh yeah. His calloused fingertips tweaked and teased the other sending ripples of pleasure and pain charging to her toes. A groan rumbled deep in his throat and she arched her back, craving more. The water and bubbles licked her ribs as he sucked and teased her tenderly. Every stroke had her core clenching around him.
Clutching at his hair, she drew his lips to hers and kissed him hard. Steam thickened the air and sizzled against their skin. He tightened his hold on her waist and tugged her closer. Trailing kisses from her mouth, he made his way to her ear. Every nerve in her body sparked with electricity as he nibbled on her lobe. His voice, heavy and hot, whispered, “Marry me. Now. Here in Vegas.”
What the fuck?
Gemma lurched off him. Giant waves of water sloshed over the edge of the bath and flooded the floor. Her heart thundered up to her throat. Leaning back against the other end of the bathtub, she panted. “What did you just say?”
Get married. In Vegas.
“Can’t talk.” He groaned and winced, clutching his crotch beneath the water.” I think you just broke my dick.”
“Sorry.” She hadn’t meant to jump off him like that. It wasn’t the first time he’d pulled out of her in a hurry. They often got caught banging in awkward places and at awkward times. Especially on tour. “I’m in shock.”
Kyle’s mouth twisted into a smile, half agony, half happy. But a dark distance loomed in his eyes. Excitement didn’t light his face. “You want no fuss. Our friends are here. Let’s just get it over and done with. Just like you want.”
Like she wanted? A Vegas wedding wasn’t what she wanted. Why did he want to change plans? Again? “No, it’s not. I want a beach wedding. I just wish it was only with our four best friends, not a crowd.”
He shuffled around onto his knees and glided toward her. He wriggled his brows before nuzzling into her neck. “We can just go there for our honeymoon.”
To have the wedding over and done with would be ideal. But she didn’t want a quick chapel-style wedding. It wasn’t her, or Kyle. Her pulse pounded in her ears. “But it’s not what we want.”
“I just can’t wait for you to be my wife.” He grabbed her hand and kissed her engagement ring. “Marry me, Gem. Tonight.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Her breath squeezed out of her lungs. Her heart plummeted like a brick to the bottom of the ocean. Did he think this would make her happy? He knew her better than that. Her heart backpedaled and her mind scrambled for logic. What was going on? Did he hope marrying her would put an end to the threats as much as she did? Fuck the threats. Their original plan was to get married on the beach in Belize. That was their dream wedding. Not Vegas.
She brushed her fingertips down his f
reshly shaven cheek and her heart ached. He’d worked so hard on all the plans and bookings and details; she didn’t want to waste his efforts. She couldn’t believe she was about to say this. She licked her lips and swallowed. “No.”
“What?” His voice pitched girly-high. “You’re the one who likes to be spontaneous.”
True. But this wasn’t just about her. She would only get married once and she wanted to do it the right way. “It’s tempting, but no. I want our day to be special too. I want to marry you in Belize.”
He sucked in a deep, life-returning-to-his-body type breath. His eyes widened and golden shards shimmered in the depths of his espresso gaze. “Are you sure?”
“Yea-p.” What had she done? She’d opted out from a no-fuss wedding. What the hell was wrong with her?
Wrapping his arms around her waist, he crushed her against his chest. “Do you know how happy you’ve made me?”
She clutched his chin and gave it a shake. She kept her voice playful but adamant. “If you stop changing our plans, I’ll be happy.”
“Deal.” He hooked his hand underneath her knees and pulled her onto his lap. Tilting his head, his voice took on a sexy you’re-mine tone. “Our day will be perfect. I’ve got it all under control.”
Hmm. We’ll see.
Kyle smiled and she knew she’d made the right decision. He edged back to the end of the bath, pulling her with him. “Come here.” His voice was nothing but a breathy rasp. Threading his fingers into her hair, he drew her lips to his.
Sucking on his lower lip, she slid her hand between them, took hold of his cock and guided him toward her opening.
“Mmm.” His hips rose towards hers. He kissed her, hard and hot. “God, I love you.”
Catching her breath, she whispered against his lips, “Love you more.”
Clasping onto the tub either side of his shoulders, she eased his full length inside her, taking him deep. She rocked against him again and again. Water slapped and swirled around their chests with each pulse and thrust.