by Tina Saxon
“You don’t know how much I love hearing that.”
“Are y’all ready for our Vegas weekend?” Syd jumps out of Damon’s lap and sits in the chair next to him.
“I still can’t believe we’re all going,” Damon complains. “I mean, this is supposed to be your last night of debauchery before getting married. It’s not supposed to be done together. That defeats the whole purpose.”
“I don’t need a night of debauchery with the boys. The only person I want to debauch is this woman right here.” Aiden yanks my chair closer to him then playfully pulls my hair back to bite my neck. I push him away, shaking my head and laughing. Aiden was very adamant that he didn’t need a bachelor party. I didn’t care to have a bachelorette party either. Syd and Damon weren’t happy about that, so we compromised. We all go to Las Vegas at the same time. We’re going to start our night out apart and end it together. Everyone in the wedding party is going except for Ryan and Macie. Her doctors don’t want her traveling, and he’s being a supportive husband by staying with her.
***
“Vegas, here we come,” Sydney says as we walk through the hangar. The sun shines bright once we emerge from the shadows, so we both pull our sunglasses down from the top of our heads. We’ve yet to see anyone else other than Aiden and Damon. Katie is meeting us there because she’s flying in from Florida.
“Hey, beautiful ladies,” a southern voice purrs from behind us. We stop and turn as Ryker walks up to us. He plants himself in between Syd and me and wraps both arms around our shoulders as we continue walking toward the plane. “You both ready for some wild fun?”
“See? This isn’t fair,” Sydney whines. “You guys are going to get VIP treatment everywhere because of you.” Syd pokes Ryker in the ribs.
He shrugs a shoulder. “It’s not my fault people love me.” I roll my eyes. How is it I used to have a fan-crush on him? I thought Aiden was an egotistical ass when I met him, but Ryker…he’s in a whole new category. I can’t help but laugh. He tightens his hold around my neck. “What are you laughing at?”
“They must love you for your humbleness,” I say sarcastically.
“They love me for more than that,” he says, winking at me.
“How about you not talk about your dick when you have my fiancée in your arms,” Aiden barks from the top of the stairs. Ryker’s head falls back as he laughs.
“I’d screw with you a little on this one,” Ryker jokes, looking up at Aiden, “but I have a feeling you’d really kick my ass.”
Aiden smirks. “Try me, brother.”
“Nah. I’m good keeping my front teeth. I have this smile insured.” He flashes a shit-eating grin.
I lean over and look at Sydney, laughing. I knew it. His trademark smile is notorious for getting him out of trouble—or into trouble, depending how you look at it. Ryker lets go of me, and I walk up the stairs, wrapping my arm around Aiden’s waist. I stand on my toes and bring my lips to his, biting his bottom lip. My jealous man, what am I going to do with you? He growls against my lip.
“Mine,” he murmurs, devouring my mouth possessively before moving me inside the cabin of the plane. I touch my swollen lips, wondering if he’ll ever feel comfortable with Ryker around me. He’s getting better, but I can see his body tense every time Ryker is near me, even though he knows Ryker flirts with me just to get a rise out of him.
Bryn, Harper, Jaxon, and Damon enter the plane and not too long after we take off. Aiden comes back from the bathroom, chuckling. I cock an eyebrow, wondering what he finds so funny.
“Hey, asshole, what’s up with the locked door?” He slaps Max on the shoulder.
Max shrugs. “There were some issues that needed immediate attention.”
“What issues?” he asks.
“There was a bed in there.”
I feel a blush burn my cheeks, and I look down to avoid questioning eyes. Aiden laughs, sitting down next to me. “You think we have to have a bed?” I cover my eyes with my hand.
“Hence, why it’s locked.”
“Way to go, Roberts. Ruin it for the rest of us,” Damon says.
“Okay! We can stop talking about this now,” I run my hands through my hair. I fidget in my chair while everyone finds this amusing. “Who are we meeting there again?” I ask, changing the subject. Aiden lays his hand on my thigh. It’s such a natural reaction for him to always be touching me. I cover his hand and thread our fingers together.
“Drake Webb. He was with us at Quantico, but was sent to the Las Vegas office,” Aiden says.
“I just received his RSVP last week that he’s coming to the wedding. He’s the one hoping to bring a plus one but can’t promise anything.”
The guys chuckle. “That sounds like Drake,” Damon says.
Chapter seventeen
“Come on out, ladies,” Syd screams from the living room.
We’re staying at the Aria in a two-bedroom penthouse in one of their sky suites. This room is crazy huge. It’s bigger than my apartment. We had booked a normal two-bedroom suite, but when they saw we were with Ryker Dallas, we were upgraded. I guess Syd was right about them being VIP everywhere they go. I am a little jealous of that.
The guys were already booked in one of the penthouse rooms, so they are across the hall from us. We heard them leave earlier. I glance down to my barely there dress, noticing more cleavage and legs than fabric. I yank on the hem of the dress, trying to get another inch of length, but it shrinks back up as soon as I stand tall. I blow out a defeated breath. Why did I let Syd talk me into this thing?
Syd pokes her head into the bathroom. “C’mon, woman. Get that beautiful butt of yours out here so we can take a shot.”
Let the fun begin.
“Okay, ladies, listen up,” Syd says, hushing everyone. “Here’s to Addie. My beautiful friend, whom I didn’t think would ever get married.”
“Gee, thanks,” I respond.
“I mean, I didn’t think you’d ever find a man who could challenge you enough to keep your interest.” I nod. “You do have a history of getting bored in relationships,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone. She’s right. I think back to my past relationships, and they all ended the same way: me bored, walking away.
“You found the most amazing man who has proven that he loves you time and time again. I couldn’t be happier for you. And I’m so excited to be standing here alongside you. But first…” she holds her shot in the air, “…we need to say goodbye to your single life. To a night of fun with all you crazy ladies!” Syd holds her shot higher, and we lift ours and clink our glasses together. The golden warm liquid fills my mouth and burns my throat on the way down. I shiver, looking around for a chaser. I haven’t even swallowed the sip I took from my screwdriver before I’m being handed another shot.
“Y’all are going to get me drunk before we even leave this room,” I say, taking the shot from Harper.
“This is it until we get to the club.” Harper smiles wide. This time I keep my screwdriver in my hand, ready to take a drink after the shot. The second one doesn’t go down as harsh as the first.
“We have to leave here in fifteen minutes, so let’s get moving,” Syd says while she turns up the music. She dances as she walks away. “Sexy Back” from Justin Timberlake blasts from the speakers throughout the penthouse. Bryn and I start dancing, swinging our hips to the music. When I dance lower to the floor, Bryn busts out laughing. I look down and notice my dress has shimmied up my thighs and is showing my thong. I’m pretty sure my ass is out for all to see, too. I join Bryn laughing, feeling the effects of the shots already, and stand to pull my dress down.
Damn Sydney! Don’t dance low tonight, Addison.
I hear my phone ding as I’m finishing up my makeup. “I bet I know who that is,” Syd says, standing next to me, putting on her mascara. “Damon said he was moping around before they left because he wanted to come over and talk to you. They wouldn’t let him.” She giggles. I smile, imagining how that conversation went. After we c
hecked into the hotel, everyone (except Aiden and me) agreed we wouldn’t see each other until we meet up later. We both agreed our friends are all assholes.
I grab my phone off the bed and look at the text.
Aiden: This is stupid! I had to sneak off to the bathroom to text you.
I giggle to myself. I’m almost positive they know what he’s doing.
Me: I’m glad you did.
Aiden: I love you. See you tonight, sweetheart.
Me: Love you. Don’t let them buy you too many lap dances!
Aiden: The only person that’s going to be in my lap tonight is you ;)
Warm tingles spread throughout my body just thinking about being in Aiden’s lap.
Me: I’ll give you a lap dance you won’t ever forget :o
Aiden: Fuck, Addison, now I’m hard.
A laugh escapes my lips. I see the little dots telling me he’s still typing.
Aiden: Just make sure I’m the only lap that you’re in tonight.
Me: You’re the only one who will mean something.
Sydney comes and stands by my side, reading my texts. “You are so asking for it,” she jokes.
Aiden: Addison.
Syd and I both wait for him to add to his response but he doesn’t. Oh, shit. Syd’s phone starts to ring, and we glance at each other with wide eyes. She picks it up and we both look down and see that it’s Damon.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” she answers.
“She was kidding.” She rolls her eyes. I can’t hear Damon, but I can assume what he’s saying.
“I won’t. Tell him to calm down. Go buy that boy a shot…or three.” She looks at me with amusement and shakes her head. “Okay. Love you.”
She hangs up and throws her phone on the bed. “Thank God we didn’t tell him where we were taking you.” I raise a brow in question.
“Where exactly are you taking me?” Our entire night is top secret. No one will spill.
“Don’t you worry about it. We’ll make sure you stay out of trouble.” The mischief in her voice is slightly concerning. At least I can look forward to the end of the night, knowing I’ll be falling asleep in Aiden’s arms. We have a little secret, too. We have our own room for later. Syd starts digging around in a bag on the bed and pulls out a white sash that says bachelorette. I roll my eyes.
“I can’t believe you’re going to make me wear that.”
“Hey, just be glad I didn’t do the veil with dicks all over it,” she laughs while putting it on me. I look up thinking about that. She’s right; I’ll take the sash.
We walk out of the hotel and spot our ride, a Hummer limousine. I chuckle to myself that it’s not pink. Neon lights and a small disco ball spins on the inside roof of the limo.
“Fancy,” Bryn says, hopping to one side of the limo. Music fills the air when we start to move. A loud pop has me turning toward Syd. She’s pouring champagne into flutes, passing them out. After another round of cheers, Bryn sits up on her knees and opens the moon roof. “Oh, my gosh, I’ve always wanted to do this!” She stands up on her feet, fitting through the open window. “Addison, get up here with me.”
I push off my seat and squeeze in with her. The warm air hits our faces as we slowly make our way down the strip. Lights from cars litter the streets every direction I look. Guys holler and whistle as we pass. Bryn and I wave even though we don’t have any idea what they are saying because it’s so loud. We start dancing to the song coming out of the limo’s speakers. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, so I take in all the blazing lights beaming from the hotels. We pass the Bellagio and the fountains are on. I lean my ear in the direction of the music to see if I can hear what song is playing, but it’s useless. My friends are loud.
“Our turn,” I hear Katie say as she pulls on my dress. Bryn and I duck down into the limo and Katie and Harper take our place.
Syd is texting on her phone when I hop in the seat next to hers. “Who are you texting?” She yanks away her phone, hiding it from me. She smiles, biting her lip. She’s up to no good. I cock an eyebrow. “What are you planning, Sydney?”
“I’m just setting some things up.”
“I can see that. What things would those be?”
She looks down at my bare legs. “That dress is a little short,” she says. I look down at my dress. Again, it has crawled up my thighs. Dammit! I tug it down and glare at her.
“This is your fault. I swear, you’d think they could have spared just a couple more inches of fabric on this thing.” Syd giggles. “I hate you.” I grab a glass of champagne and lean back against the seat.
She rests her head on me. “No, you don’t. You love me.”
“I do. But right now I don’t like you,” I joke and lean my head on hers.
A few minutes later our limo stops in front of the Hard Rock Hotel. Syd grabs my hand and pulls me out of the limo. When I stand, I make sure the small scrap of fabric called a dress is covering all the right places.
“Why are we at a hotel?” I ask Bryn as we’re walking into the lobby.
“You’ll see,” she answers with a large smile. She and Harper wrap their arms through mine, and we follow Katie and Syd through the casino. I look around at the constant sounds of dinging slot machines and cheering off in the distance. The machines I look at confuse me. I’ve never played slots before, but I always had it in my head there were three wheels and you match the cherries or something simple like that. These machines are complicated. There are tons of lines crossing each other in every direction. I watch a person play for a second and wonder how they know they won. Syd pulls me away as I’m trying to figure the damn things out. We walk out of the sea of machines toward the side of the casino. The bright sign catches my attention.
Magic Mike Live. My eyes go wide. I whip my head around to Sydney. Her smile reaches her eyes as she waits for my reaction. She knows I secretly love that movie. We watched it five times while it was at the theater, but I would never admit that to anyone.
“Is Channing here?” I ask excitedly.
A girl who overhears me steps beside me and says, “Nope, I hear he rarely comes to these.”
“Well, that sucks,” I reply.
“It does, but don’t worry, there are sexy-as-hell men in there who will light your panties on fire. They’ll make your fiancé seem mediocre.” She obviously doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Aiden could very easily be a stripper. I laugh at my thought. The drinks are making me silly.
“Girl, I have a man who looks like those guys,” I say, pointing to a poster of the Magic Mike guys. “Aaanndd he’s FBI.”
The girl looks at Syd for confirmation, like she thinks I’m lying. Syd nods. “Lucky woman! Most of the guys I date are losers.”
“Hey, me, too,” Bryn says loudly to the girl. “These two have freaking gorgeous men with guns, literally.” She points to Syd and me while she laughs at her own joke and ends up snorting. Her hand quickly covers her mouth, and we all start giggling at Bryn as her cheeks redden. I wrap my arm around her and hug her.
“Don’t worry, Bryn. We’re going to find you one,” I say. “You just need to stay away from Ryker.”
The girl’s eyes widen. “Ryker who?” she says slowly. I smirk and nod, confirming what she must be thinking.
“Holy shit! Ryker Dallas?”
Bryn rolls her eyes at the girl’s overzealousness. “He’s not all that,” she says pointedly. “Just another loser.” Her arms flail out.
“I wouldn’t even care if he was the biggest loser ever, I’d still ride that boy, given the chance.”
Bryn quietly snickers at the girl. “Be careful what you wish for,” she murmurs and then walks toward the entrance of the club, leaving us behind.
“We are so hanging out with you guys tonight,” the girl says. Harper introduces us all as I walk over to catch up with Bryn.
“You okay?”
“Yes. I promised myself I wouldn’t let him get to me on this trip, but seeing him today…” She pauses and le
ts out a moan. “Why does he have to be so gorgeous and nice to me?”
I tilt my head and laugh. “I’m going to kick his ass for being nice to you,” I say sarcastically. “What’s really wrong here, Bryn?”
“He says he wants to take me out on a real date.” I don’t know what I was expecting her to say but that wasn’t it. I stare at her, waiting for her to continue, but she doesn’t. “And?” I finally say.
“And look at me?” Her hands flow down her body. “A guy like that would never settle for a girl like me.”
“Are you kidding me? You are gorgeous and he’d be one lucky guy to have you. You’re smart, independent, and have a lot to offer a man.”
She sighs. “He’s…Ryker Dallas. I’m just Bryn the accountant. He’d get bored with me within a week. Hooking up at a party was okay, but now he wants a date.”
“Where is the confident woman I know? Where is all this self-doubt coming from?”
“Ugh. I don’t know. I’ve seen the girls he’s dated before. Models from freaking Australia. I can’t compete with those types of women.”
“Have you ever thought those were the types of women he gets bored with? Maybe he needs more out of a woman than just looks. Ryker is a good guy. I don’t know if you should go out with him, but I don’t think you should say no because you think you’re not enough for him…because that is bullshit.”
“You’re just saying that ’cause you’re my friend.”
We move up and I catch the bouncer’s eye. “Hey, what do you think of my friend here.” He looks Bryn up and down. She’s as tall as me and lean but has great curves. She’s wearing a dark blue fitted dress that accentuates her body, but it isn’t too revealing or too short. Unlike mine.
“She’s gorgeous,” he says and winks at her.
She huffs. “He’s just saying that because he works here.”
I stare at her. “I’m going to hit you.”
The bouncer leans over and whispers something into her ear, causing her to blush. Her lips curl into a smile, and she shakes her head. “Thanks,” she says, looking away. She starts to fan herself, and he laughs loudly.