There were areas set up for a bar, dining, and dancing. Two rows of chairs had been arranged on the dance floor where the wedding ceremony would take place.
In front of the chairs was a focal-point arch made from raw wooden branches interwoven with more gardenia garlands and white roses. In front of it was a podium for the ceremony’s officiant.
Blair talked them through the organization and flow she’d planned for their event. Addy didn’t hear all of it. It wasn’t until Owen took her hands and smiled at her that she felt centered again.
“Ready to step through this?” he asked.
“I am.” She looked around at the people near her. Owen’s dad. Wendell. Her boys. Theirs was a small wedding party. Nick would stand with Owen and Augie. Wendell would walk her down the aisle then stand with her and Troy. She hadn’t wanted to select a maid or matron of honor simply because she’d come to love all the women at headquarters equally and hadn’t wanted to pick one over another.
At Blair’s direction, Owen, Nick, and Augie stood to the right side of the podium. Little Troy practiced his solemn walk down the aisle, carrying the ring pillow, then went to stand to the left of the podium.
Blair directed Wendell to lead Addy last. Of course he wanted to march right through the channel of chairs, but Blair had them start over, moving forward slowly. She gave him a cadence to chant silently to himself.
At the podium, he paused briefly to settle Addy next to Owen. She smiled at Owen, only semi-listening to the next instructions, which were for her to give her bouquet to Wendell.
“I have to hold a bouquet?” Wendell asked.
“Yes, of course,” Blair said. “Addy needs her hands free to hold Owen’s. And you’re standing up for her.”
“Could we have a vase nearby that I set it in?” he asked.
“Wendell,” Addy said, “don’t be silly. You’re not less of a man for holding my flowers.”
He gave Owen a wink that made him laugh, and Addy realized he was teasing. “Maybe it’s not too late to pick a bridesmaid?” Wendell suggested.
“It’s quite too late,” Blair snapped, not catching his humor.
“Fine. I’m man enough to do this.”
Blair went behind the podium. “The ceremony will be organized in these sections. Introduction. Statement of intent. Vows. Ring exchange. Conclusion.” She looked at Troy. “Tomorrow, when the man standing here mentions the rings, you’ll come forward with them on the pillow. You can practice that now.” She watched him step away from Wendell. “That’s right. Offer your father the pillow first. He’ll take your mom’s ring. Then offer your mother the pillow to take your dad’s ring. Perfect. When that’s done, you return to stand next to Uncle Wendell.”
She smiled at Troy. “Very nicely done! Now, when the ceremony is finished, Owen and Addy, I’d like you to face your friends and give the photographer a moment to snap your picture. After that, my team will remove the chairs here, and you will pose for a few more pictures.
“While that’s happening, your friends will have appetizers and libations from the bar. Then we’ll lift this back curtain”—she pointed off to the side, where a small platform stood for the band—“and open the dance floor. Shortly thereafter, dinner will be served. Your friends will make toasts in your honor. At the appropriate moment, I will invite Addy and Owen to the empty dance floor to share your first dance as a couple. About a half-hour after that, you will both cut the cake.
“What unfolds the rest of the evening is up to you. My staff will stay and serve you in any way desired. We’ll return in the morning to clean up after the party. There is nothing you need to do but attend and give yourselves over to our capable hands. Do you have any questions?”
Addy’s mind was buzzing with love and excitement, everything but questions. She shook her head. “We’ll follow your lead tomorrow.” She looped her arm through her brother’s. “And Wendell will not fuss about the bouquet.”
Blair pressed her hands together in front of her. “Very well. Then that’s all for tonight. My staff and I will be back late in the morning to do the finishing touches. You have my number. If you think of any last-minute things to discuss, don’t hesitate to call me.”
The small wedding party remained behind a moment after she left. “Blair has to have prior military experience,” Nick said with smile. “She runs this thing like a drill sergeant.”
“It sounds well organized,” Addy said. “It’s really such a relief to have her help.”
“Dad, Jax, you mind taking the boys in to supper? We’ll be along shortly.”
“You bet.” Nick opened the door to the hallway. “Come along, boys. We’ll see what everyone else is up to.”
Addy turned to Owen, feeling a little breathless. Tonight was the night to execute the plan she’d hatched with the other women. But she wasn’t certain she could go through with it. Everything was already arranged. Troy was having a sleepover with Zavi. Wynn had worked out a sleepover for Augie with the cubs. She and Owen were off the clock tonight.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked.
“There’s one more thing we need to practice,” Owen said.
“What’s that?”
“Our first dance.”
“If we practice it, then it won’t be our first.”
“We have no witnesses. No one will know.” He took his phone out of his pocket and switched to a playlist they’d settled on for the wedding. He set it as loud as possible, but the little phone speaker still made the music sound tinny. He smiled and held out his left hand. She took it and let him lead her into a formal slow dance. The whole time, she stared into his eyes.
He was, in all ways that mattered, a gentle man and a gentleman. How would he react to what she was about to do to him? Maybe she should do it here, while they were alone.
He smiled at her. “You look like you’re about to eat me.”
Her gaze lowered to his lips. “I want to.”
He arched a brow. “We don’t need to go to dinner, you know.”
“We do. It’s our rehearsal dinner. Everyone will be there.” Oh, God. How could she do what she and the girls had planned for tonight?
He drew her into his arms while still dancing with her, his thighs pressing against hers. “Then we can be late.”
She wondered if he could feel the pokey tassels of her pasties. She hoped not. That would ruin everything.
“You seem tense.” He frowned. “You okay with what’s happening?”
“I’m fine.”
“Your eyes say otherwise. They’re a brilliant purple. Royal purple, in fact.”
“I’m just excited.”
“I can see that.” His smile was very male. “Let’s go have dinner, get it over with so I can have you alone to myself.”
She nodded. He shut off the music, then led her from the room. Could she do this? Become the wild seductress that would lead him to abandon all his inhibitions?
And how was what she was about to do any different than what Cecil had done to her on so many occasions?
A lot, actually.
He wasn’t cuffed to a table, and no one was naked.
8
Addy sat near the head of the table, just to Owen’s right. Owen never said much during their suppers, but he watched his team and listened to their banter.
He was so handsome. Didn’t matter if he wore a T-shirt or a suit or his tux—he always looked composed and in control.
What would it take to shake that composure?
Addy slipped her foot from the strappy high-heeled sandals she was wearing, then stroked the back of Owen’s calf with her toes.
His eyes widened. She couldn’t hide her smile when he gave her a disbelieving glare. She couldn’t tell if it was a silent warning to stop…or not stop.
She hooked her heel over his ankle and pulled his leg a little closer. He leaned an elbow on the table and leaned close to whisper, “Keep it up. I will carry you out of this room and go straight to our bedroom.
”
Heat flooded Addy’s face. Her lips parted. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Watch me.”
She bit her bottom lip. He looked as if he were about to scoot his chair back. One of the team asked him something, diverting his attention.
Addy couldn’t stop the throaty giggle that came out. She stared at her plate, wondering how close they were to the meal being over. She checked the still-full plates around the table and realized they weren’t close at all.
She looked at Owen, who met her gaze. Heat trickled down her spine. She bit her bottom lip. His brows lifted. She reached over with both feet and stroked them down one of his calves.
He slammed his napkin on the table and scooted his chair out. Addy gasped, shocked that he was following through with his warning. He pulled her chair out too, then scooped her up.
“Excuse us, please,” he said to the room.
Addy hooked her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck as she held on to him. Silence met their exit, then male laughter as they made their way down the hall.
“You didn’t think I’d do it, did you?” he growled as his long stride moved them into the hallway toward their suite.
“No.” She giggled. “I thought you had more fortitude.”
He shook his head. “I’ve got nothing when it comes to you.” He set her on her feet at their door. She leaned against him, loving the feel of his hard body. He caught her face and crushed his mouth to hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer.
Owen broke the kiss, then tilted his head and took her mouth again. Addy opened for him, offering him everything he wanted. She bent her knee and moved it over the side of his leg. He caught her up by her waist. She spread her legs on either side of his hips and held his face, kissing him as he opened the door to their room.
“We’d better move inside, away from the cameras. Don’t feel like pausing long enough to stop them.”
She laughed. “Oh! I left my shoes under the table.”
“We’ll get them later.”
“They’re part of my outfit.”
“What outfit?”
“You’ll see.” She smiled at his hissed breath.
He cornered her against the wall in the short hallway into their room. “Show me now.”
She shook her head. “You don’t get to run everything.”
“Yes, I do. I’m the boss, remember?”
She pushed him back to the opposite wall. “Not in this.” Stepping away, she began to unbutton her black blouse. She’d chosen it to hide what she was wearing underneath. She left her shirt on but open while she unzipped her jeans. She pushed them down her hips, then turned her side to him as she stepped out of them. Cool air covered her mostly bare ass.
“Addy, you’re killing me.”
She looked at him over her shoulder. His face was like carved granite, his entire focus on the skin she was revealing. She pushed her shirt off her shoulders, dropping it to the ground. His gaze moved up her body.
“Jesus Christ. What are you wearing?”
Addy faced him, showing him the front of the skimpy bodysuit she wore. It was fitted black lace over an open-crotch panty that tied in the back. The bra portion had open cups and a regular bra strap in the back. The ensemble came with sticky pasties that had black tassels. The whole outfit was a shocking departure from her normal sweet but conservative lingerie. Owen’s mouth hung open.
He turned from her, but she pushed him back—almost afraid he was going to run from the room. “Did I say you could move?” she asked.
He held his hands up. “I was just going to turn the light on. I want to see all of you.”
“I’ll get it.” She turned her back on him, knowing she was showing him her ass, framed by the bodysuit’s straps that were tied at the small of her back.
“What new torture is this, Addy?”
She flipped the light on, then slowly turned around. “One just for you. And me. Do you like it?”
His gaze moved over her body. “Fuck yeah. Come back here.”
She leaned against the door and moved her arms up over her head, stretching like a cat. She’d never seduced any man before and really had no idea how it was done. She hoped like hell Owen didn’t suddenly laugh at her, because she’d totally lose it.
A quick glance at him, and she realized laughter was the last thing on Owen’s mind. He was captivated by her body. Every move she made tightened the tension in his face. The corner of his jaw was clenching. His nostrils were flared.
She wanted to draw this out until he hit a breaking point, but she may have overestimated his endurance. She slowly walked toward him.
“So how’s this gonna go, Addy? You running this show?”
“I am. And it goes how I say it goes.”
He reached out and let the tassels spill through his fingers. “Uh-huh. I never figured you for cruel. Tell me I’m allowed to touch you.”
“You may.”
He caught her breasts in his hands. She arched her back. He groaned. He moved his hands around her back and down over her ass. He followed the straps of the bodysuit between her legs; she knew the exact moment he discovered it was an open-crotch outfit. She lifted her leg against his thigh, letting his fingers work her secrets. He stopped just as she was about to come.
She frowned at him. “Now look who’s being cruel.”
He pulled her against him. “We can end this right now.”
“Soon enough.” She pushed him back against the wall and started to unbutton his shirt, moving slowly from one button to the other.
He growled and shoved her hands away, managing to free two of his own buttons before she took over again. “My show, not yours.”
He laughed and leaned close to kiss her. “Yeah, well, if you don’t speed things up, this show’s going to end right here right now.”
She didn’t move any faster as she finished unbuttoning his shirt and then his cuffs. He shrugged out of it, then yanked his tee off before she had a chance to do it. “You’re cheating.”
“No, only trying to survive.”
She had her hands on the belt of his jeans, blocking him from tackling that. She slowly pushed the leather through the buckle and unfastened it. She looked up at him as she opened his jeans. His hips were so lean that, without the belt fastened, his jeans slipped down his hips a bit.
Addy ran her hands up his chest, over his ribs and pecs, arching her body against his, teasing him as he watched the tassels still covering her nipples. He caught her face and kissed her, bending his head to the side to sink his tongue between her teeth. When he pulled back, she slipped her fingers down his hips, between his skin and underwear, pushing everything down to bare his heavy cock.
He had thick thighs and his pants were not loose, so she left them at the top of his thighs as she knelt between his legs. His breathing was shallow. There was no humor in his eyes. In fact, all emotion had been choked out by the desperate hunger burning in his gaze.
Maybe she was doing this right.
She stroked his thighs then moved around to his taut butt. His cock was thick and long, jumping a bit as she touched everywhere but there. She caught it in both hands and brought it to her mouth, letting her tongue just flick over the crown, looking up at him as she licked him. His teeth were bared.
She let him go, then lifted one of his ankles so she could untie his boots.
“Forget my fucking boots,” he growled.
“You’re not giving orders tonight.”
He heaved a sigh and leaned against the wall, letting her have her way. He cupped himself as she removed his boots. She licked her lips, just inches from him, then reached up and pulled his jeans and underwear down his legs.
Owen stepped out of his pants and spread his legs, holding himself for her as she opened her mouth. Her arms went around his thighs, holding his ass.
She licked the sensitive underside of his cock, smiling as she let her tongue trace the edges of its crown. She
knew he was close to breaking. How much more could he take?
She opened her mouth and took him in, deep into her throat. He pumped twice in her mouth, then pulled and yanked her to her feet.
He was no longer asking permission for anything. He took her to the bed and pushed her down on it, turning her onto her stomach. He lifted her hips and slid into her, a hot, hard rod. He was holding her ass cheeks, taking his pleasure, slow at first but in seconds, he was slamming himself into her. It felt so delicious. She closed her knees, wanting to feel even more of him, but he leaned over her and opened her thighs back up. With one final hard thrust, he released himself.
It was magnificent. Powerful…but she still hadn’t come, and she was so very hungry for him. She whimpered a complaint when he pulled out of her. He didn’t give her any time to think about it, though. He rolled her over then knelt over her, lowering himself onto her body.
His beautiful pale blue eyes stared into hers. The color was high in his cheeks but his eyes were somber. His thumbs stroked her face for a moment, then he leaned down and kissed her. Gently, as if they had all the time in the world. As if her body wasn’t still on fire. As if there was no need in the world now that he had been sated.
She felt a wash of anger come over her. He grinned. “Turnabout’s fair play, sweetheart. I’ll try not to leave you burning as long as you did me.”
She gasped. He kissed her chin, her neck, the space between her breasts. He tugged at one of the tassels. “Shall these stay or go?”
Apparently, he asked himself that question, for he didn’t listen to her answer. Holding the tassel with just enough pressure to lift her nipple, he nuzzled the underside of her breast, then repeated that torture with her other breast.
OWEN and ADDY_A RED TEAM WEDDING NOVELLA_THE RED TEAM, BOOK 14 Page 8