Strip Search

by Erin McCarthy

  “I’ve always wanted to see the gardens at Versailles.”

  She knew if this were a couple for one of their regular episodes she could take a few different angles. She could play up Axl’s military background, making sure the Marines factored into the reception theme. As for her, she would use her beauty pageant background, even though she had sucked at it. Because viewers would like that whole debutante, rich girl angle. She would clearly emphasize the two worlds colliding in their background. A woodsy outdoors Minnesota ceremony followed by a classic LA nightclub reception.

  But that was for two strangers and she didn’t get the impression Axl wanted to be viewed as a military hero. She knew for damn sure she didn’t want to be seen as a rich girl debutante. So she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do for them. Fake or not, she wanted it to be an actual reflection of their tastes. Which was ridiculous. What difference did it make?

  “Again, with the death theme,” Axl said. “Weren’t King Louis and Marie Antoinette killed there?”

  Gardens had nothing to do with toppled kings. Not really. She made a sound of impatience. “Stop making me sound gruesome! I’m sure people have died on lakes too, you know. Drowning is a thing. Boating accidents are a thing.”

  “Fair enough.” Axl turned to the camera. He was very natural facing it, which she thought was interesting. He was way more natural than she was. It hadn’t even fazed him to be recorded while cooking. “So, here’s the thing. Leighton is champagne. I’m beer. In a can. But that’s all wrapping. What’s important is what’s in here.” He tapped his chest. “None of those things matter when there’s love.”

  Damn it, he was so convincing. He was so believable that it made an ache build deep inside her, making her wish this was real on some level.

  Her heart ached brutally. She wanted a true love. A future with a man who made her feel beautiful. More than she could have possibly realized.

  Leighton jumped up with the urgency of when her mother had forced her on a colon cleanse at seventeen to lose weight.

  “Interview over. Thanks, that was awesome, guys. Whew, I think we got some great footage.”

  Axl eyed her but he didn’t protest. He just stood up and stretched leisurely, like he was stiff. Which made her think of when he was stiff the night before. That magnificent penis. Maybe even majestic. Oh, my. She didn’t mean to look but involuntarily her eyes drifted down below his waistband. He wasn’t hard but she could see the outline of his cock in those jeans. They were snug jeans. Just right jeans. Not pretty boy jeans but working man jeans. Not his gone fishing jeans but more like his date jeans.

  Leighton shifted her eyes upward and saw Axl was watching her, amused. “If we’re done, I’ll drop you off at the hotel since I’m heading out for the night.”

  What? He was leaving? Leighton frowned. “Oh. Where are you going?”

  Oh, Lord, that was so uncool. It was really none of her damn business.

  But, well, she had just thought that since they’d both enjoyed sex the night before and everyone thought they were dating, he would want a repeat. She certainly did. They had limited time together. Six nights if her math was on point. That was approximately twelve orgasms that she would like to have, thank you very much.

  “It’s poker night with the guys. Every Sunday night. Unless it’s football season. Then we watch the games together.”

  “I see.” She didn’t. Every Sunday? She loved Zach and he was her best friend but she didn’t want a standing Sunday date with him. And he would tell her to get a life if she suggested anything of the kind to him. “Have fun then. I’m ready to go whenever the guys are.”

  As Jackson and Brad were packing up equipment Axl moved in close to her and bent over to murmur in her ear. “Tomorrow night I’m all yours if you want me.”

  She swallowed. “I want.”

  He laughed softly and straightened up. “Best thing I’ve heard all day.”

  In the car on the way to the hotel Axl said, “How do you think that interview went? I don’t know how any of this stuff works so I couldn’t really tell if I was giving the right answers or not.”

  How could he not know how adorable he was? His answers had been sweet and dangerous to her well-being. Because with every response, she had found herself thinking more and more how amazing it would be if any of this were real. It made her want to open her heart and tell him he was a special guy.

  But all she said was, “I think the interview was good. You’re actually really comfortable on camera.”

  “Must be my two-night stripping career. I’m good with an audience.”

  That made her laugh. But suddenly she wanted to know how many women he’d slept with in town. It wasn’t a huge community. Was he a notorious bachelor who had screwed his way around Beaver Bend? She pictured him up on that stage, shirtless. Scratch that. She didn’t want to know the answer to how popular he might be. “I promise we won’t have to do a lot of interviews after this. The hard part is over.”

  “So now the fun stuff?” He gave a mocking fist pump. “Yes.”

  Leighton laughed. “How did I do? I was nervous.”

  “You did good, babe. But you should pull out some of your flirt moves to make it even more authentic.”

  She made a face. “You mean my awkward Officer Hottie moves? I’m pretty sure I suck at flirting.”

  “What? No, you don’t. I want you to flirt with me.” He squeezed her knee.

  “I’ll work on it.” Though she didn’t really want to “bring it” with Axl. She just wanted to be herself.

  He smiled. “Just be yourself.”

  Damn. He was good.

  Leighton was flustered. But she looked out the window to distract herself. It was a beautiful classic small town, with clapboard buildings and plenty of evidence of an outdoor adventure economy. There was a bait shop, a kayak shop, bike rental places, and several seafood restaurants. The boutiques all appeared to be catering to tourists as opposed to residents, with kitschy lamps and life preserver flotation devices repurposed as wall décor in the shop windows.

  Axl had a truck and he was driving the speed limit. It was driving Leighton just a little crazy. Who drove the speed limit? No one she knew. Huh. Maybe she had been speeding when he’d pulled her over. Determined not to fixate on how she might be falling for him, she gave him a tight smile. They were weaving slowly through the center of town. Like, really slowly.

  Maybe he was driving so slow because he was a police officer who was already in trouble. He needed to toe the line. Maybe in a small town there was no rush to get anywhere.

  Leighton enjoyed Axl’s company but she really wanted to reach over and push his foot down harder on the gas pedal. Maybe she had a little more of the city girl in her than she realized. Years of frustrated driving on the freeway in LA, not moving. Going slow when you had the option to go fast was maddening.

  “Hmm?” she said because he had said something she hadn’t heard, too busy losing her mind.

  “I said that you’re beautiful.”

  That made her glance over at him, skeptical. “No, you didn’t.”

  “You’ll never know because you weren’t listening to me.”

  Damn it. He was right. “I’m scouring venue locations.”

  “You’re a terrible liar. Don’t quit your day job for a career in poker.”

  “My mother always believes me.”

  “Then your mother is a much better liar than you.”

  Leighton laughed. “I don’t believe you.” She didn’t. Her mother was disappointed in her in a lot of ways but she did believe that Leighton was honest. Which she was, for the most part. “This is a beautiful town. That is the truth.”

  “It is. It’s cold as fuck in the winter but even that has its own sort of beauty. Do you like snow mobiles? Ice fishing?”

  Leighton wanted to laugh again, riotously this time, but she held it in. “I haven’t had a lot of experience with those, but I’m sure they’re delightful.” She would never find out
though, because she was not going to be here in winter, nor would she be seeing him after the weekend.

  Axl pulled into the hotel and parked his truck in the circular drive by the front doors. “Too bad I can’t show you the charms of sitting inside a heated shed with a rod in a hole.”

  She wasn’t sure if he meant that to sound dirty or not, but it sure in the hell did. “Did you hear what you just said? I’m not the only one who needs to work on my flirtation skills.” She opened the door and shot him a smile over her shoulder.

  The door slid open automatically but she was walking too fast. Her shoulder hit the glance and she bounced backwards. “Ow, shit.”

  Axl had already been out of his truck and walking around the front to say goodbye to her, but now he hustled over to her. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” She rubbed her shoulder. It didn’t hurt as much as her ego. She could hear her mother scolding her as a toddler. You’re so clumsy, Leighton, Jesus.

  “These doors don’t open very fast.”

  “Apparently not.” She stepped back out onto the path in front of the doors so she didn’t get slammed by it again. “Goodnight, Axl. Have fun at poker night.”

  “Thanks. You have a good night too.” He looked like he wanted to say something, lingering there in front of her.

  But then he just kissed her forehead. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

  Ew. She did not want a forehead kiss. She wanted a kiss full of passion and promise. An urgent kiss, like the ones he’d given her before. Was he already bored with her? She hoped not.

  But it was in her nature to fret and she went up to her room and did just that. She went through the research list for Winnie’s wedding to see if she could use any of the same vendors for her own event on Saturday. Nothing excited her or felt right. Axl wanted a boat or water and the restaurants she looked up online by the water didn’t seem special enough.

  Mostly though, she couldn’t concentrate. She kept glancing over at the bed and wishing Axl were sprawled out on it, naked.

  His house had surprised her. Much to her delight, it had been very clean and tidy. Sure, lacking in décor and a woman’s touch, but it wasn’t stark either. It was organized and masculine. It made her like him even more.

  Which was a lot.

  She called Zach. “I slept with him,” she said by way of greeting.

  “Good. Because I wasn’t going to be able to be your friend anymore if you didn’t bang a hot cop when you had a chance.”

  Leighton rolled her eyes. “You’re a total liar.”

  “Was it worth it? Was it good?”

  “Well.” She took a deep breath. She had to tell Zach because if she didn’t and he found out later he would most likely never forgive her. “It was amazing. As a matter of fact, it was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

  “Of course it was. It’s the thrill of him being a cop, a fake stripper, the country air. You feeling sassy and dangerous by lying to everyone.”

  “Why do you make me sound so pathetic? Like I’ve never had an ounce of adventure in my life.”

  “How often do you have sex with men you just met and then pretend to marry him on TV? The sex could have sucked and you would convince yourself it didn’t.”

  She had to call bullshit on that. “Oh, no, you can’t convince me of that. This sex was fantastic. Multiple orgasms. Against the wall.” She felt hot just remembering it. “I want to do it again and again and again.”

  Zach sounded gleeful. “Yum. So how long do you get to enjoy this paragon of the penis? When do you fake break up?”

  “We just need to fake it until the episode films, which is in six days. Or five, depending on if you include Saturday or not.” Her cheeks felt warm. That was a lot of sex. “Honestly, we haven’t discussed a plan for afterward. I guess we need to.” Yikes. She hadn’t thought that far enough. Her brain had been stuck on sex and filming.

  “Are you sure you can stand up there and pretend to marry someone?”

  “It’s going to be totally fine,” she said. But the waver in her voice gave her away. Thinking about the wedding gave her a niggle of concern. She was sitting at the desk in her hotel room and she swiveled in the chair, swallowing hard. Admitting that out loud was out of the question. “I thought you of all people would be think this is a lark and I should just roll with it.”

  “I know you, that’s why. You’re falling for him,” Zach said flatly. “You were right. I was wrong. You said you couldn’t hookup without attaching and I pushed and now you’ve lost your mind. Now you’re having some bridal fantasy that if you fake marry him, he’ll for real marry you.”

  “I am not!” That had never once entered her mind. In fact, the very concept astonished her.

  But now that he’d brought it up, the idea was just a little appealing. If she was going to get married someday, Axl would be a perfect fit. He was thoughtful and strong, and into the quieter pursuits in life, like her. He thought she was gorgeous.

  No. Stop it, Leighton.

  She could not go there.

  Not a ball gown, but a mermaid style. That’s what she wanted to wear when she stood across from Axl.

  Damn it. She’d already gone there. Zach was right.

  Old Glory roses. That’s what she should carry. It was her love of roses and Axl’s military background merged.

  Of course she had fantasized about her own wedding she’d have one day. She worked on a wedding show. She had just never pictured her groom as a hot guy with shoulders so broad he could pick her up and carry her around like it was no big deal.

  It was lust crashing into like mixing with a hefty dose of longing for a fairy tale.

  Leighton rubbed her forehead and told Zach, “You need to fly to Minnesota for my wedding. I may need an intervention.”

  Eight

  It was a risk telling the guys the truth, but they’d been through a lot with him. He could not look Sullivan, Jesse, and Rick in the eye if he lied to them about the true nature of his relationship with Leighton.

  Brandon wasn’t there, unfortunately. He only made it in from Chicago a few times a year.

  They rotated houses for poker and tonight it was at Rick’s. His apartment was over his auto body repair shop and like Axl’s place, was pretty damn tidy for a guy in his late twenties. But Rick had good reason to be clean. He had custody of his little sister River, who was eleven, and he’d grown up with his dad being a hoarder, so he never wanted trash laying around. Jesse wasn’t in town much during hockey season but in the summer he had a rental that he self-described as a flop house. He was not a tidy guy. Clothes fell off of Jesse and didn’t move from their spot on the floor for months.

  Sullivan was already pouring his second glass of whiskey as they sat around Rick’s kitchen table. Axl eyed the bottle pointedly. Personally, he wasn’t drinking at all because he had to work tomorrow. Rick had a beer, which he was nursing. Poker night wasn’t about getting drunk, but Sullivan didn’t seem to need much excuse to hit the bottle.

  “We’re only on our second hand, Sullivan. Ease up, brother.”

  “Fuck off,” was his response. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

  “Where’s Finn tonight?” Axl asked. Sullivan’s son was over two now and Axl worried about his buddy’s ability to stay sober for his son. He knew Sullivan loved Finn with all his heart. But he also knew that Sullivan looked at Finn and missed Kendra painfully.

  Sullivan didn’t bother to answer him. He just threw some chips in his mouth and studied his cards with a scowl.

  Rick said, “Sloane is sleeping over at Sullivan’s. River is there too. Between my girlfriend and my sister that kid is going to be spoiled. They’re always doting on him.”

  “Must be nice,” Axl said, playing it casual, even though he was worried. But he was glad that Sloane and Rick spent a lot of time looking after Finn. “So I have news,” he said, stretching his legs out under the table.

  “Your balls finally dropped?” Sullivan asked, grinning at his own jo
ke.

  “Keep drinking and you’ll keep being the only one who finds you funny.” Axl put his cards face down on the table. “I’m getting married. Sort of.”

  No one said a damn word and Axl had to admit, he enjoyed the way his words hung in the air. He was never one to rock the boat. Ever.

  “To who, a blow-up doll?” Rick asked. “You haven’t even been hooking up with anyone, let alone dating.”

  “I know who.” Sullivan looked at him over his whiskey glass, expression smug. “It’s the California girl, isn’t it?”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  “Who?” Jesse asked. “What California girl? Is that the chick in that video? You just met her.”

  “I may be booze soaked but I still know what’s going on in my bar.” Sullivan took a sip and set his glass down. “Lilly didn’t think she was your type but I recognize a man on the hunt when I see one. But marriage? That definitely doesn’t seem like your style, especially since, as Rick pointed out, you met her about a hot minute ago.”

  “I saw the video but I figured if you wanted to talk about it you would,” Rick said. “I mean, other than us giving you shit in our group text. But marriage? Come on.”

  He didn’t expect anything less. “Thanks, I appreciate that. Yes, this is Leighton from the video. And while I really dig her, no, this isn’t a real marriage, so don’t worry about me losing my mind. We’re getting married on her show Wedding Crashers, to save both of our asses at work.” Axl explained how he’d gotten reamed by the chief and how Leighton was on the verge of being fired. “The bonus beyond not getting fired is that now my parents will leave me the hell alone about getting married. It’s constant. It ruins every damn holiday.”

  “Why does your mother want you to get married so bad?” Jesse asked, tossing a handful of nuts in his mouth. “My mother could care less if I do.”

  “Your mother thinks you’re immature,” Sullivan said.

  Jesse glared at Sullivan. “No. I think she knows it’s stupid for a guy who is on the road all the time to try to have a wife back home.”

  “I swear to God, my mother thinks I have PTSD and that a wife and kids will loosen me up.” It was annoying beyond belief. “It drives me fucking crazy. I don’t like throwing that term around. It’s a real issue with a lot of servicemen and women. I just don’t feel the need to talk unless I have something to say. Apparently that makes me ‘not okay.’ I have my flaws, man, but I’m really pretty mentally stable, if I can say so myself. But my mom is worried that me being single means I am going to die alone, miserable.”