“Really?” I ask.
“Yep. Most clubs let men look but they can’t touch. It’s a very different scene.”
“You must have been to a few clubs before. I’ve never been to one,” I admit. “They never interested me.”
Paige carefully places her coffee cup back on the table. “They’re not that exciting. Why don’t you drink your coffee and make a start on that water? It looks like you’re about to be dragged off to dance with topless men.”
I look over my shoulder to where Stephanie is dancing with Katrina and a few girls I’ve met through the band. She beckons me over but I shake my head and hold up my cup of coffee.
Currently, the lead singer of an all girl indie punk band I know is crooning away with the karaoke machine by putting her own flair on a Pink song. “She’s good. Would I know her band if I heard it?” asks Paige, looking up at the stage.
“They call themselves ‘Kapow’. We met them when we played The Big Day Out.”
“She’s cool.”
I wink at her. “Like all my friends.”
Finishing my coffee, I unscrew the lid from my water and take a long drink. “I feel better already. Thank you for looking out for me.”
“Anytime. I’m glad you’re having fun.”
“Surprisingly, I am. Stephanie was right, this is definitely something you have to do at least once in your life. Even if it’s just to laugh at everyone else.”
***
When the party is over, the boat docks outside Star City Casino at 11pm. Drunken, laughing women, holding heels that were hurting their feet, teeter their way down the gangplank and start to discuss whether they want the party to continue or just go and get cabs home.
I shake my head. “No, no, no. No more partying for me. I want to find my Theo and I want to – ”
“Want to what?” I hear a deep rumbly voice asking from behind me.
Spinning around, I instantly jump into Theo’s arms, wrapping my arms and legs around him as I shower him with kisses.
“You came to meet me! I missed you,” I tell him between kisses.
Laughing, he asks. “Did you have a good time?”
“It would have been better if you were there.”
“Good answer,” he says with a smile as he lowers me to the ground and takes me by the hand. “Wanna get out of here?”
Nodding, I turn to say thank you and goodbye to everyone who attended tonight, smiling as I see couples reconnecting. Both Stephanie and Gary seem to be as drunk as each other and Elliot is looking very happy as he reunites with the sober Paige. Lisa and Marcus are also happily talking quietly to each other.
Theo and I quickly make the rounds and say goodbye to everyone, confirming that we’ll be seeing them all at the airport in a week’s time when we all fly up to Queensland. So far it looks like the weather is still going to hold up, and once I get Theo into our hotel room – things are going to get even better.
Chapter Thirteen
“How was your night?” I ask Theo as we wait to check in to our hotel room.
“It was ok,” he replies. “It would have been ten times better if I was with you. The other guy’s seemed to enjoy it though.”
“Strippers?”
“Yeah. They got you strippers too, right?”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “I covered my eyes if that helps.”
He returns my laughter with a soft chuckle. “Yeah, it does. I closed mine too.” He meets my eyes, an amused grin on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. “Aren’t we a pair?”
I nod. “We are. A perfect pair.” We stare into each other’s eyes, the air crackling between us with a tension that has been building up over the past couple of busy weeks.
“Can I help you?” the desk clerk asks, interrupting our moment.
“Yeah. We have a reservation,” Theo says, pulling out his phone and showing her the reservation number I’d texted him earlier.
She gets us to sign some paperwork and hands over the key card, and like a couple of school kids, we rush up to our room, hand in hand, eager to be alone.
The moment the door closes, we’re on each other. “Get this ridiculously tight dress off,” Theo growls. “Like all wrapping paper, it belongs on the floor.” His hands slide up my thighs and underneath the hem of my dress, his fingers biting into the flesh at my hips as he pushes my dress up to my waist.
Reaching down, I drag it up over my head, and drop it on the floor before I place my hands on Theo’s chest and push him up against the door. Sinking to my knees, I look up at him as I undo his belt.
“I hope you stayed hard for me, baby,” I murmur, sliding my hand into his pants to feel for his hard rod. I gasp. “You did,” I grin.
Chuckling, he runs his fingers, gently, over my hair and leans back, moaning as I take him into my mouth. Using my hand and my tongue as I suck and swirl, tasting his arousal while my own pulses between my legs.
“Stop, stop, stop,” Theo says in a rush, reaching down to lift me up so I’m standing. He pulls his suspender straps off his arms, letting his open pants fall while he pulls his shirt over his head then drops it all on the floor with my dress before he steps slowly toward me. I move to kick my heels off but he stops me.
“Leave them on,” he growls, pulling me into his arms, pressing our bodies against each other. “I have been torturing myself, all night, thinking about all the things I want to do to you in this room. And they don’t involve you on your knees. I want you naked, shoes only, on your back, pulling on my hair, your thighs wrapping around my head while I make you scream.”
A bolt of arousal shoots between my legs, causing me to shudder in anticipation.
“Turn around,” he murmurs, guiding me with his hands as I do as he says. His hands, rough and manly from his guitar work, skim over the surface of my skin, causing delicious shivers to quiver their way through me as he makes his way toward the clasp of my bra.
Leaning down to kiss me on the shoulder, he pops the clasp and lets the silk and lace slide down my arms and to the floor. His kisses trail across my back as he sweeps my hair over my other shoulder and places another kiss behind my ear.
I shudder beneath his touch, turning my head in my desire to have his mouth on mine. I exhale slowly as his hands move around my body and find my breasts. His lips press against the curve of my neck and along my jawline, and I let out a gasp as he expertly plays with my nipples with one hand and uses the other to slide down my belly and tease the edge of my panties.
I inhale slowly, my breath quivering along with my body as the sounds of the city are blocked out by the quiet of the room. All I hear is breathing in, air thick with arousal.
His hand slides down over my tidy curls to cup my mound. He’s teasing me, making my insides ache for his touch. I press my body against him, his erection, now tucked inside his cotton boxers, presses firmly against the small of my back and I roll my hips against him.
A low sound escapes his throat as his finger slips between my folds, sliding its way up and down, distributing my juices.
“You feel like silk,” he moans as he slowly removes his hand and turns me to face him. He inserts his finger into his mouth and sucks off my juice. “And you taste like heaven.”
Moving fast, I grab a hold of his face and crash my mouth into his, my desire taking over as I wrap my limbs around him and slide my tongue into the warm wet of his mouth.
He carries me over to the bed and lowers us both down so he’s on top of me. I whimper as he breaks our kiss and works his way down my body, pausing to suck my nipple into his mouth before he continues down, past my belly button and down to my core.
Hooking his fingers in the waist of my panties, he drags them down my legs, pressing a kiss to the tops of my high-heeled feet as he discards my underwear like more unwanted wrapping paper.
He moves his hands up my calves, keeping a constant connection with his hands and my skin, as he gently pushes my knees up and apart so I’m open and exposed for him. His hands conti
nue up my thighs as he slides his body down the bed to settle himself between my thighs.
“I feel like I’m going to explode just thinking about tasting you,” he moans as he runs one finger lightly between my folds. The moment his finger connects with my clit, my hips jolt. He looks up at me and grins. Then I do exactly what he wanted and grab a hold of his hair between my fingers and close my thighs around his head, guiding him to my centre, moaning as his tongue slides through my wetness, teasing my clit as his fingers slide into my depths.
My orgasm screams within me as his fingers press against that spot inside that is oh so sweet. I pull at his hair some more, my feet wrapped around his back as my heels press into him.
I rock against his mouth, my hands gripping and pulling. “I can’t hold on!” I yell out, as my thighs tighten and my hips buck as my body releases my orgasm in a burst of pleasure that ripples through my body, causing me to moan and gasp and writhe, until suddenly, it’s all too much and I release Theo’s head with a push of my hands.
Sitting up on his knees, he wipes at his mouth as he keeps his fingers inside me, pulsing back and forth as I meet his eyes.
“That’s what I was after,” he murmurs, his voice gravelly and thick with his own desire as he slowly removes his fingers and gently touches my hypersensitive clit.
My hips jolt involuntarily, and I laugh lightly, biting at my lips as I watch him stand and remove his boxers, freeing his beautiful cock with a light spring. He stays standing, reaching out to grab me by the ankles and drag me down the bed. The sudden movement causes me to squeal as he pulls my legs either side of him and lifts my hips, slowly pushing his thick length inside of me.
The tip of his cock glides past my g-spot, the angle causing an increased pressure that sends my eyes rolling back in ecstasy. My arms fly out to the side, gripping at the sheets as his hips pump back and forth, expertly through my depths.
It’s not long before the pressure is building inside me again and I’m calling out, lights flashing behind my eyes as my senses soar. I grip Theo internally as he slams himself into me with a shudder and a groan, spilling his juices into my depths as his cock pulses within my walls.
With strong arms, he slides us both back up the bed and lays with me in a tangle of limbs as we softly kiss and touch while we try to catch our breath.
“God, it feels like forever since we’ve done this,” Theo murmurs as he lays his head in the crook of my neck, pressing gentle kisses on the skin behind my ear.
I run my fingernails up and down his back as I hum in agreement. “Too much planning and not enough love making.”
“Bloody weddings,” he jokes, rising up on his elbows so he can see my face. He gently brushes my hair off my forehead and kisses me. “I love you, you know.”
I smile and curl my fingers through the soft hair at the base of his head. “I know. I love you too.”
“And I’m glad we’re getting married next week.”
“Me too. It’s been crazy preparing for it. But I’m happy it’s finally happening.”
He dips his head and presses one last kiss to my lips. “Let’s go and get cleaned up. There’s a huge fuck off tub in that bathroom,” he says.
“How do you know that? We haven’t even been in there.”
“I may or may not have been looking through the pictures of the room online while I was waiting for you,” he grins, rolling off me and heading toward the bathroom.
Tilting my head, I smile as I watch the way his butt muscles move as he walks away from me. “Were you that keen to get in here?” I ask.
“Just memorising the layout for when my plans came to pass.”
“Are there more plans?”
“Yeah babe. The whole night is full of plans,” he grins.
I bite my lip as my core pulses, eager for more of this man I’m about to marry.
Chapter Fourteen
A week later and we’re all disembarking from a chartered flight that held the vast majority of our wedding guests and took three hours to fly us all from Sydney to Cairns Airport in Queensland.
“And I thought Sydney was humid,” my mother says as she waves a magazine at her face in a makeshift fan as she stands on the tarmac, waiting for everyone else to exit the aircraft.
“Don’t worry, the hotel has a pool and air conditioning,” Theo assures her, reaching out to relieve her of her bag. She turns and thanks him for being so thoughtful and my heart, that was already full of love for this man, seems to swell even more.
“You’re a good man,” I tell him quietly.
He glances at me and holds his finger to his lips. “Don’t tell anyone.”
Gail, the wedding planner, calls us all to attention and tells us to follow her to where there’s a bus waiting to transport us all to the resort that’s holding the wedding. We’ve booked the entire venue out for four days, although Theo and I are only staying for three before we head back home with the rest of our band members and pack to go on tour.
Most people go on a honeymoon after getting married, but in a way, this tour will be our honeymoon. We’re travelling to a lot of destinations we haven’t been to before, so we’ll steal as much sightseeing time as we can.
Surprisingly, I don’t feel stressed over the wedding. Everything seems to be slotting into place. There’s hardly been a hitch at all considering everything was planned so rapidly. So I’m strangely calm.
The only upset of course is Theo’s parents refusing to attend. He hasn’t really been talking about it much. Each time I try to bring it up with him to see how he’s feeling, he brushes it off and claims that it’s their loss – if they’re willing to skip it, then they don’t get to complain or have any further input into his life choices. I get where he’s coming from, but I worry that he’s bottling up his emotions. I just hope that he’ll be able to focus on how many of our friends and family have dropped everything to come out and support us on our special day.
Once we arrive at the hotel, we don’t get much time to stand around. For the bridal party, it’s all stations go as we’re taken to separate rooms for a final fitting, and then out to the veranda where the ceremony will take place to do a quick rehearsal.
My poor father is so choked up that he’s tearing up as he walks beside me down the aisle, and I can’t help but smile. “Oh dad, this is just the rehearsal. How are you going to cope when we’re doing this for real?” I ask, reaching over to him and catching the tear on his cheek before it drops and gets lost in his salt and pepper beard.
“I’ll be fine, sweetheart. It’s just not every day a father does something like this.”
I squeeze his arm a little tighter as I feel the tears prick the back of my eyes too. My father is generally such a stoic man, so if he starts crying tomorrow then I know I’m going to end up being a complete mess.
I press a kiss to his cheek as he passes my hand to Theo and takes a seat next to my mother who is also tearing up. With watery eyes, I look at my love and see the love and devotion in his eyes, tinged with a slight sorrow. I know he’s feeling sad for the fact that his parents aren’t here and in this moment, I wish for nothing more than for all of our dreams to be complete.
“Theo,” Marcus says with a nudge into Theo’s back. We both look up to where Marcus is indicating and lo and behold, there is Mr and Mrs Bailey (who has thankfully foregone her black mourning dress for a dusty pink summer dress).
Theo’s eyes close and he lets out a long relieved breath, and keeping a hold of my hand he walks to the end of the aisle and stands before his parents.
“We’re sorry, mio figlio,” his father says, reaching up to take Theo’s face in his hands. He pulls him into a hug and kisses him on both cheeks. “We want to see you wed to the woman you love.”
Theo nods, and clears his throat as he breathes through his emotion and turns to his mother who is waiting to talk. “You know this is hard for me. This saying sorry. But your father, he help me see. You are grown man and I expect too much from you. I just
want you happy. I want you to have a good life,” she tells him, bringing him into her arms as she slips into Italian and kisses him on both cheeks. He nods his head to whatever she’s saying and wipes at his eyes.
I watch on, feeling a little like an intruder but glad that I’m witnessing the one thing Theo really wanted for this wedding – his family together.
Mrs Bailey turns her attention to me. “And to you Naomi. I am so very sorry. You make my son so happy, and I know this. I want you to be in our family. I had no daughters but now I am so lucky because I will soon have two.”
I nod. “Thank you Mrs Bailey. I’m glad you came.”
“Oh no, child. You are family now. You must call me mum or ma, si?”
I nod again, my head feeling like it’s on springs. “Ok,” I grin, pressing my lips together to stop myself from crying out of happiness. I’m just so glad that Theo will have his parents here.
Mrs Bailey, I mean, Ma, pulls me into an embrace and kisses my cheeks before Theo’s father does the same and insists that I call him ‘Pops’ – no one else calls him ‘Pops’ so I’m not sure where he got that, but I agree to it anyway.
After our reunion, Theo’s parents take a seat near my parents and Theo and I return to the wedding arch to continue rehearsing our ceremony. When it’s finished, I can’t stop smiling.
Even when we have dinner with all of our guests that night, everyone is happy and smiling and there is this wonderful air of celebration about the room. When it’s time to turn in for the night, Theo and I go to separate rooms, keeping to some small traditions.
“Everything seems to be working out perfectly,” I say to him from the door of my room before we call it a night. “I can’t believe how lucky we are.”
He smiles and leans down to kiss me goodnight. “Be careful, you’ll jinx it,” he says with a wink.
“You know I’m not superstitious,” I scoff. “Everything is planned perfectly and everyone we love is here. What could possibly go wrong?”
Chapter Fifteen
Devotion: The Beauty in Between (Beautiful Series book 4.5) Page 6