: Chapter 17

Bailey procrastinated the next morning. She woke Hunter with her mouth and tongue, sucking his morning erection deep and bringing him almost to completion before he flipped her over and slammed into her. Her own orgasm came swiftly, but she held onto him as long as she could, wanting to prolong not only getting out of bed, but the contact with him. Wanting to spend the entire day in bed with him really had nothing to do with her reluctance to go to the dress fitting, although she might have lied to herself that it was.

She then took an extra long shower, managing to entice Hunter to join her. He came willingly and they made great use of the massage feature on the shower head and the extra large space and convenient bench inside the shower. When she tried to get him to come back to bed for round three, he slapped her bottom and called her on it.

“I know what you’re doing,” he said, dragging his tongue along the length of her neck, “but you can’t avoid her forever.”

“I don’t see you complaining,” she said, her breath hitching as he sunk his teeth into the softness of her earlobe.

“Oh, I’m not complaining,” he whispered, “but I refuse to let you act like a coward.”

That was like being hit with a bucket of cold water and she pushed away from him angrily.

“I am not a coward,” she said, crossing her arms and pouting.

“I didn’t say you were,” he grinned. “I said I wouldn’t let you act like one. You’re putting off going to the dress fitting because you’re afraid to see the mess you made with your stunt last night.”

“I didn’t hear you trying to stop me,” she grumped.

“Because I thought it was about time Ainsley found out just what type of man she’s marrying, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t consequences to our actions. I have no problem facing her today. Or Nick for that matter.”

“Fine,” she said, not really thinking it was fine at all. Bailey agreed that it was only fair that Ainsley knew what an unfaithful prick Nick was, she just wished she didn’t have such an up-close and personal view of the fallout. Ainsley had been a bitch to her since she’d arrived, but she was kind of naïve and innocent and Nick would chew her up and spit her out if she wasn’t careful.

Hunter pulled her to him and hugged her tight. “You’re doing the right thing Blue,” he said to her, kissing the top of her head, “even if she doesn’t appreciate it.”

And there was the rub. No one ever appreciated Bailey. Her parents thought she was too much – too brash, too loud, too ambitious. Nick didn’t appreciate her or the way she felt about him. Her sister took advantage of her, mooching off her success. And now Ainsley wouldn’t appreciate being told that her fiancé was a dick. Just once, Bailey would like to feel like someone did, in fact, appreciate what she brought into their lives.

“Come on,” Hunter said, “let’s go downstairs and have breakfast at one of the cafes and pretend that this whole wedding isn’t happening tomorrow.”

She sighed and burrowed into his chest. “Okay,” she said.

They dressed quickly and Hunter took her hand as they walked to the elevator. He kept her close as the lift car descended, stopping at various floors to let more passengers on. She liked the way she seemed to fit into his side, how his hand felt natural in hers or on the small of her back. She liked the way he took charge without trampling all over her, how he seemed to know what she needed when she needed it. Nick had never treated her like that. He’d never even tried.

God, she was such an idiot for being so hung up on a guy that treated her with such nonchalance. Nick had said pretty words to her and had done nice things to her body, but he had never really taken the time to get to know her and he had never tried to protect her. How could she have ever thought that what she felt for Nick was love?

Especially now that she knew what it really felt like…to be in love.

Hunter found them a table and they ordered coffee and breakfast. She looked at him across the table, cataloguing the way his green eyes crinkled when he smiled, the way his lips kicked up at the edges, the way his beard gave him a commanding presence. She liked his large hands and long, elegant fingers and the ink swirls she could see on his forearms as he pushed up the sleeves of his shirt. She really liked the way the soft fabric of his t-shirt stretched across his wide shoulders and rounded biceps and the way it snugly fit his pecs, hinting at the definition beneath.

“Are you listening to me Blue?” he asked, his eyebrow quirked in a way that made her tummy flutter.

She smiled shyly at him, picking up her water glass and taking a sip.

“Sorry,” she said, setting the glass down, “I was a little distracted.”

His smiled knowingly at her, his green eyes darkening and she felt like he could see right through her clothes and was doing some of his own cataloguing.

“I asked if you wanted to go for a drive up the range for lunch.” His voice was husky and she had to smother a shiver that wanted to wrack her body.

“That sounds good,” she replied, her own voice breathless, her mouth dry. She licked her lips and watched as his eyes tracked the progress of her tongue.

Then he smiled and shook his head.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, her tone light and flirty.

“I’ve just had two fucking amazing orgasms in the last hour and yet, I still can’t get enough of you.”

“So, let’s skip breakfast and head back to bed,” she suggested.

He chuckled. “As tempting as that is, you and I both have other places we need to be.”

“But do we though?” she asked, toying with the water glass.

He sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them, she could see he’d made a decision. “Yeah, we do,” he said, “but the minute we’re done, I’m taking you up on your offer.”

“And lunch up the range?” she asked softly.

He exhaled roughly. “Yeah, we’re doing that and then we’ll come back and spend the rest of the day with me buried inside you and you screaming my name.”

She didn’t even try to suppress the full body shiver that time.

Bailey approached the other penthouse suite door with all the enthusiasm of a prisoner approaching the hangman’s noose. She lifted her hand to knock, but the door swung open revealing Annette, who ushered her inside.

“You’re late,” Madam Hilda said as she stepped into the living room. The other three bridesmaids sat on the couch along with Ainsley. Number One was giving her the evil eye, but Two and Three wouldn’t even make eye contact.

“Sorry,” she said hesitantly, “I was having breakfast with Hunter.”

“Well, come on then, don’t dawdle.”

Bailey let Madam Hilda usher her into the bedroom from her final fitting. The dress fit perfectly, just as it did the first time she’d tried it on. Madam Hilda and Annette fussed around the hemline and checked the fit of the bodice and played with the draping of the fabric, but there was nothing drastic that needed fixing. With a nod, Madam Hilda left the room and Annette helped her to remove it. She dressed quickly and the walked back out into the living room to find Number One gone and Two and Three trying to look invisible.

Bailey sat down next to Ainsley and wondered how she was going to bring up the subject of last night. The wedding was obviously still going ahead, or they all wouldn’t be here, but Bailey needed to know that Ainsley really understood what marrying Nick would mean.

“I know you think you’re doing me a favour,” Ainsley said, “but I’m not as naïve as you think.”

Bailey turned to look at her. “I just want you to understand what kind of man Nick is and what you can likely expect being married to him.”

Ainsley crossed her arms and gave Bailey a calculating look. “It was Nick’s bachelor party,” she said. “What groom hasn’t had one last hurrah before tying the knot?”

Bailey shook her head ruefully. “That wasn’t a one-time-only thing for Nick,” she said.

“I don’t believe you,” Ainsley snapped. “Ever since you’ve arrived you’ve tried to drive a wedge between Nick and me. I know you’re jealous of me, I know you want Nick for yourself.”

Bailey sat back in surprise. It may have started out that way, but in the last few days she had come to see that she really was over Nick and that it was Hunter who she really wanted. She was not jealous of Ainsley and she absolutely no longer wanted Nick.

“No,” she said simply.

“No?” Ainsley looked at her with distrust. “You don’t want Nick? You haven’t been trying to break us up?”

Bailey felt a giggle rise in her throat, but she forced it down. “I really don’t,” she said with a smile.

“But Nick said…”

Bailey whipped her head around to look at Ainsley. “What did Nick say?”

Ainsley swallowed. “He said that you’d always liked him and had wanted more with him and that the only reason you and Hunter were together was to make him jealous.”

Bailey grit her teeth and bit back the angry retort. Nick was just trying to save his own skin, or maybe he really believed it, but she wasn’t the one in the wrong here, he was.

“I did have a thing for Nick,” she replied. “A long time ago. But since meeting Hunter, I realised that what I felt for Nick was nothing but a schoolgirl infatuation.”

“You’re not in love with Nick?” she asked askance.

“No,” Bailey answered truthfully. “I don’t think I ever was.”

“But Nick said…”

“Nick lied,” Bailey said. “Nick is really good at twisting words and telling you what you want to hear. And you need to know that.”

“You are jealous,” Ainsley said, refusing to hear what Bailey was trying to tell her.

“No, Ainsley, I’m not. Maybe I was at first when he told me about you, but I’m not now. I have Hunter and he is all I want. Hunter has shown me what it means to be adored and appreciated and that’s something Nick never did. I was in love with the idea of Nick, but now I know that that was just a fantasy and the guy I thought Nick was, was just a phantom.”

“I don’t understand,” Ainsley said. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“She’s trying to tell you that she’s been sleeping with Nick,” Number One said as she came out of the bedroom, a scowl on her face.

“What!” Ainsley screeched, leaping to her feet. “You’re sleeping with Nick?”

Bailey stood too and began to pace, running her hand through her hair.

“No, I’m not sleeping with Nick,” she said calmly.

“But you have slept with him,” this from Number One. Two and Three listened in carefully, but kept quiet.

“Yes,” Bailey said the one word without inflection, just a statement of fact.

“When?” Ainsley asked.

Bailey sighed and screwed her eyes up, she really didn’t want to get into this conversation, but it looks like she had no choice.

“The last time was six months ago, before he told me he was getting married.”

“The last time?” Ainsley asked, her voice in that ridiculously high register that makes dogs a little crazy. “How many times have you had sex with him?”

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The desire to run was strong but she turned and faced Ainsley, refusing to act like a coward.

“Nick and I had an arrangement,” she said tonelessly. “We met once a month and would spend the weekend together.”

“How. Many. Times?”

“For five years,” Bailey answered.

All four of the women gasped.

“Until six months ago when he told me he was getting married,” Bailey continued.

“Slut,” Number One murmured.

Bailey turned on her, “No,” she said. “Don’t you dare label me like that. I refuse to be shamed by you. I made a choice about how I wanted to use my body and you don’t get to call me a slut because you might not agree. You don’t have that right.”

“But Nick and I have been together for over a year,” Ainsley said.

“And I didn’t know about you until six months ago,” Bailey said.

“Would you have…terminated…your arrangement with him if you did?” Ainsley asked.

Bailey shrugged, “I don’t know,” she replied. “I was well aware that Nick was not monogamous. He’d never been monogamous…that was part of our agreement.”

“I don’t believe this,” Number One said, throwing up her hands. “You were sleeping with him even though you knew he was sleeping with other women?”

“It didn’t matter about the other women,” Bailey said, “because I knew when he was with me, that I had all of him. It may have only been for the weekend, but it was enough.”

“So last night…” Ainsley asked.

“Last night is typical Nick,” Bailey said. “And I know for a fact that he has no plans to change just because he’s married. I thought you needed to know.”

“So you and he…”

“Are over and we have been for six months.” The statement was true and Bailey felt a lightness with saying it out loud.

“I love Nick,” she pronounced, pacing, her voice stronger.

“So you’re still going to marry him?” Bailey asked.

Ainsley stopped and turned to look at Bailey. “Yes and I’m going to show him that he doesn’t need to look elsewhere to have his needs met. You may not have been enough for him, but I will be.”

Wow. That was a really bitchy thing to say, but it surprisingly rolled off Bailey without doing too much damage. She hadn’t been enough for Nick, and after meeting Hunter she realised that Nick hadn’t been enough for her either.

Bailey smiled. “All power to you,” she said, “and if you’re done with me, then I’m going to go and have lunch with my boyfriend and then spend the afternoon showing him how much I like being with him.”

Hunter pulled on the sleeve of his jacket, adjusting the cuff and moving his arms to test the fit. It wasn’t quite like the other suits he normally wore, but the tailor had done a good enough job and it would do for the wedding. He slid the jacket off and handed it to the man, thanking him before stepping out of the changing room. Nick and the rest of the groomsmen waited for him in the shop and Nick had a seemingly permanent scowl on his face this morning.

As the tailor called another of the groomsmen in to try his tux on, Nick grabbed his sleeve and dragged him away from the others.

“Bailey brought Ainsley to the club last night,” he hissed. “They saw me go to the private room with the stripper.”

Hunter shrugged. “So?”

“So, I had to do some fast talking to Ainsley this morning and I’m pissed. How the hell did Bailey find out where we were?”

“I told her,” Hunter replied easily.

“What the fuck Hunter?” Nick growled. “Why the hell would you do that?”

“Bailey asked me,” he replied. “She wanted Ainsley to know what you were really like. I agreed, so I told her.”

“Fucking stupid bitch,” Nick swore.

Hunter grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the nearest wall, getting in his face.

“Don’t you ever fucking speak about her like that again,” he growled. “You are the asshole here, not her.”

“She’s just using you to get to me,” Nick said, his face turning red. “I’ve been fucking her for five years and she isn’t happy that I’m marrying Ainsley. She’s using you to make me jealous, to try and get me to break up with Ainsley.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Hunter hissed.

Nick smirked. “Ask her, asshole, and then tell me I’m lying.”

Hunter let go of Nick and watched as he straightened his shirt.

“I know all about your history with Bailey,” Hunter said. “And I also know that she’s over you. Bailey and I are a done deal, Nick, and it has nothing to do with her trying to make you jealous or trying to break up you and Ainsley. The fact is, Bailey knows what a slimy bastard you are and she just thought it would be in Ainsley’s best interests to know too.”

Nick sneered at him. “So you think you have it all figured out. You and Bailey are going to ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after.”

Hunter shrugged.

“Bailey’s not that sort of woman, Hunter, she doesn’t do serious relationships. In all the time I’ve known her, none of her boyfriends have lasted more than a couple of weeks. She gets bored easy, that’s why our relationship worked so well. That’s why she’ll come running back to me in a month or two when she’s over you.”

Hunter grit his teeth and held his hands tightly by his side. He really wanted to punch Nick. He wanted to thrust his fist into Nick’s gut over and over again. He wanted to hear and feel bones breaking and the tortured screams of the asshole standing in front of him.

“You think you know Bailey?” Hunter asked and Nick just smiled. “You don’t know shit, asshole.”

Hunter turned and walked out of the shop. He couldn’t stand being in that idiot’s presence for one more moment. He hated that Nick had such intimate knowledge of Bailey, and he hated that Nick would think that Bailey would go back to him. Bailey was his and he refused to let any other scenario take root in his brain.

He drove back to the hotel in a fugue. He needed to see her, to hold her in his arms, to feel her pressed against him. He needed to know that Bailey was his. He needed to see the love in her eyes and feel the way she melted against him. He needed to be inside her and feel her come around him, milking him, making him hers.

He tore out of the elevator when it came to stop on his floor and found Bailey leaving the other penthouse suite.

“Bailey,” he called to her, his voice desperate.

She turned to him and smiled, the joy of seeing him spreading across her face and his heart stumbled for a moment. Nick had gotten into his head and had messed with him. Looking at the way Bailey lit up when she saw him proved that it was him she wanted and not his fucking asshole of a stepbrother.

“Irish,” she said as he swept her up into a hug, clinging to her and burying his face in her red-gold tresses.

“Need you,” he said as he carried her across the hall to their suite and fumbled with the card before getting the door opened.

He kicked the door closed behind them and then turned and pushed her up against it, claiming her mouth in a searing kiss. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and kissed him back, matching his force and hunger.

God he needed her. Her touch made everything else make sense. He didn’t even want to contemplate going through life without her. Whatever it took, he needed her as a permanent fixture in his life.

He found the hem of her t-shirt dress and pulled it up over her head in a single sweep, exposing her pale pink bra and panties. He kissed her again before turning and walking with her into the suite and over to the dining table. With a swoosh of his hand he cleared the top of the table, sending who-knows-what to the floor with a crash. He laid her out on the table, taking in her heaving breath and her flushed skin.

Mine.

The thought came unbidden, but he knew it was the truth. He stripped off his own shirt and jeans, taking his boxer briefs down too. He kicked off his shoes and flung his clothes out of the way, loving how her eyes roamed over his nakedness with raw hunger and desire clear on her face.

He leaned over her body, reaching underneath her to unclasp her bra and then he pulled the lacy contraption free. Her exposed breasts pebbled in the cool air, her dusky pink nipples contracting to hard points.

“Fuck, Blue,” he breathed out.

“Yes, please,” she replied with equal huskiness.

He reached for the waist of her panties and dragged them free of her body and then spread her legs so he could stand between them. His cock was long and thick, reaching towards her and he stroked himself as he looked down at her spread out on the table for him.

“Touch yourself,” he said roughly and her hands moved immediately.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as she cupped one breast from underneath so that her thumb and forefinger could tweak the nipple. Her other hand dipped down over her bare mound and she slid a finger through her wet folds. He didn’t know where to look, wanting to have one eye on each place as she pleasured herself for his entertainment.

He grunted as he continued to stroke his erection, his grip firm, tight and rough. She closed her eyes and moaned, lifting her hips as she slid first one then two fingers into her core. He dropped to his knees, not releasing his cock from his grip, and dipped his head to suckle on her clit as she slid her fingers in and out. She bucked into his mouth and cried out as his tongue swept up her slit and around the tight bundle of nerves that poked out from its hood. Her thrusts became faster and he increased the pressure of his tongue and kept up with his own strokes of his cock. He was close, so very close to blowing his load, but he needed her to come first.

Her thighs closed around his head and he knew she was only moments away from shattering. He stood abruptly and leaned against her hand, pressing his ball sack against her as she continued to plunge into herself. She cried out and stiffened as she came and he let go of his control, letting his orgasm come. She opened her eyes and watched as ropey jets of semen splashed over the bare skin of her stomach. It was a primitive need to mark her like this, but he wasn’t sorry and she didn’t seem to mind. Her eyes tracked up his body hungrily as she tugged at her nipple. He groaned and closed his eyes, capturing the sight of her covered in his spunk, her hand buried in her pussy and her eyes demanding more.

He scooped her up and stalked into the bedroom ensuite. He turned on the shower and stepped in under the spray, Blue still curled in his arms. He never wanted this to end.