The Keys to Jericho

by Ren Alexander

  “You can’t do that! It’s your wedding night!” Liberty steps back and says, “I’ll check on her. You have more dancing. Congratulations, Jared. You make Kat so happy, and if you don’t, I’ll kick your ass.” Jesus. She kisses my cheek and leaves me for Nora.

  “Congratulations, sweetie!”

  “Thanks.”

  She laughs. “You can’t wait to leave, can you?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “I know. There is just so much on TV tonight.”

  “Uh-huh.” I bite my lip and she shakes her head with a laugh.

  “It’s been a fun night, though.”

  “I’ll remember this part for your wedding. I mean, if you do marry my dad.”

  She smiles. “He hasn’t asked, but maybe someday.”

  “I’ll move his ass into gear.”

  Nora laughs. “You do that. I’ll owe you.”

  “You make him smile. That’s payment enough.”

  She hugs me and allows the next woman to attack my personal space. Brenda.

  “My God, Jared. Your wedding was perfect. The way you looked at Kat when you first saw her. Those vows. The pictures. Your father’s speech. Your first dance. Jesus. I’ve never cried so much in my life.”

  “Yeah. It’s been some night.”

  She smiles up at me, wiping more tears. “You really do love her. We all see that.”

  “I do,” I say with a smirk, repeating what I told Kat at the gazebo.

  “I bet you can’t wait to get out of here.”

  “Yep. I’m tired.”

  “That’s a load of shit. You’ll perk up once you get your wife all to yourself.”

  I grin, but don’t add any more fuel to her fire.

  Brenda asks, “Where are you two staying tonight?”

  I shake my head as my smile grows. “That’s our little secret.”

  She pouts, “You two and your secrets. I need to know so I can pick up the tux and dress before you leave for the airport in the morning.”

  “I know. We’ll text you which one we’re at in the morning.”

  She sighs. “Okay. You take care of my Katydid. I don’t mean just in bed, either.”

  I scowl at her. “I will.”

  Brenda smiles and pats my chest. “You’re a good boy, Jared Beckett.”

  I laugh and whisper, “Not that good.”

  She whispers back, “And I’ve seen the satisfied look on my daughter’s face, so I’ll beg to differ.”

  Leaving me gaping at her, Brenda again pats my chest before stepping aside, allowing me to be accosted by my three groomsmen. As they do, “Everything About You” starts and they grab me into a damned group hug. They then push and pull on me, mouthing the words until I start singing about hating them. The song is even more fitting now. Assholes.

  They dance around me during the guitar solo, while I stand with my arms crossed, shaking my head at those idiots. Dad dancing and not knowing the words? That’s fucking hilarious. Even Duquesne loosens up with a drink or two in him, which is funny in its own right.

  When the song is over, the three of them shout, “We love you, Jared!”

  I roll my eyes and they force me into another group hug.

  After that, the DJ plays “Mercedes Boy.” Kat and her three dance to it, mostly hugging to it, but the best part is when it’s over and the DJ announces for Kat and me to take the dance floor for the last two songs of the night.

  The lights dim again as I walk up to Kat and take her hand, leading her to the middle of the floor. Her arms go around my neck and I pull her close to me, forgetting about everyone watching us, and we rub our noses together until, like magnets, our lips meet.

  The DJ announces he has a song for us at the bride’s request, and we dance to “Cat and Mouse.”

  I laugh. “How nice, Kit Kat. It’s kind of a breakup song.”

  Laughing, she says, “It’s a song about people being apart. We wrote the book on that subject.”

  “We’re together now.”

  “Forever.”

  “How’d we get so fucking cheesy?”

  She shrugs. “You are a mouse, right?”

  Rolling my eyes, I sigh. “So funny. You and Libby really are running away with Dash’s Tom and Jerry remark.”

  Kat smiles. “Maybe.”

  “I think that deserves another demerit, don’t you think?”

  She giggles and traces her fingers along my jaw. “Oh, definitely.”

  The last song, an oldie, ends the night and we kiss for a good part of it, but I’m saved from getting hard, knowing that a roomful of people are gawking.

  The DJ says congratulations to us, and people, once more, split us up, wanting our attention before they leave. Dad and Brenda do their best to keep people from overwhelming us too much by having the limo pull up out front. She informs us that our bags for our trip are already loaded to take with us to the hotel.

  Before we leave, I look around for my sister, but don’t see her. “Dad, where’s Hadley?”

  “I haven’t seen her.”

  Peering around the room again, I frown, seeing Rod looking around, too. “Oh, no.”

  Dad looks at me. “What?”

  “Where’s Dash?”

  Rod comes over and asks, “Have either of you seen Hadley? She was with me, but then went to the restroom. When she took longer than my grandfather does after Thanksgiving dinner, I had Liberty check for her, but she wasn’t in there.”

  Dad sighs and rubs his forehead. “Damn it.”

  “You don’t think they’re somewhere…?”

  “She just got out of the hospital a few weeks ago. They can’t be doing much.”

  “Enough. Shit.”

  “Maybe they’re sitting on a bench outside. I’ll find them. Just go and start your honeymoon.”

  Rod says, “I’ll check outside. I guess I’ll catch you in Richmond?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Ok. Congratulations, and don’t break the bed. That would suck.”

  Shaking my head as Rod leaves, I tell Dad, “Call me when you find them.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “I want to know what happened.”

  “Jared. Shut up and go get laid. I’ll text you.”

  I laugh. “What the hell, Dad?”

  He shrugs. “You’re not going to consummate your marriage tonight?”

  “Jesus. You’ve been hanging around Brenda way too much.”

  Dad grins. “She’s not my mother-in-law now, either.”

  “Holy fuck.”

  Rio grabs me for a quick hug. “Call me when you get back.”

  “I will. Thanks for everything.”

  He grins, knowing I’m saying more. “Absolutely.”

  “And remember, Duquesne: Paybacks are a bitch.”

  He sighs. “Shit. I know. You’ll make sure mine is, too.”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  He bumps my fist and says, “See you, Jare.”

  Arms go around my waist and I look down to see a wedding ring that matches mine. Kat asks, “You ready, Sonic?”

  Without answering her, I pick up her hand and lead her out of the hall, on a mission. We step out into the rain, but we hurry, not because of the water.

  Once we’re in the limo and I give Clyde the address to our hotel, I put up the partition and cross back over to the other seat. Kat giggles and says, “This car is huge without anyone else in it.”

  “Yeah, so why don’t we make use of it? It’s dark and the windows are tinted.”

  “I told you. I’m not having sex in this limo.”

  “I didn’t say sex.” I push my hand into the top of her dress, grabbing onto her tit as I kiss her neck. “No bra. Goddamn.”

  Kat sighs. “Jared, you’re going to go too far and—”

  “This dress, Kit Kat. Did I tell you how fucking beautiful you are?”

  She shakes her head. “Not in those words.”

  “You are. You take my breath away. And you
’re all mine.”

  As I stroke her nipple, she says, “I have been, but yep. You’re legally stuck with me now.”

  “I don’t want it any other way.”

  I push down her dress more and she whispers, “Jared, stop. We’ll be there soon.”

  “I’m just checking out my wife.”

  Her hand slides up my thigh, over to my crotch, and we both moan as her hand meets my erection. She says, “I can’t wait to try out my husband.”

  “I fucking love that.”

  She whispers, “Did I tell you how fucking hot you are?”

  “No. I think you need to tell me over and over.”

  Noticing that we’re getting close to the hotel, I reluctantly sit up and fix her dress.

  Kat moves her hand away from me, but I grab it, winding our fingers together. We both look at her rings, now both of hers on her left ring finger. I say, “I love the ring you picked out.”

  “See? I can do meaningful, too.” She takes my hand, gazing at my ring. “Wow, Jared. We’re actually married.”

  “We are, Kit Kat.”

  As she glides her finger over it, she asks, “And do you know how sexy you are wearing the ring I put on your finger?”

  “How sexy?”

  She smiles and kisses me. “It’s the only thing I want you wearing when we get upstairs. I want to feel it scraping over my naked body when we make love.”

  I whisper, “You got it.”

  The limo pulls into the hotel’s lot, and Clyde unloads our luggage for us while we check in at the main desk, receiving looks and congratulations on our way.

  As we wheel our luggage to the elevator, Kat grabs my hand and says, “You know, I still don’t know where we’re going. I just know it’s warm. At least I have the right type of clothes.”

  “No matter where we’re going, you don’t need many.”

  “I don’t even need a passport, apparently.”

  “Nope. I didn’t want to spend hours on a plane when we’ve spent a year mostly apart. We can go somewhere relatively close and still enjoy ourselves.”

  She gasps, “How sweet!”

  I shrug. “It’s not like I’m going to let you see the light of day much.”

  “You’re terrible.”

  “That’s not what you’ve said before.”

  She laughs and when we reach the elevator, the doors open and a couple step aside, allowing us to take it by ourselves.

  “Thank you!” Kat shouts. I smile and mutter a thank you before the doors close, and once they do, I lunge for her; however, Kat darts away.

  “Oh, no. You’re not getting me all hot and bothered in here. I’m already close to jumping you.”

  “I could always hit the stop button.”

  “Nope.”

  “Where’s your sense of adventure? No limo? No elevator? What? No hallway, either?”

  She smiles. “I’m adventurous, but not on our wedding day. I want it to be more special than a quickie in a cramped space.”

  “The limo and even this elevator are hardly cramped spaces.”

  “There’s also a camera in here.”

  “Yeah, well, that is the one glitch to this.” I shrug. “We could buy a copy and watch it on every anniversary.”

  “Jared Beckett!”

  “What? Is that a no?”

  She laughs and I ask, “Do you know how hard it is not to be hard while you’re wearing that dress? You’re half naked in it!”

  Kat turns, trying to look at her back in the reflection of the elevator doors. “It’s just my back.”

  “Yeah. Your back. And then you don’t have a top to your dress, either.”

  “It’s strapless.”

  “It’s useless if you’re trying not to turn me on. That’s a done deal.”

  “I didn’t see you with a hard-on during the ceremony or the reception.”

  “Thank God! I was too busy answering the same damn questions: Where is the honeymoon? Are you living in Annapolis? When are you having kids? Why isn’t your mother here?”

  “Really? People asked you about her?”

  “Yeah. And they were people in my family, too.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  I shrug. “Whatever. I met Dad’s girlfriend.”

  “I love Nora. I always have. It’s so cool that they’re together.”

  “She seems great.”

  “She is. She used to live in Annapolis until her job moved her. I guess she moved back and Mom thought she and your dad would be perfect for each other.”

  “I hope they are.”

  “At least we won’t be brother and sister.”

  “Hard-on gone.”

  She giggles. “I’ll get it back.”

  “Yeah, you’d better. You owe me, wife.”

  Kat laughs more and I rub a hand over my face. “I also had to field questions about Hadley.”

  She nods. “Oh. Yeah, so did I.”

  Sighing, I shake my head. “I’ll deal with her when we get back.”

  The elevator reaches our floor and I take Kat’s hand as we head for our room. Reaching our door, I dig the key out of my pocket and push the door open, allowing Kat to go in first.

  She flips on lights and says, “This is nice.”

  “It’s only for the night and it’s not a honeymoon suite. I thought of this last minute. I’m sorry.”

  “Does it look like I care that it’s not?”

  “Damn straight, baby.” I spin her around and work on her zipper.

  “We can get showers first if you want.”

  “Nope. You have a glow about you.” I kiss her neck as I slide down the zipper. “I want it all over me.”

  Kat hums as I kiss her. “It’s probably glitter spray. I was sprayed with it.”

  I step away, pull back the blanket, and sit on the edge of the bed. Kat turns around, holding the top of her dress. I grin. “Ok, Roxanne. Finish your show.”

  “I… Um…”

  “No way. Shell had to show you a thing or two, so go ahead. Strip for me.”

  “She did. When we talked flowers, she also came up with the idea. I didn’t want to, but it turned out to be fun and I thought it’d be cool to surprise you. I didn’t think…”

  I tilt my head, roaming my eyes over her. “Stop talking, Kitty Kat. Clothes off.”

  “I don’t have much to strip.”

  “Perfect. I don’t have much patience tonight. I want my wife.”

  “What did you think when you figured out it was me?”

  “I wanted to rip through those fishnets while you fucked me on that chair.”

  She swallows. “Oh.”

  “It’s a good thing my back was to everyone, and I tried not to fantasize about you doing that, but…”

  Kat plays with the top of her dress. “So, you did want to fuck a stripper?”

  Licking my lip, I say, “Strip and I’ll let you know.”

  “How about we take turns?” She pulls on my hand, and I get up from the bed. “You first.”

  Grinning, I take off my black jacket, tossing it onto a chair. She shakes her head. “Something else. You have more clothes on than me.” I take off my tie and swing it over my shoulder.

  Kat takes off her starfish bracelet. Rolling my eyes, I remove my cufflinks. She pulls out her earrings, and bites her smiling lip as she waits for me to go next.

  I take off my vest and she props her hand against the wall, removing her white high-heeled sandals, sighing when they drop to the floor.

  Pulling my shirt out of my pants, I start unbuttoning my shirt and she smiles as she watches. When my shirt is opened, I slide it off and whisk it to the other side of the room. She says, “Undershirt goes with it.”

  I shrug. “Only fair.” I yank it over my head and fling that, too. I then take off my watch and set it on the nightstand.

  She makes the humming sound as she stares at my chest, finally pushing down on her dress, revealing her tits and lacy white underwear. Taking in the view, I whisp
er, “Oh, Kit Kat.” My eyes widen and my hands instantly go to my belt buckle, and then my fly, skipping ahead.

  Kat says, “It’s been so long, Jared. I want to see you naked.”

  “You first.”

  She shakes her head. “You’ll have to tear these off me.”

  “Holy fuck.” I pull my shoes and socks off, shove down my pants, but pause when I go for my underwear.

  Kat stares at my hard-on and impatiently asks, “What?”

  “Why don’t you unwrap it yourself?”

  Without hesitating, she dives for me, clawing at my waistband, but I pull her onto the bed and on top of me. Reaching up, I cover her tits, teasing her nipples with my thumbs and appreciating how real hers are as I clutch them. She moans and says, “Let’s cut the bullshit. I want my husband. Now.”

  My right hand goes between her legs, over the lace, and I rub my fingers on the material.

  “Jared, touch me.”

  Using both hands, I pull on the lace, tearing it in half so that I have access.

  She pants and I brush my fingers through her hair, scraping her with my wedding ring, feeling how wet she is for me.

  Kat groans. “Your ring. Fuck. That’s so damn hot.”

  Looking up at her as I rub my wedding ring against her skin, I say, “I own you—every part of you. You vowed in front of family and friends that your body is mine, Kit Kat. That means your pussy is mine. If I want to look at it, I will. If I want to finger it, I will. If I want to eat it, I will. If I want to fuck it, I will.”

  “All yours. Whatever you want. I just need you inside me.” Kat pulls down my waistband, revealing my naked eagerness for her. She looks at my ready cock and says, “Jared, you never cease to amaze me.”

  “I’m always hard for you.”

  She swiftly slides my underwear off and when she straddles me again, she shifts forward and grabs my cock, pushing it against her, rubbing herself up and down it. She lightly grazes her rings against my shaft, making me loudly groan, “Fuck. Goddamn, I love that.”

  “I own this. You vowed in front of family and friends that your body is mine, Sonic. That means your cock is mine. If I want to look at it, I will. If I want to stroke it, I will. If I want to eat it, I will. If I want to fuck it, I will.”

  I nod. “All yours. Whatever you want. I just need to be inside you.”

  She leans down halfway, and I reach up, pulling her the rest of the way to my mouth. As our kiss deepens and our tongues lap at each other, I put my hands on her hips and she pushes herself down onto me. Moaning as we slowly consummate our marriage, I pant into her mouth, “You’re so fucking tight, Mrs. Beckett.”