by Holly Jaymes
I went to my room and rummaged through my suitcase until I found a bra and panty set that I thought would do for a bikini. If I enjoyed this soak, I’d call Allie about getting a bathing suit.
I changed into the red satiny undergarments and picked up a towel from the bathroom, wishing I’d taken the plush robe from the hotel.
I grabbed a glass of wine, and then decided to take the whole bottle so I didn’t have to get out of the tub for a refill. Then made my way through the TV room and out the side door to the hot tub. I stopped short, not from the blast of cold but from seeing Pax already in the tub.
His arms were spread wide over the rim of the tub, his head back and his eyes closed. His head lifted when I stepped out onto the side deck.
“You beat me to it,” I said. “How long have you been here?”
“Not too long.” His eyes narrowed slightly as I set my towel aside and stood in my bra and underwear. For a moment, I was self-conscious, although I didn’t know why. He’d seen me naked. He’d done glorious things to my body while I was naked.
I ignored his stare and climbed into the tub. “Wow. That’s hot,” I marveled.
“Feels great, doesn’t it?” He reached over to pick up his bottle of beer sitting on the ledge, bringing it to his lips and sipping. All while his gaze watched me.
I settled in and picked up my wine I’d set on the ledge and sipped. “Now this is living.”
“It’s not bad.” He set his beer aside. “Everything at work going alright?”
I nodded. “Yes. We’re all set for the Radiance launch as soon as I get the paperwork back from Lisbeth.”
He gave his head a shake. “I still can’t believe she pulled that stunt. She seemed more mature for her age.”
I shrugged. “She was in a romantic stupor.” Still, she put us in a crazy bind.
“So, what was the deal with Tucker? How was his situation like ours?”
I rested my head back on the edge of the tub, letting the bubbles massage away the day. “His situation was a little different in that he had the opposite problem than you. He had a reputation as a ladies’ man and partying too much, His team said he needed to fix that. So he came here to train with his brother, Mason.. Do you know of him? He’s got a big online fitness empire.”
“I’ve heard about him.”
“Anyway. Apparently, Tucker was supposed to stay away from the ladies, but he couldn’t stay away from Emma.”
“It’s clear they love each other. It hardly seems like a scandal.”
“Well, he wasn’t supposed to be seeing anyone, I suppose. Plus, at one point, his naked Adonis body was shared on social media. The picture was taken here, actually.”
“You did see him, didn’t you? He’s big and fit and firm.”
He kept watching me as he took his beer bottle and drank. I tried to hide my amusement that maybe he was jealous that I’d noticed Tucker’s body.
Pretending not to notice, I closed my eyes to savor the hot water. “Anyway, they understand about reputations and trying to fix one, or in your case, protect one. Of course, Lily does too.”
“That thing with Trask Holloway… He’s a fucking douche.”
“Agreed.”
“The whole thing with Wyatt was pretty fast, don’t you think?”
I peeked an eye open again. “Maybe. But if you were here, you’d see that they were head over heels. I saw it before they did. So did Allie.”
“Allie seems happy.”
“Blissfully. Josh is great.” It was silly. Maybe even petty, but I had to test out the jealousy theory. “When I met him, I thought he was great even then. I loved how he was with Allie. I remember asking him if he had a brother.”
“Wyatt.” I nodded. “So you were interested in Wyatt?” His jaw tightened as he drank from his beer bottle again. “Yet he’s with Lily. That could put a strain on a friendship.”
The amusement left me at his words. Not because Lily came between me and Wyatt. He and I would never be more than friends. In-laws. No, Lily put a strain on our friendship because of her feelings about me and Pax. She’d probably say I was putting the strain on the friendship for being with him.
He studied me, his eyes growing darker. “So once again, Lily mucks things up for you.” His voice sounded distant.
I finished off my wine. “No. Wyatt and I have only ever been friendly.”
“I see,” he said. I hadn’t realized he was tense until he relaxed. I refilled my wine glass. “You know, all this drinking is probably how we ended up here.”
“Do you mean married or breaking Lily’s no-contact demand?”
“Both.”
“So if it weren’t for the booze, you wouldn’t have been interested in me?” Maybe he was right about the drinking being a bad idea. Not because I might jump him, but because it put me in a funk. It made it hard to control feelings, and right now, I was feeling resentful of Lily. I’d been a good friend to her. I’d been the one to buy the pregnancy test she couldn’t get herself because she couldn’t afford for the media to find out. I’d been the one to support her through all the craziness with Wyatt. I’d been the one to tell Wyatt where she was so he could find her and confess his love to her.
“No. It’s just harder to keep my hands to myself when drinking is involved.”
His words shook me from my funk about Lily. “So it lowers your inhibitions?”
“Yes.” His blue-violet eyes watched me. “What about you?”
“Are you asking me if I’m attracted to you when I’m not drinking?”
“Are you?”
I turned to look out over the water, wondering if we should be having this discussion. It could lead to sex, which would be awesome. But it also meant covering topics we’d already covered and never changed, like how Lily was steadfast against our being together.
“I’ll take that as a no.” His voice sounded harder, almost bitter.
“It’s not a no.” I turned to look at him. “It’s frustration.”
His head cocked to the side.
“You and me, like this, just us two. Like we were in London. Like we just were in Vegas. Even now…it’s nice.”
His expression softened. “Lily.”
I nodded. “I wonder if it weren’t for her, what this would be.” I motioned between the two of us.
“We wouldn’t have met without her.”
I shrugged. “We’d have met in Vegas, probably. If you’d just seen me for the first time in Vegas, what would you think?”
His gaze moved from my face, downward to where my red-bra-covered breasts bobbed in the water and then back up to me. “I’d think you were fucking beautiful.”
I felt heat that had nothing to do with the water flush on my cheeks.
“You?”
“I’d have thought what all women think. 'Holy hell, Pax Ryder is even sexier in person’.” He flashed a smile. “'And shy, which makes him even sexier’,” I added.
“Would you have gone out with me?”
“Would you have asked?”
His head slowly nodded. “I’m not so shy to let a beautiful, smart woman get by me. Would you have said yes?”
“I’m not so dumb that I’d let a date with a talented artist get by me.”
We sat in silence, our gazes holding, electricity between us building. Finally, he moved across the tub, kneeling in front of me, sliding his hands over my thighs.
“Lily isn’t here,” he said softly.
In my mind, she was always here, even in spirit, but I knew what he meant. “We are married.”
He nodded. “On our honeymoon.”
“It would be a shame to let this lovely atmosphere go to waste,” I said, running my hands over his shoulders and looping them around his neck.
“It would be a shame to let you in your sexy red underwear go to waste.”
I grinned. “You noticed?”
He gave a slow nod. “I noticed.”
“What are you wearing?”
He studied me for a moment and then stood. He had on black boxer briefs, but he pushed them down his narrow hips, his dick coming free, large but then retracting at the cold.
“Poor guy. He’s cold.” I reached out and gripped his dick, gently tugging him to my mouth.
“Aw fuck, Victoria,” Pax gasped as I sucked his dick, feeling it expand and lengthen in my mouth. His fingers threaded through my hair, releasing the clip I’d used to put it up. “I love your mouth.”
His words emboldened me. I cupped the sacks below his dick, gently massaging as I used my hand and mouth on him, sucking and licking.
He pulled away, dropping onto his knees in the water. He reached for me, pulling me into a scorching kiss that was hotter than the water bubbling around us. I moaned as my blood thickened and heated as it rushed to my core.
His lips were relentless as they consumed mine. He reached behind me, unclasping my bra and pulling the straps down off my arms. His lips left mine and I groaned in frustration, and then moaned as he took my breast and sucked my nipple. His other hand fondled the other breast. I closed my eyes and let the feelings flow through me. Sensation after sensation washed through my body.
“I love how you surrender to your pleasure,” he murmured as he took my other nipple into his mouth.
“You’re so good, Pax,” was all I could say. I could only imagine all the women he’d honed his skills on. Pax was an introverted homebody, but as a rock star, he’d had no trouble attracting women to him. He probably stumbled over them all the time.
His mouth found mine again, as his hands slid down my body, hooking his fingers into my panties and tugging them down my legs. My hands slid around his waist and down to his tight ass, pulling him to me. My pussy throbbed with the need for him to fill me.
His hand slid around my back as he lifted me and we switched places. I straddled his thighs as he sat on the bench. His fingers ran through my pussy lips, circling my clit, making me gasp.
“Pax.”
“Kiss me, Victoria.”
I did as he asked, devouring his mouth in desperation. His long fingers slid inside me, first just one and then two together.
“Oh God,” I gasped as I started to ride his fingers. It wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted his dick.
I reached down, wrapping my fingers around his dick, loving how he growled.
“I want you.” My hand stroked him in time with my riding his fingers.
“I don’t have a condom,” he managed through harsh breathing.
“It’s okay… I’m on the pill.” I strained as pleasure coiled tighter and tighter. I was sure the minute he slid inside me I’d be coming, I was so on edge.
“Fuck. Victoria. Are you sure?”
My fingers gripped his shoulder so hard, he’d probably have a bruise.
“Sure that I’m on the pill? Yes.” I threw my head back as the intensity ratcheted up another notch.
“No… Jesus, fuck, you’re so beautiful. No…I mean are you sure… No condom…”
“Yes.” In the back of my mind, I thought of all those groupies again. But I trusted Pax. I trusted that he’d keep me safe.
He withdrew his fingers and gripped my hips. I brought him to me, and I sank over him. A moan echoed through the night. His. Mine. It was glorious how he filled me. He was so big. So hot. The friction so acute, I was coming immediately.
He let out a feral grow. “Fuck I’m coming…” His hips shot up as I rode out my own orgasm. Warmth filled my body as he bucked up, moving with me. I was sure an onlooker would have thought we looked like two crazed people having wild sex, but to me, it felt like a primal dance. We were in sync. Our bodies fit perfectly. Moved together perfectly.
Finally, I collapsed on him, my pussy still contracting as I sagged against his body, resting my head against his forehead.
His hands cradled my face, and pulled my lips to his in the sweetest, most tender kiss I’d ever had. I knew then I was in big trouble. I was falling again for my best friend’s brother. When this was said and done, I’d either lose him or my friend. Maybe even both.
Chapter 14: Planning the End
Pax
There was something fucked up in the world that something that felt so right could be so wrong. In the span of my lifetime, I’d spent very little time with Victoria. There were those few days when we were seventeen, but while I’d lusted for her, she’d mostly hung out with Lily. Then there was London. One day. One night. What could develop in that time? As it turned out, something deep and real, something I’d been too stupid to fight for when my sister lost her head over it. And now? A week since I’d first seen her at the rehearsal, Victoria was once again an integral part of me. It was like my heart had tethered itself to her.
I had no illusions about a happily ever after for us. Even without Lily, our lives were on separate continents. Our work was our spouse. But right now, with Victoria’s pussy still massaging my dick after I’d come so fucking hard inside her, all that other shit was gone. No Lily. No work. For right now, in our little bubble along Eden Lake, it was just her and me, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so content. It was probably in London.
Our breaths slowly returned to normal and I looked up into those beautiful blue eyes of hers. “You’re fucking amazing.”
She smiled, and I felt the beauty of it deep in my soul. “So are you.”
I kissed her again. “I know we both think this is a dangerous game we’re playing here. But we’re married, in a secluded cabin while we work to figure out how to deal with this situation.” She bit her lip and I hated that I was bringing in the outside world, our troubles into this moment. “But since we are here for now…”
She looked at me. “What?” Her fingers traced my lips. “We should just play house?”
I nodded. “I want you. For as long as I can have you.”
She smiled again, lighting me up from the inside. “I want the same.”
“I mean, it won’t be any more complicated if we enjoy our time together than trying to avoid each other, right?”
She nodded. “So why not just go with it.”
“Right.” I sighed in relief. I kissed her again. “Will you let me move into the master bedroom with you? That bed looks awesome.”
She laughed. “So that’s what this is about? You just want the big king-size bed.”
I leaned over, lightly biting one of her nipples and loving how she gasped when I did. “This is about my wanting the king-size bed with you in it.”
The minute we gave into our situation, I’d wondered why we hadn’t just gone with it since the beginning. Playing house with Victoria was awesome. I’d had girlfriends who’d stayed the night, but going to bed night after night with her luscious body by my side and waking up to her gorgeous blue eyes smiling at me in the morning, was like paradise. During the day, we worked, her on her business and me on music, but we took breaks to eat and even to have sex. It was fucking fantastic.
The only downer parts were the calls with Dane as we discussed options for getting out of this marriage.
“You’ve already exceeded Britney Spears’ Vegas marriage. That lasted fifty-five hours,” Dane said. “And you’re about to hit day nine which will tie you with Cher and Gregg Allman.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and leaned my head back on the couch where I’d been watching a Premier League soccer game. I glanced toward the living room where Victoria was on her phone with someone related to her business.
“This isn’t a joke, Dane.”
“No. It’s not. That’s my point. If you Google short celebrity marriages, nearly all of them end in less than a year. Most of them look like impulse marriages.”
“I still don’t see your point...”
“The point is, they all make us scratch our heads and wonder what they were thinking or drinking. We can’t afford to have people thinking that about you. Not you, Pax.”
“So what are you saying? I need to be married a year?” As annoying as t
hat idea should have been, it wasn’t. A year hitched to Victoria didn’t sound hard at all. At least not at the moment. The problem was, we couldn’t spend a year on our honeymoon here in our private mountain oasis.
“At least. Probably. But like we discussed before, you two can go on with your lives, and split later, citing all the time apart doing your work as the reason for the split. You just need to make sure you’re not seeing anyone else during that time.”
“Who would I see?”
“I don’t know. Who do you normally see when you’re single?”
I didn’t usually see anyone. Occasionally I dated. A couple of times I had hookups, but they were particularly unfulfilling, so until I’d connected with Victoria recently, I’d had a fairly long dry spell, unless I counted masturbating.
“So how long do we need to be here?” I asked.
“Well, you’re on your honeymoon and it should seem like a fairy tale.” I rolled my eyes. We were planning my marriage’s demise, but I had to make it seem like a fairy tale. “Give it another week or so. Maybe we’ll be able to come up with something else.”
“I’ll talk to Victoria.”
“How are things going with her? Okay? You’re not about to tear each other from limb to limb, are you?”
“We’re fine.” It was near perfection.
There was a pause. “More than fine? Because if you wanted to stay married, you could-”
“It’s not like that.” As much as Victoria and I were enjoying our time together, the issues that tore us apart before were still there. And there were new issues, such as our work. That was why Dane’s plan to say we drifted apart made so much sense. Chances were that it was exactly what would happen. Just like what happened to my parents.
I got off the phone and went to the kitchen to make lunch. “Are you hungry?” I asked Victoria when she hung up the phone.
She stretched and I wondered if maybe she’d be up for some horizontal exercise before we ate.
“Yes. Starving.” She let out a small growl.
