“Are you sure you want to rush this?” he asks, folding his arms across his chest.
I nod. “I think we have to. We need this to take place before the season while you have time to do it. We have to prove now what an asset you are to this community. And I promise, I’ll do it right.”
“I know you will.” He exhales. “And on a totally different note, your brother and Nicki are coming over for a date night in an hour.”
“Tonight?” I ask. To be honest, I’ve been working all damn day. I’m tired, and I want a glass of wine and maybe a foot massage from my new husband in the bathtub...but instead, I’m supposed to be entertaining?
“Yeah. Is that a problem?”
“Nope. Can’t wait.” I smile sweetly. If he can budge a little on the whole inviting all the worst people in the world to his summer outdoor charity event, I suppose I can give up my foot massage in the tub idea. Seems like a pretty even trade. And, to be fair, the night he planned for us sounds like a lot more fun than the thing I’m planning.
CHAPTER 9
We’re experimenting with new cocktail concoctions when the doorbell rings. Luke goes to answer it while I taste test the whiskey and tequila mixed with cranberry juice and seltzer thing he just mixed for me. For the record, it’s a miss.
I’m still wincing when he walks in with my brother and my best friend. “Not a winner?” he asks with a laugh, and I shake my head as I try to cleanse my palate with some plain seltzer, which tastes almost as bad as the Luke special he just had me try.
“It’s a one-way route to Vomitsville,” I say.
“Count me in,” Josh jokes, and hugs are issued all around.
We end up with four simple whiskey and Cokes, all heavy on the whiskey, and the bell rings a few minutes later with our food delivery—a nice assortment of salads and fried appetizers. We take the food out to the back patio and sit under the pergola, which has landscape lights strung across the top and couches for us to relax on with a table in the middle where we set the food.
The sun has just set and the lights cast a romantic glow over the four of us. The air coolers I bought to try out ahead of our charity event are doing their thing, and so far, so good.
We fill each other in on everything we missed since the last time we saw each other (except, obviously, we leave out the dirty details about all the sex we’ve been having since, hello, this is my brother—but I will be filling Nicki in on the goods later). Josh and Nicki are adjusting to life at home as newlyweds, which basically translates to mean that they haven’t actually unpacked their bags yet because they’ve been so busy doing nothing (or maybe they’re leaving out the dirty details for my benefit, too—for which I thank them. Profusely).
Luke and Josh head inside to refill our drinks, and that’s when Nicki starts grilling me.
“You two are looking awfully cozy,” she starts.
I grin. I can’t help it. “It’s like...God, it’s like a dream come true.”
“Give me every detail.”
I giggle. “Some things shall remain between husband and wife.”
“Liar. Is he a boob guy or an ass guy?”
“More boobs, but just because we haven’t had a lot of time to really get to know one another yet.”
“Josh is a total ass guy,” she says.
“Nicki! There are things I don’t need to know about my brother.”
She laughs, and despite my horror, I do, too.
“Okay, boys aside, are you okay? Work going good? You’re enjoying Vegas and staying forever?”
“That’s a lot of questions,” I say. “But, yeah, everything is going really well. I’m planning this charity thing and it’s sucking up all my time. Invitations went out, so now I wait for the RSVPs and then I can really take off.” I reach for another mozzarella stick. If there’s one thing I can’t resist besides glittery stickers, it’s fried cheese.
“Consider the Nolans, party of two, there. This is our official RSVP. And tell me what I can do to help. I’m here for anything you need.”
“You’re the best,” I say, munching on my fried goodness. “I will definitely take you up on that.”
The boys rejoin us, and with more alcohol comes louder voices and more boisterous laughter. By the time they leave, it’s well after midnight and I’m exhausted.
But not too exhausted.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” Luke says as we finish cleaning up the kitchen.
“Care for some company?” I ask with a raised brow.
He takes a step toward me. “If you’re offering, that’s a definite yes.” He pulls me into his arms.
“Oh, I’m offering. I’ve been waiting all night for them to leave so I could have some naked time with you.” I lean forward and kiss him, and he chuckles before he sweeps me up into his arms and carries me up the stairs.
He sets me down once we arrive in the bathroom and he moves away from me only to turn on the water in the shower to let it warm up. He moves back into my orbit after he peels off his shirt and tosses it to the ground.
I peel mine off, too, tossing it somewhere near his.
He lowers his pants, and I mirror him.
We stand in our underwear, which we both remove next as we eye the other hungrily, and then he pounces. His mouth crashes down to mine as he pulls me against his rock hard body. This kiss is urgent and needy, all the pent-up desire from being apart for much of the day rising to the surface.
I’ve always loved the honeymoon phase of a relationship—that time when you just can’t get enough of the other one, when it’s all sex all the time and it’s hot and fiery. But this is an actual honeymoon phase...and I find myself not wanting to ever move out of it as I kiss him back with all the same desire and passion he’s giving me.
I know that’s not possible. Work is starting up again for him very soon, and we’ll have to face a new reality. And so I plan to indulge in every spare moment I possibly can in the meantime.
He moves us into the shower, a stream of hot water beating down on each of us thanks to dual shower heads, and our kiss turns slippery despite the urgency still there. He turns me around, and I reach for the glass of the side of the shower to brace myself as I bend forward to allow him the access he wants. He plunges into me then reaches around to grab my breasts in his hands. I claw at the glass as he pounds away at me. I need something to hold onto, something to grasp as the pleasure drives me closer and closer to the edge, but my hands simply slip on the wet glass. He paws at my breasts, and then he moves one of his hands down to brush against my clit while he continues to drive into me.
And then the flash of white light hits me, and I dive over the cliff into the abyss of bliss, my body contracting over his as his grunts turn into growls. A loud and sexy groan rips from his chest, and then he shoves into me a few more times as he lets go, too.
He slips out of me, and then he soaps my loofah and washes my body. I do the same for him, spending extra time massaging shampoo into his hair and stealing kisses around the stream of water.
He dries me off with tender care, kissing my body all over as he dries each spot, and then we collapse together into bed.
If this isn’t sheer perfection, I’m not sure what is. I send up a prayer before I fall asleep that this feeling, this love, and this bond between us will last forever.