Deeper (25 page)

At
this point it was out of our hands so I decided to put the thoughts away and
save the worry for another day. It was finally our wedding day and I was
finally marrying the woman of my dreams, the girl I’d loved for most of my life
and there wasn’t any man in the whole world that was happier than I was in that
moment.

“Well,
let’s not talk about babies right now, we can save that conversation for
another time. Right now I want to do one last shot with my brothers another one
of us gets shackled,” Beau laughed (a hint of bitterness in his tone), passing
around four empty shot glasses. He quickly popped the top off a bottle of
whiskey and poured some of the amber-colored liquid into each glass.

Once
the glasses were full, Jude raised his first and toasted, “To my brother
marrying his perfect girl. I love you and Jessie so much and this day has been
a long time coming. I’m happy for you, man.” We all nodded and tossed back our
shots. The whiskey burned down my throat yet it helped calm my anxiety. Fuck I
couldn’t wait to marry this girl.

An
hour later, we’d finally taken our places for the ceremony. As I anxiously waited
for things to get underway, I looked around and really took in all the décor
and smiled with pride. My girl had planned an unbelievably beautiful wedding pretty
much on her own. My pride had quickly been replaced with a small pang of guilt
because I hadn’t been able to help with as much of the planning as I would have
thanks to the douchebags that ran our record label.

Thank
God our contract was almost up and we’d be free to leave Bulldoze Records soon.
On top of planning this wedding, Jessie had been putting that business degree
to good use and had formed a record label, with Bad Blooded Rebel being the
first band signed to the label as soon as our contract with Bulldoze Records
was up. I was so proud of her and all her accomplishments. She’d worked so hard
and had been so supportive of the band, helping us to get to where she always
thought we should be and she deserved to relax and have a little fun. I couldn’t
wait to surprise her with where we were going on our honeymoon. I booked us a
small beach house on a remote beach in Hawaii, far away from cameras or anyone
that would bother us. I knew a honeymoon in Hawaii was cliché, but after the
hectic few years we’d had and the endless tours over the last few years, I
wanted nothing more than to spend two weeks on a private beach relaxing with my
beautiful bride, watching her walking around in tiny bikinis and seeing the sun
glistening off her supple skin.

Thinking
of Jessie in barely any clothes was making my blood burn in my veins and I needed
to think of something, anything, to distract my mind (and other things) so
there wouldn’t be any embarrassing photos taken of our wedding. I blew a hard
breath through my lips just as the string quartet began to play one of Jessie’s
favorite songs, Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be”, as the lights lowered. I watched as Everleigh
walked down the aisle and looked back to see Ryder smiling at her with pride.
Jessie had been right; the bridesmaid dresses were beautiful. I was a guy and
really didn’t pay attention to that kind of thing but even I could appreciate
how pretty Everleigh looked in her dress.

My
palms started sweating like crazy as Danni followed Everleigh, smiling at me
and obviously trying her hardest not to look at Beau. Those two were exhausting
as Beau fought to get her attention and Danni fought to stay away. We were all
worrying more and more about Beau as he slipped farther into a bottle to cope
with being without Danni. I really hoped they would find a way to work things
out because my friend was becoming a shell of who he once was without her.

As
Sadie entered and began walking up the aisle toward us, my heart skipped a beat
knowing that my gorgeous girl would soon make her big entrance. This moment was
going a million miles a minute yet agonizingly slow at the same time. I almost
wanted to shout at Sadie to hurry up so I could finally see Jessie but before I
knew it, she was standing on my other side and beaming at me. She gave me a
quick wink as the music changed and all eyes turned toward the entrance.

This
was it. This was the moment the woman I loved more than anything and anyone in
the world would walk down the aisle toward me. This was when we’d finally start
our lives together as husband and wife. As the wedding march began to play, I
looked toward the entrance to the room and when my eyes finally landed on
Jessie, my heart skipped a beat and I felt tears stinging my eyes.

She
was breathtaking; there was no other way to describe her. She was wearing a
gorgeous white strapless dress that hugged her delicate frame perfectly and her
long, light brown hair was swept up off her elegant neck. Jessie was so
beautiful that she almost didn’t seem real to me. It was as if an angel was
floating toward me.

I
tried my hardest to swallow the lump in my throat but it was impossible. Just
as I knew I would, the tears that had been threatening to fall slid down my
cheeks as she got closer and closer to me. I blew a shaky breath through my
lips and smiled as I saw the sheer joy radiating from her gorgeous face. God,
what had I ever done in my life that was so great to have deserved this
beautiful woman? As she reached me and slid her delicate hand into mine, she
gave it a quick squeeze and smile brightly at me.

“You
are
so
beautiful,” I whispered through the still-present lump in my
throat.

“So
are you,” she answered breathlessly. “In every way.”

“I
love you,” I replied, and she mouthed “Love you more,” back to me as the
minister began the ceremony.

“I
can’t believe I’m dancing with my wife,” I said as I held Jessie into my arms
as close to my body as I could.

“I
love the sound of that,” she answered, sighing happily. “I’ve waited for this
moment forever.”

“Well
I hope it’s living up to the hype,” I replied, kissing her head softly.

Humming
lightly, she said, “It’s better than I dreamed it to be. This whole day has
been absolutely perfect.”

“Well
it should have been. You planned it mostly on your own.”

“Not
completely on my own, I had some help,” she answered, looking up at me with
those gorgeous blue eyes and smiling.

“Jess,
this wedding is beautiful, you should be proud. This is what I wanted for us,
for you,” I said as we both looked around the ballroom. She rested her head on
my chest as we both turned to look at everyone dancing and having fun on the
dance floor.

Ryder
was holding Everleigh in his arms and guiding her around the dance floor like
they were the only two people in the room. Beau had convinced Danni to dance
with him and for just one brief moment they both looked like nothing that had
happened in New York mattered at all and things were the way they should be.
Jude and Sadie were dancing together as well and as usual, Jude was completely
oblivious of the fact that Sadie was head over heels in love with him but it
was shining out of her eyes as she laughed at something he’d said. Even John
had taken a break and was dancing with a cute brunette. Everything was perfect.

“And
that is why I love you so much, Kris. You always wanted the best for me even
when I didn’t feel like I deserved it.”

“Jessie,
you are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met and you don’t just deserve the
best, you deserve the whole world. This wedding is just the beginning for us,
you just wait and see.”

She
combed her fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck and whispered, “I
can’t wait,” just before our lips met in a deep, warm, sensual kiss. I didn’t
care in that moment if anyone was watching. Jessie was finally my wife and we
might get the chance after years of heartache to be parents. I was the happiest
man alive and couldn’t wait to begin the next chapter of our life together.

Someone
cleared their throat behind us and Jessie broke the kiss first. We both turned
to find Ryder smiling at us with Everleigh tucked under his arm.

“Looks
like you two are ready for your honeymoon, huh?” he asked nudging my arm.

I
traced the curve of her neck and felt her shiver. “Oh I’m more than ready.”

“Well
all that’s left is to toss the bouquet and throw the garter,” Everleigh said.
“Since Ryder and I are already married, that leaves us out to make sure you
make your throws count.” She smiled and winked at Jessie before her eyes roamed
to where Beau and Danni were still dancing.

Jessie
nodded. “I’ll do my best,” she answered. She leaned up to kiss me one more time
and led us to a chair. She sat down and smiled as I knelt down in front of her
and lifted her dress, laughing off the cat calls and howls as I slid a blue
silk garter down her beautiful leg and tossed it directly at Beau. He caught it
and laughed sadly as if it were a joke.

Jessie
had great aim because even though she tossed the bouquet behind her back, it
fell right into Danni’s hands. She turned and winked at her as Danni was
smiling and shaking her head.

As
soon as we said our goodbyes to everyone, it was finally time to head to the
airport for our flight to Hawaii. The girls knew where we were going so they
packed Jessie’s suitcase for her and John had made sure that all of our luggage
was already waiting on the plane. After we passed through the shower of rice,
we were finally in the back of a black stretch limo, ready to head off and
spend some much needed time relaxing on a beach and feeling the sand in our
toes.

As
soon as we were in the back of the limo, I pulled Jessie close to me and traced
her collarbone with kisses. “Finally alone,” I muttered against her skin.

“Thank
God,” she moaned as my hands roamed down her body and I slid my hand down to
the bottom of her dress.

“You
look so beautiful in this dress, Jess,” I stated. “I can’t wait to you out of
it.” I slipped my hand under the satin material and trailed my fingers up her
silky skin until I reached my destination. She gasped and moaned sensually as I
slid my fingers into her panties and teased around her entrance, which was
already soaking wet.

“Ahh,”
she breathed out.

“I
love this, love how you’re always ready for me Jess,” I whispered as I kissed
my way up her long, elegant neck and lightly nibbled on her ear. She shivered
and moaned softly as I gently rubbed her clit with my fingertips. She moved her
hand up my thigh and when she started rubbing my erection through my pants I
groaned in pleasure.

“Just
like you’re always ready for me,” she purred, pressing her hand harder into me.

“I
always will be, baby,” I barely got out before she started to unzip my pants.
“Eager to get to me, aren’t you?”

“Yes
I am,” she said. She quickly moved away from my hand and before I could blink
she was on her knees in front of me and tugging at my pants with one hand while
lifting my dress shirt up with the other. My dick was already rock hard and I
couldn’t wait to feel her mouth on me. Just as soon as she freed my rigid cock
from my pants, she barely managed a few strokes before the limo was coming to a
stop.

I
groaned as she leaned back and rested on her heels. Smiling, she sighed and
said, “Well, I guess this will have to wait a while.”

I
leaned my head back and laughed as I tucked myself back into my pants. “Or
until we get on the plane.”

“I’ve
always wanted to join the mile high club,” Jessie replied, winking at me.

I
smiled at her and answered, “Well we’d better get on the fucking plane then.”
She giggled and smoothed her dress before the limo door was opened. I took her
hand and led her out onto the tarmac, instantly pulling her close.

Her
jaw dropped when her eyes landed on the small aircraft. “We’re taking a private
plane?”

“There
was no way I was going to be on a plane for nine hours with hundreds of other
passengers and not be able to peel that dress off and ravage you,” I replied
and I felt her shiver.

“Nine
hours? Where the hell are we going?” I just smiled and shook my head and she
rolled her eyes at me. “All right, fine. I’ll be surprised.”

John
was speaking with someone that I assumed was the captain before he walked
toward us. He smiled and reached out to shake my hand. “So, how does it feel to
be a married man?” he asked.

“Feels
fucking amazing,” I answered and kissed Jessie’s forehead.

“Well
if I’m being honest I’m surprised that it took you two this long to finally tie
the knot,” he said.

Jessie
smirked and replied, “Yeah, you and me both.” She playfully nudged me before
releasing me and moving over to John. She hugged him tightly and said, “Thank
you for everything today.”

“Me?
I didn’t do anything special.”

“You
kept everything running smoothly, kept crazy fans away…you were amazing.”

“Just
doing my job, Mrs. Engle,” he replied, smiling at her when she pulled back.

“I
like the sound of that,” she said before kissing him on the cheek.