Forever Bound (6 page)

And
that was before she untied the ribbon and took him in her mouth.

Ryan
moaned into her wet puss. They knew each other so well, knew exactly what
pleased the other most, and could push each other over the edge. The shift from
demanding strokes to gentle ones to keep the other from too early an orgasm,
the alternation of lips and teeth and the mix of speeds for the same end was so
perfect it could have been choreographed.

All
the rest was irrelevant. The emotional connection was what was real, was what
fed the electricity between them, was what would make their relationship go the
duration.

Their
bout of chastity did its part, too, making the encounter hot and thrilling—the
scene was an awesome mix of familiarity and forbidden encounter. Ryan felt his
heart pound and his breath catch. He felt Jess quiver in his grasp and her
clitoris harden. He was as hard as a rock, the pulse thumping in his cock like
a demand. He felt her catch her breath and her mouth tightened slightly on him.
He knew she was on the verge and caught her clitoris between his lips in a
tight kiss. He sucked it a little, nudging her over the edge.

Jess
cried out as the orgasm ripped through her body. She shook over top of him and
dripped on his face, and he felt the spasms of her release.

She
reciprocated almost simultaneously, locking her mouth around the tip of his
penis, just the way he loved it. She sucked on him in the same moment that she
squeezed his balls.

Ryan
roared as he came and came and came.

* * *

Ryan
awakened to find himself alone, again.

Had
he dreamed the whole encounter?

No.
There was a roll of blue ribbon on the night stand and Jess’s perfume filled
the cottage. Coming once hadn’t been nearly enough—the scent of that
perfume had him as hard as a rock all over again.

But
she’d been right. It had taken the edge off. He could make it to Thursday
night, even with her tormenting him.

It
was late afternoon and heat wafted through the open doors to the private deck.
The light was so bright that he could barely look at the glittering ocean. He
reasoned that Jess had gone to arrange some wedding thing, maybe to check with
the concierge about her missing bag. Ryan didn’t have it in him to worry about
anything. All was right in his world again.

He
whistled as he stepped into the shower, reliving every sweet moment of the
encounter. It had been so hot. So amazing. So surprising. In just an hour, Jess
had completely restored his faith in the future.

No
wonder he loved her so much.

* * *

The
beach bar was comparatively quiet when Ryan got there and he assumed that the
other wedding guests who had arrived were either sunbathing, sleeping or
swimming. Mark and Darren were seated at a table in the corner, though, and
already into the Tequila shooters.

“Finally
set loose by the ball and chain?” Mark teased when Ryan sat down at their
table.

“You
don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No?
She’s totally running your show,” Mark said. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“Maybe
he likes being her little slave,” Darren said, draining his shooter.

Ryan
was startled by their comments. He waved to the bartender for a beer, thinking
furiously. Now that he thought about it, Jess
had
taken charge and dominated him in their little
encounter. He hadn’t thought about the roles they’d played, just about how hot
it had been.

Did
she mean to send him a message?

Was
she intending to be in charge of
everything
in their shared life?

“Maybe
he just wants someone else to be in charge,” Mark said. “It’s a whole helluva
lot easier to be pussy-whipped than to be a man.”

“Wait
a minute,” Ryan protested.

“There
are women who just have to be queens in their kingdoms,” Darren said, as if he
knew anything about it. “I couldn’t stand it.”

“Me,
neither,” Mark agreed. “I tell you what I’d do. I’d head over to that boutique
in the next resort, and teach her a lesson. I’d show her who was boss, right
now,
before
I walked down the
aisle.”

“You’d
never walk down the aisle,” Ryan accused.

Mark
grinned. “If I was ever thinking of walking down the aisle with anyone, and it
is a long shot, I’d make sure she knew her place first.”

“Lovely,”
said a dark-haired waitress as she set down another round of shooters. “Prince
Charmings on every side.”

Ryan
laughed. Mark gave the waitress a hard look. She gestured but Ryan shook his
head, then she sauntered away.

He
saw Mark checking out her butt.

“Yeah.”
Darren nodded vigorous agreement. “Me, too. Set her straight while there was
still time.”

“And
cut her loose if she didn’t surrender,” Mark concluded, finishing his own
shooter.

“What
boutique?” Ryan asked.

“The
next resort is couples-only.” Mark gestured with his empty glass. “They have a
shop, with gear from that BDSM club, The Plume. That hot bridesmaid was going
there this morning.”

Ryan
bet Fiona had gone there with Jess. That would be where she’d bought that
gear—because he knew she hadn’t brought it with her. Well, maybe he
should turn the tables on her.

Sooner
would be better.

“Or
you know what else you could do?” Mark said, his eyes alight. “You could win
the bet!”

“What
bet?” Ryan had a vague memory of a bet being conceived at the stag, but he’d
been so drunk that night that his memories were a haze.

“Whoever
gets lucky first wins the money,” Darren said with a nod. He spared a glance at
a passing waitress, as if considering his own prospects. She ignored him.

Ryan
almost laughed out loud at Darren’s crestfallen response. Darren was about as
likely to proposition a woman he’d just met as walk on the moon. His friend
from high school talked a lot, but was notoriously shy around women. It would
take more than a smile from a pretty waitress for him to work up his nerve.

“Three
thousand dollars,” Mark hissed. He pointed to a waitress who was just coming on
duty. She was petite and curvy, even prettier than the others. The women
working in the bar all wore bikinis and sarongs, along with high-heeled
sandals. They clearly spent most of their time off working on their tans and
their nails. This one spared Mark a knowing smile, clearly remembering. “The
campaign continues,” Mark murmured, raising a finger to summon the pretty
waitress. “You’ve got maybe six hours to make your mark, Ryan.”

The
idea wasn’t even worth talking about. Ryan wasn’t going to mess around on Jess
just days before the wedding. He was going to use that time to ensure that
their marriage worked.

He
got to his feet, leaving his beer. “I’m going to check out that shop,” he said.
“You guys coming?”

Darren
shook his head. Mark was too busy trying to charm the waitress to answer. Ryan
headed to the neighboring resort alone.

* * *

Men
were such losers.

Laura
shook her head as she put empty glasses into the bin at the waitress station.
No doubt about it—working at an all-inclusive resort let her see them at
their worst. She wasn’t sure her natural optimism could survive with another
six month contract.

She
felt the need to retaliate. Somehow.

She
turned to look at the dark-haired guy who oozed confidence, the one she’d
accused of being a Prince Charming.

“He’s
kind of cute, isn’t he?” Alanna said.

Laura
glanced up to see her smiling at Mr. Smooth. He winked at Alanna and saluted
her with his shooter. “He’s his own biggest fan,” Laura said wearily.

“They’ve
got some bet going,” Alanna said, her eyes sparkling. “A thousand bucks in the
pool and it goes to whoever gets lucky first. He said he’d split it with me if
we did it.”

Laura
turned to look at her friend in shock.
Three
thousand was what she’d overheard. Mr. Smooth had
lied about the amount, making himself look good while he was planning to cheat
Alanna.

“What
a rat bastard he is,” Laura said with heat. “But then, what else can you
expect? A guy that good-looking, who has charm to spare. Of course, he’s a
dick.”

“What
do you mean? I thought that was a good offer.”

Laura
thought about it for only one minute. In less than a day, she’d seen this guy
trying to trash his friend’s wedding, trying to get the groom drunk, trying to
get him beneath a willing woman, and she didn’t like it. No wonder the bride
looked so stressed. And now, he was lying about the money in order to entice
Alanna to help him win some stupid bet.

This
was one loser whose success she could influence.

The
time for revenge against his kind was now.

She
pretended to be troubled. “Well, he probably never told you the truth, did he?”

“Told
me what?” Alanna frowned. “He told me about the bet...”

“Well,
there’s a reason he really wants to win. They don’t think he can—or
should.”

“Why
not?”

Laura
whispered three letters into her co-worker’s ear and thought Alanna would
faint.

“Are
you sure?”

“No,
but he was bragging that he’d be home safe and sound before anyone realized the
truth.”

“That’s
horrible!” Alanna said, snatching up her tray. “That’s evil! I should spill
beer on him!”

“Or
better—ignore him.”

“You’re
right.” Alanna nodded vigorously. “I have to tell the others. We have to stick
together.”

“Good
idea.” Laura hid her triumphant smile as Alanna marched to the bar. That was a
story that would spread like wildfire. Mr. Smooth wouldn’t be able to figure
out why he was striking out.

A
week without any sex just might teach him a little humility.

Maybe
it would make a difference to his perspective for the long term.

Laura
decided to watch, just for fun.

* * *

Day
two at the resort was a definite improvement over the day they’d arrived. Jess
was feeling better about her relationship with Ryan, and—as an added
bonus—spanking him had relieved a lot of her stress. It had been a great
way to work out her frustration.

Never
mind that killer orgasm. She felt much more in balance and more like herself.

She
should have tried BDSM sooner.

More
evidence of the planets aligning in her favor came in the arrival of the
missing suitcase. She’d left Ryan sleeping and gone down to the concierge to
check, only to be presented with the bag. The concierge assured her that their
cleaning service could make the dress perfect in time, so Jess surrendered it
to him.

She
was glad to have one less thing to do.

Everything
was going to be fine. She’d had a quick drink and a snack with her mom to
celebrate. There was no sign of either Christine or Fiona.

By
the time she got back to the room, Ryan was gone. This time, Jess was serene
about him hanging out with his friends. She took her time in the bathroom,
ensuring that she used the perfume he liked so well. She smiled at her own
reflection, anticipating another hot night of teasing each other, then heard
the door to the cottage open.

And
close.

Then
there was silence.

She
knew it couldn’t be a maid and tingled in anticipation. She peeked out the
bathroom door. The cottage had a seating area to one side and the bed to the
other. Evening was falling, and the sky beyond the deck was painted in bands of
orange and gold. The doors were open to the private balcony and a breeze
floated through the interior. She caught a glimpse of Ryan, lighting candles.

Jess’s
heart skipped a beat.

He’d
come back to the room, instead of staying out with his friends.

Jess
stepped back inside the bathroom and shut the door behind herself, leaning back
against it in delight. Ryan wasn’t just here—he was feeling romantic. He
loved candles even more than she did.

He
probably knew she was here and meant to surprise her.

Jess
was prepared to be surprised.

She
opened the bathroom door, as if oblivious to his presence. She stopped and
caught her breath in wonder—something she didn’t have to pretend—as
if previously unaware of the candles. Their flames flickered in the breeze and
the room was golden in their light.

“Ryan?”
she asked, unable to see him anywhere.

She
took a step into the main room, wondering where he was hiding.