Past Regrets: Love and Friendship, Book 2 (18 page)

Ryan climbed out of bed and strode over to the jewelry box. He lifted the lid off and scanned the contents. The pair of rings on a gold chain was underneath a pendant necklace. He plucked them out and returned to the bed. “I want you to wear them, and tomorrow we’ll go to a jeweler’s and buy a new wedding band for me.”

Her eyes widened as if he’d surprised her. “You’d do that?”

“Of course. I want people to know I’m married. I don’t want anyone else except you.” He took her left hand and slid on her wedding band. She didn’t protest. She didn’t say anything, merely stared at her hand. He slipped the sapphire and diamond engagement ring on her finger before reaching to tilt her face to his. “I love you, Julia, and I want everyone to know it.”

Chapter Ten

Julia studied the sparkling rings on her left hand. Even though she’d worn them for four weeks now and Ryan had left to do the
French Letter
tour dates, the rings never failed to pull her up short. She was married to Ryan Callander, and he was wearing a wedding band too.

“Julia, are you listening to me?” Susan demanded with the air of one who’d asked the question several times already.

Maggie chortled, her eyes sparkling with a warning that she intended to tease. “She’s daydreaming about Ryan and what they’re going to do together when she flies over to Sydney for the weekend.”

“Have you noticed Dubois, the lead singer of
French Letters
is wearing a wedding ring?” Christina asked.

“Funny you should mention that,” Susan said, and Julia couldn’t fail to see the faint quiver of lips when her friend attempted to pull off serious. “I noticed
French Letters
are playing some of the original songs Ryan and Caleb have been performing on stage at
Maxwell’s.
”

“I noticed too,” Maggie said. “I wonder if we should call in the lawyers and sue. Start a social media campaign, a call to action. I mean, it’s shocking the lengths some artists will go to in order to obtain new material.” She didn’t even try to restrain her amusement.

“Have you been keeping secrets from us, Julia?” Susan asked. “A husband is a pretty big secret. Somehow I think we’ve only scratched the surface of this big, fat juicy mystery.”

“I think we should do a fan dance,” Julia said. “You know—the big feathery fans.”

“Oh no,” Christina said, shaking her finger back and forth. The tinkle of her bracelets highlighted her refusal to allow a change of subject. “We should do the dance, although I’m not about to take my clothes off no matter how big the feathery fans are to hide my naked bits. We’re still talking about your sexy husband.”

“Please confirm,” Maggie said. “You are married to one of the sexiest men to strut across a stage.”

“We’ve been rubbing shoulders with rock royalty,” Susan added. “And you didn’t tell us.”

Her three friends advanced on her, shoulder-to-shoulder in their demand for the facts.

“Okay.
Okay
.” Julia sighed. “True.”

“And the man is wearing your ring,” Susan said. “The same wedding ring that has the gossip mags abuzz.”

She sighed again. “Yes.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God. You’re married to Dubois!” Maggie shrieked.

“Shush.” Julia glanced over her shoulder, relieved to see none of the others had arrived for dance practice yet.

“Julia and Dubois sitting in a tree,” Susan sang. “K. I. S. S. I. N. G.”

A laugh burst from Julia. “I can neither deny nor confirm that one.”

Christina’s eyes gleamed behind her glasses. “But you are meeting Ryan for a sexy rendezvous in Sydney.”

“Yes,” Julia said.

Susan clicked her fingers. “I knew it.”

“So what do you think about the fan dance?” Julia asked.

“I want their autographs,” Maggie said. “A fan dance would be fantastic. Go for a sort of Gypsy Lee Rose theme. Have you done it before?”

Julia shook her head and grinned. “I’m sure Ryan or Caleb will arrange their friends to sign a T-shirt or something for you. From memory, Mum did the fan dance a few years ago. I can ask her to help choreograph the dance if she’s up to it. Janet said she’s becoming antsy with all the inactivity while she waits for the surgery, so it might keep her out of trouble.”

“I’d be a starter for the fan dance,” Susan said. “I didn’t know I’d enjoy dancing so much. It’s helped me lose weight and tone my muscles. I think I could do the strip part as long as the audience doesn’t see my boobs.”

Another laugh escaped Julia. “Great. We’ll do it.” Voices trickled in from the front of the club and several young women bounded inside, already wearing their dancing gear.

“Maggie, can you cue the music for us?” Julia clapped her hands together. “Everyone ready? I have a couple of new routines for us to learn. I’d like to do one of the new ones next week if we can get it down today.”

The dance practice went well with the dancers from the local dance school picking the moves up without difficulty.

“Great job everyone! I’ll see you later tonight.” Julia grabbed a towel and dabbed the perspiration off her forehead and upper chest.

“Are you packed?” Maggie asked.

“Not yet,” Julia said. “I thought I’d chuck a few things in my bag tomorrow morning. I don’t need much for the weekend. I’d better catch up on the bookwork before I go.”

“No, Julia, come shopping with us now,” Christina said. “I’ve found a new designer and she has some beautiful dresses in stock. They’ll pack well.”

“I’ll do the bookwork for you,” Susan said. “It’s no problem.”

“Ryan won’t ring until later tonight,” Maggie said.

“All right,” Julia said. “We’ve worked hard recently. Let’s do it.”

The following afternoon, Julia boarded The Air New Zealand flight to Sydney. She caught a cab to their hotel in Darling Harbor and checked in. A big bunch of pink roses greeted her when she walked into the suite, the floral bouquet filling the room. She set down her bag with a thrill of pleasure heating her through.

A small square parcel sat on the end of the bed, wrapped with a pink bow. Julia opened the card and smiled, a tingle of anticipation widening her grin until her lips ached. She shook the box, breathless with anticipation when she pulled off the lid. The scent of rich chocolate rose to greet her. The box contained several handmade truffles plus three small jars of some sort of chocolate substance and a selection of brushes. A saucy laugh spilled free. Edible body paint.

“Fun gift,” she murmured.

A key card sounded in the door, and she turned.

“Julia?” Ryan’s overnight bag thumped to the floor.

“Ryan!” She flew toward him, leaping into his arms from a few feet away. Her legs went around his hips as she clung to him. He laughed, twirling her around. Then he was kissing her, wrapping his arms around her as if he hadn’t seen her for months. Julia opened her mouth to him, slid her hands down his back, touching as much of him as she could manage.

“God, Julia,” he said. “I’ve missed you so much.”

She kissed the tip of his nose. “Don’t you like sharing a room with Caleb?”

Ryan snorted. “The dude snores.”

“I missed you too. So much. How long do we have?”

“The rest of the afternoon. I need to be at the stadium by seven.”

“And after the concert?”

“I’m all yours,” he said. “I told Seymour I didn’t intend to stay for long tonight. Caleb and the others are taking care of the parties and promo stuff.”

“In that case,” Julia said, releasing her tight hold of him. She gripped the hem of his black T-shirt and drew it over his head, feasting her gaze on acres of masculine flesh. Next, she yanked on his belt and unfastened his jeans, her frantic hurry making him laugh.

“Boots first, sweetheart.” He sat on the edge of the bed.

Julia knelt by his feet and pulled off his boots and socks. Soon he was naked and she stood back to admire her husband. His gaze rested on her, his easy smile absent for once. Each rapid breath showed in the rise and fall of his chest while his feet were spread apart, arms resting at his sides. His cock jutted out, jerking a fraction under her close scrutiny.

“Are you going to do more than stare?” Gritty arousal filled his voice.

“Definitely, but we do have the entire afternoon.”

“On the bed,” he snapped out, urgency glittering in his pale blue eyes.

Julia chuckled but kicked off her shoes, hastening her pace. “Let’s have a quickie before we get to the good stuff.”

He cast a considering glance down at her bare legs, his gaze an invisible caress. “Very thoughtful of you to wear a skirt. Much quicker.”

“And here I thought you favored skirts because they showed off my legs.”

“Very true. Condom?” He was suddenly all business, yet his gaze slid to her breasts and lower, the visual touches leaving a trail of acute expectation. Her hands trembled as she reached into the side pocket of her pink handbag.

When she glanced up, condom in hand, he was closer than she’d expected. Her lips formed an O, but the corresponding sound didn’t have time to escape because his mouth slammed over hers, drinking in her startled cry. Then all she could do was feel—the press of his hard body as he backed her against the nearest wall, the chill of the unforgiving surface at her rear, and the heat of his mouth as he ravaged hers. She gripped his shoulders to enjoy the ride.

His right hand was a warm weight at her hip, the nip of teeth a bolt of pleasure-pain at her neck. That hand slipped under her skirt and inched up her leg. Tiny pinpricks of delight followed his questing fingers. When he lifted his head his lips were red, slightly swollen. Sexy. One-handed, he tugged the buttons of her silk shirt. One flew off making a sharp
ping
against a coffee table. He lowered his head, taking hard bites out of the swell of her breast. She gasped, holding his head to her, wanting, craving more.

Somehow he managed to loosen her bra, and then his lips surrounded her nipple, sucking strongly. An echoing pull twanged between her legs.

“Ryan,” she whispered, trembling under his relentless attention.

The hand under her skirt continued exploring until she squirmed, every particle of her body consumed with desperate hunger.

“Need your fingers on me,” she said on a plea.

He licked around her nipple and ran his fingers over the thin lace of her panties. Back and forth. Back and forth. His fingers slid underneath, curled then he gave a hard yank. Fabric ripped and he peeled the lace away from her body.

“On the bed,” he said.

“Oh, this is a comfortable quickie.”

“Damn straight.” He dragged her away from the wall and half threw her onto the mattress. “Where did you put that condom?”

She unfurled her left hand to display the condom while remaining sprawled on the bed, her skirt hiked up around her hips.

Ryan grabbed the foil packet and ripped it open. Then he was on her, pushing into her, filling her while his mouth feasted on one breast. A wild symphony of sensations slapped her around, making her catch her breath and hold onto him for dear life. The scent of him, fresh and citrusy, familiar, made her nostrils flare. And the heat. The heat seared her flesh and pulled her into a place where pleasure ruled. It roared across her mind, tweaked at her breasts and streaked down her legs, growing bigger. Better.

Her fingers dug into Ryan’s shoulders, her hips lifting into each of his rapid thrusts as she savored the hard and aggressive act, the curl of heat. A ball of liquid pleasure roiled in her loins, and her belly clenched. He nipped the side of her neck, the burst of pain detonating something inside her. She flew apart, only held together by her contact with him. He powered into her again, a decisive stroke then he stilled, fully embedded, a loud groan squeezing past his clenched teeth.

“Damn, Julia. I love you so much.”

They stayed connected, Ryan buried in her until the need to breathe drove her to struggle from beneath his larger bulk.

“Are you going to tell me you love me one day?”

Her gaze shot to his before uneasiness made her eyes slither away. She used to tell him all the time. Before.

“I—” She broke off, swallowed hard. She needed to say something before the pause grew too long.

“It’s all right. I get it,” he whispered, dropping a light kiss on her lips. “You’ll say it when you’re ready. For now it’s enough to know you’re here with me.”

Relief struck her at his words, and even more when he didn’t sulk in the same way as others in her past. They spent the rest of the afternoon in their room, testing out the luxurious shower before making love again. There was chocolate involved, necessitating another shower.

“Do you want to go for a walk around Darling Harbor? Maybe grab something to eat before I meet the others to leave for the stadium?”

Her stomach let out a rumble, and he laughed.

“I guess that’s a yes,” she said.

“You could always come with me.”

She shook her head. “No. I’ll wait for you in our room. How about if I order a special room service dinner for us? What time will you get back here?”

“Around midnight. I’ll have to make an appearance to say hi to some of the sponsors and reporters, but I promise to make it quick.”