I pushed my plate away and checked my watch — less than twenty-four hours to go and I would be hers, she would be mine. I gripped her hand under the table.

Nat’s cheeks turned pink as she squeezed my hand back. I’d really been trying to be the good guy — you know, the one that even though he got his girlfriend pregnant, waited until she had a ring on her finger to touch her. Needless to say I was slowly, and very painfully, losing my mind. I’d gone from sex addict to celibate all in the course of three months. Tomorrow night would probably be over before it even started.

As long as she found her pleasure, I was okay with it. I just wanted her to smile, I wanted her to scream, I wanted her to laugh, and I wanted her to give her heart to me piece by piece until there was nothing left in her possession.

Chapter Eight

Alec

“Hey, where you going?” I gripped Nat’s hand as she stood. Damn but her dress was low in the back, if I were to stand directly above her and — her hand smacked me on the shoulder.

“Done staring?”

“Nope,” I said honestly. “If you don’t want me to stare maybe you should remove the temptation.” I thumbed the dress with my fingers and ran my hand up the side of her thigh.

She giggled nervously and shivered. I loved it when she did that — as if she couldn’t control her body when she was around me. At least it made me feel like I wasn’t alone in that regard.

“I, um, Alyssa and I have to check on some things for the party, we’ll meet you back at the beach house.”

“Okay.” My eyes narrowed as I watched Alyssa, Nat, and Priscilla saunter out of the room in their killer high heels and sexy, short dresses. First thing I thought was, ’Nat better slow down before I smack her ass for disobeying me,’ and the whole keep the baby safe thing, second thing I thought—

“They’re up to something,” Demetri said in my ear, scaring the shit out of me. I almost spilled my wine all over my white shirt.

“Yeah they are.” I put the wine down. “But what? You think they have a surprise at the party?”

“Jaymeson,” Demetri called without looking to the left to even see if Jaymeson was there. “Come here.”

Jaymeson plopped down next to us and stole my wine. “Gentleman, how can I be of service?” He took a long sip.

“What do you know?”

Jaymeson began to choke.

“Come on, England.” Demetri smacked him on the back. “Bros before—”

We all sat in silence tilting our heads.

“Women?” I offered.

“It should be ‘hoes’,” Jaymeson said dryly. “But I figure the first time I say that around you guys or the girls I’ll get run over by my own car, so let’s just leave it at that, shall we?”

“Spill.” I demanded.

“Nothing to spill.” He looked away. “The girls have a surprise for you — they needed my help, and I never say no to a damsel.”

“That we know.” Demetri snickered. “You never say no to any chick, or is it that they never say no to you?”

“Both ways.” Jaymeson waved us off. “It works both ways.”

I rolled my eyes. “So we find out tonight.”

With a laugh Jaymeson shook his head. “Ah, well, let’s just say you guys owe me big for my help in the matter, and that’s all I have to say.”

“Why?” we asked in unison.

“You’re welcome.” Jaymeson stood. “Now, we should get going if you want to see what your girls have been up to for the past few weeks.”

“Oh that.” Demetri stood and stretched. “Alyssa’s been studying at the library for some — Damn, I’m an idiot.”

“Yeah, I was waiting for that one.” I chuckled, then paused. “Wait. Does that mean Nat hasn’t really been going to yoga?”

Jaymeson grinned. “You’ll see.”

I pushed both guys out of the way as I made my way out the door. Cameras flashed, I smiled, and by the time I finished answering questions, thirty minutes had passed. Sweating, I put the jeep in drive and made a beeline toward the beach house. Jaymeson had been deathly silent, but if his smirk was any indication of what was ahead of us, he’d either be at the bottom of the ocean in a few minutes or handing out high fives.

“Maybe,” Jaymeson whispered so I almost didn’t hear him, “If I ever found a girl who would do this for me… maybe then.” His smile fell. I put the car in park and opened the door.

“You never know, Jaymeson.” I slapped his back.

“But I do. And that’s alright.” He nodded and then the old Jaymeson was back as he laughingly led us into the house.

What the—? The entire house was pitch black.

I couldn’t see a thing. Demetri ran into me and then all of a sudden Jaymeson was gone.

“Are we going to get murdered?” Demetri whispered.

“Yes, by the girls we love. I can see the Hallmark movie now.” I said it with more conviction than I felt, because to be honest, I was freaked. They said ’after party’. I thought dessert and wine or something, not a pitch-black house with an eerie feeling about it. I moved to turn on the lights when I heard a loud noise. Holy hell, did I just get caned?

Chapter Nine

Nat

Holy crap I just caned my future husband! To be fair I wasn’t aiming for his hand but it was really dark and I misjudged how far away Alec was, so I’d hit him really hard. I heard him cursing in the darkness.

Where the heck was Jaymeson? He was part of the show. We needed him to turn the stage lights on.

Within seconds I felt hands on my waist and Jaymeson was whispering in my ear. “You girls ready?”

“Totally,” Alyssa said. I could hear the laughter in her voice — she was having way too much fun with this one.

I adjusted my black corset and white leather hot pants. I had on a pair of sexy nylons and thigh-high boots. My hat was pinned to the side of my head. In practice it kept falling off, but Alyssa said it would be fine.

She was dressed in a white corset and tight black leather pants. Her hat was red to match her lipstick. If Demetri didn’t propose after this he was hopeless.

The guys didn’t truly get a bachelor party. So we were going to give them one, with our rules, and see if they survived it. We’d been practicing burlesque lessons for weeks. Not to mention the pictures we took and programs we set up. The party planning company put a stage in the living room — it was the perfect set up. We had champagne for Alec and Jaymeson, juice boxes for Demetri, poor guy, and tons of desserts for later, aphrodisiacs to be exact. Well, aphrodisiacs and the creepy weird cake that I was hoping Jaymeson wouldn’t enjoy too much.

Holy crap, it was like we were seducing them and torturing them at the same time. I laughed as I clenched the cane in my hands. Poor Priscilla nearly had a heart attack; she decided to hang and watch from the kitchen.

“Ready?” Alyssa whispered in my ear.

“Let’s do this,” I whispered back.

“One, two, three.” Jaymeson flipped on the stage lights. Two spotlights fell on us. I was standing back to back with Alyssa; we both had our hands on our foreheads and then the music started.

I dropped my boa.

Alyssa dropped hers as we strutted towards the front of the stage.

I pulled a ribbon from my hair; she pulled one from her wrist.

The only thing I could hear was the music playing and lots of cursing coming from the darkness in front of us. I hoped it was a good thing.

Chapter Ten

Alec

“I swear something just whipped me.”

“Yeah, it’s called marriage, you ass,” Demetri’s voice snapped in my direction. “What the hell is going on?”

Then suddenly lights flipped on.

Nat was standing on the stage. She looked like a sex goddess. Holy crap, I was going to die. I couldn’t breathe. I reached for something — anything, and took a seat in a leather chair I’d never seen before in my life.

Demetri did the same thing. His eyes focused on Alyssa so hard I thought he was going to go blind from watching.

Nat looked out at us and dropped a ribbon. I clenched the seat with my hands, turning my knuckles white. I wasn’t sure how okay I was with Demetri watching Nat strip and then I looked at him. He only had eyes for Alyssa, and by the looks of it, he was like two seconds away from taking her to Vegas.

The music crashed and crescendoed, Britney Spears’ Womanizer came on as Jaymeson ran out into the middle of the stage in nothing but a bowtie and leather pants. He danced between the girls, in a totally non-sexual way, and then pushed the girls forward as the music changed to something slower.

Nat walked purposefully towards me. With every click of her high heeled boots I think a part of my body ceased to function. My vision was blurred, my hands continued to grip the seat, and all I knew was that I needed her, now.

Jaymeson followed and pulled a curtain between the two chairs. I looked up. How the hell did they do that? It separated me from Demetri and then wrapped completely around us, putting us in an almost private room. And then a black light flicked on. Nat’s blonde hair was glowing. Her white hot pants were literally killing me.

But I was able to handle myself.

Until she straddled my lap.

Officially dying.

So she was trying to kill me? Was that it?

I ground my teeth together as she slowly started to move against me, and then she reached her arms above her head and grabbed some sort of rope, her wrists twisted inside it as she pulled herself up and did a Cirque de Soleil style move. Her body twisted in the air so fast I couldn’t keep up, and then she came back down onto my lap. I fought to keep my hands to myself.

Her lips touched my ear. “Happy bachelor party, baby.”

My mouth dropped open.

She’d thrown me a bachelor party? Only she was the stripper, the dancer, and the bride. Hell yeah.

Now I knew what Jaymeson was talking about.

Honestly I could have done without strippers, but to have my future wife be the one to taunt and tease me? Words wouldn’t really come, so I did what any red-blooded male would do. I jerked my future wife towards my body and claimed her lips, plunging my tongue into her mouth so I could taste the sweetness that was so uniquely Nat, the woman I loved so damn much.

Chapter Eleven

Nat

In all the time I’d known Alec, I’d never seen his face so flushed. His hands gripped my cheeks as his tongue massaged mine, and then he was reaching behind my bodice, his fingers running over the hooks of my corset. No undressing, the show wasn’t over. He just didn’t know what else we had planned.

With a laugh, I pulled back and smacked him lightly on the arm.

His eyes darkened even more as his hooded gaze went from lust to full-on-losing-his-mind.

“Sorry about hitting you earlier,” I whispered into his ear as my teeth grazed his neck. “It slipped.”

“Dear God, let it slip again.” His voice was hoarse as he moved his hands over my body.

“Time’s up!” The lights around us flicked on as the curtain was pulled away. Jaymeson stood there with a knowing grin on his face while Alec cursed a blue streak and looked ready to throw the chair he was sitting in.