Chapter 3
Welcome to the Club, You Idiot
James
There was a pounding on the door.
I covered my head with my pillow.
Knock. Knock.
Knock. Knock.
“Go away,” I muttered.
Ignoring me, whoever it was continued the pounding. I swore an earthquake was taking place, but I couldn’t even pull myself up to look around.
Knock. Knock.
Knock. Knock.
“What?” I finally yelled.
“Wake up, sunshine. If you’re coming back to New York with us, we leave in an hour.” It was Avery’s shrieking voice and her tone made my eardrums hurt. Had someone taken a hammer to my head? It certainly felt that way.
Opening only one eye, I tried to focus. “Yeah, alright,” I answered.
Feeling sicker than a dog, I forced my other eye open and blinked a million times over.
My surroundings were familiar. This was one of the rooms Avery kept on reserve at the Mandarin on the floor beneath her penthouse. I’d been in rooms like this many times before. But never had I woken up feeling like this.
My body was one big ache.
My eyes burned.
My head was pounding.
What the fuck happened to me?
I turned my head and a halo of red was all I could see. I pulled back a little. Shit, I wasn’t alone. It was then I realized I was wrapped around a body. Lindsay’s gorgeous, sexy body, to be exact.
How the hell was it my entire body felt like I’d been run over, but my dick was still getting hard?
I stared at her and felt that oh so familiar urge to fuck. This girl was keeping me perpetually hard. Even I was tired of my dick turning into a steel rod, and that was saying a lot.
I licked my lips, but they were numb, and tasted like salt and lime.
Tequila.
Lots of tequila.
That fucking tequila.
How much had I had to drink?
In the limo on the way to the Lake’s penthouse conveniently located at the top of the Mandarin Oriental, in the bar at the Mandarin, in the casino, at various stops we made while walking down the strip. At Caesar’s Palace. In Olympic Garden. Olympic Garden? I took Lindsay to a strip club with male dancers?
What. The. Fuck?
My brain hurt thinking about last night. And my dick wasn’t helping matters.
Enough was enough.
I turned it all off—for now, and yes, my raging hard-on too.
Grabbing the corner of the sheet, I tossed my issues aside and then stood. We had to get to that plane and get back to New York, and fast. This girl was undoing me, and I really didn’t care for the feeling.
Not one bit.
Just as I started to circle the bed, my eyes landed on the naked beauty in it, and I had to suck in a breath, telling myself I didn’t need to fuck her again. What I needed was to get rid of her.
But then something strange happened, as I was watching her sleep, my eyes went all starry.
You had to be fucking kidding me.
As I physically tried to shake off the lovesick puppy feeling, I began to feel even sicker. The quick motion made my stomach twist in a violent way, and I hurried to the bathroom.
With a deep breath, I stood just inside the doorway.
In.
Out.
I gulped in air and let it out over and over until the wheezy feeling passed. Then, closing my eyes, I took the longest piss of my life and opened them only to flush the toilet. It was then, with my left hand on the lever, that I saw the glint of metal around my finger. Not just any finger, my ring finger.
I broke out in a cold sweat.
What. The. Hell?
An uneasy feeling coursed through me. My erection was instantly gone as I continued to stare at my finger.
Then, in a rush, it all came back.
The crowd of us walking down the Strip in the wee hours of the morning, passing guys handing out fliers for strippers and escorts, a man levitating on the sidewalk, and people in all kinds of rentable costumes shouting at us. We’d stopped to see the water dance in front of the Bellagio hotel.
Lindsay was tucked into my side. As the water spun and twirled in front of me, I thought I’d never been so content. She was everything I could have ever dreamed of in a woman. She was fucking perfect for me, and I think I told her so.
Someone in the crowd pointed to a sign that read “Wedding Chapel.” Someone else was saying, “I’ve never been in a Vegas chapel.” Another said, “Me either.” Avery suggesting, “Lets go inside and check it out.”
The crowd had lessened to about twelve of us, and none of us questioned her. We all just went inside. I was expecting a flying Elvis or two, but that wasn’t what I got. Instead I got heaven. I mean literally. The chapel was swathed in a bluish glow that sparkled off the silver chairs. The carpet was white. There were lights everywhere. And there were even clouds on the ceiling.
I was in heaven, or so I thought.
Like a vision, I looked at Lindsay and saw my angel. I just knew then that she was sent to put me on the right path, and with that knowledge, I knew what I had to do.
Out of nowhere, I dropped onto one knee and told Lindsay I wanted her to be mine forever. I remember her just looking at me. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I asked again. “Marry me?”
She giggled, “You’re drunk.”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter what I am, I know what I want, and it’s you.” She stared at me, stunned. What happened next was a little hazy. I could see pieces of it.
Me begging her to say yes.
Me begging.
Begging her for more.
Begging.
Her shaking.
Her taking my face in her hands. “Are you sure?”
Me nodding. “I’ve never been more sure in my life.”
Her crying.
Everyone around us crying.
Signing papers.
Picking rings.
Deciding on witnesses.
And…and then finally us walking down the aisle to a crescendo of inspiring guitars and being pronounced husband and w—
Snapping out it, I felt for the wall to steady me. I’d lost my damn mind. I didn’t even do relationships well, what made me think I could do marriage.
Marriage.
I despised the institution.
Thought it nothing more than a death sentence.
I shook it off—it had to be a dream. No a nightmare. But then as I washed my hands, my gaze settled on that damn ring again, and I yelled, “Lindsay!” as I rushed from the bathroom, grabbing a towel as I left to wipe my hands.
I had to see if this was real.
She sat up, grabbing for the sheet and looking disheveled, but still more beautiful than ever. “What is it?” she asked, alarmed.
“Let me see your fingers.”
She let the sheet go and outstretched her hands.
And there, on her left ring finger, was a matching piece of metal. “We got married,” I stammered out. I didn’t so much ask the question as make a statement.
She nodded, and I think she gulped. “We did.”
I swallowed.
It was real.
I. Got. Married.
Her eyes went a little teary. “You regret it, don’t you? I told you that you would.”
All I could do was stare. I had never wanted to be tied to any one woman, and just like that, I’d begged for it.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I must have had Typhoid, or Malaria, or maybe Yellow Fever.
But I hadn’t traveled to a third-world country. I was in Vegas for Christ sake.
When I couldn’t answer, because I didn’t know what the fuck to say, she ran to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
I ran a hand over my head and considered my options. Quite frankly, there were only two—remain married or get an annulment. By her reaction, an annulment would mean I would never see her again.
I straightened at that, the realization slowly creeping up my spine. The thought of never seeing her again caused disappointment to surge in my veins. It was a sensation I wasn’t used to. I didn’t really like it. Wasn’t sure I wanted to feel it.
With a thousand thoughts simmering in my mind, I knocked on the door. “Lindsay?”
I heard water running.
When she didn’t answer, I opened the door. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and turned, her hands gripping the counter. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
Was she regretting it as much as I was?
Was I actually regretting it?
I wasn’t so sure anymore.
The word wife didn’t seem to evoke that sick feeling deep in my gut like it always had. And the thought of marriage suddenly didn’t seem that bad. It wasn’t making me break out in a cold sweat any longer.
That had to mean something.
And the truth was, I wanted this girl to be mine.
But marriage?
Was I ready for that?
I had no fucking clue.
“What do you want to do?” she whispered.
I ran my palm over my head and just stared at her, trying to figure that out. To find the right words to explain to her I wasn’t sure. I just didn’t fucking know.
“James?” she said again.
The sound of her voice saying my name, the fact that no woman had ever made me feel the way she did, gave me the realization that yes I wanted to try this, that even though I may have been drunk when I proposed, the feelings behind the proposal had to be real. Sincere. Still, I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to do. I felt paralyzed.
Lindsay walked past me and went back into the bedroom. “I’m going to go downstairs and ask if there is some lawyer or someone to undo what we did.”
Panic rose up my throat. I couldn’t lose her. I contemplated what to do. And then, without thinking anymore, I rushed after her and found my words. “Maybe we should lie down first and discuss it?” I asked.
Her back was to me. She’d already put her top on, and she was just stepping into her skirt. She’d foregone any underwear. Fuck was she hot. That ass, that body. It was mine. That excited me. She was my wife. I wanted to bite my fist. We were married. That meant, well…you know what that meant. I knew I shouldn’t be thinking about this whole thing in terms of sex, but damn, I couldn’t help myself.
When she was finished dressing, she turned toward me. “Lie down? The plane is going to leave very soon, and we are married, and you want to lie down?”
She was all worked up, and fuck if I didn’t find it adorable. I flopped down on the bed and put my hands behind my head. “Yeah, lie down.”
Her gaze drifted down. I was still naked, and well, my dick had decided to make another appearance. “Are you serious? You want to fuck?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, consummate the marriage.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you honestly think that’s what we should be doing right now?”
“Sure, why not?”
She put her hands on her hips, and fuck me if I didn’t want her even more. “Because we need to decide what to do about this?”
“What exactly are we deciding on?”
She sighed, dropping her gaze in irritation. “The annulment. Us. Our future.” She sounded flustered.
I sat up, my dick still reaching for the ceiling. “The way I see it is, there really isn’t much of a choice.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I know that, James, and that’s why I’m going downstairs to find out what our options are.”
The corner of my mouth lifted. “Baby, it’s the weekend, and there isn’t much that can be done, so how about you slowly take those clothes off and dance over here?”
She drew in a huge breath, and then let it out. Did she know how much she was turning me on? “Now you’re telling me you want to stay married?”
I crossed on ankle over the other. “I never said I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
I hadn’t, but I decided not to address that matter, instead I went at this a different way. “How exactly do you feel about us?” I asked.
She stared at me, dumbfounded.
I took the time to recall her beautiful naked tits. Tits I wanted to feel over and over. A body I wanted to worship. A pussy I wanted to own.
“Honestly?” she asked.
“Fuck, yeah.”
She bit her lip. I wanted to suck on it. “You might not like it.”
“That’s okay,” I told her.
“That I want to give this a try, but I’m nervous. The thing is, I’m not scared, though. That you’re a lot of man and I hope I can handle it. That I like the way you are with me. And about a million other things that might take me all day to list. What about you? What are you thinking?”
Slowly, I got off the bed and walked toward her. When I got closer, I lunged on the bed and pinned her beneath me. “I’m thinking that you were made for me. That I have no idea what it means to have a wife. That I might suck at being married, but I want to try too.”
Her breathing picked up.
I kissed her neck. “That I want to spend the day discussing your list.”
Her body shivered beneath me. “What else?”
I raised my brows. “That we’d better hurry up and fuck because we can’t miss that plane. Tomorrow is the Ashton family annual Christmas photo and I want you in it.”
She laughed. “I’m serious.”
I licked her neck this time. “So am I.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, a little breathless.
This time I sucked the spot where her pulse beat. “About the fucking? Hell yes.”
She broke free of my hold and shoved my chest. “No, about us.”
I took both her wrists and stared down at her. “Yes. No. I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
“Me either,” she sighed, “but I’m willing to give it a shot if you are.”
“Oh, I am,” I growled and found her lips.
She laughed and then kissed me with a passion I’d never known before her, and a hunger I’d never felt before erupted. I wanted to own her. I wanted her to be mine. I wanted her in every way. And here she was—mine for the taking.
I pulled back. “I want you in the shower. Is that something a husband would tell his wife?”
She giggled. “I think it’s something you would tell your wife. And I think your wife would tell you that you can have her wherever and however you want her. She’s yours.”
With a grin, I stood and took her hand. “Fuck, I’ve never been someone’s husband. Does this mean you have to do whatever I tell you?”
She laughed. “No, but it means I can decide if I want to do whatever you tell me.”
I nodded. I could live with that. “I have a need to control. Can you live with that?”
“James, your alpha male tendencies were more than apparent within the first thirty seconds of my setting eyes on you. I wouldn’t be with you if I couldn’t handle it. If it didn’t turn me on. If I didn’t want a man like you. If I didn’t want all of you.”
“All of me,” I breathed, getting harder and harder with each passing second.
“Every. Single. Piece.”
We were standing just before the threshold of the bathroom when I scooped her in my arms.
“James, what are you doing?” she giggled.
I fucking loved that sound. “I’m not sure if I did this last night, but just in case I didn’t, I’m doing it now.”
“You’re crazy.”
I pulled up her skirt and set her on the counter, where I spread her legs wide. “Crazy for you,” I said as I bent to taste her sweet pussy.
“Oh, James,” she breathed.
That was a sound I wanted to hear from this day forward. And for the first time, I didn’t think marriage was so bad.
I had hooked a catch, and I wanted to keep her. In fact, for the first time in my life…I wanted to be tied down.
Who knows, maybe even start my own family. Speaking of family, my mother might not like the fact that I’d gotten married. On second thought, might isn’t the right word. Won’t is definitely more fitting. No matter, I could handle my mother.
The need to high five myself struck. This marriage thing was going to be a piece a cake. I mean come on, somehow I’d missed the fact that marriage meant endless pussy. Now I finally got why Noah had done it.
Endless pussy.
Boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong on all fronts.
Just as I’d surged my tongue inside her, there was a banging on the door. “Come on, we’re waiting for you.”
Lindsay jumped off the counter and pulled her skirt down. “Come on, get dressed, we have to go. I’ll go tell them you’re coming.”
She kissed me and then she was out the door. Alone in the bathroom, I stared down at my cock. “Sorry sport, looks like I don’t even have time for some palm action.”
How was it, when I wasn’t married, I never walked around with a hard-on, but on the first morning of entering the holy institution, I was spending it sporting wood?
I should have seen that as an omen.