***
The following months zoomed by so fast. Maybe that was because I was too busy. I kept Nicole on her toes as well. Janis and Paris would come to help once in a while.
Ryder made Nicole in-charge of the wedding budget. I strongly argued, but I didn’t win, two against one.
“If you handled the budget, it would alter your creativity.” Nicole said to me. “You stop your wonderful ideas once you tally the bottom figure.”
Ryder agreed with her. “I already told you. Wedding of your wildest dreams, love. Nothing less.” He looked at Nicole. “Don’t even give her the subtotals. Send all the bills to me.”
Nicole smiled radiantly and gave me a triumphant look. She had a couple of out-of-this-world ideas that she wanted to try, and she was using my wedding as a guinea pig.
A month and a half before the date, a very elegant, Swarovski-adorned, white and gold scrolls encased in crystal glass tubes went out to the guests, inviting them to our big day.
A few days before the wedding, the girls planned for my bachelorette’s party, which was held in Ryder’s grandmother’s vast estate.
On the same day, Ryder was going to have his bachelor’s party. At first, I was nervous about what they were going to do. I knew Bryan was planning to do his at a strip bar. I knew it was tradition to go to those places for bachelors’ parties, but I somehow couldn’t help being worried about the fact that Ryder might be with another woman. And I hated that thought… tradition or no tradition.
But in the morning, I saw Ryder in his hiking boots, preparing some camping stuff.
“Where are you going?”
“Bachelor’s thing,” he replied.
“In hiking boots?”
He laughed. “What did you think, love? Strippers and one night stands?” I glared at him. He laughed again. “I promise. No monkey business,” he said. “Jake, Adam, Derek, John, and I are going camping in the woods close to my grandmother’s estate. We’ll trek, we’ll fish, we’ll enjoy the fireflies and we’ll get drunk. Then we’ll head back in the morning.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because that’s what I wanted to do before I got married,” he said. “Something that I only used to do when I was a boy with no responsibility in life.”
I smiled at him and gave him a hug, quite relieved that I didn’t have to worry about him being with somebody else.
But it seems that my girls have planned the complete opposite for me. They wanted me to have the whole bachelorette experience. From liquor, to kinky-looking cakes to blindfolds, and really slinky, revealing lingerie presents.
After they revealed their presents that seem to lack in material and leave almost nothing to imagination, they blindfolded me and told me to sit in the chair and just enjoy the ride.
“Strippers!” They screamed and the music blasted from the stereos.
“Guys! Please! Ryder’s grandmother might still be here watching us!” I pleaded.
I don’t like this at all. I have never been with anyone but Ryder, so I won’t really be missing out on anything when we get married.
There were cheering all around. The girls were going wild. Suddenly, I felt hot breath on my neck. I almost screamed. Masculine hands touched my nape and I felt a soft kiss on my right shoulder.
Now, I really screamed.
“Stop! Please stop!” I pleaded to the guy. I will not allow this! I raised my knees up my chair and wrapped my arms around my legs. I was almost in the brink of crying.
“Come on, sweetheart!” Janis said. “This guy is expensive! Make it worth our money!”
“I’ll pay you back!” I shouted. “Just please make him leave!”
They laughed again. They kept encouraging the guy to touch me. “Come on! Her fiancé won’t find out! Touch her!”
I felt hands on my waist, then on my thighs, forcing me to sit properly. I felt cold hands on mine and they were pulled behind me.
“Sorry, sweetheart.” Dannie said. “We can’t have you resisting the ride of your life!”
“Ryder!” I whispered. “Where are you when I need you the most?”
“Come on, Ash! One man all your life?” Somebody asked. And I recognized that as Paris.
“That one man is your brother!” I cried desperately.
She laughed. “I won’t tell.”
“Guys, stop this!” I pleaded to them. “I don’t want this.”
“You don’t know that.” Nicole said. “You just might enjoy it!”
Just then, I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and I was lifted from the chair.
I started kicking and trying to get away. But damn he’s strong! I was being lifted again and tossed over a muscular shoulder like a piece of sack. The man walked and I knew I was being carried away from the room. I could tell that the guy was shirtless. I kept kicking and struggling but he held my thighs securely over his shoulder.
“Make her scream, okay?” One of my traitor friends said.
“Make every penny count!” Another one added.
And suddenly, I could only hear my friends’ faint voices. I landed on soft mattresses and I knew that I was placed down on a bed, in a separate bedroom. I got even more scared because I suspect that we were alone.
“Damn you! Stay away from me! My fiancé will kick your ass!” I screamed.
I was pushed on the bed by a force that is a lot stronger than me. I struggled, but he held me perfectly in place, pinning me between the mattress and his body. It didn’t help that my hands were tightly cuffed behind me. The combination of Dannie and handcuffs proved to be dangerous.
Why are my friends allowing this?
“I will scream rape!” I said, almost shouting.
Somehow, I know that the guy was laughing at me, but he didn’t even make a sound. He reached for my hands behind me and suddenly the cuffs went off.
I prepared to punch, scratch and inflict pain, but he was ready for me, too. He captured both my hands and held it securely above my head.
“I will pay you! Ten times what they paid you.” I pleaded when I knew I wouldn’t be able to escape.
It didn’t seem like he was listening to me at all. I was pinned securely on the mattress, his thighs covering mine. One of his hands was securely fastened on my hip to prevent me from escaping, the other was holding both my hands above me. I felt his hot breath on my neck again. I squirmed.
“Ryder!” I prayed silently. “Please… please come save me.” Tears were streaming down my cheeks, a whimper escaped me.
But I knew Ryder was getting drunk somewhere in the woods, while a complete stranger was raping me here. I have to fight and defend myself.
He tightened his grip on me and nuzzled my neck. He was close enough and immediately I leaned forward and buried my teeth on his bare flesh. I think it was his shoulder that I bit. Then I struggled to be free of him while he was writhing in pain.
“Jesus Christ, Astrid!” He cursed.
Then suddenly, I realized that I know that voice. And instantly, relief washed over me.
He recovered from the pain and in two seconds, I was secured under him again. “God! You make me want you more and more.” He whispered against my ear. And if before I was appalled by the thought of being in bed with him, hearing his voice now made my blood stir, arousing familiar emotions within me.
Then gently, he removed my blindfold. I stared into his familiar green eyes. There was a combination of love, lust, and amusement on his face.
I was relieved and angry at the same time. “Damn you!” I started hitting him and he laughed, trapping my hands in his and securing them over my head again.
Ryder smiled at me and leaned forward to give me a thorough kiss on the lips. I kissed him back. Then he released my hands and cupped my face between his palms.
“You don’t know how proud I am right now,” he said. “Hearing you pray for me to come and rescue you, when a potentially sexy stripper is about to pleasure you… is just too heartwarming for me.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked him. “It’s your stag party, right?”
He smiled. “Well… the bachelor usually gets laid on his stag party. But I’m not really interested in bedding another woman. And I will kill any other man who lays a finger on you. So… why don’t we just sleep with each other and both our problems are solved?”
I giggled. “Sounds good to me.” Then I pushed him on his back, so that he was sitting on the bed and then I mounted him. “You’re entitled to a lap dance. How about I make it worth your while?” I smiled at him mischievously.
He grinned at me. He raised his arms and intertwined his fingers behind his head. “Now, my love, I guess it’s your turn to make me scream.”
I was a bit drunk and feeling a little bit wild. I dared to do things I haven’t done before and was afraid of trying. But the alcohol and all the euphoria caused by this bachelorette thing brought out a side of me I didn’t even know existed. Ryder had a big smile on his face when we woke up in the morning.
My cheeks turned red as the memories of the previous night flooded back to me. I saw that Ryder has a bruise on his shoulder where I bit him when I thought he was a strange male stripper.
“I’m sorry.” I whispered to him.
“I’m not complaining.” He grinned. “You, my love, are a perfect ending to the best bachelor’s party a man could ever have.”
My blush turned more violet. I buried my face against his neck, inhaling the scent of him. I guess last night my senses were dimmed by the alcohol and my fear of male strippers that I didn’t recognize Ryder. His scent… the feel of his skin… all of these are familiar to me. I didn’t need to see him, because my senses know him. How could I have doubted that he was someone else?
We went out of the room at around ten. Some of our friends were already in the gazebo having breakfast.
Ryder came with all the boys last night and everybody spent the night in the mansion.
As we got out of our room, I heard a harsh banging of the door on our right and saw John walking out of one of the rooms. He was fully dressed and looked completely pissed off, he didn’t even see us when he hurried down the stairs.
Then the door opened again and Nicole came rushing out of the room. She was still dressed in the clothes she was wearing last night.
“John! What the hell is your problem?” She chased after John.
What is going on?
I knew John and Nicole had feelings for each other, although both of them were just too chicken to admit it. John was too much of a rake, and Nicole was just too scared to trust a guy like him.
Did John finally admit it’s time for him to go after Nicole? Did he plan to start last night? Or this morning? And then… Oh my God! Did he come to Nicole’s room and find her with somebody else? Who?
The door of the room where Nicole and John came from opened again and I almost fainted when I saw who stepped out of it.
Ryder gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“What the hell is going on, Adam Ackers?” I demanded, looking at my cousin sternly.
He shrugged. “Apparently, the first girl I slept with after a long time is in love with somebody else,” he said sarcastically. But he always was so good at hiding his emotions.
“Don’t be smart with me, Adam! What happened?”
Adam proceeded to go down the stairs. I grabbed Ryder’s hand and pulled him with me. We followed my cousin.
“Nothing happened, Ash.” Adam said. “Leave it.”
I touched his shoulder and forced him to stop walking and face me. I raised a brow.
He sighed. “Your friend John was being charming to everybody, except for the girl whose heart is breaking because of him. She was drunk out of her wits, okay? I… gave her assistance. I couldn’t leave her alone in the room. I fell asleep beside her. And he found us in bed together.” Adam said. He took a deep breath. “Good for him. Maybe now, he’ll wake up and see that she’s… actually not bad at all.” His voice was even, but I thought I heard a trace of… yearning there. Then he turned on his heel went down the stairs towards the gazebo, whistling as if nothing happened at all.
I stared up at Ryder who has an amused expression plastered on his face. I glared at him. He pulled me to him and gave me a tight hug.
“You’re getting married in three days, love. John, Nicole, and Adam are no longer kids. I’m sure they will sort this out. Our wedding preparations require your undivided attention.”
I sighed and hugged him back. He’s right. They’re a bunch of smart adults. They can sort this out on their own and I have better things to think about, bigger plans to worry about.
I smiled up at Ryder and tiptoed to give him a kiss on the lips.
“I love you.” I told him.
“I love you more,” he said. “I can’t wait to make you mine forever.”
“Even after last night?” I asked remembering how I let myself a little bit loose in bed with Ryder. It was like I didn’t know I had the guts to do half the things I did.
Ryder’s eyes twinkled. “Especially after last night!” I gave him a pout and pinched him on the arm. He laughed and pulled me towards him in another heart-stopping kiss.