Jackson

I caught her watching me from the lens of her camera. I flashed her a wink. From the way she hurried back to the inn, I was sure I caused her to blush. I might be the only man to have ever had that privilege.

This morning's conversation left her with the expectation that she was to seduce me. I had no intentions of keeping her to that bargain. I had always been the aggressor. The one to do the seducing, not the one to be seduced. Even if that was her original intention, we had already gone beyond that. I planed to enjoy the little game of cat and mouse.

Richard slapped me on the back. “Shit Jackson, you didn’t corrupt my wedding photographer already, did you?”

My poker face completely failed me. I shoved my hands in my pockets. Rocking on my heels I looked away, like I got caught with my hands in the cookie jar. Which I totally did.

Aleksander piped in, “I know that look, this is more than playing poke the photographer. What are you not telling us, Jackson?”

My plan was to pursue a relationship with Angelic beyond this weekend. The guys were going to pry it out of me eventually. I saw no point to in dragging this out.

“Angelic is Angel.”

The loud collective gasps reminded me of my mother's soap operas. The part where the main character reveals a secret that only the audience was aware of.

Aleksander’s mocking tone added to my embarrassment. “You kept calling her your guardian angel and you had no fucking clue her name was actually Angel? I’m not sure if I should laugh at the irony of it or slap you for the stupidity.”

The confused look on Aaron's face prompted me to give him the CliffsNotes version. I forced a swig of Scotch down my throat, preventing the bile from rising with the acknowledgement of what I had allowed to occur.

The wasted years that could have been spent getting to know each other.

Would she had joined the Army? Most likely not. She could have been spared all that pain. But that pain, those experiences, made us who we were today. I couldn't go back and change what I did or did not do. I could only move forward.

Aaron’s question pulled me out of my own head. “What do you plan to do about it?”

That was easy. “I plan to make her understand we were meant to be together.” Immediate laughter ensued. I crocked an eyebrow, not understanding the joke.

“Are you up for a little advice?” Aleksander snarked.

Hell, why not? Here were three men who not that long ago lived the lifestyle I currently did. Now they have all settled down, and I had to admit I had never seen both Richard and Aleksander looking happier.

I had only met Aaron recently, but the way he looked at his redhead, the way she looked at him, I wanted that. I wanted to have that with Angelic and I wanted it back from her.

Shit, I was turning into a fucking romance novel.

“Go for it,” I tipped my drink and waited for the words of wisdom.

Aleksander raised his glass. “Be prepared to make compromises. Just because you believe this is fate and you belong together, remember, she had a life before you came along.”

A unison of “hear, hear” was cheered and we all took a drink.

Richard raised his glass. “Do not embarrass her in public.”

Another round of “hear, hear” as we took a drink.

Aaron raised his glass and paused. “Be honest. Let her know what you want from her, and what you want for her.”

“Hear, hear.”

Aleksander filled our glasses. “Now a toast before we head out.” He raised his glass. “Goodbye to opportunist exes who write tell all books about your sexcapades, real and fiction.” He pointed to Richard, “Your turn.”

“Goodbye to crazy exes with restraining orders who crash your birthday party and tell the woman you love you name all your designs after your latest conquest.” He put his hand up, stopping us from taking a drink. “On the night you're announcing your latest design named after her.” Richard ran his fingers through his hair. With a chuckle he added, “God, I almost can't believe that gorgeous wonderful woman agreed to marry my fucked up ass.”

“You want fucked up,” Aaron started, then he took a large gulp then raised his glass. “Goodbye to supposed fiancées with less than impeccable timing. The look on Katie’s face when she thought I was engaged to Beth…” His fist clenched. “I swear I’ll spend every day of the rest of my life making sure I never see that look again.”

I was amused at the anecdotes meant to be some sort of cleansing ritual between these men. “Wow, I should be grateful the only skeleton I have is that I fucked a few too many women.”

“Just be sure none of those women decide they want to fuck with you or it could be game over before it even begins.” I had forgotten about Richard’s father sitting quietly, listening in on our conversation. “Now, with all our demons behind us, let us go make an honest man out of Richard before Mackenzie wises up.”

The wedding gazebo sat at the end of the dock on the east side of the island. I took my seat on the groom's side and watched Angelic at work. It was hard to focus on anything other than her. She was wearing a soft blue dress that landed slightly above her knees.

The front had lace with a high halter-style collar. She hid her toned arms with a quarter length sleeve. If I had not seen those naked arms already, I wouldn’t be aware of the power behind them, the curve of her muscles that allowed her to pin me down so easily.

She turned her back to me. All the air escaped my lungs as the plunging back came to a perfect V that stopped short of her perfect curvaceous ass.

There would definitely be some seducing this evening. I knew what laid beneath the lacy blue fabric. That did not still my imagination. I couldn’t wait to see what other treasures await under that dress. Was she wearing any undergarments? I didn’t see any bra straps or panty lines. Suddenly, my own clothing seemed constraining and restrictive.

I wanted this wedding ceremony done quickly so I could take Angelic to my bed and rip her dress from her body. She planned her seduction perfectly, including ignoring the fact that I was sitting, watching her.

I remembered watching her work when we were in the lighthouse, her focus to the project unwavering. She carried that same professionalism today. Was that what enthralled me about her this deeply? She had to know I would be watching her, yet there was not a hint of nervousness in her appearance.

I noticed my photographer’s camera sitting on the chair beside me. I picked it up and zoomed in on Angelic’s sexy back. I wanted a picture of this for me. As I zoomed, I caught her take a glimpse over her shoulder in my direction. I quickly snapped a picture of her profile giving me a seductive smile. It was barely a second; I hoped I captured it.

Reviewing the photo, I was pleased I captured her at the perfect moment. I noticed a small smudge of something on her back. A birthmark, perhaps? How could I have missed that?

I thought I had been over every inch of her body. I would have to make a mental note to pay more attention. Take my time to inspect those very sexy shoulders closely this evening when she was lying naked, writhing beneath me.

The sunset ceremony, the first dance, the cutting of the cake, she captured all of it, continuing to be sultry and svelte, mesmerizing and flirty. The bride and groom finally made the announcement that they were heading out to begin their honeymoon.

My heart skipped in anticipation. This meant Angelic’s duty as wedding photographer was officially over. I had not been able to take my eyes off her all evening. Now I could finally get my hands on her as well. I was not sure I wanted to wait for her to attempt to seduce me. We had wasted enough time apart already.

Angelic slowly swayed my way. Standing in front of me, she turned around and nodded to the DJ. A ballad began. “I think they're playing our song.” She took my hand and led me to the dance floor.

I was powerless against her charm.

The minute I set my hand on the small of her back and touched her soft delicate skin, a groan escaped my throat. I pulled her hip against my groin, proof her subtle seduction had been a huge success.

“I really like this song,” she expressed with a sigh as she laid her head into my chest and wrapped her arms around my neck.

The tune barely registered the minute I touched her. I listened closer. It was a ballad from one of my favorite rock bands, Get bent.

“You’re a Get Bent fan?” My surprise at her choice of music amused her.

“Yes, the guys like to hang out at a club I know. It’s nothing like The Swan. Which I’m sure is more your standard.” I caught the slight tone of distaste in her phrase.

“I would like to take you to The Swan. You might find you like it.”

“I did a bachelorette party shoot there, it’s not really my thing.”

“You might like it if you were with the right company. You might find you like a lot of things with the right company.” I was beginning to wonder who was supposed to be seducing who.

“Do you like my dress?” Her question caught me off guard.

“No.” I leaned in to graze the soft curve of her neck with my teeth.

The corners of her mouth tilted upwards. “Then why have you been staring at it all evening?”

“Because I fucking love your dress. What I’m going to love more is the way it falls off your body when I get you alone.”

Her bold laugh broke the sexual tension that had been brewing all day.

“Would you be a gentleman and assist me with bringing my camera equipment back to my room?” The request was an unspoken promise.

I recalled telling her I wanted her to seduce me. The logical assumption would be that she would entice me to her room. If I had my way, we would christen every room in that inn before the end of the weekend. Tonight, I would settle for her room.

We made our way back to the North Side Inn in her car. The air was thick with anticipation. My vision blurred at the thought of what laid under that dress. Appreciation of her involvement as a lover overcame me.

The longer the silence remained, the more I felt every beat of my heart, heard every beat of my heart. It was practically jumping out of my chest.

We reached our destination and she slowly took her time reaching for the camera bag. “I only need this, the rest of the equipment can stay in the trunk.” Her voice was calm, like she had all the time in the world.

She handed me the bag, took my hand and led me towards the stairs. Releasing my hand, she made her way to the swing on the porch. I was so hard I thought I would explode the minute she touched me, and she wanted to sit on the swing?

This was her seduction, I had to let it play out. I took a seat beside her, thighs touching. She laid her head on my shoulder.

“You weren’t much of a challenge,” she teased.

“Did you think I would be the minute I saw you in that dress?” I knew at this point my lust was overpowering.

“Can I ask you a favor?” I was afraid she changed her mind and keeping me out here talking was her way of stalling.

I quickly recalled the events of the day. I wanted to be sure I didn’t do or say anything that would have her backing out of our deal.

I couldn’t come up with anything. Did something happened with her today? I hadn’t talked to her since this morning.

Was it over before it even began?