CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JAKE
†
SHE WAS BEGINNING TO drive me fucking crazy!
My lust for her didn’t seem to know any bounds and, only when she was in my arms, did I begin to feel that the world made sense. For so long I’d been looking for something in my life, and I thought that the camera would find it, or that I’d locate it somewhere up a mountain, buried deep under a mound of snow.
But, what I was searching for had been here all along, only I hadn’t been able to see it until now.
Sounds poetic, huh? Even I think it’s a little nuts, but that’s how quickly Nikki got under my skin and wouldn’t leave. I’d traveled across America to get to my best friend’s wedding but, on the day, my only thoughts were of Nikki.
When she went to give the newlyweds a hug and I watched her stride across the lawn, legs for days in that light blue dress doing all kinds of wonderful to her ass, I was hard. I had to put my damn camera on my lap just to hide it.
I hate photographing weddings. When I first started out in this business, it was all people wanted. It’s a great place to start a career, but it certainly wasn’t something I wanted to do long-term. But, even though Brandon knew that, and he and Clea got a professional wedding photographer, I still took my camera along and got a few good shots in.
More than most of them involved Nikki, and I found I was zooming in on her, cutting out the newly married couple altogether.
Seeing the guy come out of the little office was a godsend and, once Nikki came to find me, there was no question of the two of us disappearing in there. Taking off her panties and having her against the wall was the highlight of my day, that’s for sure.
And later that night, when all the champagne was drunk and the newlyweds were in the honeymoon suite, Nikki was back in my bed.
Not to be smug or anything, but I’d put good money on us having had the best sex of the night in that hotel.
We only had two more days together. Once the magic of Hawaii was left behind as we lifted off the runway, things were surely going to change. It’s one thing to meet while on a tropical holiday where there are no managers breathing down your neck or deadlines to meet, and it’s another to get back to the real world and carry on.
For now, we didn’t need to talk about that. We only needed to worry about the next moment. I’m not sure what excuse Nikki gave to her mom and Mia about where she was, but she certainly spent plenty of time with me. I wanted her every second of the day, and could never have enough. She straddled me in the hammock first thing in the morning, before the rest of the guests were awake, and I pleasured her on the sand under palm trees after the sun had gone down and the only noise to cover her moans were the crickets chirping in the grass.
She sure had a healthy sexual appetite.
On Sunday night, Brandon and Clea were ready to leave for their honeymoon. As though the ten days in Hawaii they’d had before the wedding weren’t enough, they were jetting off to Mauritius for another two weeks.
So, that evening we all gathered in the reception hall to wave them goodbye. Brandon looked like he had something on his mind, and I wondered why he wasn’t smiling as broadly as Clea was. When we hugged, and I clapped him on the back, I asked him if he was okay.
“I don’t want to talk to you right now,” he said, and I stepped back and looked at him. As everyone busied themselves around the bride, I pulled Brandon to one side of the bar and asked him what he meant.
“I saw you last night,” he snarled. “I was walking along the beach, waiting for Clea. She went back to get something in the villa, and there you were, on a towel. You and my sister.”
I knew exactly what he was talking about. I wasn’t sure at what point Brandon had seen us but, whenever it was, he couldn’t have been happy. I didn’t say anything, only slowly nodded my head and looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
“My fucking sister,” he said, and he practically spat the words at me. “Dude, that’s so totally wrong I can’t even find the words. And you’re here to celebrate my wedding?”
He was right when he said he couldn’t find the words. He opened his mouth again and nothing came out. He shook his head and his wide eyes conveyed all I needed to know. I was about to rest a hand on his shoulder and placate him when something inside me made me realize I had no reason to explain myself.
Choosing my words carefully, I looked at Brandon, his eyes still filled with anger. “You’re my best friend…,” I started, “…and I’d never go out of my way to hurt you. But what you need to understand is that this has nothing to do with you. We’re adults, and I care a lot about Nikki.”
“Care a lot about Nikki?” Brandon repeated, laughing sarcastically. “You’ve never cared about any woman. I’ve never even seen you take a girl on a second date. We were both pretty wild in college, but I settled down. You never did. You’re the same entitled asshole you always were, and I won’t let you treat my sister in the same way.”
“You won’t let me?” I asked, my voice low. I could feel my jaw clenching. “Your sister’s a grown woman. A beautiful woman. And we’re enjoying spending time together. It’s nothing to do with what we may have been like before, and who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow? But, my friend, you don’t get to tell either of us what we can or cannot do with each other. Look at your wife. Her brother was your best man. He’s not acting like a jerk about you nailing his sister.”
With that, Brandon’s cheeks flushed red, and he reminded me a lot of Nikki at that moment, only Brandon’s blushes were neither cute nor innocent. He was mad.
“We’re married,” he said, every word a hoarse whisper. “You’ll never know the kind of respect I have for my wife. You only ever chew women up and spit them out.”
I took a deep breath and forced myself to step back as this was not going to end well.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I simply said with a pat on his shoulder. I turned and left.
I searched for Nikki in the crowd but couldn’t see her.
I was mad as hell, and I needed to get away. So I went to my hotel room and sat on the balcony, sipping on a scotch from the minibar. I needed to talk with Nikki, tell her about what Brandon had said. Maybe we should’ve spoken to Brandon earlier.
But, then my mind changed once more, and I decided that it was none of Brandon’s goddamn business who his sister slept with. If I had a sister maybe I’d be just as protective of them as Brandon was now being over Nikki.
The whole damn mess went back and forth in my mind. I hated being so conflicted.
Fucking hell!
So, when the phone rang in my pocket a few minutes later, it brought some relief.