“I love you, girl, and I want to thank you for being here with me.” Desiree tugged at the form-fitting skirt she wore.

“Why do I feel a but coming on?”

“But, this thing can’t last all night. The wedding is at 4 o’clock tomorrow, and I need my beauty rest.”

I smiled softly at my friend. We were standing on a narrow brick pathway outside the Bellefield Plaza surrounded by a rose garden. The smell of the fresh flowers sat heavily in the air, and each breath I pulled in gave me another gust of the potent fragrance.

“Desiree, tonight I want you to have a blast. I know you’re nervous and anticipating becoming Mrs. Julian Alexander Rose. You know I have your best interest at heart, don’t you?”

Desiree nibbled on her bottom lip.

“Stop that. You’ll mess up your lipstick,” I reprimanded.

“Yes, of course.”

“Okay, then trust me.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, and I grabbed her hand, holding on firmly. Easily we glided down the walkway into an open hut. Blue lights hung overhead, casting a royal shadow over the venue. Leather sofas and modern eclectic chairs sat around an opened floor. A Jamaica tune beat through speakers embedded inside the hut’s structure. Three bartenders stood behind a counter, all natives with welcoming smiles dressing their faces. A personal chef stood flanked in an apron behind a makeshift open range. Flames flickered through the grill where the chef prepared steak samplers for those in attendance.

When we made it past him, we came upon a stage that stretched the room from one end to the other. All the girls plus a few cousins, aunts, and friends smiled up at us.

“Well, it’s about damn time.” That was Eden’s sassy aunt Matilda.

“Oh hush,” Tracie another one of the triplet’s aunts inserted. “She can take as long as she likes. Come on over here, girl, and give me a hug, I ain’t seen you all day.”

We smiled and hugged everyone. Once Desiree made her rounds, Samiyah and I pulled Claudia and Desiree to a stand.

“Okay, ladies, close your eyes. They both obeyed, and we held their hands while Octavia and Selena tied a silk garment around their eyes.

“You’re blindfolding us,” Claudia said, stating the obvious.

“Mmhmm,” Samiyah and I crooned before we all burst into laughter.

“Are you nervous?” Octavia asked.

“I’m not sure yet, I’ll let you know,” Claudia replied.

We all giggled again as they finished their task then Samiyah and I pulled them to the stage and sat them in chairs. Desiree’s hands trembled slightly in mine.

“You are nervous,” I said.

“Just a little. More excited than anything.”

“And what else?”

“Hoping my soon-to-be husband doesn’t kill me for letting a stripper dance in my face.”

“I second that,” Claudia said.

“Technically, the strippers won’t be in your faces since you’re both blindfolded. They’ll just be in your hands, lap, and everywhere else.”

“Oh my God!” Desiree and Claudia screeched.

“Relax,” I said. “Julian and Jaden know what this night is about. I’m sure it’ll be the farthest thing from their minds come tomorrow when they’re both gazing at you walking down that aisle. Plus, they’re men. I’m sure their strippers are nastier.”

“Oh thanks. That makes us feel so much better,” Desiree almost snapped.

The ladies and I giggled, and we moved off the stage. The Jamaican music changed to a sexy bombastic tune. Seconds later, a side door opened, and Jaden and Julian entered the room wearing only a pair of boxer briefs. All the girls swooned, and I could tell the anticipation was killing Claudia and Desiree.

I turned to the girls to shoo them out of the room and into another where the real strippers were because, let’s face it, we still had to have the real deal. Eden, Phoebe, and Jasmine along with their aunts were already gone. I laughed, thinking they must have flown out as soon as Jaden and Julian entered. Samiyah shook her head slowly and gave two thumbs up while Octavia, Carla, and Selena practically drooled, keeping their eyes on the handsome men.

I traipsed toward them and whispered, “There are plenty of gorgeous men in the other room, trust me, now book it!”

“I hardly doubt they are as fine as those two,” Carla said while Octavia and Selena agreed with a nod.

I chuckled and stole another look at the stage. The men were right in Claudia’s and Desiree’s faces. Their hands trailed over the ridges of their abs as the men moved and pumped around them.

Shit, I thought.

“Mmhmm,” Octavia mumbled, noticing me linger.

“Come on,” Samiyah fussed, grabbing us all.

“Aaah!” One of the girls screamed before we could fully disappear. We all turned once more to see what had happened.

Julian had put Desiree’s hand down his pants, and she was two seconds from passing out. We all howled with laughter, unable to contain ourselves as we finally left the room.

Walking through the door hit us with another beautiful sight. Several islanders gyrated around the girls in Speedos, their bodies oiled and abs ripped. Muscled thighs and pedicured toes set off their stripper looks, but nothing fit the part more than the firefighter hats, police straps around their waist, and formal ties that hung from their necks.

Each played a role of a different gentleman but what stopped me in my tracks was Josiah. The ripples in his broad shoulders glistened as the muscles faded into the abs of his perfectly oiled chest. My eyes traveled down to the white cargo shorts that stopped below his toned knees but just above his solid calves. The penny loafer shoes were just as crisp as they completed his sexy Islander appearance.

The woman who leaned into his ear said something that made him smile. She was a friend of the Rose family, and I had a possessive moment where I wanted to snatch him away. I was seconds from pulling my eyes when his gaze connected with mine. The smile Josiah wore faded a bit, and his tongue ran across his teeth. The temperature in the room seemed slightly warmer than moments ago, and I pushed out a laden breath. He spoke to her but kept his eyes on me before leaving her side to trail across the room. As he neared, my body changed. The warmth I felt grew hotter, and my nipples became sore after they hardened. A pulse between my thighs made me want to cross my legs, but I never moved.

I wondered if it had anything to do with his intoxicating stare and muscled arms, coupled with the swagger in his walk. When he was upon me, an electrifying smile covered his face, sending a shockwave through me as if I’d been struck by lightning. I was certain if he touched me I’d melt between his fingers.

“Good evening, beautiful.”

His dark voice sizzled my flesh, and chills populated across my skin. I offered him a smile that I hoped wasn’t awkward.

“How are you, handsome?”

His smile widened. “Couldn’t be better now that you’re here.”

I arched a brow and smiled wistfully. “Somehow, I think you were enjoying yourself just fine before I arrived. What are you doing here? The summons was only for Jaden and Julian.”

He rubbed his chin then crossed his muscular arms.

“I didn’t get the memo.”

But the wicked smile on his face told me he indeed did get it.

“What are you up to?” I asked.

His tongue trailed across his teeth again, and I demanded my body not to react. Josiah unfolded his arms and rubbed his hands together methodically.

“I’m feeling a little… reckless tonight, and I was wondering if maybe you might be feeling the same.”

It was an invitation. To do something neither of us had any business doing. The insinuation sent a plethora of ideas running through my mind. I’d have to get rid of the thong I wore since it was now drenched from the panting of my pussy.

I inhaled. “What did you have in mind?”