Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
“You’re in a foul mood this morning,” Roxy drawled as she crossed the room, and he grunted from the tufted armchair he’d slept in for the latter half of the night to give Jodi and Free their privacy when she’d knocked on the door at one-thirty in the morning. “Guess Shaun and I won that bet.”
“What bet?” he grumbled as he rolled into a sitting position from the slouch he’d been resting in.
“We knew Jodi and Free wouldn’t stay apart last night,” Roxy laughed, coming toward him with a steaming cup of coffee from downstairs. “You should have kept this room. Or you could have slept on the bed. I don’t bite.”
“You were sprawled across the whole damn thing,” he muttered as he accepted the mug from her. “Just because I couldn’t sleep didn’t mean I needed to keep you up, too.”
“Oh, darlin’,” Roxy drawled, winking at him, which made him roll his eyes, “you only wish.”
“Gross,” he muttered, but his lips tilted up in a half grin.
“What is this?” she asked, picking up the shredded remains of the t-shirt he’d conned off of Shaun the night before.
He made to swipe it from her hands, but she jumped back with a devilish laugh, holding it up the best she could with how badly he’d mutilated it in his rage.
She pointed to his bare chest, one red eyebrow arched knowingly, as she murmured, “So, this is why Shaun was downstairs wearing your tank top.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement, one he didn’t deign to respond to.
Standing, he dropped the throw blanket he’d tugged off the foot of the bed after sneaking into her room back onto the chair he’d just vacated.
Striding on bare feet to the door, he opened it and exited into the hall, grinding his teeth at the sound of Roxy’s laugh.
He found perverse pleasure in the fact that Shaun had worn his tank top for the rest of the night, sleeping in it. His dick twitched at the thought.
There was a flurry of activity down in the great room, but he turned and headed further down the hallway to the room he was supposed to have shared with Free the night before.
The door was open, so he walked inside to find Free standing at the window staring out over the mountain beyond.
When he heard Kasey enter, he turned, grinning sheepishly. “Thanks for uh—"
“What’s the best man for if not facilitating a late-night rendezvous with the bride?” Kasey chuckled, waving his hand. He nodded his head toward the door. “Did you get any coffee yet or are you quarantined up here?”
“I’ve been instructed to stay up here until the girls leave for the main lodge in an hour,” Free chuckled.
Kasey set his coffee down and rifled through his suitcase until he found a clean shirt, pulling it over his head. “I can run down and grab you some.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. I thought Levi was coming back with some, but that was like fifteen minutes ago,” Free said and rolled his eyes.
“I’ll be right back,” Kasey said and exited the bedroom, carrying his coffee with him as he descended the stairs.
The noise from below got louder as he got closer, and he realized most of the women were in the kitchen.
Hanna, Summer, Sadie, and Seren were dishing up massive amounts of food.
Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, pancakes, a pile of fresh fruit, and assorted bagels covered the marble countertop island in the kitchen.
A stack of paper plates and plastic cutlery were stationed at the head of the counter.
Keeping his eyes on what he was doing, he poured a cup of coffee for Freeman, then topped off his own before turning from the far side of the kitchen to face the room.
Tristan had Ben on his shoulders while the six-year-old held a toy airplane high in the air, and they raced around the room, making the little boy giggle happily.
The bridesmaids and Jodi were surrounding the massive dining table to the right, and Kasey let his eyes wander over Shaun while she was talking to Kit and Tessa.
She had on a short sleeved, button-down sleep top that had Maid of Honor embroidered over her left breast, but it was left unbuttoned, the sides hanging open, revealing the ribbed material of his black tank top as it conformed to her breasts in a way that made his dick jump.
Shaun turned and caught him staring, and though her blue eyes shot fire at him, she didn’t say a word. Jodi turned her head and blushed furiously, smiling shyly. He winked at her and he saw Shaun roll her eyes and huff in annoyance, which just made him grin as he wandered over closer.
“Happy wedding day,” he murmured and bent to kiss the top of Jodi’s head. She giggled and swatted him away.
“Thank you. Are you taking coffee up to Free?” she asked, motioning to the two cups of coffee in his hands. “Dad wouldn’t let me take it up.”
Wiggling his eyebrows, he made the table laugh as he whispered loudly, “Are you trying for round two?”
Tessa cackled from the other side of the table and muttered dryly, “Ha. Try round four.”
“You hussy,” Kasey teased, winking at her again, making her blush to the roots of her hair. “But yes, I am taking coffee up to your betrothed. Ladies,” he drawled, notching his chin at the women sitting around the table.
It took every ounce of willpower he possessed to walk away from the table and not stay to stare at the sight that was Shaun wearing his shirt. He liked it far too much.
He shoved down the memory of seeing her topless in the faint glow of moonlight last night when she’d yanked that tool’s shirt over her head.
Not exactly the way he’d hoped to see her naked for the first time, but the image was burned into his brain, nonetheless.
He’d seen the flash of something metallic in the sliver of moonlight and had nearly died at the knowledge that he’d been right after all; her nipples were in fact pierced, and he wanted nothing more than to touch, to taste, to tease.
After ripping the shirt to shreds with his bare hands, he’d disappeared into the bathroom to take care of the erection he’d been unsuccessful at keeping under control.
He did the best he could to shove all thoughts of Shauntelle Kendall from his mind. Today was about Freeman and Jodi. He handed the cup of coffee off to his friend and cousin and grinned widely.
Roxy poked her head into the room a while later after a quick knock. “I’m going to hang out here for a while, and then I’ll meet Jodi and the other women at the main lodge for hair and make-up and photos.”
“You can head over with them now,” Free said, but she shook her head.
“I’m your grooms-maid. Grooms-woman? Whatever, you know what I mean. I’ll hang out with you guys, then head up there. Though I should come back and make sure you guys are ready on time,” she muttered the last part sternly, making the two men chuckle. “Is it too early to crack open that bourbon?”