Chapter 24
“Holy shit,” I muttered as James unlocked our suite.
The door swung open and he swept me inside.
A king-sized bed sat against the far wall, a black padded headboard accented the white of the walls. A plush sectional commanded the lounge space, bracketed by leather armchairs that surrounded a glass coffee table.
White curtains were pulled to the side, revealing floor-to-ceiling picture windows with a stunning view of the Vegas Strip. By this point, the sun was beginning to set and the lights of the Strip lit up the night sky.
The windows continued around the room, giving a full, panoramic view of the city. I stood in the middle of the room, rotating in a slow circle. “James Campbell,” I whispered, “you spoil me.”
“If I can’t spoil you with our wedding, then when can I? It is only going to happen once.”
“Who knows?” I collapsed to the mattress, leaning back on my hands and watching James’s eyes rake over my body. “If it’s going to be like this, I may decide to have another one in a couple hundred years.”
James smiled and pounced, crawling over me and bringing his mouth down to mine. “I already got you to agree to marry me once. How am I going to get so lucky that you’d do it again?”
I tilted my head, exposing my neck and his mark. “A whole day where people are focused on me and I get spoiled like this? Sign me up.”
Apparently, Raleigh didn’t know me at all. Or he just didn’t care.
He barged through the door an hour later—right as I was coming down from the high of my orgasm. I was panting on the bed, drenched in sweat—with James’s cock still buried deep inside of me.
“Let’s go boys!” he shouted, unfazed. “It’s time to start the fun!”
I glared at my best friend. “Do I get to shower?”
“Make it quick—military style! I’ve got a surprise for you!”
“More surprises?” I didn’t disentangle myself from James yet. There were just certain things that Raleigh didn’t need to see—even if he had seen it before.
“Yep! You only get married once, Clark. Now I guess I’ll give you some privacy. Meet me downstairs in ten minutes.” When he reached the door, he turned back. “And I’m not afraid to physically drag you out of that shower if you’re late.”
James squirmed beneath me from oversensitivity. “You’re killing me, love.”
I apologized, climbing off him. He sat up and reached for the tissues on the nightstand, grumbling. “I should have suspected something when Angel asked me for a key.”
“Oh, no—you fell for it.”
“Fell for what?” James crawled out of bed.
“The innocent act,” I explained. “You have to be careful around Angel. He’s sneaky.”
James chuckled behind me, following me into the ensuite bathroom.
I didn’t think I could be any more astonished than I already was, but I was proved wrong the second I flipped the switch.
Bright white light bathed the room, glinting off of sparkling gold accents.
Twin vanities with backlit mirrors spanned the wall to our left and as I advanced into the room, my jaw dropped.
Black marble walls encased the deep soaking tub and the glass-enclosed shower that could have been a bedroom on its own.
A door to the side closed off the toilet.
“Whoa…” I breathed.
James only smiled, reaching into the shower and turning it on.
Water burst from the rainfall showerhead, instantly hot enough to start fogging the glass.
“Don’t get any ideas, Ryder,” he told me, tugging me into the shower behind him.
“I know this place is nice. I don’t want to spoil it by having Raleigh drag us out of it while we’re naked and wet—get that look off your face, we are not doing that! ”
“I’m just filing it away for later!”
James shoved me under the spray, combing my hair away from my face to get caught by the water.
At least we were wrapped in towels the next time Raleigh burst through the door. I scrubbed at my hair with a second towel, and James vampire-sped himself dressed.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I scolded Raleigh, who stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Like what?”
“Like you and Angel don’t fuck like rabbits. You forget our bar was right under your bedroom. You can hear a lot when the music’s not playing.”
A smug grin curled Raleigh’s lips. “Just get dressed.”
Damn, he was being demanding for a casual night.
Or…
As he drove us to the Hopyard, I started to notice things.
He was paying close attention to his phone, and his leg bounced like he’d just snorted espresso.
He was scheming something. I peered over my shoulder at James in the back seat, and his narrowed eyes at the back of Raleigh’s head confirmed my suspicions.
The Jenkins men were up to something, but I wasn’t going to ruin the secret.
We pulled up in front of The Devil’s Hopyard, and that familiar buzzing started in my veins—the one I felt when I knew I was in for a wild night.
I loved it. I missed it. Salem could get crazy, but not as wild as a night behind the bar at the Hopyard. It was one of the most iconic bars outside of the Strip, and thanks to social media, it had only grown in popularity and eventually became a tourist magnet.
I hadn’t been back since the day I laid my vest on the bar top and made the days-long drive to Massachusetts.
Nothing had changed. The exposed brick was still the same dark rust red, splattered with crimson paint to mimic the look of blood. Yellow caution tape crisscrossed the front door, the mock-spiderwebbed glass adding to its spooky nature.
The sign, though dark, still appeared ominous: The Grim Reaper stood over a nest of skulls, the bar’s name spanning either side of the image.
I always thought that returning to Vegas would feel a lot like coming home. For a long time, Vegas was my home. After my parents moved away from Salem, Raleigh and the Hopyard became my family. They were everything to me.
But that was before I met James. It wasn’t until he appeared beside me and slid his hand into mine that the scene felt complete. He was my missing piece.
Raleigh skirted around us and pushed the front door open, holding it there by leaning against it. “Surprise.”
James and I smiled at each other and stepped into the building. I heard soft murmurs coming from inside, and as we rounded the wall that hid the front door, a room full of people came into view. Cheers and applause rang out, and I swallowed down a bubble of emotion.
Kian stood next to Angel, whose blue eyes sparkled with mischief.
Much like the “baby shower” they’d thrown me before I left, they’d put together a joint bachelor party for James and me.
The bar still held the same gothic, Halloween theme, but the various skeletons, bats, and spiders hanging from every surface were adorned with phallic-shaped necklaces and headbands.
As James and I took in the decorations, a pop sounded to either side of us and holographic confetti rained down on us—also in the form of dicks.
We both burst into laughter and leaned into each other.
Raleigh appeared then, with a double shot of tequila in each hand.
“Drink up, you two. You’ve got twenty-four hours before you have to collect yourselves, and I expect I will have to pour you into bed later.
” He threw me a wink, knowing that I’d be the only one to feel the effects of alcohol, but James could put on a good enough front.
One double shot turned into two, which then became three and after that, I lost count. Dizzy, I made my way around the room, greeting people I hadn’t seen in almost two years. Hug after hug, familiar face after familiar face, I started to notice that someone was missing from the crowd: Jack.
Jack was my former coworker, a sassy little spitfire who kept everyone on their toes. He was a staple to the Hopyard, so I couldn’t imagine he had left, or that Raleigh and Angel would’ve let him go.
Before I could ask where he was, Angel thrust another double shot into my hand and shoved me into a chair. I tossed back the drink, and Raleigh sat James down next to me. “What’s going on?” I slurred.
Thumping music blared through the speakers, and the lights dimmed. “Shut up and enjoy the show!” Raleigh shouted.
A pair of arms dropped around my shoulders, and a familiar voice spoke into my ear. “Congratulations, Ryder.”
I twisted to look over my shoulder. “Jack?”
He smiled, glossy lips and glitter-accented eyes shining under the lights. He stepped around to my front and it all fell into place.
Jack had always tested the limits of his clothing, with tiny shorts that could hardly be considered that, and often see-through shirts. He was tall and lithe, with brown hair and green eyes that tended to get people in trouble—and Jack out of trouble.
Tonight, he wore… yeah, those definitely weren’t shorts. Whatever they were, they cut high on his ass cheeks and sat low enough on his hips to show off his pierced belly button. He didn’t bother with a shirt, instead smearing himself in body glitter that sparkled under the lights.
He straddled my lap. Instinct brought my hands to his hips.
I tossed my head back and laughed, feeling James’s happiness through the bond.
The loud song thrashed into the chorus, and Jack continued his strip tease.
He encouraged both James and me to put our hands on him, and both of us eagerly obliged.
He glanced at my fiancé at one point, gesturing to the button on the tiny scrap of denim he wore.
Holding Jack’s hand, James’s other expertly worked the button open.
Though my vision swam, I watched with rapt attention as he shoved the denim aside.
I writhed under Jack on the chair, and he smirked at me, feeling my obvious erection.
The small denim piece didn’t come off, but Jack was no less erotic.
He leapt off my lap and hopped into James’s, giving him the same treatment and smearing glitter over his face.
The crowd roared with laughter alongside James, and red flashed across his eyes—the violent lights providing the perfect excuse to anyone paying too close attention.
For the big finish, Raleigh handed me another—smaller—shot. “Hold this in your mouth,” he instructed.
I did, and Jack leaned over.
Oh, shit. I knew where this was going. I shared the tequila with Jack, who then turned and spat it into James’s mouth. Lust slammed into me so violently that I coughed, and I made a mental note that we needed to do that again.
The music ended, and Jack gave us both sloppy, wet kisses on our cheeks, then encouraged us to kiss each other. James slid his tongue into my mouth. Damn, tequila tasted so much better that way.
“Congratulations,” Jack said again, climbing off of James’s lap.
“Did you know about this?” I asked James.
He still smiled ear-to-ear. “Not a clue, but I’m not mad about it.” He leaned in to speak directly into my ear. “Any chance Jack wants to come back to the hotel with us?”
I reared back to stare at him in shock. Had he really just asked me that? Before I could answer, he burst into laughter again. “I’m only joking, love. I can smell the danger on that one.”
With Raleigh’s big surprise finished, he swept our chairs away, which cleared up the middle part of the floor.
Between us and the bar staff, we packed the small dance floor, James and me in the middle.
Raleigh handed us more shots, and we lost ourselves to the music.
My head swam, and it was only partially due to the booze.
James’s hips ground against mine. I was drunk off him.
And soon—yet somehow not soon enough—he would be completely and wholeheartedly mine.