“No peeking now!” Renée said firmly. I kept one hand linked around her arm and the other stretched out in front of me, afraid to bump into anything.
“How could I possibly peek,” I answered. “You’ve tied this blindfold so tightly I can’t even open my eyes!”
“Good,” she responded. “Careful now. There’s a step in front of you. Lift your foot.”
I obeyed and found myself treading on a carpet. “Where the heck are we going?” I asked for the fifth time since she’d collected me from the apartment that evening. As our best man and maid of honor respectively, Andy and Renée had been tasked with arranging our stag and hen nights. And Renée took her job very seriously. I was dressed like a French maid, with a sash that read “Bride to Be” across my chest. Andy had left with Prince an hour before my own departure. Any reservations I may have had about his plans were dashed away when he pulled me into a panty-wetting kiss before heading out the door.
“I’d rather be here with you,” he’d grumbled. I felt the same way, although I knew I’d break Renée’s heart if I said as much. She’d been hopping with excitement as she’d coaxed me into a flouncy black and white-trimmed mini dress complete with suspenders and stockings.
She was steering me through a vast space now, and I was aware of muffled voices and noises around me. When she finally brought me to a halt and whipped off the blindfold, I blinked for a few seconds. And then the cacophony of sound began.
“Surprise!” a crowd of raucous women shouted. I choked out a laugh.
“Tadaaa!” Renée announced as I stared around in amazement. My mom and Prince’s mother Eleanor were both there at the front of the group, along with Inocencia. We’d spent the afternoon together doing the final fitting of my wedding dress. White satin and lace that made me feel like a princess. Mom had cried. So had I. I think even Eleanor had shed a little tear.
Some of the girls I’d been friendly with when I’d worked with Leo were in the gathered group of ladies, too. Jane was also there, accompanied by several other women I’d met at Prince’s offices. Even some of the ladies I’d worked with in my new role as the “face” of Ardmore. Any woman I’d had any kind of positive interaction with in the past year had come to join in the fun.
“Ren!” I blurted, trying not to get weepy. “You wonderful woman!” She had her arm around my shoulder, and someone was pressing a champagne glass in my hand. Music had begun to play in the background, and I was pretty sure we’d all be dancing before the night was up.
Renée waved a hand dismissively at my teary words and turned me toward a beautifully set table in the center of the room. We seemed to be in some sort of a private room in a club, and I suspected Prince had a hand in part of the arrangements, though I was certain he’d never admit it.
“It was nothing!” said Renée. “Everyone did their share to help.” The other women were crowding around us, chattering with excitement. Laughter bubbled around the group. Champagne bottles were being uncorked and glasses filled.
“To my best friend forever!” said Renée cheerfully. “I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving of her own Prince Charming!”
I was grinning like a clown and my smile only broadened as the evening wore on and the champagne kept flowing. By the time the music changed tempo, I was quite giddy with the fun of it all.
“And now, for the evening’s highlight!” Renée said loudly after tapping a knife against a glass. There were several excited whispers and women began nudging me toward the edge of the long table we were seated at. I saw that we were situated beside a wide dance floor. Before I could set foot on it, the doors to the room burst open and a pair of uniformed men sprinted in.
“Oh, no!” cried Renée, hamming it up. “What have we here? A pair of officers arriving to keep the peace?”
Oh, boy. Here we go… I groaned inwardly. The guys, both buffed and tanned, were pushing me into a chair. Gyrating and twisting to the music, one of them unbuttoned his shirt and rubbed himself up against me. He was chiseled and hard enough to be a sculpture. And yet he did nothing for me.
I had a hotter man at home.
Renée was clapping her hands with delight as the male strippers tag-teamed me with their antics. Until I waved her over and demanded that she join me. Within minutes, I’d switch roles with her, and the rest of the women cheered wildly as they handcuffed her to her seat and switched their attention to her. Renée loved the limelight. And she loved beautiful men.
And I loved my fiancé. I wanted to go home.
After the dancers finally left, I managed to convince the party to let me leave, too. It was midnight, and I needed my beauty sleep. The wedding was just two days away.
Two days until I became Mrs. Alec Walker.
The thought made my head swim more than the champagne that had been flowing. Thankfully, Horatio was at the door waiting to guide me back to the limo.
It was nearly 1 a.m. when I stumbled into the apartment. My ears were still ringing with the bass of the music, and it occurred to me that I may have had more to drink than I’d realized. I weaved my way to the bedroom and pushed the door open unsteadily. And stopped at the sight of the man on the bed.
Those dancers had nothing on my husband-to-be. Prince was stretched out, face-down from one corner of the bed to the other. Broad, bare shoulders tapered down to where a sheet was pulled across the muscular lines of his ass. He was naked beneath it. I licked my lips.
As the light filtered from the hallway behind me into the darkness of the room, he stirred and rolled over.
Holy crap…that’s all mine! Thank you, Lord!
“Hey…” he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. His hair was tousled, and he raised a muscled arm over his head on the pillow as he peered up at me. He took in the sight of me and frowned in confusion. “Are you…?”
“Hello housekeeping!” I said lightly and teetered on my trashy heels into the room. “There have been reports of a very dirty boy in this room.”
He chuckled warmly, and the sound made my flesh tingle. “Oh, you have no idea,” he replied, voice still husky. I was beside the bed now and kicked off my shoes before clambering onto it and straddling him. His strong hands slid up my thighs, running along the edges of my stockings as I settled onto his hips.
