I. Lex

PART 1

LEX

I chuckled as I fumbled with the silver cufflinks, my fingers more clumsy than usual. Across the room, Emery laughed. “You’re not wearing those on our wedding day, or I’ll be waiting for you at the altar until I’m old enough to put in for retirement,” he teased.

“That won’t be a problem because I’ll be getting ready in my own suite and won’t be distracted by you making love to that ice cream wearing nothing but your underwear.”

He shot me a heated gaze. “I could take them off.” And then he licked the spoon, drawing it over his tongue. My dick hardened immediately. Not that difficult when I was around my fiancé.

“You’re a tease,” I said, stalking over to where he sat enjoying his favorite breakfast of pancakes with ice cream. I kneeled between his legs, took his spoon, and scooped it full of ice cream into my mouth. Before I swallowed, I pressed my lips against Emery’s.

He moaned when I coaxed his mouth open and transferred the still-cold ice cream from my mouth to his.

“Hmm, you taste good, baby,” I said, warming his cold lips with mine.

He responded with another moan, so I kissed him until I could no longer taste the ice cream, only the flavor of my favorite person.

“Can you believe we’ll be doing this next summer?” Emery asked, his gaze catching mine as he ran his fingers through my hair. “Standing in front of everyone we love, making it all official?”

“Sometimes it feels surreal,” I admitted. “Like a dream I’m afraid to wake up from because what if I do, and it turns out you’re still gone?”

“Hey.” He placed his hands on either side of my face. “I’m here, and we’ve made enough memories together to make up for the ones I’ve lost.”

“I love you so fucking much, Emery.”

“I love you too, Lex,” he said after a moment, pulling back with a smile that promised forever. “Come on, let’s get you buttoned up. Adam and River are counting on us to be ready.” He stood, taking me with him.

“Says he who is practically naked.”

He struck a pose with his hands on his hips and stuck his tongue out.

“Hey, do you think they’ll resist not seeing each other before the ceremony?” Emery asked, his voice dancing with mischief as he leaned against the hotel room’s dresser.

“I wouldn’t.”

“Is that so?” His laugh was a low rumble, sending a shiver of desire down my spine.

“That is so. And I wouldn’t even break the rules.”

“How?”

I winked. “I have my ways.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t let you in my suite. I’m a nice boy who follows the rules, you know?” he said.

It wasn’t a lie, and I loved when he did all the right things, like driving his teacher colleague to an out-of-state conference just because she was scared of flying. I also fucking loved it when he broke the rules.

I crouched by my suitcase and searched for the tie I’d worn to the rehearsal dinner. “You’d beg me to break the rules, baby.”

“Prove it.”

I approached him, the silk tie sliding through my fingers like a promise. “Close your eyes,” I instructed, my heart racing with every step.

He complied, and I blindfolded him with care, ensuring the fabric hugged his head just right, leaving him in darkness. His breath hitched, and the air between us became charged with an electric current.

“Lex…” Emery’s voice was a blend of excitement and vulnerability.

“Shh,” I whispered, tracing my fingers along his jawline before sinking to my knees. The scent of his body wash mingled with his arousal, intoxicating me further as I pulled his boxer shorts down to his knees and took him into my mouth.

The fact he was fully naked while I was already dressed—cufflinks and all—made it all the more electric between us.

“Ngh…” Emery’s hands found my hair, his grip tight yet reverent. The sound of his restrained moans was sweeter than a song. “Oh fuck, Lex.”

I pulled off him with a pop. “How can I be Lex? You can't see your groom before the ceremony, remember?”

He gasped as I resumed my worship of his cock, taking him down all the way until my mouth was full and he touched the back of my throat.

I massaged the inside of his legs with one hand while the other tugged his balls gently. He’d spill into my mouth in no time because I knew Emery’s body better than my own.

As soon as I teased a single finger around his rim, I felt the tell-tale shakes of his impending orgasm.

“Lex, I—” His words broke off in a gasp as I brought him to the brink, his body tensing, seeking release.

When he finally came, it was with my name on his lips, a declaration that echoed in the stillness of the room as I drank every single drop of his essence.

I carefully undid the blindfold, revealing his flushed cheeks and the raw adoration in his eyes.

Without a word, he switched places with me, his mouth on mine, claiming me with a hunger that matched mine. As Emery returned the favor, my world narrowed to the sensation of him, the heat, and the pleasure only he could bring to me.

After I came, releasing his name with a hoarse cry, we stood holding each other, marveling over the connection we had.

“True love never forgets,” he said, like he had almost two years ago when we got together again. His memories may never return, but his heart always knew it belonged to me.

“True love never forgets…” I repeated after him.

“Okay, time to get all dolled up for Adam and River’s big day.”

Since our detour hadn’t left a mess, we picked up his suit and my jacket from the matching hanging bags and finally got ready.

“Look at us,” Emery said, stepping closer until our reflections merged in the mirror. “Two handsome devils ready to charm the hell out of everyone.” His hands found their way to my tie, adjusting it with deft fingers, the intimacy of the gesture making my heart skip a beat.

“Only you, baby.” I caught his wrist, bringing his hand to my lips for a brief, tender kiss. “Only you could make me feel like the luckiest man alive just by fixing my tie.”

His chuckle was a warm caress against my skin. “And only you could turn a simple wedding prep into something so damn poetic. I thought Adam was the wordsmith Spencer.” He reached up to brush a rogue strand of hair from my forehead.

“I can make you a drawing if you like. It’ll be me with permanent heart eyes, holding a bouquet of peonies for you.”

“Do you think it’ll be super hot outside?” Emery asked.

Adam and River had decided to marry at the same resort in Maui that we’d visited on his honeymoon. I hadn’t been sure it was a good idea, but as Adam had said, that vacation had marked a new start in his life, which had taken him to River.

“The ceremony is inside, baby. We can come back to drop off our jackets before the beach reception.”

A knock at the door made us jump, and I moved to answer it with a foreboding tightening my gut. The last time we heard an unexpected knock on the morning of a wedding, it had been River telling us Victoria had left.

The door swung open, revealing River, his face pale, eyes wide with panic, and my stomach sank.

“The rings—I can’t find them anywhere,” he gasped.

“Wait, Adam’s not gone?”

He froze, his voice going a few octaves higher. “What? Adam’s gone?”

“Guys,” Emery said in his usual calm. “You’re not listening to each other.” Then he turned to River. “What’s the problem?”

“You promise Adam’s not gone?”

Emery smiled. “Promise.”

River sighed in relief before his eyes found the panic setting again. “I can’t find our wedding rings.”

“How? When did you last have them?” I asked.

“I—I don’t know,” River stammered, his fingers raking through his hair. He was already dressed in his wedding suit, looking every bit the nervous groom. “I had them, I swear. I mean, I thought I had them in my suitcase, but I’ve looked everywhere…” His voice trailed off, lost in the gravity of what this meant.

“Okay, hey, breathe,” I urged, stepping forward to place a steadying hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll find them, all right?”

“Adam’s going to kill me,” River whispered, his usual calm demeanor shattered by the weight of the moment. It pained me to see him like this, unraveling at the seams, on his wedding day of all days.

“Adam won’t care about the rings as much as he cares about you,” Emery chimed in, his voice soothing. “We’ve got time before the ceremony. Let’s think this through.”

“Could they have fallen out somewhere?” I suggested, my mind racing through possibilities. “Maybe when you were getting ready?”

“Maybe,” River conceded, though doubt clouded his eyes. “I checked my room already, tore it apart, but nothing.”

“All right,” I said, injecting confidence into my tone. “We split up. Search the places you’ve been since last having them. They have to be here, River. This place isn’t that big, and we haven’t left the resort.”

“Okay.” River nodded, his breathing steadier now. “I’ll retrace my steps. Maybe…maybe I dropped them somewhere along the way.”

“Good.” I gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Emery and I will check the common areas, ask around. Someone might’ve seen something.”

River’s gaze flickered between us, gratitude mingling with the lingering fear. “Thank you,” he murmured, the vulnerability in his voice tugging at my heart.

“Hey, no thanks needed,” Emery replied, his smile gentle. “You’d do the same for us.”

“First, we need backup. Let’s grab Noah,” I suggested, knowing that, if anything, Noah would help calm River down and inject a slice of humor.

“Good idea,” River replied, the panic in his eyes beginning to subside.