Chapter Eleven

Xavier

We touch down in Cancun around eight p.m., an hour after the rehearsal dinner was supposed to start. We make our way through the busy traffic to the five-star resort where the wedding party is staying. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing from the moment we landed.

“Calm down,” I say to Ryan. “We’ll be about half an hour. We could come straight there, but I doubt Zoey or Brooke would be happy about that.”

Zoey gives me a glare that confirms that. I give Brooke’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Brooke?” Ryan asks. “Who’s Brooke?”

“She’s with me,” I simply say.

“I didn’t know you were bringing someone.”

“And that’s a problem because?”

Ryan is silent for a beat. Which irritates me because I know he’s about to say something I won’t like .

“Because Vanessa is here.” Ryan continues. “She begged to come with me so she could see you.”

“And little cherub that you are, you couldn’t refuse. Well, that sounds like your problem, man.” I chuckle. If Ryan and Zoey would quit playing matchmaker for a second, they’d see Vanessa and I aren’t the least bit suited. “Anyway, tell Alex and the boys I’ll be there soon.”

Brooke is still looking out of the window, raptly taking in the busy, colorful streets and the sounds of Cancun at night. Lisa is rested from her long nap on the flight and is happily chatting to Dan and Zoey.

We reach the hotel and the awe on Brooke’s face driving through Cancun is nothing compared to her reaction when she sees the suite. It’s one with wall-to-ceiling panoramic sky and ocean views and a terrace with an infinity pool.

“Do you like it?”

“Oh my God, Xavier, this is breathtaking.” She looks around in wonder, shaking her head. “It’s—too much, too big for one person.”

“Are you trying to get me to share your room?”

She gets a bit flustered. “I mean, come on, it’s big enough for four people, Xavier. We could both stay here and we’d have plenty of space.”

“I wanted you to be comfortable and not feel like you have to stay in the same room with me, especially if you didn’t want to.”

I know she’d thought I brought her here to get into her pants. While there’s nothing I’d like to do more, I just really didn’t want to be alone this weekend.

Her eyes take on a soft glow and she throws her hands around my neck. “Thank you. ”

The hug takes me by surprise. This is the first time Brooke has shown me affection without me having to push or provoke her. It feels bloody good. I return the embrace, liking the way she fits in my arms, the way my palms span her small waist and the swell of her hips. Her smell. I put my nose in her hair and inhale deeply.

“Xavier”—she releases me—“what are you doing?”

“You smell good, can you blame me?” I laugh, and she shakes her head.

I leave her to get changed for the rehearsal dinner.

The rehearsal dinner is halfway done when we get there. It is on the rooftop terrace of the hotel overlooking the beach, which is the venue of the wedding tomorrow. Classical music plays in the background, mixed with the laughter and conversations of the guests. Zoey and Lisa had gone ahead to sit with Holly, the other flower girl, and her mom Emma.

I see Alex and his bride-to-be, Nora, standing with the officiant. A group of women are beside Nora, and the guys are on Alex’s side. I gather they’ve already done the processional. I tense as we draw nearer.

It’s a semi-casual rehearsal dinner, nothing more , I tell myself, gently rolling my head from side to side to relieve the tension already setting in.

“I’ll go sit over there,” Brooke says, motioning to the small group where other guests who aren’t part of the wedding party are sitting. Before she goes, I pull her into my arms and kiss her cheek. “Have I told you how beautiful you look?”

“Only about a dozen times, Xavier,” she replies, squeezing my arm. If she thought my behavior was unusual, she didn’t show it. I watch her go for a moment, then follow Dan and head to the other boys standing to the side of the makeshift aisle.

“About time, Xaviboy.” Lee hugs me. “What took you so long?”

“Last minute meetings. Unavoidable, unfortunately.”

Wyatt claps me on the back in welcome.

I shake Max’s hand, who is also a friend of Alex’s. Max recently launched his IT startup company in Manhattan and we’ve met a few times to discuss investments. I see the group standing together a few feet away. Jordan has his arm around his new wife, Sabrina. Jordan’s business partner, the bespectacled Ethan, and another petite woman I’ve never met are deep in conversation.

“Guys, it’s been ages!” I say when I reach the group. We regularly caught up in Manhattan at Sabrina’s exhibitions but over the past couple of months we’ve not had the chance to meet.

“Xavier, you made it!” Sabrina gushes. We all share hugs, then Sabrina introduces her friend Bonnie, the petite woman with short purple hair. Bonnie, unlike Sabrina, isn’t part of the bridal party.

I then go over to James, Alex’s half-brother I’d heard so much about but never actually met, and finally Giovanni, the best man, a big bearded guy with a man-bun. Ryan approaches, handing me a drink—a scotch on the rocks—and stands beside me.

“You dog.” Ryan sips his drink. “So you are seeing that woman you ditched me for the other night. You might have said. I needn’t have bothered with Vanessa. ”

“What, and rob you of the chance to play Mary Poppins and Fairy Godmother?”

“Fuck you.” Ryan smiles.

“Ry, keep Nessa away from Brooke, you know how she can be. I don’t want Brooke upset. She’s… important.”

Ryan whirls to face me, shock registering on his face.

“What,” I bark.

“Nothing. Not a thing.” He takes another sip and hides a stupid smile. “Although I figured I’d leave Vanessa in your lap and find myself a Mexican beauty.”

“You figured wrong, my friend. Try figuring she meets someone else. Better still, set her up with one of these guys.”

He shakes his head in exasperation. Alex and Nora have finished with the officiant and are coming toward us.

“Xavier, my man!” Alex crushes me in a hug, and I thump his back.

“Congratulations, man.” I turn to Nora and kiss her on both cheeks then pull her in for a hug. “You’ve made him the happiest man alive.” Nora beams. “Seriously, until you, we’ve always known him to be as grumpy as a bear with a sore head, so thank you.”

Alex cuts in, “Okay, we get it, sunshine.” We laugh as they move to do their rounds with other guests. Just before they leave, Alex squeezes my shoulder and says in a low voice, “Really appreciate you being here, Xavier.”

I nod in reply. Alex is hands down the most selfless man I know. I’d bend over backward for him. “You’re welcome, man, anytime.”

After a while, I look around for Brooke, already missing her. She’s talking animatedly and laughing with Sabrina’s friend, Bonnie. I wonder how Bonnie got over there so fast. They seem to be getting on like a house on fire. I smile. There’s a reason Stella is Brooke’s best friend, and Bonnie looks like a clone of Stella. Brooke catches me watching and smiles shyly. I grin, feeling like I’ve just won the lottery. Vanessa stands with Andrea, Nora’s maid of honor but approaches when she sees me.

Vanessa kisses my dimpled right cheek. I would usually also let her kiss my chin or neck as she’s wont to do, but this time I hold her upper arms. She’s not deterred; she grabs my forearms, stroking back and forth like she craves any sort of contact from me.

“You look good, Bennett,” she breathes.

“So do you, Nessa,” I return politely.

“I can’t believe you really brought a date, knowing I would be here? Does she know about us?”

Before I can say anything, Brooke sidles over to me and presses against me. My arm automatically lifts and cradles her nearer and Vanessa takes a step back. Brooke strokes one hand up and down my back and tingles race between my shoulder blades, spreading across my shoulders. Her other hand is low on my abdomen, fingers tracing the muscles. Her breasts are nestled close and she’s subtly rubbing against me like a cat. My brain short circuits. “Introduce us, babe,” she purrs.

I wonder who this brazen woman is and what she’s done with shy Brooke. Her touch is such a fucking turn-on. “Brooke, this is Vanessa, a friend of mine. Vanessa, Brooke is the woman I’m seeing,” I say tightly.

“Since when?” Vanessa asks rudely.

“Since whenever I need seeing to,” Brooke tells Vanessa, then stands on her tiptoes and whispers in my ear, sucking on my earlobe. “Like right now. ”

Heat spreads up my neck because I’m suddenly, painfully aroused. In the middle of a wedding rehearsal dinner.

“Excuse us,” I say to a shocked Vanessa, “we were just leaving.”

I catch Brooke’s hand and drag her away from the terrace through the nearest elevator.

“Xavier—” she begins.

“Not a word, babe .”

The elevator door closes, and I’m on her, pinning her against the wall. I catch both of her hands in mine, hold them above her head, and devour her mouth in a hard kiss, pouring my anger and arousal into it, roughly grinding my erection into her. She lets out a lusty moan and curls her leg around my waist so I’m hitting her clit repeatedly. After a few moments she suddenly jerks, making a strangled sound and I realize with shock that she’s coming. Fuck me, the lift hasn’t even descended four floors. I jerk away as if she’s on fire and move to the opposite wall of the elevator.

She looks like a wet dream with her flushed cheeks, glazed eyes, and hard nipples poking through her emerald silk cocktail dress. My balls ache with the need to sink into her. We reach our floor and I pull her into my room.

“What the fuck was that?” I say when the door closes.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it, I was—you were—”

“I don’t mean the orgasm, babe . Before that, upstairs with Vanessa.”

“Are you sleeping with her?” she asks.

“What was that about? Were you jealous? Did you want to punish me? Prove a point?”

“Answer my question, Xavier. ”

“Not a chance. Not until you explain why you were suddenly all over me.”

“Are you angry?”

“I’m fucking hard, Brooke! You put your hands on me in public, at my friend’s rehearsal dinner, and I couldn’t fucking think anymore.”

“I’m sorry.” Her gaze goes to my crotch. And stays there. I grow impossibly harder and my dick starts to throb.

She slowly moves closer, as if in a trance, until she reaches me. I’m spellbound with need. Her hands go to my fly. “Xavier,” she breathes, unbuttoning my slacks and looking deep into my eyes as she pulls the zipper down.

Who the hell is this seductress?

She curls her hand around my arousal and my head falls back, eyes closing against the intense sensation. She pulls my cock out, stroking her thumb back and forth over the moist, engorged crown. My mouth opens in a tortured groan as I leak more precum.

“Do you want me to—?” she whispers.

“Yes! Fuck, yes, baby, please.” I feel like I’ll die if she doesn’t put her mouth on me right now.

She’s on her knees in front of me in a flash and takes me in her mouth. The wet heat of her mouth feels so good I have to lock my knees to keep them from buckling. My hands find their way into her hair, gathering the mass of waves away from her face so I can watch her plump lips sliding over my heated flesh.

Her eyes are closed and she’s moaning as if she’s enjoying this. Her hands don’t quite encircle the thick base of my cock but I feel her every squeeze and stroke. She takes me deeper and gags. I moan loudly at the feeling, drawing on every ounce of control I have not to ram into her throat. A few more licks and pulls and I feel my balls draw up. I’m right there. Already. Fuck this is good.

“Brooke,” I pant, “baby, I’m going to come.”

Her hands find mine, linking our fingers and she takes me deeper, her moan vibrating down into my balls. She lifts her eyes to meet mine and the lust I see in them tells me she wants to taste me. I lose my mind. The orgasm hits me like a freight train and my hands shake in hers as I flood her mouth, my hips jerking. She sucks until I’m completely spent, places a soft, open-mouthed kiss on my thigh, then rises to her feet and plants another kiss on my neck, sucking softly. I’m still panting.

Hands down the hottest blowjob I’ve ever received.

“Holy fucking shit, woman.” I gasp, wiping her smeared pink lipstick with a thumb.

“I was jealous, Xavier, and I’m sorry I did that to you,” she says.

I cup her face and look deep into her eyes. “No, I’m not sleeping with her. We were friends for a while, then slept together for a few weeks. Our physical relationship ended over a year ago. And I haven’t slept with anyone since I laid eyes on you.” I haven’t wanted anyone except you.

“Look at us.” Brooke chuckles. “Who knew all we needed was a couple of orgasms and we’d be right as rain.”

“Smart mouth.” I take her mouth in a kiss. “We should go back upstairs.”

She groans. “Everyone’s going to know what happened. The way you dragged me off…”

“That was entirely your fault, beautiful girl; besides, who doesn’t love a little wedding scandal?”

“Xavier! ”

“And just in time to meet the boys,” I continue. “Your timing is impeccable, Brooke. To think I won’t even need to warn them to back off of you.”

“Oh, God.” Her cheeks turn pink, and I laugh out loud, shaking my head. Brooke Lewis. The woman who ten minutes ago literally decimated my composure and reduced me to a smoking pile of want, is now blushing prettily.

Taking pity on her, I say, “I’m joking, okay. Apart from Vanessa, I doubt anyone noticed. It’s not like we made a scene. You’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“Can I at least fix my makeup?”

“I kind of like you all mussed up, but yeah, take your time.”