Deeper (24 page)

I
used to love going to New York City but after the hell that we’d all endured
once we had to go there, I personally never wanted to go back if I didn’t have
to. Everleigh’s ex-boyfriend Scott had gone completely off the rails once she
had started dating Ryder. I still don’t understand why he went as crazy as he
did. He broke up with her after they slept together once and she asked to wait
before they did it again. He completely lost it, telling her heinous things and
destroying her confidence. If I had to guess, I’d say that was his way of
making sure she didn’t attempt to be with anyone else. When Ryder showed up in
town, the crazy switch in Scott’s mind obviously was flipped on and he had not
only caused a scene at Max’s wake, but he tried to rape her before we left and
three weeks after we’d arrived in the city he murdered her friend Trisha Cramer
before following her to New York City.

Everyone
was on edge and we all were under constant protection after that. Danni,
Everleigh, and I never went anywhere alone and Beau’s sister Sadie had to leave
in the middle of her final semester of college and come to the city because the
guys felt like having her close to us would keep her safer. Everleigh had even
begun taking shooting lessons at a gun range after Ryder forced her to learn to
use a gun. No one knew what Scott was capable of so Ryder wanted her to have a
way to protect herself just in case the worst happened and I couldn’t say I
blamed him.

On
Sadie’s twenty-first birthday, we’d all decided to get out and have some fun
because frankly we all needed it. As a gift to Sadie (and I think more so for
Everleigh) Ryder sent us all to a high end salon in Manhattan to get ready for
the birthday girl’s big night out. It was so sweet of Ryder to treat us all to
a day of pampering and by the time we were ready to hit the club, we all looked
smoking ass hot.

Sadie
had chosen to spend her birthday at Shadow, a hot club that always had amazing
bands playing. I thought we’d be able to let loose and have a good time but of
course that didn’t happen. Scott ended up showing up at the club and after
attacking Ryder from behind and leaving him in a crumpled heap on the men’s
bathroom floor, he abducted Everleigh at knifepoint before anyone could stop
him.

The
hours that followed were pure agony as we waited at the police station for any
news on Everleigh and Scott’s whereabouts. Everyone was upset and visibly
shaken, but Ryder and Danni were inconsolable. After what felt like days rather
than hours, Ryder’s cell phone rang and it was Everleigh calling to tell us
that not only was she alive but she’d been forced to do the unthinkable…she had
to kill Scott in self defense.

My
heart was leaping yet breaking at the same time. I was relieved that Everleigh
was safe and unharmed (for the most part anyway) yet what she had to do to not
only save herself but Danni, Sadie and I after Scott had threatened our lives
as well. Everleigh was an amazing girl and I would be forever indebted to her
for saving all of us.

After
Everleigh had been checked out at the hospital and was informed by two
detectives that she wouldn’t be facing any charges in Scott’s death, we left
for Cincinnati the next day and I personally was so happy to be going back home
to where things made more sense. At that point Kris and I hadn’t slept in our
own bed in over a month and I was desperate for things to calm down and get
back to normal so I could finish planning this wedding. I couldn’t wait to
finally start our lives together without anything else happening to stop that
from happening.

Kris

I
groaned as I heard my cell phone ringing. I didn’t know what time it was but I
did know for sure that it was either too late or too early to have a fucking
phone chirping in my ear.

Grabbing
it angrily off the nightstand, I swiped the screen and held it to my ear. “This
had better be good,” I grumbled.

“Get
up and pack your bags, man. We’re heading to Vegas tonight.”

I
rubbed my eyes and asked, “Ryder?”

“Of
course it’s Ryder.”

“Dude,
do you have any idea what time it is?” I snapped, glaring at the clock on the
wall that read that it was just after four in the morning. I looked over at
Jess, who was still sleeping soundly like a beautiful angel.

“Come
on, this is important. Seriously, get up and get dressed. Wake Jess up too.”

“What
the hell is going on man? Why are we flying to Vegas?”

“Because
I’m getting married.”

I
sat up and flicked on the light. “You’re what?”

“I
just asked Everleigh to marry me and she said yes. We don’t want to wait so
we’re leaving on the next flight out and I need everyone there. Evie’s calling
the airport right now and booking the flight.”

“So…you’re
serious? This isn’t a joke?”

“Kris,
why in the hell would I call you at four a.m. and wake you up to tell you I’m
getting married and then say ‘psyche, just playing’?”

I
rubbed my scruffy cheek and smiled. “Well fuck me, man.”

“No
thanks, I’ll let Jess do that,” he laughed.

“I’m
happy for you, Ryder, seriously. I’ll wake Jess up and we’ll meet you at the
airport. Have Ev text us the flight info.”

“I
will. I’ll see you soon, man,” he said.

“See
you bro,” I replied before hanging up the phone and running my hand through my
hair. I laughed to myself before turning to Jess and watching her sleep for a
few more moments before I woke her from her sleep. She looked so gorgeous while
she slept and I truly hated to wake her but I knew she would want to know about
Ryder and Everleigh right away.

I
gently shook her shoulder and whispered, “Jess? Baby wake up.”

Her
eyes fluttered open and she pursed her lips together as she stretched out her
arms. “Kris? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,
everything’s fine, don’t worry. Uh…Ryder just called me.”

She
squinted her eyes and asked, “What time is it?”

“It’s
after four.”

“Why
the hell did he call this early? Are you sure everything’s okay?” she asked,
slowly sitting up, a worried expression on her face.

“It’s
okay, I promise.” Sighing, I grinned at her and said, “He called to tell me he
and Everleigh are getting married.”

Her
half-sleepy eyes widened and sparkled with happiness. “They’re what?
Seriously?”

“Seriously,”
I replied, grinning. “Everleigh is booking the flights to Vegas right now.”

“Vegas?”
she laughed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Well, they are just jumping in
feet first, aren’t they?”

“Ryder
and Everleigh always jump into things feet first. If they didn’t I’d be
worried,” I chuckled. “He said to pack our bags and once Everleigh gets all the
flight details she’s supposed to text us.”

Jessie
pulled the covers off of herself and I stifled a groan as I watched her slowly
get out of bed wearing her usual tee shirt and panties. I shamelessly stared at
her long, gorgeous legs and I had to shift around to stifle my swelling
erection. No matter how many times I’d seen her in various forms of undress, I
still looked at her body as if I was just seeing her for the first time.

“Well
let’s get going then. If I know Ryder well enough, he’s probably having
Everleigh book the next flight to Vegas so we’d better pack fast just in case,”
she said as she walked to her walk-in closet and pulled out her large travel
bag. “Can you call John and see if he have one of the security team pick us up
and drive us to the airport? I really don’t want either of our cars being left
there.”

“Of
course, I’ll take care of it,” I answered. As I was dialing John’s number on my
cell phone, I shook my head and laughed. “I fucking can’t believe Ryder of all
people is getting married, and before us on top of that.”

“I
know,” Jessie giggled as she walked back into the room and started tossing
things into the bag. “I really thought out of the group we’d be the first down
the aisle.”

“You’re
not upset, are you?” I asked her. “I know a few months ago you were ready to
elope just like they are. Are you sure you aren’t bummed that we didn’t do the
same?”

She
stopped packing and walked over to me. Placing her hand on my cheek, she
answered, “Kris, I’m not upset in the least. Our friends are getting married
the way they both want to but that’s not us. I really think we are doing the
right thing by planning this wedding.”

“You
do?” I asked, wrapping my arms around her waist.

“Absolutely.
Yes, I am anxious to finally marry you, but we only have about three and a half
months until that happens. You’re worth the wait, handsome.”

I
grinned at her and kissed her lips lightly before whispering, “So are you,
beautiful. So are you.”

“I
love you,” she whispered back and before I could kiss her again she gently
shoved away from me. “Come on, if we want to be ready in time we need to get
moving. Call John,” she commanded.

“Yes
ma’am,” I replied. “Don’t think we aren’t picking up where we left off as soon
as we are checked into our hotel.”

“Oh
I’m counting on it,” Jessie answered. “Hurry up and call him while I pack our
bags.”

“All
right, fine,” I pretended to pout and she giggled. “You’d better make it worth
it when we get there.”

“Oh
you know I will.” She winked at me as I dialed John’s number and made
arrangements for us to be taken to the airport. I couldn’t wait for this to be
us in a few months, packing for our honeymoon and ready to begin our
already-joined lives officially by taking that final step into forever with
her.

“You
know, for a quickie Vegas wedding, that was actually really nice,” Jude stated
as we all filed into the elevator at the hotel.

“Everleigh
looked gorgeous,” Danni replied as she moved to stand between Jessie and Sadie.
Danni was obviously trying to be as far from Beau as possible, who was leaning
quietly against the elevator wall looking miserable despite his forced smile.

“She
really did, didn’t she? Did you see Ryder’s face when she came walking down the
aisle?” asked Sadie.

“Yeah,
I thought he was going to start sobbing,” I laughed. “Ah well, I can’t joke
because that’ll be me on our wedding day for sure.” I wrapped my arm tightly
around Jessie’s waist and kissed the top of her head.

Jessie
beamed at me and snuggled her sexy body into my side.

“Aw,
that’s so sweet. You’re such a pussy,” Jude laughed.

“For
this girl you’re fucking right I am,” I answered.

“Three
months, girl. Are you excited?” Danni asked Jessie.

“Hell
yeah. In my opinion that’s three months too long, but Kris and I want to do
this right. Besides, you girls will love the bridesmaid dresses I picked out.”

“As
long as it’s sexy, I’m good,” Sadie answered.

“We’re
having the wedding at The Phoenix, Sadie. I don’t think sexy is what we’re
going for,” I replied, smiling.

“Don’t
worry, girl. You will look incredible, I promise,” Jessie offered. “We can
worry about that later though because right now, we all need to get changed and
ready to hit the strip with the newlyweds.”

“Hell
yeah, I want to get drunk as fuck and have a killer time,” Jude said loudly.

Jessie
turned into me and looked up into my eyes. “What about you? You ready to have a
good time tonight?”

“Of
course, but I’m pretty sure tonight will end with you naked underneath me,” I
answered, a cocky smile on my face.

“You
really think I’ll be underneath you, huh? You’re pretty confident.”

“What?
You think you won’t be?”

“No.
I just might be on top this time. Or in front, haven’t made up my mind yet.”

I
heard Sadie giggling and Jude snorting out a laugh as the elevator dinged and
the doors opened. Her words had made me start to get hard and as we all poured
out of the elevator, I practically dragged Jessie down the hall toward our
room, only pausing to shout out, “Uh, we’ll meet you in the lobby in a little
bit. We have something to take care of first.”

I
pulled her into our room and slammed the door shut in my attempt to get her
inside and naked. As I unzipped her dress and it fell into a pool of delicate
fabric on the floor, she breathlessly stated, “Kris I need to get ready for…oh
my God.” She moaned loudly and lost her train of thought as my eager fingers
sought out her entrance, which was already dampening with her arousal.

“Don’t
worry, baby, we’ll make it on time,” I promised and kissed her passionately as
I led her over to the bed. I wasn’t about to waste this moment being anywhere
but inside her, my favorite place to be. As happy as I was for my friend and
his new wife, making love to my very naked bride-to-be took the ultimate
precedence.

The Wedding Day

“You
nervous yet, man?” Ryder asked me as he handed me a shot of Jameson.

“Not
at all. In fact, this last hour before the ceremony is killing me. How did you
handle it at your wedding? Did you feel this, I don’t know, antsy?” I asked
him.

“Oh
hell yeah, bro. The wait was horrible but you’re in the home stretch. Only one
hour to go and you will officially be shackled to one of the most amazing women
in the world. Next to my wife, of course,” Ryder replied with a grin.

“Naturally,”
I answered with a grin. “Okay, I need to talk about something to distract
myself from charging out of here to find Jess and just marrying her now. How’s
married life treating you?”

“It’s
awesome, man, are you kidding? Every day with Evie is better than the last.”

“You
still trying to knock her up or have you already done that?” Jude asked,
downing his shot in one gulp.

“We’re
still trying. I know this is probably TMI, but she started her period two days
ago and she’s been a little moody because she hasn’t gotten pregnant yet.”

“Yeah
that was a little too much info, dude,” Jude replied with a grimace and poured
himself another shot.

“What?
Girls have periods, Jude, it’s nothing to be grossed out about. It’s natural,
they happen, learn to deal with it. You have to now especially since you are
living with Sadie. You have a chick for a roommate and that topic is bound to
come up,” Ryder said.

After
slamming back another shot, Jude answered, “Yes I am well aware that it happens
but if Sadie gets hers it’s not like she walks out of the bathroom and
announces, “Hey roomie, I’m menstruating, let’s celebrate’. That’s girl stuff
and I don’t want to know about it.”

“Okay
let’s change the subject to something else, please,” Beau stated, tossing back
a shot of his own.

I
patted Ryder on the back and replied, “Three months is nothing, man. You two
will have your baby but you just have to be patient. You know what they say,
the more you try the more stressed you get. Just relax and enjoy it and before
you know it she’ll be pregnant and you’ll get to start your family.”

“As
will you, man,” he said sincerely.

“I
hope you’re right, Ryder. This new doctor sounds pretty promising,” I answered.

Last
month Jessie and I finally found a fertility specialist in town that was able
to give us some good news. Because of the damage Crystal had done, Jessie had a
problem producing eggs normally. However, the specialist was able to do a
procedure that not only helped stimulate her egg production again, but he
placed her on several different medications that were supposed to help us
conceive. After years and years of heartbreak, our hopes of having a baby of
our own was actually something that looked like it might happen.

“Don’t
worry, it’ll happen. Jessie deserves the chance to be a mom and if anyone can
make that happen for her, it’s you.”

“I
really hope so. I’d hate to come this far just to have it not work out. I can’t
watch her go through that heartbreak again,” I answered, voicing my fear. It
had killed me for years that I couldn’t give her what she so desperately craved
and now that it was within reach, I was more scared than I ever had been. This
just had to happen for us…it had to. I wouldn’t love her any less either way,
but a man is supposed to give his wife everything her heart desired and this
was the only thing Jessie ever really wanted in life.