Breaking The Bro Code (Hawthorne Brothers 3)

I give her a puzzled look. “You want the wedding shower to be grander than the wedding?”

“Yes,” she answers like it’s no big deal.

It is a big deal, though. Now, Ryker and I really have to get serious about planning this thing. It’s a good thing we’re getting along again.

“Can you handle it?” Natalie asks.

“Yes,” I answer before glancing at Ryker. “Right, best man?”

This time, he nods. “Sure.”

Of course we can. Ryker and I are a great team. We can come up with something grand. In fact, I already have a few ideas.

~

“What do you think of a pool party?” I ask Ryker as we enter his apartment. “You know, they’re getting married on a beach, so the shower is around a pool. Beach. Pool. See the connection?”

“I don’t mind if there’s a pool.” Ryker shrugs off his coat. “But I don’t think I like guests being in the pool. I don’t think they’ll like it, either, what with the cold weather and all.”

Right. Maybe we should forget about doing anything outdoors. The wedding is going to be outdoors anyway.

I take off my coat and throw it on a chair. “What about a beach-themed party? That can be done indoors. We can have palm trees and sand.”

“Sand?”

Ryker heads to the bedroom. I follow him.

“Or just palm trees and hammocks and beach chairs.”

Ryker goes into the closet. He sits on a stool and takes off his shoe.

“You do know the wedding is going to be on a beach, right? An actual beach.”

“Which is why the wedding shower also has to be on a beach, even if it’s just pretend,” I tell him. “Nat said some of the guests won’t be able to make it to Jamaica so we’ll bring the beach to them. On a grander scale, of course.”

“Okay. Maybe instead of sand, we can just decorate the room in gold. Golden tapestries. Golden linens.”

I nod. That sounds like a good idea. And I just had another one.

“Or we can have a luau.”

Ryker stops in the process of taking off his other shoe to give me a puzzled look. “A luau?”

“Or maybe just the dance part. You know…”

I hold my hands above my head and rock my hips.

Ryker grins.

“What?” I ask him. “You don’t like it?”

He deposits his shoes on the shelf and stands in front of me. He tucks his hand under his chin.

“I’m pretty sure what you’re doing is more of the belly dancing they do in the Middle East.”

I chuckle because I realize it is, then shrug.

“Who cares?”

I rock my hips faster. My breasts jiggle. I look at Ryker.

“Do you like it?”

He doesn’t answer, but I can see the interest in his eyes as he stares at my breasts. My heart races.

Hmm. Let’s see if I can turn that interest into something more intense.

I peel off my shirt as I continue dancing. Then I slip out of my pants. Ryker’s eyes narrow.

Now that I’m just in my underwear, I dance more passionately. I turn around, stick out my butt and wiggle it. Then I glance over my shoulder and slap one cheek playfully.

The fingers under Ryker’s chin move. Is he starting to get the urge to touch me? I wonder.

I’m waiting.

He doesn’t make a move, so I decide to turn up the volume. I turn to face him and touch my shoulders, then run my hands over my breasts. I put my hands on my hips as I swing them, slipping my thumbs inside the garter of my panties. I playfully stretch the garter at the sides before pushing my panties down. Once they reach my knees, they fall the rest of the way and I step out of them. I kick them aside and step back to lean against the wall. I lift one arm above my head and hold Ryker’s gaze as I lick my lips. I slip my fingers past them and suck.

Lust flickers in Ryker’s eyes. The lump in his throat moves as he swallows. Still, he doesn’t make a move.

I have one last one left.

I take my wet fingers out of my mouth and drag the tips down the middle of my chest. Once they get past my navel, I spread my legs.

That does it. Ryker finally moves from where he’s standing and rushes over to me. He grabs my wrist and pins both my hands above my head as he looks into my eyes.

“You’ve been very naughty. You know that?”

“Yes, I have,” I purr. Then I give him a mischievous grin. “So, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to punish me?”

I lift my leg and graze my knee against the bulge in his crotch. He draws a breath.

“You asked for it.”

He pulls his tie off and wraps it around my wrists. A shiver goes through me.

“Ooh. Bondage. That’s—”