G R A Y S O N

When Juniper danced off with her sister, I watched as Julian's eyes remained glued to her backside and chuckled.

Julian and I talked when Nessa went with Juni to the bar, and things were operating more clearly in my head. I finally had a sense of what was going on between these two.

Well, a bit of one, anyway. I didn't wholly understand Julian's restraint. As we'd all known for years, he was completely head over heels for Juniper. Yet he still refused to do anything about it. And as someone who immediately chased after Nessa the moment I saw her and knew I had to have her, I struggled to relate.

I supposed that made Julian more selfless than me. Because part of his reasoning for holding back was on account of his family, his sister, and Juniper's relationship with all of them. He pushed her away because he thought he was supposed to.

I wanted to tell him that his sister almost certainly wouldn't care. Based on what I'd seen in the past, Gemma was more than aware of the vibes between her best friend and her brother. But all I could do was give him little nudges and watch as he all but drooled after her.

Finally, Jules turned back to us.

"What does Wednesday Elevett have on the schedule these days?" he asked Nessa, whose face lit up at the question.

"I'm starting to record my next album," she said, beaming at Julian.

Nessa continued telling Julian about what the recording process looked like, and I sat back and let them chat.

But after a few minutes of listening, a guy on the dance floor distracted me, inching uncomfortably toward Juniper. He was getting way too fucking close, leering at her. But Julian must not have noticed because he was still sitting, listening to Nessa.

"Jules," I said, regretfully interrupting my wife. But it got Julian's attention, and I pointed to the dance floor.

"Oh, hell no."

Julian was out of his seat without another word, storming across the hotel ballroom until he'd pushed his way into the crowd. Not a moment too soon, either, because the asshat on the dance floor definitely just touched Juniper's ass, and I'd say it was on purpose.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nessa's eyes widen as Julian grabbed the guy's shirt collar with a snarl that I couldn't make out.

Nessa slid off my lap, placing herself in the chair next to mine. It was like she had read my mind. Because as I watched the happenings on the dance floor, I sat forward on the edge of my seat, readying myself just in case Jules needed my help. By the look on the guy's face, I assumed he was about to slink away with his tail tucked between his legs. But if he tried to swing, I wanted to be prepared.

As I guessed, though, he split as soon as Julian's grip slid off him. Then Julian turned back to Juniper, expression softening, body melting into hers. I tracked the asshole as he walked through the crowd, moving to dance along the outskirts.

Nessa put a hand on my knee, and I relaxed at her touch, slouching back into my chair.

"I tried to talk Julian up," Nessa said offhandedly. "To Juniper."

"I'm sure he secretly would appreciate that," I said. "Although he's still heavily in denial."

Nessa snorted. "Seriously? After his whole little desperation drama over there in the bathroom? And what just happened?"

A chuckle slipped through my lips. "He doesn't think it would work for them to be together."

"I don't know if it's up to them at this point," she said, gesturing to where the couple now danced together amidst the other wedding guests. They were close, murmuring to each other about something. Neither of them had a clue about what was going on around them as their eyes remained glued to each other.

"Yeah, it's just going to happen," I agreed. "And then they'll be along for the ride."

With a sigh, Nessa placed her head on my shoulder. "I can't wait until that happens."

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. I was too distracted looking down at her, one hand resting on her belly while her long legs crossed. Goddamn, that dress of hers was wonderfully short.

"This has been nice," Nessa said on another exhale. "This trip. In a way, it feels like college again."

"I'm glad Jules was here." I kissed the top of her head. "We don't hang out with friends enough."

"I know."

Those two words were wistful, and I internally vowed to try to get Nessa to see our friends more often. Part of the problem, of course, was that we were too spread out and too busy. But Beau had a private jet, for fuck's sake. Surely he could get us all together more often.

"Do you want to dance?" she offered, but it was asked a bit offhandedly, a bit lacking in luster.

"I think you should stay off your feet," I replied, draping an arm around her shoulder.

"You're doing it again." She said the words sternly, but there was a definite smile on her face.

"What?"

"Being ridiculous."

I shrugged. "It's what I'm good at."

"I'm not even that pregnant yet," she pointed out. "I can definitely make it through a few dances, Grayson."

"What do you mean you're not that pregnant?" I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'd say you're pretty fucking pregnant. I would know. I facilitated."

Nessa rolled her eyes, elbowing me in the side. She was too quick about that time; I didn't catch it.

"You know that's not what I meant."

"I know you're carrying my child," I grunted, smoothing a hand over her belly. "So don't say that you're not that pregnant."

"Oh my god, Wilder." Her laughing eyes wandered my face. "Give it a rest. I just meant that I'm not so bloated yet that I can't dance if you want to."

It had been a while since Nessa and I danced, and I did love it when she swayed, grinding her body against mine to the beat of the music. But I didn't want her to push it. I knew her well enough to know that while she was buzzing with the excitement of the evening, she was also exhausted.

"Save your energy for the afterparty," I said with a wink.

Nessa shook her head. "Ridiculous," she muttered under her breath.

Man, I hoped that the afterparty came soon.

"Oh my god, are they going to kiss?" Nessa suddenly squealed, bringing my attention back to Juniper and Julian, and yep, it looked like they were going to kiss. They were definitely thinking about it, anyway. As long as one of them didn't pull away, they were definitely going to—

Julian took an abrupt step back from Juniper, almost like he had been jerked to his senses.

Damn.

He started pulling her off the dance floor, dragging his date, not-date, back to our table.

"Juniper, you need water," he grunted before guiding her to the chair on my other side. "Wait here."

Julian didn't say anything else before stalking away to the bar, taking long strides, so he made it across the room in what seemed like very few steps. I watched him for a second, thinking about how badly I wanted to knock some goddamn sense into him.

By the time I turned back to Juniper and Nessa, Juni had an empty shot glass in her hand.

"Did you just—" Julian's growl from behind caused me to grimace. He was going to be pissed that I let her take another drink. He was doing that thing he often did when not wanting to deal with his own problems: he just went around solving the ones he could. It usually involved him taking care of anyone except for himself. And right now, he was pushing that trait onto his sister's best friend. "Drink, Juniper."

"I was drinking," she mumbled before gulping greedily.

"Water," Jules clarified, sounding beyond irritated. "You've had more than enough alcohol."

With that, he shot me a glare. All I could do was throw my hands up.

"She was too quick about it," I said in defense.

Juniper lifted a brow, pinning me with a funny stare. "Aren't you supposed to have good reflexes or something?"

I snorted, and meanwhile, Nessa howled with laughter. Juniper smiled at Nessa's reaction, and I couldn't help but smile with her even though she'd just roasted me.

Julian shook his head, and it was nice to see that Juniper's comment even pulled a slight smile out of him. Likely because it was at my expense, but I would take it.

He leaned down, pulling me backward, and I could tell he wanted to talk. Privately.

"Hey," he muttered, and there was a nervousness about his demeanor that wasn't typical for Julian. "Do you think....do you think Nessa would be comfortable if Juniper stayed with her tonight?"

I stared at him, blinking. Wow, he was really fighting this wasn't he?

"You're that tortured, aren't you?" I murmured, keeping my voice down.

Julian's eyes darted away, but he didn't deny it. "Look, she's drunk, and I just don't want her to feel uncomfortable sharing a bed with me."

I had to swallow down an unintelligible noise. "You only have one bed in your room?"

His jaw clenched as he nodded.

A laugh nearly escaped me, but I held it in when I realized that Julian looked like he was about to lose his goddamn mind.

"For the record, I don't think she's uncomfortable around you at all," I said. "But I'm sure Nessa would be okay with that. We have two queen beds in our room. Does that mean you want to share a bed with me, Briggs?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'll sleep in the fucking bathtub if you want. I just don't want her to—"

He broke off, plowing a hand through his hair.

"Dude, it's okay. It's fine. Whatever you want to do is fine."

Did I love the idea of giving up a chance to have Nessa all to myself tonight? Of course not. But Julian usually had his shit together, and right now, he was so far from having his shit together that I was worried. Nessa probably wouldn't love the idea, either, but I knew she already had a bit of fondness for Juniper and this whole situation.

Although, she'd probably rather stick them in a room together and make them sort it out.

"Thank you," Julian said, and how his eyes met mine told me he meant it.

I nodded, and he went back to Juniper, pulling her to the side so he could undoubtedly ask what she wanted to do tonight. Considering Julian was sighing, running his hands through his hair like he was about to pull out a few strands, and clenching his jaw again, I didn't think it was going well.

When Juniper swayed drunkenly in her seat, Julian put a hand out to steady her and swore beneath his breath.

"Come on," he muttered. "You, bed. Now."

He always was the bossy one of us all.

With one look at me, Jules shook his head. That was defeat if I'd ever seen it. He was going to have one long, tortured night, but I hoped that maybe something came of it for them.

And, I got Nessa to myself.

I had a feeling this was what was supposed to happen.

After Julian dragged a smiling, drunken Juniper away, I turned to my wife.

"How's my girl?" I asked.

Nessa flashed me a drowsy smile. "Trying to find the energy to get up and go upstairs."

"I could carry you."

Her eyes rolled up. "That's a little extra, don't you think?"

"Well, we've already established that I'm ridiculous. So I might as well live up to that." Before Nessa could argue anymore, I stood and scooped her into her arms. She protested but not that much. It was that thing she did when she felt like she couldn't just let me have something. Especially when that something made it easier for her. My little independent beauty.

"People are staring," she hissed.

"I think there are even some people taking pictures," I commented, unfazed. "This will give them more fuel for our perfect celebrity couple status."

"Oh, my God." She swatted my chest. "We do not have that status."

I scoffed, weaving through guests who, for the most part, ignored us. There were only a few shooting looks. "We sure do. You don't think we're perfect?"

"Well, I do, but—"

"Oh, is she okay?"

A woman with stick-straight blonde hair stopped Nessa and me in our path, and I bit down on my tongue in irritation. If Nessa wasn't alright, did this lady think standing in our direct way would help? Unless she was a medical professional or something, then no.

"She's pregnant," I said flatly. That explained it, right?

Nessa put a hand on my chest as if to say let me handle this. "I'm fine," she emphasized, laughing it off.

Seemingly appeased, the women let us the rest of the way through the crowd, and finally, I had Nessa alone again in the elevator.

"Let me down. The last thing we want is for you to pull something before your game on Monday," Nessa said, and I decided not to push it anymore and let her drop to her feet. It had nothing to do with my game, though. I shrugged. I wasn't concerned about that.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Nessa spun, glaring with those warm, brown eyes. "You really should be more careful about over-exerting yourself unnecessarily. We want Gabriel to be careful growing up, don't we? You need to be a good example for him. Remember what happened when—"

Nessa broke off, unable to bring up my coma. I sighed, hating to see that worry in her gaze.

"Gabriel isn't here," I pointed out.

"But—"

"But I'll do better when he's around to set a good example."

"Thank you." Nessa's voice was suddenly small.

"Now, what about tonight?" I raised a brow. "Do I get to over-exert myself tonight?"

The elevator dinged, but I barely heard it over Nessa's laughter.

"Well, you're definitely going to be the one doing the work, so I guess that all depends on how hard you have to work for it."

"Oh, Adler." I smirked. "You think I have to work to make you come anymore?"

She glared at me over her shoulder as she made her way down the hallway on our floor. "Keep your voice down," she reprimanded.

I just laughed. I didn't give two shits if someone heard me talking about how I planned on making my drop-dead gorgeous wife come tonight.

But because I wanted to make my drop-dead gorgeous wife come tonight, I zipped my lips until we made it to our room.

As Nessa walked into it, and I shut the door behind us, I grabbed her around the waist and carted her off to bed. Nessa gave a little squeal as she fell onto her back, and before she'd fully recovered from the upheaval, I had her underwear hooked beneath my fingers. I slipped it off in one swift movement, leaving me to stare at a perfect little pussy.

"Already wet for me, darling?" I murmured, noting how she glistened as I swiped a finger through her folds.

She whimpered, collapsing into the sheets. I felt her body melt beneath my touch, which was precisely what I wanted to see. "That's it." I lowered my voice. "Just relax, okay?"

"Fine by me," Nessa breathed.

I smiled while leaning down to take her in my mouth. She immediately reacted, tipping her hips toward me. So needy, so perfect. Swiping my tongue between her legs, I slowly licked, wanting to drive her wild. That is until I remembered that I said I'd prove just how little I had to work to get her to the brink.

Changing my approach, I circled Nessa's clit with my tongue, going straight for what I knew would do the trick. She squirmed beneath me while I teased her, and then, right as she grabbed my hair with frustration, I flicked the top of my tongue over her clit.

A loud moan echoed through the room as Nessa started rocking against my face.

"Ride it, baby," I muttered before continuing to lick and suck. Nessa bucked even more in response, clearly trying to finish a race.

And as hot as this was, a part of me wondered if I should stop her. After all, I'd wanted her to relax. But the sounds she was making and the way she quivered and trembled beneath my mouth, I knew she'd likely try to murder me if I held her back now.

Oh, God. I loved having her taste in my mouth, and I loved how sensitive she was when she was pregnant. Meaning that after another few seconds of eating the hell out of her pretty pussy, Nessa cried out while the waves of an orgasm washed over her.

I slowed, easing the sensations gradually. Nessa continued to shudder, and I ran my hands soothingly over her legs.

"See?" I grinned as I looked up to meet her gaze over her belly bump. "Hardly work at all."

Nessa tried to look exasperation, but she looked too sated and happy. "I helped."

I'd allow that. "Team effort. That's what marriage is all about, baby."

Her grin was evident even in the shadowy hotel room. We hadn't even bothered to turn on any of the lights, so the cityscape from outside was our only nightlight.

"I love you," she said, her voice washing over me in a wave of comfort.

"I love you, too."