Two Weeks Later

I pulled up to Ryan's apartment with a frown. We were supposed to go over cake choices for the wedding. Even though he was trying to get out of it, we still had to go along with it until we figured out a resolution.

It was only Ryan, his mom, Jackson, and myself today, and I wasn't sure if it was going to be awkward. Over the past couple weeks, I told Jackson I wanted to wait a little while before we told Ryan what was going on. Especially since he was trying to figure out a way out of the arranged marriage.

He had a lot on his plate and I didn't want to add to it. The wedding was getting closer and was now only two weeks away. The upcoming date of the fake big day had all three of us on edge.

As of now, we were unsure if Ryan and I were going to be spending the rest of our lives together or not. If it turned out that we weren't, I still had no idea what that meant for Jackson and myself. One thing I did know, was that I could not imagine saying goodbye to him.

Over the past couple weeks, Jackson and I have been spending a lot of time together. Ever since the day I spoke to Jackson on the phone and made that little comment about sleeping with anyone I wanted if the wedding gets canceled, he has an acting a little differently.

I didn't know if what I said made him jealous or if it was something else, but he seemed unable to keep his hands off of me. Each time we were together, I would remind myself that I was just setting myself up to get hurt. But the second he kissed me or touched me, all of that disappeared.

I walked up to Ryan's door and knocked lightly. His mom was the one who answered the door and she had her usual fake smile on her face. "Harper."

"Hello, Mrs. Hale. How are you?" I asked as I entered the apartment.

"I'm well, thank you."

Her shortness didn't surprise me. Ever since Ryan worked out the plan for me to stay at my job, I was officially on her shit list. Oh, well, her unhappiness didn't faze me one bit. After all, if we went through with this wedding, she was getting what she wanted. Just like my mother.

"Hey, Anne," Ryan said as he walked into the living room with Jackson following behind him.

"Hey," I said to Ryan in return as he came up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I looked to Jackson who had his usual charming smile on his face.

"Hello, Harper."

"Jackson. Always good to see you." Especially when you look like that, I thought to myself. He was wearing his usual dark jeans and a black Under Armour shirt. One that showed off his delicious muscles and abs very well.

"Well, since we've all greeted each other successfully, why don't we get started," Ryan's mom said curtly.

The three of us shared a look as we followed her to the dining room. There was a large white binder in the middle of it and I knew it contained hundreds of different cake ideas. Just the thought of sitting there for hours made me want to turn around, get in my car, and leave.

We all sat down at the table and started flipping through the binder. After about two hours, we started getting restless. Ryan's mom said she was going to go pick us up some food and Jackson disappeared from the dining room. That left Ryan and I. He continued flipping through the binder and pointing at different cake designs and flavors. I nodded absently as I leaned back in my chair. That's when I saw Jackson come around the corner.

Jackson held my gaze as he walked by the dining room table. His eyes told me exactly what he was thinking. And my body seemed to know as well. With one look, this man was capable of making me wet and aching. Within seconds, I was dying for him to touch me, lick me, and fuck me. Not necessarily in that order. My heart raced as I heard the creaking of the staircase and knew he was headed to the second floor of the house.

"Red Velvet or Vanilla?" Ryan asked me.

I was trying so hard to resist the urge to follow after Jackson, that I didn't pay attention to the question.

"Anne?" Ryan asked more sternly.

I looked across the table, meeting his stare. I still cringed every time he called me by my middle name. "Sorry, I was thinking about your question. Ummmm, I don't know."

The vibrating of my cell phone on the table startled me; making me jump. I saw the text message sender's name on the screen and a shiver ran down my spine.

Jackson: Upstairs bathroom. Now.

Damn, I loved when he got all demanding like that. I deleted the message and stood from the table. "Ry, I'm going upstairs to use the restroom. I'll be right back, and I'll let you know.

"Okay," he said absently as he continued looking at the different desserts for the wedding. I ascended the stairs quickly and made my way to the hall bathroom. Luckily, there was no one else here.

I opened the door and slipped inside. As soon as I turned around, Jackson crushed his lips against mine. As he kissed me with that dangerously talented tongue of his, I wrapped my arms around him and he pulled my body flush against his.

"We have to hurry," he said in between kisses. That British accent...

Two seconds later, I heard the sound of his jeans being unzipped. He lifted my dress with one hand, my right leg with the other, and...

"Oh, God," I moaned as he thrusted his cock inside of me. He lifted my other leg so I could wrap them around his waist. He held me against the bathroom door as he slammed into me over and over again.

He kept his mouth on mine to muffle my moans. He could always tell when I was getting close. He quickened his thrusts and I exploded from the pleasure. My legs tightened around his waist as he continued fucking me. Just as another orgasm hit me, I felt him release himself deep inside me.

He slowly slid my shaking legs back to the floor. He zipped up his jeans and gave me one hard, sound kiss on the lips. Staking his claim like he always did. "Clean yourself up, Princess. Then come back downstairs."

He left the bathroom and I sagged against the sink, trying to catch my breath. God, that man is talented, I thought.

I quickly made sure my clothes and hair weren't out of place before going back downstairs. I joined both of them at the table and Ryan looked up at me.

"So, did you decide?"

Well, that's a loaded question. He and Jackson both looked at me expectantly. I looked from Jackson to Ryan and replied, "Red Velvet. Definitely."

"What do you think will happen?" Danielle asked Lanie and I as we sat around the high-top table at Down the Rabbit Hole. Jamie had taken a vacation out of state with her boyfriend. She said they were trying to rekindle the magic after their little spat in Hawaii. Seemed all of us, except Lanie, was dealing with gut troubles.

"I don't know, D," I answered. I had no fucking idea. Going over the cake choices this morning with Ryan's mom had been awkward and comfortable. After I snuck up to the bathroom to have my little rendezvous with Jackson, I ended up picking red velvet as the cake choice.

Ryan's mom walked in a moment later with the food she picked up for us. When Ryan told her my decision, she put on her normal fake smile and simply set the food on the table before leaving the room. Typical. The more I was around that woman, the more I wanted this wedding called off. I could not spend the rest of my life being her daughter-in-law. Not under these circumstances.

Lanie took a sip of her mixed drink before looking to Danielle. "If they do have to get married, are you going to still... you know, mess with Ryan?"

Danielle glanced at me before she answered. "I don't know." She let out a deep sigh before she continued, "But if I'm being honest with myself, I love him and I know I'm going to want to keep seeing him."

I already knew that without Danielle even saying anything. After all, I wanted to keep seeing Jackson whether or not I got married to Ryan. But I had no idea if he wanted the same. The very few times I thought about bringing the subject up, I psyched myself out.

"You guys are in such a mess," Lanie said with a laugh. "I mean, would you have imagined your lives like this six months ago?"

Danielle and I shared a look before the three of us started laughing at the ridiculousness of our situation.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jackson interrupted as he came up to our table. Since everyone here knew about us, he was free to come over and give ma quick kiss on the lips.

"No, we're just having some girl talk," I said with a smile.

He scuffed before he looked around the table. "Girl talk, huh? Why am I worried?"

Lanie punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Ah, come on, Mr. Greek God. You know we would never be dishing about you."

He arched a brow and flashed a smug grin before turning towards me. "Greek god? Why, Princess, what have you been telling them?"

I rolled my eyes before glaring at Lanie. "I told you not to call him that."

Before Lanie could respond, Jackson leaned forward to whisper in my ear, "Why's that? Because now I can take you home and perhaps do a little role play? After all, you are my Princess. Clearly I'm a Greek God..."

My body heated instantly at his words and I slid from my stool. "Sorry, ladies. We're going to go-"

"Yeah, yeah," Lanie and Danielle said at the same time.

Jackson wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we stepped outside of the bar. Danielle and I rode over here with Lanie so Jackson came to pick me up. As we approached his truck, he pulled me to a stop.

He pulled me closer to him as he cupped the side of my face. "You are extremely sexy, you know that?"

I gave him a sultry smile as I ran my finger down his chest to the waistband of his jeans. "You aren't so bad yourself."

He placed his lips against mine and gave me a long, deep kiss. I giggled as I pulled away from him and went around his truck to climb in. He slid in the driver's seat and we pulled out of the parking lot and headed to my apartment. Tonight was going to be fun...