All You Need Is Love (16 page)

A taxi was just driving away from the building that housed Angela’s and Julia’s flats, and Julia’s mood brightened immediately when she saw Nathan’s handsome, grinning face as he waved at them from the sidewalk.

Nathan held open the door and extended a hand to Julia, helping her out, while the limo driver assisted Angela out through the other rear door. Lauren, always the tough chick, waved off any offers of assistance.

Nathan shook the limo driver’s hand. “Thanks for making sure these ladies were safely delivered. I, uh, hope they weren’t too much trouble.”

The driver winked. “Maybe a bit of drunken singing on the way back, and a couple who had me worried they were going to get sick all over the back seat. But it was a pleasure, all things considered. You folks take care now.”

Julia, who was definitely way past the stage where one could politely call her tipsy, was giggling now and clinging to Nathan in a very amorous fashion as they all began to climb the stairs leading to the upper landing.

“Easy there, baby,” he admonished gently. “Maybe you shouldn’t have worn those heels tonight, knowing you were going to be drinking. You look a little wobbly.”

Lauren nodded in agreement. “I keep telling her she’s either going to break an ankle one of these days or wind up with huge, disgusting bunions before she’s thirty if she keeps wearing those stilts.”

Julia, who was clutching Nathan’s arm with one hand and gripping the staircase rail with the other, turned and stuck out her tongue at Lauren. “At least
my
shoe didn’t wind up being planted in some guy’s stomach.”

“What?” Nathan was instantly alarmed. “Is that why you
ladies
were kicked out of that bar?” Without waiting for a reply, he shook his head. “Never mind. Maybe I’m better off not knowing. Did you all manage to stay out of trouble the rest of the night?”

Lauren looked disgusted. “It might as well have been a nun party instead of a bachelorette bash. Except for Courtney not a one of them can hold their liquor worth shit. And we had to drag her sorry drunken ass up three flights of stairs when she eventually passed out.”

Nathan opened his mouth to speak, then evidently thought better of it and fished for his key instead. “Here, baby. Hold on to this for a minute, okay?”

He placed Julia’s hand firmly on the ledge while he unlocked the door. Angela mumbled a barely audible good night before heading upstairs without a backwards glance, while Lauren heaved a sigh and wrapped an arm around her sister’s waist as she helped Nathan get Julia inside.

“Here, she’s all yours,” Lauren told her future brother-in-law. “And based on how badly she’s weaving right now, I’m going to take a guess and say you aren’t getting lucky tonight.”

Nathan grinned as Julia flung herself against him, giving him a loud, smacking kiss. “Don’t be so sure about that. As long as she’s still conscious, I’m not going to say no if she’s willing.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because you’re a rutting pig,” replied Lauren dryly. “Just try to keep it down if you get lucky, okay? Jules is loud enough when she’s sober. If you do her drunk, I cringe to imagine how high the noise level is going to get.”

Julia blew a very undignified raspberry at her twin. “You’re just jealoush,” she slurred. “Becaush you don’t have a hot piece of ass like Nathan for yourshelf.”

Lauren grinned and patted her sister fondly on the head. “I hope you have some extra hangover kits, sis, because I’ve got a feeling you’re going to need all of them in the morning. So, how was your night, Nathan? You guys do anything fun?”

Nathan shrugged. “Depends on who you ask. And since most of the guys were calling me a candy ass for refusing to hire a stripper, they would probably tell you it was the lamest bachelor party ever. We played pool and poker, smoked cigars, watched baseball and drank – a lot.”

Lauren shook her head. “Maybe I was wrong to talk Jules out of a co-ed party. You just described my ideal evening. Instead, I got my ass groped, had to clean vomit backsplash off my boots, and lost a drinking contest – under protest, I might add – to a skinny chick with green hair who wound up face planting after her last shot.”

Julia began to giggle drunkenly and pulled her sister in for a fierce hug. “Oh, quit complaining! We had a blast and you know it. Thanks for organizing everything, sis.”

Lauren returned her sister’s hug. “Back at you, baby girl. See you in the morning, hmm?”

Julia was still laughing as she released her twin. “Isn’t it already morning?”

Nathan had barely locked the door behind Lauren when Julia flung herself back into his arms, planting sloppy kisses all over his face.

“Did I ever tell you how shexy you are?” she asked him with a silly smile. “And how much I love you?”

He grinned as he half-dragged, half-carried her back towards the bedroom. “You have, yes. But usually a bit more seriously.”

Julia shook her head in protest. “Are you trying to shuggest I’m drunk? Becaush I’m not! Just a little tipshy.”

Nathan chuckled as she began to slide her hands beneath his polo shirt. “Baby, you are way beyond tipsy. I’d say you’re about one drink away from being unconscious. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

“Oooh, I thought you’d never ask,” she cooed, her hand boldly sliding down to cup his crotch.

He gave a little groan as she began to stroke his semi-hard cock. The fact that her movements were clumsy and lacked any semblance of finesse didn’t seem to matter in the least to his increasingly interested dick.

“Uh, not for that,” he told her with regret, clasping her hand and slowly peeling it off his crotch. “Baby, as much as I appreciate the thought – really,
really
appreciate it – you’re going to keel over any second now. And while I’ll definitely do you drunk, I draw the line at doing you unconscious.”

Julia pouted. “But I was going to give you a little show. Since you were so good about not having a shtripper at the party, I thought
I’d
be your own private shtripper.”

Nathan arched a brow in disbelief. “Julia, honey, if you can figure out how to get your clothes off by yourself, be my guest. My money is on no.”

He released her gently, taking a few steps back as she stumbled over to the iPod docking station that rested on an upper shelf of the media cabinet. He forced himself not to laugh as she made several fumbling attempts to find the music she was looking for, and was just about to offer his assistance when she smiled in triumph.

“There. That’s what I was trying to find.”

Nathan’s laughter faded abruptly as his very sexy fiancée began to sway her curvy little body to the classic stripper anthem
Pour Some Sugar On Me
. He leaned against the wall and watched with great interest as she did a little bump and grind, and then reached behind her to begin unzipping the form-fitting, coral colored bandage dress she’d worn tonight.

“See?” she told him proudly. “You were so shure I couldn’t do this. But I’m doing just fine sho far. I – oops.”

Nathan dashed forward in alarm but couldn’t reach Julia in time as she wobbled precariously on her ankle strap stilettos before tottering onto the floor in a rather undignified heap.

She was giggling uncontrollably as he took off her shoes and then scooped her up into his arms.

“My knight in shining armor,” she teased, looping her arms around his neck. He headed in the direction of the bedroom but she stopped him abruptly.

“Wait. I’ve got a better idea,” she declared. “Instead of a strip show, how ‘bout a lap dance? I don’t have to stay on my feet for that.”

In spite of himself, Nathan couldn’t stop from laughing. “Uh, I’m willing to give it a try if you are. But, honestly, baby, as wasted as you are right now I don’t expect - ”

“Shush.” She placed her index finger over his mouth. “I want to. Honest. I mean, I can imagine how hard those asshole friends of yours tried to talk you into getting a shtripper.” She hiccupped loudly.

He shrugged. “Mostly Jonathan, but that was to be expected from Mr. Manwhore. And I already told you I didn’t care about that stuff. Especially when I can’t for the life of me imagine how anyone could be sexier than you, baby. Why the hell would I want to watch a pathetic substitute when I have the real thing right here?” He kissed her gently. “However,” he added, with a suggestive wink, “I definitely wouldn’t say no to a little lap dance if you’re willing.”

Julia licked the side of his neck slowly and deliberately before whispering in his ear, “Baby, I’m willing to do anything you want. But we’ll start with that.”

Still holding her in his arms, Nathan hooked his foot around the leg of a dining chair and pulled it out. He set Julia on her feet carefully before sitting in the chair and promptly tugging her until she stood in front of him.

She swayed slightly on her feet, the thin strap of her partially unzipped dress falling down her shoulder and lending a glimpse of her pale peach lace bra. She had a decidedly puzzled look on her face.

“Um, well, I’ve never actually done a lap dance before,” she confessed. “So I’m, ah, not quite sure what comes next.”

He grinned, his hands spanning her hips to hold her steady. “Then improvise, baby. And I’m very, very happy to hear that this will be your lap dance debut. Here, let’s take this off, hmm?”

He unzipped her dress the rest of the way and helped her ease it down past her hips to pool at her bare feet. His hungry gaze took in every detail of her petite but curvy body – the lush, round breasts that were lavishly displayed in the sexy, lacy bra; her tiny waist and gently rounded little belly that she could never get washboard flat no matter how many crunches she did (but that he preferred exactly as it was); perfectly curved hips and legs that weren’t very long, given her somewhat diminutive height, but were still beautifully toned and shapely. She hadn’t worn stockings tonight as she often did since the weather in San Francisco had been downright hot these past few days, and her dainty feet were bare, her toenails painted the same coral shade as her fingernails and her full, pouty lips. Her panties were the same pale peach color as her bra and were a style she called “cheekies” due to the way they bared half of her delectable ass cheeks.

“On second thought,” he murmured huskily, “you don’t have to dance at all. Just come here and sit on my lap. I honestly think I could come from looking at you for a few minutes.”

Julia giggled tipsily and straddled his legs. “You’re silly.” She draped her arms around his neck and began to grind her silk covered crotch against his rock hard erection. In the background the iPod still played, though now it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers singing about a girl named Dani California.

She rolled her hips in a circle, then switched direction before bouncing up and down on his throbbing dick.

“Am I doing it right?” she breathed as she braced her hands on his thighs.

Nathan was panting by now and he could only reply in grunts. “Uh, yeah. Fuck, yeah. Just, um, keep up – fuck – what you’re – Jesus, doing. Oh, yeah, baby. Just like – that.”

He made a sound resembling a growl as he shoved his hands inside her bra cups, squeezing her big tits as he bent to lick the nipples.

“Oh, God, that’s so good,” groaned Julia, her head falling backwards, her chest thrusting forward to give him easier access. Her fingers traced along the throbbing length of his erection before reaching the zipper. “Let me, Nathan. Come on, lover, time for me to rock your world.”

Nathan slid a hand into her hair and pulled her face down for a long, hungry, and incredibly dirty kiss. “Baby, you’ve been rocking my world since the first time I saw you,” he hissed through tightly clenched teeth. “And I’ve loved every second of the ride.”

Julia smiled sultrily as she began to slowly lower his zipper. “Then hold on tight, cowboy, because I’m going to give you the ride of your life.”

The words had barely left her lips before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped forward limply, her face crashing down onto his shoulder. Nathan was so shocked that he didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or bang his head against the nearest wall in frustration. He just sat there for long seconds with a raging erection, his sexy, mostly naked fiancée passed out on his lap, the heated promises she’d made him just seconds before destined to be unfulfilled, at least for tonight. And then the soft sounds of her drunken snoring roused him until he was shaking his head in amused frustration.

Tenderly, he gathered her back into his arms – a task made that much more difficult this time around since she was now dead weight – and carried her into the bedroom. The moment he laid her head on the pillow, Julia curled up in a little ball and was fast asleep, not even giving him the opportunity to finish undressing her.

Nathan stripped off his own clothes and slid into bed beside her. Whatever annoyance he might have been feeling was instantly banished as his beautiful girl cuddled up trustingly against him. Smiling, he wrapped her in his arms and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“I’m still going to take a raincheck on that lap dance, baby,” he murmured. “Or the strip show. Maybe both. Though I’m guessing by the size of the hangover you’re going to have in the morning that it’s going to be a few days before I can collect.”

Chapter Six

Late June, the night before the wedding

It was a few minutes after the main course had been served when Michael Atwood stood and tapped a fork against his wine glass until everyone in the private dining room quieted and looked his way expectantly.

Nathan’s father, who greatly resembled his oldest son, smiled at the thirty or so guests seated around him. “Thank you, everyone. I won’t keep you from this delicious meal for very long, but I did want to say just a few words. First, let me officially welcome everyone to Nathan and Julia’s rehearsal dinner. Alexis and I are very pleased – and proud – to be hosting this very happy occasion.”

As tradition called for, Nathan’s parents were presenting the rehearsal dinner, which was being held at Casanova – one of Carmel’s most popular restaurants. The charming French Provençale décor and superb Mediterranean style menu always drew rave reviews, and it had been Julia’s first choice to hold tonight’s festivities.