N E S S A

T E N  D A Y S
before the wedding

By the time I got in the car, Grayson had it started and was tapping his fingers impatiently on the wheel. He looked like an eager puppy, and I had to hide a laugh.

"You do know that just because I'm getting my IUD removed today...it doesn't mean that I'm automatically going to get pregnant after the first time we have sex, right?"

He grinned over at me. "Oh, I know. I've done my research, Adler."

With a little roll of my eyes, I settled into the front, throwing on my seatbelt. "Of course you have."

As soon as I was done buckling up, Grayson's fingers wrapped around my wrist. I froze, letting him pull my hand up to his lips. Eyes connected with mine in a moment buzzing with electricity, he kissed my palm.

"I know," he repeated, "but the next time we have sex, you could get pregnant. I get to do things to you that have consequences, and that really...." He shook his head. "It really makes me feel things, Nessa."

Oh, god. And how he was looking at me was making me feel things. It made it even harder to get the next words out of my mouth.

So I decided not to say them. I stalled, instead asking, "Have you always been this excited about having kids?"

Grayson shrugged, dropping my hand to put the car into reverse.

"I've always wanted kids, but it wasn't until I met you that I got impatient." He glanced over at me and winked.

I couldn't help the heat from spreading across my face. It should probably be embarrassing, the fact that I had been in a relationship with this man for over four years, and he still could make me blush. To make me feel like love was new and flirting was fun. But I loved it, and I loved him.

"So...." I started.

"So..." he repeated, his eyes crinkling in the corners as he focused on the road, driving me to my appointment.

"I'm not sure, but I think I might be a little sore after the removal, and—"

"Baby, relax. I'm not going to jump you when we get home."

I laughed lightly, shaking my head.

"No, you didn't let me finish."

Grayson sighed, but I could tell that he was tense. There was a bit of anxiety in his body all of a sudden, and I knew he was nervous that I thought he didn't care about how I was going to feel after the appointment. But of course I knew that he cared. Grayson had more than proved over the years that he wasn't going to touch me unless I wanted him to touch me. Sometimes unless I begged him to touch me. Because he was a cocky ass like that.

"What I was going to say," I said, "was that I think this is a good opportunity before the wedding to...you know, not have sex for a bit."

I mumbled the last words, and Grayson frowned. I wasn't sure if he didn't hear what I'd said or if he just didn't like what I said.

"What was that?"

"I think we should wait until we get married to have sex."

"Oh, baby." Grayson chuckled. "That ship has long sailed. Like it's gone all the way around the world and come back for a second trip."

"Shut up." I slapped his arm playfully. "I mean that we should wait until after the day of our wedding before having sex again. It will make it...I don't know. Special. And it's improbable that I would conceive in the first ten days after getting my IUD removed. So if you want consequences, you're going to have to wait anyway."

Grayson raised an eyebrow, looking over at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Would I get to touch you at all?"

I thought about that. And just because I wanted to see his reaction, I shook my head.

"No touching."

His jaw pulled tight.

"Kissing?"

"Hmm..."

"I won't survive without kissing you for ten days, Adler."

I giggled. "You're so dramatic. Yes, you will."

Grayson raked a hand through his hair before gripping the steering wheel again. Tight. "No, I won't. I really won't."

"Fine," I relented. "Light kissing is allowed."

"Light kissing?" Grayson repeated with a scoff. "Sure, okay."

His sarcasm made me laugh, but I didn't argue with him further.

"It sounds like you're proposing another deal, Wednesday."

I leaned back in my seat.

"I suppose I am."

"Let it be known that Grayson Everett never backs down from a challenge."

Another laugh ripped out of my throat. "It's known, baby. It's known."

"Good." Grayson exhaled slowly as he found a parking spot in front of the clinic. When the car stopped, he smiled. And then, for the second time this morning, Grayson grabbed my hand. His thumb brushed over the top of it as he looked at me, eyes intense.

"Are you ready?"

Was I ready?

What a loaded question.

In less than two weeks, we were getting married. Grayson was already my family, but soon it would be legal. And I wanted so badly to grow that family even more. I wanted to watch Grayson grow. From that annoying football player who lived on my floor to the father of my children. I wanted to watch my husband teach a smaller version of him how to hold a football or place their little fingers on piano keys.

Some people say that your mid-twenties are the time to chase your dreams.

Well, this was my dream. One of them, anyway.

At my core, at my truly hidden core that only Grayson had found, I was a hopeless romantic. And this little family of ours was the dream.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

He kissed my palm again, letting his lips drag over my skin. "You sure? I know I'm an impatient son of a bitch, but I can still wait. I'll wait for as long as you want. Anything for you."

I knew that. He'd told me repeatedly.

But I was still ready.

"Grayson...a happily ever after is all that I've ever wanted."

He tangled our fingers together, giving me a meaningful look. "That looks different for different people, though, Nessa."

"Ours looks the same, Grayson. Ours looks the same."

"I know." He grinned. "I just wanted to check. One more time." 

G R A Y S O N

T H E  N I G H T
of the wedding

There was one major flaw with Nessa's plan not to have sex for the ten days before the wedding, and it was pretty simple. It made me want to wish away our reception because I was so goddamn eager to get her alone.

As we walked out onto the dance floor for our first dance as a married couple, all I could think about was throwing her over my shoulder and bringing her upstairs to the hotel room. We hadn't even cut the cake yet, and I was already counting down the minutes until we could leave.

It probably didn't help that the scenes that kept flashing through my mind were of the other two nights that Nessa and I had spent in this hotel. The first one: Nessa on top of that piano. And the second? The night of the proposal when I finally managed to rip that red dress off.

I imagined that tonight would be much the same as that night. And that was making me so fucking impatient.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my moms holding each other on the edge of the dance floor, giant smiles on their faces.

Would they hate me if I skipped our dances after this to drag Nessa into the nearest empty room?

Yeah, probably.

Sighing, I focused instead on taking in my bride. My wife.

Fuck.

Something lurched in my chest. My shitty heart was absolutely soaring. This, right here, was proof that even damaged hearts could be pieced back together. Even broken ones could find love.

"You're the most beautiful sight I've ever seen, Wednesday Adler Elez-Everett."

I'd known this girl would marry me all along, but seeing it was something different. Nessa's dress was an off-the-shoulder, satiny creation that made her look like a sophisticated princess, especially with whatever was sparkling in her hair. Her heels were strappy, and I couldn't stop imagining them digging into my back.

Shit.

"You're not so bad yourself, darling." She winked at me, and I swept her into my arms.

We swayed in silence for a while. But the feel of her against me, so close, warm, and lithe...fuck, it was destroying me. My hands, which had been settled on her waist, began to wander. Just a bit. They grazed the zipper on her dress, memorizing it for later.

"Grayson, be good."

But her words were breathless, betraying that she was feeling exactly the same as I was right now.

I groaned into her hair.

"I've been good for ten days, Nessa. Ten long days."

Grabbing her around her waist, I tugged her in tight against me.

"Just a little longer," she gasped.

"How much longer?"

"A few more hours."

I shook my head.

"Nope, not going to make it."

Wrapping her arms around my neck, Nessa brought my face down to hers. She gave me a soft kiss that I really struggled not to deepen before whispering across my lips. "We have our whole lives, Grayson. Our whole lives, I'm yours. Let's not rush this moment. Let's not rush tonight."

I kissed her again, aware but not caring that the entire wedding reception was watching us. Flashes of cameras were going off.

"You're right."

"I always am."

I narrowed my eyes. That was my line.

She noticed, laughing before mouthing the words I love you.

I love you, too, baby. I love you so much.

Suddenly Nessa smiled. And it was so real and genuine. I loved the moments when I got to see that. Even in the dusky room, I could see bits of color bloom on her cheeks.

"I can't believe you cried when I walked down the aisle," she murmured.

My throat tightened just thinking about it. "I can't believe you're surprised that I did. Seeing you walk toward me...best moments of my goddamn life."

Lifting one of my hands, I cupped her cheek, and she nuzzled into it.

"What about before that? What were the best moments before tonight?"

I didn't even need to think about it. "When you said yes to marrying me. When you showed up at my front door after my coma. When you looked at me for the first time while booing me off the football field. When you told me you were pregnant with my child."

She poked me in the chest. "That hasn't happened yet."

All I could do was grin down at her as she shook her head and muttered beneath her breath with a poorly-hidden smile.

"Ridiculous."

Nessa's eyes twinkled beneath the glittering light of the ballroom's chandeliers, and I took the moment to spin her around, letting her dress fan out in a gorgeous wave before pulling her back to my chest. She laughed, breathless and beautiful, and I wondered what the hell I did to deserve this woman. And as much as I wanted to get her upstairs, she was right. I really didn't want to rush this.

I spent the rest of the night reveling in the fact that Nessa was by my side, and that was how it would be for the rest of our lives. Together.

Bren and Madie joined the dance floor before long and then Beau and Collins. Even Julian, as much as he hated dancing, got in on the action, dragging along his girlfriend.

And then finally, when guests began to trickle out of the ballroom, heading off to bed, I decided it was time that we could do the same.

"Let's get out of here, huh? I want to rip that dress off my wife."

Nessa's lips curved into a delicious grin. And then she nodded.

NESSA

"Just pull!"

"What do you think I'm doing back here, Adler?"

"Taking your sweet-ass time!"

Grayson had me face-to-face with the mirror above the dresser in the hotel room, and that whole ripping the dress off my wife thing? Wasn't going so great.

All I could see of his face were his brows, all scrunched on his forehead as he looked down my back.

"Trust me, I want this dress off just as much as you want it off."

"You're barely even pulling, Grayson. I can't even feel it. Just—just do it harder."

A growly noise sounded in my ear at that, and Grayson took a step forward, slamming me into the dresser.

"I'll give you something hard to feel."

Oh, god. Yes. That was hard. That was very hard.

Maybe he should just fuck me with the dress on.

But when I opened my mouth to say that, Grayson covered it with his ginormous football-catching, piano-playing hand.

"Careful what you say, darling." His eyes found mine in the mirror. They were hot, filled with more desire than I'd ever seen. "I'm incredibly close to fucking the attitude right out of you."

I bit the inside of his palm lightly and watched his eyes flare.

When he dropped his hand, I said, "I'd like to see you try."

"That's it," he groaned, taking a step back to look down the back of my gown again. "I'm getting this thing off right now."

And with a huge tug, he did. I felt the cool air of the hotel room brush against my back and then my arms and the rest of me because Grayson wasn't wasting any time tearing the fabric off. He spun me around, pushing my wedding dress down, and I didn't waste the opportunity to unbutton his shirt and whip off his belt. Both of us were eager to undress the other, but he still won the race. Within seconds, he had me positioned on the dresser, facing him. Naked. Except for the shoes.

When I bent over to unbuckle them, he stopped me with a light touch on my wrist.

"If you wanted to leave the heels on, I wouldn't mind."

I glanced up at him beneath my lashes. "Yeah?"

His lips curled up.

"Yeah."

Leaning back against the bedside table, Grayson cocked a brow. He was shirtless, all of his glorious muscles on display. I wasn't sure how I ended up married to a professional football player, but I wasn't complaining. His gaze burned my skin as it took me in. I shivered, but it had nothing to do with being naked. Being chilled.

"Our deal's up, Grayson. It's been ten days." Ten long, long days. Not even the rush of wedding preparations had distracted me from what I was missing in his arms. I spread my legs wider and watched as Grayson's eyes darkened. "Now, for fuck's sake, use those hands you always brag about and touch me."

His lips twitched. There was an usually long pause before he spoke again. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Yes."

Thought that was pretty obvious, Mr. Everett.

"I don't think the deal is up yet," he muttered, his voice husky and low.

"What?"

It wasn't two hours ago that he was practically begging to take me upstairs, and now he wanted to drag it out, did he? Typical. Just like he refused to let me touch him even after I'd finally put an end to our first deal.

Grayson's eyes wandered over me appreciatively, but he stayed put on the other side of the room.

"Yeah," he said, "you proposed that I not touch you until after the day of our wedding." He looked over at the clock, which showed it was fifteen minutes until midnight. "It's still the day of our wedding."

"Oh my god, Grayson."

I hated him. And I loved him. But right now, I hated him.

He arched a cocky brow.

"If you want me to touch you, you're going to have to convince me," he muttered, looking up at me beneath annoyingly long eyelashes. He was betraying himself, though. His hands were in his pockets, clenched tight in fists. "Because I'm a man of my word."

I leaned back, resting against the cold mirror as I gave him an assessing look. He was serious, wasn't he?

His gaze smoldered, encouraging me. "I know you're good at teasing me, Adler. Let's see what you got."

I scoffed, but I couldn't resist arching my back a bit. "You want a show, huh?"

He laughed, but it was deep and, ugh, hot.

"No, I want to admire my wife before I lose myself in her. You told me to savor our wedding. So I'm savoring."

Shit. He melted me. Absolutely melted me. I couldn't imagine doing this for anyone but Grayson. Anyone. I should feel uncomfortable and bare and exposed, but his gaze only empowered me. Ignited me. Made me feel alive. I didn't even have to think about what I was doing. It was like he was showing me, and I was just following the steps.

Smoothing my hands down over my breasts first, I squeezed them in my palms. Grayson watched, his jaw clenching tight. Satisfied that his attention was drawn, I arched my back further and drifted my hands lower.

It was a slow process. Did I want him to suffer a little bit? Maybe.

By the time I dug my fingers into my thighs, Grayson was on edge. He was looking at me like he had that night with the piano. Or the night in his dorm, when he'd stripped off my underwear while forcing himself not to touch me. He was looking at me like he had in the locker rooms, the time when he'd insisted on washing my hair but then couldn't handle being so close.

But tonight, he only had to last another fifteen minutes. Well, ten minutes now. And I could see how that knowledge was making him wild.

"Grayson, baby?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

He licked his lips. "Yeah?"

"Are you sure you don't want to do this yourself?" I asked before dipping a finger between my legs, brushing against my clit in a way that made me moan.

A strangled groan was Grayson's only reply. He took one hand out of his pocket, but it was to grip onto the bedside table.

"Because I want you to." I gasped the words before stroking myself a second time and watching Grayson swallow. Hard.

He couldn't seem to say anything, but his eyes were doing the talking, telling me how much I was wanted.

Pulling my hand away from my aching center, I watched as Grayson relaxed. But it didn't last long.

Taking my wet fingers, I swirled them around the tips of my breasts, coating one nipple with my arousal before doing the same to the other. And then I moaned my husband's name.

Grayson's resolve cracked. He swore harshly, pushing off the table. He kicked his pants to the ground in slow, stiff movements as if he knew that if he let himself move freely, he would be across the room and inside me within seconds.

He looked at the clock, saw there were still four minutes until midnight, and then growled, "Fuck that."

Finally naked with his cock in his hand, Grayson strode toward me. And then his hands were all over me. Just like I wanted them to be. And his mouth...God, his mouth went straight to my breasts, which had been aching for him.

"Holy shit," he groaned, his fingertips digging into my skin. His mouth brushing over my nipples. Sucking. "Oh my fucking god, your taste, Nessa."

I twisted my fingers into his hair, tugging hard because I wanted—no, needed—that mouth on my mouth.

"Kiss me," I begged. "Please."

"I'm going to do more than kiss you," Grayson rasped before crushing his lips to mine, letting me taste his desire and my arousal. "I couldn't wait anymore. Not a single second longer."

I smirked against his mouth. "Don't have as much control as you did in college, huh?"

He shook his head. "I didn't know what it felt like to be inside you then. I didn't know what your pussy tasted like. Now I do."

His hands fell to my hips, and he was already twisting them for me when he demanded, "Turn around."

Something about the way he said it nearly made me explode. But I obeyed, twisting back to face myself in the mirror. Grayson, eyes dancing, stood behind me.

Both breathing heavy, both with racing hearts, we stared at each other. But then he kissed me tenderly on the cheek, making my throat clog up.

"I love you, Nessa."

"I love you, too," I whispered.

Grayson's voice dropped, a slight smile on his lips. "I'm gonna fuck you 'til you're pregnant now."

I sucked in a breath. Ridiculous, hot man.

"It definitely doesn't work like that, Gray—"

I cried out as he pushed inside me, stretching me to an aching pleasure. His eyes stayed on my reflection, tracing my lips as they parted and my throat as it worked, trying to find air.

"I want you to watch yourself light up," he breathed. "I don't make you watch yourself enough."

When I tried to reply, he interrupted with a tight, hard thrust of my hips. It robbed my words, my voice, everything. I looked up at the ceiling, my eyes rolling back at the intense pleasure and love invading my body.

But Grayson didn't like that.

"Watch, Nessa."

I did. I watched as his sinfully-perfect hands roamed my body, caressing in just the right places. I watched as love and lust mingled in Grayson's eyes. I watched as he struggled to control himself. As he groaned and moaned into the crook of my neck. I watched as Grayson lost himself.

And then I watched the light in my own eyes explode.

And suddenly, I understood why he knew. He knew I loved him from the beginning. Because we had a connection that couldn't be denied. And that look in my eyes...it said it all.

💗

thanks for reading!!
hope i did their wedding night justice!

xoxo