The first thing Zac realized when he woke up was that he couldn’t move his right arm. The second was that he wasn’t in the same hotel bed he’d claimed the day before when they arrived in Las Vegas.
It took several moments of maneuvering and rolling around for Zac to comprehend just what it was holding his arm in place. Finally, blinking his eyes open, he saw the culprit—a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs, one cuff around his wrist and the other looped through a slat on the headboard.
Great, he thought. Where had those even come from?
A deep snore to his left caused Zac to jerk against his restraint. He let out a swear as he turned to look at the source of the noise. Sleeping peacefully and unrestrained in the bed by the window—the one Zac had chosen, damn it–was his brother Taylor.
“What the fuck?”
Taylor’s eyes opened slowly. “Oh. Hey. Mornin’.”
“Really?” Zac eyed his brother, shaking his cuffed wrist for emphasis.
“Oh,” Taylor replied. “Yeah, I don’t know. You were in here, sleeping like a kinky little baby when I came in.”
“Well, that answers absolutely nothing.”
Zac wanted to roll over and sulk, but the damn handcuffs made it all but impossible for his movements to have the intended effect. After a struggle, he pulled himself up to a seated position and crossed his free arm over his bare chest.
“Hey,” a voice came from the bathroom. Zac hadn’t even realized anyone was in there. Seconds later, Natalie emerged, holding up something small and silver. “I just found this key, umm, in my bra.”
****
He stumbled down the sidewalk, his arm around Natalie’s waist. He was drunk and she was short and Taylor’s long legs carried him far faster than the two of them could walk, so they had made it their mission to stick together. It didn’t really matter that Taylor had wandered away with Isaac at some point, the two of them intent on going to a strip club just to say they had.
The strip club was across the street from an arcade, which was fine by Zac and kept him occupied for a while. When that grew tiring—and the quarters ran out—het let Natalie drag him along to whatever caught her fancy. He had to admit, he was enjoying spending the night with her. He sometimes thought of her as just Kate’s awkward, annoying friend, but that wasn’t fair. She had been through a lot over the last few years, and Zac could see that Taylor wasn’t exactly making things easy for her.
Some time later, the two of them collapsed onto a bench in a casino. The room was spinning, but Zac didn’t care.
“So,” Natalie said. “What did you win at the arcade?”
Zac fished around in his pants pocket for a moment, then produced a handful of Tootsie Rolls and a Chinese finger trap. He shrugged. “I’ve done better.”
Natalie snatched a Tootsie Roll from his hand, quickly unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth. Zac had to laugh at her enthusiasm; her sweet tooth was a welcome change from Kate’s obsession with every new healthy eating fad. As he watched Natalie savor the chocolate treat, he slipped his index finger into the finger trap and wiggled it at her. She followed his movements with her eyes, then grabbed his hand with both of her much smaller hands. She slipped her finger into the other end of the trap and giggled.
Zac stared at their hands, connected by a woven piece of paper. “I think this means we’re married now.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works,” Natalie replied. “And anyway, both my husband and your girlfriend would have a problem with that.”
“Fiancée,” Zac replied, sounding the word out. It was still new and he was getting used to how it felt to call Kate that.
“Right. Fiancée.” Natalie cleared her throat, and the lighthearted moment seemed to change somehow, in a way that Zac couldn’t quite understand. With a quick motion of her hand, Natalie freed their fingers and glanced away.
Zac stuck his hand into his other pocket and pulled out a comically oversized plastic ring with a fake jewel in the center. “I thought it would be funny to give her this, but I don’t know. It’s probably not her size anyway.”
Natalie let out a weak laugh. “Nah, it’s not really her style.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” Natalie echoed.
“Would it fit you?” Zac picked up Natalie’s delicate little hand and slipped the ring onto her finger, right next to her real wedding band. A perfect fit.
****
As she gingerly unlatched the one around Zac’s wrist, he couldn’t help noticing something on her hand. A ring—the ring, the tacky arcade prize he had jokingly given to her.
When she realized what he was looking at, she yanked her hand away. With her arms behind her back, Zac could still tell what she was doing—taking the ring off. She scurried out of the room, the ring making a soft thud as she tossed it in the trash can on her way out.
Taylor was still cackling too loudly to even notice as Zac stood up and bolted out of the room after Natalie. He paused only to throw on a shirt along the way, suddenly realizing he wasn’t wearing one and feeling self-conscious about it. At least he had boxers on, he thought, as he walked through the suite to find Natalie in the kitchen, making a pot of coffee.
“Nat?” Zac said softly.
She tensed, but did not turn to face him. “Can we not?”
“Not what? I’m just trying to figure out what the hell happened last night.”
“I don’t know,” she replied, finally turning to face him, a look of honest confusion on her face. “I think—I mean, we were really drunk. So whatever happened, it doesn’t matter, right?”
“Well, yeah, but—you do remember something, don’t you? I think… I gave you that ring. And we were talking about—but that’s not possible. We couldn’t. You’re already married, for god’s sake.”
“This is Nevada, not Utah. Of course we couldn’t.” Natalie paused. “But don’t you remember—how we got the cuffs?”
Zac racked his brain as Natalie turned back to the coffee pot. He remembered lots of drinks, the arcade, more drinks and his brothers going to a strip club. But there were still blank spots in his mind that he couldn’t fill in. Finally, as Natalie turned back to face him, another image came to mind.
“Was… was Elvis there?”
In response, Natalie just handed him a cup of straight, black coffee. Zac took a large sip. He didn’t even like coffee.
****
So, to the strip club they went.
It was somehow classier and weirder than Zac expected, all at the same time. In true Vegas fashion, it was like a circus, with a myriad of different costumes all around, each one flashier and more explicit than the last, from bunnies to Elvis to some really strangely sexual clowns.
Taylor was generally a happy drunk, and that seemed to defuse Natalie’s anger. The three of them took turns dancing, various strippers flitting around them, dancing and rubbing up against all three of them.
When Taylor left to get another round of drinks, a redhead in a pink panther costume grabbed Zac and Natalie and giggled as she danced in between them. “You two are the cutest couple I’ve ever seen!”
“We’re not a—” Zac began, but Natalie cut him off.
“Thanks! We just got married.” She giggled, holding up her toy ring.
“Congratulations!” The redhead gasped and clapped her hands together. She stuck her hand into the front of her costume, pulling out something just as fuzzy and pink as the costume itself. “Here, a wedding present!”
Zac’s eyes widened as he accepted the handcuffs; they were heavier than he expected. “What are we supposed to do with these?”
She gave him a wink and a pat on the cheek. “I’m sure you—or your wife—will think of something.”
****
“Okay, so we were pretending to be married, right? It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real.”
Natalie gave a helpless shrug. “There was a ring and an Elvis impersonator and a—er—wedding gift. It couldn’t possibly be legal, but I’m not so sure it didn’t happen.”
Zac leaned back against the counter, a sense of relief washing over him. Taylor was clueless, it seemed, and it wasn’t like it was possible for him to have legally married his brother’s wife anyway. It was all just stupid, drunken fun that they could put behind them as soon as they were out of this godforsaken town.
“But Zac—” Natalie said, taking a hesitant step closer to him. “Don’t you—don’t you remember the worst part? I mean, not that it was bad, but god, we… I mean, I think took your virginity.”
Without thinking about the full implications of what she’d said, Zac replied, “Unless you have a time machine, I really don’t think you did.”
“You mean—you and Kate?”
“She didn’t tell you?” Zac asked, eying Natalie and seeing that she was honestly surprised. That shouldn’t have surprised him. Kate had been terrified of ending up in the same situation as Taylor and Natalie; she wouldn’t go all the way until she had been on the pill for several months and even then it was an elaborate production that required waiting for a weekend when her roommate was out of town.
Natalie crossed her arms over her chest, that far away look coming back to her eyes. Zac remembered that look. “No, she really doesn’t tell me much of anything anymore.”
Zac stepped in closer and put a hand on Natalie’s arm. He didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t dumb or unobservant. When he was quiet, he was watching, and he saw more than most people realized. The last two years had been hard on her, he knew–being uprooted from her life in Georgia, first to live in Oklahoma and become a mother and then to live in some weird communal apartment situation in New York. And all of that without her best friend, who got to live a normal, college life. Even Zac was, at times, jealous of the life Kate had, with friends and classes instead of groupies and labels to worry about. It had to be even harder for Natalie, though, he realized. She had signed up for only a relationship with Taylor; everything else that came along with it was unavoidable but unasked for.
Natalie looked up, meeting Zac’s eyes, and the full meaning of what she had said finally hit him.
“We did find a use for those handcuffs, didn’t we?” He asked, although the answer was already coming to him in flashes.
She nodded, her cheeks turning dark pink.
****
“Nope,” he replied, not just crossing the threshold, but carrying her all the way into the bedroom of the hotel suite. “S’what you’re supposed to do when you get married, right?”
“If you say so. I was bloated and I woke up the next day with the worst morning sickness I had the whole nine months.”
Zac frowned and nibbled on his bottom lip. He wished he hadn’t made Natalie think of that. It wasn’t fair that she didn’t get to have a perfect wedding. You couldn’t tell, based on the picture they painted, but Zac knew it wasn’t ideal. He hoped his was better, but right then, he wanted to give Natalie a chance to do it over and have the real fairytale the second time.
He carried her over to the bed and placed her down gently. At least, he attempted to. He lost his balance fell on top of her, her hands still clinging to his neck. She was giggling and Zac thought it was the best thing he had ever heard. Before he could think about what he was doing, he closed the distance between their mouths, his hands on her cheeks in the hopes that she wouldn’t push him away.
She didn’t.
Natalie parted her lips willingly, and Zac didn’t waste a second before deepening the kiss, enjoying the sweet taste of rum on her tongue. She was soft and pliable in ways that Zac wasn’t used to; he ran his hands up and down her sides, wanting to feel even more.
All too soon, she was pulling away from the kiss, her hand on his chest to push him away. Zac feared she had come to her senses, but the smirk on her lips said otherwise.
“I’ll be right back,” Natalie said.
Zac pulled back and watched as Natalie walked to the bathroom. He wasn’t sure he trusted her to return, but he also wasn’t sure that he had another choice. They had already crossed a major line. Whatever she asked him to do now, he was sure he was in no position to refuse.
Moments later, the bathroom door opened and she emerged, no longer wearing her tight jeans and tank top. Instead, she was wearing something small, black and lacy. Zac wasn’t sure what to call it, but he was sure he had never seen a woman wearing anything like it just for him before.
Natalie blushed. “I had a little time to go to Frederick’s of Hollywood while you guys were rehearsing. Do you think Taylor will like it?”
“I really, really don’t fucking care what he thinks about it.”
She giggled. “Do you like it?”
“Come over here,” he replied. “I need a closer look to decide.”
Natalie complied, sashaying across the room and crawling across the bed until she was right in front of Zac. She was tiny, but she had curves, curves that were perfectly highlighted by her skimpy little outfit. Zac felt his jeans getting tighter as he strained to see through the lace.
“Yeah,” Zac managed to croak out. “I like it.”
Natalie just laughed. She nudged him backward, then leaned down and pressed her lips to his again. She was less restrained this time, her hands digging deep into his hair and tugging on it just enough to make him whimper. One hand wandered down his chest, to his stomach, then to the hem of his t-shirt. She broke the kiss long enough to nudge the shirt upward; he took the hint and pulled it the rest of the way over his head, then tossed it across the room.
“What did you do with those handcuffs?” She asked.
“Back pocket,” Zac replied. Before he could ask why she wanted to know, Natalie’s hand was in his pocket, deftly removing the cuffs and fastening one around his right wrist.
“Nat, what—” he breathed out as he watched her clip the other end of the cuffs around the headboard. She sat the key just out of his reach on the bedside table. He stared up at her. “That’s kinda kinky.”
“You have no idea,” she replied.
“Then show me.”
Zac could do little more than watch as Natalie crawled back down his body. He had a great view of her cleavage as she worked to free him from his jeans. Once they were gone, she planted herself on his lap. He could feel her warmth through her panties, and he was sure she could feel him, too. She rolled her hips, and Zac didn’t even try to contain his low moan.
“Nat…” Zac breathed out, not even sure what he wanted to ask of her. The room was spinning, and he knew that was as much from the alcohol as it was from the way she felt grinding against him.
“Yeah?” She replied, her voice soft and low, taking on a husky tone that Zac had never heard from her before. “You want something?”
Zac could only nod.
Natalie laughed softly, and Zac decided that was quickly becoming his favorite sound. “Yeah, me too.”
She took his one free hand and guided it between her legs. She was scorching hot, her wetness seeping through the lacy material of her panties. He nudged the slip of material to the side, letting his fingers guide the way. His index finger easily slipped into her wetness, and she felt every bit as good as he imagined she would.
Not that he had imagined this before; of course he had noticed that she was cute, but he could honestly say he had never lusted after his brother’s wife before. Now, though, he saw her in a different light, and he wanted to see—and feel—more.
She gave a slight whimper when he stopped his motions and put his hand on her hip, but she got the hint when he pulled her closer to him. Zac let himself fall back against the pillow as Natalie crawled up his body until the part of her he desired the most was hovering right over his face. He nudged her panties aside again, and this time, he was able to watch as two of his fingers easily slid into her.
“Oh, god, Zac,” she moaned out, rolling her hips, their bodies moving in a perfect call and response.
“Yeah?” He stared up at her, wondering how far she wanted to take this. Whatever she wanted, he was sure he was willing to do.
Natalie nodded, running her hand through his hair as she used the other to steady herself. She lowered herself, inch by inch, until Zac was able to meet her halfway, his tongue landing on her clit as he curled his fingers, hoping to find a spot that would make her moan again.
Natalie didn’t disappoint, the sounds coming out of her mouth reminding Zac that she had musical talent of her own. Somehow, in the heights of her pleasure, her southern accent was even more pronounced, and Zac found that inexplicably hot. He closed his eyes and got lost in the feeling of how she sounded and tasted, his senses full of this woman he never should have been so close to.
When he felt her trembling thighs tighten on his shoulders, Zac knew he was doing his job right. This was something Zac had gotten plenty of experience with before Kate let him have more, and anyway, Natalie was way more responsive. The way she gasped and moaned when she came undone almost finished Zac off, as well, without her even laying a hand on him.
Natalie braced herself on the headboard, her entire body trembling. Her eyes were clouded when she looked down at Zac and smiled. “That was… you’re—damn.”
“Is that good?” He asked, chuckling softly.
She nodded, then slowly crawled back down his body. When she began to peel off her top, revealing inch after inch of skin, Zac decided he might die before the night was over, and he decided that was fine by him.
****
“I wouldn’t have put it that way even if you were right,” Zac replied softly. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, maybe it was just because she was that little bit more experienced than Kate, but he had to admit—at least to himself—that sex with Natalie had blown his mind.
The faintest hint of a smile flashed across Natalie’s lips, followed quickly by a shake of her head. “Whatever it was, we can’t let anyone ever know that it happened. I think we’re just really lucky that they were both just as drunk as we were.”
Zac wanted to resist, wanted to tell her that one night hadn’t been enough for him, but he knew it had to be enough. It was more than he was entitled to, and he was a selfish bastard for wishing he could continue to have her when he was already planning his wedding to her best friend.
A groan came from the pullout couch that Isaac had been unlucky to be stuck with for the night. Natalie’s eyes widened, and she quickly stepped away from Zac, as though just being so close to him would make them look suspicious. Zac wondered if that would pass, or if she would always feel guilty around him.
He took a quick glance at Isaac, then whispered to Natalie, “You’re just assuming they don’t know—although Taylor probably would have killed me by now if he did.”
“Taylor’s nothing if not oblivious,” Natalie hissed back, attempting to look fascinated by the box of Pop-Tarts she had picked up.
“Man,” Taylor said, suddenly appearing as if summoned by the mere mention of his name. He gave Natalie a quick kiss on the forehead as he snatched a Pop-Tart from her hand. “Last night was something else, huh?”
“Yeah,” Zac choked out, eying his brother for any indication that he knew what the night had really been. He didn’t think he saw any, but he couldn’t be sure.
“That stripper who gave you the handcuffs was pretty cute, though,” Taylor said, waving his Pop-Tart in Zac’s general direction as Natalie pressed a cup of coffee into his free hand.
Zac’s eyes widened. “I don’t remember her. It’s all kind of a blur.”
“I’ll say,” Isaac said, pulling himself to a seated position. “Does anyone remember where I got the Elvis costume?”
“I think you won a bet—or lost one, maybe.” Taylor shrugged.
“Oh, yeah. I think I tried to convince a prostitute I could marry us,” Isaac admitted sheepishly. “I don’t think she bought it.”
Zac and Natalie shot each other a glance. So the Elvis-officiated wedding had been a complete fake, even if nothing else had been, he thought. Zac wasn’t sure if that was a relief or not.
“Man, you know your love life sucks if a prostitute turns you down,” Taylor remarked around a mouthful of pastry. “But hey, I bet that would make a good Halloween costume. Mind if I borrow it?”