Page 32

CHAPTER 32

I-N-H... WELL, SHIT.

THEODORE

J ax and I have enough alcohol coursing through our bodies that I couldn’t even spell the word inhibition, let alone have any.

? * Being in Vegas feels like being on another planet. And I’m not just talking about the nonstop partying or the clubs that never seem to close, but what it feels like to be here with Jax. It’s the feeling of the two of us having the freedom to finally let loose, regardless of the fact that it’s going to come with the world’s worst hangover.

For once… neither of us have to be who we really are. We can just be who we want to be.

No one has to know I’m engaged. And because of that, no one will judge the fact that the person bent over in front of me and shaking his ass isn’t said fiancée.

And what’s more, no one will judge me for dancing right along with him.

I place my hands on Jax’s hips, and he grinds into my half-hard cock. The gasp he lets out is loud enough I can hear it over the music. Standing him upright, so his back is tight against my chest, I practically growl in his ear, “This isn’t very professional of me.”

“Your professionalism is the least of my concerns.”

Jax snakes his hands around the back of my neck and tilts his head back, wearing an absolute blissed-out expression on his face. And I’m not stupid enough to pass up the opportunity to pepper kisses along his neck before I grab the lobe of his ear between my teeth. A low moan slips past his lips as he presses his plump ass into my cock.

I growl, “Jax.”

It’s a warning, but it falls on drunk ears.

He moans, “What, Mr. Young?”

I let the bass pulse through my veins right alongside the copious amounts of tequila and sink deeper into the feeling of having fun for the first time in years. My fingers find his waistband, and I play with the hem of his briefs sticking out over his black jeans. “I think it might be in your best interest to not call me that right now.”

He spins around in my arms, and we’re nose to nose now. “What would Bridget think about this?” I don’t miss the snarl of his lip when he says her name.

I look him straight in the eyes and say the words that have been on the tip of my tongue for far too long, “Bridget and I are in an arranged marriage. I don’t love her. Never have and never will. More importantly, she doesn’t love me either. We’re doing this for our families, or, at least I am. She only seems to care about how I make her look.” That was a remarkably fluent speech for someone who has drunk as much as I have.

And considering Jax is just as drunk as I am, if not more, I know he understood the severity of everything I just said, because his face morphs from shock to mischief in about ten seconds flat. “Jax… what are you thinking?”

“So both your parents arranged this marriage?” he clarifies.

“Yes…”

“Why? Are you some kind of mafia boss? Oh—No—I bet it’s your dad, and you’re set to take over the—” He puts his hands in front of our face and makes an air quote, saying, “Family business.”

I burst out into uncontrollable laughter because the whole thing… this entire inconveniently, bizarre situation is just as ridiculous as it sounds. But when I finally pull myself together and wipe the tears from my eyes, I realize Jax isn’t laughing with me this time. “Oh shit.” I clear my throat. “No. Not the mafia, Jax. Both of our families own vineyards in Virginia. We’ve been neighbors our whole life. Actually, our families have been neighbors for decades.”

He shakes his head, and his brows pull together in confusion. “Okay… so why an arranged marriage? This isn’t the eighteenth century.”

“At first I thought it was just because they wanted both of the family businesses to succeed. But the older I’ve gotten the more I realized it has always been… I don’t know… the plan I guess. Our families have been inseparable for as long as I can remember. It’s always been Bridget and me… Theo and Bridget… the two only children who were doted on by their parents. The only children that our parents would look at and go ‘I just can’t wait for them to get married one day, look at how cute they are.’ And one day I woke up and it was actually real. Their plan became my life, and I don’t even entirely know how or why it happened.”

“Wow.” He looks utterly dumbfounded. “This only child stuff makes way too much sense now.”

“What the hell’s wrong with being an only child?” I playfully slap his chest.

Jax sways and stops himself by placing his hands back on my shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with it, but a relationship with two of you that aren’t used to sharing… it never ends well. And I can tell that your relationship with Bridget is anything but good.” My brows pull together because how would he know my relationship with Bridget isn’t good? But I don’t question it. All this serious talk this deep into shots should not be allowed. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I”—he raises his hand in the air—“have a plan. Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll shut the fuck up, happily.” I raise my brow. “Well probably not, but I’ll at least try… for five minutes… okay, maybe two.”

“Let’s hear it,” I say with a laugh. Between the mounting pressure, the desire to never want to be out of Jackson’s arms again, and all of the liquid courage coursing through me, I’m down for just about anything. I’m just happy he’s talking to me. Looking at me. Touching me .

But then three words fall out of his gorgeous mouth, and it takes me all of a half of a second to realize the way I feel when he says them is nothing compared to the way I felt when I said them to Bridget. “Let’s get married.”

* ? Drink N Dance - Future, Metro Boomin