“Come here. I want to taste that off your tongue,” she said.
“Jesus,” he gritted out, but it wasn’t like he was turning down a kiss. She leaned in, giving him a great view of her cleavage down the front of her sequined strapless dress, and grasped his face in her hand. Her lips were warm, soft, and tasted like champagne and the chocolate mousse cake they’d shared for dessert. Fucking delicious. Her tongue slipped around his, and she pressed herself closer.
“Someone pull those two apart,” one of the guys yelled.
Nick grinned even as they continued to kiss. He wasn’t voluntarily giving up Becca’s mouth, that was for goddamned sure.
“All right,” Kat said from the other side of Nick. “We better get the rest of the night underway before we lose the bride and groom.” Laughter all around as everyone got up from the table.
“Do you think they’d notice if we snuck away?” Becca asked, her face absolutely glowing.
Beckett grabbed Nick by the shoulders. “Get up, Rix. The tables are waiting for us.”
“Apparently,” Nick said. “You go have a good time, Sunshine. But you be ready for me later.” He arched a brow.
“Oh, I will,” Becca said, her tongue licking at her bottom lip.
Shit, he had it bad for her. And he fucking loved it. This woman was going to be his wife. How fantastically lucky was he? A man who just months ago would’ve said he didn’t believe in luck, unless it was of the bad kind.
Outside, they found two massive stretch Hummer limousines waiting for them. Beckett had arranged their transportation for the evening through one of the companies he had experience working with—the cars were bulletproof and the drivers were prior military and armed. Nick appreciated the hell out of the gesture.
As the men headed for one vehicle and the women for the other, Nick pulled Becca into his arms. “Have fun, Sunshine. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Nick.” This kiss was softer, sweeter. Which was good, since all their friends started giving them shit.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nick said, flipping the guys the finger. “Before you go, I have something for you,” he murmured, then slipped a little wrapped box into Becca’s hand. “Wear this and think of me.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“I’m not telling,” he said. Finding this present had been the other good thing he’d accomplished while she’d been at work.
With a little wave and a big grin, Becca turned to catch up with the women, her skirt twirling out and showing a dangerous amount of thigh. God, she looked gorgeous.
When she was safely tucked inside the Hummer and it pulled away from the curb, Nick got into his own limo and Shane pushed a fresh glass of whiskey into his hand. “Gentlemen, start your livers,” Shane called out, loosening his tie and raising a glass of his own.
A round of laughter as everyone drank and the limo started moving. Colored lights ran around the tops of the leather seats, and a fully stocked bar filled one whole side.
Marz sat forward in his seat, a mischievous grin on his face. “If the ocean was vodka and I was a duck, I’d swim to the bottom and drink it all up. But the ocean’s not vodka and I’m not a duck, so pass me the bottle and—”
“Let’s get fucked up!” they all finished.
“Fuckin’ A,” Marz said with a laugh.
Beckett rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and held up his glass. With a sly grin, he said, “I’ll keep mine short and sweet. May all your ups and downs be between the sheets.”
“Hear fucking hear,” Nick said, taking a drink and laughing at the blush filling Charlie’s cheeks. He and Jer were in for a rude awakening—Nick’s teammates were fucking fish, and it’d been a damn long time since they’d had a night like this to just cut loose. Hell, it’d been way more than a year since they’d last done it together.
“All right,” Easy said, holding up his glass. “I’ll play.”
“Yes sir, E,” Marz said, grinning.
The guy smiled, and it made Nick realize how much Easy had changed in the few months they’d all been back together. A few weeks into their investigation, he’d admitted to them that he’d been badly depressed and battling suicidal thoughts. They’d all been gutted to know how bad Easy had been silently struggling, but they’d banded together around him, and Shane and Emilie had made sure he’d gotten the medicine and therapy he’d needed to fight the demons in his head. “Here’s to a long life, and a merry one. A quick death, and an easy one. A pretty girl,” he said with a wink at Nick, “and a loyal one. A stiff drink, and another one.” Another round of bottoms up. At this rate, they were going to lose every dollar they owned at the casino, and Nick didn’t give a shit.
“I’m not good at this,” Charlie said with a sheepish smile. “But I’ll give it a go.” Jeremy grinned at him as Marz clapped him on the back. “To Nick, if you hurt my sister, I’ll kill you in your sleep.”
For a moment, the words hung there, then everyone burst into guffaws. Yeah, Charlie Merritt fit in just fine.
“No worries. I’ll fucking drink to that, Charlie,” Nick said, laughing. He took a big gulp of whiskey, enjoying the bite as it went down. “Okay, I’ve got something to say. First, to nights and friends I’ll never forget.” Holding his glass high, he looked each man in the eye. “And second, to our enemies.”
“Fuck you!” they all called out.
“Amen,” Nick said. But tonight wasn’t a night to worry about enemies. Tonight was a night for celebrating the good things in life. And if Becca hadn’t already done it, being with all these guys was making him realize exactly how much good Nick had.
“OOH, I HAVE a fun idea,” Kat said, pulling out her phone. “Everyone take either a cleavage shot or an upskirt shot and text it to your guy. Make ’em remember what they’re missing out on tonight.” She tugged down the V-neck of her emerald green satin dress and took a picture of herself. A few flicks of her fingers, and she said, “There. Go on, now. Make ’em sweat.”