Brad's Bachelor Party by River Jaymes Page A

she give you both lap dances?”
    “No.”
    “But she got paid a thousand dollars .” Clearly distressed that the two had overpaid, Danny went on. “At least tell me there was some touching involved.”
    This time it was Brad who had trouble keeping his airway clear, coughing like he was choking. Eyes burning, Cole fought the urge to blink.
    “Nope. No touching,” Brad said when he’d finally recovered, looking at the group of women standing at the other end of the aisle. “The lady was careful to keep her hands to herself.”
    There must have been something in Brad’s tone, or the cautious wording of his response, or the way he almost hacked up a lung, that tipped his brother off. Because while Martinez and Ryan went to sit at the edge of the stage, clearly too hungover to continue standing, Danny’s gaze instantly sharpened on his brother and then on Cole. And then he was shifting his eyes back to the groom again before returning them to the best man.
    The best man who, twenty-four hours earlier, had ground his hips against the groom before coating his chest with semen.
    Good God, when was this rehearsal going to be over?
    “Huh,” Danny said with more than a little suspicion in his eyes. “Sounds like you guys were robbed blind, man.”
    “Trust me, Danny,” Brad said. “It was worth every penny.”
    Cole shifted, angling his body better to send Brad a private what the hell? look. Because as bad as Ryan and Martinez were feeling, the subtext was flying right over their heads. But Danny? Danny was looking at Brad and Cole as if there was more to the story and he was on to them.
    Brad merely winked and sent Cole a reassuring smile.
    Clearly the reason Cole had blown his job of keeping Brad out of trouble was because the man was impossible . But Cole was pretty sure Jenny hadn’t considered him the real threat when she’d waved them off on their adventure yesterday, putting the best man in charge.
    Best man.
    Now there was a title he didn’t deserve.
    Danny finally gave up on his silent interrogation and left to sit beside the other two groomsmen. As Cole stared at Brad, the easy, amused look on his friend’s face slowly grew thoughtful. Two more seconds ticked by and his expression changed to something else entirely, scanning Cole’s eyes with a trace of what looked like…hunger.
    Cole glared at Brad.
    “Don’t worry, Cole,” Brad whispered. “I’m not going to start dry humping you in public.”
    “ Brad ,” Cole hissed. “It’s not funny.
    Brad let out a defeated sigh. “You’re right,” he said, surprising Cole with the response. Brad not teasing him was infinitely more dangerous. His friend studied him for a moment, and there was something in his expression that Cole couldn’t make out.
    “I still want you, you know,” Brad said quietly.
    The painful honesty in his voice, in his face, was more than Cole could take. He closed his eyes, as if shutting out the sights and sounds of the activity around him—the sight of Brad —could somehow make the situation bearable.
    “You have no right,” Cole said, his voice hoarse. He lifted his lids to meet Brad’s gaze. “You have absolutely no right to say that to me.”
    “I know.” Brad attempted a shrug, looking resigned. “I just…” A muscle ticked in his jaw, the only sign of his discomfort. “I just didn’t want you to think it was all in fun. Or just a joke. Or that it didn’t mean anything.” He waited until Cole looked at him directly again. “Because it did.”
    Christ.
    There was zero time to process his words as the wedding officiant finally made his way back up the aisle.
    “All right, gentlemen,” the balding man said. “We’re going to run through it one more time. All the way up until the end of the ceremony.”
    The groomsmen assumed their positions. And as the bridesmaids began the ludicrous half-step strides up the aisle, Danny leaned behind Cole to address his brother.
    “Tomorrow, you’d better make the