Stealing Hearts (Wild at Heart #1)

11. RHETT

11

RHETT

My truck bumps along the dirt road as I drive Paige to the cabin. She’s been quiet. She has the window rolled down, and she’s half leaning out of it, staring up at the stars.

I’m usually good with quiet. Prefer it, really. Except, when she’s pensive, it makes me nervous for some reason.

Didn’t know foot-longs were on the menu.

I probably should be embarrassed about the way I got hard when we were cutting the cake. Is that what she’s thinking about right now? Do I even care?

Change the subject, stupid. I glance at her again. “Are you hungry? I packed us some pizza in case you are.”

“Thanks.”

That’s all she says. “Listen, I only found out about the cabin this afternoon. I meant to give you a heads-up, but never really had a chance.”

“It’s okay.”

Paige is a lot of things, but quiet isn’t usually one of them.

When we finally get there, I turn off my truck, and we sit in silence. The light of the moon reflects off the lake, making the still water glow.

The cabin is wrapped in vines and twinkle lights. Above the front door is a huge wooden heart with angel wings. I suppose if I was really looking to get away with my new wife, this ain’t a bad place.

Finally, she turns to me. “I’m tired.” Then she slides on her flip-flops and gets out.

I grab our overnight bags and follow her. She moves over to let me unlock the door, and I flip on the light, which turns on two floor lamps. There’s a love seat, a small couch, a bookshelf, and a coffee table. That’s it. There’s no TV. Damn. Paige and I will actually have to… talk all weekend.

“This place is adorable,” she says as she heads to the small kitchen. She opens the fridge and turns to me, wide-eyed. “It’s full of food.”

Frowning, I follow her in there where we find a note from Sylvia. Congrats, guys! We love you! Aunt Syl and Baylee.

“Ugh,” Paige groans. “I feel so guilty that she went through all this trouble. She bought me this dress, those gorgeous sandals, took me to lunch, rented this place, and bought us all these supplies.”

“I know what you mean. My brothers went all out, but they wanted to make sure Harlan didn’t suspect anything.”

“When this is all over, I’m going to find a way to pay her back.”

Paige is really fucking sweet. I turn her to face me. “Sylvia loves you. It makes her happy to do this for you.”

“She works really hard at the salon, and it’s not like she’s rolling in the dough. Aunt Syl can’t afford this. What about when Baylee gets married someday? Shouldn’t she use this money on her?”

I think about Paige’s best friend. “She has a thing for Mav, right?” Baylee and Maverick have been “best buds” for years, and I sometimes think she looks at him a certain way, but then he does something dumb, and she won’t talk to him for a while.

Paige stares at me. “If you think us being married means I’m going to share all of Baylee’s secrets, you have another thing coming.”

I hold my hands up. “I think they’d make a great couple. He won’t talk about her, though, which I’ve always thought strange since he talks about…” She gives me a look, and I stop talking. “You’re right. We won’t talk about them.”

She rolls her eyes as she pulls out her cell. “Do you have a signal? I have a crappy provider, and I only have one bar,” she says as she walks around with her phone in the air. “I want to send Syl a text to thank her.”

I check my phone. “Two bars. You can use my phone if you need to.”

Her thumbs fly across the screen. “It went through.” She glances around. “Think there’s more than one bedroom?”

“This is the local love shack, so that’s doubtful.”

I follow her down the hallway, where there are two doors. One opens to a bedroom and the other to a bathroom. The bedroom has a queen wrought-iron bed with some frilly pillows.

I glance back to the living room. Shit. There’s no way I’ll fit on that couch. Hell, I’ll barely fit on the bed.

“I brought a sleeping bag. I’ll crash on the floor.” I turn, but Paige grabs my arm.

“You sleep on the bed, big guy. I’ll be fine on the couch.”

She gives me one of those fake smiles she’s been sporting all day, and that knot of guilt grows. “Thank you for the ring. You spent too much on it. At the end of our time together, we’ll sell it and get your money back.”

Paige swallows and looks away. “It’s my gift to you. Something to remember me by when I move away to coach cheer camp. I’m thinking Boston might be nice. I applied for an assistant position there that starts in January.”

Boston? Why the fuck does she wanna move to the East Coast?

Before I can say anything, she slides into the bathroom and shuts the door.

As I toss and turn in bed a few hours later, I think about all the crazy shit that happened today.

I married Danny’s little sister.

I’m sorry, bro. I didn’t know another way to save the ranch, but this will help me keep an eye on her.

At least, that’s what I tell myself.

Sometime around two, it’s so hot, I kick off the sheet and wander out into the living room to look for the thermostat. Instead, I find Paige sprawled on the couch in a cropped white tank top that barely covers her tits and a lacy white thong.

Fuck.

I pivot and head back to my room, where I throw open the window and pray for a breeze.

After I flop on the bed, I do my best to ignore my early morning wood. I will not jerk off to thoughts of Paige.

As I lie here, it’s hard not to compare this wedding to my first one. I should’ve known my marriage to Amber was doomed. She was a total bridezilla. She snarked at the caterers, her bridesmaids, her family, and me. I spent a small fortune to give her the wedding she wanted, and she still complained.

In contrast, Paige got the discount courthouse penny-saver version, and all she did today was thank everyone. She was a gorgeous, gracious bride. If there was anyone who deserved her ideal wedding, it’s the woman sleeping on the fucking couch.

I hate the idea of her moving so far away, but if that’s what she wants, I’m going to do my damn best to make sure she has everything she needs when she goes.

The morning light shining through the window wakes me around nine. I don’t remember the last time I slept this late. With a yawn, I use the bathroom and then head to the living room to look for Paige, but she’s not there.

That’s when I hear a splash.

I open the front door and see her swimming just off the dock. I wander down there, but she doesn’t see me.

Which is how I come face to face with my very naked wife, who freezes halfway up the dock ladder.

Holy hell, she has a gorgeous body. Beautiful, round tits with nipples the color of peaches. A tiny waist and bare little pussy. Lean thighs I’d love to have wrapped around my neck.

As water drips off her hills and valleys, I lick my lips.

“Rhett!” She lets go and splashes back into the lake. “You scared me.”

Shit. I turn around and hold up my hands. “Sorry. Didn’t realize you were skinny-dipping.”

“Sylvia packed my bag. She must’ve thought I didn’t need a swimsuit.”

Had this been a real honeymoon, she’d have been right. “Sorry ’bout that.” It’s gonna take some mental jujitsu to erase the image of Paige’s naked body from my mind. “Do you want some breakfast? Thought I’d make us some omelets.”

“That would be nice. Thanks.”

When I get back to the cabin, I lock myself in the bathroom, wrap my hand around my aching dick, and let my mind wander back to that incredible view off the dock. I go off in an embarrassingly short amount of time.

After I clean myself up, I head for the kitchen and get to work.

She returns fifteen minutes later.

“Food’s almost ready.” I don’t let myself look at her, but out of my peripheral vision I see that she’s wrapped in a towel.

“I’m going to take a quick shower. Like, five minutes.”

I give her a thumbs-up and return my focus to our omelets. When she emerges from the bathroom, her sweet floral scent follows her. It must be her soap because it’s not an overpowering smell like Amber’s arsenal of perfumes.

After I plate our food, I place everything on the small kitchen table. “Did ya have a nice swim?”

“Yeah. It was great. I was so hot last night.”

“I’ll mess with the AC. If we can’t get it working, we should open all the windows. Maybe we’ll get a breeze going tonight.”

Now that we’re alone without my brothers and neighbors, I’m struggling to think of what to say. I’ve missed out on so much of her life. I want to ask her if she enjoyed college. If she made friends. If she had fun cheerleading for the Broncos.

“Do you think Harlan bought the wedding?” she asks after she swallows a bite of the omelet.

“Yeah. You did a good job seeming into me.” Paige had me fooled at times. I’d start to worry her real feelings were getting involved, but then she’d flash me one of those fake smiles, and I’d realize she was just acting.

She pushes food around her plate with her fork. “Are you meeting with him soon to get that loan?”

“First thing Monday morning.”

“Great.”

“We’ll move your stuff into my bedroom when we get back. We can bunk together, but I’ll take the couch. If that’s okay with you.”

She rolls her eyes. “Not this discussion again. I’ll take the damn couch, Rhett.”

I’m not letting her sleep on the couch for the next six months. I guess we’ll figure it out when we get home.

Paige takes a sip of her water. “Is Amber going to be okay when she finds out about us?”

“I don’t give a fuck how she takes it.” Just the mention of my ex makes my blood pressure rise.

She stares down at her plate. “I just mean, if she doesn’t take it well, won’t that be hard on your boys?”

I grab my mug of coffee. “They’ll get to know you, and it’ll be fine.” When she doesn’t say anything else, I sigh. “I’m sorry I used that tone with you. Amber still pisses me off.”

“I get it.”

I don’t know if this is the right time to share this with her, but she deserves to know. “You were right about her sleeping with Kacey Miller, but I didn’t figure out she was sleeping around until I found her fucking Cash McAllister.” It’s like my ex went out of her way to find the worst person possible, the one she knew would piss me off the most.

Her eyes widen. “She didn’t.”

“Oh, yeah, she did. There’s nothing more embarrassing than needing to take your kids to the doctor to get a paternity test.”

She reaches across the table and grabs my hand. “Amber’s an idiot. This is her loss. Most of the women in this town would give their left tit to be with you.”

I bark out a laugh, and my eyes immediately drop to her chest. “Only the left one?”

Paige balls up her napkin and throws it in my face. “Shut up.” But then she gets a playful expression on her face. “You’ve seen me naked.”

“Both tits too. Not just the left one.”

She snorts. “That’s not really fair, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’ve seen me naked, but I haven’t seen you in the buff. So now you have the upper hand.” She nibbles on the corner of her lip. “To make things equal, I should get to see you naked too.”

Leaning back in my chair, I cross my arms over my chest. “Really?” I smirk. “Think you can handle it?”

She also crosses her arms. “You have no idea what I can handle, Rhett Walker.”

Paige is a bona fide flirt. I kinda love it. “So… what? Like right here?”

“Be my guest.” Paige holds out her hand. “Unless you’re chicken.”

I chuckle, unable to resist her challenge. “All right. Fair is fair.” I stand, reach behind my neck, and scoop off my t-shirt. “Brace yourself. It’s big.”

She laughs. “Humble, aren’t you?”

“Not really.” I unbuckle my belt, flip open the button on my jeans, and hook my thumbs in the waistband of my boxer briefs. “You ready?”

“Scoot back. You’re too close. I’m not gonna know where to look first.”

“Oh, you’ll know.” She flushes, and I laugh. I’m mesmerized by her bright blue eyes. By the rosiness in her cheeks. By the way she’s looking at me right now.

I’m playing with fire, but I’m so fucking tired of being responsible all the damn time, a part of me relishes letting loose.

I take a few steps back into the living room. Before I overthink this, I pull down my clothes and let her stare.

Yeah, I’m hard.

My cock gives her a full salute and springs up to my stomach.

Her eyes widen as she takes me in. “Is it difficult to walk with that rocket launcher in your pants?”

I chuckle and pull up my jeans. “It’s only tough when my dick redirects the tides.” Takes me a second to tuck myself away.

She laughs, and I join her back at the table. “Now we’re even,” she says, her voice husky.

I clear my throat. “Guess we don’t need to be weird about nudity then.”

“Nope. I’ve seen your goods, and you’ve seen mine.” She takes another bite of her omelet. “Oh, Baylee said we need to take some pics while we’re here.”

“Just point me where you want me.” That flush in her cheeks returns, and I smirk. “Why, Paige Lewis, is your mind in the gutter? Are you horny?”

She tuts. “It’s Mrs. Paige Walker , thank you very much.” Jesus, that sounds good. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. I brought my vibrator. I’ll just rub one out later.”

I choke on some bacon.

Maybe seeing each other naked was a bad idea.