Chapter 12
12
Monday
Nashville, Tennessee
I’m completely charmed by Nashville from the minute the city skyline comes into view.
“Look, there’s the Batman Building!” I point out. I’ve watched online video tours of Nashville online. It always looks so cool and colorful, and the reality is even more vibrant, with a cowboyish, gritty edge.
“Welcome to Music City, darlin’,” Colton grins at me.
We drive straight down Broadway and even though it’s only mid-afternoon, the place is already pumping. The street is packed with people dressed like they’re going to a rodeo. Music is blasting from the open doors and windows of the many, many bars. It’s so loud you can feel the bass notes. “I wish I had some cowgirl boots,” I say, more to myself than to Colton.
I’m wearing one of my own dresses, hand-sewn. It’s a babydoll style, off-white with white flowers I embroidered by hand and a lacy hem that comes to the middle of my thighs. It’s cute and comfortable. And it would look good with cowgirl boots.
Colton swerves the RV over to the curb so suddenly I grip my armrests for dear life.
“What are you doing?”
“Buying you some cowgirl boots. There’s a boot store right there.”
“You can’t park here.”
“Watch me, Sunshine. Come on.” He kills the engine, jumps out of his seat and unclasps my seatbelt, pulling me by the hand down the steps of the RV and out onto the street, like it’s Christmas morning or something and he can’t wait to get started. Then he pulls a roll of cash out of his pocket and peels off a hundred dollar bill. To a passing couple who are probably in their sixties, he says, “I’ll pay you a hundred bucks now and two hundred when we get back if you’ll sit in this RV for twenty minutes and honk if a parking cop comes. We need to buy some boots.”
“Sure thing, buddy,” says the husband. His wife nods enthusiastically. They look wholesome and trustworthy.
Colton pulls me into the boot store—which has more cowboy boots in one place than I’ve ever seen.
“Wow,” I murmur .
“What size are you?” Colton asks me.
“Seven.”
We find the aisle with the sevens and, right there, the very first pair that catches my eye, is the perfect pair of cowgirl boots. They’re brown suede with little white flowers stitched all over them. I pick them up and I do what I always do. I look at the price.
$3,850.99. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter. Even with the money I made from selling my garments yesterday, I don’t have nearly enough. As if I’d spend all the money I have in the world on a pair of cowgirl boots anyway.
“Try them on,” comes the command.
“They’re too expensive,” I tell him, and I start to put them back.
“Try. Them. On.” Jeez. Bossy much? Colton takes them from my hands and he kneels down in front of me, holding one of the boots for me to slip my foot into.
Looking down into vivid blue eyes, I give him a look. But I obey him anyway, because these boots really are to die for.
They fit me like a glove.
And they’re the most comfortable boots I’ve ever had on my feet. The heel is the perfect height. I pace up and down the aisle in them to try them out and Colton watches me with a strange, mesmerized look on his face.
A saleslady has joined us. She’s dressed in full head-to-toe Nashville regalia. “They’re absolutely adorable with that dress,” she says .
They really are.
“We’ll take them,” Colton tells her, handing her his credit card. “She’d like to wear them now.”
“Sure thing, sugar.”
“Colton—” I splutter.
“Oh, let him, sugar,” the saleslady laughs, waving away my protest. “Never stop a man from buying you the perfect pair of cowgirl boots. It’s a cardinal rule here in Music City.”
“You heard the lady, Lila.” Colton winks at the saleslady conspiratorially, like they’re in this together.
“But—”
“No ifs, ands or buts about it, sugar.” I guess she calls everyone sugar. And she’s already ringing them up. “Those boots were made for you.”
They kind of feel like they were.
“Let your husband treat his beautiful wife,” she scolds me. “It’s the least he can do.”
“Oh, he’s not?—”
“Hell, if my husband offered to buy these for me, I’d do anything he asked. And I mean anything .”
Colton’s trying not to laugh. “Did you hear that, Sunshine? Anything .” His comment is too low for her to hear. But I hear it.
Before I know it, the boots are bought and paid for and we’re back out on the street.
Except I feel different now. My feet are unbelievably comfortable, this is my favorite outfit I’ve ever worn, and the world just got a whole lot more… glittery. No one tells you that wearing the perfect pair of cowgirl boots makes you feel like you’re living your very best life.
Or maybe it’s Colton Maddox who’s making you feel that way.
Colton gives the couple guarding our RV another two hundred bucks—plus a tip—and soon we’re headed back down Broadway. The whole excursion took less than fifteen minutes. And cost more than four thousand dollars.
“I’ll pay you back,” I tell him.
“It’s my treat, darlin’.”
“The Terminator has morphed into Blake Shelton,” I comment dryly.
“Affirmative.” In a southern accent.
“Oh my god,” I groan, but we’re both laughing like it’s the funnest joke we’ve ever heard.
Colton somehow manages to maneuver the huge RV around the corner and into the space in front of the hotel, which has blue flags with guitars on them and large tropical plants out in front of it.
A valet is waiting for us. Several men in uniforms are ready to carry our bags. I already know that people jump to attention whenever Colton Maddox turns up on their doorstep. I guess having a billion dollars to throw around will do that. But it’s hard to get used to.
We get to our suite on the top floor and once again, it’s ridiculously luxurious. The sliding doors are open to take in the view of the swanky patio and, beyond it, the river. A welcome basket full of food is on the table, along with a bottle of champagne on ice. There’s even a polaroid camera with a little note saying, record your memories!
“Who lives like this?” I murmur.
Colton comes over to stand close to me, towering over me with his six-foot-whatever frame. He takes a long lock of my hair and twirls it around one finger. “You do now, sugar.”
For four more days. Don’t get used to it.
He’s so big. So burly and toned and built . His face, with its scar across one cheekbone, his whiskers darkening his square jaw, his azure eyes rimmed with thick lashes, has become familiar…and I love this. His face is the most sublime thing.
There’s heat behind his eyes and also tenderness. The intensity of both makes my heart skip a beat. “Thank you for the boots,” I say softly. “I love them.”
“It’s the least I can do for my beautiful wife.”
“Very funny.”
An uncharacteristic note of…longing, maybe, or regret crosses his expression, but then it’s gone. “We better keep moving if we’re going to get to the rehearsal at the Ryman before they finish. You ready?”
We go to the theater where the Grand Ole Opry spent so much of its history, and we watch literal icons warming up for tomorrow night’s show. The whole experience is surreal. It’s freaking George Strait up there on the stage. I feel like I’m living in a dream.
After the rehearsal, Colton takes me out to dinner at a rooftop restaurant where there’s live music and some of the best food I’ve ever eaten. We talk and laugh the whole time.
I don’t allow myself to think beyond four days from now. He’s too easy to be with. Too smart and funny. Too sexy as all hell.
I see the way other women stare at him. And no wonder. The man is a big, sexy tomcat.
Yes. A big, sexy tomcat who will be back out there in the wild in a matter of days.
But I can’t help noticing that he doesn’t seem to notice any of the many beautiful women who ogle him. He’s completely focused on me.
Colton takes me to see his favorite Nashville band at a little hole-in-the-wall bar that’s right on Broadway. Memorabilia covers the walls and there’s a cozy Americana vibe. We order two-dollar Pabst Blue Ribbons and drink them straight out of the can—mainly because that’s all they serve.
When the band starts playing, Colton pulls me onto the dance floor. “Do you know how to do the two-step?”
“No,” I laugh, trying to stop him from pulling me into the small crowd of people who obviously do know how to two-step, but it’s no use.
“I’ll teach you.”
As if the man wasn’t already perfect enough, he’s also a seriously good dancer.
Dancing with Colton Maddox in that little honky-tonk bar with lively music being played by some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever heard perform…it’s downright magical. It might be the most fun I’ve ever had.
A slow song comes on and Colton pulls me into his arms. The lighting is low except for the neon signs in the window and the low spotlights on the musicians. Colton has moved us toward the side of the dance floor now. My body is pressed up against his dizzying hardness. He’s hard… everywhere .
Right here on the dance floor.
I’m so inexperienced with this kind of thing, it shocks me. He can just walk around like this? And dance like this?
Apparently so. Our gazes lock. I blush because it’s incredibly intimate. Having his giant… erection pressed up against my stomach as we dance. I have no control over the reactions of my body. My nipples bud as they rub lightly against his chest. I can feel the soft pulse of my heartbeat there . In the exact same place where I felt him press against me last night, where all my newfound wildness seems to be centered.
I’ve never felt so cherished as I do right here and now in the middle of this packed dance floor surrounded by people I don’t know with Colton’s arms around me.
And I’m tired of demure, unrequited bullshit. Colton Maddox is too hot to let anything go fucking unrequited. I can see in his eyes that he’s noticed the change in me. He can read the decision I’ve made.
His smirk is hot. “My little Sunshine girl is ready for her next lesson. ”
“We did shake on it, Professor.”
“Yes, we did.” The smirk gets darker and his hands slide further down to grip my ass. He presses me tightly against him and his cock gets even harder. Woah. “And you have a lot to learn.”
So we’re really doing this.
Last night I got scared…of feeling too much for him. Now I want to feel everything. Who knows if I’ll ever get another chance. Having sex with Colton Maddox will be like summiting Everest when you’ve never even climbed a foothill. But at least I’ll know . It’s a gift I’m going to give myself after living a lonely life for so long.
And, wow, he really is hard. I want to make him harder. “I must not be that bad at seducing a man if you’re already…” I can’t bring myself to point out the obvious.
“Already what?” He grips me and presses his rigid length into me. “Hard as a fucking rock?”
Oh god. I can feel every throb and every ridge.
“Why are you so hard, Professor?” I whisper in his ear, letting myself tease him. Our constant banter is getting dirtier.
“You know why. Because you’re so fucking sexy. Come on, baby, get me even harder. Let’s see if you can improve on last night’s kiss.”
I don’t rise to his taunting. The only rise it’s getting out of me is that I’m turning into a puddle right here on the dance floor. “You didn’t seem to mind it last night.”
His sneer is promising me as much as I can handle. “I sure didn’t mind how fucking good you tasted.” He leans closer. His tongue licks my earlobe and he gently bites it until I squirm. “Or how wet your pussy was when you writhed all over my big cock, you little minx. I bet it’s all wet and ready for me right now too. I bet you’re wondering what it’s going to feel like when I eat you like a fucking berserker and make you come so hard you can barely remember your own name.”
I feel my eyes widen. If I’d thought I was being coy, he just upped the ante.
I can’t believe he just said that. But now that he mentions it, yes, I am wondering what that’s going to feel like.
This isn’t like me at all but…I nod.
“Don’t be such a fucking cocktease, Bailey, or I’ll have to take you over my knee.”
I blink up at him. “And then what will you do?”
He leans close to my ear. “Spank that sassy little ass until you’re pink and wet and ready for me.”
Oh.
Colton holds my face with his hand and he kisses me.
This isn’t the careful introduction he allowed me last night. This kiss is hungry and full of lust. His mouth devours mine and his tongue tangles with mine, tasting me in intimate thrusts.
He kisses me like I belong to him.
His strong grip forces me to grind in a barely-there rhythm against his giant cock. My pussy feels swollen and soft, like it’s been dipped in warm honey .
“Surrender, baby girl. Submit to me. You know you need it. Do exactly what I say and give me everything I want.”
“ I want you ,” I whisper against his mouth.
Colton slowly breaks the kiss, like he’s addicted to the taste of it. But then he slings his arm around me, guiding me out the door. “Well then, Sunshine, that’s exactly what you’re going to get. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
As soon as we get out onto the street, Colton lifts me into his arms, carrying me through the loud, high-on-life crowd.
All the way to the hotel.
He kisses me in the elevator. And down the hall to our room. When we get into our room, he kicks the door closed and sets me down on my feet next to the bed.
Taking his time, he pulls a large armchair closer to the bed and sits on it, knees apart, burly arm slung over the arm of the chair in a way that’s very… male .
So I’m standing in front of him as he sits there like a king checking out a new member of his harem. I feel naked already. And so wet my panties are clinging sort of distractingly.
“Our pact was for me to teach you how to seduce a man. So that’s what you’re going to do.”
This is a different Colton Maddox to the one I’m used to. The playfulness has turned dark and menacing. Now, he’s pure dominance.
And I feel not only playfully submissive but also like I might die if he doesn’t touch me again. My body is on fire. I feel beautiful and hot and supremely alive. My inner sex goddess is determined to get exactly what she wants—and what she wants is that massive lust wand Colton Maddox is packing, which is practically busting through the button-fly of his jeans like he stuffed a fat anaconda down there.
I want to provoke him, like he so easily does to me. “Yes, Professor Maddox.”
His glare is stormy. “Take off your dress.”
It doesn’t matter that I’ve never done this before. I want to tease him and torture him. Even though I’m a beginner, I know exactly how to do it. By slowly, temptingly giving him everything he wants.
I’m naturally shy when it comes to this sort of thing, so I use my shyness. Almost demurely, I pull my dress up. Over my white lace panties, which are mostly sheer and are now bunched into a thong because the thin fabric is wet, clinging to my pussy, which feels slippery and tingly and so needy I feel like I’m going mad with it.
Even more slowly, I ease the hem of my dress higher. I’m wearing a white lacy bra that matches my panties. The fabric has its work cut out for it, since it’s thin and stretchy with no wires and my breasts are full. I know he can see how how tightly budded my nipples are.
I pull my dress over my head and drop it onto the bed.
“Holy fuck,” Colton growls, his voice husky with awe. “It’s a crime for you to wear clothes.”
I move closer, standing between his spread knees. “Can I touch you?” I whisper .
“No. Don’t be so fucking easy, Bailey. Make me work for it.”
I bite back a smile because his Dom voice is a little like his Terminator voice. And I know why he’s grumpy. His cock looks so big and constricted by his jeans, it’s clearly painful.
Right now my femininity feels like a superpower. “First you tell me not to be a cocktease and then you tell me not to be easy. Which is it, Professor Maddox?”
“You can stop with the sass unless you want detention.”
I play innocent. “What happens in detention?”
“You get that smart mouth stuffed full so you stop talking so much.”
Now he’s giving me ideas…
“Pull that lace lower so I can see those ripe little nipples. They’ve been teasing me since the second I laid eyes on you, begging me to suck on them until they’re all pink and juicy.”
Yikes. My pussy clenches at his dirty talk and it feels… so good.
I obey him coyly. I lower the lace over my nipples, until the bra is pushing my breasts up and together.
His eyes darken. “Fuck, Sunshine. Look how fucking gorgeous you are.” He drinks in the sight of me for a few seconds, then he says, “Feed them to me.”
I know he’s trying to make this dirtier than I can handle. He wants to test my limits and see me blush.
But I’m tired of my limits. And I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of winning this game .
So I stand between his spread knees and I do it. I lean over him, offering my nipple to his sneering mouth.
Holding my eyes with his own, he laves his tongue over the sensitive underside, taking my nipple gently between his teeth.
I moan.
“That’s my good girl. You love it when your man worships you, don’t you, Sunshine.”
Your man.
He pulls my nipple into the hot fire of his wicked mouth. God . The suction of his mouth sends warm currents of pleasure to my core, where a light throb is gaining momentum.
“Damn, you’re a hot little thing. You’ve made a real mess of your panties, baby girl. Are you ready to take them off and show me how wet your pussy is for me?”
I don’t care about anything except feeling him. My body is so ravenous it hurts.
“Take everything off except the boots. Those are staying on.”
I accept his challenge and then some. I swirl the moisture he made with his mouth over my nipples with my fingers, playing them. I gasp a little at the sensation. “Your tongue felt so good,” I whisper, watching his eyes. I take off my bra and then I slowly, provocatively, ease my panties down, stepping out of them.
“Jesus, Lila, what are you doing to me? How can anyone be so fucking perfect? ”
I’m not sure what to say so I wait for his next command.
Colton takes my hand. Slowly, he touches my fingers to my pussy, swirling them through the moisture. I’m so sensitive I think I’m about to come.
But before I can, he guides my fingers to his mouth and he sucks them clean.
Holy hell.
“I’m going to release the beast now, baby,” he says huskily, “because I can’t take this anymore.”
Colton unfastens his jeans, taking himself out.
Sweet Jesus.
He’s so turned on. His cock is rigid…all the way up his stomach. It’s all engorged and hot-looking. The head is slick with moisture.
I’m riveted by the sight of him. I’m also mildly concerned about how it’s going to… fit , when—we’re probably beyond if at this point—we get to that part, but at the same time, I’ve never seen anything so mouthwatering in my life.
“Get onto the bed. Crawl on all fours until you reach the pillows. Show me what you’re offering me. Make it fucking good.”
Okay, wow.
But I want to show him. I want to drive him crazy with lust.
So I do it. I crawl onto the bed, looking behind me to see him stroking his big cock .
I crawl to the end of the bed and I lay back on the pillows.
“Touch yourself,” he growls. “Let me see my meal. Get that sweet pussy nice and ready for me to feast on.”
I’d laugh if I wasn’t so freaking horny.
So I let my hands slide down my stomach, touching my fingers to my slippery softness. “Like this?” I exhale as the warmth rises under my own touch. “I’m so hot and wet, Professor.” I kind of feel like I’m acing my lessons.
“ Fuck. ” Colton stands and pulls his shirt over his head. It’s the first time I’ve seen him without a shirt on and not submerged in water. He’s so beautifully made, so broad across the shoulders with sculpted muscles. The tattoo of a tiger on his side winds around his torso gracefully.
He lets his jeans and his boxers drop to the floor.
Wow.
His eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them. He looks big and mean and dangerously aroused.
But still, I want to own him. I want to ignite him and play with my own power. To somehow push him further than he’s ever been pushed.
“You know this is all yours, right, Maddox?” I say sweetly, dipping my fingers barely inside. “Yours. All soft and ready for you.”
Colton crawls onto the bed and crouches over me. “You’re dangerous, Sunshine. And so fucking beautiful it’s killing me. Lay back now so Professor Berserker can give you your prize for being such a good student.”