Chapter 6 – Wylie
The next morning…
“Seriously, Wylie?” Stevie's voice cut through my hungover snoring.
I cracked open an eye, squinting against a blinding beam of light before quickly clamping my lids shut again.
“What the hell are you pointing in my eyes? A damn light saber?” I grumbled.
"You'll need to ask God about that one because that's the sun, the big round globe in the sky. And you're asleep on a pool chair at the house where I currently live," Stevie replied.
I opened my eyes again, this time trying to force my lids to stay open despite the oppressive gaze of the early morning Texan sun cascading down on me. Stevie was stretched out next to me on one of the empty pool chairs and though I was borderline still drunk from last night, I quicky sobered up when I saw her round tits popping out of her tiny, polka dot string bikini.
I adjusted myself discreetly, but the movement caused a sharp pang to radiate from my head down to my stomach and I felt the hot dogs I'd consumed last night start to come back up.
“Damn it…” I groaned as I threw an arm over my eyes to shield myself from the light again. “What time is it?”
“Eight-o-clock.”
“Do you always lay naked in the sun this early in the morning?”
Instead of responding, I heard her rustling around next to my chair. When I cracked an eye open again, she was slipping in earbuds to block out our conversation.
"Really, Stevie?" I muttered.
She shrugged, “I’d rather not talk to you this early, and yes, I do, except normally when I’m laying out, I’m on my apartments back porch which is shielded in privacy and I’m not just partially naked, I'm totally naked.” She popped her ear buds in while my jaw dropped open at her omission.
No wonder she had no damn tan lines when I saw her a few months ago.
Of course, now my horny ass was thinking about her naked riding my face while gripping on to the headboard inside Ashwood ranch like she had a few months ago.
Fuck me.
I swung my legs over the side of the pool chair and moved to stand up while trying not to fall over. Somehow, I made it into the home where I grabbed two pain killers and a glass of water, knocked them back then stared at the empty bottle of whiskey on the counter that I must have finished last night.
Didn't remember finishing that...
I rubbed my temples firmly while I tried to piece together the remnants of the night.
After running into the field and unloading my frustration on a tree with my father’s old rifle, I vaguely remembered Nash and Clay prying the gun from my hands before I stormed back inside and started drinking straight from the bottle.
Flashes of the night came back to me: Nash tossing me into the back of his truck, grumbling about his pregnant wife, unborn children, and protecting Stevie and Ms. Vector from my insanity. Somehow, I must have made it back to Ashwood ranch, finished the bottle, and passed out by the pool until morning.
I rubbed my temples again, desperate to rid myself of the pounding headache. My eyes cast out toward the pool where Stevie was lying, tapping her heel to the music she was listening to and bobbing her blonde head back and forth. She flung her legs over the side of the chair to stand and stretched causing her tits to pop out of the top, practically revealing the pink flesh on those pert nipples I’d become familiar with. Before I could get my mind off her tits, she bent over to touch her toes in a stretch, giving me a front row view to her round ass.
No getting that view out of my mind now.
I stormed out of the sliding pool doors causing her to jump up quickly and whip out her ear buds. “I thought you left," she gasped.
I grunted as I walked over to a chair and flopped back down before staring at her. “Nope. I'm here for the Stevie show.”
She rolled her eyes and turned to dive into the pool, executing flawless form with barely any splash. When she emerged from the water she was smiling as she climbed on to one of the pool floats.
“You want to talk about it?” she asked in a sing-song playful voice as she perched her chin on a closed fist and stared at me.
Stevie was the last person on earth that I wanted to talk to about what happened last night.
“Not really.”
“Aw, did your date from the other night not put out? Disappointed with your sexual performance? You are getting kind of old, ya know? Might be time for some performance enhancing drugs.”
“No woman has ever been disappointed in the bedroom after being with me.”
She rolled her eyes, but I didn't miss the flush spreading across her chest before she flipped onto her back and turned away. She might annoy the hell out of me, but she couldn't deny how her body always responded to mine. Especially because mine did the same.
My father's words echoed in my mind as I watched Stevie bob up and down on the raft. Her sun-kissed body, toned from the CrossFit workouts Jovie had mentioned she participated in, glistened in the early morning light. Those wild blonde curls, which she kept untamed, drove me mad, reminding me of the times I wrapped them around my fist as I pulled her head back and kissed her. Her big, almond-shaped brown eyes were mesmerizing leading down to those plump lips she pursed anytime I said something that annoyed her. And I enjoyed annoying her.
I'd slept with plenty of women casually, but something about Stevie had stuck with me, a fact I'd resented for months.
Would it be the worst thing to be married to her for just twelve months until I could get ownership of Cameron ranch?
Twelve months felt like an eternity, but maybe we could keep things casual and come to an understanding about what we both wanted out of this situation. However, I wasn't sure I had anything Stevie might want. Sex was certainly off the table since she’d made it clear after I’d had a momentary lapse in judgement a few months ago and showed up in Houston that she wasn’t interested in anything more with me. And even though our chemistry had been insane, I knew that wouldn’t be enough to entice her into a whole marriage.
“Can you toss me that tanning oil next to you?” she called over her shoulder as she continued to float.
“Sure. Would you like me to rub it in for you too?” I asked.
“No thanks. Don’t know where those hands have been.”
“That’s not what you said a few months ago.” I grumbled back as I tossed the oil on to her float while she flipped me the middle finger.
Never mind.
Being married to Stevie for twelve months? That sounded like pure hell. Enduring any woman for that long, let alone being legally bound to someone who enjoyed getting under my skin, was unimaginable.
I laid back on the chair, closed my eyes and threw my hands behind my head.
But what the hell choice did I have?
I had no other prospects, the only other woman I’d dated for any sort of amount of noteworthy time was Lana and we’d almost ruined each other’s life with our toxic relationship.
The straw that had broken the camel's back between us was when I’d heard she was telling her best friend Becca about the other guys she was sleeping with and bragging about how we were in an open relationship. I'd never taken the relationship with Lana seriously, but I certainly hadn't been sleeping with other women when we were together.
Maybe I could go on a dating app and say I’m looking for an arranged marriage.
Fuck me, I had three months to figure this shit out before Nash married Jovie and my whole fucking world imploded.
Everything I'd worked for—the legacy of my family, my dreams as the eldest—would be handed over to Nash. Though I knew he'd handle it responsibly as the reliable middle child he always was, finding a way for me to effectively own it without official paperwork, it wouldn't feel the same to me unless my name was on the deed.
Years ago, while Nash pursued his degree and worked as a civil engineer in Houston, I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into the Cameron ranch, transforming it into what it is today. I'd faithfully served alongside my father since I was a toddler, dedicating everything I have to the place I call home. I was not willing to give it up so easily, even if that meant entering a marriage of convenience with an expiration date, to a woman I didn’t love.
Nash had held on to his pride over the years, Clay to his humor laced with pain, and I’d held on to my anger. I was bent on using that anger to throttle me forward into what I knew I had to do to secure my future as owner of Cameron ranch.
I stood up, more determined now as I dove into the cool pool water. When I reemerged, I popped under an innertube and pulled myself closer to where Stevie was lying.
“You wanna know why I was black out yesterday shooting at a dead oak tree and screaming at the sky like a mad man?” I asked.
She leaned forward on the raft eagerly, playfully placing her chin under her hands and nodding her head yes. My eyes took a moment to absorb her soft skin, the curve of her body and the chipped nail polish she always wore. I knew the way she looked at me now would never be the same after she found out what my dad had told me I needed to do.
“It was because my dad told me I needed to find a wife to marry in the next three months or he’ll give Cameron ranch to Nash.”
Her jaw dropped open in shock.