11. Penny
Chapter 11
Penny
For the next several weeks, we drifted from town to town. It had become routine at this point—unload the horses, unhitch the trailer, check into a motel. The scenic tour of the Great Plains might sound boring to some, but not to me. I was thrilled to be riding shotgun with my best friend, letting our love fuel us.
Late June brought us to northeastern Nebraska for the Prairie circuit’s next competition. Once the horses were fed and watered and settled inside a pen, Tripp drove us to where he’d booked a block of rooms for the team.
He popped into the tiny motel office and emerged with a fistful of gleaming metal keys. Walking to two other trucks that served as a part of our traveling caravan, he distributed them to his men, and they grabbed duffels out of the back before disappearing into several rooms.
I had a grip on the door handle, ready to hop out and get settled for the night, when Tripp held up a hand to halt me. I cocked my head in question but remained seated as he jogged around the hood and climbed behind the wheel .
“We’re down at the end,” he explained as he reversed out of our current parking spot and drove to the far side of the lot.
Extending my feet as far as they would go, I wiggled my toes. “Wouldn’t kill me to walk after spending hours driving. I’m all kinds of stiff.” Twisting my neck, I let it crack loudly for emphasis.
Tripp’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel. “Don’t say stiff.”
With a wicked grin curving on my lips, I leaned my torso over the center console, practically purring, “I need to be stretched out in the worst way, baby.”
A low noise sounded at the back of his throat as we rolled to a stop. Training his darkened blue eyes on me, he gritted out, “Stay here.”
Bringing my flattened hand to my temple, I gave him a mock salute. “Yes, sir.”
The grumbling under his breath as he swung open his door had me smiling. He’d kill me if I said it out loud, but just then, he totally reminded me of his father.
Jett Sullivan was stoic, gruff, and no-nonsense, though I had witnessed rare moments of softness, usually directed toward his wife and daughter.
Tripp respected his dad, but a lifetime spent as his sounding board meant I knew they butted heads often. Jett was tough as nails and expected his son to be the same. But Tripp just wasn’t. He was openly expressive and playful and would much rather follow orders than lead. I could only imagine what Jett would think about how I dominated him in the bedroom, a place where society dictated that men should be in charge.
Being on the road, we’d been able to close ourselves off from whatever drama was left behind at home after the whole crashed wedding/runaway bride situation. I was completely unplugged, having turned down Tripp’s offer to buy me a new phone. I wasn’t ready to face reality— namely, my parents—so I could only imagine the flak Tripp had gotten during his brief conversation with Jett the morning after we’d tied the knot.
A flash of movement caught my eye, and I lifted my head to a view of Tripp hidden behind an armful of white sheets and pillows as he stepped through the door of our assigned motel room.
What in the world was he up to?
The back door to the truck was wrenched open, and the bundle of bedding was stuffed into the second row.
Twisting around, I teased, “Don’t think you’re supposed to take those.”
“Just borrowing. We’ll bring ’em back.” He slammed the door shut.
When he hopped back into the driver’s seat, my confusion was audible. “Um.” I looked from Tripp to the now-closed door to our room and pointed a finger toward it. “We’re not going in?”
His hand turned the wheel over as we backed out. “I’m taking you out.”
I bit back a groan. Though I’d said so jokingly earlier, I hadn’t been lying about being stiff. A hot shower was calling my name, followed by a round of hot sex, maybe takeout for dinner, and then a second shower—preferably with the hottie I married—before we passed out for the night.
Maybe if I pulled out the pouty lips, he would reconsider. “Do we have to? I’d much rather stay in.” I trailed my fingertips over one of the protruding veins along his forearm.
Tripp’s eyes shifted toward me before returning to the road. “We stay in almost every night. I want to take you on a date.”
“We go on dates.”
He rubbed his free hand over his face with a heavy exhale. “Watching the rodeo from the staging area isn’t a date, Lucky.”
“Suits me just fine,” I countered.
Humming, he replied, “As much as I love the country girl in you, it kills me this isn’t a proper honeymoon. I want to give you the world, Penny, and while what I have planned for tonight doesn’t come close, it’ll help soothe my conscience. For tonight at least.”
“Hey.” My hand slid up his arm before flattening over his chest, the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm comforting. “I have everything I need or could want right here. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life, simply being with you.”
Tripp’s head fell back against the seat. “Doesn’t seem like nearly enough,” he breathed out.
“It is. I promise.” I poured as much conviction as I could muster into those words.
His fingers curled around mine and squeezed. “God, I hope so.”
What I wouldn’t give to be in his daddy’s vintage truck with the bench seat right now so I could curl into his side and lay my head on his shoulder as we drove. We’d learned from a young age that physical contact had a calming effect on us both, and this heavy moment required more than just our hands.
How could he not see that he was everything to me? I didn’t care where we were or what we did so long as Tripp was by my side. He was the dream; none of the other details mattered.
My gaze shifted to peek through the windshield where the open plains stretched endlessly before us on the state highway we flew down.
Needing to lighten the mood, I remarked, “So, where does one go for date night in a place where livestock outnumber humans by over a thousand to one?” I let out an exaggerated gasp. “We’re not going cow tipping, are we? Because I’m pretty sure that goes against my oath as a veterinarian.”
That got a chuckle out of him, and he brought my knuckles to his mouth to dust a kiss over them. “Did you actually take an oath? ”
I scoffed, pulling my hand out of his grasp to lay it over my chest and doing my best to look offended. “Of course I did. I’m a doctor, I’ll have you know.”
Tripp huffed out a wry laugh. “Certainly outkicked my coverage with you, didn’t I, sweetheart?”
“You’ve got it backward, baby. It’s a goddamn miracle you waited for me. You’re the catch of Rust Canyon. Any woman in town would have been lucky to have you.”
“Too bad for them the only one I wanted was you.”
Warmth curled through my insides. “I’ll get down on my knees every day and thank God for that.” I let out a sigh. “Guess He was listening after all. Every prayer I sent up for the past twenty years was asking that I could have you.”
The ultimate irony was that those prayers could have been answered far sooner had either of us been brave enough to share our desires instead of keeping them buried deep inside.
There was no point in dwelling on that now. Not when things had turned out exactly as we always wanted in the end.
“So, cow tipping?” I hedged, unable to keep a trace of humor from my tone.
Tripp’s eyes lifted to the roof for a split second. “If I didn’t know you were joking, I’d be offended that’s the best you think I can do.”
I shrugged, a grin splitting my face. “Wouldn’t hold it against you, baby. Not much else to do out here.”
A corner of his lips twitched. “That’s where you’re wrong, Lucky.”
His chin jerked toward the road ahead. Whipping my head around, I let out an excited squeal before turning back toward my husband, whose chest was puffed up with pride at having revealed his surprise .
“A drive-in?” I bounced in my seat, my earlier soreness from traveling all day long forgotten as excitement crept in.
“Mmm.” His smile grew. “You see what’s playing tonight?”
We were at the end of a long line of cars waiting to pay for admittance, so I had to squint to read the movie listed on the old-school marquis at the entrance.
My mouth popped open, and a disbelieving huff slipped out. “Seriously?”
It was my favorite early 2000s romcom, one I’d watched so many times I had every line memorized and couldn’t help but cry happy tears when they got their happy ending. Tripp had sat beside me at least a hundred of those times, handing me tissues when I needed them as if on cue.
And just maybe part of the reason I loved it so much was because the couple just so happened to be childhood best friends—living next door to each other—who went through a hell of a journey but found their way together in the end.
The parallels hit even closer to home now. Though in the movie, it was the male lead’s wedding day when the heroine begged him to choose her instead.
“Must’ve heard you were comin’.” Tripp’s voice brought me back to the present.
There was a good chance that hearts were shooting from my eyes as I stared at the man beside me in awe, my love for him growing until it felt like my chest might burst. “This is so great. Thank you.”
“I know it’s not much—” he began.
I cut him off quickly. “It’s perfect. My favorite memories are being curled up on the couch, either in your parents’ living room or mine, getting lost in this movie. ”
Tripp’s cheeks pinkened a touch as he admitted, “Mine too. Those few hours when you’d let me hold you, I would allow myself to pretend that I was more than just your best friend, that we were a real couple. Because it felt so damn real when you were in my arms. You’d cuddle in close, your arms wrapped around my waist and your head laid on my chest, and I always wondered if you could hear how fast my heart was beating. For you.”
“Truth?” I asked.
His hand reached across the console to grab mine. “Always.”
“I couldn’t hear anything over mine racing so fast it felt like I might pass out.”
He hummed, shaking his head. “The only thing that helps me sleep at night is knowing I didn’t have anything to offer you back then. And that you got the chance to go to college and get your vet training without me having to worry about holding you back.”
My loud snort echoed in the tight confines of the cabin. “Please, we both know you’d have followed me like a lost puppy.”
“You’re probably right.”
“And your dad would have had a stroke,” I joked, unable to hold back a giggle.
“You think it’s funny, but there’s no question he’d have dragged me back home by the ear.”
“Yeah.” I cringed. “I can see that.”
He deepened his voice, imitating Jett. “‘I didn’t work my ass off to build all this so you could go chasin’ after some girl. Man up and take care of your responsibilities. This family’s future depends on you.’” By the time he finished, his chest was heaving, and his fingers had curled around mine so tightly that they caused a bite of pain .
“Do you worry about taking over the ranch?” The property was massive, and the business was expanding. I couldn’t begin to imagine the amount of work it took to keep everything running smoothly.
Tripp grunted. “I’ll be an old man by the time that happens. Nothing would make my father happier than workin’ until the day he dies.”
Jett was in his mid-fifties; he had plenty of good years left in him. But Tripp was capable and had spent his entire life learning to run that ranch.
“You don’t think he would want to retire and enjoy his golden years with your mom?”
Lips twisting to the side, Tripp considered the idea. “I don’t know. He’s always stressed the need to provide for his family. I’m sure some of that stems from losing his dad young, but I imagine it’s more deeply rooted in the end of his rodeo career and having to pivot into ranch ownership.” Jett had been a bronc rider before an injury ended that dream for good. “I don’t remember much of those early years when we lived in the one-room cabin while they built the big house, but I’ve heard enough to know it was rough. Hell, it wasn’t easy after that either, when he was doing what we are now, carting the horses all over creation, forced to leave his wife and kids back at home because he couldn’t afford the extra staff.”
My husband let go of my hand to rub it over the scruff lining his jaw. “I think he’s worried about what will happen if he lets go of the control. I hate to say it, but the only way he’ll ever take a step back is if something catastrophic happens that forces him to.”
A sense of foreboding settled over me at Tripp’s prediction. Excitement over date night had taken a morbid turn, but I was determined to set his mind at ease. “We’ll be ready if it does, okay? We’ll keep your family’s legacy alive. Honor the sacrifices your parents made to provide for future generations. ”
“Yeah.” Tripp’s voice had grown hoarse, and his throat bobbed on a thick swallow.
Thankfully, the tension leaked out of the vehicle through the rolled-down window when we arrived at the ticket booth and paid for our admission.
Tripp tossed the printed stub onto the dash and turned to me with a soft smile. “Ready to get cozy in the back of my pickup, sweetheart?”
Boy, was I ever.
The tailgate was flipped down, our boots discarded at the edge as we lay on a sea of white blankets and pillows, our own little love nest under a sky full of stars. My thigh was hitched over both of Tripp’s, my face tucked into the crook of his shoulder with the two of us slumped against the rear window.
Even though the mounted speaker provided audio to match the images on the massive screen set several hundred feet away, we didn’t really need it. I whispered the lines I knew by heart under my breath, causing the occasional chuckle to vibrate through Tripp’s chest as he stroked my hair. Every once in a while, his touch would venture lower, his palm resting over my ass for a beat or two before he resumed the rhythmic motion over my loose locks.
The comfort of simply existing with my husband was unmatched. His arms offered sanctuary. As long as I had them curled around me, nothing could harm us .
My hand rested over his beating heart, and I smirked when I realized the steady tempo kicked into high gear when I shifted my position over his lap, my knee grazing the growing bulge beneath his fly.
As much as I loved this movie, I loved fucking Tripp more. Over the past month, I’d had the man six ways to Sunday, yet the craving to have him inside me never lessened. If anything, it only grew stronger with each passing day—like I was only whole when our two bodies were joined and our souls became one.
The memory of his hands on me, of how hard he made me shatter, had a shiver rolling down my spine.
Hardwired to be attentive, Tripp lifted his head so he could peer down at me. “Cold?”
God, no. In fact, I was burning up, but you wouldn’t know it with the way goosebumps rose to the surface of my exposed arms.
“Here.” Tripp shifted us enough that his free arm could snag a nearby blanket and tug it over us so we were covered to the waist.
“Thank you, baby.” I pressed a kiss to the underside of his jaw.
He gave my hip a gentle squeeze. “Of course.”
My pulse pounded in my ears as I worked up the courage to make my move. Tripp hadn’t been a fan the last time we’d fooled around in public, so odds were good he’d try to talk me out of it. But coaxing him to bend to my will was half the thrill.
Well, that and the idea of getting caught. Already I was throbbing, soaking through my panties at the mere thought of taking his cock deep inside me while other people were within earshot.
Slowly, my hand slid down his chest, pausing for a beat to splay over his abs, loving how they tensed under my touch. Then I snaked beneath the thin cotton of his T-shirt, toying with the sharp ridges of muscles, his hot skin searing my palm .
“Penny.” My name came out husky, and I buried my face in his neck, peppering kisses along the column of his throat.
“Mmm?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed beneath my lips. “What—What are you doing?”
Since he’d already caught on that I was up to no good, I decided to stop pussy footing around what I wanted and gripped his hard cock through the rough denim of his jeans. He sucked in a sharp breath that hissed past his clenched teeth, and a dull thud sounded when his head fell back against the truck’s exterior.
His steely length twitched when I brushed the button of his fly, and he rasped, “No blow job.”
I would happily grant him that one request.
“Okay, baby.”
Tripp’s muscles relaxed only to go rigid again when I fed the button through the loop and dragged down the zipper with lightning-quick precision, freeing his cock and wrapping my fingers around it.
A strangled noise caught in the back of his throat when I tightened my grip. “Penny, you said—”
“What I said was no blow job. Which was never my plan anyway.”
“Hand job’s not much better.” He cursed under his breath when I gave his dick a firm pump, rolling my thumb over the head that was already leaking.
“I’ve got bad news for you, honey.”
Nostrils flaring as he tried to keep himself in check, Tripp dared to ask, “What’s that?”
“Nothing less than taking you balls deep will satisfy me.” I abandoned my hold on his dick so both of my hands were free to tug his jeans and briefs down.
The man knew better than to argue, lifting his hips to make my job easier. But he made sure to keep the blanket covering his erection, mindful that we weren’t alone.
There was no need for me to remove any clothing since I’d opted for a dress over jeans this morning. With me on his lap, my skirt fanned around our legs, no one would be any the wiser about what was happening in this truck bed while they enjoyed the movie.
Lifting my head, I peeked over at the surrounding cars. All eyes were trained on the screen, so I shifted, moving under the blankets until I straddled Tripp, facing forward, my back to his front.
Kneeling like this, his cock grazed my covered pussy, and I bit my lip to stifle a moan. Unable to wait a second longer, I hooked a finger in my panties to pull them to the side and sank down, lowering until my ass met his firm, muscular thighs.
Panting at the stretch, l fell back against his chest. “Let’s play a little game.”
Tripp’s hands found my hips, his fingers digging in deliciously. Lips brushing against my ear, he asked, “Public sex isn’t enough of a game?”
I laughed breathlessly. “For some, maybe, but not for me.” I reached back to tangle my hand in his hair, knocking off his hat in the process. Twisting my head around, I locked eyes with my handsome husband, who looked at me like I was the center of his universe. “You’ve been working so hard at building up your stamina, and I want to put it to the test.”
He lifted a dark eyebrow in question but didn’t utter a single word.
“Let’s see how many times I can come with your cock sitting inside me while we watch this movie before you finally lose control and fill me up.”
His breathing hitched at the suggestion. “Am I allowed to touch you? Can I help make you come? ”
Arching my back, I shifted the angle of penetration until he hit the perfect spot that had my lashes fluttering closed. “God, yes.”
“I think I can work with that.” One of his hands slid beneath my skirt, and he hissed when his fingers dragged through my slit and brushed against his cock.
Against his lips, I taunted, “What’s the matter, baby? Close already?”
His free hand came up to grip my chin, turning my head to face forward. Then, his palm shifted lower until it rested along the front of my throat.
“Watch your movie, Lucky.”
I gasped when his teeth bit down on my earlobe at the exact same moment his fingers put firm pressure on my clit, rubbing tight circles just like I’d taught him. Then his fingers of his other hand pressed into the pulse points beneath my jaw, restricting oxygen to my brain—yet another trick I’d clued him into during our many lessons on how to wring pleasure from my body.
That action alone had me right on the edge, my hips swiveling over his lap, eager for the sparks gathering between my legs to catch and fire to consume me.
Even though blood roared in my ears the closer I drew to climax, I still managed to hear his low, rough voice. “Keep score for me. I want you to count out each orgasm I give you while you sit on my cock.”
God damn .
Where the hell had that come from? I didn’t think Tripp had it in him to talk dirty like that. But I fucking loved it.
Body coiling so tight it bordered on painful, I clung to Tripp’s forearm as I strained against him, desperate for release. Sensing that I was close, his fingers upped their pace. The air was sucked from my lungs, and my mouth parted in a silent cry as ecstasy flooded my nervous system .
Trembling and panting, I came back down to earth, slumping against his strong form beneath me.
“That show’s better than any movie.” Tripp’s lips brushed against my temple.
I could only manage a breathless hum. Limp and sated, with my eyes closed, I wanted nothing more than to lie here for the rest of the night, content to revel in the afterglow, while my husband’s hard cock continued to keep me full.
But my best friend wasn’t about to let me off the hook.
Slick fingers left a path of arousal over my skin before gripping my hip. “Count, Lucky.”
Turning my face into his neck, I let out a tiny whine, mumbling, “Tired.”
“Nuh-uh. You started this game, so you’re damn well gonna finish it.”
“Bossy.”
“Don’t act like you don’t like it.” Voice smug, he added, “I felt the way your pussy gripped my cock like it was never gonna let go when I told you to keep score.”
As if on command, that traitorous bitch clenched around his shaft, pulling groans from both of us.
The palm resting on my throat shifted to cover my mouth. “If you can’t keep quiet on your own, I’ll have to muzzle you.” When my responding moan was sufficiently muffled, Tripp chuckled in my ear. “Naughty girl.”
Lord, have I died and gone to heaven? Because this fucking man .
Holy shit, it might’ve taken him a minute to come into his own, given his lack of experience, but it would seem he’d finally found his footing, and as a switch, I didn’t mind one bit. I knew when I demanded the control, he’d let me have it back, but right now, I loved handing it over to him .
“Ready for another?” His mouth brushed against the shell of my ear, his hot breath fanning my cheek.
My heart rate still hadn’t settled after my last orgasm, but I gave a weak nod anyway. With the movie still playing out before us, the clock was ticking toward the moment when the lights came on, and it became obvious to anyone who glanced our way what we were up to positioned like this.
“That’s my girl.”
Yup, it was official. I had melted into a fucking puddle.
Or, more accurately, I was now sitting in a puddle because those words had a fresh wave of arousal gushing from between my thighs.
Tripp’s chest rumbled at my back, the vibrations making my nipples harden into painfully tight peaks. “I’m learning all kinds of new things my wife likes tonight.”
He’d completely lost the ability to play the innocent virgin card. He knew exactly what he was doing and how it affected me.
“Kiss me, darlin’. Let me drink down the sound of your pleasure.”
His hand fell away from my mouth, and I frantically sought out his. Our lips connected at the exact moment he anchored his hold on my hips and began to move me over his length.
As promised, he swallowed down my endless moans, which rose in pitch and volume the faster he worked me over. The way he shifted me over his lap had my swollen, hypersensitive clit brushing against the base of his dick with each pass, making me whimper, the pleasure too much and not enough at the same time. Then, he held me down, rotating me just enough that he hit the perfect spot inside and out, and I screamed down Tripp’s throat while I spasmed around him, stars bursting behind my eyelids, brighter than any that could be found in the night sky above us .
I was still riding the waves when Tripp tore his lips away, gritting out, “One more.”
Blissed out of my mind, I panted, “Can’t.”
“Liar,” he all but hissed.
The hand was slapped back over my mouth as the fingers of its partner dove between my dripping slit without mercy. Grunting, he pounded up into me ruthlessly, and the minute he made contact with my clit, I detonated, my body seizing a split second before violent tremors wracked me from head to toe.
And yet, he still didn’t stop.
“Almost there,” he bit out. “Hold on, baby.”
I was floating somewhere above us, on another plane of existence, as a fourth orgasm slammed into me. Finally, that’s when Tripp let go, biting down on my shoulder as the warmth of his release flooded my insides.
Completely boneless, I’d never been so satisfied in my entire life.
My mouth was uncovered, and I sucked in ragged lungfuls of air. My dress was stuck to my skin, soaked through with sweat.
I shivered as my heated skin cooled in the open air, and that had Tripp pulling the blanket up to my chest and wrapping his thick arms around me.
Sighing in contentment, he remarked, “Best first date I’ve ever been on.”
Huffing out a laugh because this so happened to be the only first date he’d ever been on, I snuggled deeper into his arms. “Yeah, me too.”
More than anything, I wished we were experiencing all of our “firsts” together, but there was a comfort to be found in knowing there were so many that lay ahead of us.
Forever stretched beyond the horizon, waiting to be explored.