16. Tripp
Chapter 16
Tripp
“Goddammit, Tripp. Harder.”
Penny was on her hands and knees before me, back arched as she tried to take my cock deeper.
Gripping her hips, I pulled them toward me as I surged forward, the crack of our bodies crashing together deafening in the small room.
A harsh cry split the air. Having memorized Penny’s repertoire of sounds, I knew that one was born from pleasure versus pain, so I kept going, grunting out, “Like that?”
“More,” she begged, breathless. “I want to feel you in my fucking throat.”
Jesus, my wife was a filthy slut. Never thought I’d enjoy that, but damn if my dick didn’t swell at her filthy words.
Her hot pussy rippled around my length, taunting me with dark promises of release each time I pounded into her.
“Fuck. I’m close.” Penny panted the words.
Thank God, because I was seconds away from exploding .
Pressing a palm between her shoulder blades, I forced her face-first into the pillows, deepening the angle. Her muffled groan sounded as my cock hit what I’d learned was her G-spot.
Bingo.
Holding her in that position, I slammed home, each thrust growing more punishing than the last. She’d asked me to fuck her harder, and that’s what she was going to get.
Beneath my fingertips, her body trembled, shaking as she drew closer to climax. Sweat ran into my eyes; my muscles pulled taut as I prayed she would find her release before I lost the tenuous grip I held on my self-control.
Her moans heightened in pitch, and in my desperation to throw her over the edge, I decided to take a chance. My dirty girl surprised me at every turn, and I wondered how she would react to me flipping the script.
Bringing my thumb to my mouth, I slicked it with my tongue before pressing it to her asshole, applying enough pressure to have it slip past the tight ring of muscle. Screaming, Penny seized beneath me, her walls clamping down on my cock. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I painted her insides.
Her legs gave out, and without warning, I slipped from her warmth, shivering at the sudden loss. Sprawled out on the mattress, her chest heaved as she tried to fill her lungs with air.
Spent, I collapsed beside her. Lying on my side, I threw an arm and leg over her sweaty, naked form.
Between broken inhales, she asked, “Where the hell did you learn that trick?”
For a split second, I worried that my gamble had backfired. “Um . . .”
When she turned her head, blonde hair obscured most of her face, but I caught a hint of a smile on her lips. “So fucking good. ”
A relieved breath rushed past my lips.
Guess we were into ass play now. Noted.
Stretching, she whined, “I don’t want to get up.”
“Then don’t. If I notice any animals that need your attention, I’ll call. How’s that sound?”
“Like heaven.” She sighed, dragging the covers over her naked body and burrowing beneath them. Then her breathing evened out, indicating she’d fallen back to sleep.
As much as I would love to lie beside her all day, I didn’t need another reason to have my dad barking up my ass. The sun was already high in the sky when most days on the ranch began before dawn.
Not wanting to wake the sleeping beauty in my bed, I dressed quietly and stepped onto the porch in my socks, electing to pull my boots on outside.
Sucking in a lungful of fresh morning air, I began the trek to the barn.
I was in the tack room when I heard the familiar clopping of horseshoes against the concrete in the center aisle.
“Awfully late to be just gettin’ started on the day.” The gruff voice that spoke behind me had my spine straightening.
Teeth clenched, I forced myself to breathe through my nose until I calmed enough to turn around and face my father.
“Surely you remember what it’s like to be a newlywed.”
His response came in the form of an unimpressed grunt. Jett Sullivan was a man of few words, and right now, I’d like nothing more than for him to keep his trap shut.
“You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
Guess today wasn’t my lucky day.
“It’s all fun and games when you’re running around on the rodeo circuit with your girl. Trust me, I know. You get lulled into this false sense of security, making the moment when reality comes crashing down that much more jarring.”
“How about I worry about my marriage, and you worry about yours?” I pushed past where he stood on the threshold of the room and moved toward Tank’s stall.
Dad’s footsteps echoed behind me. “That’s easier said than done with how your marriage came about.”
I spun on him. “Don’t you dare give me shit about shooting my shot before it was too late.”
“You want the truth of it? I’ve never been prouder than when you stood up and fought for what you wanted.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose to ward off the headache brewing behind my eyes, I asked, “Then what’s the problem?”
“Instead of facing the repercussions of your outburst and Penny’s choice to put a halt to that wedding head-on like adults, the two of you ran off like children and couldn’t even wait one day before you got married.”
“That’s what this is about?” I scoffed. “You’re upset that we decided not to delay the inevitable? Because make no mistake, be it a day, a week, or a year, Penny was going to end up my wife.”
He dragged a hand over the stubble lining his jaw. “Look, son. I love Penny like a daughter—”
“Her last name’s Sullivan. She is your daughter,” I corrected.
“You’re right,” he conceded. “But you can’t seriously stand there and tell me rushing into marriage was your idea. When you were little, that girl was literally your mouthpiece. You didn’t speak until you were four because she took it upon herself to tell us everything you needed before you had the chance to do it yourself. And there hasn’t been a single time you wound up in trouble that she wasn’t the driving force. ”
A warning growl worked its way through my chest. “Watch it. You’re treading on dangerous ground talking about my wife like that.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Honestly, I blame myself. I thought I was doing a good thing, working myself to the bone to build up this ranch for you, for your sister, and now, for Reagan. But instead, all it did was allow you to think that life—and marriage—is a game. You’ve never known the weight of true responsibility.”
Throwing my arms wide, I gestured to the space around us. “Excuse me? I’ve been out here working on this ranch or out on the road with our horses every day of my life since I was six.”
“Where would you be, and what would you do if it weren’t for this ranch, hmm? Every dollar that sits in your bank account comes from checks that I sign. You’re playing house with your bride under my roof.”
More than ever, I wished I’d said fuck it all and stayed in bed with my wife today.
I crossed both arms over my chest. “Done yet?”
“What I’m tryin’ to say is that, at almost thirty, you’re barely responsible for yourself. How in the hell do you expect to take on the responsibility of a wife?”
“What would you have me do?” My voice rose in volume as anger surged. “Move off the ranch and try to find a job in town? Divorce my wife?” Pulse pounding in my ears, I forced myself to pull in a steadying breath. “I am what you raised me to be. You’ve spent my whole life teaching me how to work this land, to care for the animals we raise. And now you’re gonna stand there and tell me that because I’m walking a path you chose for me, I’m somehow unprepared to handle the weight of adult responsibilities?”
Dad’s jaw tightened. “Already said this is my fault.”
“Then what’s the point of this lecture? ”
He dropped onto a hay bale and rested his forearms on his spread knees. “My pop passed long before I made it to your age. So, when I married your mama, I didn’t know the first thing about being a husband. I was young and in love, living my best life out on the same circuit you’ve been runnin’ around on with Penny. I felt invincible, like nothing could touch me.” He shook his head ruefully. “Boy, was I wrong. Life came crashing down hard and knocked me right on my ass. Took a long time before I found my footing again.”
I assumed he was going somewhere with this, so I remained silent.
“A lesser woman would have looked at that broken man with barely a penny to his name and no way to provide for his family and left. But not your mama. She stuck by my side and nursed me back to health—even though she was suffering herself. She didn’t bat an eyelash when I put us into debt up to our eyeballs, nor when I showed her the run-down cabin that would become our new home.
“By no means am I suggesting that I want you to struggle like we did. But I fear you’re unprepared for the strain that life will inevitably put on your marriage because you’ve never known true hardship.”
Bristling, I huffed, “The road to the altar wasn’t exactly easy. After all that, we’re due for a break, don’t you think?”
He let out a wry laugh. “I used to have that same youthful arrogance. It bit me in the ass so hard it’s a miracle I don’t still have bruises from the teeth marks.” Blue eyes stared at me with an intensity that made me squirm. “No matter how much you love each other, the hard days will manage to find you. Life isn’t something you can control. It’s going to test you, test the strength of your relationship when you least expect it.”
A chill ran down my spine at his warning. The idea of something tearing me and Penny apart after we’d finally found our way together struck terror into my heart. I couldn’t lose her .
“If there’s one piece of advice you take from me, let it be this: don’t let the hard days win, son. Fight through them. Fight for each other.”
Swallowing roughly, I managed to rasp out a hoarse, “Yes, sir.”
Satisfied he’d driven the point home, Dad gave a firm nod, stood, and walked out of the barn, leaving me in a daze.
In almost twenty-nine years, I’d never experienced a heart-to-heart with my father. And when I finally did, it was one hell of a doozy.
After a long day on the range, sweat and dirt clung to my skin as I pushed through the door to the cabin, exhausted. I was desperate for a hot shower, dinner, and my wife’s warm body tucked against mine in bed—in that order.
But my personal needs were put on the back burner the second I saw Penny’s tear-streaked face.
Crossing the distance between us in three strides, I knelt before where she sat on the couch, cupping her cheeks. “Lucky, baby, what’s wrong?”
My heart shattered when her lip trembled, and a sob bubbled up from her chest. Pulling her into my arms, my throat closed up as I begged, “Please, sweetheart. Talk to me.”
“P-pictures.” Her watery voice was muffled against my chest.
Rearing back, I tipped her chin up until those glassy eyes met mine. “What pictures?”
A loud hiccup sounded. “On—On my phone.”
Brow furrowing, I scanned the surroundings, locating her cell discarded on the couch cushion. Picking it up, I asked, “May I? ”
She gave a tiny nod.
Upon unlocking the screen, I was immediately met with a portrait of Penny in a white dress and me in a black suit, standing at the altar inside the little chapel in Colorado where we’d gotten married.
Relief coursed through my veins. Penny was crying happy tears.
Staring at the image, I breathed out in wonder, “You look beautiful.”
Penny took the phone from my hand. Using her thumb and pointer finger, she zoomed in on my face. “This.”
“What?” She wasn’t making any sense.
Sniffling, her voice grew thick. “How did I never see it before?”
“Honey, I’m gonna need a little more than that.”
Aggressively, she pressed her finger to the screen. “That’s the same way you look at me in every picture ever taken of us. Like I’m your whole world.”
With a hand cradling the back of her head, I brought her close enough to press a kiss to her temple, murmuring against her skin, “Because you are.”
Wrenching out of my hold, she stood, chest heaving. “If I would have noticed—I would have—would have—”
She was on the verge of hyperventilating, so I jumped to my feet to loop one arm around her waist and placed the other hand over her racing heart.
“Hey, hey, hey. It’s okay.”
Tears spilled over her lashes, and Penny shook her head. “It’s not okay. We wasted so much time.”
Gripping her chin, I dusted a kiss over her lips. “Don’t get so caught up in the past that you miss out on all that lies ahead of us in the future.”
“Dammit, Tripp. How do you always do that?”
“Do what?” I peppered a path of kisses along her jaw.
“Bring my spiraling to a screeching halt with a few simple words.”
I hummed against her skin. “Couldn’t really tell you. Comes naturally. It’s like something inside me knows to give you exactly what you need when you need it.”
“Then I guess it’s lucky I married you.” Warmth spread through my chest at the smile in her voice.
“No, I think this time, I’m the lucky one.”