Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
LINCOLN
Willa stomped into the silo like she was trying to wake the dead. Or pretending like she was smashing my skull in. Either was plausible.
After I’d gotten my mom to agree not to throw any parties, we’d said our goodbyes, and I’d hitched a ride with Willa since I hadn’t driven my car over to Xander’s.
The entire drive back to the farm had been filled with heavy silence. The kind where I’d known something was churning through her mind—probably all the different ways she could kill me in my sleep.
And that was only confirmed as she paced around our small space like a bull in a pen.
I leaned against the island, hands tucked in my pockets as I watched her vibrate with irritation.
I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t kind of hot.
Then again, everything about Willa Jameson was kind of hot.
It was why I’d spent the vast majority of the past hour thinking about that dirt smeared on her thigh and wondering just how far up the smudge went.
“You wanna talk about what has you in a tizzy?” I asked.
She whirled on me, her glare hot enough that I half expected to find myself suddenly a pile of ash on the floor. “You called me your wife in front of your entire family!”
“So what? You are my wife.”
Her stormy expression faltered for half a heartbeat, and something I couldn’t quite name flickered across her face—as startling as lightning and gone just as fast.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear a part of her liked hearing when I called her that.
“This marriage is a means to an end. That’s it,” she said, her voice clipped. “We’re doing this for one reason and one reason only.”
“So you can be my arm candy?”
Her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath. “For the grant, jackass. I’m heading to the library tomorrow to work on it.”
I slowly walked around the island toward her. “You know what we should be working on?”
She narrowed her eyes at my approach. “I swear to god, if you tell me—”
“Your resistance to physical affection.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t think I didn’t notice how you jerked away from me at the party.”
“You’re the one who came in for a kiss without warning!”
“Oh.” I cocked my head, not even trying to tamp down my smirk. “You mean like most married people do?”
She looked at me like she was mentally drafting my obituary, but I didn’t budge. She knew I was right, and that was confirmed when her shoulders sagged a moment later.
“I see your point,” she said, though conceding to me was obviously painful for her. “But I can’t help it. I’m allergic to jackasses.”
“Maybe not the best idea to marry the biggest one in town then, huh?”
“Now you tell me,” she said dryly.
“We’ve gotta figure out something because we’re going to be in front of a lot of people who expect us to act like newlyweds.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s going to be a challenge, don’t you think?”
My gaze dropped to her lips, remembering exactly how soft they’d been. Remembering exactly what she’d tasted like. Exactly how hot her pussy had been as she’d practically climbed me to get closer.
Fuck.
“Nope,” I said, my voice coming out thick. “Kissing you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
For a heartbeat, she didn’t move, didn’t even blink. Then her mouth parted—just slightly—before she shut it again and turned her back on me. “We’re not talking about just once. You’re going to have to kiss me over and over and over.”
My dick twitched at that nice little reminder. Jesus. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was intentionally doing this just to fuck with me. I had no idea when or how I was going to jerk off in this tiny sardine can, and she probably reveled in watching me squirm. The evil little minion.
“You know what we need to do to make you more comfortable with it, right?”
She eyed me warily. “What?”
“Practice.”
“Practice,” she repeated flatly.
“Yep. Like exposure therapy.” A grin spread slow and wicked across my mouth as my gaze dropped to her lips. “But with a little tongue action.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Absolutely yes.” I stepped close enough that the scent of her shampoo invaded my senses, and I had to stop myself from inhaling deeply.
Keeping my sanity intact was challenge enough without becoming a hair-sniffing pervert.
“The more we do it, the easier it’ll be.
And hopefully soon, you’ll be able to kiss me without flinching. ”
Silence reigned for several tense moments. I was a little worried she’d knee me in the balls and storm up to bed.
“Fine,” she said, shocking the hell out of me. Then she jabbed a finger into my chest. “But if we do this, this isn’t going anywhere. None of your charmer bullshit, got it?”
I raised my hand. “Scout’s honor.”
“I’ve known you for twenty-five years, jackass. You’ve never been a scout.”
“Fine, then. Charmer’s honor. Practice only. Nothing else.” I lowered my face until we were eye level, one side of my mouth ticking up. “At least until you beg me otherwise.”
“So, when hell’s frozen over, then?” Her words were harsh, but her voice wasn’t as steady and sure as it usually was.
She was nervous—something strong, unflappable Willa rarely was.
I softened my voice and asked, “Ready?”
“Not even a little bit.”
But she didn’t move away. Instead, she lifted her chin, her eyes flashing in defiance, and those full, pouty lips of hers set in a firm line, daring me to come closer.
So I did.
I lifted a hand to cup her neck, my thumb brushing across the soft curve of her jaw. “I’m going to kiss you now, wife.”
“And I’m going to hate every second of it,” she murmured, her gaze tracking my movements as I lowered my face, inching closer to hers.
“We’ll see about that…”
Her eyelids fluttered shut at the first brush of our lips together, and she sighed into my mouth. As if she hadn’t been expecting the softness of it. As if she hadn’t been expecting to like it either.
It was taking everything in me not to cup her ass and haul her up against me. Pin her to the countertop and lick my way inside. Remind myself exactly what she tasted like.
But she needed slow, so that was exactly what I was going to give her.
I dragged my mouth against hers, back and forth, so fucking desperate to taste her but holding myself back. Our lips met again and again, brief and soft.
When she parted her mouth on a shaky exhale, her tongue tentatively brushing against my bottom lip, I took the invitation and deepened the kiss. On a quiet groan, I licked into her mouth in slow, deep strokes, savoring the way her breath hitched every time I pulled back.
She was intoxicating—better than any high, better than any fantasy. And there had been a lot of fantasies over the years. But this was real. She was real, and she was kissing me like she couldn’t get enough.
That thought only made me want her more.
I wrapped her braid in my fist and tugged, tipping her head exactly how I wanted it. This time, she didn’t even try to hold back her moan, the rough sound going straight to my dick. She fisted my shirt, gripping it tightly like she didn’t know whether she wanted to tug me closer or shove me away.
Our once-soft kiss wasn’t tentative anymore. It was hungry. Messy. Desperate.
There wasn’t a breath of space between us, but, still, I needed more. Needed her closer. Needed her naked and writhing beneath me, moaning my name as she came around my cock.
Fuck me.
Without breaking the kiss, I reached down and cupped her ass, lifting her easily onto the island before stepping between her spread thighs. She felt so fucking good, everywhere. And she tasted as delicious as I remembered—all sweet and tart.
I had to stop myself from grinding against her hot little pussy. From taking this further than she wanted to.
But it was clear from how desperately she kissed me back just how much she’d needed this and only this. She deserved a kiss that unraveled her. That made her forget every worry and obligation and just fall into pure pleasure.
It’d been a long time since I’d made out with someone without the intention of more. But I found I didn’t need that.
Not with Willa.
Just kissing her was better than anything else I’d ever done—sex included. It was so fucking good, I never wanted it to end. And from the way she’d locked her ankles at the base of my spine and began rocking her hips against me, she felt it too.
But I’d made her a promise.
And I knew if we didn’t stop right now, I’d have her clothes off in two minutes flat and her spread out on this island while I feasted on her cunt.
As much as it pained me to do so, I slowed the kiss and unhooked her legs from around my waist. Until, finally, I pulled away, still panting and hard as a fucking rock.
Unfortunately, even stepping back didn’t help my predicament. Not when I got an eyeful of my hot-as-sin wife. Chest heaving, lips kiss-swollen, pupils blown wide, and those thick thighs spread and just waiting for me to settle between them again.
“Day one practice, complete,” I said, gravel coating my throat. “Same time tomorrow, wife.”
For a second, she just sat there. Dazed and flushed, her eyes wide with something she clearly hadn’t intended to feel. Then those walls she loved so much slammed back into place, and she aimed a scowl at me. “That’s assuming I don’t murder you before morning.”
She slid off the island and stomped her way upstairs, as if she could outrun what had just happened between us.
I let her go and gave her the space. Because fuck knew I’d need a solid fifteen minutes to talk my dick down. Especially when I kept thinking about doing this all over again tomorrow.
Practice was supposed to make things easier. Instead, it had lit a fuse I wasn’t sure we’d be able to extinguish.