Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Travis
Iwake with the sun, despite the fact that we’d only fallen asleep a few hours earlier.
Habits and all that.
If I were on the ranch, I’d already have been up for an hour and in the barn.
But this fancy hotel suite is most definitely not a barn, and despite the fact that she’s my little filly, the woman in my bed is definitely not a horse.
She is my wife.
Wife.
Holy shit. That happened.
And the hours of sex consummating our union also happened. The pleasant tingling in my balls is proof of that.
I slip from the bed, careful not to wake her, and pad into the kitchen of this ridiculous suite.
The only thing in the fridge is more bottles of Bodacious Bubbles and a few bottles of water.
I’m pretty sure we both had more than our share of bubbles last night, so I grab the water and take a minute to order room service.
She’s going to be hungry. Multiple orgasms will do that to a girl.
And damn, did she ever come hard.
Over and over and over.
I don’t even try to hide the pride I feel for being the first man to give her that gift.
And the last.
The thought comes out of nowhere, and I shut it down as quickly as it comes because this is over. This fun little husband and wife marriage game—and it has been fun—will be ending as soon as we sign on the dotted line to get the annulment this morning.
That was the deal. It’s what she wants.
But is it what I want?
What I’ve been wanting is something different from the usual, and Maisey is most definitely different. In all the right ways. And there’s still so much I need to learn about my little filly.
She’s still fast asleep on her stomach, her wild hair spilling all over the pillow, when I return to our room. She’s bare, with only the sheet draped over her peach of an ass.
My cock is hard in an instant.
I hesitate.
I shouldn’t wake her. She looks so peaceful sleeping. And she’s got to be exhausted after the night we had.
Still.
The threat of the annulment looms.
Fuck it.
I slide into the bed next to her; the mattress dips and she shifts, letting out a soft little sound that hits something inside me.
I don’t rush, needing this to last. I curl around her, one arm settling over her waist, my body pressed close enough that there’s no mistaking how I would like to wake her up.
“Mmm,” she murmurs, still half asleep but pushing back into my throbbing cock like this is already familiar. Like she expects me there.
Damn. I can’t let my thoughts go there.
I lean in, pressing my lips to the curve of her shoulder, tasting the sweet saltiness of her sweat-dried skin. My kisses are light and slow, just enough to wake her.
“Morning, wife.”
She murmurs and wiggles that sweet ass back into me, pulling a groan from my lips.
My hand slides over the soft curve of her waist, snaking around to cup her breast. Full and perfect, it fits my hand like she was made just for me. Her nipple pebbles under my thumb. Damn if she doesn’t push her ass even harder into my crotch. Even half asleep, my girl is needy.
A need I’m more than happy to satisfy.
I let my hand trail down over her hip, to her ass, before moving between her legs, where she’s already soaked for me.
Fuck, yes.
“Were you dreaming about me, sweetheart?” I growl low in her ear, nipping the lobe as I nudge her thighs apart with my knee. “So ready for me already.”
“Mmm hmm.”
My fingers dip between her legs to stroke her slick folds and circle her swollen, sensitive clit. She gasps, wide awake now, bucking into my hand.
“Travis…” It’s a whine, needy and pleading.
“I got you.”
I push myself up, notching my thick, dripping head against her, and with one solid thrust, drive myself into her heat, groaning as I bottom out, my balls pressing tight against her ass.
“Oh.” The word is a gasp as I fill her completely, her body gripping me like a vise.
“Fuck, you feel good in the morning.”
I move lazily and unhurriedly, spooned with my wife, my hips rolling in deep, languid strokes that drag out every inch. Her breath hitches with every thrust. My hand is splayed over her belly, teasing her clit in slow circles, making her moan.
It doesn’t take long for her body to tighten, her orgasm—now so easy to pull from her that I can’t help but wonder how she could have gone so long without—imminent.
I tighten my hold as she shudders and clenches around me with a soft cry that pulls me over the edge along with her.
I spill inside her, keeping my arm locked around her.
Whatever else this morning brings, one thing is for damn sure: my sweet little wife will remember exactly how fucking good it feels to wake up with me.
Maisey
I’m still coming down from another insane orgasm when Travis rolls in a room service cart full of every breakfast food I could imagine. It’s not until I smell the pancakes that I realize how hungry I actually am.
I guess a night of incredible sex builds an appetite. Not that I’m complaining.
If learning how good sex can really be is the only thing that comes from this whole crazy experience, then it was worth it.
Never mind the money.
“I hope that little smile means you’re thinking about how good it felt to wake up with my cock inside you.”
My face flushes, but I laugh, already feeling comfortable with Travis as if I’ve known him for years.
“Yes,” I admit. “But I’m also thinking about that prize money,” I add honestly. “I don’t think you know how much it’s going to help me out.”
He pours me a cup of coffee and, when I point, adds a sugar cube and a splash of cream before handing it to me. “Is that why you went along with your bitchy stepsister’s plan? You need the money?”
I nod and take a sip of the coffee. It’s perfect.
“Honestly, yes. I know it probably seems stupid, but I just graduated, and I can’t get a job in my field anywhere.
Patty was a bitch about it, but she wasn’t lying when she said I work in a coffee shop and I’m super broke.
” Maybe it should feel strange confessing everything to him, but it doesn’t.
“I’m drowning in debt. This money is going to be a lifesaver.
Besides,” I add quickly, “he told me it wasn’t real, remember? ”
Travis chuckles. “I remember.”
“Do you think it’s hard to get an annulment?” I reach for a pancake and drown it in maple syrup. “I mean, this is my first time getting accidentally married in Vegas.”
“Mine, too,” he says. “But we’ll figure it out.” Travis offers me a little smile, and maybe it’s my imagination, but do I see a flash of regret in his eyes, too?
Maybe it’s just what I’m feeling. Not that I can actually stay married to him. That’s crazy to even think about.
Even if he is the sexiest man I’ve ever met, super easy to talk to, and he really does seem to like me. And, of course, there’s the fact that he is an incredible lover.
Still, that’s not a real reason to stay married to him.
“What’s that?” I notice the envelope on the cart, next to a platter of fruit.
“That,” he says, picking it up and sliding out the papers inside, “is the contract and details of our nuptials.” He waves the papers in the air. “And our prizes.”
“Ooh.” I sit up against the pillows and dive into the plate of pancakes as if I’ve never eaten before in my life, listening while Travis starts reading aloud.
First, he lists the prizes, but we already know most of them. There are a few vouchers in the envelope as well: one for dinner, a helicopter ride, and even one for matching tattoos.
We laugh and toss them to the side.
“That all sounds great,” I say. “Is the check in there? I guess we can cash it on our way back from getting the—what?”
While I’ve been busy stuffing my face, Travis has been reading ahead, and judging by the look on his face, he didn’t like something he read.
“Travis?” I push when he doesn’t answer. “What?”
“It’s…well…let me double-check something.”
The pancake catches in my throat. I swallow it down with a gulp of coffee and wait.
I watch while he reads through the entire package of documents and then again. Finally, he puts them down and looks at me. I know right away I’m not going to like what he has to say.
“Just tell me.”
“It seems there’s something else that rhinestone asshole failed to mention last night.” I hold my breath. He looks me straight in the eyes when he tells me, “Not only is our marriage very real, but we need to keep it that way for thirty days in order to claim the prize money.”
Travis
“Maisey? Oh shit.”
The words are hardly out of my mouth when she starts choking. I jump from my chair, tossing the papers onto the bed, and start rubbing her back, patting it a little as she works through the shock of what I just told her.
I haven’t even told her the rest yet.
“Are you okay?” I ask when she stops coughing.
“No.” She turns to me. Her face is red, her eyes wide with shock. “Of course I’m not okay. You seriously just told me that not only are we actually married, but we have to stay that way for thirty days to get the prize?”
I nod and drop the rest of the bombshell. “Also, if we decide to forfeit the prize, it turns out we’ll have to reimburse them for the incurred expenses.” She narrows her eyes. “Like this suite.”
For a second, I think my little filly might actually pass out. But then she shakes her head, and when she looks at me again, there’s rage flaring in her eyes. “I’ll kill him.”
“Who? The—”
“That lying bastard dressed up like some rhinestone rodeo clown.” Her passion, even if it’s fueled by anger, has my cock hard again. “And then I’m going to find my bitch of a stepsister and—”
“Okay, tiger.” I wrap an arm around her and pull her to me. “Calm down. Losing your temper isn’t going to—”
She pulls back and glares at me. “Did you just tell me to calm down?”
I can’t help it; I laugh and pull her close again so she can’t hit me. “Okay, you’re right,” I say. “I guess I have a lot to learn about being a good husband. But I’ll have thirty days to get it right.”
“What?”
She yanks herself away from me so abruptly that I don’t have time to grab her before she jumps out of bed, and I get a full-frontal look at her delicious naked body.
“We can’t stay married, Travis! That’s crazy.
I mean, we… Oh my God.” She drops her head into her hands. “How much does a suite like this cost?”
“If I had to guess?” I suck in a breath. “Eight grand. Maybe ten.”
She crumples to the floor with a wail.
I hate seeing her so distraught, especially since I feel exactly the opposite of whatever she’s going through right now.
I did my best to school my features when I read the thirty-day clause in the contract.
Because, while it’s not at all what we were planning, I’m not mad about it.
I’m not ready to give up my wife. Not yet.
And thirty days… well, that’s plenty of time to show her that being married to me is a good thing.
But first, despite the poor choice of words, I am going to need her to calm down.
“Maisey. Come on.” I crouch next to her on the floor and scoop her easily into my arms. “This isn’t that bad.” Her eyes pop open. “Really,” I add quickly. “I mean, we had fun together last night, right?” To make my point, I use the hand that’s resting on her ass to give her a little squeeze.
Instantly, her pupils dilate, proving my point. Our chemistry is off the charts.
“So, we keep the fun going for a little longer.” I shrug as if it’s no big deal.
“You said yourself you haven’t been able to find a job in your field.
You can come back to the ranch with me,” I continue, as if I’ve actually had time to think this through.
I haven’t, but the more I talk, the more it makes sense.
“It’s beautiful there,” I tell her. “You can spend your days looking for a job and exploring the ranch. And in the evenings, we can…” I squeeze her ass again, letting my fingers travel a little bit this time. “Sound good?”
She doesn’t immediately say no, which I take as a good sign. I set her on the bed again and sit next to her.
“I only have a few things with me.”
“Kali and Anna have lots of things,” I say.
“They live at the ranch with my buddies,” I explain quickly.
“They’re about your age and married to Cash and Wyatt.
” The night before, I told her a little bit about Rock Creek Ranch, where I’d worked as a ranch hand my entire life, growing up with the Thorne brothers, who were all like brothers to me.
“So you wouldn’t be alone out there, and—”
“Can I paint?”
“Paint?”
She nods. “It’s kind of what I want to do,” she says with a shrug. “I mean, my degree is in art history, but what I’m really passionate about is creating.”
“Absolutely, sweetheart.” My grin is wide now as I see the way she’s actually thinking about this. “The ranch is the perfect place to be creative. And I’m more than happy to provide inspiration.”
She laughs now, and my heart swells to see her relaxing despite the situation.
“Give it a little thought.” I squeeze her knee. “I’m going to grab a shower, okay?”
She nods, and I leave her to think about what is no doubt the craziest thing that’s ever happened to either of us.
Standing under the hot water, I can’t help but feel guilty. I want this. I want her. I feel like I’ve been handed the greatest gift with this unexpected thirty-day clause.
But Maisey…
She obviously doesn’t feel the same way. And worse, she actually needs the money. I don’t. My rodeo win yesterday—was that only yesterday?—netted me just over a hundred grand.
If I were a gentleman, I’d offer to pay her share of the prize money, get the annulment, and send her on her way.
I wouldn’t even notice the hit to my bank account.
But I would notice her absence.
That might make me an asshole. But I was also her husband.
For better or worse.