Chapter 28
Emmaline
“Dean needs to blow off steam after an argument with Dad, so I’m probably gonna be out late tonight with my brothers.”
I resisted the urge to pout at Bodie’s announcement, even though I was having my own girls’ night with Adalyn.
He didn’t miss the look. He moved in, reaching for me. “I mean, you wouldn’t have to twist my arm too hard to get me to change my mind.”
“Careful, Chief. You’ve got places to be.” But I wound my arms around his shoulders anyway.
“I have other brothers. They can handle him while I handle you.” The last word was a growl against my lips as he kissed me, sliding those delicious hands down my back to cup my ass, drawing me against him.
I purred and arched closer. “We really don’t have time for this.”
One thick finger inched inside the front waistband of my jeans. “I can be very, very motivated.”
I bit my lip and arched a skeptical brow. “You really think you can hurry?”
He eased back far enough I could see the spark in those dark blue eyes. “I really love a challenge.”
When I didn’t protest, he backed me toward the nearest wall and lowered my zipper, stroking my belly with his knuckles. “So soft. But I know you’re even softer down here.”
He slid his hand into my underwear, and I choked on my own breath as he cupped between my legs. One finger slid between my folds, and he growled. “Love feeling how wet you are for me, wife.”
Knees going weak, I dropped my head back against the wall. “I love your hands.”
“Mmm. A few other parts of me, too, as I recall.” Lazily, he circled my clit as he nibbled along my exposed throat.
“Equal—oh God—opportunity. But we don’t have time for all of them just now.”
“Consider this a warmup.”
He’d just slid two fingers inside me when the knock came at the door. Rubble charged the entry, barking.
I sucked in another choking breath and gripped Bodie’s shoulders.
He dropped his brow to mine. “Why do your friends have to be punctual?”
“Probably because you’ve been keeping me all to yourself.”
Reluctance in every line of his body, he slid his hand free, licking his fingers clean. “An appetizer for later.”
God, this man had ruined me.
My fingers fumbled to zip my jeans. “Holding you to that, Chief.” I glanced down at the evidence of his arousal tenting the front of his own jeans. “You wanna go take care of that?”
“Right.” He strode down the hall muttering something that sounded vaguely like legal statutes.
I took a moment to fan my face, then sucked in a breath and opened the door to find Adalyn standing there with a bottle of wine in one hand and a grocery sack dangling from the other. “Hi.”
One brow winged up, along with the corner of her mouth. “Was I interrupting something?”
Yes. “Of course not. Bodie was just about to head out to hang out with his brothers.”
With a smirk that said she didn’t believe me for a second, she breezed past me. “I’m so glad you’re letting me rescue you from a tragic evening of folding laundry or alphabetizing your spice rack.”
I laughed, shutting the door behind her and turning the deadbolt out of habit—small-town living didn’t mean we were careless about security, especially not with Bodie being who he was. “You’ve clearly mistaken me for someone with that kind of free time.”
She waggled the bottle—a decent Pinot Grigio that definitely cost more than my usual grocery store selections. “Then it’s good I brought reinforcements. Glasses?”
“On it.”
I went into the kitchen to fetch some and found Bodie headed for the back door, still in no fit state for company.
I glanced down at his crotch.
“It’ll go away by the time I get there. See you tonight, wife.”
Closing the distance between us, I rose to my toes and brushed one last kiss over his lips. “See you tonight, husband.”
Then I shoved him out the door without further ceremony. He was laughing as it shut behind him.
Back in the living room, Adalyn was unloading the sack onto the coffee table with theatrical flourish—artisanal chips, fancy cheese, and a bag of gummy bears because she never quite grew out of her sweet tooth.
She plopped down on the couch, kicked off her sensible work flats, and sighed like she lived here.
Rubble, ever the opportunist, took up a strategic spot beside her, her blocky head tilted and eyes bright as they looked from Adalyn to the food on the table, clearly calculating when she was going to pay the proper toll.
“I swear, newlyweds are impossible to pin down,” she said as I joined her, tucking my legs under me on the opposite end of the couch. “Had to catch you while the chief was otherwise occupied.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t keep the smile from tugging at my mouth. The title still sent a little thrill through me—my husband, the chief. “You make it sound like I’ve gone into hiding.”
“You kinda have.” She scratched Rubble behind the ears, then poured generous glasses and handed me one. The wine was cold, condensation already beading on the glass. “Not that I blame you.”
I took a sip, the cool tartness sliding down easy, crisp and clean with just a hint of citrus, and tried to ignore the heat creeping into my cheeks.
It was true. I had been scarce lately, turning down girls’ nights and coffee dates, too caught up in the strange, wonderful bubble that had become my life with Bodie.
Adalyn’s gaze swept the room with clinical precision, taking in every detail like she was cataloging evidence. “You know, for someone who’s been married for a month, this place doesn’t scream Emmaline lives here. It’s all… him. Where’s your stamp?”
I shifted, uncomfortable under her scrutiny.
“I don’t have much stuff.” Which was true, painfully so.
I’d taken very little from Gran’s when I moved out, other than the things I’d paid for myself—my clothes, books, my grandmother’s recipe box, and not much else—lest Marla or Karen decide to come after me for something they thought was rightfully theirs when the estate was finally settled.
What I didn’t say was that I hadn’t felt like I had the right to change anything.
Bodie had made it clear from day one that he wanted me to settle in, that the house was as much mine as his, and he wanted me to be comfortable.
But I hadn’t been able to get past the temporary nature of our arrangement to really put down roots anywhere but the kitchen, where necessity had forced me to rearrange things to my liking.
She gave me a look like she could see right through that flimsy excuse, those sharp hazel eyes missing nothing, and then grinned with the kind of mischief that had gotten us both in trouble more than once in high school. “Or maybe you’ve just been too busy getting busy to care about throw pillows.”
Considering the position I’d been in when she’d arrived, I nearly choked on my wine, coughing as the liquid tried to go down the wrong pipe. “Adalyn!”
“What?” She leaned in, eyes gleaming with wicked delight, completely unrepentant. “I wasn’t sure about you two at first, but you’ve got that glow. Don’t even try to deny it.”
“I do not have a glow.” But even as I said it, my skin warmed, betraying me.
“Please.” She popped a gummy bear into her mouth—a red one, because she always ate them in order of preference—still smirking.
“Girl, you cannot hide the effects of lots of excellent orgasms. And I, for one, am absolutely delighted for you. It’s about damn time someone in this town was getting properly laid. ”
My face went nuclear. I buried it in my glass. The cool wine did nothing to combat the heat burning through me, but laughter bubbled out anyway, despite my mortification. “You’re impossible.”
She waggled her perfectly shaped brows. “So how many times a week are we talking here? Because I’m living vicariously through you at this point.”
“Adalyn!” I groaned, covering my face with both hands, wine glass balanced precariously on my knee.
“Oh!” Her voice pitched higher with delighted scandal. “Are we into how many times a day territory? Girl, you really must share with those of us who are not so blessed in the orgasm department. I haven’t had a decent one that I didn’t give myself in more than six months.”
“I am not talking about my sex life.” But my voice was muffled by my hands, and the protest came out weak and unconvincing.
“The color of your face is talking plenty.” She cackled, that infectious laugh that had always made it impossible to stay mad at her, clinking her glass against mine when I finally peeked out between my fingers. “To newlyweds who can’t keep their hands off each other. May it last forever.”
I shook my head, still laughing despite myself, but my heart thudded hard at the word forever. The wine made everything softer around the edges, more possible, and for a moment I let myself imagine what forever might actually look like.
As if she sensed the shift in my mood, her grin turned sly, predatory in the way only best friends could manage. “So. Are you two planning to jump on the baby-making train with everyone else, or are you keeping it just the two of you for now?”
The question blindsided me so hard, I almost upended my wine all over the sofa. “What? No! Absolutely not.” The words came out sharper than I intended, panic threading through my voice.
She laughed at my horror, clearly enjoying my reaction.
“Relax, Em. I was only asking. But don’t be surprised if half the town starts dropping hints.
You know how it is—married couple, small town, everybody wants to see little Gibsons running around with their daddy’s stubborn streak and their mama’s backbone. ”
“We have Rubble. We’re good right now.” I gestured to our sweet pittie baby, who made a rumbling noise of agreement and cheerfully accepted a piece of cheese from Adalyn’s fingers, her tail beating a happy rhythm against the coffee table.