Chapter 29
“Are you okay?” I ask Haley as we sit in the front seat of my parked truck, not making any move to start it just yet.
It was by pure luck I was even downtown this morning. After my conversation with Grady yesterday, I wanted to talk to my lawyer as soon as possible to discuss formulating an official offer to buy the vineyard. It’s a bit more involved than buying a house, which I expected, so the sooner I get the ball rolling, the better.
But when I got a text from Layla, the owner of the coffee shop, informing me of some prick in a suit bothering Haley, I didn’t hesitate in walking out on my lawyer. Haley’s my priority, not putting in an offer on the vineyard.
It’s an odd notion, considering the only reason Haley’s my wife in the first place is so I can buy the vineyard. But after Layla’s description, I had a feeling in my gut who it was.
I was right.
“Let me see your arm,” I tell her once my anger has waned enough for me to think clearly.
“It’s fine.” She rubs her wrist, and I can see the makings of a bruise starting to form.
If I didn’t already punch him, I’d storm out of this car right now.
“It’s not fine, Haley. That asshole hurt you.”
I grip the steering wheel, needing it to ground me before I do something I’ll regret. Or that might land me in prison yet again. Nothing’s off limits right now.
“Has he…” I swallow hard and meet Haley’s eyes. “Did he ever touch you like that when you were together?”
“No,” she answers, then hesitates. “Well…”
“Well, what?” I seethe, frustration seeping into my voice.
She pulls her lips into a tight line, her indecision evident.
“Please, Haley. I have to know.” My voice cracks at the mere notion of this guy harming her.
“Do you promise you won’t go after him and do something stupid?”
“Where you’re concerned, I can’t make any promises.”
For a moment, we just stare at each other, everything we’ve left unsaid over the past fourteen years heavy between us.
“When I told him I was pregnant,” she finally admits.
“So let me get this straight…” I lick my lips, my nostrils flaring. “You told him you were pregnant, and he…hit you?” I can barely manage to get the words out, my blood boiling.
“He didn’t hit me. Not like that.”
“There’s no fucking gray area here. He either hit you, or he didn’t. Which is it?”
“He…pushed me.”
“What kind of push?”
“I’ll put it this way. When my back hit the mirror on the wall, it shattered.”
“And you were pregnant?” I ask again, as if that’ll magically change her answer.
“I was only ten weeks.”
“Stop,” I bark, probably a bit too harshly, since she flinches at my tone.
I exhale a sigh and take her bruised wrist in mine, caressing the marks. “Stop defending him. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“I know he doesn’t. I just…” She lifts her eyes skyward, and I notice tears welling beneath her lids. “I guess there’s a part of me that thought I deserved it.” She hesitantly drags her gaze to mine. “That I still do.”
“Why would you ever think that?”
She doesn’t say anything.
She doesn’t have to.
I know exactly what she’s thinking.
Of course she’d still blame herself for what happened to me.
But I can’t have that on my conscience. Not anymore.
“Listen to me, Haley.” I cup her cheeks, forcing her eyes toward mine. “It wasn’t your fault. And you certainly don’t deserve to be treated the way that asshole treated you. Hell, the way I treated you, too. I don’t care what I have to do to make it up to you, but I’ll spend the next year trying to figure it out.”
Her intense gaze lingers on mine for several protracted moments, as if searching for something.
Then, with a sudden urgency, she crushes her lips against mine.
The second she does, all thoughts of doing some permanent damage to her ex disappear. All that matters is making her feel good. Giving her what she wants. What she needs.
What I need, too.
I grip her hip and pull her toward me. But the damn center console’s in the way, preventing me from feeling her. Sensing my frustration, she crawls over it and straddles me, sensually rocking her hips into me.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” I pant as I leave a trail of kisses from her jawline to her neck.
“I need to design a cake,” she replies, throwing her head back, giving me better access. “You?”
“I was supposed to meet with my lawyer to work on my official offer for Grady.”
“Sounds important.”
“Very.”
My hands roam over her curves, up her thighs, and ghost against her panties. When I feel how wet she is, I clench my jaw, my erection throbbing against my jeans.
“But I have a better idea.”
“What’s that?” She circles against me harder, and it takes everything in me not to whip out my dick and tell her to ride me.
“We both take the day off and see if I can give you even more orgasms than I did last night.”
“Do you think you’re up for it?”
I thrust upwards forcefully, showing her just how desperate I am for her.
“I’ve always enjoyed a challenge.” I waggle my brows. “But if I’m being completely honest, being with you isn’t a challenge at all.” I pull back, meeting her eyes. “It’s the most natural thing I’ve felt in a long time.”
“If you keep saying stuff like that, I might actually find you tolerable.”
A small chuckle escapes my throat, and I’m grateful to see the playful side of Haley again.
“That would be a shame. I should probably say something to piss you off.”
“Probably so.”
“Okay then…” I capture her lips in mine once more, my tongue teasing hers. “I can’t stand kissing you. It’s like kissing a corpse.”
“Likewise,” she pants, grinding on my growing arousal. “I can’t wait until this sham of a marriage is over so I no longer have to suffer through them.”
“And your tits are god awful.” I grope them roughly through her sundress, relishing in the way she moans and arches into my touch. “I think about them anytime I need to make my erection go down.”
As if on cue, she writhes against me with more enthusiasm, her heat searing through the fabric of our clothes. I want nothing more than to rip them off and claim her right here and now.
“And that brings me to this cunt,” I rasp as I inch my hand up her thigh, settling on top of her panties. “It does absolutely nothing for me. Hate the taste of it. Hate how it feels against my cock.”
I slip my hand beneath her panties and rub her clit with my thumb. Then I lean toward her, scraping my unshaven jawline against the sensitive skin of her neck.
“And I definitely hate how fucking wet I can get you.”
“Beckham,” she whimpers as I ease a finger inside of her. “I can’t. Too much.”
“Never, baby. There’s no such thing.”
She closes her eyes, allowing herself to succumb to the moment, her rhythm increasing in time with me.
“That’s it, Haley,” I hiss as she moves against me. “Get yourself off on me. Use me. Make yourself come.”
“Oh, fuck,” she cries out, her body convulsing around me as I slam my lips against hers, swallowing her screams.
I doubt I’ll ever tire of feeling her completely unravel. And not because I selfishly like the ego boost of knowing I affect her this way. But because, in these moments of intimacy, she lowers those walls she spent a lifetime building. Allows herself to be vulnerable with me.
Allows me a glimpse of the real Haley. The one she’s kept under lock and key for years. I’ll do whatever I need in order to bring her back. To make her see that she could never ruin my life. Not when she’s always been the one good thing in it.
“So tell me,” I say once she’s had a moment to catch her breath. “Do you find me intolerable again?”
“Absolutely.” She scrapes her mouth against mine. “And if you take me home, I’ll show you just how unbearable I think you truly are.”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice. I practically toss her off me and peel down the street, anxious to get home with my wife.