10. Birdie
Birdie
Chapter 10
One month later
Avery and I managed to wrangle Grady into a Christmas wedding. Despite his good-natured grumbling, I think he secretly enjoyed watching us turn the ranch into something out of a fairy tale, wreathed in velvet red ribbons, glossy holly garlands, and mistletoe. He might not be thrilled about the guest list a mile long, but he liked celebrating this new chapter in his life.
A fresh blanket of snow had fallen the night before, leaving everything swathed in pristine white, sparkling in the sunlight. A heated tent had been set up on the front lawn for the ceremony and reception. The ranch hands had been busy all morning shoveling the sidewalk and plowing the driveway.
“Damn complicated thing,” Grady muttered.
I smiled to myself and set aside my powder brush, poking my head out of the bathroom. He fumbled with his tie in the mirror attached to his closet door.
“I told you,” I said. “Skip the tie if you hate it that much.”
Grady sighed with exasperation and fixed me with a look in the mirror.
“For my first wedding, I didn’t wear a tie. I’m doing it right this time.”
I couldn’t help noticing how often he made little comments like that. Letting his worry leak out that he would screw up his second marriage, and how much he genuinely wanted to make it work this time around. As I crossed the room, he kept his gaze locked on me.
The lace that clung to my body almost appeared transparent in all the right places—a teasing glimpse of bare hip, hugging my cleavage that he couldn’t resist. Avery had helped me select it, giving me a little nudge when I tried to talk myself out of it. I’d never felt more beautiful in my life than when I was wearing this dress.
“I thought it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress before the wedding,” Grady said.
I snorted and came to stand in front of him, taking his tie.
“We’ve already been married for a month. This ceremony is just for show, so there’s no bad luck here. Besides,” I added, looping the tie around his neck. “You’ve seen me naked often enough. It’s about time I was fully clothed in your presence for more than a few hours.”
Grady rumbled a laugh and placed his hands on my hips as I finished with his tie.
“Does that mean wedding night sex is off the table?”
I rested my palms on his chest and rose up on tiptoe to kiss him. He looked so handsome in a button-down shirt, a suit jacket, with his customary jeans and cowboy boots. A small corsage of forget-me-nots was pinned to his lapel.
“Not a chance, mister. I’m counting on you to get me out of this dress so fast that you set a world record tonight.”
He smiled, giving my hips a squeeze. Just as he started to pull me closer, a knock interrupted us.
“Are you two decent?” Avery called. “I need Birdie’s help with my hair, and I don’t want to see you making out. Again. It was cute for the first fifty times you did it in front of me. Now I’m getting a little traumatized.”
I laughed and pulled away from Grady, opening the door. Avery was still in her bathrobe, her makeup flawless, but her hair was wrapped in a towel.
“You’re both dressed!” she said. “That’s a surprise.”
“If you showed up five minutes later, it would have been a different story,” Grady replied.
“Grady,” I admonished.
Avery made a face but I could see the amusement in her eyes. She hooked her arm through mine, drawing me into the hallway.
“Birdie, I place the blame entirely on your shoulders for my father’s horndog behavior. If you didn’t look drop dead gorgeous in that dress, he might be able to keep his hands to himself.”
“Joke’s on you, kid,” Grady called after us. “You started this with your meddling, remember?”
Avery was a stunning bridesmaid in a breezy, pale blue gown and her curls intertwined with tiny pearls like ice crystals. Grady couldn’t stop tugging at his tie during the ceremony, until I finally pulled it free and tucked it in his pocket. He didn’t need to strangle himself to keep our marriage alive.
After saying our vows, Grady was true to his word and slid a massive princess cut diamond onto my finger. The room erupted in applause. His ranch hands cheered the loudest, whooping and howling.
I couldn’t believe how much had changed so quickly. Lavender Lane would remain open for business, and I would continue to grow my own flowers and arrange them. That part would remain the same until I was old and gray. But this was my family now, my home. With the promise of a new year around the corner, I couldn’t wait to fully settle in at High Plains Ranch as a wife to Grady and a stepmother to Avery.
When the reception began, Grady lasted thirty minutes before he brought his mouth to my ear.
“Please tell me I can get you naked now. I’ve been patient.”
I huffed a laugh.
“At least dance with me first.”
He relented, leading me to the dance floor. The broad heat of his palm came to rest on my lower back, drawing me closer. When I looked up at him, I could have sworn I would drown in those gray eyes. I reached up and traced my finger along his square jawline. Even though he was clean shaven for the wedding, I missed his stubble.
“I changed my mind,” I said.
Grady blinked.
“What?”
I could see the flicker of hesitation cross his face. He thought I’d changed my mind about the wedding. About him and our future together.
I slid my hands up Grady’s chest and toyed with the button at his collar, stroking the hollow of his exposed throat.
“We can dance later,” I amended. “We have the rest of our lives to do that. Take me away.”
Grady’s face softened. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles, his thumb anchored firmly over my diamond. Picking a path through the crowded reception, he led me up to the house. We had barely reached his room—our room now, I realized—before he was fumbling with my skirts. He hooked his fingers inside my barely-there panties and slid them down my legs.
Then he looped an arm around my waist and pulled me tight against him as he dropped onto the mattress. I sprawled on top of him with a squeak of surprise.
“Ride me,” Grady said, gruffly. “I want to look at you.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Using his chest to anchor myself, I shifted position until I straddled him. I rolled my hips against the bulge in his jeans. He pushed my skirts out of the way until his hot, rough palms settled on my smooth thighs.
“So pretty and pink for me,” he murmured, tracing his thumb over my clit.
I moaned and tilted my head back at the slightest, sweetest friction. Grady skimmed one hand over my lace-covered breasts, giving them a squeeze. I started to tug his shirt free from his jeans, then got too impatient halfway through and gave up. Leaning down, I sucked at the juncture of his neck and jawline. The rumbling vibrations of his answering growl tasted heavenly on my tongue.
“God, Grady, I need you inside me,” I rasped.
“Go on then,” he replied. “Take what you want, sweetheart. I’ll give you everything you ever ask for.”
I brought my hands down to his belt buckle, scratching lightly at the strip of exposed skin above his waistband. He’d put on some weight since our marriage at the courthouse, rendering him softer around the middle. I liked to see him padded with comfort now, instead of the lean rancher hardened with muscle that I met two months ago.
After making quick work of Grady’s belt, I unzipped his fly and dragged a knuckle along the ridge of his hard cock. He groaned deep in his chest, flexing his hips up toward my touch. He curved his palms around my hips, clutching me tight.
“Come on, sweetheart,” he said, strained. “Have mercy on this old man, will you?”
I huffed a laugh and thumbed at the head of his cock until he squirmed beneath me.
“You’re not old. That’s what you always say when Avery teases you.”
Grady sat up, sucking a kiss into the top of my breasts.
“That’s different. I’m looking for a little sympathy here, love.”
Wrapping an arm around me, he tugged my zipper down my spine until my dress gaped open. After he pushed the fabric aside, he swept his thumbs along the swell of my cleavage, circling over my lacy white bra until my nipples hardened.
“Would burying your face in my tits offer enough sympathy for you?” I replied with amusement.
Grady pulled the cups of my bra down, pinching my stiff nipples until jolts of pleasure raced through every nerve in my body.
“It might do the trick,” he said. “I’d have to check.”
I shook my head with a smile and looped my arms around Grady’s neck, pulling him closer. He pinched, sucked, and licked my nipples, flicking his tongue over them until the empty throb between my thighs was unbearable.
Ever since our wedding, Grady and I rarely used condoms. My birth control would be enough. And I loved the feeling of nothing between us but skin against hot, pulsing skin.
I set the tip of Grady’s cock at my entrance and slowly sank down. That first breach never failed to take my breath away—the perfect stretch, thick, scorching, and so good. The slick sounds of my pussy mingled in the air with our labored breathing as I rolled my hips in a steady, even rhythm.
Grady cupped my ass in both hands, encouraging me to rock back and forth. The wet heat of his mouth matched the easy glide of his cock—in, out, deeper, dragging against my walls until my world became filled with the sensation of him. His heat. His taste. His mouth. His hands.
I pushed him back against the mattress, growing frantic as I chased the heady rise of pleasure building in my body.
“That’s it, honey,” Grady murmured into the hollow beneath my ear, his lips brushing my skin as he spoke. “Come all over your husband’s cock like the good girl you are.”
I whimpered, thighs shaking. The next thing I knew, Grady twisted until I was the one beneath him. My skirts flared around me in a cloud of white as he plowed into me. When I brought my hand up to touch him, he interlaced our fingers together, kissing my knuckles.
Then Grady covered me with his big, heavy body and pressed his mouth to mine. I shattered, whining against his lips. He gave a few more sloppy thrusts as my pussy clenched around his cock. With one final stroke, he pushed deep, throbbing.
After a moment, Grady broke away, brushing feather-light kisses on my cheeks, nose, and forehead. I panted, clutching his hips to prevent him from pulling out. I felt so gloriously full when he was inside me.
Breathing hard, Grady propped his hands on the bed, bracketing my head as he gazed down at me. That same steely-eyed look came over him. Possessive. Protective. Lust-filled. Even though he was still buried inside me, it seemed like he wanted to devour me all over again.
“Welcome to the family, Mrs. McCall,” he said. “You’re going to make one hell of a rancher’s wife.”
I beamed and grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him down for a kiss.
“And you are going to make one hell of a florist’s husband.”