Chapter 39
LINCOLN
Jules rolls over in the tangled sheets, shoulders heaving with ragged breaths. She curls up on her side in her post-orgasmic haze. Instantly, I feel cold without her skin on mine.
“Hey. Where are you going?” I mutter into her hair as I loop an arm around her waist and drag her ass up against my dick. “I want to feel your body next to me.”
We just fucked. And I came hard enough to demolish a skyscraper. Yet somehow, I feel my cock stirring again, ready for more of this gorgeous woman.
In the darkness, I can almost hear her grinning into her pillow. “Do your business partners know you’re a big, clingy teddy bear?”
I brush her hair out of the way and nibble at the salty skin of her neck. “Never. Some parts of me are reserved only for my wife.”
I feel the way her chest hitches when I say that.
Shit. I need to stop doing that. I need to stop confessing every thought that passes through my mind. I need to stop showing Jules the effect she has on me. I need to stop feeling this way about her at all.
Jules acts like she’s strong, unwavering, untouchable. But I know better. Our weeks together have shown me that she’s a delicate woman. She’s just really good at covering up her softest parts under a tangle of poisonous thistle weeds.
I’m only complicating things. I’m making her grow to depend on me emotionally. And at the end of the day, the last thing I want is to hurt her.
And make no mistake—the day will end, taking this marriage right along with it.
But for tonight, I pull her closer.
Finally, she turns over. Her arms drape around my neck and she flings a long leg over mine. The way she burrows her cheek against my chest feels too good, and there’s nothing fake about the way my heart pounds beneath my ribcage.
Mentally revising the events of the day, I chuckle into her hair. “I can’t believe you cussed out my business partners. Then you kidnapped their wives, got them drunk and then gave them an impromptu sex workshop in my brother’s living room.”
Jules props her chin on my chest to squint at me. Even in the dimness of the room, I can see the worry lines that form on her forehead. “Are you mad at me?”
I smooth out the lines with gentle fingertips. “Nah. Those assholes deserved to get cussed out. And if some good sex helps them be less of the raging sociopaths that they are, I’d call that a win.”
Jules laughs, dropping her lips to my collarbone for a kiss.
My arms tighten around her and she crawls over me, plastering herself to my sticky body like a lizard climbing a brick wall.
“How did the rest of your meeting go?” she asks huskily, sleep beginning to weigh down her voice.
“I wanted to talk to you about that, actually.” I stroke a hand down the slope of her back to lightly cup her ass. I hesitate. “The men were talking about this children’s charity gala thing in Sin Valley.”
Jules nods before I can even say another word. “Need a date, hubs?” she asks cheekily.
“If you’d do me the honor.”
She clicks her tongue, faking annoyance. “I guess I could pencil it into my busy calendar.”
I laugh. “Please do. It’s an annual event, and this year it’s being hosted by Harry Westbrook and his wife, Nadia.”
“Harry Westbrook? The name sounds familiar. Football, right?”
Relaxing fully, I prop a forearm under my head and nod. “He’s a wide receiver for the Paragons. His wife is a brilliant lawyer, and she also does a lot of work with the seniors in Sin Valley.”
I give Jules a brief rundown of the volunteer work Nadia Westbrook does, including the activities she organizes for the elderly at the Sin Valley community center.
My wife hums with interest. “Harry and Nadia sound like a really cool couple,” she says thoughtfully. “And the gala seems to be for a good cause.”
“Yeah.” I blow out a breath. “And hopefully, I’ll be able to get Paul Price and his band of clowns to stop dragging their feet and finally lock down this damn business deal for my agency. Plus, the event will be crawling with athletes. I might even be able to score a few new potential clients.”
Jules nods dutifully, like she understands how much this opportunity means to me. But I want to make sure to sweeten the deal for her.
“I was thinking we could make a weekend of it. Sin Valley’s a great little town. Lots of things to do. You’d like it.” I give her ass a soft squeeze.
It still bothers me that we didn’t get a honeymoon.
I just want a few days away with her, having her all to myself.
The opportunity to sleep in late and order breakfast in bed.
The chance to make her scream my name as loud as she wants to without having to hold back.
All of it excites me. Stick the ‘honeymoon’ label on it if you want to.
My pulse thumps hopefully in my throat when Jules makes an excited little sound. She props herself up, palms flat on the bed to support her weight. “And Cameron would enjoy it, too!” she says, instantly popping my bubble.
“Y-yeah…Cameron, too,” I echo with far less enthusiasm.
Now, I feel guilty. Of course I should want to include my son in this. I know he’d love to go on a little trip with Jules and me. Plus, it would help with the family image that we’re all trying to project.
But then, Jules takes it to a whole other level.
She sits up straight, inadvertently rocking her ass against my hardening erection. “Ooh, maybe we can invite Great-Grandma!”
What?!
I bolt upright so fast my face almost collides with hers. “Your great-grandmother?!” I question. “You want to take your great-grandmother?”
“It’s genius!” she says, her soft palms slapping against my bare chest. “A family trip would definitely get rid of any lingering doubts in her head about the validity of our marriage. At that point, getting my trust fund would be a done deal. Also, those seniors activities you mentioned at the Sin Valley community center would be good for her.” Jules sighs.
“Great-Grandma seems…lonely.” I hear the genuine worry embedded in her voice.
For the record, this is not what I had in mind. In fact, Jules’s plan is borderline unreasonable. But I realize immediately that I’d do this very unreasonable thing just because my wife wants to do it.
“Sounds genius to me,” I say, forcing the words through my gritted teeth.
She squeals quietly and bounces with excitement, making me very aware of her hot, sticky pussy lips that are currently fondling my aching cock. She throws her arms around my neck, smushing her tits against my chest in a tight hug and I’m ready to pass out from my arousal.
Grabbing my face, she plants a smooch on my lips. “Oh, this is gonna be so much fun.”
I strongly disagree. None of this is my idea of a honeymoon.
But I keep my opinion to myself.
Because if a cramped roadtrip with my eight-year-old son and her 80-something-year-old great-grandmother is what makes Jules happy, then a cramped roadtrip with my eight-year-old son and her 80-something-year-old great-grandmother is exactly what we’re going to do.
More and more, all I want is for my wife to be blissfully, giddily, ridiculously happy. I’d do anything to see that smile on her face.
I clutch her hips with both hands and flip her onto her back. Then I’m hovering above her, trailing kisses from her mouth to her throat to her left nipple. Precum drips from my erection when she stifles a moan.
I whisper against her ear. “Not half as fun as what I want to do to you. Right now.”
Her tongue swipes across her wicked lips. “Yes, please.”