21. Haven

21

HAVEN

I stretch my body, and the groan underneath me has me stopping suddenly. I freeze and try to replay everything about last night. The last thing I remember is lying on the couch with King.

He has one arm under me, one over me, and the same for his legs. It's like he's completely wrapped around me. I start to move, and he grunts, "Stay."

I let my head fall back to his chest. "You can't be comfortable."

He chuckles. "I dunno. I feel pretty good right now."

I stay frozen, half of my body on top of him. His hand presses into my back, holding me in place. My shirt must have raised up in the night because his hand is against my bare skin. "Are you okay? I mean, if you want to move, you can, peaches."

He's obviously worried about me and my intimacy issues, but it's funny because being in his arms feels good. I'm not thinking about trying to escape or wanting to push him away. If anything, I want more.

"I'm fine. I'm okay."

His fingers start to caress my back, and I tremble under his touch. "Good morning, wife."

I couldn't stop the smile if I wanted to. My body reacts in every way, and I shift a little on top of him.

He groans again, and that's when I feel it. His manhood is pressed against my hip. Heat rushes to my face. "Uh, how about you? You okay?"

His voice is gruff. Either from just waking up or because it's thick with emotion, I'm not sure. "I'm not going to act like I'm not attracted to you. Hell, I'm half hard all the time just looking at you, but I don't want to freak you out."

I shake my head, still unable to look at him. "You're not freaking me out." I trace a heart on his chest, and when I realize it's a heart, I start to trace other patterns. "Good morning, husband."

"You know what this means, don't you? "

"What what means?"

He presses his whole hand to the middle of my back, fitting my lower body flush to his. "You have to start sleeping in our bed from now on. Now that I know what it's like to sleep with my wife, I'm going to have to have you in my arms from now on."

Speechless, all I can do is nod. I have a thousand questions I want to ask him, but it's all becoming a blur. My silence has him trying to reassure me. "Don't panic, Haven. I have no expectations, and it's completely up to you. We can just sleep. No pressure."

I hope I don't regret this. "I'd like that."

He takes a deep breath and then lets it out. "All right, let's get going. We have a lot to do today."

Finally, I raise my head. "I thought you'd have to go into work today."

"I know you didn't want to go on a honeymoon, but I was hoping we could spend some time together. You think I can hang with you at the community center today?"

Excitement fills my voice. "You want to go with me?"

He smiles ear to ear. "I'd love to spend the day with you. "

I climb off the couch, tugging at my clothes as I go. "I'll go get ready."

From where I'm standing, his hard manhood is evident, and after I look at the bulge between his legs, I force my eyes off him and hustle from the room.

After showering and getting ready, I meet King in the living room.

His gaze travels down my body and back up again. I chose jeans and a tank top to wear today because I wanted to be comfortable, but King seems to like my choice too. "You look beautiful, wife."

I giggle. "Are you going to call me that all day? Some people may be surprised that you're now married."

"It's fine. I'm not going to try and hide it. I talked to my brothers. Well, everyone except for Ledger. He's in the Middle East somewhere. But yeah, they all said congratulations and they can't wait to meet you."

I hold my breath. "Were they mad they weren't invited?"

"Please, none of my brothers would have wanted to get all dressed up anyway. And they understand why it was rushed. "

He puts his hands in the front pocket of his jeans and plants his feet shoulder-width apart. The white T-shirt he has on is tight across his chest, and I catch myself staring at him. I smack my lips closed and shake my head. My husband is hot, capital H-HOT.

"You ready?"

I nod and follow him out the door. The community center is on the other side of town, but it doesn't take any time to get there. As soon as we're there, we get to work. There are people scheduled to come for interviews. A few painting companies are coming to put their bids in because the whole interior needs to be painted, and while we wait, I walk room to room with King, telling him my ideas. We go over everything, and it makes me feel good that King seems to like my plans.

"You can tell me no. You know that, right?"

He shrugs, his eyes set on my face even though I've caught him staring at my ass more times than not. "Yeah, I know, but why would I? You have some great ideas."

I look at him doubtfully, but before I can say anything, the front door opens. I look at my watch. "That's probably the painters."

King and I make our way to the front of the building, and sure enough, there's a man waiting for us. "Hi. I'm Pete with Quality Painters." The man lets his gaze travel down my body and then back up again. I clasp my hands together in front of me. King comes to stand beside me, and by the tense look on his face, it's obvious he saw the man looking at me too. "Hello. I'm Haven and this is my husband, Ridge." I turn to King. "Honey, would you care to show Pete around and tell him what we're wanting to do?"

"I'd be happy to."

I'm standing over my notebook as the two men disappear to the back of the building. It isn't long before they come to the front and Pete is leaving, telling us he'll get the bid in soon.

As soon as Pete walks out the door, King crowds me. "I'm going to have to hire a bodyguard."

His nostrils are flared as he stares down at me. "A bodyguard?" I ask, incredulous.

He grabs my hand and holds it, rubbing his fingers over the ring. "Fuck, I thought the ring was big enough, but some guys don't care. I don't like the way he looked at you. How am I supposed to leave you here when there are men like that wanting what's mine?"

Maybe I shouldn't enjoy it as much as I am, but it feels good to have a man want me the way King does. He doesn't try to hide it or his attraction to me. He acts as if he's proud that I'm his wife and wants everyone to know it. King doesn't have to worry about me with other men because no one compares to him. "I don't want them."

He growls with possession in his eyes. "Tell me you're mine, peaches."

I laugh. "I don't know what else I gotta do, King. I married you. I have your ring on my finger. I woke up in your arms… I'm yours."

He gruffs, "Yes, you are."

We stand here staring at each other, neither one of us moving. He's staring at my lips, and finally I ask him, "What are you looking at?"

"Your pretty mouth."

I stutter, "My mouth?"

He leans down and repeats it. "Your pretty mouth."

He lifts his hand and traces his finger around my lips. It's so sensual that my nipples pebble and there's a pull in my lower belly.

I'm breathless as I ask him, "Are you going to kiss me… or what?"

His hands come to my waist, and he pulls me flush to his body. My heart starts to race, and I take a deep breath to try and calm myself. He cups my face in his hands and leans down, pressing his lips to mine.

He takes complete possession of my mouth and is relentless as he kisses me until I've leaned into him and let him consume me. The kiss is intense, and I meet him stroke for stroke with my tongue. Heat envelops me as he circles his arms around my body and cradles me against him.

I slide my hands to his waist, lifting his shirt and putting my hands against his bare skin. He sucks in a breath and pulls away with a groan when he rests his forehead against mine. I'm doing my best to catch my breath, and when I open my eyes, he pulls back. "You're an obsession, peaches."

I swallow hard because I could say the same thing about him.