31. Josh

If someone would have told me three months ago, that I’d be waking up on Christmas morning with my wife wrapped around me naked, I would have laughed. If they’d have told me that my wife would be Hallie, I would have thought they were downright insane, yet here we are. Yesterday was easily one of the best days I have ever had, from the public claiming of her on the sofa, to watching her head bob back and forth on my dick, while I fisted her wet hair in the shower, and don’t even get me started on the ten orgasms I gave her with my tongue. Yes, ten, one for every year I have known her. I’m a gentleman like that. Yet none of that compares to how it felt when I sunk my dick inside her and took her nice and slow, her body trembling, and face stained in tears of pleasure.

Fuck. That image isn’t one I will forget anytime soon.

We also enjoyed a quiet dinner with Daemon, which to my surprise wasn’t awkward in the slightest. I’ve known Daemon for a long time, and despite our strong friendship he still keeps me at arm’s length, but that doesn’t mean I don’t notice things about him, whether he wants me to or not. I’ve seen him around girls, I mean they practically throw themselves at him, yet I have never seen him indulge with any of them. Most people presume that whatever dark secrets are lurking in his past are the reason, but I think it’s something else entirely. Which is why when I saw him come down the stairs yesterday I didn’t stop, because I knew he’d enjoy the show without showing any true interest in my wife.

No, I’ve figured out he’s interested in chasing something different entirely.

Hallie is still sleeping softly in my arms, and all I can do is watch her like some sort of stalker. The eye mask is still firmly across her head, and Percy is tucked dutifully under her arm, but the only thing I can truly focus on is where her legs are tangled with mine. The weight of her body against mine is like a drug, and despite the fact my father will soon be in prison, and our deal will no longer be required, I can’t see myself letting her go.

The thought plagues me for almost an hour until she begins stirring in my arms, her ass rubbing on my very interested dick, just like it always does. When she tries to move, I nuzzle her neck one last time, before I loosen my arms and let her stretch out. When she pushes the mask off her eyes, she blinks a few times before she focuses on me and groans.

“Why are you watching me sleep you pervert?” she grumbles, turning over and tucking her head into my chest.

I still marvel at how comfortable she is with me, how easily she lets me touch her, how much she seeks it out, and it’s all I can do not to beg her to stay in this bed with me forever. My hands reach down to her hips and pull her against me, wrapping one of her thighs over my waist, and tucking her against me even tighter, yet still it’s not enough. Will it ever be enough?

“Maybe your snoring woke me up,” I tease, and her fingers reach up and pinch my nipple sharp and tight until I yelp. “Ow, what the hell was that for?”

She shrugs in my arms. “It’s too early, I don’t have the energy to dick punch you yet.”

My cock leaps at just the mention of the word dick, and I lean down and press soft kisses to her ear as I ask, “Is it too early to do other stuff to my dick?” I roll my hips against her, letting her feel my erection that is no longer just morning wood, and completely for her.

“You’re insatiable,” she murmurs, pushing her hands around my neck, and lining my jaw with kisses.

“Nope, just addicted to the feeling of my wife’s pussy wrapped around me,” I tell her truthfully, rolling her onto her back, and spreading her thighs so I can rest comfortably between them.

“Then fuck me nice and slow, husband, I want to make sure you can feel me squeeze every inch of you.”

Fuck, her mouth is wicked, which is how I find myself sliding my cock up and down her slit, before slowing sinking inside to the hilt. Her pussy spasms around me instantly, and I do exactly what she asked. I fuck her slow, with long, steady snaps of my hips, until she is begging for more, yet I don’t stop. I can’t stop, not until she has come twice around my dick, and only then do I grind my hips against her in small but quick circles, until my own release fills her up completely.

I drop my forehead to hers, letting our panted breaths mix together, until I can finally breathe again. Then I kiss her slowly and sweetly. “Merry Christmas, Hals,” I whisper against her mouth, and she smiles, and for once I don’t dread this damn holiday.

Once we both climb out of bed and shower, Hallie insists on us wearing the matching pajamas she bought us covered in penguins, and we head down to the kitchen to search for coffee and breakfast.

“I hope you got me more than your dick for Christmas,” Hallie scolds as we reach the kitchen, and to my surprise there is already bacon and eggs keeping warm in the pan.

Daemon is sitting at the counter nursing what I am going to presume is around his fourth cup of coffee, while reading an old and battered copy of The Great Gatsby. He offers us both the slight tip of his head as a good morning, but when his eyes scan across us, I see a ghost of a smirk tug at the corner of his mouth. “Nice PJs,” he grunts, turning the page and focusing back on his book.

I snort a laugh at my wife, ignoring Daemon, because these pajamas are awesome and comfy as fuck, and pour both me and Hallie a cup of coffee.

“Hals, don’t act like my dick isn’t the best present you’ve ever had, but I knew you’d chop it off if I didn’t get you actual gifts, so yes I got you more than my dick for Christmas,” I muse, turning round to lean on the counter and find her blushing furiously. Fuck she looks good in the morning, even covered in penguins.

“Such a good husband,” she coos, picking up an envelope on the table with both our names on it, and slipping out a piece of paper from inside.

“What is it?” I ask, sipping my coffee, and she doesn’t even look up, her eyes tracking every part of the paper in awe.

I shove off the counter and move to peer over her shoulder, only to find a sketch of us from our wedding day. It’s so detailed that it may as well be a black and white photograph, and I don’t know what I am more surprised about, the fact it’s such a good drawing, or the fact he even let us see it in the first place.

“This is amazing,” Hallie finally breathes, devouring every part of it, before her eyes dance up to meet mine and then flick over to my best friend. “Daemon, is this from you?” she asks, and his eyes flick to hers nervously, before he nods gently.

Daemon never shows anyone his art, in fact I think outside of me and his art professor, Hallie is the first person to see it in years.

“He’s an amazing artist, not that he ever usually shows anyone his work,” I reply, giving him a stern look, and he grunts, but I just can’t get over how unbelievably talented he is and the fact that he chooses to hide it.

“Daemon this is breathtaking,” she smiles, shaking her head in disbelief, and looking at the piece of art as if it is the most precious thing she has ever been given, before she adds, “Although you kind of stole my idea.” She rolls her eyes, taking the picture with her, as she moves to the small Christmas tree we have set up in the corner, and grabs one of the boxes.

We always buy each other a present on Christmas and birthdays, we always have, but I’m not sure if my gift this year is overstepping the mark a little. I just hope it can allow us to broach the topic of being more than just a business deal.

I let Hallie go first, and when she slides the present over the island towards me, her smile is smug. “This might be the best present I ever got you,” she preens, and my interest is thoroughly peaked.

I put my coffee down and rip into the paper, revealing a long, flat, slim box, and when I take off the lid I find a picture from our wedding.

“It’s a wedding picture,” she offers pointlessly, coming around the island to stand by my side to admire it with me.

“I can see that, Hals, but this is just a picture of you, I’m not even in it,” I laugh, flicking my stare between her and the picture, and she rolls her eyes.

“Joshua, if you”re so desperate to see yourself, look in the mirror, this picture is perfect,” she grumbles, moving to slide into one of the seats, and taking a drink of her coffee.

I flick it around to show Daemon and he smirks again, the biggest one I have ever probably seen from him on a day that he hates so much, before I focus back on the photograph. She’s right, the picture is perfect, it’s one of the only ones the photographer took of her alone, and she looks absolutely stunning, but she looks just as stunning right now perched on the chair in her penguin pajamas, sipping her drink.

“Why do I need the picture when I have the real thing?” I ask, moving to drop a kiss to her shoulder, before I head to the tree to grab the gift I got for her.

“It’s to put with the other two in your room, so all your future conquests know that you belonged to me first,” she teases, and now it’s my turn to roll my eyes. She really has no idea how deep in this thing I am with her.

I slide the small, wrapped box onto the counter in front of her, and then move to plate us both some breakfast as I toss over my shoulder, “I thought we already covered that the only Mr. Hallie Rose Sanders will be me, so stop trying to get rid of me.” I place the plates in front of us and take a seat at her side, watching as she gently unwraps the gift with shaking hands. When she sees the black velvet jewelry box, her eyes instantly flick to mine and I laugh, “Don’t worry, it’s not another ring.”

Daemon snorts, but there is no humor on Hallie’s face as she focuses back on the box. Flicking it open she reveals a small, dainty chain, silver in color because she never wears gold, with a little letter J dangling from it. The letter has a small green diamond at the bottom to match her ring, and I panic slightly at her silence. Maybe she hates it? Maybe it’s too much?

Her eyes flick to mine and I see the question in them before she even voices it, so I quickly rush out, “It’s from that Taylor song you like, you know the one about wearing his initials on a chain round your neck.”

“Not because he owns me but cause he really knows me,” she whispers, and I nod at the sound of the lyrics, as her focus turns back to the necklace.

“Josh, I don’t even know what to say,” she starts, and panic curls in my throat. “You don’t have to say anything,” I’m quick to say, and I swear I can feel Daemon’s smirk from here in my panic.

“It’s beautiful,” she cuts me off, pulling it from the box, and instantly passing it over to me, before giving me her back, and swiping her hair up to allow me to put it on. My hands are steadier than I feel as I pull it around her neck and fasten it, before she lets her hair drop, and looks down on it. “It’s perfect, I love it, thank you,” she tells me, turning round and pulling my head down to hers.

The kiss she gives me feels permanent, like she is trying to tell me something without words, except I don’t know what it is. In fact, the only thing I do seem to know lately is that I seem to have developed very real feelings for my very fake wife.

After breakfast, I hand over the gifts I bought for Daemon, a new sketch pad and some pencils, and to my surprise, Hallie hands him a vinyl from one of his favorite operas. He blushed furiously, much to my amusement, before slinking away back to his room to hide away for the rest of the day. Once we are dressed, Hallie questions whether we should check on him before we leave, but I shake my head. I don’t know what his issue with Christmas is, but I do know that he always spends it alone, no matter how hard I try to coax him into it. I know he will be grateful for the gifts from us, but I can’t help but feel bad as we leave the house and he stays behind all alone.

The drive over to Hallie’s parents is familiar enough to me, which is a good thing, because the amount of times my eyes stray from the road over to my wife is a crime. Of course she is fidgeting nervously in her seat, insisting we play the same song on repeat, as she babbles to me about how she knew what to get Daemon for Christmas. She’s nervous, that much is clear, but for the life of me I can’t work out why. Beth and Jeremy are amazing people, and even better parents, it’s why I went straight to them after Thanksgiving, because I knew they’d understand. So, I’m not sure what Hallie is so concerned about.

By the time we arrive, Hallie is talking so fast that I can barely keep up, and when she jumps from the car before letting me open the door, I know something is really up. She rushes towards the front door, but before she can ring the bell, I grab her waist, spin her, and pull her body against me.

“Okay, spit it out, Tink,” I demand, and she tries and fails to put a blank mask on her face, as if I don’t know her by now.

“Spit what out?” she huffs, looking anywhere but at me.

“Whatever the hell is bothering you,” I snap, feeling irritated that we even need to be having this conversation. She’s normally the one person who can tell me anything.

“Nothing is bothering me,” she quickly lies, and I almost laugh at how bad she is at it.

“Now, now, remember the rules, don’t lie to me, baby.” Her eyes soften at the term of endearment, but still she pulls her lip into her mouth and nibbles on it nervously.

“We have to act normal while we’re here,” she breathes, finally staring up at me. “My parents know this is fake remember, so we can’t be you know, touching and kissing in front of them and stuff, they will ask too many questions.”

Her request shouldn’t gut me, no matter how unexpected it is, yet still it does. Of course she’s right, I came to this very house and asked for their permission to commit this ruse and promised them I would protect their daughter, and that nothing would happen to her. Except I happened to her. She sleeps in my bed almost every night because I insisted on taking her, not caring for the repercussions, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

I release her instantly, already nodding my head. “Sorry, yeah, of course, I wasn’t thinking what it would look like.” I turn away from her, not wanting her to see the look in my eyes, as I reach out and ring the doorbell.

She watches me carefully, but before she can say anything else, her mom is ripping open the door with a wide smile.

“Ah, there you guys are, come in, come in, I’ve been so excited for you to get here,” Beth gushes, ushering us both inside, before pulling her daughter in for a hug. “Merry Christmas, Sweetheart,” she greets Hallie, before pushing back and holding her at arm”s length, checking her over just like she always does.

When her eyes flick to mine they lighten even more. “Josh, dear, look at you, you get more handsome every time I see you,” she coos, pulling me in for a warm hug of my own, which I can’t help but reciprocate.

“And you get more beautiful,” I tell her truthfully, almost the mirror image of her daughter, and she smiles and rolls her eyes in just the same way as Hallie.

“Hey, you’ve got your own wife now, Peters, stop hitting on mine,” Jeremy calls out, as he walks down the hall from the kitchen. “Looking good, son,” he adds, and I hold my hand out for him to shake, but he bats it aside and pulls me in for a hug just like his wife.

I’ve always liked Hallie’s parents, and for some bizarre reason, they have always liked me too, and I can’t help but feel happy knowing that she had it better than I ever did growing up. “It’s good to see you,” I reply, smacking his shoulder, before we pull apart, and he turns his focus to his daughter.

“There’s my Hallie Bear,” he smiles, cuddling her tight, before pulling back and ushering us all back to the kitchen with him. “Thank god you’re finally here, your mother has been driving me crazy all morning,” he complains, heading over to the sink to wash his hands. “Why don’t you girls go relax in the den and us men can finish off the cooking.”

Hallie looks at me a little alarmed, but I’m already slipping out of my jacket and rolling up my sleeves.

“Dad, Josh didn’t come here to help you cook,” she complains, looking more nervous than I have ever seen her, and Jeremy looks at her with a smile.

“Hals, this might be the only son-in-law I ever get, I need to get my money’s worth out of him.”

Hallie rolls her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous, he won’t be the only son-in-law you ever get,” she sighs dramatically, discarding her own coat.

Oh yes I fucking will be.

“I thought we already covered that I”m going to be the only Mr. Hallie Rose Sanders, Tink, don’t make me let my jealous streak out,” I tell her sternly, and her mother laughs, taking a seat at the counter to watch as I start working beside her husband.

Hallie reluctantly takes the seat next to her, both of them ignoring her father’s request to head to the den. I quietly start chopping up vegetables as Hallie snaps, “No, the only thing we covered is that you’re a psycho.”

I keep my focus on my knife skills as I reply, “I think I’ve been a very calm husband so far.”

Her scoff is adorable. “Oh, is that what we call breaking people’s bones?”

My smile comes easy as I remember how good it felt to feel Joey’s arm break beneath my fingers, I only wish I’d have done it again when we saw him at the rink. “Technically I wasn’t your husband when I did that,” I shrug, as her mom flicks her stare between us in shock, as she gasps in question, “You broke someone”s bones?”

Hallie looks delighted at her mom’s interest, turning her stare towards her as if she expects her mom to be on her side. “Remember Joey,” she asks sweetly.

“You mean Jockstrap Jerkoff,” her mom nods, and I snort a laugh as Hallie huffs, but I don’t know why, the only person who could have told Beth that nickname was her.

“Yes, well, Josh broke his arm back when I graduated high school, it’s why I never heard from him again,” she tells them, like a total little narc.

“He’s lucky that’s all I did,” I tell her carefully, before flicking my stare to Jeremy’s as I explain, “He was talking shit about her to his dumb friends.”

Jer barely even pauses as he holds his hand out for me to fist bump. “That’s my boy.”

When I look back at Hallie she huffs again, as she mutters, “You’re such an asshole.”

I ensure my smile is sweet as I respond, “And you’re such a brat.”

I feel her parents watching us, flicking their stare between us and each other, and I kick myself internally after what Hallie said outside. Although I’m not sure I can hide how much I enjoy being married to their daughter, I remind myself to try and not act like this thing is real.

Even if I think it is.

By the time we’ve had dinner, Hallie has argued with me no less than thirty times, much to her parents” amusement, and when they keep agreeing with me, she only gets angrier. I excuse myself to help her mom with the dishes, leaving Hals and Jer to talk business with one another, yet still I can’t help my eyes from flicking over to her every few seconds.

“Being married suits you,” her mother comments from my side, and my gaze snaps from her daughter to her, to find her already watching me. “For the first time since I have known you, that darkness that surrounds you seems a little less black.”

I ensure my voice remains calm and steady as I reply, “Your daughter just has that effect on people I guess, she’s like a ball of sunshine.”

Beth watches me and I try my best to keep my face blank, but still she offers me a knowing smile as she passes me another dish to dry. “That ball of sunshine is happier than I have ever seen her,” she whispers, flicking her stare over to her daughter, and I can’t help but do the same.

Hallie is reading over a file with her dad, pointing stuff out and talking animatedly about what she would do if she were to invest in them, and I swear I have never seen her look more comfortable or at ease. Gone are the anxiety and nerves she had on the way over here, and Beth is right, for once, she looks completely and truly happy.

Could this thing between us actually work?

Is there a world where I can take down my father and still keep her?

Could we forget the deal we made, rip up that list of rules, and just continue on as we have been, but no longer faking it?

I guess there is only one way to find out. First I have to take my father down, and then ask my wife if I can keep her.