Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Abby

Aunt Lori: Remember to leave your bed to eat once in a while, so you can keep up your strength. blowing a kiss emoji

Me: eye roll emoji There’s more to life than staying in bed.

Aunt Lori: Then that man of yours isn’t doing it right. I’ll have to put together some romance books and give him his marching orders.

Me: Wait, what? No! That’ll just embarrass him.

Aunt Lori: Nah, it’ll probably make him all hot and bothered and want to try the scenes out with you. You can thank me later. winking emoji

Me: sighing emoji Remember when I said no meddling?

Aunt Lori: It’s not meddling, it’s an education. I’ve given some books to Zach and Zane already. Maybe it’ll help them find women of their own.

Me: I’m surprised they didn’t throw it back in your face. sweat drop emoji

Aunt Lori: Zach looked happy and interested, but Zane was tempted to throw it, I could see it in his eyes. Still, I highlighted passages and quotes to help.

Me: laughing emoji Oh, I wish I could’ve seen their faces!

Aunt Lori: I swear Zane blushed after reading the first one. smiling demon emoji

Me: I love you, Aunt Lori. But let me try handling Rafe first, okay?

Aunt Lori: Fine. But I’ll put together some books for him just in case. Now, go enjoy that sexy man of yours. overheated emoji

I ’d come up with a half-dozen plans on how to seduce my husband. Not a single one of them had included a spider.

And even though I’d screamed and kneed him in the groin, Rafe had still wanted me. As soon as he kissed me, my reservations and hesitations and insecurities faded away. The more confident version of myself before the disaster in San Jose came rushing back, and I teased his hard cock over his jeans, driving him wild, and even managing to toss aside my towel without hesitation.

The hungry look in Rafe’s eyes had only made me wetter, and before I knew it, I was on my back on his bed, Rafe kneeling between my legs, telling me he wanted to taste me first.

I’d barely blinked—no man had ever wanted to go down on me without some sort of coaxing—before Rafe was licking and lapping and nibbling. Every stroke made me crazy, and I arched my hips as he lightly fucked me with his tongue.

I wanted to move, to have his tongue on my clit, but he kept me in place, stoking my desire higher.

While close, my orgasm was just out of reach. I didn’t know if I wanted to scream at him or ask for more. Then he lifted his head, and I cried out in disbelief.

“Don’t worry, wife. I’m not done yet.”

It was the second time he’d called me his wife while I was naked, and it sent a rush of wetness between my legs. As a teen, I’d dreamed of marrying him for years. And now? The more time I spent with him, the more I wanted it to be real.

Before I could tell myself to stop being stupid, he traced a finger around my clit without touching it, and again before lifting my hood and blowing across my aching bud.

“Rafe…please. I’m so close.”

“Keep your eyes on me, Abigail. I want to watch you fall apart.”

I struggled to obey, but managed to. And with a growl, he took my clit between his lips and teased me with his tongue. Slowly at first, then faster, and I tried to arch toward him but couldn’t move.

Then he lightly suckled and pleasure coursed through me, wave after wave, my pussy clenching and releasing. To the point I forgot about everything but my orgasm and Rafe’s tongue as he drew it out.

I whimpered, torn between asking him to stop and riding it out longer. Eventually, he gentled his strokes, and I sighed, melting into the mattress.

He wasn’t done, though, and thrust his tongue inside me and groaned. For a few seconds, he lapped like a man starved before he finally raised his head. “So fucking perfect and sweet. I’ll never get enough of your taste, Abigail.”

For a split second, my heart skipped a beat, wondering if maybe—just maybe—this marriage would become real at some point.

But then I quickly pushed that thought aside. I still didn’t know the grown-up version of Rafe, and for all I knew, he’d eventually hurt and abandon me like so many others had in my life.

He frowned. “What’s wrong? You just tensed up.”

I tried to laugh, and it came out strained to my own ears. “Nothing, just coming back down from my orgasm.” I put out a hand and brushed the hair from his forehead, reminding myself I could have the physical side and nothing more. “Tell me you have a condom in here so we can finish this.”

Okay, that hadn’t been the sexiest way to put it.

Rafe noticed, too, and backed away from me. My skin turned cool, instantly missing his furnace-like heat.

“Unless you’re going to be honest with me—because something made you freeze up just now—then I think you should go to your room and get dressed.”

Feeling exposed and vulnerable, my temper flared. I closed my legs and sat up, crossing my arms over my breasts. “Honest about what? That I want you to fuck me hard, every which way that you can?” I stood, walking toward him. “Because yes, I want that, Rafe. I’ve wanted it for a long time.” I glanced at his still-hard dick. “And obviously, you want me to some degree.”

“To some degree? Fuck, Abigail, I’ve been thinking of nothing else since the first day I saw you, back in October, after returning to Starry Hills.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“You want to know why I was such a dick to you? Because that way I would turn you off and could keep my distance. But now that we’re stuck together for a while, I can’t resist wanting to get to know you better.”

“You do?”

He leaned closer and lowered his head a fraction, making his eyes level with mine. “Yes, for many reasons.” He gently traced my cheek with a finger. “And even though I think you’re the sexiest woman in the world and I want nothing more than to fuck you hard like you asked, I won’t do it if you’re going to hide away from me and not reveal anything of yourself.” He searched my gaze. “So, why did you tense up, Abigail? Tell me.”

As I processed his words, I dropped my arms, uncaring about my nakedness. Part of me wanted to believe him, wanted to believe he truly wanted more from me than just my body. Maybe he even cared.

And yet, being too trusting and na?ve had hurt me so many times, both with my family and, later, with Travis. People liked to say or offer things, but eventually they left or discarded me. Something about me just wasn’t worth holding on to.

So I did what I probably would always do with men going forward—try to piss him off and put distance between us again. “How many other women did you also say were the sexiest? I doubt I’m the first.”

With that, I turned and ran from the room, my eyes stinging with tears.

For so long, I’d dreamed of being with Rafe, of him caring for me, and maybe even finding my own happy ending.

And yet, I was so scared of him maybe doing like all the others and breaking my heart that I’d just deliberately pushed him away and probably made him mad.

If he didn’t ask to end our agreement, then I didn’t know how I was going to survive eleven months and two weeks more of this. Of not being strong enough to give him a chance.

At least I could get back at Travis. Although that seemed hollow when compared to a possible future with Rafe.