They ate at each other’s mouths, growling and groaning as though they were fighting a battle with their tongues.
Her hands went up his neck and into his hair, knocking off his cowboy hat. Her fingers speared through the layers of his hair as one of his hands slid down to her ass. A manly, gruff moan filtered through the air as Sutton hauled her against his body more fully.
Erik and I stood there trying not to look at the furious coupling, but couldn’t help ourselves. It was like watching a train about to hit a car stuck on the tracks. We couldn’t look away. It was spellbinding. And yet, as Sutton pulled my sister off her feet, both his hands gripped her booty while he ground against her in a rather graphic display of his possessive side.
My chest heated, and I fanned my face. Erik chuckled behind a fist, but the two kept at it. If they’d been alone, the odds were they’d have torn their clothing off and fucked like rabbits, the rest of us be damned.
“Um, hello, you two? We’re still here,” I called out.
Not a moment later, my sister’s body froze. Her fingers slid out of Sutton’s hair, and she kicked her booted feet wildly, catching Sutton in the shin as she bit down on his lip.
I winced as he pulled away cursing. “Jesus, woman!” he roared. Blood dripped down his puffy lips as he prodded the flesh with his fingers. “You bit me!”
Her gaze narrowed, and she pointed a finger at him, her arm all the way out in front of her. “Serves you right for kissing me!”
He grinned, his teeth tinged red as he patted at the wound. “Worth every second. Even worth a fat lip and bruised shin.”
“Oh, yeah? How’s about a black eye to go with it?” She fisted her hand and cocked her arm back.
“You’ve already punched me today. I think we’ve reached our quota of violence and wedded bliss, don’t you?”
She huffed and shoved her wild hair out of her face, then put both her hands to her waist. “What now, husband?” she sneered.
He grinned manically. “Any chance you’re ready to consummate the marriage?”
She approached him with her finger out once again and poked at his massive chest. “No chance in hell, buster!”
He gripped her wrist so fast I barely saw it before he had it behind her back.
“Keep pushing my buttons and I’ll hog-tie your ass and play with you until you beg me for release,” he growled low in his throat.
“I. Dare. You. To. Try.” She gritted through her teeth, fighting back, but her body arched naturally toward his once more.
He grinned. “Being married to you is going to be the most fun I’ve ever had.”
“Your fun, my nightmare,” she countered flippantly.
“We’ll see about that. Come on, time to sign the wedding license. Then, back to our hotel.”
“Our hotel?” Her eyes went round.
“Of course. We’re married now, Dakota. You sleep where I tell you to sleep. And that’s right next to me. Check your contract, darlin’。”
The contract.
Oh hell, now I was questioning the fine print. Was I supposed to sleep next to Erik? Prior to the wedding?
I thought I had a month to come to terms with this man in my life and… in my bed.
Episode 21
Faith in Someone
FAITH
He had a daughter.
A child.
My heart clenched painfully in my chest. I gritted my teeth as Joel kept hold of my hand the entire way to The Alexandra, a resort he apparently owned. For the first time in years, the touch of another wasn’t repulsive or fear-inducing. Quite the opposite. I felt tethered to something safe like a buoy in open water. A feeling I most certainly had not had in longer than I could remember.
My phone buzzed in my purse, and I ground down on my molars so hard I worried they’d turn to dust.
“Answer it, Faith. Right now, with me here. No one will hurt you. Not ever. I promise.” Joel squeezed my hand, showing his support.
I swallowed down the fear and pulled my phone out of my purse. The caller ID read: Dad. A new rush of dread washed over me as I fumbled with the phone in my hand. My father knew what I was doing. He didn’t agree with it, but he also understood where things were and had accepted that I had to do what I had to do. Just as he’d had to make difficult decisions when we lost our mother to her addiction. A familial trait that had also taken my sister Gracie down a dark path.
Quickly, I punched the button to accept the call. “Dad, what’s going on?”
“Cara mia, his thugs are banging down my door again. Demanding to know where you are. Eden is frightened. I’ve called the cops, but you know he has so many of them in his pockets.” My father’s words were rushed and filled with fear.