Page 69 of On The Rocks

Tears hit the back of my throat, but I swallowed them down. It didn’t matter that Callum had given me a taste of what it could be and then taken it away. I was still grateful I got to experience at least a small?—.

“Nothing I want more than to take you home and fuck you so hard that you ache for me as much as I ache for you right now, but tonight we’ve got other commitments.”

My body locked.

Umm.

Callum carefully pulled my top back into place and gently kissed the tip of my nose. “Plus, Tristan keeps looking outta the window, probably giving your girls a running commentary, and I know he’s gay, but if he gets even a glimpse of your gorgeous tits, I’ll have to go back inside and rip his fucking eyeballs out. Chances are, if we carry on, he will, ‘cause as God is my witness, I’ll have you riding me buck naked in this car in about two point six seconds at the rate we’re going. Want our first time togetherto be better than that. You’re not just a quick fuck in a car. You’re my wife.”

I blinked dazedly into his eyes, thinking about the beauty of his words and how they burrowed under my skin and lovingly hugged my insides. “Y-you want this? With me?”

He pulled his head back to study my face. “Well, yeah. Don’t you?”

I peered back at him. “I thought… You said…”

“We already cleared that up, remember? I’m a fucking idiot.” Callum jumped down to the sidewalk and closed my door with a dull thud before rounding the hood of his truck and climbing into the driver’s seat. He pressed a hand down onto his groin and shot me a furtive glance. “Gonna have trouble keeping him under control tonight. All I’ll be able to think about is how soon I can get my mouth back around your incredible tits.”

My stomach turned to goo.

He pressed the start button, and the truck roared to life. “You got much goin’ on tomorrow?”

I shook my head, my mind still distracted by the words he’d just said to me. “Just the usual, checking on the distillery. There’s only a few days left of fermentation.”

“Good.” He put the truck into drive and checked his mirrors before pulling away. “You better save some energy and don’t get too drunk, wife. You’re not gonna get much sleep tonight.”

“Not much sleep?” I began, the words fading as their meaning sunk in. “Oh!”

My eyes widened, and I turned to face the front of the truck, wishing my stomach didn’t resemble the inside of a washing machine.

Was he saying...?

Did he mean...?

Did my husband, who just weeks before told me he didn’t want me, just announce that he intended to have sex with me tonight?

“Do you get me, Mae?” he demanded. “I’m gonna play with you until you pass out from exhaustion.”

My eyes bugged out at his words. “Okay,” I squeaked.

“Good,” he muttered. “I’m sick of fucking around. We’re consummating this shit, once and for all.” His hand reached for mine, and he laced our fingers together. “Things have changed. I just didn’t see it or didn’t want to, so it took me a while to clue in.” He glanced at me again, lifting my hand to his mouth and kissing my knuckles. “Turns out there was a lotta shit I’ve been blind to. Dunno what’s going on, can’t even say I totally understand it, but I do know you mean something to me.”

The car gently braked. I looked up to see we’d arrived home, and Callum had driven around the back to the courtyard.

“Where’s your ring?” he asked.

“Bedside drawer,” I told him.

He leaned across and kissed my temple before throwing his door open and climbing out of the truck. Then he ran up the steps and disappeared inside the apartment while my thoughts galloped through my mind at a hundred miles per hour.

My feelings for my husband were so consuming that sometimes it hurt to look at him. It had always been that way for me. But I couldn’t ignore the sliver of uneasiness weaving through my belly because his reciprocation seemed sudden. It was only a few weeks ago he told me he wanted a marriage in name only, then one day, I get a keratin treatment, and lo and behold, he’s all in?

The thought of making myself vulnerable and putting it all out there didn’t fill me with confidence; if anything, it filled me with dread.

Callum saw me. Finally, he looked deeper, and it seemed he liked what he’d found. I should’ve been excited and ecstatic, and I was—I felt both of those things. But a part of me also couldn’t help feeling unsettled about it because good things just didn’t happen to me.

Not ever.

CHAPTER 15

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