He laughed softly. “You do too. I love this little thing you’re wearing, but all I want to do is take it off you!”
She blushed. “I think you have every right to do that.”
Moving his lips back to hers, he lowered the strap on her other arm and pooled the garment about her waist. Pulling back, he looked at what he’d uncovered, making his admiration of her obvious. “You’re so beautiful.”
Joy had never in her life truly felt beautiful until that moment, with him looking at her as if she was a goddess sent down from heaven just for his pleasure. “You make me feel like I’m something more than I’ve ever dreamed of being.”
He was startled at her words, pulling back to sit on his heels for a moment, and studying her face. “Don’t ever believe you’re lacking, Joy. I wish I’d met you five years ago, because you would have knocked my socks off.”
She giggled. “If we’d met when I was seventeen, I think my daddy would have had a right to get upset.”
He shook his head at her. “Are you going to let me compliment you and tell you what an incredible woman you are, or are you going to spend the whole night arguing with me?”
“You can tell me I’m incredible all night long if you need to.”
“I do need to! And I’m glad you’re going to be good about it, because Gizmo is going to start screaming if I don’t kiss you again.”
She nodded, her face serious. “We must keep Gizmo happy.”
He pushed her backward onto the bed, following down beside her. His lips moved back to hers, more demanding this time. His hands stroked over her breasts, pushing the teddy over her hips and down her legs. He tossed it to the floor, staring at her body for an instant. “Never wear clothes again.”
She grinned. “The children’s parents might have something to say about that.”
“You have to argue with everything I say, but that’s all right. I know the secret of keeping you quiet.” His lips went back to hers, his hands stroking her urgently.
Joy lost herself in the kiss, happier than she’d dreamed she could be with him. He may not love her yet, but he was kind, gentle, and caring. She could be content with that for now.
As his hands stroked her, Joy found herself thinking less and less. One hand moved between her thighs, stroking her urgently.
She arched against his hand, wanting so much more from him. When one finger gently slipped inside her, she clutched at his shoulders. “That feels so good, Kolby!”
He worked his finger in and out of her, trying to be certain she was ready for him. Gizmo was screaming for release from his fabric prison. When she clenched around him, letting out a loud moan, he smiled, knowing it was his turn.
He moved off the bed, stripping off his slacks and rejoining her. This time he knelt between her spread thighs, waiting until she opened her eyes to look up at him. “You do bring me joy,” he muttered before plunging inside her.
Joy gasped in pain, but lay still beneath him, waiting for him to begin moving inside her. When he didn’t, she stroked his stomach. “What are you waiting for?” she asked.
He grinned. Only his Joy would react like that. “I was waiting for you to be ready.” He leaned down to kiss her softly as he started moving within her.
Every movement he made had Joy writhing with pleasure. She gripped his shoulders tightly, trying to urge him on. “I can’t believe how good this feels!”
He chuckled. “Gizmo is pleased you like him!” Moments later, he felt her clenching around him, and he knew he could let go. He crushed his lips to hers as he climaxed, shaking against her.
A short while later, he rolled to his side, gathering her close against him. “You’re an incredible woman, Joy Culpepper. I’m going to keep you.”
She smiled, her head pillowed on his chest. “There was a question before now?”
He grinned. “You trying to twist my words and get me in trouble?”
Looking him in the eye, she shook her head. “Of course not. For now, I’m happy to be here in your arms.”
“Only for now?” Kolby felt his heart beating rapidly. Was she suggesting she was going to leave him?
“I can’t promise I’ll be happy tomorrow, but I know I’ll never leave you. I believe in forever marriages.”
He gathered her closer, kissing her forehead. “I do too. You scared me for a minute there.”
Snuggling against him she sighed. “Good. Turnabout is fair play!”
He reached out, snapping off the lamp beside the bed. “Go to sleep, wife.”
She closed her eyes and surprised herself by doing just that.
* * *
When Joy woke the next morning, Kolby was propped on one elbow, watching her sleep. She blinked twice to clear the fog from her eyes.
“G’morning,” he whispered, kissing her softly.
“How long have you been awake?” she asked, glancing at the clock beside the bed. It was just after six.
“Thirty minutes or so.”
“Just lying there watching me?”
“Well, yeah. You’re beautiful, and you’re my wife.”
She blushed. “I’m glad I’m your wife.” And in that moment, she was. She couldn’t believe her good luck, to be married to a man as incredible as he was. “What do you want to do today?”
He raised an eyebrow, a grin spreading over his face. “I can’t believe you even feel the need to ask me that.”
Her blush deepened. “Do you want to go for a picnic later maybe?” Surely he didn’t want to spend the entire day in bed!
“I’m not sure I want to leave the bedroom today.”
“You have to eat, you know,” she said with a stern frown.
“You’re not going to offer me breakfast in bed? I’m wounded!”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll make you breakfast to eat at the table. How’s that for a deal?”
He made a show of contemplating her question. “I guess I can settle for that. Better than the cereal I’d make for myself.”
“I didn’t say what I’d make you for breakfast. I think I’m going to adopt your mother’s cooking strategies. The easier, the better.”
He sighed heavily. “I was hoping for biscuits and gravy with eggs and sausage.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I bought some Pillsbury biscuits at the store yesterday!”
“Sounds good to me. Is there any other kind?”
“Let me go get breakfast then.”
He caught her by her waist before she could roll out of bed. “You don’t want to kiss your husband good morning first?”
“We kissed.”
Kolby frowned. “I kissed you. It’s your turn to kiss me.”
“Oh, is that how it works?”
“Yes. And I’ve initiated almost all of our kisses so you owe me a lot of them!”
“I had no idea I was falling down on the job so badly.” Joy turned to him and kissed him, not noticing that the covers slid from her shoulders in the process. “Good morning.”
“Mmm…g’morning.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Now, about wake up sex…”
She laughed. “Is that how we’re supposed to start our mornings?”
“It’s in the marriage rule book! Every single morning you kiss your husband, and then beg him to make love to you. Didn’t you read the rule book?”
“I guess I must have missed that part.” Joy looked Kolby straight in the eye. “Please, Kolby, will you make love to me? I couldn’t face my day without you and Gizmo making it special for me!”
“Good wife,” he whispered, leaning down to capture her lips with his.
* * *
An hour later, showered and dressed, Joy fixed the breakfast Kolby had requested. She’d expected to spend her life spoiling a man and her children, having grown up with 1950s values, so it didn’t bother her to do it.
When Kolby came in from the shower, he took a deep sniff of the aroma of the sausage. “Now that’s a breakfast.”
Joy grinned. “You’re goin
g to expect to be spoiled rotten every day, aren’t you?”
Kolby grinned, nodding slightly. “Of course, I am. My mom has been spoiling me all my life. Now it’s your turn.”
She sighed. “I always expected to spoil a man, but I hoped that he wouldn’t be used to being spoiled so it would seem special to him.”
He walked around behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “Anything you do for me is very special.”
She leaned back against him. “I’m glad you think so.”
After they’d finished breakfast, she turned to him, smiling. “I was so nervous yesterday, but I lived through the wedding and the wedding night. I’m happy it’s all behind us.”
He smiled, stroking her cheek. “Now we just get to enjoy our lives together.”
“And live happily ever after?”
He shrugged. “As happily as anyone ever does.” He watched her face fall a bit. “Do you want to go for a walk today? There are so many beautiful parts of Wyoming you’ve never seen. Or you could pack a picnic and we could just drive until we see a good place to stop and eat it.”
Joy bit her lip, contemplating for a moment. She wanted to dwell on what he said and cry for a minute, but there was no point. She needed to be joyful after all. “Let’s go for a drive. I’ll pack a lunch.”
“We could always stop for fast food as well, but it would be cheaper if we took something with us.”
“And right now we’re doing what we can to save every dime. So I’ll pack a lunch.” She quickly loaded the dishwasher while he brought her the picnic hamper he’d used the last time. She made sandwiches and put the covered pan of layered dip his mother had sent home with them in it before adding a bag of chips. A few more things went into the basket, and she was ready.
He carried the basket while she went and found her shoes. When she was ready, she followed him out to the truck. He was sitting in it listening to a country song. She got in beside him, reaching for his hand automatically. They had a one-day honeymoon, and she was going to be as close to him as she could.
He grinned at her. “I can’t shift and hold your hand. Wait ‘til we’re on the highway, and it’s all yours.”
While they drove, they talked. There were so many basic things she didn’t know about him. “Did you attend college?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t. I knew what I was going to do and where I was going to be, so I didn’t see the need.”
“Do you ever regret that decision?”
He shook his head. “No, I really don’t. I love what I do. I thought for a short while about going on the rodeo circuit, but I realized that wouldn’t be nearly as fulfilling for me as doing the actual work on a ranch.”
“I think you made a smart decision.”
“What about you? Are you glad you went to college?”
“Oh, yes! We needed a way to get out of the house for several hours a day, and I feel like I learned some good skills to use in life.”
“Well, that’s good at least.” He glanced over at her for a second before training his eyes back on the road. “Do you ever get angry at your parents for the way they raised you?” Between the things she’d told him, and the things he’d heard from his brothers, he knew her upbringing had been anything but jovial.
“Not really. I know they did what they thought was right. I don’t think it’s the way a child should be raised, but they believed it with everything inside them. I think not having any choices is way too restrictive, though. Do you realize I’ve never seen a movie that wasn’t rated G? I’ve never watched network television. I was only allowed to watch shows like Little House on the Prairie, and then only on DVD, so I wouldn’t accidentally change the channel. Don’t get me wrong, I love Little House. But sometimes I think we should have been given some freedom to see what we would have chosen for ourselves.”
“So you’ve never watched sitcoms or anything? Did you get to see Brady Bunch?”
She nodded. “We watched a few of the episodes, before Mom decided we should be doing something more constructive with our time. I don’t think you understand the kind of control our parents exerted over us though. Our friends would all be going to see a movie, and none of us were allowed to go. We couldn’t go to friends’ birthday parties unless our parents had spoken at length about them. I never went to a school dance.” Sighing, she shook her head. “I seriously feel like I’ve gone from living the life of a ten-year-old to the life of a grown adult in the space of a week. It’s ridiculous.”
“Well, we’ll have to sit down and watch a few episodes of the raunchiest sitcom I can come up with. There’s got to be something.”
She laughed at that. “I don’t need raunchy. I just don’t need perfectly clean all the time.”
“I can understand that. Do the twins feel the same way?”
“Honor and Grace feel very restricted in all they do. I texted Grace yesterday, and she was only able to call me back because Mom was grocery shopping and Dad was at work. I’m sure they consider the others and I bad influences on the twins now.”
“That’s sad.”
“It is! I want them to come out here so badly. It’s like there’s suddenly a world that’s opened up to me, because I left that place.” She shrugged. “Someday Mom and Dad are going to come out here and visit, and they’re not going to be happy. My mom would have a hissy fit if she saw the kind of stuff your mother uses to prepare meals.”
Kolby didn’t understand. “What does that mean? What does she do?” He’d never known anyone to prepare meals differently than his mother did.
“She uses short cuts. Pillsbury. Until last week, I had never made biscuits any way but from scratch. And she uses cake mixes.”
“What’s wrong with Pillsbury and cake mixes?”
“Mom doesn’t think women should try to make their lives easier with short cuts. She thinks our sole purpose on earth is to take care of our men, and we shouldn’t worry about how much work it takes. We should do it with a smile.”
“You know that’s just a little bit crazy, right?” He was driving through the mountains she’d enjoyed seeing in the distance, and was driving up a very steep road.
“Where are we going?”
He smiled at her. “Well, this road will get us most of the way up this mountain. I think we can get high enough to see some snow.”
She grinned. “That sounds fun!”
They couldn’t go all the way to the top of the mountain, but he took her to a small park that was high enough up to satisfy her curiosity. There was no one there. “In the summer, this place gets pretty full,” he told her. “But all the kids are still in school, and it’s still too cold for anyone to really want to spend time this high up in the mountains.”
“Except us.”
“Well, of course, except us.” He brought her fingers to his lips. “Walk with me?”
She nodded. She’d expected they would do some walking. She slipped her feet back into her shoes. “I’m ready.”
He watched her movement. “You really have a shoe problem!”
“If God had wanted me to wear shoes, I’d have been born with them on my feet!”
He laughed. “I had no idea you felt that strongly about it.”
“Well, I didn’t want you to refuse to marry me just because I had a shoe problem.”
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I think I can handle your little shoe problem.”
They got out of the truck and met at the front. He reached for her hand. “There’s a walking trail over that way if I remember correctly.”
She had to half-jog to keep up with him. “Kolby, your legs are a lot longer than mine!” she finally protested.
He slowed down. “Sorry about that. I forget sometimes.”
She shrugged. “I’m not exactly tall, and you’re huge!”
“Every man wants to hear that from his wife.”
She blushed. “I wasn’t talking about Gizmo.”
“Trust me. You’re always ta
lking about Gizmo!”
She shook her head and followed him. The man was insane. No doubt about it.
8
For the next couple of weeks, Joy worked hard on her craft, and building up her online presence to be able to sell the things she made. She and Chastity often worked closely together, knowing they would be sharing an Etsy account and an eBay account.
Faith had a website for her baby doll business, and it was thriving. Her supplies had come in, and she spent a lot of time at her own home, doing the work she loved.
When she’d been married a little over two weeks, Joy and her sisters gathered in the master bathroom at the big house. They had all agreed with Joy’s idea for them to take pregnancy tests together, and Joy’s stomach was jumping with excitement. Her sisters all looked dreary and seemed to be going through the motions, but Joy was ecstatic at the prospect of being pregnant.
After she took the test with her sisters, and they’d lined them all up on the counter, Joy put her hand over her stomach and said a prayer. A baby was what she wanted more than anything. It wasn’t simply part of the agreement she’d signed. Instead, it was something she wanted for herself and for Kolby.
She had in the back of her mind that as soon as Kolby found out she was carrying his child, he would fall to his knees and declare his love. She could see it in her mind. If she wasn’t pregnant this month, surely she would be next. With the way they were going at each other, she didn’t think it could possibly take more than a month or two.
She participated in the conversation her sisters were having, but she really wasn’t there with them mentally. She was too busy counting down the minutes until the tests were ready. They had agreed to wait a full three minutes after the last test was taken before they looked. It was the longest three minutes of Joy’s life. Of course, since she’d orchestrated the whole thing and tested first, she was waiting a bit longer than the others.
When it was finally time, she leaned over the tests. She had lined them up, so only she knew which was which. She didn’t look at the others, only her own. Chastity’s shout of, “Two! Two of them are positive!” came from afar. Because the one she was most worried about was positive. She stood straight up, stunned, her hand covering her stomach, wanting to touch the tiny life growing there.
Cowboy's Conundrum (Culpepper Cowboys Book 3) Page 8
