by Rye Hart
I can’t wait to see him back on top. I almost forget about my own job. Trinity is absolutely bonkers for this story. She’s wants me to write it all long form, from the first meeting we had about it, to searching for the missing fighter, to finding him, to the sex, to the falling in love, to the return to New York and the road to the title fight.
If you ask me, The Inner Eye has already made too much of a mark on the world, and I’m no longer so concerned about making my mark in the industry. I turn down the offer to write a full story that reveals all the one on one moments I had with Hugh, and instead keep it strictly business. I want to keep those beautiful memories between Hugh and I just that – between us.
After the first week, things settle down a little. I take some time off from the office to write from home. Hugh puts in two training sessions a day at the gym and is otherwise at home. Sometimes we cuddle. Sometimes we treat each other’s bodies like jungle gyms. Sometimes we sit and work in companionable silence and it all feels perfect.
One night he says he’s got a big surprise for me. “Dress up, kiddo,” he says. “I’ve got something that’s going to blow your mind.”
I put on my nicest dress—one of the perks of having Hugh around is that I have someone to model for, and now, with his money and my advance on the article, I can buy whatever I want—and listen to him getting ready. I don’t even have a guess as to what the big surprise might be.
The reality turns out to be far more surprising than anything I could have imagined, however. We take a cab to an address that sounds like nothing to me. When we get out, Hugh gestures at an ugly warehouse and says, “Voilà!”
There’s a sign out front that says “Coin Convention. Numismatists only.”
I start laughing so hard I almost fall out of my high heels. “Stay upright,” he says. “If you mess up that dress you’re going to miss the chance to blow these guys’ minds.”
I don’t know what he’s up to. I don’t even care. Every moment with him is surprising, and I know how rare that is.
CHAPTER TWENTY: HUGH
Earlier that morning, I couldn’t believe it when I saw an advert for the coin convention outside the gym. It was on one of those terrible circular pamphlets, tacked to a telephone pole next to ads for missing cats and vegan meetups.
My only plan tonight is to make her laugh, and that’s already going swimmingly. But I don’t want to make anyone feel stupid, so when we step onto the coin expo floor, I do my best to look respectful. We all need our obsessions. We all need something to keep us off the streets. These guys … need coins.
Then Sam grabs my arm and hisses. “Oh my God! That’s Owen!”
It’s too perfect.
“Where?” I say.
“He’s over in the corner at the table with the blue awning. Look! Not so fast! Be subtle!”
Being subtle isn’t working. Even in this crowd, it’s obvious that everyone knows who I am. My face is plastered all over building-sized billboards all over the city. The upcoming fight is getting even more press that my agent had predicted. It’s going to be huge.
Sam takes my arm and starts walking towards Owen’s table. He looks like a nice guy. A little rumpled. A little…little. Definitely smooth-handed, callus free, and probably very nice, but I can’t forget that this guy made Sam question her worth and run all the way out to Washington to get away from her thoughts. Still, that led her to meeting me, so I owed him in that respect, I guess.
Sam surprises me when she strides right up to him. “Owen!” she says, putting a little snarl in her voice.
He looks up quickly. Owen has such a hangdog expression that is dripping with so much love and longing that I almost want to put my arm around him and say “There there, buddy, it’s all going to be okay.”
“How are you doing?” says Sam.
“Uh, Sam! Hi! I’m doing well, exceptional. Well, I’m doing okay, I guess, it’s…well, after…”
His eyes dart to me and his mouth drops open. It’s like something you only see in comic strips. His jaw almost hits the floor.
“Hugh,” he mutters. He looks at Sam. “Did you bring him here to hurt me?”
Now even Sam feels bad for him. I can only imagine what the poor guy’s thinking. He wronged her and now here she is with one of the biggest, toughest people on the planet.
“No, Owen. Of course not. I forgive you for everything. Shit happens.”
“And Owen, I want to thank you bro. I would never have met the most amazing women in my life without you,” I say with a big grin plastered on my face.
After a few innocent laughs, Sam and I make our exit.
“I love you. That was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I’ll show you something sweeter when I get you home,” I say.
CHAPTER TWENTYONE: SAM
When we get home I drag Hugh into the bedroom.
“Do you want to see the greatest thing?” I say.
“Sure, show me what you’ve got there little lady,” he says with a mischievous grin.
“Mhmmm...there will be plenty of time for that after- first I want to show you something I’ve got locked away.” I get out of bed and go to the hallway closet. I take out the box with Owen 2.0. I tiptoe back to the doorway. “Close your eyes,” I say.
“They’re already closed.”
“Keep them closed, then.” I silently stalk across the floor until I’m at his side. When he opens his eyes I wave Owen 2.0 wildly in his face.
“What the hell?” He sits up and puts a pillow over his face. “Keep that thing away from me!”
I feel like if I start laughing I’ll never be able to stop, so instead I swat him across the thighs with Lacey’s gift.
He doesn’t even try not to laugh. He throws the pillow away, grabs the vibrator out of my hands, goes to the window, and dangles it outside. He’s laughing so hard that I’m worried he’s going to fall out. “Get away from the window!” I scream. “You’re going to die!”
He looks at the vibrator. “You really want it that bad?”
“No! I just don’t want you to die, you oaf!”
“Then come clean, quick. Why did I open my eyes to find you wielding this thing at me?”
“Come back to bed. I’ll tell you. You can leave him there.”
“Him?” Hugh smiles, drops the vibrator on the bedroom floor, and comes back to bed. He pulls the covers up to his chin. “I’m just protecting myself, in case you have any more surprises in store for me.”
“No, but I’ll give you the story. Right after I dumped Owen, I had drinks with Lacey.”
“You don’t say.”
“I do. And Lacey, to help me get over my problems, caring soul that she is, gave me a little present.”
“And that’s it, I presume?”
“Oh yeah. Want to hear its name?”
“I assumed it was named Hugh.”
“Close. That was the gadget formerly known as Owen 2.0.”
Hugh snorts. “I bet Owen would love to hear that. We should have taken it tonight. You could have waved it in his face like you did in mine.”
“But that’s not the real story,” I say. I love it that Hugh can joke this easily. There is nothing like a man who is so secure that he doesn’t need to flaunt or exaggerate his own masculinity.
“Do tell.”
“I’m getting there.” I lean over and give him a kiss. He sighs and burrows deeper into his pillow. “So, you know that night at the cabin when you were out hitting the bag? The first time when I was there?”
“I remember it well. I was out there because there was a woman in my bed upstairs. I wanted to sneak in and do something savage to her.”
“Oh, I could tell. What you might not know is that I was feeling the same way. I watched you from that window for a long time while you were out there.”
“Okay. And what was it that you saw, fair maiden?”
“I saw a lot. I saw everything you did to that bag, and then I saw you touching yours
elf.”
“Ha! You little pervert. You enjoyed the show, then?”
“Oh, very much. And not only that, I masturbated the whole time I watched you. I couldn’t believe it was happening. That was the hardest orgasm I had ever had, until…you know...”
He raises himself up on one elbow and opens his eyes. “No, I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
“Well,” I say, mimicking his posture and lowering my voice. “It just so happens that shortly after that, I ran into a big dicked freak in the basement who cured me of all my innocent ways.”
“He sounds amazing.”
“Oh, he is. And he was. That was a good lesson for me to learn that night.”
“And now you know it all?” he says, putting his hand on my thigh and sliding it upwards. I’m getting wet instantly.
“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I’m more confident and uninhibited than I’ve ever been, but…”
“But what?” he says, spreading my legs with his fingers and starting to stroke me.
I arch my back, wanting to purr.
“But I think I have a lot more to learn. He’s a patient teacher, though. I look forward to our next lesson.”
“Maybe we can go through that next lesson now?”
CHAPTER TWENTYTWO: HUGH
Feeling Sam’s wetness on my fingertips made my cock harden against my trousers so much I felt like they were going to burst at the seam. I rolled to my back and pulled her down to lie on top of me. She put her hands on my cheeks and swirled the tip of her tongue around mine. I put my arms around her and my hands clutched her ass. She straddled my crotch with hers and I pulled her into me. I could feel her pussy pushing against my cock, which was so hard I thought it would rip through my pants.
She sat up and tugged the dress over her head, then undid her bra and let it slide down her arms. Her tits, large and milky white were begging for my touch. I cupped them in the palms of my hands and squeezed her nipples between my thumbs and fingers. She moaned at the wonderful pain.
My cock was rigid beneath her. She started sliding her pussy along the length of it as I massaged her breasts. The heat was intense. I felt like I might explode any minute and we weren’t even undressed.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes,” she said, tugging playfully at my shirt.
She got up long enough to shimmy out of her dress and panties while I wiggled around on the floor to get out of my clothes. When I lay back, my cock stood straight up like the mast of ship, ready for her to impale her beautiful pussy on it.
She licked her lips as I wrapped my hand around it and stroked it to its full length.
“Do you want me give you another show like that night outside my cabin?”
“Yes. Please.”
I continued stroking my cock. My hand is moving up and down in a rhythmic motion. I get a look of Sam’s face, full of lust, as if the sight of me pleasing myself in front of her has her in a deep trance. It was enough to push me over the edge, but I needed to be patient.
“Now, I want you on top of me.”
CHAPTER TWENTYTHREE: SAM
Hugh took my hips and guided my slippery pussy above his cock. I did as he instructed. I straddled him and bent my knees and lowered myself until I felt the head of his amazing cock touch my aching center.
I couldn’t help but smile as I held his free hand and lowered myself onto him slowly. I felt my pussy stretch around him as he drove deep inside me.
It felt amazing.
He never disappointed.
He grabbed my hips and started to guide me in a rocking rhythm.
I let my head hang and slid my hips back and forth. Hugh’s cock moved in and out and brushed my clit with every stroke.
“Yes!…Yes!... Hugh… I’m going to cum…” I heard myself say the words aloud. I loved the way they sounded coming in gusts of breath from my lips.
When he comes, it pushes me over the edge to my climax. I see stars from the intensity of the rush of ecstasy that falls over me.
We lay in bed that night whispering sweet nothings to each other. It was in that moment I realized just how grateful I was for all of my past heartaches and pains.
Without them, I wouldn’t be able to truly appreciate the gifts Hugh brought to my life.
Passion.
Desire.
Love, in the truest form, unlike anything this history nerd could ever have read about. Not even in 100 life times.
My lumberjack saved me in more ways than one.
Now, I intend to spend the rest of my life thanking him for it.
THE END
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Historical Mail Order Bride Romance Collection
Sisters of the South - Books 1-3
Marianna
Chapter One
"Stunning," Amelia breathed. "Kevin will not be able to take his eyes off of you." She reached forward to touch the delicate lace of her sister's dress. "It's so pretty and so romantic," she sighed.
Georgina snorted. "It's just a dress Amelia."
"Yes, but it represents the start of their eternal love," Amelia protested.
"Look, Georgie," Marianna interjected, "I know how you feel about marriage and how it is —"
"Hogwash?" Georgina finished Marianna's sentence for her. "Look, I get that you want to marry and aspire to be the best wife possible, but I don't know why you had to go and pick Kevin Patrick of all people? He is-," she paused as if trying to find the word that would least offend her sister, "boring."
"So?" Amelia burst out. "He's terribly handsome and very rich. Marianna could have dozens of dresses just as pretty as her wedding dress!"
"Those dresses would be worthless if I had to be saddled to the dullest man on earth," Georgina countered.
Marianna chuckled at her two sisters and their dividing opinions. Marianna, with her grace and calm demeanor, was not one to be offended by them. She knew where her sisters were coming from. Georgie had aspirations that involved a literary career, and Amelia wanted a life of aesthetic leisure in order to pursue her artistic inclinations. They both viewed her marriage through the rose-tinted gaze of their own dreams, which made it difficult for them to see that the reason Marianna was marrying Kevin Patrick wasn't for the domestic life or for the wealth.
"Girls," Marianna broke through their bickering. "Have you thought that I might be marrying Kevin because I love him?" she teased lightly.
Georgina and Amelia looked at their elder sister in shock.
Georgina snorted for the second time that morning. "Love? That is just a fairytale," she said boldly.
"Don't be so cynical Georgie," Amelia chastised her. "I would love him too if I could live in that big house, and ride around in that fancy carriage, and have a horde of servants to attend to my every whim."
"That is beside the point!" Georgina let out an exasperated sigh as her frustrations grew with her youngest sister.
"Just another day in the Wellington household," Marianna teased.
Georgina and Amelia both turned toward each other, their eyes flaring with the heat of the argument. Once they saw how red and purple the other's face was, they lost their edge and burst into fits of giggles.
"Your face is all mottled purple," Amelia pointed out to Georgina in between the uncontrollable heaves of laughter.
"Speak for yourself," Georgina teased. "Your nose is as red as as tomato!"
Marianna chuckled along with her sisters before turning her attention back to her reflection in the full-length mirror. "I think I am ready to go,"
"Excuse me?" A young pageboy peeked cautiously around the corner that separated the back fitting room from the front of the store. "I have a message for a Ms. Wellington," he said shyly.
"Yes?" all three Wellington sisters said in perfect unison.
The boy looked confused as his face d
arted among all three women. "I, um," he stopped and started again. "It's for Mr. Patrick's, um, fiancé."
"That would be me," Marianne descended from the raised platform like an elegant angel. "Thank you," she said, taking the paper from his outstretched hand.
He lingered a little bit longer before Georgina offered him a tip and shooed him away.
Marianna quickly tore the crisp envelope open and pulled out a short note. The moment she read the first line, she paled.
"Are you alright?" Amelia asked cautiously.
Marianna extended the letter with shaky hands. Her eyes appeared haunted by the words delivered on the cream colored paper.
Georgina grabbed the letter from her sister and scanned the contents of the page quickly. She let out an abrupt gasp, covering her mouth in the process. "No," she breathed, her expression twisting in horror.
"Yes," Marianna said in a strained voice. Her eyes had already begun to well up with tears. "He's dead. Kevin is dead," she said as she collapsed into a pile of white lace.
Chapter Two
"So, what is going to happen now?" Amelia asked curiously.
"Hush Amelia, your sister is still in mourning," their mother chastised the youngest Wellington sister for her insensitivity. "We've only just returned home from the funeral."
"It is ok," Marianna whispered as she placed her black hat and veil on the dining room table. "I don't know," she said in answer to her sister’s question.
Amelia's eyes grew big as she realized what her sister was saying. "Will we have to move then?"
"Amelia!" Their mother spoke harshly.
Marianna knew that her mother was just trying to protect her, but what Amelia was saying was the truth. Although it felt like the hardest part of the day was simply surviving her soulmate's funeral, she knew the road ahead wouldn't be easy. It was an unfortunate reality, but the life she had hoped for had been buried along with him.
Marianna turned toward her mother and two sisters. "I understand that our family had depended on Kevin to keep us financially afloat. And now that he is, is —" she stuttered as she tried to hold back the tears, "gone, we will have to do our best to make ends meet until I am able to find a job to support us." Marianna looked at their worried faces and her heart ached to remedy the situation. "Where is father?" she asked with some reservation.
