by KB Winters
My father was too busy staring at the caterer’s ass as she wheeled the giant cake in on a wooden cart to add anything. Wanda, on the other hand, flashed an eye roll but didn’t dare say anything that would insult my mother.
However, when the caterer cut into the cake and began handing out slices on dainty white plates, Wanda could no longer hold her tongue. “Penelope, darling, don’t you think you should pass. It looks like you’ve put on some newlywed weight.”
All sounds ceased other than the pounding of my pulse in my ears. Had I really heard her right? One glance at Penny’s red cheeks told me I had.
“Mother, can I see you in the other room, please?” Penny said between clenched teeth.
I started to rise from my seat to accompany her, but she stopped me with a gentle touch on my arm.
Wanda puffed out her chest but did as her daughter asked, stalking from the room behind Penny.
I tried to focus on my cake but found it hard to enjoy knowing that Penny was somewhere locked in a battle without backup. A few minutes passed and then I pushed away from the table. “I’ll be back.” I dropped my linen napkin to the table and strode from the room, following the path Penny and her mother had taken. Out in the hall, I let the sound of raised voices lead me, and found the two women squared off in the living room.
“And what is this that you’re wearing? Penny, if you ever embarrass me like this again, showing up looking like an overweight hooker, so help me, I’ll disown you!” She snorted. “Good luck keeping your husband if this is how far you’ve fallen since getting married. Pretty soon he’ll leave, looking for someone without a gut showing!”
I rounded the corner, my hands balled into tight fists. A glance at Penny and the stream of tears flooding from her eyes was physically painful. I turned my attention to Wanda, whose demeanor completely changed at my arrival. “Excuse me, Mrs. Laken, but you’ll want to refrain from speaking to my wife that way.”
“She’s my daughter, first and foremost,” Wanda said, her voice husky, like an angry bear.
I wrapped an arm around Penny’s shoulders and she melted against my chest, burying her face. “She’s my wife, and I will protect her from you and anyone else who wants to try and hurt her. Now, I think it’s time for you to leave. I’ll send your apologies to my parents.”
“I will do no such thing!”
I released Penny momentarily and stepped to block her from her mother, closing the space between me and the black hearted woman. “If you ever want to be invited back to this home, or to the homes of any of your other little society friends, then you’ll apologize to your daughter and get the fuck out of this house. Otherwise I will make it my mission to ruin you and you’ll find yourself blackballed from every social event worth attending from this day forward. Are we clear?”
Wanda reared back, her expression a mix of surprise and horror. I’d hit her right where it would hurt. Her social status. She looked at me for a moment and I scowled. “Out. Now.”
She breezed out, muttered something to Penny along the way. When she was gone, I wrapped Penny back in my arms. “Are you all right?”
Penny nodded against my chest and then scrubbed at the tears on her face. I’d never seen her fall apart and it was heart breaking. “You should—shouldn’t have done that, Miles. She won’t forget it.”
“I don’t care and you shouldn’t either. She was being verbally abusive to you, Penny! Don’t you see that? I will never let anyone speak that way to you or about you. Never.”
She sniffled and pulled away to look up into my face. I kissed her softly. “Side note, she’s full of shit. You’re beautiful and your body in that dress has been driving me fucking insane all night long.”
Penny giggled. “You’re just trying to get laid.”
“Damn right I am!” She laughed at my emphatic answer and shook her head. I smiled at her and wiped at the tears and makeup under her eyes. “Come on. Let’s get some of that cake to go and get the hell out of here. If you want to step into the powder room, it’s just through there. I’ll take care of the rest and meet you right back here.”
“What about your papers?” she asked, sniffling again as she craned around to look at the door I’d indicated as the half bathroom.
“Fuck it! I don’t care about that right now, Penny. You are far more important and right now—I’m going to take care of you.”
“Thank you, Miles.”
I kissed her forehead. “I might not know much about this whole husband thing, but I’m pretty sure taking care of you is in my job description.”
She raised her eyebrow and smiled. “I might just have to keep you around then.”
* * * *
We made it back to Penny’s apartment without a hitch. My parents were actually far more understanding about our sudden departure than I’d expected them to be and had even gone so far as to offer to fax the important documents to me to expedite the process of getting my funds released.
Penny pulled herself together in the car and although we kept quiet for the majority of the ride, it was nice to just be together, nestled in the backseat with soft music playing in the background.
“Looks like you got your wish. Jazz and Lo must still be out for the night,” Penny said softly as we circled through the living space to stash the cake in the refrigerator.
I grinned at her and held up the box of cake. “Should we keep this out?”
Penny eyed it but then shook her head. She glanced down at her shoes. I set the cake on the counter and took a step toward her. I tipped her chin up. “You’re not thinking about what your mother said, are you?”
Penny shrugged. “Pretty hard not to. She’s the constant voice in my head. At least when it comes to that stuff…”
“Baby,” I brushed my fingers up, over her cheek. “You gotta forget about that. She’s insane. All right? Your body is smoking hot. Not one thing I’d change. And, if you’ll remember, I got quite an up close view earlier today.” I winked at her.
“I don’t know…”
“Well then you’ll have to trust me when I say that I do. Okay?”
Penny nodded. “Okay.”
“How long has she been saying stuff like that to you?”
“Forever,” Penny scoffed. “Since I was in elementary school. I wanted to be in ballet and she told me I couldn’t because people would make fun of me for being a fat ballerina.”
I winced. “God. That’s horrific.”
Penny shrugged. “It’s the only reason I was glad when she stopped coming to visit me at school. Then I only had to deal with her comments when I was home in the summer and then I had my dad to be a buffer. She usually held those things back when he was around.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. Come here.” She stepped into me and I held her as tightly as I could without crushing her. I wished I could absorb all of her pain and take it on myself. “Is that why…” I faded off, unsure if I should ask what came to mind. I was in uncharted territory and suddenly unsure of my footing.
“What?”
I glanced down at her and brushed away a delicate blonde strand that had fallen down from where the rest of her hair was gathered. “I’ve noticed that you don’t eat very much.”
“Oh.” She dropped her gaze to my chest.
“Penny?”
She nodded. “I go in phases, I guess. Sometimes I eat a lot and other times, nothing at all. When we met, at the holiday gala, I was smaller…when we went on our date…I wasn’t. Let’s just say I wasn’t at my best.”
My heart dropped. She’d always been beautiful to me. I hadn’t even noticed a change. “Come here, I have something I want to show you.” I took her by the hand and led the way back to the living room where I’d laid my jacket across the couch. I dug in the pocket and found the small envelope that contained a handful of pictures from the wedding that I’d originally printed to show my parents as proof that Penny and I were in fact married. “Here,” I said, handing them to her.
Penny
gasped. “Oh wow.”
“You know what I see there? The world’s most beautiful woman, walking towards the world’s dumbest guy.”
Penny laughed. “You’re not the world’s dumbest guy!”
“I am. And you wanna know why? Cause this guy, this stupid schmuck… he thought that he could marry this beautiful goddess and not fall head over heels in love with her.”
“Goddess? Come on, Miles, you were already gonna get laid tonight…” she teased, rolling her eyes.
I took the pictures from her hand and linked our fingers together. “That’s not what this is about, Penny. Do I want to take you upstairs? Hell yeah. But it’s more than that. You’re more than that.”
“Miles,” she whispered, her eyes searching mine.
“I’m falling in love with you, Penny.”
She choked back a gasped breath and stared at me, wild eyed, and terrified. “And I’m falling in love with you too.” She shook her head. “Oh my God. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
I tipped her chin up and pressed a kiss to her lips, stealing away her objections. “I know.”
“What the hell do we do now?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Penny
“Well, I’m going to take you upstairs, I’m going to help you out of this dress, and I’m going to take my time…” Miles whispered, his lips brushing my ear with a soft, caressing kiss. “…kissing you, making love to you…licking your most tender spots…”
“Great. Answer.”
I grabbed his hand and led the way, mostly so that we wouldn’t end up stumbling through the door to Jasmine or Lo’s room by mistake. That would be awkward…
I pushed open the door of my room and Miles was right on my heels. He kicked the door closed softly behind us and wasted no time gathering me back into his arms. This time letting his hands wander all over my curves. “Penny, you have no idea how much I want you.”
“I think I might have an idea,” I giggled, brushing my hand over the bulge in his pants. “We might need to let the snake out of the cage before you suffer permanent damage.”
He laughed. “If you insist. But first, I gotta get you out of this dress.”
Miles ran his hands down my sides, over my hips, and along the outsides of my thighs. I shuddered as he started to lift my dress, the hem inching up my legs. After our hot encounter against the wall earlier, some of the anxiety of being so vulnerable with him had dissipated, but my excitement renewed as he stripped me for the second time.
I wanted his lips back on me, his fingers wound through my hair, and I desperately wanted to know what it would feel like for him to slide deep inside me.
Miles tugged my dress over my head with one fluid motion, leaving me in the black bra and panty set I’d change into after he soaked my other panties before dinner.
“Nice,” he said, fingering the edge of the lace. “Remind me to dig through your lingerie drawer before I leave.”
I rolled my eyes but my skin flushed at the idea of him rifling through my panties.
“Or, better yet, have you model some of the options for me.”
“You’re insane,” I told him before turning my attention to unbuttoning his shirt. My fingers fumbled at first, trembling with desire. I got the buttons loose and pushed the fabric aside, revealing his firm chest. I licked my lips at the sight of his expansive muscles and couldn’t wait to feel them up against my naked breasts.
Miles appeared to be on the same page, because he flicked my bra free just as easily as he had earlier in the afternoon, and I released the straps and let the garment fall to the floor. Once it was gone, he pulled me against him and I moaned at how it felt to have my skin melded together with his. The softness of my curves up against the hardness of him was an intoxicating combination, and all my worries and fears about my body and flaws flew out the window as Miles ran his hands up and down my back and down my sides.
He was a hungry man who couldn’t be satiated with touch. He used his lips to explore the side of my neck and then over the ridge of my collarbones before dropping lower to circle my nipples with his mouth. His tongue swirled over my nipples, coaxing them into hard buds. He blew on them and they stiffened more, making me squirm and wiggle in his grip.
My hands flew to the fly of his slacks and started fumbling to release the closure and zipper. Once freed, I pushed the slacks down. Miles paused from nibbling and licking between my breasts long enough to step out of his slacks. His boxer briefs went next and I finally got a chance to inspect his cock up close and personal.
And let me say, it was worth the wait.
He was long, thick, and rock solid.
Everything a girl could ask for.
“Shit, Miles,” I growled against his shoulder, stroking his shaft and velvety soft tip.
He captured my lips with his in an intense kiss laced with heat and thick with desire. We clung together, his cock resting against the lacy triangle of my panties, driving me to new heights of insanity.
He took me to the bed and laid me down before dropping to lower himself over me. His fingers traced down my body while he continued to kiss the side of my neck. “Penny, you’re so wet,” he growled, slipping his fingers under the edge of the panties. His fingertip dipped inside me and I shuddered.
“I want you,” I panted, rolling my hips, enticing him. “I’m ready, Miles. Please…”
He grinned at me and stripped off my panties, tossing the soaking wet lace to the side of the bed, and then with a dark, lingering look between my thighs, he spread me wider. “Damn, I have a hot wife.”
I laughed, but it cut short when he lowered down and thrust into me slowly at first. He filled me completely but I wanted more. I gripped his waist with my thighs, spurring him on.
“Faster!” I whimpered, rocking my hips. “Miles, fuck me harder!”
“Patience,” he groaned.
I struggled to push up against him and got him by surprise long enough to roll us over. I straddled him and lowered onto him with a hissed growl of pleasure that could only be called primal heat. He filled me so perfectly and with my new position I could rock against him and quickly got to where I wanted to go.
Miles gripped my hips and groaned as I slammed against him. I shot up like a firework and Miles thickened inside me, he was just as ready to go as I was, but right before I could get the last bit of relief, Miles rolled us back to our sides. My leg draped over his hips and he moved slower, bringing us back down.
Our eyes locked together in the soft light and he reached over to cup the side of my face. “I want to slow us down so I can remember every sexy minute with you.”
My heart fluttered at the sweet sentiment and the way he moved within me, shallow and slow, but it felt so much deeper than just minutes before.
He kissed me softly and rocked into me as our lips met in a deep kiss. Our tongues tangled together in a hot dance that added fury to our lovemaking and Miles rolled back on top of me and thrust deep and hard, quickly bringing us back to the height of passion again.
I moaned out as I came and Miles followed seconds afterward, pulsing and thickening inside of me as we hit the ceiling and then crashed down together. I relaxed back, boneless and exhausted as the waves of sweet relief washed over me. He lowered down beside me and gathered me into his arms.
“Feels good to break the rules sometimes, huh?” he teased, grinning at me.
I laughed softly and clung tighter to him. My fingers worked into his muscles that were still firm but more pliable as he relaxed. “I knew you’d be trouble.”
Miles chuckled and kissed me.
“So, we’re really doing this?” I asked, my voice small and sleepy. Exhaustion, both mental and physical, was getting the best of me. There was still so much to decide, but I didn’t have the energy to tackle it. I just wanted a simple assurance.
“We’re really doing this,” he replied, his tone thick with emotion.
A moment later, he squeezed me tighter. “Good night,
Mrs. Warren,” Miles whispered against my temple before brushing a soft kiss against my skin.
“Good night,” I mumbled, falling into the comforting envelope of his arms.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Penny
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Miles said, wrapping his arms around me. “And damn, baby. You look smoking hot in that dress.”
“Thanks,” I said, glancing down at my olive green wrap dress. “I’m an Army wife now. Figured I’d adapt my wardrobe accordingly.”
“Well you certainly have me at attention, Mrs. Warren,” he growled, gathering me against him. He smelled like heaven and I melted against him, my body getting primed for an afternoon spent in Miles’ bed.
Our bed.
Six weeks had passed since the semi-disastrous dinner at his parent’s house. As promised, his parents had released his trust fund and he’d gone right to work getting things lined up for his new business. Things remained strained between him and his parents, but he seemed more relaxed about the situation. Granted, a pool of money had that effect.
I hadn’t heard from my mother since Miles’ told her off and forced her out of his parents’ home, but it didn’t bother me. Much. I’d been busy wrapping up the details of my art book and working with Grace, my agent, to resubmit under my new name. Which, as Miles had predicted, was getting me a lot more traction. The move to Georgia had been put on the back-burner while we each worked to get things lined up for our careers, but once I popped the last query in the mail, I had movers come to pack up my belongings and said my goodbyes to Jasmine and Lo.
I was prepared to be a full-time Georgia peach now and Miles could squeeze me as much as he wanted.
Six weeks of sexting and naughty Skype calls had me more than ready to also be a full-time wife and playmate for my handsome husband.
“Come on, let’s go get some lunch,” Miles said, releasing me. He dropped his arm down, looping a finger through the belt around my waist.
“Lunch? Miles…I want to go back to your place and have some alone time…” I said, batting my lashes up at him.
