SWNOVELS Finding Hayes: Chapter 20
I fell forward, completely sated. My body felt like it was floating on air. Hayes maneuvered me like I weighed nothing, adjusting my body so I settled against him, my head on his chest.
Both of us were still panting. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, keeping me close.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.
I pushed up onto my elbow to look at him. “Oh. My. Holy. Husband. We should have gotten fake married years ago.”
His lips turned up in the corners. When Hayes smiled, there was something extra sexy about it. He didn’t offer this to everyone, and you knew when he smiled at you that you were lucky. “That’s the last time you call this fake, and I won’t remind you again, woman.”
My head tipped back in a chuckle. “Fine. Whatever we’re doing, we should have done it years ago.”
“You like my tongue on your puss—” he said, and I covered his mouth with my hand.
“You have the filthiest mouth, Woody. You’re very… skilled.”
“Wait till you see what I can do with my dick.” He tugged me back down to lie on his chest.
“Well, the good news is that I was all worried about us staying in the same room, but this feels like a win-win. We pretend to be married, act like a real couple in every way, and give each other epic orgasms. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
“Careful, Shortcake. Don’t get too caught up in the orgasms, or you might fall in love with me.”
“Pfft… please. You’re the one who had a crush on me when we were teenagers. And that intense growl of pleasure that escaped your mouth just a few minutes ago tells me that I know how to please my man. So, you’re the one who needs to be careful,” I said, my tone laced with humor. “And I know an unattainable man when I see one. Why do you think I was willing to do this whole marriage thing with you?”
“Why?”
“Well, there’s no risk of anyone getting hurt. You haven’t had a relationship since the heathen. That’s a long time to be single.”
He gripped my hair and turned my head so I was looking at him. “And what’s your story? I don’t see you with a boyfriend.”
“Correct. I’m a girl with abandonment issues. My mother left my father and me for her lover, and she has a new family with him. And sure, we are all on good terms now, but that doesn’t mean I forgot those painful years. Also, I thought my lifelong best friend betrayed me in the worst way, up until finding out recently that none of that was real. But those are some deep-rooted fears I have now. Obviously, I can’t date a man who has commitment issues. So, yeah, I’ve been single for a long time, not because I don’t want to get married, but because it needs to be the right man. A guy who makes me feel safe, but challenged and loved, as well.”
“Wow. You’ve put a lot of thought into this whole relationship thing, yet you agreed to marry me in all of fifteen minutes in River’s office, knowing what a horrible husband I would make?”
Why did he sound so wounded?
“My husband is such a caveman,” I said with a laugh. “You’ve got such a tender heart beneath that very impressive body of yours.”
“My heart is not tender, and stop evading the question.”
“Yes. I’ve put a lot of thought into what I want. I will not be in a relationship like my parents had. I will not hitch my cart to a man who doesn’t want me. I know how that story ends. And I’ve always wanted a big family because I hated being an only child, and a loveless marriage sucks for the kids. So, my children will live in a home that’s filled with love. Safe and happy with lots of laughter and parents who are nauseatingly in love. That’s probably why Abe put that ridiculous stipulation in the will.”
“Why?”
“Because he thought I was being too picky.”
“How often do you date?” he asked, his gaze filled with curiosity.
“Usually three times a week.”
His eyes widened. “Three times a fucking week? Different dudes?”
“Yes. I live in the city. There are a ton of prospects. And guys swipe right a lot on me for some reason.”
“Of course, they do. Look at you.” He shifted me off of him and pushed to his feet, storming around the bed to get his briefs. I sat forward, pulling the covers over myself as I took in his toned ass before he covered it.
I was laughing again. “You sound jealous.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “And you just date them once? No repeat dates?”
I rolled my eyes, unsure of why we were talking about this, but Hayes and I had always talked about everything. “Usually once. I don’t let them pick me up. We normally meet at a restaurant for dinner or happy hour. Occasionally, I get asked to go to a football or a hockey game. But I always drive my own car.”
“The piece-of-shit clunker you call a car?” he grumped.
“Don’t insult Big Red. You sound jealous of a car now, too, and it’s unbecoming.” I smiled, and his mouth twitched. “That’s usually it. I think I did a second date with two guys over the last year, and the rest have all been one and done.”
“I thought you said you haven’t had sex in a while?” he pressed, because he was clearly a nosy bastard.
“I haven’t. My last serious relationship was two years ago. Haven’t been with anyone since.”
He gaped at me. “What about your five million dates? You didn’t sleep with one of them?”
“No. I’m not having sex with someone that I don’t think I’d actually date. So the one and dones get a kiss, if they’re lucky.” I shrugged.
“Poor bastards.” He chuckled, but for whatever reason, he looked thrilled by the news. Like he enjoyed the idea of me torturing these men. “What about the two dudes who got second dates?”
“They got a good make-out sesh. A little under-the-sweater action. That’s it.”
“Yet you let me give you two orgasms and go down on you?” He quirked a brow.
“You’re my husband.” I sighed. “Listen, don’t question the rules. I make them up as I go. But since we’re being so open about things, how often do you date?”
“I don’t. I go to a bar and leave with a woman. There’s no make-out sesh or whatever the fuck you called it. If I go to her home, we usually fuck. Aside from Trish Windsor, who crossed a line, so I got the fuck out of there.”
“What did she do?”
“She tried to cuff me to her bed.”
“And you didn’t like that?” I asked, completely mesmerized by the conversation.
“I don’t get cuffed. I’d be happy to tie up a woman if that was her thing, but I’m not trusting some woman I barely know to lock me to her bed. What if she never uncuffs me? Makes me her sex prisoner? Not fucking happening.”
My head fell back in laughter. “I can’t believe she wanted to cuff you to her bed. And why do you always go to the woman’s house? You don’t bring ladies here?”
“No. Because if I’m already at home, I can’t leave if I need the night to end.”
“Yet you’ve agreed to me sleeping in your bed for the next few months.”
“You’re my wife.” He quirked a brow. “And two years is a long time to go without sex, Shortcake. If you need me to remedy that for you, just say the word.”
“I mean, we should consummate this marriage eventually, right?” I crawled across the mattress and found my clothing, pulling my jammies back on. This had been an eventful evening, and I should probably pump the brakes.
He climbed back onto the bed and patted his hand against the mattress beside him. “How about this? We take it one day at a time. If you want me to bury my face between your thighs every fucking morning and every fucking night and do nothing more, I’d be a very content husband with that arrangement. We don’t ever have to have sex if it complicates things for you.”
“Damn. I don’t want to be cocky, but I feel like I must have one magical vagina covered in pixie dust if you’re willing to… go downtown every single day until I divorce you and get back to the single life.”
“No doubt about it. You’ve got an award-winning pussy, Shortcake.”
We were both laughing hysterically now, and I rolled onto my side to face him. Just the way we’d started before all the orgasms.
It was quiet now, and the room was dark.
“I missed you, Hayes,” I said the words so softly I wasn’t sure he’d even heard me.
But then he tugged me closer, wrapped his arms around me, and kissed the top of my head.
He’d definitely heard me.
And I knew he missed me, too.
Exhaustion took me, and I slept for what felt like days, but in reality, I woke with the sun the following morning.
I stretched my arms over my head and blinked a few times as I processed where I was.
I sprung forward and looked beside me. No Hayes. Had he freaked out after what happened between us?
I padded to the bathroom to brush my teeth, tied my hair in a messy knot on top of my head, and made my way down the hallway toward the kitchen and family room.
“Husband? Are you up?” I called out when I heard the sound of pots and pans moving in the kitchen.
“I am. I’ve already worked out, and now I’m scrambling us some eggs.” He stood at the stovetop, his back to me, wearing a pair of basketball shorts and no shirt.
Damn. This man’s body could be a piece of artwork.
He glanced over his shoulder and smirked, like he knew what I was doing.
I moved around him and reached for a coffee mug in the cabinet, and I could feel his eyes on me.
My husband and I were playing a dangerous game of attraction.
I filled my mug with coffee and topped his off as it sat on the counter beside him. And then I intentionally brushed my body against his as I walked past.
“You know you can use your words and ask for what you want,” he said, as he plated the eggs.
“What are you talking about?” I pulled out the barstool and sat down, and he took the seat beside mine, setting both plates in front of us.
“I’m just saying, we’re married. If we want something, all we have to do is ask for it. Marriage is about pleasing your partner, right?”
“Agreed. That’s a great plan. And thank you for the eggs. What can I do for you this morning?” I asked, forking some scrambled eggs and groaning after I swallowed.
“I’d like to hear you groan again like you’re doing right now, but I’d like to be the reason you’re groaning instead of those eggs.” He smirked. “But first, we FaceTime your parents and rip that bandage off. They need to know that you’re my wife before I give you any more orgasms.”
“For a man who doesn’t even do relationships, you sure have a lot of rules about this marriage,” I said, taking another bite of eggs and purposely groaning extra loud because I knew it was getting under his skin.
“Deal with it. You’re the one who agreed to marry me. And if you have any requests, I’m all ears.”
“Anything I want?” I asked as I sipped my coffee.
“Sure. It’s all part of the deal.”
“Great. We’ll call my parents, and then you can make me groan however you’d like, preferably in the shower because oddly enough, I’ve never taken a shower with a man, and I figure this marriage is a good time to knock things off the list. And for my request, I’d like to read another letter.”
He squeezed his eyes closed, and I cinched my brows with confusion before looking down to see his tented shorts, and I covered my laughter with my hand.
“You’ve never showered with a man?”
“No. I tend to shower alone. But I want the letter, so if I have to save the shower for later, I’ll take the letter.”
He thought it over before pushing to his feet. “You can have both after we make the calls.”
He reached for my plate, but I grabbed it from him. “You cooked. I’ll do the dishes.”
“Fine.” He jogged down the hallway and came running back wearing a T-shirt now and holding my laptop.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I finished loading the dishwasher.
“Getting your Zoom set up.” He clapped his hands together. “Chop chop, woman.”
I moseyed over to the dining room where he had my computer opened and ready for me to log in. I sent both of my parents a text asking if we could hop on a quick Zoom call, and my father answered immediately, so I sent him the link.
“You’re in such a hurry,” I said, as I clicked on the link and waited for Dad to sign in.
Hayes leaned close to my ear. “The thought of making you come in the shower is all I can think of.”
My breaths were coming faster now as the screen opened, and Hayes chuckled when my father came into view, and then he completely changed his disposition. “Mr. Abbott, it’s so good to see you.”
My husband can be a smug bastard when he wants to be.
Nadia was sitting beside him, and I introduced her to Hayes. He’d heard me speak about her plenty of times over the last few weeks.
“I love to see you two hanging out again after all these years apart,” my father said.
Well, this is going to be awkward.
“About that, Dad.” I cleared my throat, and Hayes found my hand beneath the table and gave me a look that made it clear that he wanted to explain.
“Mr. Abbott, I apologize that I didn’t come to you first. I owed you that respect, but we just got carried away.”
I dug my nails into his hand because I was going to be the one to say it. He could apologize all he wanted, but I needed to tear this bandage off. “We got married. We just—” I shook my head and shrugged. “We couldn’t wait.”
“We couldn’t wait one more minute. And we didn’t want anyone to try to talk us out of it,” Hayes added. “We’re ridiculously in love.”
My father’s eyes doubled in size, and his mouth fell open. “You two got married?”
“Married?” Nadia parroted.
“We did,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want a big wedding or anything fancy, but I should have told you.”
“Well, we’ll just have to throw a big reception,” Nadia said, leaning against my father’s shoulder, as he swiped at the single tear coming down his cheek.
I sucked in a breath, preparing for him to be angry.
“I always knew you two belonged together. I couldn’t be happier.” Dad chuckled, his entire demeanor lighter now. “Now, just give me some grandbabies while I’m still around to enjoy them.”
A heaviness settled in my chest. Lying to my father didn’t feel good, even if he was the reason that I’d been willing to do any of this.
I couldn’t speak because he was hoping for something that Hayes and I would never give him.
But then the man beside me surprised the hell out of everyone. “Give us a little time, but we’re working on it.”
My father beamed, and I dug my nails into Hayes’s palm. He was going too far.
More laughter from my father, and we chatted for the next half hour, him asking Hayes endless questions before we finally said our goodbyes.
When I closed my computer screen, I turned to look at him. “You shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a lie.” I raised a brow. “We’re not trying to have a baby.”
“We’re also not married for real. So we’re already in this. And it made him happy.”
“And what happens when this all ends and he’s upset?”
“He’ll be receiving the best treatment money can buy, and he won’t give a shit if our relationship implodes. You can tell him that I was sterile.”
“It’s believable. You can be a little cold.” I smirked.
He moved so quickly that I squealed as he tugged me onto his lap. “One more call, Shortcake, and then I’m carrying you to the shower.”
“Don’t forget about the letter.”
“Sure. A little reading material after an orgasm sounds great,” he grumped, and I looked down at my phone to see a message from my mom that she was ready to chat, and Harry was there, too.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
“Hello, Savannah. You look well,” my mother said, as her face came into view.
“Hi, Savvy. I miss you!” Harry shouted.
“Harry, you don’t need to shout, sweetheart. You can use a regular voice. An inside voice.” My mom had never been patient with me, but she was so different with Harry. She wanted to talk everything out. I was grateful she wasn’t that way with me, even if she appeared to be trying harder this time around. I just found it to be very annoying.
“Hey, buddy. I miss you, too. I wanted to introduce you to someone.” I smiled and leaned my head against Hayes’s shoulder.
“Is that Hayes Woodson?” My mother gasped, her tone extra snarky. “The boy you got your first tattoo with?”
“Wow. Nice to see you, too, Mrs. Jones.”
I was ready to pull off the bandage because her judgy eyes were infuriating me. For a woman who’d made her fair share of mistakes, she never cut anyone any slack. No one got a pass from Delila Jones. And I had zero tolerance for it.
“Oh, baby. Drop the formalities. You can call her Mom.” I chuckled. “Mom. Har. Say hello to my husband.” I held up my hand and shook my hand in front of the screen, flashing my wedding ring.
“Husband?” my mom said. “You got married?”
“I sure did.”
“Yes, we’re married.” Hayes squeezed my hand so tight I nearly squealed. “We just couldn’t wait another minute.”
“Cool. I always wanted a brother.” Harry fist pumped the ceiling.
“Glad to hear it, Harry. I’ve heard lots about you.”
“How did this happen? You lost contact years ago,” she said, and she started scratching at her neck. It was her tell when she was nervous.
“Yes. Well, I think the fact that he’d written me all those letters, which had been returned to him so many years ago, caught us both by surprise. Ya know, Mom?” I arched a brow.
“Oh, yes, the letters. I just knew you two weren’t speaking at the time, so I didn’t want to cause you any more pain, Savannah.”
“Don’t give it a thought, Mom,” Hayes said, in a sugary sweet voice, one I’d never heard from him. “I think it’s what really sealed the deal for me all these years later. She loved that I saved them. So, thank you for torturing us both for the last decade.”
My mother just stared at the screen. “Sure. I’m glad it all worked out. I’m—er, happy for you both. You always had such an interesting friendship. We’ll have to have dinner the next time you’re in the city. We’re heading out to meet Ben to play some pickleball, so we’ve got to get going.”
This is why I hated calling her. There just wasn’t anything there between us, and it made me feel bad when the reality that we were more like acquaintances was so apparent every time we spoke.
“I can’t wait to see you, Savvy. And I can’t wait to hang out with my new brother, Hayes.” Harry waved at the camera.
“Bye, Har. I love you.”
“Love you, too,” he said, as my mother ended the call.
“She’s just as charming as I remember.” Hayes turned to face me, oozing sarcasm, per usual. “You all right?”
“Yes. I’m good.”
“Good? That doesn’t sound good.” He moved so fast I barely had a minute to process what was happening before I was tossed over his shoulder as he ran down the hall. “I think your first shower with a well-hung man ought to cheer you up.”
I slapped his ass and laughed.
But he was right.
A shower with a well-hung man definitely cheered me up.