Finding Hayes: A Small Town, Marriage of Convenience Romance (Magnolia Falls Series Book 5)

I’d just finished uploading a bunch of content reels for social media, and even I was surprised by the way things had blown up for me with this house. I was making a design name for myself through this project, and I couldn’t believe how many people were following along on the journey.

Abe would be so proud.

My chest squeezed at the thought.

I’d offered to make dinner, as Hayes did most of the cooking when he was home. But I knew he’d had a long couple of days at the firehouse, and we’d stopped feeling the need to go out and be seen so much, as everyone in town just believed we were a couple now.

Even Belinda, who had been here today to clean the house, would share how happy it made her to see Hayes and me together. She’d tell me how different he was now and how he never used to smile or speak much before I moved in.

So nothing about it felt fake anymore.

Sheana hadn’t dropped her lawsuit, even though Easton had met with her attorney to try to put it to rest. He’d advised us to keep doing exactly what we’d been doing as far as sharing a bed and being affectionate when we were in public, but he didn’t think we needed to go overboard otherwise.

And the truth was, we weren’t even acting anymore.

When he wasn’t working, we were together. He’d come to the farmhouse and hang out while I worked. I always stopped by the firehouse when he worked. We went out with friends, and we did normal things that a regular couple would do.

In fact, this fake relationship would go down in the books as the best relationship I’d ever had.

Hayes and I may have spent years apart, but he was still my best friend. That hadn’t changed at all. And the fact that he gave me orgasms every night I spent in his bed only made things all the better.

But we hadn’t had sex. And I wasn’t the one stopping it. It was he who was holding back. Maybe he thought I’d get too attached if we crossed that final line. And maybe he was right.

But that didn’t stop me from thinking about it… all the time.

I could separate sex and love.

Hell, I’d had sex with past boyfriends, and I’d been fine to end those relationships.

“Wife!” his deep voice barked as I heard the front door close behind him.

I laughed and turned to see him walk into the kitchen. He’d been growing his hair a little longer than normal, and his scruff looked like he hadn’t shaved in the few days since he’d left. His eyes were hard, lips plump, and I couldn’t read this mood of his.

I could normally decipher everything that Hayes was feeling.

But something was different.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, setting the box of pasta on the counter and moving toward him. “Did something happen?”

“Yeah. You happened.”

“I happened?” I raised a brow.

“Yeah. You happened.” He nodded slowly, his tongue slipping out and moving along his bottom lip. “I got the job. And all I wanted to do was talk to you. See you.”

“You got the job!” I squealed and lunged forward, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Does that mean I have to call you captain now?”

He chuckled as his green eyes moved along every inch of my face, like he was trying to memorize each line and curve. “You can call me whatever you want.”

“So why do you seem so…” I paused and took a step back as I looked at him. “You seem so tense. Shouldn’t we be celebrating?”

“I’m tense because I couldn’t wait to get here and tell you.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

He huffed out a breath. “I can’t sleep in our bed another night without burying myself in you. It’s all I fucking think about, Sav. How badly I want you. And I don’t want to fuck up this friendship, because I’ve missed you so much, and I don’t know how to deal with all of it. How to deal with the way I feel about you.” It came out in a flustered burst of words, like he couldn’t hold them in anymore.

I was stunned, because Hayes wasn’t big on feelings, nor was he a man that liked to talk things out. So this was—unexpected.

I moved closer, taking his hands in mine. “So tell me, then. How do you feel about me?”

“It’s complicated,” he said, his gaze locking with mine. “I’ve been good on my own for a long time, and now you’re here, and you’re all I see. Maybe it was always you, and that’s why nothing else ever worked when you were gone. Maybe you’ve been what’s missing all along.”

A lump formed in my throat, making it hard to breathe as I forced my voice to work. “You got your best friend back.”

“You’re more than my best friend, Sav. I like coming home to you. I like knowing you’re in my bed, even when I’m not there with you. Knowing that you’re waiting for me. Knowing that everyone thinks you’re mine. Because you are mine, Savannah Woodson. And I know you only married me because you had to, and I’m not the guy you’d choose in a different situation because I can’t give you all the things that you want. But I fucking love you. And even if you divorce me in a few months, I’d still want to date you.”

My jaw hung open, completely stunned by his words. “You want to date me, huh?”

He rolled his eyes. “I just said all that, and that’s all you have to say?”

“I feel the same way, Hayes. I think about you when I’m not with you. And of course, I worry that I’m getting too attached, because I don’t know how this ends. How we go back to being just friends.”

“Why do we have to? Hell, I’d stay married to you if I knew you wanted that. I don’t want this to end, Sav. Now that I’ve got you back, I don’t want to let you go. Not now, not in another month, not in another year. I. Want. You. Whatever way I can have you.”

A tear rolled down my cheek, and he swiped it away with the pad of his thumb. “You have me. We don’t have to figure everything out right now. We did things backward, and that’s probably made things confusing, but who cares? At the end of the day, we want to be together.”

“What does that mean?”

“I think it means I’d like to date my husband.” I laughed, and he tugged me closer. “So how about you stop holding out on me, and we don’t overthink it. I love you. I want you. You love me. You want me. That’s enough right now.”

“Yeah? Because I can’t lose you again, Sav.”

“I can’t lose you either.” My voice cracked on the last word. He reached one hand beneath my knees and the other at the base of my neck, and he scooped me into his arms, cradling me against his chest.

“You couldn’t lose me if you tried. I’m not going anywhere,” he said, as he carried me down the hall.

I’d thought about this moment a million times. I’d imagined Hayes being assertive, being a little wild and controlling, as he’d proven to be up until now when he’d buried his head between my thighs, night after night. When he’d made me cry out his name—over and over.

But this was different. He set me on the bed like I was made of glass. His calloused fingers moved to the hem of my sweater and gently pulled it over my head and tossed it on the floor. He traced his fingers over my lavender lace bra, taking his time.

“I dream about these tits. About this body. About your perfect peach-shaped ass,” he whispered, his gaze on mine now. “I’ve memorized the sounds you make when you come. The way your honey-brown eyes light up when I take you over the edge. The way your lips part when you gasp. The way your skin blushes when I touch you. The way you rub my earlobe when you kiss me, and scrape your nails along my scalp when you want more. I’ve memorized all of it, Sav.”

I sucked in a breath, overwhelmed by his words. “Hayes.”

“I know I don’t deserve you. I know you want a family and the fairy tale with the white picket fence. And I can’t give you that, baby. I’m not the right man for that life. But I can love you with everything I have for as long as you want me to.”

I couldn’t breathe. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I placed a hand on each side of his face. “I don’t like white picket fences. I like open fields.”

He barked out a laugh, and I chuckled. I’d always known how to make this man laugh, even though he was wound so tight, most people were intimidated by him. I wasn’t. I knew who he was.

I knew the man beneath the gruff exterior that he showed everyone else.

“I love you, Hayes Woodson. And this is exactly where I want to be. So don’t worry about the future right now. We’ll always be okay, because we’re Hayes and Sav, right? Peas and carrots.” My voice shook. “So how about you just stay true to your word and love me with everything you have today?”

“I can do that.”

“Show me how you feel about me,” I whispered.

He didn’t need to speak a word for me to know that was exactly what he would do. He took his time undressing me, peeling off my jeans and then my bra and panties. Kissing every inch of me as he did so.

My skin burned with desire as his lips moved down my body. I tugged at his sweater, wanting to feel his skin against mine. He pushed to stand and pulled off his sweater, his gaze not leaving mine. I sat forward as I watched him unbutton his jeans before reaching for the zipper. My mouth watered at the sight of him. My heart pounded at the way this strong, powerful man had just been vulnerable with me.

For me.

I loved him.

Loved him in a way I’d never loved anyone.

I wanted that to be enough.

And tonight, it was enough. He moved to his nightstand and opened the drawer.

“Have you ever been with anyone bare?” I asked.

His hand froze on the drawer pull, and he turned to look at me. “Never.”

“Me either,” I whispered. “But I’m on the pill. And I want to feel you. All of you.”

His lips turned up in the corners the slightest bit. “Well, I can’t say no to my wife, can I?”

“You haven’t yet.”

He climbed onto the bed, hovering above me as his long, thick erection rested against my lower stomach. His mouth covered mine, and our tongues tangled as my hands moved to his hair, urging him even closer.

His mouth pulled back, and his lips trailed down my jaw and neck as he nipped at my earlobe. He licked and sucked a trail along my collarbone and down to my chest. His tongue swirled around each hard peak, and I arched into him, spreading my legs wider so that he could settle between my thighs. I squirmed, desperate for more, as his lips found mine again.

“You sure about this?” he asked, his eyes so earnest it nearly broke me. He was so worried about hurting me. Had anyone ever cared for me the way that Hayes did?

“Yes. I want this. I want you.”

“You have me, Sav.” He shifted, and I felt the tip of his erection tease my entrance. “You’ve always had me.”

I arched off the bed as he pushed forward the slightest bit, and I gasped. “I don’t think it’s going to fit.”

I could hear the panic in my voice, and it was clear that he heard it, too.

“Hey, you’re going to be fine.”

Before I could process what was happening, he rolled us over and maneuvered me on top, one leg falling on each side, so I was straddling him. “You’re going to set the pace. Take me inch by inch, baby. You can do this.”

Damn. My husband is one sexy-ass man.

I nodded and sucked in a deep breath as I positioned myself just above him. I wrapped my hand around his erection, and I moved down.

Slowly.

Taking the tip first and then sliding down inch by inch. Gasping as he stretched me wide.

His hands were everywhere, rubbing along my arms, my neck, my hair, soothing and comforting, as I slid down further.

“Such a good fucking girl, taking me all the way in, Sav. I wish you could see how sexy you look when I’m filling you up like this.”

I sighed as I took the last of him in, and my head fell back on a gasp as I adjusted to his size. He didn’t move at all; he let me take control. His hand fisted my hair, and he forced my head up so I was looking at him.

Needing to know that I was okay.

“Hey,” I whispered.

“Hey.” That sexy smile stretched across his face. “You okay?”

“I’m really good, actually.” My teeth sank into my bottom lip, and I moved up his shaft before sliding back down. Slowly at first. He hissed out a groan as his hands moved to my hips, holding me still for a minute.

“Goddamn, baby. You’re fucking perfect. Now ride me until you come all over my cock.”

“I love your filthy mouth, husband.”

“And I love your tight pussy, wife.”

Oh my.

We found our pace, our rhythm. Like we’d done this a million times. We moved together as one.

We weren’t in a hurry, savoring every minute of this ecstasy.

My body tingled with anticipation, and his hands and lips were everywhere as my head fell back, and I gripped his thick thighs behind me. I met him thrust for thrust until white lights exploded behind my eyes, and I had no control of my body as I went over the edge.

I cried out his name, and he continued moving my hips as he thrust into me one more time.

And then another.

Then a guttural sound left his throat, and he followed me into oblivion.