She cracked a grin. “Still feels weird to call it a marriage.”
“And how about last night? Did it feel weird then?”
Last night, when he’d snuck up on her while she was putting laundry in, bent her over the washing machine, and fucked her right then and there. “Are you gettin’ fresh with me?”
He hummed low in his throat, his fingers squeezing hers. “Thinkin’ about it.”
“Yeah? What else are you thinkin’ about?”
He tipped his head toward the water. “In the mood to get in a little trouble with me?”
“Always,” she answered without hesitation.
Nat wondered if the exhilaration of surviving that day here in the flash storm had sparked something in her that caused her to seek the life she’d lived, full of thrilling adventures. She’d rappelled in the Sierras de Tejeda Natural Park. Had skydived a dozen times, gone whitewater rafting, and BASE jumped a couple times, all to feel a little bit more alive.
But the funny thing was, she’d felt more alive these past few weeks with Asher and the kids than she ever had getting an adrenaline rush halfway around the world. And just what the hell did that say about her life choices?
She opened her door, not yet making a move to step out. “You didn’t think this through much ’cause I certainly don’t have a suit with me.”
Asher leaned back against the headrest, his posture lazy and relaxed. He eyed her up and down, and then a small smile curved just one side of his lips. “Who says we need swimsuits?”
Nat gasped, feigning shock, and rested her elbow on the center console, leaning closer to him. “Asher McCoy. Are you suggesting goin’ skinny-dippin’ with me? Don’t you think that’s a little forward?”
He mirrored her position, his arm brushing against hers, his breath a whisper across her lips. “I’m suggesting my wife get her cute, naked ass in the swimmin’ hole so we can have some fun. Unless you’re chicken.”
She nipped his bottom lip. “You’ve known me a long time, so you know the one surefire way to get me to do anything is to dare me to or call me a chicken. And I don’t think that’s a very fair use of your knowledge.”
“Who said I’m interested in fair? My main goal today is for you to have an adventure. And hopefully, that includes a little bit of naked time.”
“Well, I’ve only got one thing to say about that…”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
She licked a path along his lower lip, smiling as he let out a soft groan and closed his eyes. Perfect. Exactly where she wanted him.
“Beat you up there,” she said before flying out of the car and straight toward the path she remembered.
One minute, it was quiet, the area around her silent except for the thud of her feet on the dirt and her steady breaths in and out. And then, suddenly, Asher was there, directly behind her, his stride catching up far too quickly. But before she could react, before she could speed up or dodge him, she was airborne, hefted over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold as he smacked her ass hard.
“Nice try,” he said, trekking up the hill with her flopping over his shoulder. “Don’t you know your short little legs have no chance of beatin’ me in a race, wifey?”
“I hate you.” Damn if that shortness he taunted her about wasn’t her downfall now, because all she wanted to do was bite his ass hard for that comment. Since she couldn’t reach, she did the next best thing and smacked it instead. And when he still didn’t respond to that, she pinched both cheeks.
“You mind flappin’ your hands around a little bit back there? Feels like there might be a fly swarmin’ around or something. The little nuisance is buggin’ me.”
Nat huffed out an incredulous breath. “I know where you sleep, Ash. You really wanna go there with me?”
He finally set her on her feet, his hands cupping her hips to steady her as he rose to his full height before tugging off his shirt. Maintaining eye contact, he gripped the hem of hers, sliding it up and off and tossing it to the side. He traced a finger down her neck, across her collarbone, down the valley between her breasts, his gaze heavy with something she couldn’t quite name. Something that warmed her insides, an ember expanding within.
He kissed her jaw, the space just below her ear, and then lifted her up with two handfuls of her ass. Allowing her to feel exactly how much he wanted her. Reassuring her it most definitely wasn’t one-sided. “You should know by now I’d go anywhere with you.”
Nat had traveled around the world with only her camera as her one constant companion. She’d photographed landscapes and people alike, loving them both equally, but one thing she’d never done was a wedding. This month, she’d taken photos at two.
It was Will’s big day—t-minus forty-five minutes until her sister was going to walk down a petal-strewn aisle at an outdoor ceremony. Nat, along with her sisters and their momma and gran, as well as Will’s best friend, Avery, were holed up in the dressing room stationed in the upper loft of the barn they’d rented for the weekend.
Much like Havenbrook in general, this space had also changed drastically in the time she’d been gone, and she couldn’t believe the transformation.
“I still can’t get over the fact that they turned the Pritchetts’ old decrepit barn intothis,” Nat said, a note of awe in her voice as she glanced around.
