MORE THAN A YEAR LATER
“Mr. Cade, we need you out here,” the head of security said through the door. “The car is out front.”
“He’ll be out in a couple of minutes,” I tried to keep the humor out of my response, hoping that they couldn’t tell that at this very moment, Mr. Cade’s dick was buried deep inside of me.
Freedom’s hands gripped my hips as he pumped and pumped, seemingly oblivious that we were in a private room of the fourth after-party of the Grammys, after a series of interviews celebrating his victorious night of four awards, including Country Album of the Year forHome Again. We’d barely entered this room before he placed my hands on the back of the beige leather sofa that centered the room, had my dress hitched up, and my panties to the side fucking me. Thank God,the couch had been anchored to the plush rug, or we would’ve rearranged the furniture.
“You feel so damn good…” I panted, “…but I swear if there are cameras in this room and my ass is out for the world to see, I’m not having sex with you again.”
He chuckled. “Let’s give them a real show of Freedom Cade fucking his wife on his big night.” One of his hands moved to caress my right breast through the thin silk material, and I shut my eyes from the intense pleasure. Since my pregnancy, my nipples were extra sensitive to his touch, which he used to his advantage. “Besides, you’ve been asking for this dick all night.”
“In the comfort of our suite, or at least the backseat of the limo, celebrating with you… umm…pouring champagne over my body.” He continued to fuck me without breaking his rhythm. “Not in a room that anyone can rightfully bust in at any moment. You have never been a minute man…and we need to go before we get caught.” I arched my back and pushed my ass into him, needing him to take us both out of our sexual misery.
My body had been on fire and heavy with unmet need and desire all night. Freedom’s swag had been elevated with every win and every time he stepped on the stage, telling the world that I inspired his music from the very beginning and that the reigniting of our love gave him the best album of his career, amplified my hunger for him. I was crazy in love with this man and couldn’t believe that we would be together forever, as we’d planned all those years together as lovesick teenagers. I’d become his horny, pregnant wife and not his manager as the evening dragged on. My impatience to get him to the hotel on a night of parties that would only end in the wee hours of the morning became obvious to Freedom as I kept the interviews to two questions and kept the media moving, even though I usually encouraged their prolonged attention.
“Shit,” Freedom moaned, and his pounding increased, the force of his thrusting coiling the pressure within me, begging for orgasmic release. “Scream for me. Let it all out. All that we’d been working for over the past year surpassed our wildest dreams…that we get to hold hands on the red carpet proudly… that you have helped elevate my career, and you have been the best wife and mother of his children that a man could ever have.” He leaned over me and hooked his arms under my arms to hit my spot over and over, faster and faster, until he got exactly what he wanted.
Wearing satisfied yet exhausted smiles, we straightened from our perch on the back of the sofa and adjusted our formal attire. Freedom gave me his jacket to cover my bare arms, smoothed my straightened hair behind my ears, and teased, “I think we can walk out of here without people knowing you were getting fucked.”
“You sure? We were both pretty loud.” I shook my head and cupped his growing erection visible through his maroon tuxedo bottoms. “No more until we get home.”
“Can’t help that I want to fuck when I’m happy.” He swooped down and kissed my neck.
I ducked out of his reach before he could get me again, put his Stetson on his head, and took his hand, pulling him to the door. “You want to fuck when you're happy and fuck harder when you're mad.”
Freedom raised a brow. “What about when I’m sad?”
“You haven’t been sad since we got back together.” I grinned over my shoulder before admitting, “Come to think about it, neither have I.”
“Told you I could make you happy more than he ever could.” He boasted and lifted our joined hands to kiss the diamond that sparkled on my left finger.
We were married in our special clearing shortly after my divorce became final and he returned home from his world tour. Only the boys, Freedom’s grandmother, Peace, my mother, and Lori attended. We decided not to invite our fathers and, through counseling, worked through his substance use and any residual negative feelings from our past to secure a lasting, healthy marriage. We’d forgiven our fathers. We just weren’t ready for them to return to our lives. Maybe a new grandbaby would rejoin our estranged fathers, or maybe not. Either way, Freedom and I resolved not to allow anyone or anything interfere with our love again.
Following a week-long honeymoon in Brazil during carnival season, KJ and I moved into Freedom’s house with him and Jamie. Kody and Freedom kept their distance, though they had grown closer to both boys. KJ didn’t want to live apart from Jamie and had begun to see Freedom as a father figure, so with Kody’s reluctant permission, I was the custodial parent, with KJ spending most weekends with his father. Sometimes, Jamie joined his younger brother on the weekends.
Jamie had grown more confident and had a small group of friends, including his first girlfriend, who turned out to be bisexual too. He had an affinity for music and spent a lot of time with Freedom in the studios in Dallas and Nashville, creating songs and learning to play guitar and drums.
Kody kept the construction business, and once Freedom’s homestead and office were finished, we ended any partnership. I used my degree and studied all I could about the music industry to become Freedom’s financial and assets manager. I was also a part of his overall management team to ensure he had a good work-life balance. To accommodate his new family, Freedom decided to do only summer tours and spend most of the year at home with us in Dallas. Peace and Lori still held it down for Freedom and me. And I leaned on my budding friendshipwith Alonzo’s wife, Sage, to keep me sane when Freedom’s rabid fan base liked to pretend that he was still single. She would remind me that women were the reason our husbands remained successful, and to focus on the trust we had in our respective men.
As we stepped back into the fray of the Grammy party, Freedom addressed the people still clamoring for his attention. “My wife says it’s time, it’s time.” He rubbed my stomach. “We have a little one on the way, and she needs her rest.”
“Do you know what you’re having?” A voice shouted.
“We’re waiting until the birth to find out because all we really want is a healthy baby.”
Doing my part as his dutiful wife, I smiled at the group and leaned into him. He slung his arm around my neck and kissed the side of my forehead, and we weaved our way through the crowd to meet with security, who whisked us through the screaming fans outside to our car.
Our life together still seemed surreal at times, even when we were in Dallas out of the spotlight. For so many years, I’d learned to live without him and had presumed we would never cross paths again, though I had his son. I had learned to adjust to a relationship that, at its best, had been contented and had accepted I would never love another soul as completely as I loved Freedom. In the rare moments when I would catch him on TV, a magazine cover, or on social media, I used to envy whoever he was dating, thinking she was the luckiest woman in the world to be with him. Never believing that I would be the woman who ultimately landed him, and that he mademefeel like he was the luckiest man.
Freedom waved and blew kisses at his fans as we approached the car. He looked at me. “Ready, Mrs. Cade?”
“Always.” I curved my palm to my beloved’s handsome face before the driver helped us into the backseat, and we rode off into the dawning light of a new morning.
Thank you for readingTempted.I hope you enjoyed Jamaica and Freedom’s journey to love. Please feel free to leave a review so that others may find this story. And keep reading for a special peek atMadly Driven.
An addictive, enemies-to-lovers romance about fame, power, and two people fighting to stay in control, even as they fall madly, recklessly in love.
Kensie Garrett turned her worst heartbreak into a bestselling brand. As a social-media influencer and author of a hit self-help book teaching women how to find love without losing themselves, she’s built a career on staying in command. But one reckless night threatens everything she’s created when she gives in to the magnetic pull of Canaan Jackson, the infuriating race car driver she’s despised since college.
