Page 142 of Third and Ten

Then I lose the ability to care about anything else once I climb into the driver’s seat and glance over at my wife—my wife—and she smiles shyly. “I can’t believe we really just did that,” she says softly.

“Well, Mrs. Bourgeois,” I begin, cranking the truck and shifting gears before I reach over to clasp her hand. “I hope you’re not having regrets already?”

“My only regret so far is wearing a dress this tight. It isn’t exactly sitting-down friendly,” she admits with a strained laugh.

“Ten, you’re beautiful. I don’t understand how you managed to find that dress so quickly, but I can’t imagine you looking more perfect than you do right now.” I keep my eyes on the road as I run my thumb across her hand to brush over the wedding band I just added to her left ring finger. “Or more sexy,” I add, my voice deepening. Then I trail my fingertips lightly down her wrist and up her forearm.

She’s biting her lip demurely and staring at me when I look back again. “You look really nice, too,” she says after a second. “You wear a suit pretty well, husband.”

I grin. “You know—”

“Yeah, yeah. I just set myself up for a birthday-suit joke, didn’t I?” she cuts me off, already laughing.

“Actually, I was going to say that as much as I like seeing you in that dress, I think it’ll look even better on our bedroom floor in a few minutes.”

She glares at me, but I notice how she’s squirming in her seat. I slip my hand under her veil to rub the skin exposed by the low back of her dress. Then she sighs and reaches up to pull out some kind of comb before she loses the veil completely. While her intentions are likely innocent, she’s unwittingly flipped a switch inside me, just by removing the first layer.

We pull into the driveway at my—our house a minute later. I notice she’s staring down at her ring, probably waiting for the full weight of what we’ve just done to settle.

I guess she figures today is as good as any to humor me, because she allows me to scoop her up from her seat and carry her all the way inside. She wraps her arms around my neck while I kick the front door shut behind us, and I stare down at her as I slip my shoes off before walking us over to the bedroom, still in disbelief that I’ve really managed to make Tenley my wife and that we’re finally going to consummate this relationship.

I lean in for a kiss before placing her down gently on the bed. “You, uh, need any help with that dress?” I ask, my voice sounding strained. Her eyes widen when she realizes I’m not wasting any time. I’m certainly not giving her the chance to change her mind or waiting for someone to interrupt us again.

“Maybe the back,” she says as she sits up and unbuckles her heels. “Don’t you want to get that door?”

“No need. Ethan’s gone to see Ryan. We both agreed that he would be better off staying somewhere else tonight.”

“Oh,” she replies, sounding surprised. “Well, won’t he miss the dinner we planned for later?” She stands and turns so I can slide the zipper down.

“There is no dinner,” I reply matter-of-factly, lingering to place a couple of kisses down her back.

“But I thought—”

“I told everyone that we need at least twenty-four hours to ourselves and not to bother us unless there’s a major emergency,” I explain as I continue undressing her, pushing the sleeves away from her shoulders and pausing for a few more kisses over her collarbone.

She bites her lip, stifling a laugh. “Did you really?”

“You’re damned right I did. This is going to take a while…and probably more than one attempt,” I say, smirking at her playfully and making her giggle.

“I don’t mind if it takes a couple of tries…” She trails off as I squat to pull her dress down over her hips and thighs, then kiss my way back up. Just being able to take her clothes off is already making me feel so good that my head is buzzing, and she hasn’t even really touched me yet.

“Don’t worry. I’ve been reviewing my data. I’m confident I can get it right by round two, though I’m prepared to run this experiment as many times as you see fit,” I tell her, standing tall and kissing her on the lips while she laughs again.

CHAPTER 43

TENLEY

I wake up the morning after my wedding wearing one of JD’s T-shirts and a satisfied smile. I can hear him moving around in the kitchen, so I stretch and shuffle over to the bathroom to freshen up before venturing out.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he calls over his shoulder, a proud grin plastered across his face as he plates his scrambled eggs. “Would you like some breakfast?”

I smile back warmly. “I’m fine, thanks.”

He walks over with his plate and sets a cup of coffee down beside me. I know the mug is meant for me because JD doesn’t even care for the smell of it.

“Did you buy a coffee maker?”

He leans over to place a quick kiss on my lips, his hand lingering on my bare thigh for a second before he sits. “I asked Loren for a recommendation last week.”

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