She smirked and nodded. “I want to model my ring for you—while wearing nothing else.”
That sounded incredible. “Mmm. And then what?”
“I’ll let you know when I decide.”
I no longer scrimmaged for control when she wanted it because as it turned out, there was room for both of us to take turns switching it up. No matter who was calling the shots, being with Avery was always incredible.
I stood and helped her to her feet. Several of the guys clapped a hand on my back, congratulating me. When I looked to the far corner of the room, I spotted Micah standing alone. He raised his glass, and I tipped my chin. That was as far as our interactions went. He was here for the simple fact that Avery asked and there was nothing I wouldn’t give her. But I still hated the guy.
Taking Avery’s hand, I pulled her toward the banister, and we slipped upstairs. We could only sneak away for a few minutes. I followed her into our bedroom and softly shut the door.
“Pants off, Mr. Wolfe. We have a house full of guests and only about ten minutes before they realize we’re missing and I want to make every second count.”
I loosened my belt. “Who said you’re in charge?”
She arched a brow and pulled off her hideous Christmas sweater. “Me.”
“Good enough.” I dropped my pants and flicked off the lights. Within thirty seconds she had me begging, but tonight she’d be the one on her knees.
We were married the following spring, not wanting to waste time on a long engagement. Over our honeymoon, I took her skydiving and got the whole thing on tape. She screamed the entire time but also loved the rush. Although she claimed she’d never do it again, I knew she would. Avery was one of the bravest women I’d ever met. And she loved a challenge.
In the end, I had the woman of my fantasies. She was perfect in every way. Adventurous, gorgeous, silly, dangerously competitive, and my best friend. Pleasing Avery was as easy as breathing.
And she got me out of the deal, which she claimed made her the winner. I didn’t understand her thinking, but I didn’t need to. So long as she was happy with the outcome, I had everything I needed, because that meant I had her.
Avery got everything she set her mind to and sometimes it was fascinating to watch her succeed, even when approaching the seemingly impossible. But she was also incredibly easy to please because it didn’t take much to make her happy. She had the job she wanted, a home that came with a fifteen-year mortgage in a decent school district, and an average, mid-sized sedan. Avery loved pretending she was average even if she’d never qualify.
I loved letting her believe the fantasy, too. But I knew the truth. And if one of us was the winner in this situation, it was me.
My wife was no average woman. She was extraordinary. Perfection personified, in every way. Easily the classiest woman in any room, but also the filthiest in the sexiest way possible—no matter the situation, there was always something dirty on her mind. And as far as fulfilling roles went, I especially like when she wore mismatched clothes and farm animal slippers.
She’d been a lot of things in her life, a bombshell, a student, a daughter, a sister, an average girl. But she’d always be so much more to me, because I got all those parts as one messy, sexy, unparalleled woman.
That was the real Avery.
And she was mine. Forever.
* * *
THE END
* * *
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ALMOST PRIEST
McCullough Mountain #1
* * *
Chapter One
* * *
She was making a mistake, Samantha thought for the hundredth time that evening. She distracted herself with her phone as they headed over the interstate toward the darkening west. Braydon tapped out a beat on the steering wheel as the chiming sounds of Coldplay filled the car. Unlike Sam, he appeared to be suffering from zero misgivings about this trip.
The signal finally picked up on her wireless network and she quickly logged into her mobile email. Grades had to be posted by now.
“You get through?” Braydon asked at her sigh of relief.
“Yeah, let’s just hope it loads.”
“The closer we get to Center County the harder it’ll be to get a signal. I don’t know why you’re worried anyway. You know you got an A.”
Sam tapped her foot on the carpeted interior of his Passat with fidgety impatience. The chances of her getting less than an A were unlikely, but she wouldn’t be able to relax until she knew for sure.
“I probably wouldn’t be so concerned if it was a normal semester for me, but student teaching and senior seminar ate up all eighteen of my credits this semester. That one grade carries more weight than a typical three credit course.”
He shook his head in resignation. “Samantha, you showed up every day, your cooperating teacher loved you, the principal of the school requested you to forward your résumé directly to her when you graduate, and you’ve carried a four point oh GPA since you were a freshman. You shouldn’t be stressing over this.”
She pursed her lips as the swirled rotary image cycled on her phone. There seemed to be a cyber traffic jam at thirty percent loaded. “Come on.” Her phone suddenly let out three obnoxious beeps and informed her that the wireless connection failed. “Damn it!”
“When we get to the house you can use my parents' computer.”
“I don’t want to impose. Can we stop at a McDonalds or some other fast food place with wifi before we get there?”
Sam didn’t share Bray’s amusement when he chuckled. “Samantha, we don’t have fast food joints out here. Just let it go. Once grades are out there’s nothing you can do about them anyway. Put your phone away and embrace the fact that you have three weeks of vacation before you have to even think about college again.”
He was right. She sighed and slipped her cell back into her bag, but for some reason she still couldn’t relax. Rather than stress about her grades or the fact that she was only six credits away from graduating, she stressed about their journey.
It was the start of summer, yet to Sam it was the end of an era. Her flip-flops and shorts were only irrelevant accessories. Her mind was solely focused on the light at the end of the tunnel. As the air from the sleek black vent on the dash tickled her exposed knees, Sam imagined what the end of the summer would feel like. Such relief. By mid-August she’d be, if everything went according to plan, settling into her new classroom and zipping through textbooks and novels for her lesson plans.