Play Me

“Into town. There’s a little café there that has internet. I wanted to make sure you could at least check in once or twice while we were here. I’ll make this better.”

Closing her eyes, Kendall whispered, “No.”

“No?”

When her gaze met mine, her eyes were glossy with the tears she was trying to hold back.

“I’m sorry I fucked this up, Kendall.”

Throwing her arms around my neck, Kendall started to cry.

Shit. I really messed up. She’s a bawling mess now.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry I complained and didn’t appreciate all the hard work you did to make this so special. You’re right; it is perfect. Sometimes I just get something in my head, and I don’t know why I acted like that. I’m so sorry.”

Pulling back some, I looked at her closely. “I thought you wanted somewhere warm.”

Kendall slowly shook her head as she placed her hand on the side of my face. “The only place I want is to be in your arms.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “I can do that.”

I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. After I gently set her on her feet, she slipped into the bathroom and I quickly built a fire in the fireplace.

Once that was done, I turned to see Kendall standing in the doorway of the bathroom. She was dressed in white lacy lingerie and wore a sexy smile on her face. Her finger moved slowly down her neck, over her chest, and then back up to her mouth. I moaned as she lightly traced her bottom lip and smiled.

“I want you, Hunter.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I was stunned by the beauty that was my wife, standing there in front of me and telling me she wanted me.

“Do you want me, too?”

I nodded.

“Then maybe you should get undressed.”

My boots went flying, and I quickly tugged my shirt over my head, tossed it to the side, and then worked on getting my jeans off.

Kendall approached me slowly, her eyes taking in every inch of my naked body.

“I can’t believe you’re my husband.”

Still unable to speak, I placed my hands on her hips, letting my gaze roam freely over her body.

“Make love to me, Hunter.”

Sliding my hand around the back of her neck, I leaned close and pulled her mouth to mine. “Kendall,” I whispered before pressing my lips to hers.

There was a soft rug in front of the fireplace, and I lowered our bodies to the floor as I kissed every inch of her body. My hands explored her like it was our first time together. Kendall was breathing heavily, whimpering for me to touch her, come inside her. When I couldn’t take not being closer to her, I slipped off her panties and tossed them to the side. Moving over her, I slowly pushed inside her until I was buried so deep we both let out a long, deep moan.

“Hunter,” Kendall whispered, her fingers moving lightly over my back.

“I love you so much, baby. So much.”

As I moved in and out of her slowly, our hands touched one another, our mouths kissed deeply, and I felt as if my entire world was right there in that room.

“I’m going to come,” Kendall gasped.

“Yes,” I hissed, moving faster as I felt my own buildup growing.

We called out each other’s names as we came together. When I finally stopped moving, I kept my body over Kendall’s. Our eyes met and we both smiled. My heart was filled with so many different emotions. Pure happiness, disbelief this beautiful woman was mine, and excitement for what our future held.

“Hello, Mrs. Owens.”

“Hello, Mr. Owens.”

Kendall’s smile turned into a frown as she scrunched up her nose and asked, “Is something burning?”

I gave a sniff and then turned to the fire. Focusing back on Kendall, I said, “I really hope you brought more panties. Yours are going up in smoke.”

38

Kendall

Three Years Later

Hunter wrapped his arms around me. “How’s it going?”

Having him hold me never got old. My love for this man only grew every day.

I checked the gravy to make sure it was still okay. Cooking had never been my strong suit, but I’d been practicing and had greatly improved. Mom and Aubrey had given a lot of guidance the day before. But I wanted to be in charge of the turkey.

This was the first year we were hosting Thanksgiving at our house. In years prior, we had alternated between our parents. But this year, I wanted everyone to come to our place for a perfect Thanksgiving dinner.

I opened the oven and showed Hunter the turkey. “It’s a perfect golden brown. And according to the laminated timeline, everything is right on track.”

I heard his laughter behind me and turned around to see that oh-so-familiar gleam of happiness in his eyes. “Why are you laughing?”

“Laminated timeline?”

“What? Thanksgiving cooking can be messy, and I figured things can go off the rails really fast. So I thought this would give me a guideline and the paper would stay neat and tidy at the same time. Win-win.”

Hunter just nodded and gave me that smile that I loved.

I asked, “Where’s Alec?”

“The grandpas took him out to see the horses.”

There was so much pride in Hunter’s voice. When we’d found out we were having a baby, I thought Hunter might burst from happiness. Initially, I’d wanted to wait until things were more settled in our careers, but then I realized they never would be. Through it all, Hunter supported me while I came full circle. Of course, he wanted children almost right away. Originally, I had, too, but then I got scared.

The moment Alec came into the world fourteen months ago, my life shifted. Becoming a mother was the best thing I had ever accomplished.

Sometimes, it was hard keeping the balance, but with my dad’s guidance and sheer determination, we’d found a happy medium. In five to seven more years, Dad would officially take a step back as I continued to grow into my role.

Hunter had taken the Tennessee Spartans for a Super Bowl win this last year with Josh McEvans as his star quarterback. The thought of Josh made me smile. Just three days ago, Josh and Amber welcomed a baby girl into their family.

Hunter nuzzled my neck. “What are you thinking about?”

“Just how perfect life is. I can’t wait to see Josh and Amber’s baby.”

“I’m so proud of him.”

“Me, too.”

After Hunter’s weekend with Josh at the ranch, he’d been a totally different person. Even Josh’s dad had come around after a lot of time and therapy.

Life was a beautiful thing.

The timer went off. “Oh, I think it’s time to get all the food on the table.”

Hunter leaned over my shoulder. “Seems we have seventeen minutes to carve the turkey and then twelve more minutes to set the table.”

I playfully slapped his chest. “Your time is a-ticking, Mr. Owens.”

He grabbed the carving knife and set to work. When it was about an inch o

r two in, the knife stopped moving. Hunter’s muscles were flexed more than what should have been required to carve the turkey.

“What’s wrong?”

“Uhh…” He tried a little harder. “When did you defrost the turkey?”

“This morning. I put it in water while I creamed the corn. It stayed in the hot water for about an hour. Why?” Before Hunter could answer, I gasped. “Is it… is it still frozen?”

He pulled out the knife, and I touched the turkey. On the surface, it was the perfect temperature. Just a little deeper, it was rock solid.

“Pretty much, baby.”

“But it’s golden brown! And in the sink, the skin was all mushy.” I was devastated. This wasn’t going according to plan at all. How can this be happening? There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Hunter kissed the top of my head. “We need a plan B. Wait, what is this?”

Leaning over, he grabbed something out of the turkey and pulled it out.

I gasped. “What is that doing in my turkey?”

“It’s the gizzard, giblets, and heart.”

There were no words. I was now horrified. “They leave that in the turkey?”

“For the gravy, generally.”

I started gagging. “Throw that away. Throw it away or I’m going to be sick.”

As Hunter turned toward the trash can, the back door opened and Frank came racing in, chasing Nala. Suddenly, everything moved in slow motion. Our poor cat was being traumatized by Frank, the mutt we’d adopted about six months before. Nala raced into the room and climbed up the tablecloth, and the pies I had slaved over the day before came tumbling down.

Arf. Arf. Arf.

“Frank, get your ass out here,” Brett called from the door just outside.

“Language!” Aubrey yelled from what sounded like the living room.

“What?” Brett said.

“What happened?” Aubrey asked.

I cocked my head as Brett’s expression grew tense. “Well, there was a little mishap.”

Alec. My heart skipped a beat. “What happened?”

Brett looked guilty. “Well, Alec wanted down.” I closed my eyes, afraid of where this was going. “And we can’t say no to the little guy.” I opened my eyes and raised my eyebrow. “He might have thought the manure bucket was fun.”