The Unexpected Choice

by Stephanie Taylor

  “I certainly won’t regret it. Will you?” He took a step forward and looped his arms around her waist. “And is a marriage in name only the way you really want this to be? Considering how attracted we are to each other? You said yourself you wanted to wait until marriage. Well? We’re married. Is it really fair to either of us to prolong this torture?”

  “I… I don’t know.” There would be no reason for regret since they were married. She’d lived up to her beliefs and hadn’t had sex with a man before marriage. Now she just had to release herself from her own thoughts and let it happen.

  “Tell you what. I’ll get started, and if I do something you don’t like, just tell me to stop. We’ll take it slow, Stace. I’ll do this right.”

  The tenderness in his eyes undid her. At least there were no pretenses, and they knew where they stood with each other. They didn’t love each other, but there was no reason they couldn’t enjoy the benefits of their marriage together because they cared about each other. And if Stacey was honest, this might be her only chance to get this close to a man.

  “I—I just don’t want to disappoint you, Joey.”

  A slow grin spread on his face, and his tongue darted out to lick his lips. His fingers strummed against her back and caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. “Stacey? Shut up.” He grinned.

  Finally, a smile broke through as his lips touched hers. His hands pulled her hips against him hard, and she realized how much he truly wanted her. It felt surreal, like she wasn’t really standing there in her own body but rather watching from above.

  Joey’s lips devoured her, his tongue plunging deep. A low groan vibrated in his chest as his fingers speared through her hair. He angled her head and took faster than she could give, but Stacey was helpless to stop him and didn’t want him to. The feelings inside her were too powerful, right on the edge of something more. Just when she caught up to his fervent kiss, he pulled back.

  His eyes were black with desire, and they stayed on her mouth as he spoke. “You’re the most amazing kisser, Stace. I can’t get enough.” He claimed her lips again. Her insides melted as his hands roamed south, cupping her behind and yanking her against him.

  Stacey found herself sighing when he pulled away again.

  “Are you okay? I know I should go slower, and I will. But right now, I just need to feel you.”

  Feeling was exactly what she wanted. “Joey? Shut up.”

  With a chuckle, he lifted her until she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Promise you’ll wear this for me again.”

  At the moment, Stacey would promise anything. “Mmm.”

  “Promise me, Stace. I want all of you, not just the part helping me get my baby.”

  “I thought we said no talking about the future or babies.”

  “I’m talking about you, Stace. I want us to have a real marriage. None of this name-only stuff. I want to be the husband you deserve and be all the things you’ve ever dreamed of having.”

  Going still in his arms, Stacey then averted her gaze and then dropped her legs. “Put me down, Joey.”

  He did as she asked and frowned down at her. His hands crossed against the expanse of his chest.

  They stared at one another for a long while as Stacey gathered her bearings. She wasn’t sure where to begin, so she let her heart do the talking.

  “I can’t promise you anything, Joey. You’re the one who made it clear this wasn’t a love match. And I’m okay. I’ve got both eyes open. But I can’t have you confusing me with all the pretty words and promises to be a good husband. We didn’t get married to have a honeymoon or to make love. We got married to get your baby back. Anything else, we’ll just have to take it a day at a time.”

  “Stace—”

  She held up her hand, effectively silencing him. “I’m not pretty. I’m not sexy. I’m nothing like the other women you’ve been with. I don’t hold any illusions; you feel guilty over this, and you want to make it up to me. It shows your character that you want to be a good husband. In truth, we can’t go back and undo it. In God’s eyes, we’re married, and we should stay this way until one of us cheats or dies. I do want to make the best of this. I really do, but…” She licked her lips and settled her stare on Joey’s worried frown. “…I’m not ready to sleep with you. I know I’m your wife, and I’m more than willing, but to you, it’s just a means to an end. I’m not saying it’s wrong to feel attracted. We’re married now. But I don’t want to be just a warm body for you. I guess I’m holding out hope maybe one day you can look past the glasses and my miserable wardrobe and see me for who I am. When you’ve done that, I’ll be satisfied with wherever it takes us.”

  “You seem to know an awful lot,” Joey grumbled.

  “I’m just being real.”

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  “Maybe to you.”

  “I’m pretty sure if anyone else were here, they’d think you were being ridiculous, too.”

  “Let’s just get some sleep. I’m exhausted.” Stacey turned around and crawled into bed, pulling the covers up to her ears. Joey hadn’t moved.

  “I can’t sleep next to you while you’re wearing that.”

  “There’s a couch right over there.” Anger simmered near the surface now, just waiting to erupt. Usually, Stacey wasn’t easy to anger, but everything was starting to take its toll on what little confidence she had.

  “There is no way I’m sleeping on the couch on my honeymoon.”

  “Then don’t.” Stacey snuggled a little deeper into the sheets and closed her eyes.

  Before she fully registered what happened, the covers were gone and she was underneath Joey, his eyes blazing with an odd mixture of playfulness and determination.

  He settled between her legs, and his lips trailed a heated path down her neck and over her collarbone. She hated the wanton whimper escaping her mouth, so she clamped her eyes and mouth shut.

  “I’m going to break down your defenses one by one, Stace. One by one. Before long, you’ll be demanding I make love to you just like this.”

  He continued to demonstrate his power over her body by touching and trailing searing paths of heat along her skin to the most intimate places. She wasn’t afraid of his body or the pain inevitably involved. What she was afraid of was the repercussions of such an intimate act with him. Her heart was at stake. Papa had taken most of it when he’d passed on. Joey was getting the remnants, and she wanted to hold on to those and not feel so exposed. But as it was, she knew it was a losing battle.

  “Stacey?” he asked, looking up into her face. His eyes were rounded and vulnerable. “I want to make love to you. Tonight. Will you let me?”

  Stacey swallowed thickly. Her body betrayed her, arching up to him involuntarily. She might be just a warm body to him. He might even close his eyes and envision Cameron as he made love to her.

  But she could pretend, too. Tonight, he loved her for who she was, thought she was sexy and beautiful, and their marriage was a real one.

  Tomorrow, she’d deal with the consequences.

  Pressing her lips to his, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, telling him the answer without a single word.

  Chapter Seven

  A pinprick of light annoyed Joey from behind his eyelids. Exhaustion wasn’t done wreaking havoc with his body, and it didn’t help he’d had a late night last night.

  With a jolt, Joey opened his eyes and saw a sleeping Stacey lying next to him. He wasn’t one to pride himself on things, but this morning she looked thoroughly loved. From her tousled hair down to her wrinkled gown. Cleavage peeked at him from behind her arm. He couldn’t resist running a finger down the line and pressing his lips to her forehead.

  Stacey Ingram surprised him. They’d gone back and forth for so long last night he feared the night was lost to them. But if he was anything, he was determined and even if he didn’t love her, he wanted to be a good husband and show her what the physical side of a relationship felt like. And if he was honest, it was no h
ardship for him. Stacey was as passionate between the sheets as she was about everything else in her life.

  And he was counting on passion to get them through the next few years together as they raised the baby.

  At some point during the night, she’d taken her contacts out and placed her glasses on the nightstand beside her. The duct tape stared back at him like some sort of joke. The first thing they were doing was getting those fixed or replaced when they got home. Maybe she’d consider wearing contacts more often. He hated for those beautiful eyes of hers to be hidden. He’d found out last night how expressive they could be when her defenses were down.

  Stacey stirred and flipped on her back, the gown shifting and rising on her thigh. He placed his palm there and traced circles with his thumb. Then he delivered a single kiss next to his hand.

  Glancing up, he saw she stared at the ceiling, wide-eyed and alert. Sliding his hands up the side of her waist, his body followed and pinned her to the bed.

  “Good morning, Mrs. McCrary,” he whispered, kissing the underside of her jaw.

  “Morning,” she snapped and pushed at him.

  “Uh-uh,” he argued. “We’re not going to be all weird today. This is the first day of our honeymoon, and it’s going to count.”

  “Joey…”

  “Hush up and kiss me, Wife.”

  It didn’t take her long before she grinned and gave him a chaste peck on the lips.

  “Nope, a good one.”

  She turned her head to the side and shook her head. “Morning breath.”

  “Morning breath? Really, that’s your excuse?”

  She stared at him and then grinned. “Has anyone ever told you you’re relentless? I’m sore in places I didn’t know I had.”

  “You know what that means, right?” he asked, then kissed her long and deep.

  When he pulled away she shook her head. “What?”

  “It means we just have to get you broken in a little more. Like leather. The more you use it, the better it gets.”

  A saccharine sweet smile lit her features. “How romantic!”

  Throwing his head back, he laughed heartily. “C’mon, Stace. You know you want to.”

  Chewing on her bottom lip, a little habit he’d noticed her doing when she was thinking, she finally nodded. “I do want you.”

  Desire shot through his veins. The sweetest words ever uttered. “Then sit back, my lady, and enjoy the ride. Before we leave this hotel room, you’re going to know what an orgasm feels like.”

  With a roll of her eyes, Stacey met him halfway for a kiss. The confidence of her touch spurred him on. The previous night hadn’t been ideal, but then again, Stacey had been a virgin, and he’d forgotten to read up on how to speed the process along for someone terrified out of her mind. But it wasn’t anything a little experience and a little more patience wouldn’t cure.

  Waggling his eyebrows, he trailed a path of hot kisses down her torso until he reached his goal. Before long, he was lost in Stacey’s passion.

  ****

  Sweat beaded on Stacey’s forehead. Who on earth had she married? Joey was insatiable, and it seemed he was in no rush for food, water, or clothing, all of which Stacey would give her right arm for at that moment.

  As Joey collapsed on top of her, spent, she ran her fingernails down his back. He shuddered.

  “You’re so perfect,” he rasped. “I can’t get enough.”

  “You’re telling me this?” she countered. At his chuckle, she smiled and pushed at his shoulders. “C’mon, Joey. It’s afternoon. I need food if I’m going to survive this.”

  “Good plan. Shower together?” he asked as he raised a brow, turning on the charm.

  “For no other purpose than to get clean or do you have ulterior motives?”

  “I’m not sure. I guess we’ll find out when we get there?”

  With a quick peck on the lips, Joey helped her up. She then realized she’d removed her contacts. She blindly patted the nightstand for her glasses.

  “Here you go.” Joey placed her glasses on her nose with careful precision. “Better?”

  Suddenly self-conscious, Stacey looked down. Her world might be a little too focused now. With Joey standing before her in his birthday suit, and her in a skimpy chemise, the reality of their new life settled around her like a mound of falling debris.

  “Why don’t you wear contacts more often?” Joey casually asked.

  Stacey shrugged. “Too expensive.”

  “Would you like to wear them more often? I can tell you’re not confident when you have your glasses on. I have a good job now, and we can afford to keep you in contacts. But it’s your call. At the very least, let’s get your glasses fixed.” Joey’s hand enclosed around hers, and he smiled.

  “If you want…” Stacey replied.

  “I do. You just think about it, and let me know what you want to do.”

  “I will.”

  Suddenly, her world tilted, and it took her a moment to realize Joey had scooped her off her feet and walked into the bathroom with her. Planting a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose, he put her on her feet again and reached behind her to turn the shower on. Then he took a step back, just enough for him to grab the hem of her nighty and pull it over her head.

  Even though they’d made love several times during the night, Stacey hadn’t undressed completely. Instead, Joey had seemed content to kiss her through the fabric and leave the small barrier between them. Now, she bared it all before him, and his eyes were rounded with desire yet again.

  “Seriously, Joey, I need food.”

  “I need you,” he murmured.

  With a deep sigh, not born completely from frustration but rather excitement, she let Joey usher her into the shower.

  She wasn’t sure how a honeymoon was supposed to play out, but this was shaping up to be a pretty good one.

  ****

  Several hours later, Joey inhaled a hotdog with chili as he sat next to Stacey on a park bench downtown. She carefully ate her pretzel as he licked the chili away from his chin. He gave her a smile and winked.

  “Hungry?” she asked with a chuckle.

  “Just in a hurry to get back to the hotel room.”

  She gave a little smile and shook her head, even as pink tinged her cheeks. “When is Cameron due?”

  “A few more weeks. When we get back, we need to start thinking about a nursery and names.”

  Stacey frowned and shook her head. “Names are between you and Cameron.”

  Wadding up his hotdog paper and napkin, he tossed them in the trash next to Stacey. “Cameron has no rights to her baby right now. She’s signed everything over to me already until she’s out of prison, Stace.”

  “Doesn’t mean I should be involved in the process of naming the baby.”

  Joey engulfed her hand with his large one. “You’re my wife. This baby is going to call you Mama. You have every right to name her.”

  “It’s a girl?”

  “Last check with the ultrasound tech, it was.”

  Stacey leaned back against the bench, clearly perplexed. It was almost as if Joey could hear her thoughts. During those younger years, she didn’t do frilly or play with dolls or know how to fix hair. All she said she remembered when she was a kid was playing in the dirt and coming home to a scolding. Climbing trees was more her thing.

  “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “What, Einstein?” She studied the simple gold band on his ring finger she’d placed there yesterday. He loved the way it looked on him, even if it was a little surreal. Stacey, the girl he’d worshiped, still worshiped if the truth be told, was his wife. He sent up a prayer of thanks. Joey wasn’t sure what God had in store for him or if the devil was wielding his power over his life, but either way, he was enjoying being her husband so far.

  “You’re thinking you don’t do pink. You have no idea how to do girlie stuff, right?”

  A smile slipped passed her obvious worry. “Exactly.”

 
Joey chuckled and pulled her close, placing a kiss in her hair. “Let me tell you, Stacey McCrary. You’re going to be the best mom to our little girl, and she’s going to love you no matter what. Even if she finds out your favorite color is green and not pink.”

  “How did you remember?” she asked, looking into his eyes.

  “I still remember the day you put a gross frog on my leg!”

  “And you screamed like a girl.” Her giggling made him smile.

  “More like a boy who had to face his fears without any prep time.”

  Stacey laughed. “Big ole baby,” she chided.

  “I used to get so angry that you weren’t scared of anything.”

  “I was scared of a lot. I still am.”

  “I’m scared of you, Stace. You’ve always scared me.” He sobered, thinking of the lightness in his heart and the way he looked forward to getting home and settling into a routine with her. Waking up next to her every morning. Six months ago, settling down was the last thing on his to-do list.

  “No reason for me to scare you. I’m just a girl you grew up with.”

  “Who’s now my wife and knows how terrified I am of frogs.”

  “Be nice to me, and you have nothing to worry about.” She grinned, and he felt a tug of tenderness he hadn’t experienced since Cameron. He shoved it quickly away and cleared his throat.

  “I’ll be nice all right,” he drawled, eyeing her with playfulness. “My mama always taught me if I couldn’t be nice, I wouldn’t get rewarded.”

  Stacey’s eyebrows rose.

  “All I know is I must have been nice somewhere along the way. I sure got rewarded this time.”

  Shoving her glasses up on her nose, she sniffed and looked sadly off into the distance, clearly lost in thought. He’d never understand her.

  “What did I say wrong?”

  “I thought we said no more flattery, no more sugar coating. I’m not a reward. I made a decision to help you.” She shrugged and looked away again. “Just because we’ve had sex now doesn’t mean you have to say flowery things. I’m well aware of who and what I am to you.”