by Parker Grey
Colton
I've got a buddy in town, and he's pretty surprised when I show up at his place and ask if I can sleep on his couch. When I tell him that I got caught with a rancher's daughter, he asks which one, then shakes his head when I tell him.
"I've heard he's a right bastard," Dwayne says. "Back in high school, a friend's little brother got caught holding her hand at the movies and I don't think Tom let the poor girl out of his sight until she went to college. It's a miracle he let her do that."
The thought of someone else holding Emmy's hand — not to mention what else they might have done, even if she was a virgin — makes my blood boil, but I force my anger down. That was years ago, and she's mine now.
That's what matters.
"Where to next?" Dwayne asks, offering me a beer from the fridge. I take it and pop it open. "Job on another ranch somewhere else, or odds and ends until the fall?"
I blink at him and take a long gulp. Neither of those things had even occurred to me, because I'm not doing shit without Emmy.
"I gotta go back," I say, putting the beer on the table, my hand still around it. "I gotta get Emmy."
Dwayne just looks at me and laughs.
"Seriously, just forget the girl," he says. "All the ranchers around here have cute daughters."
I just shake my head.
"I can't," I say. "I'm going back for her, so I better come up with something."
Dwayne snorts.
"Like a white horse and an engagement ring?" he jokes.
I look at him, eyebrows raised.
"It's not a bad idea," I say.
Turns out, neither of those things was too hard to get. A guy I did some work for a few years ago has a horse he doesn't mind me borrowing — Jackalope is only mostly white, but he'll do — and the pawn shop in town is willing to take the little money I have for a surprisingly nice diamond ring.
I have no idea if it'll fit Emmy, but for a day's work, I think I did pretty well.
By late afternoon, I'm on Jackalope and we're trotting down the road toward the Saddle & Spurs Dude Ranch, Emmy's ring bouncing in my jacket pocket. It's not that far outside town, and as I turn off onto their dirt road, I take a deep breath.
Tom might still be pissed. I might get shot. He might refuse to let me see Emmy, like she's some kind of prisoner.
Or, the very worst thing: Emmy might not want to see me. She might decide that I'm not worth the trouble and turn me away, and that's the only thing that could get me away from her right now.
As I approach the gate to the ranch, my heart clenches. I know there's a security camera on it, so from now on, they know I'm here. They can see me coming, but I press on, anyway.
Then I frown. There's someone at the gate, hauling one side of it open, a bicycle leaning against the fence.
It's Emmy.
She looks up at me and waves, and even from far away I can practically see the grin on her face.
"Colton!" she shouts.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Emmeline
Holy shit, he's here.
After I shout his name, Colton waves back at me and starts galloping. I stand stock still, mouth slightly open, at the sight.
He's here. On a horse. Presumably to rescue me from my parents, after they chased him off with a shotgun.
Who does that?
I'm still just standing there as he jumps off the horse in front of me, grinning so wide I think his face might crack. I just start laughing from sheer giddiness as he wraps me in his arms, spins me around, and puts me back down.
Then he takes my face in his hands and kisses me, right there. No one's around but we're still in public, and it's long and slow, our bodies moving together as he explores me with his tongue. I've got one hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down to me, and I never want to let him go again.
"You came back," I say, surprised, when we finally separate.
"Course I came back," he says, his fingers tracing slowly over my chin.
Then he pauses for a split second, my heart hammering.
"I love you, Emmy," Colton murmurs.
"I love you too," I whisper.
We kiss again, even harder. The horse stamps one foot, but neither of us moves for a long, long time.
Then Colton stops. He pulls away, stroking my hair with one hand.
He takes a deep breath and gets down on one knee.
What the hell, I think. Is he seriously...
"Emmeline Winchester, will you marry me?" he asks.
Colton pulls a ring box from his pocket and opens it, revealing a sparkling diamond solitaire. It's not big, but I couldn't care less.
My eyes fill with tears.
"Yes," I whisper. "Yes, of course."
Then I'm on my knees too, kissing Colton fiercely as he puts the ring on my finger, laughing.
"Darlin', I can't even see what I'm doing," he murmurs, his mouth against mine.
I laugh and pull back, letting him slide it down. Somehow, it fits perfectly, sparkling in the late afternoon sun.
"I love it," I whisper, still totally amazed and gobsmacked.
Then, something occurs to me, and I look at Colton again, insides twisting.
"You don't have to do this," I say. "Getting engaged is a big step, and I know my parents are strict but, I mean... I'm leaving," I say, pointing at my bike and my backpack.
"Emmy—"
"I'll be with you anyway, you don't have to propose. I know it's soon," I finish, my heart in my throat.
I don't want him to take it back, but I don't want him to feel like he has to propose.
He just looks at me, slightly amused.
"I'll marry you right now," he says. "I don't give a damn about your parents, Emmy. I'm here because I love you and I want to spend my life with you, and showing them I'm serious is the icing on the cake."
I nod, my eyes filling with tears again, even though I'm smiling despite myself.
"We can't get married now," I say.
He raises one eyebrow.
"We ain't that far from Denver," he says.
"It's a six-hour drive," I point out.
Colton just grins.
"So, we'll get in at two in the morning, sleep a few hours, and get married first thing," he says. "Come on, darlin', don't you want an adventure?"
I open my mouth. I close it. I open it again, because yes, I want an adventure with Colton. I want it more than anything.
"Okay," I say. "Let's go get married."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Colton
I never thought I'd be doing this, but it feels right. Once we get into town, we hop straight into my truck and soon we're barreling south, holding hands over the gear shift. Sometimes we talk and sometimes we're just quiet, but there's nothing more I want than being with Emmy, even in the cab of my beat up pickup truck.
It's not perfect, but... it's perfect.
We get into Denver at 2:30 in the morning, find a cheap motel, and Emmy's asleep before I even brush my teeth. I get into bed next to her and slide my arms around her sleeping body and she snuggles against me in her sleep.
When we wake up, she's curled into me, my arm around her shoulders. She kisses me good morning wordlessly, I kiss her back and before I know it she's on top of me, beautiful and naked. Emmy rides my cock slowly, and I savor every second of it: how beautiful she is when we fuck, her face when she comes.
Not having to sneak around.
We shower, and then I resist taking her again so we can get to City Hall first thing. She wears the one skirt she brought, and I put on a clean shirt.
I've never done this before, but I've got a feeling that you're supposed to make a reservation to get married.
We didn't, but we do the next best thing: show up early.
Denver City Hall is a huge, beautiful building with columns on the front and two wings curving around. We go through the metal detector and then line up at a window that that says "Marriage Licenses," since it seems like that's what we're af
ter.
The woman behind it doesn't even say anything when we're next in line, just looks at me through fake eyelashes, long red nails poised above the computer keyboard.
"We're here to get married," I say. I've never done this before, and I'm not precisely sure what the etiquette is, but it seems like a reasonable place to start.
She looks from me to Emmy and back, skeptically. I put one hand on Emmy's lower back, feeling weirdly protective of her.
"You got a license and an appointment?"
"No ma'am," I say, doing my best to be polite. After all, my momma always told me that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
She sighs, grabs a form, and slides it under the glass.
"Fill this out and submit it to the county clerk, then come back here for an appointment. Earliest we can get you in right now is..."
She checks a calendar on the computer.
"Next Tuesday afternoon."
My heart sinks. Emmy looks up at me, her pretty face disappointed, and I rub her back with my thumb. I know I probably shouldn't be surprised that getting married takes planning.
Emmy steps closer to the window.
"Are there any no-shows or cancellations?" she asks sweetly.
The woman frowns.
"You in a hurry?" she asks.
"I guess not," Emmy says. "We were just excited is all."
Hearing the disappointment in Emmy's voice, I lean over and kiss her on top of the head.
"We'll just get married later, darlin'," I murmur.
Something softens in the woman's face, and she glances around quickly, then leans in.
"Listen, they don't like people hanging around here, but usually there's someone who doesn't show up for their appointment. If you fill out that form, you can wait at City Hall and see if there's a no-show."
"Really?" Emmy says, a little breathless with excitement.
"You might wait all day and not get married," the woman warns. "But it's the best I can do."
"Thank you!" Emmy gushes, and we grab the form, turning away to fill it out.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Emmeline
This feels a little crazy, like I'm in a movie about a heroine who's much spunkier and more daring than me. Because normally I'm not this girl, not at all — I got good grades, I behaved myself at school, I did what my parents said. I planned my life out the way I was supposed to — college, good job, meet a nice guy, maybe get married in five or six years, once I'm good and ready and have a career firmly established.
Except, suddenly, that's now. Crazy as it is, I know I want to marry Colton. Here. Now. And, strangely, I somehow know I won't regret it.
We fill out the form — his middle name is Cash, turns out — and give it back to the woman, then sit down to wait.
And wait.
And wait.
We hold hands on the bench and watch people come in and out of the courtroom where weddings take place. There's a young couple with a baby and fifty family members; there's an older couple wearing business casual; there's a couple I chat with for a while who are just there because, at their 250-person extravagant wedding, the officiant filled out the paperwork wrong.
Sometime around noon, the nice lesbian couple sees us sitting outside and asks if we'll be their witnesses, and we jump at the chance. It's just the two of them, with no friends or family, but their vows are so sweet and heartfelt that I cry like a baby through the entire thing, Colton's arm around my shoulder.
They walk down the aisle, out of the room, and he kisses me on top of the head again. I like it when he does that, it makes me feel safe and secure and protected, like I'm wrapped in a warm fuzzy blanket of love.
Then, as we're about to leave the courtroom ourselves to wait some more, the officiant speaks up.
"Are you the couple waiting to see if there's a cancellation?" he asks, looking at some sort of signup sheet.
"That's us," Colton says.
"You're in luck," he officiant tells him, looking down at the sheet through reading glasses. "Apparently, someone's changed their mind, so if you can do it right now, I can marry you."
My heart skips a beat. I hold my breath for a nanosecond, because this is it, the moment of truth.
Do I do this? Do I jump off a cliff with Colton and follow my heart for once, even if it's crazy?
"We'd love that," Colton says, rubbing my back.
Just hearing him say that floods me with warm fuzzies, and right then, I know: he's right.
I'd love that.
"Thanks," I say, suddenly feeling choked up.
The lesbian couple is still outside, and the clerk runs out and asks them if they'll be our witnesses. They say yes, and one of them even lends me her bouquet. Before I know it, I'm holding flowers and walking down the aisle toward Colton, standing there solemnly.
And in that moment, I'm completely, one hundred percent sure: this is the right thing to do.
I'm so giddy that I barely listen to the officiant, and the actual ceremony flies by. Since we didn't even have time to get rings, we don't exchange anything, and we didn't really write vows.
Before I know it, we're holding hands and the officiant is closing his book and holding his hands in front of himself.
"With the power vested in me by the state of Colorado," he intones solemnly, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Holy shit. He smiles.
"You may kiss the bride."
Colton leans down and kisses me tenderly, holding the side of my face as my arms go around him. The lesbians burst into applause as I open my mouth under his, kissing my husband for the first time.
Even though we're in a courtroom, I just want to melt into him, let him lay me down on the floor and have me however he wants me. It takes all my self-control not to wrap my legs around him right there, in front of several total strangers.
But I don't. We end the kiss and Colton leans his forehead against mine, our noses touching.
"I love you," he says.
"I love you too," I say back.
Chapter Thirty
Colton
Emmy kisses me one more time, quick and sweet, and then I walk my new wife down the aisle of the courtroom and out into City Hall.
Then we stand there, looking around for a moment, and I wonder what we're supposed to do next. I didn't plan any further than this, though I think maybe she did, and I look over at her.
Emmy laughs. I laugh, just giddy to be here, married to her.
"What now, Mrs. True?" I ask, squeezing her hand in mine.
She raises one eyebrow.
"Really?" she asks, a wicked gleam in her eye.
And just like that, I'm hard as a fucking rock.
We barely make it back to my ancient pickup truck, parked in the garage of City Hall. I push her up against the passenger door and she wraps her legs around me as I grind myself against her, soft moans escaping her lips.
I know for a fact that we shouldn't do this here and now, but I'm not sure I can help myself. Emmy's already beautiful and intoxicating beyond belief, and now that she's my wife?
Forget it.
I run my lips along her chin and down her neck as she digs her fingers into my shoulders. I can feel her pulse racing in her jugular, and everything about this just makes me harder and harder.
"I want you now," I growl.
She glances around.
"But—"
I put her down on her feet and yank the door of my truck open, pushing her inside, then sit on the bench seat myself. There are enormous SUVs on either side of us, so the only way anyone could see in is through the rear window of my truck.
I close the door, and the second it latches, Emmy's on top of me, straddling my lap, her eyes dark with lust.
"Here?" she whispers roughly, grabbing my cock through my pants with one hand.
I put my hand over hers and press down, using her to rub myself hard. Emmy bites her lip and glances through the back window, looking a little uncertain.
"Come on, Mrs. True," I say, watching her face. "I know you want my big cock filling up your tight little pussy again."
She blushes. It's amazing, really — the filthy things she'll say and do, and she still blushes. I put my lips next to her ear.
"I know you like riding me slow and feeling every fucking millimeter inside you," I whisper.
She kisses me. I grab her wrist and take it off my cock, then hold both her wrists behind her with one hand. Emmy moans into my mouth, my cock straining against my jeans for her.
Behind us, a car passes by. We're in the basement of the parking garage, so I don't think there will be too many cars, but still — we can fuck slow later. I let her arms go and unbuckle my jeans while she squirms in the cab of my truck, getting her panties off.
It's not the ideal space, but Emmy taking her clothes off will always be sexy.
The moment my cock is out her hand is on it, stroking me from root to tip and fuck, even that feels good. She kneels on the bench seat next to me — it's a big truck — and before I know it, she's got my cock in her mouth, sucking me down greedily.
I groan. Her tongue swirls around the head and then she takes me in, slowly, bobbing her head up and down until I hit the back of her mouth. She swallows against me and I take her hair in my hand, pushing her head down for just a little longer.
I fucking love this. I love the way she submits, the way she gives up control to me, the way she yields. Knowing that I can have Emmy any way I want her makes me love her more than I even thought possible.
I let her pull her head up and she slurps down my cock, then bobs up and down again, my hand tight in her hair. It feels fucking incredible, and then she stops for a moment, the tip of my cock at the back of her mouth, and I feel her throat relax.
Suddenly, Emmy deep throats me and I nearly fucking shout it feels so good. She takes me all the way, her lips against the soft curly hairs at the base of my cock, and I'm panting for breath, barely able to speak.