If I Can Dream (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  Curving her tongue around his shaft, she laved it back and forth, suckling, letting the look in his eyes be her guide. They changed, darkening and growing more hooded until he threw back his head and let her have complete control. Molly made herself happy, moving her mouth up and down his cock. She was so turned-on, she had to do something. Bringing her hands to her breasts, she cupped them, rubbing the nipples.

  When he heard Molly make a whimpering noise, Ten looked down and saw her. His hands came to her breasts and pushed hers away, taking the enjoyable task for himself. As she sucked, he worked her nipples, milking her breasts, pinching and pulling them out, releasing and beginning again. “You’re so damn sexy.”

  Almost delirious with pleasure, Molly doubled her efforts, sucking harder, loving the power she held over him. And when he stiffened and shouted her name, she flew with him, her body shuddering as his cock jerked and spurted. Molly swallowed, holding him between her lips until he was through. With a final groan, he slid from her mouth, pulling her up and into his arms. “We didn’t even make it to the bedroom,” she sighed, resting her head against his chest.

  “No, but give me a few minutes and we’ll start round two.” Adjusting his clothes, Ten placed a hand beneath her knees, sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her off to bed. “I think I like being married.”

  Molly laughed. “Good thing, Mr. McCoy.”

  ***

  A week later, the honeymoon was still going strong.

  “What’s your favorite color?” she asked, resting her head on his chest, just so she could hear his heart beat.

  “Blue.” He tilted her chin up with one finger, kissing her lips. “The same color as your eyes. What’s your favorite?”

  She stopped to consider her answer. “Emerald green, I think. The same green of the new grass when it grows high on the mountains. It makes me think of hidden secrets and fairytales.”

  Tennessee cradled her close. He’d lost count how many times he’d made love to her since coming back from the Highlands. Whatever the number, it hadn’t been enough. Both were going to be sleep deprived. If they weren’t having sex, they were whispering in the darkness, learning everything they could about each other. “How do you take your coffee?”

  “You don’t know?” She sounded aghast. “I know you take yours black.” Molly giggled when he goosed her.

  He loved the sound of her laugh and would do almost anything to hear it. “I know you have a little coffee with your sugar and cream, but I’m not sure of the measurements. And if you ever want me to bring it to you in bed, you best tell me the formula.”

  She rolled over on her back, her head nestled on his arm. “Two piling creams and three flat sugars.”

  “No wonder you’re so sweet,” he snorted.

  Loving him was so easy, Molly wondered why she’d ever been afraid to love in the first place. Rich or not, he would never hurt her, never. He loved her flaws and all. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Ten thought she was perfect just the way she was. “I want to wake up beside you every day for the rest of my life,” she said with soft conviction.

  “I think I can arrange that,” he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

  ***

  The next day at work, Molly was all smiles as she walked to the door of the spa. There was nothing like morning sex with your handsome husband to get the day off to a good start. When she opened the door, Selma was standing at the desk and she didn’t look happy.

  “Good morning,” Molly greeted her.

  “No, it’s not.”

  “What’s wrong?” Molly knew Selma had small children, not to mention frequent household disasters.

  Selma slammed her fist on the desk. “I have the shitty job of telling you that you’re not working today.”

  “What do you mean? I’ve still got a week to go. Did they find someone to replace me already?”

  “I don’t know. Ms. Hunt directed me to inform you that there’s no need for you to finish working out your notice. You’re to gather your things and vacate the premises immediately.”

  “Oh.” Molly didn’t know what else to say. Seeing Selma’s distressed face, she sought to reassure her friend with a weak laugh. “Selma, it’s okay. It’s not like I’m going to be destitute, I have a husband who’ll feed me until I get a new job.”

  Selma came from around the desk and took Molly by the arm, leading her outside. “You know as well as I do that the walls have ears around here. I just wanted you to know that I really like you. If you wanted to, I bet you could go to Mr. Hunt and he’d reinstate you.”

  “That’s okay, really,” Molly hugged her. They went back in together and Molly went to her station and retrieved her things, she almost looked up at the camera and shot it a finger. But she didn’t, she decided to leave with dignity.

  Returning to the trailer, she discovered Tennessee wasn’t there. Checking her phone, she saw that he’d left her a text message.

  Tennessee: Hey, sexy wife. I’m going to ride out to the Gage’s land and take another look around. I’m being optimistic. See you later.

  Molly started to text him back and tell him she’d been shown the door at work, but she decided to save that news for later. In the meantime, she’d see about cooking her gorgeous guy a good meal to come home to.

  A few miles away, Tennessee stood on the top of the mesa and envisioned what the landscape would look like with a forest of wind turbines, his wind turbines. Turning, Ten faced the wind. It blew stronger at this elevation, hence its perfection as a windfarm site. Caught up in the vision of his future, the truck was halfway down the dirt road before he noticed the cloud of dust.

  Thinking it could be one of the Gage brothers, he made his way down the steep trail to the access road. By the time he reached the bottom, the door opened and Greg O’Neil stepped out. Tennessee stopped in his tracks. “O’Neil,” he acknowledged him, not with any enthusiasm.

  “McCoy, I was just coming from Sam and Virgil’s. I saw someone parked here, thought I would check it out.” He gave Ten a smirk that no way passed for a smile. “Couldn’t believe it was you. I was on my way to find you. Could we have a word?”

  “I don’t really have anything to say to you.” Tennessee noticed a folder in O’Neil’s hand. “Is this about the bid?”

  “Yea, it’s over. They accepted my offer.” He pulled out some papers.

  A blast of disappointment flattened Tennessee like a steam roller. “Well, congratulations.” He started to leave, there was no more to be said.

  “I have something here you’ll want to see.”

  “I doubt it,” Tennessee’s head was spinning. He’d known there was a chance his bid wouldn’t be accepted, but he hadn’t expected to find out this way.

  “I won the contract because Molly texted me what you were bidding.” He laughed. “I guess you could say I did a little insider trading myself.”

  Silence. It took a full sixty seconds for his words to sink in. “You’re fucking crazy.” What the idiot said was so alien, so completely unbelievable that Tennessee couldn’t even process it.

  O’Neil laughed. “Now, I guess you’ll find out what it feels like to lose someone you care about.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Tennessee grated out the words.

  “Really? Look, I printed out her text messages. Molly and I are old friends. Didn’t she tell you?” He held something out to Tennessee. “She even sent me some pictures. Wanna see?”

  Dread tightened around his heart like a steel band. No, this couldn’t be right. With a shaking hand, he reached out to tear the papers from Greg’s hand, yanking the folder open as disbelief and anger surged through his system. Tennessee didn’t want to look. His Molly didn’t do this thing. But look he did. He felt sick at his stomach. Tennessee wanted to deny what he saw with his own two eyes. He wanted to wad up the paper and destroy it. But the truth was right there in black and white.

  He’d been the world’s biggest fool.

  She’
d questioned him coyly, batting those big blue eyes as she asked him about his bid. And all the time she’d been trading explicit texts with O’Neil, posing seductively for him in her bra and panties.

  As he started reading the texts, he saw that it was from her phone number and the photos were of her, half naked. Why had she done this to him? His eyes ached as he read, ‘Hey, handsome. I can’t stop thinking about you. Why don’t you come over? I have a need for a real man.”

  “This is some kind of a trick, O’Neil,” he said, but the words held no real conviction. Tennessee was having trouble reading the words, they were blurry for some unknown reason. He skipped to the end and saw where she’d revealed what he’d shared with her. The details of his bid were there in black and white. He’d told no one else.

  “She’s a good fuck, your wife.”

  Tennessee lost it. He lunged at O’Neil, knocking him to the ground. “You’re a liar, a fuckin’ liar.” They rolled on the ground, fists flying. Blindly, Tennessee lashed out, trading blows, wanting to beat the son-of-a-bitch into the dirt.

  “I’m not lying, McCoy. Go to your house. I left my bolo tie on the bedside table. It might still be there. She was so good, I sent roses as a thank-you for the roll in the hay.”

  Greg O’Neil pulled away and Tennessee didn’t have the heart to go after him. He was hurting, not from any injury, he was devastated by his wife’s betrayal. Picking up his hat, he went to his truck, started it, gunned down the lane, then peeled out on the highway. He needed answers.

  The less than five mile drive wasn’t long enough for him to make sense of what had happened. Why had she done it? He knew she distrusted people with money. Did the talk of the pre-nup cause this? No, that was just yesterday. Had O’Neil paid her? Or was she just that kind of woman? He fought back a sob that was stuck in his throat. He didn’t understand.

  Turning into the driveway, he almost didn’t stop before he hit the trailer. Slamming out of the truck, he threw open the door and walked in, finding his ‘wife’ in the kitchen.

  Hearing the door open and close, she knew Ten was back. With a smile, she turned to give him a kiss. “Welcome home, cowboy!” She showed him her phone. “I was just about to call you.”

  But when she saw his face, Molly knew something was wrong. His face was stern, his eyes were cold.

  “Ten? Baby? What happened?”

  “I’m on to you.” He threw the papers down in front of her. “You betrayed me.”

  Molly had no idea what he was talking about, but the sneer on his beautiful face cut her to her very soul. “What did I do?”

  “Give me your phone!” He held out his hand.

  “Why?”

  “Now!” He yelled at her and she began to cry. “You’re scaring me.”

  “Oh, I’m not going to hit a woman. I’m a man of honor, a virtue you’d know nothing about.”

  “I don’t understand.” She placed her phone in his hand, then she knelt to pick up the papers. Leafing through them, she was shocked. “Who did this?”

  “Fuck!” Tennessee found the whole text thread between Molly and Greg in her messages. “You did it, Molly. It’s right here.” He turned her phone around so she could see the screen. “You didn’t even have the sense nor the shame enough to delete it.”

  Molly finally made her eyes focus. “I didn’t do that. I don’t understand.” Glancing through the print-out, she saw the pictures. “Where did these come from?” They appeared to be her changing clothes at her massage station. “These were made at work.” They were shots from the security footage. “I can explain these, they are from the security camera. I sent them to no one, Tennessee.”

  He didn’t appear to hear a word of her defense. “Greg’s your old friend, you two hatched this scheme together. He hates me. Did you actually think you’d get away with it? Did you trust Greg to keep your secret, pay you off, or is he waiting on you to come to him?” Tennessee felt like he was dying. All of his dreams were going up in smoke, there would be nothing left but ashes.

  She wavered precariously on her feet. “Greg isn’t my friend. I knew him when I was younger, I haven’t seen him in years. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Pay me for what? He didn’t pay me anything.” Molly dashed the tears from her face.

  “You stole from me. I could press charges against you.”

  The knot in her throat rendered Molly speechless. She couldn’t respond, couldn’t move. This couldn’t be real. Quiet sobs burned her throat.

  “You gave him my bid amount so he could go higher. You stole my future!” And his dreams and his heart. He turned around, unable to look at her.

  Molly glanced through the papers, seeing the message, supposedly from her to Greg detailing exactly the bid he’d told her in the spa. “I didn’t do this, Tennessee. I told no one. I would never betray you. I love you.”

  Wheeling around, Tennessee glared at her in disdain. “Let’s see about that. Greg told me he was here. He said he came to see you.” He left the kitchen and started for the bedroom

  She followed along behind him. “He came looking for you, I…I…” she stammered, “I just forgot to tell you.”

  Going to the bedside table, he moved the lamp over and his heart sank further. He picked up the bolo with the red hand. He could still remember what Liam had told him about the red hand the night he’d tried to save him. About how the ancient O’Neil clan were trying to claim land for their tribe. Two chieftains agreed that the kingdom would belong to the first one to lay a hand on the island. The chieftains rowed their long-boats, vying one another for supremacy. When the O’Neil chieftain realized he wasn’t going to land first, he took a knife and cut off his own hand, throwing it to the shore. The O’Neil’s would go to any length to win. From that day forward the red bloody hand was the central focus of their family crest. And here it was now, evidence that his marriage was a sham.

  “What is that?” Molly asked. “I didn’t know it was there.”

  “Greg O’Neil’s bolo, bearing his family crest. You fucked him, Molly.” He dangled it in front of her face. “I caught you red-handed.”

  “No! I don’t know where it came from.” She grabbed his arm, begging him to listen, the familiarity of the bolo and its symbol just confusing her at this point. “I would never be untrue to you. I didn’t sleep with him. I didn’t send him texts or pictures and I didn’t tell him your bid amount. Someone just wants you to believe I did. Someone wants to destroy us.”

  Tennessee pushed by her, seeing the flowers. He hit them with his hand, knocking the vase to the ground, shattering it in a million pieces. “You brought his flowers into the place you were sharing with your husband.” He spat the words.

  “No, please no,” she begged him, getting on her knees in front of him. “I thought the flowers were from you. Remember? I would never hurt you. I love you, Tennessee.”

  “You’re a liar! I’m leaving and I’ll be filing for divorce.” He gave her one last look, his eyes filled with hurt and hate. “I gave you everything I had and you threw it away.” His eyes shuttered, his expression morphing from fury into one of complete indifference. Molly could feel him withdrawing, pulling away from her. It scared her to death. “I wish I’d never met you, Molly Reyes. And I never want to lay eyes on you again.”

  Rising, she began to cry in earnest. “Get out! Get out and never come back!” She yelled, her hurt turning into fury. “I never want to lay eyes on you again either.”

  But before she could finish her sentence, he had slammed out the door.

  He was gone.

  Molly ran after him, screaming. “I didn’t mean what I said. Don’t leave! Please come back. I love you!” But he didn’t stop, he didn’t even look around. She saw him open the door of his truck. Racing forward, she cried out. “I didn’t do this, Ten! I’m so sorry!”

  He slammed the door, the engine roared to life and in the next breath he was gone.

  Molly sank to her knees, completely devastated. A warm evening br
eeze brushed over her face. He would come back. He had to. This was just a horrible misunderstanding. Tennessee would listen to her. She’d make him listen.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Molly lay in her bed, curled into a fetal position. Pain, such as she’d never known, paralyzed her whole body. She was shaking. Trembling. But she wasn’t crying. She had no more tears to cry.

  She’d waited and waited for hours, sitting on the front door steps.

  He hadn’t returned.

  It was just as well she’d been told not to come back to work, there was no way she could go. Molly was sick. Sick at heart. Sick in her soul. With an agonizing struggle, she forced herself to relive every second she’d spent with Tennessee. The pain was relentless, but she needed to figure out what she’d done to make him have so little faith and trust in their love. She hadn’t done those things he accused her of. As for what really happened, Molly hadn’t been physically or mentally able to even attempt making sense of it all.

  All she knew was that her heart and her life was empty without Tennessee. He wanted a divorce and she was going to give it to him. She wouldn’t fight him over anything. If she couldn’t have his love, she certainly didn’t want his money.

  They hadn’t really been man and wife long enough for it to even count as a marriage. Rolling over, she buried her head in the pillow, but she could smell Tennessee on it. Molly picked up the offending object and flung it against the wall.

  Five hour’s drive north, Tennessee struggled to keep driving. He shouldn’t even be on the road. His mind kept going over the devastating things he’d discovered about the woman he loved and what she’d done to ruin him. She’d betrayed him in every way a woman could deceive a man. Molly had allied herself with a man who hated him.

  He turned on the windshield wipers, trying to get fog off the window, only to realize it was his eyes that were blurry rather than the glass. Ten swiped at his face, refusing to admit the dampness he found there were tears. When he finally arrived at the Highlands, he knew that facing his family would be one of the most difficult thing he’d ever had to do.