by Jess Bryant
Ashtyn’s heart felt like it was too big for her chest, “You’re so sweet and so perfect. I’d be a fool not to marry you.”
“You just tell me when and where, sweetheart, and I’ll be there.” He leaned down to kiss her softly. “Next month, next year, or when we’re ninety, I’d be happy to call myself your husband but there’s no pressure here. I just want to be with you.”
“And we’ll see where the next journey takes us.” Ashtyn smiled up at him, amazed all over again that she had literally stumbled into this man that had become such an important part of her life.
“I think you’re right, that the journey has to take us home next, and soon, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a hundred more adventures after we make things right with our families back in Nashville.”
“That’s exactly what I want, a lifetime of adventures with you.”
“Then you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what I’m offering.” Tyler grinned down at her. “I only have one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“Whenever you feel like running, you grab my hand so I can run with you.”
“Promise.”
They sealed it with a long, deep, slow and sensual kiss. Ashtyn wrapped her arms around him and Tyler moved between her legs. He began to strip her of her clothes and she lay back and let him, loving the way he took his time exposing her body and kissing every inch as it was bared to his heated gaze.
Tyler leaned down and kissed the hollow of her throat, “We’re going to have to take the long way home, you know.”
“Oh yeah?” She smiled up at the ceiling as he unclasped her bra and the cool air of the room made her nipples tighten before he even got to them with his wicked mouth.
“Mmm.” he hummed, trailing his lips over the curve of one breast. “There are things on the bucket list we haven’t finished yet and I can’t take you home without accomplishing our mission.”
She raised her head to look at him in confusion, “But we checked off everything on the list.”
“Did we?” He smirked up at her as he lowered himself between her legs.
“I…” she gasped as his fingers pressed against her mound and then down, down until he was sliding one inside her. “I think so.”
“Do you?” he asked maddeningly, continuing to tease her.
She bit her lip, “Well, there was that whole one-night stand thing.”
His fingers stopped moving, “Don’t you even think about it.”
“I wasn’t.” she insisted. “You’re the one that brought it up. And while you’re inside me no less.”
“Mmm, so sassy when you’re in need of an orgasm.” he chuckled and went back to stroking her with his long, thick fingers. “But you’re also wrong.”
“Tyler.” she groaned, trying to focus on the pleasure he was building inside of her.
“You only wrote down the easy things we could accomplish on the trip that day in the diner when I had you make the list. I know there’s more, and we aren’t going home until I get a chance to make all your dreams come true.”
She arched into his touch and moaned as he did the thing that drove her crazy with his fingers. He curled them inside her, touching that all too sensitive spot and began to thumb her clit at the same time. Her body instantly tightened and her hips twisted, craving more of the exhilaration only he could give her.
“I think you’re my dream, Tyler St. James.”
“That’s my girl.” he muttered softly, “Love you, Ashtyn. Love you so damn much.”
“I… I… I love you too.” The words stuttered out of her as an orgasm swept through her and her eyes closed, her body quaking through the tremors. When she forced her eyes open again Tyler was still between her legs, staring up at her with a look of amazement. She frowned, “What?”
“Did you really just tell me you love me for the first time while screaming out your orgasm?”
Ashtyn’s cheeks heated pink. Had she? Well, that was kind of embarrassing. She did love him. She knew she did, but she’d been very careful to only admit to falling for him. She hadn’t used the four-letter word that started with L because it had seemed too fast, their relationship still too unstable, but apparently her brain had given up the fight while Tyler was delivering her the deepest pleasures of her life.
“Yes?” She tried for a wide smile, unsure if he was annoyed or just surprised.
To her great relief he chuckled and moved up her body to kiss her again. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and welcomed him inside her, her body having adjusted to his size enough that he could push deep in one smooth thrust that felt like two puzzle pieces finally coming together. Tyler smiled down at her as he began to thrust and her heart gave another squeeze of pure joy and adoration.
“Well if I’d known that’s what it took to get you to say the words, I’d have kept you in bed and given you so many orgasms you wouldn’t have been able to walk, just to hear those sweet words out of your mouth.” He leaned down and bit her bottom lip in the way that she loved. “I want to hear it again.”
Ashtyn gave a teasing smile, “Then I guess you better make me come.”
“Your wish is my command.”
He took her mouth in a hard, possessive kiss and proceeded to make love to her until they were both weak, sated and thoroughly hoarse from calling out during their climaxes. They ended up staying another two days in Las Vegas but they never saw another inch of the city except for out their bedroom window. And as for the drive back to Nashville… it took them two weeks.
Two blissful, fun, adventure filled weeks of love that would be the foundation for the relationship that would last them a lifetime.
Epilogue
Six years, seven overseas trips, four white-water vacations, two snow-skiing adventures in Canada, and one bike-ride through Bolivia later…
“Ashtyn!”
Tyler wiped a stream of sweat from his forehead and leaned against a tree. It was too damn hot out here to be hiking. He’d tried to tell his beautiful girlfriend that before they left the house hours ago but she was just as stubborn as she was gorgeous, and she’d insisted the weather was only going to get worse as spring turned to summer so they had to do it today or wait until fall. He would have been perfectly content to keep her in bed and tackle this particular hike in October when the weather was cooler and the trees would be shedding their gold and crimson leaves, but Ashtyn had been determined and if there was one thing he had learned in the years they’d spent together it was that once his woman got something into her head there was no talking her out of it.
“Slow down.” he admonished when she turned back to look at him from a dozen paces up the incline. “We’re not in a hurry, sweetheart. It’s a hike. It’s supposed to be fun.”
“It is fun.” She put her hands on her hips and waited for him to catch up. “It will just be more fun once we reach the top.”
He caught up to her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her close to plant a kiss on her, “Or we could make a little camp here, spend an hour or two making our own kind of fun, and then keep climbing…”
Ashtyn laughed, “Nice try, but no. After that incident in Canada, you how I feel about sex in the middle of the woods.”
“There aren’t any bears around here.” he snorted, following her up around another patch of tangled underbrush.
“You don’t know that for sure.” she shot back over her shoulder. “Besides, it’ll be better once we reach the top. Trust me.”
He muttered under his breath but when she shot him a sideways look, he only forced a smile and continued to follow her. He didn’t know what had gotten into her today but every single time he’d tried to sidetrack her she’d given him that same response. He would understand once they reached the top. He would see what she wanted to show him when they reached the top. He could do all the dirty things to her body that he wanted, but only once they reached the top. He glanced up through the row of trees in front of them, finally able to glimpse the
blue sky that signaled an opening and was so grateful they were almost at the mysterious top of this trail that he almost went to his knees in gratitude when they finally stumbled out of the woods and onto the smooth flat surface at the top of the mountain.
The only thing that kept him on his feet was the shock and awe of what lay in front of him. He glanced around, amazed at what he was seeing. He actually staggered back a step before he jerked his gaze to Ashtyn, who was standing beside him, a wide smile on her pretty face.
“Surprise?” she offered, her voice turning hesitant when she saw the look on his face.
“Ash…” He shook his head, unable to find the words, “What did you… how did you… what is all this?”
When she’d told him that she’d planned a hike for them, he hadn’t thought twice about it. She was always planning random, fun outings for them. When he’d asked why this particular trail into the mountains, one they’d never used before, she’d said there was an old building at the top that looked out over the wilderness in one direction and the city in the other. He hadn’t even bothered to ask what kind of old building it was because he’d been more focused on spending the day climbing a mountain, looking at Ashtyn’s ass, and trying to get her naked, three of his favorite hobbies. But now that they stood in the clearing at the top of the small mountain, he understood her determination to get to the top and the secrecy about their final destination.
It wasn’t just an old building, it was a historical site. More importantly, it was a historical church that had been gracefully restored to all its former glory. The old stones of the façade shone in the early afternoon light and the sun glinted off the new copper bell that had been hung at the top of the steeple. It was small in stature, but beautiful, and the view was unmatched.
He’d have been in awe of the place on any given day but today it was all decorated in white flowers and greenery and strangers bustled all around in formal-wear, coming to abrupt stops where they stood when they caught sight of Ashtyn and Tyler on the edge of the woods.
He blinked but the figures only smiled knowingly in return. It took him precious seconds to realize that they weren’t strangers at all. They were his family and his friends.
Vaughn stood beneath a billowing white tent set up near a small parking lot, holding what looked like a case of beer, and he gave Tyler a small tilt of his chin and a smile before putting the case down and turning to say something to the gorgeous woman standing at the back of his car. At the door of the church Tyler recognized Millie and Tatum each with one side of a banner, pausing in their stretching to hang it to grin at him. Tatum’s husband walked out of the church and took the banner from her, putting a hand on her swollen belly before glancing up to give Tyler a nod of acknowledgement. Hunter followed behind him, two small children, Tyler’s niece and nephew, skipping circles around him. Hunter as well only gave him a nod and then bent down to speak to the kids who went back inside the church and then he, like the others, turned to face Tyler and Ashtyn, waiting.
“You told me once that whenever I was ready to get married, to just let you know and you’d be there with a smile, ready to say I do.” Ashtyn reached for his hand and intwined their fingers, “Well… I’m ready.”
“Ash…” He gaped at her in awe, his heart filling with more love than he had even known possible in that moment.
“Tyler St. James, I love you. I’ve loved you since the first time you saved me and I’ve only fallen more in love with you every time you’ve saved me since. You’re my other half. My missing piece. You make me happy and whole and I want to spend my life with you so I’m asking you, here and now, to marry me.”
Tyler blinked back tears and shook his head, “I’m supposed to be the one to ask you.”
Ashtyn giggled slightly, “Don’t be so old-fashioned.”
“I just… this isn’t what I was imagining.”
“I know. I tricked you to get you up here but I thought it would be better this way. Not just to surprise you but also to keep the press or anyone else in town from getting wind of it and making it into another media circus. That isn’t us and that’s not what I wanted for us. This…” She motioned around them, “This is us.”
“It’s perfect.” He pulled her to him and cupped her face, “It’s absolutely perfect, just like you.”
“So you’ll marry me?”
“Of course I’ll marry you.” He rubbed their noses together gently. “But what about our clothes? We’re not exactly dressed for a wedding ceremony.”
“Hunter has your suit and the rings. Tatum has my dress.”
“You really did plan all of this didn’t you?” he marveled and then paused. “What about your family and friends?”
Ashtyn laughed softly, “The last I heard, Dad and Rebecca were picking Mom up at the airport. Kelsey was grabbing the cake downtown and then heading this way. And Aaron should be around here somewhere helping Isaac with the tables and chairs.”
“You’ve really thought of everything.”
“I wanted our life together to start off with another adventure.” She smiled up at him and his heart nearly burst with happiness.
“Start? Sweetheart, our life together started the day you jumped on the back of my motorcycle in that wedding dress. Every day with you is an adventure and I can’t imagine spending my life any other way.” He smiled, “Just promise me one thing?”
“Anything.” She smiled in return, her blue eyes twinkling with love
“If you get the urge to run, we run together.”
“Always.” she promised.
Tyler leaned down and kissed her softly. Ashtyn wrapped her arms around him and held him close. They kissed until hoots and whistles erupted from the onlookers at the chapel and then they both pulled away with sheepish grins.
Tyler offered her his hand, “Come on princess, time to marry your prince charming.”
Ashtyn laughed and as they walked towards the historic chapel decorated beautifully and filled with their family and friends, Tyler had never been happier. He loved that Ashtyn had arranged all of this to surprise him. He loved that their life together was just a series of adventures in one long journey called life. He couldn’t wait to see what his wife would come up with for them next.
* * *
The End
Book 3 Coming Soon
Imposing Saint
Add it to your Goodreads TBR Now
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Aaron Laughlin is young, rich, and a star among the Nashville political elite. That’s why nobody is more surprised than him when he ends up abandoned at the altar. But here he is, dumped on the most important day of his life, embarrassed in front of his entire city, and left with a bruised ego in place of a broken heart.
Needing time away to regroup after the fiasco that could very well derail his career, he decides to head to the mountains and enjoy his honeymoon on his own. Only, he isn’t alone. His imposing new bodyguard refuses to let Aaron out of his sight, or his reach, and the way his dark eyes follow Aaron’s every move gets under his skin in a way he can’t shake, and isn’t sure he wants to.
Isaac Chinn is practical, professional and takes pride in being good at his job. He’s never even considered breaching the client/bodyguard boundary, which is why being stuck on the side of a mountain with the gorgeous jilted groom that isn’t quite as straight as he’d like people to think, is such an imposition. The mayor might annoy and intrigue him in equal measure but Isaac knows better than to cross the line.
Only, the heat that flares between them refuses to be ignored. They’re like gasoline and a match, destined to consume each other if they get too close. But when faced with the cold of loneliness, is it worth the risk to feel the heat of passion, even if it might destroy you?
Acknowledgments
To everyone that patiently waited for Tyler and Ashtyn to find their path to happily ever after, thank you. I know it took a while for them to get there but if you hung in there and held on throughout their journey, I hope i
t was everything you wanted for them and more. I know their “ending” isn’t the norm these days, what with everyone wanting a tidy little proposal, wedding and a look into the future with the kids and family and life they make together in the epilogue but I hope you understand that these two have never been normal and giving them that conclusion so early on would have defeated all that they fought for throughout this story. They can love one another and not be ready to get married and have babies. They can find their happily ever after in flying around the world and having the biggest adventures they could ever imagine. And maybe someday, once they’ve settled down a little more, you’ll get to see them in a small backyard wedding ceremony of another family member surrounded by their friends and maybe even with some kids of their own running around. They have a lot more living to do before they settle down, even if they do tie the knot. Thank you for allowing them to live their own version of happily ever after and for letting me write their story this way and still loving me anyway.
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To Brittany, who keeps me pointed in the right direction even when my brain sees something shiny going the other way.
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To Sara, who always knows what word I meant, even when I put in one that makes absolutely no sense.
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To Becca and Leanne who read this when it was still a shoddy little draft with enough contradictions to drive a person crazy, thank you for helping to make this book the best it could be.