The Hero + Vegas = No Regrets

When Worth said cabin in the woods, I was expecting something rustic.

“You lied,” I say, gazing up at the impressive home in front of us. It’s huge and has a wraparound porch, complete with Adirondacks pointing out at the surrounding trees. The structure might have been made of logs, but that’s the only rustic thing about it. I can see through the window to a modern kitchen that would look right at home in some Scandi billionaire retreat.

“Lied because?”

“You said log cabin. Not log palace.”

He chuckles as he pulls our bags from the trunk. I follow him up the wooden steps to the porch.

“We need to get stuff for s’mores,” I say. “Where’s the nearest store?”

“We have everything we need inside. The place is stocked.”

“How? And wow!” I say as I step inside and look up at the eighteen-foot ceilings. The inside walls look like actual logs. It’s like where you imagine Santa would live, if Santa was a billionaire and not an oversized elf.

“This is the actual best,” I say. “It’s so peaceful.”

“It really is.”

“Do you come up here a lot?”

“Not a lot, but I get my use out of it.”

“And there are always s’mores packed, just in case?” How is it possible that I can feel jealous right now? Somehow I do. I feel regretful of the time Worth and I haven’t had together, jealous of the people who’ve gotten to have time with him other than me. “Do you come here with your sisters?” It’s not really what I want to know, but it’s what I ask.

He drops our bags on the floor and heads to the refrigerator. He pulls out two beers, takes the caps off of both and hands one to me. “Absolutely not. This is a place to escape.” He grins and takes a swig.

I watch his Adam’s apple bob. Everything this man does is sexy. I can’t even watch him drink a beer without wanting to mount him. What’s the matter with me? I wonder how many other women have felt the same way.

“You don’t talk about your exes,” I say, leaning against the counter and taking a swig of my beer.

His gaze dances between my lips and my eyes. “What do you want to know?”

“How many have you brought here?”

Confusion ripples across his face and he frowns. “None. I’ve never brought anyone here. Not even the guys. Bennett and Efa borrowed it once, but I only ever come here alone.”

“Until me?”

“Right,” he replies. “Until you. There are lots of things I’ve never done before you.”

A smile tugs at my mouth. I step forward and hook my fingers into his belt. “Oh yeah? Like what else?”

His chest expands as he takes a breath in. He slides his bottle onto the counter and takes my face in his hands, sweeping his thumbs over my cheeks. He drops his hands and slides his palms up my arms. “Well, I’ve never had a wife before.”

I laugh. “I’m not sure I count. We don’t even live together. And we haven’t known each other very long.”

“Legally, it counts. And if you want to move in, let’s talk about it. Your commute would be easier.”

I fix him with a look that says, You can’t be serious.

“We’d spend more time together that way,” he says.

“I’m not sure that would work,” I say, honestly. “I’d feel like a roommate. That’s your place, Worth. It’s always going to be your place.”

“You’re probably right.” He pulls me toward him and I wrap my arms around his waist, my cheek nuzzling against the soft flannel of his shirt. “Have I mentioned I’ve been thinking of moving?” His voice reverberates in his chest.

“I’m not saying you should move,” I say.

“But if we’re going to live together⁠—”

“Worth, we’ve known each other five minutes.”

“It’s been weeks. And I’m not sure how you’re feeling, but I’m not feeling like this is going to end… anytime soon.”

I smooth my hand up his back. “Same. But I’m in the middle of stuff with my family right now. I don’t want to make life-changing decisions just yet.”

He growls and I look up, trying to take in his expression. Is he pissed? He looks frustrated.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“Don’t,” he says. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m annoyed with myself. I never should have let you marry me. I knew you were vulnerable and I went along with it anyway.”

“Worth,” I say, taking a step back. “You didn’t make that decision. I did.”

“But I knew you were going through something.”

“We were basically strangers. You can’t take on everything everyone else is going through and be responsible for it. I’m an adult woman, and I married you because I wanted to do something wild. I wanted not to care for a night, to make a mockery of the institution that my parents had before me.” I shake my head. “I don’t know if I was even thinking much at all. But I do know it was my decision to marry you.”

He takes me in, listening. “It’s hard,” he says. “I often feel… responsible for…”

“Everyone?” I suggest. “Like you’re everyone’s caretaker, father, benefactor, protector.”

“Maybe,” he says, and I link my fingers through his.

“But who’s looking after you?” I ask. “You’re busy running around, making sure everyone else is taken care of. Who’s taking care of you? Who’s meeting your needs?”

“I do okay,” he says.

I raise my eyebrows. Doing okay isn’t enough.

“Marrying you is one of the first times I felt like I wanted something for me,” he says. “I knew it could potentially cause problems with the guys. I knew I might piss off Efa and Jules, and I might even permanently damage my relationship with Fisher or Leo. And I knew when my sisters found out, they’d be pissed. But I did it anyway. You had your reasons for marrying me—but I wasn’t trying to make a mockery of the institution of marriage. Not at all.”

I swallow. “I’ve hurt your feelings,” I say. “I don’t want to lie to you. And I didn’t know you then. I felt something between us. But honestly, I wasn’t thinking about being with you forever. I wasn’t thinking past the next hour. Things are… different now.”

He nods, and I slide my hand up his chest, but I don’t say more. I want to hear what he’s thinking.

“I understand. My feelings aren’t hurt. But it was different for me. The moment I saw you, it was like a beacon went off in me. I wanted more immediately. If I’m honest, it frightened me a little. I’ve never felt that way. And then when I saw you in Vegas again, I longed for something to bind us together. The shots. The conversation. The ceremony.”

His eyes flit across my face, one way, then the other. “I still feel like that. Like you’re it for me. Like I want to dive in deeper every time I see you. I know we’re not going at the same pace. I know you’re going through things, so I’m hanging back, happy to be ready when you’re ready. But, Sophia, I need you to know that I’m ready whenever you are. I’m here. Waiting. If you don’t want to move into the brownstone because of what you’ve got going on with your dad, that’s fine. If you don’t want to move into the brownstone because it’s my place and you’d feel like a roommate, then let’s find somewhere else together, because I’m right there next to you, ready. Not because I want to be your benefactor or caretaker. But because I want to be your husband. I want you.”

I don’t know what to say. I’ve never felt so adored by a guy. And it’s not that I don’t feel the same, but I’m holding back. I can’t help it. When I’m with Worth, I want to stay exactly like this, with him. I can’t imagine my life any other way. It’s only when I take a step back, when I see the other parts of my life moving in different directions, that I doubt what we have. I’d like to fast-forward to the future to see how things shift. Will I catch up to Worth? Will I be able to set aside everything other than him, for him? I don’t have the answers to those questions. But I owe it to him to be honest.noveldrama

“I’m not ready to move in with you because of what I’ve got going on back in Cincinnati.” I can’t even bring myself to say the word “dad” or “father” right now. “And honestly, I don’t know when I’m going to be ready.”

“That’s okay,” he says. “I’m a patient man.”

Something in my stomach stirs like the silt at the bottom of a clear river, making everything murky. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be ready. Worth’s standing in front of me, offering me everything I could ever want in a man. And I’m still not ready. What’s it going to take?

“Promise me one thing, Worth?” I ask.

“Anything,” he replies.

“That if waiting becomes too much, you walk away. You don’t stay to help me or support me. You go.”

He closes his eyes in a long blink. “I don’t know if I can make that promise.”

And that’s the thing with Worth: he’s honest to his core. I know I’ll have to be the one who walks away if the time comes.

But that time isn’t here yet. And I hope it never arrives.

My phone interrupts the conversation, which is probably for the best. It’s Noah.

“Hey,” I say as I answer. Worth kisses me on the head and heads to collect the bags from where he dumped them.

“What are you doing next weekend?” Noah asks.

I watch Worth as he takes the bags through to the back. I know my suitcase is heavy, but he makes it look effortless. He makes everything look effortless.

“Um, I’m not sure. Why?”

“Oliver and I might come and stay,” he says, like he just told me the sky is blue.

“What do you mean, you and Oliver might come and stay? You’ve never stayed with me before.”

“There’s a first time for everything.”

“Noah,” I say. “Just come out with it. What are you planning? There’s no way you and Oliver have decided to just come and stay. There’s more to it than that.”

I can practically hear him shaking his head. “We just thought, with everything going on, it would be good for the three of us⁠—”

“Did Mom put you up to this?” I ask.

“No. Well, not really.”

“So you mean yes. Mom wants you to come and check on me?”

“No, she didn’t suggest visiting, but she suggested we stay in touch with you. And honestly, Sophia, I think it would be nice for the three of us to see each other, given what’s been going on.” I don’t know if Noah is trying to keep our family together or emotionally blackmailing me into seeing our dad. At the moment, I just want to block it all out.

Worth emerges from the back, his eyes searching mine. I just want to hang out with my husband. Escape the city and everything it brings with it.

“You can come,” I say. “But don’t think you can convince me to talk to Dad. I’m not ready.”

“Not on the agenda. I promise.”

“Okay, gotta go,” I say, locking eyes with Worth. “I’ve got some escaping to do.”

“What?” he asks.

“Never mind,” I say and hang up the phone. “Hey,” I say, cocking my head to the side. “You wanna show me around?”

Worth nods, and I can tell by his expression something’s shifted. “Yes,” he says. “I want to show you around.” He stalks over to me and, instead of taking my hand or putting his arm around me, reaches for the hem of my shirt and lifts it over my head.

“You want to do a naked tour?” I ask, grinning at him.

He nods again. “I want to do everything naked this weekend.”

“A nudist weekend? Is that your jam?”

“I don’t want to see people nude generally, but I absolutely want you naked specifically.”

I strip off my jeans. “I can make that happen.”

He reaches for my lace-covered breasts, kneading them together, his thumbs circling my nipples. I groan. He’s so possessive during sex, so dominant and commanding. I’m under his spell completely.

He reaches around me, lifts me up onto the kitchen island, and strips off my panties, my bare ass cheeks on the cool marble counter.

“You’re beautiful,” he says as he kneels before me, opening my knees wide. He presses his tongue against my folds and I whimper. His breath is hot on my sex, his fingers digging into the flesh of my thighs. He dips and licks, circles and flicks his tongue like it’s his job. He’s CEO of whatever he’s doing, that’s for sure.

I can barely keep myself upright. I put one arm back, laying my palm behind me to stop myself from falling. I use my other hand to thread my fingers through his hair. Feeling his head move as he feasts on me is too much. He knows exactly my weak spots. He understands how to make me moan, how to make me want more, how to undo me.

The scrub of his beard grazes my skin, adding a slice of sour to the sweet of his tongue. I jolt, forcing myself forward, pressing myself against him.

More. More. More.

It’s the call of my body and mind. I just can’t get enough of him. It shouldn’t be possible to feel this connected to another person. To feel so worshipped. Savored. Loved.

My body starts to shake and he slides his fingers into me. My head falls back, and I resign myself to the way my orgasm is creeping over me. I have no control. My body is completely his. My back arches and I call out. My arm gives out and I collapse backwards onto the counter.

He stands, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You’re fucking delicious,” he growls. “So fucking wet for me. But now I want to feel you around my cock.”

His voice has a ragged tone to it, like he’s only inches away from losing control. I’m grateful that it’s not just me who feels so helpless when we’re together like this.

I slide off the counter, turn, spread my legs and lay my torso onto the cool marble.

I want him to feel me. I want him to take me. I want him to have all of me.

“Fuuuck,” he growls. I hear the clinking of his belt buckle and the tear of the condom wrapper. He presses his hand on the small of my back, holding me in place.

This time, he doesn’t inch in slowly, but I know it’s not because he’s being inconsiderate. He knows how ready for him I am. I don’t want to wait a second longer.