The Unexpected Choice (6 page)

 

 

Stacey McCrary.

Stacey McCrary.

Stacey
McCrary
.

Stacey stared at her reflection and tried to say the name out loud, but her mouth seemed full of cotton. How on earth was she going to face him?

Upon arriving at the hotel an hour away for their weekend honeymoon, a plan she'd not been privy to, she'd promptly holed herself up in the bathroom. What did Joey expect from her? Was this going to be a
real
marriage? She realized too late those things hadn't ever been discussed or challenged.

She could hear Joey rustling around the room, and after a half hour, he'd turned on the TV. Her new mother-in-law had packed her belongings and apparently did a little shopping. Stacey didn't own a single pair of sexy underwear or bras, but there were four new pairs of each. And she'd included some lingerie in the mix. One of them was so risqué Stacey couldn't figure out back from front or up from down.
Or how a woman of her age even knew where to find something like it.

But she did keep eyeing the pretty white satin chemise peeking from the bag. It wasn't overly sexy, but it was way less than she was accustomed to wearing.

Treading to the bag, she lifted the spaghetti strap with one finger and eyed the lingerie again. The soft knock on the door caused her to jump a foot and throw the chemise back into the bag like it was on fire. Only the fear of the man on the other side of the door kept her from laughing at herself.

“Yes?” she squeaked.

“You've been in there a while. You okay?”

Great. Now he thought she'd been
using
the bathroom or something. Way romantic. Stacey rolled her eyes at herself. What had she been thinking?

“I'm okay.”

He sighed and then chuckled. “You're afraid to come out, aren't you?”

Stacey sounded so pathetic when he put it that way, but she still found herself smiling. “A little.”

“I don't bite.”

“I know.” At least, she thought she knew. “I just need a little more time.”

“Sure. I'll be out here waiting.”

And that was what Stacey feared most. He was out there.
Waiting
. For
her
.

So they could…? She walked over to the satin chemise and pulled it up again, eyeing it carefully.

“Hey, Stacey?”

Stacey's hand flew to her throat. She jumped away and dropped the fabric again. This time, she jumped back into the corner of the vanity and knocked over a cup and her toothbrush.

“Stacey?” Joey's voice called, urgent now.

“I'm fine!” she shouted a little hysterically. Scrambling to put the stuff upright and making a bigger mess than she'd started with.

“This is ridiculous. Open the door.” Joey wiggled the handle now.

“Don't come in, Joey!”

“What on earth is taking so long? What's that noise?”

“I just…” She was being stupid. She flung open the door in an exasperated huff and faced him.

“You just what?” he asked, worry erasing from his eyebrows and a casual grin lifting the corners of his lips.

“We haven't talk about… things.”

“You mean sleeping together?”

“Yes.” Stacey's cheeks burned, and it infuriated her even more she couldn't have an adult conversation without blushing like a schoolgirl. Of course, when Joey McCrary stood in front of her with an unbuttoned shirt and an undone belt, it was hard not to blush. She'd seen his six-pack before, but not since they had been married. In God's eyes, his body was hers. And oh, what a gift she'd been given.

“Well, we
are
married. But I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to do. I was hoping you couldn't resist my charm, but since you haven't even changed out of your wedding dress, I'm thinking we might have a bust on that.”

Stacey smiled. “It's not that, and you know it.”

“You don't have to be scared of me, Stace.”

“I'm not. This is just… awkward.”

“Well, change out of your wedding dress and get comfy so we can talk or something. It won't get less awkward with you shutting yourself in here. Do you need help getting out of this contraption?” His lecherous grin told her he was trying to lighten the mood between them, but all it did was make it worse.

“No, thank you. I can manage.” Then she promptly shut — and locked — the door in his face.

His chuckle didn't do much to calm her nerves.

With purpose, she strode to her bag and grabbed the chemise. She managed to wiggle out of the wedding dress and pulled the chemise over her head, not stopping to look at herself or think about her decisions.

Slinging the door open wide, she took Joey by surprise when his eyes rounded and he sat up from his casual sprawl on the bed.

“I need to stop thinking,” Stacey admitted. “Otherwise, I'll think this to death, and we'll be walking on eggshells for months. Let's get this over with.” There, she'd said it.

Without taking his eyes from her breasts, he clicked the TV off. He stood slowly and walked to her, each step causing her heart to trip a little more into overdrive.

“I wasn't planning on this tonight.” His fingertip traced the path the spaghetti strap took over her shoulder. A shudder claimed her.

“You planned a honeymoon, a one-bed hotel room, and you didn't plan to sleep with me?” Stacey arched an eyebrow and stared at him in disbelief. He could have mentioned that sooner.

“Well, I planned to sleep in the same bed with you, yes. I thought it might be nice if we just got to know each other this weekend.”

Stacey nodded. “Nice. Nice? Nice!” she shouted, smacking him in the shoulder. “You let me stay in there for an hour and a half, and you didn't think to mention maybe we'd just get to know each other instead of jumping each other's bones?
Nice
, Joey?” Yeah, hysteria ran through her veins.

And Joey had the nerve to throw his head back and laugh.

Glowering, Stacey tried to stop the angry, emotional tears stored up from the day from flowing, but they fell too fast, too hot, for her to gain control. “Is it me?” Stacey sobbed. “Did you see me in this thing your mother bought for me and decide you'd made a mistake?”

She wasn't making sense. She wished she could stop her diarrhea mouth and just go back to the bathroom for another forty-five minutes.

“No, Stace. I took one look at you, and my carefully laid plans to treat you the way you deserve to be treated went out the window. You're beautiful. I don't care if you wore a potato sack to bed, I'd still want you.”

Looking into his eyes, Stacey saw he told the truth. At least, right now. He had a half-naked woman in his hotel room he just happened to be on his honeymoon with. Cameron wouldn't have shut herself in the bathroom for over an hour to pep talk herself into having sex with her husband. They would have burst through the door, arms and legs straining, clothes flying in every direction. He would've had her on her back and screaming in less than thirty seconds.

But no, instead he was here with her. Mousy, dainty little Stacey who was still a virgin. Might stay that way if she didn't shape up and be a wife.

“Can we make a deal?” she asked.

He eyed her skeptically.

“You stop calling me beautiful, and I'll stop being such a baby.”

Joey seemed to mull over the information then caustically agreed. “Okay?”

“I mean it. I don't want lies between us. We both know I'm a virgin, and this is terrifying for me. I didn't even know we were going on a honeymoon, much less going to be sleeping in the same bed. And your mom forgot to mention she'd packed
this
.” She gestured toward the lingerie.

“My mama raised me to have good taste, that's for sure,” he agreed.

“What are we doing, Joey? Can we just air things out right now?”

“I thought we were about to make love.”

“We don't love each other,” she argued.

“No,” he said slowly, “but that doesn't mean we can't try. We're attracted, and we have a marriage license. Last time I checked, it meant it was okay to get naked.”

With a deep breath, Stacey said, “It is. But I'm not like… her.”

“Who?”

She cocked an eyebrow at him, and his eyes rounded incredulously
.

“Cameron? You're talking about Cameron.”

“Mmm.”

“Stacey, I don't want you to be like her. And right now, Cameron is the furthest thing from my mind. I just want it to be you and me tonight. No talk about the future, no talk about ex-girlfriends or babies. I just want you.”

She swallowed hard. Joey's eyes had fallen to her lips, and she knew the second he claimed them, she'd be lost.

Shoving at his chest, and taking a step back, she said, “I don't want either of us to regret this come morning. And we said this was going to be in name only.”

“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—”