“And I’m actually in a hurry. I forgot that I left my door open. My cat would probably go out if I can’t get back sooner,” she lied. She was allergic to a cat’s dander. She smiled sweetly to Charleigh and stole a glance at Tripp who looked mightier in his blue shirt, it should be illegal.Surprisingly, he was smiling at her—wickedly. Unfortunately, Tripp knew about her allergy. She fought hard the urge not to smile back despite how contagious it was that her stomach fluttered.“Well.” Charleigh sensed something was off. Ari knew she didn’t buy her excuse. “Then the least I could do is to offer you coffee and cupcakes.”That, she couldn’t resist. Charleigh was already grabbing a medium box, while Diane, the cashier started pouring coffee into a large cup.After she grabbed the box and the coffee, she thanked Charleigh. “You don’t have to do this. Here, in this town, we helped everyone in need.” It was ridiculous. Not so true.The fact that she left Tripp alone in the middle of the road
“That’s for touching me without my permission. The moment you left me that day, you cut the right to touch me.” She pointed her finger on his face.Tripp was watching her closely, eyes flickering to hers, down her plump lips.“And you can’t just come over and talk to me like you own me. We were over, Tripp. What we had are far long gone. And yeah, I’m not married, but it doesn’t mean that I sent myself to become a nun, or I’ve been waiting for you.” She looked at him from head to toe.Tripp was more confident than before — overconfident and more gorgeous than ever, but he was also a self-absorbed bastard.“I don’t have to get married to satisfy my needs. I am sure you’re also not a saint. And I slept with men who didn’t leave me after they got what they wanted.”Tripp was still rooted in his place as he watched Ari walk away from him. He felt his chest squeezed painfully, and the fact that he might have gotten a first-degree burn, but every inch of his body ached, including his dick a
A loud knock interrupted her attention from the tomato sauce in the saucepan. Ari lowered the fire and checked the time on the wall clock before she headed toward the door. She wasn’t expecting her dad would arrive early and he had his own key to her house.She internally prayed it wasn’t who she was thinking, or God forbid. After what she did outside Clereigh’s, he wouldn’t go that far, would he?Her luck was not on her side today. Clearly, her fate and the universe were conniving bitches. They had their ways of mocking her boring life.Tripp certainly didn’t give a damn about her warning earlier. She rolled her eyes, unlocked the screen door, and crossed her arms over her chest.“Nice house.” Tripp was already down the porch as he studied her small modern farmhouse from top to bottom. Maybe he was about to leave if Ari didn’t rush toward the door.If she only knew he was the one behind the door, she would rather ignore him and she didn’t have to deal with him right now.For a succes
“You are my wife, Ari.”She knew he was only teasing her, but that was the fact, and it sounded perfect coming from him. It made her heart flutter.She was legally married to him according to the Las Vegas law. Her only mistake was, that she never filed a divorce. Instead, she chose to remain loyal to him even though he literally ended the marriage when he found out Dax was her cousin.His question about why she didn’t file a divorce earlier would have caught her off guard, but it didn’t happen, because she already knew the answer. She wore her ring whenever she went outside the town to ward off guys from hitting her.She couldn’t say she was beautiful, but she wasn’t ugly either. For her, marriage was sacred, and she couldn’t even think of any man touching her other than Tripp. It was pathetic, really. She gave her virginity to him, and she was only going to sleep with her husband. Call her old-fashioned, but that was what she thought was right.While she was in deep thought, Tripp h
He’d been wanting to kiss those lips the moment they started exchanging banters. He’d been wanting to run his hands along her long neck to the curves of her body to feel her soft skin against his fingertips. He missed her that he didn’t want to let her go out of his sight—that was one of the reasons why he went to see her in the first place.When he saw the same hunger in her eyes, he let go of his self-control and pressed his lips against hers. As he was expecting, there was a gasp of shock from Ari. Tripp thought it was adorable. But then she kissed him back.His desire ignited. His hand flew to the back of her head as he deepened the kiss. He wanted more. He wanted to ravish her, take her inside the house, press her against the door, and let her feel the raging hard-on he had right now.Then his dream just vanished into thin air when Ari pushed him away, a hand on her lips, glaring at him like he just committed murder, not that he was kissing his wife.Maybe what he did was rush, b
Ari was in the middle of reading a mystery-thriller book in her hand when she received a call from Spencer, her best friend. She was too hooked, she didn’t realize she’d been reading for about an hour. “Damn.” She was too caught up in finding out who was the killer. Her initial suspect was the girlfriend. Then there was also the ex who came from a very well-connected family, and if the rumors were true, her grandfather was the head of a crime family in Ireland. Judging by her posts on social media, she seemed wasn’t yet over with him. “It’s the ex.”She closed the book and answered the call. “Hey, Spence. Wanna get mani-pedi?” She looked down at her boring colored toenails.“You should come to the hospital, Ari.”Her heart skipped a beat. Her mind rushed to her father. The last time she received a call from the hospital was about her mother, and that was a very long time ago, even this time it was a call from her best friend. Still, it made her stomach churn. “W-why? Is everything ok
Ari let her father go home as soon as she confirmed Tripp was the patient. She would settle with Tripp’s family if they wanted to sue her father, and she would take the fall.It had been twelve hours. The twelve long freaking hours of her life. She came back to the hospital when she received a text that Tripp had woken up. She just waited outside the private room where Tripp was confined. The fact that she was his wife, she should be there inside, holding his hands, assuring him that he would be okay, instead she was left out while Charleigh, Dax, and Bryce were there visiting him.“So my wife is studying nursing.” Tripp twirled her coppery hair around his forefinger as they lay in bed.Ari blushed a crimson red. “No. I graduated, but I’m still waiting for the result of my exam.”“Congratulations in advance, baby. I do not doubt the result. You’re gonna be a licensed nurse.” Tripp kissed his wife’s lips.“Thanks. I hope so.”“So, if I’m gonna be sick, would you be my private nurse?”H
“Ari?”She wiped the tears from her face she didn’t realize they were there all this time before Charleigh walked in. “I’m so sorry, Charleigh. I’d take the blame for my father.”What she wasn’t expecting from Charleigh was to pull her into a hug when she thought she would receive the hardest slap of the century. Instead, she found Charleigh rubbing her arms after their quick hug. “I know your father didn’t mean to hit my brother.”“What will happen to my dad, Charleigh?”She smiled sadly. “I’m not happy that my brother is in the hospital bed, and I can’t say that he deserves it either because I love him so much. I just hope he gets well, and he is a lucky bastard he only got a few cracked bones. I guess you two should sort things out. What he did is not something I can take lightly and forgive him. He made a terrible decision, and I can’t believe he kept it from me for three years.”“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She did her best to deny, but the truth was already out. A
Having a hard time processing the gratitude, Ari drank her wine in a gulp.“I don’t deserve the kindness you give to me,” Tripp continued. “What I deserve is resentment from you, Ari. Please, tell me if I am doing this wrong. If you want me to change. I’ll do everything for you, for us.”“You talk too much.” She knelt, cupped his head, and kissed him hard, wet, and wild. Her tongue was forcefully seeking an entrance.When Tripp didn’t give it to her, she tugged his bottom lip until he opened for her with a groan. She knew Tripp wanted to say more, but she wanted him to stop—he’d been trying too hard for them to make this work, and he deserved a reward of some sort.And she had to stop him because if she didn’t, she might end up blurting out the words at the tip of her tongue right now.She was the kind of woman who thought before she put it into action, but with Tripp, her mind was busy thinking how good she would feel underneath him, on top of him, against him, behind him, in all ang
“Don’t you wanna join me?” Her eyes lingered on the growing dark brown stubble of her husband. After they made love three days ago, she couldn’t help herself not to feel it against her fingertips. When she told him she liked the roughness against her skin, he kept it unshaven.He was an eye candy in his shorts. He might have felt Ari staring at him. His strong jaw locked hard, became more prominent from her angle. His mouth was pressed in a determined line as he chopped the bell pepper expertly like a chef.She knew Tripp used to control even when they made love. He liked to dominate and was always successful with little to no effort. Was there a time that Tripp had ever lost his control? She didn’t have to know for as long as he would lose control of her. She didn’t mind at all.“Are you just gonna stare at me?” His brow arched, reaching his hairline. His smile was meaningful—as if he just read her thoughts. “I thought you wanted to go to the dock.”“I’m going. Are you sure you don’t
“Thank me later.” Charleigh kissed her on the cheek. “Open your trunk.”Tripp left to take the things he brought with Charleigh. When he came back with the duffel, Ari was already in the car. Once he was done, he went to the passenger’s seat.Ari’s hands were on the steering wheel as if she was about to say something but held the thought. Her emotion was making her weep, and she did not want to cry like an idiot.“You okay?” Tripp asked, still confused when Ari kept silent in her seat. “Look, if this is a bad idea, we can drive home. Forget this thing happened. I’m totally cool with it.”Ari looked at him for a few seconds before she cupped his head and kissed him like she always wanted. She drunk in the surprised gasp slipped from Tripp’s lips. His mouth opened to welcome her, and she devoured him, slipped her tongue, and tasted every corner of his mouth. His taste and coffee exploded in her tongue and she wished it would last.Tripp groaned and moaned as she sucked his bottom lip an
“You scared the heck out of me.” Shell-shocked, she stared at Spencer with wide eyes, her palm on her chest.With the look on Spencer throwing at her, she didn’t have to be surprised—it was like everything was slowly clicking into its places. Spencer looked assertive as if she knew more than what she saw. She heard everything. She figured it out all by herself.Ari’s secret was over. Now she was in deep trouble.“Spence,” she said breathlessly, her heart still pounding.“I can’t say that I’m surprised.” She looked upset as she leaned against the locker. Her eyes filled with judgment.“I can explain.” She held Spencer’s arm.“Don’t tell me crap that this is not what it looks like, Ari because this is exactly what it looks like. Are you even planning on telling me?”“Of course, I was planning to—”“But, he told you not to tell any soul, right? Because for him, everything is just a game, a deal. You’re his pawn, and you know that. Yet you’re falling for his crap.”Her eyes widened again.
Despite a lot of patients coming tonight from food poisoning at the birthday party going wrong, Ari was in a good mood to work long hours.The ER staff awwed with wide eyes that confused Ari before she heard a male voice behind her asking her name.“And that’s me. The Miss Arizona.” She laughed at herself before she turned around, giving the same reaction as her friends. “Wow! Where are you?” She managed to joke as she searched for the guy calling her name. She could not see anyone behind the huge bouquet of different flowers in red.The guy pushed the bouquet into her. “This is for you, miss.”Ari managed to hug the flowers, her back hitting the counter as air emptied her lungs because the bouquet weighed like twenty-five kilograms. Now she couldn’t see the face of the man. “Are you sure this is mine? There are probably twenty Arizona Sky in this town, you know.”“That’s for you, ma’am. The only Arizona Sky I am sure I know of is in Grand Canyon,” the delivery guy scoffed. “And this
“Wow.” Ari stopped in the middle of her small dining room, scanning the surroundings as if she were brought to the five-star restaurant. “Did you ever rest?”Tripp had his way of making his marriage work even though his dinner date offer was turned down more than twice. Charleigh was at his disposal when he asked for help with the groceries.After two hours, he was cooking a simple lobster bisque, a side salad, and of course, Brice’s famous raspberry chocolate cupcakes.“Have a seat, beautiful.” He ushered her to the chair.“How did you make this possible?”“I have some help. Charleigh did me a solid.” He kissed the top of her head once she was seated.“I should change to something nice.” She suddenly felt shy with the candlelit, flower arrangement, and now that Tripp started to play jazz on his phone.“I’d rather have you naked for my dessert.” He smirked. “Your clothes are just fine. I just want to have dinner with you even though we have to spend it at home.”The words naked and de
FuckHe was quicker on his feet, licking the juices around his mouth. “Does your dad have a key to your house?” Why did he have to ask? He didn’t know. He felt that they didn’t have privacy anywhere they went, even in her own home.“Stay here. Close the water and don’t move. Don’t make a noise,” she warned him. The panic in her voice was obvious. She quickly grabbed the towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body.She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Before she could get out of the shower, Tripp cupped her face and kissed her hard, plunging his tongue into her mouth, swirled inside, and invaded to let her taste herself.Ari squirmed as her taste flooded her tastebud. She felt the hot liquid pooling between her thighs and she had to let go of a shuddering breath to ignore the ache.“Relax. You can’t hide this look from your father, Ari.” He gave her a quick kiss on her lips one more time before he let her go.“Thanks. You’re helping me a lot. And I bet I just stroked you
“I-I don’t need to go.”Ari stared at him in shock, her heart beating so fast that might break out from her ribcage.“Fuck!”“Yeah, fart! Are you sure you’re okay? Did you just have chest pain?” She wanted to ask if he had a history of a panic attack or if he had a heart defect. She almost died in panic.For an ER nurse, what happened in the car was nothing compared to the cases she handled in the hospital every day. She’d handle and seen worse, but in Tripp’s case, it was different. He was her husband. Now she felt it in hand when wives panicked when their husbands collapsed in front of them.Tripp wiped off the sweat from his forehead while she increased the air condition in her car.“I thought I’d die.” He chuckled out of his stupidity. Jealousy was an ugly quality, but he couldn’t help it. The fact that he had the most beautiful wife, he wanted to make sure that no one would touch her but him.“And you think it was funny?” Her voice was filled with sarcasm and a hint of sadness.H
Around seven, he went to the cake shop to buy some coffee and pastries that Ari loved.“Tripp, come on in.” Bryce pulled the door for him. “How’re your ribs?” There was something in the way he asked—something not so like him.Tripp sensed something mischievous. “Still cracked. Can you give me two cups of coffee?” Then he paused. He knew Ari liked coffee, but he didn’t know exactly what she preferred.“She preferred black.”“Right. Thanks.”“Apple cinnamon, brioche?”“Yeah. How much?”“On the house, Tripp.”Before Tripp could argue, something caught his eye outside the shop—his wife. His heartbeat accelerated just by a simple glance. Ari hadn’t noticed his presence since he was inside, and she wasn’t alone. His teeth almost cracked when he saw who she was with. The peaches fucking dude Tinsley. He knew he was being melodramatic.He felt a grip on his shoulder that he was sure it was Bryce. “Calm down.”“That guy is getting under my skin,” he said through gritted teeth, not looking at B