Ryan Maggie sank down on me bare, with absolutely nothing between us, and I felt my eyes roll back in my head, my entire being sinking into absolute bliss. “Fuck, Mrs. Thayer. I thought the almost dying was done for today, but this might kill me too.” She looked down at me with love mingling with the heat in those hazel eyes, her cheeks flushed and sweat dotting her forehead. “Don’t you dare, husband. You’re going to live a long, healthy life with me. There’s no getting out of it now.” I chuckled, but the sound came out husky. “Trust me, I’m exactly where I want to be.” She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ears before she bent over, her hard nipples brushing against my chest when she kissed me again. I ran my hands up her sides to her chest, cupping her breasts in my palms and groaning when she started moving. At this rate, I was going to explode within seconds. It would be the most disappointing wedding night any bride had ever had, but shit. Five minutes ago, she’d told me she’d been on the pill for a long time. Something about hormonal regulation, but my brain had stopped functioning as soon as she’d told me we didn’t need a condom. It still hadn’t come back online. On the other hand, I could feel her muscles contracting around my shaft, her own movements becoming jerkier and more urgent along with my own. I pinched one of her nipples. She moaned loudly and kissed me harder as she dialed up the pace. I thrust up into her from below, already halfway lost just remembering she was my wife now. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it, but I was the luckiest fucking man alive. “I love you,” I whispered between kisses. “I’ve told you that, right?” She smiled against my lips. “You have, but tell me again.” “I love you.” “And I love you.” We moved together, kissing and whispering to each other until neither of us could hold back anymore. When I finally felt her let go, I didn’t even try to fight it, smacking headfirst into an orgasm and coming so hard, even my gums were numb in the aftermath. I k ept my arms around her, though. There was no way I was letting go. As I tucked her against my side and rolled into her, I kissed her forehead, her eyes, and her nose. A strange, de ep sort of emotion rose up and clogged my throat. For just a second, I thought I might even start bawling my fucking eyes out, but instead, I breathed through it, still holding her as we both drifted off to sle ep. No matter what the future held, I would fight tooth and nail for this girl, and for us, and for our right to have done what we did.
It was probably going to be an uphill battle, considering we’d be going up against her very own father and mine would be making an appearance again soon, but I was determined to love her for the rest of my life, and I would protect her from absolutely everyone. When I woke up, the first thing I realized was that I had no regrets about the fact that I’d accidentally acquired a wife yesterday. The paperwork was going to be a problem, but I’d sort that out when we got back to the city. Maggie’s father, however, couldn’t wait that long. Lazily stroking my fingers along the length of her bare arm draped over my chest, I considered leaving him to wait until later too, but I had to face him, and the sooner I did, the sooner I could focus on the only person I actually wanted to pay attention to right now—Maggie. Reluctant to leave her so soon, I stayed in bed for a while longer, just marveling over everything that had happened yesterday and thanking my lucky stars it had all worked out the way it had. When the sun had finally risen high enough to wash the whole room in warm, golden light, I finally forced my naked ass out of bed and showered. Unfortunately, the only clothes I had here was the suit I’d had on yesterday, so I’d have to make a quick stop at the hotel before I headed back to the venue, but I still got as ready as I could and then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’ll be back soon, baby.” She made a sle epy noise and reached for me, but when she realized my side of the bed was empty, she cracked open one eye and moaned. “Noooo. Where are you going? Why are you already up?” “One of us has to go make sure the world hasn’t ended,” I murmured, smiling as I stared down at her. “Just stay here, okay? I won’t be long.” “You’re very bossy for a guy who hijacked a wedding probably about thirteen hours ago.” I chuckled. “That’s because I’m very serious about taking care of my wife. All you need to do this morning is relax. Don’t clean or find any more mysterious family secrets to investigate, and most importantly, don’t run away.” “Never.” She smiled up at me, but I saw the concern clouding her eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” “No, but I’ll be okay. I’m going to go talk to your dad so we can stop worrying about that, and when I come back, you’d better still be naked.” “Aye, aye, Captain,” she teased. “What am I supposed to put on, anyway, my wedding dress?” “Well, I mean, I love that dress now that I’ve seen you in it, and I’ll bring your stuff back from the venue, but no. You’re not putting anything on until we absolutely have to leave here.” I paused for a beat. “I’ll get more food, too. Just to make sure we don’t have to leave for as long
as we can possibly justify staying.” She chuckled and threaded her fingers into my hair for a kiss that almost convinced me to stay, but I was serious about dealing with her father. God only knew what st eps he was taking right now to try and force us apart, and the longer I left it, the more chance there would be that he would find a way. After I finally left the cottage, I drove straight to the hotel, snuck in a back entrance to avoid any possibility of seeing anyone I knew who might delay me, grabbed my stuff out of the room, and headed to the venue. Cliff was in the ballroom when I was arrived, facing off with Daniel while Marcus hovered just feet away from both men. If I had known I would be walking into a match of wits, I might’ve brought some popcorn for Maggie’s oldest brother to enjoy now that it was about to become a three-way. At least Daniel was smiling for the first time ever. Well, I hadn’t seen him smile for a very long time, anyway, but he looked like a completely different person, his features open and relaxed despite the verbal pineapple being shoved up his ass by his near-miss father-in-law. “You embarrassed us all!” Cliff was shouting as I strode toward them, his face red and a vein in his neck throbbing. “For God’s sake, Daniel. You were supposed to be the level-headed one. I expected something like this from Maggie, but not from you.” “With all due respect, Mr. Pembroke, you don’t know me well enough to expect anything from me at all,” Daniel said calmly. “Regardless, I apologize sincerely for the role I played in any embarrassment you might’ve felt, but I believe what happened was for the best.” “You’re all just immature children who simply refuse to do what you’re asked—” “Perhaps that’s the problem, sir,” Daniel said, cutting him off without any remorse on his features whatsoever. “We weren’t asked, were we? We were told, and we’re not children. All three of us have every right to make decisions for ourselves and our own futures, and that’s all we did. Isn’t that right, Ryan?” As soon as he said my name, he turned to grin at me, inclining his chin in a friendly greeting. Cliff, however, must not have noticed me before because he turned several shades redder as he spun in my direction. “Well, well. The hero arrives. I must admit, I didn’t think we’d be seeing you again so soon.” I k ept my head held high and my eyes trained firmly on his. “You know I’m not the type to run away from responsibility simply to avoid confrontation, Cliff. Good morning.” Marcus glanced at me from the other side of Cliff and Daniel, sighing as he lifted his hand to give me a half-assed wave. “Hey, Ryan.” “Marcus.” I turned back to Cliff and slid my hands into my pockets. “Look, I—”
“I think we’ve all heard quite enough from you, Thayer,” he snapped, glowering at me before he started pacing. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You interfered in a business arrangement that’s been years in the making. You manipulated my daughter and you have destroyed her r eputation.” Instead of arguing, I stood there and took it, letting him rant at me for another minute. He was actually pretty right that I’d had my turn to talk. Yesterday, when I’d barged into a wedding ceremony and claimed the bride as my own. It was only fair that he got to vent a little too. “The Hawthornes are—” “Fine,” Daniel muttered at his side. “We’re fine. Don’t presume to speak for us.” Cliff rolled his eyes. “Contrary to what their son seems to think, the Hawthornes have been thoroughly humiliated by you and my daughter for the second time.” “That’s really not accurate,” Daniel said, then shrugged when Cliff shot him a glare. “What? I’m just saying. Don’t be upset on our account.” Cliff shook his head and folded his arms across his chest as he turned back to me. “My family has never endured such insulting behavior and we will not start now. You have embarrassed us. You have betrayed the trust we placed in you when you offered your help. You have—” “Oh, that’s enough.” Marcus sighed. “They love each other, Dad. Let it go.” Cliff rounded on him. “Maggie may have gotten away with this, but you and your brothers will not.” Marcus’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “I know.” Cliff pointed at me. “You have not won, Ryan. The marriage certificate is for Daniel and Maggie, not you. Legally, there is no valid marriage.” “Maggie is my wife,” I said, somehow managing to sound a lot calmer than I felt. “I’ll have the paperwork corrected on Monday. As I’m sure you can guess, us Thayers have got a relatively good relationship with a truly astonishing amount of lawyers. I’ve already spoken to one on my way over this morning and he’s assured me there won’t be any problems.” Daniel looked like he was trying not to laugh, but Marcus st epped forward and clamped a hand over his father’s shoulder. “She’s happy, Dad. She’s married, which is what you wanted, and she married a Thayer. They’ve had some difficult years, but they’re on their way back up, and at the end of the day, every dynasty family has had its problems at some point.” Cliff’s eyes narrowed to slits, but after a moment, he sighed. “Fine. She can have her inheritance. It’s law. Maggie will get what she’s entitled to, but don’t expect me to celebrate this.”
As soon as the words were out, he walked away, slamming one of the ballroom doors behind him. Daniel, Marcus, and I stood in silence for a few seconds after he left, all of us probably absorbing what had just happened in our own ways and for our own reasons. Marcus looked exhausted, Daniel still just looked happy, and I hadn’t been struck by lightning for standing up to Cliff Pembroke. All in all, it’s a good result. Daniel finally broke the silence after taking a few st eps back and shooting me a grin. “So, Ryan. Do you golf?”
Epilogue Maggie Mickey’s behavior at puppy class was going to get us permanently banned from civilization as a whole. I was convinced of it. After a month of absolutely no progress and many apologies being issued to the owners of every other puppy in Mickey’s age range, I had a feeling it might just be time to give up. I burst through the front door with him trotting behind me, his giant paws thudding against the floor. “Your dog is a menace.” Ryan looked over at me from where he was standing by the windows with one hand in his pocket and the other holding his phone to his ear. With his feet bare, his shirt halfway unbuttoned, and his dark hair all messy, he was annoyingly hot and much too calm to understand yet that his wife had just been the subject of extreme humiliation at the hands of a two-pound Yorkshire terrier. He showed me he needed a minute but didn’t turn away as he spoke into his phone. “Yes, I know. It’s not viable.” Naturally, Mickey was the recipient of a personality transplant now that he was back with his favorite person. His ears perked up and his tail wagged wildly as he trotted over to Ryan and sat, perfectly, next to his foot. I groaned. “Twenty minutes ago, he was wrestling a Yorkie.” Mickey looked up at him with such an innocent expression on his face that Ryan smiled and scratched behind his ears as he murmured, “Good boy.” “No, not good boy,” I whispered furiously as I got closer. “He picked up a Yorkie with his whole face and shoved it across the floor.” Ryan’s shoulders shook with quiet laughter as he cocked his head slightly, still listening to whoever was on the phone. I shook my head at him. “Don’t laugh.” He finally lifted a hand to cover the microphone. “I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at the Yorkie. It should learn to pick its battles.” I sighed. “You’re not helping.” “I’m not trying to.” He reached for me with his free hand and pulled me closer, kissing my cheek before letting his lips graze down to my neck. I immediately forgot what I’d been saying, letting my eyes slide shut even as he spoke into the phone again. “Yeah. No, that’s exactly what I’m saying. We need to stop pitching high-tech manufacturing breakthroughs to people who have never set foot on a factory floor.” Ryan kissed my neck again without skipping a beat, ke eping me close as he continued his conversation like he wasn’t setting my blood on fire. “Cater to the actual blue-collar base. We should focus on what the technology can do for them, not on how impressive it looks on a Power Point being presented to a room full of billionaires.”
I smiled, so completely in awe of the fact that Ryan still went out of his way to make me feel like I was the only thing that mattered to him despite whatever else he had going on. “Yeah. Okay. Let them hate me. I’ll handle the fallout, but I’m telling you, this is how we make money.” He listened for only another beat before he nodded, said goodbye, and hung up. Then he pulled back slightly to look into my eyes. “How was puppy class?” “Mickey is a criminal.” I wound my arms around his neck. “He almost killed that Yorkie. It was humiliating.” Ryan grinned and lifted me clean off my feet. I squealed and wrapped my legs around his hips, laughing as he carried me across the room. “Ryan! This is serious. Our puppy is going to get chucked out of school.” Instead of reacting to the news at all, he kissed my mouth, then my cheek, then my eyelids, then moved back to the corner of my lips. “Tell me everything.” “I already have.” “Maybe, but I wasn’t listening. I was too busy saying hello to my wife.” He lowered me down on the couch and pressed another hard kiss to my lips. “Hello, wife.” Tingles shot through me at the word. It didn’t matter how often I’d heard it by now. I still couldn’t believe that I was married to Ryan Thayer and living in our blissful happy-ever-after. It was ridiculous. I loved it. “Hello, husband.” I stroked my fingers into his hair, smiling against his mouth and just breathing in the incredible scent of him as I tried to reorganize my thoughts. “Mickey thinks he’s smaller than the average-sized family SUV.” Ryan hummed thoughtfully. “So what? He’ll learn. He’s still so little.” “That’s the thing, though,” I protested. “He’s not little.” Ryan’s lips dragged down to my throat and I almost lost track of what I’d been saying again, but I grabbed onto my train of thought at the very last moment. “I’m serious, Ry. He’s growing so fast and there’s no controlling him. There was this Labradoodle at the class today too, and every time it got a treat, Micky tried to steal it.” “That’s terrible,” he murmured absently, his hand finding my hip and gripping it firmly as he pressed his mouth to mine once more. “Absolutely awful.” I moaned when he settled on top of me on the couch, his hips fitted between my own and his kisses becoming hungrier. I arched into him, about to surrender to how heated this was getting when I heard a soft but unmistakable clatter. “Wait,” I murmured between kisses. “What?” “Mickey.” “He’s fine.” “He might be, but whatever was on the kitchen counter is not.” Ryan finally lifted his head and glanced toward the kitchen. I pushed myself up on my elbows to follow his gaze, both of us groaning when we saw Mickey standing on his back legs, his paws against the counter and his face buried in the sandwich Ryan must’ve left there.
I gasped. “Mickey!” Mayonnaise was smudged on his nose when he glanced at us, but he swallowed, looking for a beat like he was about to drop his paws from the counter before he grabbed the rest of the sandwich and ran. I burst out laughing as he disappeared around the corner and Ryan sighed. “We’re going to have to get that away from him, aren’t we?” “Well, yeah.” I started sitting up, my body hating me from moving out from underneath my husband’s, but we had to do what we had to do. “Unless you want him eating that on our bed and sle eping in a pool of slobber and drool.” He exaggerated a shudder, following when I went after our incorrigible, massive puppy. Mickey ducked under the dining table, so I went down there too, yelping when Ryan caught me by the ankle. “Got you.” “I’m not who we’re chasing.” “I disagree.” He dragged me back by my ankles and I laughed so hard I could barely breathe. Meanwhile, Mickey emerged from the other side of the table with half a sandwich in his mouth and bolted. “Mickey!” Ryan scrambled after him and I followed, but five minutes later, we were both sitting on the kitchen floor, breathless and surrounded by the evidence of our puppy’s crimes. Crumbs and pieces of crust littered the tiles, a few dollops of mayo and a whole lot of shredded lettuce to go with it. Mickey had finally collapsed next to a chair, either having decided the sandwich wasn’t worth it or just finally full after all the treats he’d stolen too. I looked around our apartment before lying down flat on my back and closing my eyes. “We need a bigger place.” “Yeah, we really do.” Ryan leaned back against the cabinet. “With a yard and a much bigger house.” “Somewhere far away from any Yorkies for him to eat.” “He didn’t eat the Yorkie.” “Trust me, he would’ve. Even if he wouldn’t have done it on purpose,” I said, dropping my arm across my forehead and deciding I might as well get comfortable. “The worst part is that he really thought he was just playing, but it’s a miracle that other dog didn’t get hurt.” A vampire with centuries of secrets. She asks the one question he won't answer. read. “We’ll get a bigger place,” Ryan said confidently. “I’ve been meaning to look around for one anyway, but he’s growing faster than I ever could’ve expected. It’ll be easier once he has more space.” “We’re taking him on three proper walks a day and letting him come with us to run errands whenever we can. So if you’re serious about this, we need to start looking, like, today.”
“We’ll go to the cottage this weekend for a start,” he said. “Mickey can chase out the raccoons for us and we’ll stay there until we find som eplace else.” “I’ll go pack,” I said, already starting to sit up, but Ryan checked his watch and grimaced. “I can’t go today. I have golf.” “Golf?” “Yeah, with Marcus and Daniel.” “It’s still weird that you guys are friends now.” “I know, it’s ridiculous, but he’s a nice guy.” I groaned. “So I’ve heard. R epeatedly. From absolutely everyone I’ve ever known.” He chuckled. “No, I’m serious. He’s been getting me back in touch with some people I haven’t spoken to for years and those people are exactly who I need to grow the acquisitions team.” As I blew out a breath through my nose, disappointed about the cottage and still not really sure how to feel about him becoming so close to my brother and my almost-husband, I met his gaze and smiled. It had been almost surreal, watching him slip so easily back into the life that had once been taken from him. Old friendships were slowly returning. People were starting to open their doors to the Thayers again and Ryan was st epping through them like he’d always known he’d be going back to where he belonged. It was incredible, him flourishing in this new life we were building together while I just got to reap the benefits of being married to the man I loved—and had chosen. Unfortunately, Court’s impending release lingered in the background like a thundercloud. I reached for Ryan’s hand and scooted up to sit against the cabinet with him. “Have you heard anything else?” He glanced at me, not needing to ask to know what I was talking about. “Nothing new, but I’m okay. Holden...” “Holden is not,” I finished for him, leaning into his side and tightening my grip on hand. “He’ll get there, Ry. It’s going to be a big adjustment to you all the day Court gets out.” “Yeah, I know. I’m just worried about him, is all.” “So am I,” I admitted quietly, stiffening when I saw Mickey emerge from under the chair and grab one of the couch cushions, dragging it across the apartment. “Mickey!” Ryan didn’t even look to check what he was doing this time. He just caught my face between his hands and kissed me. “Let him go. I want to get back to welcoming you home.” I smiled. “He’s destroying our furniture.” “Yeah.” “We should stop him.” “We’re going to need new furniture when we move anyway,” he murmured, reaching for the hem of my t-shirt. “Besides, he won’t actually ruin anything. He’s just playing.” “You’re going to spoil our children rotten one day.” “I can’t wait.” He pressed me down against the floor and crawled over me, smirking against my lips as he pinned me down. “Kids. Dogs. I’ll spoil them all. The only person I’m going to spoil right now though, is you.”
As he kissed me again, Mickey barked and raced back to us. Ryan groaned but finally helped me to my feet and grabbed Mickey’s leash. Our happily ever after definitely wasn’t quiet or uneventful. That was for sure. There was always a family member calling, or Mickey begging for a walk, or work, or news about Court, but honestly, this life we were building together, as loud, chaotic, and slightly ridiculous as it was, was also completely ours, and frankly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. *** Want a Bonus Scene for Runaway Bride’s Husband? Who is up next?? Download this Bonus Scene today!! Get your copy HERE!! *** Want more of Ali Parker? Check out Book 1 in The Inheritance Series! Go read book 1 in the Inheritance series, One Year Husband! I don’t believe in fairytales. I believe in contracts. Clean exits. Ironclad terms. So when my father lays down the ultimatum—get married, have a child, and prove I’m worthy of the Westwood empire—I do what I do best. I go get what I want. She’s gorgeous. Curvy. Smart-mouthed. And absolutely furious that I now own 51% of her struggling business. Lucky for her, there’s room to negotiate. She wants to save her company—and have a baby. I want my inheritance—and zero romantic entanglements. One year. One baby. No feelings. Just signatures. Simple enough... until she starts showing up in my head, in my bed, and in my carefully controlled life like she belongs there. Now I’m pretending to be a devoted husband in public, sle eping a little too close in private, and breaking every rule I set in the fine print. I built my legacy on logic. Falling for my fake wife? That’s a complication I didn’t plan for. Get your book HERE!