Page 84 of Stand: Part One

You’re a goddamn idiot.

Silencing my doubts, I quickly drowned them out with the overwhelming rays of sunshine still beaming from the driver’s seat. Jaden looked fucking gorgeous in the dress I’d chosen for her tonight.

Watching her walk down those stairs left an ache in my chest that demanded instantaneous gratification. I wanted nothing more than to drag her back upstairs and fuck her well into the next day, but I’d already gone to way too much trouble to make this little outing happen, so here we were.

We were currently cruising down a road that ran alongside the ocean. Scott and two other vehicles followed us six car lengths behind with another one ten car lengths ahead.

With the sun setting in the background, the scene was picturesque. Jaden’s fiery locks billowed through the wind, the grin on her face so serene and rare as she quietly sang along under her breath with the radio.

At least her taste in music was mostly tolerable, though truthfully, it wouldn’t have made a difference to me. The opportunity to actually listen to her sing was well worth enduring any kind of noise she might have preferred.

But if I was really being honest with myself, it didn’t matter if Jaden was singing, screaming, or moaning my name. Her voice alone would always be my favorite sound.

Against my better judgment, I decided to ride my discomfort out on our special day since my poor little wife wasn’t going to know freedom like this again for a very long time. Not with the atonement I still had planned to exact from her in the coming future for lying to me about Kayla.

Of course, that would all depend on how well Jaden could mitigate my anger once I actually had her confession. She could come clean and earn herself a small ounce of mercy, or she could lie and never know peace again.

I needed to stop delaying the inevitable. The sooner I got it over with, the sooner I might be able to forgive her and move on. But I’d been enjoying her rejuvenation too much after having her confined to our bed for so long, hungry for that spark in her attitude that always set me on fire.

If things went the way I expected them to, then that little spark would be nothing but a puff of smoke by the time I was finished with her. Jaden would retreat back to her more boring, reserved state for a few weeks while she discreetly licked her wounds from an imaginary safe distance. Once they healed, her confidence would replenish, and she’d be back to testing my patience again.

And I couldn’t help but fucking love that about her.

My unbreakable little doll.

“I’m proud of you,” she suddenly said, breaking my train of thought. The surprise compliment caused me to arch a brow at her.

“What?” I asked, pulling myself from my sadistic aspirations.

Jaden chuckled lightly as she pushed her windblown hair out of her face.

“I can tell this is absolute torture for you, putting this much power in my hands,” she said, sliding her palms over the steering wheel. “Trusting me not to abuse or exploit it. I know how hard it is for you to relinquish that kind of control. And you’re handling it really well. I’m proud of you for enduring it…for me.”

My gaze sharpened at her explanation, an odd tug pulling at my chest in multiple directions. It wasn’t every day I received backhanded compliments like that. But it was even rarer when they came from her.

“There are better ways to say thank you, pumpkin,” I sneered, rubbing the back of my neck to release some Jaden-induced tension.

She hummed, a sly smile in the corner of her lips. “Yes, thank you, pumpkin, for keeping your word.” Smirking at her taunt, I reached across the center console to rest my hand on her inner thigh, my fingertips tracing small circles against her skin. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice hitching.

“Focus on the road,” I replied, my fingers inching higher along her skin, enjoying the smoothness of her.

Jaden thought she was being clever, but I knew she was trying to rub it in my face that she’d won. That I had to relinquish this power because I’d lost. And while the idea of pulling the rug out from under her would feel very satisfying, I decided on a different path, one that would lead me straight to the juncture of paradise.

“Stop that,” Jaden snapped. I ignored her as I pushed the hem of her skirt up, my fingers slipping farther and farther up her leg. I almost laughed when her hand slapped down on top of mine. “Knock it off?—”

“Put your hand back on the wheel,” I ordered, my voice hard with impatience.

Huffing dramatically, she begrudgingly removed her hand and placed it back on the top of the wheel, her knuckles turning white as she gripped it tightly. Continuing my leisurely pace, I grazed her skin back and forth, my touch nothing more than a whisper against her skin.

“Why are you trying to distract me?” she asked, her voice tight with agitation. “Do you want me to cause an accident?”

I grinned at her defense. “You find my touch to be that distracting?” I teased, baiting her with my arrogance.

“You’re willing to risk our lives if it is?” she asked, her hips stiffening the second my fingertips grazed the lining of her thong.

“I’ve managed without issue,” I replied, tracing the outline of the thin scrap of fabric separating me from my objective. “Are you implying that you’re incapable of matching my proficiency?”

The cutest little growl of irritation rumbled in her chest, drawing a chuckle from mine. She was so easy to provoke, especially knowing how much she wished she could match me in all things, but never would.