Marrying My Marshal Read online

  “Well, the way I see it, I already did since the sun beat me up,” I told him as I walked into the bathroom. I took care of my morning business and decided I wasn’t going to shave today and simply left the bathroom for the bedroom to get dressed. Once I’d accomplished that, I went to the kitchen and smiled when I saw Adrian sitting at the table, drinking coffee and looking at something on his tablet. After I poured my own cup of coffee and doctored it the way I liked, I joined him at the table.

  “Whatcha doing?” I asked as I joined Adrian and blew on my coffee before taking a sip.

  “I’m trying to decide if I want to strangle my sister or not. She’s given me a list of nine things to do for the wedding and…why does any one person need so much tulle? And furthermore, what in the hell is it?”

  I shrugged because I honestly didn’t know. “Did she really give you a list of nine things? Seriously?”

  Adrian nodded before he went back to looking at his tablet and then writing things down on a sticky note. When I glanced at it, I groaned because of the ridiculousness of it all.

  “You know I love you, right?” I asked. Adrian froze and looked up at me and nodded, but he had a hesitant look on his face. “No, it’s nothing bad. Well, not really. But your sister is nuts. Why do some people go crazy when they start planning their wedding? I mean, work is a living hell some days because Hawke is planning the final things for his, and now Emme is working on hers.”

  “I can’t say, really.”

  I stared at Adrian as he went back to writing meticulously detailed notes on his sticky note. “Well, I’m glad it’s not me, that’s for sure,” I said before I picked my coffee back up and took another sip. When I glanced back to Adrian, he was staring at me with a pained look on his face. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t nothing me. What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t believe you, and I know you’re lying because you suck at it when it comes to me, Adrian.”

  “Fine. You want to know what’s wrong? I’ll tell you. It’s not like you have to worry about getting married anyway. Anytime I’ve even attempted to bring up getting engaged, you change the subject or run away. Sometimes both.”

  I spaced out for a second before my brain caught up. “Can you blame me? Look at Hawke and Emme. They’ve both lost their minds. How are people supposed to be excited about weddings and shit when someone is always going bonkers over them?”

  Adrian drained the last of his coffee before getting up to go pour himself another cup. Once he’d put half-and-half in it, he carried it back to the table and sat back down. He had a thoughtful look on his face, and that had me wondering.

  “You look like you’re thinking too hard.”

  “You know it doesn’t have to be like that, right? Not all weddings are crazy and hectic, and not all couples lose their minds over them.”

  “Hmm.” I remembered my sister Heidi when she’d finally married Marco. They had a very small, intimate ceremony at the courthouse, and although it wasn’t fancy or anything, and technically she didn’t lose her mind, she was still nervous and a bit obsessive about it. I sent Adrian a unconvinced look and shook my head.

  “What? You don’t believe me?”

  “No I don’t. I think that someone is always going to lose their mind a bit when it comes to weddings.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way. Something as beautiful as pledging yourself to someone you love doesn’t have to be elaborate. It can be just as meaningful and important when they get married at the courthouse by a judge. It doesn’t matter if they’re married by a judge or a minister. In front of two witnesses or thousands. Either way, they’re still just as married.”

  “Mmm hmm. Yeah, I don’t buy it. Prove it,” I said before getting up from the table and taking my mug over to the sink to rinse it and place it in the dishwasher. I was through talking about weddings and marriage. It only ever caused an ache inside that I couldn’t quite figure out. Once I’d put my cup in the dishwasher, I turned and sighed as I looked at Adrian’s back. His shoulders were slumped and curled forward, and he was no longer writing on his piece of paper.

  Why did I have to go and ruin the morning? I’d gotten to sleep in and wake up in Adrian’s arms and just…be…for a few. He’d gotten out of bed first and made me coffee. And what did I do? I squashed any talk about weddings and marriage again.

  Pissed at myself, I left the kitchen and went to the den to try to figure out what I could do to fix things. I needed to because I didn’t want to hurt Adrian. I’d put him through enough hell already, and I adored the man. He’d proven to me on more than one occasion that he was worth his weight in gold, and he gave his all when it came to me.

  “Cody?”

  I looked up at Adrian and offered a hesitant smile. “I didn’t mean to be so harsh, and I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t fix things, but I am sorry.”

  Adrian sat down beside me and pulled me into his arms. When he kept going, I found myself lying somewhat uncomfortably in the middle of the couch. We scooted until we were lying on the full length of the thing, and I sighed. This was my happy place. I loved being in Adrian’s arms, and he knew it. Hell, even just being near him made me happy.

  “I know you don’t like to hear about David, and I understand. I honestly do. But is it okay if I talk about something specific for a moment?”

  I growled a bit before nodding. I felt Adrian chuckle, but when I went to pull away, he tightened his arms around me.

  “Trust me, I feel the same most days. But I was married to him for several years. And we got married by a friend who happened to be a judge. He married us in our own backyard. That didn’t make us any less married than Emme was to her asshole of an ex, and she had this crazy big thing with seven bridesmaids and everything. But the point is, we were both still married, and we’re both now just as divorced. But my wedding wasn’t any less important than hers.”

  I nodded because I understood what he was saying. I did. I just didn’t want to end up divorced if I was honest with myself. If I stayed with Adrian as is, I couldn’t get my heart shattered, right? I couldn’t quite figure out why he was interested in me—I was a lot younger than him—but I was thankful that he was. I had been stupid to turn him down so often when he’d first asked me out, but I was glad that Emme had set me up on the blind date with her brother AJ. Who knew AJ would turn out to be the loving, warm, and generous man that was currently running his hand up and down my back.

  “Cody, I love you. I know you know that. And I know you’re also aware that I’m okay with what we have. I’d love nothing more than to claim you as my husband, to introduce you as my mister, but I’m okay with you being my life partner. But I promise that if you ever do change your mind, I’ll have you at the courthouse faster than you can say ‘I do.’”

  “How can you say that?” I asked as I pulled out of his arms as much as the couch against my back would allow.

  “Because I just want you. I don’t need anything flashy or fancy. Just you. You’re what makes me happy, what makes my heart speed up when you send me a smile. You’re what makes my dick go hard when you’re horny and I walk in on you stroking your dick. You. Not some fancy wedding surrounded by a bunch of people that are only there for the free food. Just you.”

  “I want you too. More than I’m sure you realize. I’d love nothing more than to be yours in every way, but I also don’t want to end up completely shattered when you decide you want someone more your own age.”

  “Never going to happen. It’s just not who I’m interested in. I love you. I want to be with you. Period. I’ll take you however I can get you though. I’m not going to pressure you into something you don’t want. But you’re it for me. You’re my other half, and that’s all I need.”

  I thought about those words, and they were exactly how I felt. I’d struggled so much when Adrian was first chasing me. I didn’t think he’d honestly be interested in someone my age. Hell, there were almost eighteen years’ differe
nce in our ages. But Adrian proved to me on more than one occasion that age was just a number. He could run just as far as I could, but he was a bit stronger than me when we were lifting weights. And the man had stamina for days when it came to sex. And he could go multiple rounds without any recovery time in between. I loved Adrian more than anything, and I wanted to be his. I rolled us so he was under me, and when I was straddling his hips, I looked down into the eyes of the man I loved and smiled.

  “Prove it.”

  “Prove what? That I love you? Sure. Let’s go. Or did you want to go at it here on the couch? Although, there’s more room—”

  “No. Though I wouldn’t mind you pounding into me like I did you last night. But no. Prove it to me. Show me that something that simple can be lasting. I’ll completely fall apart when you leave me, but I want to be yours. I want to get married, but I don’t want the headache that comes with a big wedding.”

  Adrian looked up at me with a shocked look on his face. “You serious? Because if you are, we’re going to town to the courthouse right now.”

  I nodded and quickly found myself on my side as Adrian rolled us and got up off the couch. He reached for me and pulled me up with him before he tugged me to the bedroom where he picked up my shoes and shoved them at me. I chuckled but took the hint and put them on. I did want to be his, in every way, but I just hoped he didn’t destroy me when he got tired of me. But after what happened to Tristan and Hawke in that fire, you knew never knew what tomorrow would bring, and you couldn’t let stupid shit keep you from getting what you wanted.

  3

  Adrian

  * * *

  I couldn’t believe Cody actually said yes. I had been trying to talk to him about getting engaged for a while now, and even that was a struggle. But he’d said he wanted to be mine. As in, my husband. I wasn’t stupid. I wasn’t going to question anything. I was simply going to leap when given the opportunity, so I rushed him to our bedroom and shoved his shoes at him.

  Once he was sitting down to put them on, I went to my top dresser drawer and pulled out the black pouch that I’d stashed in there months ago. Inside were two simple platinum bands, but they were us. We were certainly a no-frills couple. And with Cody working with dough and pastries all morning, he wouldn’t want something that would get gunked up with dough.

  “You ready?” Cody asked as I turned while putting the pouch in my pocket. Thankfully, it wasn’t large and my jeans weren’t overly tight.

  “Definitely. I’m going to ask you only one more time though because I know you said it would break you if I left—as if that would ever happen—but I need to know you actually want this. Until now, you’ve been quite against getting married.”

  Cody walked to me and wrapped his arms around my waist before he leaned up and gave my lips a quick peck.

  “I want you. I know there’s a large age difference, and I realize that at some point we’re probably going to have drastically different priorities for our days, but I love you and want to be with you. When Tris got hurt saving Hawke, I think everyone who knows them took a good long look at things. We never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, and we need to enjoy life to the fullest extent we can. For me, that’s saying I married an incredible man that I love more than anyone.”

  I smiled at Cody because I felt the same. On more than one occasion, I’d had to draw my weapon in the line of duty. It wasn’t something I enjoyed, never would be, but it was something I knew was a possibility and was willing to do if needed.

  “I’m not going to lie, that makes me overly happy to hear you say that. I want to marry you. You made me happier than anyone ever has. And right here, right now, I promise I’ll love you for the rest of our days.” I leaned in and gave Cody a lingering kiss before I pulled back and smiled at him. I laced our fingers together and then raised my eyebrows at him before I pulled him from the room. He laughed as we walked down the hallway and out into the garage. I wasn’t taking any chances. I wanted this man as mine and mine alone, and I was going to get my ring on his finger as quickly as I could.

  The drive to the courthouse was uneventful, but I was fighting myself the entire way. I wanted Cody. I’d never hidden that. But I couldn’t help but feel he was saying yes for the wrong reasons.

  “I can hear you thinking from over here. Stop. Unless you actually don’t want to get married,” Cody said from the passenger seat as I pulled into the parking lot at the courthouse.

  “What? No. I want to. It’s just that…you’ve been so against it.” I looked at Cody before I turned off the SUV and pulled the keys from the ignition.

  I really hoped I didn’t regret pushing this right now. Cody had mentioned being worried about when I left, but I felt the same. I figured that someday he’d get tired of being tied to an old man and he’d up and leave me. But I knew he was it for me. I felt things for Cody that I’d never felt for David. Now all I could do was hope he didn’t leave me.

  “You ready?” I asked as I simply stared at Cody. He smiled and nodded before he opened his door and climbed out. I had to hurry to catch up with him because he didn’t stop and wait for me like I expected. He took off toward the building in front of us. I caught up quickly enough, and when I did, he offered me another smile before he laced his fingers with mine and tugged me into the building faster. Apparently I wasn’t walking fast enough for him.

  Once we entered the building, I took the right, knowing where we needed to go to get our license since I worked here, only on the second floor. Not once did Cody hesitate when we filled out the paperwork. In fact, he’d been so focused on completing his while I was busy watching him, he beat me and sent me a glare when I wasn’t finished yet.

  “I thought you wanted to get married?”

  “What? I do.”

  “Then why haven’t you filled out your form yet? We can’t get the license without both of us completing the things.”

  I felt my cheeks heat a bit before I hurried to finish my own form so I could give it to the waiting clerk who looked somewhat bored. But since I didn’t see anyone else around, I didn’t think it would be an issue, really.

  Once finished, I handed my form to the clerk, along with my driver’s license and the fee, and waited while she input my information into the system. Only minutes later, we had our marriage license and we were once again walking hand in hand, this time to the judge’s chambers. When we arrived, there was one other couple waiting, and Cody and I took a seat on the bench outside and waited.

  “You’re nervous. Why? I thought you were anxious about this?”

  I looked at Cody and let out a big breath that I didn’t really realize I’d been holding. “I am. I’ve wanted this for some time, and I’m finally getting it. I don’t know. Maybe you should pinch me or something.”

  Cody rolled his eyes at me before he wrapped a hand behind my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. When our lips met, it was as it had been from the first time we kissed. My body tingled and I held back a moan from the warm sensation of his lips meeting mine. I could kiss Cody for hours, and had.

  “There. Feel better?” Cody asked as he pulled away and smiled at me.

  “I didn’t feel bad before, but I’m not complaining. How are you doing? You sure this is what you want?”

  It was Cody’s turn to sigh, and I was worried that I was going to talk him out of getting married. Why would I do that?

  “I’m good. I don’t want to end up like my parents though, so if you get tired of me, just tell me. I don’t want to be divorced, but I don’t want to stick around somewhere where I’m no longer wanted either.”

  Ahh, now it was coming out. Cody’s parents were…odd. They had four children, and although they’d been married for twenty-five years, they were certainly a couple that should have divorced a long time ago. They’d started running off, each going on their own vacation getaways, once Evelyn and then Cody became old enough to take care of their two younger brothers. No, I wasn’t a fan of Joe or Angie. At all.

/>   “Sweetheart, we’re not your parents. We aren’t getting married because one of us is pregnant, and we certainly wouldn’t stay married simply because we were too lazy to file for divorce. I love you, more than anything, but I want you to know that if we ever end up to the point to your parents are, we’re going to counseling.” I meant it too. I would try everything I could at first to fix things if it came to it, but in the end, if Cody was ultimately unhappy, I’d let him go. I couldn’t live with myself if he stayed out of obligation.

  “Okay, so let’s just say we’re in love, we want to commit to each other, but let’s take it one day at a time. Neither of us know what the future will bring. I love you now, and I don’t see that changing, but I’m living for today.”

  I smiled at Cody, because that was a good way to put things. The other couple that had been waiting when we arrived came out of the judge’s chambers, smiling and wrapped up in each other’s arms. Cody sighed and laid his head on my shoulder before he ran his hand up the inside of my thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  “I want that. That needs to be us.”

  I wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him a bit closer in a one-arm hug before I kissed the top of his head and pulled away. “We are. That’s already us, but we’re about to add something more to it. You ready to marry me?” I asked, knowing I wouldn’t ask again after this last time.

  “I am. I have been for a while, I’ve just been scared. But I want you to know, it was me and my own reservations about me, and nothing to do with you or our love.”

  “We’ll work that all out later if we need to, but I’m more than happy that you’re ready to say I do now,” I said as I got up from the bench and reached for Cody. He got up, and then we walked through the door, once again holding hands.

  “Deputy Fisher, is something wrong?” Judge Wilson asked when we walked into the room.

  “No, sir. Cody and I are your next couple to be married. I promised him simple yet meaningful.”