Delayed Gratification: The Honeymoon Read online

  Table of Contents

  Synopsis

  What Reviewers Say About Meghan O’Brien’s Work

  By the Author

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  About the Author

  Books Available From Bold Strokes Books

  Synopsis

  After ten years in love, Willa and Rae decide to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage by getting hitched and going on a dream European vacation. First stop: the final weekend of Carnevale in Venice, Italy. When the international leg of their flight is cancelled due to a fast-moving winter storm, Willa refuses to admit defeat and give up her carefully laid plans. All Rae wants is some quiet time to reconnect with her wife after months of wedding madness, but she agrees to attempt a late-night trek across the snowy midwest in a last-ditch attempt to make it to Venice before the festivities end. After surviving a near-death experience on the icy road, Willa and Rae find themselves at odds regarding the entire point of their honeymoon. Can an unexpected rescuer help them rediscover what’s really important, and each other?

  What Reviewers Say About Meghan O’Brien’s Work

  Thirteen Hours

  “Meghan O’Brien’s writing style is entertaining. She is creative and her story isn’t the typical romance. It was a lovely little story with the elevator being the highlight of the story. If you want a long and very sexy foreplay then this book is for you.”—The Lesbian Review

  “Ms O’Brien has a knack for erotica and she sure isn’t shy in showing it off!! Goodness this was a scorcher. I finished it about 24 hours ago and am still blushing, burning and wanting.”—Prism Book Alliance

  “Meghan O’Brien has given her readers some very steamy scenes in this fast paced novel. Thirteen Hours is definitely a walk on the wild side, which may have you looking twice at those with whom you share an elevator.”—Just About Write

  “Boy, if there was ever fiction that a lesbian needs during a bed death rut or simply in need of some juicing up, Thirteen Hours by Meghan O’Brien is the book I’d recommend to my good friends.…If you are looking for good ole American instant gratification, simple and not-at all-straight sexy lesbian eroticism, revel in the sexiness that is Thirteen Hours.”—Tilted World

  Wild

  “I love Meghan’s take on shapeshifters…The story has great pacing and keeps you on the edge of your seat until it’s heart pounding end. I can’t wait for sequel.”—BookDyke.com

  “I truly enjoy shifter stories but I have never had the pleasure of reading one so well written or so hot. Even for a Bold Strokes Book it was erotic and exotic!”—Prism Book Alliance

  “[O’Brien] knows how to write passion really well, and I do not recommend reading her books in public (unless you want everyone to know exactly what you are reading). Wild is no different. It’s very steamy, and the sex scenes are frequent, and quite erotic to say the least.”—Lesbian Book Review

  The Night Off

  “The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien is an erotic romance that is not for the faint of heart. But if you can handle BDSM that includes hard spanking, humiliation, and anal play, then you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful, emotional romance. If you’ve been looking for an erotic romance that is super dirty but has big, big feelings, you won’t find anything better than The Night Off. Meghan O’Brien is the queen of lesbian erotic romance, and this book is an absolute must.”—The Lesbian Review

  The Muse

  “Entertaining characters, laugh-out-loud moments, plenty of hot sex, all wrapped up in a really fun story. What more could you ask for?” —The Lesbian Review

  The Three

  “In The Three by Meghan O’Brien, we are treated to first-rate storytelling that features scorching love scenes with three main characters.…She hits her stride well in The Three with a well-paced plot that never slows. She excels at giving us an astounding tale that is tightly written and extremely sensual. I highly recommend this unique book.”—Just About Write

  Battle Scars

  “[The] main characters, were well written and I could feel the pain and hope in each of them. As a former US Marine, I usually have a difficult time with books that try to discuss military concepts, philosophy, and events but I didn’t feel that way with this book. There were plenty of things in this book that I could relate to.”­—C-Spot Reviews

  Delayed Gratification: The Honeymoon

  Brought to you by

  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

  eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  Please respect the rights of the author and do not file share.

  Delayed Gratification: The Honeymoon

  © 2016 By Meghan O’Brien. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-62639-766-8

  This Electronic Book is published by

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, New York 12185

  First Edition: September 2016

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editor: Shelley Thrasher

  Production Design: Bold Strokes Graphics

  Cover Design By Jeanine Henning

  By the Author

  Infinite Loop

  The Three

  Thirteen Hours

  Battle Scars

  Wild

  The Night Off

  The Muse

  Delayed Gratification: The Honeymoon

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to Shelley Thrasher for once again providing stellar editorial support and guidance. You really are the best.

  Thanks also to my wife, Angie, for always inspiring me and providing such good feedback on my work.

  And thanks to my family, both in California and Michigan. (With a special shout-out to my sister Kathleen, because that’s what I do.) Oh, and you can’t read this one either, Mom and Dad…

  Dedication

  For Angie, who gave me my own perfect wedding.

  Chapter One

  Willa Martin skidded to a stop in front of a large monitor displaying outbound international flights, feeling every second of the thirty-minute delay on the first leg of their dream European honeymoon in her tense shoulders. She scanned the list of destinations until she found theirs.

  Venice, Italy. Flight status: Cancelled.

  Heart in her throat, Willa glanced over the rest of the board, dismayed to see that every single flight had fallen victim to the unexpectedly inclement weather currently ravaging the midwestern United States.

  “Sounds like we were lucky to have been given clearance to land in Chicago at all. I just overheard someone saying that the meteorologists are calling this a one-hundred-year winter storm—and it’s moving in fast.”

  Glowering at her wife’s typical calm, Willa whirled to glare at Rae as she strolled to rejoin her at a much-too-leisurely pace. “Lucky? Now we’re stuck here. Every single flight is cancelled!”

  Rae appeared to steel herself for an unpleasant task. “Everything will be okay, baby. Don’t get upset.�
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  “Don’t get upset?” Willa’s hands curled into fists at her sides as she struggled not to burst into tears. “Of course I’m upset! After having spent most of the past year planning our wedding—largely by myself—and then this honeymoon—also by myself—all I want right now is to finally enjoy my dream vacation with my beautiful new wife. Maybe it’s silly, but I need for this to go exactly the way we’ve envisioned it for the past ten years. As soon as same-sex marriage was legal, we were going to make it official and finally save enough money to afford this huge, expensive trip to Europe we’ve always talked about. That was our plan. We’re supposed to be in Venice tomorrow for the final weekend of Carnevale. Instead, we’re in fucking Chicago!” Willa scoffed, aware that she wasn’t handling this setback productively but unable to stop her disappointment from further souring what was supposed to be the perfect getaway. “‘Don’t get upset,’” she repeated, in derision.

  “Will.” Rae’s eyes darted to the steady flow of people passing by, then to the small crowd next to them who stared up at the screen with matching expressions of agony. For the most part, everyone seemed too wrapped up in their own personal dramas to pay much attention to Willa’s meltdown. “Please, relax. We couldn’t have predicted the weather. We can’t control it, either. No one can.” She shrugged helplessly. “Why don’t we just make the best of this situation? Maybe find a nice hotel before they all fill up?”

  Willa refused to spend even one hour of her honeymoon in Chicago. Especially when the godforsaken one-hundred-year storm could potentially strand them here for days. She pulled out her phone so she could look up the airline’s number. “Nope. I’m not giving up that easily. With all the work I put into our itinerary? No way. It’s already jam-packed. Beyond missing Carnevale—which is not an option—being delayed by even a day or two will completely ruin our entire trip. We’ll miss out on so much we wanted to see!”

  Rae took her by the arm while she continued to navigate her phone’s menus, leading her to the wall, then drawing her into a gentle hug. “Willa, after the crazy year we’ve had, all I want to see for the next two weeks is you. Even if we miss a few sights, what’s important is that we’re together.” She resisted Willa’s efforts to subtly shrug her off so she could dial the airline’s customer-service line. “We’re finally married, we’re away from home and our responsibilities for the first time in forever, and now we’re embarking on an actual adventure. One without an itinerary.”

  Frustrated by Rae’s attempt to distract her from the important task of damage control, Willa ducked out of her embrace and took a few steps away. She brought the phone to her ear as soon as she dialed, then groaned at the news that she was being placed on hold and would be assisted by the next available representative. She glanced over her shoulder at Rae, who stared back with a mixture of hurt and irritation. “I’m sorry, honey.” She mustered a conciliatory smile while the hold music droned in her ear. “Please, let me try to fix this before you give up on our plans. I’m dying to spend the next two weeks with you, too…but in Italy and Switzerland.” Her voice cracked on her next words. “I feel like I’ve earned this trip. I worked so hard.”

  Rae’s eyes softened. “You did. And you do deserve this.” She exhaled. “Ask them about possible flights out of this airport, but also any others within driving distance. We should also check to see if any trains are running to a city with a working airport.”

  Relieved to be past their rocky moment, Willa nodded briskly. “Good idea.” She slipped into action mode, all business with a laser focus on the problem at hand. “Why don’t you get on your phone so you can pull up a few car-rental sites and check on availability? We may need to find a vehicle quickly.”

  “All right.” Rae sighed and leaned against a wall where she would be out of the way. “This will be okay, babe. Try to stay positive.”

  The hold music ended and an airline representative hurriedly introduced herself, cutting off Willa’s retort. She took a deep breath, then plunged ahead with her plea for a miracle.

  Almost an hour later, Willa ended the largely fruitless conversation with customer service on the edge of tears. Yet she was determined to hold it together. They were down, but certainly not out. She turned to Rae, ready for their next step. “Well, there aren’t any flights leaving this airport until after the weekend, at the earliest. Nor any elsewhere in Illinois, or southern Wisconsin, or even as far west as Des Moines. The storm is massive and moving fast. But it hasn’t reached Michigan yet, and probably won’t for at least ten more hours, and there is a flight to Venice that’s still on schedule to leave from Detroit first thing tomorrow morning. There was only one seat available, but the customer-service rep speculated that the weather would probably prevent at least a few people from making their connections. We’ve got the top spot on the wait list. I’m sure we’ll get a second seat.”

  Rae gave her a weary smile. They still had a full night of driving ahead of them, but Willa could see that travel fatigue had already set in for her beloved homebody. Still, Rae attempted to put on a brave front. “I gathered that from your end of the call.” She raised her phone and waggled it from side to side. “We’ve already got a reservation for a rental car. Let’s go pick it up and get out of here. Based on the traffic report I looked up a couple minutes ago, the roads are already pretty treacherous from a week of moderate snowfall and precipitation. Even if the worst of the storm hasn’t arrived in Michigan yet, this’ll be a hairy drive.”

  Willa didn’t like the sound of that. An adolescence spent in a small Oklahoma desert town hadn’t exactly prepared her to brave icy road conditions. Cautiously, she said, “Babe, I know you’re tired, but—”

  “Of course, I’ll drive.” Rae caught her hand and squeezed. A native Midwesterner, she’d grown up in the northern part of the country, with all the weather-related rites of passage that entailed. “You should get some sleep, anyway. It’ll help.”

  What will help is being able to get on a fucking plane. Willa suppressed the sharp retort and simply nodded. Then she yawned. She hadn’t appreciated how exhausted the unexpected delay had made her until Rae suggested the idea of sleep. “You’re probably right.”

  Rae smirked as they briskly followed the signs to the car-rental shuttles, walking hand in hand. “I usually am.”

  Despite the giant knot of anxiety still lodged in the pit of her stomach, Willa managed a good-natured snort. She bumped against Rae’s side, playfully. “Yeah, whatever.”

  The crowd inside the airport was thick and chaotic. Even through all the movement and noise, Willa had no trouble detecting a snide insult launched at them by a middle-aged man in a poorly tailored suit as they walked past the ticket counter. “Fuckin’ dykes.”

  Willa cringed instinctively. Since coming out to her tiny, conservative hometown during her early twenties, she’d experienced more than one episode of blatant homophobia. She knew Rae had as well. After they’d moved near San Francisco, however, harassment had become an exceedingly rare occurrence for both of them. In fact, Willa couldn’t even remember the last time someone had verbally accosted them like this. She tightened her grip on Rae’s hand and walked faster, glad to leave the hostile man behind. What a place to get stuck.

  “I love you, Will.” Rae gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry. This is just a rocky start to the best two weeks of our lives.”

  Willa nodded swiftly. “I love you, too. And it better be.”

  Chapter Two

  Rae tightened her grip on the steering wheel and squinted to see through the swirling snow flurries that had dramatically intensified a few miles back. Their rental sedan’s tires still gripped the road reasonably well, but every so often they would skid on a particularly slick patch of pavement. In the passenger seat beside her, Willa snored lightly, having fallen asleep before they’d even made it across city lines. It wasn’t surprising. Her wife had been wound extraordinarily tight for the past two weeks as they prepared to leave for their big honey
moon. This was after almost a year of wedding-planning madness that had all but consumed her sweet Willa, leaving behind a nearly full-time—and consistently stressed-out—event, wardrobe, and travel coordinator in her place.

  If not for the outsized importance Willa had assigned to their youthful fantasy of enjoying a traditional wedding followed by an extravagant honeymoon—even if it took ten years after they’d first committed to one another—Rae would have suggested they take advantage of the impromptu opportunity for random hotel sex in Chicago instead of attempting this insane trek across snowy Michigan. She burned to touch her wife and hated to think of being forced to wait until they’d journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean to do so. Had she chosen their honeymoon destination, they would be in a secluded cabin in the woods somewhere with no WiFi, no smartphones, no pets, no distractions, nothing but each other—for two whole weeks. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go to Italy and Switzerland and experience a small piece of Europe for the first time. The problem was the itinerary. Specifically, the size and scope of the thing. Willa kept their schedule in a three-ring binder, for Pete’s sake, and with good reason. She’d packed their days full of trips to recommended attractions, walking tours, meals at specific restaurants, visits to a litany of museums and monuments, and much more. Most of their nights were booked solid as well.