To The Woman He Loves

by Theresa Hodge

  “You are amongst good friends here. I guess you can consider us the tycoon’s club,” Mark chimed in. “We should be there for each other to keep us all successful in every aspect of life. That includes our personal lives, especially our marriages, which we all know can make or break us.”

  The men all nodded their heads in agreement. The twins, who weren’t married, looked on like pupils taking a lesson.

  Jacob said, “Mark is right. If you’re not happy at home, it most definitely reflects in your work. I’m living proof of that.”

  “Talk to us and maybe we’ll be able to help with whatever is bothering you,” Mark suggested.

  “I don’t know where to start,” I said in frustration.

  “Start at the beginning,” suggested Jacob.

  I blew out a ragged breath before I began to speak. “Ruby has changed.”

  “In what way?” asked Mark.

  “We used to have this robust love life that included waking up to put a smile on her face and ending each day with a conversation, laughter, and passion. But lately, I don’t know what’s going on with her. I went to the retreat last month out in Iowa and finished up with the conference a day early to surprise her.”

  “Yeah, I remember you left early. You were excited about getting home to surprise her,” Mark recollected.

  “When I got home, my children were with Shauntay and Ruby was in bed sleeping. It was only around six in the evening, and that is so unlike her,” I continued.

  “Maybe she was ill or just overly tired,” Jonathan suggested.

  “I asked her if she was sick, and she said everything was fine. I accepted her answer at the time. Then, things started to get strange. You know this for yourself Mark,” I said looking at him. “You and Shauntay have had our kids more than they’ve been home lately.”

  “Man, that’s not a problem. To tell you the truth, I haven’t thought much about the reason they’ve been over more than usual lately. I’ve just been so overjoyed that they want to spend time with their honorary aunt and uncle. You already know that Shauntay and I love your kids as if they were our own,” Mark said.

  “And that’s fine with me, but don’t you think that defeats the purpose of Ruby being a stay at home mom? She doesn’t need to continuously pawn our children on you two. You both have your hands full as it is with the new baby, and I want my family intact when I get home from the office.”

  “Rest your mind, bro. Shauntay and I aren’t complaining, but I will talk to Shauntay about it,” Mark said as he gave me a reassuring pat on the back.

  “I’m sensing there’s more to this than the kids being over Shauntay’s house. What is really bothering you, Ronan?” Jacob asked.

  “There is definitely more to Ronan’s problem,” Jason agreed.

  “How do you know so much about his problem?” his twin brother asked in surprise.

  “Go on and tell them why you think Ruby has changed, Ronan,” Jason said.

  “I think she’s having an affair.”

  “Wow, man, that’s a pretty heavy allegation,” Mark said as he shifted in his chair. “What makes you think she’s cheating on you?”

  “Every day I come home, after I’ve been busting my ass in the office dealing with hundreds of personality types and situations, and she’s in bed and the kids are gone. She’s even withholding sex from me, so she must be getting it elsewhere. There is no other explanation.”

  I seethed with anger at the thought of my sweet Ruby wrapped up in someone else’s arms, writhing in passion with another man deep inside of her. Just the thought and the images flashing through my mind left my mouth with an acidic taste.

  I’m the only man that’s ever supposed to know her in that way.

  “Calm down, Ronan. I can remember when you and Ruby first got together. You were inseparable. I know she loves you and you love her. Whatever is going on with Ruby might not have anything to do with her having an affair,” said Jacob with a voice of reason.

  “I don’t know what else to think. Something is going on with her, and whatever it is, it’s not good.” I voiced my fears aloud.

  “I understand and sympathize with your feelings, Ronan,” Jacob admitted. “Our wives are precious gems. The thought of another man partaking of what’s rightfully ours is enough to cause a man to do some really bad things.” His eyes flashed a deep understanding as he looked over in Destiny’s direction.

  “I just hope it doesn’t come to that,” I said, as one of the maids offered me another beer. Looking at Ruby who seemed preoccupied by her own thoughts, I figured she was thinking about the next time she would be able to slip away and see her man. “Yeah, I’ll take another one,” I told the maid, before changing the subject to put our conversation back on a lighter note.

  After we’d talked about our picks for the upcoming football season, Johnathan asked, “Fellows, who is that curvaceous natural beauty with your wives?”

  All of us turned our heads towards the women, who seemed to be in deep discussion about something. All of a sudden the beautiful woman that Jonathan spoke of looked our way and smiled before she turned back toward Shauntay to whisper something in her ear.

  “That’s one of Shauntay’s friends,” Mark said. “Her name is Serenity.

  We watched as Shauntay and Serenity stood, leaving Destiny and Ruby behind with the babies as they walked over to us. I looked over at Jonathan who had the biggest grin on his face as he watched Serenity walk over. Out the side of my eye, I saw Jason watching her as well. Both of the twin brothers had a feral hungry look in their eyes as they continued to watch her come our way.

  “Hey, baby,” Mark greeted his wife. He pulled her lightly into the circle of his arms and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

  “Isn’t that sweet?” Serenity said with a smile.

  “I just wanted to bring Serenity over to introduce her to Jonathan and Jason. Turning to Serenity, she said, “You know Jacob because he does business with your bank. And of course, you already know Ronan.”

  “I’m glad you could make it,” Jacob said to Serenity.

  “Thank you,” Serenity said. “Your wife and I are making the best of friends.”

  Jonathan stepped forward to gain her attention. “It’s nice to meet you, Serenity.” He clasped one of her hands in his and brushed the back of it with a kiss. “I don’t see a wedding ring so my hope is you are single,” Jonathan said.

  “No husband or boyfriend,” Serenity giggled and sent a quick glance towards Shauntay to convey her excitement, before her glance returned to Jonathan. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you, Jonathan,” she said.

  Jonathan held onto Serenity’s hand until his brother stepped up and nudged him aside.

  “It certainly is a pleasure to meet you,” Jason said. “I noticed you earlier when you walked out of the house with Destiny. I should’ve come over to make your acquaintance then. Forgive me for my mistake,” he said before taking her other hand in his to place a gentle lingering kiss on the inside of her wrist.

  Serenity giggled more, while Jason still held her hand in his grasp. She looked between Jason and Jonathan with an expression of awe.

  “Jason, give the lady her hand back,” Jonathan said with a frown.

  Jason reluctantly released Serenity’s hand against his will. Watching them ogle over Serenity took my mind off my own problems for a while. I could tell they both had a strong interest in Serenity. I felt trouble brewing on the horizon, if one of them didn’t tap out.

  The rest of the evening passed with good food, conversation and friends. The night sky depicted a starry night with the gentle breeze caressing the palm trees as if they were lovers of long ago. I still managed to keep my distance from Ruby, until the evening came to an end.

  I gathered my tired children together and warned them it was time to go. Little Montie and Montana hated to part with Yasmine and Benedict, until Destiny promised to make arrangements for them to have a play date again soon.

  We said our goodb
yes, and each of my friends said encouraging words that continued to ring in my ears. I felt better by the time my family and I left the barbecue and pulled out onto the roadway heading home. There was still a plaguing doubt that my wife was truly having an affair.

  Yasmine and Benedict were yapping in the backseat about all the fun they had at the Turner’s barbecue. I looked over at Ruby, when I felt her eyes on me. She quickly looked away and I returned my eyes back to the road as we made the uncomfortable ride home with a heavy feeling of doom hanging between us. When did we get to this point in our marriage? Where did our love go?

  Chapter 14

  Ruby

  When he used to take me to parties, he treated me like I was the only one in the room. And when I would leave the room and walk back in, his whole world would change. Everyone thought that we were the perfect pair, and it was plain to see the spell we had on each other. But that night at the Turner’s home, I felt like an outsider in my marriage. Ronan could hardly stand to look at me. As I sat in the presence of our friends feeling like an outcast, it was hard to breathe. The intricacies of the wall I built left me feeling incompetent as a wife.

  When we got home, Ronan took a shower and went into his home office to work without saying a single word to me. I put the kids to sleep and took a long, hot shower. When I was done, I dabbed on a little of my Imperial Magesty perfume and slipped into a cute nightgown. I went to Ronan’s office and stood in the doorway. I was only four weeks out from surgery and technically not released to have intercourse, but we had to reconnect in some way. I strolled over to him and began massaging his tense shoulders.

  “What are you doing, Ruby?” he asked, seeming to tense up even more to the touch of my hand.

  “I’m giving you a massage. Things have been very tense between us lately and I want us to have a night without misunderstandings.”

  He spun around in his chair and looked at me. “Is that really what you want, Ruby? Because you’ve been pretty standoffish lately.”

  “Ronan, it’s what I want, along with a kiss,” I said, before bending down to catch his lips for the most heated kiss.

  At first Ronan didn’t kiss me back, he just allowed me to have my way with his lips, but then he took my face into the palm of his hands and kissed me on a deep moan. Pulling me down onto his lap, he didn’t lose contact with my lips. We stared into each other’s eyes when the kiss broke, and I saw the man I loved. My gallant king. My husband.

  A slight twinge of pain shot through my womanly parts as my body responded to our intimate moment. I can do this. I can make love to my husband through the pain. We both need this, I told myself as Ronan’s warm hands went to my bra-free breasts and massaged them gently. I could feel his rock hard erection pressing against my hips as he moaned salaciously in my ear.

  “I want you, Ruby,” he said standing up and taking me with him. “That’s all I want is you.”

  I slid down to stand on my feet and he backed me up against the wall with each of his hands having a tight grip on the palms of my ass. His sucking kisses against my neck and tight grip on my behind held my body in a storm.

  I felt so damn sexy and desired, while feeling scared, at the same time. As he ravished my body with his hands and lips, I hadn’t even noticed that I had mentally checked out. I was staring straight ahead and my body was as rigid as a board.

  Ronan’s grip loosened and the kisses stopped. The frown that slowly crept onto his forehead didn’t match the rock solid erection still pressing against my thigh. His fist hit the wall beside my head. “Ruby, what’s the motherfucker’s name?” he said, with fury in his silver eyes.

  “What are you talking about, Ronan?”

  “The man that has come in between us, Ruby. You can’t even stand here and kiss me without thinking about him. Tell me his name, because he’s a dead man!”

  “I’m not cheating on you. I never would do that,” I said, offended that was the conclusion he’d come to about me.” I walked away from him and was in the doorway when he spun me around.

  “Ruby, why are you the one getting offended, when you’re the one who has had a million excuses not to let me touch you? We had a rambunctious love life and the next minute – nothing. And tonight, you come in here to seduce me, only to make me feel like some kind of pervert, while you stand there looking like a scared little girl?”

  “That was not my intention…”

  “You deny being sick, but yet you’re tired all the time. All I can think of is that you’re using your energy with someone else.”

  “Ronan, I promise you there is no other man.”

  “If it’s not someone else, what is it? I can’t help you if you’re being all secretive.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Ronan. Just let’s drop it! I’m sorry for bothering you.”

  “Ruby,” he said taking my hand. “I feel like I’m losing you and I don’t want to feel this way.” My heart broke in two looking at Ronan as he poured his heart out to me. “I think we need to go see a counselor,” he finally said.

  “I don’t need a counselor.”

  “Ruby, we’ve had a successful marriage up until this point and I don’t want anything to change that. Sometimes, it takes another person to get to the root of the problem.”

  “I don’t have a problem to get to the root of, Ronan. We can make it through this rough patch without a shrink,” I said, feeling even guiltier about our divide. Ronan was pulling out all the stops, including seeing a shrink, just to keep our marriage happy and I was standing there with the most deceitful smile of assurance on my face.

  “Un-fucking-believable. I don’t believe you are being so nonchalant about our marriage, Ruby. Having a happy home is very important to me. You know that I was raised by my grandparents who were married over fifty years. This marriage…you …our kids, are important to me,” he said as he looked at me somberly. “And I will do anything to have my sweet Ruby back,” he said as he uncrossed my arms and held my hands in his.

  “I’m still here,” I said placing my hand over his heart. “And you are still here.” I placed my hand over my heart.

  “You’re still mine?” asked Ronan.

  “Now and always, Ronan.”

  “You have to keep the communication line open with me, Ruby.”

  “I’m sorry, Ronan.”

  “Don’t be sorry, just don’t make me an outsider,” he said as he took me by the hand.

  “You will forever be inside me, Ronan.”

  “Let’s go to bed, Ruby.” A fiery storm brewed in his eyes as he guided me to the bedroom. He walked me around to his side of the bed. I watched him slide underneath the covers before pulling me down on top of him.

  I lay on top of my husband, listening to the beat of his heart. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I’ve just been feeling a little down and missing my mother,” I said, which was the truth.

  “Babe, you shut me out for a whole month and it’s been hell for me.”

  “It won’t happen again,” I said as I nuzzled up against his chest.

  Ronan's shaft was hard as steel poking my womanly core. Maybe my desire for sex had abandoned me, but my love for my husband had not. I slid down the length of Ronan's body.

  "What are you doing Ruby?" Ronan asked in a thick tone laced with unbridled emotion.

  "Pleasing my husband," I said before slipping my hand into the slit of his Pajama bottoms.

  Ronan groaned once his hardness was enclosed in my hand. I squeezed his cock and moved my hand in an up and down motion before replacing my hand with the warmth of my mouth.

  "Ahh, Ruby baby. That feels so good," Ronan groaned out from deep within.

  I found pleasure in satisfying his primal needs. He expanded in length and thickness as I bobbed my head up and down. My hands cupped his full balls to give them a gentle squeeze. Ronan's hips lifted from the bed as his hands entangled and buried themselves in my hair.

  "Shit!" Ronan growled out loud in sheer delight.r />
  My tongue slid up his hardness and swirled around the tip. Sweet cum leaked down the sides of his penis. His taste was all Ronan, my Ronan, whom I loved dearly.

  "Get up Ruby, I'm about to cum sweetheart.

  "Cum for me Ronan. Feed me," I said before enveloping him deeply into my mouth again. I swallowed his essence that gushed forth like a river. I swallowed and swallowed, until I depleted him of all he had to give. I kissed the tip of his penis before I slid it back into his pajamas and slid up his body into his arms where I belonged.

  Chapter 15

  Ronan

  I was staring blindly at my computer screen, when Jessica’s voice dragged me from my deep thoughts. “Mr. Michaels, don’t forget about the board meeting at two,” she said through the intercom.

  “Thank you, Jessica. I had forgotten all about the board meeting.”

  “You are welcome, sir. That’s why you have me,” she said. “But don’t forget that I start my maternity leave this Friday. Are you sure you don’t want me to handle finding my replacement? You are cutting it pretty close in finding someone to be here and having time for me to show them the ropes,” she said.

  Shoot!

  I glanced out my top floor window at the lush green lawn below that was dotted with flourishing flowered trees and plants alike. The picturesque pond below had several ducks swimming in it. I did forget that Jessica was going on leave Friday. Just like I’d forgotten about the board meeting. I glanced at my wrist watch and realized I should be on my way. It wouldn’t sit well with my colleagues if I was late.

  “Thank you for your concern, Jessica, but don’t worry about it. No matter what you do, there will be no replacement for your dedication and superb work,” I said as I powered down my computer so I could go to the meeting. “I’ll more than likely just pull someone from the temp service pool. They always have people standing by. You just worry about having a healthy baby and leave the worries of this office behind,” I said, as I stroked my beard thinking about how in the living hell the office would run without her for two months.