Jack was here.
***
Because they were behind schedule, Grace had to log in extra hours, working late. She was tempted to call Jack but didn’t want to say what she had to over the phone.
What he’d said last night, what he’d done today, meant a lot to her: he wanted to be a part of her world, not just married to it, as she had told him a few days ago. He was starting to understand what she really meant.
When she saw his car parked in the driveway, she smiled.
After she walked in, she heard his voice and saw him standing outside on the patio, talking on his cell phone. His back was to her, one hand in his pocket, nodding and giving clipped, one-word answers. She stopped at the patio door, watching him, raking her eyes from his broad back to his tapered waist in his crisp, button-up shirt and dark slacks. She didn’t know how she’d been able to bear it this long.
Her heart raced with nervousness as she came to a decision she felt was right.
She wanted to be close to him again. Wholly. Completely. She yearned to surrender herself in Jack’s arms, and fly.
If they made love, her rules would be null and void; there would be no turning back. Not only because it would feel too good to go back, but because it wouldn’t be fair. Things would have to be different from this moment forward and she couldn’t allow their physical relationship to become their only bond, as it was before they separated. Back then, there was no talking, no arguing, just cold silence until their loneliness for each other begged to be noticed in the bedroom.
It felt different now. They were talking; they were both making an effort.
But she was tired of talking now.
She wanted him.
She was done denying him her body, done denying them both something that was absolutely organic between them.
He gave a hearty laugh at whatever the person on the other line had said, and it made Grace smile to hear it. Just then, he turned around and noticed her standing there, and he smiled softly. He took a step toward her, but then seemed to remember her no-touch rule and gave a short wave of greeting. “Look, Tom, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you on Monday.” He hung up.
Her stomach fluttered with fire-winged butterflies as he grinned at her. Would that feeling ever go away when he did that? “Welcome home.”
“Thanks. It felt like a long trip even though I was only gone one night.”
She couldn’t agree more. “The girls told me about your visit to the studio today.”
“Yeah….” He tucked his cell phone in a back pocket. “It was quite the experience.”
“So I heard. I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“That’s what I get for being spontaneous.”
“Well, you certainly made an impression on everyone.”
He leaned back on the railing and crossed his arms with a small shrug. “I wasn’t looking for any attention, I swear. I just couldn’t help myself when I saw that actor handle the actress like a clumsy teenager.”
Her laugh was soft. Suddenly unsure how she was going to go about this, she clasped her hands behind her, feeling like a teenager herself, waiting to be kissed. Jack had no idea. “I…I was hoping you could show me…how you did it.”
His brow lifted. “Oh…all right.” He took a hesitant step toward her with his arms out. “Come here.” She met him halfway.
His eyes smoldered, his expression turned serious. He slipped his right arm tight around her waist, his leg sliding between her knees, causing her to lean back with her hands gripping his forearms for balance. The late evening air swooshed around them. Her hair blew in her face, but Grace didn’t make a move to brush it away, spellbound by the passionate heat in her husband’s eyes. He was going to kiss her. He was searching her gaze and she silently tried to tell him yes. Yes. I want you to.
He moved in, his face inches from hers. So close. Her lips wanted to twitch from the invisible electricity humming between them. His eyes hooded, his head cocked slightly…she closed her eyes….
Suddenly, he brought her up and released her with a quick, triumphant smile. “Like that.” With a turn, he went back inside.
Grace was so breathless she almost stumbled, had to grip the railing to regain balance. Would she have to say it out loud? Was he not getting her signals? She followed him down the hall. “Jack.”
He kept walking, running a hand through his hair. “Yeah?”
As her heart hammered, she bit her lip. Be direct. “I don’t want you to sleep in the guest room tonight.”
He stopped, turned. “Say again?”
Inhaling deep, she breathed, “I want you in our room.”
Bafflement etched his face. His reaction was not what she’d expected. He took a step forward.
“You’ll let me stay? I can hold you tonight?”
She took a few steps toward him. “Jack…you can do more than that.”
His gaze bored into hers, searching, as if worried she was toying with him, like she’d suddenly change her mind.
She wouldn’t. Yet he still wasn’t moving.
Taking matters into her own hands, she placed her palms on his chest. His heart was pounding. He felt taut and restrained beneath her touch, like a tight rubber band ready to snap. The shadow of a beard on his face gave him a rugged appearance, making her feminine senses even more acute. “Make love to me.”
He snatched her wandering hands. Jaw flexing, voice hoarse, he asked, “Are you sure, Grace? Are you? I don’t think I can start and stop again.”
She nodded with certainty. “I want you.”
He cupped her face; she could feel him trembling. “Then you kiss me first.”
Grace obliged, grazing his mouth with hers, tempting him to take over. But he didn’t. This had to be all her. Tenderly, she pressed a kiss to his lips, pulled back a little, and kissed him again. “Jack, please….”
He needed no more confirmation, it seemed, as he crushed his mouth to hers. His hands grasped the back of her head while he hungrily devoured her lips. She whimpered under the passionate assault, trying to soften the kiss, wanting to savor it. He shifted his mouth, demanding she open hers.
Grace relented and their tongues touched in a starved dance. Desire, lust, and feverish emotions crashed over one another in one swift moment as her body ignited with the taste of her husband, so raw and familiar.
Jack moaned, moving down her face to under her jaw, the stubble scraping along her cheek a rough contrast to the soft, desperate kisses he pressed on her skin. She ran her palm over the front of his pants, feeling his cock, large and engorged.
He hissed at her touch, then groaned, sweeping her up in his arms. “Not here. In our bed,” he choked out.
Grace said nothing as he marched to their bedroom, kicking the door wide open.
He set her on her feet and ripped her blouse open, buttons popping. She tore at the front of his shirt, anxious to feel skin on skin, to see and touch the expanse of his chest, his rippled stomach, to feel every inch of him against every inch of her. He yanked his arms out of the sleeves, letting the shirt fall to the floor, pulling her back into his embrace. Grace’s eyes closed at the elation of simply feeling her femininity against his masculinity, as he hungrily kissed her again.
He found the zipper at the back of her skirt and it fell in a heap around her feet.
Jack tore his lips away, breathing hard. He fumbled with the front clasp of her bra, releasing it, exposing her breasts. He flung the bra away as they fell on top of the bed, hands rushing to reacquaint themselves, his mouth tasting and licking her skin. With a moan, he rubbed his cock between the wet folds of her sex. Putting an arm under her shoulders, he slid his mouth down to capture the peak of her breast. Grace cried out. He sucked insensitively, scraping his roughened chin over the nub before moving down to run his tongue over her ribs. Leaving a wet trail, he moaned back up to her nipple. She arched, writhing beneath him.
He did the same to her other nipple until both breasts had been worshipped equally,
her nipples stiff and wet from his mouth’s unyielding ravishment. His calloused palms moved to the sides of her breasts as his lips moved down with purpose, kissing her belly, reaching the soft curls of her pussy. He slowly licked her center once, then again. Her cries were caught on a breath as his hot tongue flicked every nerve of her throbbing clit, the verge of an orgasm inside her crying for release. He planted slow, sucking kisses on her inner thighs. Returning, he used the tip of his tongue to circle the bud until Grace’s body was fairly screaming.
“No,” Jack said as he came up. “I want to look at you when you come.” He dove in to kiss her and stole the last of the breath Grace had. The tip of his cock lightly rubbed her entrance, thrilling every fantastic nerve.
Yes, this must be what going mad felt like.
She had wanted to take their time, draw their lovemaking out, but her husband made it impossible. Damn taking it slow. She wanted it now. Fast. Blindly. She wanted to reach that high and be one with her husband inside her, ride the rush, get lost in it.
She lifted her hips, rubbing her wetness over the length of him, causing Jack to open his mouth on hers with heavy breaths. He shook with need.
“I know what you want me to do,” he said huskily, kissing her chin, her lips.
Grace moaned, grasping her hands in his hair. “Jack, don’t make me wait.”
His chuckle was low against her mouth. “Yes.” He lifted her against his body and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She rested her head on the cool pillow, allowing her husband to revere her body inch by inch. He trailed openmouthed kisses down her stomach, her thighs, her shins, then methodically retraced his steps until she was about to beg shamelessly for him.
He touched his nose to hers, and she opened her legs wider, the tip of his cock teasing her again. Grace ran her hands up his muscle-hardened arms, cupping his face, drawing him in for a kiss, tracing her tongue over his.
He slowly began to enter her. As he breathed hard, she felt him tremble.
Pushing in a little more, he squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh…damn, baby….”
She smiled hazily, raising her hips more, feeling the cords of his neck tighten beneath her fingers.
“Grace,” he whispered before driving into her completely, taking her by surprise, filling her tightness with his cock, his ass taut under her calves. He moaned in relief.
Grace cried out at the quick ache; it had been so long since he’d been inside her. He caught her gasp with his mouth.
Breathless, beginning to rock her hips, she encouraged him to move with her. “Jack, it feels so good.” She groaned as his lips slid to her throat. “I’d almost forgotten how good.”
He groaned against her, starting to pump his hips, moving inside her slowly, watching her. “I’m going to make sure you never forget.”
She brought her head up with a whimper, grasping his face, kissing him with all her all her love, all her devotion. They moved together, meeting each other in crazed passion, exchanging eager, wet kisses, sweat slicking their bodies.
The lust and love of her husband consumed Grace, body and soul. He moaned with every thrust inside her, sweat trailing down his face as he looked into her eyes. She intertwined their hands and he kissed her fingers, fucking her with a depth that had her eyes rolling back.
Grace moaned loudly as the rush crashed over her body, making her tighten around him.
“Yes,” he whispered, his lips against the corner of her mouth, hips bucking against her again and again.
The rapture snaked into her core, holding, building. It took over her with a blinding surge, making her cry out as he sent her over the edge. Her eyes watered at the power over her orgasm. Jack’s hand gripped hers tightly as he thrust into her, body and muscles tense with finality. He kept stroking his hardened cock within her until pleasure claimed its end, and he groaned with his release inside her.
He lay on top of her for a little while, breathing hard against the crook of her neck while her fingers brushed through the hair at the back of his head. She loved doing that.
He lifted his face and kissed her hard and long, moving away to lie behind her. He pulled the cool sheet over their bodies. Held tight in his arms, with so many things she wanted to say, Grace fell asleep before she had the energy to say them out loud.
***
Jack woke up to the touch of his wife’s fingertip as it traced a slow swirl over his stomach. He had no idea what time it was and didn’t care. It was the first night he’d slept for more than a handful of hours. Thankfully, it was Saturday morning and he had nowhere to be. Not that even the devil himself could tear him away from this paradise.
“Stop that,” he softly commanded in his groggy morning voice. “It tickles.” He could feel her smile against his chest.
“You’re awake.”
“And how long have you been awake, molesting me?”
“Not long…I was just thinking.”
Jack closed his eyes at the quick, fearful pang in his chest. Please don’t take back last night. Please don’t regret this. “Thinking about….”
“San Francisco,” she said, relieving him of his insecurity. “I’m leaving on Monday for four days. The show has to film a few scenes there. I wish I could get out of it, but I can’t.”
He kissed the top of her head. “We still have the weekend. Don’t think until Monday. Stay here with me.”
She smiled. “Deal.”
They were quiet for a while, reveling in their newfound closeness, enjoying the peace. The last thing he’d expected last night was Grace asking him to make love to her. This meant he’d finally done something right. He prayed he’d keep on doing it. She had no idea how much he needed her, how much last night meant to him. And she hadn’t held back. Her loving had felt pure and committed, with no doubt, no hesitation. It wasn’t from simple lust or sexual frustration; she finally trusted him again. He had his wife back and he was never going to let her slip away.
“I have a confession to make,” she murmured.
“Uh-oh, confessions, already?”
“I have to,” she said with a light laugh. “It’s about the boat.”
“You sold it?”
“No. I used it.” She looked up at him. “I mean, I used it to make myself feel better and—to get under your skin. I didn’t put it up for sale just because we weren’t using it. I did it to get a reaction out of you.”
His mouth twisted. He could’ve guessed as much. “What kind of reaction?”
Her eyes were sad as she shrugged. “An emotional one.”
“You could’ve just talked to me.”
“Could I? We hadn’t spoken in months.”
“Yes,” he said, running a hand down her back. “You could have. I wasn’t even upset about the boat. It was more of what it represented. Selling it felt like you were giving up on us.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment, a look of guilt on her face. “I’m sorry. It was manipulative and wrong.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about now,” he told her softly. “It brought us together, didn’t it?”
“In a way, I guess it did. If you hadn’t shown up at the party and blindsided me, I probably wouldn’t have gone to the cabin that weekend.”
“And if you had remembered to set the alarm and lock the patio door, the punk would’ve never been in here and I would be at the corporate apartment.”
She sighed. “Jack, we have so many memories on the boat, in the cabin…why couldn’t we do those things at home?”
“How could we when we’re never here?”
“That has to change.”
He touched her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes again. “It already has. We can’t go back. We can’t go back and undo how we handled things in the past. But we can focus on what’s ahead of us. Together.”
“It’s not going to be easy.”
He thought of all the catching up they had to, how they were going to heal their marriage and take on the challenge of fusing two vastly
separate external lives into an eternal one. They needed to fill in where the past six months had emptied them. “No, some things will be easier than others.”
“Such as…?”
He answered her wordlessly with a pull of the sheet over their heads, making love to her like a man who didn’t want to take any time for granted.
Later that morning, Grace sat at the counter laughing, completely entertained, looking utterly sexy in one of his T-shirts, with her hair down and messy about her shoulders. He attempted to make waffles with the waffle maker they received for a wedding present and never used, burning his fingers and the batch in the process.
That night they went on their first real date in months by taking a drive to Venice Beach with no dinner reservations, stopping at the first place that looked romantic and inviting. They talked over ceviche and margaritas then took a walk down the beach, laughing their way into the car with sand on their feet. Jack smiled wickedly as he put the driver’s seat back. Grace climbed on top of him with delicious, playful lust, kissing him with passionate ardor until he had to drive them home so they could finish what they’d started.
Sunday morning they spread out the L.A. Times on their bed and snacked on cantaloupe and Grace’s favorite, white-chocolate-covered pretzels, both discussing current events and exchanging long kisses between the sports and entertainment pages.
As Jack held Grace in his arms that night, he wished the weekend wouldn’t end. Tomorrow was Monday and she was leaving for her trip.
Two things he really wasn’t looking forward to.
Chapter Nine
Grace worked tirelessly in San Francisco, hoping to keep busy every minute of every hour so time would go by faster. Shooting was blessedly moving right on schedule. She powered, puffed, blushed, and eyelined the four beauties of Housewife Secrets with quick, proficient hands, making them flawless for the camera.
The first night, Grace attempted to hide in her room with room service and call Jack, but April and Shelby had vehemently protested, insisting she come to dinner with them. April made her spill the beans about her and Jack, which she was shyly delighted to share. The girls had demanded a celebration. She stayed up way later than she ever intended, only able to send Jack a quick text message before crashing in her hotel bed.
All Said and Undone Page 9
