“Psht.” Desiree swats the air. “You know cattiness is not my thing. I’d never deliberately hold you back, so if it ever feels that way, you’d better let me know.”
“Of course,” I agree, as we approach her office.
“Women have to uplift each other in the workplace. This is a man’s world,” she whispers conspiratorially, side-eyeing the males in the large open work space. “You’ll never get noticed for more than your tits or your gorgeous legs if you aren’t willing to take your seat at the table and speak the hell up.”
I nod. “Thanks, Desiree. That means a lot.”
Finally, I allow myself to smile and bask in what just happened. The accomplishment was small but maybe it’s the first step on the path toward my career dreams.
Thirty-Seven
Jace
Now that I’ve been cooped up inside this condo for god knows how long, I have even more respect for Sera. I don’t know how she kept from going crazy all those days she was off from work, stuck by herself in this apartment.
Anyway, when I decided to cook a romantic dinner for the two of us tonight, I told myself it would be a way to keep myself busy for the afternoon.
But my wife has completely reorganized the pantry and meal planned like a fucking boss, which means I didn’t have a whole lot of the heavy lifting to do. She’s streamlined parts of my life that I didn’t even realize were a mess.
I want to do something nice for her. She’s back at work, and I’m sure the last thing she’ll want to do is come home and cook and take care of me.
And honestly, I enjoy taking care of Sera. I like showing her how a real man treats his woman. I want her to think back on all her old boyfriends and realize they were just lame compared to me.
Yes, it’s an ego thing.
But it’s also an I-want-to-do-everything-to-show-her-how-much-she-matters-to-me thing.
“I’m home!” I hear, shortly before the front door clicks shut.
My heart surges just at the sound of her voice.
“In here,” I call back, hobbling over to the fridge to grab the butter.
Sera walks in, an ear-to-ear grin on her face and my heart soars higher.
She’s dressed in her work attire. A drab, gray little business suit. Still, it doesn’t overshadow her soft brown waves and chocolate doe eyes. My wife’s so fucking hot.
“Hey.” She wraps her arms around my waist and brushes her lips over mine.
“Hey beautiful.”
She inhales audibly. “What are you making?” She steps around me to peer at the stove.
“Steak. Mashed potatoes. Veggies.” I wave a fresh asparagus stalk in her direction with a wink.
“Ah. I see you're using Saturday night’s meal plan. On a day that is not Saturday,” she chides with a cute little frown.
“I had to. I was afraid you were going to make me eat soup again.”
She laughs. It’s a throaty, beautiful sound. “Don’t worry. Soup isn’t on the meal plan again until next Monday.”
I groan and she laughs some more.
“Need some help with dinner?” she asks.
I turn to kiss the top of her head. “You sit that sexy ass down. I’ve got this.”
She drops down onto a stool at the island and kicks off her heels. I watch as she rubs the arch of one foot, then the other.
I limp around the kitchen before setting a bottle of red wine and a clean glass on the counter for her. She grabs me by the collar of my shirt and thanks me with a steamy kiss.
“How was your day, sexy? I see you’ve ditched the crutches. Did your physiotherapy session go well?”
I like when she looks at me the way she’s looking at me now. All soft and affectionate. And I like how it feels to have someone asking about my day. Normally, with women, the most I get is some football groupie nonsense before I’m manhandled. Is it too much for a man to get some meaningful conversation, first? Damn.
Sera has definitely raised the bar.
“I’ve ditched the crutches, babe.” I carefully spin around on my good leg. I have to grip the countertop to avoid tipping over, though. “The physiotherapy session went well. The pain and swelling in my ankle are almost completely gone now. Tomorrow, I get to start doing some light workouts.”
She gasps and squeals, her eyes genuinely lighting up. “That’s amazing news. Will you be able to get back on the field sooner then?”
“Hope so, but I won’t rush it. It’s more important that I’m back and one hundred percent leading up to the playoffs, so if I need to sit out a few of these earlier games, I’m okay with that.”
She nods slowly. “That makes sense. You guys have a really good shot this year, with Jude back from his injury, too.” She stands up and wraps her arms around my waist again. She leans her cheek against my bicep as she peers around me to see how the asparagus is coming along.
Wow, when she hugs me like that, inhaling me deeply, smiling like she’s drunk off my proximity, I feel…important. I know it’s weird to say, but she makes me feel important and strong and manly, despite my injury. “Yeah. We’re looking solid. I feel good about our chances.”
I toss the potatoes into some boiling water and lower the heat.
I turn to face Sera. “I don’t want to talk about me. Tell me about your day.”
She beams. “Today, I managed to prevent a major crisis for Liam and the whole team.” She grabs her glass and takes a sip of her wine.
“There you go, woman.” I hold out a hand for a high five and she giggles when she claps her palm against mine. “Did they kick out that Desiree woman and make you boss yet?”
She rolls her eyes. “I totally admire Desiree. She saved me from photocopier purgatory and helped me start getting into the company’s executive meetings. She’s played a big role in helping me develop my career.”
“Desiree is amazing. She kept Wyatt on the straight and narrow throughout our teen years. She deserves a medal for that on its own.”
Sera sighs wistfully. “I just wish the two of them never would have broken up. She was really good for him, you know? He seemed happier back then.”
I carefully lay the asparagus on the stovetop grill. “Yeah, but they had their reasons.” I don’t want to reveal all my best friend’s business. I have a hunch I know a little more about the Wyatt and Desiree situation than Sera does. I don’t want to be caught in the middle. My secret relationship with Sera is already enough of a strike against me when it comes to my friendship with Wyatt.
After I check on the potatoes, I turn and lean against the kitchen counter, trying to ease my weight off my sore foot. My eyes meet Sera’s gaze as I tip back my own beer, and she draws to her feet. Like a magnet, she pads over to me, her heels still discarded on the floor.
It shouldn’t rev me up so much to see her coat hanging on the hook by the door and her shoes lying in the middle of my kitchen floor, but I fucking like it.
When she’s pressed flush against my chest, Sera tentatively rises to her toes and rubs her sweet lips on mine. I let her control the kiss until I can’t take it anymore. I slide my hands under her ass, lifting her up and turning to plop her on the counter, without breaking away from her delicious mouth. My lips move down her gorgeous neck as I squeeze her breasts through her shirt. My fingers creep under her blouse and unsnap her bra.
“Mmm. Yellow and blue polka dot. Interesting. I like that.” Sera giggles as I playfully fling the bra across the room.
As we’re messing around, her phone dings on the counter beside her. Mine dings in my pocket too, at exactly the same time.
“Jinx,” I tease with a wink as we both grab our devices. “You owe me a blowjob tonight.”
She rolls her eyes. “Perv.” She brings her lips to mine for a quick kiss. “And by the way, I am so down to give you a blowjob.”
I chuckle.
We check the new notifications that arrived on our devices simultaneously.
The email on my screen turns my blood to ice.
From: Ad
[email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Subject: Reminder re: Annulment deadline (File# JBSR-0711)
Hello,
This is a courtesy reminder that the sixty-day deadline for filing for the annulment of your marriage is quickly approaching. In the event that you have decided to proceed with the annulment, please book an appointment with our law offices at your soonest convenience to discuss next steps in your file.
Feel free to reply to this email with any questions.
Kind regards,
Gina Alcott
Administrative assistant
I feel tight, anxious energy in my gut. Slowly, I bring my eyes to Sera’s. The expression on her face can best be described as ‘scared shitless’. She holds up her phone so I can see that she’s received the same email I have.
I clear my throat. “Have you…have you given any thought to what you want to do about this?”
We still have a few weeks to decide but I guess the law firm wants to be on top of things and not let it slip by the wayside. I mean, if we miss this deadline, annulment will no longer be an option on the table for us. But I don’t even want that option anymore. Does she?
I throw out a hand quickly. “You don’t have to give me an answer yet. I mean we still have time. And I don’t want to pressure you into anything you’re not ready for.”
She purses her lips then intakes a breath. “The safe thing to do would probably be to tell you that I haven’t decided, that I want to wait and see how things go.” She meets my gaze. “But I don’t want to do the ‘safe thing’.” She sets her device down and drapes her arms around my neck. She kisses me softly. “You’re mine. And I’m not letting you go.”
My heart gives one hard thrust and I swear, it sucks all the blood out of my brain and shoots it straight to my crotch. I grab her hips. “You mean that?”
Eyes bright and happy, she nods. “Yes, I mean that.”
My smile widens. “All right. Let’s make sure this lawyer-lady knows, then.” I hand her my phone, and together, we compose an email to the law firm, politely letting them know that an appointment won’t be necessary and that they can burn our annulment file for all we care. Politely, of course.
We’re staying married. We’re fucking staying married.
Feeling triumphant, I lift her off the counter and stomp into the bedroom. Her breath catches when I fling her onto the bed. I lean over her and my mouth lands on hers.
We’re staying married.
My hands find their way beneath her clothes and I kiss her until she’s virtually melting against the sheets.
When I pull back, I look her in the face. “We’re gonna have to call Wyatt together, okay?”
She smiles. She fucking smiles. “Yeah. We’ll call Wyatt.”
In a heartbeat, we’re naked and I’m moving inside her, our hips working against each other in sync. “You’re mine now, Sera. Nothing’s getting in the way anymore.”
Thirty-Eight
Sera
I hit snooze on the alarm, knowing I’m going to have to skip my morning shower if I want to make it to the office on time. After Jace cooked for me last night, he and I spent hours exploring each other’s bodies, satisfying each other’s souls. Things between the sheets were downright explosive. I’m paying for it now, desperate for every last second of sleep I can get.
Even through my exhaustion, I’m so happy. It’s official—we’re staying together.
The closer our annulment deadline got, the more evident it became that I wouldn’t be able to let this man go. If I ever thought I’d be able to walk away from a temporary marriage with Jace, I was certifiably insane. I want to stay married to my husband.
And Jace is absolutely right. It’s time to tell my brother. Wyatt needs to know the truth. And he needs to come to grips with it. I love my brother but he doesn’t get to decide who I share my life with.
I turn in Jace’s heavy arms and he slowly comes awake. “Don’t go,” he rasps in that deliciously deep morning voice. His strong arms tighten around me, locking me against his hard body. He nips my bottom lip, and the sensation goes straight to my core.
“I’m going to be late for work,” I say on a moan. I don’t mean for my voice to sound as breathy as it does.
“Shhh,” he says, running his fiery tongue down my neck. “I promise. I’ll be quick. And I’ll make sure you’re even quicker.” On that dark promise, his head dips below the comforter, disappearing out of sight.
I clench the sheets. Oh, god.
His warm, massive palms grip the backs of my thighs and slide down to my ass as he spreads me apart. Then, his mouth is on my pussy and my hand is in his hair as I moan and rotate my hips on his face.
Right as his tongue slides down my slit, I hear a distant knock, coming from the condo’s front door.
Dammit.
“Jace…” I pant, hardly able to catch my breath. “Jace…” I fist his hair between my fingers, trying to pull him up. He fights me, easily holding me down and doing a toe-curling magic trick between my thighs. “Jace, someone’s at the door.”
That gets his attention. He pokes his head out from under the blankets. My stomach does a pirouette when I see my slick arousal leaving a shiny mess on my husband’s lips. Add to that his scowling expression which tells me he’s clearly not happy about the interruption. God, he’s sexy.
“Whoever you are, go away,” Jace shouts loudly at the front door, his voice booming off the walls. “I’m about to eat a pretty ass.”
Heat enfolds me and a blush runs up my neck. “Jace!” I scold. I can’t believe he just said that.
The person on the other side of the front door yells back immediately. “Stop fucking around, Bellino. Come let me in.”
But it’s a voice I recognize very well.
A voice I’ve heard nearly every day for the last twenty-four years.
Wyatt.
My frisky mood plummets.
Jace’s wide eyes meet mine.
“Oh, crap!” I squeak.
He pounds a fist into the mattress. “Fuck-goddammit-shit!”
That confidence about having a grown-ass conversation with my big brother seems to get tossed off the balcony.
I scramble out of bed, and Jace fumbles around at the foot of the mattress with his sweatpants. He quickly pulls on a T-shirt.
With a hand on the knob, he pauses by the bedroom door and eyeballs me where I’m frantically trying to yank up my work pants. His jaw ticks, I told you this would happen written all over his still-glistening face. I gesture wildy to his mouth. When he wipes my juices off his lips and chin with the back of his hand, my pussy whimpers.
Jace half-closes the bedroom door and disappears down the hall. I stay put, trying to map out my next move.
Oh, good lord. This should not be happening. Definitely not like this. I should have listened to him when he insisted that we speak to Wyatt sooner. What’s going to happen now?
My chest is pounding when I hear Jace open the front door and greet my brother.
“Hey, what are you doing here, man?” Footsteps move around the living room.
I quickly finish dressing while listening to their conversation through the closed bedroom door.
“Aren’t you happy to see me?” Wyatt counters good-naturedly but—crap—he sounds kind of…suspicious.
“Yeah. Sure,” Jace recovers not-so-smoothly. “Just unexpected, is all.”
No freaking kidding.
“Well, if you’d returned my damn phonecalls over the past few weeks, you would have known there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
My stomach clenches as I wait to hear what he’ll say. Oh my god. Does my brother know about me and his best friend? Did he figure it out? Did someone tell him?
Ear pressed to the door, I hold my breath until I hear Wyatt say, “I just wanted to tell you…I’ve been officially discharged fr
om the military, man. I’m a regular, ol’ civilian again.”
My movements freeze. That is not what I’d expected my brother to say.
I didn’t even know he was planning to get out so soon. I’m a little hurt that he didn’t tell me and Katrina first. Hell, does Mom even know?
But at the same time, I’m glad my brother has Jace to talk to. Wyatt doesn’t open up very easily. But when the two of them get together, they talk. They share stuff. They’re like family to each other.
And that’s exactly why I’ve been so reluctant to tell Wyatt what Jace and I have been up to. All I’ve wanted is to avoid causing damage to their friendship. I know they’d both be devastated if they weren’t close anymore.
I can hear the sincerity in Jace’s voice as he congratulates his friend on this new phase in his life. I can hear them clapping each other on the back.
But I can’t hide here in Jace’s bedroom all day. If I don’t leave in the next couple minutes, I really am going to be late for work. And being late wouldn’t do much for the progress I’ve been making at the office lately.
I swipe on a bit of makeup and finish getting ready for work in record time. I can make out most of Jace and Wyatt’s conversation as I do.
“I’ve fulfilled my services, man.” There’s restrained emotion in Wyatt’s voice when he says that. “It was a hard decision, but I’m ready for the next chapter. I’m ready to start my own life. On my own terms.”
My brother’s explanation immediately takes my mind to Desiree. Maybe that’s the life he’s ready for. Maybe second chances can be possible for my friend and my big brother.
For a second, I’m distracted, trying to decide whether to tell Desiree about his discharge or if I should let them figure out things on their own. As much as I want to poke my nose into my big brother’s business the way he’s always poking around in mine, I don’t exactly know much about what broke up Wyatt and Desiree to begin with. I don’t want to involve myself and only make things worse.
I’m pulled from my matchmaking dreams when I hear my brother laugh in his throat. “Wow, man. I didn’t take you for a yellow and blue polka dot kind of a guy.”
Playing House: A Small Town Brother’s Best Friend Romance (The Playboys of Sin Valley Book 1) Page 25