by Allen, Jenna
Romance
Rekindled
Is it the end, or a new beginning?
Jenna Allen
Jess and Scott haven’t had a conversation in month that didn’t end in a fight. Making up is fun, but the clock is ticking on their marriage. Is a cross-country move the cause of their problems, or the solution?
Romance Rekindled
by Jenna Allen
Copyright © 2013 by Jenna Allen
First Publication © 2009 by Jenna Allen as Starting Over
Cover art by Novel Graphic Designs.
ISBN-13: 978-0-9900084-0-8
Kindle Edition
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be interpreted as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, organizations or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote brief excerpts in a review.
First electronic publication: Phaze Books 2009
Reprint of revised edition by Jenna Allen: 2013
Thank you so much, Delilah Marvelle, for Starbucks, carpool, local author stickers, and promising me self-publishing was the best way to connect with readers.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
From the Author
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Discover more Happily Bedded Bliss
Lovers Reunited
Desire Renewed
About Jenna
Hello my lovelies,
Thank you for joining me on the Happily Bedded Bliss journey. The time to explore what follows happily ever after has come. The dream is fall in love and get married and grow together in marital bliss. If only staying together were as easy as getting together.
Romance Rekindled dives into the emotional minefield of changing jobs, moving across the country, and realizing the person you married has grown into someone else. Jess and Scott both struggle with their commitment to a person who has changed completely, their responsibilities as parents to young children, and the mediocrity they’ve settled for.
Well, in some departments. The sex is still white hot. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Happy Reading,
Jenna Allen
Chapter 1
“W hat do you know, mood lighting.” Scott nudged my shoulder. The lights on the plane dimmed to accommodate the passengers who could actually sleep on the cross-country flight.
I refused to look at him. I wasn’t going to entertain him while he held me hostage on this flight into hell.
“Come on, Jess. It’s first class,” he whispered.
That did it. I turned towards him, pinning him to his seat with a glare. “It is a red eye flight out of Newark. Newark, Scott. Which meant an extra hour drive that I could have spent with the kids. And I have a nine o’clock meeting at the Waldorf School.”
“Jess, that’s the backup academy, and you know it. Besides, I told you, Oregon isn’t like New York. Kids actually go to public school. If we factor that in with my raise and the cost of living change, my salary doubles. That should make you happy.” He slunk down in his seat.
Let him pout. Moving was his idea. Though our marriage had been a partnership up until now, my vote had been vetoed. “If you’re doing this for money, we’re fine in New York.”
“If I stay in New York, I don’t have a job. The entire group was bought, and very few of us were offered positions.” Scott cleared his throat and reclined his seat.
“You could get another job.” I bunched the tiny pillow, trying to find a position that neared comfort.
“Jessie, you promised me you’d keep an open mind.”
“That was before you sold the apartment.” My chin quivered. I clenched my jaw, praying that the heaviness I felt in my eyes didn’t look like tears. Maybe the dimmed lights would help.
“We need to go, Jess.”
“You want to go. I don’t need to. Janelle and Kyle don’t need to.”
The heaviness of his sigh fell upon my shoulders. “Don’t say something you don’t mean.”
But I wanted to mean it. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to tell him that if he wanted to be with me, he needed to stay in New York. But I was a dozen years and two kids too late to take that stand. He knew I’d go wherever he went. Still, I didn’t have to like leaving my family, my community, my job. In Oregon I’d probably be back to writing restaurant reviews for the free papers.
Scott ran a hand through his dark hair, a few short strands of gray sliding across his temple. My cheeks betrayed me, tightening in a grin as I recalled the summer I met him, when his hair had been down to his shoulders. Quickly I schooled my reaction to him. If I went there, I’d be thinking of how I spent every day slathering myself in SPF forty so I could spend the day at the beach watching him as he did his shift as a lifeguard. It was August by the time he noticed, and by then I’d freckled. Thank goodness I’d grown bolder since then.
“You’re smiling.” Scott’s finger traced down my cheek and I batted it away.
“I still hate you.”
“No, you hate having to leave. Which is why you’re coming out. Portland will be great for us. You’ll see.”
I rolled my eyes and nestled into the pillow, pulling the tiny fleece blanket up to my shoulder as I drifted to sleep.
The hum of the engines echoed in my ear. I never could sleep for long on planes. Maybe if I kept my eyes closed they wouldn’t be too puffy. I snuggled deeper into the pillow, only then noticing where my body had turned.
I peeked up at Scott’s sleeping face, his dark lashes fanning against his cheek. We hadn’t slept this close since before I found out he sold the apartment. Up until then I hadn’t been happy about the thought of moving, but I’d open to the possibility. Then the phone call came and the rug had literally been pulled out from under me. We were going, and to drive the point home, he’d sold ours.
It had been an amazing offer, and if we’d already agreed to the move, I would have been happy about it. As the days passed and moving became imminent it seemed silly to still be angry. I knew everything I held inside I wouldn’t be able to get over, so I let it out.
It was a New York problem. If Portland was to be a fresh start, I needed to leave it there, with the stack of delivery menus and perfect bagels.
I snuggled deeper into Scott, my head on his shoulder, lifting one of my legs across his. And then I realized just where my hand was. On the fly of his slacks. If there hadn’t been a blanket covering us, I might have been mortified. Instead, I was simply embarrassed and moved my hand back to my own leg.
“Now don’t do that,” Scott whispered against my hair, his warm fingers wrapping around my wrist and pulling my hand back to him. “I need to be reminded there are parts of me you like.”
I squeezed his cock through the fabric, surprised by how hard he was. “I like every part of you that didn’t sell my home.”
“I’ll buy you a bigger one.” He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my arm.
“Bigger?” I teased, playing my fingers along his length.
“Careful, or I’ll call you on it.” His other hand slid beneath the blanket and up my bare leg.
The thought of play
ing around at thirty thousand feet made my blood race. My gaze darted around the cabin filled with sleeping passengers and an idea burst in my mind. We might actually pull it off, join the mile high club, if I didn’t chicken out first.
Scott’s hips shifted and he pressed the bulge in his slacks against the palm of my hand. We were definitely on the same page. I pushed back, thinking I was a genius for laying out the loose-fitting slacks he wore. Now I could wrap my fingers around him, running them along the length of his shaft.
I tilted my head up to his, parting my lips in an open invitation for his kiss. His lips found mine, his desire evident in each pass of his mouth, each stroke of his tongue. I squeezed him, swallowing the quiet moan he gave me.
Scenarios spun through my head. How did I want to play this? We might be able to get each other off with just our hands. It had been a while since we tried it. Usually we didn’t have that kind of time or patience. As his mouth slid against mine, patience quickly became overated.
I flicked open the catch on his slacks, releasing the zipper and sliding my hand inside. His breath caught and he broke the kiss, staring first into my eyes and then at the blanket. Absolutely nothing showed. When I’d raised my leg across him lap, I’d raised the blanket so that unless I got carried away, no one would be any the wiser.
I closed my hand over his hard cock and my pussy began to throb. If we were home, I would straddle him right now and find release. But it was the fact that we weren’t home, that we weren’t alone, that had me revving. I rubbed my thumb around the tip of his cock, smoothing the wetness over his velvet skin.
The hand he had on my leg pushed higher, beneath the skirt of the shirtdress I wore, all the way to my inner thigh. His fingers teased over my satin panties, then snuck beneath the elastic. I wanted to scream as he began to pet me like kitten. With my free hand I pulled his mouth back to mine, kissing hard to show him exactly how I wanted to be touched.
His fingers opened the lips of my pussy, long lazy strokes nearly driving me crazy before he finally pushed his way into me. He strummed my clit with his thumb, his fingers working me to a frenzy. I wanted nothing more than to lie back and enjoy. I couldn’t concentrate on all the sensations; kissing, stroking him, his hand on me, in me. I broke the kiss, resting my head on his shoulder while we continued to play.
My hips rocked with his touch. I tried my best to keep pace on his cock, but the sensations were starting to blur. My pussy began to spasm and I sucked in air to keep from crying out in pleasure.
While I came back down from my high, Scott removed my hand from him. He fastened his slacks and eased my leg to the floor.
“I really want you,” he whispered in my ear. His deep throaty voice started everything for me again. He looked at me with eyes so dark with need I could barely stand it. “I want to do this, but if you don’t, I’ll understand.”
Scott rose from the seat, making his way to the bathroom in the center of the plane. I watched, but not a single passenger stirred as he passed.
I swallowed hard, tamping down the fear that warned me against something so wicked and daring. We’d never have an opportunity like this again. After a few deep breaths I pushed the blankets aside and rose, walking down the aisle with quiet steps. The world inside the plane lay fast asleep, while I felt more alive than I had in months.
Chapter 2
T he walk down the aisle set my heart racing, as if the few steps had been a marathon. My hand touched the knob on the bathroom door and the door folded in. Scott tugged me into the cramped space, pushing the door closed and turning the lock.
His hands were everywhere, running through my hair and down my body as he pulled me to him, his lips saying more than words ever could. He went to work on the buttons of my shirtdress with both hands, so I made quick work of his pants, unfastening them and dropping them to his ankles.
Before I could reach for him, he stepped closer, closing what little space had been between us. With my dress now open, our bodies were pressed together. I cursed myself for rushing to the pants when I should have taken off his shirt.
His mouth slid to my ear, my neck. I tried to get to the buttons on his shirt, by the sensations were too distracting, the room too small. There was no way to get what I wanted gracefully. Really, I did my best work on a king-sized bed.
Scott lifted his head, staring at me with one eyebrow raised. “Jess?”
Finally. My fingers rushed to the buttons. “This shirt has to come off.”
He straightened, giving me room to work. “I thought you were only in this for my dick.”
“I am, but I want to feel you, not chambray.”
His low laugh rumbled through the room. I looked up to remind him we needed to be quiet, and quick, but before I could his lips were on mine again. With a flick of his hand he undid the front clasp of my bra and pushed everything aside, pressing our bodies together chest to chest, thigh to thigh.
He reached around, gripping my ass and pulling me hard against him. His anxious cock pushed at my satin panties and I bit back a groan. Why did we have to be wearing so many clothes?
Scott pulled his lips from mine, giving me a wicked grin before bending his head and flicking his tongue against my nipple. The heat of his mouth was exactly what I craved against my neglected breasts. His hands and mouth sucked and nipped at my tender flesh. When his hand traveled under the elastic of my panties, shivers shot up my spine. Chills tingled my body as my cunt pulsed for his attention. Real attention.
“Leave them on,” I begged with a throaty voice I barely recognized. “Fuck me now.”
Scott gave a sinister laugh, his hands tracing over my breasts to my shoulders and pushing my open shirtdress off my arms. The motion left me nearly naked, completely exposed if we were caught. Panic flooded through my veins, but before I could protest he’d tugged my panties down and lifted me onto the tiny counter to pull them off the rest of the way. I didn’t dare move, or I’d fall into the sink.
I looked up into Scott’s warm brown eyes and licked my lips. Every nerve in my body was ready, primed for whatever came next. It had better be me.
He reached for my hips, pulling me to the edge of the counter. I wrapped one leg behind him for balance as he took his cock in hand, teasing my pussy, rubbing the head along my labia, circling it around my clit. The plane hit a pocket of turbulence and he pushed completely into me.
I grabbed at him, gasping at the invasion and trying not to cry out in pleasure. As he pounded into me, my head lolled back and I noticed for the first time we were in front of a mirror.
It provided a glimpse into my wild eyes and Scott’s passionate stare. I locked my legs around his hips, moving with him while not breaking eye contact in the mirror. Each time he pounded his cock into me I wanted to scream, to release some of the tension. Because I couldn’t, it built within me. Before I knew it I was clenching him, rolling my hips as best I could.
I came hard, spasming around his cock while he continued to drive deep and hard. His breath was ragged, his face twisting as my inner muscles squeezed him. So sensitive from coming, I could feel his cock pulse within me. His whole body tensed as he came, pushing deeper and deeper into me until he was spent.
In the mirror I saw our faces and chests, flushed from the activity, our breath coming out in quick pants. We might have made it in here without being noticed, but how could anyone not know if they saw us now?
Scott reached for me, pulling my gaze from the mirror and my lips back to his. His kiss wasn’t hungry and passionate like before; this time it was sweet, grateful, a thank you for all that we had shared. With deliberate slowness, he pulled out of my body and readjusted his clothing.
“You’ve ruined me, you know.” Even his whisper seemed loud as the post-coital bliss faded into paranoia.
I smiled up at him. “I’ve ruined you? I’m the one naked in an airplane bathroom.”
Scott lifted my dress, holding it open for me. “Just when I think you might actually leave, you do s
omething like this. Something that shows me that even when I think I couldn’t love you more, couldn’t be more attracted to you, I can be.”
My cheeks heated as I worked the buttons of the dress. “You’re awfully sweet when you join the Mile High Club.” I rose my head to look him in the eye. “This was a first for you, right? I mean, it’s okay if it’s not, I—”
He silenced me with a kiss; a wet, drugging kiss that could have led to more, if we didn’t need to worry about rousing suspicions.
“Honey, I evaluate risk for a living. The only reason why I dared is because if I got caught, I’d be with my wife.”
I grinned up at him. “Yes, but who would bail us out if we get arrested?”
“Good point. I’ll go out first, make sure everything is fine.” He gave me one more quick kiss before opening the door and sliding out.
I locked the door behind him and cleaned myself up as best I could. Restroom romping had really done a number on my hair. A few minutes later I opened the door, half expecting a flight attendant to roll her eyes at me as I did the walk of shame down the aisle.
No one even bothered to look up as I took my seat, snuggling down next to my husband with an amazing sense of accomplishment. I thought I’d be too high from the thrill to get any sleep, but the next thing I knew the pilot was announcing our decent into Portland International Airport.
Chapter 3
I walked along through the near sleep of a gray Portland afternoon, narrowly avoiding being pelted by rain as I stuck close to the awnings of the buildings. The unrelenting rain has a kind of postdiluvian bleakness to it, washing away all the work I’d done to be positive about the move.
Of the four schools I’d toured only one had been what I wanted, and it had a considerable waiting list. Still, I’d filled out the forms and could only wait. And wait. There was nothing to do in the hotel room, with hours until Scott decided to stop interviewing people and deign me with his presence.