by Alexis Anne
“Well hello there, wife,” I murmured against her ear in the exact spot that always made her shiver and melt back into my arms. I liked it when she did that.
“Hello husband.” She closed her eyes for a moment and we connected. Her warmth with mine. Her scent invaded my nostrils. Her energy exploded with mine. It wasn’t enough—not nearly enough—but it was something.
“Wow. How long have you two been married?” Susan asked.
I took a long slow breath, soaking up as much Eve as I could. “Seven years. Almost eighteen since we met.”
She blinked. “And you still want to jump her bones?”
Eve giggled.
“Always,” I smiled. “Always and forever.”
Eve turned pink. I loved it when she turned pink because it forced me to think about all the places she turned pink.
“You two are an interesting addition to the family,” Susan breathed. “A good addition.” And then she excused herself so we could be alone.
Finally.
She turned in my arms. “How are you doing?”
So sexy. So mine. “Better now. You?”
She shrugged. “I’m tired. I was thinking of taking a nap before the party. The girls could use one.”
“I could use one,” I growled. An hour or two in bed? Yes, please. Even if all we did was run our hands along whatever skin we could, it would be better than this. Besides, the party was guaranteed to be fun but exhausting. A nap was definitely in order.
“Fifteen minutes? I think three o’clock is a respectable hour for a family nap.
“Three it is.” I leaned back to get a better look at her. There was something…off. “Are you okay?”
She blinked a few times, which was always Eve-code for secrets, even simple ones. The woman could not lie to me. “Fine. Overwhelmed, tired, worried about you, but fine.”
“Liar,” I chuckled and pulled her against my chest for a hug. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” she said, her voice muffled.
“Is it nothing because it’s terrible and you don’t want to tell me until we get home, or nothing because it’s not worth explaining?” With Eve it could easily be either.
She didn’t reply. Oh, that wasn’t good.
“Eve?”
Her shoulders slumped then she looked up, defeated, and grabbed my hand, pulling me out into the hallway. “I wasn’t going to tell you but you’re too damned perceptive,” she whispered.
I leaned against the wall in an attempt to give off a relaxed vibe to help lighten the situation but I wasn’t too sure it worked. “Just lay it out there. It’s always better when you and I talk it out.”
She frowned and rolled her eyes, groaning. “Whatever. Hug me first.”
So I did. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close, breathed in her shampoo, got a little bit stiff because she was so warm and perfect when she was pressed up against me and my body had no choice but to respond.
“It’s Rose,” she said into the fabric of my blazer.
I froze. “What about her?” Things had been going well. Not perfect—not by a long shot—but well. Everyone was nice and pretty friendly, all things considered. There were obviously some things people were holding back and I was pretty sure there were more than a handful of secrets no one liked to talk about, but no one was angry or upset. I hadn’t had any bad vibes from anyone.
I was beginning to think the McKinley’s weren’t terrible people.
“She doesn’t understand,” Eve whispered, craning her head up to look me in the eyes.
I brushed her hair back from her face, trying to read her eyes. “Doesn’t understand what, darlin’? There’s a lot on the table.”
She sighed. “She doesn’t know how bad things were. She thinks you simply had an unhappy childhood.”
That was old news, but there was something in the way Eve said it that made me think there was more than denial. “Well…how would they know? They weren’t there and it’s pretty hard for most people to comprehend what it’s really like to live in an abusive household.” I tended to turn technical when things cut too close. It was a self-preservation instinct.
Eve squirmed. “She was there.”
I froze. “What?”
Her eyes widened. She was upset and worried and a million different things. None of which I wanted to see when I looked into her eyes.
“She used to visit you when you were little. She was there.”
I didn’t mean to, but I tightened my grip on Eve. Maybe I was holding on for dear life as the world fell away. I don’t know. All I did know was that I was glad she was there to hold me up.
“She visited?” A faint memory. A glimmer, really, of being allowed to go out to eat with my mother. At a deli. I was allowed to drink a Sprite. There was an older woman there. My mother was weird. She talked funny.
Was that Rose we visited in that deli? I’d completely forgotten about those trips. There weren’t many to remember, but more than one.
“You remember?” Eve whispered.
I nodded. “I think so. Maybe?” I wasn’t sure. It could have been someone else, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the truth. “I got a lot of lectures from my mom about keeping our treat a secret. I wasn’t supposed to tell my father we went out. I wasn’t supposed to talk to the woman, but if I did it was only to say how much I loved learning about science and math.”
“Oh baby,” she murmured.
I loved that Eve was here and knew exactly what I was thinking, but I hated that it was affecting me so much.
And really, what could Rose have done? Even if I’d known who she was I never, ever would have told her what my life at home looked like. She would have had to come over unannounced and force her way inside.
I closed my eyes and shook it all away. “It’s done, babe. The past is the past. We can’t change it.” Fuck, I felt like a broken record, always saying the same thing about the past being part of me whether I liked it or not. “She clearly feels more comfortable talking to you than me.” That was the part that stung.
“It’s a girl thing?” she shrugged. “Actually, I think she’s so used to the Senator ignoring her that she assumed it would be more realistic to talk to me.”
I’d picked up on the same thing. It didn’t appear that my grandparents had a very loving or passionate relationship. In fact, I’d call it cold and a little bit angry. And while none of my uncles or cousins seemed to be particularly in love, none of them seemed upset the way my grandparents were.
“I’ll talk to her,” I said after a minute of thinking. “I want to get to know her a little better before I decide what to say.”
Eve nodded and faked a smile in a sad attempt to make me feel better. “I think we should take that nap now.”
There was too much going on. I was feeling too much again. I grabbed her hand and pulled her into an empty room. By the looks of things it was an office. The drapes were drawn closed and the lights were out, but there was a large desk in the middle of the room.
“Over here,” she whispered, pointing to a dark alcove out of sight of the door.
“Perfect. No distractions.” I rumbled as I smothered her in kisses. “You can give me your undivided attention.”
Her voice dropped a couple of octaves into the seductive range, hands roaming over my shoulders. “And what kind of attention were you hoping for?”
I nipped and sucked at her throat. “Oh, I don’t know. Nothing crazy.” Then I grinned and flashed her a smile that always guaranteed me an aroused sigh. “But I’d love some time to worship your skin.”
A love drunk smile washed over her features. I loved when it happened. I always felt powerful. I had this ability to take the most amazing woman on the planet and turn her into a puddle of pliant want. That kind of power went straight to my head.
“Is that all? We’re in a dark, quiet room, and our kids are happily distracted by an army of cousins.”
Oh, yes. It had been a good long time since we’
d done something like this. “Are you sure?”
She rolled her eyes and then her hips. “Yes.”
That was all the reassurance I needed. It was a breath of fresh air. A weight lifted. Being with Eve when we were both desperate and just barely hidden away from the world was the most freeing thing I’d ever experienced. I placed my leg between hers and let her ride me while I kissed the crap out of her. I was never more myself than when I was with her. I liked to think it was the same for her. In these moments of naked passion we left our responsibilities and expectations at the door.
“Touch me,” she gasped. Her fingers grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of my head as she arched away, thrusting her breasts up toward my face.
Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Round, soft, and so very easy to turn my wife from an excited woman into a raving sex crazed enchantress. She bewitched me with her hunger for more. As if she were just as desperate for the high.
I slid a hand inside her shirt and ran my thumb under her bra. She gasped. I did it again and again until she moaned. My cock twitched to life, needing—like the rest of me—to answer that call to action. Instinct took over and before I had a chance to really think about what I was doing, I moved from cupping her gorgeous breasts to running a hand up her inner thigh. I took a lazy tour over her clit and down along her folds.
Thank goodness for the lacey hot pink underwear. They were nice and stetchy. Perfect for tugging out of the way.
“Jake,” she whispered against my ear. The throaty sound of her voice did crazy things to me and her breath against my skin drove me right to the brink of insanity.
But I would keep it in my pants—for now.
The key to these kinds of trysts was keeping it innocent looking until absolutely necessary. And that usually meant right up until Eve was writhing against a wall quivering around my fingers buried inside her.
The room was dark, but not too dark to be able to appreciate the vision of Eve’s eyes darkening as I turned her on. So hot.
And not too dark to see how the light cast the most enticing shadows over her skin.
I drove my fingers deeper inside her heat, massaging my way around until her hips bucked against my hand. We found a rhythm. One in which she fisted my hair and rode my hand. Even hotter.
And then I felt it. Those first flutters were my favorite. They were so filled with promise while also filling the moment with a manifestation of what we’d already accomplished.
“Are you ready for me?”
She nodded, eyes wild. I pulled my fingers back, licking them clean while she unzipped my fly and dug inside for her prize. I liked thinking of it that way—that I was her prize.
I lifted her high up against the wall, then she braced herself around me, guiding my cock into her heat. She was so wet. So very, very wet that it only took a few frantic strokes before I was buried and damn near about to lose my mind. Something always happened when I was surrounded by her. My brain short-circuited and all that existed was her. Burying myself in her. Chasing our orgasms until we were both fully satisfied.
I saw nothing but her as I thrust up and in. To my extreme pleasure and undoing, she reached inside her bra and started rolling her nipple. I was lost after that. The electric charge ignited somewhere in my brain and rolled south, surging through my veins and straight down into my cock.
She whimpered as she found her own orgasm, clenching me tight.
“That was intense,” she sighed as I lowered her to the ground. Luckily there was a tissue box nearby. I grabbed a couple and handed those to her before grabbing a few for me. It wouldn’t be clean, but it would definitely be less messy.
It wasn’t like this was our first rodeo.
“Is it bad that I miss doing this?” I tucked my cock back inside my boxer briefs and zipped up my fly.
Eve straightened her shirt and then her hair. Her cheeks pink and her eyes bright. “Not at all. I miss it too.”
I felt an ache in my chest. What was that? It was a bizarre mixture of satisfaction and worry.
Eve smiled. “I love us. I love everything about us. Even the complicated family history.”
And I realized as I rubbed my chest and opened the door, returning to the outside world, that the ache was exactly that: satisfaction and worry. Satisfaction because damn I was a lucky bastard to have found a woman who loved me so completely and in such explicit ways, but also worried because I didn’t ever want to lose it.
It was too precious. Eve was my life. I had everything I ever wanted and I’d be damned if I let anyone take moments like this away from us.
“CAN’T we stay up later?” Sam whined as I walked them upstairs, one hand holding each girl.
“Nope. It’s already way past your bedtime.”
“But Daddy!” she yawned and yelled at the same time. She was so tired she didn’t even know what she was saying or doing anymore. Max was a little zombie—not saying a word, just clutching my fingers and trailing behind.
“But Daddy!” I whined right back. “Look, you stayed up late, you wore these pretty dresses, and had a great time. You made me very proud to be your daddy tonight, but now it’s time for bed. You get a special babysitter and a brand new movie. How great is that?”
She kept frowning, but the whining stopped. Yeah, she wanted to stay up but she also wanted the movie. And the babysitter. She was at the age where she thought any time without her parents was freedom, even when it was exactly the same.
“What movie are we watching?”
I tried not to laugh at the excitement in her voice. Miserable to happy in two seconds flat. Tired kids were so easy to manage when you knew their weaknesses.
I handed them off to one of the teenaged daughters of my cousin Susan. She’d been playing with the girls all day and had excitedly accepted the job as babysitter for the evening. According to Susan she was kid crazy and had a small army of kids she babysat regularly back home.
Max was asleep before the movie started, so I left with full confidence my daughters were in good hands for the next few hours, which meant some quality adult time with Eve, in a dress that was equal parts classic and sexy as hell. Our earlier shenanigans had sparked a lot between us, some of it I hadn’t even realized was missing, and I was anxious for a repeat performance.
She always laughed because really good sex made me want more while she felt satisfied. We had different reactions but we made it work, and if I played my cards right Eve would be just as hopeful for more as I was.
That’s when I heard voices from the darkened hallway at the bottom of the stairs. The engagement party was outside but a few people were milling in and out of the house. These voices didn’t sound happy, though, and as I moved toward them I realized it was a very angry Adam.
“If you even speak to her, I’ll end you,” he hissed.
Another male voice laughed. “For speaking to her? You can’t be serious.”
I paused and waited to see what happened next.
“Oh, I’m dead serious. I don’t care how well you knew her back then and I don’t give a fuck what you think you know. She’s done with it all and the only reason she’s here is because we all promised to leave Hollywood at the door.”
The edge to Adam’s voice put me on edge and I immediately went on the defensive, ready to lend a hand if he needed backup.
“I think Elizabeth can speak for herself,” the man replied.
“She can,” Adam agreed, “but she shouldn’t have to remind you what you’ve already agreed to.”
“So you’re doing that?” he laughed again.
I didn’t know who the asshole giving Elizabeth a hard time was, but I didn’t like him. I stepped out of the shadows. “Hey Adam, who’s this?”
Adam didn’t move a muscle, but the other man turned his attention to me. “Rupert Price. I’m engaged to Sophia McKinley.”
I’d quickly learned that the only thing the McKinley’s liked as much as politics was Hollywood. Several cousins, aunts, and uncles were either
married to, or dating, movie stars or rock stars, and Rupert Price was a fairly well known actor.
“Well, Rupert,” I drawled, “I couldn’t help but notice you’re pissing off my cousin.”
Adam still hadn’t moved. “Rupert was just leaving.”
Rupert shot him a look and shoved his hands into his pockets. “We were just clearing the air about some boundaries. No need to throw me out of a party.”
I didn’t know the details, but Elizabeth had put her Hollywood life behind her and one of the reasons she and Adam rarely came to visit the Senator was because of her desire to stay out of the spotlight. I put the pieces together pretty fast: one very pissed off fiancé and an actor in a dark hallway most likely meant that Rupert had starred with Elizabeth years ago, probably when they were both teenagers.
And Rupert here was sounding a lot like he wanted to talk glory days with the lady of honor, despite her wishes. If I were Adam I’d have already laid the jerk out.
So I shrugged my shoulders and moved to stand beside Adam. Together we were an intimidating pair. I didn’t like violence for obvious reasons, but I always appreciated the fact that my size combined with a scary-as-fuck look could make most men second-guess their decisions.
“Well,” I said, “considering this is his party for his engagement, I’m pretty sure he can throw your sorry ass out if he wants to.”
Rupert blinked. “Fine,” he spit out, “have it your way, but you can’t do this forever.” Then he pushed his way out of the hallway and down into the far wing.
We stood there for a few beats.
“Thank you,” Adam finally said, his voice low. “I know she’ll always be a star to some of these people but I can’t put up with this shit…”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” I said, clapping him on the back. “Parties make people forget their manners.”
“It’s frustrating,” his jaw ticked, still visibly upset. “We’re happy, going about our lives, fucking celebrating, and the shit we keep trying to leave in the past shows up anyway. This is why we live as far away as we can get.”
A small jolt of jealously shot through me. Adam and Elizabeth didn’t have to live with the past like I did. I moved right back into it—just a few miles away. But then again, my issues were different than hers.