He cleared his throat, willed his cock to behave until they got through with this whole un-fucking-believable conversation. “What else is in that box?” he asked thickly, putting the book she’d handed him under his pillow. Tonight, he was reading. Cover to cover research.
Still on her knees, she pulled another one out and handed it to him. It was the damn book she’d hidden from him. He examined the cover, taking in every nuance of the photograph, and then flipped it over. He skimmed the back, then opened to a random page. Or maybe not quite random, he thought, noticing the book opened easily to this page. He cast a glance at Jess, who looked a little embarrassed.
“Your favorite scene, maybe?” he murmured. “Let’s see what happens here.”
He read the page slowly, his mouth drying up faster than the desert in summer. It was a threesome. One man was fucking the woman in her pussy, and the other had his cock up her ass. The words painted a picture so vivid, he felt like he was right there, watching it live. But he could understand why Jess felt guilty fantasizing about it. For a woman who’d been raised in such a puritanical house, this was inconceivable.
He’d always been more open about sex, and he was willing to try almost anything, but the idea of a threesome left him cold. No way was anyone but him touching his Jessica. No. Fucking. Way.
He must have made some kind of negative sound, because when he looked up from the book, Jess’s eyes were glued to the floor, and her body was rigid. He swore. “Jessica, look at me.”
She looked up, her eyes panicked. “I never should’ve let you see that.”
“Why?” he asked bluntly.
“Because you’re disgusted by it.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. Quit assuming you know how I feel. But I want an honest answer from you. Do you want to have a threesome? No lies, Jess. Is this one of those fantasies you want to try?”
He waited, not sure what would come out of his wife’s mouth. And not sure what he would do if she said yes. That was one boundary he didn’t think he could cross.
“No,” she said vehemently. “I don’t want any other man but you.”
He let out breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, relieved. “Thank God. Call me a caveman, but I’d want to kill any other man who touched you. I don’t even like it when they look at you.” He held out his hand and, when she took it, he tugged her to her feet. He anchored his heels on the bed frame and pulled her between his knees, settling his hands on her hips. His cock bobbed, bumping against Jess’s stomach, leaving a sticky, wet trail of his arousal against her skin. It was sexy as hell, and he wanted inside her. “But was I turned off by it? No. It’s incredibly arousing to read. I guess there are couples who could really pull that off, but I don’t think we’re one of them. You’re mine, and I don’t like to share.”
She shuddered, from both relief and the possessive tone of Alex’s voice. Once again, she should’ve trusted him.
“How would you feel about making it reality, without anyone else involved?” She rubbed her belly against his erection. Talking about this, thinking about it, aroused her as much as reading about it. “How do you feel about, er…” she cleared her throat, forced the word out, “…toys?”
His eyes lit up and a quick, startled grin landed on his face. “What kind of toys do you have in mind? And what do you want to do with them?”
The minute the words came out of his mouth, though, she saw the light bulb flash over his head.
“Babe. You want to…” Looking dazed, he paused, started again. “You want me to…” He cleared his throat. “Jesus, Jess. You’re really trying to kill me today, aren’t you?”
She felt the blush work its way from the tip of her toes to the top of her head. Of all the things she wanted to try, this was the hardest to ask for. Even harder than the submissive thing, or the flogger. If anything was going to turn the tide for him from arousal to revulsion, she thought, this one thing was it. “Is that gross?”
Before he could answer—an answer she desperately needed—a voice called out from downstairs. “Jess? Alex? Are you home?”
Jessica yelped and stared at Alex in horror. “Your mother!”
He grimaced, ran a hand through his hair and reached for a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. “I’ll see what she needs.” He dragged the clothes on and started for the door, hesitating briefly. “We’ll get back to our talk later.” The look he gave her before he left the room was indecipherable.
Still naked, she sank onto their bed, her arms wrapped around her stomach. It ached, maybe almost as much as her heart. Alex’s face had gone straight from shocked at her words to disbelief at his mother’s untimely appearance, without any clue as to what he was really feeling. So of course, here she was again, being an idiot and thinking the worst. She covered her face with her hands and sucked in a deep breath. “Backbone,” she muttered, squaring her shoulders as she stood. “Grow one.”
Disgusted with herself, she threw on some yoga pants and a cami, then started downstairs to see what was going on.
In the family room her mother-in-law sat next to a sad-looking Ben, whose face was pale except for two bright red, feverish spots of color. His eyes were glassy, and tears streaked his cheeks. Alex was just coming in from the kitchen, holding a wet washcloth and what they all referred to as the throw-up bucket.
“Oh, Ben, what happened?” Jess crouched in front of her son, pushed his hair back and felt his forehead. “Not feeling so well?”
He shook his head. “I threw up all over the camper,” he whispered. “I tried not to.”
“Don’t worry about it, kiddo. I did worse in their house when I was your age,” Alex said with a small grin. “Grandma is used to cleaning up boy messes.”
Jess stood and gave Alex’s mom a quick hug. “Where’s Kara?”
“Still with Robert up at Cunningham Falls. They’re fishing. We’ll take her to school tomorrow,” Adele Meyers said. “That way you can focus on Ben, especially if he’s up all night.”
“Thanks,” she said with feeling. Kara loved to fish with her grandfather, and Adele was right. Like Alex, Ben was a really cranky patient. She took the bucket from Alex. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you upstairs to bed.”
As they went upstairs, Adele’s concerned words drifted up after her. “I’m sorry we had to interrupt your time alone, but Ben will be more comfortable in his own bed.” She paused. “Things seemed a little off between you and Jessica yesterday. Is everything okay, honey?” she asked, the worry obvious in her voice.
Jess hesitated on the stairs, her body tense.
Alex sighed, and she pictured him tugging his fingers through his hair, as he always did when he was frustrated. “Yeah,” he said finally.
She didn’t hear the rest of his answer, because Ben started making panicked noises like he was about to vomit again. She hurried him into the bathroom and then, when he was done, helped him into his pajamas and into bed.
A little while later, Alex came in and checked on Ben, who was dozing fitfully.
“Your mom gone?” she asked softly from her spot on the end of the bed, trying not to wake Ben. And, surreptitiously, trying to gauge her husband’s mood.
“She just left,” he murmured, his face neutral. “We talked for a while.”
“Oh.” What else was there to say?
“She took a change of clothes for Kara, and her book bag for school tomorrow. I’m going to grab a shower. Then I’ll trade places with you so you can get one too.” He hesitated, so slightly she might have missed it if she hadn’t been watching him, then leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Okay?”
“Thanks.” She dropped her chin to her knees. The closeness they’d shared earlier this morning was gone, and things felt nearly as stilted as they had before their blowup. Her eyes burned, and she forced the tears away with nothing but sheer willpower. Was it just the fact they’d been interrupted? Or was it more than that?
She didn’t get much chance to think, because moments
later, Ben woke up and got sick, completely missing the bucket. With an ease born of years of practice, she helped him to the bathroom, then changed his sheets and got him settled back in bed. Exhausted, he drifted back to sleep almost immediately.
She left his bedroom door open and carried the sodden, stinky mess downstairs to the laundry room. The phone rang once, but it stopped before she could get it. Shrugging, she tossed the pile into the wash and headed back upstairs.
Alex stood in Ben’s doorway, watching his son sleep. He turned his head as she came up the steps. “What happened?”
“Missed the bucket.”
Alex winced. “Sorry. You ready to grab your shower?” he asked as they walked to their bedroom, where she realized Alex wasn’t in his usual weekend attire of jeans and sneakers. He had on a button-down shirt and khakis, and held a tie in his hand. Work clothes.
She frowned and leaned against the door as he picked up his badge and unlocked his gun from the cabinet in their closet. “I thought you didn’t have to go in until six.”
“The whole squad just got called in.” His brow creased with barely suppressed fury. “Details are sketchy, but there was a multiple homicide that includes children. There’s some question of whether it’s murder-suicide, or if the killer is still out there somewhere.”
Jess’s heart clenched, as it always did when he caught cases like this. The ones with kids were the hardest on him. “Go. We’re fine here.” She took his tie and looped it around his neck, tucking it under the collar of his shirt. When it was tight enough, she used it to tug him toward her as if it were a leash. She pressed a soft kiss to his lips, then rested her forehead against his. “Be careful. I love you, Alex. Always and forever.”
He cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss until her knees went weak, then broke away with a jerk and a sharp indrawn breath. “I love you too, Jess. No matter what, don’t ever doubt that. Call me if Ben gets worse.” His voice was low, sexy, but she could tell he was already thinking ahead to the case.
With one last glance over his shoulder, he was gone.
Chapter Seven
Alex stepped into his bedroom as quietly as possible, trying not to wake Jessica. He locked his weapon away and stripped down to his boxer-briefs. His wife lay curled up in their bed on her side, one rosy-tipped breast peeking out from the edge of her nightgown. His body stirred, and he wished he had the energy to wake her and make love, but damn, he was bone tired. And he felt like a shit of a husband and father, anyway.
Kara had caught Ben’s stomach bug, so it had been a long week for Jess too. She’d had to handle the kids herself. Even if they’d wanted to continue their mind-blowing conversation from last Sunday, there hadn’t been a moment alone they could. All week he’d seen the wounded, worried look in Jess’s eyes when she didn’t think he was watching, but after dealing with two dead kids under the age of ten, the last thing on his mind had been talking about their sex life.
But finally, with long hours and some pretty damned fine police work from their squad, they’d captured the son of a bitch who’d done the deed. Now he could put those children and their mother to rest, and focus on his own family.
His kids were healthy again, he had four days off, and tomorrow, he and his wife were going on a grownup sleepover. He couldn’t wait to tell her about it. He all but fell into bed, pulling Jessica into his arms. She never moved, and minutes later, he was out cold.
* * *
“A date?” Jess stared at Alex, who looked like he was holding a secret and was dying to tell about it. After the week they’d had, one where she’d been second—and third, and fourth—guessing herself, it was kind of hard to wrap her head around his words. “A real, honest-to-goodness date? Where?”
He shook his head as he practically bounced in his chair at the table. “Nope. Not telling. It’s a surprise.”
“But the kids…”
“Are both feeling better, but just in case, Mom and Dad are coming over here to spend the night.” He got a serious look on his face, but the amusement in his eyes didn’t fade. “All you need to do is pack.”
She blinked. “I don’t understand. Pack what? Why?”
“Okay, I’ll tell you this much. We’re staying at a bed and breakfast in Lovettsville. You’ll need clothes for tomorrow.”
“Just you and me?” A smile escaped. “Really?”
He came around the table and backed her up against the kitchen counter. “Really,” he murmured, whispering in her ear. “Just us. You game?”
Her heart sped up as he pressed his hard body against hers and nipped at her neck. “Oh, yeah,” she said, but it came out as a sigh.
Alex just laughed.
* * *
“Welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Meyers.” The inn’s owner, an attractive man Jess guessed was in his late forties, handed Alex an old-fashioned key. “This is for your room. I’ll take your bags up, if you’d like.”
“Thank you. Have you made the arrangements I asked about when I made the reservation?” Alex asked.
Jess slid a look at Alex. Arrangements?
The man nodded and smiled broadly. “Yes, sir. I hope everything is to your satisfaction.”
“I’m sure it will be.” Alex pocketed the key and handed over their bags. “Come on, sweetheart. I’m starving.”
She wanted to know more about the mysterious arrangements, but her stomach rumbled, and they laughed. “I guess I am too.”
Dinner was at a quaint Italian restaurant connected to the bed and breakfast by a vine-covered pergola over a brick walkway. Inside, it smelled heavenly, the aromas of fresh bread, tomatoes and basil wafting through the air. The lighting was soft and muted, the tables intimate. Jessica fell in love with it even before tasting the food.
“This way, signore e signora.” They were led to a table in a dim, quiet corner near the stone fireplace, by an older gentleman who bowed after he placed their napkins in their laps. “Enjoy your meal.”
After a waiter brought over a basket of bread and a plate of olive oil, Alex slid his chair closer to hers and looped an arm around her shoulders. He dipped a piece of bread in the oil and brought it to her lips. “Open,” he said, his voice husky.
Her eyes widened at the roughly uttered command, but she opened her mouth and took a bite. And proceeded to moan at the taste of warm bread and rich, tangy oil. “Oh, that’s good.”
“Let me taste.” Instead of picking up a slice of bread for himself, Alex leaned forward and kissed her. “Delicious.” He smiled and sat back in his chair, picking up his menu.
It took Jess a minute to recover from that innocent yet devastating kiss. Her pulse fluttered wildly, and every coherent thought but one flew out of her head. She wanted her husband, and she wanted him now. But, she thought wryly as her stomach rumbled again, she needed food first.
Every bite of the dinner tasted as good as the one before it. They lingered over their meal, talking about everything under the sun—everything except Alex’s job and last weekend’s emotional rollercoaster. When she said she couldn’t eat another bite, Alex put down his fork and held out his hand.
“Dance with me.”
Once again, he wasn’t asking, but she wasn’t arguing. It wasn’t often Alex liked to dance, and she wasn’t passing up this opportunity. Several couples were dancing to romantic Italian music, but there was plenty of room left for the two of them. She took his hand and let him pull her close.
“You smell good.” She tucked her head close to his. “And you look sexy as sin in this suit.”
His laugh rumbled in his chest. “That’s what I was going to say. Well, except the part about the suit. Where the hell did you get that dress? I’m not even sure it’s legal.”
He danced her to a dark corner, then slid his hands over her ass, playing with the hem of the short silky black dress. Jessica shivered as the material slid against her skin. The heat from his hands made her inch closer to him, practically begging him to touch. Her fantasies took over, maki
ng her wish he’d slip his hand underneath the edge of her dress. She wanted him to find her surprise.
Which he did. “Jesus, Jess. Are those garters?”
“Mmm-hmm. You like?” she murmured, nuzzling his neck.
“I love.” Fiddling with the edge of her thigh-high stockings, his hands dipped lower, and he stopped dead as his fingers came into contact with her core, barely covered by a lacy pair of crotchless panties.
He pulled his head back to look her in the face, and this put his groin flush up against her. There was not a shred of doubt in her mind that he was heavily aroused. But he was also stunned, if the comical look on his face was anything to go by.
“Someone’s been shopping.”
“Yup.”
Alex laughed then, wicked and low. “God, I love you.” He pulled her close, and they danced together for several songs, moving around the small wooden floor until they were back near their table.
Alex held her chair out for her. “Ready for dessert?”
“Not sure I can eat another bite, but I’ll have some coffee.”
After the waiter brought his chocolate mousse and her coffee, they sat close together, watching the dancing and listening to the music. Alex seemed content, calmer and happier than she’d seen him in a long time. She relaxed against him, and he held her tightly, an indulgent smile on his face as they watched a couple in their eighties dancing close together.
A movement at the table across from them caught her attention, and she turned her head. She blinked twice to clear her vision, but the scene stayed the same. The table was isolated, tucked into an alcove where the occupants wouldn’t be disturbed, and lit only by candlelight. She watched for a few minutes, her heart speeding up and her breath beginning to hitch.
“Oh,” she sighed, but it was enough to catch Alex’s notice.
He bent his head toward her. “You okay, babe?”
“Look,” she said softly, inclining her head just slightly.
Alex’s eyes followed her direction, and she felt him jerk in surprise. “Christ.”
Forbidden Fantasies Page 6