Bittersweet Surrender

by Q. B. Tyler

  Maybe I should just show up at the house?

  I’d considered that, but Will had killed that idea before it had fully formulated.

  “You cannot be alone with him for this conversation, Charlotte. Absolutely not.”

  “Oh, you want to be there?” I’d snorted. “That’s a great idea.” I wasn’t planning to tell Matt who the man was, praying that Nathan was just drunk enough to not remember Will’s name or anything that would allow Matt to put it together.

  “I don’t give a fuck. Do not go to your house.”

  So, now I’m pacing the length of Will’s office, under the ruse of a post-marital counseling session, trying my best to keep calm as we plan the next course of action. “He must know.”

  He taps the space next to him. “Baby, come sit down. You’re so anxious.”

  “You think?” I stamp my foot. “Matt is avoiding me, and his best friend knows that there’s another man, regardless of the specifics… It’s been a week, he must have told him by now.” The morning after, Nathan had called me and informed me that he would give me time to tell Matt the truth. That the last thing he wanted to be was the bearer of that news. That he deserved to hear it from me, and that I owed him that much. But I wasn’t sure how long this courtesy would last.

  “He said he would give you time to tell him, Charley.” I continue to pace when I feel his hands gripping my waist and dragging me toward the couch and into his lap. “Breathe, baby.”

  I take an exaggerated breath and he nuzzles his face behind my ear, rubbing his lips against the spot that he knows makes me weak in the knees. “Will…” A whimper escapes my lips.

  “I need you, baby. I have to fuck you,” he groans into my ear. “You knew you were going to tease me with this short-ass dress of yours. So now I need a taste of what’s underneath and you need to release some tension.”

  I grind my ass into his growing erection and before I can think he’s ripped my dress from me and flipped me onto my back, his head ascending up my legs within seconds. He pushes my panties to the side, and presses his lips to the slick flesh, running his tongue over my clit before sucking it into his mouth. He swipes his tongue back and forth several times before I grab his face, pulling him up my body. “Fuck me,” I moan, needing the kind of fullness that only his cock can give me.

  His dick is out within seconds, and I look down, the very second it touches my sex and I squeeze my eyes shut, as I attempt to memorize the visual. He’s not even inside of me and I feel myself on the edge, waiting for the orgasm to rip through me. He taps his dick against my clit a few times and I feel my toes curl in response to the pleasure shooting through my brain. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

  “We’re so close, baby,” he says as he begins to thrust inside of me over and over again. I feel myself building, the sounds of our lovemaking bouncing off the walls of the room. I haven’t been this wet in some time and the sounds it causes my body to make when he thrusts makes this feel even sexier. “I can’t wait until you’re finally mine.”

  “I am yours,” I moan. “I always have been.” And it’s as if those words are his undoing as he pushes into me a final time and I feel him shudder on top of me.

  “FUCK,” he roars before his lips attack mine in a searing kiss and my own orgasm follows right after. I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel the lightning bolt shoot through my body. I squeeze him to me, dragging my nails down his back as the pleasure I’m feeling becomes too much.

  “Oh my God,” I breathe out as I try to calm my racing heart. “That was…”

  “Everything,” he says in my ear as he captures it between his teeth. “I’m going to fuck you every day for the rest our lives, Charlotte Pierce.”

  I let out a moan. “Is that a promise?”

  “Fuck yes. Should I write that in my vows? I solemnly swear to love, honor, cherish, and fuck you into oblivion for the rest of our lives.”

  “Yes, exactly like that.” I smile.

  “I do promise that, you know.” I look at him, my eyes narrowing in confusion as to what exactly he meant.

  Promise to fuck me? Thank God.

  “To love, honor, and cherish you. To never take you for granted. To be the husband you deserve. To protect you. To show you how beautiful and sexy and enticing you are every single fucking day,” he says before he drags his teeth across my pulse point. “To keep you safe. To never lie to you. To always put you first because you’re the most important person in my world, Charley. You always will be. I love you so much…I always have.” He presses a gentle kiss to my lips.

  I can’t stop the tears that have escaped my eyes as I hear this beautiful profession of love for me. “Will…” I’m so moved by his words that I’m at a loss for my own.

  How do you even reply to that?

  “I—” I start when Vanessa’s voice comes through the room successfully cutting me off. I can see the annoyance in Will’s eyes immediately and I hope he doesn’t rip her head off too badly.

  “Dr. Montgomery? Hi…ummm…” I hear the uncertainty in her voice and I wonder what has her so nervous. “I apologize for the interruption but…Mr. Wells is on his way upstairs. Now.”

  * * *

  VANESSA’S WORDS SEND ME INTO panic mode, my wide eyes a direct reflection of the terror coursing through my veins. He’s still inside of me so he pulls out immediately and I wince from the loss of contact as well as the emptiness that floods me.

  “Holy shit,” I exclaim as I pull my dress over my naked torso. “What do I do…what…did you know he was coming? Should I hide?” I scurry to the bathroom, pulling my hair up into a ponytail and securing it at the back of my head as I move. I keep a bag of toiletries hidden deep in the back of his cabinet, and I quickly search for the hairspray to lay down my just-fucked hair.

  “No, I didn’t know and no, you shouldn’t hide. Get dressed. You’re technically scheduled for a session, so we just have to play this as if everything is normal. If you hide and he figures out somehow that we had a session and that you were here, that’s worse.” Will has just finished putting on his jacket, and he runs a hand through his hair. I’m sure he’s just as anxious as I am, but he remains calm. My guess, as an attempt to keep me calm.

  “Are you nuts?” I begin to take an actual bath in my perfume spraying it all over myself, to mask the scent. “It smells like sex in here.” Despite the fact that we started lighting candles to mask the smell, the scent of sex still lingers in the air. Usually we had about ten minutes to air out the room, but the two to three minutes that we have until Matt is here is not enough time. “Your face probably smells like…me.” Will moves quickly into the bathroom to swish some mouthwash and splash some water on his face, trying to remove the smell of my orgasm.

  I’m in the process of opening a window and spraying some air freshener when I hear him. “I can be in here with Vanessa.”

  “What?” I ask, and I’m sure my face is a mix of confusion and a twinge of hurt as I sense where he’s going. Him and Vanessa would be in here…having relations.

  “I’ll bring Vanessa in here, if it smells like sex well…” He runs a hand through his hair and slides his glasses on.

  “And I’m here…what? Watching?” I ask, my eyebrows rising to my hairline, as I pull on my jacket.

  “No, you’ll be outside in the waiting room. You’re early,” he says and I’m trying to run through every scenario in my mind as quickly as possible.

  That could work.

  “Fine,” I grab my bag as I move toward the door. I unlock the door, my hand on the knob when I freeze, hearing Matt’s voice just on the other side of the door. I turn to look at Will, my eyes wide with horror as I dash to the couch.

  It’s showtime.

  I sit in my usual spot, crossing my right leg over my left and smoothing my dress down. I reach for my light pink lipstick and swipe it across my lips, my hands shaking as I slide it back into my purse. I place my hands in my lap and look at the man that I love more than anythi
ng. I give him a small smile as I brace for impact. He rakes his eyes over my body once, but I don’t think it’s sexual, rather protective.

  Relax, he mouths, I love you.

  I mouth the same, when I hear the door fly open. We both turn our gazes to the source of the noise as if we’re surprised at the sudden intrusion, to find Matt staring at us angrily.

  “Mr. Wells—” Will starts. I assume he is preparing to chastise him for his interruption when he closes the door behind him.

  Well, shit.

  “Oh, so you didn’t even attempt to hide?” he sneers at me.

  “What?”

  He strides across the room, sitting down next to me on the couch and I shift uncomfortably in response. “Oh, come now, Charley. Let’s not play games here.”

  “Mr. Wells, Ms. Pierce and I are in the middle of a session, this intrusion—” Will starts when Matt interrupts.

  “Oh, it’s Ms. Pierce now? That’s what you call her?” He crosses his legs and narrows his eyes at him, and I know in this moment he knows.

  He’s fucking with us, and he’s going to enjoy it.

  “Not…Charlotte? Or Charley…” He leans forward, his hand under his chin. “Not…baby?” “Tell me, what do you call my wife when you’re balls deep inside of her?” He raises an eyebrow.

  Hearing the words fall from Matt’s lips makes me feel like someone has knocked the wind out of me.

  How does he know?

  Did Nathan tell him?

  Nathan didn’t even know anything for sure!

  Fuck! I knew I should have just showed up at his office or at home. Now everything is a mess!

  “Matt, what are you—” I start, but he interrupts me again.

  “Don’t you dare fucking lie to me. Don’t act like you have no idea what I’m talking about. Stop playing me for a fool! I’m so sick of the fucking lies, Charlotte. What I want to know is how long?”

  I look at Will, unsure of what to say when he snaps. “Don’t fucking look at him, look at me, Charlotte. I’m your fucking husband!”

  “I—I—” I stammer, my brain-to-mouth function not working.

  “HOW FUCKING LONG?!” he bellows and I flinch at his volume.

  “That’s enough.” Will moves to his feet in defense, as if he’s preparing himself for attack.

  Matt turns to look at Will and smirks. “The Doc speaks.” A sinister smile crosses his face before he stands and strolls across the room toward the bar and pours himself a large glass of scotch. “Tell me, Montgomery. When did you start fucking my wife?” At this point, he’s moved back toward me, standing within arm’s reach of me, looking down at me.

  He strokes a hand over my head, running a finger down my cheek, and I immediately shrink away from his touch. “She’s soft, isn’t she? Her skin feels like silk,” he says. “Does her pussy still taste like—” I’m about to speak up, not wanting to tolerate his crass language, when Will has pushed him away from the couch, taking a protective stance in front of me.

  “Stop,” he growls, his fists clenched at his sides.

  I am praying to every higher being I can think of that this doesn’t come to that.

  “Stop what? We’re all friends,” Matt chuckles. “Hell, we’re like those special brothers now, right? Fucking the same woman and all.”

  I don’t understand his angle and I have so many questions. Why isn’t he yelling? Screaming? We are a week away from my divorce being final and now things just got a whole lot more complicated.

  And that’s if Matt doesn’t go to Will’s ethics board.

  Fuck.

  “How?” Will says, the one word that was as good as a confession. His eyes dart to mine, apologetically.

  He looks back and forth between us and he chuckles as he sees the look Will and I share.

  He crosses his arms in front of his chest. “I had you followed.” He points at me. “I knew something wasn’t adding up, but I just wasn’t sure who.” He shakes his head. “But then things started coming together. Finding out your father is a lawyer for the firm representing my wife got me thinking. While he informed me there wasn’t anything wrong with it, Stein thought it was odd as well. He said your body language was very…familiar. So, we started talking…and Stein, he suggested that maybe you two were closer than you let on.” He shrugs. “But I wanted proof. I needed to know, once and for all. And sure enough, my PI confirmed it, followed you to a house across town. That day we were in the meeting with our lawyers. That’s who called.”

  Fuck. That was a week ago. He’s known since then?

  “What I don’t know is how long, but you’re going to fucking tell me. How long you’ve been playing me for a fool. Was this all along? Before we even started counseling? Was this a plan to fuck me over and take my money? After everything we’ve been through, Charlotte?”

  At this point, the tears are flowing down my face and I sniffle. He drops to his knee in front of me and puts his hand on my knee. “Oh, honey, why…why are you crying? Because I see you for what you really are? Because you have to drop the good girl act? You can no longer play the victim in our divorce?”

  I try to push his hand off my knee but he grips it harder. “Does he fuck you good, Charlotte? Is that why? You went crying to our therapist because you’re a horny bitch?” He stands up just in time for Will’s hands to find his chest, pushing him away from me.

  “Fucking stop, right now,” Will snarls.

  “And you—ballsy as hell. Fucking a married woman you counsel? Risking your practice? Your license? Your life? Was the pussy worth it? I know she’s hot, but damn, really, Doc?” he snorts, and I can tell Will is resisting the urge to put his fist through his face as he knows that would just make everything worse. But it doesn’t stop him from grabbing Matt by his suit jacket and dragging him to the wall, slamming him against it.

  “You are going to STOP fucking talking about her like that,” Will barks. “Unless you don’t want to leave this room with all of your bones intact,” he adds.

  “And now he threatens,” Matt chuckles. “You’re making my case so easy.” I see Will loosen his grip on him and his hands drop to his sides.

  Oh my God, is he going to sue Will? Could he? Fuck, fuck, fuck!

  “Matt, stop it!” I move toward them. “I…” I let out a breath as I’m at a loss for words. “I—I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”

  “You’re sorry? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s all you have to say for yourself?” Matt shakes his head. “Nathan was right.”

  “Nathan?” So, Nathan did tell him about the other night? I really thought he would have at least given me a chance. My breath comes rapidly and I wonder if I’m on the verge of a panic attack.

  “You really thought he wasn’t going to tell me? You thought you could—what, convince him I didn’t deserve to know as some sort of sick payback? Did you play up the fact that I slept with Bree?”

  “He said he was going to give me a chance to tell you!” I cry, my hands beginning to shake violently.

  “I can’t believe you even thought that he wouldn’t tell me he saw you all over some other man. Nate’s loyalty lies with me, not you, Charlotte.” He shakes his head. “God, you had me fooled. You had everyone fooled. You’re a terrible person, Charlotte Pierce.” He looks down on me. I wasn’t prepared for his words, and I’ll admit they sting. “How long?” he snaps, his eyes as dark as night. “The fucking truth.”

  I bite my lip, nervously feeling as if I’ve been backed into a corner. Will, what do I do? I look at him for help, but I can’t read his face. His cold eyes are trained on my husband and not looking at me. “A few months.”

  “What the fuck is a few?” he asks, not accepting my vague timeline.

  “Two months, Matt.”

  “Bullshit,” he snaps.

  “It’s not.”

  “You’re so full of shit, you know that? You act like I haven’t known you ten goddamn years. I know when you’re lying, Charlotte.”

  I swallo
w hard before I relent. “Five,” I whisper, my hands finding my eyes as the shame of lying to him for so long hits me like a ton of bricks.

  I should have dealt with this months ago. Why did I do this to myself? To Will? Even to Matt? He’s right, I am a terrible person.

  He shakes his head. “You’ve been fucking my wife for five months?” Matt says, looking at Will. “This whole fucking time.” He shakes his head.

  “Matt…I never meant for you to find out this way,” I tell him.

  “You never meant for me to find out at all. You thought you could just take my money and ride off into the sunset with your boyfriend,” he says.

  “Matt, I didn’t even want anything from the divorce. I tried. You know I tried. I don’t want anything from you. I told you to keep the house, keep everything. I wanted my car, my fucking Cartier watch, and some jewelry that had some sentimental value or ones that I bought my damn self. Don’t make it seem like I wanted half of everything.”

  “Georgia and its goddamn divorce laws,” he growls. “Even with this, I can’t do anything to you,” he says before turning his sinister gaze to Will. “You on the other hand,” he narrows his eyes at Will, “I can bury you with this.”

  Fresh tears form in my eyes and my scalp prickles hearing him threaten Will’s job. “No!” I shriek. Will is still somewhat in front of me, so I push him to the side so that I can be face-to-face with Matt. “Your issue is with me, not with him.”

  “It’s with both of you.”

  “Don’t take it out on Will,” I whisper. “I’ll rip up the settlement.”

  He doesn’t respond to my comment, he just walks toward the window. He stares out of it for a moment. “How many times did you fuck in this office, and I came in right after? The unknowing idiot husband?” He shakes his head. “No, I want something so much more than money. You betrayed me. Both of you did.” He turns around and looks at us. “Tell me, Charlotte, you think the doc loves you? Is going to be with you forever? How many wives do you think he’s fucking? You can’t be that naive that you think you’re the only one—do you think you’re special?”