“Yes, when Daddy gets to be his own boss,” Mackenzie said, looking pleased with the idea.
“Daddy, when are you going to be the boss?” Anna asked, although they’d already rehearsed the answer many times.
“In a few months. I just have to finish things up here.”
Now that the ceremonies were over, no one seemed to know what to do. Anna was still swinging her legs in Seth’s desk chair and Mackenzie wandered idly around the room inspecting things.
Erin and Seth exchanged speaking looks, but neither had anything to say.
“Do you like it better here than at home?” Mackenzie asked suddenly, twirling a piece of hair around her fingers.
Seth shook his head gravely. “No. I like it better at home. This is a good place and I like to do a good job, but I like to be with you, Anna, and Mommy more.”
His words were utterly convincing, and the girls both seemed to accept his words as the absolute truth. Mackenzie didn’t pursue the subject.
Then Anna asked, “Daddy, are you going to be the boss of the whole world?”
Seth chuckled. “Not right away.”
* * *
Erin was taking a bath when Seth got home that evening. He’d worked late, and the girls were already in bed.
Erin hadn’t known when to expect him home so—after she put the girls to bed—she’d drawn herself a hot bath, poured herself a glass of Chardonnay, lit some candles, turned on some music, and lowered herself into the bubbly, cucumber-scented water to soak.
She’d been in the bath for about ten minutes when she heard Seth enter the bedroom. At least, she assumed it was Seth, or else she was about to be outraged when the person pushed his way into the bathroom.
It was Seth. He looked tired, and he’d already removed his jacket, tie, shoes, and socks. He gave her a half-smile as he approached, and then he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the tub.
“Hey,” she said drowsily, feeling too warm and relaxed to be very annoyed by his late arrival.
“Sorry I’m so late,” he murmured, trailing his hand in the water, which was churning pleasantly from the tub’s jets. “Were the girls upset?”
“They were fine. They know you have to work late sometimes, and you’ve been home every evening for a week.”
Seth’s hand moved through the water until it reached the side of her face. He brushed back a few strands of hair, which had escaped the clip on the top of her head. “And you?”
Smiling again, Erin turned her head so she could glance a kiss against the side of his hand. “I wasn’t upset either.” Opening her eyes all the way, she added, “I just wish you would have let me know why you were going to be late.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t Carlotta tell you?”
“She said that something came up, so you wouldn’t be home until late.”
Seth was frowning now, and he peered into her face, as if checking for her reactions. “I assumed she’d tell you. One of my clients—James Walker—tried to commit suicide. I would have called you myself, but I was on the phone most of the time on the way to the prison, and then they ended up taking him to the hospital. Everything was chaotic.”
Erin straightened up. “Oh, my God! Is he all right?”
“They think he’ll be all right.”
Her heart lurched as she gazed up at Seth. No wonder he looked so tired and stressed.
“If you still needed to be there, then of course I’d understand. You didn’t need to come home so soon if—”
“There was nothing else for me to do there anyway.” He reached over to trail his fingers down her cheek, which was damp from the bubbly water. “I’m sorry you didn’t know until now. I’d assumed that Carlotta would have explained the situation when I asked her to call and let you know.”
Erin cleared her throat. “Carlotta isn’t always particularly forthcoming with me.”
After she’d said the words, she wished she hadn’t. Seth was stressed enough, and she didn’t need to go whining to him. She should have known how he’d react, even to this vague hint.
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing important.”
Seth clearly disagreed with this assessment. He cupped her jaw with his hand and tilted it up so she was looking at him. “Tell me what you meant, Erin. If Carlotta has ever been rude or disrespectful to you—”
“No, no. She’s always been perfectly polite. It’s no big deal. I’d just be acting petty and vindictive.”
Seth now appeared to be stewing. He gritted out, “Erin, what has she done that would make you feel petty and vindictive? You’re my wife, and I’m not about to let anyone treat you—”
Erin groaned. Cursed herself for her own stupidity. “Seth, I can take care of myself. She sometimes acts like…like she’d rather not hear from me or like I’m interrupting your big important life.” Brushing her hair back impatiently, she continued, “But women deal with that kind of thing from other women all the time. So she acts snotty with me. It’s nothing for you to—”
Seth jerked to his feet. “I’ll be right back.”
“Seth, don’t you dare go and fire her.”
He turned back with an annoyed expression. “Of course, I’m going to fire her. She doesn’t get to treat you like that.”
“I don’t want you to fire her. I told you. I can take care of myself. If she does her job well, then I don’t want you to get rid of her because of this.”
Seth came back over to the tub, and this time he lowered himself to his knees beside it. “Erin, respecting my wife is part of her job. Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
“Because it was none of your business.”
Seth’s mouth actually dropped open.
Unable to repress a chuckle, Erin explained, “I mean that it can be dealt with between me and her. If you fire her for something like this, then I’ll feel like a vindictive bitch who has to whine to her husband every time someone looks at her funny. I should have dealt with it before, but I didn’t because…well, because I didn’t. I’ll take care of it.” She gave him a steady, significant look. “I’m serious about this, Seth. I want to deal with it myself. I’m not a helpless princess who has to be protected from every minor inconvenience. I don’t need to be catered to.”
Seth’s body had relaxed again, and he now gave her a very particular smile. Dipping his hand into the water, he slid his fingertips from her knee up her thigh. “But I like to cater to you.”
Erin smiled back. “Tough.”
By mutual consent, they dropped the subject of Carlotta.
They talked about random things for a few minutes, while Seth kept getting touchier and touchier. While Erin had no objections to such touchiness tonight, there was no sense in getting excited about it while she was in the bathtub.
Water sports weren’t really her thing.
So when Seth’s hand strayed to one of her breasts, she playfully batted it away. He frowned indignantly and pretended like he hadn’t been trying anything in the first place.
To keep up his ruse of disinterest, he inspected the basket she’d placed on the side of the tub. “What’s this?” he asked idly.
She gave him an impatient look. “That’s all my bath stuff. What do you think it is?”
He started rooting around in all of the bottles and jars. “You sure have collected a lot of it. What is all this stuff?”
“Bubble bath, bath salts, bath oil, bath cream, salt scrub. All kinds of stuff. Maybe I got a little carried away, but I’ve been taking a lot of baths lately, whenever I’ve needed to relax.”
Then suddenly Erin remembered one particular item she kept in the basket. She jerked in the scented water and said hurriedly, “It’s just a lot of junk. No need to waste your time—”
It was too late.
Seth pulled out the round, yellow vibrating sponge that she kept at the bottom of the basket.
“What is this?”
“It’s just a sponge,” Erin explai
ned in a rush, feeling herself start to blush, as ridiculous as that reaction was. The sponge turned on by twisting the plastic knob on the top, which looked more like a hook than an on-switch. Maybe Seth wouldn’t realize what he’d found. “You know, just for—”
He deftly twisted the top, causing the sponge to start vibrating steadily.
Seth’s eyebrows shot sky-high.
“Give me that,” she mumbled, snatching the vibrator away from him. Her sense of humor was starting to vie with her embarrassment, however.
Seth gave her a very naughty look. “And what exactly do you do with that?”
Clearing her throat again, Erin managed to give him a smug look. “It’s advertised as a vibrating sponge massager, to help with sore muscles and tense knots and that sort of thing.”
“I see,” he drawled, trying unsuccessfully to claim the sponge in question again. “And have you been suffering from…sore muscles that have needed this sort of…relief?”
Erin stuck out her chin and held the sponge underwater, out of his reach. “As a matter of fact, I have. A lot.”
Suddenly, Seth’s playfulness faded. His teasing smile transformed into a frown. “And I haven’t been around to help take care of them.”
“Don’t get all guilty on me. You’re here now, aren’t you? So I won’t have as much need for this kind of…massage.”
Seth’s momentary surge of regret dispersed, and he smiled at her again. Leaned over the side of the tub to kiss her gently on the lips.
Then, while she was distracted by the sweetness, he shamelessly reached down and snatched the vibrating sponge from her unsuspecting grip.
“Hey!” she cried in outrage, trying to grab it back from him. “You big cheater! That was cheap trick.”
Seth laughed huskily and held her off, his hands slipping against her wet skin.
She finally gave up and sank back into the water, scowling at him but without much heat. She was actually feeling warm and affectionate, and it didn’t help that Seth was looking adorably rumpled in his damp, wrinkled dress shirt and bare feet.
“So how is it?” he asked, his voice growing thicker. “Does it work well on…sore muscles?”
“Sore muscles? Not so much. But on other kinds of tension, it works quite well.”
Something hot flickering in his gaze now, Seth handed her the vibrating sponge. “Show me.”
“Um, what?”
He gave her a seductive smile and settled himself more comfortably on his knees beside the tub. “Show me. Show me how well it works.”
Narrowing her eyes at him, she said, “I thought the point of your being around more was that I wouldn’t need to use it as much as I used to.”
“True.” His eyes moved slowly over her naked body beneath the scented bubbles, in what felt like an erotic caress. “But I want to watch you.”
Despite her lingering, dry amusement, Erin was starting to feel a thrill tighten low in her belly. “It’s not very sexy. I don’t make it a big, elaborate process. It’s mostly just for efficiency’s sake.”
Seth didn’t look discouraged at all. His eyes smoldered as he replied, “Don’t put on a show for me. Just show me what you do when you’re alone.”
Already feeling tingles between her legs, and her body already relaxed and content from the warm bath, Erin saw no reason to object to this plan, other than the brief flare of self-consciousness. “All right,” she agreed, taking the sponge and turning it on. “But I’m warning you. It’s not going to be anything like watching porn.”
Seth exhaled an appreciative laugh and raised his eyebrows as he waited.
With a half-shrug, she sank lower into the fragrant bathwater and brought the sponge to her belly. Although she’d told him she wasn’t going to try to turn him on, she did stroke the pleasantly vibrating sponge up her belly to her breasts. Arching her back a little, she circled her wet nipples, which had tightened into hard peaks.
Glancing over to check his reactions, she saw that—although there was still a flicker of amusement in his eyes—most of his expression was engulfed by pure, primal heat.
It made Erin even hotter.
So she lowered the sponge down her body and between her legs, turning it on to its highest setting. It was strong enough and she was sensitive enough that she didn’t need to bring it into direct contact with her clit. Instead, she pushed it gently against her intimate folds, rubbing until she found the spot with the best stimulation.
Sighing in pleasure, she closed her eyes so she wouldn’t get too self-conscious from being watched. She rubbed the sponge in little circles, causing tight, tingles of pleasure to pulse through her center.
It didn’t take as long as normal for the vibrations to coalesce into a swelling pressure between her legs. Erin could feel her orgasm take shape quickly. Her eyes squeezed shut as she breathed in fast pants.
She stretched her legs out until she could push against the opposite side of the slick tub. The muscles in her belly and thigh had tightened dramatically, and the rich vibrations now sent jolts of lush sensation toward the power of her growing orgasm. Her neck twitched, and she could feel the warm water moving against every part of her skin.
“Are you going to come?” Seth asked thickly.
At his voice, she opened her eyes enough to see him. He looked almost as tight as she felt, and his hands gripped the side of the tub as his hot, hungry eyes devoured her.
The sight of his obvious lust built up the momentum of her orgasm even more. She pushed the sponge even harder against her pussy to get as much sensation as she could.
“Yeah,” she gasped. Her eyes fell closed again, and she jerked her head to the side, until her cheek was nearly touching her shoulder. “Oh, yeah, oh, yeah,” she mumbled urgently, the breathless words spilling out against her will.
Her climax was going to be stronger than usual, and she knew it was because Seth was watching her. Her leg jerked up a little, out of the water, and she slammed her foot against the tub, pushing against the solid surface as hard as she could, feeling her body tighten like a coil.
Then the pressure released itself in delicious spasms. Her back arched up from the water, and her mouth fell open in a silent cry of pleasure.
She was gasping as she came down. With a sated smile on her face, she switched the vibrator off. It had been an excellent orgasm, but nothing overwhelming or unusual. “And there you have it. Pretty thrilling, wasn’t it?”
When her eyes focused on Seth’s face, she realized he was already pretty far gone. While her performance hadn’t seemed particularly sexy to her, he’d clearly had a different reaction.
His face was flushed, and his knuckles had whitened from gripping the tub.
Before she could say anything else, he had taken the sponge from her hand. Switched it on again and moved it back to where she’d been holding it before.
She gasped at the renewed stimulation against her sensitized flesh, and her hands flew out to hang onto the sides of the tub. “Seth, I usually only go for one.”
He’d raised himself up on his knees and was leaning over the bathtub so he could get into a better position to pleasure her. At her comment, he asked hoarsely, “Why only one?”
Erin arched up again as she felt another swelling pressure start to coalesce from the new vibrations. “Never seemed…worth the…trouble.”
Seth must have been paying attention earlier because he was rubbing the sponge in little circles against her pulsing flesh—just the way she did herself. “Ah!” she cried, trying to swallow over the involuntary sound. “Oh, God!”
She was already sensitive from her first orgasm, and—since Seth was the one with the vibrator—Erin felt far more out of control than she normally did. Her muscles were starting to tense up again, and she clutched the sides of the tub for dear life.
She was going to come again. Come even harder than before.
Seth altered the rhythm of circling the sponge, and Erin had to bite her lip to stifle her response.
/> She writhed in the tub, and it felt like something had changed. Her skin was swallowed by a different kind of stimulation, but one she was too distracted to identify.
Whimpering helplessly, she let the uncontrollable vibrations finally push her over the edge again.
She choked out frantic cry of relief—one that sounded like “Eh heh”—and she felt the orgasm overtake her, pulsing from her center and then through her entire body.
She was desperately gasping for air as she came down, and she groaned in relief when Seth turned off the vibrator. Then suddenly she realized that she was a little chilly.
And she was no longer soaking in water.
Seth must have drained the water out of the tub while she was otherwise occupied.
“Wha—“ she mumbled, her eyes popping open, just in time to see him climbing into the tub in his clothes.
Then Seth was gathering her wet body into his arms. And she was clinging to his hard, familiar strength. And they were kissing hungrily, urgently—Seth positioned over her in the mostly empty bathtub.
When she finally broke out of the kiss, she was shaking and no longer chilly. “God, Seth. That was good.”
He was rubbing his body against her, as much as he could in this position. “The kiss or the orgasm?”
“Both.” She was about to kiss him again when she realized she was wet and naked, both of them were covered by the remaining, cucumber-scented bubbles, and Seth’s trousers from the knee down and the front of his shirt were now soaking wet. “Maybe we should head for the bed so we can finish this,” she suggested, feeling the hard bulge of his arousal beneath his pants.
“No need for the bed.”
“But you’re wet,” she objected. “And your clothes…”
“What’s your point?”
She felt thrilled and newly aroused and a little bewildered. “In the empty bathtub?”
Despite his obvious urgency, Seth’s lips twitched up. “Why not?”
She certainly didn’t have a good answer to that one.
The fire smoldered back up in his eyes. “Turn around.”
Erin just blinked at him.
“On your hands and knees.”