“C’mon, let’s get out of here. I think we’ve done enough damage to my credit card for one day.” Jules sets the few things we’d picked up on a rack and we walk through the store and out to the car.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” I whisper.
“Well, your first step is to talk to him. Ask him.” Natalie says from the back seat behind me. Jules is driving, where I don’t know, and I’m in the passenger seat.
“I did ask him. He told me to drop it. This morning he told me to have fun today and we’d talk tonight. Oh, God, he’s going to tell me he’s leaving me.” My stomach convulses and I start to pant.
“Stacy, don’t be dramatic.” Jules rolls her eyes and merges into traffic, heading toward my house.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to your place.”
“I don’t want to see Isaac yet. I need to calm down and think.”
“No, you need to confront my brother and find out what the hell he’s doing.”
I twist my fingers in my lap and bite my lip until it bleeds. “Maybe you can confront him and let me know how it goes.”
“Oh no, this is all you. But if you want us there with you, we’ll stay. Are you afraid of him?” She looks over to me with narrowed eyes.
“No! No, I’m not afraid of him, I just don’t know if I want the answer to my questions.”
“Stacy, I’m telling you,” Natalie says firmly. “Isaac is not fucking around.”
“I wouldn’t have ever expected him to.” My God, we’ve had ups and downs, but never, never would I have suspected that he could ever do this to me.
“So, to recap,” Jules starts as she pulls into my driveway, “He took a mysterious phone call at Nat’s last night that he doesn’t want to talk about, and today he sent you dirty texts.”
“Yes.”
“This does not make for an affair, Stace.”
“I know, but it’s so not him.”
“There are no photos of naked women, you haven’t caught him in bed with anyone…”
“No.”
Jesus, I’d die if I found him in bed with another woman. Correction: the other woman would die. A slow, painful death.
“I think this is a misunderstanding,” Natalie says gently. “But, where is this insecurity in your marriage coming from? This isn’t like you, honey. You are not this insecure.”
“I know.” I bite my lip again and fight tears. I haven’t felt like myself since the baby came. Our marriage hasn’t felt the same. “Since the baby was born, our sex life hasn’t been the greatest. We’re both really tired all the time.” I shrug and look down at my hands in embarrassment. “I know our marriage isn’t perfect, but I’ve never felt this disconnected from him. If I’m not satisfying him, someone else will. You’ve seen him.”
“Oh, for the love of Moses, Stacy, listen to yourself. I think you need some hot sex and a vacation, girl,” Jules comments, making me laugh.
“Yeah, that couldn’t hurt.”
Isaac’s truck is in the driveway of our pretty two-story home. It occurs to me that he put the Christmas lights up today, which just makes me more emotional. This is Sophie’s first Christmas. What if we don’t get to spend it as a family in our home?
Jules cuts the engine and pops the trunk.
“C’mon, let’s get your stuff inside.”
We carry my plethora of bags full of gifts for the whole family, and way more than Sophie will ever need or remember for her first Christmas, into the house. Isaac is packing a diaper bag and has the car seat by the door.
“Ladies, you’re back sooner than I expected.” He flashes us a wide happy smile, but all I see is the bag he’s packing.
“Where the hell are you going?” I ask. I hear the desperation in my voice, I know I sound like a complete lunatic, but I can’t make it stop.
“Uh,” He frowns at me and pushes his hand through his soft, dark blonde hair. “Nowhere. I was going to ask Jules if she would take Sophie home with her for a few hours so you and I can have some alone time.”
“Of course I’ll take Sophie!” Jules says from behind me. “Nat, will you help Isaac finish loading the baby’s bag while I help Stacy upstairs with her stuff?”
“On it.”
Isaac looks at the three of us like we’ve lost our minds. “What’s going on?”
Jules just leads me up the stairs as I hear Natalie say, “You guys really need to talk, you dumb ass.”
Chapter Three
“So, talk to me.” Isaac walks into our bedroom and crosses to me, planting his hands on his lean hips. Jules and Nat just left with Sophie and we’re all alone.
“No, you start talking. I want to know who you were talking to last night. And who the hell did you intend to send those text messages to today?”
Yes, I sound like a nagging, bitchy wife, but I can’t stop it. I pull my coat off with jerking movements and throw it on top of the bags on our bed and turn back around to face him, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Stacy, what are you accusing me of?” he asks in a low voice, his blue eyes narrowed.
“I’m not accusing, I’m asking. Again. I’ve been asking since last night.”
“I spoke to Brynna last night at Luke’s, Stacy. She was in trouble and is on her way here.”
What? Brynna is my cousin, but we were raised as sisters.
“She’s on her way from Chicago?”
“Yes.”
“But the kids…”
“Are with her.”
“Is she driving?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell, Isaac? Why didn’t you tell me this last night?”
“Because I didn’t want to worry you. It was Soph’s first Thanksgiving, and Matt and I have it taken care of.” He runs his hands through his hair and paces away from me toward the bathroom.
“Why is she coming here?”
“I don’t know all the details yet, I just know that she was scared and said she needed to get out of there fast and was heading here.”
I just stand and blink at him. Brynna, the person I’m closest to in the world, is coming home and is in trouble and I’m just now finding out?
“Isaac…”
“Yeah, I know, in hindsight I probably should have said something, but you would have worried, and I wanted you to enjoy the holiday.”
Okay.
“Where is she now?”
“I’m not sure, she’s taking it slow because of the weather and the kids, but she should be here by the middle of next week. Matt’s keeping close tabs on her.”
Isaac’s brother Matt is a Seattle cop, and I know he’ll do everything in his power to help Brynna. The Montgomery men take care of their family, and because of me, Brynna is family too, so I trust that she’ll be safe.
“Now, about the texts,” Isaac mumbles and my anger sparks again. “Let me see your phone.” He holds his large hand out expectantly.
“Why? So you can delete them?”
“Jesus, Stacy, what is wrong with you? Just give me your phone, please.” He appears exasperated and worried, but not like he’s feeling guilty, which gives me hope, so I hand him my phone. He locates the texts and frowns as he reads through them.
“You got them all out of order.”
“You think?”
“I hate being on two different cell services.”
“Isaac, I don’t think the fact that we have two different plans is the point right now. Who did you intend to send those to?”
“You.” He passes the phone back to me with a frown. “Who else would I send sexy messages to?”
“You tell me.”
“What has gotten into you? I just wanted to send you some fun texts to spice things up a bit. I’m fucking flirting with my wife, that’s all!” Now he’s pissed; fiery blue eyes, jaw set in a grim line, hands back on his hips.
I feel like a complete idiot. I close my eyes and sit on the edge of the bed, lowering my head and bracing my f
ace in my hands.
What is wrong with me?
“Baby, talk to me.” Isaac kneels in front of me and pulls my hands away from my face. He cups my cheek in his hand, brushing his thumb along my skin and I feel tears well in my eyes.
“I thought…”
“I know what you thought, and it pisses me the hell off, but tell me why you went there, Stace. This isn’t who we are.”
I close my eyes again as relief surges through me and I grip his wrist with my hand, keeping his hand against my cheek.
“Since Sophie was born, we seem different,” I whisper and open my eyes. “We’re so busy with her, you with the company, and me with the blog, and we’re always so damn tired. I just miss you. And I know that we don’t make love like we used to, and well…”
“You assumed I’d go looking for it somewhere else.”
It’s not a question. I cringe at the cold edge of his voice and focus down at his chest.
“I’ve never given you a reason to believe that, Stacy.” God, he sounds angry, and I can’t blame him.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry. But you seemed to be hiding something from me, and the texts were a shock. You haven’t flirted with me like that since long before the baby.”
“I know.” He runs his fingers down my cheek before gripping my hands tightly in his. I love how big and strong his hands are. “When we were in Tahiti for the wedding, you were so relaxed and fun, and I realized that I miss you too, babe. The sex was great, and we laughed like we haven’t in a long time. It’s time to reconnect. I want to start dating again.”
“Dating?” I giggle.
“Well, yeah. I want to do things with just the two of us. It doesn’t have to be all the time, because Sophie is part of us, but we have a huge family who would love nothing more than to keep her once in a while, so I say we take advantage of it and spend some time together.”
And I melt. This is exactly what we need, what I’ve been missing.
“We only leave her with family,” I reply sternly.
“Of course, I wouldn’t leave her with just anyone. But you know our parents would love to spend extra time with her every few weeks or so.”
He’s right, they would, but it’ll be hard to be away from her. Yet, mending the connection between Isaac and me is imperative.
“You’re right. How should we start?” I ask.
“Well, right now…” he gives me that smile, the one he uses when he’s seducing me, and damned if it doesn’t always work.
“Right now?” I whisper.
He leans in and lightly brushes his lips across mine, once, then again, nibbling lightly at the edges of my lips.
“Right.” Kiss. “Now.”
Oh, hell yes.
He pulls me to my feet and yanks my blue long-sleeved t-shirt over my head, then pulls his own gray tee off and throws them aside. While I make quick work of my jeans and underwear, he swipes his hands over the bed, sending bags and boxes to the floor.
“I hope there wasn’t anything fragile in there,” he remarks with a grin and I shake my head, smiling back at him. His blue eyes light up at the sight of me naked, and he pulls me close, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me firmly against him. “Did you eat lunch?”
Lunch?
“Uh, yeah.”
“Good, you’re going to need the energy.” He buries his face in my neck, nibbling and sucking his way up to my ear and across my jawline. I reach for his jeans and unfasten them, slide my hands between his boxer-briefs and skin, and push them over his hips and down his legs, kissing his chest and sculpted abdomen.
His erection is full and hard, and without touching it with my hands, I circle my tongue around the tip. Isaac gasps, sucking air in through his teeth and I grin as I stand back up.
“God, I want you.” His eyes travel from my face down my body, over my breasts, my stomach, legs and back up again and I return the favor, taking in his amazing body. Working construction for almost fifteen years has kept him in fantastic shape, his muscles tight and firm. His skin is still bronze from our trip to Tahiti. He’s clean shaven, but he needs a haircut. His dark blonde hair is wavy, and unruly from running his fingers through it. Mine are itching to get into it too.
But it’s his Montgomery blue eyes that have always captivated me, that prompted my nickname Eyes for him, a variation of his name, and those incredibly blue eyes. They’re smiling at me now, hot and full of promise and lust and if my panties were still on they’d be soaked.
He takes my hand and pulls me flush against him, links our fingers and rests our hands at the small of my back. I trace his chin with my nose, and push the fingers of my free hand through his soft hair.
“Stace,” he whispers. I gaze into his eyes as he gently kisses my lips.
“Yeah?”
“If you ever even think about me fucking around on you again,” he mutters, deceptively softly, against my lips, “I will spank the living shit out of you.”
My eyes go wide and I gape at him. Holy shit, this is new.
“Okay.” How the hell do I respond to that?
“I’m not kidding.” He pulls his fingers down my face, down my neck and cups my breast in his palm, worrying the tight nipple in his fingers. My head falls back and I bite my lip. “I haven’t looked at another woman in ten years.” His lips skim down my neck, and finally he cups my ass in his hands and lifts me, pivots, and lays me back on the bed. He crawls over me and rests his hard cock against my pussy while his mouth does incredibly naughty things to mine.
His tongue is strong and sure, insistent, dancing against my own. His elbows are planted on the bed at either side of my head and his fingers are buried in my hair. I run my hands down his smooth back to his ass and back up again. I love the feel of him. It never gets old.
I roll my hips, and gasp as the tip of his cock brushes against my clit.
“Ah, baby, you’re so wet,” he murmurs against my mouth and pulls back to rest his swollen head against my labia. I press my feet against his ass, urging him inside.
“I want you.”
With a growl he pushes inside me, burying himself to the root, and rests his forehead against mine. I gasp at the intrusion, my body still unused to making love after giving birth to our daughter, but he stills and lets me acclimate to him and the tiny pain subsides.
“You feel so good.”
“I’ve been doing my kegels.”
“Gazoontite.”
I burst out laughing, tightening around him, making him moan. “It means I’m exercising the muscles down there to tighten them back up from the pregnancy.”
“I know, I just love it when you laugh when I’m inside you.”
I grin up at him and take his face in my palms. “I love you, Eyes.”
He crushes his mouth to mine and moves faster, harder, grinding his pelvis against my clit with every stroke in and I feel the building inside me begin, my muscles tighten, my thighs clench. I grip his hair in my fingers and throw my head back as I come around him, surprised at how strong my orgasm is, and so happy that my body is starting to feel back to normal again.
“That’s right, baby, I wanna feel you come on my cock.”
“Shit!” I wrap my legs more tightly around his hips as I spasm around him, and I feel his own orgasm work its way through him. He thrusts once, then again and grinds into me forcefully, spilling himself inside me.
He collapses over me with a big sigh, rests his cheek on my shoulder and murmurs, “Only you, babe.”
***
I wake alone, disoriented. There’s a full moon shining brightly, illuminating the room. The bed is cold where Isaac was asleep a few hours ago and the house feels still.
I rise from the bed, stretching my arms over my head, feeling the pull of muscles well used this afternoon from our unexpected and hot lovemaking. I grin and push my hair back from my face. Perhaps we need an encore.
I wonder where he is.
I pad quietly down the dark hallway,
expecting to go downstairs and find him in the kitchen, but as I pass Sophie’s room, I hear Isaac’s voice, speaking in hushed tones. The dim light on the dresser is on, sending a shadow across the hallway floor. I peek in, to see Isaac rocking gently in the lovely, plush sage-colored rocking chair he got me when I was pregnant. Sophie is resting in the crook of his elbow, suckling a bottle, her big blue eyes watching her daddy’s face.
God, I love them.
Isaac brushes his hand gently over her little head and smiles down at his daughter.
“You’re as pretty as your mommy, you know. I hope you get her hair. I love the color of her hair.” He’s whispering down at her, like they’re having a deep conversation, and Soph’s eyes are pinned to his, listening while she eats.
“You have her temper too, don’t you?” I grin to myself and lean my forehead against the door frame, listening out of sight. “That’s okay, it just means that you know what you want. You’ll give some poor bastard a run for his money. But not until your forty.”
Sophie sighs. “Okay, burp time, baby girl.” I hear rustling as he settles her on his shoulder to pat her back. “What should we get mommy for Christmas?”
As much as I really, really want to stand and eaves drop, I decide I’ve heard enough and walk into the room. God, she looks so small against his wide shoulder and with his big hand on her back. He glances up and grins at me.
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I woke and you were gone, so I thought I’d come find you.” I kiss Sophie’s soft head and inhale her baby smell and then lean over and kiss my sweet husband’s lips.
“Her highness was hungry.”
“So I see,” I reply with a chuckle. “You’re so good with her.”
“I hope so, she’s stuck with me.”
“Yeah, that’s not such a bad deal.” Sophie has fallen back to sleep. “Let’s put her back down and go back to bed, Eyes.”
He smiles. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”
Chapter Four
“Why in the name of all that’s holy is it always so much colder at Christmas tree farms than it is anywhere else? Do they secretly have A/C piped in vents under the trees or something? Because I swear to God, it was not this cold at home.” I shift side to side, trying to keep warm and lift the blanket I have covering Sophie to check on her. She’s snuggled in her sling across my chest, warm as can be, sleeping soundly.