2SpiceRack_bundle (3 page)

“Oh God, yes.” Eric’s voice vibrated
through her, his need palpable. He pumped faster, grinding with a perfect twist
each time their bodies met.

Tension built to levels her body could no
longer contain, her thighs shook, her hands clutched the deep divots above his
ass. All control lost, she gave in, crying out as pulse after pulse of orgasm
tore through her.

The groan that rumbled out of Eric
resonated through the room as she felt him freeze above her. Everything was
motionless except his cock, which throbbed inside her.

“Jesus,” he whispered, his lips finding
hers for a slow, delicious kiss. As he moved slowly in and out of her, she
greedily thought that if he kept that up she might well come yet again.

“This whole Spice Rack thing is really
working for me. How many more jars are there?”

Laughter tumbled from Eric as he eased
himself out of her. There was nothing she adored more than the sound of his
laugh.

“I love you, Jess.” He reached into the
nightstand and withdrew the box. “Let’s see, three rows to choose from—sweet,
savory and spicy. Four jars per row. I’d say these could keep us in ideas for
quite a while.”

Jess grinned as she ran her fingers over
the jars. “You said this suggestion was from the sweet row?”

“Yep. I figured we could start off slow and
work our way up to spicy.”

“I like the sound of that kind of work. A
lot. In fact, even though we’ve only used one jar I’m certain this is the best
spice rack I’ve ever had.”

“Best. Rack. Ever. Except maybe for yours.”

Eric didn’t remember dozing off but he
awoke to find Jessica curled alongside him, one leg draped over his. She looked
so peaceful. Up close he could see the smattering of freckles that dusted her
nose. Her lips were still extra plump from kissing, deep pink and ripe. So far
this day was going even better than he’d planned. Shifting slightly he glanced
at the clock. Barely 11 a.m. and he’d already brought her to three climaxes.
Not to mention that was the best sex they’d had in as long as he could
remember.

He knew they’d grown apart the past year.
He’d sensed it happening. Not because he wanted it, life just got in the way.
The kids’ schedules had gotten crazy with nonstop sports practices and games.
And opening his own ad agency had been twice the work he’d expected. It wasn’t
that Jess was no longer a priority, he simply hadn’t figured out how to manage
his time.

The final straw seemed to have been when
they’d moved four months earlier. He’d thought the move would be great for all
of them. Nice big house instead of the townhouse they’d more than outgrown.
Same town, same schools but better neighborhood.

Jessica had initially seemed thrilled, but
that quickly changed. At least half her friends from the old neighborhood
stopped inviting her on their girls’ outings. Most of the women in the new
development either worked out of the home or had nannies. As a work-at-home
mom, Jess seemed out of step. She did an amazing job of getting the new house
in shape but he could see that she wasn’t happy. Her moods grew more sullen and
she withdrew every time he tried to mention it, telling him she was “fine, just
tired.”

Worrying about it did no good. It made him
cranky and he hated feeling ineffective. When she’d started taking classes two
months ago, he’d thought it was a good thing. She’d even upped them from once a
week to twice. He figured it was great that she was finally making some time to
do something for herself. And she’d seemed happier, more relaxed. But it irked
him that she never gave him details about where she was going.

“Exercise class,” she’d said. “Olivia
recommended it.”

“What kind of exercise?”

She’d ignored the question and he’d had to
ask again before she said, “Sort of like a dance class.” Then she’d changed the
subject. It wasn’t like her to be mysterious. One of the things he loved about
her was how direct she was. Always straight with him. No game playing.

He’d decided not to dwell on it until Bill
at work had started talking about how his wife had been taking “art class” for
nearly a year before he’d found out that she was actually having an affair.
Eric had never even considered the possibility of Jess cheating on him. He’d always
felt totally secure in their relationship. He trusted her completely. But the
seed had been planted.
What if she’s really not happy? What if this class or
this teacher is giving her something I’m not?
The thought had turned his
stomach. It still did.
She can’t be cheating on me.

Watching her sleep, he marveled at how
young she looked. At thirty-two she still looked exactly like the
twenty-one-year-old girl he’d fallen for the first time he’d laid eyes on her.
If anything she’d gotten prettier. Features more defined, curves more
pronounced. Definitely more comfortable with her body, as proven by this
morning’s activities.

His stomach clenched as he remembered how
hard and fast he’d fallen for her. He’d dated dozens of women, but Jessica was
the only one he’d ever considered marrying. She was the only woman he’d ever
loved.

She stirred in her sleep, dragging her leg
along his and stretching before her deep brown eyes fluttered open. A smile
tugged at her lips. “Hey,” she whispered, nuzzling closer and kissing his
chest.

“Good nap?” he asked, enjoying the sultry,
sleepy look of her eyes as they drifted open and closed.

“Mmm, very.” Her fingers played with the
hair on his belly as she tilted her head to look into his face. “How long have
you been up?”

“Just a few minutes.”

“And you were watching me sleep?”

He tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

She grinned, the corners of her eyes
crinkling as she studied him. “What were you thinking about?”

Normally he hated that question but this
time he wanted to answer. “The first time we met.”

Her dark brows popped up. “Really? What
made you think of that?”

“You. You’re even more beautiful than you
were back then.”

Jessica snorted. “No, seriously.”

“I am serious. You know I was a goner that
first night.”

She shook her head, her hair swishing over
his arm, against his chest, sending ripples of electricity across his body.
“You were trying to decide who you had a better chance with, me or Maria.”

Laughter shook him. “That is so not true.”

“Yes it is. That’s why you drove us both
home from the party.”

“No.” Eric twirled a lock of her hair with
his finger. He remembered the night as if it were yesterday. “Maria asked for a
ride home. I offered you one and I racked my brain for excuses to drop her off
first so I could be alone with you.”

Jessica propped herself on her elbow and
stared at him. “You never told me that.”

Eric shrugged. “I didn’t think I’d have to.
I assumed you figured it out that night.”

Her head shook again. “Not at all.”

“How is that possible? Maria lived one
street away from me, you lived on the other side of town. Not to mention that
she was hinting she wanted to be dropped off last and I still brought her home
first. You, on the other hand, wouldn’t even get in the front seat after she
got out of the car.”

Jessica giggled, the sound warming him to
his core. “I thought you were just being polite.”

“I thought you wanted to stay as far away
from me as possible. I made the chauffeur joke to save face and give me an
excuse to come around and get your door when we got to your apartment.”

“I liked the chauffeur act. It was
charming.”

Eric leaned forward and kissed her.
“Charming, eh? Is that why you let me walk you to your building?”

“No, I let you walk me because it was icy
out and I figured I’d slip and break a leg without someone to hold on to.” Her
eyes twinkled with mischief.

“So you were using me.”

She grinned wider. “Basically. I also
wanted an excuse to hang on to you.”

“Oh did you now?”

Nodding slowly, she brushed her lips
against his. “You had the sexiest forearms I’d ever seen.”

“Forearms?”

She trailed her finger down the length of
his arm, tracing circular patterns on his skin. “What can I say? You have great
arms. Muscular, sinewy, defined.” She curled her hand around his wrist then
stroked her way back up.

“And all this time I thought it was my
sparkling wit and chivalry that won you over.”

“Later, yes. That night I just wanted a
chance to feel your arms.”

“Well, I just wanted a chance to ask you
out and give you a good night kiss.”

She wrapped her leg tighter around his.
“And you did both, as I recall.”

“I did. Never been so nervous asking a girl
out in my life.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why? I mean, I’d never
met you before but I’d heard of you. You had tons of girlfriends before me.”

“I was afraid you’d say no and I wanted you
so much I didn’t think I could handle that.”

“I guess you’re lucky I said yes then.”

“I’ve been lucky every day since.”

* * * * *

Eating picnic style on the family room
carpet seemed like the perfect follow-up to their indulgent morning together.
Jessica felt more relaxed than she had in ages. When they’d decided to get out
of bed for food, she’d slipped on a short cotton beach dress with nothing
underneath. Eric looked nothing short of mouth-watering in a t-shirt and black
athletic shorts. His toned arms flexed as he twisted the cork from the bottle
of white wine he’d left chilling in the fridge.

“I still can’t believe you did all this.”
Jessica surveyed the spread. Assorted cheeses, grapes and mixed berries, pâté,
crackers, smoked salmon roulettes, miniature roast beef sandwiches with
horseradish spread and assorted bite-sized cupcakes.

“All I did was order the food.”

“You thought of ordering food. That’s what
I appreciate. This whole day. I’m just—”

Eric looked up as her voice caught, his
head tilted, eyes narrowed with concern. “What?”

“I’m happy.” Tears prickled behind her
eyes, threatening to roll down her cheeks.

Eric’s lips spread into his sexy grin and
he set the wine down, leaning in for a kiss. “Good. You deserve to be happy.
And you definitely deserve to have someone take care of you for a change. I
don’t say it often enough, but you’re an amazing mom. I watch the kids for a
day here and there and it always floors me how you make it all look so easy.”

“It’s not that hard.”

“Yeah, it is. You’re just so good at it you
don’t notice. I wanted to do something special for you.”

“Well, this is doing the trick.” She swiped
a grape across a small cup of mascarpone swirled with jam and popped it in her
mouth. The grape burst as she bit into it, blending its sweetness with the
creamy cheese. “So good.”

Eric poured the wine and handed her a glass
before digging into one of the sandwiches. “Why are these sandwiches so
amazing?”

“They use bacon horseradish cheddar.”

“Bacon. I knew there was some other flavor
here. They’re geniuses.”

“You think anyone who can incorporate bacon
into a meal is a genius.”

Eric chuckled. “They are.”

She made a mental note to make him some
more bacon-enhanced treats in the next few weeks.

Since he seemed so content, she decided to
ask a question that had been nagging at her since she’d spied on him the other
morning. “Can I ask you something personal?

Eric stopped mid-chew, then nodded, his
brow furrowed. “I think so.”

“Since I confessed to watching you, I was
just wondering, how often you, well—”

He smiled a tiny bit before he swallowed
his bite of roast beef. “Jerk off?”

She nodded.

Eric shifted so he was sitting directly in
front of her. “It depends.”

“You don’t have to tell me.” She fiddled with
a cluster of grapes.

“I’m not trying to avoid the question, it
just varies. On average? I guess probably once a day.”

That much?
She tried not to let her expression change but she guessed she wasn’t doing a
very good job of it.

Eric tucked a finger beneath her chin,
tilting her head up so she’d look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just. I mean…”She took a deep
breath. “Is it just because you enjoy it or is it because I’m not enough for
you?” Her heart beat in her ears as she waited for an answer.

Eric’s jaw went slack as he stared at her
then he snorted. “Sweetie, you’re more than enough for me. It has nothing to do
with you. Guys jerk off, I jerk off for lots of reasons.”

“Like what?”

“Well, for one, yeah, it feels good. In the
morning it’s usually because I woke up horny and if I didn’t I’d have trouble
concentrating at work. At night it’s usually because I’m wound up from the day
and need the tension release.”

Relief washed over her.
It’s not me.
“You do it at night too?”

“Sometimes, sure,” he said. “Don’t you
ever?”

She could feel her cheeks heat.
“Sometimes.”

Eric drew his fingers back and forth across
her collarbone. His touch soothed and excited her. “In bed?”

She nodded.

“While I sleep?”

“Sometimes.”

A smile spread across his handsome face. “Me
too. Now I feel like less of a perv.”

Jessica giggled. “Why did you feel like a
perv?”

“Because sometimes I jerk off while you’re
lying next to me and I’m half petrified that you’ll wake up catch me and half
hoping the exact same thing. Besides, you look fucking gorgeous while you
sleep.”

“You can always wake me, you know.”

His grin widened. “Now I do. Maybe I will.”
He leaned in and kissed her, his lips tingly from the spice of the horseradish.

“I love you, Eric.”

“Best husband you’ve ever had, right?”

“Hands down.”