Page 41 of Falling for the Wife

Rose…I definitely had to see her, or I wouldn’t be able to function at work. Although I knew it wouldn’t ebb the hunger I felt for Gisele, at least it’d take the edge off. She had recently moved into the newly purchased home in Palo Alto. She had been beyond ecstatic when I had presented her with the lavish house. But it had been six days since I’d seen her, partly due to Gisele. No other woman plagued my thoughts but the blonde bombshell, secretly known as my wife. I craved her like no other, but it was high time I placed a halt to this madness. She was fartooyoung for me.

After deciding it was imperative I head to Seattle for a day to configure a top-secret gadget set to be unveiled in a year, I set my plans into motion. As they say, it was now or never. The company jet was set to leave in an hour and a half’s time. So time was of the essence.

I was about to enter my bedroom situated across from Gisele’s when I heard someone coming from the opposite hall.

“Jared?”

Bloody hell. Shouldn’t she be in school? Why was she home at this time of day? My jaw locked before I turned to acknowledge her. Dressed in her favored house garb of silk robes, she had chosen a peach floral one. It made her look like a delectable dessert to be savored.

Her stunning face lit up at the very sight of me. Rushing towards me, she immediately wrapped her arms around my neck with wild abandon upon reaching where I rigidly stood. As she crushed her luscious breasts against my chest, I could feel her pebbled rosebuds through two layers of clothing. Soft lips kissed my cheek. The tip of her nose pressed against my skin. It lingered, gliding around my jaw.

“You’re home early,” she faintly purred while I stiffened under her embrace, her warm form enticing my deprived body.

Hell, she was breathtakingly exquisite. My eyes couldn’t get enough of her, and my body responded with alarming depravity. I had viciously lashed out when she had flagrantly displayed her body as she dressed for her date with Wyatt Rinaldi. I could only imagine what that man felt as he gazed at her from across the table. Gisele had the body and the face to provoke any man. She was the perfect package. Add the trappings of wealth, and all sorts of men would come out of the woodwork. She reeked of sex. It was ingrained in her. It was in the way she strutted, especially in heels, the way she coquettishly curled her hair behind her ear, gray eyes commanding a raging wood to any men in her line of sight, her toned luscious body and the irresistible coy smile that stimulated all brain function to head south. Yes, the beguiling woman was a walking, talking, breathing siren. A full-blown, purring sex kitten, and my senses couldn’t drown her out any longer…not when I was beginning to acknowledge her as mine, my wife.

A man could only endure so much before reaching his breaking point, and I was there, teetering on its threshold. I badly fought the impulse to simply haul her pliant frame against the door and taste the exquisiteness in between her thighs. She’d welcome it, too. Her blatant advances had placed me in this present conundrum. If I were less of a man, I’d have had her writhing under me with the full length of my cock sheathed in her honeyed slickness on our wedding night.

But I didn’t have the wherewithal to breach lunacy yet. However, I’d been hovering about it, tempting fate, provoking the idea of “what ifs.” Still, I knew, no matter how I rationalized it, I couldn’t go on knowing she’d eventually fall for me. And she would fall. Hard. She was the kind who loved with her all, and with the way she had been longingly gazing at me with bright stars in her eyes, how could I fathom telling her that I had no love left to give her?

I left women for this very reason. The moment they got attached, I knew I had to set them free. Every man had a sneaking suspicion when a woman was on the verge of falling in love. One could instantly see the change. The light in their eyes shifted each time they looked at you. They donned the look of amazement, as if you were the only thing they saw, the sole reason for their existence.

And if it were up to me, I’d prefer one partner for a lifetime. But such notions couldn’t be granted. Not when women were highly emotional beings and most especially when my heart wasn’t available for any woman, for that matter. So how could a man keep a sexual partner, knowing the other tortured herself with secret hankerings of love? Therefore, I let them go. Saving them from the eviscerating privation that a shattered heart entailed. If I couldn’t reciprocate such love and devotion, what right did I have to keep it? A cock-thinking bastard wouldn’t think twice, though. If sex was so damn incredible, why let it go, right?

It was the right thing to do…as was freeing Gisele of me. She mightn’t realize it now, but this was for her own good. She deserved the best. Sadly, the best didn’t have my name written on it.

Gisele had gotten used to us sharing a bed. In those five nights, she’d thrown out her inhibitions and begun to sleep naked. She became emboldened, trying to seduce me at any opportunity. But after last night—after she rolled on top of my body, straddling my hips and almost succeeding in pulling my dick out so she could sheath me with her pussy—I was left with no choice but to withdraw my presence in her life. Once I’d gotten everything under control again, I’d move back in. Not in her bedroom, either, but to my very own room. But for the time being, distancing myself was crucial.

It was arduous to hold a steady gaze without revealing my guilt, so I dragged my eyes away from her stunning beauty, steeling myself to my decision.

“I have to fly out to Seattle for a day,” I managed to say as I briskly stepped into the bedroom straight into the closet. Gisele calmly trailed behind me. Her luring scent lingered in the spacious walk-in closet. It engulfed my senses, deliberately threatening to test my resolve. “Isn’t today your first day? Don’t you have a class to rush to?” I had intended to make small talk, but my words came out accusatory.

Gisele stepped before me, halting us in the middle of the enclosed space. Inquisitive gray eyes scanned my face, scrutinizing. “Something’s wrong,” she stated crisply. Her brows knitted together while she waited for me to offer an explanation. But when I stayed mum, her hand reached out to touch my face, analyzing. “What is it, Jared?”

Her tenderness made me inwardly flinch. She deserved better, and yet, hesitation tested me. Gray eyes sought my unforgiving blue ones, threatening to break the dense barriers I had shielded myself with, established the moment my life had been shattered to nothingness.

And for the very first time in almost a decade, I felt my heart tighten. The once pronounced dead heart constricted.

There it is again, I loathingly noted. As if to prove a point. As if to remind me Gisele Weber affected me more than I dared conceive. She brought a pulse, breathing life into it once more. Like an essence of life, she revitalized the broken pieces of my soul.

The unfamiliar palpitation made me instantly reject it. Not only was I flabbergasted at this, but also, to see Gisele’s contorted facewhilegrasping what was happening to me simultaneously, it was overwhelmingly frightening. Being bombarded with such unwelcome emotions left a sour taste on my tongue.

Fuck. What was happening to me? Was my guilt so shameful that my mind began to hallucinate nonexistent, unwarranted feelings? I mean, why else would my heart react so violently? This was the only rationalization I was willing to consider. The rest was absolute rubbish.

Bloody hell. What had I gotten myself into?

Less than a month married and I was waving the white flag. I had underestimated Gisele. More importantly, I had miscalculated the chemistry brewing between us. It was highly charged, palpable, heady to one’s senses.

Rubbing my temple, I scanned the closet, seeming as though I was engrossed in wondering what to pack, but it was the last thing on my mind. Gisele’s eyes lingered on me as she steadily situated herself on the circular black ottoman that sat in the middle of the expansive closet.

Do it now,you shameless bastard.

I groaned before I cocked my head to the side and took a deep breath. My entire body tensed as I silently rehearsed the words in my mind.

“Gisele…” I began to say, slowly meeting her tumultuous eyes. “I’ve thought this through and concluded this is the best course to take.” As the words monotonously drawled out of my lips, my unwavering gaze steadied on her confused one. “This thing between us, it can’t go on anymore. Not only is it wrong, but also, I have Rose to think about. Therefore, I’m temporarily moving out to give us both space and to keep things in perspective between us.” Rose…what the bloody fuck did I say that for? Too late to retract the devious excuse. The words had already been spoken.

She cast her eyes downwards, immediately hiding her emotions. Her cheeks reddened, and I wasn’t sure if it was from anger or mortification. I was guessing the former. Gisele wouldn’t take this lightly. The siren had a temper, even though she kept it in check.

As a result, when those tempestuous eyes lifted to connect with mine, it scorched my insides.