Page 48

Reminded of how I felt at my dad’s earlier and how she must have felt around them all the damn time, I take her hand in mine again and squeeze her slender fingers. “I’m sorry for every single time I didn’t prioritize you and every single time I made you feel second best.”
Her smile is wobbly but so beautiful. “I appreciate that.”
“Fuck, I was a crappy husband.”
She nods. “And I was a crappy wife. But not all the time. We worked in our own messed-up kind of way. And like I said, it’s ancient history.” Her expression changes completely, a light coming to life behind her eyes. “I had such an energizing and eye-opening day today, Elijah, and it truly made me thankful for so much. So let’s not dredge up our past hurts any more. How about we enjoy each other while we can?”
The sparkle in her eyes emboldens me. “And where would you like to do that, Mrs. Smith? I am entirely at your disposal.”
Her eyelashes flutter against her pink cheeks. “Is the room in Greenwich Village available?”
I press her knuckles to my lips. “For you, mi amor, always.”
She sighs, and I pull her in for a lingering kiss, unable to recall the last time I called her my love. I regret that as much as anything else she’s accused me of tonight. As much as all the ways I failed her the past twenty years. I’ve always prided myself on being a good man, and at least in other people’s eyes, I probably am seen as such. But none of that matters when I failed to show up for the one person in this world who should have been able to rely on me.
It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but I’ll beat myself up over it tomorrow. For tonight, there’s a smile on her face, and I will give her every ounce of my attention. It’s no less than she deserves.
I called aheadto the hotel and let the manager know we were on our way so he could prepare our room. There are other patrons here tonight, and I wanted us to be able to head straight to our room unnoticed. He was waiting for us when we arrived, and he slipped our usual room key into my hand.
There’s no residual hostility from our fraught conversation in the car, and as I clasp my wife’s hand in mine and pull her into the room, I’m overcome with desire. Judging by the way her pupils blow wide when I push her against the door, so is she.
I slide off her coat and let it drop to the floor, and she sinks her perfect white teeth into her pillowy bottom lip before looking down at herself. “I don’t think I’m properly dressed for a romantic liaison.”
My gaze hungrily devours her body. It’s true that she’s dressed down compared to her usual attire, in sneakers, faded jeans, and a plain baby-blue cashmere sweater, but she looks incredible to me. “I don’t intend for you to remain dressed for much longer, baby.”
She twists the end of her ponytail between her fingers and grimaces. “I smell like kitchen grease.”
Running my nose over her throat, I inhale, but all I can smell is her. Intoxicating. Addictive. “Then how about a shower first?”
She purrs and slowly works her hips against my hard cock. “I think that’s a good idea. You’ll wait until I’m done, won’t you?”
Tease.
I pick her up and wrap her legs around my waist. “The fuck I will.”
She giggles, wrapping her arms around my neck as I carry her to the bathroom. It takes me no time at all to relieve us both of our clothes and get us under the hot water. She stands with her back to me, and for a moment, I watch the droplets meander down her spine and over her perfectly round backside. With a hard smack on her ass, I silence her insistence that she can wash herself, and before long, she has her eyes closed and her lips parted while I wash and condition her caramel-colored locks.
When I’m done with her hair, I squeeze a generous amount of soap into my palm and slide my hands to her front, palming her breasts and massaging them slowly. She moans, pushing back against me until my throbbing cock is nestled between her ass cheeks. I nip at her flesh, enjoying the sounds she makes as I soap every part of her body. When the soap has almost washed away, I slip a hand between her thighs and palm her sweet pussy. “Time to make you really wet, mi amor.”
She rests her head on my shoulder as I sink one finger inside her. “Elijah,” she whimpers, her thighs trembling. “Please?”
“You want to come, baby?”
She sinks her nails into the muscle of my forearm. “Yes.”
I add a second finger and drive deeper and harder, relishing her tight heat squeezing me, her velvety wetness coating my fingers as I bring her closer to the edge. This right here is when she gives me complete control—when she’s trembling with need. I would live in these moments forever if I could, the moments when there’s nothing in the world but the two of us. I rest my lips against the shell of her ear. “I’ve got you. Let me take care of you, Amber.”
Using my free hand, I work her sensitive nipples, and a keening moan pours from her throat as she comes for me. Creamy wet heat runs down my palm, and my cock jumps, desperate to take over. While she’s still trembling, I spin her around and lift her. With her back pressed flat against the cool tiles and her legs around my hips, I have my cock inside her before she can take a breath, completely filling her tight pussy.
“Nobody will ever fuck you as well as I do, will they?”
She wraps her arms around my shoulders and buries her face in my neck.
Unable to bear the thought of losing her, I growl. The idea of her ever moving on from me is like a million blades slicing open my heart. I pull out slowly and drive back inside her with one smooth thrust. “Will they?”
“No, Elijah,” she whimpers, clinging to me as I nail her to the wall.
“That’s my good girl.” I fuck her harder, channeling all the frustration that has built up inside me. Nathan and Mason acting like jerks. Our argument in the car. The guilt I feel knowing everything she said was true.