Page 16 of Opening It Up (Humbled Superstars #2)

Harley

“ T he boys and I are going to make chocolate macadamia cookies tonight,” Lily-Mae said casually the next day as we walked into the office. “So you can have some when you get off work.”

“I’m going to get off work early,” I almost croaked. “I’m cutting back my hours.”

I’d devoted so much time to the podcast and then to that one afterwork drink with Makayla, and I knew now how stupid I’d been.

“My priority is my family,” I said. “I’m so sorry for lying. I promise to put you and the boys first from now on.”

“All right,” she said, and I thought I saw a little spark of something in her eyes.

It was so enticing, so beautiful, so like the way things used to be, that I leaped forward, clasping her hand.

“I love you so much!” I cried. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

And I was coming in for a kiss, to those adorable plump lips, suddenly Brayden came out of nowhere and grabbed her around the waist, spinning her around to face him .

“Are we still on for this weekend?” he rumbled in her ear, moving her long, shiny curls aside to kiss her neck.

“Lily-Mae, I want to have lunch with you today!” I put in hastily, darting around him to try to catch her eyes.

“Oh, sorry, you should have said something earlier! Leopold is taking me out to this new Indian place.”

“Oh. . .ok,” I swallowed down the bitter bile and longing.

This was my fault

That night I made sure to leave work extra early so I could do some more chores around the house.

I didn’t want to even think about the podcast. My listeners kept demanding to know what my last, very cryptic and humiliating, episode had been about, and I didn’t want to face it or the troubling income reports my accountant had been sending.

I changed into my tightest T-shirt and the only pair of gray sweatpants I owned. Women liked gray sweatpants, right?

Panic stabbed my gut. Was this exciting enough for a woman who was now used to attention from men who competed to see how far they could make her squirt?

I felt insecure in a way I hadn’t in years, rushing to my laptop and putting deposits down on the first eight beach resorts I saw.

As I headed downstairs, my eye caught the massive photograph of our wedding we had hanging in the stairwell and a lump rose in my throat.

The photographer had caught such a golden moment, the crown of daisies Lily-Mae wearing in her hair tumbling off as I caught it, her face shining with love and adoration as she looked up as me, and me grinning like a fool in my elvish garb.

How could I have done this to her?

How could I have been so stupid, short-sighted, and idiotic as to think there was anything better than this?

The lump of longing in my throat grew throughout the evening as we all ate dinner together and then made cookies.

It almost felt surreal how wildly, desperately happy I was to have a whole evening with her.

Everything was magical, everything was perfect.

Julius and Teagan and Rowan laughing like mad as they pretended to sneak crazy things like broccoli and chicken liver into the cookies, Lily-Mae pretending like she didn’t notice until the last minute.

I loved them all so much

What if nothing worked? What if one night a week together was just enough for Lily-Mae now?

The first batch came out and one singular chocolate macadamia cookie had a massive sprouty brussels sprout in it.

“ You’re the bad influence,” she said to Julian. “That’s all you get then.”

“Just trying to teach the boys a little science and creative experimentation—” he protested, but she shook her head.

The boys were already screaming with glee as their grandpa took a big bite.

“Delicious,” he said. “And healthy. I can feel my moustache growing already.”

Lily-Mae bubbled over with laughter, the sound so delightful that total warmth and joy spread through me. I felt like I would do anything to hear it again and again.

“I’m so sorry for everything,” I whispered in her ear as she bent to take the last cookie sheet out of the oven. “I was so stupid.”

“Yes, you were,” she agreed, glancing over at me, then sliding her eyes down my body and away.

But I felt it.

That electric connected pulled tight between us, twanging with the same power it always had.

How had I ever thought this wasn’t enough? How had I ever put this in jeopardy?

I wanted to sob with regret at the mistake I had made.

When I ran my hand down her arm, she shivered and I could have howled with glee.

She still wanted me.

Vibrating with a frantic, nervous energy, I got school lunch ready for tomorrow as Lily-Mae got the boys ready for bed. Then I lay down with each of them and read stories.

And then I was back in the quiet kitchen as my wife bagged up the rest of the cookies.

Before I knew it, I was picking Lily-Mae up and kissing her, and when I felt her legs wrap around my waist I could have howled with desire.

I carried her up the stairs, kissing her the whole way, panting with need as we fell together onto the bed.

Now this was all I wanted, sliding her leggings down with trembling fingers as I ripped down my sweatpants.

God, she felt amazing, soft and silken and luxurious, and despite myself I felt tears filling my eyes as I looked down at her.

My wife was so perfect and amazing, just the softest sweetest best feeling in the world, the perfect size and shape and smell.

It was all so familiar I wept with joy, the tears sliding down my cheeks and falling onto the swells of her breasts.

“This is all I want,” I choked out, stroking in and out of her slowly, luxuriously, looking down at the glorious sight of my cock sliding into her perfect tight channel.

I sighed in such pleasure and relief, the rightness of it overwhelming me until I realized that, even though I was going very slowly, I was going to come way too soon.

I slowed down further, desperately fighting the orgasm I felt pressing at the base of my spine, ready to explode, but it didn’t work.

Just the sight of her long golden hair spilling over her shoulders, the delicious swell of her hips, had me at the brink, and suddenly I burst, releasing with a loud embarrassing groan and trailing off into a quavering whimper.

Shit shit shit

It was the best feeling in the world and also I was horrified because I knew she hadn’t come.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” I gasped, as the last spurts of cum shot from my cock.

“It’s fine,” she said, turning so that glorious fall of hair spilled over her shoulder.

“We can go again,” I begged, hugging her around the waist as I reluctantly pulled out. “Let me get a cloth for you.”

“Harley, stop worrying,” she said. “It’s fine. It happens.”

But now I couldn’t stop thinking about Leopold and Brayden were doing with my wife.

“Just—give me a few minutes,” I said desperately.

“There’s no need to worry. That was very nice,” my wife said, patting me gently on the shoulder.

I was wracked with jealousy and insecurity.

“But am I—your favorite? Do you like it with me the best?”

I could barely believe the humiliating insecurity that was spilling out of my mouth.

She frowned at me.

“That’s not a healthy way to look at things,” she said gently. “I have different relationships with all of my lovers. I can’t compare one to the other.”

Being merely one of her lovers gutted me like a knife.

“I hate having an open marriage!” I cried. “I made a huge mistake. I don’t want to do that anymore. I never did.”

“You said three months,” she said sweetly. “That’s what we agreed to.”

I tore my hands through my hair. “I can’t make it the full time!” I cried. “Please, I’m begging you! Put me out of my misery, baby!”

“Why should you be miserable?” she countered, getting up and pulling on a bathrobe. “Just go on some dates. We can re-evaluate if we want to continue when the time is up.”

“I know I won’t want to continue!” I begged her. “I don’t want to go on any dates. I’ve seen what’s out there. Grim shit! I don’t want it. I only want you.”

“ Why did you think you wanted it in the first place?” my wife asked sharply.

“I thought—since we were each other’s firsts, that it would be—that maybe I had missed out on something. But now I know how wrong I was!”

“Well, I’m having a nice time,” Lily-Mae said. “We’ll see how I feel in a few weeks.”

“Want me to go down on you?” I pleaded, trying to salvage something for her.

But my wife only shrugged. “Nah, I think I’ll take a long bath. I need to shave my legs for this weekend.”

And then I had to watch my wife leave after she hadn’t even come. Knowing always that she had multiple men on the line who would come pleasure her for hours.

I was flailing and I didn’t know how to fix this.