Five
It was after two in the afternoon when the four of them were finally alone. And as anxious as Kayla was to share her tale of woe, she knew Natalie needed help more.
Never let it be said that she kicked someone when they were down.
They were all sitting around in Julianne’s living room. “So out with it, Nat,” Kayla said. “Start from the beginning.”
“Wait, what’s going on? What’s Natalie starting from the beginning?” Julianne asked in confusion.
Kayla gave the quick rundown of the situation and then motioned for Natalie to start. For fifteen minutes, she talked about how she had planned the perfect date night – dinner, music, lighting…right down to the sexy underwear and her plans for a night of lovemaking.
Ugh…she was one of those…it’s sex. A night of sex. Why did people feel the need to make it sound more romantic than it was?
“He asked me to make him a plate so he could watch the game in front of the TV!” Natalie cried. “I mean…there I was in a sexy dress and heels and the whole place set up like a damn scene from a romantic movie, and he wants dinner on a tray in the living room!”
“So what did you say?” Julianne asked anxiously, as if this might be something that’s happened in her own relationship.
Natalie sagged a little. “Nothing. I…made him the plate. I served it to him and I went and ate alone in the kitchen.”
“Oh, Nat…” Julianne said as she walked over and sat beside her. She put her arm around Natalie and hugged her. “I’m so sorry.”
“He even asked for the salt and I brought it to him. Like he couldn’t be bothered to get up and miss a second of his precious game, but he could miss out on time with me,” she said miserably. “I lost my appetite after that. And I went to bed and read for a while and when I finally looked at the clock, it was after midnight. I still don’t know what time Jayce came to bed, but he certainly made no effort to wake me up or apologize.”
“Did you see him this morning before class?” Harper asked.
She shook her head. “He likes to sleep in on Saturdays. And he knew I had all of this planned today and I wouldn’t see him until this afternoon.” She sighed. “I didn’t let him know we were coming here after lunch. I’ll bet he doesn’t even realize I’m not home yet or that I’m late.”
“Maybe you should at least text him,” Julianne suggested.
“Why? Seriously, why?” Natalie snapped. “It’s obvious that this is more of a one-way relationship. I do all the work – I take care of the house, I manage the bills and the banking, I cook, I walk the dog – and I have a job! You know what Jayce does? He has a job. That’s it. He does nothing else!”
“I’m sure he does…” Julianne began but Natalie immediately cut her off.
“No! He doesn’t! When we bought the house, I envisioned us working on it together –painting, hanging wallpaper, doing yard work, all of it. Do you know what we’ve done together? None of it. He hired landscapers and painters and I wallpapered alone.” She sighed. “He’s a spoiled brat. That’s what he is. And I have enabled him all along! He’s got three sisters and as the only boy in the family, he never had to do anything! And then I come along and just keep that dysfunctional dynamic going!”
“Natalie…”
“Does Gavin help you around the house?” she asked.
Julianne nodded.
“When you painted the dining room last month, did you hire painters?”
Julianne shook her head.
“And that beautiful vegetable garden you have in the yard. Who did that?”
Kayla could see that Julianne felt uncomfortable with this line of questioning and decided to speak up.
“Not all couples are alike, Natalie,” she said reasonably. “I mean, some guys just aren’t handy around the house. It’s not a crime.”
Natalie looked at her for a moment as if she had forgotten Kayla was there. “Normally I would agree with that. But even those who aren’t handy at least make an effort. Jayce doesn’t. With anything.”
“That’s not true,” Julianne said. “You’re always telling us how romantic he can be and how you guys go out all the time and he’ll surprise you with flowers or a weekend getaway…”
“Oh, please. It’s nothing he has to even think about. His assistant can handle all of that for him and I know that she does!” Then she gasped as she realized what she just said. “I…I mean…”
Kayla leaned forward in her seat. “How do you know that?”
She looked like she was ready to cry. “Because she told me,” she said sadly. “I stopped by the office one day and she was sort of questioning me about what kind of things I liked and places I enjoy going and I thought it was odd. And when I said that to her and asked why she wanted to know, she said…it’s part of my job.” She paused and wiped away a stray tear. “And after that I noticed how I got all the things I had mentioned to her – the pink lilies…the Chanel perfume…the trip to Asheville…”
“Jayce knows you like those things too, Nat,” Julianne said quietly. “You two dated long enough that he knows you.”
Natalie shook her head. “If he walked in here right now and you asked him something about me – something about the things I liked – he’d have a hard time remembering them. He knows a few of them; don’t get me wrong, but for the most part he doesn’t pay attention. And now…now I feel like our marriage is failing.”
“Oh, sweetie,” Julianne began, “it’s not failing. Marriage takes work and communication. If you don’t tell Jayce what you want and want you need from him, how is he going to know?”
“By paying attention!” she cried.
Kayla let out a mirthless laugh. “Natalie, men don’t pay attention. Trust me.”
And that seemed to make Natalie straighten a little. “Oh, God. You were dealing with the same sort of thing this week and I just took over the whole conversation.” She covered her face and shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
The last thing she wanted was to make Natalie more upset than she already was. “It’s okay, Natalie. Really. And besides, you seemed like you really needed to talk it out.”
“But so do you! You were saying how Adam just…just dumped you…and that’s devastating!”
“Wait, wait, wait…” Julianne said as she came to her feet and looked down at Kayla. “Adam broke things off with you? And you didn’t call me?”
Okay, bad best friend move.
“I…I didn’t know what to say. I mean it’s not like we had a real relationship…”
“Are you an idiot?” Julianne accused. “Seriously, are you this stupid?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You totally had a real relationship,” Julianne stated firmly.
Nervously, Kayla looked over at Harper and Natalie and found them nodding in agreement.
“Um…no, we didn’t,” she argued. “It was a friends with benefits sort of thing.”
“Kay,” Harper said and she could hear the caution in her voice, “you guys were more than that.”
But Kayla didn’t believe her. “We really weren’t.”
“Didn’t he used to take you away for surprise weekend getaways?” Harper asked.
“He did, but…”
“And remember the time he took you to see Maroon Five?” Natalie asked.
“Everyone knows I love me some Adam Levine. He just happened to get some tickets.”
“That show sold out in twenty minutes, Kayla,” Julianne said with exasperation. “He didn’t just happen to get them. Anyone who got tickets to that show worked to get their tickets.”
With a loud sigh, Kayla stood up and walked around the back of the sofa and started to pace. “Those are all things friends would do for each other,” she argued. “Remember the time I rented that beach house for us? Or the time Harper stayed home from work all day to get us tickets to see Billy Joel? It’s the same thing.”
But when she looked at her friends, they were all shaking their heads in disbelief.
“It’s not?” she asked weakly.
“Didn’t you two ever talk about your feelings?” Natalie asked. “Didn’t you ever wonder where the relationship was going?”
Before she could answer, Julianne did it for her. “She’s not like that. And for what it’s worth, I can see why you and Adam…worked. You’re both busy and career-oriented and the personal side of the relationship was just a natural thing because of the time you were already spending together.”
Kayla thought about the first time she and Adam kissed.
They were in Ireland for a photo shoot on castle ruins. They had visited about a dozen different sites and she had been so overwhelmed by it all – the beauty of the countryside, the history of the castles – that she kissed him as a way of thanking him for the assignment. Her plan had been to just give him a kiss on the cheek, but he turned his head and she touched her lips to his and…she was lost.
They went back to their hotel and to Adam’s room and didn’t come out for two days.
It was quite the ending to her first European trip.
As hard as it may be for some people to believe, they never talked about what they were doing…they just…were.
They had reasons to talk because of assignments and then they’d make plans to see each other but it always seemed so casual, like when she and the girls got together. They hung out, watched movies, had amazing conversations and just had fun.
And the sex? Well, that was a perk.
A really great and satisfying perk.
“I think she’s starting to understand,” Harper whispered and both Julianne and Natalie nodded in agreement.
“So…so now what do I do?” Kayla asked.
“That depends,” Julianne began, but rather than continue, she walked into the kitchen and came back a minute later with a bottle of wine and four glasses.
“On what?” Kayla snapped as the wine was poured.
Julianne handed out the glasses and sat back down and patted the sofa cushion next to her. When Kayla reluctantly sat down, she continued.
“It depends on what you want from the relationship. It seems to me that Adam – in a really vague way – was telling you that he was kind of tired of this casual relationship and saw something more for the two of you. And then you, being you, totally missed that cue and blabbered on about your career.”
Kayla huffed. “In my defense, it was presented like a work question. I didn’t think he was referring to my personal life!”
“Maybe if you had been paying attention to Adam lately, you would have noticed,” Julianne said patiently.
“Um…” Harper raised her hand. “You can’t really say that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are marrying a man who is an anomaly. Most guys don’t make it easy to figure out what they’re thinking or what they’re looking for because they’re not great at communication. Look at what Natalie was sharing earlier – she and Jayce aren’t on the same page. Why? Because he’s not letting it be known what he wants any more than she is. So to say that Kayla should have paid better attention really isn’t fair.”
“Okay, okay, I see what you’re saying,” Julianne said with a nod. “But the question still remains, what is it that you, Kayla, want out of this relationship? If Adam were here right now and asked you where you saw the two of you say…a month from now. What would you say?”
“Um…”
“Wrong answer,” Natalie said. “Gut instinct. No thinking about it. Where do you see the two of you in a month?”
“Still not together,” Kayla said miserably. She took a major gulp of her wine.
“You really are this stupid,” Julianne said. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe we’re friends.”
“What? What did I do now? She asked the question. I answered it!”
“Answer it like you didn’t break up!” Julianne cried. “Turn back time and answer the damn question! Sheesh!”
This was all so ridiculous she couldn’t believe they were seriously still talking about it. “A month from now? I see us as we are – getting together for dinners and going to museums and galleries and just…being.”
“Six months from now?” Julianne prompted.
“The same.”
“A year from now?” Natalie asked.
Kayla shrugged. “The same.”
“Five years from now?” Harper asked.
And that’s when it hit her. “The same,” she said weakly and then looked at them all. “And that’s bad, right? You can’t stay the same like that. It would get boring. Oh, God! I’m boring! I’m the reason this whole thing failed!”
“Well…I guess it’s okay if you say it,” Harper teased.
“No, I’m serious! What if there’s something wrong with me? Like I’m missing some sort of female…thing! Like a gene or something that makes me think like…like…”
“A woman?” Harper finished for her. “Um, yeah. You are. We all know that.”
Kayla flopped back against the couch. “I’m totally screwed here, aren’t I? Like…there’s no going back. I can’t turn back time and take back being an idiot.” Then she looked at Julianne. “I lost him, didn’t I?”
Julianne didn’t answer.
None of them did.
Instead, they all huddled on the couch for a big group hug.
****
“I don’t think we should be doing this.”
“Oh, we totally should be doing this. I think this is the perfect day for it.”
“Are we going to get in trouble? Because I feel like we’re going to get in trouble.”
Julianne looked at them and frowned. “I called Debbie and asked if it was okay and she said yes. So everyone stop worrying.”
They were at Fitness Frenzy and heading up to the second floor where the boxing ring and training equipment was. Normally this space was reserved for private lessons and training sessions, but Julianne had called ahead to make sure no one was using it. Harper didn’t really want to come since her last trip to this space did not end well and she still had a sore hand to prove it.
But here they were – all primed up to get out their frustrations.
For Natalie to use the punching bag and pretend it’s Jayce and demand that he pay attention to her.
For Kayla to get out her frustration for totally messing up a good relationship.
For Julianne to work on her wedding planning rage.
And for Harper? Well, she didn’t want to say it out loud, but they all knew who her bag represented.
Her mother.
At the top of the stairs, they saw that the space was empty and Julianne led them around, told them what they could and couldn’t use and showed them where to find gloves. As they all did their best to lace up, it became obvious that someone was going to have a loose one.
And that turned out to be Harper.
“I’ll run downstairs and see if one of the trainers can help,” she said, but when she went to turn around, she immediately ran into someone.
Brady.
For the love of it…again? What were the odds?
“Ladies,” Brady said pleasantly. “What brings all of you up here today?”
Julianne gave him the rundown, including how Harper now needed help with her gloves.
“Ah, like an angry women’s club. Got it,” he said with a grin.
“That’s kind of a sexist thing to say,” Harper said to him. He shrugged and took her left hand in his and re-tied the glove. She thanked him and then watched as he laced up the right glove.
“Too tight?” he asked, and she realized he had a really good voice – deep and a little gruff and…kind of sexy.
Oh no…don’t go there, she warned herself. Just look at him! He’s all wrong. Completely wrong. He’s everything you told the girls were deal breakers. As a matter of fact, he was the official poster boy for her list of deal breakers!
Well…she couldn’t be sure on all of them, but he had at least two covered – the muscles and the sports thing. Today he was wearing an NC State football t-shirt. Didn’t he own any regular, non-sports-related shirts?
“You a Wolfpack fan?” he asked.
“Um…what?”
“I saw you looking at the logo. You a Wolfpack fan?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t like any sports.”
He shrugged and stepped away. “I know you’ve had two whole lessons, Jules,” he said with a chuckle, “but do you want me to explain some things to your friends so no one gets hurt?”
“That would be great, Brady. Thanks,” Julianne replied.
They each took a bag as Brady stood by Julianne’s and went over some basic moves. As much as she loathed herself for it, Harper couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him – and not just because he was showing them how to move and where to hit to avoid injury, but because for such a big man, he moved with…grace. Maybe that wasn’t the right word but everything about the way he moved was like a choreographed dance.
And it was kind of hot.
“I’m going to go downstairs and grab some water but I’ll be back up in a few to check on you, okay?” he said before turning and heading down the stairs. Honestly, she didn’t want him to come back because she knew he’d distract her. Not that he was going to single her out or anything, but she knew she’d end up staring at him and probably hit herself in the face with the bag.
“Maybe next time you’ll turn off the fucking TV!” Natalie yelled and then began pounding on the bag. Like seriously pounding – two fists in rapid succession. She let out a cry like she was some sort of warrior going into battle and Harper shot Julianne a look that told her to do something.
By the time Julianne moved, however, Natalie took a step back from the bag and let out a loud breath, then began to laugh. “That felt great! Oh, my God! I love this! You guys totally need to try it!”
And then she started all over again – this time yelling at the bag/Jayce about not picking up his dirty laundry.
Yeah. The girl had issues.
She and Jules both shrugged and then went to work on their own bags. It took Harper a few minutes to find her groove – after all, it was her mother’s face she was picturing and there was something that just didn’t feel right about punching it.
No matter how much she wanted to.
“You’re too tense,” Brady said from behind her.
Dammit! When did he get back?
“I’m not tense, I’m just…I’m trying to figure out…”
He stepped in close behind her – really close –and lined her body up against his. Brady guided her arms in a slow-motion move to show her how to hold herself and how far to extend her arm so that she wouldn’t hurt herself.
Hard to hurt yourself when you’re a big puddle of goo on the floor from a hot guy pressing his equally-hot body all up against you, she mused to herself.
Was it her imagination or was he lingering? Was he…was he holding her longer than he really needed to? And, if she wasn’t mistaken, did he sort of inhale or breathe deeply as if smelling her perfume? Her mind was screaming yes to all those things just as much as it was almost demanding that she lean back into him and feel…everything. All of him.
And maybe rub up against him a little bit.
After a minute, Brady pulled away slightly – his hands resting on her hips and encouraging her. “Now try it and remember to pivot your hip when you punch.” As she went through the motions, his hands gently squeezed her hips to guide her.
In her mind, Harper had a completely different image of what she wanted to do with her hips and it had nothing to do with punching.
She took a few jabs at the bag and was about to ask if she was doing it right when Natalie let out another warrior cry. Before she knew it, Brady was over there and talking to her softly about her form. Harper watched in mild dismay as he guided Natalie in her moves too.
Well damn, she sighed quietly.
Not that she was putting too much into the way he touched her – okay, she totally was, but…she kind of hoped he was touching her because he wanted to. As a man. Not as a teacher. God, it had been so long since she’d been touched by anyone! Maybe that was why she reacted the way she did. Still…seeing Brady with his hands on Natalie kind of ticked her off.
So he was just a handsy guy. And so it kind of made sense that he had to touch you to really make you understand how to do this stuff. She glanced over and saw him do the same with Kayla and all of her good, sexy feelings from two minutes before were gone.
In a flash, she got into position and didn’t let out a warrior cry, but a low, feral growl as she went to town on her own bag.
And it was no longer her mother’s face she saw on the bag, but Brady’s.
****
Natalie was sweaty and exhausted and she felt better than she had in a long time.
Kickboxing was now her new favorite thing to do. She wasn’t giving up on Zumba – Julianne wouldn’t allow that – but she was adding this to her workout routine. Mentally and physically, she felt rejuvenated and she was in a much better frame of mind to head home and talk to Jayce.
Julianne and Harper had already left and she was finishing getting cleaned up in the locker room with Kayla. She looked over at her and asked, “Do I go home and tell Jayce how he upset me or do I just let it go?”
Kayla’s eyes went wide at the question. “Natalie, you have to let him know. If you just push it aside, he’s going to do it again and you’ll be right back where you were before. And if you don’t want to keep having this same issue, you have to do something about it.”
“Ugh…I know you’re right.”
“But…?”
“But…what if he doesn’t get it? What if he tells me I’m overreacting?”
“Oh, he’s definitely going to tell you that,” Kayla said with a mirthless laugh. “Trust me. He’s not going to want to admit that he did anything wrong. No man does.”
“So…I’m going to have to have this fight, aren’t I?” It wasn’t really a question because Natalie already knew the answer. She and Jayce never fought. They never raised their voices to each other. Sure she’d gotten mad about things, but she tended to keep it to herself. And after all of her warrior crying upstairs at the bag, she realized how good it could feel to let it out.
Slipping on her shoes, she picked up her gym bag and checked her reflection in the mirror. She looked good. Calm. Confident.
Beside her, Kayla stood up. “Look, I know you and I…well…we’re not…I mean…we’ve never been…”
“I know.”
With a sigh, Kayla went on. “What I’m trying to say is that if you need someone to talk to – or even someplace to go – I’m here for you. I’m a good listener and…hell, if you want to get away for a couple of days, you can stay at my place. I leave on Tuesday for Nevada so I’ll be gone for most of the week and you’d have the place to yourself.”
“I don’t think it will come to that, but thank you.”
Kayla shrugged. “Just know that the offer’s there.”
The entire way home, Natalie thought about Kayla’s offer. It was very sweet of her to say, but Natalie had a feeling that she and Jayce were going to talk and clear the air and then everything was going to be all right. This was just a…a disagreement. And a small one. She had made plans and had expectations in her own head that Jayce wasn’t aware of, so really, how could she be mad at him? He wasn’t a mind reader.
She pulled into her driveway and stared at the house for a moment. It wasn’t her dream house, but it was a great starter home for a young couple. A two-story Colonial with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a beautifully manicured yard. Not many of their friends owned such a nice house and she knew she was lucky in so many ways. Unfortunately, now that some of her blinders had come off about married life, she knew there was a good chance of things changing in their relationship – and not in a good way.
No! Don’t think like that! She admonished herself. They were going to talk it out; she was going to speak her mind, nicely, and Jayce would see how his disinterest was hurting their marriage. There would probably be some harsh words, but she was ready for them.
And then tomorrow she would go out and buy a gym bag and set it up in the basement.
Jayce’s car was in the driveway and with one last deep breath, Natalie grabbed her gym bag and purse and went into the house.
It was almost dinner time and she had been gone all day without once calling or texting her husband to let him know where she was or when she’d be back. Was she upset that he never bothered to contact her to see if she was okay? Yes. Was she upset that he hadn’t woken up with her this morning to apologize? Sure. As she walked through the front door, she froze.
The place was a mess.
Like an absolute mess.
There were dishes and glasses and cans of beer and soda scattered all over the living room. The television was on and Jayce was lying on the couch in sweats and a t-shirt.
Natalie slammed the door and almost smiled when he jumped up from the couch.
“Holy shit, Natalie! What the hell? You scared the crap out of me!” he snapped.
That was it? That’s all he had to say? And in that tone?
Fine. The gloves were off.
“Look at this room!” she snapped right back. “Seriously, you can’t lift up one plate and put it in the dishwasher? This place looks like a damn pig sty!”
His eyes went wide as he brushed some crumbs off his shirt. “Where have you been all day?”
“What does that have to do with the way this room looks?” she demanded, throwing her bags on the floor.
“If I had known when you were going to be back…”
She saw red. “You still wouldn’t have done a damn thing,” she said and stormed into the kitchen.
And immediately wished she hadn’t.
It was as if Jayce had emptied the entire contents of their refrigerator and placed it on every surface in the kitchen.
The warrior cry came out before she could stop it.
Jayce came running in. “What? What’s the matter? Are you okay?”
Rage. That was the only way to describe how she was feeling right now. Apparently, the whole kickboxing thing had unleashed something in her that now refused to be contained.
“Look at this place!” she screeched. “Just look at it! Why would you do this?”
Jayce looked around and at least tried to look like he was sorry. “Um…”
“You are beyond lazy,” she shouted as she walked around the kitchen. As much as she wanted to pick up everything and put it away, she knew that was what he wanted – he didn’t want to do anything for himself and didn’t think that he had to. “You are a grown man and as such, you know how to put things away. This,” she said as she motioned to the entire room, “is the result of a brat. A spoiled brat! You need to grow the hell up!”
“Now wait a minute,” he began, and clearly, he had enough of her tirade. “I’ll admit that the place is a bit of a mess, but you have no right to start throwing insults like that, Natalie.”
“I have every right,” she countered. “Last night I scrubbed this kitchen clean. There wasn’t one crumb to be found anywhere and now look at it! There’s an open package of bread, the mayonnaise jar is open with a knife in it, there’s three open bags of chips over there, the milk is out…I mean, seriously?”
For a minute he just looked at her as if he didn’t understand what she was saying. Raking a hand through his blonde hair with frustration, he cursed and Natalie couldn’t help but gasp. Jayce rarely cursed and if he did, it was while watching a football game or some other sporting thing. But never at her. It was completely out of character for him.
“So…what, Natalie? Now it’s my job to clean the damn house? If you were here, like you usually are, it wouldn’t have gotten like this!”
“You’re saying this is my fault? My fault?” she yelled even louder. “So because I was out all day, that means you don’t have to be responsible and pick up your own shit?”
He didn’t respond. And then she realized that she was standing up for herself and he probably had no idea what to do about it. He took a step toward her and if she wasn’t so pissed off she’d say that he looked good – scruffy and unkempt, but it looked good on him. Sexy. She was breathing heavily out of frustration and from yelling and…
Wait. Was she actually turned on by this?
“Where were you all day?” he asked, his voice low and just a little menacing.
Oh…
All of her girly parts were starting to feel a little…tingly. Deciding to see if she was really feeling what she thought she was, she gave him a defiant response. “Out.”
He took another step toward her – she could see the stubble on his jaw and her hands twitched to touch it. Her heart rate kicked up.
“Out where, Nat? You were going to Zumba and dress shopping. It’s almost six and you smell like you just showered.”
Was he…could he be…jealous?
It was impossible to ignore the way her body was responding to this, but she crossed her arms over her chest to try to disguise the fact that her nipples were hard. “We went out after shopping,” she said vaguely and almost smiled at the way Jayce’s jaw ticked at her answer. She never kept her daily activities from him. If anything, she overshared.
But right now, she wasn’t.
They were toe to toe and he looked down at her. Natalie wasn’t short at five-foot-six and Jayce wasn’t even six feet, but she had on flats and there was just enough of a height difference so that she felt like he was towering over her.
Oh…
How could she be liking this? How could this possibly be a turn on? She liked their sweet fantasies – the wedding night, the slow and sweet lovemaking. But this? What was building up inside of her? Holy shit was it making her want to squirm just to ease some of the pressure.
“I’m not asking you again,” he said.
“I already answered your question,” she said quietly, defiantly.
And then…well, it was madness. She was in Jayce’s arms as he crushed her to him and kissed her – hard and punishing and oh-so-good. She pretended to fight a little, but in a matter of seconds her hands were in his hair and she was kissing him back.
It was wild and untamed and unlike anything they’d ever done before. He spun her around and lifted her and just as he was about to put her on the counter, she surprised them both by sweeping her arm over the surface and sending everything flying. Bread, mayonnaise, empty cans…all of it! Jayce stepped between her legs and continued to kiss her – the only time his lips left hers was to lift her shirt over her head.
Damn. Had she known this was coming, she would have put on her good underwear. In her snit this morning, however, she had thrown on something basic – no lace, no bows. But right now, it didn’t seem as if he cared. He tugged the bra cups down and exposed her breasts as he began to fondle and squeeze them. Natalie broke the kiss and let her head fall back, letting out a small moan of pleasure.
His lips and hands were everywhere as if he couldn’t get enough. Jayce was always a tender lover. She enjoyed their sex life immensely, but right now as he tugged her pants and panties down her legs, she realized what they’d been missing all this time.
Passion.
Heat.
By the time Jayce lowered his own sweats and boxers, she was ready to combust. And when he stepped forward and was fully inside of her she let out a cry – not quite a warrior one, but one that was equally satisfying.
It was fast and furious and there wasn’t anything tender about it. They were loud and frantic and when she collapsed against him a few minutes later, they were both breathless. So many thoughts raced through her mind, which seemed crazy because she didn’t think she even had the energy to think. But her first thought was about what all of this meant. How was it possible after all this time that they’d never had angry sex?
And what was worse – what if they were the kind of couple who now had to have angry sex?
“Natalie,” he whispered breathlessly. “That was…fuck. That was amazing.” He gently kissed her shoulder, her neck. “Baby…let’s go upstairs and…” More kissing. More touching.
Oh my God, she thought. Was he ready to go again? They never went for a second round this fast. Sometimes they didn’t go for a second round at all! They cuddled afterwards, for crying out loud! And now…she moaned as she felt him definitely stirring again. The prim part of her wanted to be outraged and demand to know what was going on. But the sexually satisfied part of her? Well, she was totally ready for round two.
So rather than argue, she locked her legs around his waist and whispered, “Take me there, Jayce.”
****
It was after midnight.
They never had dinner.
And the kitchen was a disaster.
Natalie stood in the doorway and looked at it with mixed feelings. Jayce was sound asleep in their bed. Apparently three times is a charm, she thought with amusement. But even all the sexy afterglow wasn’t enough to make her sleep knowing that all of…this…was waiting for her. Sure, she could leave it for the morning and make him clean it up, but it just wasn’t in her DNA. It needed to be done.
Tonight.
Wearing nothing but her robe, she began walking around and picking up the things she’d pushed to the floor earlier. She threw out the mayo and the random slices of bread that had fallen from the bag. Once everything was off the floor – including her panties and the rest of their clothes – she moved around and began putting things away. It took her longer than usual because it was late, she was tired and…disappointed.
She hadn’t come home and made a point.
She didn’t tell Jayce what was bothering her. Not really.
If anything, all she proved was that fighting turned her on and that she could be a screamer in bed.
None of these things helped her current frame of mind.
With a sigh, she went out to the living room and began picking up the mess from in there as well. It took three trips with her arms loaded each time to clean it all up. In the morning she’d have to vacuum the carpet – for spite, she should do it now – but she didn’t have it in her.
It took an hour to clean everything – to load the dishwasher, to wipe down all the counter tops and the coffee table, and to sweep and mop the kitchen floor.
“I’m an idiot,” she murmured. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little better because everything was in order again. She stood in the middle of the kitchen, hands on her hips, when Jayce came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
She wanted to be mad, to tell him that she shouldn’t have to be up cleaning the house at one in the morning, but he placed a gentle kiss on her neck and said, “I’m sorry.”
It was what she wanted to hear – what she’d needed to hear since the previous night. The reality was that he wasn’t really apologizing for the thing that really hurt her – the whole date night fiasco. He was apologizing for the mess.
Still, it was an apology and she would accept it.
“Come back to bed,” he said, his lips against her throat becoming more insistent, more urgent. He pressed against her bottom and she could feel that he was hard again. Wiggling her ass against him, she let out a breathy sigh. It was so good. So damn good and it was exactly what she needed to stop obsessing about clean floors and counters.
There would be plenty of time to think about those things tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. For tonight, she was going force herself to let that go and just focus on Jayce’s hands on her body and how they made her feel.
As if reading her mind, his hands began to wander slowly – first cupping her breasts and then down to untie her robe. She gasped when he peeled it from her shoulders and she was standing naked in the kitchen.
For the second time in one night.
Slowly, those magnificent hands came back to her waist and then lower until one gently teased its way between her legs. Jayce knew exactly how to touch her and it didn’t take much for her knees to buckle and all the breath to leave her.
The bed was so far away and she needed…wanted him now.
There was something infinitely dirty about doing it here in her freshly cleaned kitchen and it was something she was ready to do. Natalie turned in his arms and didn’t have to say a word. She saw the same thing in her husband’s eyes. She gave him a naughty smile and whispered, “Do it.”
Cold granite.
Hot skin.
And a whole lot of warrior cries.
Never before had something she thought was so wrong felt so right.