Nameless Series Boxed Set (67 page)

She looked tiny
against the black leather, and her purple polka dot skirt was hiked up around
her bare legs, which were dangling down from the tall seat. She seemed very
pleased with herself, however, and she squealed in delight when Seth rolled her
over to sit in front of his desk.

Mackenzie was
still staring out the window, and something about her preoccupation made Erin
wonder what she was thinking. To distract her, Erin asked cheerfully, “Didn’t
you have something to give Daddy too, Mackenzie?”

Mackenzie
twitched slightly, as if startled. Then she nodded her head and pulled a small
framed photograph out of the little purse she carried that matched her blue
dress. Handing it to Seth, she explained, “I painted the frame myself. Mommy
gave me the picture.”

It was a
snapshot Erin had taken of the girls one afternoon. They both were grinning as
widely as they could, and they looked particularly pretty and happy in it.

Seth accepted
the framed picture, studying it with a surprised smile. “It’s perfect. Thank
you.”

“That way, you
can think about us while you’re here.”

Something
flickered briefly across Seth’s face before he leaned over to kiss Mackenzie on
the forehead. “I think about you while I’m here all the time. But now I can
look at this picture when I do. Should I put it with my other pictures?” He
gestured over to a bookcase on the opposite wall, on which were situated
several pictures of his family.

One of the
photos had been taken by Liz six years ago, of Erin sitting in a rocking chair
in the nursery of her old apartment, holding up a smiling, three-month-old
Mackenzie.

Mackenzie
thought about this earnestly for a minute or two, but she finally concluded,
"It doesn't match the other pictures." This was undoubtedly true,
since the childishly painted frame contrasted strongly with the expensive,
polished frames of the other photos. "Can you put it next to Anna's
flower?"

"Of
course.” He set the frame next to the potted violet, and the two objects looked
woefully out of place in cool, professional setting. But something about the
sight of them made Erin feel strangely satisfied, as if their daughters had now
marked their place here in Seth’s office.

“When Daddy
changes offices and starts his new job, you’ll have to find a place for the
flower and picture in his new office too.”

“Yes, when
Daddy gets to be his own boss,” Mackenzie said, looking pleased with the idea.

“Daddy, when
are you going to be the boss?” Anna asked, although they’d already rehearsed
the answer many times.

“In a few
months. I just have to finish things up here.”

Now that the
ceremonies were over, no one seemed to know what to do. Anna was still swinging
her legs in Seth’s desk chair and Mackenzie wandered idly around the room
inspecting things.

Erin and Seth
exchanged speaking looks, but neither had anything to say.

“Do you like it
better here than at home?” Mackenzie asked suddenly, twirling a piece of hair
around her fingers.

Seth shook his
head gravely. “No. I like it better at home. This is a good place and I like to
do a good job, but I like to be with you, Anna, and Mommy more.”

His words were
utterly convincing, and the girls both seemed to accept his words as the
absolute truth. Mackenzie didn’t pursue the subject.

Then Anna
asked, “Daddy, are you going to be the boss of the whole world?”

Seth chuckled.
“Not right away.”

***

Erin was taking a bath when Seth
got home that evening. He’d worked late, and the girls were already in bed.

Erin hadn’t
known when to expect him home so—after she put the girls to bed—she’d drawn
herself a hot bath, poured herself a glass of Chardonnay, lit some candles,
turned on some music, and lowered herself into the bubbly, cucumber-scented
water to soak.

She’d been in
the bath for about ten minutes when she heard Seth enter the bedroom. At least,
she assumed it was Seth, or else she was about to be outraged when the person
pushed his way into the bathroom.

It was Seth. He
looked tired, and he’d already removed his jacket, tie, shoes, and socks. He
gave her a half-smile as he approached, and then he lowered himself to sit on
the edge of the tub.

“Hey,” she said
drowsily, feeling too warm and relaxed to be very annoyed by his late arrival.

“Sorry I’m so
late,” he murmured, trailing his hand in the water, which was churning
pleasantly from the tub’s jets. “Were the girls upset?”

“They were
fine. They know you have to work late sometimes, and you’ve been home every
evening for a week.”

Seth’s hand
moved through the water until it reached the side of her face. He brushed back a
few strands of hair, which had escaped the clip on the top of her head. “And
you?”

Smiling again,
Erin turned her head so she could glance a kiss against the side of his hand.
“I wasn’t upset either.” Opening her eyes all the way, she added, “I just wish
you would have let me know why you were going to be late.”

“What do you
mean? Didn’t Carlotta tell you?”

“She said that
something came up, so you wouldn’t be home until late.”

Seth was
frowning now, and he peered into her face, as if checking for her reactions. “I
assumed she’d tell you. One of my clients—James Walker—tried to commit suicide.
I would have called you myself, but I was on the phone most of the time on the
way to the prison, and then they ended up taking him to the hospital.
Everything was chaotic.”

Erin
straightened up.  “Oh, my God! Is he all right?”

“They think
he’ll be all right.”

Her heart
lurched as she gazed up at Seth. No wonder he looked so tired and stressed.

“If you still
needed to be there, then of course I’d understand. You didn’t need to come home
so soon if—”

“There was
nothing else for me to do there anyway.” He reached over to trail his fingers
down her cheek, which was damp from the bubbly water. “I’m sorry you didn’t
know until now. I’d assumed that Carlotta would have explained the situation
when I asked her to call and let you know.”

Erin cleared
her throat. “Carlotta isn’t always particularly forthcoming with me.”

After she’d
said the words, she wished she hadn’t. Seth was stressed enough, and she didn’t
need to go whining to him. She should have known how he’d react, even to this
vague hint.

“What do you
mean?”

“Nothing. It’s
nothing important.”

Seth clearly
disagreed with this assessment. He cupped her jaw with his hand and tilted it
up so she was looking at him. “Tell me what you meant, Erin. If Carlotta has
ever been rude or disrespectful to you—”

“No, no. She’s
always been perfectly polite. It’s no big deal. I’d just be acting petty and
vindictive.”

Seth now
appeared to be stewing. He gritted out, “Erin, what has she done that would
make you feel petty and vindictive? You’re my wife, and I’m not about to let
anyone treat you—”

Erin groaned.
Cursed herself for her own stupidity. “Seth, I can take care of myself. She
sometimes acts like…like she’d rather not hear from me or like I’m interrupting
your big important life.” Brushing her hair back impatiently, she continued,
“But women deal with that kind of thing from other women all the time. So she
acts snotty with me. It’s nothing for you to—”

Seth jerked to
his feet. “I’ll be right back.”

“Seth, don’t
you dare go and fire her.”

He turned back
with an annoyed expression. “Of course, I’m going to fire her. She doesn’t get
to treat you like that.”

“I don’t want
you to fire her. I told you. I can take care of myself. If she does her job
well, then I don’t want you to get rid of her because of this.”

Seth came back
over to the tub, and this time he lowered himself to his knees beside it.
“Erin, respecting my wife is part of her job. Why didn’t you tell me about this
before?”

“Because it was
none of your business.”

Seth’s mouth
actually dropped open.

Unable to
repress a chuckle, Erin explained, “I mean that it can be dealt with between me
and her. If you fire her for something like this, then I’ll feel like a
vindictive bitch who has to whine to her husband every time someone looks at
her funny. I should have dealt with it before, but I didn’t because…well,
because I didn’t. I’ll take care of it.” She gave him a steady, significant
look. “I’m serious about this, Seth. I want to deal with it myself. I’m not a
helpless princess who has to be protected from every minor inconvenience. I
don’t need to be catered to.”

Seth’s body had
relaxed again, and he now gave her a very particular smile. Dipping his hand
into the water, he slid his fingertips from her knee up her thigh. “But I like
to cater to you.”

Erin smiled
back. “Tough.”

By mutual
consent, they dropped the subject of Carlotta.

They talked
about random things for a few minutes, while Seth kept getting touchier and
touchier. While Erin had no objections to such touchiness tonight, there was no
sense in getting excited about it while she was in the bathtub.

Water sports
weren’t really her thing.

So when Seth’s
hand strayed to one of her breasts, she playfully batted it away. He frowned
indignantly and pretended like he hadn’t been trying anything in the first
place.

To keep up his
ruse of disinterest, he inspected the basket she’d placed on the side of the
tub. “What’s this?” he asked idly.

She gave him an
impatient look. “That’s all my bath stuff. What do you think it is?”

He started
rooting around in all of the bottles and jars. “You sure have collected a lot
of it. What is all this stuff?”

“Bubble bath,
bath salts, bath oil, bath cream, salt scrub. All kinds of stuff. Maybe I got a
little carried away, but I’ve been taking a lot of baths lately, whenever I’ve
needed to relax.”

Then suddenly
Erin remembered one particular item she kept in the basket. She jerked in the
scented water and said hurriedly, “It’s just a lot of junk. No need to waste
your time—”

It was too
late.

Seth pulled out
the round, yellow vibrating sponge that she kept at the bottom of the basket.

“What is this?”

“It’s just a
sponge,” Erin explained in a rush, feeling herself start to blush, as
ridiculous as that reaction was. The sponge turned on by twisting the plastic
knob on the top, which looked more like a hook than an on-switch.  Maybe Seth
wouldn’t realize what he’d found. “You know, just for—”

He deftly
twisted the top, causing the sponge to start vibrating steadily.

Seth’s eyebrows
shot sky-high.

“Give me that,”
she mumbled, snatching the vibrator away from him. Her sense of humor was
starting to vie with her embarrassment, however.

Seth gave her a
very naughty look. “And what exactly do you do with that?”

Clearing her
throat again, Erin managed to give him a smug look. “It’s advertised as a
vibrating sponge massager, to help with sore muscles and tense knots and that
sort of thing.”

“I see,” he
drawled, trying unsuccessfully to claim the sponge in question again. “And have
you been suffering from…sore muscles that have needed this sort of…relief?”

Erin stuck out
her chin and held the sponge underwater, out of his reach. “As a matter of
fact, I have. A lot.”

Suddenly,
Seth’s playfulness faded. His teasing smile transformed into a frown. “And I
haven’t been around to help take care of them.”

“Don’t get all
guilty on me. You’re here now, aren’t you? So I won’t have as much need for
this kind of…massage.”

Seth’s
momentary surge of regret dispersed, and he smiled at her again. Leaned over
the side of the tub to kiss her gently on the lips.

Then, while she
was distracted by the sweetness, he shamelessly reached down and snatched the
vibrating sponge from her unsuspecting grip.

“Hey!” she
cried in outrage, trying to grab it back from him. “You big cheater! That was
cheap trick.”

Seth laughed
huskily and held her off, his hands slipping against her wet skin.

She finally
gave up and sank back into the water, scowling at him but without much heat.
She was actually feeling warm and affectionate, and it didn’t help that Seth
was looking adorably rumpled in his damp, wrinkled dress shirt and bare feet.

“So how is it?”
he asked, his voice growing thicker. “Does it work well on…sore muscles?”

“Sore muscles?
Not so much. But on other kinds of tension, it works quite well.”

Something hot
flickering in his gaze now, Seth handed her the vibrating sponge. “Show me.”

“Um, what?”

He gave her a
seductive smile and settled himself more comfortably on his knees beside the
tub. “Show me. Show me how well it works.”

Narrowing her
eyes at him, she said, “I thought the point of your being around more was that
I wouldn’t need to use it as much as I used to.”

“True.” His
eyes moved slowly over her naked body beneath the scented bubbles, in what felt
like an erotic caress. “But I want to watch you.”

Despite her
lingering, dry amusement, Erin was starting to feel a thrill tighten low in her
belly. “It’s not very sexy. I don’t make it a big, elaborate process. It’s
mostly just for efficiency’s sake.”

Seth didn’t
look discouraged at all. His eyes smoldered as he replied, “Don’t put on a show
for me. Just show me what you do when you’re alone.”

Already feeling
tingles between her legs, and her body already relaxed and content from the
warm bath, Erin saw no reason to object to this plan, other than the brief
flare of self-consciousness. “All right,” she agreed, taking the sponge and
turning it on. “But I’m warning you. It’s not going to be anything like
watching porn.”