The Storm (Fairhope) (30 page)

“You make me feel beautiful,” I whispered back, closing my eyes.

After a romantic pause, his whisper rose to a sweet murmur. “You sing to Calla even though you can’t carry a tune because she smiles when she hears your voice. You bring dinner to sick neighbors even though your schedule is packed, and you leave extra tips on the table for single mothers. And the way you paint with your heart … if those things are not beautiful, nothing is.”

I melted, swaying in time to the music, wondering for the millionth time how I got so lucky to marry Andrew Cook. I listened to friends fantasize, clearly dissatisfied with their marriages. We certainly had our problems, (hello—job loss, death of best friend, a move—three of the top five life stressors bit us all at once) but at the end of the day, I was certain of one thing: I
married
my fantasy.

My lips found his, and I tasted him, not minding the tinges of Corona. Nor did I care who was watching. “How long do we have to stay? I need your mouth over every square inch of my body.” My temperature rising, I sighed and tightened my grip around his neck.

Andrew backed up until we were hidden behind a sculpture. I felt the steady beat of his heart as his mouth traced its way down my neck, sending shivers up my spine. “Jana, if you keep talking like that, we are going to have to find an empty room.” The growing arousal in his eyes was provocative as hell, especially coming from the man who loved me unconditionally.

I reveled in the fact that I could turn him on with such little effort.

I raised my eyebrows. “I’m up for it.”

“Whoa.” Grinning, Andrew pointedly steered us back toward the crowd. While my hormones raged, he swirled me around in tune with the music, our semi-formal attire glistening in the lights. “Slow down, sexy. I’ve got plans for the night. But we have to stay until Max gives his speech.” He rolled his eyes carelessly.

“Plans?” Plans that didn’t involve going home to a fussy baby named Calla? Jessica and Daniel were babysitting. “I like the sound of that, if it involves me and you and maybe a shower…”

“It’s a surprise.” His vivid eyes—the ones that had me at hello—hypnotized me as they always had and always would. One mesmerizing look and my knees weakened, even after years of intimacy. “You amaze me, Jana Cook.”

I’ll show you amazing later,
I thought slyly.

Eyes closed, I gently placed my lips on his and opened my mouth, inviting his tongue to dance with mine. Andrew’s kissing was positively professional, seducing me into surrendering to his sexual advances far earlier in our relationship than I intended. Gone was the good girl who should have made him wait. My clothes were thrown on the floor before he could ask me my boundaries.

Our kiss deepened, and I imagined he was probably swelling under those fitted pants. I willed my mind to stop wandering where it shouldn’t before we both suffered unbidden frustration for the rest of the night. No matter how many times I’d had that man, my desire for him never lessened. I wanted him again, and again, and again…

“Ah-hem!” Max, eyes bloodshot and shirt sloppily un-tucked, clapped his hands together and fumbled around with the hand-held microphone that Darla gave him. He stood in the center of the room, clearing his throat. “I have a few words to say. This has been a fun night, huh? Max does it
right
!” He grinned heartily and sloshed his drink around in the air in something like a toast.

His gesture was met with cheers from the men and looks of disdain from their wives. Darla stood at Max’s side and shrugged her shoulders apologetically at the crowd.

“So, if I may have your attention…”

The few couples still chatting quieted and turned their attention to Max and Darla, who yanked her dress at the shoulders to hide her plunging neckline. The act itself steered the eyes of every man to her voluptuous breasts. Max’s eyes lingered somewhere between her ribcage and collarbone before focusing his attention back on his employees and their guests.

“A hard pecker has no conscience,” a woman probably in her late-sixties muttered. I failed at stifling my laughter, and within milliseconds I experienced Andrew’s hard jab in my side.

Max’s words slurred. Annoyed, I cringed at his redneck tone, and my expression matched that of several other wives who were also forced to listen to his obligatory spill. “Thank you for all being here tonight. You are all very important to this company, and I could not ask for a stronger group of employees. You sacrifice a lot for the success of your company, and your efforts are not in vain. We have made great strides this year and gained clients I never dreamed we would sign.”

Several claps emerged from the crowd. I linked my arm through Andrew’s and winked at him. This was the part where holiday bonuses would be announced. Max adored Andrew and told him he was invaluable—that moving up quickly was a sure thing. Andrew expected an impressive bonus, at least in the low five digits.

Max jammed his hands in his pockets and started to look uncomfortable. My spirits sinking, I sensed his announcement was not favorable.

“That being said, corporate has made the unfortunate decision to withhold holiday bonuses this year. I know this comes as a surprise and a disappointment to you—”

Sighs and groans erupted, and Darla slammed her wine glass down so hard the liquid flew into the air and landed on the unlucky dresses of two senior accountants’ wives. They were clearly furious.

Max continued to blunder about the economy, the rewards he anticipated for next year, how much he appreciated his employees’ hard work and loyalty, blah blah blah. At the mention of no holiday bonus, I tuned him out. My eyes stayed fixed on Andrew, who seethed with discouragement.

“This is bullshit,” he said under his breath. “This firm is doing
fine
financially.” He crossed his arms tightly, frustrated.

I squeezed his arm, hoping I was comforting. “I’m sorry.”

I would have to work extra hard to make him forget about this tonight…

Max cleared his throat again, loudly. “However, we do have a lot to be thankful for. Although we aren’t getting a bonus this year, we
do
still have our jobs. Not everyone has been so lucky.”

As he chugged back the rest of his drink, his bloodshot eyes locked in on mine. Point taken.

“Mmmmm…”

I was bound until death do us part to the king of suck-up seduction. Our suite at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear was saturated with everything that whispered “second honeymoon.” He missed no detail, including a sexy new chemise that made me feel as hot as a porn star. The Lindt truffles didn’t make it five minutes in my presence, and I wasted no time running the Victoria’s Secret Love Spell bubbles, my favorite, under the gushing water of the elegantly tiled Jacuzzi tub. With two glasses of Robert Mondavi’s Moscato d’Oro waiting to be enjoyed, we sunk into the water, the steam evaporating any stress that lingered in our bodies.

“Mmmmm is right.” Facing me, he reached out his hand until our fingers locked. “This was overdue.”

“
Way
overdue.” I relished my first sip of wine, my taste buds dancing at its sweetness. “You are so good to me.”

After leaning in to lock his lips with mine, our eyes met in an intense gaze after he broke the kiss. “I’m a smart man, Jana. When I asked you to marry me, I told you that you would
never
feel unloved. I meant it.”

“How are we different than other couples? We’ve been through so much, and we have so many differences … but we still
want
each other.”

“Because we w
ant
to.” He paused as I pondered his response. “I wanted to take care of you the moment I laid eyes on you. I didn’t just want to fuck you. I wanted to kiss you. I wanted to talk to you for hours. I wanted to feel your body curled up beside mine every morning. I saw us in rocking chairs on the front porch in our seventies, laughing until we cried under the stars. I wanted
all
of you, and I always will. Love is not a feeling, Jana. It’s a commitment. And I’m committed to loving you every day for the rest of my life, no matter what happens.”

His words were an aphrodisiac for me. He seduced me with his sensual touch, with every move of his wet, naked body pressed against mine. My breathing deepened as his long fingers laced their way up my legs, straying briefly in the sensitive spots behind my knees. His fingers worked through my dark hair, leaving drops of water tingling down my neck.

We made our way from the water to a bed covered with soft rose petals, and the scent of vanilla, my favorite, filled the air. He’d thought of everything to make this night special for me … this coveted time alone that we rarely had.

“You’re nearly perfect, Andrew.”

“What do you want, Jana…” Andrew murmured. I watched his sexy lips part lightly, and he gazed at me with eyes full of lust before he lightly licked the sides of my inner thighs.

Gasping at the silky feel of his tongue on my skin, I felt my body lurch with pleasure. Instinctively, I spread my thighs wider, begging him, with need in my eyes, not to stop.

The sensation of his foreplay was too much. I was so wet I writhed with desire, barely able to speak as my senses captured the friction his touch created.

“I want you to taste me.” Breathless, I closed my eyes as he worked his magic, his lips and tongue sliding all around, teasing me.

I surrendered to the delicious ecstasy humming through my body, relishing every sensation of euphoria.

Growing more desperate, I reached out and thrust my hands in his hair as he finally relieved my tension, his tongue slipping over me, into me. As he increased his pressure, I moaned with relief. He inserted two of his fingers inside me as he continued his perfect massage with his tongue.

As I unraveled, my knees shook with earthshattering intensity…

I cried out his name as he sent me tumbling over the edge.

With no worries of waking anyone up, the freedom alone was enough to make me come.

“You
still
make me think things a good girl shouldn’t think,” I said huskily as I basked in the afterglow of the indescribable orgasm. His sex was like a drug, and I was addicted. I twirled my fingers slowly in his hair as he lifted his body upward.

His tongue swirled around my sensitive nipples slowly, delicately, until they were both hard again. “Maybe you’re not quite the good girl you thought you were…”

“Maybe not,” I said in a low voice, lifting his head from my breasts gently, preparing to return the favor.

With a hint of roughness, I pushed him on the bed, catching the sultry look in his eyes as I edged downward. “You’re
so
hard…” I pouted. “I need to
do
something about this.” My fingers traced down his chest until they lingered on his throbbing erection.

He knew what was coming next.

“Uh-huh,” he moaned as my hands slid up and down, squeezing and releasing. “Yes, you do.”

“What do
you
want, Andrew?” I wanted to make him tell me.

“You know what I want.” I had him squirming before he felt the delicious warmth of my lips and tongue. “I want to feel your wet mouth—”

Before he could finish, I took his breath away. He was unable to stifle his moans, and I knew his heart throbbed rapidly in his chest as I tasted the drop of moisture that formed over the head.

I made his suck-up seduction well worth his while.

Like two naughty teenagers, Andrew and I snuck in our front door mid-morning. Between our delectable sexual indulgence and the eight hours of sleep that followed, our marriage was rejuvenated. My stress unraveled, I longed for more excursions, more fleeting chances to escape reality. Andrew glistened like a million bucks, somewhat over his lack of a holiday bonus after engaging in much-needed sex.

“You’re the best,” I whispered, hugging Jessica, who was curled up in my favorite recliner reading
Fifty Shades of Grey
. “Learning anything?”

“Shhhh … Calla’s asleep.” She blushed above her small smile, closing the book almost guiltily. I admired my sister-in-law’s makeup-less natural beauty. “Yes. I need to improve in the variety department. Your poor brother is probably bored to death.” She reached up and patted my hair. “I’m impressed with myself. It’s still flawless, even after a night of…” She raised her eyebrows suggestively and pointed to the book.