“I vowed to look after my wife, didn’t I?”
Her eyes shine with happiness. “That’s so sweet, Jude. Nobody’s ever…”
I bend slightly so our faces are in line. “Now they have, wifey. And fair warnin’, you might want to get used to me doin’ things for you.”
The next realization should hit like a lightning bolt. Instead it’s more like a gentle rolling wave of certainty.I’m no longer falling. I’m a goner for this woman.
When her stomach chooses that moment to growl loudly, Em’s eyes grow comically wide, making me laugh. “C’mon. Dinner’s about twenty minutes away. Gives you enough time to clean up, get comfortable, and formeto pour you a glass of wine.”
Her mouth quirks up on the side. “Are you real? Maybe I fell and hit my head or somethin’? Cause this is areallygood dream if I did.”
I lean in so my lips are barely touching hers. “I’m real, wifey. It’s you and me from now on.” I kiss her hard and fast, mainly so I won’t get distracted, at least not until I’ve fed my wife.
Stepping back, I hold my hand out for hers. “Let’s get our first Thanksgivin’ together started.”
She still looks as if she can’t quite believe I’m here. “Yeah, hubby.”
What she doesn’t know but will do soon, is that I’m not sure if I can handle leaving her again. Not when it feels so good being here. But that’s future Jude’s problem.
For now, I have a wife to feed and spoil, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.
After eating our make-do but surprisingly delicious dinner, we clear up the dishes together before retiring to the couch where I pull her into my arms the minute she goes to sit down.
Lying flat on my back, I maneuver her so she’s lying on top of me.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” she replies, gazing down at me. “Are you quite comfortable there?”
A Cheshire grin takes over my face. “Sure am. How ‘bout you?”
“Better now.”
She sighs and shakes her head with a smile. “That was kind of cheesy.”
“You complainin’ about me bein’ sweet, wifey?” I ask.
Em traps her bottom lip between her teeth and it takes everything in me not to reach up and free it. “Didn’t saythat…”
“Good.” I wrap my arms around her and press down so her warmth cloaks me before tangling our legs together.
Getting comfortable, she rests her cheek on my shoulder with her face close to mine. “I truly am so glad you’re here. I know I said seein’ you this weekend would make up for it but I found myself really missin’ you today. I wasn’t lookin’ forward to comin’ home to an empty house.”
I smooth my hands up and down her back. “I was worried you’d think I was oversteppin’ by breakin’ into your house.”
She snorts. “Oh, sure. Like I’d be mad that my husband gave up dinner with his family to drive non-stop to see me just so I wasn’t aloneandmake me a delicious meal. So,somad…”
The butter-wouldn’t-melt smile she shoots me short circuits my brain. In a flash, I’ve flipped us over so I have her spread out beneath me.
“Maybe I should kiss all that anger of yours away? Beg for forgiveness,” I say, soft and low.
“Oh, no.Pleasedon’t dothat…” Her rasping whisper as well as the challenging look in her eyes spurs me on.
I don’t miss the way her breath catches or the warm, sultry grin that greets me when I give her more of my weight and press her deeper into the couch.
“Muchbetter,” she half-moans, dragging her hands down to my hips before going lower to grab my ass. She smirks as a groan escapes me. “Oh yeah, definitely better.”
“Em, there’s no rush–”