I look at her for a moment. “Come inside with me.”
She does.
The house settles around us in the way it does at night, and I take her through the corridor, away from the courtyard and the lights and the organized efficiency of men doing the work that needs doing. By the time we reach the interior of the house, Molly breathes out slowly beside me in a way that means she’s releasing something she has been holding.
“That was a lot.”
I nod once, firmly. “It was. How do you feel?”
There it is. The way she glances to her right when she has something on her mind, but is scared to say it. “I’m not sure.”
“Want one of those seltzers?” She’s been knocking them back for her pregnancy nausea.
“Yeah, okay.”
When I return with it, she seems more at ease by a fraction. “Thanks.” She doesn’t drink the seltzer.
Perhaps she needed a moment alone. Maybe more would do her some good. “I hate to say it, but I have other things that must be handled tonight?—”
“Right. And I interrupted you. Sorry?—”
“Don’t be. You’re my favorite interruption.” I kiss the back of her hand. “See you upstairs?”
She smiles wanly. “Yeah. Okay.”
“If you don’t want to be alone?—”
“I’m fine. Or, well, I’m not. But I will be. You go handle your business. I think a long hot shower is in order.”
I smile and nod and watch her head upstairs for that shower. When she’s gone, I do what I do when I lose a man. His family will be taken care of—a year’s salary and an equal bonus is sent to them immediately, as are funeral expenses. The night devolves into paperwork, and by the time I reach our bed, I’m dog tired.
But when I see Molly’s pretty face, all of that falls away.
I scoot into the bed, spooning her. “Missed you.”
“Missed you too, husband.”
That’s all it takes, and I’m hard for her. I don’t know what it says about me that a single word from her sweet lips, and I’m helpless to her whims. I kiss her neck, letting her take the lead as much asI can. If she pulls away, even a little, I’ll let the night rest. I can ignore my erection.
She doesn’t pull away. Instead, Molly scoots back to me, gently rocking her magnificent ass on my cock. “Missed you a lot.”
I love that my wife tends to sleep naked. Makes life so much better.
I take my time trailing my hands all over her body, memorizing each and every curve from this angle. As if I haven’t already memorized them. But with the pregnancy, her body will change, and I have only a few weeks to enjoy this version of her.
I intend to enjoy her as much as possible.
When I reach between her thighs, I do so only long enough to ensure she is ready for me. I’m done waiting.
I pull her hip back and enter her from behind, causing us both to gasp in reverence. She whispers to a god she doesn’t believe in as I plunge deeper, biting her shoulder at the same time. I had wanted to take her ass tonight, but after that grotesque display, I need something else from my wife.
Comfort.
The truth is that I’m shaken by the memory, by what it means for us. Molly is well within her rights to flee, yet she’s here, with me, right now. Taking everything I have to give her. Begging for more.
I twist around her, propping her leg onto my shoulder as I shift around in the sheets. Need to see her face. Need those lips.
She wraps herself around me, and I let her. Breathe her in. Taste her mouth, her soft skin. Feel her hands on me. She cups my facewith both hands and nods, and I drive myself deeper, letting it go, letting all of it go as we come together.
