“Why you looking at me like that?” Nel frowns at me.
I guffaw as I stand to say goodbye. “Because I love you and I’m happy you’ve found your happiness.”
Her eyes widen slightly, her surprise evident.
“You drunk, mate?” Jake smirks as he comes up behind her.
“No, just trying to be supportive. Prick.”
“Dickhead.”
Nel rolls her eyes at us as Jake and I snicker at each other, I bend when she rises to tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “Goodnight, big brother.”
“Goodnight, little sis. Rest up, yeah?”
She blinks at me again. “Uh, yeah.” She smiles sleepily up at me and squeezes my arm. “Yeah, I will. Thanks, Harry.”
I put my arm around her shoulders and give her a squeeze. “See you tomorrow.”
Jake slaps my shoulder and gives me a wink before they leave for their hotel. All the kids have been in bed for hours and Rhiannon retired early claiming that growing a human being had sucked the life out of her for the day. Luke is asleep on the sofa, mouth open and whiskey snores rumbling from his throat and my in-laws, and Lisa’s aunt and uncle all decide it’s time to head up to bed. Lisa yawns wide and I pull her into me.
“Why don’t you head up to bed, babe?”
“Yeah.” She sighs, resting her head on my chest. “I think I will. You coming up?”
Kissing the top of her head, I smile down at her. “I’ll be up shortly, warm up the bed for me?”
She smiles sweetly and pulls herself up onto tiptoes to plant an all too chaste kiss on my lips before disappearing up the stairs. A loud snore comes from Luke, and I laugh to myself, approaching and knocking his knees together with the back on my hand.
“Hey, wake up, man.”
He startles awake and looks around confused by the lack of people in what was a full living room when he passed out. “Jesus, how long was I out?”
“About an hour,” I laugh. “Go on up to your wife.”
“Yeah, thanks, dude.” He stands and pats my arm thankfully before leaving me alone.
This is my time. I know Lisa works like a dog for these holiday get-togethers and it must look to everyone that I hardly contribute but I do what I can to help.
Lisa wouldn’t let me near the cooking if I tried. I can cook, I’m quite good actually, something my parents were insistent on. Both Nel and I had to know how to look after ourselves, cook, clean, change a tyre, and budget our finances. Despite this, Lisa likes to manage the food when we entertain, and I’m more than happy to let her. My part is played in the silence of the night.
I pull my ear pods from the drawer and connect them to my phone to listen to the audiobook I started this week. Okay, so I might not strike you for the type to listen to spicy romance novels, and, up until very recently, I had never given them the time of day, but I caught Lisa listening to one when I came home earlier than expected on a night I was working very late. I got to our bedroom door and heard her moaning, panting. When I heard the male voice in the room, my heart dropped out of my chest. I flung the door open to find my wife mid-orgasm, back arching off the bed and her hand clearly between her legs under the covers. Luckily, there was no one else in the room, but I could hear the audio playing from her phone on the bedside table as a growly male voice—that even I have to admit was sexy— gave praise to the female character.
Good girl.
Such a pretty cunt.
You take me so well, baby.
I’d blinked at the sight before me for a solid twenty seconds. Lisa had no idea I was there, so lost in her own pleasure, not until she opened her eyes and found me staring at her. She sat up in a panic and stopped her phone playing.
“Harry! I was…uh…”
“Good book?” I asked, suppressing a smile.
“Quite um, stimulating,” she’d replied biting down on her own grin.
I wanted to crawl over her on the bed and show her how stimulating I could be but she pulled the covers up to her neck, hiding herself from me and refused to meet my eye again. It sent a sinking weight down my centre to sit heavily in myabdomen. I’d taken a shower and held her until she fell asleep that night, but I couldn’t drift off. So, I looked at her phone to see what book she’d been listening to and then downloaded it myself, listening for two straight hours before I finally shut my eyes. I’ve kind of been addicted ever since. It’s been a blessing and a curse, I like the stories and learning a lot about what my wife might like but I’ve been hornier than a teenager at prom for months.
