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I surprise myself with that notion. I hardly ever cook for Vaughn. I’ve thrown meat on the gril a few times, but that’s about it. But it will be good. Very domestic.

I wrangle up enough ingredients for spaghetti and meatballs, find some frozen garlic bread in the garage freezer, and by the time eight o’clock rolls around, I don’t even recognize this place.

I sit on the edge of the pool next to the small waterfall, with my feet dangling into the water, sipping wine as I wait for my movie star to come home.

A flash hits me. A memory.

Vaughn and I are standing outside the Bellagio near the fountain. The heat is suffocating, but the water is shooting upward, dancing as they do, night after night, and the spray is bathing us with a refreshing rain.

Did we get married at the fountain?

God, I wish I knew.

I hear the door alarm and then the familiar punching of keypad numbers and my heart beats faster.

“Grace?” he calls out.

“Out here,” I call back.

He walks through the dimly lit living room, looking around like he might be in the wrong house. And then he appears in the opening where the glass walls would be if they were not folded away. “What’s going on here?” he asks with a smile. “I don’t think this is my house. Am I dreaming or is that real food I smell?”

I pat the cement next to me. “Come sit here. Put your feet in and have a beer.” I reach over the champagne bucket and pull out his favorite micro-brew. “It’s cold,” I tempt him.

He steps forward, loosening his tie as he walks, and a few moments later, the shirt is coming off. “Mrs. Asher,” he says with a mischievous grin.

“Mr. Asher,” I say back, trying very hard to stifle my smile. Everything about him makes me want to smile.

He drops the shirt on the concrete, his pace never slowing as he kicks off his black Versace oxfords. I have to tilt my head up when he stops in front of me. It’s hard not to notice that my mouth is in the perfect position to make him relax after a long day’s work. I feel the wetness between my legs just thinking about it.

But instead of guiding my hands to his zipper, he slips off his socks and bends down to look me in the eyes. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’m back now.”

“Are you ready?”

I’m confused for a moment, but then he unleashes that hidden dimple on me and places both hands on my shoulders.

“Ready for—”

And then he pushes me into the pool.

Chapter Twelve

#WhatPills

I
ALMOST
feel bad as she tumbles over the side. But not quite. She goes under, her slip of a dress clinging to her body for a moment before it balloons out, exposing her legs.

God, I fucking love this woman.

She comes up sputtering and thrashing, but also laughing.

It’s been a long time since my Grace has been here. A long time. She’s just about to yell when I cannonball in next to her, making waves that spill gallons of water over the turquoise tiled edge.

When I open my eyes underwater, she’s right there. Her long blonde hair flows out behind her like some siren’s. Her pretty summer dress looks like it’s caught in the midst of a breeze. Before I can surface, she grabs me by the shoulders and wraps her legs around my waist. My hands automatically cup her ass and we kiss underwater like teenagers. Her fingers weave through my hair, mine slipping up her dress, my thumb caressing her stomach as my fingers grip her back.

She’s buckling from that move when we spring out of the water, the tickle too much for her.

“Ahh!” she squeals as I hug her tight. “What are you doing, Mr. Asher?”

“I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so much.”

Her smile drops a little. “I’m sorry. I’ve been selfish and moody. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Just tell me you’re back to stay. Because, Grace, I can’t watch you be so unhappy. It’s killing me. I need you. I love you. And if I made you sad last night, I’m sorry.”

Her pout grows, but she keeps eye contact. “I needed to hear that stuff, Vaughn. I think you’re a saint for putting up with me. Not many men would stick by a girl they hardly know as she works through problems that are more than a decade old.”

I take a deep breath and touch my forehead to hers. The water drips down her face in small streams. I watch as they curve around her lips and her tongue darts out to swipe them away. “You’re not a girl, Grace. You’re my wife. I meant every word I said when I married you.”

She looks away and I know it’s because she can’t remember our vows. But I’m not going to tell her. I want her to remember on her own. And when she’s ready, she will.

“I love you, Vaughn.” She meets my gaze again and nods a little. “I’m sorry I was so out of it and I’m sorry I left you out of my decisions yesterday. You had every right to be angry last night. I was only thinking of myself, the place was a mess, and you work so hard. Thank you for taking care of things. I know it must’ve been difficult to take care of me, work, and keep up with the household chores.”

I kiss her on the nose. “It was my pleasure, princess. I can do laundry and dishes. Believe me, Felicity was the worst housekeeper ever. And you’re not the maid, so don’t think this house is your job. It’s not.”

She rests her head on my shoulder and sighs. “I don’t have a job, so taking care of things here at home might as well be it.”

“Grace, please. We can hire a cleaning service. Go get a job if you want one.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“Mrs. Asher, say the word and I will have you gainfully employed as an event planner next week.”

“No.” She balks. “I don’t want something handed to me. I want to be part of something real. And big.”

I grab her small hand and force it down to feel my bulging cock underneath my pants. “I’ll show you something big.” I walk us towards the small waterfall. “Close your eyes and hold tight.” She grips my cock as I dip us under the falling water and step into the secret grotto hot tub. “I haven’t been in here in… well, since the builder showed it to me a few years ago.”

She looks around with wide eyes. “You have a secret hot tub?” And then she kisses me sweetly on the cheek. “And you’ve never even been in here to”—she squeezes my dick and I close my eyes for a second to enjoy it—“christen it?”

“Mmm,” I reply as my hands lift up her dress. “Now is as good a time as any.” She lets go of my shoulders and lifts up her arms. I sweep the dress up and over her head, ball it up, and throw it through the waterfall and into the pool. “Mrs. Asher. You’re commando again.” I twist her perky nipples and she squirms and unlatches her legs from my hips.

“Yes,” she purrs next to my ear. “I wanted to keep you focused.”

“You’ve got my attention.”

“Oh, not yet, Mr. Asher.” And then her hands are unbuttoning my suit pants.

My dick is so hard I’m ready to bend her over. Once the zipper comes down, her hands are greedily searching under the water. I help her out by climbing up onto a step. Her mouth comes dangerously close to my cock, her warm breath sweeping across it as her fingers deftly pull down my suit trousers.

She unpacks my throbbing thickness and licks the tip. My hands go to the back of her neck and I encourage her to take more of me as I sit on the edge of the hot tub.

“Mmmm,” she hums, making the tip of my dick vibrate. I lean back a little, one hand on the concrete behind me, propping me up, the other fisting handfuls of hair and urging her on.

“I want to come down your throat, Grace. I want to bury my whole dick in your throat.”

She responds with her hands on my shaft. Not quite up and down, not quite twisting, but a combination of both.

I almost fucking lose it right there. But instead, I pull her hair, forcing her head back so I can lean down and kiss her on the lips. “I want to fucking devour you. I want to lick your pussy until you scream. I want to fuck your ass until you beg me to stop.”

“I’ll never beg you to stop. Ever.”

I shoot her a coy grin. “Never say never, princess. I’ll take that as a challenge.”

And with that I grip her hair once more and thrust deep into her throat. She gags, tries to pull back, then looks up at me with trust in her eyes, and takes a breath from her nose as her tongue flattens along my shaft. “Mrs. Asher, you are perfect.”

She sucks in response to my praise. I hold steady at the depth I’m at and let her do her thing.

Her petite hands reach under to cup my balls and that’s when I know it’s over. She sweeps a finger back, touches my ass, applies some pressure, and I’m gone. I come down her throat, her muscles tightening, her mouth open so wide she’s sucking air in around my pulsating shaft.

“Holy fuck, Grace. Holy fuck.” That’s the extent of my vocabulary. I pull back and saliva drips down her chin. I fist her hair to tip her face up to me and then I lean down and kiss her. “I fucking love you. I love you so much. Switch places with me and lie back, baby.” My breath is coming out in long draws and she’s panting so hard she looks lightheaded. “Lie back so I can lick your pussy and make you come.”

She moans just from my words and sits on the side of the hot tub while I climb into the water.

“Open your legs, princess.”

She opens her legs and closes her eyes at the same time, but when my tongue teases the tip of her little bundle of nerves, her eyes shoot open and she moans. Her hands reach for my head now, but I grab a wrist and guide her fingers to her pussy. “Play,” I command.

She begins moving in slow circles, clashing with my tongue as I stimulate her. I ease two fingers inside her swollen folds and curve them up to find her spot. Her whole back arches up off the ground as the moans turn into stifled screams. She bites her lip to stop the release, but I suck on her clit to keep it going. My fingers begin a stronger rhythm inside her pussy and when I nip her, she lets loose. Her squeals echo off the grotto walls, the sound of pounding water adding to the symphony we are creating.

My dick is hard again so I stand up, making her whine from the interruption of her release. But when I plunge my cock inside her and finger her ass at the same time, she gasps for air. “Come, Grace. Come for me, sweets.”

She comes hard.

She comes all over my dick.

And even though she’s been adamant about taking her pill so she can’t get pregnant, I know this is the night we start over again. This is the night when those pills go in the trash.

Chapter Thirteen

#TheThingsYouLearnWhenYouSnoop

W
AKING
up the next morning is like… damn. I’m not even excited enough to come up with some kind of metaphor. It just sucks. Asher is gone, I’m alone—again—and the house is empty and quiet.

I hate this.

Yesterday was so good. I kept myself busy all day. But today… now what do I do? I need a job.

I force myself to get out of bed and wash up, then pad my way into the kitchen. Which is still clean because after our mind-blowing secret backyard grotto sex last night, we ate my spaghetti and meatballs and cleaned the kitchen together.

I think that was the first domestic thing we’ve really done as a couple. And it’s wrong. I mean, almost three months after I move in, we’re not on our own schedule yet. We’re not settled. We’re not…
meshing
.