Torrid Affair (25 page)

“You’re going to kill me.” He lifted me off the floor.

I fell into his arms and laughed. “Are you hungry?”

“For you, always.”

“No. For food, I mean.”

“Yeah, I can eat, but there’s no way I’m leaving this room.”

“I can call for room service.”

Nate nodded. I crawled up the bed and reached for the phone on the nightstand. I squealed when his hand tapped my ass.

“This is all mine.”

Nate and I munched on a few appetizers. I’d ordered a bottle of wine, and I already felt the effects of my second glass. He placed the empty trays out in the hallway, and when he strolled back in the room, his eyes had changed. They were hooded, and his tongue slowly ran across his lower lip. He reached a hand out for me and pulled me forward, making me fall right into his arms. His ravenous mouth covered mine, one hand entwined in my hair as the other squeezed my ass.

My hands trailed up his body. Wrapping them around his neck, I deepened our kiss. His tongue twirled with mine while the oxygen escaped our lungs. Nate guided me away from the small table in the room and toward the bed. He stopped when my legs hit the mattress.

“Tell me,” he whispered against my lips.

“I love you, Nate. I love you with everything I have.”

Nate pressed a soft half kiss on my lips. “I want a lifetime with you. I want to bury myself inside you always.”

My core throbbed, my nipples hardened, and my heart felt as though it would explode. With the last bit of oxygen I had left, I responded, “Always.”

With his hands on my face, he kissed me ruthlessly, his eagerness seeping into my body before he softened the kiss and pulled away. Nate kissed my lips, the corner of my mouth, my cheek, then worked his way to my ear, nipping on my lobe before kissing down my jaw to my throat. Sliding down my body, he kissed my shoulder and chest before he dropped to his knees.

Nate’s gaze never left mine as he pulled down my panties. When he stood, he wrapped his arms around me and unhooked my bra. Moving my hair off my shoulder, he kissed my neck, biting and sucking as he guided me onto the bed.

“Lie back,” he ordered softly.

I obeyed.

Nate towered over me, kissing a path from my lips down my stomach. It seemed his hands were memorizing my body. His tongue circled my belly button and I giggled softly. Warm fingers slid between my legs. His thumb lightly pressed on my clit and an electrical current ran up my body. His mouth followed, trailing a wet path from my belly button to my clit.

My hips bucked when his tongue slid across my core. A rush passed through me and my nipples hardened. Nate reached up and pinched one.

I moaned.

I cried.

I came as he continued to stroke my clit.

When my body returned from the abyss, I was greeted with a grinning Nate. “Hmm,” I moaned.

“I can do that all weekend if you like.”

“I like,” I teased.

Nate discarded the remainder of his clothes. His dick was rock hard when he slid down his boxers. “You’re beautiful,” he said as he climbed on top of me. My legs parted for him and he positioned himself at my entrance. “So fucking perfect.”

His head slid against my damp core and I opened for him. Nate’s thickness filled every inch of me. His lips pressed on my neck as he pushed farther into me, and I whimpered in pure ecstasy.

Nate moved slowly at first, and then picked up speed. Panting and moaning, we made love, our lips on each other’s bodies through it all. My toes curled as tingles crawled over my skin and we came together.

His heart hammered in his chest.

I was numb with bliss.

Heaven.

* * *

I’d been a fool for so many years.

What Brie and I shared was indescribable. It wasn’t a feeling. It was knowing, with certainty, that a love like ours was impossible to live without. Being with her was living. I didn’t know back then what I would miss out on.

She was married to my brother. But I didn’t care. She was mine. And I was hers.

A light snore escaped Brielle’s nose, and I fought the urge to touch her. “Hmm . . .” she moaned and slowly opened her eyes. “Are you watching me sleep?”

My fingers traced along her bare shoulders and down her spine. “I’m admiring you.”

Brielle chuckled and rolled her eyes. “You and your pick up lines.”

“It’s not a pick up line if it’s true.”

“It’s creepy to watch a person sleep.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “You’re not admiring, just being a creeper.”

I tickled her ribs and she squealed. “Still a creep?” I asked.

“No, no.” She laughed. “Not a creep.” With a wide smile, she sat up on the bed and covered her chest with the sheets. “What should we do today?”

Ignoring her question, I tugged on the sheet. Her full breasts greeted me. My hand cupped one. “You’re the only thing I want to do,” I replied, my thumb circling around her beautiful light-pink nipple.

“We have to eat something.” She tried to slap my hand away, and I moved to the other one. “We can’t stay cooped up in a hotel room all day.”

“You’re right.” I pulled my gaze away from her nipples and up to her face. “Why don’t you go spend the morning with your mom? Have lunch with her and then we’ll meet up later.”

She cocked her head to the side. “What will you do while I’m gone?”

“A couple of my coworkers think I’m in my room with the stomach bug. I have to make some work calls, play into the whole violently sick thing.”

“Wait.” She crossed her arms. “Does Delaney still think you’re in Houston?”

My hand massaged the kink in my neck. “Yes.”

“What if she calls you? Or better yet, what if she wants to Facetime you?” Brielle covered her face with her palms.

“Hey.” I grasped her hands and kissed her palms. “Every hotel looks the same. She won’t know the difference. I promise she won’t suspect anything.”

Brielle shrugged. “Okay. I’m going to take a shower.” She threw her legs off the bed, and I followed. She stopped walking and looked back at me.

“What are you doing?”

“Going to take a shower,” I said and scooped her in my arms.

“Insatiable.” She shook her head.

“For you? Always.”

I
t was
surreal to walk around and not be afraid to hold his hand. As we took a stroll through the center of town, a gentleman asked if he wanted to buy his wife a rose. Nate smiled and handed him the cash for the red flower. Joy was all I felt.

But I couldn't live in a bubble with Nate forever. It was only a matter of time before reality kicked in and knocked me off my pedestal.

I wasn’t his wife.

I was his dirty mistress.

Reality sucked.

A few days after I arrived home, I was in the pharmacy buying tampons when I bumped into Delaney, who was holding an ovulation test.

“Oh!” I stumbled back. “Hey, D.”

She grinned. “Hey, how was your mom? I haven't seen you since you got back.”

I shook my head. “It was great.” I swallowed back my anger. “It was nice to see her, and she's doing well. It was a nice trip overall.” Unable to keep my eyes away from the elephant in the room, I look down at the ovulation test and then back at her. 

Delaney giggled, and I fought the urge to kick her. “Nate and I are thinking maybe it's time we try for another.” Her smile was genuine, but I felt like I was being kicked in the gut. I was the whore he fucked while his wife planned to expand their family.

The bubble had burst.

This was real life.

“That's great.” I wanted to cry. I wanted to hide. I wanted to scream and confess he had been with me all weekend.
But I couldn’t.

“When he gets home from Houston, we're going to get busy and make another baby.”

I pulled my gaze away from her and grabbed the first box of tampons I saw. The quicker I got out of there, the better.

“I didn't want a second.” She continued her conversation, and forced me to listen to her. “But I hate that Caleb doesn't have anyone to rely on later in life. I see Julian and Nate, and I think how well they get along, and I want that for Caleb, too, you know?”

“Yeah,” I muttered. I turned away, but her voice stopped me.

“When are you and Julian going to try?” She looked at me and then picked up another box.

The audacity.
“Honestly, kids have never crossed my mind.” 

“You'll regret it if you don't have them, trust me. Caleb is the best thing that ever happened to me.” She sighed. “I'm so fortunate that Nate wants a big family. There’s nothing more I want than to have all my kids surrounding me during the holidays.” Each of her statements killed me.

“When Nate and I grow old, I want to be spoiled with grandkids.” 

“That's fantastic.” I reached for a box of overnight pads because I needed to focus my energy on anything else. “Good luck to you guys,” I managed to mumble as I spun around and walked away.

Once I rounded the aisle, I threw the tampons and pads on a random shelf and dashed out of the pharmacy. My vision was blurred with spots when I blinked. There was no future for me and Nate. There could never be a future. I had been very clear of that from the very beginning. But never had the asshole warned me that he and his wife were planning baby number two.

I slammed the car door and yanked out my cell phone.

Me: When you get home we need to talk.

Nicole: Is everything okay?

Me: Why didn’t you tell me you and Del were planning another kid?

Nicole: We’re not.

Me: Are you sure because the conversation I just had with her suggests she plans on trying the second you get home.

Nicole: This is news to me.

Me: Maybe we should stop. This isn’t fair to Caleb. I’m only messing up his life.

Nicole: Don’t say that. We’ll talk when I get home, okay?

Me: K.

I shoved my phone in my purse and exhaled slowly.

Decisions had to be made.

Lives had to be changed.

* * *

T
he diner was crowded
with the after church brunch rush. Every table was packed, so some stragglers were pushed off to the bar area.

“You have a customer at the bar,” Fran said as I walked out of the kitchen with three plates balanced on my hands.

“Thanks.” I nodded. After I handed off the food to the customers in Booth Twenty, I walked over to the bar. “Hi, I’m Brielle. I’ll be your server. Can I start you out with something to drink?”

“Brielle?” The gentleman looked at me. “Brielle Hansen?”

His face was familiar, but my smile faded a bit when I realized who he was. His freckles gave him away. They were the same as Caleb’s. “Austin?”

He nodded. “How’ve you been?”

“I . . . I . . . Good,” I stuttered.

“Brielle Hansen.” He closed his menu. “I haven’t seen you in what, ten years?”

“It’s Wright now.”

“That’s right. You married Julian, right?” I nodded. “I thought you two lived in Chicago.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Fran seat two more customers at another table. “We were. We’re back now. Can I get you something to start off with?”

“I’ll take a coffee.” He squinted at me, and a shiver of unease ran up my spine.

“I’ll be right back.”

I rushed to greet the new customers and take their drink orders. When I returned with his coffee, I had my pad ready to write out his order. “All set to order?”

“Yeah, Two eggs, over-easy with bacon and a side of whole wheat toast.”

“Perfect.”

“Let me ask you something.” I looked away from the note pad and up at him. “How’s Delaney doing?”

I swallowed. “Fine.” My eyebrows pinched together. “Why?”

Austin shook his head slowly. “I’ve been trying to contact her for a few days now, but she’s been ignoring my calls.”

“I’ll let her know.”

“You do that.” His voice was low.

In my gut, I knew he was here to talk about Caleb. All the puzzle pieces began to fall into place. This was the reason Delaney wanted to get pregnant. She knew it was only a matter of time before the truth about her and Austin came out, and if she were pregnant, Nate wouldn’t leave her. She’d play the “I didn’t know he was the father” card.

Fucking conniving bitch.

I wanted to text Nate and let him know everything. But there were some things you couldn’t say over a text message.

He would be home tomorrow, and I needed to warn him about the shit storm that was heading his way.

* * *

I
kept replaying
my conversation with Delaney at the pharmacy and my conversation with Austin while scrubbing off the grease in the oven. Mostly I was trying to figure out what to say to Nate.

“What's the matter?” Julian asked and hung up his key on the hook. He was just arriving home late from work.

“Nothing, why?”

“You hate cleaning the oven. The only time you clean it is when you're stressed about something. What's going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Can I ask you something?” Julian rested his back against the counter and watched me scrub the oven door.

“Sure.”

“Are you and Nate still good friends?”

My hands stopped moving, and I cocked my head to look up at him. “I would say so, why?”

“Nothing, really.” Julian crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve noticed the way he looks at you. He lingers.”

I panicked. “What would make you say that?”

“His body language toward you.”

I reached for the degreaser and sprayed more into the oven, my mind running wild. “I think you’re reading too much into this. He’s your brother, Julian.” My hand trembled as I spoke.

“That doesn’t mean anything.” He paused, and I looked up at him. “My wife’s hot.” He leaned down and kissed the back of my neck, and I exhaled.

I stood and walked over to the sink to rinse out the sponge. “He and Delaney are planning to have another child,” I blurted. I needed any thought of Nate and me out of his mind.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Julian wrapped his arm around me. His chin rested on my neck. “And what about us?”

“What about us?” My body tightened.

“When do you want to have a little one of our own?”

Slowly, I turned to face him. “We live in your brother’s apartment. There’s no room for a kid in here.”

“So, we’ll move.” A grin grew on his face. “We have enough money saved to put down on a house. And we can sell the condo in Chicago. Dennis gave it to us. The title is in our name.”

I cracked my knuckles. That was a commitment, a long-term commitment, one I wasn’t willing to do anymore. “I . . . I don’t . . . I don’t want children.” I raised my hand in defeat.

“What?” Julian took a step back. Shocked, he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I don’t.” I shook my head. Children were something I pushed out of my mind years ago. Bringing a child into the marriage we had wasn’t something I ever wanted to do. “I don’t see myself as the motherly type.”

“You’re great with kids.”

“I’m great with other people’s kids. I’m sorry, Julian. I don’t want a child.” I shrugged.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” His voice grew louder with anger.

Annoyed with everything that was going on, I yelled, “When? When would have been the appropriate time to let you know I didn’t want children? When you were out fucking everything that walked? Or when we had nothing to our name? Or better yet, when we got married at twenty and I had no idea what I wanted in life?”

Julian’s hand slapped my face, and I gasped. “You selfish bitch!” he said through gritted teeth. “All I’ve ever done was give. Anything you wanted, I gave you. Now you won’t give me a child.”

My hand pressed on my burning skin, and I inhaled all the air my lungs could take. “Get out!” My voice bellowed through the house. “Pack your things. I want you out of this fucking house right now!” Tears of rage fell down my cheeks. “I want out of this fucking marriage! Goddamn it, I want a divorce!” My fists balled at my sides; my gaze never left his. “You want a kid so fucking bad, go find someone who’s fine being your punching bag!”

“This is my house!” Julian moved to grab me, but I was quicker and reached for the Santoku knife.

“GET! OUT!” I swung the knife in his direction and Julian jumped back. “I swear, if you ever touch me again, I’ll kill you.” My voice was shaky.

Julian mumbled a few choice words and stormed out. When the door slammed shut, I slid to the floor, my hands trembling as I slid the knife across the linoleum. I’d reached my max. I was done.

Reality.

Things needed to change.

Reality.

I would file for divorce.

Reality.

I would tell Nate I wanted a life with him.

* * *

I
remembered
the day as if it was yesterday.

A day that would haunt me for the rest of my life.

A day none of us would ever forget.

It was the most breathtaking early fall day. The colorful foliage was still a few weeks away, leaving the trees green and full.

It was three in the afternoon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky as I finished my shift at the diner and rushed home to meet Nate. Delaney was at work, and I sighed with relief when I pulled in the driveway. Rushing out of my car, I ran up the deck and opened the back door. Sliding through it, my gaze immediately landed on Nate who was resting against the sink while Caleb watched TV and snacked on a grilled cheese sandwich.