“You taste better than that peppermint bark. And it’s pretty fucking awesome.” Those addictive lips made a lazy trip down my neck to my breasts, showing his tender side with them.
I loved the feeling of him savoring me. I loved watching his eyes show appreciation of my gently used body. Kael made me feel beautiful and ageless with just his eyes.
Sometimes I swear Craig didn’t even look at me. Really look at me.
Without feeling rushed, we pieced ourselves back together, stealing flirty glances. I had a secret. One I never had to share. For as long as we mutually wanted it, we could do exactly what we’d just done and walk away without any sort of accountability.
Sex.
Just sex.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Kael stole me from my thoughts as he disinfected the island, which made me grin.
I slipped on my wool coat and buttoned it. Had I been honest, I would have told him my brain escaped to the order of getting dressed … or, really, undressed. Halfway through our marriage, Craig started to undress in a weird order before he’d get into the shower. I’d walk into the bathroom to see him testing the water temperature, wearing nothing but a T-shirt—occasionally socks too. It was quite possibly the unsexiest thing ever. A man child. A two-hundred-pound toddler who ran off before his mom could get his diaper and pants back on him. Bare ass and saggy balls exposed just below the hem of his shirt.
So. Weird.
It always made me cringe.
But I didn’t tell Kael that. I came up with something less weird, but still kind of funny. “It’s an indescribable feeling to have a sex toy that nobody knows about.”
He barked out a laugh. “Sex toy, huh?” After tossing the rag into a bin and returning the spray to the shelf above the sink, he grabbed my coat lapels and kissed me again.
All the kisses.
Each one as good as the first and as addictive as the last.
“I’ll add that to my resumé.”
“You really should. Snow removal. Valet. And sex toy. You could run for mayor with that stellar skill set. Seriously. Run for mayor. Close up shop and get your name in the race.”
“Close up shop? After I perfected my peppermint bark? Are you crazy?” He bopped the tip of my nose with his finger.
“Can’t blame a girl for trying.” I frowned.
“True.” He turned and retrieved his coat from the hook by the storage room door. “But I can walk said girl to her vehicle since it’s dark outside.”
“I think the worst crime to have ever happened in Epperly was some graffiti at the new skate park.”
“See … that’s what I love about this town. It’s so pure and innocent.” He led the way to the front door, unlocked it, and held it open for me.
I stepped past him. “Innocent? Sure. Except for that Elsie Smith. I hear she’s a little promiscuous.”
He laughed, locking the door behind us. “If I’m the only guy you’re having sex with, then I’m not sure that counts as promiscuous.”
We walked toward my Tahoe. No hand-holding. No linking arms. Nothing that would look suspicious to the few people still milling around the square.
“Well, what if you’re not the only guy I’m having sex with?” Of course he was. But I needed to keep checking in on our situation. It really was too good to be true.
Oh the irony …
So many young women looked for guys who would commit and be faithful. Give them that coveted monogamy. I was once that young woman.
Not anymore.
I wanted the opposite of everything I had with Craig. It wasn’t that I wanted to erase a single minute of our lives together (save for the last day I saw him). I simply wanted a part of my life to truly be mine.
My needs.
My desires.
My secret.
He kicked the heel of my boot with the toe of his, a subtle gesture that no one else saw. “Then I’d better keep up on my STD testing and not ever oblige you with my naked tip again. Epperly may be a small town, but STDs don’t care about population size.”
I liked that he was the cautious one. Since really … he would be the one spreading the hypothetical STDs. Twenty-two years in a monogamous marriage left me with a lot, but never an STD.
When we arrived at my SUV, I turned toward him before opening my door. We kept a safe distance of several feet, hands in our pockets.