Stormy Surrender - By Nicole Andrews Moore Page 0,88

her belongings.

“Nothing should surprise me anymore where you are concerned,” she said seriously. She turned to face him. “Thank you. Thank you for all of this.”

The POD was unloaded within the hour. The furniture was placed where she directed. And the boxes were neatly stacked in the rooms that they were labeled for. She had taken the bed from the guest bedroom at the Vermont house, having decided that she wanted nothing to do with the bed that Blaine had no doubt been carrying on his affair in. She had always preferred the guest bed anyway. It was a queen sized bed with a white wrought iron head board and foot board with this ivy scroll work pattern. In fact, she had taken all the furniture from that room…the night stands, the dresser, the chest of drawers, and even the Lane cedar chest from the foot of the bed that she had been filling for years with quilts she had made in various patterns and sizes.

Joey watched her direct his crew with a firm yet gentle hand. He saw the excitement building as she turned her new house into a home. She looked great, despite having slept in a car, being long overdue for a shower…and the bruises that had formed on the side of her face. She was clearly in her element. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her. And once everything was unloaded and the truck had pulled away, he went outside to give them further instruction.

“I’m giving you guys a long weekend, since you’ve already had a long week. See you bright and early Monday morning. Enjoy.” And with that he turned and headed back into the house.

Marti was puttering around in the kitchen, starting to unpack boxes and find a place for all the dishes and cooking supplies. When she saw him standing in the doorway staring at her, she smiled. “What do you think?”

“It’s just like I imagined it,” he said. Walking over to her, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed. “So you ready for that shower and nap? We can have a late lunch when we wake up.”

She smiled and nodded happily as she followed him to her room.

They undressed each other lovingly and with the confidence that comes from closeness and shared experience. As soon as they had finished removing every item of clothing, he carried the pile into the laundry room and started the wash. She smiled to herself. It wasn’t terribly romantic, but it was practical. Blaine had been charming, but there was no substance to him, to their life. She was ready for more after all those wasted years.

The shower was incredible. He had remodeled the shower so that they had multiple shower heads. There was no fighting for hot water. Instead, they could easily stay warm and still lather each other up. It was a lovely experience, but the longer she spent being close to him without the sex, the more impatient she became. Joey sensed it and because of her reactions to his touch and his kisses, he had taken to laughing at her.

“Listen, princess, I want you, too.” He used his finger to force her chin so that she had to look at him, but she still tried to avert her eyes.

“What makes you think I want to be with you again?” She jutted that chin out defiantly and earned a smile.

“Oh, you don’t? Well, then never mind.” He started to turn away from her, when she stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

When he faced her, he found a look on her face that he tried to decipher. She seemed suddenly insecure and it bothered him some that he had made her look that way. “I might be just a little anxious for a repeat performance,” she admitted with a smirk. “I really think I should know for sure whether that was just a fluke. Maybe you’re a one trick pony and that was our golden day. Maybe there’s nothing special left. We should know now, before we get serious.” She smiled up at him.

“Baby, I want you, but I want it to be good and special and more than anything, I want it to be memorable. And right now, I’m running on fumes. Come nap with me and we’ll take it from there.” He pulled back the comforter on the bed she had just recently made and watched as she slipped beneath the Egyptian cotton sheet. She looked so damn