Marriage For One

“That’s slightly better,” I commented, my hands on his shoulders.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“I’m buying new tables,” I announced instead of responding to his question.

He frowned. “What?”

“New tables—we need them. We’re always full and we have the space too, so I’m buying new tables.” I smiled widely. “Yay!”

“That’s good, baby, but—”

That word, that baby—hearing it for the first time from his lips caused a full body shiver. It was something about his voice that just added to the endearment. I’d never even considered that I would love to be called baby, but this…this specific one coming from this specific guy, it stopped me in my tracks. I could’ve spent the rest of my life just being called baby by Jack Hawthorne.

“Hmmm,” I moaned in the hopes of distracting him. I leaned in and nuzzled his nose with my own, whispering against his lips, “Should I even let you know how much I love your voice? Or the way my name sounds when it comes from your lips?” I gently kissed his top lip then his lower lip, and then I went in for a deeper kiss, searching for his tongue. “That baby just about killed me, Jack.”

“You’re trying to distract me,” he muttered, and I smiled because it was exactly what I was doing and it was working perfectly. I tilted my head to the side and took a big breath before going in again.

No one had ever kissed me like Jack Hawthorne did, and I didn’t think I ever wanted to find out if there was anyone else out there who could.

“Why would I do that?” I whispered, my lips still touching his. I bit my lip. “Don’t get angry, I’m not saying we should act on it, but I really want you, Jack. Just so you know.”

I felt his smile against my mouth and then his warm chuckle. The sound made my heart sigh in happiness.

“Really? I had no idea. You only say and text it every day, a couple times a day.”

“And you never say it, or text it, or do it.”

“Because I can control myself.”

I kissed him again, taking it slow, coaxing him. “You’re very good at that.”

He smiled into our kiss, nipping at my lips.

I leaned forward until my lips were right next to his ear. “But I want to hear you say you want me. Tell me you want me, Jack. At least give me that much.”

I drew back and looked into his eyes. I could see the sparkle in his beautiful deep blues.

“You think I don’t want you?”

Keeping my eyes on his, I slowly shrugged. His jaw clenched and he looked toward the doorway where I could hear Sally steaming milk and Owen talking to a customer. I didn’t care about where we were, not really, not when I was with Jack. Whenever he was around me, I felt like I was on top of the world, and the fact that he always brushed me off because he was genuinely worried about my health only intensified my need for him. I didn’t think he was indifferent at all, but I liked pushing him. I especially liked watching his eyes flare up every time I told him I wanted him.

“You make me forget my name when you kiss me,” he whispered into my ear. “Wanting you is all I’ve been doing, and when I finally fuck you like I’ve wanted to—”

Every time he said fuck with that rough voice of his, my eyes fluttered closed on their own. Before I could learn what was going to happen when I was finally fucked by my husband, Sally walked in on us.

“Rose, do you think you could—oh, I’m sorry. Sorry. Ah, I’ll wait out here.”

I rested my head on Jack’s shoulder and groaned.

He cleared his throat and tilted my chin up. “We need to be at the hospital in an hour.”

“But I thought today—”

He arched an eyebrow. “I reminded you just this morning, before you ran out of the car, so don’t try to act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. They scheduled your MRI and your antibiotic shot for today. We need to be there in an hour.”

I cupped his face with both my hands. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him I loved him, and I didn’t even know where the thought had come from. I knew I was falling for him, but I hadn’t realized I was already there. “Okay. All jokes aside, I love that you’re taking care of me,” I said seriously. “I’ve never had that before. I’m sorry if I’m pushing you too much. You know I never really had family, but you—”

He kissed me, a quick and hard and fierce kiss. “What am I? Chopped liver? You could never push me too much. Don’t ever stop pushing me.”