Steele (Arizona Vengeance 9)

“Oh, shit, Ella,” Jim exclaims as he pushes his way into the house, causing me to back up. He sets the bags down, then pulls me into his arms. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m not,” I blurt out, dashing the tears away with the back of my hand before they can even fall.

Jim chuckles, pulls me in for a hug, and rocks me back and forth. “I thought you might be touched and I’d get a reaction, but I was more hoping along the lines of you jumping my bones.”

I snort, then laugh as I tip my head back to see him. “You’re crazy. And sweet and wonderful. I can’t believe you drove over here in your pajamas.”

“Will there be jumping of bones?” he asks with a waggle of his eyebrows.

“There most certainly will,” I assure him, but then worry at my lower lip. “But… I wanted to do something for you. You’ve done so much to show your commitment the last several weeks that I wanted to give you something. To show you that I see you. I not only see what you’re doing, but I also feel it to the depths of my bones. And yet here you are again… putting me on the pedestal when I’d like to share it with you.”

Jim scoffs, releasing me. He pivots, bends, and pulls Brody out of the grocery bag where his head is completely stuffed inside, rooting around. I had not even realized the pup had gotten into it.

Holding the dog under his arm, he says, “I’m not doing this to put you on a pedestal, Ella, although I believe you belong on one. I want to do this because I should have done this before with you, and I missed out. I’m here because I want to spend a day with my wife with no distractions, no interruptions, no other people, and nothing in the world to come in between us.”

At that moment, Brody lifts his head and nips at Jim’s jaw. Laughing, he puts Brody down. “Except maybe one mischievous puppy.”

“We’re golden,” I reply slyly. “That dog likes to sleep a lot!”

“Perfect,” Jim says, bending over to release Brody to the floor. He picks up the grocery bags. “Now, let me put all this junk food away. If it’s okay with you, I’d personally like to start our day of relaxation by making love to my wife.”

A shiver runs up my spine. It’s exactly how I’d choose to start our day together. “I’ll let Brody out while you put that stuff away.”

“Then go get naked,” Jim orders.

I laugh and move to the back door, calling Brody to follow. I like bossy Jim. Mostly, I do what he tells me to do when sex is involved, but I think this monumental day should start with at least some sort of gift to Jim.

I think some sexy lingerie is the ticket. It has always driven him crazy, and we usually both benefit greatly when he’s a little crazy in the bed.

?

What started slow—undulating movements with our bodies pressed tight and our mouths fused—eventually turned into my legs on Jim’s shoulders as he pounds away between my legs. I’m practically folded in half, his palms pressed into the mattress, and the most ferocious look of near pleasure on his face. At this angle, he’s hitting me so deeply I’ll feel him for days.

Watching him fully immersed in the pleasure my body gives him, I think nothing can be as beautiful. When he plants himself in deep, he tips his head back until I see the muscles and veins rippling in his neck. He cries out his release to the ceiling, and a tiny frisson of pleasure ripples through me. Perhaps leftover remnants from the orgasm I had but seconds ago, but it’s telling I can get physical pleasure just from watching my husband experiencing it.

“Christ,” Jim gasps as he eases up, then gently pulls my legs from his shoulders. My hips twinge in protest, but it’s soon forgotten as Jim rolls to his back and brings me on top of him.

I kiss his chest before folding my arms across it. Resting my chin there, I look down. He still seems a little hazy from what appeared to be an earth-shattering orgasm, but he grins back.

Jim’s hand comes up to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear. My ponytail came out at the same time I put on a lacy black camisole with crotchless panties for him. “You are, without a doubt, the sexiest, most fuckable woman in the entire world.”

I shake my head. “And how do you know that?” I tease. “Compared me to a lot?”

The minute I say those words, a chill runs through my body. I was just being figurative, but it hits me… Jim and I have been separated for a long time. We had no duty to stay faithful to each other.