Chapter Two
Jesse
After
When Emery had designed and built our house, he made the back of our master bedroom an entire wall of windows. There were eight massive panes of glass, all of them uncovered. He didn’t want anything hindering the view of the mountains or the two acres of forest in between. That meant from the moment the sun rose to the second it set, our room was filled with light. Normally, I was out of bed before the rays touched my face. But today, I felt their warmth heating my skin and I saw it sparking over the white fluffy comforter. Every few seconds the glimmering fabric would shift, movement originating from between my legs.
That was where Emery’s mouth was.
“Ahhh,” I moaned, bending my knees while I gripped the fabric beneath me. I drove the top of my head into the pillow as a sensation began to build in my core. My chest heaved from the intensity of it. I rocked my hips forward once the tingling shot through my navel and went straight up to my breasts. “Emery!”
He licked past each wave of pleasure, his fingers circling within me, causing the quietest scream to empty from my lips.
I couldn’t let the kids hear me.
But I couldn’t hold it in either.
I tilted my head forward just in time to see the blanket fall past his neck, finally revealing my husband’s face. Our eyes connected as the final shudder ripped through my body. “Emery,” I said once more, this time much softer, and this time with the last bit of energy I had left.
He flattened his tongue, swiping it slower, and I breathed out a final sigh. Then, I released the sheet and straightened my knees, my body fully pressed against the bed.
Where I remained still, Emery moved to the spot next to me, wrapped an arm across my navel, and rested his chin on my shoulder. “I wish I could do that every morning.”
He still looked at me as though I were eighteen, the age when we’d met. As though I hadn’t bore two children. As though I were the sexiest woman in the world despite designing shapewear that kept me sucked in. As though his mouth on my body was how he genuinely wanted to start every day.
Most of my girlfriends complained about having too much sex with their husbands, acting like it was a chore. I was the opposite. Emery and I always had a healthy sex life and the kids never got in the way of that.
I extended my arm, brushing my fingers through his hair.
How did I get so lucky?
As my fingers squeezed a section of his locks, I remembered I still hadn’t told him my news. It had been a whole forty-eight hours since I’d informed my team and I hadn’t breathed a word of it to him.
It was too hard.
But it was time.
Fortunately, I’d stumbled upon the perfect way to introduce it. “You can,” I said softly into his face.
I moved my hand to his cheek just as he said, “I can’t get up at five to catch you before your run. I hate early mornings, you know that.”
My fingers twitched as each of his words vibrated against my skin.
My run.
I pushed that thought aside.
“That’s not what I’m suggesting,” I told him.
“What’s your idea then?”
I waited until I knew my voice would be completely steady before I said, “I stepped back from Cinched.”
He pulled away from my shoulder to get a better view of me, his stare moving between my eyes. So many different emotions crossed face. “When?”
“Friday.”
“Jesse, why didn’t you tell me?”
His tone told me he was hurt and that was understandable. We told each other everything.
We used to … at least.
“I needed a minute to process, Emery. This was a big decision for me to make and I’ve been extremely torn up about it.” Tears were filling my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall. “Since Dad …” And then I stopped, unable to finish the sentence.
“I get it, baby.” He sat up higher, his hand rubbing across my navel. “After losing your dad, you want to be with your family instead of spending eighty hours a week at the office.”
I nodded.
“You know I’ve wanted you to trim your workload for a while, so I’m really happy about this.” His lids narrowed and I could tell he wasn’t done speaking. “But, if you were thinking about pulling back, I just don’t understand why you didn’t talk to me about it.”
I took a breath, hating how hard it was to do that. “I didn’t want you to influence my decision. I wanted this move to be completely on me.”
He didn’t speak for several seconds, and then with a gentle voice he said, “I finally have you home.” His hand was now on my face, cupping my cheek. “What’s this going to look like?”
I nuzzled into his hold, grateful for what he’d asked as it was another topic I hadn’t been sure how to approach. “I don’t want to come home and suddenly be busier than when I worked full-time. I want more time with my kids. I want more time for us.”
He gripped me tighter as though he needed to emphasize, “I want that, too.”
“Then, Emery, I think you need to hire an assistant. Because, by being home, I worry that person will turn into me.”
For years he hadn’t wanted an assistant in our house. He had a team of designers who worked remotely and an accountant who did all his bookkeeping. He had no one to help him with the daily responsibilities even though he needed it desperately.
“I can see that happening,” he admitted.
I flattened my fingers against his arm and slowly moved them up to his chest. I loved how the short hairs felt against my skin. “If you’re going to be focused on Boston now, which is what you should be doing, you will need someone maintaining your day-to-day work and your other projects and someone who can travel and assist you while you’re in the city.”
I saw him consider the pros and cons and calculate a salary that we wouldn’t even notice was missing from our account.
“I think you’re right,” he said. “It’s time I hire one.”
I pressed my lips against his. Just once and only for a second, but kissing him as though I were rewarding him.
“I have one favor to ask,” he added.
“Okay.”