A few minutes later it was almost as though I had never left, but this time, instead of putting my things in the guest room, he put them in his bedroom. I wanted to protest, but thought against it. If we are going to do things differently, living like a divorced couple when we wanted to work on our marriage wouldn't cut it.
The first days of our new relationship were awkward. We both weren't sure how to go about it. Carey was a little too generous with gifts for one. Every day, he would come back from work with a box of something. A bottle of my favorite wine. A box of Belgian chocolates. An expensive necklace. An exclusive watch. It was after he gave me the watch one evening did I tell him to stop. He looked deflated.
"You don't like them?" We sat across each other from the dining room table. The mahogany wood was not enough to not make me painfully aware of his presence. Even though we were a few feet from each other, it felt intimate, as though we were sitting side by side.
"I don't think affection can be bought, which I feel is what you're trying to do."
"Consequences of being raised by a tyrant and an evil stepmother," he said, sighing.
"They're not bad!" I felt like I had killed whatever hope he had for our future. "The necklace is cute." It was a diamond encrusted sapphire on a white gold band. It was elegant and expensive looking, while also being understated. The type of jewelry that can go with anything.
"But you don't like it."
I couldn't lie to him and say I did. I would always be worried about losing it whenever I wore it. My lack of response was enough to tell him how I really thought.
"And the watch? You don't like it too."
"It's nice." Like the necklace, it too had a white gold band, rose gold face encrusted with diamonds around it. Pretty, but I wouldn't wear it every day. I would be too afraid to lose it.
"You don't like it either." He reached for the watch case that was lying open. I snatched it back. "I'm not saying I won't wear it." The watch was pretty. I clasped it on my wrist, picked up my fork. I scrambled my brain for a new subject and asked him about his work. Twenty minutes deep into the case Carey was currently working on, the watch forgotten. It was good that he was trying. It made want to try as well.
After dinner was done, we both retired to bed. There had been an unspoken truce between us ever since I came back. We were both keeping each other at a distance, waiting for one to make the first move. And while we were sleeping together, henever rolled to my side of the bed and I never to his. But that night was different. That night I must have rolled over to him because when I woke up I had my arm around him, cuddling him. Shocked, I tried to snatch my hand back, but he held it to his chest. "Five more minutes," he mumbled. I froze and let the time pass while my gaze was glued to his back. He didn't have a shirt on, so I could admire the beautiful contours of his back that were constructed by a rigorous gym attendance. My other hand brushed the ridge of his spine of scapula, admiring it.My husband is handsome even where it least matters. A groan rumbled from his chest before he turned around to face me. He took both of my hands and imprisoned them between our chests as he swung his leg over mine.
"You're playing with fire," he said. His erection felt hot as it nudged against my center. I went still even though I wanted to rub myself against it. I shifted to get away from him, but I only did what I didn't want to do, I rubbed myself against him. We both moaned.
"Fuck Thalia." He shifted us so he was on top of me and me under him before claiming my lips. His kiss was leisurely, but laced with barely restrained fire. It was both frustrating and exquisite. His hands left mine as one went to clasp my breast and the other my ass, bringing my sex closer to his as he humped me like a sex-starved teenager. The silk nightdress I had on was a pathetic barrier to his rampant assault. I wanted more. And just when I thought he was going to remove my dress and fuck me like a man demented, he stopped and got out of bed. He had remembered the unspoken truce at the last moment, and part of me wished he hadn't.
Darcy and I were in the middle of doing an inventory assessment when one of the shop assistants told me I had avisitor. "Your husband," she added. Darcy looked up from her laptop and stared at me.
"What?" I was responsible for entering figures for our formal footwear inventory while Darcy dealt with the casual items. It was a long and thankless task, but we were close to being done.
"How are things?"
"Good. He's been very attentive lately. Too attentive, some might say."
She paused and gripped her laptop screen. "Love bombing?"
"I wouldn't call it that. He has…issues with affection. Everything is either zero or hundred. Right now, he's on hundred." I lifted my hand to show her the watch. "Case in point."
Darcy's gasp was enough confirmation that the watch was indeed as expensive as I thought, if not more. "He's laying it on thick."I sighed, getting up. Darcy rolled her eyes. "Give me a break. You can't tell me you're not loving the attention."
"Kinda, to be honest. But I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. For all of this to be some sort of sick revenge for what I did to him."
Darcy smirked. "Trust me, it's not."
I got to the front of the shop to find him perusing the shoes in the formal pumps section. "Find anything you like?" He smiled. A genuine smile that made my heart melt. Jack passed by, arms full of boxes, and Carey's eyes darkened.
Carey turned his attention back to me. "Yes." He hooked his hand around my waist and drew me to him before placing a passionate kiss that had my head spinning when he finally let go of my lips. He still held me in his arms, though. His gaze bore into me, making my insides melt. "Are you busy?"
"Yeah, very." We weren't done stock taking, and if he came here to take me out for lunch, who knows how long I'd be? I didn't want to leave Darcy with the burden.
He growled and dropped his forehead to mine. "I have a birthday surprise for you that can't wait."
"My birthday is on Saturday." It was Thursday.
"Who said celebrations can't start early?"
I tried to pull back, but his hold was firm and part of me wanted to stay in his embrace, as unprofessional as it was.
