Man Up Husband Read online

  He's right. I can't stop my body from trembling. I can't hold it together any longer.

  "He won’t understand," I yell as I raise my hands up to my head. "Maybe he'd understand if you did it, but not me. I’ll just tell him the scratch happened at the grocery store. God, I can't believe I fucked up like this."

  "Hey." Cooper reaches out, pulls me to his chest, and wraps his arms around me. "It was a mistake, that's all. Everyone makes mistakes. You can't beat yourself up over it."

  I don't pull away. I allow the tears to stream from my eyes. "Trust me, I've been making so many mistakes lately. There's this, and I forgot to pay the mortgage last week. He doesn't know about that either, at least not yet. All I ever hear from him is how irresponsible I am, how I don't pay attention to what I'm doing."

  He rubs my back. "You're busy running after a toddler. Last Troy told me, Mia sleeps through the night, but she doesn't nap at all during the day. You're entitled to make mistakes. And if the fucking prick wants to make sure the bills are paid on time, he should pay them himself."

  "He does." I wipe my eyes and push myself out of Cooper's embrace. "Only this month we were a little short and I had to bring the payment directly to the bank. I did it, but because it's not something I normally do, I forgot and it was a few days late. Look, I don't want to ask you to lie to Troy, but things haven't been great between us for a while, and the last few days, it's like . . . I don't know, almost like a new beginning. Like a redo. I just don't want things to go back to the way they were."

  Cooper shakes his head and smiles. "Of course I won't say anything, I'm just fucking with you. But seriously, Marlena. It was just an accident. No harm, no foul, so stop beating yourself up and go inside so I can fix this."

  As soon as I open the door from the garage to the kitchen, I hear the loud, obnoxious banging of something against my pot. Great. Making noise is Mia's favorite pastime.

  "Hey, baby." I say, scooping my little princess off the floor and effectively stopping her from hitting the wooden spoon against the pot again. My plan works. Sort of. Instead of hitting the spoon against the pot, Mia thrashes in my arms, trying to escape. Instead of wriggling out of my hold, she smashes her head into mine, and then hits me hard with the oversized spoon.

  "Stop that!" I yell, turning her around so that we're eye to eye. "Stop that right now!" I place Mia back on the floor and point in the direction of her room. Understanding she did something wrong, Mia bursts into tears and rushes to her sanctuary.

  Immediately I feel guilty. I didn't mean to scream in her face like that. This is turning out to be a really shitty day. My head is pounding, throbbing like it's going to explode. It started the moment I closed the garage door on my car and has gotten progressively worse ever since. And I'm fucking dizzy again. No, not exactly dizzy, it's more like lightheadedness, with a strong pressure in my head, pushing from the inside out. That paired with this massive headache makes me feel like I'm suffering the world's worst hangover.

  I hate this feeling. It never fully goes away anymore. It's always lingering in the background, threatening to gain strength and power if I misbehave. I wish I could rip my head off and replace it with a new one.

  I lean my back against the sink and slide down to the floor. I sit there with my knees bent, holding my head between my hands. Maybe if I press a tiny bit harder, it will dull the pain. At this angle, the sunlight bouncing off my stainless steel refrigerator shines directly into my eyes and makes everything worse. I can't get up off the floor just yet, I need a minute to pull myself together, but this blinding light shining in my eyes isn't helping. I lay down on my side, using my hands as a pillow for my head. Good thing I washed the floor this morning.

  "Okay, all done," Cooper comes barreling into the kitchen.

  I push myself up into a sitting position and try to stand before he sees me on the floor. Instead of getting to my feet, I lose my balance and knock into the cabinet behind me.

  "Shit, what happened? Are you okay?" Cooper grabs my wrist and helps pull me up.

  "Fine. I just have a headache and I got a little dizzy. That's all."

  He lets out a long breath. "You know I don't believe you, right? You've been acting strange for a while now. None of this is you, Marlena. None of it. Especially keeping things from Troy. The last time you kept something from him, it almost destroyed you guys."

  "That's because it was about you. He didn't need to know that we met months before. And then when you told him, you couldn't drop it. You just made everything worse. Besides, what do you know about Troy and me?"

  "I know what I need to, and it's that you two are crazy about each other, and whatever is going on, he'd want to know. You guys are in this for better or for worse. Marlena, he has the right to know."

  I shake my head, too weak to argue with Cooper. "You said yourself, I'm tired and stressed from chasing after Mia all day."

  He nods. "So you're not going to tell me the truth?"

  I look away and gain my resolve before facing him again. "I told you the truth. I'm fine."

  "Alright, great. The garage door is fixed."

  "It is? Does it work?"

  "I said it's fixed, didn't I?"

  Chapter 4

  Troy

  I press harder on the accelerator. I'm only a few minutes away from home, but I can't get there fast enough. A sick boss means cancelled calls and meetings. The sudden onset of Jacqueline's stomach flu clears up my entire afternoon at a moment's notice since I needed her in today's meetings. I jump at the opportunity to leave the office early and surprise Marlena.

  My first instinct is to head straight home, but instead I take a detour and visit a boutique I never thought I'd be visiting. It takes longer than I expected, but it'll be worth it if Marlena likes the little trinkets I picked up.

  I glance over at the neatly wrapped box on the passenger seat next to me. It's just a small token, a little something, but I'm excited about the possibilities. What's better is she'll never expect what's inside. And if she agrees to that, she's going to love the other little surprise I have for her.

  I hope me being home early will convince Mia to take a nap. I feel selfish and greedy to want to spend time alone with my wife, but I love how connected we've been over the last few days. My body tingles with anticipation, thinking about kissing her, touching her. It's like when we first started dating and I couldn't stop thinking of her or get enough of her. The way she shudders when my lips press against her neck sends a thrill straight to my cock. And her body, every time she's near, she stops to embrace me and melds her soft, curvy body against mine, even if it's only for a moment. How I've missed that.

  I pull into my driveway, paying little attention to anything but getting in the house and having my way with Marlena. I just hope she's not too busy for me. Screw that, whatever she's got planned can wait until later.

  I grab the thin box before getting out of the car. I want to surprise her, so I head for the front door rather than go in through the garage. I just hope I don't end up scaring the shit out of her. My teeth graze over my bottom lip, already feeling aroused, and my pulse races as I turn my key in the lock. In a matter of seconds, I hope to have my fingers threading through her hair and my mouth on hers. I imagine she'll jump into my arms and wrap her legs around my waist as I carry her into the bedroom.

  "Surprise!" I call out as I push the front door open.

  "Troy!" Marlena sounds surprised, that's for sure. And the look of guilt plastered on her face as her wide eyes dart between Cooper and I are a lot more telling than I'd like them to be. My semi-hard on is gone.

  "Hey, man," Cooper steps toward me.

  I'm numb. Just fucking numb to find him in my house, alone with my wife while I'm supposed to be at work. I swallow hard, tamping down the urge to lunge at him and punch him in his perfect fucking nose. I can't. If I jump to conclusions and I'm wrong, I'll lose Marlena for good. If I'm right though, then I already lost her and it won't make any difference. I struggle, fi
ghting my inner battle in silence.

  "I was just heading out. I need to get back to Selene and Jaxson."

  My heart sinks a little deeper. "They're not here?" I don't know why I bother to ask, but somewhere deep in my heart, I want them to be. I want Selene to be changing Jaxson's diaper in Mia's room. I want to pretend his marriage is as great as he makes it sound, because if it is, then there has to be another explanation why he's here. Something. Anything, other than he's fucking my wife.

  "No. We ran out of diapers and formula, so Selene sent me to the store."

  "And you ended up here? Last I checked, there are at least half a dozen grocery stores between your place and mine."

  "You're right. You caught me. Sorry, man, I needed a woman's opinion and since Lexi isn't here, I thought Marlena might be able to help."

  It doesn't escape me that Cooper is the one doing all the talking. Unfortunately, I know how quick he is at spewing shit that sounds good to cover his ass. I've stood by his side and watched as he did it for years. Only he never pulled this shit on me. Marlena hasn't moved at all, and I feel her eyes boring into me. Is she waiting to see if I buy his load of shit?

  "Oh, yeah?" I force a smile on my lips, pretending my heart isn't soaring up in the air screeching like a firework ready to explode. "What did you need?"

  "I want to surprise Selene, get her a gift. Something she'll never expect."

  I narrow my eyes at my wife with interest. It's plausible. Still, I'm not sure if I believe Cooper. "Why? What did you do this time?"

  "Fuck you," he says with a jovial air. "I'm just that kind of husband. You know what I mean," he drops his gaze toward the box in my hand. Fucker doesn't miss anything.

  "And what did you suggest?" I ask my wife, my eyes questioning her more than my words.

  Her lips pull up into a wide smile. "Diamonds, of course. Every woman loves diamonds. But in this case, I thought either diamond earrings or a diamond necklace. Whichever is going to cost him more money."

  Cooper's smiling, too. Like there is something humorous in what Marlena just said. He shakes his head. "I should've known better than to ask someone that hates me."

  "You wanted my opinion."

  "Let me get out of here and head over to the jewelers."

  "Good idea."

  It's just casual banter, but I'm on my toes, ready to pounce if I catch something off. Anything. I realize that I'm waiting for a slip up, expecting one, which makes me wonder if the problem is me.

  "Can you do me a favor?" He looks at Marlena. "In about ten minutes, can you call Selene? Let her know I stopped by, and I'm on my way home so she doesn't worry. Tell her I just left. I'd call myself, but then she'll want to know why I was here, and I might blow the surprise."

  "Yeah, of course."

  There it is, the something that's off. Her eyes drop to the ground. She's upset. But why? Because she has to talk to his wife? Cooper threw me off by asking Marlena to call Selene. He actually wants his wife to know he was here alone with Marlena. I don't get it. Unless he's telling the truth? I guess anything is possible.

  I know of one way to force the issue, to peek at his hand. I need to see them all together.

  "Coop, why don't you guys come over for dinner? We'll order a pizza," I say to Marlena so she knows I didn't just add a shit load of work to her day. "We haven't hung out just the four of us in a long time, and the kids will have a blast."

  Cooper smiles and pats me on the shoulder. "Sounds great, man. I guess you were right all along."

  "Yeah, what about?"

  "Married life is pretty fucking awesome." He opens the front door, then pauses a moment. "What time should we be here?"

  Maybe I did overreact. Cooper knows I'll mention finding him here alone with Marlena. He wouldn't want Selene to know if he had anything to hide. He promised her full disclosure when they got back together. Since then, he's been the perfect father and husband. And maybe even friend, too. Maybe Marlena's right and I'm too fucking paranoid. I run my hand through my hair, pulling my shit together.

  "Six-thirty."

  "Looking forward to it."

  "Me too." I smile. This time it's a real one.

  "Da-da!" Mia squeals, running to me as Cooper shuts the door behind him.

  "Hey princess." I place the box on the floor while I swing my baby girl up and toss her in the air.

  "What are you doing home so early?" Marlena asks.

  "My afternoon cleared up, so I came home because there's nothing I would rather do than spend time with you. I would've been here sooner, but I stopped to pick something up for you."

  "Ooh, a present." She pulls back and raises her large brown eyes up to meet mine.

  I settle my daughter back on her feet and pull my wife, who's now holding the gift, against my chest. Marlena's arms tighten around me as she nuzzles her face against me.

  "Sorry it's not diamonds," I say, a little worried and no longer excited about it. Now that I know what she's looking for, I know this is going to be a big disappointment.

  "I knew you weren't okay with him being here," she snaps, and I feel her whole body get rigid.

  "That's not true." I reach my hands up and place them on either side of her face. "You told me there's nothing going on, and I believe you."

  "Then why would you say that?"

  I offer a smile, trying to disarm her. "You just finished telling Cooper that every woman wants diamonds."

  She relaxes into me once again. "I don't need diamonds, Troy. I just need you. I said that to piss him off. I thought you knew that."

  Maybe that was what the amused look between them meant? He got it and I didn't.

  "I can't wait to open it!" I hear excitement in her voice, but her eyes tell a different story. They're glassed over, and I'm wondering if she's going to cry. Come to think of it, they're glassed over a lot of the time.

  "Go on, open it."

  Marlena smiles, running her nail under the tape of the wrapping paper. I work at gauging her reaction as she pulls the top of the box off. She raises her eyebrows and lifts the plush, black blindfold up to inspect it. Her lips part as she takes a deep breath.

  "Do you think we can find something to occupy Mia while we try this out?" I ask.

  “I’ll go set some things up in her room. It should buy us at least half an hour."

  *

  I hit the jackpot with the blindfold. It heightens every sensation for Marlena. Once her eyes are covered, I head into the closet and pull out one of her silky scarves.

  "Hold your wrists together," I order.

  She offers them to me, and I bind them together and then lay her down on the bed. Once she's positioned where I want her, I lift her arms and tie the scarf around two spindles of the headboard. She's vulnerable, giving herself to me, and she never looked hotter.

  I make a point of skimming my fingers and lips over her entire body, keeping my eyes trained on how she moves and writhes beneath my hands. Once she's used to it, I pull the fur glove I bought along with the blindfold from my back pocket. I glide it over her most sensitive parts, causing sounds of pleasure to escape her mouth. With every swipe over her skin, she moans and presses her body up to meet my touch.

  I look at her, taking in her beautiful, naked body. Her breasts are swollen, nipples taut and extended. I take my time alternating between using my mouth and the fur on each breast. When I think she's getting too used to the sensation there, I run the fur across her neck and shoulders, down her sides and stomach, up her thighs and right over her pussy.

  I'm getting off on the look of ecstasy on her face as I delight in tormenting her by taking my time touching and teasing every centimeter of her skin in this way. Every now and then, my name leaves her lips, and I think my dick gets a little harder each time I hear it. A light sheen of sweat forms in Marlena's creases. I don't let this rush me, I continue taking my time, making sure she feels every sensation as I go along, stopping to tease her clit with my other hand every now and then.

&
nbsp; "Please, Troy, I need you inside me." Those are the most satisfying words in the English language. "I can't take anymore," she whines, begging for release.

  I don't want to wait either, but I can't give her what she wants just yet. She responds better when I draw it out. I spread her legs and climb between them. I tease her and myself, rubbing against her opening, enjoying the moment. Marlena's hands pull against her bindings, trying to touch me. She can't. Not unless I release her. She's pulling harder against them. It's a delightful form of torture, watching her get worked up like this.

  "Please, Troy," she moans.

  Her legs wrap around my waist and I plunge inside her. Her hips meet my thrusts as she loses herself to the rhythm of the music our bodies are playing. It happens much faster than normal, I feel her pussy tightening, hugging me. She's crying out and throbbing around me. I can't hold back anymore. I let go and hold her tight, clinging to her as my body twitches and jerks while I spill inside of her.

  When we're through, we're breathing heavily, and sweat covers both our bodies. I release her hands and pull the blindfold off. I stay on top of her for a long moment, staring in her chocolate brown eyes. Marlena is my definition of love and perfection. I'm awed that even right now at this moment, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I run my fingers down the side of her face as I bring my lips to hers.

  "Come shower with me," I cajole my wife, trailing kisses along her neckline with my arms holding her as close as I can to me.

  She yawns and stretches out on the bed. "Can't. I need to go check on Mia. She's been too quiet."

  Marlena's right. Mia didn't yell or cry. She didn't bang on her door once since we shut her up in her bedroom. I'm hoping she checks on Mia and then joins me. She doesn't though, and as one minute gives way to another, my disappointment grows.

  I stay in the shower longer than I should, letting the hot water rain down on me. The entire bathroom is clouded over with steam. It's the perfect background for round two. I think about taking Marlena again, under the spray of water, and I feel my cock rising to life. I just want to fuck her again and again until she's too sore to move or I can't get it up any more. Realizing it's all in vain, that she isn't going to join me, I turn the water off and take my time toweling off, hoping she'll have a change of heart because she finds my body just as alluring and intoxicating as I find hers.