Читать книгу Obsession - Kayla Perrin - Страница 8

2

It was a little after nine in the evening when I pulled into the driveway of my Orlando home. My husband’s Cadillac Escalade was there—as I’d expected on a Sunday evening—and excited, I sprinted inside. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him until we ended up naked on the living room floor.

I was hoping he would have heard me pull up and be waiting for me at the door. He wasn’t. But Peaches, our orange and white tabby, was. She purred in greeting, and I bent to give her a quick rub on the head before making my way into the living room.

Peaches followed me, clearly needing more attention. I needed Andrew.

But he wasn’t in the living room. Hadn’t he heard me? He had to be somewhere in the house, so why hadn’t he come out to welcome me home? We hadn’t seen each other in five days. Maybe it was a little corny, but I expected him to stop whatever he was doing and rush out to meet me. Sweep me in his arms and not let me go until we were both screaming as we came.

“Andrew?” I called. When he didn’t answer, I frowned. Tonight, I wanted spontaneity. And creativity.

And sex all night long.

I wandered into the bedroom, where I found Andrew lying on the bed. My frown morphed into a small smile as I regarded him. He was on his back, his lips slightly parted as he snored softly.

“Oh, baby,” I said softly. “At least you’re getting your rest, so you should be in full form when I wake you up.”

The cat rubbed her body against my legs, purring. I bent down and scooped her up, then put her out the door and closed it.

“Sorry, Peaches, but I want no spectators for this.”

I padded across the room to the bed and eased my body down beside my husband’s. He didn’t stir. I stretched out beside him and planted my lips on his.

Andrew jerked awake, his eyes widening as he saw me.

I giggled. “Hi, baby.”

“Hi,” he said, his voice hoarse, then cleared his throat.

“Looks like someone had a hard day,” I commented. I placed my palm on his belly and kissed his chin. “But hopefully your little nap helped you regain some energy.”

“What time is it?”

“A little after nine,” I replied. Now, I kissed his lips.

“How was your trip?”

“Fun. Marnie definitely had a good time.” I smiled inwardly, remembering just how good a time, but I’d never share that with Andrew. “The trip was great for her.”

“That’s good, sweetheart.”

Good? Why wasn’t Andrew taking me in his arms and really kissing me?

I guess he was still groggy, but I was determined to wake him up. Lowering my hand to his groin, I stroked him through his pants. Then I pressed my mouth against his and kissed him deeply.

His cock hardened, and I purred, satisfied. Feeling a surge of feminine power, I eased my body onto his and straddled him. His hands went to my breasts, gently squeezing.

I gyrated myself against him, feeling his cock through my shorts. I moved my mouth from his, to his jaw, then to his earlobe, where I nibbled gently.

“I was having some naughty thoughts last night,” I whispered.

He snaked his hands around my waist. “You were, were you?”

“Mmm-hmm.” I pulled my head back to face him. “I even called. But you didn’t answer.”

Andrew’s hands stilled and he looked at me as if he wasn’t sure he heard me correctly. “You called last night?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“What time?”

“Late,” I answered. “But either you were sleeping, or you were out on the town partying.”

I was joking, but the quizzical look he gave me told me he didn’t think I was. “I guess I was extra tired. It’s been crazy at work with that convention going on. I ended up going in yesterday, since you weren’t here. You should see insurance adjusters throw them back at the bar. And I thought they were dull.”

I slipped my hand between our bodies. His cock was no longer hard. “Hey, big boy. What’s the matter?” I pouted. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“Of course I am.” Was I imagining it, or did he sound a tad defensive?

“Then why is it taking you so long to get me naked?” With my legs straddling him, I sat up and pulled my blouse over my head. I made quick work of unfastening my bra. “Touchme, baby. Taste my nipples. I want to you to fuck me so hard, you blow out my back.”

“Sophie,” Andrew said, his tone disapproving.

“Sorry, baby,” I said. Andrew didn’t like it when I cursed. “I just missed you, and you’re playing really hard to get right now.”

Andrew regarded me warily.

“Baby, please don’t tell me you’re too tired for this.” I began stroking him again. “I can do all the work. I just need you to be hard.”

“What exactly happened on your trip?” he asked.

“Meaning?”

“I don’t know. You seem unusually horny.”

Now I sat up and looked at Andrew with a perplexed expression. “Meaning there’s some crazy reason why I want to make love to my husband?”

Andrew’s shoulders moved in a slight shrug.

What was going on? “Do you think I did something wrong while I was away?”

“I didn’t say that.”

He couldn’t have sounded less convincing. He’d never been the jealous or possessive type, and I’d never given him a reason not to trust me. So I had no clue what was really going on here.

“To set the record straight,” I began slowly, sliding off his body, “I didn’t do a single thing you’d be mad at me for. Yeah, I had a lot to drink, stayed up late, and danced like I haven’t since I was in college, but every guy who talked to me knew that I was married.”

Andrew gave no indication that he’d heard me. Instead, he got off the bed and walked out of the room, leaving me confused. Did he not believe me, or was he simply itching for a fight? If that was the case, why was he mad? Because I’d gone away with Marnie? He hadn’t expressed any opposition to me going on the five-day trip.

I didn’t follow him. If he wanted a fight, I wasn’t going to give it to him. I put my shirt back on, knowing that for some crazy reason, I wasn’t getting any sex tonight.

The bedroom door now open, Peaches trotted into the room, determined to get some affection from me. She jumped up onto my lap. I began to massage her neck, taking some comfort from the fact that my pet would always be happy to see me.

A few minutes later, Andrew returned to the bedroom door. He stood there, resting his body against the door frame and looking conflicted.

“Are you mad at me because I went on this trip with Marnie?” I asked, getting to the point.

Andrew drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Something happened,” he said simply.

So work was bothering him. It wouldn’t be the first time that the stress from work continued to bother him when he got home. I was disappointed that his seeing me hadn’t pushed any work issues from his mind, but it was a relief to know that he didn’t believe I’d done anything to hurt him.

“Is it something serious?”

He nodded.

I don’t know why, but I got the sense that this something wasn’t a run-of-the-mill work issue. Maybe Andrew had messed something up at the hotel in a big way and head office was pissed with him. Or perhaps he was involved in a conflict with someone on his staff. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“It’s okay,” I told him. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

He stared into my eyes, then looked away, his face filled with angst.

“Andrew.” Just how bad was this? “You know I’ll support you no matter what.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

I frowned at him. Peaches rolled onto her back, giving me access to her stomach while she luxuriated in the attention I was giving her. “Why would you say that? Haven’t I always been there for you?”

When Andrew didn’t answer, achill crept down my spine, leaving a feeling of dread in its wake. It wasn’t like Andrew to not get right to the point. My God, something really awful must have happened.

My heart began to beat fast, several devastating scenarios jumping into my head. Had something happened to his parents? Had he gotten some awful news about his health from his doctor while I’d been away? Had he hit a child while driving?

Andrew sighed heavily. He was taking his time, gearing up to tell me the awful news, but I didn’t think my heart could take it.

“Please, Andrew. Just tell me!”

“You know I love you, right?”

“Yes, I know that,” I replied somewhat anxiously. “But I want to know what happened.”

He couldn’t look at me, making my fear worse. My eyes misted. Obviously, what had happened had been serious enough that Andrew hadn’t wanted to disturb me while I was on my trip.

I croaked, “Someone died?”

“No.”

“No?” A relieved giggle escaped my throat. “Thank God, Andrew.” I paused. Took a deep breath. “But something serious did happen, didn’t it?” Maybe he had gotten some awful news from his doctor.

“I…”

I waited. Listened. “What, baby?”

“I never wanted to hurt you.”

Those weren’t the words I’d expected to hear, and they caught me off guard, like biting into an apple and finding it’s filled with mold.

I gave him an odd look. “I don’t understand.”

“I…I did something. Something I’m not proud of.”

This had to be work related, some major screwup that had the head honchos breathing down his neck. God, maybe he’d been fired! Andrew was a manager at the Pelican Hotel and Resort in Kissimmee, close to Disney World, and the job had its share of stress. The people at Head Office didn’t always agree with how Andrew and his team ran things at the hotel.

But surely whatever he’d done wasn’t bad enough to get him fired.

“Jesus, this is so…” Andrew didn’t finish his statement.

“So what?” I prompted.

“I had an affair,” he blurted, so quickly that I was certain I hadn’t heard him correctly. After all, the cat’s loud purring could have made me mishear.

“What did you say?” I asked for confirmation, expecting him to say something else. Confirm for me that I’d misheard.

He looked at me now. “I had an affair.”

Stunned, I lowered the cat to the floor. As if she sensed the sudden tension in the room, she ran out the bedroom door.

“You—” I couldn’t repeat what he’d said.

“I’m so sorry,” he told me. He stepped into the room and closed the door. “I never meant to hurt you.”

All I could do was stare at Andrew. It was as though he had morphed into a stranger in front of my eyes.

“Please, Sophie. Say something.”

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t real.

Andrew walked toward me, slowly, as if trying to corner a scared dog. I didn’t say a word. Couldn’t. I was too numb.

But when he reached for me, I reacted instinctively, slapping his hand away. “Don’t touch me.” I suddenly heard the ragged breaths coming from my chest. I sounded awful. “Don’t you ever touch me again.”

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do—”

“Shut up. Just shut up!” I covered my ears with my hands. I wanted to block his words, as though not hearing them would make what he’d said go away.

My hands still over my ears, I stared at Andrew, my eyes imploring him to take back what he’d said. He held my gaze, but only for a few seconds. Then he looked down.

“Oh, my God.” I shot to my feet. “Oh, my God.”

“Sophie—”

Gasping, I stumbled past Andrew. I wanted to run out of the house, escape to a place where Andrew’s words wouldn’t hurt me. But as I got into the living room, my knees buckled, and I was lucky to collapse onto the sofa as opposed to the floor.

An affair? My husband had had an affair?

Andrew, the guy I’d known since I was nineteen, who had gently pursued me in college until I hadn’t been able to say no. The guy who’d given me a plastic ring in a bouquet of dandelions and told me that even though he wasn’t really proposing, he wanted me to know that one day he would.

If there had been anyone I could count on, anyone who I thought I could completely trust not to betray me in this way, it was Andrew.

My eyes filled with tears. Why, why, why? Why would he do this to me? How could he?

It wasn’t like I rolled over in bed at night and complained of being too tired to make love. If anything, I wanted it more than he did. He wasn’t as aggressive when it came to sex as he’d been in the beginning, but he also hadn’t been the tear-your-clothes-off kind of guy in the first place. That kind of man didn’t look for sex on the side when he had a wife ready and happy to please him.

No, what mattered to Andrew—or so he’d always said—was our commitment to each other. Passion could wane, but he’d assured me that our love would always be strong.

“Sophie.” He spoke softly, and I whipped my head up to see he was standing near the end of the sofa.

Seeing him standing there with a pained expression on his face was all it took for my confusion to turn to anger. He dared to look pained? After he had betrayed me?

“What do you want, a medal? You think because you had the guts to confess that I’m supposed to forgive you for fucking around?”

“No,” he said softly. “That’s not what I expect.”

“Then what the fuck do you want?” I was pissed, and didn’t care if my foul mouth offended him.

He shrugged. “I wanted you to know.”

“Aren’t you just the epitome of honor. Go to hell.”

I got to my feet and marched to the bedroom. But as soon as I was in there, I whirled around. I wanted answers from the man I’d given my heart to. The man I’d married and promised to be faithful to.

No, I deserved answers.

I was fuming, my nostrils flaring with each angry breath. “You fucked someone else. Tell me why.”

He said nothing.

“Tell me why! Wasn’t I good enough for you? Lord knows you always acted like sex wasn’t the be-all and end-all, so why the hell would you end up in someone else’s bed?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” I gaped at him. “What—were you abducted by aliens who removed your brain?”

Andrew said nothing.

“Was it a one-night stand?” I demanded. “Some slut you met out at some club?”

Nothing.

My stomach sank. “Someone you met at the hotel?”

Andrew didn’t reply.

An awful thought hit me, as painful as if Andrew had slapped me across the face. “She wasn’t a one-night stand…. Oh, God.”

Groaning, Andrew ran a hand over his face. “It’s not like…it’s not like it meant anything.”

“My God, you’re a walking fucking cliché.”

“Jesus, Sophie. Can we just…can we talk? I know I was wrong. I made a huge mistake.”

“I’ve heard enough bullshit from you.” I was cursing like a trucker, but I was angry.

“I’m trying to do the right thing here.” Andrew sounded exasperated. “That’s why I told you about it. I wanted you to hear it from me.”

Several beats passed. I was so livid, I was shaking. I needed to calm down. Not for Andrew’s sake, but for mine.

I drew in deep breaths, trying to bring myself to a better place. I wondered if I’d ever find a better place again.

“I thought I knew you,” I said. “I thought you loved me.”

“You think I don’t love you?” Andrew asked. “That’s the reason I’m telling you—because I love you. And I want to make this right.”

Make this right… As if it were so simple. As if what he’d done could be undone.

“Get out,” I told him.

He looked stunned. “What?”

“I want you gone. Out of my life. Forever, you son of a bitch.”

But even as I said the words, I couldn’t imagine a life without Andrew. Just a few months ago, Andrew and I had talked about finally having children. After having devoted the first eight years of our marriage to building up a nest egg, we were ready.

I drew in another breath and held it until my lungs burned. I didn’t want to cry, but damn it…Andrew had destroyed everything.

The dam broke on my last bit of self-control, and I began to weep. Huge, chest-heaving sobs.

Andrew gathered me in his arms and, though I wanted to, I had no energy to push him away. He held my head against his body and I cried until no more tears would come.

“God,” Andrew moaned. He stroked my hair lovingly, as though he were consoling me for an entirely different reason. “This is the last thing I wanted. To hurt you like this.”

His words pierced my heart. I took a step backward, wiping tears from my face. Somehow I was calm when I asked, “How did you think that cheating wouldn’t hurt me?”

“I know, I know. I sound like a moron. I’m just saying…all I can say is that I’m sorry.”

Feeling cold, I hugged my torso. Though I knew my arms wouldn’t keep me warm when the cold was emanating from inside me. “Sorry can’t erase something like this.”

Andrew nodded. “I get it.”

“Oh, stop giving me that look.”

“What look?”

“That wounded look. As if this is hurting you more than it’s hurting me.”

“I’m hurting too,” Andrew said softly.

“I’m sure it’s been tough,” I retorted, turning away. I couldn’t stand looking at my husband. Looking at him and knowing that the man I loved had betrayed me.

Slowly, I walked toward the wall near the bedroom door. Drained, I leaned against it for support.

Andrew followed me, but he stayed a few steps away from me. “I told you because I wanted to. Because you deserved to know. And because I hoped that somewhere in your heart, you could find a way to forgive me for being so weak. And stupid. I messed up, but this doesn’t have to be the end of our marriage.”

“Wow. Thanks for the heartfelt, unbiased advice, you asshole. Don’t you dare tell me how I should feel and what I should do, because I’m going to decide what happens next. You don’t get to have an affair and still make the decisions about our future. If you cared about our future, you never would have done something so…” My voice trailed off. I stifled a cry.

Andrew reached for me. “Baby.”

“Fuck you!” I snapped. The anger was back. Big time. “Now leave. Because I can’t stand the sight of you.”