Day, Xondra - Our Dirty Little Secret (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) (16 page)

“
Your garden
’
s lovely.
”
He assumed she and Jeff did the work.

“
Landscapers. We had them come in and redo the whole place. My gardening consists of adding a few annuals every year and maintaining what comes back every year.
”

“
It
’
s a little late for me to start this year. However, I plan on getting my hands dirty next spring. I
’
ve always had the interest, and now I have the space to indulge myself.
”
He squinted, looking up at the sun.
“
This is some great weather.
”

“
Oh. I was going to leave this until tonight when we came by after dinner, but I see no reason not to ask now.
”
She knew about him and Jeff kissing.
Kill me, kill me right now!

“
My sister has offered us use of her cottage. We
’
re planning on going up there this weekend. Would you like to come with us? The cottage sits on a lake. It
’
s gorgeous this time of year.
”

This probably wasn
’
t a good idea. And while his mind screamed, telling him to refuse, that being around Jeff so much wasn
’
t a good thing, his feelings got ahold of his better judgement.
“
Sure, I
’
d love to.
”

* * * *

Just when she settled in front of the computer, the phone rang.

“
Perfect timing,
”
muttered Ann, picking it up, not bothering to check the caller ID first.

“
Hello, Ann, dear, how are you?
”
asked her editor, Marlene.
“
I was just sitting here in my office and you came into my mind. So, I thought I
’
d give you a call to see how everything
’
s coming along.”

This translated into
you better be nearing the end of your damned book!

“
I
’
m doing great, and yourself.
”
She kept her tone light.

“
Well you know, just working my ass off here. It
’
s never ending.
”
Marlene laughed, and then Ann heard her suck in a breath.
“
How
’
s the book coming along?
”

And there it was, the real reason why Marlene had called.

“
It
’
s coming along very well.
”
She still had an adequate amount of time to meet her deadline.
“
Is there a problem?
”

“
No.
”
Marlene stopped.
“
Well, if you could hurry up the pace on this one, we could possibly get you an earlier release date. I know writing isn
’
t easy work. But it
’
s a compliment to you as an author. You have voracious readers, and they are anxiously awaiting your next book.
”

It was a compliment, and one that Ann relished.
“
That
’
s always good to know. I
’
ll see what I can do. I
’
m not making any promises. It either flows or it doesn
’
t some days.
”

“
I totally understand,
”
gushed Marlene.
“
I adore your stuff. It
’
s simply divine and terribly delicious.
”

Marlene made it sound as if her books were something decadent to eat. Ann fought to not laugh.

“
You
’
re one of our top sellers.
”

“
That
’
s what I
’
ve been told.
”
Her name was splashed all over the best-seller lists with her last book.
“
Let
’
s hope it continues.
”

“
Let’s,
”
said Marlene.
“
I
’
ll call back sometime next week to check in. I hate to have to run here, but I have another call coming in. And you know how celebs can be, they hate to wait.
”

Ann rolled her eyes. She expected Marlene to name-drop at any point now.

“
Byeeeee.
”
Marlene hung up

Now,
thought Ann.
Where shall you go next, Delilah?

* * * *

Two hours passed before Ann got up from the computer. She
’
d hit a good flow, and after writing a chapter with just a couple of brief breaks to brainstorm, she decided to call it a day and figure out what to have for dinner.

Jeff arrived home a little after six.
“
Something smells wonderful,
”
he said, giving her a hug,

“
And it isn
’
t just me,
”
she replied.
“
It
’
s pizza, homemade with extra bacon. Just the way you like it.
”

“
Even better. I lurves me some bacon.
”
He squeezed her tight, holding her to him.
“
I
’
ll shower and be back straight afterwards.
”

She entertained the idea of joining him. If she did, the pizza would most likely burn. Lately, she
’
d been feeling rather
…
horny. She liked sex, this was nothing new, but these days she could easily do it more often. And if Jeff wasn
’
t working and around more, she would.

Was it some midlife thing? Some silly moment she was having? She didn
’
t know, and she sure as hell wasn
’
t complaining. She tingled thinking about it
…
sex.

Standing at the kitchen sink, her mind went blank and she forgot what she was about to do next.
Holy freaking muscles!
It was Mike, in his backyard, doing something she couldn
’
t make out, shirtless. Her cheeks grew hot, and so did her clit, her nipples hardening at the swarthy sight of her hot, muscled neighbor going about his work.

There was something about him, something about Mike that stirred things inside her. She liked being around him and she liked their conversations. He was different from Jeff. Jeff was all man, a stereotype in many cases of the typical dumb jock but with heart. But Mike, there was more depth to him. It was something she felt and couldn
’
t entirely explain, not even to herself.

“
Naughty, naughty.
”

She turned quick, her cheeks reddened.
“
Jeff.
”

He leaned to look out the window over her shoulder.
“
Well now, look at that.
”

“
At what?
”
She wasn
’
t good at faking innocence.

“
Ann, don
’
t be coy with me. I saw you looking at Mike.
”

“
I wasn
’
t,
”
she denied. She suddenly felt very guilty. She brushed past him to the oven and opened the door to check on the pizza.
“
I wasn
’
t looking at anything,
”
she snapped.

“
Good grief. I was just kidding around. It isn
’
t a big deal. A person can look, right?
”

She wasn
’
t sure how to answer that.

“
Looking is harmless,
”
he continued.
“
It
’
s human nature.
”

“
Do you look?
”
she asked. She bet he did. And she knew a hell of a lot of women looked at Jeff, and no doubt more than a few men too.

“
Yeah.
”
He shrugged.
“
Of course I do. How can one not? I can appreciate a woman who
’
s attractive. Just like you appreciate Mike.
”
He grinned.
“
Right?
”

“
Looking isn
’
t touching,
”
she said.