Deceived (12 page)

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“You’re too sweet for your own good. What are you doing for lunch today?”

“Nothing special.”

“How about having lunch with your husband?”

“It’s just what I need.”

* * * *

In bed that night, Janelle settled into Aidan’s embrace, her head cushioned on his shoulder. She stroked the dark hairs on his forearm. “I enjoyed lunch with you today.”

He kissed her temple. “You told me that at dinner.” She could hear the smile in his voice.

They’d been snuggling for about ten minutes. She didn’t want to spoil the peaceful atmosphere, but she couldn’t stop fretting about Jerome’s visit this morning. Though he’d expressed no concern, she wanted to make sure he had no doubts. “Aidan, I promise you, this is your baby.”

Aidan shifted so that he was balanced on his elbow. He looked down into her face. “Janelle, I know that. I trust you.” His gaze dropped to her collarbone. “And I have a confession to make, but I’m afraid it doesn’t show me in the best light.”

“I can’t imagine such a thing is possible.”

“Have I told you today that you’re fantastic?”

“Not yet.”

“You’re
fantastic
.” He leaned over and kissed her. He licked at her lips until she opened her mouth and the kiss deepened.

Janelle pushed him back. “Your confession,” she reminded him.

“Oh, yeah.” He sighed and ran his hand over the back of his head. “The first time I saw you, I guess you could say I was smitten.”

She grinned. “I’m liking this so far. What was it about me?”

He rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide a grin of his own. “You were beautiful and sexy as hell, but so full of class. And then I talked to you and that husky voice of yours washed over my ears like music.”

She laughed. “My voice? You’re the one with the deep gravel voice that makes women throw their panties at you.”

His eyes lit up at her description. “Then what took me so long to get into your panties?”

“I’m not that bright.”

He laughed. “Don’t insult my wife. She’s brilliant.”

She hooked her hand in the waistband of his pajama bottoms. “Thank you. Now back to the story.”

“You’re the one who keeps derailing me.” She made a show of zipping her lips. “Well, I was fairly obsessed with you. I couldn’t steal you from Jerome. That’s not my style. But it ate me alive to think that he’d be touching you. Every chance I got, I sent him out of town on business.”

Janelle gasped. “I can’t believe you’d behave in such an unprofessional manner.”

He lowered his head. “I can’t believe it either. I admit I took advantage of his ambition. I knew he wanted the VP promotion and I had no intention of promoting him.”

She propped herself up on her elbows. “Then why did you keep inviting him to dinners and parties?”

His gaze dropped to her breasts. They were fuller because of the pregnancy. The lace of her gown stretched taut and held them up for display. She had to nudge his chin to regain his attention. He cleared his throat. “Sorry. I’d think that much would be obvious. Even if I couldn’t have you, I wanted to see you.”

She was speechless. Her mind whirled with the implications. His behavior had led Jerome to believe that he had a chance at the promotion. That could account for Jerome’s lack of ability to grasp the reality of losing his job. Aidan’s behavior was wrong, but it in no way excused Jerome giving her to him as a sexual plaything.

“You’re disappointed in me. I know it was a shit thing to do. Whatever you need me to do to make it up to you, I’ll do it.”

She tugged him down for a kiss. “Even without your interference, Jerome and I were headed for a breakup. I was never a priority for him.”

“I love your mouth.”

She grinned. “Want to see what I can do with it?” Aidan’s eyes narrowed and he growled. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She placed her hands on his shoulders and eased him back onto the mattress.

“Wait.” He seemed confused. “You’re letting this go just like that?”

“I recover quickly.” She tossed the covers to the foot of the bed and crawled over her husband. He was like a man buffet. And he was all hers. Starting at his temple, she pressed little kisses down the side of his face. Detouring only briefly at his mouth, she continued down to his neck. He moaned and shifted his head to give her better access.

His hands came up to hold her waist as she moved lower, kissing his collarbone. She bit into one nipple while pinching the other. Aidan grunted and his hands clenched the silk of her negligee. She licked her way down his flat abs and flicked her tongue in his belly button. His eyes blazed with the heat of desire as he watched her stroke the line of hair that led down into his pajama bottoms. “You’re a beautiful man,” she murmured.

Aidan emitted a rough laugh. “No one would call me beautiful.”

“I would. You’re all hard angles, but you’re impossible to ignore, impossible to forget.” She hooked her hands in his pants and tugged until his erection popped free. She didn’t stop tugging until she had them off his feet. Running her hands back up his muscular legs and thighs, she created enough space for her to sit in between. Aidan put a pillow beneath his head and watched her with avid interest.

Janelle smiled. She kissed, sucked, and licked her way up one hard thigh and then down the other. Returning to the apex of his thighs, she took his cock in hand. It twitched and hardened further. Leaning over, she gave him a liberal lick, swirling her tongue around the head of his dick as though he were the tastiest of candies. Aidan’s answering groan made her cunt pulse in anticipation.

She bathed his entire length before once again concentrating on the tip. She dipped her tongue in the slit before trying to take more of him. Hollowing out her cheeks, she accepted more of him into her mouth and bobbed her head up and down.

“Oh, God, suck it. Suck it, baby.” Aidan held the back of her head in place and fucked up into her mouth. She twisted her head to the side and cupped his balls. He shivered. “Shit, that feels s-s-so good.” She could feel his balls getting tighter and knew he was close. Aidan’s words confirmed her suspicions. “Stop, please. I can’t hold out much longer.”

She sucked harder and was rewarded when her husband bucked beneath her. His dick swelled, and she suckled the tip, swallowing everything he had to give as he moaned long and low. The sounds he made had her pussy flowing. It would take very little for her to find her own pleasure.

Aidan was panting and relaxed as she moved back up his body with the intention of snuggling. “Take your panties off,” he ordered. Her eyes locked with his. Passion still burned bright in his gold irises. She maneuvered the silken panties off her bottom and down her legs. Hands to the backs of her thighs, he nudged her until she was in position with her pussy over his face. “Give it to me,” he growled, urging her down. She braced herself with one palm on the headboard and held her negligee in the other. Tentative, she lowered herself to his mouth. His tongue was the first thing she felt. Parting her moist folds, he flicked her clit, circled it, and gave it a slight suck. “More,” she heard muffled beneath her. He gripped her hips and pulled her down. His tongue entered her in one hard thrust. She threw her head back and gasped his name. Her thigh muscles trembled as she rode his face. Aidan purposely kept her on edge, never giving enough for her to find completion. Whenever she was close, he would back off and gentle his movements.

“Aidan, please,” she panted.

His mouth left her altogether. He pulled her down even as he moved to a sitting position so that they were once again face-to-face. “Take off that gown so I can see your beautiful tits.” With trembling fingers, she flung it over her head. “Now ride my cock.” He surged up, impaling her with one thrust. She cried out as her orgasm whipped through her body and caused her pussy to seize his thick intruder. Aidan fucked her through her climax, plunging through her seizing muscles. He held her hips and forced her to take thrust after thrust. Before the first orgasm faded, she was quickly being fucked into another one. She gripped his shoulders and tried to match his fast pace. He watched her breasts bounce up and down from their lusty exertions. “God, you’re so beautiful.” She could only moan in reply. His gaze slid to where they were joined. “So fucking beautiful,” he groaned before sliding a thumb over her clit and sending her spiraling into another orgasm. She screamed this time. Her body clamped down over his so tightly that he could barely push in or out. Janelle felt on the verge of passing out from too much pleasure. And still he fucked her.

She cupped his face and kissed him. “Aidan, come with me,” she said against his lips. With a groan, he thrust his deepest and let go. Janelle wrapped him in her arms as he shuddered with his climax.

Chapter Twelve

Friday at the store was hectic. The wedding announcement hit the paper with a picture of her and Aidan. Since it was mentioned that she designed her gown, she was besieged with phone calls and customers dropping by wanting to know if she could design gowns for their weddings. The pickup in business was welcome, if tiring.

She was glad that she’d packed for the weekend before work. Once she got home, all she had to do was put her bag in the trunk of Aidan’s car before they left for the beach house. On the drive, they alternated listening to her music and his. When they arrived, it was dark. Aidan parked the car in the garage. He left the key in the ignition and the music continued to play. Turning to her, he said, “They played this earlier.”

She nodded, unfastening her seatbelt and then reaching for her purse in the backseat. “It’s popular right now.”

“It reminds me of the way I feel about you.”

Janelle paused, her eyes filling with tears as she listened to the lyrics of “Locked out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars for the first time. “Then it’s my new favorite,” she whispered before pulling him to her for a kiss. In that moment, she knew that she loved her husband, and whether he knew it or not, he was in love with her too. They’d yet to exchange the words, but she sensed that it would not be long before they did.

They enjoyed a relaxed weekend. It rained much of the time so they stayed inside and played games and watched movies curled up on the couch. Sometimes they talked while other times they simply watched the waves in companionable silence. During one of the breaks in the rain, they went out onto the beach and built sandcastles.

And, of course, they made love. Janelle felt like they had come full circle back to where it began. Only this time, she was fully cognizant of the fact that she was with Aidan and she couldn’t have been happier.

* * * *

Janelle was all nerves as she made her third attempt at attaching the back piece of her earring. Her palms were sweating and shaky. Her mother-in-law was hosting a fancy fundraiser to raise money for autism research. It would be the first event she would attend as Aidan’s wife and she didn’t want to embarrass him or his mother.

Aidan strode into the bedroom. He was already dressed in a tux. Janelle paused to stare at him. The man was positively mesmerizing. He gave her a sexy grin. “Stop looking at me like that or we’re going to be late.” He set a rectangular velvet box on the dresser in front of her.

“What’s this?”

“A small gift for you.”

She opened the box and gasped at the sight of the sparkling diamond necklace. “It’s beautiful.” She lifted the delicate platinum chain. The diamond pendant was a circular stone that matched her engagement ring. “Thank you, Aidan. I love it.” She hugged him.

“Here, let me help you put it on.” He undid the clasp, lifted her long hair, and fastened it around her neck.

The pendant rested above her collarbone and twinkled in the light. Her gown was black chiffon that draped over her expanding belly and fell gracefully to her ankles. Thankfully, the sleeves were short. The more weight she gained, the less she seemed to be able to endure heat.

“Perfect,” Aidan murmured. He placed a hand low on her tummy and leaned over to kiss the pendant.

She was about six months along, but her pregnancy wasn’t noticeable unless she wore close-fitting clothing. The baby chose that moment to shift. Their eyes locked, and they shared a smile.

“We should start picking names.”

“Nice try,” she said before giving him a quick kiss. At the last ultrasound, the doctor had been able to determine the sex, but she’d decided she wanted to be surprised. Aidan kept coming up with reasons as to why they should be informed before the birth. The last had been that it would help her pick out clothes for the baby and decorate the nursery. The nursery was done in all white with splashes of fresh green and sunshine yellow. Other than a few white one pieces, she’d decided to wait until after the birth to purchase the majority of the clothing. She reasoned that the baby would always be wrapped in blankets anyway.

Aidan grumbled. “All right. Let’s go.”

Ann’s fundraiser was being held in the conference center of Aidan’s hotel. In addition to the free use of the venue, Aidan had pledged to donate a hefty sum to the cause. Janelle was happy to see that Ann, John, Dionne, and Timothy were there when they arrived. The latter two were becoming quite a couple. They seemed inseparable. Timothy was constantly stopping by the shop, and Dionne was spending most of her nights over at his place. While she would have preferred hanging out with her best friend, Aidan had his responsibilities. He made his rounds among the guests, introducing her to friends and acquaintances.

After an hour, she was tired of smiling at poor jokes and her bladder needed relief. She chose the handicap stall so that she would have room to maneuver. The other stalls were positively claustrophobia-inducing. She heard someone come in as she flushed. The door opened again as she was wrangling to get her pantyhose back in the proper position.

“What are they calling those shrimp appetizers?” asked a woman with a high, nasal whine.

“I don’t know, but they’re delicious.”

“Mm. Know what else is delicious? Aidan Clark. Wow, that man is yummy.”