GladYouCame (4 page)

It was a wonder they actually had sex in the first place
since Genevieve never seemed to be able to sit still for long.

“Actually that may not be a half-bad idea.” Ryan scooped up
a second helping of the noodles, passing a few off to his son. “Patrick’s out
of town at the moment but I’m sure Alex would maybe like to join in. Girls seem
like they’ve been itching to get together for a movie night.”

Elena nodded as she reached for two pieces of bread, one of
which she handed to Dade. “If you can drag Alex away from the coffeehouse, be
my guest. Since he’s been off this week, he’s been fiddling with a few of the
house blends, complaining about the fact he doesn’t think Patrick is capable of
roasting the beans correctly. As though neither of them have been doing it for
ages.”

Allison burst out laughing. “Patrick said nearly the same
thing about Alex. Was grumbling the other day about how Alex needed to get back
on the greens and out of the coffeehouse. For as much as he’s said he missed
having Alex with him there every day, he’s enjoyed the break.”

“Brotherly love.” Elena rolled her eyes as she sat back,
rubbing her hands against the small bulge curving under her ironed shirt. “Hope
to hell these two little ones—”

“Twins?” Tony winced as Allison and Beth both yelled at the
same time.

Ryan leaned back in his chair as the three women all started
to talk at once. “Ah well, we’ve lost her now, Mal.” The chubby-cheeked toddler
squealed loudly, kicking the underside of the table so everything vibrated.
Ryan simply laughed as he righted the salt shaker. “What do you two say, up for
a game or three?”

Tony shrugged. “Works for me. Dade?”

“Not tonight. Thanks, though.” Dade pushed away from the
table. “Gotta hit the head.” He disappeared about the corner.

The man’s gruff and abrasive demeanor should have annoyed
Tony but it seemed to have the opposite effect. Something had obviously
happened to form that chip on his shoulder. Sometimes it seemed as though Dade
just needed a friend.

Just as he was about to tap Ryan on the shoulder and ask,
Genevieve returned with a waiter in tow. “What did I miss?”

Allison waved her hands in the air. “Elena’s having twins!”

Genevieve smiled wide and circled the table to give Elena a
warm hug. “Congratulations.”

Though he knew she was genuinely happy for her friends, Tony
hadn’t missed the slight hesitation in her smile or the briefest pause in her
speech. Genevieve hadn’t made it a secret she wanted a few kids. So did Tony.
Their schedules, combined with a temperamental Mother Nature, didn’t exactly
make them prime candidates to become parents of the year.

Ryan unlatched the belt holding Mal in the high chair and
set him down. Mal ran straight for Dade as he came back to the table. “You come
too, Unca Dade.”

“No can do tonight, kid.”

Mal frowned, crossing his little arms in front of him.
“Wanna play.”

“It’s way past your bedtime already, pipsqueak.” Beth handed
Dade a wet napkin to wipe Mal’s dirty face. “You can come hang out with me,
Aunt Allison and Aunt Elena. Maybe show off those new footie pajamas Grandma
sent you.”

“Want to play with boys.”

“Gotta admit, kid has priorities.” Dade winked as he handed
a still-pouting Mal to Beth. He slid back into his seat and finally dug into
his food. Whatever had been bothering him earlier didn’t seem to be a factor
any longer.

“Looks like it’s just going to be the five of us then,
Tony.” Mark helped himself to another serving and started hashing out details
with Cooper.

Who showed up didn’t matter much to Tony as long as they
were out of there by the time Genevieve came home. When she returned to the
seat beside him, he squeezed her hand. Some of her energy seemed to have
flagged a little with the announcement of Elena’s bundles of joy. Wanting to
comfort her, he lifted their joined hands together and pressed a gentle kiss to
her knuckles.

“I’ll take that sandwich tray home with me.” She nodded,
tugging on his hand. But he held fast, not finished. “Ping me when you finally
leave here and I’ll kick them out.”

“I don’t want—”

“It’s not a request.” The color of her eyes flashed hot.
Gold laced with fire danced through the green depths as she stared at him. “We
need a few hours, Gen. Just you and me. I don’t care how tired we both are.
We’re going to take them.” He pressed another kiss to her knuckles before
placing her hand on his thigh. Feeling as though he was being watched, he
lifted his gaze and found Dade staring at him.

At them.

Something flashed through his unguarded gaze.

Maybe Dade need more than just one friend.

Genevieve knew something was missing. She simply didn’t know
what
it
could possibly be. But she was determined to find out. Just as
soon as she crawled into bed and slept for the next three days. Except that
wasn’t a luxury she could afford. Not if she wanted to keep tweaking the pie
recipe she was trying to perfect before apple season started.

And get the pastries delivered to Perfect Shot before the
store opened at five. She could have handed off the deliveries to one of her
staff but she liked visiting each of her customers. The face time was the kind
of marketing money couldn’t buy. But it meant she needed to be up in
approximately four hours.

And then there was the time Tony wanted to spend with her.

Not that she minded—it was nice to be wanted.

But she was late. An hour past when she’d said she’d be
home. Her team had wanted to blow off the stress of the past few weeks and
she’d gotten caught up in their momentum. Their enthusiasm was so infectious,
her system was still wired from the celebration. And awake despite her
exhaustion.

She toed off her shoes as she tossed her keys onto the
table. It was a mere four inches to hang the ring on the wrought-iron hook
hanging on the wall next to the door but she couldn’t be bothered to make the
extra effort.

Not when her back was screaming for mercy.

As she peeled away her stained chef’s coat she caught sight
of herself in the hallway mirror. Just how long had those streaks of white been
there? She hadn’t made anything with flour since this morning. Over fourteen
hours ago.

Shit.

Had it really been that long since she’d left the house to
start her day? The second the well-known food critic had appeared, the
restaurant had bloomed into a hive of activity. Now to just wait for the
article to appear. The critic, a wiry gentleman with a full head of gray hair
and sharp blue eyes, had very nicely assured her the food and service was
splendid. But until she saw the article with her own eyes, she’d worry.

As she tended to do.

Anyone who said going into business for yourself was fun and
relaxing was trying to sell a huge, steaming pile of donkey poop. The past six
years had been rewarding, yes, but the blood, sweat and tears she’d produced to
reach this point were soul-sucking. It was a wonder she’d managed the time, and
effort, to meet someone.

Let alone get married.

As she balled up her chef’s coat she wondered if her husband
had really cleared the house of their friends just as he’d promised. The soft
glow coming from the den and the relative quiet in the house signaled he had
and she detoured to the darkened kitchen to snag two beers. The thought of
sitting down and sharing a brew with Tony sounded absolutely, positively extravagant.

Tucking one of the bottles under her elbow, she snagged the
box of day-olds she’d packaged before closing for the night. Years of culinary
training cringed at the thought of pairing the sweet pastries with Corona, but
at this point in the day she didn’t much care.

Food was food.

Stepping into their den, she found Tony in one of his
favorite spots—his high-tech gaming chair. The curve of the piece was one of
Elena’s creations. One of the few items she’d designed that hadn’t been
specifically for sex. Controller in hand, headset in place on his ears, Tony
was obviously in the throes of some kind of battle. Well, at least he hadn’t
sat around in the dark fuming about her lateness.

“Oh give me a fucking break, Beth. You missed that
checkpoint by a mile. And Mark seems to have gone off somewhere on his own
choose-your-own-adventure mission because that bullshit he pulled five minutes
ago wasn’t what we’d agreed to.”

She smiled as he continued to trash-talk with his gaming
buddies. She’d made the mistake of asking him about how they could chatter on
like they did and still manage to play. Five minutes later, with her head
spinning, she’d decided to stick with cooking. But she did love his enthusiasm.

Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, she set the beer on
the low glass table next to his knee. He gave a quiet grunt of thanks as she
dropped onto the loveseat off to the side. She watched him play for a few
minutes, wondering when they’d allowed their lives to become so busy they
couldn’t even give each other the most basic greeting. It wasn’t that she
thought he didn’t love her—or she him—but the lengths of time they were
spending apart were growing more frequent.

Maybe that’s what kept niggling at her. What was missing.

She couldn’t remember the last time they’d spent a weekend
in bed. A regular occurrence when they’d first gotten married. Chemistry had
never been a problem. It had been potent from day one. Something about his
wire-rimmed glasses, the lightly tanned skin covered with a scattering of
freckles, and his boyish charm had always driven her crazy. Not to mention
Anthony Fitzgerald was insatiable—both in and out of bed.

She missed some of the spontaneity they’d once had. The
absolute need to ravish each other wherever and whenever the mood struck. How
sad was it that sex had taken a backseat to work?

As Tony’s fingers continued to dance over the wireless
controller she thought about how thorough those fingers were when they touched
her. How excited they made her for hours on end while he denied her release.
While he teased the sensitive flesh of her pussy. He’d once promised to find
out just how long he could keep her on that delicate precipice where her body
sang for him.

Lifting the longneck to her mouth, she licked at a drop of
beer that had collected on the edge. The motion reminded her how fond she’d
always been of giving Tony just as much attention as he’d given her. How his
flesh tasted. How his essence tasted. How his hands would cradle her head while
she showed him such loving attention.

Her body started to heat at the thought of giving him a
blowjob while he played his video game. They weren’t shy in the sex department,
exploring their likes and dislikes with breathtaking enthusiasm. It had always
delighted her Tony was so experimental.

As she sipped her beer she thought about when they’d first
started dating. They’d even discovered a mutual interest in BDSM, though she
never would have thought so when they’d been introduced. He’d always seemed
quiet and reserved.

Tony was a Dom through and through.

He simply hadn’t known it at the time.

At first the pull she felt toward him had surprised her,
given her own proclivities toward BDSM. Submission was always something she had
done in small doses. She fit the role of Domme just fine, except when Tony was
involved. There was something about him, something that ran through his soul,
that called to her and made her want to kneel before him and please him with
everything she was.

Before they’d gotten married they’d even gone so far as to
invite another couple she knew from Element Twenty-Six, a fetish club she was a
member of, to join them in bed. Clark and Barbara had been just as interested
and jumped at the opportunity to explore their mutual desires.

Watching Tony lick another woman’s pussy had been one of the
hottest things she’d ever seen. Especially given the fact Clark had been just
as enthusiastically serving her. The two men had spent what seemed like hours
worshipping the women, seeing how many times they could get each other’s wives
off the most. The two women had even switched things up a bit and given the men
quite a show, taking turns licking each other’s pussies. While a woman’s folds
were more than a tempting appetizer, there was something to be said about
having yards of hard male flesh at her disposal.

At each occasion, for days afterward, it had been as though
she was ready to go at a moment’s notice. She and Tony had attacked each other
at the slightest opportunity. His store. Her restaurant. The car. The changing
room at her favorite clothing store. It hadn’t mattered where or when.

Despite their obvious enjoyment of the night, they’d never
extended another invitation the couple. Mostly because both of their businesses
had taken off and there just hadn’t been time to explore that aspect of their
life more. But lately they’d just seemed too damn exhausted to even talk about
anything like that. Stupid life and responsibility sucking the fun out of
everything.

Maybe it was time to change things.

Struck with inspiration about that blowjob, she set her
bottle next to his and went to her knees in front of him. She waited patiently
for him to acknowledge her there, seconds ticking away. Then minutes. Holding
her breath, she counted to five, released and inhaled again, controlling her
breathing. His gaze met hers for the barest moment.

“You’re late.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Doling out an excuse was a waste of
time. Genevieve’s lateness was nothing new. It wasn’t as though she ran late on
purpose. She just felt as though everything needed to be perfect and always
took the time to make sure things were in order. However long it took. “I’d
like to know if I can make it up to you. But I also want you to keep playing
your game.” Reaching forward, she tugged open a button on his jeans. “If you
can, Sir.”

One side of his mouth curled up as he pushed the headset
back into place over one ear, adjusted the microphone and tapped the button to
engage the controller again. “Game on.”

Another button popped open.

His Adam’s apple bobbed when she exposed a sliver of flesh.
She continued to slowly open the buttons of his jeans as the sounds of gunfire
echoed over her shoulder. She licked her lips as she parted the material,
already thinking about how he would taste once she got him inside her mouth.

He hissed softly when she pulled him free and held him
there, denim framing his cock. She could stare at him this way all night. Long
and thick, he was one of the most impressively hung men she’d ever had the
privilege of seeing. And obviously very excited, judging by flushed-red hue of
his skin.

She groaned softly. Tony’s cock twitched at the noise.

A heady sense of anticipation bloomed low in Genevieve’s
stomach, sparking warm throughout her lower body. She’d always loved the
split-second moment of power that would flash through her at the thought of
being the one in control. As much as she loved it she also loved handing it
over to Tony, letting him have that same power over her.

“I’ve missed you.” Leaning down, she planted a soft kiss
above each of Tony’s knees, her hands slowly trailing up the outside of those
well-muscled, denim-clad thighs. She slipped her head under the controller,
surrounding the head of his cock with her mouth. Sucking gently, she teased her
tongue against the slit, groaning softly as his musky taste danced over her
senses.

The keys of the controller pad clicked as he continued to
play while she had his dick in her mouth. As if he was the epitome of calm.
Though she caught the faintest hint of him faltering in his gameplay as she
started to work to swallow him.

Tony had a weakness for blowjobs.

And she planned on exploiting the hell of that weakness.

She moved slowly, taking him an inch at a time, working to
push past her gag reflex so he would slip down her throat. Tony whimpered
quietly as she engulfed him completely, her throat working against his flesh.

“Yeah, I’m all right. Was just taking my shoes off. Just
give me…
son of a bitch
.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her
head, threading his fingers through her hair to gently tug at the roots. A signal
he wanted her to move. Give him some friction. She complied, dragging her
tongue against the underside of his cock.

Her gaze met his as she engulfed him again, teasing the
ridge where the crown flared the widest. Air hissed between his teeth, his eyes
closing as he rocked back in the gaming chair. The movement forced his hips
higher, driving more of his flesh into her mouth. She accepted without protest,
loving the taste, feel and sounds of the moment with her husband.

Her Dom.

She swallowed him over and over, wanting to break his
concentration on the game once and for all. As fun as it had been in the
beginning to tease him, she wanted all of his attention. Her exhaustion from
earlier had vanished. Now all she could think about was pulling him out of the
chair, mounting him and riding until they were both a sweaty mass of molten
flesh. Determined to have just that, she curled her tongue around the underside
of his cock.

“Fuck this. I’m off for the night.” The controller clattered
to the floor as the shouts and gunfire of the game echoed through the room. He
molded his hands to her head, holding her hair out of the way as he started to
rock in the gaming chair. He fucked her mouth, moving slowly as she got used to
the thrusting motion.

Desperate for more, she quickened the pace, welcoming each
driving thrust. His deep groan of pleasure saturated the air around her,
tickling over her sensitive skin like a loving caress. She felt more alive than
she had in recent months.

Suddenly he tore her mouth free, shifted his hold as he
tossed his glasses to the side and plunged his tongue into her open mouth. She
moaned around the relentless intrusion, sucking greedily. His tongue stroked
against hers, alternating between quick, teasing brushes and an all-out assault
on her senses. Hard and hungry. His fingers made quick work of her shirt,
wrenching open the buttons with one quick tug.

He cupped her breasts, shaping them as he wished through the
delicate lace of her bra. Her nipples pushed against the fabric, desperately
wanting his mouth surrounding them, his tongue laving the sensitive skin.

Her wish came true seconds later when he tugged down the
lace cups, freed both of her breasts and slowly dragged his tongue against one
hard bud. She arched into his touch, whimpering when he nipped the peak.