Marital Affair

Marital Affair

Copyright © 2010 by Jasmine Black

All rights reserved.

Cover design by Jasmine Black

Published by Jasmine Black at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition 1.0, January 2010

Visit Jasmine Black at
her
blog

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to
other people. If you would like to share this book with another
person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you
share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it,
or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return
to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for
respecting the hard work of this author.

DEDICATION: Thank you to all my wonderful
friends at Heart who encourage me to keep going.

Chapter 1

“
The test came back negative.” More
bad news from Dr. Wendell.

Lucas Sinclair turned to his wife, Colleen,
sitting in the plush leather chair next to him. The
when-is-it-going-to-happen look was plastered all over her face;
blank eyes, lips neither smiling nor frowning, and pale cheeks. He
grabbed the tissues from the inside pocket of his suit coat and
handed them to her. Her cold hands trembled.

“
Why can’t I get pregnant?” Colleen
turned her head away, wrapped her arms around her empty belly and
rocked.

Lucas rubbed her back and she flinched,
letting him know his touch was unwelcomed at this particular
moment.

Dr. Wendell fumbled with the chart on his
desk. “You’re a real estate agent, correct?”

When Colleen refused to answer, Lucas
offered the information. “Yes, we both are.”

“
How many hours do you work in a given
week?” Dr. Wendell looked at him.

This was the part of the visit where Colleen
clammed up and refused to participate.

“
Fifty to sixty.”

“
Uh hum.” He jotted a note down. “And
the new house, are you settled in?”

“
We still have some unpacking to do,
but the worst part is over.”

Dr. Wendell turned to Colleen. “Mrs.
Sinclair, are you eating healthy? Getting enough sleep?”

“
Why does it matter? You’re acting
like this is my fault, like I can just will myself to get pregnant.
Well, I can’t. I’ve tried.” She stood and walked to the wall of
windows overlooking the city. “Nothing I’ve done has
worked.”

“
Colleen, we’ve been through this, no
one is blaming anyone. I’ve run the test on both of you. Twice.
There is nothing physically wrong with either of you, so at this
point we need to evaluate the stress of your lifestyle. That’s
all.” Dr. Wendell pulled out a calendar. “You need to plan
intercourse when you’re ovulating, eat healthy, exercise. Those
sort of things for the both of you.”

“
We’ve been doing that for two years.
I don’t need another chart. They’re all over the house now.”
Colleen grunted as she shredded the tissues in her
hands.

Dr. Wendell set their file down and took off
his glasses. “I know I’ve asked you before, but would you be
willing to talk to my colleague? She’d be happy to help.”

Colleen spun around and glared at the
doctor. “Colleague? You mean a sex therapist. Someone to tell me
how to have sex. Please my man. What, I don’t eat right, sleep
right, work right? Now I don’t fuck right?”

“
Honey, please.” Lucas went to her and
wrapped her in his arms. She stiffened at his touch, but he had to
keep trying to get through to her. “No one is saying that. I’m not
saying that.” He looked into her eyes. “Please, let’s just give it
a try.”

“
Fine,” she huffed as if she’d been
worn down, but he could see the resignation in her eyes.

“
Great. I’ll go get her.”

“
Right now?” Colleen asked, but like
speed lightning, the old doctor had already took flight and
disappeared from the office.

Lucas led his wife back to the leather chair
she’d abandoned. They’d been trying to have a baby for five years
and it seemed like it would never happen. The months had dragged
out to years and with each passing month, Colleen pushed him
further and further away.

The door opened and a woman in her
mid-forties with short red hair wearing too much jewelry came in.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Downing.” She shook both of their hands, bracelets
clanging. “Well now, Dr. Wendell tells me you’re a bit uneasy
talking with me.” She rolled the tall leather chair from behind the
desk closer to them.

“
A little bit.” More like a whole lot,
but if she could help them, he would willingly go through some
embarrassment for the love of his life. Anything to make her smile
and laugh again.

“
There’s no need to be. Couples have
trouble conceiving all the time. Sometimes the smallest things can
change that.” She patted Colleen’s knee.

“
I’ve changed my diet, sleep eight
hours a night, plan sex . . . It’s just not working.”

The doctor shook her head and smiled. “I
mean other things.”

Colleen sniffed. “Like what?”

Her fingers pressed into the leather
armrest, but she turned to the doctor to listen.

Relief washed over him. Maybe this was a
good idea after all.

“
Like variety. How long have you been
married?”

“
Seven years,” he answered with pride,
hoping Colleen would be impressed he knew.

“
Okay, so you’re not newlyweds anymore
and most likely you’ve fallen into a pattern. Today’s couple is
overworked, tired, stressed out and always on the run. They drive
home, grab supper on the way, and eat in front of some reality
show. If they even have the energy for sex, God bless them for it.
But most likely, they set the alarm before they do the deed in case
they fall asleep during the act.”

He watched a smile form on Colleen’s
beautiful face. Something he hadn’t seen enough of lately. It
reminded him of happier times when they’d call in sick just to stay
in bed all day. Even though they’d been married for years, he still
saw her as if they’d just said their vows, making the rift between
them that much harder to bear.

“
So, what kind of variety do you
mean?” Colleen leaned in, hanging on the doctor’s words.

“
I want the two of you to have an
affair. Have an affair with each other. Bring back the magic you
experienced in the beginning.”

An Affair! With each
other?
“How do you do that?” He leaned in closer to
the doctor as well, his interest piqued.

Dr. Downing smiled. “Sneak around, leave
each other notes. Send her flowers. Live out your fantasies. Be a
different person, any name, age or even from any era you want to
be. Have sex outside of your home. I bet your bedroom is full of
books on how to have sex the right way to get pregnant and every
time the two of you have sex, it’s all about making a baby. You
need to change that, make it about the love you share, enjoy each
other, have fun. I bet once you start having fun again, you’ll
conceive in no time.”

“
Well, I do have one fantasy.” Colleen
giggled.

His ears perked up. What? She’d never told
him about her fantasies, but he couldn’t wait to discover them.

* * *

The smell of fresh roasted coffee awoke
Lucas from his slumber. He stumbled into the kitchen, with only his
boxer shorts on, to find Colleen dressed and ready to do whatever
it was she did all day long. It’d been a few weeks since they’d
talked to Dr. Downing and she’d been sneaking around behind his
back ever since. Maybe she was having an affair. With someone
else.

"Morning." She gave him the habitual morning
peck on his cheek. "I'm off to run some errands. I won't be back
until later this evening. Please try to have some clothes on when I
get back."

He grunted and rubbed his eyes.

With that, she grabbed her purse and rushed
out the door, leaving him to his Saturday alone. Their problems
hadn’t gotten any better. They still couldn't have a single
conversation without her busting out in tears, except in passing or
about mundane issues. Although, she had confessed her fantasy.

He drank his coffee and headed off to
shower; knowing Colleen’s actions had been part of the game. She
wasn’t having an affair with anyone else and he knew it. But in a
few hours, they’d both be having one. With each other.

Chapter 2

He watched her from afar, perched on a
sloping limb of an oak tree. Today, he was Sir Dagan, giver of
grain and she was his fair maiden, Dileah, lover of the meadow.

Crouching behind the reddish-orange leaves
hanging from the multitude of branches, he couldn't take his eyes
off her. The sun beat down and gleamed off her darkened skin.
Flaxen hair rustled in the cool breeze, mimicking the sway of the
wheat stalks growing in the field.

She gathered her skirts and knelt down,
picking white daisies that were wildly sprinkled over the earth.
Bunnies dashed out from the wheat field and hopped off yonder into
the woods. He looked back at Dileah in time to see her long flowing
hair slip to one side, revealing the sensuous curve of her
neck.

His breathing grew rapid at the sight and
his throat became dry. He wanted to touch her neck, taste her skin,
feel her frantic pulse beating under his lips. But he'd wait to
make his move; watch her until he was sure she wanted to take a
lover.

Rumors of the fair maiden who picked wild
flowers and drank from the bubbling brook had circulated through
his hunting lodge. Only a few chosen ones had been lucky enough to
experience her seduction. He had to see her for himself, taking the
chance that he might become one of her chosen.

Everything he'd heard about her, so far, was
true.

She lived and breathed. Were the rest of the
rumors true?

Her chest heaved as she inhaled the scent of
a flower. Ample bosom threatened to spill over the top of her
bodice, leaving his mind to roam the numerous possibilities. Were
her nipples pale-pink against her dark skin or rosy-red in the
center of white globes the sun had never kissed? Were they small
pebbles or large buds? His blood warmed and traveled south, but
still he waited for her to drink of the brook.

Yards and yards of blue cotton fabric
composed her skirt, flowed down to the ground around her feet. Tiny
toes poked out from under the veil of clothing and tested the
water.

Not wanting to miss her sign, he inched to
another tree limb to be closer and see better, yet staying hidden
from her view.

Her delicate hand cupped and dipped into the
brook. Pouting her lips, she sipped the fresh spring water. Sweat
trickled down his temple as her succulent tongue licked drops of
moisture from her sensuous lips. The sign had been given, the
maiden lover desired to mate.

Slowly, he descended from his refuge so not
to startle her. He clambered down, limb by limb, until his boots
hit the ground, never taking his eyes off her. The air assaulted
his senses with the smell of fresh perfume from the flowers mixed
with the ripening grain.

His heart pounded at the base of his throat
with each step towards her. The water rushed over pebbles and birds
chirped out a soft melody. Above it all, his heartbeat roared in
his ears. She slipped both hands in the spring then stood, ran them
down her neck, over her bosom. Raised droplets of water on her skin
made his mouth dry from his desire to lick them off.

Gathering her skirts once more, she giggled
and twirled in circles. The innocent act of a child, but he knew
her to be five years his senior and more experienced in the ways of
love. Her high girlish voice sent shivers to his heart and desire
arrowing to his cock.

He stood a mere five feet away, almost close
enough to reach out and touch her, but he stopped. He knew the
rules, had been told about them for years, ever since he'd been old
enough to join the lodge at the tender age of eighteen. Now, seven
years later, he waited. Dileah had to welcome him, invite him into
her world, and accept him as a lover.

Her gaze traveled over his body from the top
of his velveteen flat cap to the soles of his knee high suede boots
and back again. Even fully clad in the layers of clothing; tunic,
breeches, jerkin, and stockings, he felt naked under her scrutiny.
The beat of his heart pounded in his ears as he awaited her
approval.

With a slight tip of her narrow face and the
curve of her lips, she turned her back to him and slowly walked
away. Her hips swayed in a way only a woman could master. His
breath caught in his throat, refused to expel the poison from his
body until he knew her answer.