I raised an eyebrow at him, trying to follow his line of thought. "It's not Christmas yet," I reminded him. We still had a couple weeks to go before then.
"Tell that to the stores. They've had Christmas shit for sale since September!" Aspen said with a laugh. His grin broadened as he nodded toward the direction Nick had gone. "If I were you, I'd follow him. He looks like he could really use a wife right about now, in more ways than one. So while I head home to enjoy my newfound bachelor life, I suggest you get your ass upstairs and start shaking it for your man."
Heart pounding again, I nodded. It was hard to catch my breath, but I knew Aspen was right. This was my chance. It was time to show Nick I wanted to be his wife not just in name. Maybe tonight I'd finally be able to pierce through his shell.
2
Nick
I let out a sigh and braced myself against the bathroom counter as the room slowly filled with steam. Every inch of my body ached. I wanted to stand under the hot shower spray for the next week. I wanted to call out of work and make someone else pick up all the slack. It wasn't an actual option, but it was nice to dream about.
I didn't even have the patience to sit and talk with Aspen. Normally, I loved when my youngest brother visited. Tonight though, I couldn't even stomach the thought of trying to maintain a conversation with him. Just the thought of it made my head pound. He was a great guy, but not someone I could deal with after the Hellish week I'd been through.
When the bathroom door slide open, I glimpsed Gabbie in the mirror. Even though we'd been married for years now, it was still hard not to feel a rush of embarrassment any time she saw me undressed. Sure, we were married, but it wasn't like we were actually husband and wife. We didn't parade around naked in front of each other and we didn't have sex together. So any time she did see me naked, I had to fight the urge to cover myself up. Part of me still thought of her as that girl I'd grown up with, the girl I wasn't supposed to have feelings for.
Especially not those feelings.
"Long day at work?" Gabbie asked, coming to stand next to me. Her voice was low and gentle, soothing. When I nodded, she reached out and put a hand on my bare back. That bit of contact made me suck in a breath as I fought to keep my urges down. "Anything I can do to help?"
God, she sounded so seductive. I knew she didn't mean to be though, and I tried my hardest not to think of her that way. We'd only gotten married so she could properly inherit her fair share of her father's company. It wasn't right for me to be having fantasies about her. She wasn't the little girl who used to trail after us boys all the time. She hadn't been for a long while. But it still felt like I was taking advantage of her if I made any move.
Taking a deep breath, trying to steel my resolve, I shook my head. There were tons of things Gabbie could do to help me relieve the tension, but I didn't dare say any of them. It wouldn't have been appropriate to say those things to her. No, I would just have to settle for a hot shower and hope that was enough to loosen my muscles and give me the relief I so desperately needed.
But Gabbie didn't disappear back into the bedroom like she normally would have. Instead, she stayed there, her hand sliding up and down my back. The soft, gentle, rubbing was amazing, in more than one way. It was helping to relax my muscles, but it was having another side effect. I had to grit my teeth and breathe deeply to avoid getting rock hard.
What kind of pervert was I for getting a boner just from a gentle back rub? It wasn't even a full massage or anything either, just her hand rubbing up and down my bare torso. Worse, I didn't want her to stop there. I wanted her to touch me all over, wanted to feel those delicate fingers dancing across my body. I wanted to feel her hand wrap around my cock and stroke me until I shot my load all over the bathroom counter.
God, I couldn't even remember the last time I'd had a woman touch me down there. I'd been with many women before marrying Gabbie, but I hadn't been with any since then. Even though our marriage was in name only, it still didn't feel right to sleep with any other women. Plus, there was the attraction I had for Gabbie. Even though I swore I'd never act on it, it had always been there. As horny as I'd gotten over the years, I couldn't imagine any woman could ever satisfy me. Only Gabbie could do that, and that would never happen.
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?" Gabbie practically purred in my ear. It sent a shiver through my body.
I balled my hands into fists, my fingernails biting into my palms. Those little pinpricks of pain were all that kept me grounded. As time went on, it was getting harder and harder to keep my urges under control. If things kept up at this rate, I wouldn't be able to control myself for long. I needed to get in the shower, get away from Gabbie. Once she was in the bedroom and I was alone again, I could take my urges into my own hands and hopefully let off enough pressure to keep myself in control.
"Why don't you go rest?" I suggested, smiling at her. At least she
