He came to an abrupt stop beside their bed. “Say again?”
“Mom said you sent them glassware from the factory. You also invited them to our house last month.” She tossed her blouse into the laundry hamper. “What else did you do?”
His gaze dipped to her bra. “Uh, I mailed them a few pictures from our wedding.”
“Geez.” She shimmied out of her jeans and jammed her hands on her hips. “And what else?”
“Two framed photographs you took of the mountains. One went to their house and the other one went to your father’s office. I included a link to your website.” He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Could you put something on while we talk about this? I can’t concentrate while you’re undressing.”
Her husband never missed a thing, and right now, he stared at the new black satin push-up bra that put her breasts on display like a pair of well-paid supermodels. Taking advantage of his distraction, she pushed him onto their bed. “My mother said you sent notes along with your gifts. What did you say in those notes?”
“I said we hoped to see them soon.” He scrambled into a sitting position with a guilty wince. “I might’ve mentioned you missed them over the holidays.”
A gasp came out in a hiccup. “I never said that.”
“Honey, it was bad enough they didn’t come to our wedding. When you didn’t hear from them on Christmas, the look on your face ripped out my heart. No matter how much my family loves you, we can’t make up for your parents’ absence.” He opened his hands. “I had to do something.”
“You interfered.” She jammed her finger into his chest, hitting him squarely in the center of the Bahama Islands logo on his shirt. “Two weeks ago, I stopped by the factory and you weren’t there. Sarah said you went to see a distributor. Looking back, I don’t think that’s true. Normally, you tell me when you’re heading out of town. Where were you?”
“Sarah was right. I went to see a distributor in Syracuse.” He frowned at the lacy rosette decorating the front clasp of her bra. “While I was there, I stopped by your father’s office to drop off one of my sketches of you. I would have spoken to him at the time, but he was out of town.”
“Why did you give my father a drawing of me, of all things?”
“You’re always behind the lens taking pictures, pixie. None of us have pictures of you.” Mitch shrugged. “I figured your father would want one.”
Narrowing her gaze, she took a hunk of his shirt in her fist, crushing the fabric in her fingers. “I thought you didn’t want any more secrets between us.” Her voice dropped to a ferocious whisper. “What have you been doing behind my back for the past six weeks?”
Regret slammed across his hard features, pooling in his widened eyes. “You’re angry.”
“Yes. Very.” Sharing her feelings was so easy with this man, because she knew he cared. “You hurt me.”
He grimaced. “I was trying to connect with your parents. I wanted them to know I had no intention of keeping you from them.”
“Did you ever consider I wasn’t ready to talk to them? Don’t my feelings matter?” She was amazed at the lengths he’d gone to. Leaning over him, she was close enough to smell the woodsy scent of his skin. “Is there something else I should know about? Some other secret I’m not privy to?” Her husband flinched as though she’d slapped him.
“There are no other secrets.” Remorse pinched the corners of his mouth. “I hated seeing the wedge between you and your parents. I had to mend the rift. Don’t you see? I’m responsible for ripping your family apart.”
“You couldn’t rip us apart. We were never together in the first place.”
“The day I proposed, I barged into your house and hardly spoke to your parents. They must’ve thought I was some kind of maniac. Ever since then, I’ve thought of a hundred different ways I could have behaved better.”
Jaye felt a sudden pang of guilt. She hadn’t done a very good job telling Mitch how cold her family was, and how much warmer she felt with him. Then again, she was still getting used to the powerful swell of love she experienced every time she gazed into his beloved face. Every single time, emotion short-circuited her ability to speak, but the flood of attraction had quite the opposite effect on her libido.
Like now.
Even though she only wore panties and a bra, she felt her skin prickle with heat. The spot between her legs felt heavy and sensitive, just like she always felt whenever he was around. She itched to tear off everything and jump on her husband for relief. Instead, she jumped to the floor, padded around the bedroom, and turned on every lamp to flood their sanctuary with a golden glow. “Let’s go to bed.”
A smile curled one side of his mouth. “If you want to sleep, shouldn’t you be turning off the lights?” His gaze blazed a path from her breasts to her hips. “You look amazing.”
Every single day, he said things like that. The wonderful thing was, she was starting to believe him.
Splaying her hand on his chest, she pushed him back until he leaned against the headboard. She straddled his hips and unbuttoned his fly.
He gripped her forearms, slowing her but not quite stopping her. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t worry. We don’t have to take off all your clothes.” She lowered the elastic band of his boxer shorts and dipped her hand into the warmth trapped behind the denim. Crisp pubic hair tickled her fingertips. She took hold of his rigid erection and felt a burst of desire. “I want you.”
“I’d rather make love when you’re not pissed at me.” He half-heartedly tugged on her arm.
She freed his penis from his wrinkled boxers and stroked the heavy shaft.
“Aw, hell—don’t do that. We need to talk.”
