Page 12 of Temptation

“I shouldn't have to give a heads-up to want to spend time with my husband,” she protested hotly.

“Since when do you want to spend time with me?” Tenn gave her a brief look of disbelief. Even before her affair with Joel, she had rejected his attempts to rebuild their relationship.

Viki's mouth opened and closed like a fish for the second time as she struggled to find an answer for him. “What's going on with you?” She finally got out.

Tenn finished his sandwich and put his dishes in the dishwasher. “I decided that since you were living your life without regard for my thoughts and feelings, I shouldn't be worried about yours.” He smiled at her. “This is what you wanted, Honey, a husband who has his own life and doesn't interfere with yours.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Enjoy your time with Annie.” Turning, he headed to their bedroom and the ensuite to shower and get ready.

When he came out twenty minutes later, the house was quiet, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He would have to ask Quinn what the plan was for all this and how she was handling the affection part of everything. He looked around their shared bedroom in disgust. He had only been coming in here to shower and change, and without his usual daily tidying, Viki had turned the place into a pigsty. He decided to move into the spare room and make the guest bathroom his. Checking the time again, he left the house for the twenty-five-minute drive to the Rose Garden.

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He pulled up just as Quinn was getting out of her SUV and felt the front of his jeans get tight. She wore a short black tank top, oversized forest green cardigan, and tight light blue jeans. She bent over to get something from the back seat, and he let out a low groan. Her ass was incredible, and he had a sudden flash of her riding him reverse cowgirl while he rubbed and spanked her ample cheeks. He watched as she straightened back up; she had done something different with her hair, and it now looked like liquid flames were cascading down her back. He willed his raging hard-on to go down and grabbed the photocopied evidence from his passenger seat to give her.

When he got out of the car, she gave him the most radiant smile he'd ever seen. It almost took his breath away. Tenn smiled back at her as they met halfway between their cars. “Hey.” They spoke at the same time and then laughed.

“Here, I brought you a not-so-nice present and a much nicer one to compensate for it.” She passed him a folder and held up a bag.

“And I have a not-so-nice one for you and nothing to make up for it.” Tenn smiled as he took the folder and passed her his.

Quinn smirked and twitched her eyebrow. “I dunno, your help on this is very much an appreciated present.” She brought the folder to her car and laid it on the passenger seat.

“These are the screenshots you mentioned this morning?” He asked as he flipped it open.

“Yeah, we do not come off very well in them,” she warned, putting her hand on top and gently pushing it down. “I recommend reading before going to the gym or doing something physical to let off steam.”

“Right.” Tenn closed the folder and put it in his car. They walked into the garden, and Quinn pulled out her phone to take pictures.

“Do you mind?” She asked politely. “I'm doing a series on flowers.”

“Go ahead.” Tenn smiled at her as she grinned and began taking pictures. “You use a camera phone for your photography?”

“Yeah, it's just as good as an actual camera. You just have to spend time learning the functions. This is a Google Pixel 8 Pro; it's the best one on the market right now for camera phones.” He listened as she described the features enthusiastically for a few minutes, enjoying how passionate she was about it. “Sorry. I got carried away there.” She chuckled. “You can always tell me to stop.”

“I was enjoying it.” He said reassuringly. “I also do photography as a hobby, so I understood everything.” They reached the fountain in the middle of the garden, and Quinn sat on the grass. He sat beside her as she reached into the bag and handed him a container and a spoon.

“As long as I wasn't boring you.” She laughed. “Dessert, as promised. The zabaglione with strawberries that you missed out on last night.” She paused and then grinned impishly. “How is Viki? Joel also went to bed early and said there must be a bug going around the dealership.”

“Panicking,” Tenn smirked. “Thank you.” He took the container and spoon from her, eager to try the dessert after eating her food the previous night.

“No problem. Should we start with our wayward spouses or the project?” She opened her container and began to eat.

“Spouses, at least that way, we'll end our evening on a pleasant note.”

Quinn nodded. “How are you handling it?”

“Well, some weird, twisted part of me that I didn't know existed is getting a deep satisfaction out of throwing her words back in her face. But I'm running out of reasons to sleep in the spare room. When she touches me, which isn't often, I want to throw up, and her - astounding - hypocrisy when it comes to me spending time with you is almost rage-inducing.” He ate some pudding and closed his eyes as the smooth, velvety, wine-flavoured custard coated his tongue. “Damn, this is delicious.” Quinn giggled. He felt his heart stutter and cleared his throat. “How are you handling it?”

“About the same.” She shrugged. “At least I feel like I'm controlling the narrative and what will happen. As for excuses to sleep in the spare room, tell her that you've enjoyed sleeping alone and would like to continue. Lots of couples do it, and it makes the relationship stronger.”

“Is that what you're going to tell Joel?” Tenn watched out of the corner of his eye. He realised he didn't want her sleeping with him and wondered where this possessiveness was coming from. He had never been like this in his previous relationships and had only known her for two days.

She snorted. “I'm just going to say it's what I want to do. He won't argue too much.”

A wave of relief washed over him. “How long do you want to drag this out?”

“I'm divorce lawyer shopping tomorrow. I need time to ensure all my ducks are in a row before I pull the plug. Quill bought and remodelled my house for me but kept it in his name because he didn't want Joel to have a claim on it. I pay him monthly rent, which he puts aside for me, so I have a nest egg outside our marital assets.”

“That's a little shady, isn't it?” Tenn frowned, disliking the lying and hiding, even if it was from Joel.

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