Page 58 of Sex. Love. Marriage.

With her back to me, I shove my fingers inside her pussy, so wet and warm. Her head rolls back against my shoulder about the time my mouth locks onto her neck. She asked about the teeth earlier and guess who left them in?

Yep. All by design. I bite so hard I’m sure I’ve drawn blood, but she doesn’t squirm away from me. “What were you saying about my bark being worse than my bite?”

“Fuck me,” she begs, squirming against my cock between her ass cheeks the moment the plastic teeth sink into her skin.

I resist. I want to tease her a little more. I growl against her skin, “Did you like the way that kid was looking at you?”

“I didn’t not like it,” she says breathily, squirming against me. “Noah, please.”

I drag two fingers below her clit and then press my thumb down on the sensitive bundle of nerves. “Please what?”

Her breathing trembles. “I want you to fuck me. Right here with everyone outside. Show me how much you still want me.”

I don’t like those words. They hit somewhere deep inside my chest. She thinks me being distant, me avoiding my emotional shit show is because I don’t want her? Surely everything we’ve been through these last few weeks proves that’s not the case. With my hand that’s in a cast, I grip her face the best I can and force her to look at me. “Wanting you is not the problem. I always want you.”

Her hooded eyes find mine. “Prove it.”

So I do. I fuck her against the wall, and when I come, I growl in her ear, “Do you believe me now?” with my hand wrapped around her neck.

Kelly lets out a breath, her tits covered in a glistening sheen I can see even in the darkness. With her body still wrapped around mine, she says, “I love you.”

She didn’t answer my question.

(He’s older, not wiser.)

“WHAT DID YOUdo to the HOA lady?”

Quietly enjoying my coffee before work, I peek up at my wife holding a pink piece of paper. I can only imagine that’s another citation for not mowing my lawn. Or, maybe it’s something related to the burned dick in her lawn I didn’t do but was certainly an accomplice to. “I didn’t do anything to her. Why?”

Kelly slaps the piece of paper on the table. “Because we’re being fined five hundred dollars for not mowing our lawn.”

Refusing to look at the citation, I grumble something at her. I think it’s “go away,” but I don’t actually say it loud enough she can hear it. I’m not stupid, but I’m enjoying my goddamn coffee.

Kelly sighs and it’s more dramatic than I’ve heard recently. It’s as if she’s so frustrated she might rip my hair out. “Why can’t you just mow the lawn? Or I will.”

“Don’t you dare,” I warn, finally making eye contact with her. “It’s the principle behind it. They shouldn’t be able to dictate when we mow our lawn.”

“Yes, they can, Noah.” Kelly moves from the breakfast table to the kitchen to finish making breakfast. “It’s called a homeowners association for a reason, and we agreed to their rules when we bought the house.”

I set my coffee cup down. “Well, that’s just stupid. It’s not like the grass is that long.”

Kelly points to the front yard. “It’s at least eight inches.”

“That’s what she said.”

Naturally, she slaps me. “Shut up.”

Did you notice the humor in her voice? I did. She doesn’t hate me, so it might be a good day.

Oliver, who I hadn’t realized took a seat next to me, asks, “What’s that mean?”

I slide my eyes over to him, knowing I’m probably in trouble. If you notice Kelly in the kitchen now turning pancakes, she’s giving me that expression that screams, “bullshit your way out of this one, dude.” I play the “I didn’t hear you” card to buy myself some time to think of something clever to add. “Huh?”

“That’s what she said… what does that mean?”

“It means she said that,” I lie.

His brow scrunches as he pours entirely too much milk into his bowl of cereal. “I don’t get it.”

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