Page 72 of A Taste of Grace

Within half an hour, I was in my groove, typing away and tuning out everything around me as low strains of Tank’sR&B Moneyalbum played through my headphones. In typical Tank style, he sang about licking body parts and getting women wet during nasty sex.

A light tap on my shoulder and a whiff of Caleb’s Versace cologne entered my nostrils, pulling me from my work zone. I paused my music and met Caleb’s eyes.

“What’s up?”

“Why’re you biting your lip like that?” He took his reading glasses off, peering into the screen of my laptop.

I straightened my face, unaware that I wore my arousal so openly when I wrote. I reached for the lid and attempted to close it, but Caleb gently removed my hand.

“Let me see.”

I held his wrist and leaned toward his cheek.

“No.Please go back to your nighttime reading.”

“If I’m going to be a published author, I need to know my wife’s writing style.” He rested his hand on my thigh. “Invite me into your world, sweetheart.”

I licked my lips, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Writing was my sacred space. I closed my eyes and steadied my mind, preparing myself for any criticism he might give me.

“I’m writing a scene for a second-chance romance. The protagonists have reconnected, and they’re going to make love.”

“Are they married?”

“Not yet.”

“Hmm.” He stroked his chin and held it in his hand, frowning as if he were deep in thought.

“Hmm, what?” I snapped at him defensively, sounding harsher than I intended.

Caleb’s voice sweetened.

“You don’t write Christian romance?”

“No. Why would you assume that?”

“That’s my world, so it’s what I know.”

“How would you rate it?”

“R. Sometimes X.”

“So they freaky like us. My baby’sexplicit. Read a scene to me. And let me hear what’s in your headphones.”

“Tank’s too nasty for you. It’s inappropriate.”

“You do know my nicknames, right?”

“Holy Hoe ain’t a hoe no mo, so I said what I said. Go back to your…” I looked at the title of his book. “Men’s devotional.”

Caleb placed his devotional back on the nightstand and lifted his T-shirt over his head. He stood and removed his shorts and returned to the bed as naked as the day he was born. I held back a grin as he reached for my hand and held it.

“I might get some new ideas for ways to please your body and not get caught having vanilla sex.” He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it, making my heart flutter.

“Never vanilla sex.” I teased, biting my lip.

“I want to please you so thoroughly that all I have to do is look in your eyes and you’ll gush like a broken fire hydrant.” Hekissed me on the cheek. “And…I want to know how your writing brain works.”

My heart warmed at Caleb’s thoughtfulness. My clit thumped a little too. No matter how freaky we were, I’d never played explicit music around him. It seemed like the proper thing to do, especially since we had little girls in the house.

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