Fury, page 9
She parted her lips under his and pressed her tongue to the seam of his mouth. He opened for her, eager to let her in. He was not going to rush the night. He needed it to last, to drag out her pleasure as long as possible. If she wanted to forget, he was going to make sure she forgot everything outside of the two of them in that moment. Their messy past and uncertain future were replaced by one night of a perfect present.
Wray cupped her neck and brushed his thumb along the edge of her jaw. She trembled against him, moaning softly. He glided his tongue next to hers, a slow, lazy stroke intent on learning her all over again. Stacey pressed her body to his, but he didn’t speed things up. He was going to extend her pleasure and make sure he delivered exactly what she asked for.
Stacey stopped pushing after a minute and sank into the kiss. Wray could feel the shift in her. She wasn’t trying to fight him or rush. She was enjoying the moment. She let her hands slide from around his neck. She touched his chest, lingering over his muscles in apparent appreciation for the work he did to stay in good shape. She traced his pecs, then scratched her nails over his nipples.
He groaned, hardening with each touch. His hand slid down her back to her ass, hauling her body against his. She squeaked with the sudden move, then melted into him. They were both fully clothed, but that only made the entire thing more erotic for Wray. He knew what was coming. And he was torturing himself as much as Stacey with the anticipation.
Wray finally moved them toward the bed, but he still didn’t tug at her clothes or his. He sat on the edge and drew her down on top of him, straddling his hips with her knees on the mattress. She moaned when her center met his erection and rubbed against him. He doubted his choice for a moment as his hormones screamed at him to flip her and fuck her, but he held back.
Sex with Stacey was an event, especially sex after months apart, and he was not willing to miss any of it. He slid his hands up her back, drawing her sweatshirt up and off her body. He left her tank top on, but he pulled back to see the way her hard nipples pressed to the thin fabric.
He leaned down, capturing one nipple through the cotton. He bit the tight peak and sucked it into his mouth, soaking her shirt. She writhed on his lap, rubbing herself against him and moaning as he teased her. He let go and bit down harder on the other nipple, handling her a little rougher as she rode him.
Stacey grabbed the edge of her tank top and yanked it over her head. She tossed it behind her, then offered her breasts to him, lifting them with her hands to his eager mouth.
Wray alternated between them, sucking and biting and loving them until her hips rocking nearly had him losing control of the tentative hold he had on his erection. It had been far too long since he’d had his hands and mouth and cock on his wife, and the last thing he wanted to do was blow his load in his pants before he ever got to feel her come.
“Oh, God,” she moaned, her hips shifting faster as she raced toward the peak.
Wray flipped them, removing his pulsing cock from between her thighs. He ripped her sweatpants off and pushed her thighs wide, then sucked hard on her clit, feeling her come on his tongue.
“Oh, God, Wray,” she whimpered. “So good. So, so good.”
She kicked her pants off her feet as she came down, but he wasn’t done with her yet. He licked her gently, giving her time to breathe, then pressed one thick finger into her.
She moaned long and loud, her body sucking his finger in deeper. He retreated and added a second finger, pumping them in and out of her tight channel while she adjusted to him.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered.
Wray looked up at her, catching her gaze. “I’ve always been right here, Stace. I always will be.”
She nodded slightly, but the look in her eyes said that was the wrong answer. Shutters fell and the vacant look he’d seen far too much in the last few months started to filter in.
Wray wasn’t going to let that happen. He wasn’t going to lose her before he even had her. If this was his one and only night with her, he was going to make sure she remembered it forever, and not for all the wrong reasons.
Before she had a chance to pull back, he slammed his fingers deep into her. She tensed and moaned, her body in charge again. Wray withdrew, then slammed into her again, bringing his lips down to her clit while he fucked her hard with his fingers.
She panted and shook with the merciless way he treated her. She didn’t always like to admit she liked it hard, but he knew she did. She told him one night, when they were sharing secrets and getting to know each other, and he’d never forgotten. It sent her mind spinning into space and her body left to run the ship. And her body only had one goal in mind when he fucked her hard. To come…hard.
Wray waited, knowing her body would tell him when she was close. His arm ached, but he kept going, licking her clit until she finally tightened around him. She tensed, every inch of her going rigid. He increased his pace and sucked hard on her clit, and she went flying.
She buried her face in a pillow and moaned into it. Her body gyrated all across the bed, chasing him and running away from him at the same time. He didn’t let her come down from one orgasm before he was sending her right back up toward another. And when she was almost there, he pulled back and replaced his fingers with his cock. He grabbed her hips and crashed their bodies together, giving and taking, need and want and desire and love all mixed up together as they went flying together.
Wray’s vision went black, his focus gone as he came with such force he thought he might pass out. His fingers indented the flesh at Stacey’s hips. She pulsed around him, the aftershocks of her orgasms drawing him in and vibrating through his body.
He stared at her as he came back down to earth. Everything was Stacey. The way he felt, the way he came, the love inside him. It was all her. And the way she looked up at him with a sex-drunk happiness on her face told him he’d remember the moment forever.
He refused to think of it as a goodbye. He couldn’t think of it as a new beginning, either. But he wanted to believe maybe it was something more than just one night. He’d loved her for years, and he wasn’t ready to walk away from that. No matter how much he knew he fucked up and created the mess they were in, he knew he needed her. Not only that, but he wanted her. He wanted her to be his wife again, in every sense of the word. And he wasn’t going to sit back and hope she would agree. He was going to fight.
Stacey smiled up at him, reaching for him to lean down and kiss her. He gave her a quick kiss, knowing she didn’t love him to deepen it when she could taste herself on his lips. He wanted to say he loved her, but the best option was to stay quiet and let her lead. For now. Tomorrow, he would start to fight for his family.
Wray went to the bathroom and cleaned himself up. Stacey joined him after a minute, using the bathroom like it was any normal night for them. Wray took his time, letting her go back to bed first.
When he walked out, she was in bed with the covers pulled back on his side. Her shoulders were bare, her discarded clothes still on the floor.
“Do you want me to stay?” he asked softly, his voice catching with hope.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Her tone had the same uneasiness he felt in his gut, and he knew it was hard for her to open the door for him.
He didn’t answer, just moved to his side of the bed and got in. She turned toward him and curled against his side. He wrapped an arm around her and held her close, more determined than ever to never let go again.
Stacey was wonderfully, happily sore the next morning. Wray was stoically passionate the night before, not once, but three times. She couldn’t remember the last time they had a night like that. She hated to think it could be their last.
His side of the bed was empty when she finally woke up. It was still early, but Wray was already gone, his clothes off the floor and the only sign he’d spent the night in the room with her the scent of him in the air. The scent of them in the air.
Stacey’s thighs dampened at the smell of sex and her husband. If he was still there, she would have dragged him to the shower and had her way with him in there, but he was gone.
She tried not to tell herself that meant he was done, but as she showered and got ready for the day, she couldn’t stop the sinking feeling that grew in her gut. Last night was his way of saying goodbye.
To hide the pain she knew was coming, Stacey searched her closet for something that always made her feel good. Powerful. Strong. Sexy. She started with lace panties she didn’t wear often because they felt silly not to show off. She added a matching bra, again thinking she was nuts but not caring. She was going to feel good when he told her he was done. Stacey found a black wrap dress in the back of her closet. She bought it years ago and only wore it for date nights and special dinners, but it wasn’t overly fancy. It fit well, and the soft fabric felt amazing against her freshly shaved skin. It didn’t matter if everyone else thought she was losing it, Stacey felt good. She needed the armor to face her husband.
The boys’ bedroom doors were open, and they were both missing when Stacey left her room. She heard their voices mixed with Wray’s in the kitchen as she carried her heels for the day downstairs and set them by the front door.
“Mommy, you look pwetty,” Evan said when Stacey walked into the kitchen.
“Why are you dressed like that?” Joey asked.
Stacey smiled at her boys and ignored her husband. She couldn’t look at his face and see dismissal or even a question, so she focused on her sons. “Thank you, Evan. And Joey, I just felt like wearing a dress today. Why are you wearing that shirt?”
“Because superheroes are awesome,” Joey said simply.
“They are. And you feel powerful when you wear a superhero shirt. I feel good when I wear a dress.”
“But you never wear a dress,” Joey said.
“Your mom looks stunning in a dress, and if it makes her feel like she can do anything, it’s all the more reason for her to wear one,” Wray said to Joey, brushing past Stacey to deposit pancakes on the boys’ plates. When he turned to go back to the stove, his gaze scanned her body and met hers with a heated look that had her rethinking wearing something as thin and flimsy as lace panties.
“Thank you,” Stacey breathed, unable to say more.
Wray went back to the stove and continued with the pancakes. Stacey poured herself a cup of coffee and debated her own breakfast for the day.
“Blueberries, because I know they’re your favorite,” Wray said, offering her a plate.
Stacey met his gaze and nodded. She took the plate. “Thank you.”
“You look stunning,” he said quietly, so the boys didn’t hear.
“Thank you.”
He winked at her and turned her toward the table. He went back to his pancakes, and she shuffled to the table and sat between the boys.
They all acted like nothing was different. The boys argued and groaned when Wray sent them upstairs to brush their teeth before leaving for school. Wray had lunches packed and backpacks ready to go. He even had lunch packed for Stacey, something he rarely did.
“Thank you,” she said.
Wray grinned widely. “Is that the only thing you’re going to say to me today? Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I think I owe you a few thank you’s, too.” He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “My thighs are still sore from that last time, but it’s was so worth it to watch you do that.”
Stacey’s lace panties were done for. She was going to need to change them before she left the house. But they definitely did their job and made her feel sexy. She nearly moaned at Wray’s words. “You were gone when I got up. I thought you…”
Wray groaned and pressed himself against her. “I’m sorry. I heard the boys and knew you’d be up soon. I figured it would be easier on you if I handled them. I didn’t think you’d worry about me regretting last night or anything. I loved every second of it.”
“Are you sure?”
“Fuck, yes, Stacey. I love you. I know I have a lot of work to do to prove that to you and earn back your trust and love, but I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. And if you decide you’re done and you really want me to move out, I’m still not giving up on proving to you that I’m a changed man. I love you.”
Stacey’s heart hitched at his words. She wanted so badly to believe him and to forgive him and for it all to be okay, but it wasn’t that simple. Life wasn’t that simple. She loved him and knew that would never change, but trust was a different story.
“I’ll see you tonight. Are you sure you’re okay with not moving out?”
“Absolutely,” he said, taking a step back.
She saw the recognition in his gaze. He knew she wasn’t going to forgive and forget so easily. But there was something else there. Something that was new. Determination. He wasn’t giving up. And that thought sent a tingle down her spine.
Three days later, Wray was lying on his bunk at work and sexting with his wife. A month ago, he never thought that would happen, but he had the proof right there in blue and gray bubbles.
It started out as innocent texts about the boys and their evening since Wray had to report that morning and didn’t see them after school. He hated working weekends, but it was part of the job. He knew it didn’t matter when he worked, he still missed his family. Which was why he always asked Stacey about their day and what happened.
She filled him in on school and their stories from the day. She told him a little about her day and the client of hers that was moving out the following week. And then she told him she missed having him in the bed with her.
All week, she was waiting in the bedroom after Wray finished reading a story to the boys. She told him to come in so they could talk, then they spent the night not talking. Not that Wray was complaining.
He figured when he was at work, Stacey would be more willing to talk. They couldn’t have sex if they weren’t in the same room, and they had things to talk about. To work out. But he was wrong about one thing. Stacey could definitely have sex without him there. He was the only one who was out of luck.
Wray debated leaving his bunk and going to the bathroom, but with people wandering the halls at all hours and no telling when an alarm would go off, Wray couldn’t get himself off.
But damn, did he want to.
Wray: How wet are you?
Stacey: Slippery.
Wray: Do you have a vibrator?
Stacey: No. I always felt weird about that. I mean, I had you.
Stacey: I mean have you.
Wray tried not to let the slip hurt, but it did. For months, she didn’t have him, and he wasn’t sure if she did now. He was more than willing, but she hadn’t forgiven him and he wasn’t sure she ever would.
Wray: Maybe it would be good for nights like this. You can press the vibrator to your clit. Let it get you off. Slide it deep into your pussy and fuck yourself hard like I would if I were there.
Stacey: Oh, God, Wray. I’m close. I wish I could hear your voice.
Wray: I wish I could see you. I wish I was there with you to fuck you hard and feel you come on my dick.
Stacey: Fuck, Wray.
Wray: Don’t hold back, Stace. Rub your clit with your fingers. Slide that slippery come all over your pussy. Fuck yourself with your fingers, then slide them up and pinch your clit. Let yourself go. Come for me, baby. Come.
Stacey: Oh, Godddddddddddddd
Wray pulsed in his shorts, barely holding back as his cock throbbed and he waited for her to text again.
Stacey: It’s better when you’re here.
Wray: Always. I’ll be back soon.
Stacey: I can’t wait.
Wray: You should get some sleep.
Stacey: Yeah, I guess. I’m worn out now. We’ll talk tomorrow.
Wray: I love you.
Stacey: Me, too.
Wray was less than thrilled with that response, but it was better than no response at all.
“What are you doing?” Braden asked from the cot next to Wray’s.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re moving around. I’m trying to sleep over here.”
“Sorry. I was just texting Stacey.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. Fine. Good.”
“That’s new. What’s going on?”
“We’re… trying, I guess.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means we’re trying to find a way back to each other.”
“That’s great, man.” Braden waited a beat. “Why don’t you sound happier about it?”
“I am. I’m just… It’s different. I’m trying to be better, and I am, but I don’t know if she’s willing to forgive me.”
“She hasn’t?”
“No. She won’t say she loves me either.”
Braden sucked in a breath. “That’s not good. Sorry.”
“Yeah, thanks. But I mean, it’ll get better. We’ll figure it out. Sorry I was keeping you up.”
“No worries. I’ll—”
The alarm went off, interrupting Braden’s sentence and rousing all of them. Braden followed Wray out of the bunk room and down to the truck and they went to work, everything else forgotten while they put everything into doing their jobs.
10
Stacey drove past the street where Holly’s body was found for the third afternoon in a row. She’d gotten into the habit of taking detours on her way to and from work to try to find Oscar. She drove by his house in the morning, drove by where Holly was killed in the afternoon, and if she took a lunch break, she drove by where Oscar supposedly worked.
She hadn’t seen him. In days. It was like he’d just vanished.
