FOUR: Grace for the Graceless

The Johnnie cab flew through the streets. After the rear tire slammed up and over a curb and then back off to get around a bus, Jon closed his eyes. It was bad enough that any photog could catch them in the back of the cab instead of his usual ride, but his wife was laughing like a loon about it.

"Son of a--" he growled as the buggy, or whatever the fuck you were supposed to call a plastic car on the back of a bike, tipped as they took a sharp turn down Fifth Ave. The gala was at Rockefeller Center and West 48th Street was coming up fast. Way too fast.

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

The delight in her voice made him clench his jaw. For fuck's sake did she have any idea the road rash she could get if Eddie dumped them over in his exuberance? There was what? Two bolts holding them onto his bike? Christ. Instead, he curled one arm around her hip, holding her tight into his side and the other on the surprisingly clean edges of the cab.

They jerked to a stop and Eddie finally turned around to them with a huge smile on his face. "See, I get you where you need to go a helluva lot faster than any yellow-cab in the city."

Before Jon could jump out, Eddie was helping Tessa out onto the sidewalk. The first flash of a camera came from his left. Awesome. He'd be on Page 6 looking like an asshole. He hopped down to the street, smile plastered on his face. Eddie held out his arm as Tessa chattered with him, swapping out her little black slipper things for the dangerously high stilettos that had given him a boner even when it had only been twenty minutes since he'd had her. And now, this guy had his hands on his woman and was making her laugh.

And he was the fuckwad on the side of the street with cameras closing in.

Fucking fantastic.

She pressed a kiss to Eddie's cheek, her laugh cock hardening as usual. Jon straightened his shoulders and stepped forward. He pressed a bill into the driver's hand and shook it. The younger man was disheveled in that rugged model way that only twenty-something year old men could get away with. His dark eyes were shining and the poor sap was already more than half in love with her. He should be used to it. Men fell in love with his wife at least twice a week it seemed. But now it just made him grouchier.

Eddie pumped back enthusiastically. "I'd have driven her for free. You are one lucky man."

"So you don't want my money?"

"If she were alone it would have been a different tip I'd have been looking for mon amis."

Jon's smile tightened. "She's too good for you."

"Too good for you too, I think."

The kid said it with a blinding smile that made him want to punch him. And he knew he was going to hell because the kid knew he was jealous as fuck. And exactly right--she was too good for him, but he was keeping her. What the fuck was wrong with him tonight? And then she was by his side, her cool fingers sliding between his to clasp him tight. She smiled up at him, her green eyes dancing with happiness. All that he could give her and an out of control johnnie cab ride put as much color in her cheeks as a diamond.

He looked over at the kid and his smile was real for the first time since he'd gotten to the end of Mercer. "Thanks for getting us out of a jam, Eddie."

The genial smile was back and Eddie waved. "Do you realize how many people will take our cabs because you put your fine ass in my seat?"

Jon laughed. "If the pictures are anything to go by, quite a few."

Eddie swung his leg over his seat and peddled off with a laugh.

He looked down at his wife. "You have no idea how mad I want to be."

She tugged him down until their lips met. Even with the flash bulbs popping all around them, he didn't pull away. He didn't deepen the kiss. They had enough of him to sell to their rags. But he kissed her back until she sighed. She looked up at him all soft and lovely with just the tiniest edge of tired. "I know. And I love that you got in Eddie's cab anyway. Now let's get in there and listen to them drone on with their speeches so I can get to the dancing part."

"You got it."

***

Jon ducked into the bathroom. His only peace for the last few hours. Questions and shaking hands, schmoozing and begging for funds with a well practiced pitch. Exhausted didn't even cover it. He brushed sequins and glitter off the lapel of his tux. Wives wanted to press into him with glossed lips to his cheeks and the men wanted to share umpteen cigars with him. All of it was so beyond him that hour three was filled with fake smiles and warning nail bites from his wife.

He just wanted to go home.

He wanted to escape and tell everyone to go fuck themselves.

He wanted to tell Tess to close the shop and hop on a flight with him to a deserted island.

Instead he flushed, washed his hands and went back into the party. Thankfully a mellow DJ was their music of choice instead of the usual string section that put him into a coma. The music was just loud enough that he could wave instead of talk to people. He made a bee line for Tessa. As usual, she was in a crowd of women that were laughing and men that were staring. She was oblivious to it. Just enjoying people for the sake of enjoying them.

Even when he'd been a bear for most of the night, she was still the best thing in the room. Some of the other women were objectively more beautiful, but not in his eyes. He cupped her elbow and the honest pleasure in her eyes prompted him to drag her away.

"Jon, I was talking to that woman. She's a senator's wife for God's sake. Plenty of juice to get us some funding for--"

He stopped in the middle of the dance floor. "I don't care right now. For five minutes I want it to be just you and me and a dance."

She linked her arms around his neck. "Well, I can't exactly argue with that one."

"Good, I don't want you to argue. I want you in my arms and knowing every man in the room wants you and every woman wants to be you."

Her eyebrow lifted. "Good thing I enjoy your arrogance, Jon."

He rolled his eyes. "No, not because it's me. Christ, you're the only crazy one that wants to keep me. And I love you for it."

She cupped his cheek. "I can guarantee that at least a third of this room wants to steal you away from me."

"They'd hate me within ten days."

Laughing, she drew him down for a soft kiss. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but maybe I should put you back in the cab with Eddie."

"I just need you. I'm tired of people."

She slid her fingers into his hair and he groaned, closing his eyes. The bluesy ballad from Adele bled into a pop song filled with piano and drums and a slow beat. The sweet lyrics suited his wife and his less than stellar mood. He pulled her closer until his knee slid between her thighs and she was pressed to him from every angle. With her arms around him, it lightened the load and he lowered himself to press his cheek to hers.

Leaning in slowly, he brushed his lips with hers. She tasted like dark chocolate and champagne and smelled of pears. Breathing her in, he slid his arms around her waist, his thumb drawing circles on the small of her back. Instead of passion, it spiraled out to the sweet and contented place that he didn't allow himself all that often, but invariably included this woman every time.

SONG: Kiss Me Slowly - Parachute

THREE: Cabs are for Sissies

Tessa unloaded an armful of, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, into the front display on her way out the door. She'd wrangled in an old employee that was home for the holidays with a rather large bribe. But it was worth it to make sure she had an evening with Jon. Even if she had to listen to the droning speeches of the politicians that came with the evening out.

She sprinted down the street. She only had an hour to get ready and finding a cab would take too much of that precious time. Dust in her hair from crawling around in the stock room thanks to Joe's defection had not been on the schedule. Disgusted that she was winded before she'd gotten three blocks, she waved at their doorman and slapped her palm on the new security system. For a man who hated technology, Jon certainly liked to own lots of gadgets when it came to the penthouse.

Skidding into the foyer, she flipped off her boots. She hopped on one foot to get the last one off and shimmied out of her black jeans. She'd stared out cute but gave up around lunchtime and changed into her wear and tear clothes.  Another sprint up the stairs and she slammed into a very warm, very naked chest.

Both of them hit the hardwood floor with a thud, her cheek pressed to the soft trail of hair that disappeared under the loosened towel. "Well, if you wanted a little something before the gala all you had to do was ask."

She crawled up and over him, squealing when he nipped at her inner thigh on the way over his head. "I don't have time for you at the moment."

He caught her foot and dragged her back. "I bet you do."

Laughing despite her rushing, she let him rolled her onto her back. Caged by  impressively bulging biceps, she got distracted. Mercy, there were benefits when Jon was bored. The man upped his training sessions with delightful results.

They'd been doing the half clothes on, kill the itch sex for the last few weeks that she hadn't actually seen him naked except in passing. She nuzzled her nose against the quivering skin over sinewy tendons and groaned. "I don't have time."

"We can be fashionably late."

She hooked a leg around his hip and moaned as his towel slid away. He flicked his tongue over the sensitive skin behind her ear. "I love when I got to one of these stuffy things and can still smell you on my skin."

"Christ, that's not fair."

He laughed and hooked clever fingers into the serviceable cotton panties that had already been stretched to their limit once that day. He dragged them down her thighs and heard the pop of his knee and the growling litany of , "Fucking piece of fuck."

Her leg slipped away. "We are too old to be screwing on the hardwood floor."

"No," he growled and slid the tip of his cock over her slick opening. "We are not."

Lifting her hips in surprise, she took every inch of him. The angle was crazy effective and her eyes flew open as his hips twisted and rolled against her. The instant friction pushed her from exhausted and rushed into the warm melting pot of love and pleasure that this man invariably created. She stared up at him, the intensity in his gaze kicked her up another notch into the edge of bliss.

She dragged his mouth down to hers. The kiss was carnal and overwhelming. There was a bit of anger in the thrust of his tongue and where they were joined, but it only added to the excitement of the moment. She closed herself around him from thigh to neck and took every bit of passion he laid into her.

Rolling them, she flipped her shirt off and straddled him. He reared up, the muscles of his belly flexed and she couldn't stop herself from ticking down each abdominal muscle. "God, I love when you're bored."

He laughed and released the hook of her bra throwing it over his head. "What?"

She raked her nails over his chest and traced the firm wall of muscle that made up his pec, tweaking over his nipples. "You do like a million incline sit ups and weights." She did her own twisting glide around his shaft and he groaned in response.

"I'll do a million sit ups if you keep doing tha--fuck."

She grinned and did it again, his crystal blue eyes widening. The lock and key that defined them in times like this clicked and the friction hit just right. Her smile slid away as he gripped her hips and pounded into her.

"Come," he growled. "Now, Tessa. I'm on the edge here and I can't leave you behind."

She drew herself into tighter circles around him and he sat up, his arms around her shoulders as his lips slanted over hers. An almost punishing grip on her hair as he drew her head back so he could get to her neck and all the last bits of control snapped. She screamed out his name, God's name, even a few curses as her body shivered and trembled from the force of the orgasm.

He pulsed inside her, his hips jerking against her in relief. His kisses gentled as he held her tighter as his breath slowed and hers followed suit. "Tessa mine," he mumbled into her ear.

She smiled, dragging her fingers through his still wet hair and winced as all the aches and pains and twinges came alive again. "Ow."

He drew back, dropping to the floor with his own groan. "I'm going to pay for that in so many ways tonight."

She leaned back and laughed at the scrapes on her knees. "And I have to pick a new dress. I've got some road rash."

He looked up and then down at her knees. "Shit, babe, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." She crawled up his chest and brushed her lips over his. "I'll find something that I can wear black stockings with." Standing with only a few twinges, she looked down at her husband. "You might smell a little too much like me and not in a good way. Shower?"

He waggled his eyebrows. "Shower."

Twenty minutes later she had her head upside down and the drier going full blast. Jon was on the damn phone as always and already had his tux on. It so wasn't fair that he could get ready in ten minutes and it took at least forty for her. She turned off the hairdryer.

"What do you mean you're stuck in midtown?"

She peeked out from the bathroom. "Problem?"

Jon held his phone against his chest. "Henry's trapped in construction traffic and some fucking release party on Broadway."

"So, I shouldn't wear my five inch stilettos?"

He groaned and put the phone to his ear again. "Do you have a backup?"

She grinned and twisted her still damp hair up into a twist with pins and a flashy clip. She highlighted her eyes with a little Christmas flash and a bold line of black liner and coated her lashes. Moving to her walk in closet she snapped hangers until she found the red and black dress. It was backless to make up for the long hemline.

"So, we--damn."

She turned, smoothing the dress down over her hips until it swung to mid-calf. It was deceptively well made thanks to her favorite SoHo designer. And made specifically for her.

He brushed his knuckle down her naked back. "Christ, you're beautiful."

"Daria strikes again."

Jon pressed a kiss at her nape. "She's worth every fucking penny."

"So, am I wearing my three or my fives?"

He moaned. "We're going to have to find a fucking cab."

"So, the threes."

His chin dropped to his chest and he pouted. "Yeah."

Normally she would have done a grin-and-bear-it but not after the day she'd had and their little hallway excursion. She stood before her shoes and noticed the tiny pink drawstring bag. "It hasn't snowed or rained in the last few days has it?"

"No, why?"

She snatched the little bag and tucked it into her bag. "Looks like you get your wish." She pulled down the wicked platform heels with the peep-toes down from the clear box that let her see all her shoes. She held onto his shoulder as she stepped into them. They were nearly the same height now.

He looked down, his gaze heated. "I'm a dead man."

She laughed. She loved that she could still rile that man up. She swirled her wool shrug on and slid her hand into his. "Let's do this."

Finding a cab turned into a debacle. They were far too close to Christmas and the pedestrian traffic was out of control. By the fourth block she switched out her heels for the little black flats that had been the best invention since the push up bra.

Jon tried to hail another cab, his tension level increasing with each passing yellow car. They headed up town and were willing to use a gypsy cab if need be, but they couldn't even find one of those.

She spotted a Jonnie cab as the shrill whistles of their unique language filled the air and competed for the most annoying sound in the city. Three of them descended upon their corner but it was the slick smile of an indiscriminately dark skinned boy that could be fifteen or twenty that won the race. There was knowledge in his dark eyes and a ready smile that was all charm.

"Come, I take you where you need to go."

Jon waved him by. "That's okay buddy, we'll find a cab."

The kid looked over his shoulder as four cabs flew by at breakneck speed. Then back at them. "Come one. I'm safe and I'm fast as lightning."

Tessa stepped closer to the bike. "How fast."

"Tessa."

She slid her hand into his. "C'mon. I haven't been on one of these things since I was first in the city."

Jon shook his head. "And get killed in traffic? No thanks."

"C'mon, where's your sense  of adventure?"

"Sitting in midtown with all the other A-listers."

"Snob."

Jon scowled at her.

"What's your name?"

"Eddie."

Tessa stepped away from Jon and took Eddie's hand. "I'm going with Eddie." She looked down at the high step and her tight skirt and hiked it up a few inches.

"Jesus, Tessa."

"Pussy." She smirked over her shoulder. 

Eddie laughed and lifted her into the little yellow seat with the plastic hood. She yelped at the wiry muscles and found herself deposited gently into the surprisingly comfortable bench seat.

Jon swore and unbuttoned his tux jacket.  "If we get maimed it's your fault." Nimbly, he climbed in next to her. She leaned forward until he stretched his arm along her back.

"All set?" Eddie asked.

Tessa grinned and settled into Jon with her heels in her lap. "And we're off."

TWO: Compromise

Jon eyed his watch and swung out of Ever After with a muttered curse. His assistant, Trish, was bent over her iPad in the car with her trusty portable keyboard on her lap and her phone at her ear. Christ, he’d been in the store for nearly thirty minutes. His schedule was fucked. He waved off his driver before he could get out and open the door for him. Christ, he wasn’t helpless. “Tr—”

“I already backed up your eleven o’clock to two and we’ve got enough time to get uptown for the press conference about the holiday food pantry.”

Jon eased into the cushy leather with a sigh. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Pray you never find out.”

He grinned and mentally increased her end of the year bonus. She was worth every blessed penny.

“Will Tessa be joining you for the Jingle Jam?”

Jon dug his phone out of his pocket. “I doubt it. I’ll ask Jesse to go with me. He likes one of the bands performing.” He shot off a text to his son and dialed his daughter. Trish went back to her make-shift laptop as they crawled their way uptown.

“Hey, Daddy.”

“Am I interrupting finals or studying or…”

She laughed and her the pure sweetness of it evened him out the rest of the way. “I’m on my way across campus as we speak. Last final is today and then I’m homebound.”

Relief and the last bit of grouchiness evaporated. “Do you have any plans?”

“Sleep, sleep, eat Magda’s food, rinse and repeat.”

“Any chance you want to save Tessa’s life?”

Steph’s phone fuzzed as if she was juggling and then her voice came clear. “What’s up, Dad?”

A little voice pecked at the back of his brain, but he pushed ahead anyway. “Tessa’s cashier eloped with her stock boy.”

“Holy crap! For Christmas?”

“Yep, and finding anyone at this late date is going to be nearly impossible. Especially anyone that would be worth anything at the store. You’ve worked there off and on when you’re in town.”

“Sure. I like the bookstore. I’ll see if Michelle wants to make some extra cash, too.”

“You are a lifesaver.”

“I’ll remind you of that when I have control of the television at Mercer. Gotta go. Love you.”

He grinned despite himself and held up a finger when Trish’s mouth opened. He dialed Tessa. Trish sighed and went back to her typing.

“What’s up?”

“What would you say to one, possibly two cashiers at your service?”

“I’d say I’ll marry you again tonight.”

He chuckled, relief settling over his shoulders like a warm blanket. Meddling in Tessa’s business was always a crap shoot. She loved to be self-sufficient and her control-freakdom was as well honed as his. “You’d marry me again anyway.”

“Nine times out of ten.”

He snorted. “Steph and possibly Michelle are going to come in. That means we’ll get two Jersey girls squatting at the house.”

“I guess you’ll just have to put a breathe-right strip on to stop the snoring.”

“God, you’re such a smartass.”

“You wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“No,” he sighed elaborately. “I suppose I wouldn’t. Okay, that’s it.”

“Jon?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you madly.”

“Ditto.”

“Oh, and one more thing?” When he only made a hmm noise, she kept on talking. “I’ll make tonight work. Wear the blue tie. I have plans for it after the gala.”

Part of him wanted to give her the easy way out. He hadn’t even reminded her of the dinner that night once she mentioned the crap with the store. But the other half of him wanted her on his arm tonight. He wanted to show her off tonight and drag her onto the dance floor to make the boring as hell reception worth it.

“Deal.”

And then she was gone. He smiled at Trish and let her rattle off his killer day.

ONE: Penciled In

       “You have got to be kidding me.”

“I wish I was.”

Tessa lowered her forehead to the counter and counted to five. “It’s less than two weeks before Christmas!”

“Twelve days to be exact. I warned you not to hire her.”

She snapped to attention, jabbing her finger into Leo Toliver’s chest. “I. Didn’t. Have. A. Choice.” She stabbed her assistant manager with her short, burgundy nail on each word.

He grabbed her hand. “No, you had to go with the sure thing. Even though my spidey senses were firing like crazy.”

She growled and he let go. “You and your stupid spidey senses.”

“They never steer me wrong. If you’d hired Randy we’d have been fine.”

Fisting her hands in her hair, she took a deep breath.

“Don’t even ask. Randy got scooped up by The Attic.”

Deflated, Tessa sat on the stool she had stashed behind the desk. She’d gone with Fox because of her background in literature and five years experience at Barnes & Noble. Leo’s friend hadn’t stepped foot in a bookstore in his life. “Eloped with our stockboy? Are you sure?”

Marissa, her only other full time employee, hooked an arm around Leo’s waist. “You could have plied her with booze first. That kind of news deserves whiskey or tequila. Hell, Bailey’s at least.”

Leo pressed a kiss to her temple. “It’s eight o’clock in the morning, Ris.”

“I don’t care what time it is. You shouldn’t have just blurted it out like that.”

Tessa stood up. Okay, so it was the final stretch before Christmas and the store was busy from the time they opened and when she finally wrangled the last person out. Regular business hours were a thing of the past. Not when there had special orders up to her armpits, a gallery window full of handcrafted ornaments that was a raging success, and the regular bookstore sales that came with winter releases. And the only people she had to work was herself, Marissa and Leo. Losing two employees at the time of the year was a freaking catastrophe.

The bell over the door to Ever After clanged.

“Here we go,” Marissa said under her breath. She kissed Leo, her fiance as of Thanksgiving, and headed to the front of the store with as smile.

“At least you guys didn’t elope on me.”

Leo snorted. “Hell no, I want the booty that comes with a wedding.”

“I didn’t even know Fox knew Joe’s name. Hell, I didn’t even know that Joe knew how to talk to a girl.”

“Evidently closing time was pretty exciting. I found them on the surveillance tapes once.”

Tessa’s brow arched.

“I didn’t watch it.”

She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Okay, so I only watched enough to know that I needed to delete it. Hell, Tessa, we’ve all done the nasty in the backroom. You’re no angel either.”

She flushed. No, she definitely wasn’t an innocent when it came to that backroom, or her office. Her favorite rockstar, and husband, had a thing for mussing her up when she was at work. Especially since he’d been home from touring. He was bored and restless. She’d had more nooners than she’d had when they were first together.

Not that she was complaining.

Every woman wanted their husband to want them like that. And when one’s husband was an international rockstar and they were heading into year four of their marriage, she counted herself lucky that they still were lusty as ever. But with their schedules, the only thing she was getting was the physical side of Jon. She missed crawling into bed and discussing how their day went in the dark. She was lucky she could crawl into her bed without the room blurring these days.

And he was out at so many dinners and galas she was well into her REM sleep by the time he got home.

Sighing, she took a pile of papers from the counter. “Okay, I’m going to go make these customer order calls before it gets busy. Call me when the lines go crazy. I’m going to make some calls and see if I can wrangle some help for the register at the very least. Maybe Nic can give up a name or one of her people.

“Good luck with that.”

Shoulders slumped, she ducked into her office. The chance that Nic would give up any of her people was slim to none.

Two hours and fifty-three calls later, she cradled her head in her arms. The customer orders were done, but she was no closer to finding a cashier. A short tap at the door, and it opened. “Busy, huh?”

A pair of firm, cool hands slid over her shoulders and kneaded. “Actually, not too bad out there.”

Instead of popping up, she just sighed out a hello and let Jon work his magic. When his thumbs moved in and swirled around the bones of her spine, she melted. “Oh, God.”

“That book you got me a few Christmases ago was a very good read.”

She laughed, but it soon drifted into a moan. She had no idea what to buy the man that had everything, so they’d been exchanging gifts of a more personal manner for the last few years. The book on sensual massage was well thumbed by both of them. His hands were magic. The tiny callouses at his fingertips abraded just enough to send a shiver up her neck and tingle along her hairline. He reached under her arms and quickly undid the buttons of her blouse and she wanted to whine. Part of her wanted to get naked and let Jon give her a nice sweaty orgasm that would pop the little bubble of stress sitting behind her eyes, but the other half just couldn’t get with the sexy part of that equation.

Instead, he surprised her by pressing her palms to her lap and pulling her shirt down her arms, but not off. The room was warm enough that she was shivering because of him, not the lack of clothing. He brushed her hair over her shoulder and molded his thumbs down each vertebrae until he came to the hooks of her bra. Loosening that, she sucked in a breath.

“Shh.” He moved her shirt down further and those amazing thumbs slowly swirled and pushed all the tension she had up and out. By the time he was done with her, she was a pliant sack of skin minus her bones. He pressed a kiss between her shoulder blades and tucked her back into her bra. She grinned into her folded arms when he copped a feel, those clever thumbs brushing across lace until her nipples perked. With a swipe under the demi-cup, he groaned and followed the band around to her back and clasped her bra. With a final sigh he lifted her blouse up where it belonged.

When she sat up, he turned her chair. Fingertips brushing the little charm she always wore, he ran the backs of his knuckles over her chest and belly. She swallowed against the intensity in his eyes. The winter blue seemed so much more distant these days. Even now, after he’d done nothing but give, he wasn’t all the way with her.

Impulse had her dragging him down, fitting her mouth to his. The sudden need to bring him front and center, directly into her sphere, was overwhelming. His quick gasp through his nose was just what she was looking for. His clever hands were cupping her again, flicking the blouse off her shoulders.

“Shit,” he hissed and lifted her off the chair and onto the desk. She heard his growl of impatience, followed by a nip of his teeth. She dragged up his shirt, the ultra-soft cotton hiding a defined chest and dense muscles along his belly. Up and over his head, she smoothed her palms over the thatch of hair that swirled over the broadest part of him. She broke from his mouth, finding the diamond hard nipples with a nip and scrape of teeth.

“Thank God for skirts,” he muttered and pushed hers up as far as it would go.

More than willing to be helpful, she boosted herself up until his denim covered cock was tight to the vee of her thighs. She fumbled for his belt, the clank of metal and the button fly of his jeans was only slightly louder than their pants. She dug inside finding his already stiff cock with a firm grip.

“Yes,” he hissed through gritted teeth as she palmed him just as he liked.

She smiled around his mouth. “Thanks for the massage, husband.”

“I wasn’t expecting reciprocation.” He groaned, his head falling back as she stroked him. “Christ, you do that too well.”

“My bad boy likes a firm hand.”

He laughed, and the sparkle returned to his eyes. He searched her gaze and her stroke gentled, her thumb brushing under the head again and again until his pupils widened. Watching him go blind with pleasure was a drug. His jaw loosened and his tongue dragged across his bottom teeth and she knew he was close.

Instead of pulling down her panties, he ripped them to the side and covered his hand over hers. They both tightened their grip on him for a moment before she let go and he slid just the tip of his cock inside her. She’d been so focused on him she didn’t realize just how close she was. His eyes went dark, the winter blue fractured. His mouth latched onto hers, and he swallowed the harsh groan that both of them made as he sunk into her.

Her nails dug into his shoulders as she squeezed her walls around him. Every ridge and line of him stretched her until they were completely connected. She opened her eyes, tearing her mouth away as their gazes locked. Each thrust was an invasion, a key into a lock, and a promise. Her palm slid up and into his hair, the wheat blond hair sifting through her fingers. All the different facets of him coalesced into a texture uniquely Jon, and all hers.

Gripping her hips, he pulled her to the edge of the desk and the thrust went deeper. The roll of his hips and her displaced emotions wound her tighter and pushed her faster to the edge. She didn’t want it, tried to hold back, longing to keep this part of him. This knife edge of pleasure and perfection that only happened for a moment.

But the pleasure wouldn’t be denied. He drew her tighter to him, his hips pistoning against her as the desk thundered in response to the frantic pace they both drove each other to. She buried her face into his shoulder as her body splintered and all the love between them singed her. She held on, feeling the pulse of him inside her as he came.

Slumping against him, she turned her face out so her cheek rested on his freckled shoulder. “Holy fuck.”

“Holy fuck is right,” he gasped. “Where the hell did that come from? And if it was the massage, I’m coming in to give you one every single fucking day.”

She laughed. Dragging her mouth up his neck, to the stubbly chin that hadn’t seen a razor in a few days, she finally found his mouth. “I missed you.” The mixture of grumbly sigh and grunt made her pull back. “What?”

“Nothing.” He pressed a soft kiss on her mouth and that distance was back.

She cupped his face. “What’s going on, Jon?”

“Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

She traced her thumb along the frown line right between his brows. “Yeah, well this says otherwise, pal.”

He caught her hand, nipping at the inside of her wrist. “Just a full schedule that is now behind.”

She leaned back and instantly felt empty when he pulled out of her, tucking himself into his jeans. “Not like I don’t have a full day too.”

“Oh, I know. You always have a full day.”

His brusque tone dissolved what was left of her afterglow. “What the hell, Jon?” She hopped down and righted her skirt. The musk of him blending with her arousal was going to follow her around all day.

“I’m sorry.” His tone was instantly contrite, but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers. Stupid acting lessons.

“So, what? You come in here even though you couldn’t afford the time?”

Blazing fury lit up his face, flushing his winter pale cheeks. “I came in here so that I could actually see my wife.”

“Well you saw her and gained a bonus now didn’t you?”

“I was perfectly happy just to give you a little comfort, but you climbed all over me.”

Her jaw dropped open. “Oh and you were an unwilling participant, huh?”

“No, don’t be stupid.”

“Now I’m stupid?”

“Christ, Tess. I just hadn’t planned on making love to my wife this morning. I wanted to duck in and say hi.” He pointed to the Starbucks cup on her filing cabinet. “Bring my wife a little chocolate and caffeine and get downtown for a meeting. But you looked so…” His shoulders slumped and he dragged his hand through his hair. “I didn’t come here to fight.”

She clenched her fists, then moved forward and hooked her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry. I’m just having a shitty day, that’s all. I’m glad you came in.” She rose on her toes and tucked her chin into the hollow of his neck. “I’m not sorry I jumped you though.”

He folded his arms across her shoulders, holding her in tight. “I’m not sorry either. In fact, I might have lost a few brain cells from coming so hard.”

She giggled. “The charming brain cells.”

He kissed her temple. “I just miss us. You’re busy, I’m busy and our schedules are not synching up, babe.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have good news on that front. Two of my five employees just up and left.”

“Uh oh.”

“Eloped! It’s Christmas, I don’t have time for romance.” She dropped her forehead into the center of his chest. “I’ll be lucky to see you at all in the next twelve days.”

He sighed, tightening his hold. “We’ll figure something out, we always do.”