Friday, August 24
Jason huddled in the only clear corner of the couch, his laptop heating his upper thighs. He scrolled through the usual job search notifications from various Internet services, but could not take his eyes off Eliza’s mess of paperwork from the jewelry museum. He felt terrible for her. He would hardly see her the coming weekend, and he didn’t know how a person could survive on so little sleep.
Jason took a deep breath and entered a new set of queries as he toured through his usual sites. An experienced person like Eliza should have no trouble finding a place that would appreciate her skills, and he had to believe that, even with the state of the economy, not every employer would try to wring every last drop of energy from her.
He didn’t want to add to her stress just now, so he programmed all the notifications he turned up to a folder in his own e-mail account. Jason didn’t want to interfere with her career, but when the time was right, he hoped he could offer her a few sane alternatives. He bit his lip and returned to his own search.
* * * * *
“Second interview this week,” Eliza said. “That seems like a good sign.”
“I’m trying not to get my hopes up until someone actually makes me an offer. I think a lot of them aren’t serious about hiring. They’re just gathering information in case they feel like hiring someone in the future.”
“So I guess in a few years, you’ll suddenly get a lot of phone calls offering you jobs. And you can turn them all down, because they won’t be offering nearly what you’re worth, and what you’re making at whatever awesome place you find.” Eliza turned toward her husband—who rode in the passenger seat for once—with a sunny smile. They’d left the house much earlier than usual, but she felt surprisingly alert and cheerful. Probably had something to do with getting time with him in the morning for once, and maybe with the novelty of driving their car. And all the coffee she’d had with breakfast.
“That’s quite a fantasy you’ve got going,” Jason said, but smiled, too.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay getting from the interview to work? I feel bad taking the car from you.”
He shook his head, his fingers reaching for the steering wheel where her right hand rested, giving her a quick caress. “I’ve got the car almost every day. You should be allowed to use it if you need it. I know the museum has you driving all over town today picking things up.”
“Well, I wish they would have picked a more convenient day to need me to do all this.”
“I don’t think ‘convenience’ is a meaningful word in our lives right now,” Jason said.
Eliza snorted in response. “You know, this morning when my alarm clock rang, I couldn’t find it for, like, five minutes. I could not remember where I put it to save my life. I knocked over so much stuff while I was looking for it.”
“I noticed. Why do you think I got up earlier than usual?” He peered at Eliza’s grin and scowled. “I have no idea how you can be so damn cheerful in the morning.”
“You should really drink more coffee.”
“Ah,” Jason said. “Substance abuse. I see.” He checked the digital clock on the dashboard. “Why did you make us leave so early, anyway? I could have gotten another forty minutes of sleep, easy.”
“I wanted to make sure we weren’t late,” Eliza said, blinking innocently. “You know how stressful it is if you get lost on the way to a place like this.” She had an ulterior motive, too, but wouldn’t reveal that until the time was right.
“Yeah, that’s fair, I guess. Maybe we can find somewhere to pull over for a nap. The GPS says we’re only ten minutes away from where I have the interview. We have so much extra time.” Eliza had to laugh at how sleepy he looked. She hoped her surprise would have extra impact as a result.
“Let me see what I can find,” Eliza said, scanning the road ahead for the big park she’d scoped out online the day before. It came up on cue, abandoned at this time of morning, the early sun dawning through the deep green of its thick canopy of trees. She pulled the car smoothly into the approach to the park and swung into a space. She saw no other cars.
“Wow, that was convenient.” Jason narrowed his eyes. “Too convenient.”
“I have no idea what you mean.” Eliza twisted to reach behind the driver’s seat, where she found the beach blanket she’d stashed. She smiled at Jason, displayed it, and nodded toward the woods with her head.
“You said you’d created a monster with Operation Get Laid? I think you had that backwards.” Jason winked. Combined with his visible erection, the gesture reassured Eliza.
“What better way to relax before your interview?” Eliza stashed her keys in her purse and got out of the car, making sure to slide her skirt down in the process to show Jason the top of her barely-there thong.
Jason climbed out in turn. “I have to say, I like this better than coffee. I’m feeling a whole lot more awake all of a sudden, and I don’t think I have to worry about getting jittery.”
“Come on.” Eliza reached out for her husband’s hand and led him into the woods beside the parking lot. The air crackled with the fresh anticipation of morning, and the rich aroma of leaves at the peak of their green. They walked between the trees, the ground crunching beneath their feet and birdsong receding before them. “It’s pretty thick here. I think we only need to walk in for a few minutes.”
“You just want as much time as possible for the main event,” Jason teased.
“Well, yes.” Eliza stopped walking and turned toward him, suddenly shy. “You don’t mind this, do you? I’ve been thinking about what you said at the library, about wondering what I did with your wife. I hope this is fun for you. I don’t want you to think I’m too demanding or something.”
Jason’s face softened. He pulled her into a long embrace, pressing kisses into her hair. “Sweetie, I can’t imagine anyone who would put up with me complaining about this. ‘My life is so hard. My incredibly hot wife wants me so badly, she’s started planning ways to jump my bones in unusual locations.’ I think most guys would wish they could trade places.”
She shifted, somewhat mollified by his answer, but not quite satisfied. “I don’t care about most guys. I care about you.”
“Being married to you was already a dream come true. Lately, it’s been so great I’ve wondered if I’m making it up.” His arms tightened around her. “Eliza, I couldn’t be happier. We can have sex in the woods whenever you want. I’m here for you.” He pressed his erection against her and smiled wickedly. “And so is my morning wood.”
“It’ll fit right in with all the other trees.”
“I’m hoping to fit it in somewhere else.”
“Oh, me too.” Eliza pulled them further in, then spread the blanket on the ground with a snap of her wrists. She reached to loosen his clothes, then frowned. “I’m guessing I shouldn’t get sex smells all over your interview clothes.”
“Here, I have an idea,” Jason said. He slipped off his suit jacket, then found a low-hanging branch near where Eliza had set up the blanket. He brushed loose bark away from it, then slung the jacket over the branch.
“Oooh, I like where this is heading,” Eliza said.
“You going to join me?”
Meeting his eyes, Eliza unbuttoned her blouse. She found her own branch to hang her clothes on, and did so while eyeing Jason with clear and unashamed appreciation. “Maybe you should just go to the interview like that,” she said. “That would definitely get their attention.”
“Maybe not the right kind.”
“I suppose not.” Eliza stepped close to him, his erection iron and velvet between their bodies. “I don’t really want to share you with anyone.”
“I don’t think there’s enough of me to go around.” His hands clamped around her ass and lifted her off the ground. “I want to give everything I’ve got to you.”
Looking down between their bodies, Eliza sucked in her breath at the sight of his cock thick with desire for her. “Looks like you’ve got a lot to give.”
“Oh, yes.” Jason shifted so he could hold her against his body with just one arm. With his other, he held the back of her head as he kissed her, then stroked down the side of her neck and the front of her chest so he could tease her nipples. Eliza moaned and pressed closer, her arms and legs winding around his body.
A sudden explosive motion from her husband’s muscles lifted her higher in the air. Eliza shrieked. “What are you doing?”
“Hook your legs over my shoulders,” Jason said. She looked down at him from what felt like a great height. He held her by the tops of her thighs, her knees level with his face.
“Are we trying out for the Olympics now? Put me down! I don’t do gymnastics!”
“Hook your legs over my shoulders.”
Eliza rolled her eyes, heart still pounding from the adrenaline of the surprise. “You know I took the trouble of spreading a blanket out on the ground over there. Aren’t we going to use it?”
“I can hold you up here for a while if that’s where you want to be.”
“Oh my God, you are impossible.” Eliza did as he asked, twisting in his grip so she could rest her legs on his shoulders. Jason’s intent became crystal clear when he pulled her into a sitting position, her legs dangling down his back and her crotch resting firmly against his face. He squeezed the globes of her ass, pulling her even closer in.
“Whoa!” Eliza shrieked, shocks of arousal racing through her body even as she swayed above him. She flailed her arms until she found a tree branch she could grab. The solidity of the wood calmed her a little, so she could relax and enjoy Jason’s mouth against her folds.
Jason pulled her tight against his mouth, Eliza’s legs forced by the position to spread. She shrieked again as his chin teased her opening and his nose pressed against her body. He inhaled loudly. “Much better than coffee.”
Eliza giggled, giddy from the height. Using his grip on her ass, Jason tilted her so his tongue found her clit. He licked it with luxurious patience, finally giving her a chance to adjust to the position. But as soon as Eliza thought she’d gotten accustomed to what he was doing to her body, he sucked her clit into his mouth and gave it the lightest of nibbles. The sensation shot straight to her head.
She felt completely at his mercy, depending on his muscles to hold her, vulnerable to the ministrations of his lips, teeth, and tongue. Eliza’s hands tightened on the branch she held, shaking it as she wriggled wildly in response to Jason’s mouth.
Jason took a step forward, forcing Eliza to rest her lower body’s weight on his mouth. Adrenaline, combined with the intense pressure of his tongue, made Jason’s every movement curl her toes. Eliza’s heels drummed against his back. She didn’t know if she could take his tongue—pleasure built within her to an almost ominous level.
Eliza’s legs flailed. She clung to the branch and writhed. Nothing she did reduced the extraordinary tension Jason’s tongue produced in her body. She felt like a spring, winding tighter with every lick.
But no spring can stay wound forever. Eliza’s orgasm flashed against the backs of her eyelids and took her breath away. Her hands dropped from the branch. She sagged in Jason’s grasp, dangling with her legs spread around his head and her face almost touching her toes.
“Jesus,” Eliza said.
“Oh, we’re not done yet.”
“Huh?” Sluggish with pleasure, Eliza barely lifted her head.
Jason manhandled her further, easing her down his body until his cock bumped against her entrance. “I have more to give.”
Her juices covered his face, and had even gotten into his hair. “Oh, God. We’ve made a mess,” Eliza said.
Jason only grinned and thrust forward into her slick folds. Eliza, still sensitive from the orgasm, screamed at the shock of him pressing into her. “I swear, I put down this blanket…”
“Oh, would you rather be there?” Without withdrawing from her, Jason strode forward and lowered them both to the blanket. With the ground hard beneath her, his cock felt even more unrelenting. Eliza gasped and cried out, arching her back and neck as far as she could manage.
Jason kissed her, trailing the scent of her arousal everywhere his face touched down. He licked down her neck and kissed the tops of her breasts, never interrupting the rhythm of his thrusts inside her. Eliza could not remember the last time she had made so much noise. Even in the cool early morning, heat flushed every part of her body. She saw and felt nothing but Jason.
His hands still clutched her ass, using that grip now for leverage. His movements slowed, taking her just as deeply and thoroughly but giving more time for Eliza to feel every inch of him. She squirmed in his grasp, the pleasure so overwhelming that she almost wanted to get away from it.
She scrabbled against the earth around them, but could not retreat even a millimeter from his powerful grasp. Eliza screamed again, and the sound of her own voice took her over the edge, carrying her over into another orgasm even more devastating than the first. She sobbed and dug her fingers into Jason’s back, a strange, wild clarity filling her head like the smell of lightning.
Jason’s body grew rigid above her. His cock seemed to grow inside her. He came, groaning loudly.
Eliza let herself go limp beneath him. Her body still buzzed everywhere from the pleasure he had given her. “Holy hell,” she said finally. “What was that?”
Jason kissed the side of her face, gentle again, though still panting from his exertions. “I think I have more energy in the morning.”
“Apparently. I’m lucky you didn’t decide to climb a tree or something while you were thrusting.”
“There’s always a next time.”
“I have to say, I hope so.”
Eliza lifted her chest slightly. Jason rolled aside to let her up. The blanket barely separated her from the ground, crumpled by her grasping and thrashing. “It was nice to be somewhere I could make noise for once.”
He smiled. “You can make noise like that anywhere you want. I don’t mind.”
“Not the library,” she said with an impish grin. “Someone would have come to stop us.”
“I think I could have dealt with it anyway. Can’t be too upset about my wife’s loud cries of pleasure.”
Eliza swatted him, but transformed the gesture into a caress that traveled up his body and rested on the side of his face. “I feel bad. You are so sticky there.”
“That’s what the blanket was for, right?’ He grabbed the corner and wiped his chin against it.
“Right,” Eliza said. “Totally why I brought that.” She took a deep breath and reached for where she’d left her purse. Retrieving her cell phone, she checked the time. “Believe it or not, we haven’t even been here that long. You still have plenty of time before your interview.”
“I’ll try not to go into it sounding like the smuggest guy on the planet.” Jason brushed a lock of hair away from Eliza’s eyes. They shared the glow of satisfied smiles. She would have stood to get ready, but Jason held her in place. “Thank you, Eliza. I mean it. I don’t want you getting self-conscious about the way you’re behaving. I love seeing this side of you. Nothing makes me happier than to see you seeking and finding pleasure—and the way you’ve been doing it is certainly working for me, too.”
“I’m glad.” Eliza bit her lip. “I’ve been getting wilder lately because I figured we’re on sort of a last hurrah. I talked to Bob yesterday and he swore the contractors would be out of the house by this afternoon. I get the feeling they’re not exactly going to take their time cleaning with the Shop-Vac, but I think this might be the end of an era. Our anniversary is Tuesday. We’ll be back to normal before we know it.”
Jason frowned. “Is that what you want, Eliza? To go ‘back to normal’ and give this up? I’m excited to be able to have sex in the house without slicing open an artery, sure, but I thought we’d discovered something here. It seemed like the silver lining of all the frustration and difficulty. We figured something out about what really turns us on, didn’t we?”
Eliza’s stomach flipped. Jason’s words tugged at her. She loved the way he’d been looking at her just moments before, but disappointment gathered now on his face and cast a pall on the otherwise perfect morning. “It’s been exciting. I don’t regret a minute of it. But I thought we agreed about this—the things we’ve done will make great stories for us in the future, but we can’t repeat them. Bruises, sunburn, my mother, a fire alarm… We’ve established a pretty crazy list. I like that we got wild, but I do want a normal sex life. It would be nice to have a good time with you without worrying what the next mishap will be.”
“I thought your opinion changed after the night at the club. You seemed a lot more free. I swear you were having fun. You’ve been shocking me lately, Eliza, in all the best ways. You can’t really mean to cut this whole thing off.”
“Jason, you’ve been the one hinting at settling into the next level. Kids and all the rest. We can’t risk arrest at the library for indecent exposure when we have kids waiting at home, can we? I’ve been getting this out of my system.” Eliza sighed. “I’m not saying things won’t be hot between us. You know they will. But once the renovations are done, I think we need to keep our sex life at home, where it belongs.”
Jason’s dropped his hand away from Eliza. “I don’t want to be irresponsible,” he said. “I just— I’d been starting to think we found a naughty little secret that would help us deal with the pressure of acting like mature adults most of the time. Don’t you think we could stand to do this from time to time? A place like this? A fun surprise like this?”
Eliza shook her head, an ache starting in her chest. This conversation shouldn’t matter so much, but she felt like they were talking about a lot more than sex. She feared she couldn’t be the wife Jason wanted, or, worse, that they didn’t want the same things at all. “Too many things go wrong.”
“Things go wrong at home, too. Things will always go wrong. I’m saying we don’t need to worry about that as long as we have each other and we know how to have fun together. I didn’t think this was the end of an era. I thought this was the beginning of the next phase of our lives together.”
Eliza rubbed her hands over her bare legs. Her naked body brought no shame when she and Jason had been enjoying each other, but now her nudity embarrassed her and made her feel awkward. “We’ll have to talk about this later,” she whispered, confused at how what had started as a fun interlude could have taken such an unpleasant turn. “I don’t want to make you late for your interview.”
“Don’t worry.” He flashed a grin. “We will talk later, though.” Jason stood, turning toward the tree where he had hung his interview clothes. His jacket, pants, dress shirt, and boxers lay strewn through piles of dead leaves at the base of the tree. “What the—”
Eliza gulped, recognizing a familiar branch a little higher up and remembering how she had flailed as she came. “Something always goes wrong,” she said slowly, guilt stabbing her.
Jason met her eyes, dusting leaf particles off the dark gray wool pants as best he could. “Well,” he said, clearly resisting the urge to agree with Eliza’s assessment. “I will give you this. When we do this indoors, it’s usually a lot cleaner.”