But the best part was how hard Jace grabbed on to her ass and kneaded her onto him as he released. The force of the motions gave her immediate aftershocks like fireworks exploding in her already overheated system.
It was so fucking good.
* * *
Jace cradled his wife in his arms. What they’d just done had been completely insane, as well as being one of the best sexual experiences he’d ever had in his life. He’d been blinded by need and felt more than a little out of control. Watching Caroline—his pristine wife—fondle herself in the passenger seat had been his complete undoing. He’d been truthful when he’d told her he hadn’t been in that much pain since junior high. It was the heightened mix of pleasure and pain that had made it so unbelievable.
“Are you okay, Care?” he murmured in her ear as he caressed her bare back. She was still naked. He reached an arm back to gather up her dress from where he’d tossed it in his haste.
“Yes.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. She lifted her head slowly, looking drowsy and content. “But now I need to go home. My world is spinning, and I’m thoroughly exhausted.”
He maneuvered the dress over her head as she put her arms up. “Exhausted, but satisfied, I hope.” He grinned, giving her a peck on the cheek as he guided the fabric over her head.
She gave him a smile as she pushed her arms through the holes. “Extremely satisfied.” Once the dress was over her head, she asked, “Can you reach some napkins for me? There are some in the middle panel.”
Jace took napkins out of the console and handed them to her. She eased herself off him, climbing back into her own seat.
He turned the key in the ignition. “I want you to feel good about what we did tonight. No guilt. It was completely awesome.” He reached under the seat and adjusted it forward while he put the car in reverse. He backed out of the spot and headed for home. Two erotic episodes in two different parking lots. Who would’ve guessed?
“I’m going to try my best.” Caroline’s head was reclined on the headrest. Her eyes were shut, and one hand was splayed against her forehead. “But this has been a lot to take in. I can’t believe I was brazen enough to touch your private parts in a public place…not to mention in front of people we just met. I don’t want to think about it right now. It’s making my head hurt worse.”
“Then don’t. And I shouldn’t have to tell you that we all enjoyed that. It was the highlight of the night. Just saying.”
She shook her head wearily. “It’s in my nature to second-guess things. It’s just the way I was raised.” She opened her eyes and glanced over at him, her eyes slightly unfocused. “I’m not sure I’ve ever told you this story, but the very first time I even thought of a swear word, I was certain I was going to be struck down by the Almighty Himself. I stood there like a dummy on the sidewalk, staring at my mother’s antique crystal goblet—the one I was forbidden to drink my iced tea from—which had just shattered because I’d dropped it.” She shook her head. “But I waited right there for a good half hour for God to do His deed before I began to gather up the pieces. Then I had to go in and confess my sin to my mother. I’m not sure which punishment I dreaded worse. She grounded me for two weeks and made me drink my afternoon tea out of a baby cup for the rest of the month. I believe I was eight years old. So when I tell you that I will not obsess about what happened tonight, that’s a lie. But I can promise you that I will try not to feel guilty about it for too long. I know what we did was consensual. I will keep that in the forefront of my mind, all while I try to convince myself the devil doesn’t live in my nonexistent underpants.”
Jace turned down their street, his heart aching for his beautiful wife. He’d had no such upbringing or hang-ups. His parents had gone to church, but they’d never brought church home. There was a big difference. He was the person he was today because of his past, and Caroline was the person she was. He loved her even more so because of all the mountains she’d had to scale in order to be vulnerable.
“Sweetheart, I’m here if you need me. I can be your sounding board.” He slid his hand over and placed it on her thigh. “Never forget that for a second. We’re in this together. Your guilt is my guilt.” He pulled into their driveway and hit the garage door opener. It rose, and he eased the SUV into its spot.
Once the car was off, he reached over and caressed her neck as she reached down to gather up her shoes and purse. Once she had them in hand, she turned toward him, giving him a shaky smile. “Can you promise me one thing?”
“Of course, anything,” he said as he opened his door and walked around to help her out.
He pulled her door open, and she took his hand. “I need a break from all of this for a while,” she told him as she stepped out of the car. “My brain needs to clear, and we need to figure out what we want with no outside distractions.”
“Agreed.”
Caroline was a little wobbly as she descended, so he decided to pick her up.
As he swept her into his arms, she laughed. “What are you doing?” She rested her head against his chest. “I’m too heavy and you’re crazy.”
“I’m your knight in shining armor tonight.”
“You’ve been my knight every day since the moment I met you.” She snuggled into his chest. “You are my most perfect prince.”
12
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“Is keeping this really necessary, Caroline? It’s so vulgar.” Caroline glanced over at her mother, who was hovering over an open drawer in the pantry, her current favorite spot to nitpick.
This was the fifth time she had announced it was time to “straighten out” the house, which was code for I’m going to throw all your Yankee stuff away.
It was something her mother did every time she visited.
Some things never changed.
Caroline sighed. “Mama, that’s my spring tablecloth for the patio. Just leave it be.” She wasn’t about to tell her mother she adored the geometric print or that she rarely used anything to cover the table when they dined outside.
That would be scandalous and beside the point.
“But the colors are so brash.” Her mother shook her head. “And, it would be very distracting to eat off of, if you ask me. If you were to get rid of it, I could send you the nice lace one I have at home, handmade by Grandmother Bowman. I can put it in the mail straight-away.”
This was Genevieve Bowman’s typical technique. Offer to exchange something vulgar for a “nice antique” or something “hand-sewn.”
Her mother had arrived exactly thirteen days ago for her annual visit.
Their time together was almost finished, and Caroline could not wait. Ginny and Caroline’s father, Henry, made a trip to Madison once a year. Her mother usually came a week before Caroline’s father did, so the girls could spend some “quality time” together. But this year her father had had to cancel at the last minute. He was on a board of trustees at a large company back home, and they were going through some kind of important merger.
So it had been just her and her mother.
And Jace in the evenings and on weekends.
For two solid weeks.
But the blessed reunion was coming to a close tomorrow, and Caroline was at her wits’ end trying to keep her possessions from being tossed into the garbage or swapped out for something her mother deemed more appropriate.
Before Caroline could tell her mother she didn’t want the lace tablecloth and would prefer to keep the one she had, Jace strode into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” he said cheerfully as he made a beeline to his mother-in-law, giving her a proper peck on the cheek. Then he went directly to the coffeepot. “Did you sleep well, Mama?” he asked over his shoulder.