Crawling into bed, she reached over and shut off the bedside lamp just as he entered the room. He undressed in the dark and then slipped in next to her. Snuggling up against her back, he wrapped his arms around her and cupped her breast with one hand.
"Hey, remember when we talked about spicing up our sex life?" he whispered in her ear.
"Hmm," she said.
"I was thinking, have you ever considered getting a piercing?" he asked as he nuzzled the nape of her neck.
"A piercing?" she asked, surprised. "What kind of piercing?"
"They say that it can increase your pleasure when you have sex," he answered. "Honestly, the idea of it is pretty hot."
She laid still, surprise washing over her. She'd thought when he'd mentioned spicing up their sex life that he was talking about role-playing or something. She never considered he might mean poking holes in her body.
"Um, I would have to think about that for a bit," she hedged. "I've never thought about it before."
"Give it some thought," he said. "Maybe it's time to try something you've never considered before."
He continued to kiss her neck, and she tried not to let the uneasy feeling she had in the pit of her stomach stop her from enjoying her husband in a rare good mood. She turned over, so she was facing him.
"What made you think of a piercing?" she asked. "I didn't know you were interested in them."
"A friend of mine was talking about it. Apparently, it really makes sex hot," he said, running his hand up and down her arm. "She said the orgasms are out of this world."
"Your friend is a woman?" she couldn't hide her surprise. "What on earth were you discussing orgasms and genital piercings with a woman for?"
"Oh relax, it was just a conversation," he said with an annoyed tone.
He slipped her nightgown off her one shoulder and began to sprinkle kisses all over her. She felt uneasy, although she tried to push her thoughts and feelings aside and just enjoy the moment. His mouth found her nipple, and she moaned gently as he sucked on it. No matter what else seemed to happen, the chemistry between them in bed was always incredible. It wasn't something she could ever figure out, as it wasn't that the sex was any different than the sex she had with her first husband; there was nothing unique or kinky about them in the bedroom, in fact, her husband seemed to be content with fairly conventional couplings. But she couldn't seem to get enough of him, and no one could turn her on faster.
Sighing deeply, she ran her fingers through his hair. Questions about piercings and the ordering of trucks were pushed to the back of her mind, to be dealt with tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Olivia
O livia was excited about their evening out. They were going to a colleague's barbeque, and she was looking forward to showing Luke off to her workmates. Although she had told some of the people at work that she and Luke were dating, they hadn't had a chance to meet him yet. Tonight would be a chance for everyone to get to know him. The only thing dampening her excitement was an undercurrent of unease with the way he had reacted when he met her friends and even her sons. He tended to get quiet and sometimes even a bit defensive. She didn't understand why, he had nothing to be concerned about as he was attractive, intelligent and interesting. She knew her friends from work would love him if he would just relax and show them the side of him that she saw.
He pulled up in front of her house right on time and Olivia grabbed the bottle of wine and plate of appetizers she had prepared for the barbeque. Placing them in the back, she slid into his vehicle. She reached over and kissed him hello just as he hung up his cell phone. He looked a bit unhappy, and she wondered if maybe he had received some bad news. When she probed a bit, she learned that he had a bad day at work.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Nothing really, just some guys that work there can be a bit of a pain," he answered vaguely. "It just gets in the way of work sometimes when you have to watch your back all the time."
"What do you mean, watch your back?" she asked.
"Oh, just the usual worksite stuff," he answered. "Sometimes people just want to stir up trouble if they don't like you and will pin anything they can on you."
Olivia was a bit surprised to hear him talk about his work in such a negative way. He usually spoke quite favorably of the men he worked with, and in fact, had taken her to dinner at one of his colleague's houses a week or so ago. They had a lovely visit, and Luke seemed to enjoy their company. To hear that he was having problems was surprising news to her.
"Don't worry about it hon," he reassured her. "I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."
"Okay," Olivia responded reluctantly. "But who were you talking to on the phone?"
"That was my Mom," he murmured.
"Was it bad news? You seemed unhappy talking to her," Olivia probed.
"Oh, nothing really," he answered with a sigh. "She's upset because my brother and I aren't talking, and she wants me to call him."
"I didn't know you weren't talking to your brother!" Olivia exclaimed. "When did that happen, and why?"
"My brother's a piece of work," Luke responded. "He stole some money from me, and my Mom doesn't seem to think I should be upset. But then again, she thinks he can do no wrong."
Olivia sat back in her seat in surprise. This was the most information he had given her about his family interactions. Of course, he had told her how many siblings he had, and how much family meant to him, but he had never talked about their actual relationships.
"He stole money from you, and she thinks that's okay?" Olivia asked.
"Oh, she doesn't think him stealing money is okay, but she thinks I should just forgive him and move on," Luke explained. "But it isn't surprising, she never sides with me."
"That is terrible, Hon," she said, her hand reaching out to rub the back of his neck as he drove. It hurt her to think that his family might not be as loving and supportive as she had assumed. There was no opportunity to pursue the conversation, as they soon pulled into her colleague's driveway and their conversation ended.
"Well, well, well! So you're the guy Olivia has been keeping all to herself," piped up one of her colleagues as she and Luke sat down on lawn chairs.
"Yup," Luke replied with a small smile.
"It's great to finally meet you, Luke," Wanda threw out the greeting with a smile in Luke's direction. "Don't mind this crew, they've had a few beers, and they aren't responsible for what they say."
"No problem," Luke reassured her.
"Don't let them intimidate you, Luke," Wanda's husband joined the conversation as he came back from the house. "They're all really just a bunch of teddy bears."
"All good," Luke replied.
"So, Luke. I'm thinking you know all kinds of things about Olivia that you can share with us," someone else spoke up.
"What do you mean?" Luke asked.
"You know, secrets she wouldn't tell us… you know! The good stuff!"