It was their first night together in their first house all by themselves.
Well, now that she’d managed to get rid of her brother. She loved Dre, but she would not put it past him to knock on the door at midnight to ask if Rene wanted to play video games.
She wasn’t going to share her husband tonight.
Rene shrugged out of his suit coat and took off his shirt, tossing it aside before moving into her space. He looked hungry, and she was more than happy to be made a meal of. His mouth took hers in a purely carnal kiss, his tongue invading and conquering, leaving her desperate for more.
She found herself on the bed, Rene pressing her legs apart, and when she thought he would cover her with his body, he went down on his knees. He settled in and kissed her in the most intimate way possible. He worshipped her with his lips and tongue until she cried out and felt every muscle in her body tense and relax as he overwhelmed her with pleasure.
Then he was moving, shoving his slacks down and covering her body with his. She loved how he pressed her into the bed, his weight and strength a comfort. When he joined them together, she wrapped her legs around him and matched his rhythm.
This was what she’d needed all along. There was something different now, something that caressed her soul and let her know that he was with her without any walls between them.
He kissed her and she found that plateau again, her body pulsing with pleasure and connection as her husband found his peak and then cuddled against her.
“You are the light in my life,” he whispered. “I realized today you always were, and it was so gray when you were gone. Let’s not be apart again.”
He shifted and then her head was on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart.
It was a good sound to fall asleep to.
chapter fourteen
Sylvie came awake to the smell of coffee wafting into the room and smiled. Rene had found the coffeemaker.
She would wait in bed for him, and maybe they could stay there all day. There was a lot to do, but she could put it off to spend time with him, to revel in the way they’d settled everything the night before. Well, everything in their relationship. His family situation was still crazy up in the air.
She yawned and stretched and then realized she wasn’t alone in bed.
Rene’s eyes were still closed when he rolled over and wrapped an arm around her. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
“Did you make coffee and come back to bed? Please tell me you put on a robe, because the neighbors behind can see through the kitchen window.” Her husband’s naked backside might not be a scandal, but it would almost certainly be brought up at the next town hall. They’d spent two hours discussing that time when Zep’s swim trunks had come off while he was on a Slip ’N Slide at the church summer party.
He sighed and cuddled closer. “I haven’t been out of bed. Someone kept me up all night working hard to make sure she knew how awful I felt about our fight. I should point out that groveling was not as bad as I thought it would be. I kind of liked it.”
His version of groveling had been to make love to her over and over again. He’d been so good at it that she wouldn’t mind fighting with him again if it led to the same kind of night.
But that wasn’t the issue at hand. If he hadn’t made coffee, who was in their kitchen? Sylvie sat up. “I thought Andre was going to Mom’s.”
Rene seemed to sense he should take her words seriously as he opened his eyes and looked up at her. “He did. When I went down to get you a glass of water, he’d gone and left a note. He’s staying there for now. I’m supposed to take care of you and the Xbox. Why?”
“Because someone made coffee.” She rolled out of bed and luckily she’d left her big fluffy robe in the bathroom. She slipped into it, tying it at her waist.
That was when she heard the scratching sound of something at her door, and a familiar whine caught her ears. She opened the door and Lady bounced in, her whole body wriggling with excitement.
Rene pulled on his boxers just in time to catch the puppy. “Hey, there. Where did you come from? I missed you, too, sweetheart.”
There was something about a big, strong man holding a puppy that made her heart beat faster.
“Lady, don’t you go up there,” a familiar voice said. Her mother-in-law was calling from the bottom of the stairs. “They’re sleeping.”
“Your mother is here.” Sylvie watched her husband’s eyes go wide.
“How did she get in?” Rene set Lady down and reached for his slacks. “I kept your flowerbed key.”
That answered how he’d gotten in. She hadn’t bothered to ask. She’d been far too busy saying other things like please, more and gasping out his name. “I have no idea. My mom and Dre both have keys. I guess she could have gotten it from one of them.”
“Oh, let the puppy go, Cricket, honey. Sylvie has slept long enough. I did not raise her to stay in bed until noon. If she’s cranky, my pancakes will fix that very quickly.”
“Yep, my mom is here, too. And she’s apparently making breakfast.” She felt her face flush. “Do you think they know what we did last night?”
A grin crossed Rene’s face as he picked Lady up again, having dressed in slacks and his undershirt. “Oh, I think Dre will have explained that to everyone in town by now. He will tell the story of how his horny sister kicked him out in the middle of the night for years to come.”
She groaned and closed the door. “What should we do? If we tie the bedsheets together, we might be able to make it out the window.”
He moved in, crowding her in the best way. “Or we can go down and face our family because I think your momma is making one of her famous breakfasts, and that’s the only reason I married you.”
That brought a smile to her face. “Did you?”
“Best pancakes ever,” he replied and kissed her while Lady offered frantic licks. “And if my mother is here, she’s not here to hand me my things. She’s here so we can work this out. I texted her last night that I wanted to talk and she’s here.”
Cricket knew sometimes Rene picked her up and carried her away. Her mother had never seen that and probably shouldn’t. “But why is my mother here?”
“Because your mother is on the nosy side, and I am okay with that,” he promised. “Also, I would bet Dre’s down there somewhere. And possibly Louis. Come on, love. Let’s greet the horde with smiles on our faces. We have to get used to this. Our freedom will come at the cost of very likely doing Sunday suppers after church at either your mother’s or mine. Probably both. If we can get them to agree to one big dinner, we won’t have to do two.”