2SpiceRack_bundle (12 page)

“Shit, Olivia. That’s one hell of a wake-up
call.”

She giggled, batting her lashes playfully
as she struggled for breaths. “Don’t you mean Sabrina?”

He pursed his lips, scooting closer and
pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “No, I mean Olivia. My amazing,
beautiful wife, Olivia.” His warm eyes settled on hers as he twined a lock of
her hair in his fingers. “You know how much I love you, right?”

Her heart beat a still-excited rhythm
against her chest. “Of course I do. I love you too.”

He nodded in agreement but his eyes were
dead serious. “Because you can call off this whole thing tonight if you want.
Just say the word and I’ll cancel.”

Breathing felt impossible for a moment.
“Are you having second thoughts?”
Maybe he’s even more nervous than I am.
Her eyes scanned back and forth, trying to read every emotion on his face.

“I just want to make sure you are
absolutely okay with all of it.”

After a breakfast of strawberries and
slightly cold Belgian waffles washed down with champagne, Brian showered while
Olivia worked on her hair and makeup. He studied her as he stepped from the
shower enclosure, toweling himself dry. She was dabbing at her chin with makeup
when she caught him watching her. A bright smile and sudden blush lit up her
entire face.

She’s so beautiful. Sometimes it’s hard
to believe she’s mine.

“You’re watching me primp?”

“I’m just watching you, period. I can’t
take my eyes off you.” He snugged the towel around his waist and went to her,
placing his hands on her hips. “You are a gorgeous woman, inside and out. I
want you to know that.”

“Thank you. That’s very sweet. You are, of
course, ridiculously handsome.” She turned and rose onto her tiptoes, pecking
him on the nose. Even that one small touch was enough to make him want to scrap
their afternoon plans.

He’d planned a visit to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art that day, to satisfy Olivia’s artistic cravings. School plays and
crayon stick figures on the fridge were now her best chance at experiencing art
and culture at home.

From the early days of their dating life,
she’d amazed him with her creativity—raggedy sketchbooks filled with drawings
and bits of verse or things that had simply come to mind. His brain worked
nothing like that. Business. Calculation. Planning.

Painting had been an even greater passion
of Olivia’s in college, although it had been difficult with a roommate not fond
of easels and canvases littering the living room. Once he and Olivia moved in
together senior year, he was quick to empty out half of his home office to make
space for her to spread her creative wings.

“I mean it, Liv. I know I take you for
granted sometimes, but I don’t mean to.”

She tilted her head and her eyes became
watery. “Thank you for saying that.”

“That’s what this weekend is about. You and
me remembering what’s important.”

“Each other.”

“Each other.” He took her hand and peered
into her warm, sweet eyes. “So we’re supposed to call Michael this morning
before we head out.”

“Oh, okay.” Her lips spread into a thin
line.

“He said it’s better to establish the
ground rules beforehand. Just so that no one is left surprised or hurt or feels
pressured to do something.”

She nodded. “Makes sense.”

He wandered into the room and scooped up
his phone from the desk, then plopped down on the end of the bed and patted the
spot next to him in invitation. She managed a small smile before perching
herself beside him.

Once he hit the speed dial, Brian’s pulse
picked up as if he’d downed a double espresso. An uneasy mix of relief and
disappointment followed each ringtone until Michael answered.

“Brian, hey. Glad you called. I was on my
way out.”

“Is this an okay time?” Brian wiped his
clammy hand on the towel around his waist.

“Yeah, perfect. Is Olivia there?”

“She is.” He caught her eyes as she chewed
on her fingernail. “So, how does this work?”

“In my experience, it works however you
want it to work, as long as everyone agrees to the ground rules ahead of time.”

“Okay. Well…” He cleared a stubborn lump in
his throat. “No actual sex. I mean, no intercourse.”

“Gotcha. No penetration. It’s totally your
call. So you’re fine with oral and manual?”

Brian was a bit taken aback by the
minutiae.
He’s going to go down on my wife.
The details made it abruptly
real, a titillating and still daunting reality. “Yes. That’s sort of what I had
in mind.”

“That works. Believe me, everyone is still
satisfied by the end of the night.”

Scenarios rifled through Brian’s head.
What
if Olivia gets so carried away that she begs him to fuck her? She gets like
that when she’s really turned-on.

“And your participation will be to watch,
right?” Michael asked.

“Yes. Definitely. Is there anything I need
to know about that?” The voyeuristic aspect of the fantasy was a big part of
the allure, but he’d put little thought into what it would actually be like to
take on that role.

“You do whatever makes you feel
comfortable. You don’t have to decide that now, although you may want to
discuss it with Olivia. I’ve had husbands and boyfriends sit across the room.
I’ve also had them close enough to touch their wife or girlfriend, sometimes
sitting on the bed.”

“Okay.” Michael’s claim that he’d done this
“a fair amount” might have been an understatement.

“There’s typically some dialogue between
the committed couple. I only tend to talk to her, to make sure she’s happy and
likes the way I’m touching her. I can talk really dirty to her if you want
that.”

“Um, I think just the regular way is
probably fine.” The lump in Brian’s throat had returned. “That sounds good.”

“You think you can deal with this, Bri?
Some guys get pretty jealous. They can’t handle it, even when they think they
want it.”

Can I keep my jealousy in check?
This was such unfamiliar territory. Brian did very little in life
without being absolutely certain of the outcome. “Yes, I’m sure.”

“Great. The only other thing I’ll mention
is that I will discreetly leave when it’s all over. There’s no need for a big
social gathering afterward.”

Again, a detail Brian hadn’t considered.
“Good to know.”
Probably for the best. I doubt I’ll want to shake your hand.

“Perfect. Can you put Olivia on the phone?”

Brian’s Adam’s apple bobbled when he handed
her his cell phone. “He wants to talk to you now.” The look in his eyes made it
difficult to know what he was thinking. She wasn’t even sure she’d ever seen
that look on his face.

Olivia took the phone, but it slipped out
of her hand and tumbled across the floor. Her heart fluttered as she picked it
up and fumbled to turn it right-side up. “Michael. Hi.”

“Hey, Liv. It’s so nice to hear your voice.
It’s been a long time, huh?”

Her shoulders dropped and she relaxed.
Small
talk. I can do this.
“It has been a long time.”

“Too long. Every time I see your husband, I
think to myself that I’m getting the raw end of the deal. You need to come into
the city with him more often. For dinner and drinks.”

That would be a markedly different
get-together than what we’re planning for tonight.
She hadn’t seen Michael since the twins had been christened. This was not how
she’d imagined a reunion, not that she’d thought about it much at all. “I know.
I need to get out of Westport more often.”

“So how are you feeling about tonight?”

Why can’t he ask me a yes or no
question?
“Uh, nervous, I guess. Excited a little.”
Why did I say I was excited?
She glanced over at Brian and remembered
that she was making his longest-held fantasy come true. She was excited, but
not about Michael so much as what she and Brian were discovering as a couple.

“Excited only a little?” He laughed. “I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t say that. But I do have to be honest and tell you that I
never thought this would happen. Not in my wildest fantasies.”

Your
wildest fantasies?
She managed
a nervous chuckle. “I guess you never know what will happen in life.”

“You know, Liv, even though this is Brian’s
fantasy that brought this on, tonight is still about you. You call the shots.
If you decide something is too much or you can’t go through with it, just say
the word.”

“Wouldn’t that be totally unfair to you?”

“There is no fair. We all need to keep an
open mind. You never know how you’ll react to the situation until you’re in
it.”

“Can I ask you a question?” She gnawed on
her lip.

“Of course.”

“What do you get out of this, exactly?”

Michael laughed on the other end of the
line. “On a most basic level, there’s sexual gratification. I find the
psychological aspect of it fascinating—a man sharing his wife with another man
for his own pleasure. It’s quite a complex idea.”

Interesting.
Even though Michael had ended up in the world of finance, he’d always been
fascinated by human behavior. He would have majored in psychology if his dad
hadn’t put his foot down. “Oh, okay.”

“It’s not just that though. I also like
feeling as though I’ve helped bring a couple closer. A lot of people say that
the experience changes their sex life for the better.”

And that’s the whole point of our
weekend away.
“That sounds great. Thank you for
everything.”

“See you tonight.”

Olivia gulped a too-big breath of air.
“Yes. See you tonight.”

* * * * *

A very grumpy cabbie dropped them off in
front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 82nd Street and 5th Avenue.

“We could’ve walked, you know,” Olivia said
after Brian had muttered “asshole” while paying the driver.

“I know, but you’re wearing heels and I
didn’t want your feet to hurt.” He clasped her hand as they began to climb the
massive stone steps.

“I could have worn different shoes.”

“You know how I feel about the CFM boots.
You should wear them whenever possible.”

She smiled and shook her head as they made
their way through the impressive archways and columns into the main entrance.
The cathedral ceiling opened up above them and the considerable din of people
talking and milling about echoed through the marble-floored hall.

Olivia had only been to the museum one
other time, when she and Brian spent a night in New York on their way back to
Virginia after he’d taken her to meet his parents in Connecticut. Having loved
art her entire life, this was more than a treat. It was heaven.

“Where do you want to start?” Olivia asked,
plucking a museum map from the information desk.

“You’re kidding, right? The guy who
wouldn’t know a Monet if it bit him on the ass?”

She crinkled her lips. “You don’t give
yourself enough credit. Just because you don’t remember the names of the
artists doesn’t mean that you can’t appreciate art.”

“So says the very sexy scholar.”

She smacked him on the arm. “Come on. We’ll
make our way back to the American Wing. I remember you liking that the first
time we came.”

They wandered through the Egyptian art with
a short stop for Brian’s benefit in the Arms and Armor gallery. They took their
time in the American Wing as planned, hand in hand. Even when particular
paintings or artifacts failed to capture Olivia’s imagination, which wasn’t
very often, she loved being in the museum—the history, the artistry, even the
smell was somehow appealing. Being there with Brian made it even better.

“Now where?” he asked after they’d walked
through most of the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts.

Olivia tugged on his hand. “You know where
I want to go.”

He gave her a grin she’d seen thousands of
times, one that still made her lightheaded. “Of course I do.”

As they stepped into the Modern and
Contemporary Art wing, she had the same thrill she’d had the first time they’d
been there. So many of the works were ones she had studied in school. From
Picasso to de Kooning, Matisse to Warhol, there was something fascinating to
take in at every turn. Even when she’d seen many of these on the first trip to
the museum, it was as if she was discovering them all over again.

Olivia sighed when they approached the
painting she’d most looked forward to—Georgia O’Keefe’s masterpiece, “Black
Iris”. “I love this so much. I could stare at it for hours.”

Brian pulled her closer and put his arm
around her. “Tell me what you see. Because I look at it and I wonder why my
mind is always in the gutter.”

She had an inkling of what he was thinking.
“No. You tell me what you see first.”

“Fine. I see some of my favorite parts of a
woman.”

Olivia giggled. He was right. O’Keefe had
enlarged the flower to such detail that it did indeed have a very personal and
sensual nature. Olivia felt as though she was being drawn into the painting as
she studied the graceful lines and subtle shadings of grays and pinks and
white. “I love the way she found profound beauty in the everyday, in the
littlest thing.”

He pressed his lips to her temple. “Tell me
more.”

She inched closer to the painting but Brian
followed, keeping his grip on her shoulders. “She painted this in the 1920s. It
was very bold for the time.” She glanced over to admire his chiseled profile as
he looked ahead. “I just think she was very brave to paint like this. She
didn’t care about what anyone would think. She created what was in her heart.”

He turned to her and his small grin bloomed
into a broad smile. “You are amazing. There’s so much going on in that head of
yours. I love seeing you get so excited about something.”

She shrugged. “I can’t help it. I love it.”

“You need to start painting again.” His
hand slid from her back down to her hand, which he took in his. “I mean really
painting. We need to set up a space for you at the house.”

“What?” She shook her head. “That’s sweet,
but it’s not like I was ever any good.”

“Okay. First off, that’s ridiculous. You’re
incredibly talented. Secondly, do you think Georgia O-what’s-her-name worried
about being good? You just said that she painted this without worrying what
anyone else would think.”

Her eyes were drawn back to the painting,
the gentle curves of a master. It had been years since she’d held more than a
paint roller in her hands. Still, the appeal of a blank canvas before her was
great. That part of her had never gone away. “But what about the graphic design
job?”

“If you get it, great. If not, you’re going
to have to decide what you want to do. But either way, I think it’s a waste of
talent for you to not be painting. For you to not be doing what you love.” His
gripped her shoulders, tugging her closer. “I know how hard you work with the
girls. And you left behind your career so we could have a family. It’s time for
more Olivia time.”