The New Husband(37)

As his touches intensified, his exploration became bolder, and Nina felt something unfurl inside. All thoughts of her new hairstyle evaporated with a shudder of desire. The moment their lips touched, Nina ignited inside. Her mouth opened hungrily.

Responding with equal eagerness, Simon pulled Nina into him. His hands were free to explore every inch of her body. He ran his fingers through her hair, undoing to some extent the hard work of her hairdresser, while each tug increased her passion.

Simon brushed his hands across the top of Nina’s chest, then lowered them to her breasts while tracing his lips along the contours of Nina’s neck. As he kissed her, Nina began a slow rotation of her hips, pressing herself into him with an increasingly desperate urgency. She needed this: lust, hunger, arousal. It was liberating. She felt unburdened. When their mouths met again, Nina’s tongue worked more greedily than before. His kiss, touch, everything about his body felt so right and good, everything but that orangey, woodsy aroma that conjured vivid memories of Glen. How was it the new cologne still smelled like the old? Was Glen now haunting her sense of smell?

To purge herself of him, Nina closed her eyes, focused only on Simon, his body, his lips, his fingers in full command. She let Simon get on top, murmuring with pleasure as he rubbed against her, pushing his hands under her body before placing them on the front of her pajamas, pressing his fingers into her. Nina opened her legs wider, thrusting her hips into him.

Frantically, she pulled Simon’s T-shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. She kissed his chest, brushing her fingers over his stomach. She tugged at the drawstring of his sweatpants, undoing them with one try. Even though they had made love a few months after they’d begun dating, Simon was the first man other than Glen that she’d touched this way in more than twenty years. It still felt exciting and new, but also terrifyingly unfamiliar. He pulled back, cupping her head in his hands again as he looked deeply into her eyes, taking her in, all of her, loving her the way she needed to be loved. Her body trembled as she worked her fingers down inside his pants. The intensity of Simon’s kisses, his labored breathing, the way he touched her, ached for her, made her feel more desired than she had in years.

Nina assumed Simon would be so excited he might explode at her touch. But to her surprise, when she placed her hand on him, he wasn’t hard at all. It was like a crash landing. Nina pressed her palm against him again, expecting to coax the start of a rise, but got nothing in response. She was genuinely confused. Simon had initiated their lovemaking and she was certain that he wanted her.

“Tell me what to do,” Nina said in a soft voice, trying to sound understanding as she pulled her hand away.

Simon climbed off of her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what’s wrong. I’m … I’m probably just tired.” Simon sounded flustered as he tumbled off the bed. He felt around the floor for his shirt and sweatpants.

“We’ll try again later,” he said, with a notable lack of enthusiasm.

Confused questions ran through Nina’s mind. Was it the change in her appearance? Was it that she didn’t look just like the model in the magazine? Was it the tension at home? The job?

She had been up late with pointless worry, and come morning had needed extra foundation to cover the dark circles ringing her eyes. Some re-entry into the working world. Simon left the house before Nina, giving her a quick kiss good-bye and a few words of encouragement for the big day. Instead of talking about the night before, they’d talked briefly about him coming home early to let Daisy out and about maybe looking into doggie daycare now that she was working. That was it—until this phone call.

“Hey, babe,” Simon said when Nina answered. “How’s the first day going?”

“Good,” she said rather hesitantly. As they talked, Nina became more animated, describing her office and giving vague details about her first case.

At some point, the conversation stalled.

“I’m sorry again about last night,” Simon said. “I’m actually not feeling well. Almost had to call in a sub, but I think I’ll make it through the day.”

Simon’s apology, while appreciated, did not make Nina feel better. She’d never failed to arouse him before.

“Is it my new hairstyle?” she asked apprehensively. “Are you upset about it?”

“God, no, you look beautiful. No, no, it’s me, I wasn’t feeling well, that’s all.”

But Nina wasn’t going to test that theory out. She had already made an emergency appointment that afternoon with her hairdresser, and she’d even used her phone to take a picture of the model so there would be no question about how it should be styled.

And Simon would be delighted.





CHAPTER 21


Today was the day I would prove to Mom that Simon had another side to him—an evil side. There hadn’t really been a good opportunity to execute my brilliant plan until now. Mom was at work (first day on the job, three cheers for Mom!); Connor was at practice; Simon, I think, was out in the yard; and I was in the basement, looking for something. There was a lot of junk in our basement: storage containers filled with snow pants and boots, holiday decorations, plates and dishes that had been banished here for whatever reason, lots of things we had moved that really should have gone to the dump.

There was also a wide workbench and cabinet with all of Simon’s tech stuff for building robots. Nearby, on the floor, was Simon and Connor’s creation, which they cleverly named Bob. It was shaped like a stop sign and had four wheels bolted to its metal sides. I thought Simon’s love of tech and history was a bit odd, but he was fond of saying that the past informs the future.