Follow the Queen: A Menage, Sexy and Short Romance) (3 page)

"Dinner's almost--."

"Did you know about this?" He was holding one of the bills up in the air, shaking it in her direction.

Kate wiped her hands on her apron before turning to reach for it, but David held firm to the bill, lifting it up over her head and glaring at her.

"What is it?"

She could see the fire in his eyes, but it wasn't the old fire he used to have for her. It was anger, pure and simple, and it was directed squarely at her. She pulled back, prepping herself for another of his rants.

"It's this month's credit card statement. What's this about you spending almost $500 last week?"

"I needed...."

David held up her hand like he was trying to scold a naughty child. "You know what? I don't even want to hear it. I'm so sick of having this conversation over and over again."

He tossed the envelope down onto the table and stomped out of the room.

Kate turned to the stove and after a moment, turned the burner off. So much for that, she thought, throwing down her wooden spoon and spattering pasta sauce all over the front of her blouse.

"Great, that's all I need."

Shoving the pots and pans off the burner, Kate turned and headed out of the kitchen. As she passed their second bedroom-slash-home office, she paused at the door. David was already in his usual position - planted in front of the computer, hunched over the keyboard and jamming his fingers into the keys with such force that she was sure he was going to break either one at any moment.

She thought about calling out to him, but instead turned and went into their bedroom across the hall. After all, what was the use? There was no sense in talking to him when he was like this anyway. This was their dynamic all the time now, which is exactly why they were in this mess. Each one avoiding the other and now there was a divide between them that Kate didn't think they would ever overcome.

She went into the large walk-in closet to get her pyjamas, hesitated for a moment and then opened the top drawer of her dresser. Lifting a delicate black lacy slip, she held it up and admired it for a few moments.

This thing is looking a little dusty,
she said softly to herself. Sighing, she folded it up and put it back into the drawer, before turning to find an oversized cotton PJs to wear.

Flipping through her closet, she saw so many dresses she loved but hadn't had the occasion to wear for such a long time. Running her hand across the clothes, she stopped on her favorite black dress. She remembered this dress. It wasn't just a favorite of hers. As she plucked it off the hanger and moved toward the full length mirror, she held up against her.

Jake had bought her this dress. Every time she wore it, it was guaranteed not to be on her body for very long. She'd gotten rid of every other memento of their relationship when she’d gotten married, but she never saw reason to get rid of the dress. Maybe it was just her way to hold onto that one sliver of the past that she couldn't bring herself to sever ties completely, but now that didn't really seem to matter. He'd found his way back into her life and for a brief moment, Kate allowed thoughts of him to creep back in.

She closed her eyes, picturing herself in the dress, slow dancing with him in the center of his darkened living room, her body pressed to his. Her heart race as she had a vision of Jake kissing her deeply, passionately, only to pick her up and carry her down the hall into his room to an oversized bed where he laid her down and slipped the dress off her sex-starved body.

The very thought of his hands on her skin, his lips kissing her calves, his tongue trailing up the inside of her thigh until he had his head buried deep in her sex, hungrily lapping up her juices gave way to instant pools of wetness between her thighs.

On impulse, she slipped out of her frumpy PJs and slid into the slim-fitting dress. Reaching behind her neck to button it up, she closed her eyes, remembering how Jake would trail his fingers across the nape of her neck, pushing the dress away so he could lean in to nibble and lick her skin with his warm tongue.

In the other room, David slammed a desk drawer, propelling Kate out of her daydream. She stood staring at herself for a moment and was just about to slip back out of the dress when he appeared at the bedroom door.

Kate could sense him there looking at her. How her entire body ached for him to come further into the room without saying a word, peel the dress from her, carry her to the bed and make love to her. She didn't want Jake to be the man she envisioned in her fantasies, she wanted it to be David. But when she finally turned to look at him, his expression was cold, guarded.

"What are you doing?" he said, in an annoyed tone, slipping his tie off and tossing it onto the bed carelessly.

Kate's blood boiled at the rudeness in his voice, like her getting dressed up was the craziest thing in the world. She glared at him, securing the button before exiting the closet, brushing directly past him and heading into the powder room.

"I'm going out."

"Out? What do you mean out? We haven't finished talking about--."

"You know what? You said it earlier. I'm so sick and tired of having this same conversation over and over again too. So, for once, I'm going to go out and do exactly what I want to do. You do it all the time. Why shouldn't I?"

Kate tried to steady her nerves. She hadn't spoken up for herself in months and she knew it. She didn't have to look at her husband to know he was just as surprised by her plans for the night as she was.

"Where are you going?" David said as Kate walked past him and into the bathroom.

Kate secured her hair in a loose bun at the back of her neck before sweeping on a thick stroke of black eyeliner and her favorite red lipstick before turning and heading back  toward him.

"I have plans. Dinner is on the stove. Don't wait up."

She brushed past him, barely able to breathe, but as she padded down the stairs, she couldn't help but smirk to herself. David didn't know what hit him and soon, neither would Jake.

Fighting with David was one thing but cheating on him was another.  Kate spent the next half hour or so driving around her neighborhood trying to come up with an excuse as to why she should just head back home. But when she replayed the conversation over in her head, remembering the disapproving look on David's face and the way he barely even took notice of her body in the skin-tight dress, it was enough to steer her to Jake's place on the other side of town.

The party was in full swing by the time she parked the car and headed up the walk to the front door. Her hand wavered as she reached up to ring the doorbell. She could hear the music from the street and almost turned on her heel before anyone could answer but just as she did, the door swung open, revealing Jake's broad smile.

"I knew you couldn't resist me." he said, winking and offering his hand to Kate before she could turn and retreat. “Love the dress,” he muttered in her ear as he pulled her close and kissed her on the cheek.   She hesitated, but only briefly, and when she put her hand in his, Kate couldn't ignore the electric pulse that seemed to pass between them.  Jake spun her around and whistled making her giggle.  She couldn't help but enjoy the feeling as he slowly gazed down her body, lingering on her curvy hips before looking back up again. If only David had reacted that same way, she would be at home with him right now.

"You look positively delicious, Kitty-Kat."

He always did know exactly what to say and when to say it
, she thought to herself, not sure whether that was a good thing or not. Her guard somewhat lowered as he escorted her inside and closed the door behind her.

"Looks like you haven't forgotten how to throw a party," Kate said nervously.

"...And you obviously haven't forgotten about my favorite dress. I'm just surprised you kept it all this time.”

He almost purred the words, he was so transparent, but when Kate felt his hand slip behind her and rest on her lower back, her thighs throbbed in response.

"So, who are all these people?" she said, bolting forward and trying to subdue her feelings.

"Oh, just some guys I know and their wives or girlfriends.”

"So, what does it take to get a drink around here anyway?" Kate said, trying to put some distance between her and Jake.

But even as he went around the bar and mixed a drink for her, Kate wasn't sure this was such a good idea. She watched as he mixed her drink - vodka and cranberry with a twist of orange liqueur - but even as she took the drink when he offered it, she told herself it was just to calm her nerves. She wasn't going to use this as an excuse to lower her inhibitions. A well-timed compliment, a flash of his smile and a casual hand on her back already did that, and when David winked at her, she knew he was going to use that to his advantage.

For the next hour or so, she and David engaged in small-talk with his buddies. Even though they played at being platonic, as the night wore on, their glances lingered longer, their touches became more flirtatious, and as the drinks continued to flow, Kate found herself instigating the flirtation instead of the other way around.

She was the one who moved closer to him when they sat next to one another, and when she reached across the table to get her drink, she lingered long enough to give him a full view of her ass.

Kate figured she was doing a pretty good job of it because eventually, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.

"Here. Come on."

Kate feigned reluctance, but the flirtation wasn't enough anymore. She wanted more too, and she didn't care what that said about her.

He ended up leading her downstairs, where the lights were dimmed and soft music played from behind a closed door.

"I told you at the restaurant...the real action happens behind closed doors."

For a brief moment, she felt a pang of guilt. Is this the person she really wanted to be? Isn't all this meaningless sex the very reason she'd dumped Jake in the first place?
 
She pulled her hand away from him, stopping short of following him all the way into the room. "Wait, Jake, I...I don't know about this."

He turned to look at her, dropping his voice to a sensual growl. "You never used to be so shy, Kitty-Kat. Well...maybe at first, but once you loosened up..."

He opened the door, and for a moment, Kate had the urge to barrel back upstairs, but when she heard laughter coming from inside, she frowned, peering around him.

Inside, a large table had been set up to one side of the room. Four or five other men sat at the table, cigar smoke wafting up to form a thick haze in the dim light, bouts of celebratory laughter interrupting the plinking of poker chips as they hit the table.

"Come on," Jake said, holding his hand out to her. "Let's see if you still have that killer instinct."

After some quick introductions, Kate settled into one of the chairs at the table, dejectedly fiddling with her chips while she waited. Again, she'd misread all of Jake's signals. Apparently all of this was just a game to him.  He was just acting the way he always had to get a rise out of her. That's what it was about - he was turned on just by the fact that he could still get her excited for him.

Kate sighed. The alcohol had given her a headache now, and the guilt she'd been suppressing was coming to the surface.

It was bad enough she was at a party hosted by her ex but now was she really going to gamble with money that they couldn’t afford to lose? She could just feel David's hostility if he ever found out. This right here might be the end of everything between them.

While Jake was occupied with the others, Kate started to get that panicked feeling. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. No matter what troubles she and her husband were having, did she so blatantly want to go against him or what they had built? Suddenly, she felt like she was cheating on him even though she hadn't done anything yet other than a little harmless flirting...in her ex’s favorite dress...in his house...
ugh
, she thought to herself. 

Kate jumped up from the table, prepared to break the news to David when he opened the door.

"Hey, just in time. Our final victim for the night has arrived and from what I hear, he's got deep pockets!"

As David ushered the man into the room, Kate's face burned with a mixture of shock and guilt, which was mirrored on the face of her husband staring back at her.

"Everyone, this is David. David this is everyone.”

The regulars at the table moved over and made room for David at the table.  Jake plunked down a cold Bells Black Note Stout in front of him

What the hell,
Kate thought.
He must come here often if he has his favorite fucking beer in his fridge.

Kate was speechless and from the look on David's face, she could tell he was just as confused.

Jake slapped him on the back. "Meet my old friend Kate. David, Kate, Kate, David,"

David stood up from the table with the excuse that he had to go to the bathroom, to which Kate followed him. They waited until Jake and the others were out of earshot before he tore into her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing! What, did you follow me here? You sure as hell didn't care where I was going earlier."