Page 43 of The Bloke

He bounced his knee that held my foot, and with the added motion, I launched myself up, curling my head in and rolling down his back as he lowered his upper body for me. When my feet touched the floor, we stood back to back, my breath quickening from the rush he gave me.

My husband took my hand from behind, and with one twirl, he pulled me around his body, my back pressing up against his chest with his hips grinding against mine in time with the music.

Colby made me feel as if I were floating with every effortless movement. His hands and body guided me through the melody, making a song I once found sad and depressing into something almost hauntingly romantic.

He stopped once I was facing him, my body flush up against his, a leg wrapped around his hip, and his hand gripping my thigh tightly. Our eyes connected, and I felt like a tether had been hooked between us, pulling us together tighter than ever before.

I was breathless and in awe of what he was doing to me. I started this dance session despising him, and now, suddenly, I was questioning if I was the problem instead.

“Colby,” I breathed as I stared deeply into his bright blue eyes—the eyes I saw every time I closed my own but was too terrified to admit who they belonged to.

Instead of responding, his lips parted, and I leaned up to capture them with mine, exploring his delicious mouth with my tongue.

He backed us into the corner as our tender kiss turned heated, all tongue and teeth.

I tugged at his shirt, and he smiled against my mouth before placing a hand over his head, pulling the shirt from his back, and dropping it to the floor beside us. I stared in awe at his toned and ripped physique, fighting back the urge to drool over it.

In all our fucking I had never had the chance to take a step back and simply admire his hard form. Every dip and curve of his muscles had me growing flush with desire as my hands greedily began wandering over his chest and down his abs. His hands were pressed against the wall beside my head, caging me in with his strong arms, and for the first time… I didn’t feel the sudden urge to flee.

“Are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

My eyes flicked back up to his as my fingers played with the waistband of his sweatpants.

“Why?” I asked. The single question that had bothered me this past week since Fallout.

“Why what?”

“Why the sudden space? The silent treatment?” I tilted my head in question, attempting to get a read from his soft expression.

Colby breathed a heavy sigh, placing his hands on my hips and pulling them toward his. I could see his jaw tick as he searched for his answer. I didn’t think it was that challenging of a question.

“I’ve just been busy with work.” He eventually shrugged. “And I didn’t want to disturb you so late at night; you always look so peaceful when you sleep.” He was referring to the late nights and avoiding our bed.Was he seeing someone else?

“Is there someone else?” I couldn’t stop the words from falling past my lips, but I just had to know. It was fine if he was done with me, but I wanted the truth.

My husband chuckled lightly as he gripped my chin and tilted my face to meet his. I couldn’t help but notice the subtle glow behind his blue eyes as they searched mine.

“There won’t and never will be anyone else. You’re it for me, love. All I’ll ever need in this life and the next.” He promised, releasing my chin to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“I don’t understand. You’ve been avoiding me…” I pressed, my heart twisting at his words. How could I be it for him if he hadn’t even attempted to touch me for over a week? “Not a single word as I pass by you in the mornings before I leave for work. This is the first time you’ve had contact with me in a week.”

I swallowed the lump that built in the back of my throat as he wrapped his hand around the back of my head and leaned into me.

“My wife demanded to be left alone, and I gave in to her demands. Don’t tell me you changed your mind about me already?” He smirked, dragging his nose up my bridge before pressing a kiss to my forehead.

Heat began pooling between my thighs with an aching and desperate need for him. A week without sex, a week without the touch of my husband, and I was suddenly a lustful, hot mess in his arms.

“Should I take your silence as a yes?” He teased before capturing my mouth with his, and I let him. I let him in, in more ways than one.

I could sit here and be alone for the rest of my life, where friends come and go as time moves on, or I could give thisthing, whatever it may be, between Colby and me a chance to see if it could blossom into something more.

We may have married for all the wrong reasons, but did that mean we couldn’t make them right? Was I being unreasonable when I had first decided that all I would do was hate him until he was done with me? Would it be wrong for me to take advantage of my emotional vulnerability and see where true intimacy took us?

I might be crazy for it, but I’d be damned if I didn’t see where this path might take me.

Make sure he understands…and I would. Before considering love, I would ensure he knew exactly who I was and gave me everything I wanted.

My husband may be the death of me, but I’d be the death of him, just like our vows.

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