Page 107 of Need You
“Like an open marriage?” Colt asked, and she wondered if the idea appealed to him, to all men.
“More like swingers, I guess. He thought seeing me with other men, and me seeing him with other women, would help him be attracted to me again. Save our marriage.”
She remembered the first time Robert had raised the idea, the repulsion that had swirled in her stomach.
“Don’t be so judgmental, Delaney. Plenty of couples are in the lifestyle, even people we work with.”
She wondered how he knew that. It didn’t seem like something anyone would advertise.
“We can start out slow. You could pick someone you’re attracted to, have him over to swim in the pool or barbecue, and take it from there.”
“You wouldn’t be jealous?”
“No, because we would be doing it for each other. Watching another man get you off . . . it would make me happy, Delaney.”
“Well, it wouldn’t make me happy. In fact, the very idea of it disgusts me.”
He looked at her for a long time, his eyes turning sad. “Then I’m no longer interested in being married.”
And that was that.The next day, she moved out.
Colt turned on his side so he could look at her. “Did you try it?”
“No.” While she wasn’t one to denigrate another’s lifestyle, sleeping with other men and other couples with her husband’s consent was not her idea of a marriage. “He gave me an ultimatum and I chose divorce.”
When Colt didn’t say anything, she felt exposed. Even though the fashion crowd was known for being experimental, she’d been too embarrassed to tell any of her designer friends for fear that they would judge her. Find her lacking.
“Why?” she finally said, unable to stand the silence. “You think I should’ve done it to save the marriage?”
Colt sat up and folded his arms over his chest. “Call me old-fashioned, but sharing my woman with another man—never gonna happen. To me, it doesn’t sound like a marriage worth saving. And Robert sounds like a prick.”
Something in her chest fluttered like a caged bird that had been freed. Until now, she hadn’t realized how insecure Robert had made her.
“Don’t tell anyone.” She sounded like a twelve-year-old.
“Never.” He pretended to lock his lips with a key. “But, honey, you don’t have anything to be embarrassed about. Any red-blooded man would be attracted to you, and in my opinion Robert was looking for a way to get you to sanction his screwing around without the risk of losing half the business. This bullshit about strengthening your marriage by sleeping with other people—give me a break.”
“Millions of couples share this lifestyle; I looked it up.” She didn’t know why she was being defensive. The truth was she’d had the same reaction as Colt. It had sounded like Robert wanted a license to cheat.
“I’m not judging.” He raised his hands. “If both a husband and wife want to swing, if it’s their thing and it makes them happy, that’s their business. But for Robert to have told you that it would help him be attracted to you again ... that’s fucking wrong. Personally, I don’t see how a man could let another man touch his wife. No way in hell would I.”
The possessiveness in his voice sent a shot of warmth through her body. It was exactly how she felt. When you loved somebody, you didn’t want them to be with anyone but you.
