Laurelyn is unmoved by Bianca's promise. "You say that as though you think there'd be an opportunity. This isn't baseball, honey. You don't get three strikes before you're out."

"What? But I need this internship if I'm going to graduate on time," she says.

"Well, that sucks for you since you won't be back," L tells her.

"Jack, I have to have this," she pleads.

I don't give her time to make an argument. "You'll have to find another internship because you can't come back here ever again."

My birthday plans for L were shot to h.e.l.l and back last night. Imagine that. Neither of us was in the mood for celebrating after Bianca's little stunt, so we're having dinner at Ash tonight. It's not a surprise like I had planned but they're going to give us our corner table when it becomes available.

I had a last-minute business meeting come up so L is driving into town to meet me. She says she doesn't mind because she wants to drive her new SUV. At least that part wasn't ruined.

I text L to let her know I'm finished with my meeting and waiting for her at the bar. I take a seat on a stool to wait and order two Pinot Noirs-not from my own vineyard-because I'm curious about the compet.i.tion. It's decent at best, certainly nothing to brag about, so I gloat because I know mine is much better.

I check the time and see that Laurelyn is considerably late, which isn't like her at all. "Get stood up?" The voice belongs to a woman sitting a couple seats away. I briefly glance in her direction and see a leggy blond wearing a plum business suit, a fitted jacket and short skirt with very high heels. I can't see her face because she's looking straight ahead but I can tell she's beautiful.

I choose to reply since I don't wish to be rude but probably more so because I want to let her know I'm not on the market. I don't want her flirting with me when Laurelyn arrives. "Nothing like that. I'm waiting for my wife."

"Her mistake. If she was wise, your wife wouldn't leave you sitting alone in a hotel bar for me to invite upstairs."

I'll be d.a.m.ned if I'm not stunned. I haven't even made eye contact with this woman and she invites me up for s.e.x. Sure, it sounds a lot like what I once did, but now it just sounds insane. "Sorry. You'll need to find someone else."

She leaves her chair and moves to the one next to me. "I don't think your wife will mind." She unexpectedly places her hand on my head and pulls me close so she can whisper in my ear. "I know for a fact that your wife won't mind if you take me upstairs and f.u.c.k me like a champion." Her faux Aussie accent is gone, replaced by a more natural southern tw.a.n.g.

I turn to look at the woman next to me and recognize the golden-brown eyes staring back. "Laurelyn?"

"Shh ... no names. I only want a companion for the night. No complications. No communication afterward."

My brain registers the fact that my wife is sitting next to me in a public place wearing a blond wig and a s.e.xy business suit and I get what this is. It's all for me. L admitted during our confessional that she was afraid I would miss having different women, so she's become someone else for me tonight. I push L's gla.s.s of wine in her direction and hold mine up. "A toast to the best wife ever since she has no objections to this."

She clinks her gla.s.s to mine and takes a tiny sip before putting it on the bar. I forgot. She's avoiding alcohol since we're trying to conceive. "Would you like something without alcohol instead?"

She puts her hand on my leg and slides it up. She brushes my still-soft c.o.c.k, causing it to stir. "No. What I'd really like is this."

"Well, who am I to stand between a girl and what she wants?" I toss some bills on the counter in front of the bartender. "No change."

"Thank you, sir."

We leave the bar and enter the lobby area. "Do I need to get a room?"

She holds up the keycard. "Already taken care of."

"Perfect." I wasn't looking forward to standing at the check-in desk with a raging hard-on.

We enter the elevator and I wait for the doors to close so I can descend upon ... hmm. What do I call her? She isn't Laurelyn tonight. "I need something to call you."

She tilts her head and grins. "You can call me yours for tonight."

"Then you may call me incredibly pleased."

She extends her hand for a shake. "It's very nice to meet you."

She releases my hand as an older couple enters the elevator. Dammit. I'd hoped to get her heated on the ride up.

The woman in the elevator is judging us. It's clear as day by the expression on her face. She saw us introduce ourselves to one another and has now taken notice of only one elevator b.u.t.ton pressed. I'm guessing she thinks Laurelyn is a hooker and I'd bet all the money in my wallet that she's checked my hand for a wedding band.

"You didn't say how much this was gonna cost me."

Laurelyn turns a deep shade of red and lowers her head, giggling.

"I have until morning. That was the agreement, right?"

Laurelyn straightens and wipes the smile from her face. "Yes, sir. Your wife arranged for you to have me all night."

"Like I said before ... best wife ever."

The elevator pings and the doors open for our floor. I gesture for Laurelyn to exit first. "After you, milady." We exit and I can't resist looking back at the couple in the elevator-she gives me a look of disapproval while he appears envious.

We say nothing as we walk the hall to our room. "This is us." L slides the card into the door. I step behind her and push her blond hair away from her neck so I can kiss it. She moans and I slide my hand under her short skirt and explore, finding her panties so my fingers can dive into her wet center. "d.a.m.n. You're already slick." She's struggling to get the keycard to unlock the door while I finger-f.u.c.k her. "I'm going to bend you over and give it to you so hard."

The green light flashes on the door and she pushes it open. "I'm going to come before we even get inside if you don't stop."

I take my fingers out of her, but only because I want her to come with my mouth on her. I want to taste her.

I lead her to the bed and she sits. I drop to my knees and kneel between her legs before I pull her b.u.m to the edge. I reach under her skirt and drag her panties down her legs. I bring her s.e.xy red G to my nose and inhale deeply. "You smell so f.u.c.king good, I could almost get off just sniffing these."

I drop her knickers on the floor and grab the back of her thighs, pushing them back and apart. She props on her elbows, readying herself to look at what my mouth is going to do to her. It's f.u.c.king hot as h.e.l.l when my girl watches me lick her.

She's looking down at me, blond hair spilling over her shoulders. Our eyes-light blue and golden-brown-are locked when I place my tongue against her center and drag it in an upward sweep. "Oh, filet-o-f.u.c.k. That feels good." I lick her from the bottom toward the top and then circle my tongue around her c.l.i.t. I push two of my fingers inside her and she calls out, "OmiG.o.d, yes!" It's a plea for me to make her come. And then she does. I feel the contractions around my fingers and I taste the saltiness of her o.r.g.a.s.m in my mouth. It's absolutely delectable.

She falls back on the bed, her legs propped on the mattress. They're trembling so I place my hands on her knees to steady them. "That good, huh?"

"Yeah. It was just that good."

She comes up and pushes me onto the bed. She unb.u.t.tons my trousers and yanks, anxious to get them down. "I'm not sure you've been given a proper b.l.o.w. .j.o.b recently. I think you need one."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

Once my trousers are off, she moves to her knees on the floor. She pulls me to the edge of the bed and begins by licking my c.o.c.k from base to tip. She grasps it in her hand and her eyes watch mine as she drags her tongue across the tip from side to side. "I love the taste of your pre-c.u.m." She licks her lips and swallows before sucking me fully into her mouth, taking my entire c.o.c.k in to the back of her throat.

"That feels amazing." But as great as it is, I have to close my eyes because I can't watch the blond head bobbing up and down over my d.i.c.k, even though I know it's Laurelyn.

"Babe, I'm about to come." I still tell her before I do. I always will but just as L always does, she sucks even harder. She always wants me to come in her mouth.

Laurelyn isn't ovulating but it still feels like that shouldn't have been wasted in her mouth. Then again, this isn't us trying to have a baby. This is us role-playing because L wants to keep me happy and satisfied. She has no idea how unnecessary this is because all I want is her. No other women.

I pull her into my arms and brush my mouth against hers. I want a sweet, soft kiss fresh on her lips when I bend her over the bed and f.u.c.k her senseless. "Remember this delicate kiss."

"Okay." She has no idea what I mean. But she will.

I take a pillow from the bed and put it on the floor. "Turn over and kneel." She does as I instruct and I stretch her arms over the bed. I take my shirt off and pitch it across the room. I lean down and place my lips at her ear. "Pretend to be someone else and I'm gonna f.u.c.k you like you're someone else."

I drive my c.o.c.k into her hard and fast, causing her to gasp. I still until I feel her relax and then start moving in and out of her slower, testing the water until I build up to a faster pace, one she can tolerate. I grasp her hips and squeeze, pulling her body against mine to meet my thrusts. This s.e.x is faster and rougher than what she's accustomed to.

I look at the blond hair falling over her shoulders and down her back and realize this isn't what I want. I don't want to f.u.c.k other women. I don't even want to f.u.c.k Laurelyn while she's pretending to be someone else.

I pull out of her. "L, take that f.u.c.king wig off. I can't stand looking at that blond s.h.i.t. It makes me feel like I'm f.u.c.king somebody else."

She's on her knees with her upper body stretched across the bed, squeezing the comforter tightly in her fists when I hear sobs. "L, why are you crying?" She releases the bed linens and uses her hand to wipe her face. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

She doesn't reply so I physically turn her over and see her tear-stained face and red eyes. "Talk to me, L. Tell me what's wrong."

She refuses to meet my eyes. "You were different with me just now."

"Only because you came to me as someone else."

"You've never f.u.c.ked me like that before. Is this who you are with other women?"

I use my hand to turn her face toward mine. "I'm not with other women."

She finally looks me in the eyes. "Is that who you became when you were with the other twelve? And with Lana?"

"No."

She gets up from the floor and straightens her skirt. "This was a bad idea."

"I'm sorry." I roll to sit on the floor with my back against the bed and press my palms to my forehead. "I don't know what happened." But that's a lie. I know exactly what happened. I gave her a punishment f.u.c.k because everything she did and pretended to be tonight was a reminder of the repulsive things I've done. And my own wife was the one forcing me to walk that path again.

"I shouldn't have done this." She cups her hands over her mouth and then pushes her hands to her forehead. "I'm sorry. I need to get out of here."

"I'm coming with you."

"Please, don't." She can't look at me and I don't know what it means. Is she angry? Hurt? "I need some time to think."

Laurelyn leaves without another word and I'm left sitting in a hotel room wondering what the h.e.l.l she needs to think about.

I cry all the way home. I'm confused about what happened, but more embarra.s.sed than anything. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided I'd pretend to be another woman for Jack Henry. That's clearly not what he wants.

What should have been a night of hot s.e.x turned into a total disaster. Jack Henry seemed to be into the role-play thing. I thought we were having fun and then it felt like he suddenly turned ... angry. "Pretend to be someone else and I'm gonna f.u.c.k you like you're someone else." I don't even know what that means.

I left Jack Henry at the hotel and now I don't want to be alone. That's why I've called Addie and begged her to come stay the night with me at Avalon. "Jack is staying in a hotel? s.h.i.t, I feel sorry for him and I don't know what happened."

Addie knows about his past. She thinks it's f.u.c.ked up, and it is, but she's the only person I have that I can talk to about this. "We were meeting at a hotel for dinner and I showed up dressed in a business suit like his former companions ... wearing a blond wig. I propositioned him to be my companion for the night. No names. No commitments."

"Holy s.h.i.t. Did he take you up on the offer thinking you were someone else? I'm gonna kill that f.u.c.ker!"

"No. That's not what happened at all. I pulled off a phony Aussie accent and he didn't know it was me at first. He turned me down cold-even said he was waiting for his wife."

"I'm really confused here, Laurie."

"I had this crazy idea to role-play-be someone else for him-so he could feel the excitement he used to get when he took a new companion." s.h.i.t, that sounded so much better in my head than hearing it come out of my mouth.

"That's the stupidest idea you've ever had!" Addison yells. "He loves you to death. Why would you even put the idea of him being with another woman in his head like that?"

Yeah, hindsight is twenty-twenty. "I wish I hadn't. It turned to s.h.i.t so fast, Addie. Everything was good at first. We went up to the room and we were having fun but then something happened to him." I remember what he said and chills come over me. "It's like he became someone else and all I could think was that I came up to this room pretending to be someone else, so this must be what he was like with those other women."

"How was he different?" she asks.

"He got rougher-more vigorous-than usual but I really liked it. It gave new meaning to s.e.x on fire but then I freaked out because I started thinking about how he must've f.u.c.ked those other women better than he does me. Then I started crying."

"Oh h.e.l.l, Laurie. That's just so silly. You know he didn't f.u.c.k them better than you. He was probably really turned on that you would do something so nuts just to get him off so he got a little carried away."

"It was weird. He wasn't himself."

"Well, you d.a.m.n sure weren't his sweet L, so why would you expect him to be your precious Jack Henry?" She's right.

"He told me to take the wig off, that he couldn't stand it because it made him feel like he was f.u.c.king someone else."

She gives me her duh look. "Sounds to me like he went along with that s.h.i.t to make you happy but he doesn't want to be with other women. I don't think he even wants to be with you when you're trying to look like other women. He hates his past and you forced him to relive it. It's like a slap in the face to him."

I only wanted to have fun. I never considered this outcome and it's my fault. None of this would've happened if it weren't for me. "OmiG.o.d. You're right. I'm a terrible wife. And to top it off, he's sleeping in a hotel because of my stupid insecurities."

"I wouldn't say you're a terrible wife. Maybe you could just say you suck tonight."

"He's told me time and time again that nothing before me matters." Why am I so insecure when it comes to Jack Henry? He made me his wife. What more can I ask of him? "I have to go to him."

I knock on the door once. Twice. And a third time. "Jack Henry." I remember the second keycard in my purse and take it out. I unlock the door and push it open. "Jack Henry? Are you here?"

I walk through the suite's living room but I can't see if he's in bed. It's hidden from view behind a wall but I see a red thong lying at the foot of the bed. It's the one I left during my hasty departure-which reminds me I'm still not wearing panties.

I walk through the bedroom door and Jack Henry is sound asleep, a half-empty bottle of whiskey at the bedside. I pick it up for a look at the black label-Jack Daniels. "This one is all on me, caveman."

He holds his liquor pretty well. I'm guessing his stamina for alcohol can be accredited to what he does for a living. A winemaker can't be an easy drunk so maybe he isn't plastered. We've had lots of pivotal discussions after he's had a little too much to drink. I tend to like the answers I get from him because they're honest.

I shake his arm. "McLachlan, wake up."

He opens his eyes slowly. "L?"

"I came back."

He reaches out for my hand. "I'm so sorry for what I did."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have done that but I understand now and I'll never do it again."

He runs his hands through his hair, tugging at it. "I'm such a motherf.u.c.ker. I lied to you. I know exactly what happened and I gave you a punishment f.u.c.k because of it. I was too rough with you and I'm so sorry. Oh G.o.d, I might have hurt the baby if you're pregnant. Do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine."