'Who is Claire?' Julie asked, as she scrolled through the text messages in the inbox of her husband's phone.
'One of my clients, sweetie,' answered Brian, not taking his eyes off the laptop screen.
'And why the hell is she texting my husband at bedtime?' she probed, tossing the phone towards Brian and watched it land on the bed, next to him.
He looked at the device and frowned, before shooting an angry look towards her. Realizing that any further discussion on this matter would be futile, he went back to his work. Julie winced at his silence and walked up to him.
'I am talking to you, dammit,' she yelled, waiting for him to respond.
'Stop screaming like a fisherman's wife,' he chided. 'You know very well what kind of a guy I am, Jules,' he remarked, squarely. 'The mere fact that we are having this discussion ...'
'You will never understand how much I fear losing you,' she confessed, interrupting him and voicing her insecurities. 'And now, you are saying that I am behaving like a fisherman's wife,' she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.
'Shut the fuck up, Julie!' muttered Brian, his anger surging. 'You are acting like a bitch who doesn't know when to shut her fucking mouth,' he spat out and climbing out of the bed, walked out of the bedroom along with his laptop and phone.
***
Brian closed his eyes and thought about the baseless argument. Julie could be so childish and unreasonable at times. And right then he felt someone poke at his shoulder. He turned around on the couch only to find Julie standing before him, the duvet dragging on the floor behind her.
He winced as he realized how vulnerable she looked. She was wearing just his shirt and he could trace the tear tracks on her face in the dim glow of the night lamp.
Damn him
! He had acted like a first-class jerk and hurt her. It wasn't her fault if she was insecure in their relationship and marriage. It was his responsibility to make her feel secure about him, their love and their bond.
'Hey,' he heard her whisper as she lifted the cover from the couch and climbing into the couch, snuggled into him; before draping the duvet over them.
'Hey,' murmured Brian and pulled her close. 'What happened, sweetie?'
'I don't like us sleeping apart,' she admitted, snuggling ever closer.
Brian stroked her hair and looked at how she had completely wrapped herself around him. She seemed to be scared that he would reject her and ask her to leave him alone.
Fuck
!
What had he done to her
? Wanting to prove her fears wrong, he dropped a kiss on her forehead and pulled her close, so that her head rested on his chest.
'Even I don't like sleeping away from you, love,' he said, offering her a wry smile.
'The bed was too big and lonely for me,' she said, curling into Brian. 'And I missed you,' she whispered, wrapping his beefy arm around her slender waist. 'I am sorry ...'
'Shh... Don't,' he murmured, cutting her short. 'I should be the one apologizing,' he whispered, ruefully. 'I should have never abused you like that,' he admitted and pressed his lips to her forehead. 'I am so sorry, Jules. Please forgive me, baby,' he apologized, earnestly.
'Okay,' she replied, with a nod and ran her fingers through his hair, knowing how much he liked it when she did that.
Brian thought about all that had transpired. He didn't know what had come upon him that he had called her names and treated her like shit. Suddenly, he remembered what had started all the drama.
The stupid text messages from Claire
. He had to tell her that there was nothing going on between them. Julie had to know that Claire was just one of his clients and that she was the only one for him.
'Baby, you need to know something,' he began, 'Claire and me, we are just ...'
'No,' she interrupted him, with a shake of her head. 'Can't we discuss about all that in the morning? I just want us to sleep tonight,' she suggested innocently, making him sigh.
'You know very well that we just won't be sleeping, if we spend the night like this, Jules,' confessed Brian, stroking the soft curve of her cheek.
'I don't mind, lover,' she answered, shrugging her shoulders.
'You don't play fair, love,' he whispered, tipping her chin up and pressing a kiss to her lips.
He nibbled at her lower lip and drew it into his mouth before sucking on it. She moaned her appreciation into his mouth and he absorbed the sound. Her tongue peeked out to trace his lips and he gave her all the access she needed. He held her head in place and took control of the kiss, pouring every bit of his soul into the kiss.
Breathless he pulled back gently from the kiss. Her passion-glazed eyes met his and he ran his gaze over her body. He realized that she wasn't wearing anything beneath his shirt and only one button held the lapels of the shirt close. The shirt was pressed to her curves and he could trace out the shape of her breasts under the glow of the night lamp.
Lowering her back onto the couch, Brian rose on his elbows. He inserted a couple of fingers between the lapels of his shirt and pulled them apart with all his might. The button popped free and the lapels give way to expose the milky white mounds of her breasts topped with wine-red colored nipples.
He couldn't help but stare at her breasts in awe, as soon as they were exposed. Unable to resist the temptation they presented, he lowered his mouth and drew one of the nipples into the heat of his mouth. He swirled his tongue around the engorged bundle of sensitive nerves while playing with the other breast with his left hand. Julie shrugged off the shirt giving him all the access he needed.
'You are going to make it sore,' complained Julie, watching him bit down on the hardened bud in his mouth.
'Maybe then you will remember how much I love you,' he whispered, after releasing her nipple with a pop. 'They are the most precious, softest and delicious things in my world,' he complimented, tugging at the other nipple with his fingers.
