The Wrong Bride: Chapter 33

I scroll through my camera feed, the feeling bittersweet. Hannah always hated taking photos together, so most of them are of her alone. There aren’t many of us together, and I can’t find a single one of the both of us in which I’m smiling. All of these images look forced, as though I knew she was humoring me by taking a photo with me.

I sigh as I upload all my photos with family and friends to the cloud before navigating to my settings and pausing on the factory reset button. I hesitate for a split second before clicking on it. A fresh start is what I want. It’s what Raven and I both need, and in real life, we can’t have it. We don’t have the luxury of giving each other an honest chance without our baggage weighing us down. I thought it’d be painful to erase a part of my life, but the thought of hurting Raven is more painful. I should’ve done this long ago.

Things between us have been somewhat odd. We’ve been pretending that Hannah isn’t a factor, and it worked for us, until it didn’t. I’ve hurt her enough. I can’t risk anything on my phone upsetting her. Being reminded of my past with Hannah is difficult enough for both of us.

I watch as my phone resets and smile to myself as I type in a new password, choosing a combination of Raven’s birthday and our wedding date. Had I known erasing everything would feel so good, I’d have done it long ago.

Raven walks in to find me grinning at my phone, and her expression falls before she forces a smile onto her face. I watch her carefully as I put my phone down.

“You’re home earlier than I expected.”

She nods and rubs her shoulder. “I fell on set. My back has been hurting all day, so I figured I’d just work on my designs from home.”

I jump to feet and rush up to her. “You’re hurt? How did that happen?”

She smiles and shakes her head. “I was just being clumsy. I’ve been absentminded all day. This honestly really was all my own fault.”

I sigh and place my hands on her shoulders, massaging her gently. I don’t even need to guess to know what she’s been thinking about. I suppose we couldn’t avoid this situation. At some point, we were going to have to face Hannah and the past I share with her. I just didn’t expect myself to have so much clarity when it finally came round to it.

I sigh as I gently brush her hair out of her face, my hand lingering. She’s been so distant lately, and I fucking miss her. I cup her cheek gently and lean in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. I haven’t dared to kiss her properly since last time, scared that I’m asking for too much, too soon.

“Come on,” I tell her. “Take a hot shower to relax your muscles, and then I’ll give you a massage.”

She hesitates for a moment, but then she nods. She’s been especially distant today. Normally, she’d text me at least a handful of times throughout the day, but she hasn’t replied to any of my messages. It’s like that phone call yesterday made her realize that she and I will never be able to escape the past.

I sigh as I go in search of the oil I know she uses on her body. I need to look into how she got hurt today. I may have to hire a safety coordinator to check every single one of her sets before she gets there.

“Ares?”

I look up to find Raven standing a few steps away, a white towel wrapped around her. “Come here,” I tell her, patting the bed. “Lie down.”

Raven lies down on her stomach with her towel still wrapped around her, and my heart starts to race. What the fuck was I thinking, offering her a massage? I won’t survive having my hands on her body for that long. This was a stupid idea, but that doesn’t stop me from reaching for the oil.

I kneel beside her and tug on her towel. “Let me move this aside.”

She nods hesitantly as I move her towel lower, exposing her shoulders and upper back. I pause for a moment before pulling it lower, until it’s bunched around her waist.

I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this nervous about something as simple as a massage. There’s something about her that I find impossible to resist. When is the last time I was this affected by a woman?

My heart races as I pour some oil onto her back. “Are my hands cold?” I ask as I spread the oil over her shoulders, kneading gently.

Raven sighs happily. “No, this is perfect.”

I watch her side profile as I move my hands up, massaging the back of her neck with my thumbs, the tips of my fingers pushing into her scalp.

“Oh God,” she moans. “That’s so good.”

Fucking hell. My cock hardens instantly, and I clench my jaw as I continue to massage her neck, drawing circles with my thumbs as my nails scrape over her scalp.

“Ares,” she moans, and it takes all of me not to turn her over and kiss her. Fuck. The way she says my name is unreal. “I love this.”

“Let me move on top of you,” I tell her, positioning my legs on either side of her so I can use more of my body weight.

She shifts a little underneath me and moves her hands up and out of the way. Damn. Does she realize that she’s giving me a clear view of the side of her breasts? Fucking hell. Thank fuck she can’t tell how hard I am.

I move my hands lower, massaging her shoulders and back, taking my time to ease the tension in her muscles as best as I can. I keep moving slightly down, until my thumbs are pressing into the dimples on her back.

Fuck. I’d love to hold her just like this as I fuck her from behind, my hands on her hips. I have no doubt she’d take my cock like a good girl. I want more of her moans. I want my name on her lips as I push deep inside her.

I hesitate for a moment as I move lower and tug on her towel slightly to check if she’ll resist, but she doesn’t. Instead, she lifts her hips a little, allowing me to pull it off entirely, until I’ve got her lying underneath me naked.

“Don’t stop,” she whispers, snapping me out of my daze. I continue to massage her lower back, unable to tear my eyes off her ass. Her body is literal perfection. My hands move slowly as I knead the top of her ass, my thumbs working through her glutes.

“Oh,” she moans again. “Hurts.”

“Here, baby?”

I continue to massage her glutes, moving my hands lower, until they’re covering her ass fully, my grip tight as my thumbs dig into her muscles.

“Yeah,” she groans. “There.”

I clench my jaws hard as I move a little lower, my thumbs brushing over her inner thighs, so fucking close to her pussy. I pause for a moment before I move my body down, giving myself a clear view of her smooth pussy.

Fucking hell. I’d give the world to spread her legs and bury my face between them. I need a fucking taste.

I move my hands wider until I’ve got them on the sides of her ass and continue to massage her glutes, my thumbs pressed against her thighs. Raven squirms a little, shifting just a little, until my thumb brushes over her pussy. She opens her legs just a little, allowing my finger to go deeper, until I’m pressing against her clit.

I pause for one single moment and smile when she doesn’t pull away. Slowly, I start to knead her ass, keeping my thumb in place against her clit. My movements are more sensual than therapeutic now, but she doesn’t seem to mind. I steal a glance at her face and smirk at the way she’s blushing, her eyes pressed closed.

My movements are almost imperceptible as I start to draw circles around her clit while I pretend to massage her hips. Her breathing turns into soft panting, and I watch as she bites down on her lower lip, no doubt trying her best to keep in her moans.

I smirk as I press against her clit harder and move my left hand closer, pretending to massage her inner thigh. Her hips move ever so slightly, as though she wants more, and I brush my fingers over her pussy, enjoying the wetness. How long has she been turned on?

I wonder how far she’ll let me take this. Will she let me make her come?

I pull my thumb away and bring it to my lips, sucking down on it. My eyes fall closed as I taste her. I wish I could have more. Fuck, I wish I could make her sit on her hands and knees while I eat her out from behind.

I move my hands away from her pussy and start to massage the back of her thighs, patiently waiting for a sign that she wants more, that I’m not crossing any lines.

Raven squirms underneath me and repositions herself slightly, until she’s got my fingers back on her pussy, and I bite back a smile. Yeah, my darling wife wants more.

“Spread your legs for me,” I tell her, my voice rough and demanding. “Let me work on the muscles in your thighs.”

I put my hands on her thighs and reposition her legs until I’ve got her on her knees with her ass in the air, all the while keeping her upper body perfectly unmoved. She keeps her eyes closed, pretending to be unaffected, but her breathing gives her away.

That, and her soaking wet, swollen pussy.

I grin as I grab the oil and pour it down her ass until it’s glistening and wet. “Sorry,” I murmur. “I think I used too much, baby. Let me clean that up for you.”

I let three fingers move down her back, pushing my middle finger into her ass just slightly for a moment as I drag my fingers down. She moans loudly and buries her face into her pillow deeper, her face crimson. She likes that, huh?

I chuckle as I cup her pussy fully, pressing the heel of my hand into her. “I used too much oil,” I complain, making excuses for the way I’m touching her.

“It’s okay,” she whispers. “Just rub it in. My skin will absorb it.”

“Yeah?”

I slide my hand underneath her pussy, pretending to check for oil as I slowly drag my fingers back up, pressing against her skin, until two of my fingers slip into her, supposedly accidentally. The way she moans into her pillow is fucking unreal.

“So much oil,” I groan, unable to keep the smile off my face.

I finger her slowly, taking my time to find her g-spot. Raven moans my name when I find it, and I increase my pace, using my left hand to stroke her clit while my right hand fucks her pussy the way I wish my cock would. I’ve never been jealous of my own fucking fingers, yet here I am, watching them disappear into my wife’s hungry pussy.

“Ares, please.”

I smirk as I flick my thumb over her clit, my touch rough. Her hips start to thrust back against my fingers, and fuck, I wish I could just slide my cock into her. I want her screaming my name.

“Yeah, baby,” I groan as her breathing comes faster. “Just like that.”

Her muscles tighten around my fingers, and she moans my name. She says it like it’s a fucking prayer, and shit, just the sound of her has me close to coming myself.

I pull my fingers away as she comes down from her high and gently reposition her, so she’s lying flat again. She relaxes underneath me and I continue to massage her legs as though I didn’t just make her come. Considering that she didn’t even look at me once, she might not be ready to speak up about what happened, but that’s fine. The way she just moaned my name is enough for me, for now. It’s a whole lot more than the cold avoidance she’s been giving me lately.

I lean in and press a kiss to her lower back. “You may need to take another shower, Wifey. I got oil all over your body.”

“Yeah,” she whispers. “I, um, I’ll just go take another shower now.”

I kiss her skin again and pull away. “I’ve got a conference call in a few minutes, so just relax for a bit before you shower, my love.” I sigh and lean in one more time, kissing her shoulder blade this time.

I move off her and jump to my feet, taking another quick peek at her as I walk out of our room. The way she’s smiling, part of her face covered behind her arm… yeah, that expression is going to haunt my dreams tonight.