I wait for her to continue.
“I hope you know I’m not sleeping with anyone else,” she says.
I flinch. “You better not be.”
“Trust me, you wear me out. And I suppose it should be obvious that for the purpose of this arrangement, there’s no way in hell I’d sleep with anyone else. It’s not something I’d do under any circumstances. Still, since we’ve been so direct from the start, I thought it best to make it clear that I am not dating, seeing, sleeping with, kissing, or getting involved with anyone else in any way, shape, or form. I don’t know if it’s reasonable for me to expect you to be exclusive to me when we’re in the middle of this project,” she says, taking a beat, “but I’m sincerely hoping you’re—”
I can’t even let her finish. I hold up a hand as a stop sign. “My ex-wife cheated on me seven times. I will never touch anyone else while I’m with you.”
Her eyebrows shoot into her hairline. She mouths wow.
“Pretty shitty, huh?”
A long nod is her answer. “That’s pretty much the definition of shitty. And part of me wants to ask how anyone could cheat on you? But that makes the cheating about you when it’s about her and the horrible choices she made.”
Relief floods me. The times I’ve told people, I hear how they’re sorry, how it sucks, or disbelief that someone could do what Maggie did. But Nicole gets it. Maggie’s crime isn’t a reflection on me. It’s a reflection on Maggie. “She made a lot of bad choices because she’s a sex addict. And I don’t mean that in an ‘Oh, cool, she’s a nympho’ way. It’s not that she wanted to screw constantly. She was addicted to affairs. She craved the chase. She wanted to reel in a new man, over and over. She needed constant affirmation, and she sought it by finding other people.”
Nicole sighs heavily, her brow knitting. “Did she seek therapy? Is she trying to change?”
I shrug. “I think so. She tried to convince me to stay while she went to rehab. But I didn’t want to be with her. And I had no interest in giving her another chance even when she begged me to.”
“I can certainly understand that. I wouldn’t have, either.”
“The funny thing is, you asked about that zing. About being in love. Obviously, I was in love with her, since I married her. But let me tell you, falling out of love was the easiest thing in the world. She made it a complete piece of cake since I can’t love a cheater.”
Nicole nods, her tone serious as she says, “Addiction or not, you don’t break a vow.”
“It’s so simple. Fidelity is so goddamn simple. You keep it in your pants. Case closed.” I take a beat and stare into her eyes. “You can count on me to be faithful. I don’t have any desire to be with anyone else, and I also won’t do that.”
“You don’t miss dating?” she asks like she feels bad for holding me back.
“What is this thing we’re on? Chopped liver?”
“You know what I mean. A date that goes somewhere.”
For a second, I linger on the somewhere. I start to imagine I’m on the path to somewhere with Nicole. Somewhere beyond cupcakes and Knicks games. But that’s probably just all the frosting and sugar going to my head.
“Our dates go to your bedroom,” I say with confidence. “This is about as perfect as dating gets.”
“Good.” She gives me a sly smile. “By the way, do you know what shark week means?”
“No sex?” I say, adopting the mopiest look ever.
“Let’s get out of here, and I’ll show you.”
Her hands are the fastest draw in the west when we reach my place. My belt’s undone, my jeans are unzipped, and my briefs are down. My cock salutes her. I’m ready. Just fucking ready, and she knows it. She has no need to kiss me all over or drag her nails down my chest.
I wouldn’t object to either, but I want her wicked mouth on me. Stat. “You toyed with me that first night, Nicole.”
She drops to her knees. “I did. I wanted to know how you tasted.”
“Now you’re going to find out.”
“I. Can’t. Wait.”
She wraps a soft hand around the base of my dick, and I hiss. Her lips part and she flicks her tongue over the head. I groan. She takes me in, sucking on the crown of my cock.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter as I grab her hair, threading my fingers through those red strands as she kisses the tip. She lets go and runs her tongue along the underside. Shocks of pleasure rocket through me. It’s so fucking good.
She licks all the way down to my balls, then draws one into her mouth and sucks hard. Electricity shoots through me. “That’s so fucking hot.”