Excerpt

Jodi Leonard sipped her second cup of morning coffee as she wandered around the two-story house that had been their home for fifteen years of her twenty-five-year marriage. She’d been preparing for this day since their first child was born, the year after she and Hank had gotten married. She knew the house would be quiet, but she hadn’t expected it to be this quiet. It was heavenly.

Smiling, she downed the coffee, returned the cup to the kitchen sink, and went to their bathroom to brush her teeth. The kids would be heartbroken to know she hadn’t shed a tear for their leaving. That didn’t mean she didn’t miss them. But from the moment each was born, Jodi knew all four would leave home one day. She’d been preparing herself, and them, for that day. She and Hank had waved them all from the nest, knowing they’d readied the kids as best they could for adulthood.

And now? Now, for the first time in twenty-four years, she and Hank were alone, the house was all theirs. Jodi couldn’t wait to do a little unfettered, no-holds-barred re-connecting with her spouse.

She spit and rinsed her mouth free of toothpaste, then studiously ignored her reflection in the mirror over the sink. Jodi didn’t want any reminders of the weight years had piled on her body, or the fine lines time had carved on her face, or that her auburn hair was courtesy of the salon where she had her monthly maintenance. For just this little while, she wanted to pretend she was still a young, horny bride anxiously waiting her handsome and equally horny husband’s return home.

Jodi had rediscovered their toy box in the attic while she was helping their youngest pack for college. She’d whisked it away to the safety zone under their bed before Little Miss Nosey could see it. There were some things children didn’t need to know about their parents. The contents of that small chest were one of them.

Jodi couldn’t believe she’d actually forgotten about it. She and Hank once had a wild, adventurous, and healthy sex life…until children started arriving. The demands and exhaustion of parenting hadn’t diminished their need for each other, just made it more…staid. Starting tonight, they were going to blow the cobwebs off their sex life. Jodi was so excited she hardly knew where to begin. She decided to start firing up her own burners.

How deliciously wicked she felt wearing nothing under the green velour robe. The soft fabric kept her nipples consistently hard and puckered, awaiting the suckle of Hank’s lips. The robe caressed her skin like the whisper of a lover’s hands. Maybe that’s how she should greet Hank when he walked in the door that night—in the robe and nothing else. A candlelit dinner would be ready, champagne chilled in an ice bucket once housing Matchbox cars, but the only scent that would lure her man was that of her arousal.

Jodi imagined it all so clearly. His gray-green eyes would widen with delight. A slow smile would spread over his face. Long fingers, callused from living, would peel open the robe and graze down her body. Eyes closed, Jodi substituted his hand for hers rubbing over her tight nipples, then tweaking them hard. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she gasped. Her pussy clenched and moistened. Her clitoris complained that it seemed an eternity before Hank would be home from work—definitely too long to wait for satisfaction.

She eyed the tub, toying with the idea of letting the faucet run against her crotch and bring her to orgasm. Jodi smiled. Perhaps later when she bathed and primped for her date tonight. She’d selected a silky black dress, thigh-high hose, and black three-inch heels. It was a classier image than meeting him with a bathrobe, but she still planned to be sans underwear. She wanted to be accessible to him, be ready to go down on all fours and lift her hips for fucking the second Hank walked in.

Her pussy clenched at the thought. God, she needed to come, just a little something to tide her over. The water faucet had always been a good “partner.”

No… She shook her head slowly. What she needed right now was something different—a taste of what she’d craved when she first spotted their toy box. The edges of her robe flared around her as she walked into the bedroom. The cool air soothed her flushed skin, but did little to ease the heat in her blood. She felt like a queen when the green velour draped to the floor like a regal train as she bent to retrieve the box. A whack on the head from the metal bed rail shattered her fantasy.

“Damn…it…all!” She rocked to her heels and pressed her fingers gingerly to the lump swelling her forehead.

Jodi pulled her hand away. No blood…but, damn, it hurt. She tried to shake it off and reached for the box under the bed. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she pulled it in front of her. It felt like Christmas.

The hinges creaked as she opened it. Age had made them tight. Too bad she couldn’t say that about herself. Parts of her had definitely loosened.

Jodi placed her hand on top of the chest’s contents. Everything was just as she and Hank had packed it—the toys sterilized and sealed in plastic bags. Their reference books were at the bottom—The Joy of Sex, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex, But Were Afraid To Ask…

“Boy, aren’t you outdated.” She set them aside, then smiled when she saw the next book. It would never go out of fashion—The Complete Illustrated Kama Sutra. It deserved re-reading. If anything could jump start their sex lives, this was it.

Jodi opened the hardbound volume. The pages were still crisp and bright after all these years. They’d laughed at the illustrated drawings when they’d first bought the book, then proceeded to try every position they could—some with laughable results. Ever-diligent Hank had placed a tiny checkmark beside those they’d tried and stars next to the positions they were successful at.

She set the book in the middle of their big bed. They could giggle over the possibilities tonight under the covers…maybe try out one or two.

Returning to the sex toys, Jodi opened the plastic bag that contained the ten-inch plastic dildo. It was a wonder they hadn’t worn it out all those years ago. They’d called it George—the semi-invisible third in their ménage fantasies. With the kids grown and gone, there was no reason to hide any of this anymore. Not that there was a reason in the first place.

All the kids had been taught to respect one another’s privacy. As they grew older, they also knew what Mom and Dad taking an afternoon nap meant. But she and Hank couldn’t have anticipated all that when the first child came along. They’d had high notions of parenting, doing the right thing, setting the example. Fortunately, they’d chilled out by the time number two child came along. But the chest of sex toys remained relegated to the attic, tucked away and forgotten until young Amy started rummaging around for moving boxes a few days ago.

“Welcome back, buddy. Want to play?” Suddenly, nothing was more enticing.