Somebody's Wife

Happy President’s Day and Happy Valentines! I hope you’ve got the day off for the holiday!

 

This week I’ve got the final chapter in The Jackson Brothers trilogy, Mitch and Connie’s story in Somebody’s Wife. Thanks once again to Rae Monet for the fabulous set of covers! I love them all. Just to remind you, we had Jace and Taylor’s story in Somebody’s Lover, then David and Randi in Somebody’s Ex. And now middle brother Mitch and his wife Connie. I really enjoyed writing about a married couple. Most romances (many of mine, too) end when our hero and heroine fall in love, get married, and have babies. But we all know that in real life, things aren’t always perfect. And in Mitch and Connie’s story, I explore how things can go wrong, how people grow apart, how their needs and expectations can change. Then we have to ask ourselves if those things can be fixed. Or if they can tear us apart forever.

Sit back for a blurb and an excerpt of Somebody’s Wife, The Jackson Brothers, Book 3

 

A family torn apart by tragedy...

 

Three years ago, Lou Jackson, eldest son, died in a work accident. And nothing has been the same since for the Jacksons. They lost their heart and soul the day Lou died, even as matriarch Evelyn tries to keep them together. But things are changing and the family will either find their way back to each other. Or they’ll be torn asunder.

 

Connie Jackson wants another baby, but her husband no longer desires her. She’s beginning to suspect he’s having an affair. Once the woman with the smartest kids, the happiest home, and the best marriage, now she’s just somebody’s wife whose husband is cheating on her.

 

There’s only one thing to do. Connie’s going to have to seduce her husband back into her bed.

 

Mitch Jackson loves his wife too much to ever look at another woman. But his brother’s death has taught him that life can fall apart in the blink of an eye, and the fear of leaving his family defenseless if he’s gone has robbed him of a decent night’s sleep for the last three years. And now his wife wants another child they can’t afford.

 

When Connie pulls out all the stops, she becomes the seductress he can’t resist. Mitch has only one option, but if Connie figures out what he’s up to, it could mean the end of their marriage.

 

Somebody’s Wife, The Jackson Brothers, Book 3

Copyright 2013 Jasmine Haynes

 

She certainly couldn’t look for what she wanted in Willoughby. Not that she thought she’d find it, but just asking would set the town tongues wagging. This might be California, but small towns were small towns with everybody’s business being everybody else’s.

She’d have to drive into Saint Lucia, which wasn’t much larger than Willoughby, but it wasn’t her town. Besides, she’d heard about that new shop, everyone had heard about it. Surely she’d find what she wanted, no, needed. And she had until two-thirty when she had to pick up Rina.

“Shop till you drop,” she quipped, parking the station wagon in the next block over from the store. The engine knocked and pinged for fifteen seconds after she shut it off. She really had to convince Mitch they needed a replacement.

The store wasn’t obtrusive or garish. Its window displayed a tasteful arrangement of feather masks, which could be used at Halloween two and a half months away, assorted beauty products like lotions and soaps, and a mannequin in a pretty, gauzy summer skirt and spaghetti-strap camisole. Up and Coming, the shop’s name arched in gold letters across the window and front door.

Up and Coming. Connie snickered. It was quite a play on words considering what the shop stocked in the back room.

A bell tinkled overhead as she opened the door. The interior looked like any old Victoria’s Secret at the mall. Lace, satin, and silk hung on gold racks, lotions and sprays sat on glass shelves along the wall, a selection of makeup beneath a counter, flowered curtains adorning dressing rooms. Candles burned, scenting the air with...well, what was that smell?

“Oleander,” came a voice from behind her.

Connie realized she must have been sniffing the aroma.

“It’s good for relaxing all the muscles.”

Gorgeous red hair flowed over the sales woman’s shoulders. Geez, why couldn’t she have hair like that? It didn’t look dyed, with shades of gold and strawberry glittering through it. Her makeup was lightly yet expertly applied, which enhanced the disgustingly perfect features God had given her. Sparkling green eyes, plump, red lips, which weren’t all bubbly with collagen, and full breasts that fit her Marilyn Monroe hourglass figure. Silver ankle bracelets jingled as she crossed the tasteful rose-hued carpet. With the grace of a voluptuous fifties beauty queen, she was no skinny-minnie by any means, but why couldn’t Connie’s pounds fall into perfect place like that?

“Can I help you find something? We have some lovely lingerie.”

Lingerie had not worked, and Connie would have felt inferior with this perfect woman enticing her to buy more frilly stuff that wouldn’t work.

“I’m more interested in what you have in the back room.”

The woman smiled like Eve picking the apple off the tree. “We don’t call it the back room. It’s the boudoir.”

Who was this “we” anyway? There were only the two of them. “The boudoir would be fine.”

The woman held out her hand, indicating the way through a doorway decked with pink and blue beads acting as a curtain.

“May I ask how you heard about us? Since we’re fairly new, I like to get an idea of which promotion worked.”

Connie laughed. “You’re kidding, right? This place is the talk of the area. Everybody’s heard about Up and Coming.” Following the woman through the beads, she added, “Did you really intend the name to mean what it sounds like it means?”

The proprietress had a very sexy laugh. Connie wondered if she could imitate it without sounding like a braying donkey. Besides, dealing in...the things she dealt in, the woman probably practiced her walk, her laugh, even her speech modulation. The impression given when a customer entered was everything.

“This isn’t a sex shop you’d find down some filthy big city alley. Up and Coming celebrates femininity in all its forms.”

“But you do have sex toys, right?”

She smiled. “Of course. Quite a variety. My name’s Jensen, by the way.”

Connie gaped. She didn’t have to give her name, did she?

“It’s all right. We don’t deal in brown paper bags here, but everything is confidential.”

Geez, it wasn’t as if she were visiting the doctor for some female complaint. What harm could giving her first name do?

“I’m Connie.”

Jensen lightly touched her arm, subtly directing her deeper into the “boudoir.”

“Do you have a specific toy in mind?”

“Not really. I was just sort of wanting to look around.” She hadn’t been expecting a guided tour, which might end up being a bit embarrassing. But after looking at the sizes, shapes, and colors ornamenting the walls, countertops, and display stands, Connie did need a little explanation. “What’s that?”

Blue and rubbery, it looked like a donut with nubs on it.

“That’s a pleasure ring. It’s placed around a man’s penis. It enhances the man’s pleasure, allows him to maintain an erection longer, and the nubs stimulate the woman’s clitoris during intercourse.”

“Oh.” Connie didn’t have much more to say on the subject.

“You’ll see these on the Internet, but please, never buy stainless steel. Swelling can occur, making it impossible to remove. A man once had to have it cut off with a diamond saw.”

“Umm, gee, guess I’ll skip that then.”

“Perhaps you’d like to try a pair of handcuffs. We carry an assortment from fur-lined to leather to a replica of what the police would use.”

“My husband and I aren’t into S&M.” Connie knew all the appropriate lingo.

“Not to worry, we entertain married couples wanting to spice up their love lives. A little restraint and blindfold can be quite enjoyable.”

Connie considered it. Seriously. Would Mitch let her handcuff him to the brass rails of the headboard? She thought about being handcuffed herself and having her eyes covered. She couldn’t wriggle away when his tongue got too intense. The idea sent a thrill between her legs. Which made her feel extremely uncomfortable with company around.

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Perhaps you’d like to look at our selection of vibrators?”

She shook her head. “I want something we can use together.”

The woman laughed again, throaty. “Vibrators aren’t simply a solitary tool. They can be put to good use by both parties.”

“Oh?” Connie quickly held up a hand. “Please don’t tell me. That would be too embarrassing.”

“In that case, we offer a very useful instruction pamphlet to accompany the purchase.” She crinkled her nose. “With some helpful hints for getting the maximum benefit.”

Connie found herself following Jensen to the opposite wall as if she were the Pied Piper.

“This model has dual ends which can be used...” Jensen glanced at Connie, obviously gauging her word choice. “It has dual penetration capabilities.”

Leaning closer, Connie examined the brown device. It was curved and had two heads. Mercy, they looked like penises. Then it dawned on her exactly where one was supposed to insert the two heads. Ewwe.

“No, I don’t think so.” She wasn’t letting anyone use that thing on her, not even Mitch.

“How about something more standard?” Jensen pulled a purple silicon penis-shape from the wall bracket. “This particular model is equipped with three speeds and the ability to rotate and vibrate at the same time. One partner can be in charge of the controls while the other...submits.”

“You mean...” Oh my. She felt another little thrill at the thought of Mitch putting it inside her and...pumping it.

“I think you understand. Manual stimulation can be used in conjunction.”

My. Oh my.

“Batteries are included, of course.”

Connie just stared. She wasn’t a prude. She and Mitch used to experiment with position and location and created their fair share of interesting techniques. She’d read Cosmo magazine and learned a few tricks Mitch found quite impressive. But she’d grown up with a prudish mother, gotten married young, moved straight from her mother’s house to Mitch’s apartment, and certainly, after looking around Jensen’s shop, her education seemed a bit lacking now. She felt almost generic.

“How much is it?”

“It’s actually a mid-range since it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles you find on some of the others you see here.” Then she named an astronomical price.

Well, it wasn’t really all that bad except when Connie considered how Mitch watched every penny. A few pieces of lingerie stuffed in the drawer had cost more. But he made her feel terrified of spending a dollar on a cup of coffee, for goodness sake.

“I’ll include the instruction pamphlet for free.”

This was about their marriage. About getting back the fire they’d lost. About not being afraid he might turn to another woman because she didn’t satisfy him anymore.

Money was no object in light of her plan’s importance.

“I’ll take it.”

Jensen smiled. “If you’re not happy with it, please come back for a refund which can be used to purchase something that might better meet your needs.”

“You mean I can return it?” No. No, no, no. That seemed sort of disgusting.

Shaking her head as if she were dealing with a child, Jensen carried Connie’s new vibrator to the register. “Return, no, but I want my clients to be happy when they’ve taken my advice about a purchase. If they’re not, it’s my obligation to fix that. You can pick out something that will work better for you.”

Well, maybe the handcuffs. And the blindfold.

Now, where was she going to hide the purple monstrosity so the kids didn’t find it and ask Mommy what it was?

 

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of Somebody’s Wife. You can read a different excerpt of the story on my website. Somebody’s Wife is available now on Kindle Kindle UK Nook Nook UK Kobo All Romance Smashwords. If you missed the first two stories, you can find Somebody’s Lover on Kindle Kindle UK Kobo iBookstore iBookstore AU iBookstore UK All Romance Smashwords and Somebody’s Ex on Kindle Kindle UK Kobo Nook Nook UK iBookstore  iBookstore AU iBookstore UK All Romance Smashwords. And thanks to my wonderful husband for doing all the proofing on this series.