Jace stepped around the desk to give Seth a friendly handshake and a slap on the back. “It’s good to see you, man. Just getting off work?”
“Yeah. Sorry to drop in so late.” Seth sank into one of the chairs opposite the desk, a bone-deep weariness settling over him as he absorbed the surroundings. Jace’s office was posh, beautifully appointed with warm woods and deep maroon accents. Jace had let Leila use it as practice when she was still getting her design business off the ground. Just seeing how well she’d done even before she really had any experience under her belt was a testament to her level of natural talent.
“No worries. I don’t close up here for a little while still. You want a beer or something? Looks like you had a rough night.” Jace leaned over and turned the volume on his speakers down a bit.
Seth rubbed the back of his neck, the tension coiling there like a ready-to-strike snake. “Beer would be great.”
Jace headed to the mini-fridge in the far corner of the office, grabbed two bottles, and brought one back to Seth. Instead of returning to his desk chair, Jace sat on the couch he had for guests and twisted open his beer. He took a long pull, keeping his eyes on Seth, obviously waiting for him to reveal why he was here.
“What are you listening to?” Seth asked, not quite ready to jump into the I-need-sex-advice-about-yoursister conversation.
Jace glanced at his desk when Seth cocked his head in that direction. “Oh, that Dr. Dan radio show everyone seems to be buzzing about. His manager contacted me a few days ago to see if I’d be interested in doing a talk on spicing things up at one of the couples’ workshops he’s giving around the state. With this economy, I could use any promotion I can get for Wicked, so I’m doing my homework to see what he’s about.”
“Mmm,” Seth said noncommittally, picking at the label on his beer. “Interesting.”
Jace laughed. “Yeah, and you totally didn’t hear anything I said.”
Seth winced. “I’m sorry, man.”
“No worries. Obviously you’ve got something on your mind.” He set his beer down on the side table. “So, go ahead. Lay it on me.”
“Right.” Seth gulped down a good portion of his beer. Might as well put it out there. “This is awkward. But I need you to forget for a few minutes that I’m married to your sister and help me out with something.”
Jace’s brows disappeared beneath his shaggy blond hairline. “Okay …”
Seth sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. “My sex life is in the shitter. I’m only thirty-one and already feel like I’ve gone into old married couple mode. I’m not happy. Leila isn’t happy. I love her more than anything, but I think we’re growing apart because of it. And I want to figure out a way to change it.”
The words flooded out of Seth in a rush, the relief of saying it aloud almost as potent as the shame of admitting it to someone else.
Jace stared at him, a frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Wow, man, I didn’t see that one coming. You and Lei always seem so damn happy.”
“We are, in a lot of ways. We have a good life, great kids, we love each other. But lately it’s like we’ve become business partners instead of husband and wife.” He looked at the closed door that led to the store, praying that the answer was on the other side. “I was hoping if I spiced things up some, bought some new things to try, I could find that spark again.”
Jace leaned fully back on the couch, his forehead wrinkled. “So how spicy are you looking to go?”
Seth cringed a bit, remembering this was his wife’s little brother he was taking to. “Uh …”
Jace smirked. “Look, I’m not going to lie. It’s a little weird offering to help you bed my sister better. Believe me. But I care about you two. Y’all took me in when the rest of my family turned their backs on me. I saw how good you were with each other and the kids. I don’t want to see that fall apart over something as simple as being bored in bed.”
Seth smiled at that. “You’re a good guy, Jace.”
“That’s debatable. But go ahead and pick your poison.” Jace picked his beer back up and took a sip. “Lingerie, toys, bondage gear, S&M, role-playing—how kinky are we talking?”
The slew of possibilities was both enticing and overwhelming at the same time. He and Leila had never done anything really kinky except a one-time we-could-get-caught semi-public sex early in their relationship. He’d done his fair share of kinky stuff with girls he’d met playing in his band in college, but he’d turned that part of himself off once he’d fallen for Lei. She’d been a virgin when he’d met her, and he’d wanted to give her romance, not raunchiness. So he had no idea what she may or may not respond to. “I guess maybe we could start with—”
A familiar sound cut him off mid-sentence, shriveling the words in his throat.
Jace frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Seth held up a finger, shushing Jace, and honed in on what he thought he’d heard. The radio show had come back from commercial and had taken a new caller.
“Mary, it’s okay. Try to take a breath and start again. We’re here to help,” the doctor soothed.
A long pause on the airwaves, and then the tear-choked voice Seth had heard the first time filled the silence. “I’m sorry. It’s just—I think I almost cheated on my husband tonight.”
Seth’s skin turned clammy, and white noise hummed so loudly in his ears, he could barely hear Dr. Dan encouraging the caller to go on. His fingers dug into his thighs.
“Dude, what’s wrong?” Jace asked again, scooting forward on the couch. “You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“The radio,” he whispered, the words scratching past his dry throat. “It’s Leila.”
“I have kids and I love my husband. So much. But he’s never home and I feel so … alone. I find myself wanting things I shouldn’t, wanting other people, wanting to feel really alive again …” Her voice caught for a moment, then: “I’m a horrible person.”
“Oh, shit,” Jace said under his breath.
Seth put his head in his hands, closing his eyes as his world tumbled down around him. His wife wanted other people. People who weren’t him.
This wasn’t something he could fix with a new set of lingerie and some sexy videos.
He tried not the vomit on the Turkish rug Leila had picked out for Jace’s office.
The rest of the call was a hazy swirl of word soup. Dr. Dan prodded Leila with a few questions and then suggested couples’ counseling or something. What the fuck did it matter? Sitting in an office with some shrink wasn’t going to fix this. He and Leila had done counseling early on after the baby was born and both had agreed it’d been a big waste of time. They’d worked things out in their own way—through action, not touchy-feely talk-it-out sessions.
At some point Jace got up and turned off the show. Then a warm hand landed on Seth’s shoulder. “Man, I’m really sorry you had to hear that.”
Seth shook his head, wishing to God he hadn’t had to experience this in front of someone else. Knowing your wife wanted to fuck someone other than you was humiliating enough without an audience.