Alex leaned over her to grab the salt and saw her eyes widen. Jessica almost gasped out loud. She wasn’t happy when she saw the knowing look come into his eyes. He knew how he affected her and he was already far too full of himself. She wouldn’t stroke his ego even more by letting him know how deeply he affected her.

They ate in an awkward silence, while Jessica tried to regain her composure. She didn’t like how her world always seemed to stop turning whenever he was around her. She would bet objects would just naturally fall from the sky and land at his feet, if he commanded them to do so.

“I have some work to do here in the home office. If you need anything, you can come and get me,” he finally spoke after several moments.

Jessica simply nodded her head. She then rose from the table and headed toward the kitchen. There was a basinet off in the corner and her son was sleeping soundly. She smiled down at her precious baby.

“Mrs. Anderson, if you’d like to lie down for a while, I would be more than happy to keep an eye on Jacob. You have several bottles already pumped if he wakes up hungry,” Tina said kindly.

Jessica’s initial reaction was to refuse. But she wouldn’t be any good to him if she didn’t get some rest. There was a houseful of people more than willing and happy to help her. It wasn’t selfish to get a bit more rest.

“Thank you Tina, I’ll take you up on your offer. Please wake me if you need anything.” Jessica placed a kiss on her son’s head and then headed back up the stairs. She climbed into bed and quickly fell into an exhausted sleep. She didn’t stir for four hours.

When she woke, she felt disoriented. She wasn’t used to taking long naps and she panicked for a moment when she noticed the time. She quickly relaxed, knowing if there’d been any problems someone would’ve woken her.

She climbed into the shower and washed the sleep away. Taking long showers was another luxury new mothers had to give up. She was always so paranoid Jacob would need her while she was showering and wouldn’t hear him. This was actually absurd, considering she knew how loud her son could get when unhappy about something.

She got dressed and headed back down the stairs. She found Jacob in the living room with Alex. Her son was wide awake, making little grumbling noises at his father. Alex seemed to be transfixed. She watched them for a few minutes. The unguarded way her husband interacted with his son was something special to see. She knew she’d made the right choice in marrying him. He obviously loved Jacob immensely.

She made a noise and he looked up to see her standing in the doorway. He quickly guarded his expression and she felt a bit let down. Their relationship wasn’t going to get any easier, anytime soon.

“You have great timing,” Alex began, “our son was just telling me he wanted some food.” He smiled, as his eyes once again went to their son. Jessica walked closer to them and when Jacob noticed her, his noises escalated and his legs kicked out. He knew food was nearby and he was letting his mom know he wanted it.

Jessica smiled, while bending down to pick Jacob up. Her hand brushed against Alex’s lap and their eyes locked for a moment. He quickly inhaled and his eyes darkened in desire. He needed his wife and the sooner he had her, the better.

Jessica quickly gathered the baby and sat down on the far end of the couch. Her fingertips were tingling, where they’d brushed him. She had no idea how she was supposed to continue to fight the desire she had for the man. He was potent. She wanted him far more than she’d ever wanted another man. She hadn’t been with anyone since her night with him in the elevator and her body was aching to be taken.

“I’m going to feed him here,” she finally said to him. He usually left her in privacy to feed their son but apparently he wasn’t willing to this time.

“Go ahead, I’m going to catch the end of the game,” he replied.

There were no blankets nearby and Jacob was getting ready to throw a full blown fit any minute, as he started rooting around on the outside of her blouse. Jessica turned slightly away from Alex, trying to give herself some semblance of privacy and quickly latched her son on. He greedily started to eat and Jessica relaxed and watched the game with Alex, without saying anything else.

Alex sat on the couch, a few short feet away from Jessica. He knew he should give her the privacy she wanted but he simply didn’t want to leave the two of them. He liked them being in the room with him. He’d been giving her some distance and finally decided, enough with the space. He wanted them to be right next to him and he was going to have that.

He got up and sat down right beside Jessica, so their legs, hips and shoulders were touching. He then flung his arm over the back of the couch so her back was pressed up against his chest. He felt her tense at the close proximity but she kept silent. He said nothing, just continued to watch the game, although there was no way he could’ve told anyone what the score was, or even who was playing. He could only think of her.

She finished feeding their son and quickly covered up, then transferred him to her shoulder and began burping him. Jacob’s big eyes looked up at his father sleepily and Alex couldn’t resist rubbing his bald head.

“Did you get enough to eat?” Jacob’s responses to his father’s words were some coos. Alex chuckled and sat there, enjoying Jessica pressed up closely to him, as well as their son in her arms. He could definitely get used to the marriage thing and wouldn’t mind having a few more kids running around in front of him. The thought sobered him. He’d never pictured himself as the settle down kind of guy but the more time he spent with Jessica and their son, the more married life appealed to him.

They sat there for a while, Jessica finally allowing herself to enjoy the two men in her life. She would try to keep her distance but it was becoming harder with every passing moment. Alex’s scent was enveloping her and she was hard pressed to keep him at an emotional distance. Even though she’d just slept for four hours, before she knew it she felt her eyes begin to drift shut. Oh well, she thought, she would just close them for a few moments and rest.

Jessica woke to find herself wrapped tightly against Alex. His arms were locked around her and they were lying down, with a cover over them, on the over-sized couch. “Where’s Jacob?” she asked in panic.

“Tina took him a while ago,” Alex replied sleepily.

Their faces were inches apart and without another word, he closed the gap between them and kissed her with all of his pent up need. She responded without thought. He turned their bodies and was suddenly on top of her, pressing her down into the couch. His hands were roving over her, while his mouth worked magic on her body. He broke contact with her lips and ran his tongue over her throat, causing a moan to escape her lips.

When his hand ran up from her hip to cup her breast, she throbbed with pleasure. She wanted him so badly and her body was responding to each movement he made. He began unbuttoning her blouse and trailing his lips down her neck, toward her barely covered breasts. She grabbed his head, pulling him back to her lips. She needed to feel his mouth pressed against hers.

She pressed her hips into his arousal, making him groan with pleasure. He fastened his lips back on hers and was close to taking her right there in the living room where anyone could walk in at any moment. She finally came to her senses and pushed him away.

“Alex, someone could walk in,” she said, panting.

He wanted to ignore her words and continue with the seduction but she was right. There were too many people in the house and he wanted to take his time loving his wife without interruption. She would be his again later that night.

He sat up and she quickly got to her feet. He walked over to the bar and poured himself a shot of bourbon, downing it in one gulp, then decided it wasn’t enough and decided to take one more. The burning liquid down his throat did its job and his hormones calmed down somewhat. His desire was banked down but the flame was still burning. His body wasn’t going to simmer down until he took her again. Finally it wouldn’t be in an elevator a couch. It would be in their bed where he could love her all night long.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” He finally asked her.

“Yes please but only half a glass. I’m still nursing and can’t consume more than that,” she replied. She normally didn’t even have that much but her nerves were frayed.

He poured her a half glass, then walked over to the fireplace to stoke the flames and add some more wood. He was giving them both the needed time to breath. They were seriously both ready to explode from the passion waiting to be ignited fully and then sated.

“We have a few nannies coming in today for interviews,” he finally said after she’d taken a few sips. She immediately tensed up again. “I’ve already told you if you don’t like any of the candidates we won’t hire them,” he added, defensively.

“Fine,” she replied and then left the room to check on her son. He was fine, of course so she had some lunch, then went out to the pool to enjoy some sun.

About an hour passed before Tina stepped outside. “Mrs. Anderson, you have a guest in the living room waiting for you,” she said.

“Thank you Tina. I’ll be right in.”

Jessica reluctantly dragged herself back inside the house and found Alex sitting in the living room with a pleasant looking woman. She appeared to be in her fifties, with eyes that sparkled and had laugh lines around them. Jessica didn’t want to like the woman. She didn’t want to admit the need for a nanny.

“You must be Mrs. Anderson. I’m Julia Scott. I’m hoping to help you take care of your precious son.” The woman stood up and shook Jessica’s hand.

“It’s great to meet you, Julia. I’m sure Alex told you I’m still unsure if I want to hire a nanny.” She felt obliged to be fully honest to the woman.

“I understand it’s a scary thing to leave your child in the care of a stranger. Why don’t we just get to know each other a bit and go from there,” the woman replied kindly.

The three of them spoke for a while, then Jacob woke up from his nap. Jessica fed him before handing him to Julia. Julia had worked for the same family for fifteen years until all the kids grew up. She was now looking for a new family. Jessica could find nothing wrong with her and the thought of someone helping out with the baby was beginning to look more appealing.

“Your son is very beautiful,” Julia said after a little while. Jacob was sitting on her lap playing with one of his teething rings.

“We sure think so,” Alex stated proudly.

“I think all children are a gift and precious of course but Jacob is very mild mannered. Is this unusual or is he a happy baby for the most part?” Julia questioned.

“He’s an exceptionally good baby. I’ve heard horror stories of babies staying up all night and having colic, crying for hours and hours on end. I’ve had none of those problems so far with Jacob. He wakes every few hours, which is normal but he’s never had any problems. The only time he fusses is when he’s hungry,” Jessica said fondly.

“It wouldn’t matter to me either way,” Julia said. “If a baby is crying there’s a reason for it. He’s either hungry, needs changed, needs some extra love, or is hurting and trying to tell you about it. One of my previous kids was very colicky. We would walk the floors for hours on end. It was just an excuse for me to get to cuddle with him longer,” she remembered fondly.