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  “I will never ask that of you again,” Jason murmured quietly as he tucked me under his chin. “I don’t think that’s a road we should keep traveling down. But I’m so thankful you said yes to that tonight. I’m so glad we got to do that together.”

  I nodded and pressed my ear to his chest, lulled by the familiar cadence of his heartbeat. “Me too,” I said quietly. “I never thought… I guess I never thought we would actually do that until we were there, and then it seemed…just…” I didn’t know how to finish but Jason understood.

  “Yeah. That’s exactly what I thought,” he sighed, squeezing me against him. “Promise you won’t leave me, Sara. I’ll do anything you want me to do. I’ll go to counseling, I’ll take the girls more, I’ll do anything, just—just stay.”

  “Oh, babe, I’m not going anywhere,” I promised. “You and the girls are my whole life. I just want what we had back.” We clung to each other silently for a bit.

  And then he said, “I kind of like this, though. Being on the other side. It’s a good reminder not to take you for granted. I do that sometimes, and I know I do. I don’t mean to. Sometimes you’re just so much a part of me that I forget—I forget you’re there. I mean, not you, but…the best part of you. The Sara-est part of you.”

  “That’s not even a word,” I protested, but this was my husband, talking about his feelings. I wasn’t going to shut him down. And I knew what he meant. “I guess I do the same,” I admitted. “I guess…there are times I forget how special you are to me. How important this is, what we’ve built together. I take it for granted, too. And I don’t want to. I love you, Jason. There’s no one else I’d rather be with than you.”

  “We’ve got to make that some kind of pact. A clause. Fine print in our marriage contract.”

  I kissed him again, loving the taste of his breath and the familiar feeling of his tongue slipping over my lips. We nuzzled against each other for a moment before he groaned and drew my hand into his lap, pressing against the swelling in his pants. I was delighted to find him hard again.

  “Really?”

  “It’s been such a long time,” he reminded me. “Months and months, before tonight, Sara, and I’m so hot for you… You were an animal tonight and it was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted you more.” I hiked my dress up over my hips so I could climb on top of him and he whispered into my hair, “I can’t stop touching you,” as he pulled me onto his lap. We wrestled awkwardly with our clothes like a couple of teenagers, dissolving into giggles as first his leg and then mine got stuck and we heard the sound of fabric—someone’s clothes—ripping between us. But it didn’t matter. We were together and we still wanted each other, and that was the only important thing. Our marriage was going to make it after all. And while the rest of the world slumbered, Jason and I made love in the backseat of the car as the sun came up over the beach.

  About L.E. Chamberlin

  L.E. Chamberlin is a foodie and former librarian who never returns her library books on time. She has a weakness for all things British, including cream teas, Wellies, fish & chips and the full spectrum of scrumptious accents. An aficionado of steamy romances, she wrote her first one at age thirteen and still has all eighty-six handwritten pages of it in a box under her bed.

  L.E. welcomes comments from readers. You can find her email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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  Just This Once

  ISBN 9781419992285

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Just This Once Copyright © 2014 L.E. Chamberlin

  Edited by Beverly Horne

  Cover design by Allyse Leodra

  Electronic book publication June 2014

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