I hear a pair of shoes hit the floor as I look up toward the bathroom entrance to find Ryot undressing. His suit jacket is off, his vest is gaping, and he’s working on the last buttons of his dress shirt. His tan, carved skin peeks through, and even though I’m angry with him, I can’t help but stare at my husband.

Since he left baseball, he hasn’t given up on his routine, and sure, it might annoy me at times—why can’t the man just eat a donut—but he looks amazing. Sexy. Irresistible.

“Thank you for dinner, babe.”

“You ate that quick.”

“I was starving.” He sheds out of his dress shirt, and my eyes fall on his impeccable chest. He removes the watch I got him a few Christmases ago and sets it on the bathroom countertop next to his cologne that smells like absolute sin. When he turns back toward me, he says, “I’m sorry I let you down tonight. I know an apology means nothing, and my actions speak louder, but I need you to know I truly am sorry.”

I can’t look at him out of fear I might cry, so I play with the bubbles. “Thanks.”

“Want to tell me what you did today?” he asks as he takes a seat on the side of the tub.

Since he seems focused, I say, “Not much. Went for a long walk around the neighborhood. Went grocery shopping, did the laundry.” I shrug. “Worked on some mock designs of a hotel lobby for fun. I have this idea—”

“I saw one of those mammoth dogs on my run this morning,” he says, making me wonder if he actually listened all the way to the end of my answer or was already absorbed in his own day again.

He leans forward and lifts my chin so he can press a soft kiss to my lips.

And because I can’t seem to keep myself away from him, I sink into his mouth as he slips his hand behind my head and filters into my hair.

Our kiss grows heavier, stronger, and more intense with every breath. Before I know what’s happening, I’m rising from the water and undoing his pants.

He slips out of them and pulls me from the tub then lays me on the bath rug, where he spreads my legs and slips his delicious cock inside me.

I cling to him like he’s a lifesaver, helping me stay afloat, yet . . . he’s also the thing drowning me.

And with every pulse of his hips, I think to myself, why doesn’t he see me like he used to?

Why can’t he be the man I once knew and fell in love with?

Why can’t our life be like it used to be several months ago when we were the only things that mattered in each other’s lives?

Why can’t I see myself lasting here even when I once thought Ryot’s love was all I needed to feel complete?