1. Give Me a Divorce

Elsie Grey was the happiest person in the world.

Whatever anyone else might say, she believed that about herself.

Kaiden Grey. This man she had pledged her life to was still here.

Elsie climbed the hill with Kaiden. At the top, a great old tree spread its wide shade over the ground below.

Kaiden set down the easel he had been carrying and deftly mounted the canvas. Then he opened the bag slung over his shoulder.

Elsie pulled out her painting supplies and gave him a grateful look.

Kaiden leaned down naturally in response. It was his way of asking for a kiss on the cheek instead of a thank-you.

A soft peck, and Elsie smiled. The corner of Kaiden’s mouth curved into a pleased arc.

Her hands began to move busily as she took in the view stretching out before her.

The ring on her finger caught the sunlight as she worked, glinting bright. A teal emerald ring, the exact color of her eyes.

“Are you all right?”

Elsie asked with a touch of worry, glancing at Kaiden sitting with his back against the tree trunk, watching her.

“Yes. Just watching is enough.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

His answer was soft, but certain.

Elsie turned back to the landscape beyond the hill and painted with ease.

The breeze felt pleasant. The sunlight she loved so dearly lit up the world. It was all breathtakingly beautiful.

And beside her was the husband she loved.

Elsie turned her head and looked at Kaiden.

His blue eyes curved prettily, his lips forming a warm arc. She answered his expression with a bright smile of her own.

From the first time she met Kaiden to the days after their wedding. The happy memories unfolded one by one in the dream.

There had been days like that once. Days when the other person looked so unbearably dear that you wanted to whisper every swelling feeling in your chest.

“I love you.”

Her heart pounded as the words spilled out, breathless. She had said it simply because she loved him, but the sincerity of it seemed to call forth even more love in return.

Lying in bed, laughing softly at each other, Elsie had been unable to hold back and reached out toward him.

The tip of her index finger traced the bridge of his straight nose and came to rest on his lips.

“Elsie.”

She heard her name wrapped in warm breath.

Or she thought she had, but when she blinked, her finger was pressed more firmly against his lips.

A lingering kiss clung to her fingertip.

Her cheeks, then her ears, then the nape of her neck.

Kaiden watched as each thing that came into view flushed red in turn, and let out a soft, amused breath of laughter.

“……Don’t. I’m embarrassed.”

Elsie murmured at the sound of it.

“Are you?”

Kaiden moved toward her.

The rustle of the sheets as he shifted sounded strangely intimate.

“Then what about this?”

His lips pressed against her round forehead with a soft sound, then lifted away.

“Ah……”

Next was the tip of her nose, and then her lips.

“Hmm……”

The gentle, brief kiss that had settled so softly was gone, replaced by something that consumed her, searching deep inside.

He drew her lower lip up and then pressed in deeper. Elsie gasped, accepting the slow, thorough tangle of it.

“It’s, too much.”

Unable to keep up, she pulled back slightly, lips already swollen, and muttered with a pout. Another small laugh followed.

“You seem to like it even when it’s too much.”

“That’s. Mmph……”

His teasing words were true. That kind of kiss left her genuinely, completely breathless every single time.

The kiss started again. The deeper it grew, the more a restless ache stirred low in her belly.

“Haah……”

The exchange of breath between them was unbearably sweet. Elsie barely managed to exhale as the heat between them built.

Soft lips pressed into tender flesh, and the tongue that followed did the same.

“Still too much?”

“A little.”

Elsie pulled back just enough to breathe and squeezed her eyes shut.

After kissing him like this, a want for something deeper and more consuming always rose up inside her.

The desire stirring within her was mortifying, and not wanting him to see it, she buried her face in the blanket.

“Elsie.”

A coaxing voice followed.

It was Kaiden’s voice, warm and caring in a way that was easy to listen to.

A large hand touched the nape of her neck and smoothed her disheveled hair.

“Ah……”

He bit lightly at her ear, then moved lower and drew the thin skin into his mouth. He pressed a string of affectionate kisses along the curve where her neck met her shoulder.

“I, Iden……”

Her face burning red, Elsie turned toward him.

His hand, resting near her chest, toyed with the taut peaks that had risen with her arousal.

Elsie reached out, and he covered her lips naturally. Another slow, indulgent stretch of time began.

The deeper the kiss grew, the more Elsie fell behind again, parting her lips to draw in air.

No matter how many times they had done this, she was still clumsy.

He tilted his head and fit their mouths together seamlessly, moving with intent. After tasting the way her tongue followed his, he dragged it along the roof of her mouth.

The kiss was so intense it made stars burst behind her eyes, and Elsie’s lower belly clenched tight.

“Hngh……”

His hand had slipped downward and was now squeezing the soft give of her thigh.

He gathered the fabric from inside and pulled it down. Her clothing slid off, leaving her underwear exposed.

“Iden, I’m embarrassed…… Mm?”

Elsie looked down with eyes that looked close to tears.

He had been repeating that dizzying kiss over and over, and now the corner of his mouth curved up slightly.

He caught the edge of the fabric at her chest lightly between his teeth and drew it down.

“Ah……!”

Then he teased the taut peak with his tongue, just gently enough not to hurt, and bit down.

A shiver of heightened arousal ran up her spine.

He licked and savored the soft skin, then nipped at it with his teeth.

Each time, Elsie’s body flinched.

“I don’t want this……”

“Really?”

Overcome with embarrassment, Elsie covered her face with her hands.

His teeth grazed her chest, and his hot tongue toyed with the tip.

“Hmm, ngh……”

She was acutely aware of how wet her underwear had become from what was gathering below.

The slickness had soaked through the fabric completely, and her face was so hot it felt ready to burst.

Kaiden pulled her trembling waist close and pressed one last reluctant kiss to the peak of her chest.

Then he pushed her skirt up and moved lower.

“I, Iden!”

The hands parting her tightly pressed thighs were unhurried. Before Elsie could think to stop him, Kaiden pressed his lips to her drenched p*ssy.

Before she could push him away from the embarrassment, his tongue was already moving through the folds.

“Ah!”

Her head fell back on its own. He prodded the spot that made her twitch, then pulled back and looked up.

“Mmm……”

“Don’t like it?”

He prodded again, then withdrew.

His slick tongue pressed into her p*ssy, and the wet slide of it left a trail of heat everywhere it touched.

The slickness gathered inside began to seep out, mixing with his saliva and running down past her entrance to wet her thighs.

“Elsie.”

The coaxing voice came, and the suction below stopped.

Left with nothing but a hollow ache and a want that had built without release, Elsie let out a small, plaintive sound.

“That’s not fair……”

“Elsie.”

“……Do it. Please?”

She gave in and begged him with what amounted to a full surrender. She wanted to feel his deep, consuming affection as intensely as possible.

“All right. Of course.”

Kaiden was pretending to be composed, but his body was clearly burning. Every inch of his skin that touched hers felt scorching.

His hand wrapped around her slender ankle and lifted it.

He pressed careful kisses to the top of her foot, then began working his way up. Along her ankle, along her thigh.

His lips made their way back down to where she ached. He lapped carefully at the slick, gleaming folds, and took the flowing wetness into his mouth.

“Hngh, hk……!”

He held her as she trembled through a light peak and would not let go. Only after the shaking in her body eased did Kaiden lift his mouth and look at her.

“Not enough?”

Her flushed cheeks quivered.

He seemed unaware of how mortifying it was to ask that.

No. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Elsie gave a slow nod.

Kaiden moved over her and pressed her thighs down so that everything was fully exposed.

He slipped her underwear off the ankle where it had been dangling, then pulled one thigh up and hooked it over his shoulder.

From where he was, the view between her spread legs was entirely open, her entrance glistening and fluttering.

“Ah……!”

He pressed into the place that had already spilled once. He did not wait, did not slow down, and drove forward without restraint. Elsie’s body shook with every thrust.

“Hngh, ngh, mmm……!”

Her drenched p*ssy clenched and gripped at the movement going in and out.

Kaiden cupped the top of her head with his hand to keep her from hitting the headboard, and pressed deeper, and deeper still.