In the first week, after an afternoon spent recuperating from a migraine, Jane's answer to "what would you like to do this evening?" was "make a nice dinner for my husband."
"I'm supposed to be taking care of you," he joked.
"We take care of each other."
She poked her head into the fridge and then the pantry. "How about dal with rice?" she asked.
"Sounds great. Give me a job and I'll help."
"Your job is to get a beer from the fridge," she instructed, smiling at him.
He obliged, retrieving a beer along with the tomato and onion she would need from the fridge. He opened the beer and placed the vegetables on the counter next to the cutting board. He sat at the breakfast bar, sipping his beer, watching Jane as she started the lentils and rice and prepped the rest of the ingredients for their dinner.
When dinner was ready, they sat across from each other at the table, diving into the lentils. "What brought this on?" he asked.
"I love you."
He squeezed her hand across the table. "I love you."
"You've been taking care of everything I could possibly need, even when I'm cranky sometimes. I wanted to share that same love with you."
"Thank you. It's delicious."
"Just wait until you get to dessert," she suggestively tilted her head toward the bedroom.
"Oh really?" he caressed the back of her hand, "are you trying to seduce me?"
She returned a coy smile. "I think I'm ready for dessert," he responded.
She dropped his hand to round the table, and he stood, their arms seeking each other and drawing their faces in for a kiss.
They had bounced from standing, to the wall, to the couch, to the bed, their strewn clothes marking the trail. She lay partially on top of him, tangling his mouth in wet kisses while she stroked his cock. His hands kneaded her breasts and teased her nipples, wandering further as her gasps increased in frequency. He reached her folds and probed a little, the feeling unexpected. "Jane, you're dry."
She replaced his fingers with hers. "How?"
"This can happen…"
Her surprise registered as shame. "But it's never happened to me."
He rifled thought the side table. "Just a second, I'll get some lube." He found the coconut oil they used for massages, and then realized, "Shit."
They had matching poses: back of one of their hands over their eyes in frustration. "We don't have any lube we can use with condoms," he explained, "we haven't needed it."
She sighed in frustration. "I just want to make love to my husband."
He kissed a trail down her stomach. "I can still…"
She stopped him and pulled him back next to her. "Just a second."
A woman on a mission, she hopped out of bed and hustled for the bathroom, rummaging through the cabinet. "Found it!" she exclaimed, returning to his side.
"Aloe?" he questioned, taking the bottle from her and squeezing a bit onto his fingers.
"Remembered it from a girl's day conversation."
He turned her onto her back and resumed kissing her, then touching her, sharing the moisture with her folds. "Mmm," she moaned, finding pleasure in his touch as he swept and circled her, then entered with one, then two fingers.
He returned his head to her speckled breast again, tasting and nipping her nipple, teasing her while he kept thrusting into her with his fingers. "I want you," she spoke, his cock jumping as she closed her fingers around it again.
He retrieved a condom from the side table, and she took it from him, unrolling it down his length. He raised himself over her and met her eyes, their love reflecting in each other as he slowly entered her. "I love you," her voice caught in her throat.
"I love you, so much," he returned, and she reached her hands to his face and brought him in for a deep kiss.
What started as slow exploration, drawing out their lovemaking as much as possible, turned into frenetic escalation. He was lost in the most intimate feel of his wife for the first time in a long time. And she was lost in him, egging him on with her nails dug into his back, his ass. Tilting her hips in just the right subtle way to drive him mad.
He reached between them, his thumb circling her clit as he thrust into her. "Come for me, honey," he requested huskily into her ear.
He nipped her breast again and sped his thumb, and she broke, panting a moan of "ahhhhhhh" as he continued to thrust into her. He removed his hand, leaning on both of his arms and pounding into her, her walls pulsing around him. He came with a shudder and moan, his thrusts losing their rhythm and then slowing. He rested his head next to hers, and she welcomed his body collapsing atop hers, wrapping her arms around him to hold him to her when he tried to shift his weight back to his arms. He nuzzled her head, basking in the moment.
She whimpered at the loss of contact when he pulled away and dealt with the condom. "I'll be right back," he promised, kissing her lips and heading to the bathroom.
He returned to Jane curled up, sleeping in the middle of the bed. He climbed in next to her, holding her close and drifting off to sleep.