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Annie let herself into Josh's hotel room, still marveling over how easy it had been to wheedle a key from the desk manager. All she'd had to do was bat her eyelashes at him, smile sweetly and say how she was here to surprise her husband who was staying at the hotel while on business, and could he please, please give her a key so she could wait for him in his room? Her story was true, too, though she was sure it would not be a pleasant surprise for Josh.
She settled into an overstuffed arm chair by the window and sat there in the dark, waiting for her husband of eight years to return. It was already nearly midnight -- she wondered how much longer he'd be.
Joshua Bradshaw was as roguishly handsome now as he'd been ten years ago when Anne had first met him. She still didn't know what he'd seen in her to make him stop to look twice, let alone ask her out and later marry her. Her husband could have any woman he wanted. In addition to his movie star looks, he was a very successful self-made businessman with charm that overflowed and an old-fashioned sense of gentlemanship about him. Why he'd chosen to marry her, she would never understand. Though Annie was pretty and smart, and Josh could probably list hundreds of reasons why he'd chosen her for his wife, she had a pretty low opinion of herself; he'd told her once that it was the one and only thing he would change about her, were he able to.
Annie was certain that Josh was having an affair with his business partner, Jennifer Shelton, a knockout predatory blonde with legs that went on forever, a flawless face and a model's body. She'd seen how Jennifer rubbed up against Josh at every opportunity, always finding a way to touch his shoulder, his arm, his knee. She laughed riotously at any simple joke he told and always agreed with him about business matters. When she thought no one was watching, Jennifer would look Annie's husband over from head to toe, all but licking her full lips and drooling.
Of course, Josh said that Annie was being ridiculous, seeing things that Jennifer did in the wrong light. And, he argued, even if his partner did have a thing for him, it didn't make any difference because he was married to Annie, and he loved her.
Annie wasn't convinced.
And this time when he'd gone to New York for some business meetings with Jennifer in tow, Annie had made up her mind to end this once and for all. She planned to wait for him here, and catch him in the act when he came back to his room with Jennifer on his arm.
As luck would have it, she didn't have long to wait. She sat bolt upright when she heard the key in the lock and watched in the darkness as her husband came into the room, banging his knee on the dresser corner. She winced for him, then blinked as he suddenly flipped on the light. She barely had time to adjust her eyes to the sudden brightness before Josh turned around and saw her sitting there by the window.
"Annie!" he said, obviously surprised. "What're you doing here?"
But Annie didn't hear the happy surprise in his voice or notice the grin on his weary face. "Where's Jennifer?" she snarled.
He shrugged. "I left her at the door to her room," he said. "We just finished up a late dinner with a client...."
"Yes, a VERY late dinner."
Josh's blue eyes narrowed as it began to dawn on him why his wife was here. She hadn't come to surprise him and help make another boring business trip more bearable, oh no. She'd come to check up on him, probably thinking to catch him and Jennifer fooling around, because no matter what he'd told her in the past, she just never seemed to believe that nothing was going on between him and Jennifer Shelton.
He crossed his muscular arms over his chest and frowned at his bristly little wife. "You know, Annie Marie Bradshaw, I've just about lost all patience with you on this issue."
"WHAT issue, Josh?" she challenged triumphantly, as if his reference to it was confirmation that it was true. Hell, to her it probably was.
Josh sighed. He paused for a minute to step out of his loafers, take off his neck tie and unbutton the first few buttons on his dress shirt. He hung his suit coat over the back of a chair and stood before her in dress slacks, suspenders and socks with his soft, dark chest hair peeking out of his shirt.
He ran a hand through his thick hair as he studied her. What was he going to do with this woman??
He sat on the bed and closed his eyes briefly. Lord, it had been a long day. He wished Annie was here as a sweet surprise so he could cuddle her womanly curves against his hard plains and fall asleep with her in his arms. Instead he was going to have to try, again, to convince her of his fidelity.
"Annie," he finally said, noting that she practically had steam coming out her ears since he'd taken so long to respond to her. "I've told you over and over, I am not having an affair with Jennifer. Or anyone else. What do I have to say to get that through your head?"
She glared at him. "You seem awful tired, Josh," she remarked acidly. "Maybe I've been waiting in the wrong hotel room...."
"It's after midnight, Annie!" he roared. "That's why I'm tired, damn it!"
"Humph! And you expect me to believe you were at a business dinner this late in the evening?"
He was getting close to totally losing it. His voice was hard when he said, "I expect you to believe whatever I tell you, Mrs. Bradshaw. Because I am your husband and I took a vow to be faithful to you. A vow I take very seriously and that you should know I would never break." He paused and watched her. Damn her, she wasn't even looking at him! What did it take to get through her thick skull? He'd tried everything he could think of. Well, except....
"Annie." That tone got her attention. The pretty green eyes that turned to him were wary. "Come here."
Annie found herself responding to that tone and didn't understand it or herself. Before she knew it, she was at Josh's side. He took her hand and looked up at her with gentle, hurt eyes. But his voice was the same hard steel when he spoke again.
"Annie, I have tried everything I can think of to get it through your head that I am not cheating on you, that I never would. It hurts me that you'd even think I would do that. But you don't hear me -- I don't think you even listen to me anymore." He let go of her hand and began to roll his shirtsleeves up as he continued. "I have one more idea to try and convince you, and I hope it works, because I love you and I'm tired of this always coming between us. Once and for all, you have to learn to trust me and if you need to learn it the hard way, then so be it."
Annie was so caught up in what he was saying -- and in that strange tone she'd never heard from him before -- that she didn't understand at first when Josh took her wrist and guided her face down over his lap. He flipped her skirt up onto her back and tugged her lacy panties down to her knees. Oh my God, she thought, he's going to....
*SMACK! As if to punctuate her thought, Josh's hard, flat palm connected with Annie's unprotected bottom for the first time.
"OW!" she protested, looking back over her shoulder in time to see her husband's hand falling down from shoulder level to spank her again.
*SMACK! "Oh! Josh! Let me go!!" Josh banded his free arm around Annie's waist and locked her wiggling body against his chest. He zeroed in on his target then, putting all of his remaining strength into the task of warming her backside.
"Hear me, Annie *SMACK Marie *SMACK Bradshaw *SMACK. I have never *SMACK cheated on you *SMACK. I have never *SMACK slept with Jennifer *SMACK SMACK. Or anyone else *SMACK. I'm sick *SMACK and tired *SMACK of always defending myself *SMACK *SMACK *SMACK for something I have never done. I am your husband *SMACK and you are supposed to trust me *SMACK *SMACK. I've never given you *SMACK any *SMACK reason not to trust me*SMACK. I *SMACK love *SMACK you, dammit! Do you hear me, Annie?"
"Yes!" Annie cried, sniffling and trying very hard not to give over to the tears welled in her eyes. Josh's hand kept firing away at her backside even after her agreement and she felt the first tears as they started down her face.
"Good! *SMACK I'm only going to say this *SMACK one more time, Annie, *SMACK so listen up*SMACK and remember this the next time *SMACK you think to doubt me *SMACK. You are the only *SMACK woman I want *SMACK *SMACK or need *SMACK *SMACK *SMACK. I have never cheated on you *SMACK *SMACK and I never will *SMACK *SMACK. And I don't ever *SMACK *SMACK want to have to *SMACK *SMACK tell you that again *SMACK *SMACK *SMACK."
He stood her up abruptly and Annie's hands immediately flew to her reddened bottom to try to rub some of the sting away. She was starring at him through her tears and he smiled crookedly. She let him frame her face in his large hands and he wiped her cheeks with his thumbs.
"Now then, Annie. Did I get through to you that time? 'Cause if not, I can give a repeat performance every night for as long as it takes to convince you."
Annie shook her head vigorously and Josh bit back a laugh. "Oh, no, you won't have to do that!" she blurted. Though she did have the strangest warm, tingly feelings in her sex, much like arousal -- wasn't that strange?, she thought.
Josh leveled a stern look at his wife and said, "I want to hear you say it."
She only hesitated a moment. Her voice was quiet as she said, "You wouldn't cheat on me. You love me."
"Damn right," he agreed. Now he did grin at her. "Say it once more, honey, so I'm sure you got the message. Good and loud, like you mean it Annie, or I'll think all that spanking was for nothing and I'll have to start all over again."
"You love me!" she all but shouted in his handsome face. "You'd never cheat on me!"
Josh's grin broadened and he pulled his wife into his arms. "Much better." he sat her gingerly on one knee and rested his forehead against hers. "Much, much better."
They sat in silence for a few minutes and then Annie's stomach sounded a loud growl that made them both laugh.
"Hungry, sweetheart?" he asked. She nodded. Even though he was exhausted, Josh pulled himself to his feet and watched Annie pull up her panties and arrange her skirt. "I think there's a deli down the block that's open late."
At the door, Annie caught her husband's hand and looked up at him. "Josh, I'm sorry. I know you better than that. I just worry sometimes about losing you. I mean, you could have any woman you wanted...."
He put one long finger up to her lips. "Shh. I only want you. Remember that for me, okay? In fact, I'll write it down for you. Because I don't want you to keep on doubting yourself, or my love for you. In fact, I'd advise you to stop that right now, unless you'd like another trip over my knee." She blushed quite prettily at his last words. He took her hand and led her to the elevators.
The following morning, Josh let Annie sleep in when he got up and went off for his meeting. He left her a note on his pillow so she'd know about when to expect him back. And beneath that he'd written: "I love and want ONLY you, Annie Marie Bradshaw. Remember that always." And below that, he listed "just a few" of the reasons he'd chosen her all those years ago.
Annie cuddled into the covers on his side of the bed and read the note over and over once again. She smiled when she rolled a certain way and felt the lingering affects of Josh's hand on her bottom.
Yes, she knew now how much he really did love her.