Desire Renewed (Happily Bedded Bliss) Read online

  Praise for Jenna Allen’s

  Desire Renewed

  You’ll race through this, but the images linger; always the sign of a good read!

  5 Kisses, Romance Divas

  I loved this funny tale. Cassie tries everything she can think of in order to spice up their sex life and save her marriage. The characters are wonderfully portrayed and the lives believable between these pages. This is a great read from Ms. Allen. I look forward to more from her in the future.

  4 Cups, Coffee Time Romance

  A great read! I liked how Cassie realized that the lack of a sex life meant that her marriage needed help, and searched for a solution. Ms. Allen is an author I’ll be sure to read again.

  Joyfully Reviewed

  Jenna Allen does a great job portraying three young wives and their struggles and accomplishments in keeping their marriages interesting and their husbands excited. The sex scenes were vivid and stimulating. Makes you wonder what your neighbors are doing when their lights go out.

  Erotic Romance Reviews for Women

  I enjoy this story, especially in how the author compares the hot-and-beautiful couple of Megan and Trevor having sex to the out-of-shape couple of Dean and Gail getting it on only to prove that hot sex isn’t exclusive to Kens and Barbies of the world. The sex is frank, coarse, explicit, and erotic, with an underlying strong romantic undercurrent in the explicit scenes especially between Megan and Trevor. A truly an inspiring read as it gives me an insight as to how an author can actually combine elements of erotica and romance and come out with a fun and sexy read. I really want more.

  83, Mrs. Giggles

  This is a good and hot read! Jenna Allen pleased me with how well her characters came to life on these pages.

  4 Angels, Fallen Angel Reviews

  Desire

  Renewed

  The daring lives of husbands and wives.

  Jenna Allen

  Erotic romance novelist Cassie is frustrated. Ever since her books started coming out her husband has no interest in sex. With the help of a book of weekly fantasies she’s trying to turn his head, but he seems unaffected. But Cassie will let nothing keep her from saving her marriage. Not the lack of a babysitter for date night, her own inhibitions, or Miss Perky Tits.

  Desire Renewed

  by Jenna Allen

  Copyright © 2013 by Jenna Allen

  First Publication © 2005 by Jenna Allen as Night of Inspiration

  Cover art by Novel Graphic Designs.

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9900084-1-5

  Kindle Edition

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be interpreted as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, organizations or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote brief excerpts in a review.

  First electronic publication: Phaze Books 2005

  Reprint of revised edition by Jenna Allen: 2013

  Thank you so much to Erika Wilde for guiding me through this journey, for connecting me with the right people and still answering my emails. Your support has opened me up to a whole new world.

  Table of Contents

  Reviews

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  From the Author

  Desire Renewed

  Discover more Happily Bedded Bliss

  Romance Rekindled

  Lovers Reunited

  About Jenna

  Hello my lovelies,

  Thank you for joining me on the Happily Bedded Bliss journey. The time to explore what follows happily ever after has come. The dream is fall in love and get married and grow together in marital bliss. If only staying together were as easy as getting together.

  Desire Renewed was such fun to write. Kind of like Desperate Housewives after dark. For some couples sex is what cements their marriage, for others it becomes a point of contention, and then there are those who take commitment to a whole other level. What really happens behind bedroom doors is a mystery, and it is always the ones you’d never expect who manage to keep their marriage sizzling hot.

  Happy Reading,

  Jenna Allen

  Desire Renewed

  It was sweltering outside and hotter than hell inside my black SUV as I made the commute home. Even though it has air conditioning, I don’t like to turn it on since we haven’t been able to afford to install air at home. I try to use my commute to transition from the chilly recirculated office air to the stuffy heat of the house. This was not the time to try and quit smoking. Driving home on a day like this definitely merited at least one cigarette, maybe the whole pack.

  I hardly made it to the freeway before I ripped off the cardigan I wore all day. I knew it was going to be hot, so I wore a pink summer dress instead of my usual all black ensembles. A few of the people at work even commented on my out of character pink outfit. At work I’m black and white, I save my color for weekends.

  By the time I made it home, the dress clung to every part of me. I peeled myself off the seat and gathered the folders I’d lugged home with me. I’d be up until way past midnight getting everything done, but working in your pajamas trumped being at work any day–even in this heat. I threw my purse over my shoulder, pressed the folders to my chest, clutched the cardigan with one hand and the take-out I’d grabbed for dinner with the other.

  Slamming the door shut with my hip I heard the familiar rumble of his truck pulling into the driveway. This was the first time all month we arrived home at anywhere near the same time. Between his two jobs and all the extra stuff I took on at work, neither of us spent much time at home, let alone together. Good thing he was home. There was absolutely no way to gracefully open the front door.

  “Hey stranger,” Trevor yelled through his open window. The truck didn’t have air conditioning, or much else in the way of amenities. It was so beat up from all of the summers of roofing I refuse to even ride in it. The bills had gotten the best of us lately, so he was roofing again. It was strange the way he could effortlessly transition from a banker in ironed shirts and designer shoes to a laborer in filthy pants and a backward baseball cap. When he dressed like that he seemed younger than ever. In moments like this I truly felt like I robbed the cradle.

  “Hey yourself.” I barked back. “Open the door.” Trevor hopped out of the truck and trotted over to the front door. I hadn’t seen him awake in almost two weeks. We were both putting in as many hours as we could, trying to dig ourselves out of credit card hell. Between his golf habit, my shoe fetish, and the wedding last year we were sinking, fast.

  “Home before dark, and you made dinner. I’m impressed, Megan,” he teased, opening the door and relieving me of the bag of food. Trevor pushed the door open for me to walk through while he inspected the contents of the bag.

  “It’s from Wong Kong. I went through the drive thru,” I explained. “I didn’t expect you to be home yet.”

  “That must mean you got everything deep fried with no vegetables in sight.” I could hear the smile in his voice as he followed close behind me.

  “If you want vegetables you should have married a rabbit.” I tossed back at him as I made my way past the kitchen to the dining room. The binders hit the table with a thud. “There’s stuff in there for you too. Besides, chow mein has vegetables in it.”

  “It doesn’t count as a vegetable if yo
u only eat the noodles.” He set the bag on the counter and stalked towards me.

  “I’d tell you to sue me, but I don’t need any more paperwork.”

  “Long night ahead?” he asked, leaning on one of the dining room chairs.

  “Yeah, and now that I’m home I’m thinking I should have stayed in the air conditioned office. It’s so hot in here.” I moved to open the sliding glass door and let a breeze in, but he blocked my path.

  “Have you had a cigarette today?”

  “What I do with my body is my business.” I rolled my eyes at his attempts to be paternal. He had no right to act the father figure being six years my junior.

  His big, work callused hands encircled my waist as he pulled me to him; his mouth on mine, hot and insistent. Trevor’s scent, an intoxicating mix of the outdoors and pure masculinity wafted through me and I relented, allowing full access to my lips, tongue, and mouth. When I was nearly out of breath, he broke away, grinning. “Good girl, you taste much better this way.”

  “I was just saving it until I got home,” I goaded him. He’d been on me to quit smoking since the moment we met. Quitting now would be like admitting defeat.

  His fingers were rough as he drew up my dress, lifting me forcefully onto the dining room table. “What are you” was all I got out before he stripped me of my pink panties. “Come on, it’s too hot to fool around,” I said, trying to close my legs.

  His hands kept them apart as he knelt before me, parting my lips with his tongue. Trevor was gentle only for a moment, quickly attacking my clit as my body responded. Reaching my hands back to brace myself the binders tumbled to the floor. The earliest ripples of an orgasm began to radiate out and a moan escaped my throat. His callused hands and beard stubble chafed my thighs as I peaked.

  Breathless, I leaned farther back. Instantly he was in front of me and then inside of me, pushing deeper and deeper. My body arched against the hard wood, my moans became more guttural as the pleasure of having him fill me drove me over the edge again. His hands wrapped around my ass and pulled me closer, driving him in to the hilt. He can’t hold back when I come, spasming around him, pulling him inside until he can’t take any more. Even through my contractions, I felt him thicken and his breath catch as he found release.

  As the blood returned to my head, I sat up and looked into his warm brown eyes. Still inside me he leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered, “You taste much better this way.”

  I touched my forehead to his and placed a tender kiss on his lips as he pulled out and stepped back. My stomach sank as I realized we made love without protection. “You didn’t use a condom?”

  “What? No, I didn’t think to,” he said, hiding himself away. “We’re married for God’s sake.”

  “Even married people use condoms.” I slammed my legs shut and stood to face him, smoothing my dress down. “Especially when you know I’m not on the pill and we don’t want to have a baby.”

  “Oh I know, because having my baby would be the worst thing that could ever happen to you,” he spat out. The gold flecks in his eyes sparked like fire when he was angry.

  “This isn’t about you. I’ve told you, I am not having children just to have someone else raise them. And there’s no way we can get by without my paycheck, so…”

  “Fine, whatever. Sorry. Look I have to shower, come upstairs with me.” He reached out his hand, his fingers brushing mine lightly as he grinned.

  “Maybe in a minute.” I let my hand linger next to his. He walked past the kitchen, towards the stairs. Looking back over his shoulder he asked, “You’re going to have a cigarette aren’t you?”

  “I told you, what I do with my body is my business.”

  “I’ll give you something better to put between your lips,” he teased.

  “In a minute, I need to pick up the binders.”

  I waited to hear the water turn on. Without touching the binders, I went outside for a smoke.

  The warm, sweet scent of vanilla wafted through my nose. Megan was smoking. Thank goodness, because I could really use a cigarette. My editor had me rewriting the entire last chapter of my latest novel and the boys both refused to nap today. I deserved a cigarette. Megan was always willing to share. The flavored kind she smoked left less of a stench than the lights I hide in the planter.

  Stepping off my front porch I made my way across both driveways to Megan and Trevor’s side yard.

  “Going somewhere, Cassie?” Gail rang out, leaning against the siding. Gail’s a little nosy for my taste, but living on the other side of Megan she has just as much right to bum cigarettes as I do.

  “It’s supposed to be date night, but Craig’s parents are late.” Megan held open the gold box of cigarettes and smiled. I thanked her as I plucked one from its bed, and again as she handed me the silver lighter.

  “I thought you both were quitting?” Of course she would. Gail smoked like a chimney when we went out, but was self-righteous whenever her husband was in a one-mile radius.

  I pulled the nicotine deeper in my lungs, waiting for the calm. Not yet. I took another long drag.

  “Deadline?” Meagan asked, flicking her ashes into the manicured lawn. What I wouldn’t give not to have to mow my own lawn. What I wouldn’t give for a night of inspiration with Megan’s husband.

  “Monday. But I get to email in the revisions so I have the weekend.” I motioned to her shrinking smoke. “Depositions?”

  Megan laughed, long and full, throwing her head of chestnut curls back. She never recognized herself in my romance novels. Either that or she never read the copies I gave her.

  “So, a date night huh?” Gail always changed the subject whenever we talked about work. I’m home with the kids all day too, yet she’s still obviously intimidated No one but another writer seemed to understand I write for my own sanity. “Lucky you. Or maybe you would get lucky if it weren’t so damned hot.”

  “We have air conditioning,” I said automatically.

  “You’re so lucky. It’s an oven in our place.”

  “Come over and enjoy the refrigeration any time you need. As long as you don’t mind tripping over fire trucks and trains.”

  “Uh-oh,” Gail whispered, jerking her head in the direction of my house. I instinctively dropped the cigarette and covered it with my sandal.

  “Cassie?” Craig called from over my left shoulder. Gail did come in handy every once in a while.

  I turned and smiled. I’d say I smelled like smoke because Megan was smoking. “What is it?”

  “Highway 82 is closed. My folks are turning back around.” He looked sorry. Was he sorry? We’d only been out twice since January, when I stated I needed more from him. Dates once a month and sex once a week. Neither happened with any consistency. I even bought a book of sexual fantasies with a different fantasy each week, but my husband had the lowest libido of any man on the planet.

  “You should go,” Megan offered, nudging me in the shoulder. “Trevor and I will come over and chill with the boys.” She laughed at her play on words.

  “Are you sure? You don’t have to.” Please say you’ll do it. I’ve been storing up my courage to do fantasy twenty-six all month.

  “Your boys love Trevor. And besides, you have cable. The boys will go to bed in an hour and Trevor will be glued to the tube all night. Stay out as long as you need. I’ll be working in air conditioned comfort.”

  “I’m bored.” Trevor rose from the sofa and came into the dining room where I had everything organized. The boys went to sleep without incident twenty minutes ago. Not that I’d seen much of them. They adored Trevor, and he was better with kids than I was anyway.

  “I’m busy.” I answered him without looking up. This toxic mold case was so tedious. Trevor cocked his hip against the table, right next to my laptop. “I’m only going to warn you once. Knock the papers off and I’ll be a widow.”

  “You’re so feisty tonight.” He was smiling that broad, dimpled smile that heated my blood�
��and it was hot enough. “I need to work. Go watch television. They have cable.”

  “How late are they going to be?”

  Very, I hope. They needed the alone time and I needed the cool to help me concentrate. “I’m not sure. I told Cassie to take as long as they need. They’re having trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “Bedroom trouble.”

  Trevor grimaced at the thought. “He can’t…”

  I smiled. Men always went there. “No, he can. She just wants to be more creative to get inspiration for her books, and he’s not interested lately.”

  “Oh, I get it.”

  He got it? “Fill me in, oh wise one.”

  “He doesn’t want his every move chronicled for the world. It is weird. I mean, you’ve read her stuff. Don’t you think about them acting it out?”

  Not once. “It’s fiction, Trevor.”

  “It’s porn, Megan.”

  “It’s not porn. It’s romance. Sensual romance, but still.” Have to clue Cassie in on his theory tomorrow, omitting his opinion of her career. She was more than touchy about people reducing her novels to smut.

  “It’s hotter than Penthouse letters.”

  “You still read Penthouse?” My temperature rose and not from the smile he gave me. Like I could compete with airbrushed teenagers.

  “No, because it bothers you. But if I catch you smoking again I’m going to get a subscription.”

  “Trevor, you can’t tell me what to do.” One cigarette a day. One. It used to be two packs. What more does he want from me?

  “You need to stop. Especially if you were serious about being pregnant earlier.”

  “I’m not.” Back to work. Not getting goaded into this conversation with the world’s cutest, best-behaved kindergarteners upstairs. “I’m not ovulating until next week. We’re in the clear.”