On her way home from the airport, Tasha phoned her husband. He had called four times since her flight was supposed to have landed at eleven a.m. "Reid?"
"Hey, sugar. Where are you?"
"In the back of a taxi. My flight was late." Tasha pushed sunglasses up into her crop of shoulder length curls which were a muddy brick color the same tone as her brown skin. "I know I was supposed to come home for lunch, but I need a break. I can't deal with your child right now."
Reid snickered, seeming to agree that their two year old daughter was more than a handful. Thankfully, he didn't mind being a stay- at-home parent. "Yeah, I could tell you needed down time when we talked last night. I sent our child to my mother's, so you'll have some peace and quiet."
"Bless you. I was going to try and squeeze in an appointment at the spa, but I'd rather be naked in my own tub."
"I like the sound of that." He clicked his teeth. "Meetings didn't go so well, huh?"
Tasha's head dropped back against a padded neck rest. "I thought it was going great until I didn't get the funding, and you know I hate schmoozing people if there isn't a check in it."
"I told you, I'll pay for your project. It's damn near charity."
"No, thank you, Megabucks. I like you as a husband and house boy, not a sugar daddy."
"That so? You sure liked calling me Daddy that time we played, 'Please, sir, what can I do to make you buy my last box of cookies'."
Tasha blushed. Of all the freaky things she'd tried with her husband, she hadn't expected role playing to become his favorite. Arousal sparked in her eyes which narrowed mischievously. "Where are you, and more importantly, can you leave so we can meet at home and fuck? It would really help me unwind."
"Please tell me you didn't say that in front of the taxi driver."
Tasha bit her lip, but the driver's lips were spread in a wide smile. "He didn't hear me. There's a shield," she lied.
"Well, I'm tied up right now. You're going straight home?"
"Yes, thank God."
"Okay. I'll see what I can do to improve your day, sugar. Catch your act later."
"Bye." Tasha closed her phone, crossed her legs, and sighed. Even after three years of marriage, Reid's gravelly Southern drawl still made her wet. She would have to self-entertain until he got home.
Once inside their sprawling house in the mountains of North Georgia, she stopped in the kitchen for a bottle of water and then headed upstairs for a long bath. At the foot of the staircase, she nearly stepped on an envelope next to which sat a miniature cupcake tin holding one tiny chocolate cupcake. The envelope contained a note card from Reid.
He'd written, "I could tell last night that you were having a rough trip, so I stayed home to surprise you. Baby's gone for the night, and I spent the day making a special recipe that I'm calling 'Tasha-licious'. Dark chocolate, chili cupcakes with raspberry frosting. They're supposed to release happy chemicals in your brain."
Tasha licked her lips. Damn, she loved the fact her man could bake.
"You can eat the first one," he'd continued, "but bring the rest with you, please."
She popped the cupcake out of the tin and into her mouth. It was as moist and rich as a brownie, and the raspberry frosting was sinful. Hungry for another, Tasha looked at the empty tin and then up the stairs. On little lace doilies, Reid had left a cupcake trail that led up to their second floor bedroom.
Both of her mouths watered.
She collected the cupcakes in the tin as she went up the staircase. At the top, she turned down a short hall. Hanging from the knob of a linen closet, she found a frilly, yellow, and blue costume along with another note that read, "Please put this on."