Frank & Elyse – Chapter 12

xxx stories: Frank & Elyse – Chapter 12

by Burnt Redstone

Leaning back against the inside of her front door she thumped her forehead with her fist in frustration.

She’d been moaning! Out loud! God, how embarrassing!

It was bad enough that she kept finding herself standing in the kitchen doorway watching him work. Then he caught her and she banged her forehead on the doorway. Worse yet, when he was working topless she was unconsciously moaning as she watched him bunch and flex his sweaty muscles. She couldn’t help it! It was so fucking sexy!

She closed her eyes and rested her head back against the door. She had to get moving or she’d dwell on this and end up curled into a little ball on the floor.

It was only 4:20PM and she had until 7:30PM. She should run some errands. She should pick up some dessert for after the paella. Maybe ice cream. Everyone likes ice cream, right?

And wine! While she’d been distracted today she looked up a suitable wine companion for Frank’s paella and read about a nice fruity rosé from France. She wanted to find it in town.

She also wanted a garage door opener. Maybe she could find someone to install one for her.

Her mind suddenly filled with an image of Frank wearing only a small pair of tight shorts up on a ladder installing the opener. His hard muscles were glistening with sweat and his eyes burned with his desire for her.

SWAT!

She slapped her forehead to evict these devilish thoughts.

“Ooo!” she moaned as her stinging face had taken too much self-abuse today.

She pushed off the door and moved to put her laptop away. She grabbed her hoodie and headed back out. She had errands to run.

She spent a few hours searching for the items in town and was back home by 6PM to get ready. The wine went in the fridge to chill, the ice cream went into the freezer to harden and she rushed down the hall to get freshened up herself.

Elyse showered, washed her hair, and shaved her legs. Then she shaved her intimate areas as well because… you never know.

Next came the lotion to soften her skin. She used an unscented cream as perfumes gave her headaches. She was delighted that Frank wasn’t a cologne user and seemed to use unscented personal hygiene products as well.

Her hair was straight so she just used a brush and her hair dryer to dry and give it some body. She didn’t like adding gels or sticky sprays on her hair as she preferred it to be silky smooth.

A careful application of some eyeliner and eye shadow finished off with a lip gloss to moisturize and accentuate them. She got the impression from Frank that he appreciated a more natural look. She glanced at the time and saw she had to hurry. Lingerie and another off the shoulder knit dress, red this time and without the wrap. Red high heel pumps finished the outfit.

The doorbell rang and she jumped. With a final glance in her mirror she rushed down the hall to the front door and opened it to see Frank standing there with oven mitts on, holding a large cast iron frying pan with a lid on it. She watched his eyes widen and his lips curve into a smile as he gazed at her in appreciation. A tingle shot from her head to her toes.

“Frank! Please come in.” She stepped back as he manoeuvred the pan in the door. He slipped off his loafers by the door and followed her into her kitchen to set the pan down on the stovetop.

“Do you want the element on?” she asked.

“No, it’s done. Ready to serve,” he replied. He stopped to admire her outfit. “You look breathtaking!”

She was busy drinking in his masculinity with her eyes. He had on a black dress shirt, open at the collar under a grey, herringbone tweed jacket and dark slacks. His hair was still a little wet from the shower but that just accentuated the silver patches at his temples. She felt an almost tangible pull towards him.

“Right, so… do you have plates and a serving spoon?” he asked as she stood there silently admiring him.

“Sorry, I was just- you look… dreamy,” she sighed and he chuckled.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been called that before. Thank you!” he said more than a little self-consciously.

She finally got moving and put two plates on the counter and handed him a serving spoon. While he scooped out their portions she quickly set the table. Tablecloth, napkins, cutlery, wine glasses (empty) and water glasses (full). She glanced back at him and decided to add some candles. Once they were lit she moved back as he set the plates down. She collected the wine from the fridge and the wine cooler from the cabinet above the fridge.

“I picked up a bottle of wine. I read it goes well with paella. I hope you like it!” she said.

“I hope you like the paella!” he returned with a hopeful smile.

He held her chair again and she felt a secret thrill run through her. He sat across from her as she opened the wine and poured some into their glasses.

“Oh my god Frank, this smells and looks delicious!” she gushed.

“It’s one of my favourite recipes. I don’t make it very often… actually I haven’t made it in… some time, but I thought I’d like to share some with you.”

She lifted her glass and chuckled. “We seem to be toasting quite frequently.”

Frank looked at her in mock dismay. “We forgot to make a toast with our glasses of milk at lunch!”

She giggled at his silly look and raised her wine glass. “To amazing food with amazing people!”

“I can toast to that!” Frank grinned and raised his glass. They held each other’s eyes as they took a sip.

“Bold! Fruity! I think it will be a good mix with the paella!” Frank said in admiration of the wine.

“Strong too!” Elyse noted and Frank nodded.

She took a forkful of the paella including a piece of the chorizo and put it in her mouth. As she chewed the spiciness of the sausage combined with the flavors of the rice, chicken stock, and…

“Saffron?”

He grinned. “Yes! I’m glad you could taste that!”

“This is so good!” she sighed as she cut a slice of chicken and ate it with some of the rice.

He grinned happily then concentrated on his own plate.

They ate quietly for a bit then Elyse took a break and looked across the table. “How much did you get done… after I stopped distracting you?” Her cheeks went a little red as she said that.

He swallowed his mouthful then nodded as he kept his eyes on his plate. “I made good progress today. The ceilings are done. I also painted the walls in the front entrance.”

Her eyes widened. “You really did make good progress!”

He nodded again and smiled at her. “This is excellent wine!”

She poured him another as she recalled how tipsy she’d gotten the previous night. She wasn’t going to be the one drinking most of this bottle.

“You mentioned you traveled a lot. When did you learn how to cook like this?” she asked.

“Stephanie wasn’t a cook. The woman could burn water. It was either learn how to cook or starve,” he grinned.

“So you were the primary chef in the household?” she asked.

“Yup, for the first ten years or so at least,” he replied and shrugged.

“Then you started eating out more?”

He grinned. “No, well yes for me because I started to have to travel more for my job. For home we hired a housekeeper who would also make dinners. Mostly for Stephanie as I was going all over the world. We had no kids so it was just her.” He frowned.

“I don’t mean to pry. I’m just curious to know how you became this man who makes such awesome meals and is equally comfortable working on his house,” she said shaking her head in wonder.

He looked at her in puzzlement. “I’m not that special. I’m just moderately talented at a wide variety of things.”

She snorted. “Moderately talented! You have no idea what moderate means do you!” she teased with a grin.

“Moderate: Keeping within reasonable limits. Not extreme, excessive, or intense. I’m sure you’ve met people with greater talents. Your exes for instance! They must have had some talents that were greater than moderate for you to have married them!” he blurted enthusiastically then his face went beet red as he heard the words that had just escaped his mouth. “Oh god. I’m sorry.”

She held her hand up and smiled at him. “It’s ok. No offense taken.” She watched Frank until she saw he’d calmed down.

“Derrick was a very good basketball player. The team who signed him wanted him desperately and he was really good at his job. He had… other talents, it’s true, but he also traveled a lot for that job and he shared his other talents with any woman who asked. Our marriage lasted only three years. Michael was a football player and he was reasonably good at that but to get better he started taking steroids. It made him a better player but it ruined our marriage as he started to get violent. He wouldn’t listen to my concerns about his drug use. Then I found evidence he’d also cheated on me when he was on the road. When I confronted him about it he beat me unconscious. That’s why he gave me my quick divorce. It was either that or jail time.”

She looked up into his eyes and was surprised to see he was visibly angry. “What’s wrong?”

“What kind of monster would hit you?” he growled deep in his chest and she saw a visible tremor shake his broad shoulders.

“One on drugs that made him unstable. I tried but couldn’t make him stop taking the drugs. I wasn’t about to tolerate his infidelity. Getting out was my only option.” She reached across the table and took his hand. That seemed to calm him down.

“So it was just you and Stephanie and the housekeeper?” Elyse asked trying to draw out more of Frank’s story.

“Yes, we’d tried to have kids early on in our marriage but Stephanie had a miscarriage. A bad one. I almost lost her and it shook us up. A couple of years later we tried again but once more she miscarried. It was awful. I got her to promise we wouldn’t try again. I offered to get a vasectomy but she insisted the pill was a better option as it helped her in other ways. Two years later she stopped taking the pill without telling me and she became pregnant for a third time. I was travelling more by that point and didn’t find out until I was called home to see her in the hospital. The damage was pretty extensive and they had to remove her uterus to save her life.” He shook his head and took a deep breath. “I was angry and scared and I wanted to scream at her but she looked so destroyed in that hospital bed I… I couldn’t do it. Instead I tried to console her but she lashed out at me. She told me the third child wasn’t mine.”