Capital Wives by Rochelle Alers

dress that hugged every curve of her petite body, Marisol had managed to charm every man he’d introduced her to. And that included his father.
    His parents invited her to come down the following weekend to hang out at their vacation home on the Chesapeake, and when Bryce drove her back to New York he knew he had fallen in love with her. It wasn’t until after he’d slipped the three-carat, emerald-cut diamond on her finger with a promise to love her forever that he’d experienced what it was to make love to the woman who was to become his wife.
    Being in her arms, lying between her scented thighs, made him regret all the women he’d ever slept with. Especially Odette. She’d given him chlamydia and gonorrhea, all the while swearing he was the only man she’d slept with. He finally ended their relationship, but it was too late. Repeated bouts of STDs had left him sterile. Marisol wanted a baby,and unless there was a procedure to reverse his infertility he would never father a child.
    â€œI’ll never look at this sofa again without remembering what we did here,” he whispered in her ear.
    â€œThankfully it can be cleaned,” Marisol whispered back. “We have to get up and shower. This place smells like sex.”
    â€œI love the smell of sex in the morning,” Bryce intoned like Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now .
    Marisol landed a soft punch to his shoulder. “He said napalm, and it’s not morning. Please, let me up so I can wash up.”
    â€œWhat happened to keeping your legs up so the sperm can swim upstream?”
    â€œI’ll leave them up until they start getting numb.”
    â€œMari?”
    â€œSí, Papi.”
    Bryce chose his words carefully. “If we don’t make a baby before the end of the year, then I’m willing to consider other alternatives.”
    Marisol blinked back tears. “You’re not kidding, are you?”
    He kissed her nose and wrapped a curl around his finger. “No, sweetheart. I’m not kidding. If you don’t want to go through the whole artificial insemination scene, then I’m more than willing to adopt. I know lawyers who can speed up the process and get us a newborn in less than six months.”
    It was a full minute before Marisol said, “Even if I do become pregnant, I would still like to adopt. It doesn’t have to be a newborn.”
    â€œYou’d want an older child?”
    â€œWhy not, Bryce? They are the ones who languish in foster care because everyone wants a newborn.”
    â€œI don’t mind an older child as long as they’re not too old.”
    â€œWhat made you change your mind when you were so against adoption?”
    â€œI had the TV on earlier this morning and there was a segment about adoption with testimonials from adoptive parents and kids still waiting to be adopted. I suppose you can say it got to me.”
    â€œI’m glad it did, m’ijo. You’re going to be an incredible father.”
    â€œWe’ll see.”
    â€œWhat’s there to see, Bryce?”
    â€œI just don’t want to become one of those overindulgent fathers whose so-called good kid has the family attorney on speed dial.”
    â€œNever happen,” Marisol said confidently. “I will never let our kids forget that their mother grew up in El Barrio and she can roll with the best of them.”
    â€œBoo-hoo, I’m scared of you.”
    â€œDon’t let my size fool you. I’m one tough chica. ” Lowering her legs, she moaned softly. “You’re going to have to massage my legs. They feel like someone is sticking them with pins.”
    Bryce pulled out, slid down the sofa and pressed his face to the neatly trimmed fuzz covering Marisol’s mound. He inhaled, held his breath, then let it out slowly. “I love the way you smell after we make love.”
    A dreamy smile parted her lips when his hands moved over her calves, working