Play Your Part, Linny + Zeke

[EZEKIEL HARKER]

the sunshine of your love

A smile in return to his wife. Oh, how he loved her. There truly wasn't anything that he wouldn't do for her. A curt nod and he sipped more on the juice. It was good, light and fruity, while he was leaning there, he couldn't help but enjoy the view of his wife, even if she was turned away from him. Actually, especially because she was turned away from him. ”Of course, you are so very accommodating.” He was just trying to stay out of her way, and he had been graced with such a view. He silently thanked God in his mind before nodding at her stating that their dinner would be done in a half hour. ”Sounds good to me... What to do with the time while we are waiting?” Most men would have noticed that there was a significant lack of sex between them it had never been something that he had noticed. He hadn't had anything else to judge it by. After all, sex was for the purpose of procreation. Nodding, he smiled at her mentioning hydration being important. ”Something like that.”

[AVANGELINE HARKER]

"Well, it is a wife's duty to fulfill her husband's needs." She gave him a sultry glance, one that she did not offer to him often, because she rarely felt like throwing him a bone. But she supposed she could be in a generous mood, today. She untied her apron, letting it fall on the counter, putting her arms around her husband. "Oh, I don't know. I guess we'll just have to think of something." She smirked at him, leaning in for a kiss. "Hey, there." Nice. She could play nice. She could even play adorable couple for a while. And that's what she was doing. Because every now and then, she had to remind herself why it was it was important to keep this family together and remind herself why she upheld this image. And that's where sex came in.

[EZEKIEL HARKER]

the sunshine of your love

A broad grin took over his face when she mentioned his needs. Not the family, or hers, but his needs. He had an itch that needed to be scratched by his wife, and he wasn't about to have anyone or anything get in the way of that. "Oh, that it is, but I haven't wanted to seem pushy." This was such a rarity that he was all too ready for anything between himself and Linny. Hell, even the way she untied her apron got him more than a little flustered, not to mention she was now wrapping her arms around him. He grinned down at her and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I'm certain we could think of something... Ultimately more enjoyable than waiting around in a kitchen." He leaned down and kissed her slowly. His arms wrapped around her slowly as he pulled her even closer to him. He loved these moments. They were so rare that he cherished them that much more.

[AVANGELINE HARKER]

Pushy? Linny didn't think her husband was capable of being pushy. It was a shame, because she'd always found a little bit of aggressiveness to be rather intoxicating. She smiled. "Of course not. You're too sweet for that." Sweet in a sickening kind of way that made her want to hurl at times. Most women liked sweet. Avangeline was far from most women. But she was very good at pretending and the look on her face did not lend itself to her thoughts. "I don't know... Kitchens can be fun." She went up on her toes to receive his kiss and embrace, her hands moving to the back of her dress, unzipping it as she pulled away, keeping her gaze on her husband.

[EZEKIEL HARKER]

the sunshine of your love

He pushed her hair back some and smiled down at her. ”Well, I do try.” His brow quirked at her when she made mention of the kitchen possibly being a fun place. He couldn't resist her as it was, but the fact that she was so damned tempting to him hadn't made things any less perfect between them. He loved her, she loved him, at least that was how he believed things were between them. He never would have guessed or suspected Linny of being unfaithful or even disliking him let alone loathing him so very much. He watched her intently as she pulled away from the kiss and unzipped her dress. The thoughts that flooded his mind were far from Christian in their concept wit the exception of that he only thought of his wife in such ways. A wide smile and he took a step closer to her. ”Oh, I think you'll have to sway me into believing you. I need it proven.” He moved closer to her and stepped behind her, moving his hands to slip beneath the top of her dress and kissed her neck softly.

[AVANGELINE HARKER]

Men's work started and ended with the sun, but a woman's work was never done. That saying had struck a chord with her. It was true. Women had to hold the family together. Sure, a father was partially necessary, as a support system, but the woman's role was the most important. They had to make sacrifice, for the family. She'd had to make a choice long ago as to what she wanted her family to be like. She stood by her choice. She might not be happy, but she was taken care of. She highly doubted that her other choice would have had her any better off. She could at least pretend to be happy, here. She laughed, a low rich noise that sent shivers up and down the spines of several of her lovers. "I'm sure I can find a way to convince you." As she felt his hands start roaming under her dress, she let the fabric fall to the ground and stepped out of it, leaning back against her husband's touch. She played her role well.

[EZEKIEL HARKER]

the sunshine of your love

Zeke was ever the fool in love when it came to his wife. He had only ever slept with her, he hadn't experienced another woman's touch, and he didn't want to. He loved his wife with every bone and fiber of his being. He would do anything for her. Well, nearly, but he never would have thought she would have been the way she truly was, so he was content with believing that he'd do anything she asked. She wouldn't ask him to do anything that was considered a sin. As he felt her body moving back against his hand, he couldn't help the slight smile that still tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Oh, I've no doubt of that." His hands moved over the now partially bare skin as he continued to kiss her neck, and moved down slightly to her shoulder. He had an inclination to bite at her, if only lightly. He pushed that thought from his mind. That wasn't how sex between a married couple should be.

[AVANGELINE HARKER]

While her husband didn't have the experience of another person's touch, Avangeline did. She knew what else was out there, and she knew that what they had wasn't all there was. She knew what was missing. At least, she knew what she'd been missing. But she'd made the choice to go without what it was she wanted when she'd found out she was pregnant all those years ago. She stuck by that choice because it was the right one for her child. It was the right one. She kept telling herself that, but sometimes, she had to wonder. But she always came back to the same conclusion. This had been the right choice for her daughter. The other choice hadn't been stable. Zeke had always been stable, always there, always destined to be... safe. He'd been the safe choice. And a child wasn't something that Avangeline was going to put in the position of uncertainty, not when her parents had done that to her.

She could feel his breath on her skin and it made her shudder. Not in a good way, but he didn't need to know that. She could cover it up as excitement, and he had no reason not to believe that. She wouldn't have minded if he'd be a little more aggressive in his behavior, sometimes. What they had now... it was boring, it was predicatable, and they'd had it for over fifteen years. There was no excitement in it, not for her. There was nothing about him that she didn't know, that she couldn't figure out, at least in her mind, and it was maddening. Always knowing what was going to happen, never feeling that rush or adreneline with him, when she'd felt it with people she'd known for a short while... She didn't want to be a bad person. But how was she supposed to live with just this?