Work Text:
Shuri came home exhausted after a long day of work. She had been arguing with Namor as they fixed some interns mess up, and the conversation had been overstimulating. Her coworker always could wind her up in a specific way that had her body tense for hours.
The stupid jerk.
She sighed happily when she unlocked the door and walked in, the rich smell of tomato and garlic filling the house.
Thank god for her husband.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back, I made that cheese dip you like. Still warm."
She quickly slipped off her shoes and coat, dumping her bag on the side table. The cheese dip and bread on the kitchen counter instantly called to her, but she chose to wrap her arms around her husband instead. "Hey, you."
"Hey." Luke said warmly, patting her hand, "Pasta tonight—"
"The one with the mushrooms?" Shuri asked, leaning around him to look into the pan.
"Naturally. Wine in the fridge."
When she opened the fridge she was delighted to see that it was a bottle of Rose, her favorite. Her heart soared. After the day she had, this was the perfect way to end it. "All of my favorites? What's the occasion?"
He shrugged, keeping his back to her as he went to drain the pasta. "Just wanted to spoil you."
Shuri filled them both a glass of wine first, taking one long drink from hers, then helped set the table for dinner. All of the tension seeped out of her as the night went on, enjoying the steady back and forth of their conversation. She finished a majority of the dip and cleaned her plate with some leftover bread.
Luke leaned over and poured the last of the wine into her glass, while she took their empty plates to the sink. He had gotten quiet suddenly, twisting the stem of his wine glass between his fingers.
"Are you alright?" She asked, and sat back down at the table. There was a trickle of trepidation at the center of her content haze…but she would have never guessed in a million years what her husband was about to ask her.
"I wanted to discuss something with you." He said.
"So you were trying to butter me up then?" The tease in her tone was meant to be light. Luke was looking nervous and it was beginning to make her really worry.
Luke chuckled at her jest but he didn't deny it. He began talking about their three year marriage, telling her how happy he was and how compatible they were together. Things that sounded good and true, but it all felt wrong now. Shuri nodded quietly, unsure how to react, so she took small sips of her wine to calm her nerves.
And then every single trace of good feeling left over from the nice dinner was completely ripped away from her.
"I want to open our marriage."
The refrigerator hummed.
The faucet they were supposed to fix months ago, dripped water every few seconds.
A car playing loud music drove down their street a fraction too fast.
All of it loud and distracting.
Shuri focused on it, staring at her husband without really seeing him. The silence stretched, killing all hope that this was some sort of joke. He didn't laugh and she didn't move. Instead he looked at her with an open hope that was like a poison.
Irritation grated against the hollowness in her chest. How could he look at her like that when he just changed everything.
"…you want to break up?"
Because what the hell did he mean by 'open our marriage'?
"No! No of course not," He scooted his chair closer to her to grab her hand, "I wasn't lying when I said I was happy. I love our life together, but I thought it might be exciting for us to—"
"Sleep around." Shuri snatched her hand away from him. The man in front of her quickly becoming a stranger to her.
"—to simply meet other people with out restrictions, and still come home to each other."
"I don't understand."
"It will be good for us."
"Good?" Shuri stood fast, forcing her chair to scrape across the tiled floors with a screech, "In what world would this be good for us?!"
Luke opened his mouth again, holding up his hands gently as if trying to coral a wild beast, voice calm. None of his words made sense. It might as well have been a foreign language. Bits and pieces came through but they were all absurd.
The words, "I love you, Shuri," held no meaning to her, and his soft touch at her arm made her skin crawl. She turned on her heel, rewinding her moment of coming home. She slipped on her coat and grabbed her bag, shoving her shoes on and accidentally crushing the back of her right shoe. Shuri couldn't even whisper out a reflexive curse at the mistake.
It was too much.
All of it was too much.
Luke tried to stop her by following her outside, "Where are you going? It's late and you had a lot to drink—"
"Air. I need air." She managed, already breathless.
"I know it's a lot, Shuri," He grabbed her arm, pulling her back from opening her car door, "But just—please—just think about it. I'll respect whatever answer you give me."
RESPECT?!
Shuri almost screamed in his face right then. The word 'No' on the tip of her tongue, but all she could do was stare at him. Trying her best to make sense of how she went from having a nice dinner with her loving husband to whatever the hell this was. She pulled her arm away from his loose grip, got in her car, and drove away without looking back.
With no where else to go, she went back to her work building, flashing her ID to the night guard on auto pilot. It wasn't uncommon for people to work overnight at her building so having a place to stay was one less thing to worry about. Only when she stood alone in the cold elevator, her distorted shell shocked face reflected back to her from the reflective walls, did she come back to herself.
Her husband wanted the two of them to sleep around. He wanted to stay married. He wanted to—He wanted to—He-
The food and wine soured heavily and she rushed to her office quickly to throw up in her private bathroom. With her stomach completely emptied out, Shuri rinsed her mouth, and then face planted on the small couch.
Her phone rang for half a second before Shuri, lightning fast, reached into her purse and turned it off. Shuri ended up staying the night there, some of it spent lightly dozing, most of it spent staring at the opposite wall blankly.
In the morning she made herself a cup of coffee with the personal coffee maker she kept in her office, and ate a granola bar she stashed in her desk. There was a change of clothes in the closet for emergencies, but she didn't care. She just sat at her desk and worked. Kept it strictly to phone calls and answering emails. There was no need for her to leave her office, and if she planned it just right she wouldn't have to meet anyone for the rest of the day either.
However she forgot to account for Namor.
He came into her office with only the briefest knock to alert his entry.
On a normal day she would have snapped at him, but nothing felt normal.
Namor was reading the file in his hand, looking impeccable as always. Hair slicked back and beard neatly trimmed, wearing a deep blue suit. It was unfair how well put together he was when her life was in the middle of unraveling. He flipped a page, "That kid from accounting screwed up the numbers on the Von Doom acquisition. He hates talking to me so you'll have to—" Namor finally looked up and fell silent.
The drop in sound louder then anything else.
Shuri ignored the way he was studying her face. His own face revealing confusion with an edge of surprising concern. She swallowed nervously and reached a hand toward him, "I can take care of it. No problem."
He didn't move. His eyes dropped to the wrinkled top she had worn the day before, then back up to her face. A face that was worn down into something rough and brittle. Her hands shook, and she stood up to snatch the folder from him. There was a brief spark of frustration that lit up the numb dark inside of her when he took a step back.
"Did you want me to help you or not?" She snapped.
There was no usual snarky response back, and he instead closed and locked her door, tossing the file to the side onto her couch. "What's going on?"
"Everything is fine. Just leave the file with me."
"Shuri—"
"Everything is fine!" Her voice cracked pathetically. She pressed a hand to her mouth, quickly looking away from him as the tears she had refused for hours finally fell down her face. The full weight of the night before threatening to crush her. Namor gently guided her to sit down on the couch, then stayed silent as he sat on the opposite end while she sobbed next to him.
And once the tears finally subsided she spilled everything else. Filling Namor in on every useless detail of last nights dinner that ended in her husband's horrible suggestion.
He listened to it all, his face unreadable.
When she was finally done, he said,
"You should do it."
"…What?"
"Take up your husband's offer."
Anger filled her instantly, "That's all you have to say after everything I just said? Are you serious? Why are all men pigs—"
Namor had been searching his phone as she berated him and his entire sex, but she went silent the second he handed his phone to her. It was a reddit forum with the word 'open marriage' in the search bar. She scrolled through to see dozens of posts, all with a variation of a story like the one she had just experienced.
"There are unfortunately hundreds of stories like this. I'm not saying its any less cruel, but almost all of them end with the person in your position doing way better then the spouse that suggested it."
Shuri stared at him incredulously, a humorless laugh tumbling out of her, "This isn't a competition."
"It's not but I hate to see some jackoff, who has someone like you, think he could have more."
"…someone like me?"
"Gorgeous. Capable." He said it like some immovable fact. Not a compliment exactly, just the truth. Shuri felt her face flush, unable to keep his direct gaze. It was strange to be in the same room with him without some sort of argument happening…but it was nice. Namor cleared his throat, and took back his phone, his fingers brushing against hers for a brief electric moment. He paused, then swallowed, the moment pushed back as he said, "Look…Either way your husband is wanting to cheat on you if he hasn't already. He just wants for you to give him permission."
Shuri flinched.
Namor's voice went softer, "He's an idiot on thinking you wouldn't be the most sought after."
"…I don't know."
"Go on a few dates. Don't do anything you don't want to and just have fun. This doesn't have to be about sex. Trust me, he's going to regret this." Namor took the file back, holding it out of her reach as she moved to take it. "I'll take care of this, but don't be upset with me if that kid ends up quitting."
And then he left Shuri alone in her office to mull over their conversation. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, turning it on for the first time that day. Their were dozens of missed calls and texts, all stating that Luke was worried and asking if she was alright. A part of her could almost believe that last night hadn't happened…but the most recent text shoved that belief away.
-Have you had time to think about it-
It hadn't even been 24 hours.
Shuri's hand shook as she texted back,
-Alright. Let's do it-
Coming back home that night had been like walking into another universe. One that she simply sat and existed in as she watched her husband talk to her as if this was just a normal Tuesday. He was giddy and it made her push her plate of food to the side. Another dinner made with all of her favorites. Another insulting bribe for her good will.
They went over the rules of their new arrangement; no one in their home but them, no unprotected sex, no asking for details, dinner together on Fridays.
Shuri agreed to it all.
She stood up and dumped her food into the trash, plate and all. The same plate that had been a gift from their wedding registry.
Luke didn't notice.
What really almost broke her was how quickly her husband had a date set up. An hour after dinner he told her that he was going out the next night. It made her realize that Namor had been right, Luke probably would have done this with or without this arrangement.
Shuri waited until he was in the shower, and checked his phone. It was almost insulting how quickly she found the messages. Jenni, some girl he worked with, texting how excited she was about their date. There were several messages exchanged between them, weeks before Luke had brought up opening their marriage.
She scrolled through all of it, half reading it, then turned it off and set it back where she found it.
The next day Namor helped her set up a dating profile on an app simply called, 'Match'. It had a little match stick as it's logo in mid strike. When Shuri just sat frozen staring at the questionnaire, he rolled her chair away, turned the laptop slightly in his direction, and began answering them for her.
"Hey!"
"You're over thinking it, Shuri. It's just a date. No one is asking you to fall in love."
"I know that." She grumbled, but her attention caught on the fact that he was answering the questionnaire perfectly.
Her favorite color. (Purple)
Her favorite food. (Her body weight in pasta)
What she did on her free time. (Scroll through tik tok after deliberately stating she was going to go read a book)
Each correct answer was making her cheeks go hot. "How do you know all this?!"
"What's my favorite drink?"
"Dirty Chai latte, hotter then the sun." She said automatically, then blinked.
He grinned and continued to fill in her profile, "See? We've worked together for years, of course we know each other. Annnnnd done—" Namor hit enter before she could stop him, and watched as the little match emoji lit up as her dating profile loaded.
"Goddammit, Namor!"
"Now we wait."
"This is so fucking weird." Shuri said, squeezing her finger where her wedding ring should be. She didn't have the heart to put it on.
"…How's the husband?"
She thought about the text messages she had looked through, the giddiness in his demeanor. "Happy." She said flatly, but then she shook her head, not wanting to think about him, and waved a hand at her computer, "Thank you, for this." He was the only one who knew about this, and she was too mortified to tell her mother or friends what was happening.
"Sabotaging your marriage? No problem." He grinned when he got a half smile out of her, then directed her attention back to work for a few hours. Frustrating her over some minor detail that didn't matter but it helped Shuri forget everything for a moment.
Shuri stared at her phone in the dark of her room, her husbands soft breathing no longer a comfort. The little match emoji app staring right back at her. There was a little red dot at the corner of the app, revealing that there was a notification, but she didn't dare open it. She turned off the phone and looked at Luke's peacefully sleeping face. He never had trouble sleeping.
She wanted to sock him in his stupid face.
Luke had gone out on his first date a few days ago, and had come home smelling of perfume that wasn't hers, and then had the audacity to look sheepish. They didn't talk for the rest of that night.
Then their Friday dinner came and he sent her a message telling her that he would be working late and never came home until the next day with that same sheepish look. That same perfume. He had broken their rule within the first week. She wanted to scream, "Why even bother coming home at all!?" But she didn't say anything at all.
'He's going to regret this.'
The clock read four a.m. and she let out a sigh. She got up and got ready for work, leaving an hour before he would wake up.
Namor found her half asleep at her desk. She hadn't even heard him knock. He looked at the empty granola wrappers on her desk, the now ice cold coffee she had only taken a few sips from, then snatched up her phone and swiped it open. "Did you look through your matches?"
"Um," Shuri rubbed at her eyes, turning her face away. It had been days and all she could do was look at the little app's match emoji with it's little red dot. "Not exactly."
"Look." He flipped the phone around and showed her her profile, dozens of matches and messages filling her inbox. Oh. With careful fingers she took the phone back from him, stunned from the amount. She had never used a dating app before, but this felt like a lot.
It was…extremely flattering.
The only thing she could say was, "Whoa."
"I told you. Now you just have to choose." Namor stretched himself across her couch, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table and giving her an expectant look.
"Right now?!"
"Right now." He said with that tone of finality that she always instinctively fought against when they were going over work, but now it made everything in her seize up.
With a tentative tap, she opened up the list of matches. She spent the better part of twenty minutes reading each of the profiles, quickly doing away with the ones she didn't like, but actually narrowing it to one was what was giving her trouble. Shuri stood up and sat down next to Namor, tilting her phone in his direction. "How about this one."
He had been looking through emails through his cell phone, and put it down to look at the profile. Namor studied it as seriously as he would over legal documents. "He seems harmless. I'd say go for it."
Go for it.
Shuri repeated in her head, then sent a message to confirm a date.
Go for it.
"Here." Namor plucked the phone from her hands and typed in a number and handed it back. "This is to my personal phone."
"What's this for?"
"If the guy turns out to be a creep, call me. I don't mind."
She felt her heart flip, scooting back when she realized how close they were sitting, "Thank you."
And just like that, she was on her first date in years.
She met her husband after she had graduated college, dated for two years before they decided to get married. It was simple and neat, no apps required. She didn't have any experience with this side of dating. It had been nerve wracking at first, but it was surprisingly fun. She had already listed in her profile that she wasn't looking for anything serious, and that alone seemed to cut all the stiffness and expectation out of the equation.
So she went on another.
And another.
For a few weeks she had a date every other night and never with the same person. She had mentioned to Namor early on that since this wasn't serious she didn't want to go out with anyone more then once. He thought it a sound idea, and would ask her how her dates went. There were few that were terrible, but most of them were fun. Shuri went to the restaurants that she had been wanting to go to, went dancing for the first time in years, had first kisses that were awkward but then would turn into enthusiastic make out sessions full of roaming hands and ending with messy hair. She felt like a teenager sneaking around but with none of the consequences.
It was exhilarating, and with each date she felt her confidence coming back, building brick by brick. She wasn't a hundred percent, but she was much better then before.
Namor had asked her once, tentatively, "Did you ever suspect that he would do this? Your husband I mean."
"…No. Everything was…good between us. We actually never even had a fight before."
"What?" He looked at her bewildered, "You've been with him for years. How is that possible?"
Shuri didn't realize how strange it was until she said it out loud. She just…didn't notice it before. Things were easy and simple and they were both busy with work. It just never occurred to her that things were maybe…off. "I—" She swallowed, "I yelled at him for the first time when he…and even then we didn't really argue."
Namor let out a low hum of acknowledgment, sitting with the information. "…Maybe you kept all of those arguments just for me. How fortunate." The offhanded comment flipped Shuri's anxiety and she couldn't help but laugh a little. Then he redirected their conversation.
Her unrecognizable life was beginning to become the norm. She was surprised how well she was adapting to it.
The best part was that Luke was beginning to notice.
At first he had been too distracted with his phone. Texting non stop or rushing out of the room to have a hushed conversation that he thought she couldn't hear. But then she came home, her dress rumpled and her hair a bit of a mess, smelling of another man's cologne, and he stopped dead. He opened his mouth, then quickly shut it.
She just smiled and told him, "Good night."
The growing distance between them bothered her less and less.
"What's wrong with this one?"
"I don't like the look of him." Namor said plainly, he had barely glanced at her phone, taking a bite of his sandwich. They were having lunch together in his office, a common occurrence now ever since Namor had helped her. The unexpected friendship forming within the bizarre chaos of her failing marriage. They still butted heads with anything work related, but Shuri was content with this new arrangement.
Shuri scoffed and looked at the profile again, Marc Spector. He was cute, really cute, and interesting. She frowned and placed her phone down, and picked up her fork to eat the rest of her pasta salad. "Well it's a good thing that we already had a date last Sunday." They had also been texting for awhile now too, but she left that part out.
"…What?" He stared at her as if she had told him the she believed the world was flat. "I've never even seen that profile before."
"You keep vetoing every person I show you now." She said, pushing her food around. Shuri had generally asked his opinions about potential dates, and at first he had been extremely helpful. Giving her tips about which ones to avoid, and would warn her about a few to say no to, but then a few turned to nearly half of the profiles. All of them dismissed with a vague answer as to why. The other day he had said no to all of them. "Besides, I need to start making dating decisions without you. I can't rely on you forever."
Namor slowly placed his food down, face blank, "Of course." He paused for a beat before saying, "Tell me about him."
"Marc is an archeologist with a focus on Egyptian history. He's a workaholic like me and a recent divorcee. I even told him about my situation and he was really understanding. We have another date tonight, and he said that—" She paused, her insides clenching at the look Namor was giving her. He looked tense. "What's wrong?"
He moved stiffly, rubbing a hand into the back of his neck, "…I thought you said you didn't want to do second dates."
Shuri blinked, putting down her own fork. She completely lost her appetite. She wasn't sure as to why the next words felt suddenly heavy, "I like Marc. I thought maybe another date would be nice."
There was a long stretch of silence, Namor studying her face carefully, before finally looking away, "That's great. I'm happy for you, Shuri." He smiled and it didn't sit right on his face.
A part of her wanted to cancel her date that night with Marc. Her lunch with Namor had left her feeling off balance. The last look he had given her was branded in her mind, a smile that wasn't a smile. It was a look she had never seen on his face before. She sat in her car, fingers drumming along the back of her steering wheel in thought, sitting outside of the restaurant she was going to meet Marc at in about fifteen minutes.
Surprisingly her decision was made when her husband called her.
"Where are you?"
Shuri blinked in confusion, "I—."
"We agreed to having dinner together on Fridays."
She pulled back her phone to give it a look Luke wouldn't be able to see, but she had to give the side eye to something, "You mean the same Fridays you've been skipping for over a month now? Those Fridays?"
"I-I was busy with work."
Liar.
Her mind went to the text messages she looked through whenever he left his phone unattended. Proof that those Fridays were spent with his girlfriend. How had she never noticed how easily he could lie to her? He wasn't even good at it.
"And you expected me to wait for you when you finally remembered me?" She asked, unsurprised by the total silence on the other line. "I made plans. I'll be home later." Then she hung up before he could say another word.
Screw him.
Shuri got out of the car, determined to enjoy the rest of her night.
…Only to have her date ironically cancel on her.
Ugh.
She had been a few drinks in when Marc messaged her to let her know he had a family emergency with his brother, and would make it up to her. It was fine honestly, but she still didn't want to go home. She ordered a few more drinks until she had an assortment of bottles and different sized glasses to mark the type of cocktails she had.
A sad mosaic of how her night went.
Fully drunk, Shuri snapped a photo of her table and without much thought she sent it to Namor. Then struggled to come up with a text;
-Date bailed so I drank the bar-
Erased it.
-Luke is a dick and I hope he gets leprosy-
Erased it
-Your stupid handsome face ruined my night-
Erased it.
Namor called her before she could write out another text, "I've been watching that little incoming text bubble for about ten minutes now."
"Shit." She said, then immediately giggled.
"Are you alright?"
"Your voice is really very pretty up close."
"…your drunk."
Shuri waved her hand over her table with a flourish like he could see her, "Did you not see the photo?"
"Where is your date?"
"He couldn't make it and I didn't want to go home just yet," She pulled her phone away to squint at the time. "Oh shit I ssshould go, bye Namor." Then promptly hung up.
Only for him to call back immediately, "Did you drive?"
"Yes."
She hung up again.
He called back.
"Shuri, goddammit, stay right where you are. I'll pick you up."
For her part, she actually listened and didn't argue…what she did do was get another drink while she waited. Shuri was in mid sip when he arrived, plucking the drink right out of her hand with a disapproving look.
"Hey! That's mine!" She whined.
"You are entirely too small to be drinking this much." Namor grumbled, placing the unfinished drink on the far side of the table where she couldn't reach and sat down across from her. He looked nice, polished in a more casual way, his shirt unbuttoned at the top, showing an enticing portion of his neck.
Shuri reached over and pulled at his collar. "You look nice."
"Wow," He deadpanned, taking her hand in his and pulling it away from his shirt. Namor didn't let go right away, his thumb rubbing down the back of her hand and sending a thrill up her arm, "A compliment from the ice queen herself."
"Shut up." She yanked her hand back, "I've complimented you before, I—I said you have a surprising amount of confidence the other week."
"Your exact words were 'I'm surprised you can walk through the office doors with that fat head of yours'."
"The intent was similar." Shuri shrugged, "Why are you all dressed up anyway?"
"I was on a date myself when you called."
That sobered her for a few seconds, her stomach twisting sourly. "Oh—I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. I told you to call me if you needed me. Let me take you home." Namor stood, and Shuri tried her best not to stare at the way his forearms looked with his dress shirt rolled up, but everything was too hazy as to why she shouldn't notice it now when she'd ignored it before. He held out his hand and helped her out of her seat, keeping her close as he escorted her to his car.
The car ride had Shuri nodding off, leaning her face against the cold glass of the passenger side window. It was warm and she was wrapped up in his scent like a well worn scarf. She didn't even notice when he had parked the car until he gently shook her arm.
"Do you need help inside?"
She woke with a start, staring at her house with her husband's car in the driveway. A home they had chosen together. Shuri chose the wall paint and furniture. Every inch of space touched with a mixture of her and Luke's tastes. Strangely, the place looked abandoned somehow. Like every good thing that made it theirs and comfortable was squeezed out.
"No, I'm good."
'Good' apparently meant her face planting into a bush after having walked five steps away from his car. She heard his sigh before she felt his hands on her, lifting her easily out of the bush and brushing the leaves out of her curls. The proximity had her quickly pushing away from him and nearly falling into that damn bush again.
"Easy, Shuri!" Namor's hands shot out and caught her. "Stop being so stubborn. I'll just walk you to the door."
"I'm not stubborn, your fat head is stubborn."
"Yes, yes." He said flatly, guiding her down the unexplainably long path to her house. Namor had to lean her against the door as he unlocked it for her after she dropped her keys. Not waiting for her to fumble with them a second time. The door swung open and she stepped inside. "Was that so…"
They both froze, Shuri sobering for a painful clarifying moment.
The lights were on but her husband was nowhere to be seen…but she could hear him and he wasn't alone. Their moans echoing down the halls from their shared bedroom. Shuri shouldn't have been as shell shocked as she was. She knew this was what he had meant by opening their marriage.
She knew.
But somehow hearing it put everything into painful clarity. The reality of her situation crashing into her so strongly that her knees buckled.
For the second time that night, Namor caught her and gently eased her away, bringing her back to his car.
Shuri didn't say a word or resist him when Namor brought her up to his apartment, and was sat down on his bed a handful of disconnected moments later. She couldn't tell how much time had past. She blinked and she was suddenly in Namor's bedroom. She was just blank. Her mind trying to process everything, but nothing was clicking.
Only when Namor spoke did she come back to the surface, "Shuri," Namor said gently, placing some pajamas down next to her, "I'm going to get you some water. You should get changed while I'm in the kitchen. Take the bed for the night and get some rest."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it."
"I'm really sorry." She whispered again, clutching the the fabric of her dress. He didn't respond this time, just lifted his hand, hovering it just next to her cheek. He instead awkwardly dropped his hand and patted her shoulder before leaving her alone. The door was closed for privacy, but she didn't move. She couldn't. She just stared ahead of her.
Another blink of time and he was back.
Namor knocked and waited several seconds longer then he would have if this had been a normal day at work. She heard his sigh as soon as he saw that she didn't move an inch. Still dressed in the purple lace dress she had chosen for the night. He placed a glass of water and aspirin bottle on the bed side table, then kneeled in front of her and wordlessly began undoing the strap of one of her heels.
"He broke one of our rules."
Namor carefully slipped off one shoe, his fingers lingering on her ankle before moving to her other foot. His voice was quiet when he responded, "It looks like he's broken a lot of things." His eyes flicking up to hers briefly.
Anger finally wormed it's way into the blankness of everything, because Namor was right. Luke had broken everything while expecting Shuri to just be there as a constant.
And for what?
To sleep with someone ten years younger then him? She had looked at Jenni's profile on her husband's company website. The words 'newest member of the team' in bold letters under her name. The woman hadn't even been with the company for a year.
"I haven't even had sex yet," She admitted breathlessly, her anger mounting, "I should be though. I should be having lots of sex. More then that jackass…The next date, for sure, I'll have sex with my next date."
"Shuri—" Namor started, but was promptly cut off by the steamroll of Shuri's drunken thought process.
"I will. A whole night. All of the sex. All of it, Namor. And then I'll shove it in his face how much better they are at it then him." Shuri held up her hands to count off, alcohol making her tongue loose and brain dumb, "Oral, vaginal, anal…fingers…tongue…" She paused in confusion, "Am I missing something?"
"I think you covered it." He said, chuckling. Still kneeling in front of her with her barefoot in his lap. His hand warm and loosely clamped around her ankle.
And she noticed again how good he looked tonight. How good he looked everyday since she had met him when they were first assigned to a project together all those years ago. Shuri reached out and tugged on his collar the way she had done earlier that night. Namor stilled, the only movement was his throat as he swallowed when she moved her fingers to his neck.
"I'm sorry about your date."
"I told you to call if you needed me."
"You also told me I was gorgeous."
It was like all of the air left the room, hanging on the Namor's next words.
"…I did."
"Do you still think that?"
The hold on her ankle tightened, "Yes."
Shuri slipped off the bed and into his lap, their mouths coming together in a combined groan. His hand instantly slid up her back to pull her flush to him. Everything that had been blank filled with the touch of his hands clawing at her back, his tongue against hers, and that very alluring sound he was making in the back of his throat when she swiveled her hips down.
Namor turned and laid her down on the carpet, his weight on top of her. Her hands roamed up his sides and back, affection starved and desperate. As if she was never truly touched until this moment.
With her skirts shoved up around her hips, Namor had an easier time grinding into her, and Shuri felt him hard and wanting. The friction had her melting into the carpet.
"Yes—" She choked out, his mouth finding a sensitive spot at her neck. Her fingers moved to his dress shirt and began to undo the buttons with clumsy fingers. The want to touch him screaming through every one of her senses. "Namor, you feel so—"
Namor was suddenly off of her with a gasp, hauling her back up onto the bed, and gripping her hips hard as if he needed her to regain his balance. Then he stepped back and broke the connection, voice rough, "We can't. You're–"
Shuri felt her heart drop into her stomach. Her mind still a tangle to properly process anything but his rejection, and the fact that he wasn't looking at her. "…oh, um, alright."
He opened his mouth, shut it, let out a brief curse, then rushed into the bathroom. A few seconds later Shuri could hear the shower running.
The next morning Shuri woke up, still in the dress from last night and the covers up past her chin. Her body feeling like the equivalent of a train wreck.
"Fuck…" She groaned, pulling the covers up over head to block out the morning light. It smelled like Namor and she quickly shoved the blankets off of her face. She didn't remember everything from last night, she couldn't remember when she even passed out, but she remembered the more important parts.
Cancelled date. Copious amounts of alcohol. Her husband breaking a rule. Kissing Namor.
…Namor rejecting her.
Her eyes irrationally filled with tears, his voice a mantra in her aching skull,
We can't. We can't. We can't.
What did she think was going to happen? He has been listening to her trauma dump on him for several weeks now and he took pity on her and helped her and was nicer then she had ever thought possible…and then she just went after him to get back at her husband.
Thanks for your help, now let me just use you for an hour.
He must think her so pathetic.
A few tears slipped down her cheeks and she quickly rubbed her face.
"Stupid. You're so fucking stupid."
Shuri forced herself out of bed, wanting to get home as soon as possible, but the moment she bent over to grab her shoes her stomach twisted sharply and she made a detour to the bathroom.
Cool.
She can add throwing up in his house to her list of what Namor has had to endure because of her.
After her stomach had emptied everything, and made a silent vow to never drink again, she borrowed Namor's mouth wash to rinse out her mouth. If she could add never throwing up to her 'never again' list she would.
The apartment sounded quiet when she was done. Maybe Namor had gone out?
Her phone rang. The sound assaulting her from all angles, "Ugh!" She quickly answered it to make it stop, making another silent vow to keep her phone forever on silent. "Hello?"
"Shuri, I'm so sorry about last night."
"Marc? Good morning, don't worry about it." She winced, the light from the open curtains too bright. She walked over and closed them. "How's your brother, Jake, right?"
"He's in jail."
"Oh! I'm sorry? That sounds like you had a long night."
"It was. I was hoping to tell you about it over dinner."
Shuri blinked, her mind somersaulting through a dozen thoughts, "Y-yeah. That would be nice."
"Yeah? That's great. Would tonight work? I want to make it up to you."
"Tonight works." She said lightly. The memory of Namor's mouth on hers forced its self into focus. She squeezed her eyes shut, repeating, "Tonight works. I expect two desserts as an apology for you bailing on me."
"Naturally."
She smiled, or tried to. It came out more like a grimace and she was grateful that Marc wouldn't be able to see her. They said their goodbyes and she let out a long depressed sigh. She wanted to lie back down.
"You're going on another date with the guy that ditched you last night?"
Shuri's whole body flinched and she had to bite back a hiss from the intense ache of it. She slowly turned from the closed window to see Namor standing in the bedroom doorway, holding two small to go coffees and a brown paper bag. The smell of warm baked goods reaching her from the distance, explaining where he had gone.
His eyebrows were knit together, lips pressed in a thin line.
She swallowed, pocketing her phone and looking away from him, "It wasn't on purpose, and he wanted to make it up to me."
Namor closed the distance between them, handing her one of the cups, the whole time his eyes never leaving her face. She tentatively took it from him. The cup was so small in his larger hand that it was impossible to grab it without their fingers touching, but when she pulled back he didn't let go, forcing her to look at him.
"Are we going to talk about last night?"
The topic should have been expected, but it still had her throat tighten up. Shuri took stalk of their situation. She stood there before him; wrinkled dress she wore the night before, a hangover she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy, and still technically married despite her having taken her ring off the moment Luke ruined everything.
…and then there was Namor who had been nothing but kind to her and she went and ruined it.
She tried her best to keep her face innocent as she said, "What happened last night? Everything is a bit of blur after I got back in your car."
The lie felt worse then vomiting.
Namor's eyes widened a fraction, his hand releasing its hold on the coffee so she could take it, letting it fall to his side. Her heart dropped like a heavy stone in her stomach at the confused hurt clear on his face.
"…nothing." He said, flat and rough.
Shuri pressed a little too hard on her brakes as she parked in front of her house. Her car making a head splitting screech. She let out a shaky breath, leaving her forehead pressed against the steering wheel as she turned off her car.
The lie still weighing heavy in her stomach.
"It's better this way." She said to no one.
Convincing no one.
She tried to remember why she thought it a smart thing to pretend nothing happened between them. It gave him an out if he needed it, and a chance to not have an awkward work environment, and…he didn't have to pity fuck his pathetic coworker…
The memory of his weight on top of her, his mouth deliciously hot and soft, had her letting out another shaky breath.
In reality she was just a coward.
Because if it was 'remembered' she would risk needing to address the way her heart has been reaching for him.
Shuri rubbed at her chest and stiffly stepped out of the car, adjusting her sunglasses to block out that jackass of a sun. How was she doing the walk of shame without having had gotten laid? That seemed universally unfair.
She kicked out of her shoes immediately with a groan the second she stepped inside her house. "Never drinking ever again." She hissed out quietly.
There was movement from the kitchen, a glass being set down and a shuffling before Luke appeared in the archway that connected the rooms. He gave her a brief up and down, his lip curling. The bottom half of her dress crumpled, there was a tear in her stocking, and her hair was flat on one side.
Shuri wanted to snort at the absurdity of the situation.
"The whole night, Shuri?" Luke crossed his arms, "Don't you think that's a bit much?"
She very carefully fixed the strap of her bag, saving all of her energy to look neutral, "I did come home, but you were busy and I didn't want to interrupt your date." The words landed and Shuri's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she watched his face go completely slack. "Speaking of which, I'm going out again tonight."
"With the same person from last night?"
"Nope." Shuri said simply, not offering anything more then that. She didn't need to.
Luke searched her face, and she saw the moment when it all clicked. His face looking ashen. "You've been with more then one person?"
"Of course. I thought that was the point of all this."
"I—Yeah. Sure. I just didn't realize you were uh…You never mentioned—"
"No details. Remember?"
His eyes flashed brightly and he quickly whipped away from her to go back into the kitchen. He was in a mood for the rest of the day, constantly wanting her attention and it felt like he was trying to start a fight, but she wasn't interested in participating.
All she could focus on was the fact she had kissed Namor, before switching to that expression on his face when she had lied to him. It plagued her as she went through her house like a ghost, drifting from room to room, going through mundane tasks and later getting ready for her date. She chose a nice teal dress, shoes to match, make up and hair artfully done. She had been doing it for weeks now that she had no problem doing it on autopilot.
Marc was perfectly fine.
He was interesting, handsome, sending her all the signals that this could go farther if she wanted it to. And she tried, she really tried. She was flirty and smiled and leaned in when he kissed her—but all she could think about was Namor.
When had her thoughts become so full of him?
The night ended with a defeated sigh, coming home to a husband that was now looking at her again. The way he used to before all of this mess.
Shuri made a point to sleep in the guest room that night.
The following work week was torture.
Whatever friendship that had grown between her and Namor was gone. He rarely spoke to her unless it was work related and their daily lunches that had become a highlight to her day was done. Namor always found a way out of them and she had to bite back her disappointment.
What did she expect?
However, it was worse then that, because it didn't even go back to how things were before. Even their dumb little arguments were gone. He gave no push back to any of her ideas. No challenge to make her think of a better way.
They became coworkers that were civil, something that they should have always been, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Every day she wanted to tell him the truth, to tell him sorry. The way he would avoid looking at her, jaw clenched, would kill that want instantly.
She would eat her lunch alone, sit in her car after work to scroll through her 'Match' messages, delete each one with disinterest, then go out to eat dinner…alone. An unwelcome change was when she finally did come home her husband would be waiting for her.
Somehow gaining her husband back while she apparently lost Namor's friendship.
It made her heart ache. Every beat a fresh raw wound now.
Luke would smile at her when she walked through, that same warm look before everything went wrong. He would bring up old memories of when they first met, as if that would turn back the clock. She played along, smiling at all the right moments and giving him just enough to think that things were fine between them, but they both were just playing house at this point.
Because she knew that he was still talking to Jenni, could still smell her perfume on him, her name flashing on Luke's phone before he quickly grabbed it to walk into the other room. Anger flared in her at the unfairness of it all.
She lost Namor, but he got to keep Jenni?
Bullshit.
Her husband was careless with his things, leaving his phone in various parts of the house and always misplacing it. She waited until he was in the shower before pulling his phone out of her pocket, having snatched it when he had left it on the couch. She didn't hesitate when she pulled up Jenni's number, a small red heart emoji right next to her name.
Just like he'd done with Shuri's name.
Shuri jabbed a finger on the green call button.
She answered on the second ring.
"Hey, baby!" A young vibrant voice came through the phone. She sounded as young as she looked, Shuri thought distantly. "Did you want to come over tonight?"
"Is this Jenni?"
"…Yes…who is this? Why do you have my boyfriends phone?" Jenni's obvious confusion had Shuri's eyes widening. Did she not know? Shuri had only called her with the intention of bad mouthing her husband somehow. She honestly didn't have a plan when she called, just a lot of anger with no place to put it, but Jenni gave her something else, and she calmed down instantly
"I'm his wife."
There had been a long pause before Jenni finally spoke, "Why do you have his phone?"
"Luke's just in the shower. He left his phone on our bed."
"He said—he told me him that you two were separated."
Of course he did, Shuri thought, cutting a side eye in Luke's direction.
"Not quite. Do you want to hear the version he gave me?"
"Yes." Jenni said quietly. The earlier bubbly voice completely deflated.
A part of Shuri felt bad for the girl, but not bad enough to tell her a slightly embellished truth. "My husband wanted to open our marriage to date other people, but we still come back to each other. He's mentioned your name more then all of the other girls so I was curious."
A beat passed.
"Other girls!?" Jenni screeched so loud that Shuri had to pull the phone from her ear quickly. The girl continued to scream a number of profanities and all of them directed at an unsuspecting Luke. She wouldn't be sitting down quietly about Luke's infidelity.
Shuri hung up the phone and placed it back where she found it. A pressure unlocking in her chest and allowing her to finally breathe a little clearer. Then went to bed in the guest room.
It all, of course, came to a boiling point with Namor.
One of the interns had made a clerical mistake that had been copied and pasted enough times to mess up days of work. All of which had to be fixed within hours before a deadline they could not push back. Shuri, Namor, and two other colleagues were tasked with fixing all of it.
They worked late into the night, copious amounts of coffee split between them as they worked in Namor's office. Cramped together on the small coffee table with the file spread between them. This wasn't new to any of them as it had happened before and inevitably would happen again, but there was one notable difference.
Namor would defer all of Shuri's questions to everyone else, "Ask Cecilia," or, "Tom should know." All said with a careful disinterest as he typed away at his laptop. It chipped away at Shuri, leaving her feeling raw. Even Celia and Tom appeared confused by it.
She had never thought there would be a day that she would miss arguing with him over something as stupid as a document title, but she did. Terribly.
It was nearly midnight when they finished. Cecilia and Tom left first, both tiredly laughing in relief as they said goodbye. Namor was shrugging on his coat when Shuri felt her phone buzz in her purse. Luke messaged her, asking where she was and she quickly sent back a text that she was still at work.
Shuri looked up to find Namor staring at her, then he quickly looked away.
"Good night." He said, then opened his office door—
"What the hell is your problem!?"
They both froze. Shuri hadn't meant to scream at him. She hadn't even realized it was her own voice until the silence fell heavy between them. Namor stared at her with wide eyed alarm, quietly shutting the door closed and trapping both of them inside.
"My problem?" He asked in disbelief.
Shuri took a deep breath and tossed her bag on the small couch, "You've ignored me the whole day. The whole week."
"I didn't—"
"It's not the same and you know it. We wouldn't even be here if you did. You would have caught the mistake because your are so absurdly detail oriented. You would have marched right into my office to make all of these insipid little demands, but we would have caught the mistake and we wouldn't—" Shuri made a half gesture at the office, "We were at least talking before…and now…"
"Sorry," Namor said flatly, cold, "I didn't feel like talking about your dating life lately."
She flinched, "That's not what I meant. I just…I missed you."
The room felt suddenly too small. All available space shrunk to just the two of them. Namor stared at her, his jaw clenched tight as he mulled over what she had admitted. He finally moved, shrugging off his coat and tossing it to the side.
Then he took a slow step toward her, "I can't keep doing this, Shuri."
"Doing what?"
He took another, crowding her back until she hit the wall behind her.
"I don't want to hear another word about you being with anyone else."
"Namor—?"
"It was fine. All of it was fine. I didn't mind helping you, and you looked happier after all the crap your husband put you through and I was happy to have been apart of that but I—somewhere along the way I-" He let out a short self deprecating little laugh, roughly dragging a hand through his hair, "I don't even fucking know, and I feel insane, but what I do know is I don't want to hear about you being with anyone else. Not your husband, not this recent guy that you were desperate to be with, no one," He said, his eyes boring into hers as they stood toe to toe, "Do you understand, Shuri?"
"I didn't sleep with him." Shuri admitted quietly. She felt his whole body go still from how close he was to her. "I couldn't get our kiss out of my head."
Namor's eyes narrowed, "…you lied to me."
"I'm sorry—"
"You acted like that night hadn't happened."
"I did-I-I thought it would be better that way in case you didn't want me because I-" She stopped short, the heat of her mortification making her dizzy.
"…because you what, Shuri?"
"Because I…I want you so badly it hurts—"
Namor crushed her to the wall, his mouth on hers before she could utter another word. Kissing her so hard that she completely forgot why she even thought it was a good idea to stop this from happening. She fisted her hands into his shirt, hooking a leg around his hip so his hand could smooth up her thigh and push her skirt up and away.
Kissing him sober was an entirely different experience. None of her senses were dulled. She felt every inch of him pressed to her.
Shuri gasped as he lifted her an inch higher, pinning her to the wall with his hips pressed to hers. "The door-Namor—Someone could—" He bit at the sensitive spot on her neck and that thought disappeared with a quickness.
"Tell me, Shuri," He rasped into her throat, "I'm not doing this as a one time thing. Tell me to stop now if that isn't something that you want."
She didn't hesitate to reach between them and undo his belt buckle, "What part of 'I want you badly' did you not understand?"
Namor chuckled darkly, "Good." The second he was free, he pushed her underwear to the side and slammed into her in one fluid motion. He gave her a few seconds to adjust, to bask at the feeling of him fully seated inside of her, and then Namor set a pace so brutally fast that Shuri didn't even have a chance to breathe.
Sparks lit up along her spine as he slammed her back into the wall. If anyone was still in the office they would know exactly what was happening.
Her pleasure built hot and fast. The tension that had been mounting for the past several weeks were finally given the space for her to let go. They were too caught up in the moment to go any slower or take their time. Desperate in that delicious way that had them forget everything else around them.
"Let me feel you cum, Shuri." Namor growled low, the sound igniting the final push she needed.
She came with a brief shriek that Namor quickly pressed his lips to catch it before she was any louder. Pleasure pulsed under her skin hotly, her limbs becoming liquid heat. The only thing holding her up was Namor still pinning her to the wall as he continued to drive into her.
"N-Namor!"
"Again."
"Namor. Namor Namor—"
He slammed into her with a shout, pressing his forehead against hers as he came, gasping and beautiful. "You wanted the whole night. Remember?"
"Ye—"
Namor kissed her before she could fully answer, "Then you'll be coming home with me."
No argument there.
"I-I thought we were—" Shuri held onto the edge of his office desk as if her life depended on it. Namor's head between her thighs, "I thought we were going to your place!" Instead, they barely made it two feet before Namor stripped her bare and placed her on his desk, carelessly pushing everything on the surface to the side.
The flat of his tongue teased her sex, his fingers pumping inside of her at a languid pace. He looked up at her innocently. "Might as well fulfill a few fantasies of mine while we're still here."
"You could at least be naked too!" She whined, back arching when he curled his fingers. Distantly she could hear the sound of her phone buzzing in her bag. Namor must have heard it too, because he began pumping his fingers a little faster, bringing her focus solely back to him. "Namor, what did you mean by fantasy?"
Instead of answering her, his lips suctioned to her clit, flicking his tongue with a bit more force. It stole whatever complaint or thought Shuri may have had. She was so close again. Tell tale signs of it twirling up her spine.
Then her phone started buzzing again.
Damnit
"Shit, let me turn that off."
Namor let out a curse, but surprised her when he rolled his chair back to give her some space. A ridiculous shyness overcame her then, sitting on top of his desk naked as he stared at her like she was the only thing that mattered. Her eyes drifted down, momentarily forgetting all about the damn phone.
He hadn't fully undressed. His shirt was unbuttoned, and his pants were still pulled up but undone. Her breath caught when she saw that he was slowly stroking himself as he watched her slide off the desk.
It made her forget what she had even said before—
The phone began buzzing again.
Right.
"Fuck." Shuri grumbled, but when she tried to move Namor was on her again. Twisting her around until her hands were braced against the surface of the desk. He pushed her down until she was just on her elbows. "Nam—ah-AH-!" Her words choked off when she felt a single wet finger push past the tight ring of flesh. Everything narrowing down to just sensation.
"I remember very distinctly that you made a list of all the things you wanted to do." He said casually, as if he wasn't pumping a finger into her ass.
"I-I—was drunk!" Her body went as taut as a bow string as he worked another finger inside of her, preparing her. "Oh my god—oh my god—"
"And I'm detail oriented."
She wanted to laugh but it came out as a garbled moan.
"We don't have to go any further then this, Shuri."
"It's—Hah—It's been a while since-ah!" Embarrassment flooded her, mixing with the pleasure and making her entire body a furnace, but god did it feel good. She let out another whine, pushing back against his fingers. Namor's other hand tilted her chin back to look at him, leaning down to give her a brief searing kiss.
His eyes were completely black, his breathing erratic, "Tell me to stop now or—"
"Don't stop."
Namor let out a curse, then let go of her chin. He lubed himself up with his own spit, only pulling his fingers out of her to replace it with the head of his cock. All of the air left her lungs when he pushed in.
"Oh fu—god, Namor!"
He hushed her gently, kissing her shoulder blade, "I know, I know, your doing so well for me, Shuri. You feel perfect—you're perfect." Namor continued to praise her as he sank inch by inch into her. An eternity passed until he bottomed out, hips flush to hers.
Then he moved and her world became blindingly hot.
The wood creaked under them, not because of Namor's gentle thrusts, but because he was gripping the edge of the desk so hard that she was sure it would break. His restraint present in the strained way he was breathing.
Shuri couldn't even think straight, but she somehow managed to say, "Faster."
Namor obliged instantly, pushing into her harder. The sound of their slicked skin slapping obscenely. Mixed with Namor's own whimpered groans.
"Faster." She wailed muffled into her arms. Her hips were being shoved into his desk, and she was distantly aware that it was going to leave a bruise, but it was nothing compared to how good everything felt. Her cunt pulsing in the rhythm of her chaotic heart beat. She was close, just right at the edge. To delirious to be embarrassed that she was going to cum like this. "Like that just like that, Namor—Please—"
And for the second time that night Shuri came with Namor buried deep inside her. Too swept up in her own euphoria to hear his own cry of his own release against her back.
Her ringing phone and husband completely forgotten.
"Hey, Shuri?" Namor said, leaning heavily on her back.
"Mmhmm…" She laid her head on its side to look back at him, smiling when he pressed a kiss to the corner of her lips. She wanted to hibernate for a year. Her body would be sore later, but for now she felt like warm taffy. Her over sensitized skin humming from the way his hand stroked down her side.
"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me sometime—ah!"
Shuri elbowed him weakly, and they both broke out into a fit of laughter.
This time, waking up in Namor's bed was a massive improvement then the first time she had done it. Her body still ached but in a much preferred way. She stretched her arms like a content cat under the arm Namor had slung across her waist, waking him in the process. He let out a content groan and pulled her closer into his side.
"Good morning," He said groggily into her neck.
Shuri put a shy hand on the back of his head, petting his hair lightly. "Good morning."
"So," Namor pressed a kiss to her skin, "Are we going to talk about last night?"
"I remember everything if that's what your getting at."
"That's a good start."
"…I don't want this to be a one time thing either."
"Getting better." Namor rolled on top of her, comfortably crushing her to the mattress. He looked the most disheveled she had ever seen him outside of work. His hair charmingly sticking out at odd ends and looking like a bird with ruffled feathers. "What about your husband?"
As if on cue her phone began buzzing again. Shuri sighed and had to struggle reaching for her phone. Namor refusing to move off of her. She took a quick glance at the phone and answered.
"Hey, Luke."
Namor gave her the most offended look that she nearly laughed. She bit her lip and firmly held the back of Namor's neck to keep him anchored to her. He let out a huff and settled back against her chest.
"Where are you? You didn't come home." He sounded irritated, and it would have annoyed her if she wasn't so happy.
"I texted and said I had work. I ended up staying over night. Did you need something?"
Luke went quiet for several seconds. Not used to the flippant tone in Shuri's voice. "…We need to talk. Come home."
"I'm busy." She sighed. Namor was beginning to kiss her skin again, a lazy path from her chest to her throat. "You can tell me over the phone."
"It's not something to talk about over the phone, Shuri. I need you."
"Are things not working out with your friend from work?"
There was a physical pause hanging in the air and she could practically hear the gears working overtime in Luke's head. He didn't know that Shuri had seen the latest text exchange with Jenni. She hadn't seen the break up but she had seen Luke's long winded groveling texts until Jenni eventually blocked him after sending him one last scathing insult about getting HR involved.
He didn't know that Shuri had started a little side project ever since she read through his texts the first time.
How she had been biding her time, copying every text exchange with Jenni and putting them in a folder. How she had been looking at apartments to move into because she refused to keep that house. How she contacted a divorce lawyer and them draw up the paperwork that she already signed.
All of this decided on the day she had began dating again.
The only thing she needed from him was a signature.
"How-? No. She—No it didn't work out. That doesn't matter, I—"
"Did you need help finding a new girlfriend? I've got an app you could use. I've had plenty of luck."
"I want to close our marriage." He said, before she could say anything more. "I—we made a mistake."
"We?"
"Please, Shuri. Just come home. I want for us to start fresh. Forget that this had ever happened."
Namor lifted his head from her stomach to give her a questioning look. The phone wasn't on speaker phone, but Luke's voice was loud enough to hear.
"It's fine," She said with a smile directed at the naked man on top of her. "I would like to 'close' our marriage too. We can discuss it when I get home later. My coworker wanted to take me to breakfast after that long night at the office."
Said coworker deliberately stroked her side with deft fingers, making her giggle, then he smothered the sound with a hard kiss to distract her. Namor pinned her arm down, sliding his hand up the length of it to snatch her phone away. He then broke the kiss to reach the sensitive part of her neck and bit.
She didn't even attempt to hold back the moan that slipped out of her.
Namor only pulled away long enough to hang up on Luke, and promptly resumed what he had been doing.
Her husband could wait.