Sharon and Mark have been married for ten years and have two kids.
As told from Mark's perspective, their story opens in a restaurant where the service could have been better. Mark informs us that Sharon has become increasingly unpredictable and volatile, and he is waiting to see how she will react to their less-than-enjoyable evening.

Sharon and Mark have time off from work. They have packed their kids off to stay with grandparents, and the couple are planning on spending their "staycation" at home, catching up on an epic list of long overdue chores Sharon has compiled for them.

Time spent alone together is good for them. Mark notices a change in Sharon's mood, and their sex life, which had become somewhat routine, heats up considerably.

Mark has been chatting with Reggie, their neighbour, during his time off. Reggie is divorced and lives alone. Mark describes Reggie as "a big, goofy guy". Reggie is very blunt and crass in his "guy talk", specifically in his remarks about Sharon. When Mark believes he's detected Sharon flirting with Reggie - something very out of character for her - he teases her about it and is surprised at how turned on she becomes.

Sharon and Reggie are destined to become more intimately acquainted.
What I love about this book is that most of the sex - of which there is a lot - happens between the married couple. Mark's joy as Sharon sheds her weariness and "loosens up" is palpable and addictive.

Reggie is, to tweak a popular cliché, a dom in the sheets but dim in the streets. While there's no denying his dominant role in the seduction of Sharon, he ultimately has a lesson to learn from her and all three characters - who wind up their weeklong fling before the kids return home - are in a better place by the end of their story.

I've read many books in this general ballpark, and this stands out as one of the better examples of the genre. Recommended. ( )