Breaking Josephine (31 page)

We pulled up to
Hartley Manor and Dex opened my door, helping me out and pulling my bags out of
the car. I felt his hand on my back and the heat of his fingers through my thin
dress. His hand guided me up to the front door and I swayed, leaning into him
as he pulled his hand away to unlock the door. I watched his fingers find the
house key, insert it into the lock, and unlock the door. I closed my eyes,
thinking of his fingers running up and down my bare skin and I shivered despite
the heat from the late June sun.

Dex opened the
door and his hand found my back once again, gently guiding me inside. We walked
through the entryway and he left me standing there, feeling naked without his
touch, as he set the keys on the counter and walked over to the wine cooler.
Dex pulled out a bottle of merlot, opened it with ease, and poured us each a
glass. He slid the glass of wine across the counter to me, his fingers
lingering on the rim of the wine glass. I reached out to take the glass, my
hand touching his. I jumped involuntarily, feeling the sparks between us. Dex
smiled, pulling his hand away and motioning for me to follow him outside. We
made our way the deck and an oversized lounge chair. We sat down on the chair
together, Dex leaning back on the headrest, me curled up between his legs on
the seat. He wrapped one arm around my waist, his fingers bunching the white
fabric of my dress. I leaned back on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath
his t-shirt. Taking a sip of wine, I looked out at the ocean and the sun
setting over the waves, thankful to be back in Hartley Manor with Dex.
I lifted my head and looked
into Dex’s shining eyes and smiled.

“I’m sorry,” we
both said, laughing softly in unison.

I reached up and put
my fingers on Dex’s lips. “Me first. I’m sorry Dex. I’m sorry I walked out on
you and didn’t give you a chance to explain or give you the benefit of the
doubt. I understand now why you lied, and although I still wish you hadn’t, and
had told me the truth from the beginning, I can see why you did it and why you
felt compelled to hide the truth from me.” I pulled my hand away from Dex’s
face and let him speak.

“I’m sorry too,”
he began, kissing my head. “I never should have lied to you. I should have been
honest from the beginning about what I knew and who you may be. I should have
trusted you enough to give you all the information and let you figure out what
it meant for you. And I’m sorry I didn’t go through my father’s records years
ago. I’m sorry I didn’t know you were out there. I feel so terrible that you
lived in an orphanage, with nothing, when you could have had so much more, when
so much more was rightfully yours.”

I laid my head
back down on his chest and we sat curled up together in silence as the sun
slipped behind the water. As I finished the last of my wine I sat up and asked,
“So are we going to eat something tonight or just drink wine? I’m starved.”

Dex laughed,
tucking an errant blond strand behind my ear. “I’m hungry too,” he said. “How
about you make yourself comfortable and I’ll cook some pasta. Does that work?”

“Sounds
wonderful,” I said, standing up to let Dex go inside.

As Dex started
cooking, I took my bags and headed upstairs. After dropping my overnight bag in
Dex’s bedroom, I took my messenger bag back down the hall to the study.

I
walked into the study, set my bag down on the floor, and took stock of the
scene. The nearly empty bottle of scotch sat on the desk, the file related to
my mother and father still laid open and scattered, and the Hartley Industries
box took up residence on the floor. I picked up the bottle of scotch, put the
lid back on, and set it on the bookshelf. Then I picked up the file, closed it,
and placed it back in the box. I put the lid on the box and set it by the door.
Then I walked over to the french doors and opened them, walking out onto the
balcony. I looked up at the sky, the moon’s light just beginning to glow, and
ran my hands over the stone guardrail. I closed my eyes and remembered the
first time I’d felt that stone on a moonlit night not even two months ago, and
how I saw Dex for the first time, felt our undeniable connection.

I thought back to
when Dex confessed the truth, while sitting two floors below in his living
room, how he begged me to stay and I walked out on him. Then I thought of my
mother and Henry Blackstone’s confession on the beach over twenty-two years
ago. I opened my eyes and looked out at the beach, understanding for the first
time that I’d done to Dex exactly what my mother had done to my father. We both
let our anger at being deceived make our decisions for us, decisions that had far-reaching
consequences. My mother let her anger over Henry’s lie about his family in Los
Angeles change her entire life, change her identity, and deny her daughter the
opportunity to ever know her father. And I let my anger over Dex’s lie about my
mother and his connection to her death kill any chance we had at a
relationship. Unlike my mother, I thought to myself, I wouldn’t let that be the
end of me and Dex. I wasn’t going to let my pride or hurt or anger keep me from
what I wanted.

I turned around
and walked back into the study, finding my bag and pulling out the handful of
things I’d stolen from Dex the night we first met. I walked over to the desk
and opened the drawer, putting everything back and smiling to myself. As I
closed the drawer and stood up, I felt Dex’s strong, assertive hand wrap around
my waist. He pulled me to him and I yielded willingly. I turned around in his
arms, stood up on my tip toes, and kissed him on the lips, holding his face in
my hands. Then I pulled back, wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my
heels on the ground.

“So I leave you
alone for a minute and find you exactly where I did the first moment I met you,
rifling through my desk drawers?” Dex said, his hands still around my waist.

“Just putting a
few things back, that’s all,” I said, marveling that such a remarkable man
could be there, in that moment, with me. The dark stubble on his jaw
highlighted its perfect angle, his sculpted cheekbones aligned in perfect
symmetry above his indulgent lips, his eyes a smoldering, smoky blue in the pale
light. “I love you Dex Hartley,” I confessed, “I love you and I can’t think of
anywhere else I’d rather be than with you, right here, right now.”

Dex ran his hands
up my back and smiled, lighting his eyes on fire with their icy flame. “I love
you too Josephine. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you right here all
those nights ago. Thank you for coming back to me.”

“You’re welcome. Thank
you for saving my life,” I answered, kissing him again.

“You’re welcome,”
Dex said, pressing his lips to mine with a gentle urgency. I pulled him closer
to me, feeling his firm chest, his heart beating strong and steady. I ran my
hands around his sides, up his chest, down his stomach, feeling every inch of
his body as we kissed. My lips parted and his tongue darted inside my mouth. I
could taste the wine we’d shared as our tongues moved in rhythm with each
other. Dex’s hands released their grip on my waist and moved up my sides and
down over my shoulders and arms, caressing my bare skin. He pulled away from
me, our lips parting, and kissed my cheek, my ear, my neck. I shivered as I
felt his warm breath on my skin, felt his soft yet urgent kisses on my
shoulder, felt his tongue tracing my collarbone.

“I thought you
were downstairs making dinner,” I said as Dex trailed kisses down my arm.

“I was, and it’s
ready. But it can wait, can’t it?” he said, working his way back up to my
shoulder.

I smiled and leaned
closer to him, breathing in his intoxicating scent, his power, his carnal
desire. “Yes,” I replied, barely able to coax my voice over a whisper, “dinner
can wait.” I felt feverish as I ran my hands over Dex’s body and under the edge
of his shirt. My fingers touched his warm skin and his muscles contracted, his
skin hardening under my touch. I pressed my body into his, delirious with
desire. His hand ran up my back and into my hair, bringing my face up to his as
he kissed me firmly on the lips, holding my head with his hand. His other hand
wrapped around my waist and crushed my body against his, his throbbing erection
rigid in his jeans. As he let my head go, he lifted me up and set me down on
the front of the desk. I opened my legs and pulled him to me, wrapping my legs
around his waist and hooking my feet together. He pressed into me and groaned
as I tilted my hips and pulled him closer with my calves.

I ran my hands
under his shirt and pulled it up until he yanked it over his head in one fluid
motion. My fingers devoured his smooth skin as our lips crushed into each
other, my fingernails digging into his flesh as I began to lose control. Dex’s
hands ran down my body, up my bare thighs. I cried out as he tore my dress out
from underneath me and ripped it off my body. As my dress hit the floor, his
lips found mine and our bodies collided, the heat from his bare skin lighting
mine on fire.

I ran my hands
over the edge of Dex’s jeans, tugging and pawing at the fabric like a wild
animal but he pulled back, forcing my legs to loosen their grip on him. His
eyes raked over my nearly naked body—my strapless bra, my heaving chest
and quivering stomach muscles, and my lace thong, barely concealing my desire
for him. He groaned and crashed into me again, pushing me back onto the desk. I
threw my head back and braced myself with my arms, my palms digging into the
top of the desk. I pressed my hips into him and he groaned again, ravaging my
neck and collarbone with kisses.

Dex unhooked my
bra and threw it on the floor, freeing my breasts, my nipples hard with
anticipation. He stepped back and paused, his eyes drinking in the view, before
he surged forward, cupping both my breasts in his hands and rubbing his thumbs
back and forth across my nipples. I cried out in pleasure and pressed my
breasts harder into his hands, my hips firmer into his.

“You are so
beautiful Josephine. And the way you move, the way you react to me, I can’t
tell you what that does to me,” Dex whispered to me as he leaned over, taking
my nipple in his mouth and sucking hard, causing me to cry out again. His mouth
released its hold on my nipple and I forced in a much needed breath of air. Before
I could move, his tongue found my other nipple, and he caressed it gently,
slowly rolling my nipple around with his tongue. I grabbed his head with my
hand, my fingers pulling on his hair.

“Dex please. I can’t
take any more. I need you,” I managed to gasp as he still played with my breasts.
I grabbed at his jeans again with my fingers, but he brushed them aside.

He ran his hands
up my body and into my hair, trailing kisses up my chest and neck and to my
ear. “Patience, Josephine, patience,” he whispered to me. “I never thought I’d
see you again, much less get to enjoy your naked body. And I can’t think of
anything I want more than to feel you, feel all of you. Lay back.” He gently
pushed my body down onto the desk and I complied, looking up at his glorious
body as he stood over me.

Dex put his hands
on my legs and spread them apart, running his fingers up my inner thighs. I
shivered at his touch as he gently caressed my legs. His fingers found my thong
and he gently pushed it aside, feeling my wetness with his fingers. He laughed
softy as he grabbed my panties with his hands and tore them off. The fabric
ripped free and I laid there, naked and exposed on his desk, the moonlight
pouring over me from the open door. The sounds of the ocean waves mixed with our
breathing and I felt frenetic and on fire, consumed by unrequited need and
longing. Dex kneeled down in front of me and took my leg in his hands, kissing
my foot, my ankle, and working his way up my calf and thigh. His hands wrapped
around my thighs and pressed them up towards my body, holding them there with
his strong hands. His tongue grazed my inner thigh, flicking out to sear my
skin with his touch. As he worked his way up my thigh, I reached my hands
behind me to grasp the edge of the desk.

He pulled back and
looked at me, then he flicked his tongue on my pulsing clit. I cried out and
squeezed my eyes shut, barely able to control my body. My fingers dug into the
edge of the desk, and I tried to buck into him but his hands held me there,
firmly pressing me into the wood of the desk. As he made circular patterns with
his tongue, I felt the pleasure building in my body. My breathing came faster
and faster as I pressed my hips into his hands. He sucked on my clit and
massaged it with his tongue as I came in a brilliant, hedonic explosion. As my
body shook, Dex released my legs and slid his arms beneath me. I let go of the
desk, my knuckles white from gripping the edge and let him pick me up like a
rag doll, loose and limber in his arms. He wrapped my legs around his waist,
put my arms around his neck and carried me to his bedroom. He held me with one
hand while he ripped the covers off his bed with the other. My body fell gently
onto the sheet and I felt Dex slide up beside me as I stretched out, wrapping
his arm around my waist.

I turned toward
him and kissed his bare chest. He trailed his fingers up and down my side as I
kissed him, sending shock waves through my body. I ran my hands up and down his
warm skin, feeling it tighten at my touch. Finding his jeans, I slowly undid
each button. I tugged at his jeans, trying to pull them off and Dex laughed
quietly, helping me in my pursuit. He kicked them off and I slipped my fingers
over the waist of his boxers and pulled them down, freeing his impressive cock.
I took him in my hands, feeling him pulsing with desire and I stroked him
gently with my fingers. He groaned and pulled his boxers off, rolling onto his
back. I leaned over and took him in my mouth, feeling his smooth skin stretched
taut, his cock hard and stiff under my roaming tongue. I sucked him gently, making
him moan as he ran his fingers through my hair.