Read Breaking Josephine Online
Authors: Marie Stewart
Breaking Josephine (9 page)
He took a deep
breath and began, “Jo, first of all, relax, I am not going to turn you in. I
would like my things back, but I am not going to report you to the police or
have you arrested.” I relaxed, letting my arms fall to my sides, a huge wave of
relief washing over me. “But I would like to know, why?” he continued. “Why did
you break in and rob me? It doesn’t look like you’re on drugs, or are broke,
you seem to be doing just fine.”
I looked away from
him and leaned back on the counter. At first I was tempted to lie, but I felt I
owed him the truth after what I had done. I took a deep breath and said,
“Honestly, I’m not proud of it. And I thought I had kicked the habit years
ago.” I crossed my arms in front of me again and continued, “My mom died when I
was twelve, and I lived in an orphanage until I was eighteen. Part of the way I
rebelled and felt in control of at least a tiny part of my life back then was
to break into wealthy homes and steal things. Always small things, never enough
to matter to anyone to even report. It gave me a feeling of power and control I
didn’t have most days. When I turned eighteen and was on my own, I stopped, and
resolved to never do it again. But when I moved out here, and became friends
with Macy Daugherty, a lot of the old feelings came back. I saw all the things
I didn’t have as a child that she took for granted, her relationship with her
mom, and all the excess she lives with every day, and it triggered those same
feelings of inadequacy that I couldn’t control. Breaking into your house was
the first time I’d burglarized anyone’s home since I was eighteen. I shouldn’t
have, and I truly am sorry.”
I looked at him,
my eyes wet with unshed tears. He was looking at me with such compassion that I
had to look away, feeling undeserving of such sympathy. I pushed myself off the
counter and walked past him into my bedroom. I bent down in front of my bedside
table and pulled out a shoebox containing all of the items I’d stolen from Dex.
I stood up and turned around to see Dex standing in the doorway to my room. He
came toward me and took the box out of my hand, reaching past me and setting it
on the table.
“Jo, I don’t really
care about the things you stole, they are just things, and don’t mean anything
compared to what people we care about mean to us. I’m so sorry you lost your
mom. I understand what that feels like and I know what it means to be adrift
and out of control.” He took my face in his hands and I could feel his warmth,
his heat soaking into my skin. “I never want you to feel out of control again,
I never want you to feel the need to be so reckless to feel alive.”
A tear escaped
from the corner of my eye and before I could turn from Dex and wipe my cheek,
his mouth was there kissing it away. He gently trailed kisses down my cheek and
moved to my lips, his lips caressing mine, lingering there. I kissed him back,
my hands coming up to rest on his shoulders, holding him and feeling his
warmth, his heat, through my hands. He pressed his lips harder into mine and I
felt his lips open, his tongue gently flicking my lips. I yielded to him, opening
my mouth and tasting him—coffee and a hint of spice. Our tongues caressed
each other and my desire built with each touch. I let my hands wander down his
shoulders to his toned chest, firm beneath his tight shirt. My fingertips
outlined his defined stomach, which tightened under my touch, coming to rest on
the top of his low-riding jeans. He finally let my face go, our lips still
locked together, our tongues still intertwined. His hands ran down my arms and
I shivered, his touch lighting my skin on fire. He slid his hands down my arms
to my waist and effortlessly picked me up, laying me on my bed, on top of my
rumpled sheets. He pressed himself down on top of me, one arm supporting his
weight, and moved my thighs apart with his hips. I could feel him, hard against
my thigh. I moved to press myself against him and he moaned, tightening his
grip on my waist. His fingers found the hem of my tank top and slid under it,
touching my bare skin. I shivered and he laughed under his breath, lips still
pressed to mine.
As his fingers
slid up my stomach, our lips parted and he left trails of kisses down my jaw
and neck. He gently pulled my tank top and bra strap off my shoulder, and I
gasped, my hips rising to meet his as he kissed my collarbone. He moaned again
and pressed himself on top of me. I could feel him—his cock so hard it
felt like it would burst through his jeans. I grabbed his hips and pulled him
closer as I pushed up to meet him. Ripping my shirt and bra down, he freed my
breast from its fabric prison, taking my nipple in his mouth. He sucked hard,
and I cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain just as his mouth released its
grip. He fondled my nipple gently with his tongue, flicking it back and forth
and fueling my desire. Dex stirred feelings in me I didn’t know I had, and
didn’t know I could experience. I wanted him inside me, I wanted to feel his
hardness in my hands, feel him pulsing with need that I could satisfy.
I reached
down to the button of his jeans but Dex grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand away
and trapping it under the weight of his own above my head. With his other hand,
he yanked the rest of my shirt down to my waist, exposing my breasts to him. He
pulled back and looked at me.
“God, Jo, you are
so unbelievably gorgeous.” His eyes met mine as I felt the color on my cheeks
rising and looked away.
“Look at me,” he
said, and I did, still self-conscious and hot with desire. “Has no one ever
said that before? That you’re gorgeous?”
I shook my head,
although part of me hated to admit it, it was true. I’d never let anyone get
this close to me, even the few men I’d been slightly interested in.
“Well, you are.
And I’m going to show you how much.” Dex released my wrist and pulled my shirt
and bra over my head and threw them on the floor. He gently took my other
nipple in his mouth, sucking and rolling it with his tongue. A moan escaped my
lips and my body rose off the bed, pressing into him. His hands slid down my
stomach to my jeans and he slowly undid the button and zipper. He slid my jeans
and underwear off at once, leaving me completely naked beneath him. Although he
was virtually a stranger, Dex seemed so familiar and everything felt so right,
I didn’t want to stop. No matter what happened, in that moment I wanted
anything he could give me.
Dex looked at me
as if he would devour me, but instead he picked up my foot in his hand and his
fingers traced patterns on my toes, foot, and ankle. His mouth followed,
leaving small kisses in a trail up my leg and to my thigh. I felt myself tense
as he got closer and closer to the pulsing wetness between my legs.
“Jo, relax. If you
ever want me to stop, just tell me, you’re in control of this. Just relax and
enjoy the moment,” he said, his kisses making patterns on my thigh.
“Please don’t
stop. Dex I need you. I want you, please,” I begged, feeling no shame in my
admission. He smiled, his tongue flicking out and hitting the tendon on my
inner thigh. I arched my back and moaned, his tongue lashing me with pleasure
like a whip.
He firmly pushed
my thighs apart and they fell open, exposing all of me to him. He groaned as he
gently caressed my thigh with his fingers, moving closer and closer until his
fingers eased apart my slick, tender flesh.
“God Jo, I could
come right now just feeling you like this, feeling how much you want me,” he
said as he kissed my stomach.
I cried out again,
the feelings building inside me on the verge of exploding. “Dex, please,” I
managed to say as I arched my back, fists clenched in the sheets of my bed. He paused
and I opened my eyes to look at him. He smiled, eyes smoldering with lust, as
he bent down and licked my clit with our eyes still locked. I squeezed my eyes
shut, threw my head back, and gasped. He licked me again and I felt about to
explode with pleasure. He pulled back, prolonging the moment as he teased me
with his tongue. He dipped his tongue inside me, pulsing in and out. Shamelessly,
I bucked into him, riding his tongue as if it were his cock. He pulled out and
flicked my clit again and I exploded in a blinding gasp of pleasure. He flicked
again and again as I rode my orgasm until it crested. I relaxed into a heap on
the bed, sexually fully satisfied for the first time in my life.
Dex kissed my
inner thigh and I shivered as he slid up beside me and wrapped his arm around
my waist. He lifted me up, pulled my sheets and covers out from under me and
tucked me in my bed as I lay there in a state of languid bliss. He laid down
next to me on top of the covers, his hand tucking my hair behind my ear.
“Now do you
believe me that you’re gorgeous?” he asked.
“Mmmm…” was all I
could manage to answer.
“Well, you at least
believe me when I say I have no interest in turning you into the police,
right?” he said, his mouth pressed to my ear.
“R-r-right,” I
said, my eyes still closed, my head in the post-orgasm clouds.
“Well, then you’ll
let me take you on a proper date now I suppose? How about I pick you up
Thursday at 8?” he asked.
“It’s … a … date,”
I said, my head nestling further into the pillow.
“Excellent. And
Jo, I’m looking forward to it, and to you,” he said, kissing me lightly on the
lips as he lifted himself off the bed. I vaguely registered him walking out of
my bedroom and out of my apartment as I hugged my pillow, still naked in my
bed. I drifted off to sleep and dreamt of Dex and all his hands and tongue
could do to my body if I let him.
I woke up for the
second time that day late in the afternoon, the sun shielded by the trees. I
sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. Then I looked down and saw I was naked. Naked!
And then the memories of that morning came flooding back and I realized it
wasn’t a dream—Dex Hartley had come to my apartment, forgiven me for
breaking into his house, and given me the best orgasm of my life. And then I’d
basically passed out on him and he left. I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my
temples with my fingertips. I had thought spilling my groceries all over the
sidewalk was embarrassing enough. But now I’d gotten naked, let Dex do
incredible things to me, and fell asleep on him. I bolted upright in bed and
opened my eyes. “Oh my god,” I said out loud. “I agreed to go on a date, a real
date with Dex Hartley. And I have no idea what we’re doing or where we’re
going.” I pulled on my clothes, reached for the phone, and called Macy to ask
her for help preparing for Thursday night.
After getting over
her initial shock that I would be going on a date with Dex, Macy agreed to help
me and we decided to go shopping after work on Wednesday to find the perfect
dress. I had enough money saved so that I could buy something date-worthy and I
needed Macy’s help figuring out exactly what that would be. It was a rare
bright sunny afternoon Wednesday, without a trace of clouds, when we pulled up
to a local clothing boutique in the trendy part of town. Although it catered to
women a bit older than me and Macy, they usually could be counted on for a few
dresses that fit our style as well. And with surprisingly affordable prices, I
didn’t worry about my inability to buy something I loved.
“So he came over
to your house and apologized for being so weird and creepy at the party?” Macy
asked.
“Hmm-mmm. Just like
I’ve already told you at least three times,” I said, over a rack of dresses.
“And then he asked
you out on a date?”
“Yes,” I said, a
bit exasperated with her repeats of questions I heard on Sunday.
“But you didn’t
ask him where you were going, or what you were doing, or what to wear?” Macy
said, her eyebrows raised at me.
“No, I didn’t,” I
replied. “I told you, he took me by such surprise I completely forgot to ask
him anything and just said yes.”
“And then he just
left?” she asked again.
“Yes. Seriously,
Macy, I’ve already told you all of this and we need to concentrate on shopping,
not a repeat conversation.”
“I am
concentrating,” Macy pouted, “it’s just, well, Jo that’s so unlike you. I get
the feeling you aren’t telling me everything. You’re so practical you always
ask all the right questions. What aren’t you telling me? Seriously, I’m dying
to know.” Macy looked at me over the rack of dresses and I blushed, ducking
down and pretending to look at a tag so she couldn’t see my face.
“I knew it,” Macy
said, pouncing on my sudden shyness, “I knew there was something. What is it?
What happened?”
“Shhh. Keep your
voice down Macy,” I said, turning redder by the second. “There may have been,
well, some, um …”
“Oh my god, you
didn’t sleep with him did you?” Macy’s mouth gaped open and she covered it with
her hand. “You did, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly, no,”
I said, feeling incredibly awkward and embarrassed. “Let’s just say I was
blissfully incapacitated and couldn’t even think to form a question.”
Macy raised her
eyebrows and started laughing. “Seriously?” I nodded, relieved to see she’d
figured out my meaning without me having to spell it out in the middle of a
clothing store. “Oh my god, Jo, wow. Here I’ve been working my butt off just to
get William to kiss me, and you roll out of bed hungover and get a gorgeous man
to make you come without even trying.”
