Fearless (18 page)

She moaned and cupped her breasts, pushing them together for his benefit. “Ohhh, I think I like the sound of that.”

“Suck on your finger,” he instructed, leaning back on his hands to enjoy the show.

She did as instructed, without hesitation. “Now roll your wet finger around your nipples.” He watched her follow his commands. “That’s it. Ah, now pinch it.” He watched her eyes drift closed and her head fall back. “Does that feel good? Are you imagining that’s my tongue, baby?”

She shook her head. “Yesss.”

“Hmmm, soon. Now I want you to slide your zipper down slowly and shimmy out of that skirt so I can watch those gorgeous tits bounce up and down, begging to be fondled.”

She watched him under a veil of dark lashes as the zipper glided down. She made a production of forcing the tight skirt down and over her hips. “Like that?”

He watched her tits tremble with each movement and he ached to reach out and take them in his hands, his mouth, between his teeth.

She hesitated before she let the skirt fall to the floor.

He fought to catch his breath when he saw what she’d been hiding under that expensive suit. “Ohmigod.”

She revealed a silky turquoise thong and garters attached to bare silk nylons. Her body, in the bright light of day, was a sight to behold. Being a runner had made her toned, but she managed to maintain the hourglass figure he loved so much. As a martial artist, he appreciated strength and discipline, but as a man, he hungered for a woman with soft curves and delectable breasts that filled his hands and mouth to overflowing.

“I was thinking of you when I put this on this morning,” she whispered. “I was imagining what it would feel like to have you tear it off.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to draw on every ounce of self-control he possessed. “That could definitely be arranged.”

She looked down at the three inch spiked heels tipped with silver. “You want me to keep these on?”

“Yesss,” he hissed. “Get over here, now.” If he didn’t slide inside of her soon, he was going to lose it, and he had waited too long to allow it to be over so soon. He opened his legs and grabbed her waist, positioning her between his thighs. He glided his tongue over her dusky nipples, drawing the peak into his mouth before applying enough suction to make her grab the back of his head and thrust the soft mounds into his open mouth. 

She scraped her nails through his hair. “I need more. Oh please, I...”

He spun her around and flattened her back to the mattress. “I intend to give you more, sweetheart. It may take me all night.” He granted her wish and tore the scrap of silk off with one quick jerk of his fist.

She moaned, opening her legs to him. “Please, I need you, now.”

He shook his head. “Not yet.” He eased her legs apart and stood back to enjoy the view. She was glistening with the evidence of her arousal and he couldn’t wait to taste her. He knelt down in front of her and gripped her hips to pull her forward on the bed until she was open to his mouth.

She rested her heels on his shoulders and spread her legs. “I’ve fantasized about this for so long,” she mumbled, lifting her arms above her head.

“I hope I can live up to your expectations.” He too had fantasized about what it would be like between them. It terrified him to think that if it met or exceeded his expectations, sex with all other women would seem mundane by comparison.

He started gradually, trying to let the anticipation build, but as soon as his tongue began to swirl around her lips, her hips came off the bed, thrusting his tongue deep inside her hot, moist channel.

He devoured her, inspired by the moans and breathless cries reverberating through her. He couldn’t get enough; his tongue thrust in and out, around, finally fixating on the tiny bud of nerves that he knew would send her over the edge with one quick flick of his tongue.

“Oh God, oh Josh, I can’t...”

She tried to pull away, but he held her hips firm, forcing her to remain still for his sensual assault until every last tremor subsided.

He eased himself up, skimming his hands over her ribs before palming her breasts. He rolled her nipples between his fingertips while he fixed his knee between her legs. He was still fully clothed, and when he rubbed his fabric-clad knee against her sensitive flesh, he knew it would create a mind-numbing friction that would take her to the edge again. “That’s it, baby,” he whispered, flicking his tongue over her nipple. “I want you to come for me again.”

She tossed her head from side to side, fisting the sheets in both of her hands. “I can’t, it’s too much, too soon.” She held her breath. “Oh yeah,” she rubbed against his leg. “Right there.”

He reached between them and thrust two fingers deep inside of her while he rubbed his thumb against her clit. “Yeah, like that?”

She nodded her head furiously, letting her legs fall open. “Yes, right there, oh God, I’m gonna come again.”

He leaned back to watch the play of ecstasy on her face. She squeezed her eyes shut and let her mouth fall open.

“Let me see you play with your nipples while you come,” he instructed.

She grabbed her tits and pinched her nipples between her thumb and forefinger.

“Harder,” he whispered.

She groaned and pinched her nipples harder while thrusting against his hand.  

“That’s it, baby. Let me hear you come for me.”

She moaned, panting as he continued to pleasure her despite the tremors wracking her body.

“I need you inside of me, Josh. Please make love to me.”

He fell in love with her all over again in that moment. If he hadn’t known she was the only woman in the world for him before, he had no doubts about it now. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks were flushed, and her bright blue eyes glistened with arousal. She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman, but never thought he would find. How the hell was he going to bring himself to let her go in a few days?

“Josh? You okay?”

Her words snapped him out of his reverie. She needed him now, and he needed to give her what she craved. Maybe if he could prove that she needed him in her bed, she would accept the fact that she needed him in her life.

“Yeah, better than okay,” he whispered. “I’ve been waiting for this forever.” He reached for the top drawer of the nightstand, but she grabbed his wrist.

“Josh, I’m on the pill. If you don’t want to use them...”

He looked down into her expectant eyes. He would love nothing more than to experience the intimacy of loving her without a barrier between them, but he wouldn’t do anything that might put her at risk. “I can promise you I’m clean. I’ve used protection ever since Ash and I divorced, and I’ve been tested for every...”

She pressed her fingertips against his lips. “I trust you, Josh. I know you would never do anything to hurt me. Do you trust me?”

He seized the hand that rested against his mouth, turning it over to kiss the inside of her wrist. “More than I’ve ever trusted anyone.”

She smiled. “Good.” She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. “Then make love to me.”

He did love her, in a way he would never be able to express with words. This was his chance, perhaps his only chance, to show her how much she meant to him.

He stripped his clothes off in record time before sliding his hand between her legs to ensure she was ready to take him. He didn’t take his eyes off hers as he positioned himself at her tender opening.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to draw him inside. “Now, please. God, I can’t wait much longer.”

He set his teeth and slowly began sliding into her slick cavity. He held his breath as he seated himself fully, waiting for her to adjust to the feel of him. “How’s that?”

Her breath hissed out between her teeth. “Amazing.” She began to thrust her hips, encouraging him to pick up the pace.

He pressed her hips into the bed to impede her movements. “Stop, I’ll be damned if I’m going to come before you do. You need to give me a minute to get my bearings.”

She slid her nails down his chest, grinning as she clenched him tighter. “I don’t think I can wait.”

He dipped his head and closed his eyes, giving into his body’s urge to thrust harder, faster, deeper. “You’re so tight.”

She moaned low and deep in her throat. “It’s been a while, a long while.”

He was grateful she couldn’t see his face because the relief must have been obvious. He couldn’t stand the thought that she might consider this a casual encounter when to him it was the culmination of the respect, love, and passion that had been building between them for years. “Why?”

She closed her eyes and seized his hips, grinding into him to maximize her own pleasure. “Do you have to ask?”

He pumped into her, harder, faster, desperate to hear the words. He pulled out abruptly. “Tell me; I need to hear you say it.” 

She released a frustrated breath. “Damn it, Josh, don’t do this to me.”

He slid back in, driving into her relentlessly. “Answer me now.”

She cried out. “The last guy I tried to sleep with...” She paused, moaning as he added his finger to the mix, caressing her until she was on the verge of coming apart.

“Go on.”

“He… got… pissed when I called him… Josh.” She dug her nails into his biceps, lifting her hips to reach for the pleasure he promised.

He grinned, trying to imagine what it must have been like for the poor guy, pleasuring a woman only to have her call out another guy’s name. He stopped smiling abruptly when he thought about Lexi lying under some other dude, letting him bring her to climax. He leaned over, sucking her earlobe into his mouth. “You’re mine, Lex.”

She moaned, piercing his back with her nails as he plunged into her. 

“I don’t even want you to think about making love to another man, got it?”

She nodded her head, crying out when he kissed her neck.

“I want you.” He felt her climax building as she clenched around him. “I need you to promise me...” He licked his way up her neck, drawing the sensitive flesh into his mouth.

“I promise.” She threw her arms over her head. “Oh… I’m… gonna.”

“That’s it, sweetheart,” he said, sucking her nipple into his mouth. “Come for me.”

“Oh Josh, omigod, I love you so much.”

Chapter Fourteen

Lexi closed her eyes as Josh cupped her face and kissed her lips tenderly. She held her breath when he fisted his hands in her hair.

He buried his face against her neck as he groaned and emptied inside of her.

What had she done? How could she take back the words that would inevitably change the course of their relationship? She meant what she said, but he would never be willing to let her walk away now that he knew the truth.

Josh wrapped his arms around her as he rolled to his side, pulling her flush against him. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words, baby.” He kissed her lips tenderly. “I love you, Lex. The thought of letting you go was killing me. I’m so glad you changed your mind.”

She pulled back to look him in the eye. “Josh, this doesn’t change anything between us. I’m still not going back to Nashville with you.”

He sat up, scrubbing his hands over his face. “What the hell are you talking about? You just told me you’re in love with me. Are you saying that’s not true?”

She struggled to find the words to let him down gently without hurting him and destroying their friendship. It would be easier to lie, to tell him the words had slipped out in a moment of passion that she had been so caught up in the amazing sex that she let her imagination take over.

But the man who had uprooted his own life to protect her deserved to hear the truth. “I do love you; I think I have for a long time.” She pulled the sheet up to her neck, clutching the soft cotton in her fist.

“I feel the same way about you. So what’s the problem?”

“I don’t want to live with you or marry you or have your baby. That’s the problem, Josh.” He looked more hurt and vulnerable than she had ever seen him. She longed to take back her harsh words, but she knew it was the only way to undo the damage she had already done.

“I don’t understand this. You’re telling me you love me, but you don’t want to be with me?”

“That’s right. You’re a good man, a good father. You’ll make a great husband again someday, but it won’t be to me.”

He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and hung his head. “I don’t believe this. Why’re you doing this?”

“I want to travel, see the world, build my business, date, and have fun. I don’t want to be saddled with a husband and a baby.” She longed to reach out and smooth the crease between his eyebrows, ease the tension in his shoulders, but she knew now was not the time to offer comfort. Now was the time for her to stand her ground and make him understand why it would never work between them.

He looked down at her, his eyes falling on her eyes and lips. “There’s nothing I can say to make you change your mind?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

He shook his head. “It’s not your fault, it’s mine. You were honest with me all along. I let myself believe that I could change your mind. Obviously, I was wrong.” He stood up and reached for the clothes he had discarded earlier.

“Where’re you going?”

“It’s time for me to go home.”

She watched him get dressed and felt the familiar panic rising up in her throat. “You’re not going to stay until the end of the week? What about the threats...”

“I have a buddy on the force who owes me a favor. He said he has some vacation time coming up. I’ll ask him to stay with you until you get the house packed up and decide where you’ll be going.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the idea of a strange man staying in my house.”

He turned around to face her, his eyes flashing with fury. “Really? You didn’t seem to mind sleeping under the same roof as Mark.” He looked down to button his shirt. “Derek’s a good guy, you can trust him.” He looked up at her. “Who knows, you two may even hit it off. He’s into one-night stands too.”