Hidden Depths (5 page)

A quick flash of coming home to his wife, dressed in black
leather, waiting for him on the sofa with a beer in hand, popped into his head.
He let the scene play out in his mind. She stripped off his tie, yanked the
buttons off his shirt, playing the dominatrix as she shoved him back against
the wall. He let her have her way for a while before spinning her around and
pinning her hands above her head. Long, deep kisses gave way to nips and bites,
rubbing his beard across her neck, leaving a red trail as he marked her. Her
cries of pleasure as he took her right there in the hall, never even removing
her crotchless panties he was in such a hurry to be inside her. When he looked
down into hazel eyes, framed by black and pink streaked hair, Josh knew he was
screwed. He should be seeing Deborah.

Peeling off his clothes as he headed up to bed, Josh made
himself a promise. Tomorrow he would go see Deb. They would talk, he would
apologize for being so selfish, for not even asking what she was doing. He
couldn't apologize for the dreams he'd been having. To tell her would only hurt
her unnecessarily. But, he promised himself that he would stop. He would work
harder to be a better fiancé. Learn to be a better husband. And he would stop
fantasizing about Gia.

Unfortunately, the promise his conscious mind made never
made it to his subconscious. Her long black hair, lush breasts, curvy hips and
ass all made an appearance in his dreams again that very night.

Chapter 5

A couple weeks later it was hot. Steamy, sweaty, raunchy
hot. Sacramento was usually warm this time of year, it was August after all,
but this was a weird hot. It was mid afternoon and it was in the upper nineties
and about sixty percent humidity that felt more like one hundred percent. If
she'd lived in the Midwest, she would have called this tornado weather.

She'd had very few customers in her shop today, most people
doing something to keep cool rather than heading into town. And if they were
here, they were eating ice cream, not getting a tattoo. She'd already sent
Jasmine and Billy home. So, when Kelly called and said there was a group of
them heading to the river that afternoon, Gia decided to close up shop early
and go with them. 

They all met up at Kelly's. She lived in a townhouse right
on the edge of the Village, two doors down from Gia's. Since Gia really didn't
drink, plus she owned a jeep, she got elected as one of the drivers. Kelly was
the other. They could have walked down to the river from where Gia lived, but
the wider, sandier part they preferred was about fifteen minutes away.

     There were eight of them total. Kelly, Debbie, Shannon
and Gia as well as Blake, Josh, Scott and a friend of Blake and Josh's named
Devon, or Dev. They split into pairs, Kelly and Blake riding with Deb and Josh.
Everyone else piling into Gia's jeep. Gia breathed a sigh of relief that Josh
and Deb were taking the other car.

Once they loaded up, they were off to the river. By
four-thirty they were there and unloaded. Everyone started peeling off clothes,
slathering on sunscreen and racing into the water. Kicking off her sandals, Gia
was one of the last, still putting her keys away and tucking her purse under
the umbrella. She pulled off her shirt and shorts then turned, surprised to see
Josh standing there with his shirt still on. Since they were the only two left
on the sand, she felt she could speak freely. And, she knew why he wasn't in
the water yet.

"It's healed enough to go in, ya know. Make sure you
coat it with a layer of sunscreen and wash it really well when you get home,
but it's been over two weeks, you're fine to swim. Besides, it's too fuckin'
hot not to."

"Yeah, I'm not worried about that."

"Then why are you still up here? Want to borrow my
sunscreen?" Gia tossed it over to him then turned and reached for her hat.
At his hiss of breath, she turned and looked at him. He looked... strange. He
stared at her, his eyes roving over her, head to toe.

"Okay, I know I'm not as skinny as they are, but I've
never had any complaints, so quit staring at me. And I know it's not about the
ink. You've seen most of it before, and now you have one of your own."

"You're not fat, Gia, don't be stupid," he growled
at her.

"I'm not stupid, dumbass." All of a sudden it
dawned on her why he was still standing there. She couldn't stop the laugh that
bubbled up at her realization. "You haven't told her, have you? Deb
doesn't know you have a tat."

Now he glared at her, no longer taking in her body, just
staring straight into her eyes, all pissed off and pouting like a petulant
child.

"No, I haven't shown her yet."

"Now, how the hell did you manage that. I mean, I know
she has her own place still, but seriously, it's not a little tattoo, Josh. How
could she not see it when you're doin' the nasty? Unless, wait, are you a shirt
on kind of guy?"

This time he didn't even bother with words, just growled at
her, a low menacing sound. Which sent Gia off into fits of laughter.

"So, that's a yes. I don't see why. Having recently
seen that torso, I can easily attest to the fact that you have nothing to be
shy about. Or maybe you guys are a lights off kind of couple. Nobody can see
anything. Am I right?"

His temper finally snapping, Josh stepped up to Gia, leaning
over her in an obvious attempt to seem threatening. "I am not embarrassed,
as I thought I'd already proven when I stripped in your shop. And I don't need
the lights off. I like to see what I'm doing, where I'm touching. See the
reactions I'm causing with my lips and my tongue. See everything, including the
look of pleasure when I bury my cock inside her."

Licking her suddenly dry lips, it took two tries before she
could make her voice work. If she didn't know better, she would swear he was
talking about her, not Deb. Standing up on her toes, bringing her face closer
to level with his, she went nose to nose with him. She refused to be cowed, and
she damn sure wouldn't let him know what his words were doing to her.
"Well then, how is it that she hasn't seen it yet?"

Josh's head snapped back. He took one step, then another
backward, away from Gia. "Because, we haven't exactly done the 'nasty', as
you put it, since I got the work done."

Gia was shocked. Truly, completely stunned. There is no way
she could keep her hands off a man like that for almost three full weeks. Three
full hours seemed like too long. Three days... forget it.

With a casual shrug and a wicked smirk, she said,
"Well, that explains so much. You're sexually deprived. How long had it
been before the tat? You know, sexual frustration can make you do some very
foolish things. Oh, and I need to make sure to get Deb a really good BOB for
her shower gift. If you're not taking care of business she definitely needs a
battery operated boyfriend. There is no way I could go three weeks without
rubbin' one out. I'm more of an everyday sort of girl."

Leaving him standing there with his mouth hanging open, Gia
strolled down to the water. She lifted one arm, pushing her hat further down on
her head and added an extra little swing to her hips as she walked. Being hard
up definitely explained the hard on a few weeks ago. Not to mention all the
flirting he'd been doing. She figured the extra wiggle might be just exactly
what he needed.

As she waded out into the water she grinned, thinking of the
fireworks about to start when Deb caught sight of the tattoo. When she heard
splashing behind her she turned, just in time to see Josh diving at her in a
full body tackle.

As she came up sputtering, her hair hanging in wet strands
sticking to her face, Josh felt infinitely better. He'd already been aroused
just by the sight of her in a bikini. Her taunting and his little description
of sex had made him hard as a damn fence post. A situation that was made worse
by the visual he'd had of her 'rubbin' one out'. Since he knew there was no
real way to hide the evidence of his desire, getting into the water as quickly
as possible had seemed like a great idea. Taking her down a peg in the process
had been even better.

"Josh, damn you! Now I have sunscreen running into my
eyes. And where's my hat?" She yelled all this as she frantically wiped
beneath her eyes, trying to stop her makeup from running.

Grinning from ear to ear, Josh scooped up her very wet hat,
still full of water, and plopped it unceremoniously onto her head. "There
you go, sweetheart, is that what you wanted?"

The splashing had drawn the attention of their friends, and
the yelling had only made it worse. It finally occurred to Josh that they had
an audience.

This was confirmed when Deb squealed, "Georgia Ann
McClellan, what on earth did you do to my fiancé?"

In his rush to get into the water, Josh had actually
forgotten about the tattoo. He'd stripped off his shirt, throwing it in the
sand while he ran. Now he looked at Deb, seeing the absolute horror in her
eyes.

"Now Deb, she didn't..." Josh began only to be
interrupted by Georgia.

"Nothing he didn't want me to."

"What are you talking about? There is no way that he
would decide to get a tattoo at thirty years old, right before our wedding. He
is just not that type. He's a lawyer, for heaven's sake. Did you get him drunk?
Was this some sort of bet with you and he lost? You two have been griping at
each other for years. I know you did this, Gia. I recognize your handiwork when
I see it."

Gia opened her mouth to answer but Deb cut her off, continuing
her rant before Gia could get a word in. "Don't you even try to deny that
you did this."

"I wasn't going to deny anything. I was simply going to
say thank you. But this wasn't a bet, sweetie. Josh came into my shop, asked
for a tattoo, and persisted when I called the bullshit card. After a half hour
of convincing me, I finally agreed to do it. That was almost three weeks ago.
So, instead of bitching at me, why don't you have a chat with your man."

With an evil little grin and a small finger wave at Josh,
Gia headed over to talk to Kelly and Scott who had been silently watching the
little scene unfold. Sucking in a deep breath, Josh turned to face a now
furious Deborah.

"I can explain." Josh said as Deborah walked
closer to him.

"I'm listening."

Josh searched his brain, trying to find anything that would
make sense to her, trying to find words to explain what he was feeling, without
hurting her feelings. He had nothing. "Okay, I can't explain. But, I
really didn't lose a bet. I asked her to do this, even after she told me she
wouldn't, so don't be mad at Gia. I'm sorry."

"You know, you've been sorry an awful lot lately. It
feels like I never see you, and when I do you're apologizing for something. Why
don't you stop it and just tell me what's really going on?"

Josh hung his head, completely shamed by his own behavior.
She was absolutely right. "I'm sorry for that too, Deb. Look, you're
right, we need to talk. But not here, not today. Let's just try to relax and
enjoy this afternoon with our friends and we'll talk tomorrow. Okay?"

She seemed to consider for a moment, and Josh waited
quietly. He knew she would never cause a scene, not really. The only reason she
had even commented on the tat was out of shock. Finally, she nodded, pasting an
obviously forced smile onto her lips. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Fine, we'll talk tomorrow."

Chapter 6

Gia had been standing with Kelly, Scott and Dev watching to
see if either member of the unflappable couple finally broke and lost their
temper. When Deb softly kissed his cheek, Kelly echoed her own thoughts.

"Well, that was a bit disappointing. Watching him
tackle you was the highlight of that little show, and you already knew about
the tattoo." With a little shrug of her shoulders Kelly looked at Gia.

"So, why exactly did he tackle you? Were you being a
bitch again?"

Feeling just a tad bit ashamed of her behavior, Gia simply
turned her ire on her friend, glaring back at her. "I'm never a bitch. I
just refuse to let Mr. Perfect and Proper get away with his holier than thou
behavior."

"Uh huh. So, you were being a bitch."

With a sigh, Gia finally admitted, "Maybe I just poked
at him a little more than I should. He's just always so stuffy. I like him so
much better when he's pissed off and... real."

"You like him better that way, but does Debbie? Or Josh
for that matter. Does he like it better when you push him until he snaps?"

Gia thought about it for a while, trying to be honest with
both Kelly and herself. "Yeah, Kell, I think he does. He's always so
uptight. When I push him, argue with him, prod until he finally breaks, I think
it's a kind of therapy for him. A chance to just be. Without judgment. Everyone
can blame me, not him."

Kelly tossed her head from side to side, pondering that for
a second. "Maybe. I guess it kind of makes sense. Did he really ask you to
do that tattoo?"

"Yeah. It was totally weird. He just waltzed into my
shop, bold as you please, told me he wanted a tattoo. I thought he was shitting
me, or trying to get me in trouble with Deb. It took him almost thirty minutes
to convince me he was serious."

"Huh. Well, maybe there's more to the lawyer than meets
the eye," Dev said.

Shannon and Blake walked up behind them, Blake joining in on
the conversation. "Trust me, you have no idea."

"What do you mean?" asked Dev.

"Nothing really. Just that Josh is a prime example of
that expression 'still waters run deep'. There's a lot more going on than
people see."

"That's why I razz him all the time," Gia said.
"He's just... more fun when he's not being so stiff."

"Yeah, he is. But, the stiff is more comfortable for
him. How much do you know about his family? He has been on the same exact path
his entire life. Since he was born, basically. Grow up and attend all the
proper private schools. Go to the best colleges, get a law degree. Come in and
manage the expansion of the company. Marry the right wife, have two point three
children, raise them to follow in your footsteps. He has always been the
perfect son, living up to every expectation."