Just Breathe Trilogy Box Set (56 page)

“How’s she doing?” His voice sounds like he’s still not convinced.

“Good. Do you want to talk to her?” I investigate.

“Yeah.”

“Hold on.” I place my finger over my lips to signal Joe not to talk before I press the speaker button. “She can hear you.”

“Sadie!” Jared calls. “Saaaaadie!”

Jared has talked to Sadie over the phone more times than I can count since I adopted her. She’s gotten used to it where she doesn’t search the whole apartment for him anymore.

Sadie pounces around in excitement and barks.

“How’s my other girl doing?” Jared says, wanting to elicit a more definitive response from her.

Sadie barks several times.

I turn off the speaker phone before commenting. “See. We’re good.”

“How did you get home?”

“I took a cab.”

“How about Pop-Pop, Nathan and I come by later for dinner,” he politely insists.

“No. I’m good,” I assert. “I just need some time away from people. This past week . . . no, these past few months have been a lot for me. I just need some downtime.”

“I guess it has been pretty intense for you,” he sweetly reviews. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m good, really.”

I feel Joe’s legs slide on either side of my body as he presses his chest into my back. His lips return to my shoulders as his fingers caress my arms.

“I’m really proud of you,
Kitten
,” Jared remarks. “I know last night was hard for you.”

“It wasn’t that hard. Not after getting the toast out of the way,” I clarify.

“It was perfect. I know that Maggie and Henry really appreciated it.”

“I know,” I concur. “Oh, she told me something last night . . . .”

“Yeah? What?”

“You can’t say anything . . . to anyone,” I command.

Joe leans closer, wrapping his arms around my waist while his lips continue to dance slowly across my skin.

“Sure,” Jared returns, slightly confused.

“I’m serious,” I infer the importance.

“Okay. I swear. What is it?”

“Maggie’s pregnant . . .” I blurt.

“What?”

“I know,” I say.

“When did she tell you?”

Jared’s shocked and clearly isn’t processing the whole announcement.

“Last night . . . late in the night. Not long before she and Henry went to the suite.”

“Shit. How far along is she?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me and doesn’t have an appointment with Kim until she gets back.”

“How did Henry take it?”

“I don’t know,” I honestly confess.

“What do you mean?”

“She was supposed to tell him either last night or today,” I explain.

“Is she sure?”

“Yeah. She said she did three home pregnancy tests,” I confirm.

“Damn.”

I know Jared is good with secrets. It’s Nathan and Maggie who have the challenge. We sit on the phone not saying anything for a minute as the news soaks in.

“Call or text me later. Just to check in. Okay?” he requests.

“Of course,” I quickly agree.

Anything to keep him from suddenly showing up.

“Love you,
Kitten
.”

“Love you.” I wait for Jared to hang up first.

Joe coaxes my body back into him as he lowers us to the bed. We shift and lay together, quietly staring at each other as he twirls a lock of my hair in his fingers. He softly delivers his lips to mine several times, keeping them always touching me somewhere on and around my face.

The need to pee arises as does the awkwardness of what to do now. What am I supposed to do? I’ve never had a guy over let alone spend time with one after having sex. How do I kick him out?

I get up and head to the bathroom, purposefully closing the door. Other than Maggie, Jared or Nathan, I’ve never urinated in front of anyone else. I know that Joe and I have had sex twice now, let alone seeing each other completely naked, but it’s still weird for me. It’s definitely a level of intimacy that I’m not willing to grant.

As my head gets lost inside itself over everything that has happened since last night, I turn on the shower and crack open the bathroom door for Sadie who is whining to be let in. The warm water rushing over my head and down my body is exhilarating. I can practically feel each drop over every inch of my skin. With my back to the falling water, my eyes stay closed as my hands gradually push the water over the back of my head. My sex feels just a little bit sore — a good feeling I haven’t felt in a long time.

The sound of the shower door closing forces my eyes to open immediately. Seeing a naked Joe Covelli standing in front of me is a sight I highly doubt that I will tire of anytime soon. His stubble is more pronounced, making him even more desirable. My eyes delightfully trail the length of his body, wanting to memorize every naked inch of him. The patch of hair streaming from his navel down to his manhood is exactly what they call it — a happy trail. That trail has lead to happiness both last night and this morning. His cock twitches as if it’s saying
hello
when my gaze falls upon it. Like all of the male model types I’ve slept with, Joe’s pubic hair is finely trimmed, sculpted like a statue. In fact, his entire body is sculpted like a statue.

Once my eyes have soaked up even the sexiness of Joe’s feet, they bounce back up to his face, finding a wicked grin. He takes a measured step closer toward me, closing the gap between us. Joe moves as close as he can without touching me with his body. I watch the beads of water strike his chiseled chest and dance down below his waist.

“Can I join you?” he requests seductively.

“You’re already in,” I reply, stating the obvious.

How could I kick him out now — especially, when he looks so yummy?

The corners of his mouth curl before they move forward to unite with my lips. My body follows his when he pulls away just out of reach. I watch his hand grab something to my right and put it back. Joe guides my body to turn facing away from him. His fingers start to kneed my hips, then my waist, my lower back and then my rear as they slip over my skin. He’s extra careful when his hands circle around to my sex and down my thighs. When he stands back up, Joe targets my shoulders, arms and back before he gently spins me to face him, allowing his hands to explore my abs, ribs and breasts as the suds from the soap spreads more.

My hands explore his forearms, biceps and shoulders. The heat rising within me causes my right hand to fist a handful of his hair, my mouth to seek his and my left hand to search and grab hold of his cock. After one complete, full-length stroke of his half-mast shaft, I’m surprised when Joe backs away. I growl my protest as I reach further to imprison his penis between my fingers. It takes two, slow, long, hard thrusts of my hand up and down his organ before he pulls away again. My mouth seizes his as both of my hands converge to his groin and regain their grip. Suddenly, I drop to my knees and plunge his erection deep into my mouth, tasting a little bit of cum. I should at least get one more fix of Joe before I make him leave.

“Fuuuuuck . . . Emma,” he groans, surrounding my face with his hands.

By the second thrust into my throat, Joe is as hard as a rock. Pumping up and down his erection, sometimes slow and sometimes fast, I can feel his urgency arising. I take his shaft with my right hand as I work him with my mouth and drop my left hand to play with my clitoris. I swirl my tongue all around a certain area and it doesn’t take long for him to moan confirmation of the exact spot to strike to make him orgasm. Grabbing my wet hair, Joe plunges into my mouth five more times before his ejaculation spills into my throat.

I lift to stand and Joe cups my face, diving his tongue into my mouth. After several lengthy kisses, Joe’s lips slide to my chin, rounds my neck and then graciously nibbles my breasts all the way down to where he’s in a kneeling position in front of me. Joe kisses all around my thighs and belly, but deliberately avoids my swollen sex.

“Is this what you want?” he checks, barely connecting his mouth to the spot just above the crease to my opening.

“Yes . . .” I pant.

My hands move to press his head closer to my body, but Joe pins my wrists to the wall.

“And, this?” he confirms, kissing me in the same location, this time with a little more force.

“Yes . . .” I whimper as my body shakes from its aching need.

“And, this?” His tongue takes one, long, upward stroke, just breaching the crack of my folds.

“Yes . . .” I heave. My hands pull at their restraints and my hips lunge for more of his mouth as he pulls away.

Leaning my head back in frustration, my body quivers when Joe’s tongue finally contacts my skin. With my hands still trapped by his, Joe’s mouth begins its deluge of pleasure on my sex. His tongue whips ferociously across my clitoris, bringing me closer and closer. I’m so sensitive. My nipples harden and my hips rock against his face as his tongue strikes inside my hole for a moment and then back up to my nub. He continues his pursuit on my clitoris, denying my vagina any sensation from his fingers since they are still wrapped around my wrists. The bittersweet lashing of his tongue makes me yearn for penetration even as my climax rounds the corner for the last lap of the race.

My hands tighten into fists and my hips rock, pressing my groin as hard as I can against Joe’s tongue, wanting, — no — needing to cum.

“Don’t . . . stop . . .” I command on each breath out.

Just as my orgasm is about to arrive, Joe’s left hand lets go of my arm and thrusts inside of my wet hole. My body shudders from the euphoria that bursts into me and spreads all the way to the edges of my fingers and toes like a wild fire. My body convulses as Joe laps up ever last bit of juice from my sex before standing back up, holding me against the wall. He graciously relinquishes his mouth to mine for me to taste what’s left that hasn’t already been swallowed.

“Better?” he inspects with a pleased grin on his face.

“Yes . . .” I answer unable to open my eyes.

Joe slightly pulls his body away from mine and I can feel the fatigue in my muscles. He holds me in place, supporting me until he knows I can balance. We finish washing ourselves and each other, getting out just after our fingers start to become pruney. I don’t bother to put on makeup, but I do add lotion and coconut oil to my face and body. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Joe watching every little thing I do. He purposefully bumps into me or deliberately touches my body if we aren’t in close proximity for even just a few seconds.

I quickly get dressed, wanting to indirectly hint to Joe the need for him to leave. I know there’s a seventy percent chance Jared will come over at some point today if he isn’t already on his way now. Not wanting to be completely rude after the second round of awesome sex, I make us smoothies. Once I pour the beverage for the two of us, I hand Joe his glass before he gets the chance to sit down at one of the bar stools.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” he speculates.

“What?! No.” I deny.

Shit. Am I obvious?

“Yes you are,” he laughs.

“No, I’m not,” I contend.

“It’s okay. I know this is new for you,” he address the lingering thoughts in my head. Joe places his empty glass in the sink and slides his body against mine.

“It’s not . . .” I lie unconvincingly and gulp down the remaining contents in my cup. “It’s Jared.”

“What about him?” Joe questions, placing his body in front of mine with his hands on my hips.

“He’ll be coming over soon,” I explain.

“I thought he just asked for you to text or call to check in,” Joe searches, trying to understand.

“He did, but . . .” I begin.

“He’s going to come here to check up on you anyhow,” Joe states, displaying his comprehension.

“Yeah,” I agree sheepishly.

I think I can keep Jared at bay with calling him a little later and talking, but I don’t need Joe to know that. There’s no need to prolong this awkwardness.

Dropping his lips to mine, Joe savors the moment. “See you later, beautiful?” he hums.

“Okay . . .” I weakly mutter.

After Joe leaves, the thought to rebound pops into my head, but I just can't bring myself to do it after the craziness that happened last night and this morning. My body is fatigued and sore. Instead, I opt to strip the bed and change the sheets — no need having Jared show up and smell the rules that were broken. Once I get the new sheets on, I immediately toss the used ones in the washer. Sadie and I then curl up on the bed and I start reading until I literally can not keep my eyes open.

“Hey,
Sex Kitten
,” Jared says.

“Hey,” I greet back with some grogginess.

Jared and Maggie are the only two people other than me with a set of keys to my apartment.

“The past few days really must have taken a toll on you if you’re sleeping at noon.”

“Shit. Is it really noon?” Shock consumes my brain.

“Yeah. What time did you lay down?” he searches.

“After we talked I showered, had a smoothie, started laundry and read for a little,” I answer, deliberately leaving out the details about Joe. “Wait. Where’s Pop-Pop and Nathan?”

“They’re back in Santa Monica,” informs Jared as he snuggles more into me and Sadie.

“Why didn’t they come with you?” I question not sure why they wouldn’t.

“Because I knew you were serious about wanting downtime . . . and . . . ” he begins “. . . and . . . I wanted to talk to you.”

Jared never wants to just talk — not like this with that inflection in his voice. Something’s up.

“About what? What’s wrong?” I say, sharing my obvious concern and sitting up in bed.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he chuckles. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”

“What?”

Jared’s peaked my interest now and I’m wide awake.

He coaxes me to lower my body back down on the bed. Taking my hand, he kisses the back of it. “I just wanted you to be the first to know . . . .”

“Know what?” I ask, practically cut him off.

“Nathan and I are moving in together,” he offers with a slight wince to his face like he’s scared about how I will take the news.

My body relaxes instantaneously. “I’m surprised you haven’t done it sooner,” I mention in earnest.

“Seriously?!” Jared says, shocked at my response. “Wow. I thought you’d react differently.”

“Truthfully, I knew it was coming and I highly doubt you could shock me any more than Maggie has with a wedding and now being pregnant,” I comment calmly.

“Yeah,” Jared agrees. “But, I wanted to make sure. I know it wasn’t easy when we both moved out of the old apartment.”

“So, no wedding yet, right?” I check with lightness in my voice.

“No,” he assures us both. “But, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Thanks,” I reply graciously, appreciating his intent. “But I’ll be good either way with you two. You have history . . . so, it’s not a surprise for me. You know?”

“Yeah.”

“What about Pop-Pop? Is he still moving out here?”

“Yeah. He’ll move in with us.”

“Wow. Poor Pop-Pop,” I tease.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Jared feigns hurt feelings.

“Living with you and Nathan . . . having to deal with the sex-capades.” I eye Jared.

“He’s just going to stay until we find him a place in Santa Monica. He likes it there and I like having him close by.” Jared has a look in his eye that can’t be explained.

“If you say so,” I comment jokingly.

“Very funny,” Jared contends, tickling me until I surrender.

After sometime snuggling, Jared and I make lunch and hang out like we used to in our old apartment. We sing. We dance. We wrestle. We review the funny things that happened during Maggie’s wedding. We chat and hang out like we always do.

By the time I take Sadie out for her walk after dinner, Jared heads back to Nathan and Pop-Pop. I jump in the tub, knowing that Sadie and I are in for the night. I’m surprised at how tired my brain and body feel after the past couple of days with sleeping as much as I did today.

Jared texts that he made it home as I get out of the bath. Once I’m curled up on the bed with Sadie for a movie, the phone rings.

“Hey, beautiful,” Joe’s voice sings and tingles my body.

“Hey,” I return comfortably.

This doesn’t seem too awkward.

“Did Jared come over?”

“Yeah. He left about forty minutes ago.”

“Have a good day?” Joe sweetly checks.

“Yeah,” I offer with a smile. “You?”

“Good . . . especially this morning,” he states sinfully.

My cheeks redden at his reminder.

“What are you up to?” he inquires.

“Curled up with Sadie. We’re going to watch a movie and then bed,” I explain with a yawn.

Joe laughs. “You sure you’ll make it through the whole thing?”

“No . . .” I return.

“What are you going to watch?”

“Not sure yet.”

“Well . . . enjoy the movie,” Joe hums in my ear.

“Thanks . . .” I comment with another yawn.

“Goodnight, beautiful.”

I hear the smile in his words and it makes me smile too.

“Goodnight, Joe.”