The Substitute (35 page)

He turned to head back into the building, but she ran in front of him, blocking his path. “Don’t be so hasty, Josh. I thought you wanted to save those employees of yours.”

“No. Not like this. I love her, Blair. I can’t just walk away from her. Not like this.”

They both gasped at his declaration.

He loved her?
But he knew it was true as soon as he said it. As impossible as it seemed, he loved Megan.

“
Love her?
Who are you trying to fool here? Is this a bargaining chip?”

“What? God, no!” he spat in disgust as he walked away from her. “You can take your fucking deal and ride your broom back to hell.” One persistent thought ran through his head: He had to get to Megan before Blair did.

“Your brother agreed to it.” Blair’s calm voice called out into the night air.

He froze, his eyes sinking closed.

“Oh, yeah. Noah couldn’t sign that deal fast enough.”

He turned around and watched as she squatted and picked up the paper. “You didn’t notice his signature?”

He stomped over and snatched the document from her hands. Sure enough, Noah’s unmistakable scrawl was at the bottom. Fury rushed through him.

Noah had betrayed him.

Again.

Josh ripped the paper in half, then ripped it again and threw it into the air. “Here’s what I think of your deal. And my original suggestion stands—go to hell.”

He marched toward the front door of the restaurant.

“If you hurt Megan, I will rip your balls off myself,” Blair shouted, her voice cracking. It was the first sign of genuine emotion he’d heard from her since she’d staged this little scene.

“Get in line.” Once inside, he raced to the private room and threw open the door. There he was. Noah was still in his seat beside Libby as if nothing had happened, a flirtatious grin on his face while Mitch looked at his phone.

The entire room turned to stare at Josh as he threw the door against the wall. Megan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Josh?” she gasped, getting to her feet. “Are you okay?”

He turned his attention back to Noah. The amusement in his brother’s face crumpled into an expression that clearly read
oh shit
. Noah stood and started around the table to intercept him.

“Josh, let’s go outside,” Noah said.

Josh strode toward his brother, stopping only when he heard Blair’s voice from behind him. She stood in the doorway now, a smug grin on her face. “Yeah, Josh. Why don’t you and Noah go outside, and I’ll have that chat with Megan.”

Megan glanced between Josh and Blair. “What’s going on?”

So this was what it felt like to really be backed into a corner.

Kevin stood next his seat, looking ready to implement plan B to stop Megan’s wedding: beat Josh to a bloody pulp, while Gram’s eyes glittered with excitement. Poor Bart looked concerned over the second drama that was clearly about to erupt. Knickers remained shockingly silent, but perhaps that could be credited to the empty wine glass in front of her.

Noah took several cautious steps toward him. “Now, Josh. Let’s go outside and I’ll explain everything.” He started to push Josh toward the door.

But Josh dug in his feet. There was no way he was going to let Blair get to Megan first.

He turned to Noah, a wave of hurt engulfing him out of nowhere. It wasn’t the first time his brother had let him down, of course, but somehow it was the worst. “How could you?” Josh choked out.

Noah’s eyes filled with some unnamable emotion. “When I signed…I didn’t realize…I’m sorry, but maybe it’s for the best.”

“
Like hell it is
,” Josh growled as he swung his fist into his brother’s face.

Noah stumbled backward, holding his hand up to his eye as the room erupted into chaos.

Knickers finally sprang into action. “Someone tell me what’s going on here. Right. This. Instant!” she shouted, standing next to her seat.

Josh turned to Megan and held out his throbbing hand toward her. “Come with me,” he pleaded. “
Please.
” She took one hesitant step toward him and paused for a moment before quickening her pace.

“
Go?
Go where?” Knickers screeched.

Blair blocked Megan’s path, but she cast a confused glance to Josh, as though no longer certain what to make of him. Josh hoped to God she realized how wrong she was, but her indecision faded, quickly replaced by cold determination. “Don’t do it, Megan. There are things you don’t know.”

“Megan,
please
,” Josh called to her, desperate.

Megan looked between the two of them, then shoved Blair to the side. “Sorry, Blair.” She hurried to him, and he nearly cried with relief as she took his hand. He led her outside and to the passenger’s seat of her Explorer. Then he got into the driver’s seat and took off without a word, wanting to get the two of them as far from reality as possible.

Megan was terrified as Josh drove away from the restaurant, but not for her own safety. She knew he would never harm her. In fact, she had a feeling this was an attempt to save her somehow; she just didn’t know what he was protecting her from.

“Josh, what happened?”

His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he shook his head, his jaw clenching as he swallowed.

“Okay, we don’t have to talk about it yet. Where do you want to go?”

He was quiet for several moments. “Our spot.”

Our spot.
How could two little words fill her with such contentment and hope? “Okay, we can try it. It’s a Friday night in June. It might already be taken.”

“Let’s try anyway.”

His hands on the wheel relaxed. She tried to release some of the tension in her neck. What had Noah done to elicit such rage from his brother? What had Blair done to instigate it? Because this had Blair’s handiwork all over it.

Josh reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing with an intensity that worried her, but she kept silent. There was plenty of time to ask questions. They had all night.

Fate was on their side. The campsite was vacant. The bedding from the previous night was still in the back of the car. After Josh parked, Megan climbed out and went around to the hatch to pull it out. Josh met her and snagged it first, both of them silent as they walked to the bluff. Josh handed the pillows to Megan as he spread out the sleeping bag and sheet, then laid the blanket on the pallet. Megan tossed the pillows down and turned to Josh, waiting.

The whole night had been an overwhelming roller coaster of emotions. Something big was happening, and she was intuitive enough to realize this would be a defining moment in their relationship. Whether they moved forward or called it quits. The thought of losing him was suffocating.

She stared at him, overcome with how attractive he was. He could have his choice of just about any woman—the flirty flight attendant was proof of that—but he was here with her, dealing with her mess and all that it encompassed. Despite the huge hassle, this gorgeous, thoughtful, humorous man had chosen to be with her.

The starry sky was his backdrop, the moonlight giving him an ethereal glow. Pain and regret welled in his eyes, and she did the only thing she could to show him that she was there for him in the way he’d been there for her.

She slowly reached for his cheeks and pulled his mouth to hers.

He grabbed her hands and tried to pull away. “Megan.”

“Shhh.” She slipped her hand around to the back of his head and held him in place, her tongue probing his parted lips.

He groaned, opening his mouth to her as he wrapped his arms around her back, tugging her close. Her tongue teased his and he released another groan, though she could sense he was holding back from her.

She reached for the buttons of his shirt, unfastening blindly as she continued to kiss him. He pulled back and searched her eyes. When she cupped his cheek and smiled, he opened his mouth as if to say something. Then he stopped and kissed her instead, pulling her lower lip between his own and raking his teeth lightly along the tender flesh. She released a soft whimper, grabbing handfuls of his shirt. His urgency increased as he reached for the zipper on her dress, jerking the fabric down until it pooled at her feet. She resumed her work with his buttons, smiling when he unfastened the last one, clearly impatient for her to finish. She spread his shirt open, her hands skimming his chest. His abdominal muscles tightened under her touch as her hands continued their downward pursuit.

She quickly unfastened his belt and the zipper on his dress pants, then pushed them over his hips so they fell to his feet.

Her gaze on his face, she stepped backward onto the pallet, wearing nothing but her bra and panties. He dropped his underwear and followed. Reaching a hand behind her head, he pulled her mouth to his, claiming her with more intensity than she’d expected, sending desire shooting through her lower abdomen. His hands reached around and unfastened her bra, tugged it down her arms, then stripped off her panties so they both stood naked in the moonlight.

She wanted this man, and not just his body—although she wanted that too, desperately. She wanted to go home to Seattle and start a life with him.

The whole idea scared the crap out of her. How could she be so certain so quickly? She used to make fun of girls who claimed to fall in love on a first date, but here she was, wanting a fairy-tale ending with a man she’d met three days before.
Three days.

But it was
Josh
. Sweet, gentle Josh who made her laugh. Who made her feel cherished. She trusted him more than she’d ever trusted Jay, and no one was more surprised by any of this than she was.

She wanted this man in every sense of the word, and she intended to let her actions prove it to him. She dropped her knees and took him into her mouth, her tongue teasing his tip, dancing in circles.

“Oh, God, Megan,” he moaned, grabbing handfuls of her hair as she began to suck the length of him, his grunts and rapid breath sending hot desire through her veins and straight to her pelvis. She coaxed and teased him with her mouth until he put his palms on her head and pulled her back. Then he dropped to his knees in front of her, their chests just inches apart.

He stared into her face as his hand caressed her cheek and sank into her hair, grabbing the strands loosely into his fist. His gaze penetrated hers before he gently tilted her chin. He placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth, brushing a line of them to her jaw line, then moved down to her neck, finding her sensitive spot and making her squirm.

He pushed her back and gently laid her down on the pallet, her head on the pillow. His knee nudged hers, spreading them apart so he could kneel between them. She watched him as he lowered himself over her. The lust and passion in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine, straight to her core.

His face lowered to her neck, his lips brushing the sensitive skin there. His tongue worked circles down her sternum before easing to her breast to tease her nipple. Then he took it in his teeth.

She lay panting and breathless, lifting her hips in involuntary need, but he moved to her other breast, continuing his exquisite torture. A light breeze swept over her wet skin, making the hairs on her arms stand on end. His mouth moved lower, over the swell of her breasts. His tongue and lips licked and sucked a path down her abdomen, setting her skin on fire with need. He continued his torturous descent to her pelvis, her inner thigh.

He lifted her hips, cradling her ass cheeks in his palms as his face hovered over her folds, his warm breath sending a tingling jolt into her lower abdomen. By the time his tongue started to caress her, she cried out with relief, surprised by the intensity of the pleasure shooting through her.

She arched her back, lifting into him, trying to stifle her moans. After a minute of his sweet torture, she blindly grasped his hair and pulled him up, sure she’d come if he didn’t stop, and she wanted to do that when he was inside her. His head lifted and he slid his chest up her abdomen, his chest hair brushing over her sensitive nipples, making her gasp and press her groin into him.

He rested his weight on his elbow next to her head, looking down at her as she fought to catch her breath. His hand brushed several strands of hair from her cheek, then he leaned in to kiss her, soft and gentle, his tongue skimming her long bottom lip, the taste of her on his mouth.

Wild with need, she lifted her hips, the movement pressing his erection into her thigh. She took control of the kiss, frantic for him and for release. His hand moved down and brushed her nipple with his thumb.

Megan sucked in her breath as her back arched in desire. “Josh,” she cried out, that one word channeling the force of her raw desire.

Moving his hand under her ass, Josh lifted her up, then teased her entrance with the tip of his erection.

She moved under him, encouraging him to take her completely. His palm covered her hand next to her head, and he laced their fingers together before pushing into her, moving with agonizing slowness.

The ache for release was overwhelming as he pulled out and repeated his slow thrust. “
Josh
.”

He moved his hips more quickly, leaning down to kiss her as she gasped in pleasure and relief. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she tilted her hips up to take him deeper.

The pressure built until she shattered, crying out his name. He covered her mouth with his, muffling her sounds. He was close behind, thrusting several more times before he pushed deep inside her and groaned into her mouth. Her arms wrapped around his upper back, holding him close, her wordless way of telling him that she never wanted this moment to end.

He gently eased her hips down to the pallet, staying on top of her. As he kissed her, slow and deep, Megan realized she’d never felt so connected to anyone in her life.

“Don’t leave me tomorrow,” she whispered.

“I will never willingly leave you, Megan.”

She studied his face. “What does that mean?”

“You might change your mind about me.”