"I'm fine," I breathed. "Please, Levi, it's good. It's so good."
We kissed softly as he pushed the rest of the way forward. When he was fully inside me, I wrapped my arms around his neck and wound my fingers through his hair.
"You feel," he whispered, pulling back and pushing forward again, "you feel incredible, Joss. You're so perfect."
His hips picked up speed, then the pace would lessen, and beads of sweat coated my forehead at the slow, slow build of pressure in my core. We stayed wrapped tight like that, his arms clutching me tight as his back curved up over me with each movement. I never wanted to leave. Never wanted it to end.
His muscles bunched under my hands as I moved them greedily over his damp skin.
As he moved faster, my body tensed tight at the surprising build of another explosion that simmered dangerously under the surface, waiting, waiting, waiting for something to release it.
With three words, he pulled the pin.
"I love you," he breathed against my mouth.
Boom.
It was sharp and hot and excruciating and perfect.
I cried out again, and he thrust forward with a loud groan, sinking slowly against me as he tried to catch his breath.
Tightly, so tightly, I held him to me, two tears rolling down my temples into my hair.
He loved me. I was loved by him.
Maybe it hadn't been according to his plan, but it was perfect.
Chapter 23
Levi
"Did you want more corn?" I asked Joss.
That was what came out of my mouth, at least. Across the table on my parents' deck, my eyes were saying something completely different. I might have been holding out the plate of bright yellow corn on the cob, but she smirked because she could read between the lines just fine.
"Not at the moment, thank you," she answered politely. Her eyes bugged out in warning.
I sighed quietly, and my mom cleared her throat.
My dad winked at me, giving me a nod because I guess I wasn't very good at being subtle. But after four days of being able to do whatever I wanted with Joss—and we'd done that whatever every single day—I was feeling a touch out of control.
Any moment of privacy was urgent, almost frantic, especially after our first time. Joss unleashed was my new favorite kind of Joss. A close second was the way she laid her head on my chest and stroked her fingers idly over my chest and stomach when we lay in bed, talking about our days in the same way we used to.
"Joss, I'm going to need to pick your brain," my mom said.
"What about?"
"Well, I signed up to bring a dessert to the Fourth of July party at the community center, and I feel like I bring the same tired thing every year."
"Lemon ice cream cake," Joss and I said in unison, then grinned at each other when my mom rolled her eyes.
"See? I need something new."
"What's wrong with it?" Joss asked. "Everyone loves it. Remember last year, you caught Jackson James trying to take four pieces."
"I like your cake, honey," my dad said, patting his stomach.
My mom eyed it. "I know you do. I'm going to stop making so many sweets at home if you keep needing me to let out your pants."
He mumbled something into a glass of water. I couldn't hear him, but Joss covered her mouth and laughed. My dad winked at her.
Contentment spread warm and sweet in my veins. Everything was the same, but it wasn't. It was better.
As I stared at Joss across the table, the light growing dusky and blue around us as we talked and laughed through the meal, I knew I'd marry her tomorrow if she'd say yes. Only a handful of days earlier, I told my mom that I'd been stuck.
But that was the wrong word, I could see now.
Waiting and stuck weren't the same thing. Stuck implied no choice. No action. No forethought or planning.
But waiting, that fit better in my head. I'd been waiting for Joss as sure as the Earth spun around the sun. And waiting was just fine when you held firm to the belief that it was the right course of action.
She was right for me. I was right for her.
And I think she felt it too, when I caught her sending a small smile my way.
During our first time, I told her I loved her because I did. And I wanted her to know it when we shared something so big and precious together. She hadn't said it back, but strangely, I was okay with that. Joss loved me, of that I had no doubt. She'd loved me for years.
But to make the switch to in love, I'd give her time because time was what I had in my years of waiting.
My mom stood from the table, patting Nero's head when he popped up from his spot next to Joss' chair on the deck. "You little beggar." Grabbing a half-finished roll from her plate, she slipped it to him. "Y'all done with your plates?"
"Let me help," Joss said, taking her empty plate and setting it in her lap. I handed her mine, and she stacked it on top of hers, then grabbed my mom and dad's.
"Thanks, sweetie. I'll get the glasses." My mom eyed me. "And then my youngest son and the light of my life will grab the rest."
I saluted. "Come on, old man, you going to be the only one not helping?"
"Oh, I best stay out here and make sure Nero doesn't feel lonely."
My mom rolled her eyes, Joss laughed, and I shook my head while I gathered the silverware and balled-up napkins.
The dog to which he referred trotted into the house behind Joss' chair. I gave Dad a look, but he'd already leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His hands rested over his stomach as he sighed contentedly.
Once the kitchen was cleaned up, my mom went back out onto the deck to wake my snoring dad.
Bracing my hands on the back of Joss' chair, I tipped her backward so I could smack a kiss on her lips. "You coming to my place for a while?"
"He says as if it's not forty feet from here," she teased.
I tugged one of her curls, and she yelped. "Yes, but that forty feet is very important for noise purposes. Plus, it has a lock."
Her eyes, dusk on a summer night blue, sparkled up at me. "That it does."
"Is that a yes?"
She pushed her hands on the wheels, so I had no choice to let her up, and she spun to face me. "I can't. I've got an early shift at the bakery."
"How early?" I murmured, leaning down to taste her lips slowly. My hands cupped her neck when she tilted her chin up to deepen the kiss.
"Very early. I told Jennifer I'd do breads, so they need to be fresh and ready to go when we open. My alarm is set for four."
"That's horrifying."
She laughed. "I'm preemptively tired, trust me."
"So," I said slowly, "no …" I waggled my eyebrows.
"S-E-X?" she spelled. "That's correct. Plus, if you can't say it, you shouldn't be doing it, Buchanan."
"I'll remember that the next time you tell me to shut up and take off my pants."
Joss sighed. "Well, it's not my fault, really. You were sitting there, looking all handsome and giving me sex eyes."
I chuckled and followed her out to the garage. After I put her chair into the back of her car, I leaned into the open driver’s door, and we spent a few minutes kissing, her hands digging into my hair the way she loved to. I brushed a thumb over her breast, felt the skin tighten to a point under her thin tank top.
Joss growled, pulling back with a warning look. "You're terrible. I'm going to be cursing your name when my alarm goes off if you keep this up."
"And wouldn't it be worth every second?"
"Probably," she answered glumly.
I was still grinning when she pulled back and started her car.
"See you tomorrow?" I asked after I closed her door. She lifted her chin for one more kiss through the open window, which I happily gave her.
"I'll call you when I'm done," she promised.
Watching her drive away, I felt that same slow roll of contentment. My waiting for her was over, and nights like this could easily be my future, even if living in the conv
erted garage apartment in my parents' driveway now had a shorter shelf life. Saving up my money was smart, and I felt no shame about where I laid my head. But our future would need more than this. Jobs and homes and things like that.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I felt the vibration from my cell phone tucked into my front pocket.
I pulled it out, mouth falling open when I recognized a Seattle area code. It was just after five there.
"This is Levi," I answered, staring hard at Joss' car as it turned out of view.
"Hey, it's Brian Castello with the Washington Wolves."
I almost laughed. As if I'd forget where he worked. "Hey, Brian, good to hear from you."
"Did I catch you at a good time?"
I'd begun pacing the driveway the second he said his name.
"Ah, yeah. All the time in the world."
"Great. I won't beat around the bush." I held my breath as he paused. "I'm calling because I'd like to offer you the assistant trainer position if you're still interested."
My heart stopped. My feet froze on the concrete. If I tried hard enough, I could still see the red glow of taillights.
"You still there?" he asked.
"Sorry, yes, I'm just … wow." I laid a hand on my forehead and tried to settle my suddenly racing brain. "I can't believe it. I figured you'd want someone with more experience," I admitted. "Which is probably really stupid to admit out loud, now that I'm saying it."
He laughed. "I like you, Levi. And you had a good rapport with the players you met. That's important in this job. To like you is to respect you, to respect you has them taking better care of their bodies."
"Right."
"Should we talk some specifics?" he asked, and I could still hear a smile in his voice.
I closed my eyes and shot up a desperate prayer. "Yeah, let's."
Chapter 24
Levi
My phone rang as I drove to Donner Bakery to pick up Joss from work. She didn't know I was coming, which was probably why she called me. I pulled my truck into a secluded turnoff so I could answer safely and swiped my thumb along the screen.
"Hey."
"I got out early," she said in a happy voice. "Where are you?"
"Driving to you, actually." I tipped my head back and let it rest on the seat. "Thought I'd pick you up."
"Oh. Well, where are you now?"
Lifting my head, I looked around. "Uhh, I'm at the turnoff just past Bandit Lake. The one with the big pine that fell over."
"Don't move. I'll be there in ten." And she hung up.
Great. Ten more minutes to sit and obsess about what I was going to say to her.
Oh hey, I forgot to tell you this little thing that happened, and now I'd really like you to relocate across the country with me because I love you and can't imagine not being with you, but if you said no, I just might turn down the dream job of all dream jobs in order to stay with you. How was your day?
The conversation played out a few ways, all but one scenario ending with celebratory sex that I'd been offered a job as an assistant trainer with a professional sports team. Her reaction ranged from screaming fury that I hadn't told her right away, excitement about the opportunity itself, sadness about a life away from Green Valley, to her shutting me out completely and dumping my ass because of it.
I covered my face with my hands and groaned, dropping my head forward so I could rest it on the steering wheel of my truck. The salary Brian mentioned made my head spin, and the benefits were incredible. It would be hard work, and the season would be insane, but I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, I'd love every second of it. I'd love living there too. And I could see her there, surrounded by all the exciting things we'd be able to explore together.
She could finish her degree, and still be able to pursue anything she wanted to with more opportunities than Green Valley would ever be able to offer her.
I'd worked out all these things in my head for when she inevitably started listing off why it wouldn't work or why she couldn't do it.
"So this crazy thing happened," I practiced quietly. That was always how I started it. That was how I'd start it as soon as she got here.
The sound of her car pulling up next to my truck had me lifting my head. She motioned that she was going to come to me, and I nodded, unlocking the passenger door. I leaned over to open the door as she stood out of her car. Through the open door, I gaped at the bright blue summer dress she was wearing as it floated around her knees when she took her first step to my truck.
Because she was concentrating on her foot placement, reaching her hand out to grab the door, she didn't notice the dumbfounded expression on my face.
"Hi," she said breathlessly, smiling over at me as she pulled herself up using the handle on the ceiling of the truck. She positioned one leg up on the bench and faced me after yanking the door shut.
"You're wearing a dress."
"And you are quite observant," she said seriously. "Come here."
Sliding toward her on the seat bench, I greedily took her mouth as soon as she slipped her hands into my hair.
"I missed you," she said, brushing her lips against mine. She grabbed one of my hands and pushed it up on her thigh. My fingers dug into her flesh as she kissed me again, tilting her head to the side.
Her hair smelled like oranges and vanilla and cinnamon, and she tasted like sugar.
My need ignited instantly.
In the back of my head, I wondered if this would ever cool or dampen between us if left unattended. If we followed where it led, would we ever burn out?
I wrapped my hands around her ass and lifted her into my lap, her knees settling on either side of my hips.
"You read my mind." She gasped when she felt me hard underneath her.
"Yeah?" My hands ran up and down her thighs, coming around to dip beneath her underwear and the firm flesh underneath.
"Last night, when I was home and in bed, all I could think about was how I missed feeling you," she whispered against my ear. "Feeling you over me, your hands on me."
"Joss," I groaned. "It's broad daylight outside."
But even as I said it, my hands ran up her back underneath her dress, came over her bra and dipped my thumbs inside so I could feel the warm skin underneath. Her hands tugged at my belt buckle, her lips never left mine, my argument ignored. Then she leaned back and produced a condom from her purse.
"I want to have truck sex," she announced, then cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you?"
"Quite badly."
She smiled at my serious answer.
Normally, I wouldn't have questioned the mechanics of it, because Joss knew her body, knew what she was capable of, but I pulled back.
"Will this … position work okay?"
Her grin was sly. "Perfectly." She glanced down at the bench, even as her hands wrapped around me. I hissed in a breath as she protected us both with swift movements. "Move us over like, six inches that way."
"Only six?" I muttered, which made her toss her head back and laugh.
Once I'd done what she asked, I sucked at her neck, pulling the strap of her dress down so I could trace my tongue over the edge of her delicate lace bra.
I felt Joss' weight lift up slightly, and I raised my head. Her hand was gripping the handle, the muscle on her bicep curling out. I chuckled, tracing the definition I could see there when she lowered back down, pressing her center tight against me.
"So strong," I murmured. "So beautiful."
"All those chin-ups are about to come in handy, big guy."
And they did.
It was all steady, small movements, a graceful, rolling ride that had me cursing under my breath. Joss didn't take her dress off, and I kept my jeans barely shoved past the edge of my ass. My hands gripped her waist, but she lifted herself up with one hand, sliding back down onto me so, so slowly.
"Pull up again," I told her through gritted teeth.
She did, and I saw the way the skin on her hands turned white as she gripped the
handle. When I was almost free of her body, I stilled her progress with a tight hand on her hips. She held still, her chest heaving, eyes lit brightly in her flushed face.
"I love you," I told her.
I snapped my hips up, and she threw her head back with a cry.
It didn't take long after that for either of us.
Joss whimpered my name when she exploded, and I wrapped her in my arms as we came down from the peak.
"Truck sex is awesome," I breathed, burying my head in the mass of her hair.
Her frame shook with laughter. "Agreed."
"When I decided to pick you up from work, this is not what I envisioned."
Joss lifted her head and pecked my lips. "What did you envision? Just being a nice boyfriend?"
Apprehension squeezed my stomach into a block of ice. "Oh, umm, just something I wanted to talk to you about. Something, uhh, something pretty crazy happened."
She tilted her head and gave me a sweet smile. "What is it?"
For some reason, having her still on my lap like this, felt wrong. "Here, let me grab you a tissue or something."
I lifted her off my lap, and she hissed in a quick breath when I set her on the bench next to me. Her cheeks were red when I grabbed a package of Kleenex from the glove compartment. I lifted off the seat and fastened my pants.
Her eyes looked up at me expectantly when I didn't start speaking, but I didn't say anything until she'd finished, and her dress was smoothed down over her lap. I laid my hand on her thigh and took a deep breath.
"Something crazy happened …" she prompted.
"Yeah." My hands curled so easily around her thigh, the skin warm and soft. It was easier to focus on that than her face when I said this, trying to keep what I'd practiced straight in my head. "I got a job offer."
"What?" she gasped. "Where? Levi! That's great! What's the job?"
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