Between the Seams

by Aubrey Gross

  She kissed him again, small, feather light kisses along his hard length, before swirling her tongue around the head and taking him in her mouth. His hips gyrated, urging her forward. She took him completely, his length filling her, before moving her head back, then forward again.

  “Oh, God, Jo.”

  She felt his hands on her head, lightly threading through her hair, before they settled on her shoulders. She loved him slowly, completely, enjoying the feel of him in her mouth and the sound of his moans with every swipe of her tongue.

  His fingers dug into her shoulders before moving down to her breasts to toy with her nipples. She moaned, the sensation sending sparks of pleasure straight to her core. Chase pinched them, causing her to gasp. He slid out of her mouth, and hooked his hands under her armpits, gently hauling her body up so that she was straddling his wet erection.

  Their gazes collided, and she was entranced, at his mercy and every whim.

  He arched his hips, rubbing the head of his cock along the seam of her sex. Her hips responded, almost involuntarily, rubbing against him in turn. They rocked against each other for long moments, gazes still locked as pleasure built.

  Chase grasped her hips, his fingers applying gentle pressure, the head of his penis pushing into her entrance, teasing and tormenting.

  She quietly answered the question she saw in his eyes, wanting the same thing. “Clean as a whistle, on the pill since I was eighteen. You?”

  “Not on the pill, but clean.” His voice was husky and hoarse. Sexy. “You sure about this?”

  Jo nodded. “I trust you, Chase.”

  Their hips moved together, him sliding into her as much as she slid onto him, taking him to the hilt. He bumped against her cervix, slid along nerve endings she hadn’t even realized she’d had.

  Chase. Completely bare. Inside of her.

  Too soon the thoughts and the feelings were too much. Jo felt like she was bursting at the seams, all light and heat and emotions.

  It had never been like this. With anyone.

  Her orgasm broke, feminine muscles clenching and milking as she came on a low gasp. Chase’s hands tightened on her hips as he arched into her, her name a moan on his lips.

  She fell forward, allowed herself to nuzzle her nose into the crook of his shoulder and breathe him in. Kiss him lightly as unspoken words pushed at her throat, begging for release. His arms came around her and he breathed, a shaky sound that made her heart both soar and plummet.

  I love you.

  She wanted to shout those words. Whisper them. Write them on his heart like a tattoo.

  Instead, she slowly disengaged their bodies and lay down beside him. He reached for her, guided her head onto his chest and rubbed her back in silence. Dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

  She snuggled closer, wrapped an arm around his middle.

  I love you, Chase.

  ~~*~~

  Never in her wildest dreams could Jo have seen herself doing the walk of shame into her grandmother’s house at, oh, 11:32 the morning after, oh, the greatest, most soul shattering sex of her life.

  But here she was, not even bothering with an attempt to sneak in.

  Gran looked up at her, and then went back to doing her daily therapy exercises.

  Jo just stood there, wearing the same dress she’d left in yesterday, her wild hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, no makeup, and a slight case of whisker burn across her chest.

  Thank God Gran couldn’t see the love bite Chase had left on her stomach just an hour ago. Or the whisker burn on the insides of her thighs.

  Dear God, she was going to go up in flames.

  Long moments of silence passed while Jo tried not to fidget and Gran finished the current set of exercises. Long moments where Jo felt equal parts guilty and giddy, which really was an awkward combination.

  “Jolene, you’re a grown woman and owe me no explanations.”

  Jo released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, but still felt embarrassed at the thought of her grandmother even remotely suspecting what she’d been up to last night and this morning. Hopefully Gran just thought she’d had a little too much to drink and spent the night with Jenn. She’d opened her mouth to offer up just that explanation—not that she liked lying to Gran, but there really were some things grandmothers were better off not knowing—when Gran spoke again.

  “It’s about time you and Chase made up and figured out you belong together.” And then she winked. Actually winked.

  “Uh…um…”

  “Oh, don’t act so shocked, young lady. I was young once, too. I remember what it’s like to be in love, and you and Chase have been in love with each other since before you stopped believing in the Tooth Fairy. And I may be old but I’m not blind—Chase Roberts is what I believe you youngsters would call ‘eye candy’.”

  Jo’s mouth opened into an “O,” and she was unable to make anything remotely resembling an intelligent statement. How did Gran know the term “eye candy” anyway?

  Jo shook her head as if to clear it, grasped for something to say rather than standing there and looking like an idiot. “But you called the physical therapist a hussy the other day for drooling over Matt.”

  Gran tossed her a withering stare. “And she is a hussy. Not because she found the man attractive, but because of the way she talked about him, like he was a piece of meat and she was the grill.”

  Jo wasn’t entirely sure how any of that made sense to Gran, much less how it was supposed to make sense to her.

  “It’s one thing to be attracted to a man and respect him and like him and act on those feelings. It’s another thing entirely to look at a man as nothing more than an object. That’s why she’s a hussy.”

  Gran apparently wasn’t familiar with twenty-first century hookups, but Jo wasn’t in any hurry to be the one to explain that one to her. Instead, she said, “Fair enough. I still should have called and let you know I wasn’t coming home rather than worrying you.”

  The older woman raised a gray eyebrow. “I wasn’t worried about you in the least, Jolene. Why would I be? You’re a grown woman. Besides, I’ve seen this one coming for years. Just surprised it took this long.”

  Jo really did wonder if one could die from embarrassment. “Well, still, Gran. It was irresponsible of me and won’t happen again.”

  Gran’s snort was anything but ladylike. “Now that I don’t believe for a second. And for the record, I won’t worry when you don’t come home tonight, either.”

  She pulled out a resistance band for her next set of hip exercises before saying, “I imagine you want a shower and some lunch before you go back out with Chase. You’d best hurry if you don’t want to be late.”

  Torn now between embarrassed and bemused, Jo nodded her head in agreement. “I think I’ll go take a shower.”

  Minutes later, as she stood under the warm spray of the shower, Jo finally allowed herself to freely think about everything that had happened in the past twelve hours. As her hands soaped up her body, every muscle twinge and sensitive spot served as a reminder of last night’s activities.

  In other words, it was impossible not to think about what had happened between her and Chase.

  It had been incredible. More so than she’d even begun to imagine. Chase had dedicated himself to her body much like he dedicated himself to everything else in life—fully, intently. Completely.

  Even though the post-orgasmic glow still flowed through her veins, Jo couldn’t help but wonder about what the future held. She’d been truthful the other day when she’d told him she hadn’t planned on any of this, hadn’t thought they would spend even a small amount of time together much less find this very adult…something…blossoming between them. But now, it was there and just seemed to be growing.

  She wanted to encourage it, to nurture it, to allow herself to feel all the thin
gs she was and could feel for Chase. Unfortunately, the truth of their situation could not be ignored: she didn’t live in Del Rio anymore, hadn’t for years. In about a month she would have to go back to Austin and prepare for the new school year, meet with teachers, parents and students regarding class schedules and college decisions. She couldn’t pick up and move back no more than he could pick up and move to Austin.

  Jo massaged conditioner into her scalp, as much to cleanse as to ease the tension that was trying to creep into her body and stir up a headache. Odds were she was jumping the gun on the future anyway. While Chase wasn’t exactly a man whore, she wasn’t naïve enough to think that he was thinking beyond today in regards to their relationship.

  She rinsed the conditioner from her hair then turned off the shower with a decisive flick of her wrist.

  No more worrying about the future. Just live in the here and now and enjoy it while it lasts.

  Unfortunately, Jo had a feeling that was going to be much easier said than done.

  ~~*~~

  Chapter Thirteen

  Later that day, Jo pulled up to Chase’s house at a quarter past five, parking in the empty space in his driveway. From the looks of it, Jenn and Owen were already here, if the two other vehicles out front were any indication.

  Leaving the change of clothes and toothbrush she’d brought with her—just in case—in the car, she grabbed the bottle of wine and bowl of potato salad from the front seat and made her way up Chase’s front walk.

  In the late afternoon sun, Chase’s house was gorgeous. Two stories. Limestone. Dark blue shutters and trim with windows that sparkled in the sunshine. The front yard was wide, with xeriscaped beds populated by yucca and purple sage. A palm tree stood sentinel next to the garage, and a large oak tree invited people to sit under the shade in the front yard.

  It looked warm and welcoming, like the man who lived there.

  She reached the front door, rang the doorbell and waited, not sure what the protocol was for entering someone’s home after having hours of wild monkey sex with them that ended less than twelve hours prior. Did she wait until someone answered, or wait a few seconds and then just walk in? She shifted from one foot to the other, hating how she’d gone from being a confident, single, professional woman to anxious schoolgirl seemingly overnight.

  Seriously.

  And then the door was opening and Chase was there, his brown eyes warming at the sight of her and a smile curving the lips that had touched her in places that were currently going all warm and tingly. He leaned over the threshold, caught her mouth with his for a long, slow, hello there kiss.

  Jo was pretty sure she felt her ovaries throwing a party.

  “Hey there gorgeous,” Chase said, his voice low and full of promise as he stepped aside to let her in the front door.

  “Hey there yourself.” She lifted the wine and potato salad. “I, uh, brought stuff.”

  Brilliant, Jo. Had she really paid tens of thousands of dollars for a master’s degree?

  “You didn’t have to do that. There’s plenty here,” Chase said as they made their way from the living room to the kitchen.

  This afternoon, with the haze of lust and nerves slightly dulled, Jo was able to pay more attention to her surroundings. His home was big without being ostentatious, with an open floor plan that flowed from space to space. A big leather sofa sat in the middle of the room, facing a rustic entertainment center showcasing a huge flat screen TV airing the ball game.

  The Wranglers were currently beating the Marlins, she noted.

  “Does the game being on bother Matt?” she asked as they passed through to the kitchen.

  Chase shook his head. “I don’t think so, since he’s the one who turned it on. But I never can really tell with Matt, especially the past couple of days.”

  They stopped at the kitchen island, where Jo set down her packages. It looked like they were alone in the house, and she could hear laughter coming from what she guessed was the backyard. So she asked, “Is he okay? I mean, obviously he seems to be doing as well as someone could physically after something like that. But is he okay?”

  Chase smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her to him until their bodies were flush with one another. “You planning on diving into my brother’s psyche, Counselor?”

  His eyes sparkled, and Jo couldn’t hide her smile. “If he needs to talk, I’m willing to listen, but I don’t know that I could be impartial considering I’ve known Matt as long as I’ve known you. He’s like an annoying brother in some ways.”

  Chase chuckled, nuzzled his nose against the side of her neck. Jo’s eyes closed of their own volition, warmth flooding through her body. “As long as I’m not like an annoying brother.”

  Jo sighed. “Impossible.”

  And then his lips were on hers and all thoughts of Matt and his possibly fragile psyche scattered. As if from far away, she heard more laughter and a dog barking. Water splashing. The rapid pop pop pop pop pop of someone setting off a row of Blackcats.

  Vaguely, she thought she heard the sound of a door opening, but the feeling of Chase’s lips and tongue and hands were overpowering her brain cells.

  “Well then.”

  Startled, Jo broke the kiss, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment on top of desire. She watched as Chase blinked a few times, as if trying to clear his head, before saying, “Looks like we’ve been found out.”

  Jenn’s laugh rang out, filling the kitchen. “I knew it!”

  Jo snorted and turned to her best friend. “Knew what?”

  “That y’all had hooked up last night! Headache my right pinky toe.”

  Jo recalled telling Jenn that Chase was giving her a ride home because she’d developed a sudden migraine. Apparently she’d done a poor acting job. Oops.

  “Um…”

  Jenn walked over and hugged them both. “I’m so happy for you guys.”

  Jo and Chase looked at each other over Jenn’s head, Jo feeling decidedly awkward considering there had been no discussion of the future or even the present. “Thanks.”

  Chase winked at her, and Jenn pulled away, almost bouncing on her toes. “I love you guys, and I’m so glad y’all finally admitted you love each other.”

  Jo looked anywhere but at Chase and Jenn. The floor. The ceiling. Winchester’s dog crate. Chase cleared his throat, and Jo could feel his body shift beside hers.

  “Oh hell. I just stuck my big foot in my big mouth, didn’t I?”

  Jo opened her mouth to respond—with what, she didn’t know—but before she could even form a thought Chase said, “It’s okay, Jenn. No harm, no foul.”

  No harm, no foul? Now there was a stunning declaration of love.

  Not that Jo expected Chase to even remotely make a stunning declaration of love. Affection, maybe. But love? They were still feeling each other out.

  And up.

  Jenn blushed. “Sorry, guys. Didn’t mean to embarrass you. So. Um. Yay. How ‘bout them Cowboys?”

  Jo laughed. She couldn’t help it. “It’s okay. We’re just…um…yeah.”

  Chase choked back a laugh beside her. She elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow! What was that for?”

  “For laughing at me. Isn’t this awkward for you, too?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe. A little. But not really. I mean, we’re all adults here.”

  Jo turned and faced him. “It doesn’t make you feel awkward that we got caught making out like a couple of high school kids, or that the person who caught us happens to be our mutual best friend who mistakenly assumed we’re in love with each other?”

  “Well, when you put it that way…” he paused, as if thinking about it. “No, not really. Why do you feel awkward?”

  “Because, ah…” she stammered, “we…um…we don’t…ah…know what we’re doing here?”

  Chase wiggled his eyebrows and ga
ve her his best smile. “Oh, I think we know what we’re doing, Jo.”

  Her ovaries wobbled.

  “As fascinating as this is, I think we might be venturing into TMI territory here.”

  Oh hell. She’d forgotten Jenn was standing there. What kind of best friend forgot that her best friend was standing right there?

  The kind of best friend who’s lady parts are still shocked and awed and giving a standing ovation.

  “Sorry, Jenn.” Chase grinned at their friend, and those aforementioned lady parts tingled.

  Good Lord, the man was potent.

  Jenn’s blush had finally faded. “No problem. Normally I would ask Jo for all of the down and dirty details anyway.”

  Chase raised an eyebrow.

  “But I don’t think I’ll ask her this time. It would be like asking my brother about his sex life. Eww.”

  “Not that I would tell you anyway. Because, yeah. Awkward. And stuff.” Jo said.

  The back door opened again, and Owen stepped through this time. “Nobody told me the party had moved in here.”

  “We were just about to go outside,” Jo said.

  “After they finished making out,” Jenn added.

  Owen wiggled his eyebrows and raised his hand for a high five, which Chase did not return. “Too soon?”

  Chase shook his head, Jo snorted, and Jenn grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge.

  There’s no place like home, Jo thought to herself as Chase snagged her hand and the four of them walked outside.

  She almost stumbled when she realized the backyard wasn’t empty. Matt was there—which she had expected—but so were Matt and Chase’s parents. She tried to let go of Chase’s hand, but instead of complying he just tightened his grasp.

  She tugged.

  He squeezed.

  She wanted to glare at him but instead forced a smile on her face as Sarah Roberts approached and wrapped her in a hug. Of course, Chase let her hand go then.

  She was going to kill him for not warning her.

  “Jo, it’s so good to see you,” Sarah murmured into Jo’s hair. “We’ve all missed you.”