"Shh," Lori said fiercely. "Shh." She looked into his face and read the concern there … and verified something else.
Josh was scared too.
Oh, not in the same ways that she was, of course, but he was definitely operating at less-than-full confidence. To see big, oh-so-male Josh at the mercy of anxiety – or, well, maybe her? – quieted her own nagging nerves.
Sapped them of their power. She smiled at him.
"God, you're beautiful," he whispered. "I want you, Lori."
She rubbed her knuckles against the stubble along his jaw. "Then take me," she said.
He shook his head. "No." Then he dropped his hands from her, stepped away.
Lori's eyes widened. To have come this far and— "No?" she echoed.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "I think you'll feel more comfortable if you're in control, honey."
Lori swallowed. "In control how?"
"You tell me when to touch. How to touch. Where to touch."
Her skin tingled. "Oh, no—"
"Oh, yes." He took another step away until his hips found the edge of her dresser. Leaning against it, he crossed his feet at the ankles. Then he nodded at her. "So go ahead and undress."
A wave of heat washed over Lori's skin. An excited hum started buzzing in her ears. "I—" Then she narrowed her eyes. "You just gave me an order. That's not me in control."
His lips twitching, he shrugged.
"You undress," Lori said.
Josh opened his mouth. Closed it. His fingers moved to the top button of his shirt.
Lori's heartbeat thrummed against her breastbone. Her skin felt tight. Josh unbuttoned his shirt, pulled the tails out of his pants, then casually tossed it aside.
Lori's mouth dried as she silently cursed winter. Surely if this was summer, she wouldn't have had to wait so long to see Josh's naked chest. Even now she could imagine him in nothing but low-slung Levis and a tool belt, sweat rolling over his strong pec muscles.
One of his eyebrows winged up. "Like what you see?"
She nodded dumbly.
"What next?" he asked.
Lori had to swallow to get the words out. "I want to … to touch you."
He lifted his arms from his sides, a casual gesture, though she saw his nostrils flare. "I'm not stopping you."
The thrill of power licked through her as she approached him. He didn't move as she drew closer, maybe he didn't even breathe. When they were just an inch apart, she halted. His body heat radiated toward her and she breathed in another dizzying gulp of Josh's scent.
Her hands lifted to the buttons of her blouse.
If Josh had been breathing, he certainly wasn't now. His voice was strained. "I thought – I thought you wanted to touch me," he said.
"I do," she answered. She slid her blouse off her shoulders and it fell silently to the carpet. "I want to touch you like this." She closed the last inch between their bodies.
His skin burned her, even through the lace of her bra. She gasped, her nipples contracting to even tighter, more sensitive points. "Josh…"
His head was tilted back, his eyes were closed. "Good," he said. "You feel so good."
Once again, the impact she could clearly see she had on him freed her. Curling her arms around his neck, she snuggled closer to Josh, rubbing the lacy cups against his chest. "You feel good too." She kissed his chin.
He groaned.
The sound only bolstered her confidence. It only made her want him more, this big, sexy man who was letting her take her time, who was letting her make all the moves. Desire sped through her body, and without a second thought she reached behind her back and unhooked her bra. With a little shimmy, the straps slipped from her shoulders, the cups slid off her breasts.
Her naked nipples met his naked skin.
They groaned together, then the sound was muffled as their mouths met too. Josh controlled the kiss, took it hot and deep, but Lori reveled in it, because he was under her control too. The truth of that was in every one of his ragged breaths, in the tension in his hard muscles, in the sound he made, low and hardly contained, when she drew one hand over his chest and found the stiff point of his own nipple.
He tore his mouth away from hers. "You're killing me," he said.
She pressed her lips against his heart, feeling it pounding quick and sure. "You seem all right to me." She kissed across to one nipple, felt compelled to taste it with her tongue.
"Lori…" He groaned again. "I'm trying to let you have your way, but…"
Her tongue slid across that delicious point again.
"…it's hard."
She suppressed a giggle as she tilted her hips into his. "I know."
"Very funny," he said, but he wasn't laughing.
And then Lori wasn't either. The rigid feel of Josh against her, that hard part of him against her belly, turned the heat up another notch on her simmering desire. Places inside her began aching with an insistent throb.
Startled by the rapid escalation of passion, she looked up, into Josh's eyes.
Almost black, they gazed back down at her. "Feel it, honey?" he whispered.
She nodded.
With a slow movement, he fisted one hand in the back of her hair and drew her head back farther. His mouth slid across her mouth, she tried to catch it with her own, but he kept moving, over her chin, down her neck.
"Peaches," he murmured. Kisses burned across her throat, down the slope of one breast. Then his mouth latched onto her nipple and sucked, strong and hot.
Lori gasped. Her knees buckled and she gripped the sleek, heated skin of Josh's shoulders to stay on her feet. The throbbing inside her redoubled, demanding now, as he tasted her other nipple.
She hadn't known anything could be this good. Josh's strength, his heat, were focused on her, feeding her desire. His size only made him more beautiful, more to touch, more to appreciate, more to explore.
Her fingers slid down his arms to the button of his jeans. Josh froze, his face buried between her breasts. Lori swallowed. "I'm in control here, remember?" she whispered. "This next."
A breath shuddered into Josh's lungs. "Whatever you say." He backed away from her, standing straight again.
His dark eyes trained on her face, Lori lost her nerve. Her fingers fumbled at his waistband. He caught her hands, squeezed them between his. "Shall I?"
Lori couldn't look at him, so she nodded, her gaze on their linked fingers. He slowly released her and made swift work of the button and zipper. After one brief hesitation, he shoved down his pants, taking a pair of dark boxers with them. Without an apparent care in the world, he took the time to toe off his running shoes too, so that in another moment he was completely naked.
Largely naked.
He was big everywhere, of course, all his maleness proportionate to his size, but it was the entire package that took her breath. Long thick bones covered by heavy muscles covered by sleek skin.
He was a naked, beautiful male animal.
He was Josh.
She couldn't believe how much she wanted him.
"I…" Her hand lifted, fell to her side. She didn't have the words to tell him.
"May I undress you?" he asked.
Undress her? Lori blinked. She'd been so fascinated by him, so entranced, she'd completely forgotten herself. With Josh in the room, with her desire for him, there wasn't room for anything else it seemed. Her hands went to the waistband of her wool slacks. "I can do it."
He touched the back of her hand. "Let me."
Her fingers fell away.
His touch was quick, sure, but she detected the power of his need in the sound of his quick breaths and the caressing way that his knuckles slid along her belly as he pushed the rest of her clothing away. In moments, they faced each other, both naked, their chests rising and falling as if they'd been running.
He swallowed. "You're … more than I dreamed."
Lori didn't think she could talk. She didn't have the extra air. She didn't have the words to te
ll him how vulnerable she felt … and yet how strong. "Take me…" She had to wet her lips with her tongue to finish. "Take me to bed, Josh."
Without moving his gaze from her, he took the few steps to the bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress, his long legs in front of him, and lifted his hand to her. "Come here, Lori."
She grasped his hand and let him draw her between his spread knees. Standing above him, she placed her free hand on his silky dark hair, then drew his head toward her breasts. He laid his cheek against her heart and she stroked his hair, knowing he could hear her desire in its rapid beat, knowing he could feel her excitement in the shivers rolling across her skin.
Then he turned his head, caught her nipple between his teeth, and tugged.
Lori moaned, sagged against him, felt herself falling. Josh caught her, sliding back onto the bed so that he lay flat against the mattress and she lay flat against him. His mouth found hers, and the kiss was an explosion of need, desire, lust.
All the tentative moves were over now. All the give-and-take was unchoreographed, unpracticed, just the raw drive to touch, to taste, to know.
In the back of her mind, Lori realized Josh was still taking pains not to cage her or control her, but her mind wasn't so clear. She slid over him, rubbing her palms over his chest, licking the rippled muscles of his abdomen, tasting the underside of his chin.
He caught her, pulling her over him to bring her breasts to his mouth. He held her like that, kissing and sucking, while the lower half of her body draped across the lower half of his. "Josh," she cried, trying to tell him it wasn't enough. "Josh."
He laid her flat against the mattress and her body opened up to him, her thighs parting in invitation, but Josh wasn't done touching. He parted her, caressed her, nearly carried her away. Just as she thought she'd reached it, found what he'd been making her crave, he withdrew his touch.
She grabbed his arm and he laughed, the sound wicked and sweet. "Just a second, honey."
Then he was back, his touch there again. He took her up a second time, and just as she started to tremble, he pulled her body over on top of his. He drew up her knees and she half sat on his thighs. "Oh."
Josh's eyelids lowered. "Oh, man."
He'd put on protection and the hard ridge of his body was pressed just where hers throbbed. Where it ached.
"Lift up a little, honey," he said. His hands closed on her hips to encourage her. Then with one hand, he positioned himself right at the wet, hot entrance to her body.
"Now," he said, his voice guttural. "You're in charge."
Lori paused, desire sharpening with every moment she hesitated. Then Josh lifted his hand and brushed his thumb over her nipple. Heat blazed through her body.
In a rush, she slid down on him.
They both gasped.
He was big. So big, that her body tightened around him in near-rejection. She made to move off him, but Josh's palm drifted to her backside. "Relax, honey," he said. "Just give it a minute." His touch was warm and soothing. "Just another minute."
His other hand drew her head down to his, and he kissed her. It was a Josh-kiss, deep and hot, and Lori found herself melting into him. The too-full discomfort receded, and as Josh slid his tongue in and out of her mouth, Lori found her body echoing its movements.
Josh praised her with his mouth and his hands. The next thing she knew, she was riding him, taking him, having her way with him. Desire surged through her the way her body surged against Josh's. There was no longer any control, no longer any power but the power of Josh under her, with her, in her.
His hand insinuated itself between their bodies. He touched her there, and heat blazed through her, tension coiling tight. Lori threw back her head.
"Go, baby," Josh murmured. "And take me with you."
He gave the orders after all, Lori thought, then pleasure buckled her. She fell across Josh's chest as the waves came, and she tasted the salty goodness of his sweat as he pumped his own pleasure into her.
* * *
Lori was spread over Josh like a layer of warm honey. He felt the air going in and out of her lungs, slowly, evenly. She was probably asleep, with his body still inside hers.
He closed his eyes on the image, knowing that wasn't the way to make it out from under her. But he had to. He hated disturbing the moment, but there was the practical matter of the condom to deal with.
As gently as he could, he shifted her slack warmth, gritting his teeth as their bodies disengaged. She murmured a little in protest, then buried her head in the pillow beside him. He rolled off the mattress and padded into the adjacent bathroom.
With the door closed so the light wouldn't disturb her, he dispensed with the protection. Then, leaning over the sink, he turned on the cold tap water. He splashed some onto his face, then stared into his own heavy-eyed image in the mirror. Hanging his head, he cupped his hands and gathered more water, splashed it up against his face again, trying to bring back his senses.
His common sense.
Because somewhere between "this is your temporary receptionist" and "I want you, Josh," he'd come to care about Lori deeply. He could no longer fool himself that being with her was some kind of Samaritan impulse. Inhaling a long breath, he turned off the tap. Then he turned out the light and reentered the bedroom.
She was asleep, this woman he cared for so much. The outside edge of the small arc of meager light from the lamp at her bedside just reached her face, turned in profile against the white pillow. His heart jolted in his chest at its beauty, its serenity. Something primitive blossomed inside him at the same time. It was his lovemaking that had brought her that peace.
She stirred, her eyes opened sleepily. "Josh?" she murmured.
"Right here." He approached the bed, swooping down for his boxers and slipping them on before taking a seat on the edge of the mattress. She blinked up at him and he reached out to push her hair off her cheek and tuck it behind her ear.
"You're too far away," she said.
He smiled, though still hesitating. Lori had trusted him with her body, but how far did she really want to take their intimacy? As for himself … maybe he needed distance too, maybe with a little distance he would realize he hadn't made such a risky leap of the heart.
"Josh?" She lifted one arm. "I'm cold."
It was as simple as that, of course. He slid under the covers. Still leery of frightening her, he forced himself not to reach for her and instead let her scoot across the inches of mattress to align their bodies.
She sighed, a contented sound.
He sighed too, soundless though, afraid of giving too much away. Her cheek pillowed against his arm, she slept.
Josh guarded that sleep. Now, with his desire for her temporarily sated, he watched over her and remembered everything that had happened that night. Not just the explosive combination of their bodies, but what she'd told him when he'd arrived at her door.
She thought her ex-husband might be stalking her. God. The idea was enough never to let him sleep again.
Or never to let her sleep alone again. Closing his eyes, he stroked a finger down her bare shoulder, unable to stop himself. There wasn't one instant of the evening he wanted to take back, but he needed time to take it all in, time to fully assess the changes that had just come over his life.
"Josh?"
He opened his eyes. Lori was looking at him, a frown line between her arched black brows. His smile felt forced, but he tried it out anyway, hating that worry on her face. "Shh, honey. Go to sleep."
Her hand pushed his hair off his forehead. "Are you all right?"
He reached for her fingers and brought them to his lips. "You amazed me."
Her face softened. "Because you made it so easy for me to … to be with you."
He smiled, this one easier. "I'm glad."
"But now you're worried about something." Guess that left him out of the running for an Academy Award, he thought, sighing inwardly. Still, he wasn't going to burden her, not tonight. "I'm bowled over." That
was the truth, anyway.
She bit her bottom lip. "As flattered as I am, Josh, I think there's more going on inside your head."
"You flatter me," he said, trying to distract her. "A man like me, there's not a whole lot going on inside my head after holding you in my arms."
"It's David."
Josh hesitated. "It's hard to forget," he finally admitted.
Lori's gaze searched his face. "I understand. But I truly can't see how he'd know to come to Whitehorn."
Still, Josh felt his muscles tighten. It took all his force of will not to haul her up against him. Instead, he contented himself with sliding his palm down her shoulder. "But if he does, I won't let him hurt you."
Her gaze slid away from his face. "That's not your job, Josh."
The words were a warning to him, he knew that immediately, but they couldn't ease his need to protect her. "Job or not—"
"No, Josh. I'm not hiding behind you. That's not why I'm with you."
There was steel in her soft Southern voice. But there was steel in Josh, too. "I didn't say that's why you're with me, Lori. But I—"
She put her hand over his mouth. "Let's not talk about this now, Josh. Please."
He pulled back on the reins of his mood. The lady didn't want to talk about her ex-husband when she was in bed with him. In bed with him for the very first time. Hell, and he wanted to complain about that?
But, if he didn't care for her so damn much, this would be infinitely easier.
As if she sensed his capitulation, she smiled at him and snuggled closer. "Now go to sleep," she said. "You're going to need your energy later."
He lifted a brow. "I am?"
"Mmm." Her eyes drifted closed. "Because you're going to get lucky."
"Lucky?" There wasn't a worry that could tarnish the shining promise of that. He shifted closer to her and rested his chin on the top of her head, breathing in the scent of peaches. "I already am, sweetheart."
* * *
Chapter 10
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The following Saturday, Josh and Lori approached the front entrance to the Whitehorn Country Club. She looked up at him, her happy smile warming the brisk winter air.
IN LOVE WITH HER BOSS Page 11
