That saying about not being able to stand the heat in the kitchen was absolutely true. The temperature had soared and all I could think about was dragging this gorgeous man back to my bedroom and having my wicked way with him. He must have had the same thought because he reluctantly lifted his head, his breath ragged and labored.
“If we keep this up…”
He didn’t have to finish that sentence. We both knew what he was saying. At the beginning of the evening I might have pretended to be more tortured about making the decision but after talking to Ashlyn it was a done deal. I had to be all in too no matter how scary it was.
Just stand on the edge of the cliff and step off. No problem. Whatever you do, don’t look down.
I glanced at the dishes piled in the sink and then back at Josh. The leftovers had already been packed away in the refrigerator. “Those will keep until morning. Let’s go to bed.”
His eyes widened and his mouth fell open slightly. I’d surprised him. Heck, I’d surprised myself. The best way to jump off of a ledge was to just go ahead and do it. I was going to act like Josh following me into my bedroom and spending the night was the most natural thing in the world. As if we’d been doing it forever and were some old couple that could complete each other’s sentences.
“Good idea,” he finally said, pulling me by the hand out of the kitchen, perhaps afraid I might change my mind. “I should have brought my toothbrush.”
“I have an extra. You know…for when you stay over.” I took a deep breath and plunged in all the way, my heart in my throat. I’d been assuming that he was all in. What if he wasn’t? “You could keep a change of clothes here, too. If you wanted to. I could clear out a drawer or something.”
Josh leaned down to kiss me, his hand gently cupping my jaw. When he lifted his head his eyes had turned dark blue. “I’d really like that. And the same for you. I mean, you can leave whatever you want at my place. I’ll clear out as much space as you need.”
Our gazes locked and a quiver ran up my spine at what I saw. It looked like love. I wasn’t the most experienced at spotting it and I wouldn’t bet the farm or anything but that’s what it looked like to me. Did I dare believe my lying eyes?
“That sounds like a good plan,” I said instead of what I really wanted to say. That I loved him still and I hoped he loved me.
I’d tried to push him away but here we were. Together and it felt like the most right thing in the world. But my doubt had never been about right now. He could do that and had many times. What about the future? I wanted one with this man far more than I should.
Please don’t break my heart, Josh.
* * *
Josh
I didn’t mind mornings. I don’t know that I would ever describe myself as a morning person but I’d never been the type to hit the snooze button on my alarm over and over. With a busy schedule, I always had so many things to do that lying around in bed wasn’t an activity that I even contemplated all that often. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept past seven-thirty.
With Mia next to me, however, I might just become one of those people who loll in bed all morning long.
Cuddled together like spoons, me tucked up against her back with my face buried in her fragrant reddish-gold curls, I couldn’t think of one good reason to ever get out of bed. This was absolute perfection and I didn’t want it to end. Soft, sweet-smelling skin. A pert bottom pressed against my morning wood. Our limbs tangled together.
A small sigh escaped from her swollen lips. Lips that had done erotic and dirty things last night. Mia might look like a little angel but she was definitely a devil between the sheets. I’d thought she might be modest or tentative but she made love with her whole heart and body.
Running my fingertip down her arm and then over the curve of her hip, I pressed light kisses to her shoulder and neck. She stirred slightly in my arms but still didn’t open her eyes. Her breathing wasn’t as even as before and I thought she was actually awake but pretending not to be. I knew how to get her attention.
Slipping my hand between her legs, I slowly and deliberately ran circles around her clit, ever so softly. Another sigh and then her hips began to move restlessly. Yes, she was faking. Mia wasn’t asleep.
“Good morning, my princess,” I whispered into her ear, snaking my tongue out to trace the shell-like curve before nibbling on the lobe. “Do you want more? Or should I stop?”
“Hmm…don’t stop.”
Mia still hadn’t opened her eyes but that was fine. With my left hand I plucked at a rose-tipped nipple while my right continued to lavish attention on her clit. It didn’t take but a few moments more and she was coming apart in my arms, her lips parted with the prettiest moans of pleasure I’d ever heard. Greedily, I wanted more. My balls were pulled up tight and my cock was aching for relief. My hunger for this woman was fierce and I didn’t see any end in sight.
Reaching across her, I snagged a condom from the bedside table, making a mental note to pick up more. In our eagerness as a new couple, we were already running low.
I rolled on the condom and then lifted her right leg up and back so it rested on my own. Pressing forward, I pushed my cock into her waiting warmth. Her head fell back onto my shoulder and her teeth sunk into her full bottom lip. Sharp arrows of pleasure ran straight to my balls as her walls hugged me tightly. The pressure in my lower back was already beginning to build.
Taking my time, I pulled out and then thrust back in. Again and again, building up speed with each stroke. Mia had reached behind her and her fingers were anchored to the back of my head as I fucked her hard from behind. Her moans of pleasure urged me on along with our ragged breaths. I grunted with each thrust, my teeth gritted together painfully trying to hold back so we could come together.
“Come with me, princess. Can you do it again?”
I was hanging on by a thread, flames flowing through my veins and licking at my flesh. Mia didn’t answer my hoarsely spoken question but I could barely form words and I’d hoped that I’d rendered her speechless as well.
Canting her hips at a new angle, Mia gripped my arm, her nails digging into the skin as my other hand snaked down her belly to the cleft of her thighs. Hot and inviting, it only took one, two, three rubs with my thumb and she was flying into the stars. I followed her right after, letting go all of the dammed up pleasure that I’d been desperately holding back.
We clung together for a long time afterward, our sweat-covered bodies growing cool, so I pulled the sheet up over us. It had somehow been kicked off during our morning endeavors. I dropped a kiss on her temple, filling my lungs with Mia’s unique scent mixed with the musk of our lovemaking.
My only explanation is that I was happy. Really and truly happy in a way I’d never felt before. Satisfied and complete. Mia was the woman I’d been looking for and she was here in my arms. Moreover, she wanted to be there. So that’s how the words popped out of my mouth. I hadn’t planned it but my heart was so full. I couldn’t hold them back.
“I love you, Mia.”
The moment I said it I froze. The words were true but was it too soon? She’d never said the words, although she’d intimated that she’d had feelings for me for a long time. Maybe I’d just screwed everything up.
“I love you, too.”
Four words. So simple. I’d heard them before from women but they’d never meant what these did.
We loved each other. Mia had given me a second chance and there was love. More than I deserved but I was going to make sure she didn’t regret it.
Love didn’t seem so scary anymore.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Mia
Thanksgiving was one of my favorite holidays. I didn’t have to shop for presents and the weather was usually still pretty decent. Turkey Day kicked off the holiday season and I loved every bit of it. The decorating, the carols, the heartwarming movies on television.
And the food. Let’s not forget all of the food.
Since Josh and I
had been happily dating as an officially “in love” couple for the last two months our parents had decided that we all simply had to have Thanksgiving together. I’m sure they had all sorts of ideas about pushing us even closer together and dropping hints about marriage and babies. They were positively giddy that this thing between us was working out and they had about broken their own arms patting themselves on the back, all the while saying that they’d seen this coming for years. They’d known all along that we were perfect for each other.
Sure they did.
“If we’re late, we’re going to hear about it,” I called to Josh who was still under the steamy hot water of the shower. We’d spent the night at my place, something we did more often than not. Since females needed infinitely more crap to get ready in the morning it was just easier. Besides, Josh could fall asleep on a concrete slab. He didn’t care whether we were at his place or mine. He did now have a drawer plus a few shirts hanging in my closet. The bathroom had his shampoo, body wash, hair gel, razor, and shaving cream. For some reason, he simply wouldn’t consent to use my pink foam that smelled of strawberries.
“I think we’re going to be late, babe. Better call your mom.”
“This is all your fault,” I called through the half open door. Josh wasn’t much for closing doors or privacy I had learned. “You kept us in bed far too late.”
Having sex, of course. I’d also learned that my darling Josh had a high sex drive. We were doing it like rabbits on Red Bull, much to the delight of my sister and friends. Shelby said it was all due to her book and I just let her keep thinking that. It hadn’t hurt and it had assisted me in putting my emotions to better use. Drawing a line in the sand and demanding better treatment.
What I hadn’t done is set a man trap. I still hated that phrase.
“I wasn’t alone in that bed. You didn’t want to get out of it, either.”
That was true. It was all warm and comfy under the covers. But by the time we’d levered ourselves off of the mattress we’d been horrified at the clock. I’d made a polka dot cheesecake for dessert last night but I was still expected to help cook today and it was already after noon. We would have been on the road sooner but Josh had received a business call from a software developer in London where they didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. It was just any other day there.
“Just hurry. I can practically hear my mother’s voice from here. Your mom isn’t going to be too happy with you, either.”
The water shut off and Josh strutted out of the shower naked as the day he was born and quite proud of it. He did, after all, have a great deal to proud of. Water rivulets slid down his tan flesh and I had the urge to lick them off one by one. But then we’d be even later than we already were. Luckily, he wrapped a towel around his waist or we wouldn’t have made it to my parents’ house until Christmas Eve.
“Chill, honey. They’re not going to give us a hard time. They’re just going to be thrilled that we’re there together.”
Raising my brows, I shook my head in disbelief. “I think that get out of jail free card has sailed, handsome. We can’t keep using that excuse to miss Sunday dinner.”
“You mixed your metaphors again.” He leaned down to drop a kiss on my nose and a few droplets of water from his curls landed on my cheek. Damn, I loved his hair. If the parents were already mad… No, no, no. No more delaying. We had to leave soon. “It’s so cute when you do that. Seriously, give me ten minutes and we’re out of here. I just need to shave and dress.”
This was a switch. Normally Josh was waiting on me. Nagging him felt so…domestic. Like we were an old married couple, which we weren’t.
“I’m counting,” I warned him as I left the bedroom. If I stayed we’d never leave the house. “Ten minutes.”
I pulled the cheesecake from the refrigerator and made sure it was wrapped tightly for the ride to my parents. A stack of mail sat on the countertop and it had grown since Monday. I had ten minutes and it was all probably junk and bills. I could power through it and it would be one less item on my to-do list this weekend.
Junk. Junk. More junk. Electric bill. A note from my Congressman assuring me that he was voting for something I hated. This was becoming a habit with him but I shouldn’t be surprised because I didn’t vote for him in the first place.
A long white envelope was at the bottom of the stack and the return address had me catching my breath. The teacher exchange program had written me back and quickly, too. I hadn’t expected to hear from them until more toward the end of the year.
With shaking hands and sweaty palms I ripped open the letter, sending up a plea to the universe. I really wanted to do this and it didn’t have anything to do with Josh or our relationship. This had been on my list for a long time and I desperately wanted them to say yes. Closing my eyes, I steeled my spine for what might be bad news. I wouldn’t be upset or cry if they didn’t want me. It simply meant that this wasn’t to be and I needed to find a new route to my dream. It would only be a temporary setback.
I had to read the letter several times before I could fully absorb the news. I’d been accepted. For real. There was an opening in Edinburgh, Scotland.
For January. Only a few months away. Not August as I’d originally planned. They wanted me right away and I wanted to go. There was only one small little problem.
Josh.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Josh
Inch by inch, slowly but surely, I was convincing Mia that I was serious. We’d exchanged I love yous and I felt closer than ever to her. We were weaving each other into our regular, mundane daily lives and it was fantastic. I’d come to depend on seeing her smiling face at the beginning and end of my day. We cooked together, watched television together, laughed together, and made love together. This was far more than I’d ever imagined and I didn’t know how I’d gone without it for so long.
I was in love with my best friend and it was fantastic.
I was already thinking about a real future with Mia, a commitment. It was fast but not really. We had known each other for years, after all. I was plotting a vacation after the school year was over, something warm and tropical. Moonlight, the beach, and champagne would be the perfect backdrop to propose.
And she would say yes because we were already family. The Henrys and the Kellys were having Thanksgiving together and Mia and I were the reason. Right now, the women were in the kitchen and the men were sitting in the living room watching football. A traditional arrangement that amused me but I had already been warned that the males were on cleanup duty afterward while the ladies relaxed with a glass of wine. According to my dad, I’d be elbow deep in suds before the end of the day. Honestly it seemed pretty fair.
“Mia tells me that your new game will be out next year.”
The statement was from Mia’s dad, Steve. I’d always thought Steve was a good guy but now that he was possibly my future father-in-law it turned our relationship completely around. I wanted him to like me. A lot. I wanted him to think that maybe I was good enough for his baby girl but that might be asking too much.
“We’re in coding and unit testing right now. I’m hoping to release for summer.”
Another good reason to go on vacation. The game would be out and it would be time for some rest and relaxation.
Steve chuckled. “I’m not sure what you just said but it sounds good. If I have computer problems I call Mia or Shelby to fix them.”
“Mia’s good with technology.”
I might be biased, though. I pretty much think she’s amazing.
“What do you do when the game releases?”
Luke and my dad had gone silent, apparently content to let Steve Kelly interrogate me. In fact, they’d probably put him up to it.
“Start another game project,” I answered immediately. “Actually, we’ll do that even before this one is released. I usually have three to four games in various stages of development at any given time.”
I didn’t want Steve to think that I couldn’t ta
ke care of Mia or that my business wasn’t self-supporting. I wasn’t rolling in old family dough like Brad but I did fine. I had big plans for the future, too.
“Sounds like a lot of work. You don’t do this all yourself?”
“I have a staff of thirty-five,” I replied proudly. “Although most work remotely. They don’t need to be in the office.”
“Wouldn’t that be great, Steve?” my dad laughed. “No commute. No surly co-workers or that burnt popcorn smell from the microwave. We should have picked another line of work.”
My dad was an accountant. Steve worked as a supervisor at an insurance company in the claims department.
“You’d go crazy at home, Dad,” Luke said.
“No, son, your mom would go crazy. She’d have planned my murder ten different ways by the end of the first week. We both need our space and my being home all day wouldn’t be a good idea.”
I worked from home on occasion. Would that be an issue for Mia when she was off in the summer? Would I drive her crazy and get on her nerves? It was hard to tell because we were still in that new flush of love stage where everything was fantastic with birds singing and the sun shining. And a hell of a lot of sex. I’m pretty sure our parents knew why we were late today because my mom gave me the side eye when we got here.
“There are some days I’d love to work from home,” my brother said, shooting me a meaningful glance.
“Then you should do it,” I said. “You know…for someone else.”
Steve and my dad seemed to think that was funny, both chuckling at the jabs between brothers.
“Kids,” my dad laughed. “They love to torture each other. My boys do it and I bet your girls do, too.”
“They do,” Steve replied with a grin. “But it’s more subtle. They’ll understand when they have their own.”
“I wouldn’t mind a grandchild or two,” my dad said loudly, looking back and forth between me and Luke. “Any day would be fine. I don’t want to be too old to enjoy them.”
Tempt Him Page 19
