“A year, that seems like a long time for a firefighter. Don’t you have a fan base, groupies or some such thing?” Olivia asked with a wry smile.
Joshua gave a rueful chuckle and didn’t answer. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said. “A friend of mine married a man who rode bulls in the rodeo, those groupies were called Buckle Bunnies. What are yours called?”
“Firehouse Floozies, but I’m not sure that’s really politically correct. I think they prefer to be called ladies.” As she continued to just look at him, he answered her question with one of his own. “Do you really have me categorized as a firefighter as opposed to a thirty-six-year-old man who might know the difference between taking a woman of substance into his bed as opposed to some woman who just wants to use him?”
“I’m sorry, Joshua,” Olivia said after a moment. She paused longer, thinking through her next words. “I think I wanted to believe this had less relevance for you…For us. I’m not going to be here long. My home is in Boston.” He reached out and pulled her in, their hips meeting, their breaths mingling. He looked her in the eye, gray meeting blue.
“I’m not asking for a commitment, Kitten. I’m asking for the pleasure of your company while you are here. In all honesty, I’m hopeful that eventually you will spend some of that time in my bed.” Olivia pressed herself against his erection, luxuriating in the feel of all that hardness waiting for her. It had been much longer for her than it had been for Joshua.
“I’m not saying no, Joshua. I want you right now.” She reached up and grasped his short black hair, and tugged him down so that she could taste him again. As he drifted closer, she opened for him, taking the taste of chocolate and marshmallow into her mouth as he dipped his tongue into her waiting depths. She sucked on him, ravenous for the flavor that was uniquely Joshua, and she felt it in her breasts, in her tummy, and finally her loins. She moaned in pleasure and ground her hips against him, trying desperately to get closer. Finally, he reached behind his head and extricated her fingers from his hair, ignoring her whimpers of distress.
“Hold on, Kitten.” He grasped her hand and led her over to an overstuffed chair and pulled her onto his lap. He stroked his hands down her body, murmuring sounds of comfort, easing her down from her passion. When she was finally looking at him with clear eyes, he smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Olivia Ann, but when you’re a kitten purring in my lap, you take my breath away.” She wanted to look away, but she saw truth in his eyes. Who could look away when they saw truth?
“Why did we stop?” She couldn’t help the faint sound of hurt in her voice.
“Because we need to have that serious conversation,” he said gently. At her confused expression he brushed back some of her soft, blonde hair behind her ear.
“Kitten, I know you’re still recovering from your attack. You’re still on some pretty serious medication, aren’t you?” He seemed unsurprised at her nod.
“I want you. I want you in my bed. But your well-being is more important than my wants. Do you understand that?”
She nodded her head.
“Really?”
She shook her head.
“What part don’t you understand?”
“Why would you wait? I mean, why wait for me? I’m fine, right now.” But as she said it, Olivia wasn’t sure that it was true. She was still in pain most days, and she still had to lie down for a rest every few hours. She was just being weaned off the anticonvulsant medication that they had put her on as a preventative measure. When she thought about it from his perspective, she had to admit he was right, she was a mess. She struggled to get off his lap.
“Hey, wait a minute. Hold on, Olivia Ann. I think you’re taking this wrong. What were you just thinking?” he asked as he grabbed ahold of her and held her close, stopping her movements. When she was silent, he asked her again. “What were you thinking?”
“That you’re right, I’m a mess.”
“I didn’t say you were a mess, I said it would be my pleasure to make love with you, that I want to make love with you. But that I thought the timing was off tonight. I think you were the one who brought up the term ‘mess.’ I think you’re adorable.” He cupped her cheek, and pressed a lingering kiss on her lips that made her whole body tremble.
“Kitten, I heard Chance say that you needed to rest. How often are you supposed to be resting?”
“I should nap at least twice a day.”
“What else?”
“If we were to make love, my ribs are still pretty tender,” she admitted.
“And?”
“And I get headaches, sometimes from the TV, sometimes when I’m overtired, sometimes from reading, sometimes for no reason at all.”
“Are they migraines?” Joshua asked.
“Sometimes.”
“Is that it?”
“The doctors think that in about six weeks most of that will be cleared up, but I don’t want to wait six weeks,” she said, looking at him steadily.
“Neither do I, but can I ask you just one more question?” He smiled at her reluctant nod. “Are you tired right now, did you skip your afternoon nap to come over here and play?” Another reluctant nod from Olivia.
“Then come to my bed and let’s take a nap.” Olivia gave a large yawn and Joshua let out a huge laugh, which she joined. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
* * * *
She came awake in a breathless rush. Her blouse was unbuttoned, and a very clever tongue was tracing circles around the taut crest of her breast, while equally clever fingers were plucking at the tip of her other breast through the gauzy lace of her bra. Joshua’s eyes crinkled as he looked up from his ministrations. “Hi,” he whispered.
“Good morning,” she whispered back.
“Evening. It’s good evening. I’m going to have to take you back to your brothers’ place soon. Your phone has been ringing, I think you might have missed a couple of their calls.”
“I hope you don’t have to take me back too soon. It seems to me staying here might have better benefits.”
“Olivia Ann, that is exactly what I was hoping I could convince you of.” A wide smile broke over his face. He helped her to a sitting position, and they both worked to get her quickly out of her clothes. When her nimble fingers went to the front buttons of his dress shirt, he stayed her hands.
“Why, Joshua? We agreed, and we napped.” His big hands skimmed down her shoulders, softly settling her back down onto the comfort of the blankets.
“We agreed to take it slow and see just how much you could handle to begin with, that’s what we agreed to. Tonight might be everything, or tonight might just be a taste. I promise you, Kitten, you will love what we do tonight.” Olivia couldn’t help the tremors that shot through her body at the sound of sin and sex in his voice.
“Joshua, I want us both to love what we do tonight,” she complained.
“Oh, my beautiful girl, if all I get to do is touch and taste you, how can you not know that I would love doing just that?”
Olivia pushed up, and Joshua, seeing her intent, kept her lying down. Resigned, she looked up at him. “That’s horse pucky,” she said emphatically. “We’re grown-ups. I really, really like and admire you, and I hope you like me, so I was hoping we were going to have an honest relationship. I’ve been honest with you. I told you exactly what was wrong with me. Even though I didn’t want to, so don’t feed me this bullshit that pleasing me pleases you. This is not some romantic novel!” Olivia’s eyes locked with his, and Joshua realized that even this soon they were at a precipice. He answered carefully.
“I can do honest. Now, let’s see if you can accept honest.” He paused to make sure she was tracking. “I’m thirty-six and haven’t had sex with a woman in over a year. I have definitely had my share of orgasms in the last year without a Firehouse Floozy in sight. If somehow you leave this bed having had an orgasm and I don’t, I would expect that I will drive you home, and within five m
inutes of returning home I will be in the shower with my hard-on taken care of.” He stopped talking and finally she nodded, showing that she understood what he was saying.
“But here’s what you are somehow not understanding. Having this conversation, right now, with you here—naked in my bed—is more satisfying than the last three women that I’ve been intimate with.” At her stunned expression, he repositioned them both so that he was leaning against the headboard, and she was draped against his chest, looking up at him.
“Olivia Ann, you’re giving yourself too little credit. Or maybe you’re giving me too little credit. I know a good thing when she’s naked in my arms, and when she’s worth waiting for.” He swept his right hand up from her waist to her ribs and pressed in, increasing the pressure incrementally. Even before it was much, he saw her wince, and he kissed her temple.
“Shouldn’t you have these taped?”
“I had them taped for four weeks,” she complained. “It was beginning to give me a rash.”
“Let me guess—it was your decision to stop taping your ribs, not the doctors’, right?” Joshua asked. Olivia realized he knew the answer, so she stayed silent. Once again he pressed a kiss to her temple, then he whispered in her ear. “You keep your ribs taped for another week, and then we can make love.” Oh, he was a sneaky one, she thought.
“Properly?” she asked.
“Define properly?”
“Intercourse. And I’m not talking dialogue.” He laughed out loud, then she did as well, and his attention was drawn from her face to her breasts, watching them move as she laughed.
“Sexual intercourse, that will include dialogue, because I love talking to you,” he promised.
“Eyes up here, buddy.” She pointed to her face with a smile.
“Oh, we’re done talking.” He bent his knee up to better keep her in place as his right hand swept from rib to thigh in an instant. He leaned in and took her delectable mouth for another kiss, enjoying every possible taste and nuance as he slid his hand between her legs. He was delighted when she readily opened herself for his touch. Her golden-blonde curls had looked tempting, a shade darker than the champagne-colored hair on her head, but ruffling through them on the way to the pink pearly treasure beneath, he was amazed at the silky fine texture that had him pausing to play. When she tilted her pelvis up in demand, he laughed into their kiss, and moved down, spearing two fingers deep into her wet core, and then immediately regretted his bold intrusion.
“Kitten!” he exclaimed at her pained gasp. When he went to withdraw, Olivia’s hands were both there, clutching him, keeping him embedded inside the warmth of her too-tight channel. He looked closely at her face. She swallowed, and then explained.
“It’s been more than a year for me.”
“That’s not funny,” he said harshly, again trying to pull out. This time she squeezed her thighs around his invading hand.
“It doesn’t hurt, it was a surprise. Please, don’t leave me.” Joshua weighed her words, and felt the liquid warmth of welcome that was even now easing his small movements in her narrow passage. Carefully watching her expression, he gradually turned his fingers with a small push in, and he was met with another pulse of her release. Gratified, he curled the tips, dragging them against the plush, damp flesh that felt like wet velvet, and saw her hiss out a sigh of pleasure. He strummed against that spot again, another hiss, and then he began rubbing in earnest, just small little circles that soon had him holding a lap full of wanton, wild woman.
“Joshua, it’s too much.” Now her hands were gripping his wrist, trying to pull his hand away, but at the same time her pelvis was pushing against his hand, thrusting toward him, her breath labored as she climbed up to reach her pleasure. Joshua understood the dualities gripping this strong woman and wanted to give her this long-needed release at a man’s hand. His callused fingertips rubbed harder, and then she screamed out her climax and he truly didn’t know who found more gratification in the moment.
Joshua enjoyed the time it took her to settle back in his arms. She stretched and rolled until she was finally draped to her satisfaction over his lap and chest, then she curled her hand under her chin, her hair tickling his nose. No wonder he always thought of a kitten when he was near her. She was either hissing, playing, or lazing. Oh, he was in deep with this one.
“Are you thinking about sleeping again, Olivia Ann?”
“Are you kidding? I’m too jazzed to sleep. I haven’t felt this good since…” She trailed off and then looked up at him with wide turquoise eyes. “Joshua, I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt this good!”
“About that.” He paused. “Are the men in Boston blind, or just stupid?”
“Thank you for that.” Olivia reached up and kissed him. “Mostly, I’ve been working too many hours,” she admitted.
“This isn’t something that you put off just because of work. Was there a bad breakup?” Olivia looked at Joshua, really considering what he was asking.
“I think the problem is there was never a bad breakup. I’ve never been really all that involved with anyone enough that the breakup could be bad. So after a while, what was the point, I got more satisfaction from work and my shower massager, you know?”
Joshua tilted his head and smiled. “The shower massager doesn’t work for me, but I get your meaning. I now have to conclude that the men in Boston are both blind and stupid.” Olivia giggled.
“So, now can we make love?” she asked, batting her eyelashes up at him.
“Yes.” He easily moved her down on the bed, and then was lying over her. Olivia felt her breath quicken as she was enveloped by the smell of Joshua and wood smoke. She undulated up, barely feeling the spark of pain in her ribs. When she saw Joshua’s smug grin, she knew he had noticed her small wince.
“You said yes, you can’t take it back,” she wailed.
“Kitten, I would never tease about something as important as making love to you. That has become my life’s bread.” He angled his head and took her nipple into his mouth. When she would have arched into his caress, his big hands gently held her torso flat onto the bed so that she didn’t stress her ribs. He lifted up and looked down at the surgical scar that was still that red color that told him it was new.
“I told you, one week, you with taped ribs, and we have another date with this bed for more strenuous activities. But Olivia Ann, if I don’t get to taste you right now, I’m going to die.” When she looked up into his eyes, she was amazed to see he was speaking the truth.
“Naked. You only get to do more if you’re naked too.” Olivia couldn’t wait another second to see this man without his clothes. She hadn’t even realized how much of a need it was. Normally it was a face, it was a man’s eyes that attracted her. Tonight she found herself looking at his hands, and then his arms, and then as he so easily moved her body, she noticed the musculature of his chest, and she wanted to see that. Then there had been those times that she had felt his engorged cock against her. Well, she hadn’t really been that curious about that until she had felt the wonder of his fingers inside of her, and then she couldn’t help but wonder what his cock would feel like inside of her.
“Naked, Joshua. I want to see you.” Olivia couldn’t stop the words coming out as a plea. He got up, stood beside the bed, and gradually stripped as if he realized that Olivia’s need was a new thing, a precious thing, and he wanted to give her this in degrees. She watched the progression avidly. He was revealing layers of himself as well as exposing skin. But then as he dropped his briefs and slacks, all thoughts of deeper meanings fled, and Olivia stared at his swollen penis. It was bigger than anything she had ever seen up close before. She didn’t even realize that she was restlessly moving her legs, rubbing her thighs together, until Joshua’s head turned. When she realized, she knew she was blushing.
“Damn it.” Her hands covered her cheeks. Was the heat because she was so aroused, or because she had been caught staring at the man’s erection? He knelt down on
the bed and grabbed both of her hands, and spread them out away from her body, forcing her glance back to him.
“I like that you’re aroused, I like that it was my body that aroused you. You and your body have been arousing me since the day I met you, Olivia Ann.” She looked up at the sincerity and pleasure in Joshua’s face and relaxed. “I’m naked, does that mean I get to taste?”
“I want to touch,” she whispered up into his gray eyes.
“I get to taste first.” Finally she nodded shyly. Joshua was a little surprised. The Olivia Ann that he had met and talked to for the last weeks was a secure and confident woman. He hadn’t expected this shy side, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t last for long.
He brought both of her hands to his mouth and kissed her palms, then made his way slowly down to the foot of the bed. He inhaled deeply when his face came close to the spicy scent near her mound. He drew her legs apart easily, as she seemed eager to move onto this part of the game. He was captivated by the pearly white lips, brushed lightly with golden hair that guarded her slit. Even as he spread her wider, those plump lips held shut, but they betrayed their interest with a thin shine of moisture that trickled out. Unable to stop himself, he swooped down and licked up the nectar, sincerely stunned at the burst of sweet flavor that invaded his mouth. He immediately plunged his tongue between the folds of her sex, and was rewarded with a rush of honey. He brought his hands into play, parting the fleshy outer lips of her sex so that he could trace the delicate inner labia. He vaguely heard her whimper, but he couldn’t concentrate on that, too caught up in the tastes, the smells, and the textures of heaven.
Olivia knew the mechanics of oral sex, having given and received it on numerous occasions. Joshua had obviously not been taught how to do it properly, because the way he was touching, tasting, and feasting was making her lose her mind. Her body no longer belonged to her. It was now the property of Joshua Parker. At least, her pussy was owned by him. She dug her heels into the mattress, trying to push herself closer. When he realized what she was about, he immediately saw the benefits, and positioned both of her legs over his shoulders, and clasped her buttocks in his hands, continuing to feed on her needy flesh. When his tongue pushed itself into her empty channel and pressed against that sensitive knot of nerves, she let out a wail of delight, which only spurred his efforts on.
Protecting Olivia [Fate Harbor 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 5
