by S. K. Lessly
Holy shit, I truly want this man.
When he finally pulled back from me, he nipped my bottom lip then licked them softly before he completely pulled back from me.
Well, shit, that wasn’t what I expected.
I let a moan slip from my lips again, and I swore his beautiful blue eyes became dark as night.
I instinctively brought my fingers to my lips, trying to take in what just happened, as I tried to calm my breathing down.
“Wow, that was so amazing,” I mumbled, not caring if he heard me or not.
This was truly my first and real kiss. Can you believe that? I had never been kissed like this in my life. No man had ever made me feel the way I was feeling at this moment. Oh sure, I’ve been kissed before. I’m not saying I haven’t. I’ve kissed Wayne before and I may have kissed Noah, but kissing them was nothing compared to what Josh just did to me. His lips lit me on fire, leaving me desiring nothing but his taste, his touch and so much more.
I felt the rapid rise and fall of Josh’s chest, and I knew he was more than just physically affected by our kiss. I watched a barrage of emotions come over him as Josh closed his eyes, seemingly to gather himself. I decided at that moment to concentrate on my own breathing, instead of how wet my panties were.
“I need another drink,” I heard Aaron say, but I no longer cared about anyone else around me.
I looked at Josh expectantly, hoping that what I felt in that kiss was real. I wasn’t imagining that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. He couldn’t deny that, could he?
I suddenly smiled at him. I don’t know why, I just wanted to let him know I was cool. That it was cool what just happened.
I was rewarded with one of his panty dropping smiles that I wished he would only use on me. He then looked over my head and reached behind me. I took that moment to inhale him deeply. When he pulled back with a glass of something dark in hand, he looked thoroughly amused.
“Did you just smell me?” he asked me.
I turned bright red stepped back from him and said, “Yes, I did. If you’ll excuse me.”
And yes I got out of there quick, fast and in a hurry. Number one, I needed to hide from embarrassment, and hell, number two, I needed to check my panties.
****
As we filed out of the stadium, Josh walked me to the subway in town. We made small talk, me asking him what he did for the company he worked for. Earlier he told me it was Howard and Bradshaw but he never went in depth. I told him that I worked for my father, then explained to him what I did I didn’t go into too much detail for fear of revealing more than I was ready for. I think Josh knew I was deflecting some of his questions, but still, he didn’t say anything about it.
Once we were on the subway platform, Josh put a protective arm around me.
“Are you sure I can’t talk you into letting me drive you home?”
I shook my head. “No, there’s no need really. Besides, we’d be waiting forever in traffic to get across the bridge. This is the quickest way.”
“Well, let me ride with you home, then. I hate the fact you’re traveling alone like this.”
I looked up at him and boldly rested my hands on his waist.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve made this trip many of times.”
Josh pulled me closer to him and kept his arms around me as well. “Yeah well, that was before I knew about it. I don’t feel right having you out here late at night like this.”
I felt the rumble before I actually saw it, or maybe what I felt was my own heartbeat bursting out of my chest. As the train came into view, I looked to see if it was mine, and it was.
I smiled. “I appreciate your concern. Really, I do. I promise though, I’ll be fine.”
“Call me the moment you get home.”
I nodded. “Yes, I’ll call you the moment I get home.”
I started to back away from him, but he didn’t let go of my waist.
I giggled lightly. “Joshua, I’ll be fine, seriously.”
As the train doors opened, he let me go. I walked on the train and looked back at him as the doors closed in front of me, trying not to acknowledge the sudden feeling of loneliness and loss.
It wasn’t working.
Seeing the doors close made the feeling of loss instantly hit me, and all I wanted to do was get these doors back open and get back in his arms. As the car started moving, I touched the glass and smiled, trying not to show the panic that I undoubtedly felt.
I quickly sat down in an open seat, and it wasn’t but a few seconds after the train pulled away when I felt my phone vibrate. I pulled it out and instantly felt better. I took a few deep breaths and answered.
“Did you get there yet?” I heard Josh ask.
I smiled brightly, unable to keep the excitement of hearing his voice.
“Um no, not yet.”
“How long will it take you to get home?”
“Um, not long. I’ll be at Station Square in about ten minutes then I’ll catch a cab to my place.”
“So what are you doing tomorrow?” Josh asked.
“Working both jobs tomorrow actually,” I told him.
We settled into a light conversation, talking more about my job here in Pittsburgh and the other cities where I used to work. I pretty much gave him some type of idea that I was running from my family. I didn’t mean to reveal so much, but then again, I couldn’t seem to stop if I wanted to. So I just gave him a play–by–play on my travels from New Jersey to Alabama to Tennessee up to Kentucky then Ohio then to Pittsburgh. I told him I was planning on making it out to the West Coast as soon as the weather changed here, but I had recently changed my mind, or rather, postponed my trip.
“Oh yeah.” I heard the grin in his voice. “What made you change your plans?”
“Well, Joy and I have really gotten close, and I would hate to leave her.”
I smiled, then laughed as I heard Josh groan through the phone.
“That is a low blow. Why don’t you admit it’s my animal magnetism that’s keeping you here?”
I laughed out loud. “Yeah, I have to say there is some reason why I haven’t left yet. Not sure about the animal magnetism though.”
“Don’t worry baby, you can tell me the truth. I mean, most times I have to beat them away with a stick, but I’m used to it.”
I laughed. “Oh, I can only imagine.”
We continued to talk, him making me laugh, making me feel like I was in high school again and I was talking to the guy I’ve been crushing after for months. Even through the phone, he made me feel secure.
When I finally made it inside my apartment, I told Josh I was home.
“Do you think we could meet for lunch next week?”
I sighed and fell on my bed.
“I don’t see why not.”
“Good, then it’s a date.”
“Okay,” was my only reply.
We were quiet for a minute and then he said, “So, I’ll see you Tuesday then... Good night Sweets.”
“Good night, Joshua.”
Chapter 7
Joshua
Josh laid down on his couch and covered his eyes with his forearm. He let the softness of the suede caress his bare legs and back as he tried to cool down from his shower. He needed to concentrate on something, anything other than that woman. He slowed his breathing down, trying desperately to quiet himself.
These last two months had tested his patience and brought him to his breaking point. He didn’t have a clue how much longer he could hold on before he lost his mind.
The sound of his cell invaded his thoughts, and without opening his eyes, he reached for the phone sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.
“Cooper.”
He heard a female chuckling on the other end. “Wow, it’s that bad, huh?”
“You have no idea. What do you want?”
“Damn, can’t I call and say hello?” she asked.
“No, Misty, you can’t. Now what the fuck do you want?�
��
“Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in bunch. The Powers–To–Be want an update on the case.”
“At two in the morning, they want an update?” Josh replied back, not hiding his growing frustration.
“Well, sort of. Actually, they want an update in the morning, but I figured I’d get a jump on things and ask now.”
“Yeah, well, good thing I give a shit what they want.”
“So what do you want me to tell them?”
“Tell them to go fuck themselves,” he growled.
“You know they won’t be happy hearing that,” Misty offered.
“Again, I don’t give a shit. If they don’t like how I’m handling things, they can come here and figure this shit out themselves.”
Misty chuckled. “I take it the protection detail isn’t going very well.”
“I’m in fucking hell,” Josh told her, meaning every fucking word.
“So why don’t you tell her what’s going on? It will save you the hassle of having to follow her all around town like a puppy.”
Josh sat up and looked down at his naked torso.
“It’s not that simple.”
“Sure it is, Josh, just tell her what the fuck is going on. I mean, at least you can try. You’ve been following her around for two months. Don’t you think it’s time to tell her?”
“I can’t, Misty. Fuck, don’t you think I would if I could? This situation is fucked up, and if I told her she’d freak out and probably run. No, it’s better she doesn’t know shit.”
“Huh, it’s better for her or you?”
“Goodbye, Misty,” Josh growled.
Josh hung up the phone and stood to go get dressed and fall into bed when someone started knocking at his door.
He stared. Stunned, he tried figuring out who the hell it was knocking at his door at two in the morning. He suddenly thought it might have been Summer, so he wasted no time and opened the door. Instead of the woman that had been driving him sexually frustrated, it was the woman he had been avoiding for weeks.
Josh looked Paula up and down, noticing she only wore a mid–length trench coat and high heels. Her hair was pinned up, and she wore a smile that would level a town.
Josh leaned on his door, still in only his towel and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Paula’s smile broadened. “It seems you need a little push in making the right decision, so I wanted to help you along. Can I come in, or are you going to make me stand out here all night?”
Josh hesitated, knowing shit wasn’t going to end well if he let her in. You know the saying, he thought to himself, once you invite a Vampire in your home, you won’t be able to get rid of them.
Josh reluctantly moved to the side and watched as she walked past him, caressing his chest as she moved.
Josh locked his door and turned to face her. She stood not too far from him and started undoing the strap to her coat. Amused, Josh watched on as her coat dropped to the floor revealing a black bodice covering an amazing body with a flat stomach, nice size tits and legs that seemed to go on for days.
“So, I’ve shown you mine. Are you going to show me yours?” Paula asked, moving closer to Josh.
Smirking, Josh asked, “You think it’s that easy? Why don’t you tell me what the fuck you really want so we can stop playing this tired ass game?”
Still smiling, Paula brought her hands to his chest and caressed him, moving up to his shoulders and calmly and slowly down his arms. She went to his waist and started to remove his towel.
“I really hope you don’t make it easy. I’m always up for the challenge. The question is, are you?”
She rubbed his cock and felt his response. Josh stilled her hand and looked her dead in the eyes.
He said with no emotion filling him, “Fucking touch me again, and a challenge will be the least of your worries.”
“Playing hard to get, are we?”
“We need to settle this now.” Josh started moving further into the living room.
Paula turned with him and followed, watching the muscles in his back contract, proving there was a lot of power and strength she couldn’t wait to experience.
Josh opened his mouth. He was ready to set her straight when his phone went off again. What the fuck?
He started not to answer it. Whoever it was, they could wait until morning. He needed to get this shit squared away with Paula tonight. Shit clearly had gone too far.
But as he thought about it, he couldn’t let it go, so he snatched up his phone and growled.
“Cooper.”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Yeah, I can see that. What’s going on? Is she okay?”
The caller paused, then said carefully, “I’m not really sure.”
Frowning, trying not to crush his phone with his bare hands he asked, “What the fuck do you mean you’re not sure?”
The caller sighed. “I was doing what you asked, and well, I heard her scream.”
Josh’s breath quickened. “What did she say when she came to the door?”
“Yeah, that’s the thing, I’ve been knocking, and she’s not answering.”
“What!”
“Cooper, man, I can just hear her crying, okay, so I–”
“Did you fucking break the door down?”
“No I–”
“No!” he boomed.
He closed his eyes, feeling the very little patience he did have disappear. He moved quickly to his room to get dressed, forgetting his unwanted company.
“So help me, God, if she’s hurt, and you didn’t do shit to help her–”
“Come on, man, you know me better than that. She wasn’t answering, so I used that heat sensing shit you gave me, and only one heat signature is in the apartment.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah man, I’m sure. I’ve checked the cameras around the apartment, and only the residents and their guests have been through.”
Josh felt somewhat better, but still he wondered what happened for her to just scream.
“And she’s still crying you say? How long has she been crying?”
Josh returned to his living room and his eyes fell on Paula.
“I think about twenty minutes now.”
A sudden sense of urgency overcame him. He needed to leave.
“All right, keep me posted. If anything comes up, let me know.”
He hung up and looked at a still half naked Paula lounging on his couch with a glass of wine in her hand. Josh didn’t have time for this shit.
He said quickly, “Something’s come up, and I’ve got to go.”
Paula’s smile dropped from her face as she asked, “What do you mean you have to go?”
“Exactly what I said. I need to be somewhere, and I need you out of my apartment.”
Paula sat up incredulously and moved slowly toward him. The moment she reached for him, he stepped back, bent down to get her coat and tossed it to her.
“Seriously, I need to go.”
Fuming now, Paula said, “Please don’t tell me you leaving has something to do with that little waitress girl I’ve been seeing you babysitting?”
Josh didn’t answer her, and he didn’t need to. He knew she’d seen him with Summer on the company floor, and in his office. He also noticed the looks she would give her too, another thing they needed to address.
Heading for the door, Josh replied, “I’ll see you Monday at work, and we can discuss how the hell you got my address and why you came here at two in the morning.”
Paula scoffed and walked past Josh mumbling. “Or I can just tell the little preschooler how you could barely keep your hands off me.”
Paula’s last words came out as a gasp when she found herself slammed against the wall and Josh’s hand around her neck.
Not putting any pressure to her windpipe just yet, he moved to within inches of her, keeping his deadly eyes on hers.
“Stay away from Summer,” he said, calmly. “Do you hear me? She’s
fucking off limits. If I so much as suspect you might be thinking about going after her, I’ll come after you, and believe me, Paula, it won’t be fucking pretty. Now get the fuck out, I’ve got shit to do.”
****
Paula watched him drive away, trying to reign in her anger. She’d never in her life been rejected the way Josh just did to her. And for a girl who probably hadn’t hit puberty yet. Paula hated to lose. She hated to lose against someone that couldn’t measure up to her even more.
“It seems Cooper needs a little more nudging my way,” she said out loud as his headlights disappeared from her view.
A smile crept on Paula’s face as she knew exactly what to do to get rid of Pollyanna.
****
Josh raced through the city with the burning need to get to Summer sooner rather than later. The past two months he’d spent almost every bit of his time surrounding himself with everything Summer Dean. Josh wasn’t exaggerating when he told Misty he was in hell. That’s exactly what it felt like for him being around Summer. He really thought he could bury his growing feelings for her and treat her as a friend, but he was losing his mind. While on their first date, Josh tried to give Summer space. He tried to act natural, staying in the friendship–building zone, but seeing her interact with Aaron and Michael only brought the possessiveness out of him. During the game, he went from aloof and nonchalant to grumpy and territorial, feeling his anger directed at every male around her. He didn’t like the way they watched her, how they made excuses to touch her.
The friend zone shit wasn’t working, he knew it. And when she looked him in his eyes right before she kissed him, he felt it. His need to have her was strong, and as he spent these last two months with her, it only intensified. He found himself wanting and needing to keep her close, so he made sure to see her almost every day for breakfast. They would run together in the morning, or even meet in the city for lunch at one of the many restaurants downtown had to offer, or they would meet in his office and eat in.
