“I would have loved your mother,” she murmured as she took it all in.
Josh stopped abruptly in the middle of the large living room. From here she could see the stairwell going up to her left. There was ample space and just enough furniture, art, and knickknacks to make it feel lived in without it looking crowded.
“Why do you say that?” Josh asked quietly.
“How are you able to carry me after…exercising all night?”
Jack passed them and climbed the stairs with their packs. She heard a squeal from within the house and knew Erika had heard her voice.
“Why did you say that about my mother?” Josh asked.
“She decorated, right? She probably didn’t design the house, but everything in it has a woman’s touch. I figured that woman was your mother?”
“Yes.”
“I love it. I would have loved her, I think. I hope that’s not presumptuous of me to say…”
“No. It isn’t. This house was her favorite. My dad gave her free rein. She loved coming here. Our family gathered here at least once a year while she was still alive.”
“And that stopped?”
“After she passed, yes. My father and I don’t get along. My sisters don’t have much of a relationship with him either. It was my mom that pulled us all together.”
“Well, then, maybe you should take over that role to keep her memory alive.”
“Maybe you should,” Josh whispered as he kissed her tenderly.
Erika bounded through the archway with a relieved expression. Jenna’s heart surged at seeing her friend again. She felt a big smile well up from her toes.
“Josh, put her down.” Erika squealed. “Wait! Jenna, what is up with your feet? You aren’t going to be able to wear sandals for a long time, I hope you know. Kiss heels goodbye when you get back.”
“My boots won. I am woman enough to know when I am beaten.” She gulped down the lump in her throat.
“Where are they? Josh, aren’t you tired? You look tired.”
“What has Jax been feeding you, crack?” Josh asked dryly.
“You all stink, too. I think you need to shower. Jenna, I got you some clothes. Nearly paid the piper for them, too. Some guy shot at me.” The smile slipped from Erika’s face, showing the fear and uncertainty that lurked within. Events were taking their toll on her, and Jenna knew how she felt.
“Anyway.” Erika ran her fingers through her somewhat frizzy and not at all styled hair. “Shower, and then come back down. We have dinner.”
“Jesus, I think Josh is right, Erika, you are freaking out,” Jenna said.
Erika’s eyes crinkled with her genuine smile. “I’m just really glad to see you.” She put a hand on Jenna’s shin before disappearing back through the archway.
Jenna laid her head on Josh’s shoulder. The feeling between her and Erika was mutual. Josh was a rock, and she’d come to rely on his comfort and support, but Erika was her backbone. She was the strength that kept Jenna out of the shadows. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed her friend until this moment.
“Shall we shower?” Josh asked, heading toward the stairs.
“She’s my support network,” Jenna said, not sure why she felt the need to explain.
“I know. Jax was saying that Erika has missed you too.”
Josh carried her upstairs. The style of the decorations was maintained throughout the house. Josh entered a big bedroom with an ornate bed and rustic-looking nightstands on each side. There was a decent-sized closet and a dresser.
“I planned to share a room with you, do you mind?” Josh asked.
“No. Are you going to put me down anytime soon?”
Josh gently put her on her sore feet before claiming her lips. Passion unfurled, sweeping her up in the gravity of the kiss, and taking her away. Her stomach flip-flopped and her eyes fluttered. She felt such an extreme gravity in his lips. In his touch. His kiss deepened, and he clung to her in a way she recognized as him trying to find shelter from the storm. Whether it was the thoughts of his mother, or whoever waited for him in the house, she didn’t know.
She angled herself to the dresser, needing more of him and wanting to give him all of herself, needing to run with his passion until they climaxed against each other. She spread her legs and invited him inside. He put a rough hand up her shirt and pushed aside the fabric of her bra to brush a coarse thumb across her sensitive nipple. A shock of pleasure pushed a moan from her throat. But then he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. He pinched her nipple, sending a jolt through her body, ending in a blaze at her wet sex, before removing his hand entirely.
“Apparently you’re not above taking advantage of emotionally compromised men,” Josh said, and snuck another kiss.
“What gave me away?”
“We need to shower.”
“Together?”
“Sure. Jax should be nearly done.”
Josh led Jenna down the hall, keeping the pace slow for her damaged feet, and to allow Jax another second to put on clothes. The man had no problem letting it all hang out, literally, and Josh had a feeling that the bathroom door would be open. He trusted Jax implicitly, but he still didn’t need Jenna seeing his junk. It was a line Jax wouldn’t think to draw, so Josh would do everyone in the house a favor and draw it for him.
As he suspected, the door was open and Jax was just making his exit. They nodded to each as they passed. He led Jenna into the bathroom and closed the door. His cock was throbbing, the mad desire to bury it so deeply in Jenna’s tight center nearly unbearable. He’d made a pact, though. He wouldn’t let her have any until she admitted her feelings. It was killing him, but he would stay strong. He hoped she was as bad off as he was.
“Do you have shampoo and whatnot?” she asked, her voice husky.
“Mmmmm.” He stripped her clothes slowly, fastening a mouth to a perfect breast. He suckled greedily, pushing her pants down and running his fingers along her folds. Oh holy God, she was so wet. And hot. His cock gave an answering pulse to thrust into that tightness.
He felt her little hands on his zipper, and then air as she pushed the fabric down. She turned to work with the water, sticking her round, sensuous ass against his cock. It was almost painful as he rubbed against her, feeling the warm pool of sex as it begged him to enter.
“Josh, please.” She moved her hips, situating herself just right. All he had to do was push. One big thrust and he was in.
He angled away before pulling her back against him, both hands on her breasts, kneading coarsely, licking and tasting her neck.
“Your mouth,” he compromised hoarsely.
“Yes.” She pulled him into the shower, into water so hot it was painful. Then she knelt and took his shaft into her mouth, gliding her smooth hand along his sensitive skin.
Josh leaned against the shower wall and savored the suction, feeling those pouty lips as they moved up and down his hard length. He was so keyed up it was better than heaven. He let his head fall back, enjoying the contrast of pain from the heat of the water, and sweet, sweet pleasure from Jenna’s exertions.
He was building now, reaching for home, when she stood up. “Enter me.”
The tip of his cock was tingling with an orgasm so tantalizingly close. He was throbbing, his legs wobbly with painful desire. She leaned those perky breasts against his body and steered his cock between her thighs so his tip was just barely parting flesh.
“Josh,” she murmured in his ear as she took his lobe between her teeth.
His resolve shattered.
He picked her up harshly, put one leg on each side of him, leaned her against the cold tile of the shower stall, and thrust into her. She moaned and tightened her grip with her legs.
“Harder, Josh, harder.”
He complied, taking delight in her whimpers of pleasure. Too soon he was ready. She’d got him too far to last long.
“I’m there. How close?” he said, panting.
“Just a little
longer. Can you wait just a minute longer?”
Josh mustered all his control and forced on, keeping it at bay, straining to keep from finishing. He dropped his hand between them and manipulated her pleasure center, hearing her head fall back against the tile with a thump. She let out a ragged “ooooohhhhhh” and started gyrating her hips faster, more aggressively.
Josh groaned, the increased movement and her fervor pushing him over. He tweaked her nipple to give her just a little more and received an answering moan as her eyelids fluttered and her insides erupted in climax. He thrust into her, hard, feeling her nails dig into his back. One more and an orgasm blasted through him, constricting his balls and shaking his body.
Her fingers trailed through his hair as he came down, leaning into her. With eyes closed, a little smile tickled her lips. She trailed her hand down her chest after he finally stepped away. “That hit the spot.”
Suddenly he knew why she hated when people gloated. If he hadn’t just had a fantastic orgasm, he would be severely put out. As it was, he vowed the next time she would tell him she loved him. End of story.
So much for her not exploiting his weakness, though. He should have known better.
“For a woman that hates gloating, you sure do it well enough.” He lathered up her hair with shampoo.
“Well, can you blame me?”
“Yes.”
She laughed in that sexy way she had.
“I need to tell you about my father,” he said, changing the subject.
Chapter Thirteen
Jenna focused on Josh’s gentle fingers as he worked the shampoo into her head and massaged her scalp. His voice took on a hard edge as he mentioned his father. “What’s there to tell?”
“He’ll try to get one over on you. He’ll try to dominate you. I know how you hate that, so I just wanted to let you know that it’s no skin off my back if you push back. He can be…difficult.”
“Don’t sweat it. One day you’ll meet my father and you’ll understand my lack of fear in the parental department.”
“Will I?”
Jenna hesitated. She hadn’t realized what she’d said, nor had she meant it to have any real weight, but his response was confident and light, as if she was giving him an admission he was already aware of.
She didn’t have time to retort, because he finished rinsing himself off and got out of the shower.
“I’ll meet you downstairs, beautiful,” he said as he closed the shower door.
“You have no reason to gloat right now,” she stated to the empty space. “I am the one gloating. See? Hear my voice? There is gloating in it…”
“Hurry up,” was his smug reply.
Since Josh had already washed her hair, she soaped herself up thoroughly and rinsed off. He was gone when she reached the bedroom, so she took her time looking through the spoils Erika had bought. Most things looked like they would fit—Erika had been smart enough to pick mostly dresses and flowing pants that didn’t require an exact size. She did see some lingerie that was exciting. She would have to make use of that tonight, now that Josh could be coaxed. Although she had the feeling his guard would be back up. She would have to work extra hard to get around it.
She chose a casual but striking dress. She wanted to make an impression on Josh’s father. She didn’t know what kind of a man he was, but if Josh was as stoic and hardheaded as he was, and he didn’t get along with this guy, his dad was probably a real doozy.
She put on her flip-flops, happy that the dress nearly reached the floor. Her feet didn’t look all that glamorous, as Erika had said, and she didn’t want to talk about them. She didn’t want the memories that would come with the absence of her boots. She hoped they were being buried with the other evidence.
That was another reason she would have to seduce Josh good and proper. She needed to be so tired she couldn’t stay awake if she tried, and preferably couldn’t dream.
As she walked into the large dining room, she saw a man sitting at the head of a long oak table, facing the open-plan kitchen, with his hands folded and his back ramrod straight. He was grilling Josh about something, but fell silent as she entered the room.
His eyes swung to her quickly, and she immediately understood why Josh was nervous for her. This man was clearly not one to be trifled with. When his cold blue eyes fell on her, she felt like prey. His commanding presence shocked into her, compelling and imposing at the same time. He was the type of guy who expected to get what he wanted, now.
Erika sat on the far side of the table with a coffee cup in front of her, looking beaten and tossed aside. Josh was standing near the island in the kitchen with a glass of water. Jack was in the kitchen as well, as far away from Josh’s dad as he could get, fiddling with a coffee pot.
The man was scary, yeah, but they were all adults. Really, guys?
Jenna put on a smile and got her game face on. The only people in this room that could pierce her armor were Josh and Erika. Erika would never do anything to tear her down in front of this man, and from what Josh had said earlier, he wouldn’t either. As far as she was concerned, she was bulletproof.
She elegantly stuck out her hand for the older man. “You must be Josh’s dad. Hi, I’m Jenna.”
He pushed the chair back at his own pace, not hurried that she was waiting for him. His height topped hers by a few inches, with an older version of Josh’s powerful body.
His coarse hand took hers with an equally coarse stare. “General Williams. You can call me Dick.”
A general. Well. That explained some things. As far as she knew, generals outranked whatever it was Josh and Jack were. That was certainly part of the problem. As Josh explained, you gave the orders, or you took them. General Williams gave them, and he expected everyone else to bend over and take it.
Too bad for him she wasn’t in the army.
She sat two seats down from the old man, across from Erika. Erika’s back straightened a little after Jenna grinned.
“General.” She nodded, still smiling. “This is a beautiful house. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Dick eyed her, sizing her up. He didn’t look all that much like Josh. His nose and face were broader and his hairline was receding. He had the same strong jaw, but instead of thick, sensuous lips, his were thin and tight. He wasn’t an ugly man—probably above average in his youth—but it was clear Josh got his looks from the other side of the family tree. Josh’s mom must’ve been a beauty.
“You’ve brought my son into some trouble,” Dick stated, cutting right to the chase. Apparently being a guest didn’t shelter one from rudeness.
Already immobile, Josh now froze, rigid. His eyes hardened but sparked with worry at the same time. Jack fiddled madly with the coffee pot.
“Actually, she—” Erika’s words sputtered away as that steely gaze settled on her.
Josh slowly crossed the room and then lightly rested his hand on the back of Jenna’s neck. Jenna appreciated the support. She was emotionally spent and physically exhausted. Wrestling with a prickly father had not been on her agenda. It was damned irritating, actually.
Dick distractedly waved Josh away. “She doesn’t need you hovering over her, son. Find somewhere else to loiter.”
Josh flinched.
She reached back and ran her fingers down Josh’s arm intimately. “Actually, I’ve been through a few tough situations in the last couple days, general. I enjoy Josh’s presence. But Josh, maybe you can sit with the rest of us?”
Jack turned from the corner, his face registering shock and a warning. He didn’t feel that pushing back was the best of ideas. He also didn’t have a great poker face, which would just prolong the general’s efforts to control the room. She wasn’t in the armed forces, but she’d stepped into a war all the same.
And she hated to lose.
“Jack, how about you join us too? I haven’t seen you in a few days.”
“Uh, sure…” Jack turned back to the coffee pot with a stiff back. “But, um, do you g
uys want some coffee? It’s almost done.”
“Tea, Jackson,” Dick commanded.
Jenna smiled and crossed her hands on the table. “Actually, general, if you don’t mind, I would prefer something stronger than tea.”
With a box of tea in hand, Jack stared at her. Add a little bloody drool and he would’ve passed for a slow-moving zombie. The man had stopped computing.
Dick picked up the baton immediately, intent on calling her bluff. “How about scotch, Miss Anderson?”
“Perfect, thanks.” And it was. A good, stiff drink would help relax her enough to go to bed in a few hours.
Jack, having left to do the general’s bidding, shuffled back into the room with a ten-year-old single malt whisky.
“How do you take it, Jenna?” he asked solemnly. He didn’t think she actually drank it. Neither did Josh, by the look of his straight face and worried eyes.
“Two fingers, one ice cube, please,” Jenna said confidently.
Dick noticed. She had a feeling that old geezer would miss nothing, with special consideration for weaknesses.
“Neat, Jackson.” Dick’s eyes zeroed in on Erika. “Do you drink scotch?”
Erika looked back like a deer in the headlights. Her gaze flicked to Jenna.
“I’m sure they have something else if you want, Erika,” Jenna said gently, trying to pull her friend out of her daze. Erika didn’t do well with authoritative butt-heads. She had a phobia of getting in trouble.
“Scotch is fine,” Erika said as she turned back to Dick with more confidence. “I like it with two fingers scotch, one finger water. Two ice cubes is fine, though.” She smiled at Jack, who smiled back like a lovesick dummy.
Uh oh.
They’d done the nasty, Jenna could tell. Apparently Jack didn’t do too well protecting Erika from himself. At least she was alive, though, and that was all that really mattered. Her ex-boyfriend Phil’s emotions weren’t a priority.
Unexpected Danger (Skyline Trilogy Book 2) Page 11
