by Vivian Arend
And the kisses. Long, slow, drugging exchanges. His tongue slipping against hers just long enough that when he pulled back she couldn’t help but follow, stretching more fully over him, his solid muscular body a gloriously hard cushion.
Josiah rolled, bringing her under him onto the soft woven carpet in front of the fireplace. He held himself up on one elbow, the weight of his torso barely brushing hers. His hips firmly nestled between her thighs, and when he rocked, the hard length of his cock brushed her aching sex, and she moaned.
“Do you actually want me to go find a kilt?” he muttered between kisses that drifted across her cheek and down her throat. “Do you want to stop and go look for the green flash?”
Lisa lifted her legs and wrapped them tightly around his hips, locking him in place even as she regretted the layers between them. “Later. Right now if you want to ravish me, I’m fully on board.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing to me,” Josiah said, pulling up her T-shirt. He shoved down the cup of her bra. An instant later, his mouth covered her nipple and he sucked.
Lisa arched, the response jolting from her body. A pulsing need began deep in her core, as if he’d tipped the top of a metronome and the heavy pulse was echoing off the walls to land solidly between her thighs.
She caught hold of his shirt, fingers twisting in the fabric as she tugged with a faint hope it would magically disappear and she could make contact with skin.
No magic. Words were required. “Not that I want you to stop, but take this off,” she whispered.
Josiah slid farther down her body, nipping at her waist. “I’m busy.”
“Josiah,” she complained with an exasperated moan.
A clatter of doggie nails rattled across the floor as Ollie came running from her bed in the corner of the room to see what was wrong.
Josiah laid his forehead against Lisa’s belly and laughed as Ollie stuck her head over them both, whining in concern. When he lifted his head, laughter danced in his eyes. “This overprotective dog does not like you making that noise,” he pointed out.
Lisa struggled upright, pushing Ollie aside and shoving down her shirt. Cock-blocked by the dog. Again.
“Ollie. Go, sit.” She pointed at the dog bed as she put every bit of command into her words.
The dog glanced at Josiah, blinking piteously. It was clear she hoped for an overrule of Lisa’s order.
He lifted his arm and pointed as well. “Go.”
Ollie snorted as if she’d been cruelly abandoned, shuffling back to her bed. She turned in three increasingly slow circles before collapsing with a loud huff of air.
Josiah and Lisa glanced at each other for a moment in sheer amusement before he scooped her up, spinning her in a circle then tossing her toward his bed. “We might be safe up there.”
Lisa slid higher on the mattress, patting the spot beside her. “There’s no time like the present.”
His eyes flashed, and he held up a hand. “You’re right. I’ll be back.”
Josiah turned on his heel and left the room.
14
Josiah left the door to the bedroom open, so Lisa assumed he was coming back. She curled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, laughing inside.
His unpredictability scored another point.
He jetted back into the room then slowed, as if he hadn’t been sprinting a moment earlier. “I forgot these.”
He held up two brightly wrapped packages. He closed the door firmly and locked it before marching to the bed and climbing on the mattress beside her.
The smaller of the two packages was offered to her. “It’s not from me. It’s from your sister. Some sort of thank-you for us being there the other day.”
Her curiosity kicked into high gear. “Instant proof Tamara’s feeling better, because a week ago she would’ve had to ask me to do the wrapping.” She picked up her box and held it by her ear as she shook it.
A low sliding rattle echoed back.
Josiah was unwrapping the other gift, a beautiful leather belt slipping from the box onto the mattress between them.
“That’s nice.” Lisa wiggled closer. “And observant. You could use an upgrade.”
She tugged on the end of the belt he wore. It wrapped far around his waist until it nearly reached his back.
Lisa glanced up at his face to discover his pretend smile was in place. “What’s wrong?”
Josiah blinked, then put his thoughts aside. “I’m picturing you wearing my belt and nothing else.”
A shiver of anticipation struck. “We can totally do that. We just won’t tell my sisters, okay?”
His smile was back. The real one that lit up his eyes as he mimed putting a key to his lips, locking it, then throwing the key over his shoulder.
Lisa scrambled at the wrapping paper on her present, watching his face. She’d let him get away with keeping his secret for the moment, but there was definitely something more to discover. “If Tamara gave me a wooden spoon, we know she’s going with a theme.”
“It’s too short to be a wooden spoon,” Josiah pointed out.
That was true. The box turned out to be a shiny metallic tin with a brightly coloured image of a mountain scene. “Pretty.”
Josiah took it from her fingers. “What’s inside? Chocolates? Tea?”
“Something decadent, I hope.”
He popped the lid off, and the tin slipped from his fingers. A rainbow of colourful condom wrappers showered onto the mattress.
Lisa couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter at the expression on Josiah’s face. “Oh my God, I’m going to kill her.”
“Do I even want to know?” Josiah asked.
He was picking up the condoms, putting them back into the tin two and three at a time. Lisa grabbed one, waving it in the air like a baton. “Long-standing joke. I might have given Tamara a box of these once upon a time.”
He reached for the one in her fingers, but she tucked it away with sleight-of-hand.
Josiah paused as she showed him empty palms. “Good trick. You Coleman girls are dangerous.”
Lisa glanced toward the corner of the room to make sure that Ollie was settled in place. “I’m sure a heroic Scotsman like yourself has no problem dealing with danger.”
His demeanor changed. Josiah put the tin down beside his present on the side table. “I don’t need to role-play tonight, and I don’t want to wait any longer. I want you, Lisa.”
Oh my God. “Yes. Definitely yes.”
He reached for her, and this time the T-shirt didn’t just go up partway. It was over her head and tossed to the floor in mere seconds. Josiah undid her bra, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before slipping the straps off one at a time. The cool air mixed with the heat from the fireplace and brushed her skin as he got her naked.
Jeans undone and stripped away. Panties vanishing.
He caught her wool socks by the toes and dragged them off so slowly her skin lit up. Every inch was so sensitive that when he wrapped a hand around her ankle and caressed his way up, Lisa quivered.
“So beautiful,” he whispered before pressing his lips to her calf. To the inside of her knee. Barely moving before licking and nipping all the way up to her inner thigh.
Josiah pressed her knees apart, staring at her sex. Just looking, as Lisa watched.
His eyes—so expressive when he was being himself. When he showed what he was actually feeling and it was clear there was no pretending going on. This wasn’t acting. It was simple need and want and desire.
Josiah glanced up and their gazes met
“You’re making me nervous,” she admitted. “And I don’t get nervous.”
“Let’s just call it anticipation then,” he suggested. “Trust me. I’ll make you feel good.”
She wanted to complain that he wasn’t getting naked, but she already knew he had the mouth of a god. Interrupting his plans seemed like a sin.
He leaned in and put his lips to her sex, and she closed her eyes and just felt.
Felt each teasing stroke as he worked either side of her sex, circling her clit before giving it the briefest bit of attention. Again, and again, each move slightly different, so she couldn’t anticipate where he would touch next. Each time adding a little twist until the ache inside was so big she could barely breathe.
He’d slid a finger into her, stroking softly. He switched to two fingers, barely there, barely moving, yet most definitely present. Especially in contrast to the rapid motion of his tongue.
The next time he withdrew, a shudder shook her as he raised three fingers to his mouth and licked.
Oh. My. God.
He pressed the thick mass into her, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to trap the wordless whimper that wanted to escape.
His grin flashed. “Good thinking. Don’t disturb the puppy.”
His fingers moved with infinite patience. A deep tingle radiated everywhere, as if he were attaching electrodes to her body.
“Josiah. Please.” The words were as close to a whisper as she could manage at that moment.
His smile only widened. “Yes, ma’am.”
He put that magical mouth to her again, and she could’ve started a countdown timer. Three, two, one—
She was gone. Waves of pleasure rolled over her as if a rock had been dropped into a basin. Impact shot to the edge then back, ripples smashing into each other, creating a hard pulse that went on and on. Every time he moved his fingers, her body lit up again.
When he finally slipped his hand free, Lisa wanted to catch him by the shoulders and drag him over her, but she couldn’t move. “I’m boneless.”
Josiah shoved off his jeans, reaching for the condom she’d laid on the pillow beside her. “I’m not.”
She glanced down in the hopes of getting to finally see him naked, but the instant he covered himself, he was back between her thighs. Kissing her senseless before aligning his cock with her sex.
He rocked, groaning against her cheek. “Not going to last,” he warned.
“It’s okay—”
Josiah pressed deep. A single motion that buried him completely.
Air rushed from her lungs. Lisa clutched his shoulders, fighting to remember how to breathe. He felt so perfect inside her. Stretching her, filling her.
Moving in her as he slowly withdrew before thrusting forward.
His expression—one hundred percent real. His eyes closed and his jaw slid open as he moaned in pleasure. The next second his eyes snapped open and his gaze caught hers as his lips twisted upward. “Better than I dreamed.”
“Me too.” She tugged at his shirt. “Except for this.”
Josiah hesitated, then leaned on one arm and reached over his head. He jerked the fabric forward and she helped gather it up and off as he rocked onto the other arm to free the last sleeve.
Finally.
Lisa curled herself around him, savouring the heat of his naked skin touching hers. Josiah adjusted their position until they ended up sitting on the bed. His legs dangled off the side as she sat in his lap, fully embedded on his cock.
His torso quivered as she stroked her fingers over the muscular planes of his chest. “Now it’s perfect,” she said.
His fingers pulsed on her butt and he put his lips to hers as he lifted her. Effortlessly sliding her up before bringing her down carefully. Lisa used her thighs and helped, and they picked up speed.
Josiah groaned. “So fucking good.”
Harder, now. He brought her down rapidly, thrusting upward to connect them forcefully. As she rocked over him, he slid one hand against her back, drawing them closer until their bodies rubbed.
Sex slicked and wet. The scent in the air—decadent. The sounds—enough to make the spiral of heat inside her flare all over again.
Lisa felt the tremor before he clutched her, hips pulsing erratically as he came, his shaft thick within her.
She was so close. She ground down, bumping her clit against his body in a desperate search for the final pressure she needed.
Josiah snuck a hand between their bodies, his thumb going unerringly to her clit. He circled a couple of times and then pressed down, hard. Pinching and rolling between thumb and forefinger, and it was enough.
More than enough. It was a stick of dynamite when a match would’ve worked, but she wasn’t about to complain.
“Josiah.” The word escaped somewhere between a cry of pleasure and a wheeze.
He laughed as he caught the back of her head and brought her mouth to his. Kissing her. Both of them gasping for air between tongue-tangling demands. As if they couldn’t get enough of each other.
It took a long time for their breathing to return to normal, the fire between them having heated the room to perfection.
Lisa peeled back just far enough to stare into his eyes. Her fingers caressed the back of his head as she stroked his hair. “Not bad considering you weren’t wearing a kilt.”
Josiah’s face lit up. “It’s good to have something to look forward to.”
Oh, she had plenty to look forward to. They were just beginning—
She had no idea what they were beginning. She had no idea what the next days or weeks were going to bring.
He caught her against him, pressing her head against his chest as he stroked her back.
Thank God, because her face would’ve given her away. He was inside her, joined as intimately as two people could be. It seemed so right. It seemed like exactly where she was supposed to be.
Lisa put aside the worries about what was coming tomorrow and concentrated on the present.
“You are a screamer,” Josiah teased softly.
“Only when necessary,” she assured him. Lisa tilted her head back to watch his expression as she ran a hand over his stubble-roughened cheek. “Although we might have to test that theory a few more times tonight.”
“A scientific experiment. I like that idea.” He nodded firmly.
Then he brought them apart just for long enough to clean up before dimming the lights and curling his arms around her. It was too early to go to bed, but this was the perfect place to be.
“Get some sleep,” he ordered. “You’re going to need it.”
Whatever crazy kind of dream he was having, Josiah Ryder didn’t want it to end.
Lisa Coleman was in his bed. A warm, generous woman who, when he’d woken her in the night, hadn’t gotten all cranky on him but enthusiastically offered herself up to his hands and mouth and cock.
Although when he pressed a kiss to her neck at five thirty in the morning, she sighed heavily and burrowed herself farther into her pillow.
Josiah forced himself to stay quiet as he rolled out of bed. Some solitary time wasn’t a bad thing—he had his morning routine to follow. He pulled on a pair of briefs, sweatpants, and a muscle shirt before dropping to the floor to begin his workout.
He was on his third round of push-ups and sit-ups when he felt two sets of eyes staring at him. Ollie’s head hung over the foot of the bed where the creature had magically landed sometime right before dawn.
A foot or two higher, Lisa had her chin resting in her hand as she stared at him.
He focused on the ceiling and counted sit-ups, trying to ignore that her eyes were on him, drifting over his body.
It shouldn’t feel so uncomfortable, but it did.
“Energy to burn?” She sounded well-fucked, and a pulse of satisfaction hit.
“Morning routine. Being done with far less energy than normal, thanks to you.” He teasingly flashed a grin even as he cranked out another couple of crunches.
She examined him closely. “Nearly done?”
“Nearly.”
He rolled to his stomach, placed his hands on the floor and swung into the final set of push-ups. Lisa’s feet hit the ground beside him, bare toes with pale pink on the nails circling around.
“Join me in the shower when you’re done,” she said.
His cock reacted, hardening to the point of pain.
Jos
iah pushed up again.
She squatted so their eyes met on the same level. “I mean it,” she said. “Please?”
His arms quivered, so he focused down and continued without answering her.
She stepped away.
Ollie jumped down from the bed and paced over to Josiah’s side, nose slipping against his neck briefly. The dog stretched lazily then curled up on the floor outside the closed bathroom door, stalking Lisa again.
In the distance, the water turned on. Josiah stopped his workout, collapsed to the ground, and stared at the door with less than a dozen push-ups to go.
Last night had changed things, yes. But what had gone on in the days before had changed things even more. Now that Tamara’s baby had arrived, Lisa was narrowing in on the final weeks of needing to be around. Even having her in his bed last night had been a happy coincidence because of Karen being in town. Lisa had needed company after too many shocks.
For him, it was so much more. He didn’t want this to end.
God, he wanted this to be the beginning, but there was no way he could expect her to keep herself open to all the possibilities for them if he wasn’t willing to be one hundred percent transparent.
No matter how frightening it would be. No matter how vulnerable he had to make himself.
Josiah pushed to his feet, stepped over Ollie, and marched himself to the shower.
Lisa stood naked under the water, and while he knew he had to do the next thing, that in itself was a reward. Sweet curves, her brown hair turned darker as she lifted her face to the shower and let the water stream over her skin.
As she lifted her arms and the motion lifted her breasts, Josiah took a deep breath and peeled off his muscle shirt. He pushed down his sweats and underwear in one motion, his erection so thick it thumped upward toward his belly.
He knew what he looked like. The image in the mirror lied, though. No matter how often he looked at it, it was still difficult to believe.
But he was working on it. Working on having the confidence to do what was necessary, which currently was toss a spare towel onto the rack and pull the door open.
