Chapter Forty-Eight
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
THEN
October 2024
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN to a wedding with your soon-to-be ex-wife, but nobody knows she’s your soon-to-be ex-wife? No? Well, I don’t recommend it.
Thankfully, we have both been too preoccupied with wedding hoopla to see much of each other, but at the end of the day, when everyone goes to bed, we’re left to deal with one another in the close quarters of the hotel room. We can’t have separate rooms, that would raise brows. I don’t think we’ve spoken a word to each other away from the others…No, scratch that. She huffed out a goody from the passenger seat of my Bronco when I quoted the trip from our house in Winchester to the Alderidge Estate at a little over two hours.
But tonight at the reception, I have found it hard to differentiate between what is real and what isn’t. I haven’t heard her laugh in months, but she giggles and clings to my arm as we sit in conversation with other party guests. And when she drags me to the dance floor, I feel a high like never before…
Holding her in my arms, dancing beneath the starry sky…it feels like a dream. I cradle her hand in mine between our beating hearts and sway to the gentle beat of a country ballad about falling in love. Her brown eyes tell a different story than her actions the rest of the weekend, and without saying it, I’m sure she feels that tug between us, too. When the song ends, I can’t fight the urge to swoop down and kiss her.
She doesn’t retreat like I thought she would, and it’s not just because everyone is watching. Her right hand threads through the hair at my nape and pulls my mouth back to hers when I pull away—only to be interrupted when a cough sounds behind us. We turn to see none other than the bride.
“Mind if I steal your…husband for a moment?” Nina asks with a hesitant smile, looking between the two of us.
She knows the truth; I know she does. The subtle hints she has been dropping all weekend tell me she knows. It’s a weird feeling knowing that someone knows something about you, but on the off chance you’re wrong about it, you don’t want to say anything. I mean, imagine that conversation.
“Shouldn’t you be off doing married woman things?” I chuckle, but she doesn’t reciprocate it.
“Everything okay, Nin?” Elizabeth asks, our hands still intertwined between us. I give her hand a gentle squeeze, which she reciprocates.
“Fine. I might suggest you find your way to the hotel though. Before Finn leaves,” Nina says, looking over her shoulder when Nick calls to her. He stands at the edge of the dance floor with a pair of older gentlemen I think he said were from the Villa Inc. board.
“What do you mean?” Elizabeth asks.
“Just try to catch him before he’s gone.” Nina ignores Elizabeth, directing her demand at me before she finally meets her husband and their guests.
Elizabeth and I share a questioning glance. Why is it so important I catch him before he leaves? I just spoke to Finn not even an hour ago. I caught up with him before he left the reception. He mentioned he wasn’t going to make it to brunch tomorrow, something about needing to get back to the city for some Sheffield House plans. That didn’t seem out of the ordinary. Since the launch, he’s been inundated with all things Sheffield House. So, why was Nina so adamant I needed to catch up to him?
When we get back to the hotel, I practically run straight into the man I’m supposed to be looking for. Heeding Nina’s warning, I suggest we have one more drink before he leaves for the airport. He’s about to decline the invite, but I insist and push him toward the hotel bar. It doesn’t take long for the floodgates to open, and he lets it slip that my sister has decided to go back to what should have been her soon-to-be ex-husband, David.
“What the fuck do you mean, she’s going back to David?” I hiss. “You guys just started dating! I thought everything was—”
“We haven’t spoken since the launch gala. Tonight was the first time I’ve seen her. ” Finn scoffs, staring into the amber liquid in his glass. There’s a sadness in his voice I’ve never heard before. “Found out about Oliver and his little wager, said I wasn’t honest with her about my intentions.”
“Finn—”
“No, Josh. It’s okay.” He sighs, downing the rest of his drink. “Probably for the best, anyway.” He slaps a fifty on the bar and claps me on the back, heaving his bag on his shoulder and walking out of the hotel.
“What was that about?” Elizabeth asks when I walk back into our hotel room.
I sit on the ottoman at the foot of the bed, still trying to comprehend what my best friend just told me. How can my sister do this? Why would she do this? I need to talk to Michaela. To try and knock some fucking sense into her.
Elizabeth calls my name from the bathroom doorway. Her blonde hair has been unleashed from the mess of rubber bands and bobby pins that held it together earlier, brushing against her shoulders. I miss the longer length she used to keep, but this new length accentuates her facial features better. Either way, she’s fucking beautiful. The most beautiful woman on the damn planet, and she’s all mine…
Or she was.
It won’t be long before I’ve lost her for good and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
Elizabeth says something else, but I can’t hear her over the thoughts running through my head or the pounding of blood in my ears.
What happens next occurs so quickly that I don’t realize I’ve crossed the room and reached the threshold until I feel my lips on hers. She doesn’t resist; she doesn’t even seem surprised. She meets my kiss with her own, gripping the front of my shirt to pull me close.
God forgive me, I know this is going to make things worse between us, but I’m going to devour her tonight if she allows. I may never be allowed to be with her again, to show her how much I love her…I need to grasp the opportunity while it’s right in front of me.
“Josh,” she whispers, pulling back just enough to put a small gap between us, but she has yet to let go of my shirt.
“Do you want me to stop?”
She takes in a soft breath but doesn’t reply.
“Sugar.” I plant my left hand against the doorframe and grip her chin to lift her gaze to mine. Her body presses forward involuntarily as her tongue pokes out to wet her lips. “What do you want?”
Her brown eyes darken.
“We can stop right now,” I say.
“Is that what you want?” Elizabeth asks, her fingers toying with the hem of my dress pants.
“Not even close, Sugar.” The pads of my fingers skate along her jaw, pulling her mouth back to mine, but I don’t let our lips touch. She gasps when I nip at her bottom lip. “Tell me you want this, Elizabeth. That you want me.”
Her brows pinch together, eyes roaming my face before she whispers, “I need you, Josh.”
Her words send the blood rushing to my cock. Elizabeth closes the gap between us and I can taste the wine on her tongue. Her fingertips take their time as if rememorizing every crevice and ridge as they slide up my chest, gliding around the sides of my neck and interlocking at the base of my skull.
Keeping one hand braced against the wall, my other tugs at the messy blonde waves. I move from her mouth to her jaw, working my way down the column of her throat. I nip at her collarbone, sucking the sweet skin between my teeth, soothing the bite with my tongue. Repeating the process until the beginnings of a mark form. Her head falls back against the wall, pressing her chest flush against mine, and I can feel her nipples through the fabric of the burgundy-colored dress.
I can’t wait to rip the damn thing off, but not yet…Patience is a virtue and if this is truly the last opportunity I have to show this woman my love for her, I’m going to take my time.
Kissing her again, I nudge her legs apart with my foot, and lift my thigh to meet her center. She moans against my mouth when my leg presses against her clit, and she grinds against me, chasing after her release. The sleeves of her dress begin to fall down the slopes of her shoulders, exposing the swell of her breasts.
“Good baby,” I whisper, pulling away from her mouth to watch. Wet arousal begins to cover my leg and just knowing the effect this is having on her makes me grow harder. Her head falls back, eyes screwed shut and she rubs against me, growing needier by the second, as I grind into her. “Eyes on me, Sugar.” I grasp her chin, forcing her brown eyes to meet mine. “Do you want to come?”
She whines, her nails digging into the white shirt that covers my shoulders.
I pull her mouth back to mine in a searing kiss and press my thigh a little further into her clit, until my name falls off her lips and her orgasm rips through her. Her hands clutch my shirt as I work her through the release, watching her come undone in the palms of my hands. And it’s fucking breathtaking.
She takes a few steadying breaths, but I don’t wait for her to catch her breath, lifting her off her feet and slinging her legs over my hips, pinning her against the wall. I kiss and lick the delicate skin of her neck, pulling the top of her dress completely off her arms to expose her chest. Her nipples are like perfect little peaks. I cup one of her breasts in my hand, massaging the doughy flesh and pinching the sensitive bud. When I press my mouth to hers again, there’s nothing calculated about the way I kiss her. It’s frantic and messy, but she meets me with the same amount of passion, and I fucking love it.
“Josh,” she pleads, grinding her pussy over my throbbing erection.
“Let’s see how wet you are for me,” I say, using my hips to pin her to the wall. I pull her dress up, bunching the fabric around her waist. Pushing the material of her underwear out of the way, I run my finger up her slit and hum in satisfaction. “Fuck, Sugar. You’re drenched.”
Her head falls back against the wall when I slip one finger inside her, using my thumb to circle her clit.
“Shit,” she exhales when I pull my finger from her and slip it into my mouth, moaning at the taste of her.
I carry her to the bed, dropping her on her back, my mouth still latched to her, sucking the delicate skin behind her ear. Her fingers grab for the buttons on my shirt, undoing them as I kiss down the column of her throat. Soft hands rake down my chest, finally opening the white dress shirt.
Elizabeth presses her lips to my throat, planting soft kisses on my skin, before she pulls my mouth back to hers. “Please fuck me, Josh,” she begs, and something swells inside my chest.
Fear? Regret? Need? Love? A combination of all four? I don’t know how to describe it, but it makes my chest tighten. What are we doing? We shouldn’t be doing this. We’ve been separated for months, living separate lives unbeknownst to everyone else. When we wake up tomorrow, we won’t go back to Josh and Elizabeth, we’ll still be Josh and Elizabeth. We’ll go back to our new lives, apart from one another…
“Baby,” Elizabeth whispers, gripping my chin to bring my gaze back to her. “Don’t. Don’t think about it. Tonight, it’s you and me. Okay?”
My tongue pokes out to wet my lips, and I slowly begin to meet her nod with my own, but not without seeing the saddened look in her warm chocolate eyes. I don’t miss the tears that collect in the corners of her eyes as she brushes her fingers along the side of my face, offering me a soft smile.
“I want you , Josh. I’ve always wanted you.”
“Then kiss me, Sugar.”
And she does, soft and leisurely, nails raking through my hair.
I cup her face as we take our time. This kiss isn’t like the others, it’s not frantic or messy. Our mouths mold together, tongues tangling in a dance as we relish in the moment. And there isn’t a damn question in my mind about whether this is real. I know it is…was.
We shrug out of our clothes, letting them fall to the floor without caring where they land.
“Come here,” I urge when I crawl back onto the bed, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her to straddle me.
Her palms brace against my chest, rocking her hips against mine, and my cock hardens. She leans down to kiss me and I cradle her neck, exchanging a few wet kisses. My fingers dig into the flesh of her hips when she lifts, rubbing against my length.
It’s been too long since I had her last, and the anticipation is fucking brutal.
Centering my cock, Elizabeth’s head falls back as soon as the tip rubs against her entrance. I waste no time, gripping her hips and pushing into her with a shared gasp.
“You okay, Sugar?” I ask, and she nods fervently, lowering herself further until she is fully seated on me. “You’re so tight, my god,” I hiss.
She begins to rock her hips slowly, taking her time, and I let her set the pace. Her head falls back again and the view is fucking spectacular. She’s perfect. The same emotion from earlier builds in my chest again, but I refuse to let it boil over. Not right now. Right now I’m going to enjoy the view and enjoy the last little bit of time I have with this magnificent woman.
“Right here, baby.” Elizabeth brings my attention back to her.
“I’m with you, Sugar,” I say, bringing her lips down to mine. She gasps when I flex my hips into her, taking control. Her tits rub against my chest as she clutches the comforter on either side of my head, the soft moans of pleasure spilling from her lips spurring me on. Sounds of wet skin fill the room. Warm breaths and wet kisses pepper the side of my face and neck as I thrust into her. She whispers small words of love and praise against my ear, and I realize this isn’t just one last hoorah before we hit the road. This is so much more than that, but that nagging feeling is back and I know this won’t last. It was never meant to.
“Josh,” she cries when my thumb finds her clit. It doesn’t take long for her to fall over the edge, her pussy gripping me as her mouth falls open in ecstasy. And I fall with her, giving myself to her one last time.
We lay like that for a while, catching our breath and letting the high last for as long as possible. After a few more moments, Elizabeth kisses me and rolls to her side. I pull her into my side and kiss the crown of her head.
“You wanna talk about it?” She asks, letting her arms drape across my waist. “What Finn said, I mean.”
I take a deep breath, drawing invisible circles against the skin of her shoulder. “My sister is going back to David.”
“Michaela.” She sighs.
“Don’t know what happened, but she told Finn tonight at the reception when he tried to talk to her…Something happened at the gala and she’s been avoiding him since.”
Elizabeth huffs out another breath, burying herself into my side. “Don’t be too hard on her, Josh.”
“Easier said than done, Sugar.” I kiss the top of her head again and pull her close, inhaling her scent as it’s mixed with mine. Before I know it, soft snores fall from her lips and the sound makes me smile. “Goodnight, baby.”