Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Josie’s trembling request took every last ounce of his control and threw it against the wall where it shattered like thin glass. God, he loved her, every inch of her, and her generous giving heart, and he could give back tonight, anything that she asked for.
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.”
Houston shifted between her legs, searched out her slick opening and sank in with a steady thrust that tore a groan out of him. Her body wrapped around him, tight muscles caressing his cock, as he pushed deep inside her.
“Houston.” Josie stared up at him, eyes out of focus, her fair skin flushed to a rosy glow, as he left whatever shards of delusion he still retained behind.
Josie was amazing. He was in love with her. And she was his.
He pulled back until only the tip of his head was still inside her and they were both groaning in disappointment. For a long agonizing second he hovered there, then drove into her with a reckless hard push that ripped a curse from his lips and had Josie digging her nails into his back.
The little painful stings were nothing, barely noticed. He ignored the tight trembling in his injured leg and the bizarre lack of sensation in his right hand, as he reveled in the feeling of letting go, pouring into Josie all his appreciation and want.
He was very close to coming as he set a fast rhythm, wound too tight and racing towards an explosion. “Should I stop?” He wanted her to come first, with her soft legs wrapped around him and her breasts rolling with his every thrust.
The look of horror on her face would have been laughable if he hadn’t been grinding his teeth together in ecstasy. “No! I’ll die if you stop.”
And as if to hold him in place, her fingers were suddenly on his ass, squeezing hard, urging him forward with a little smack like a rider to a horse.
Nothing had ever turned him on like that demanding sexual swat from Josie. His gut twisted, his balls drew up, and he knew he only had seconds before he was exploding into her. “Want it that bad, do you?”
“Yes!”
And damned if she didn’t give him another tap, gripping his flesh and holding on as she jerked her hips up in an electric orgasm.
Houston let go, abandoned all control, fell over the edge with her, pushing hard, harder, driving himself and all his thoughts and feelings and passion forward into Josie.
They pulsed and bucked and held on, and Josie fell back slack, her fingers curling against his sheet, her upper lip dewy and her green eyes wide-open emerald pools.
“I love you,” she said.
And ruined any chance he had of rescuing his heart.
Josie lay panting and tried not to groan. And not from pleasure this time, but from the sheer stupidity of blurting out how she felt to Houston in the midst of a glass-shattering orgasm.
It was the equivalent of bringing up marriage on the first date.
Not that Houston was recoiling in horror. He wasn’t. Was looking pretty damn pleased, actually, but neither was he repeating her words back to her. Not even a “Ditto” or a “Right back at you, babe.”
Nothing but a small sigh, a crooked smile, a finger lazily drawn across her nipple, as he settled his weight next to her on the bed.
“You’re so different from me,” he mused.
Yes, she was an idiot, he was’t. She loved him, he didn’t love her. Josie lay very still and tried not to cringe. “Oh?”
“You’re so soft.” That finger wandered down her stomach and rounded the curve of her hip. “I’m hard.”
Boy, was he ever. From head to toe, everything was firm, including his dick still encased in the condom, resting against her. “Umm-hmm.”
“Your skin is so fair, so pale, like the moon. I’m not.” His manner was so relaxed, soothing, that Josie allowed herself to believe he didn’t mind her heartfelt blurt.
She gave a little laugh, turned up on her side towards him. “You’re like a roasted marshmallow.”
His breath brushed her bare shoulder as he laughed with her. “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.” He twined his fingers in hers, sighing, eyes drifting closed. “And you talk with your hands, and you talk a lot. I’m quiet.”
Alarm awakened in her. Why was he pointing out the obvious unless it was a precursor to the “Why This Won’t Work” speech.
“That’s true,” she said, because she was naked and feeling satisfied with him and the world and she didn’t want to ruin the moment.
And she wouldn’t argue with him if the time came for that speech.
It would break her heart, but she would not beg and she would not coax and—damn it—she deserved a man who loved her, cherished her— wanted her with his whole heart, not a man who’s been talked into it.
“I love those differences in you.”
She sucked in a breath, appreciating how difficult that must have been for him to say, to even mention love and her in the same sentence. She could actually hear the emotion in his voice.
The tears she’d been holding back rained down her face. Going up on her elbow, she leaned over to kiss him and halted an inch from his lips.
He was asleep.
Gorgeous and naked, his hand still resting on her stomach.
When Josie woke up, Houston was standing beside the bed, peering down at her. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she yawned. “Did you just blow on my face?”
Shifting on the balls of his feet, he grinned. “Must have been the wind.”
“The wind needs to brush its teeth.” Not that he had bad breath. She just wanted to tease him.
Josie stretched her arms above her head while Houston cupped his hand over his mouth, doing an obvious breath check.
She laughed. “I was kidding. You don’t have bad breath.”
“Since we’re being honest, I really did blow on your face. I was trying to wake you up.”
It occurred to her sex-and-sleep-fogged brain that he was wearing his swim trunks again and had the scissors in his hand. Oh, Lord, he didn’t really expect her to drag herself back to the beach, did he?
“Is your leg bothering you?” Rubbing her eyes, she gradually became aware that she was naked, flat out on the bed, her legs spread as wide as the Atlantic Ocean. She tried to work up some embarrassment, but just couldn’t muster it, not after the way he had touched her before.
Though she did cross her legs at the ankles.
His eyes followed the movement, the scissors slackening in his hand, jaw clenching. He took a step towards her. “Don’t bother hiding from me.”
And he dropped the scissors on the bed, lifted her ankle and tossed her leg back open again. “Much better.”
Though her mouth went moist and her breasts tingled, she merely raised an eyebrow at him. “Find me a shirt to wear and I’ll take out the rest of your sutures.”
His hesitation was gratifying. Then he pulled a T-shirt out of his drawer and gave it to her. “When you’re done, put your bikini back on. We’ll get something to eat, then I want to go back to the beach. I want to go in the water.”
The urge to pester him with a million questions was enormous, but Josie pulled the soft gray shirt on over her head and bit her lip to prevent spontaneous word eruption.
Houston wouldn’t want her to question his actions and really, there wasn’t any reason he couldn’t go in the water, it just seemed like he shouldn’t.
Her worry would be smothering and it was unfounded.
Besides, she was pretty sure he had seduced any resistance out of her. For anything he might ask. Sex on the roof? Sure, why not?
When her head popped through the neck hole and she took a deep cleansing breath, sniffing the aftershave and laundry detergent smell of his wrinkled shirt, she gave him a bright smile. “All right. Though let me throw my bathing suit in the dryer first. Nothing is worse than putting on a wet suit.”
Houston leaned forward, held the back of her head, and pressed a soft kiss on her lips that made Josie sigh.
“You’re the best, Josie.”
Closer and closer he was getting. Soon, he was going to have to admit to her that he loved her. She’d be ready with tears and oral sex when he did.