Chapter 22 Josh
Josh
Ithought I understood kissing.
Lips and tongue. Maybe some hands.
But what Celine and I were doing went far beyond that.
We devoured one another, our hands roaming and caressing and squeezing. With her in my arms, the fear and apprehension that had haunted me for years weakened.
I would do anything this woman asked me.
Anything.
Anywhere.
Anytime.
“You are so beautiful.” I kissed my way down the column of her neck. “God, I’ve wanted to taste you right here.” I licked behind her ear. “Since the first time I saw you.”
She slipped her hands up under my shirt, gripping my belt to keep me close.
It was hot as fuck.
“Really? My Crocs and sports bra combo did it for you?”
A chuckle escaped me, and I buried my face in her neck.
I had no words to describe what this woman did to me.
Physically or emotionally. So instead, I picked her up and guided her legs around my waist, reveling in the way heat radiated from her core.
Then I set her on my workbench, giving myself more access.
I was hard as goddamn stone, not that it mattered.
She’d kissed me. She wanted me. But I wouldn’t allow myself to get carried away.
This was about her.
“Tell me what you want,” I rasped, basking in the softness of her skin as I cupped her neck.
She let out a small moan.
Pulling back, I took a moment to admire the look of pure want on her face. Her skin was flushed and her hair wild. It was unbearably sexy.
“Josh.”
I bit my lip to keep from throwing her over my shoulder and marching her straight to my bed.
“I will give you anything. But I won’t touch you again until you tell me you want it.”
“Touch me,” she said softly. “Your hands. They’re so strong. They feel so good.”
My cock surged in my pants, desperate for attention, but I kept all my focus on her.
She took my hand, running her fingers over the calluses on my palm. Her touch was featherlight, yet it set my skin on fire.
With her fingers circled around my wrist, she guided my hand to her stomach, then slowly inched upward to her breast.
“Yes,” I hissed, taking her mouth again. Our tongues tangled while my hands roamed freely. Cupping and squeezing her perfect breasts over her shirt.
“They’re small,” she said softly.
“Fucking perfect,” I growled into her mouth, my erection straining against her thigh. “You’re fucking perfect.”
I could die here. Just like this. With this sexy, strong woman wrapped around me. And it would be the happiest of endings.
Moaning, she slid her hand down my chest, and when she continued past my belt and stroked my cock over the fabric of my pants, I saw stars.
“Jesus.” She gasped, cupping me. “You could hurt me.”
“I would never hurt you,” I said, both hands on her face.
“I mean hurt in the good way.” She gave me a saucy wink.
Unable to control myself, I dove in for another kiss, then worked my way lower, nipping and sucking at her neck, one of my hands up under her sweatshirt, pulling her sports bra down.
She clutched my wrist and pushed until my hand rested on the waistband of her leggings. Then she shifted closer, rubbing herself against my erection, panting, radiating heat, pulse fluttering against my fingers.
“Fuck,” I breathed out. There was a very real chance I would come in my pants like a teenager tonight. “Can I?”
“Yes.” She dropped her head back. “I need you to touch me everywhere.”
With a groan, I slipped my fingers down beneath her waistband, and when all I found was warm skin, a beast was awoken inside me. “No panties?”
“Nope,” she said, her hands in my hair, her mouth on mine.
Lower and lower, I explored the heat of her, caressing her inner thighs and memorizing the feel of her skin, then focusing on her clit, caressing gently.
“Please.” She gasped and shuddered in my arms.
A thrill shot through me in response. Fuck. I avoided her pussy, knowing she’d be wet and ready but also knowing I was too worked up to do more than make her feel good.
I pulled my hand away, but before I could slip it out of her pants, she let out a feral growl.
“Don’t you fucking dare.”
Her tone sent a lightning bolt straight to my cock.
“You’re in charge,” I said against her mouth, finding her clit again, this time with my thumb. “You call the shots. I’ll walk away right now if you want me to.”
“I want.” She gasped, pushing against me. “I don’t want you to stop. I want your fingers inside me.”
“Spread for me,” I commanded.
Quickly, she shifted on the workbench, spreading her legs wide.
“You’re soaked.” I teased her opening with one finger, then pushed inside her.
She moaned, her body welcoming me, warm and wet and so ready.
“How’s that?” I asked. “Okay?”
She responded by tugging on my hair and biting my neck.
“Do you need to come?”
She nodded against me, whimpering, so I got to work, gently fucking her with one finger while circling her clit with my thumb.
She gasped and shook, clutching my shirt and my hair.
My body hummed with pleasure. Fuck. I’d never felt anything as good as this, and my pants were still buttoned, my belt still on. I didn’t need more. All I wanted was to make this woman feel good.
“Still okay?”
“Yes.” She gasped. “More. Need more.”
I slipped a second finger inside her, and her inner walls clamped down hard, the sensation making my vision go dark.
“That’s it. Take it.” I focused on working her clit while she bucked and rode my hand, setting her own rhythm. “So fucking sexy. You’re in charge. You tell me what you need.”
“Don’t stop.” She gasped. “I’m close.”
Her channel clamped around me even tighter, proving her point. Her body was tightly wound on a good day, but in this moment, she was ready to combust.
“You are perfection,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“Josh.” She clutched my hair, her pussy pulsating around me. She threw her head back and cried out as she came.
Watching her let go, releasing all the tension she carried around with her, was exquisite.
She rode out her release, still in complete control.
Shit. I’d never been so grateful to be used in my life.
When she collapsed against my chest, breathing hard, I withdrew my hand, then adjusted the waistband of her leggings.
Head tipped back, she watched me with heat in her gaze.
“You are so sexy when you come.” I brought my fingers to my mouth and sucked on one, then the other.
Her eyes widened, and her breath caught.
“And fuck, you taste incredible.”
I couldn’t help but swell with pride.
She’d come undone. Because of me.
With trembling hands, she reached for my belt and palmed my cock again.
But I put both my hands on top of hers, stopping her. As much as I loved the attention, I needed to slow things down.
“You should get home,” I said gently. “I can walk you.”
A look of shock registered on her face. “But—”
“I like you,” I said softly. “And what just happened. Kissing you, touching you. Making you come?” I shook my head. I didn’t have the right words, and I was sure I’d fuck this up. “It means something,” I finally said. “To me.”
“You mean you don’t just go around kissing girls?” Her tone was teasing, but genuine curiosity swam in her eyes.
Grunting, I gripped her waist. “I do not. Before I met you, I hadn’t looked at a woman in years. I thought that part of me had died.”
“But?”
“But you woke me up, Matchstick. With your fiery energy and your strength and your kindness.”
She blinked, as if she didn’t know what to say, or maybe she didn’t know if she believed me.
“You’ve got me thinking things and feeling things.” Fuck, I really was making a mess of this, but I soldiered on. “And I want to take it slow. Build trust.”
She trailed her fingers up my chest, then dragged them back to my belt buckle. “Can’t we—”
I shook my head. “I’d love to take you home and fuck you right now,” I said. “But I’m not a casual sex kind of guy. I like you. And I like your kids. I don’t want to mess things up with you by doing anything rash.”
She swallowed and tilted her head. “I get it. And I don’t do that either.”
“Casual sex?” I offered.
She laughed. “Any sex. Ever.”
That sent a thrill through me. The woman didn’t have sex, yet she’d let me bring her to orgasm tonight. That had to be a good sign. “How about…” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close.
She put her head on my chest and hugged me, the simple move making my heart stutter.
“How about we just see how things go? I want you to trust me.”
“I’m starting to.” Her tone was soft but sure.
“Then I’ll keep showing up and earning it. I will never push you. But I will be honest.”
“I can do that. Honesty.”
“Good. Because when you’re ready. I’d like to know what happened. Why you came here. What you’ve been running from.”
She tensed in my arms like her body was considering fleeing.
I stroked her hair and kept my tone low and soothing. “I’m not entitled to anything. You can tell me to fuck off. But I’m invested. In you. In your kids. And one day, I’d like to earn the right to know your history.”
“I’m not there yet.”
“That’s okay. But I’ll be here, ready when you are.”