Chapter 9
brEWER
I keep waiting for the moment Josie changes her mind. Even now, with her warm and willing beneath me, I’m expecting her to flinch. Shrink away from me. Decide this was all a mistake.
But the moment never comes.
There’s nothing in those pretty green eyes but pure want. No fear. No reluctance. Just this perfect woman gazing at me like I’m exactly what she’s been waiting for, her legs wrapping around my hips, urging me closer.
Fuck, is this really happening?
I’ve spent forty-two years feeling like a monster.
Too big, too rough, too broken to be wanted.
But Josie doesn’t see a monster, and the way she’s looking at me right now is enough to set my heart on fire.
I’m done thinking. Done holding back. I’ve spent a month torturing myself, and I’m not wasting another second.
This angel is mine.
My cock aches, leaking with pre-cum as I angle the tip against her entrance.
She’s so fucking wet. I can still taste it on my tongue—the sweet, musky taste of her arousal.
I couldn’t get enough of it. Couldn’t get enough of her sweet moans as she came on my fingers.
But this time, I want her coming all over my cock, screaming my name like it’s the only word she knows.
“Are you ready for me, sugar?” I ask, rubbing the head of my cock up and down her folds, coating it in her cream.
“So ready.”
Josie looks up at me, eyes glittering, her fiery hair splayed across my pillow. She’s so fucking beautiful it hurts. I can’t resist cupping her cheek, leaning down to press a kiss on her lips.
“I’ve never done this before,” I tell her. “You’re my first.”
A flicker of surprise crosses her face. “Really?”
I nod. “Been waiting for the right person.”
“You’re my first too, Brewer.”
Something primal roars through me at her words.
First.
I’ll be her first, her last, and everything in between. This angel will never belong to anyone else—I’ll make damn sure of it. God help any man who tries to take her from me.
“You were worth every second of the wait, sugar.”
She smiles, lifting her arms and wrapping them around my neck. I keep my gaze trained on her, savoring her sharp inhale as I finally start to inch inside her. She squeezes open around my cock, hot and slick, her fingers digging into my shoulders.
“That’s it,” I grit out. “Hold onto me.”
We moan in unison as I bottom out, engulfed in her heat, our bodies locked together. She feels so fucking good, and it takes several deep breaths before I can speak.
“Fuck. You okay?”
Josie nods. Her face is flushed, features screwed up, and I can’t tell if it’s from pleasure or pain.
“Talk to me, sugar.”
“I’m okay.” She wriggles her hips with a shaky exhale, trying to get comfortable, and it takes all my restraint not to come instantly. “You feel so big.”
I go still, convinced I’ve hurt her.
Too big, too rough, too much…
“You want me to stop, Josie?”
She shakes her head, her hands gripping my shoulders harder, pulling me closer.
“Please don’t,” she breathes. “I like it.”
With a burst of relief, I stop thinking and start moving. My strokes are slow at first, letting Josie adjust to my size. Every instinct screams at me to take her harder, but I force myself to be gentle, until I feel her hands slide down to my hips, urging me on.
“You want more, sugar?”
“Yes,” she says, her voice breathy and eager. “I can take it, Brewer.”
A growl escapes my throat as I run my hands over her gorgeous curves, gripping her waist tight as I move faster. She’s squirming beneath me, moaning as my cock slaps into her, our bodies meeting with a wet smack.
“Oh God,” Josie sobs, raking her hands through my hair. “Don’t stop.”
“Not stopping ‘til you come all over me, sugar.”
Her muscles squeeze me tight, tugging on my shaft as I pound her into the mattress. Every thrust draws a groan from my lips, pleasure sizzling through my veins, driving me wild.
“Good girl. Take me just like that.”
Josie shudders. She looks so sexy with my cock inside her—eyes molten, plump lips parted, head thrown back.
Without slowing my rhythm, I draw back just enough to see the place our bodies meet.
My shaft is coated in cream, Josie’s tight pink hole stretched around me as I pull out nearly all the way.
When only the tip of my cock is left inside her, I thrust forward hard, a growl tearing from my throat as Josie cries out.
“Brewer!”
The sound of her screaming my name almost drags me over the edge, and I clench my jaw, trying to breathe through it. Josie needs to come first. I need to make this perfect for her, so I fight back my orgasm and lean in to kiss her hard, swallowing her moans.
“You’re doing so good, beautiful,” I murmur against her lips. “So fucking good.”
She responds by bucking her hips against me, meeting my thrusts with a whimper, and I feel my control start to slip again.
“Fuck, sugar, that’s it. Keep moving like that.”
I reach behind me to grab her ankles from around my hips. Then I push her knees up to her chest, opening her up completely. It lets me drive deeper—so deep that Josie gasps, her fingers digging into my back, clinging to me for dear life.
“Oh…oh, that feels so good,” she moans, starting to tremble. “I’m so close, Brewer.”
My heart thuds. I’ve dreamed of this moment. Dreamed about being the one to make Josie fall apart. Now she’s here, writhing beneath me, taking every inch as I pump her hard, and I feel a surge of urgency. A desperate need to make my girl come.
Right now.
The last of my restraint dissolves and something raw and feral takes its place. I don’t give Josie a moment to breathe. I rut her like an animal, hips snapping, my gaze locked on her. She squeezes her eyes shut, mouth open in a silent scream. I immediately growl in protest.
“Keep those pretty eyes on me, sugar. Look at me when I’m fucking you.”
She does as she’s told, and the look in her eyes sucks the breath from my lungs. She’s looking at me like I’m everything she’s ever wanted. Like she didn’t know she could feel this good. She’s panting, her breath coming in short, desperate gasps, moans reaching fever-pitch.
“Brewer—” My name breaks apart on her lips. “Oh God, I’m going to—”
“I know. Come for me, sugar. I’ve got you.”
Her body goes taut beneath me.
Then she falls apart.
I watch hungrily, savoring every shudder, every sob, every tight clench around my cock. My eyes never leave her face, my rhythm turning jerky as I pump into her once, twice…
“Fuck, Josie—”
I let out a guttural shout. Pleasure pulses through me in waves as I fill my girl with cum, spurting it deep inside her until I’m finally spent.
All the tension drains from my body, and I collapse on the bed with a groan.
I draw Josie into my arms, her back against my chest, breathing in the sweet scent of her hair as we slowly come back to ourselves.
Holy shit.
Did that just happen?
I tighten my arms around Josie, half convinced that if I loosen my grip, she’ll disappear—that I’ll wake up alone in this bed like I have every morning for forty-two years and realize this was all a dream.
But she’s still here. I can feel her soft body pressing against me, hear her breathing gradually slowing down.
She’s real and she’s all mine.
We stay like that for a little while, listening to the muffled roar of the wind outside.
Then Josie shifts in my arms and turns over to face me.
I drink her in. Her hair is mussed and wild, lips swollen, eyes soft and heavy-lidded.
She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
Even more beautiful than when she was standing behind the diner counter this morning—more beautiful than she looked when she opened Clay’s front door.
Hell, I didn’t even think that was possible.
“That was amazing,” she says, humming contentedly.
“It really was. You were perfect, sugar.”
She smiles. “So were you.”
I reach out and push a strand of red hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. My hand lingers on her cheek, my thumb brushing her pale, freckled skin.
My perfect Josie.
She deserves better than me.
The thought still lingers, catching like a thorn in my throat. I will never deserve this woman. Hell, I don’t think anyone could. But I’ll spend the rest of my damn life trying to be worthy of her.
Because she chose this.
She chose me.
“What are you thinking about?” Josie asks as the silence draws on.
I meet her gaze, hesitating as I try to find the words.
“Thinking about you, beautiful,” I say eventually. “How you’re mine now, even if I don’t deserve you.” A pause, my jaw tightening. “Don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for making you feel unwanted.”
Something soft moves across her face. “Brewer—”
“I mean it.” My fingers graze her soft jawline. “I’m sorry, Josie. I swear to God, I’ll never make you doubt how much I want you ever again.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her eyes searching mine.
“I believe you, Brewer.”
She leans in, pressing a sweet kiss on my lips. My heart threatens to burst as I pull her closer to me, wrapping my arms around her back.
“Thank you, beautiful.”
She tucks her head beneath my chin and settles against me, her body fitting mine like she was made for me. Our hearts beat in time, a steady thump, limbs tangled together, and I don’t know where Josie ends and I begin.
“Can I ask you something?” she says, her voice muffled against my skin.
“Anything.”
“You said you’d never been with anyone before…that you were waiting for the right person.”
I grunt in confirmation.
“How long have you been waiting?” A pause. “It must have been a long time.”
“You calling me old, sugar?” I tease.
“No.” A breathy chuckle escapes her throat, and she tilts her head back to look at me. “You know that’s not what I meant. I’m just curious.”
I nod, taking a moment to find the words.
“Been waiting my whole life,” I tell her eventually.
“I was always convinced my perfect woman was out there somewhere. That fate would bring us together one day. But you’re right; it was a hell of a long time to wait.
So long that I started to think I was wrong.
That I was an idiot for ever believing it. ”
Josie is very still, listening.
“Then I walked into Creekside Diner,” I say, meeting her gaze. “And I saw you. And I knew.”
I see her eyes widen a fraction.
“You knew?” she whispers.
“Instantly.” I trace a shape on her hip, fingers moving absent-mindedly.
“I knew you were it, sugar. The woman I’d been waiting for.
Knew it the second you walked up to my booth and asked for my order.
” I let out a ragged sigh, shaking my head.
“Then I almost fucked everything up. Spent a month convincing myself you would never want me. Turns out I was wrong.”
“Very, very wrong.” Josie smiles at me, eyes glistening. “I knew too, Brewer. As soon as you walked into the diner, I knew I wanted you.”
My stomach jolts. No matter how many times this angel tells me she wants me, it hits me like an avalanche every time, and I lean in to kiss her—a long, languid kiss that says everything my clumsy words can’t.
When we finally break apart, Josie rests her head on my chest, and I hold her in the dark, stroking her hair as her breathing slows.
I whisper her name but she doesn’t stir, and I lie there in silence, holding the woman of my dreams as she sleeps.
“I’ve waited my whole life for you,” I murmur into Josie’s hair. “I’m never letting you go.”
She lets out a quiet moan, shifting in her sleep.
It does something to me, knowing she feels safe enough to fall asleep on me—stripping herself bare and leaving herself completely vulnerable.
For the first time in forty-two years, I don’t feel like a monster.
I feel like a protector. A man with purpose.
And my purpose is Josie.