Chapter 17
It might take a patient man to coax Josie from her shell and discover what really made her tick, but A.J. was a very patient man, and he was definitely up for the task. This woman had no idea how incredibly sexy she was.
He hated the momentary look of embarrassment on her face, but he loved how quickly she’d opened herself up to him. He’d make it his personal mission to undo the damage done by the callous men in her past and make sure she felt treasured, starting this very second.
She held his gaze with her soulful, dark brown eyes, as if she were trying to see inside his mind, read the truth there.
“I’m going to explore this sexy body, Josie. I want to do all kinds of things to you,” he said, running a finger over her cheek.
Her lips parted, and a soft breath escaped. “Yes, please,” she whispered.
He trailed his mouth from her lips to her neck and breathed in the scent of her as he kissed along her collarbone. “If you don’t like something, tell me, and I’ll stop.”
“Umm,” she moaned, tilting her head.
“Josie,” he said, lifting his head.
She blinked at him with glazed eyes.
“If you don’t like something, tell me, okay?”
“Okay,” she breathed. “But I like what you’re doing, so would you please keep doing it?”
“Your wish is my command,” he said with a grin.
From her collarbone, he moved to a lace-covered breast. His mouth found a pert nipple through the thin fabric and sucked hard. Josie arched her back, clawed at him, and whispered his name.
He pushed the bra straps from her shoulders and shoved the lacy cups out of the way. Her breasts were small, the size a perfect fit for her lithe body, and her nipples a rosy pink color.
“Beautiful,” he said, and gave each the attention it deserved.
When Josie’s hips ground against his, he decided to move the party lower. He licked and kissed his way down her belly, and when he reached the silky band of her underwear, he looped a finger along the edge and pulled them over her hips.
She loosened her thighs from around his waist in an effort to help him, and he sat back onto his knees.
“So fucking sexy,” he said, sliding her panties down her long, lean legs.
Tossing the scrap of material off the side of the bed, he placed his hands on her inner thighs and spread her open, eyeing her like she was a dessert buffet.
Josie tensed slightly, the motion almost imperceptible, but Adam noticed it.
He immediately loosened his grip and instead gently caressed her soft, sensitive skin.
“Want me to stop?”
“No,” she said, so quickly and adamantly that he barked out a laugh, but he waited, drawing small circles on her thighs.
“Are you going to, um, kiss me down there?” she asked.
Her expression held a combination of hope and dread.
“Do you want me to?”
She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “But only if you really want to.”
“Josie, I really, really want to.”
Her eyes widened, and then her whole body relaxed.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay,” he echoed.
Placing his hands on her inner thighs once again, he held her in place.
Leaning in, he licked the sensitive spot at the juncture of her inner thigh and then worked his way toward her center.
When his tongue hit her clit, she threw her head back and gasped.
When he pushed two fingers inside her, her breathy gasp turned into a long, throaty moan.
He paid careful attention to her responses and adjusted his touch accordingly.
He found a rhythm and slowly increased the pressure and pace of his fingers and tongue.
A thin sheen of sweat coated Josie’s golden skin, and when A.J.
felt her tighten around him, he knew she was close.
When he curled his fingers inside her and sucked the swollen nub into his mouth, she came hard.
Her cry of release was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard.
As Josie shuddered through her climax, A.J. kept pressure on her pulsing clit until her whole body went limp. When she sighed with contentment, he eased atop her, bracing himself on his forearms.
Her skin was flushed and a strand of dark hair stuck to her cheek.
“You look so beautiful,” he said, and her eyes fluttered open.
She swallowed hard and reached up to touch his face, her slender fingers caressing his trim beard.
“No one has ever made me feel like that before,” she said, her voice shaky.
She’d been so responsive, so willing, he wondered what kind of idiots she’d dated in the past.
“I’m going to make sure you feel like this a lot,” he promised.
“Yes, please,” she said.
The eager look on Josie’s face made A.J.
smile, and a warm feeling of well-being settled over him.
Josie belonged with him. He knew it in his bones.
It might be a while before all the pieces fell into place since they were still relatively new to each other, but he couldn’t deny how right she felt in his arms, in his bed, in his home.
Josie wound her arms around him, pulling him closer.
When A.J. leaned down and kissed her, he felt her second’s hesitation as she tasted herself, but this time he didn’t back off.
Instead, he deepened the kiss, their tongues colliding in an erotic dance.
She moaned into his mouth, and his cock grew painfully hard.
While Josie might be naked save for her bra, which covered nothing since he’d pushed it out of the way, A.J.
was still fully clothed. Chest heaving and pulse pounding, he lifted himself off Josie.
She made a small mewl of protest, but when he stood at the foot of the bed and pulled his t-shirt over his head, she leaned up on her elbows to watch him undress.
A.J. had never been insecure about his body, but Josie’s approving gaze made him very, very glad he’d returned to his rigorous fitness routine.
Shoving his sweatpants down, he stepped out of them. He hesitated a moment before taking off his boxer briefs, but one look at Josie, whose expression could only be described as enthusiastic, and they joined the rest of his clothes in a pile on the floor.
He opened the nightstand drawer and tossed a handful of condoms next to the pillow. As he prowled back onto the bed, Josie’s eyes were fixated on his cock. She blinked and her lips parted.
“I don’t know how that’s going to fit,” she said, biting her bottom lip.
He couldn’t help his self-satisfied smirk, but at the genuine concern on her face, his expression softened.
“We’ll go nice and slow, and remember, if anything makes you uncomfortable, tell me,” he said. She nodded.
Tearing open the foil packet, he rolled the condom on, while Josie watched him intently. He tracked her every breath, watching the rise and fall of her chest and the pulse beating at her throat.
He climbed back onto the bed and eased himself over her again. Her eyes fluttered closed when he nuzzled her throat, and she tilted her head back to give him better access to the sensitive skin of her neck.
“So soft,” he said, voice hoarse.
The tip of his cock nudged at her entrance, and he felt her stiffen again. He took her mouth with his, and as she opened to him, her body relaxed. With a slow, steady thrust, he seated himself inside her. She gasped and gripped his shoulders.
“Good?” he mumbled against her lips.
“So good,” she breathed.
He clasped her hands in his and lifted them over her head.
“Let go,” he coaxed, and she did.
Her eyes closed and her lips parted. As he moved inside her, slowly at first, her hips rose to meet his. When he increased his pace, she was right there with him. She shifted, searching for just the right angle, grinding against him, chasing her release.
“That’s it, Josie. Stay with me. Find it,” he ordered between clenched teeth.
He wouldn’t be able to hold back for long. He hadn’t felt this kind of heat, intimacy, urgency, in a while, and his control was stretched to the breaking point.
“Josie,” he groaned, her name a plea.
Every muscle in his body tightened, and then a release so powerful that it bordered on pain crashed through him. At the same time, Josie’s body shuddered. She arched her back and cried out his name. Color and light exploded behind his eyes, and he buried his face in her silky, dark hair.
When the last wave of pleasure subsided, A.J. collapsed on top of Josie, momentarily rendered speechless. He felt her chest rise and fall beneath his, and he breathed in her unique scent, something peachy and sweet and very feminine.
Eventually, he found his voice. “Holy shit,” he mumbled.
Beneath him, Josie gave a long, satisfied sigh and caressed his back with her fingers.
He wanted to stay buried inside her forever, but he forced himself to move. “Let me take care of this and I’ll be right back,” he said, motioning to his condom covered cock.
Josie stretched her lean body as he disappeared into the bathroom. When he returned, he had a warm washcloth in his hand.
“May I?” he asked.
Josie’s cheeks flushed. She opened her mouth and closed it again, discomfort clear in her expression.
“I want to take care of you, Josie. It makes me feel good to do it,” he said.
She looked at him, bewildered, and his heart squeezed in his chest.
“You deserve to be treated like this, Josie,” he said.
A.J. suspected she’d need to hear this message over and over again.
While Josie’s life experiences hadn’t made her bitter, they had caused her to build a protective shell around herself.
Even if she’d had a different childhood, she might still be guarded, her temperament still reserved.
If others in her life hadn’t dug deeply enough, they’d easily miss out on her warmth, her gentleness, her strength.
Their loss was his gain, for sure. Still, he hated the doubt in her expression.
“Please,” he said, and she nodded hesitantly.
“Every part of you is beautiful, Josie,” he said.
Then, with a gentle hand, and all the reverence A.J. felt toward Josie reflected in his expression, he washed her.