Chapter 11
Eleven
Reegan
I sat on my Adirondack chair and stared out at the water, releasing a full breath. I was getting spoiled. MacKellar Cove was a great small town, and I loved living there, but I felt the pressure of busyness too often. Being away from it all, I could admit to myself I was running.
I loved Landon when we were together, but I knew we weren’t right for each other. I was scared to admit that to him, or to anyone, for a long time, but when he ended things, it gave me peace. I knew it was the right thing for both of us, even if I didn’t have the courage to do it myself.
Which was why I was running so much. From my fears, from my relationship, from the truth.
A truth I was finally accepting. I wasn’t happy in MacKellar Cove. Not because of MacKellar Cove, but because of me. Because I didn’t have the things I needed there. I had work and I had Landon, and without Landon, I only had work.
In Amethyst Bay, I had Ashlyn. I didn’t want to put my entire future on her, but spending the last month with her made me happier than I’d been in years.
A stick snapped to my left, and I jumped, forgetting where I was. Josh was walking toward me, a look I couldn’t read on his face. And no coffee.
He didn’t sit in the chair next to me. He walked in front of me and offered me his hand.
I put my hand in his. “Where are we going?”
“I have an empty house.”
My lips curled up without hesitation as his words sank in. I stood and hurried with him to his house. As soon as we stepped inside, he pressed me to the wall, covering my body with his. His lips crashed onto mine, igniting all the good parts inside me.
His hands slid up my sides, dragging my tee up my body. He tore his lips from mine and lowered his mouth to my breasts, leaving me to pull my shirt off. I dropped it next to us and pushed my hands into his hair.
He growled and sucked harder, drawing my nipple to a hard peak. He swapped sides, leaving a wet trail between my breasts. His hands curled around my waist, squeezing into my flesh.
“Josh,” I moaned, reaching for his shirt. I’d been dying to get my hands on him, and I was not going to be a selfish lover. I gave as well as I got.
He released my breast with a pop of his lips to help me pull his shirt off. Then he grabbed my hand and tugged me into the house, past the kitchen and living room to a short hallway and into a bedroom with a spectacular view of the lake out the window.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“I agree.” His gaze was locked on me, not the view outside his windows.
“You are good for a woman’s ego.”
He shook his head. “Not any woman. Just you. You’re stunning.”
“Come here,” I whispered, crooking my finger at him.
He stalked toward me slowly, one step at a time. His gaze lingered on my breasts, on the tattoo that wrapped around the side of my right breast, then slid to my stomach, down to my bare legs, and back to my face. He licked his lips seconds before he brought them to mine.
His kiss was slow and sensual and burned me with the passion I felt within it.
Everything about Josh felt different. From the way he looked at me to the way he touched me, it was new.
It was a heady combination. And I knew I wasn’t feeling the way I was because it had been a few years since I’d had sex, or because I was feeling restless in MacKellar Cove. It was all because of Josh.
His hands held my hips, keeping me close. His thumbs teased the skin under my waistband. I moaned into his mouth and reached for his erection, palming him through his shorts.
He groaned and thrust into my hand. I took the move as encouragement and slid my hand into his shorts and boxer briefs, wrapping my fingers around him.
“Fuck, that’s good,” he hissed. “I have to confess it’s been a while for me.”
“Me, too,” I whispered.
“You? How is that possible?”
I breathed a laugh and stroked him from root to tip. “You feel so good.”
His gaze softened as my non-answer registered. He nodded, accepting that I wasn’t ready to share the answer to his question. He cupped my cheeks and brought my lips to his, easily parting mine to lick his way inside.
His hands made a slow retreat from my cheeks down my throat to my breasts. He paused long enough to make me moan, then continued his trek to my shorts, waiting for me to squeeze his dick in approval.
He pushed my shorts and panties down, not pulling away from our kiss to get them past my thighs. Then his hand was between my legs, and I was pulling away with a moan.
“No batteries necessary today,” he teased me.
“I bought extra just in case.”
He chuckled. “A woman should always have extra. But I’m happy to be your substitute.”
I laughed as he pressed one thick finger inside me, moaning at the feel of him. “Oh, damn, that feels good.”
“How do you like to come?”
“It feels like you don’t need any instructions.”
“I want to know what feels good to you.”
“Don’t stop,” I breathed, remembering I still had his dick in my hand. I stroked him, feeling his fingers falter inside me.
“I’m not sure I can concentrate if you do that.”
“I’m not going to sit back and let you have all the fun.”
He laughed. “Then I think we need to move this to the bed.” He didn’t remove his hand.
“Without the clothes?”
“I like how you think.” He dragged his fingers over my clit on his exit, then brought his fingers to his mouth for a taste, groaning.
“That was hot,” I breathed.
He shoved his shorts and boxer briefs down in one quick move, stepping out of them toward the bed.
“That was, too. I might not need you to touch me to come.”
“Let’s not test that theory. I want to touch you.”
I exhaled a shaky breath and pushed my shorts and panties over my thighs until they slid to the floor on their own. I followed Josh toward the bed. He kissed me hard, tumbling onto the mattress with me.
His hands explored my body as we kissed again, settling between my thighs. He teased my clit, sliding his finger up and down, the friction making me moan. “Reegan.”
I chased him as he pulled back from our kiss, but he moved away from me.
“Can I lick you, Reegan? I want to taste you.”
My body quivered in response, and he didn’t miss it.
“I hope that’s a yes.”
I nodded. “Yes. But you don’t have—”
He yanked me to the edge of the bed and slid to his knees. “Trust me, I want to.” He dove in, inhaling deep as he plunged his tongue inside me. His beard tickled my thighs and added to my pleasure.
“Oh, yes. Josh.” I moaned, spreading my thighs wider.
He smiled against my body and dragged his tongue through my folds to my clit. He wasn’t one for playing around, zeroing in on my clit and sending me spinning in seconds.
“Fuck. Oh, yes. Josh. Yes!” I couldn’t believe how quickly I came, or that he didn’t retreat immediately after I screamed his name.
He pressed fingers inside me, curling them as he sucked my clit hard, and I clenched my fingers into the sheets as I came again.
“Holy fuck. Yes. Oh. Yes. Josh. Yes. Josh!” I was usually fairly quiet in bed, but this man… He was doing things to me that pushed me to a new place.
Nibbles on my thigh led to nibbles on my belly. He withdrew his fingers and sucked them clean, then slid them to my tattoo. “Is that honeysuckle?”
I nodded. “It’s my favorite. My birthday is in June.”
He licked my tattoo with a groan. “It’s all over outside. I love it.”
“I know. It’s part of why I’ve enjoyed being here. It smells so good.”
He inhaled deep. “Yes, you do.” He kissed the flowers, then pushed himself to a stand. He swiped a hand down his face, over his beard, and smiled. “You’re better than coffee.”
I snorted. “Orgasms always are. But you didn’t have one yet.” I reached for him, but he sidestepped me.
“I’m not coming until I’m inside you. If you’re okay with that.”
“Yes, please.”
He grinned at my reply, then moved to the nightstand. He opened a new box of condoms, his cheeks turning pink as he did. “I bought them yesterday. I was hoping we’d need them sometime.”
“Good planning.” I was usually prepared, but he caught me off-guard. That and I needed to check that the condoms I had weren’t expired. It had been a while since I bought any, and I only had a couple that I kept in my purse.
He rolled the condom on, then joined me on the bed. He kissed me, his beard soft against my lips. I could smell myself on him and wanted his scent all over me. He lined himself up at my entrance and slowly pushed inside.
I spread my thighs wider, relaxing all my muscles as they protested. After a minute, my body remembered this was a good intrusion and welcomed him in, gripping him tight as his body met mine.
“Give me a minute,” he growled. “I… Fuck. You feel so good.”
“So do you,” I replied, my voice as ragged as his.
He leaned down and kissed me softly, not moving the rest of his body. His tongue slid next to mine, neither of us in a hurry to finish what we started. His arms shook with the effort to support his weight.
I trailed my fingertips along his body, mapping him for my memory. He was beautiful. It was obvious he worked hard, but his body had soft spots. I grabbed his love handles, and he pulled back from our kiss.
“I’m ticklish.”
I smiled up at him. “Is that your way of telling me not to do this?” I touched him lightly, laughing as he winced.
“Shit. I’m going to fall on you. I need to do more pushups so my arms don’t shake. You tickling me isn’t going to help.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and tugged. “Then maybe you should just put your weight on me.”
He lowered himself onto me for a second, then started to move his hips. He pushed himself back up a few seconds later. “I need the leverage. God, I sound so old. You’re going to go running for a younger guy.”
I shook my head. “I’m not complaining at all about what you’re doing.” I squeezed my inner muscles around him, making us both moan.
“Next time, you’re on top.”
“Deal.”