Gorgeous Bastard
Page 15
Chapter 35
Cali
Two hours had passed.
Joshua spent the first hour moving rapidly around the house, straightening and cleaning as he went—he seemed so calm, so organized. I guess he’d had a lot of practice returning the house to its original state after a party or weekend of parentless debauchery.
My stomach fluttered just thinking about how many girls he’d been with before me.
I love him…
And how many more he would have after me.
I love him so much…
I sat there in my room, wearing an ugly sweater I’d absently pulled out of a drawer, and an old pair of jeans.
In my head, part of me said I should take a shower, get Joshua’s scent—his everything—off of me.
But the biggest part of me never wanted to shower again.
I wanted to have him on me forever.
An hour ago he’d come into my room and said, “Everything’s been cleaned up.”
I burst into tears: dripping on the carpet, snot inducing, sobbing, gut-wrenching tears.
I was about to go to college.
I had just lost my virginity.
And I was in love with my stepbrother.
Not to mention my mom and stepfather were on their way home from their second honeymoon.
Joshua sat down next to me and wrapped his arms around me, holding me and kissing my face and neck, making little soothing noises.
That’s why I love him.
Not the sex.
Not that he’s so beautiful.
Because he gets me.
He understands me.
And because he not once asked what was wrong.
He knew.
“They texted me earlier,” he whispered into my hair. “They’re landing at Asheville Regional in about an hour.”
An hour…
How could that be?
I can’t say what I need to say in an hour.
I didn’t think I could say it in a year.
Especially with the sniffling and crying…
Joshua had gotten me a box of tissues and half the box now littered the floor at my feet.
And that was another thing.
How in the hell was I going to be able to look my parents in the eye?
How was I going to explain crying like my heart was being ripped out of my chest?
How was I going to tell my mom I was in love with Joshua?
“We can’t tell them,” Joshua said, as If he’d heard me thinking.
“I know,” I croaked, wiping my nose.
“I’ll tell them you got dumped by your boyfriend.”
I looked at him, my mouth dropping open. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
But then again, what are you?
“You’re crying like you just got dumped.”—Sensitive—“So telling some lame excuse like you didn’t take your allergy medicine, or you watched Buffy’s mom die again,”—Okay, he really did know me. I always skip the episode where Buffy’s mom dies… and the one after that. I cry like a baby if I don’t—“just isn’t going to cut it.”
Again, I was in awe of the logic he could seemingly pull out of his ass at moments like this.
“I don’t think I can talk to them,” I said.
“And if you stay up here, and I tell them you were dumped, they’ll give you space at least until tomorrow.”
I sniffled and coughed. His plan did make sense.
But he was missing one important thing.
I wasn’t going to get over this in a night.
As I looked into Joshua’s eyes, it felt like the weight of the world was pressing down on me.
I can’t do this…
I can’t just say this to him…
Not again…
I closed my eyes to turn away, but…
“I’m in love with you,” he said in a whisper.
My eyes shot open and there he was, staring back at me.
“What?”
He gave me half a rueful smile and huffed out a laugh.
“I said that I’m in love with you.” He leaned in and ever so gently kissed my lips.
My eyelids fell closed of their own accord, and I felt my head go swirly with dizziness.
His lips brushed against mine, and my mind, my body quivered and pulsed with utter happiness.
“Oh…” I murmured when his lips finally parted from mine. “That’s good.”
“Are you passing out again?” he demanded, holding me by the shoulders. “Because I barely even touched you this time.”
I opened my eyes and threw my arms around his neck, kissing him as hard as I could, deliriously, holding nothing back.
He’s in love with me!
And as he pulled me to him, our bodies so close I could feel his heart thudding against my chest, I knew that this was right. No matter what happened, this, right now, being in love with and being loved back by this man…
It was right.
And it was enough.
***End***
Thank you for reading my book. It’s been through a lot, so I hope you love it as much as I do. If you do, please leave a review wherever you found it and tell someone else about it.
And if you want me to write the second part—as I said, it has been through a lot in the last year—please email me at stella.blaze.books@gmail.com to let me know :)
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About Me:
Let me introduce myself. I’m forty-three, and a proud indie author. I write New Adult, Contemporary and Paranormal Romance. I love sexy alpha males, brooding and sparkly vampires, and I love, love, love pizza.