by Ava Riley
“I’m sorry,” he said once he composed himself enough to speak. “I didn’t realize anyone else was in here. Tessa…” Josiah shook his head and laughed as Tessa’s words flitted through his mind - “just grab whatever moves you.” Oh, he’d been moved alright by this sexy little vixen in front of him. He glanced to Susan who had not moved or spoken a word. “Tessa? Right?”
Susan nodded. “Well, along with Rowan.” Susan began to pick at her nails, avoiding eye contact with him. “I wanted to call you,” she started.
“But you didn’t,” he stated as he walked over to pick up a couple boxes that had been stacked behind the couch. He needed to get out of the house because suddenly it felt very suffocating and his lungs begged him for fresh air.
“I needed time to get my head clear first. With my mother and everything else I just wasn’t-”
“I don’t need an explanation. Look I came here for Rowan’s wedding, that’s all. I honestly didn’t even think I’d see you,” Josiah said as he turned with his arms full of boxes leveling her with his gaze.
“And now you’re sorry you did?” she asked with a slight hitch in her voice.
“No,” he said on a sarcastic laugh shaking his head. “I’m sorry it took you so long to clear your head. But now you have and I suppose that’s good for you at least, right?” He tried to reign in his anger and hurt, but honestly how could she possibly think that he would just forget all that had happed with one simple word. Did she honestly think sorry would erase the words that beat at him daily? Did she even care that they were a constant reminder of how she shut him out after the time they’d spent together? Truth be told, the only words his brain had processed for the past two months were, “I should have never been with you,” and it was going to take a lot more than her telling him she needed to get her head cleared to erase that from his memory.
Susan stepped in his path as he began to walk to the front door. “I’m sorry about that, too. And I’m sorry that I pushed you away. I’m sorry for the words I spoke to you on the day of my mother’s funeral and if I could reverse the hands of time and suck them back into the depths from where they came, I would.”
“Darling, the depths from which they came is exactly how you felt.” Susan crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up and out while Josiah silently cursed her along with his cock for having the audacity to respond to the slight movement. The little seductress thought she could distract him or gain his forgiveness with such a movement? Not likely. “You should never apologize for how you truly feel. I learned a long time ago, that when people are squeezed past their limits because of what life throws at them, the words they speak in that moment are the true feelings they hide daily.”
“And I never will apologize for how I feel,” she said, suddenly her cheeks flushing and her eyes narrowing in on him. “I’m apologizing to you for saying something I didn’t mean, for something that I spoke because it was the easiest thing to do in the midst of dealing with all the other shit I had going on. But apparently the big bad Marine has never had a moment of weakness or spoken a harsh word before he put any thought into, has he?” Susan stepped out of his path and walked to the kitchen leaving Josiah standing with his arms full as he mentally kicked his own ass.
Slowly setting the boxes from where he retrieved them, he dragged his feet to the kitchen and leaned his shoulder against the door frame. He watched as Susan busied herself with packing what looked like a truckload of dish towels. The red and checkered towel she folded and unfolded repeatedly trembled as she took deep breaths. Josiah’s heart tightened in his chest at the sight of her and he wanted to verbally berate himself for treating her as he had. The last time he’d seen her anywhere near as close to this upset, he’d been standing at the rear of a church wishing like hell he could wrap his arms around her and take the pain from her. Now, he watched as she tried to control her emotions unsuccessfully. The tears she shed now were because he’d opened his damn mouth and instead of accepting her apology decided that making her feel bad for the past two months would be worth the hurt he’d felt. He’d never been more wrong about anything in his life.
“I have said things I’ve regretted. I’ve done a few, also. Like leaving,” he confessed. When she withheld a response from him, he continued, “The night we shared together wasn’t just about the sex for me, if it had been I wouldn’t have shown up at the funeral. I could have just walked away then.”
“I didn’t ask you to come.”
“No, you didn’t.” Josiah sucked in a deep breath, hoping like hell that she’d realize how much those words stung.
Susan swung her head around, “I didn’t mean…I just didn’t want to burden you with my problems.” She offered her back to him once more.
“It wouldn’t have been a burden. That’s what you don’t understand.” Susan’s shoulders shook as she tried to contain her emotions. Her fingers still at work on the towel she’d been holding since he entered the kitchen.
Josiah stepped quietly behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. “This is what I wanted to do at your mother’s funeral,” he whispered against her ear as she leaned into him.
“I wish I would have let you,” she responded on a sob.
“You need to understand that I want to give you whatever you want, whatever makes you happy,” his breath a soft caress against her skin.
“You Josiah. All I want is you in this moment,” Susan exhaled.
Josiah pulled his arm from her waist feeling bereft at the loss of his body pressed to hers, ran his fingers down the middle of her back and stepped in front of her. He cupped her face in his hands, just as he had months ago and softly pressed his lips to hers. The mixture of her natural taste and the salt of her tears sent a barrage of emotions running through him. His body came alive for the first time in months and had he been in the comforts of his own home he would have taken her where they stood. Allowing his fingers to sift through her hair while their kiss deepened, his fingers tangled in long blond strands. He pulled back gently moving his lips to her neck then her ear.
“I’ll have you know if this were my place I’d press you to the floor and bury myself so deep inside you, you’d think twice about ever shutting me out again,” he whispered against her ear.
“Then we’ll have to try it after you move in,” she responded.
Josiah jerked his head back and stared at Susan, uncertain of how to take her statement. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing a quick kiss against his lips.
“That is if you decide to stay,” she quickly added.
“What do you mean stay? I only came for Rowan’s wedding and then I’m heading home.”
Both Josiah and Susan turned their heads towards the living room, still wrapped in each other’s arms, when Rowan cleared his throat. “Yeah, about that wedding?” Rowan said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Seems I got the date all mixed up. You know me and dates… evidently it’s not until next year.”
Josiah scooped up Susan into his arms in one swift movement. “I’ll take the house,” he said shooting Madison a look. “Does the bed come with it?”
“Absolutely, was planning on leaving it,” Madison laughed as she pulled Rowan behind her. “We can start unpacking some of the boxes we already took over.”
“Yeah, we’ll work out the details later,” he heard Rowan laugh.
Josiah didn’t even wait for Rowan and Madison to shut the front door behind them before he made his way down the hall to the master bedroom with Susan squirming in his arms.
“What are you doing? We can’t do this here.”
“You heard Madison, the bed comes with the house. I think we should break it in to our liking,” he laughed as he gently tossed her to the mattress and stripped off the black t-shirt he wore.
“Josiah, seriously we can’t do this here,” she said absently licking her lips.
“They don’t mind,” he said when he took possession of her mouth. He pulled her shirt over her
head then took one breast in his mouth in a rush, not bothering to remove the barrier of her bra as his fingers fought with the button of her shorts. Her fingers slipped into his hair and the scrape of her nails against his scalp sent a shiver through his body and landed in the center of his cock, bringing all the pent up frustration he’d felt the past two months to the surface. Pulling his mouth from her breast, he yanked at her shorts and had to catch his breath at the sight of Susan beneath him. Hidden behind the khaki shorts, she wore a silk red thong that barely covered where a patch of hair had been before.
Josiah ran his index finger along the center of the silky material, taking his time to see what awaited him underneath, really just trying to calm himself before he went any farther. Susan lay before him, more beautiful than he remembered. She looked sexy and beautiful and delectable and he planned on taking his sweet time tasting every inch of her body.
Chapter 28
Susan’s gasp filled the bedroom when Josiah ran his index finger along the edge of the thong she wore, gently grazing the skin beneath it. He pulled aside the thin strip of material and when his eyes widened at the treasure he found, she smiled up at him with a wicked little grin. She was smooth and wet and more than ready for him. He pressed his palm against his crotch, trying to relieve some of the pressure without releasing himself just yet, while his middle finger ran the length of her hot core. There had been no disappointment when he pulled his finger from her depths. He’d been rewarded with a coating of her juices and as his eyes locked onto hers he brought the finger to her mouth, covering her lips with her own wetness. He quickly covered her mouth with his, sharing with her the taste of her heat that she offered to him.
Susan pushed at Josiah’s chest and he reluctantly broke the kiss. “It’s my turn,” she said as she slipped out from underneath him. He smiled knowing that this time she would not allow him to deny her what she wanted. And he wanted it also, to feel her lips wrapped around his cock.
Josiah sat on the bed watching as Susan shucked the thong now drenched from her anticipation then shed the only piece of material left still covering her breasts. Standing before him completely nude, Josiah’s need bit at him and he wanted nothing more in that moment than to rip off his own jeans as quickly as he’d shed his shirt. His boots were the first to go, quickly kicking them off as his gaze seductively traveled the length of Susan’s body. She stood beautifully before him, every inch of her body calling to the need deep within his own body. When his hands flew recklessly to the button of his jeans, Susan pushed them away then knelt before him.
“I told you it was my turn,” she said as she licked the last of herself from her lips. Josiah could only nod while the lump in throat tried to find passage downward.
Susan unbuttoned his jeans slowly, never turning her gaze from him. She didn’t release his cock from his pants once she’d pulled the zipper down, but instead ran the palm of her hand against his thickness. His head fell to his shoulder when she replaced her hand with her mouth against his cock. Although her lips caressing his flesh would have been more pleasing, there was something very erotic about the way she worked his cock with her mouth through his boxers while her fingernails made a path from his chest to the strength of his stomach. Josiah leaned back on his elbows and with hooded eyes watched as she finally pulled his cock free and licked the tip, tasting just a bit of what he had to offer. Her fingers wrapped tightly around his shaft, stroking from base to tip as she lightly caressed the skin near the base of his cock with her fingernails then repeated the action until he thought he might come in that moment.
Closing his eyes, he allowed himself the pleasure of feeling her hand glide along the length of his shaft, his breathing becoming increasingly shallow with each stroke of his cock. The unhurried motion of her hand stopped abruptly. His eyes flew open at the stillness of her hand. He was uncertain of the meaning, wondering silently if she were having second thoughts. Maybe they should have talked more. He hadn’t even asked her how she was handling the death of her mother before he’d carried her to this bed. Could this be a reminder of their last time together, how she’d missed out at being at her mother’s side because of him? Maybe it was the reason she stopped her actions?
She gave him the answer that he searched for when she smiled up at him and tucked her fingers into the waistband of his jeans and boxers. She slowly slid them from his hips, releasing him completely of the barrier. As she busied herself with the task of undressing him, he swiftly pulled her ponytail loose the spread her long tresses against his thighs, tangling his fingers into her hair. In a swift movement, he bent his head to hers and meshed his lips to mouth. He teased the seam of her lips until she opened up to him then greedily accepted the moan she afforded him.
Slowly and methodically, Susan grazed Josiah’s thighs with her fingernails until she reached the heavy girth of his sex then leisurely ran the palm of her hand up the underside of his shaft, following the path with gentle kisses. When she reached the head of his cock, she slid her palm over the tip, the moisture of his excitement coating her hand as she made the path again down on the opposite side of his shaft. As she skimmed the silky flesh of his manhood, she wrapped her lips tightly around him, taking him completely in her mouth as her fingers around the base followed the movement of her lips. The pressure of her hand along with the tightness of her mouth demanded movement from his hips. With each thorough sweep, his hips moved desperately while the hardness of his cock intensified within the heat of her mouth. His fingers intertwined tighter within the strands of hair he held on to and as she took him deeper each time. He voiced his pleasure, offering up to her his praise the only way possible in that moment. Her movements fluctuated from greedy need to lazy ministrations. She brought him to the edge of an orgasm then eased off just before he thought his release was approaching. The teasing became more erotic each time she brought him close to orgasm, suddenly his need to feel the release less important than the getting there.
Pulling her lips from his cock, he felt disappointment until she crawled up his thighs and straddled his legs. Her palms splayed over the expanse of his chest as she lowered her wet slick heat slowly onto the blunt crown of his sex with the movements of a seductress. With just the tip past the entrance to her core she slowly rode him, the feel of her pussy welcoming him then releasing him, giving him an abundance of pleasure with that simple movement. He wanted more than just a taste, though, more than just a small portion, he wanted all of her. He also didn’t want to rush the moment and he knew if he took control of the situation, he’d have her on her back and driving his cock so deep within her that she’d feel it in the deepest part of her soul. Slow, he reminded himself as she watched him with a smile on her face while she teased him with this unhurried ride she was on.
Josiah slid his fingertips along the flesh of her thighs, traveling up to her hips continuing to the scrumptious breasts that summoned his touch. He took them within the strength of his hands, his thumb grazing each nipple simultaneously bringing them to tight pebbles as her slow ride altered to more enthusiastic movements. Susan’s head fell back, her eyes squeezed tight and he bottom lip pinched between her teeth as her body climbed to the peak of her release. Josiah smiled as he watched in awe, his hands growing tighter around her breasts as she neared her completion. She looked absolutely beautiful riding his cock. His eyes traveled from her face to where their bodies met, his cock making an appearance then disappearing as her body took all of him then released only a portion. Her nails dug into the muscles of his chest when she found her release. Her voice never more sweet than now, echoed in his ear.
Once the motion of her body slowed, Josiah flipped Susan to her back, never breaking contact with her. He placed the back of her knees in the crook of his elbows and thrust his cock until he could go no deeper. The pressure of her palms against his shoulders and the piercing of her nails were a sweet contradiction he welcomed. Each thrust of his hips brought on new sensations, between the tightness of her walls around h
is cock and the pressure of her nails in his skin she squeezed from him the release he had ached for since the last time he’d been buried deep within her body. With his release so near, the thundering of his heart pounded within his ears as his body took full possession of hers. The tingling in his toes strengthened and began to travel the path to his groin. When he felt his release upon him, he pulled himself from her body, allowing his essence to spill onto her stomach.
Had Josiah not been so caught up earlier in feeling the connection he’d desired for the last two months, he would have pulled the condom from his wallet and not spilled on her like this. It almost shamed him that he had, until her fingers found the wetness released from his body and pressed it into her skin as if what she’d been given was a treasure she refused to let go of. He rolled to his side, pulling her so that her back was pressed to his chest and his arm wrapped around her waist.