by T Gephart
I needed to turn this around.
Josh
SOMETHING WAS OFF.
We’d gotten up to her apartment and into her bedroom and her hands were all over me. Ordinarily this would not be a problem. In fact, it was my preferred state whenever Eve was around. But I knew it was a distraction.
Sure, we didn’t have to talk about it. She probably had enough of it running around in her head that she didn’t want to share. So I would be patient, give her whatever space she needed until she would talk. Or maybe we wouldn’t. The fuck you I’d seen her give to her boss and her ex-boyfriend the last I’d hear on it.
But while I was fine to leave shit in the past—move on, deal with the future and all that fun stuff—I could tell one of us hadn’t.
Here’s a hint.
It wasn’t me.
“Yes, Josh. Yes.” I slammed into her hard, her eyes closed tight. “Harder.”
“Yeah? You think you can take me deeper?” I raised her legs, rested her knees on my shoulders. Her body shook as I thrust into her. “That what you need?”
We’d practically torn the clothes off each other, tossed them to the side with no fucks given to their welfare. And while I knew the sex was a Band Aid—a diversion for the underlying issue—I didn’t have it in me to deny her.
“God, yes. Josh,” she gasped. “I think I’m going to come.”
There was no need to tell me, I could feel how primed she was.
“I want you to come on my cock, baby. I want to feel you grip me so fucking hard it hurts.”
My balls were so tight up against my body, I was skating the line between pleasure and pain. I wouldn’t allow myself to come though, wanted the pleasure to be hers first. She needed it and I was going to give it to her.
“Josh.” Her head thrashed on the pillow, her fingers wrapped around her perfect fucking tits. “Fuck.”
And fuck is exactly what I did, pummeling into her until I felt her pussy fisting me. Tiny pulses ran up and down the length of my cock as she came hard, her body convulsing as I continued to hammer into her. She might have thought she was done, but she wasn’t.
“Oh my God.” She repeated it over and over again, as I felt the tension once again building in her body.
“You’re going to come again.” I didn’t stop my assault, watching my cock slide into her with each stroke.
“No, I can’t. I can’t,” she panted, her eyes squeezing shut as she gripped the sheets either side of her. “Oh. Oh. Oh.”
The second explosion happened. Her back arching off the mattress as the wave took her, her pussy so tight around my dick I thought it might snap off.
Watching her like that, her hair a mess and so out of control is what did me in. And I couldn’t hold back any longer as the feeling jacked up through my balls and hit me from behind.
“Yes, Eve. I can feel you, baby.” I spilled my load, filling the condom as we came together. My body rock slowed as she shivered underneath me.
Her eyes flung open and she focused on me, watching as I pulled out and then slid back in, little whimpers escaping her lips each time.
“That was amazing,” she moaned, stretched out on the mattress as I lowered her legs and slowly withdrew.
“You are amazing.” I collapsed onto the bed beside her, my own body doing the shake. “I’ll give you a few minutes to recover and then get ready for round two. You said you wanted to be fucked hard and I take my responsibilities very seriously.” I pulled the condom off my dick and tossed into the waste paper basket beside her bed. Thank God she had a stash of her own in her bedroom, the one rubber I had in my wallet wasn’t going to cut it.
I was only half kidding. But if she needed the distraction, then I was going to give her one so good she was going to forget. Even if it was just for a few hours.
“You are a machine, I’m going to start needing to go to the gym just to keep up with you.” She rolled onto her side, her hands sliding up my torso.
“Or we could just condition you using sex. Never have to leave the bedroom.” My hand found her hip. “If it’s a choice, I like my plan better.”
She laughed, her mussed up hair covering her eyes as she repositioned on her pillow. “Me too. We should go with your plan.”
I’d hoped some of the tension had eased out of her, but while she looked sated and relaxed, her eyes were a dead giveaway that whatever reprieve I’d given her was over.
“You want me to order some food? We haven’t had dinner yet.” I changed tactics, shuffling up her headboard as I shifted into a sitting position.
“I guess, I had made reservations for Matteo’s at nine but I’m pretty sure we’re not going to make it.” She didn’t even bother looking at the clock on her bedside table. I had a hunch it had more to do with her not wanting to leave the bed, than whether or not we had time to make the reservation.
“How about I get pizza instead, we can eat slices in bed.” I offered a suggestion, happy to stay in for the rest of the night and just be with Eve.
“You are a prince, Josh Logan.” She gave me a million dollar smile that made me feel about ten feet tall.
“Anything for you.” I kissed her on her nose and climbed out of bed.
My phone was lying on the floor next to my discarded suit. It had probably fallen out of my pocket when I’d tossed my pants there. I picked it up and ordered pizza while I sat on the edge of Eve’s big king-sized bed. She kept her eyes on me while I spoke, covering herself with the sheet.
“Thirty minutes or so.” I pulled down the sheet, wanting to look at her naked body some more. “You don’t seem shy, and surely you’re not cold.” Her beautiful body was revealed. “I don’t think you need that.”
“Ugh, it’s a nervous habit I guess.” She took a deep breath, slowly blowing it out. “As much as I don’t want to, I keep thinking about things. My mind isn’t where I want it to be.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but yeah I noticed.” I lightly rubbed the base of her foot, my thumb circling the sole. “You know you don’t have to leave the shop, right?”
It wasn’t something I’d mentioned before, but the longer she was at the shop the more I wanted her to stay.
“Two more weeks, two more years—as long as you want.”
It was clear she didn’t need the money. Hell, the amount I was paying her would barely cover the utilities in her apartment. But if she wanted a job, I’d happily provide her one. I may have had my own agenda as well, but it didn’t make the offer any less sincere.
“Thank you, that’s really sweet.” Another deep breath. “I don’t even want to think about it to be honest. And please don’t take this the wrong way, but it was always going to be temporary, I don’t think it would work out long term.”
I had no idea where her head was at and she wasn’t giving me a lot to go on. But the I don’t think it would work out long term, didn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy. Did she mean the job or us? Did I risk sounding like a needy fuck and ask or just assume shit would work itself out in its own time?
It had been me who assured her that us meeting served a purpose, temporary or otherwise, so I wasn’t sure why I was getting hung up on the expiration date now.
Maybe it was because all that stuff I’d said earlier was bullshit. The purpose was for us to be together, and I wasn’t just going to walk away because she assumed we were done. Not happening.
“Well, the offer is there.” She wasn’t going to get any pressure, but I was making it clear where I stood. “I know Dallas would love you to stay.”
“Just Dallas?” Her brow arched, fishing for more.
“Come on, Eve. You haven’t worked it out by now?” My hands moved to the other foot, keeping my eyes on her. “Yes, I want you to stay. I would love you to stay.”
“I’ll think about it.” She shrugged, not convincing me that she actually would. Part of me felt she’d made her mind up. I just didn’t know if it was the shop or me she was planning on bailing on.
“Okay, when you decide what you want to do, let me know.”
It might have sounded like I would have been okay with whatever, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
I’d be patient but I wasn’t going to be passive. And I wasn’t giving her a chance to just walk out either.
Saturday morning was rough.
After we’d eaten the pizza and showered together—shower sex had definitely happened—we’d spent most of the night enjoying each other.
We’d talked, but it was surface stuff. She hadn’t mentioned the gallery or what’d happened last night. And if I hadn’t been there and witnessed it myself, I might have questioned whether it happened at all. She laughed and smiled in all the right places, but she was keeping down her real feelings. Funny how working on people for years and watching their reactions made you a good reader of human emotions. Her grid was all over the place.
But playing the nice guy, I didn’t bring it up. We got showered and dressed earlier than I would have liked, and then argued about whose car we were going to drive back to Queens. She had argued hers was easier to weave through traffic, while I told her it was ridiculous to leave my Jeep in Manhattan.
In the end we decided we would take both the cars back. She followed me in her Tesla and parked it at my place. Her reasoning was she had a car and it made sense to have it close in case she needed it. Bogus excuse, but I didn’t argue. As long as we got there in the end, she could have parked a tank in front of my apartment building.
With last night’s spontaneous sleeping arrangements, I was without suitable work wear. While I know she enjoyed the suit, trying to do ink in a jacket wasn’t going to happen. So I took a minute to run upstairs and change before both of us jumped in the Jeep and headed back to the shop.
“I’ll go get us breakfast.” Eve held up her hands to stop my protest. “And before you argue, my treat.”
“You don’t have to do that, but thank you.” I unlocked the door, deciding I’d let her have the battle because I was planning to win the war.
“Great, see you soon.” She turned, her ponytail bouncing as she walked in the direction of the deli.
I took the opportunity to turn on all the lights and get everything set up. Even though it was a Saturday, it wasn’t a light day for us. No days were, and for the first time in a long time, my own grueling schedule was starting to weigh on me.
It wasn’t that I needed time to get to know her, I knew who she was. What I needed was to get to know her better. Without the distraction of clients, or Dallas or anyone else. I wanted to take her out. Meet her parents, her friends. Have her meet mine, but being a business owner meant there was no such thing as regular hours.
There was noise from the front but it was too early to be a client, so I assumed Eve had come back, maybe there hadn’t been the usual Saturday madness at the deli? It would be nice to enjoy breakfast and our last hour or so of quiet time before we got lost in the noise for the day.
“Hello, can I help you with something?”
I walked out to see an attractive, well-dressed woman standing at the counter looking around awkwardly. It was sort of reminiscent of the day Eve had walked in, except Eve hadn’t look awkward. This woman, she definitely didn’t belong here.
“Yes, I’m here to see Eve Thorton, if that’s okay.” She glanced over my shoulder to the hallway that led to our rooms. “Is she here?”
“And you are?” I was casual but cautious.
I wasn’t going to tell this woman shit until she told me who she was and her purpose. For all I knew it could be one of those fucking assholes from the gallery, and those pieces of shits were not welcome in my shop.
“I’m her friend Heather, sorry.” She held out her hand, her voice not at all confident. “I’m not usually this rude, I’m just a little concerned about her. She’s not returning my calls and well . . . Lana told me about what happened last night.”
The name was one I recognized, Eve had mentioned her as one of her friends, but I didn’t know much else. Besides, it wasn’t up to me to tell her anything. If Eve wanted to talk, she would. Then there was the issue of Eve avoiding her calls, so maybe she didn’t want to talk. Of course I hadn’t heard any calls, which hinted she’d killed her phone last night or put it on silent.
“She should be back soon, you’re welcome to wait for her.” I nodded to the chairs behind her. But not without adding a little condition of my own. “But if Eve doesn’t want to talk, you’ll have to leave, okay?”
And well-dressed woman or not, if Eve wanted Heather gone, she would be shown the door. Wouldn’t lose a minute of sleep about it either.
“Thank you.” She gave me a tight smile. “We all appreciate what you’ve done for her.” She hesitated between the chairs and the counter. “I know we haven’t gotten a chance to properly meet, I’m glad I got the chance to thank you before her time ended. We all thought she was crazy, but being here has been good for her.”
If she hadn’t had my attention before, she sure as hell had it now. If she hadn’t spoken to Eve, then what could she possibly know that I didn’t. As far as I was concerned, the situation with her staying or leaving hadn’t been decided. She was done with the gallery, that wasn’t a secret. But other than that, nothing had been set in concrete. Was she baiting me? Looking for a reaction? It pissed me off a little that she seemed to know a lot about me and I knew nothing about her.
“Yeah, cool. No problem.” My response was as non-committal as my smile. “Was happy to help.”
Happy to help? What kind of fucked up response was that? Obviously the only one I was capable of since Heather and her talk of gratitude dredged up the freaking doubts I’d had since last night. Yeah, very fucking helpful, Heather.
“Hey!” Eve walked in her arms full with coffee and food. “Heather, what are you doing here?”
She didn’t look pissed, but she didn’t look thrilled either. Her eyes flashed in confusion as they flicked to me like she was searching for information.
“We’ve met,” I volunteered, walking across and freeing up her hands. “Heather was concerned you hadn’t answered her calls.”
“Oh. Shit.” She grabbed her phone from her handbag, checking out the black screen. “I switched it off last night after we left the gallery. I didn’t want to deal with the calls. I must have forgotten to turn it back on this morning.”
“We’ve been worried sick, Eve.” Heather threw her arms around Eve. “Lana called me and we have all been going out of our minds. Even Kitty was worried. And then when you didn’t answer . . . well, I’m just glad you are okay.” She gave her another hug, both of their eyes getting misty.
“Josh, is it okay if I take a minute.” She glanced over at me, the I-want-to-talk-to-her-in-private broadcasted loud and clear.
“Sure, take whatever time you need. I’ll be in the back.” I grabbed my breakfast and my coffee and walked down the hall into my room.
I had no idea what either of them was going to say, but it pissed me off Eve wanted to chat with Heather, and didn’t want to say it in front of me.
Of course I tried telling myself I was behaving like a little bitch, that she was probably filling her in on her version of events. But even so, the fact she wanted to talk about it when she’d remained so tight lipped with me, irked me.
Fuck, this was so unlike me. What the hell did it matter what was being said; what Eve and I had was more than some bullshit arrangement where I offered her help. I knew there were real feelings. I’d felt them, so surely she had to feel them too. I wasn’t going to let this shit get up in my head and start messing with it.
In an effort to get my mind right, I pulled out my sketchpad to work on the project I’d been giving attention to between jobs. All those sketches Eve had done of me had given me an idea. I wanted her to see herself, how I saw her. The fierceness, the bravery, and of course the beauty and intelligence. But not one of those single things defined her, she was whole because of the combinatio
n. And I’d never wanted to draw anything as much in my life.
I’d hoped I’d get it colored and finished soon so I could get it framed for her as a gift. While I would give her the original, I’d get a copy made for me to hang in my room with all my other stuff. Because I could look at her all day long and never get tired of the view. And sure, maybe a little part of me subconsciously felt then I would always have her around. Because let’s face it, neither of us had talked about what was happening between us.
Fuck.
I really hated this shit.
But was now really the time to have that talk? Hey, so I know you just resigned and your future is sort of unpredictable but our relationship is good, right? I wasn’t sure whether to get my head checked or my balls.
There was a knock at my door and I knew it was her. Not a good sign since she usually just stuck her head in without permission. Of course I didn’t usually close it when it was just the two of us either so it could have gone both ways. I was reading waaaaay too much into this shit.
“You’re knocking now? When did we get so polite?” I called out, covering my work and waiting for the door to open.
“I didn’t want to assume.” Her hand still on the handle as she opened it and stood in the doorway. “Maybe you had something you didn’t want me to see.” Her eyes went to the sketchpad that was now closed.
“You’ll see it when it’s ready to be shared.” My head tipped to the stool in front of my drafting table, inviting her to take a seat. “How about you, anything you want to share?”
“Heather was just worried because I didn’t answer my phone.” She gave me a smile that I didn’t quite believe as she lowered her butt onto the stool. “Of course, she called my parents before coming over here so I had to talk to them as well. I think I need to go see them tonight. I guess I have been unconsciously avoiding them, along with some other issues.”
I left the other issues alone and concentrated on her folks. We hadn’t really spoken about either of our families to be honest. Not because I wasn’t interested, but because it just hadn’t come up. Now it seemed, I knew almost nothing about her.