“You startled me. I thought you would wait for me in my office,” she quips, her glowing eyes from yesterday gone.
“Changed my mind. This table is much bigger than your desk for what I plan to do if you won’t hear me out. We need to talk, and I believe you know why.”
Little by little, I tread across the floor until all the space between us is gone. She watches me crowd her without blinking an eye. Her inside beauty is selfless. Can’t deny I’m a lucky man.
However, she didn’t look at me once during the meeting. She chatted with everyone else, asked them all kinds of questions, and while she waited for them to answer, she tapped her pen on an envelope as if she was trying to beat its contents to death.
Before I have the chance to reach for her, she takes a step back and plants her ass on the table. Her long legs catch my eye briefly before swinging back to her wide ones.
“What do you think you are doing?” Playing your body with my hands. It’s the only way you’ll listen to reason. I’m a dirty player for this. Right now, I don’t care.
I whip my arms out and push up her skirt until I have it nearly up to her waist. My hands are resting on the top of her thighs. The heat from her skin is searing into mine.
I could spend every waking moment with this woman, and yet not being around her as much as I want to right now has me completely derailed. I’m obsessed with everything about her. Even the ways she continues to try and defy me.
“You going to listen to what I have to say, or do you want to see how I’ll punish you first? I’ll spread you out on this table and have you screaming in ten seconds flat if you don’t listen to me.”
“You have it all backward; it’s more like I’ll skin you alive and you won’t be able to touch me.” I quirk a brow. My dick is fighting against the teeth of my jeans to escape.
I don’t even bother to let her throw in another jab. I conquer her mouth. Dipping my tongue inside, bowing her back and twisting our tongues together. She responds with a moan. She tastes so good I don’t give a fuck that people are wandering around outside of this room, possibly wondering if we're doing exactly what we're doing. If we were anywhere else, I would lay her back, rip her panties off her, and settle my face between her legs. When it comes to Joslyn, I always want to take my time.
I own her mouth. Demanding those tiny little noises, little whimpers, and even her fingers that dig into my back. I feel her pain, her happiness in the same way she feels mine. They take hold and form our own magical bond.
I’m not asking for her submission. This is her domain, her livelihood, her passion, but I’ll be damned if I can keep my hands off her right now. I need her strength to guide me in getting her to understand what I did and why.
“Roman, stop. I’m angry,” she says as she pulls away from my mouth and studies me carefully.
“Oh, so am I. I’m downright pissed,” I say, skimming my fingers up and down her thighs. I stop every time I reach the edge of her panties. I can feel her heat becoming hotter and hotter with every swipe of my hands.
“Pretty sure you have no reason to be pissed. You wrote up a will leaving everything to me. So, don’t you dare try to bait me into conceding to you. What the fuck, Roman?” I can’t seem to put my thoughts into words at how beautiful she is when she’s angry. It’s not funny, and yet here I stand ready to throw my head back and laugh. Most women would have taken the money and run while my body was still warm. Not her; she doesn’t give a flying shit about money. Three words stumble around in my head, spin out of control, and I suck in a breath when her eyes seize hold of mine with a hundred different bleeding, raw emotions.
“You done? I’d like to plead my case if you are,” I ask.
“You need to take this seriously. I’ll listen under the condition that you listen to me, too.” She bites down on her lower lip, not taking her knowing eyes off mine. I slow my tempo, drawing circles over her smooth skin, around the curve of her hip and back down her toned thighs. I could touch her for hours like this. Watching the skin on her chest redden. The intoxicating way the bumps erupt behind the trail my fingers are weaving on her silky flesh. Thank fuck, she isn’t angry enough to shove me away.
She’s allowing me to take from her what I need without understanding. Always kind when someone needs it. Bold and brash when she has to be. Priceless.
I don’t quite understand why it angers me that she’s mad. Frustrated is more how I feel, if I’m honest. Our lives should have never resulted in this. That’s what pisses me off more than anything.
“We both fucked up all those years ago, Roman. Every day, I wish we had done things differently. But this? This is like a slap in the face. The least you could have done was tell me about this beforehand. Not just let me find the file and wait for my mouth to hit the floor. If you fucking cared about me, you would have told me about this. From the beginning. God, think about how I would have felt if something had happened to you. I would have wanted to crawl into the hole with you; this would have broken me beyond repair. I would have felt like a fool getting a call about this.”
“Don’t tell me I don’t fucking care, Joslyn. Don’t you dare put that shit in my mouth. I would never embarrass you or make you look anything less than the magnificent woman you are. I forgot about the will because I’ve been too fucking preoccupied with my snake of an ex-wife.” She blanches. This isn’t going as I planned at all. Goddamn it all to hell.
“That’s not good enough, Roman! I’m your lawyer, and I expect you to be professional and treat me the same way you would any other legal counsel in your life.”
Gritting my teeth, I have to fight the urge to bend her over the desk and take my palm to that luscious ass, watching her soft skin turn a pleasingly dark shade of red.
“You are not just some legal aid in my life, Joslyn, and I think you fucking know that. Get one thing straight, baby. You’re my fucking woman, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you see just how much I fucking love you. I’m sorry about the will, but I’m not sorry for putting it down on paper that you’re the only person who has ever made an impact on my life.”
Minutes tick off as I try to regain my composure and collect my troubled mind. “I get why you’re angry, Joslyn. Don’t for one second think I don’t. I’ve always considered myself to be a strong man. Up until all this shit started with Gwen, I never showed my weakness to anyone, except you. Everyone who meant anything to me knew there was a Joslyn Reynolds out there. They all knew my weak spot was you. I used to envision the day when the two of us lived a normal life. At least, as normal as it can be with what I do. If I wasn’t around, I wanted you to be comfortable. I wanted you to fall asleep without worrying about a thing. I had that drawn up a year after I moved out here. I forgot about it. Gwen never mentioned one. I wouldn't have changed it if she did. I’m a wealthy man monetary wise because of you. I’m even richer because I’m so fucking in love with you that I’m blind. Blind to everything but you. I’ve always loved you, even when you weren’t with me. We have a legal contract stating you're my lawyer; you just said so yourself. It’s in your best interest to protect your client. My will isn’t up for negotiation, Ms. Reynolds. It stays the way it is. Do you get me?” She drops her teary eyes, puts the will in the file with everything else I just signed, and treats me with a scowl and trembling lips.
I pull back enough to meet her eyes; her disobedient little chin juts out. It’s trembling worse than her lips. “Don’t even go all lawyer on me anymore. I plan on living long enough to spend every fucking dime I earn,” I demand, eyes narrowing. A slow smile spreads across her face.
“I love you, too, but I’m still very angry,” she confesses, fingers lightly brushing across my cheeks as she works them around to hold my face in her hands. Those baby blues are running right through me until they land on my soul.
“Never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth again, never thought I’d get the chance to say them. We are strong. This changes nothing.”
When her eyes conquer mine again, they are filled with heat, while mine are filled with a wanting only she’s capable of answering. They flitter down to my mouth at the same time mine dart to hers. We meet in the middle, our mouths opening up to one another. A lot of information is pouring out of this kiss. I’m telling her that this is the beginning of our new lives together. She’s telling me she trusts me in taking care of our future. I’m telling her to hold on tight. Both of us letting the other know how much we have desperately missed each other. This kiss is telling each other that we only have one life and we want to share it. Life is too damn short to not share it with the one you love. She holds my face gently in her hands as my tongue intertwines with hers. I could kiss her forever. It’s short-lived, though, when we are interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door.
“I never thought I would get Roman Nixon to do slow.” She laughs.
“Don’t expect it to happen again.”
“Ms. Reynolds, your next appointment is here.”
“Be right out, Glenda, thank you.” I step back, my eyes traveling down her long legs, getting that last peek while she shimmies her skirt down and straightens herself out.
“If something had happened to you, I would have given all your money to charity and the band. Leaving millions to a woman you haven’t spoken to in years is crazy. As your lawyer, I’d like to advise you to not surprise me like that again. I’m holding you to your word that you live a long life, Roman Nixon. Life without you in it isn’t a life at all.”
Chapter 18
Joslyn
The spotlights over his handsome face leave me in a trance as Roman steps up onto the small stage and adjusts the microphone. His eyes are trained on me.
I went straight home from work to relax in the tub until it was time to get ready.
My nerves are frayed and jagged. Regardless of Roman and me working through the issue of his will and telling each other how we feel, this building anxiety has constructed an intricate realization for me, thinking that everything will turn out alright while the nagging voice in the back of my mind speaks of nothing but trouble ahead.
My emotions are raw. My heart is heavy. It’s painfully gut-wrenching to absorb. It’s as if there’s no light in the darkness anymore. No juggling the good with the bad. I don’t know what to think of it, what to do, or how to approach Roman with why I feel this way. So I haven’t. I’m sitting here trying to tuck it away until the timing is right to talk to him about it.
By the time I downed two glasses of wine while getting ready, my body burning up with anticipation about tonight, my focus was somewhat calm. I was bound and determined not to let anything ruin tonight.
I put on my face, tousled my hair wild and big with my fingers one last time, and slipped into my dress, strapped my feet into my five-inch heels, and took one final look in the mirror.
My dress is black with a high neckline and an asymmetrical cutout slit across the chest. It’s short, exposes most of my back. It’s classy and a lot more risqué than anything I’ve worn before. It’s also different than anything else anyone has on in this bar that Roman brought me to tonight. Some country hole in the wall on the outskirts of town where he told me we shouldn’t be bothered by anyone, and so far we haven’t. Not a single soul has made me feel out of place or asked questions.
Every woman in here is wearing cowboy boots, jean skirts, and tight tank tops, and they’ve welcomed this rock ‘n’ roll band with open arms. I had no idea this was the place where Roman found Dean. After meeting Miles and Brock and doing a few rounds of shots, I’m feeling a tad light-headed, and a whole lot turned on.
The other night on the phone, Roman brought me out of my shell. I felt like the old me. The woman who didn’t have a care in the world except pleasing the man she loves. He knew something was off and dragged it out of me before he had me doing something with him I’ve never done before. I flew so high that I want to take that ride with him again and again. Experience new things with him. Sit in silence while he gets carried away with his dirty mouth to the point I’m coming from his words alone.
We don’t need to prove anything to anyone but each other. I believe in what we have, and I can’t let anyone come between us. We love each other. I just wish I could shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen.
I slide my finger down my tattoo in hopes it will calm me in a different way. It doesn’t. I’m nervous, excited, and caught up in what’s about to begin a few feet away from me.
A prickle of comfort flashes up the nape of my neck. Hope is starting to make herself comfortable in spite of fear resting on my spine. I kind of like her there.
I lick my red-stained lips, tilt my head when Roman jumps down from the small stage, stands in front of me, and eyes me up and down with hunger in his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Joslyn. Do not be licking your lips when I sing,” he gruffs out, brings his hands out from the pocket of his dark jeans, and plucks me out of my chair straight into his chest, his eyes never leaving mine once he’s made it profusely clear by his examination that he likes what he sees.
“Don’t move from this spot.” His voice is deep, raspy, dripping with a ridiculous amount of pure, raw sex. I squirm. I spasm. And I become drenched when he glides his hands down and grabs hold of the cheeks of my ass. “Fucking hell. Not going to make it as long as I planned without a taste. Not a chance in hell.”
“Just so you know, I’ll be licking my lips all night, so you're going to have to wait the same way I will,” I say, pressing my chest further into his, slowly moving my hips and licking my lips.
“I don’t have to do shit except drag you into the bathroom and watch myself fuck that sweet little mouth, then take you from behind. I won’t even place my hand over your mouth while you scream.”
My nipples tighten. Wetness pools between my quaky legs. “Wouldn’t have cared what you wore tonight, but damn, you look hot as fuck. Hard enough keeping my thoughts under control when you're around, then you go and wear something like this and do what I ask with the no panties. Not sure if you have any idea how much I love you. It drives me out of my head to go even one day without seeing you.”
“I do know. We’re old, yet we’re new, if that makes sense. We’ll get used to it,” are the only words I can get out of my mouth before those lips I want all over me are on mine. Sparks fly, and I don’t think there would be a darn thing anyone but him could do to put out the fire that spreads from my stomach to my core. I’m drenched and not one bit embarrassed that our hands and mouths are all over each other.
His firm lips take me by surprise. This is the type of kiss I would have expected from him the first time he kissed me after our years apart. He kisses me like he’s been deprived of my mouth for years instead of days. This kiss ravishes me. It tunes my mind with my heart and makes me forget about everything except him. His gaze stays locked on mine while his tongue sweeps inside of my mouth and takes the air clear out of my lungs. Eating me alive and turning me inside out. Controlling and possessing with each swirl of his tongue. There is no mistaking whatsoever that he’s in charge when he kisses me in this dominating way.
My heart pounds wildly, anticipation driving me insane as he pulls away and takes his place front and center on the stage.
“Damn, that was hot,” Leila says from beside me, takes a sip of her water, and leans into her boyfriend.
It was. It was also one of the best kisses I’ve had in my life. Out in the open with no cameras in sight.
Tears wet the corners of my eyes as Roman strokes the first notes of Unforgettable. I clasp my hands in my lap, my breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat.
“The flow of your hair blows away with the wind,
And the blue of your eyes steals away all my sins.
Until I’m left here feeling righteous from you filling my soul.
Because, baby, this connection we have is unforgettable.”
I freeze as our gazes collide. Something supreme p
asses between us as he sings a song I haven’t seen him sing in front of me since we were eighteen years old. Our words are syncing as they tumble from both of our mouths. They sink into my bones and leave me wide open and vulnerable. The room is quiet; the tears are at bay. How can I cry when he’s secretly singing the story of our young lives? The time from the day we met until the day he left erupts in front of me. Happiness. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him and me. To drive each other insanely mad with it. And when he belts into the chorus, the air leaves my lungs in some kind of wild, erotic whoosh the same way it always did.
For the next two hours, I sit in my chair, drumming my fingers and letting the beat of the music flow through my veins and swirl in my head. It’s a dream come true.
My gaze doesn’t leave the stage until Roman nods to the guys, saunters off the stage, and reaches for my hand. He grips me snug around the waist, leads me out onto the dance floor, and wedges a knee between my thighs. My hands are resting firmly on his chest.
I smile knowing full well he already seduced me with his words and now was seducing me with the sway of his hips. His hardness is pressing into my stomach. I’m throbbing.
“I want you in my mouth,” I whisper against the base of his throat. My head is slightly fuzzy from the alcohol I’ve been drinking, my pulse is out of control, and my hands slither down to grab hold of his hand, tugging him toward the door.
I’m a bundle of want and need by the time we reach the vehicle. Even more so when we pull past the gates that lead us to his house. The second we’re secure in his garage and he helps me out, my fingers start to tremble. He unlocks the door, presses into my backside, and leans into my ear. “I’m going to fuck your mouth, then your pussy, and don’t think about leaving my bed until I say.” His voice is low, full of deliverance, and his breathing is erratic.
The Right Direction Page 17