Josh and Hannah

by Lynda Chance

  She didn’t disappoint him. “I’ll see ya’ll.”

  He tugged her away from the crowd and the auditorium.

  He hadn’t seen her in weeks, except for the meal with her parents before the ceremony had started, and he was anxious. Anxious to be alone with her. Anxious to get her naked. Anxious to sink inside of her.

  In five minutes, they were pushing into her dorm room. Her roommate had already left for the summer, everything of Hannah’s was packed up and moved, but she hadn’t returned the keys yet. She opened the door and he pushed her into the empty room and turned and locked the door behind them.

  Hannah walked into the room and watched as Josh folded his arms and leaned against the door, silently observing her. She stepped back from him and as casually as she could, lifted the graduation gown over her head and tossed it down. Underneath she had on a white dress and white high heels. She always wore high heels, at five foot three, she needed all the help she could get. A memory washed over her, a memory from six years before, when she was fifteen, and he had followed her into the library. She hadn’t been wearing heels then; she remembered she could barely reach his neck.

  Hannah suddenly saw him as he had been almost six years before, when they were teenagers and he was doing his best to stay away from her. He had accomplished that feat remarkably well in her mind. But he was hers now, and she was finished waiting for him. She’d done every damn thing he had asked of her, and her waiting was over. Now she had a demand of her own. He was going to marry her. And before the day was out, he would know it. If she had to, she would demand it.

  But now, there was something even more pressing she needed from him.

  She slid next to him and his arms uncrossed and moved behind her in a slow move that tried to disguise his need for her. She wasn’t fooled. Her body pressed against his and pushed against him. Hannah felt him swell and harden against her. She put her mouth on his neck and began nuzzling him.

  “What do you want?” her voice was teasing, meant to tempt him into losing that iron control of his.

  “You.” His hands landed on her hips.

  “How much?” They had played this game before. It always ended with both of them naked and him pushing inside her. But this time she got an answer she wasn’t expecting. Nothing teasing. Nothing remotely playful.

  “More than you’ll ever fucking know.” His voice was harsh, strained. His hands moved from her hips and his fingers enclosed her face, lifting her eyes to his. His gaze tangled with hers and she sucked in her breath at the look of naked emotion he was showing her. Suddenly, this wasn’t a game about sexual need, this was about something far more than that.

  Josh reached out and put his hands on the row of buttons running down the front of her dress. Quickly and methodically, he ran his fingers down, releasing them as he went, wanting to see her. When he got to the bottom, he pushed the dress apart and off her shoulders, trapping her arms. His nostrils flared and she sucked in a breath at his intensity. He was always intense, but this was different.

  His hands moved to the white cotton bra, and since it had no front release, he pulled both cups down until her breasts were freed.

  He stared at her breasts and red slashes of arousal rose up his cheekbones. He peered at her intently, looking her over and memorizing any small changes in her since the last time he had seen her. She looked the same. The same small, perfect breasts. The same defined collarbones. The same Hannah.

  His eyes lifted to hers and glowed with an inner fire. His intense gaze smoldered with arousal and he looked around the empty dorm room for any place he could find so he wouldn’t have to push her to the cold linoleum floor or nail her up against the wall.

  He lifted her up and carried her to the small counter in the kitchenette and sat her on it, pushing her dress above her thighs and coming between her legs.

  He held her at the edge with one hand on her hips while he reached down and unfastened his jeans and pushed them down with the other. His straining penis sprang free and he pushed between her legs, ripping her panties to one side as he brought himself to her wet opening. He began to push in immediately. It had been too long; he couldn’t wait.

  He pushed all the way in and felt a moment of such intense relief he questioned his sanity. It wasn’t sexual relief. Fuck no, it wasn’t that easy. It was goddamn emotional relief.

  Hannah felt him slide in and rejoiced in the intimate communion between them. It was always like this. This intense. This consuming. This profound. She knew he felt it too. They wouldn’t have this affinity if they didn’t both feel it. Her eyes closed in ecstasy as he began sliding in and out of her.

  He lifted her chin and sank his tongue deep into the wet cavern of her mouth. He swirled it around hers until they were both out of breath. He lifted his mouth and sucked in oxygen. Her eyes opened and she saw him staring at her face, his body moving slowly in and out of hers. He cupped her cheek. “You belong to me.”

  Her eyes glazed shut with joy and drugging desire. “Yes.”

  “Open your eyes and look at me,” he ordered as his body continued the slow gyrations.

  Hannah’s eyes opened to find his intensity still focused on her mind as well as on her body. “Don’t think I’ll ever let you go, because I won’t.”

  Her arms wrapped around his head. “I know you won’t. I don’t want you to.”

  “I want you to marry me. I don’t want to take any chances with losing you.”

  Another bolt of heated joy rushed through her. Oh, God. The marriage proposal she had dreamed about, wanted from him. This was different from the times they’d spoken about their future during high school. This was real. And with real feelings, not a staged declaration in a restaurant with candles and a bottle of wine. Her agreement slid from her lips in a rush, “Yes. I want to get married, too.”

  At her agreement, his lips took hers again and opened over hers. Carnal longing passed between them as they rocked together, immersed in the feelings passing between them. His control slipped a notch, and his strokes became harder, faster, driving them both to a point of mutual bliss.

  They reached it together, coming together in a rush of pleasure so intense they clung to each other in mingled passion.

  When it was over, he lingered inside her body, refusing to relinquish her from his possession.

  His mood became serious, and he spoke succinctly, his voice deep and brooking no refusal. “I mean it, Hannah. I don’t want to wait forever. You don’t know what it’s doing to me, having to wait. I want you. All tied up with a marriage license and a gold band.”

  She lifted her head from his shoulder and stared into his eyes, trying to see inside his soul.

  She put her hands to his face and smiled her sweetest smile. The one she knew drove him crazy. “Then let’s put you out of this misery and fly to Vegas.”

  “When?”

  Hannah’s eyes grew troubled. “As soon as I go see Zach.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “No, I need to do this by myself,” she said as she smoothed her hands gently over his shoulders. “I can handle it.”

  “You’ll go today?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We’ll leave tomorrow.”

  She grinned. “You bet.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Hannah rode the elevator up to Zach’s office. The butterflies in her stomach were mitigated somewhat by the excitement coursing through her. She was so close to attaining her goal. So close to having Josh as her own. Her husband, forever. All she had to get through was this one unpleasant conversation with Zach. If she were to be completely honest with herself, she hated confrontation. She liked things to run on an even keel, she liked her life and the lives of those closest to her to run smoothly.

  This was going to upset Zach, and she hated that, but by God, he was going to have to deal with it. She truly knew her brother. The stone face he put out to the world was a façade. He carried deep hurts masked as anger, and pretended to the world
he was invulnerable. She knew better.

  When Hannah got to the desk outside of his office, she found a woman she didn’t know. She had assumed Mrs. Cargill would be in her customary place defending Zach’s office. What she found was no doubt a temporary replacement. Hannah smiled at the unknown woman. “Hi. I’m Hannah McIntyre. Can you tell Zach I’m here?”

  The other woman looked momentarily thrown. “I’m sorry, he told me not to interrupt him for any reason whatsoever.”

  Hannah stood her ground. “I understand, I know he’s testy, sometimes. But if you could just please tell him that I’m here?”

  She was faced with an adamant look of refusal. “I’m sorry, I can’t do that.”

  Hannah took pity on the other woman and pulled her cell phone from her bag and pressed a button. Her call was answered on the first ring. “Hey,” she paused and listened. “You have loyal employees, Zach.” Hannah threw the woman a small, triumphant smile. “I’m outside your office door.”

  In three seconds flat his door opened from the inside.

  Zachary was holding his cell phone in one hand and the door handle with the other when he stood back with a smile to let her in.

  Hannah gave the unknown secretary a small smile of apology mixed with satisfaction as she tossed her phone back in her bag and walked into Zachary’s open embrace. The bear hug he gave her was reassuring and suddenly a small measure of peace enveloped her. Zachary was a good man, he’d always been a good man, and as soon as he recovered from the shock she was about to deal him, he would man-up and be the good person she knew he was.

  He closed the door and she followed him inside and plunked herself down in one of the two chairs that faced his desk.

  As he walked around behind his desk and sat, he asked, “What are you doing in the city?”

  Hannah eased back in the chair and tried to get comfortable. This wasn’t going to be a short conversation. “I’m only here to see you.”

  Pleasure lit his eyes but only momentarily. She knew his astute brain was telling him that something was wrong for her to travel this far and want to see him face to face, when a phone call would have been sufficient for mere pleasantries.

  He zeroed in on that idea immediately, “What’s wrong?”

  She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, ruffling the wisps of hair around her face. “Nothing’s wrong in my life, but I don’t think you’re going to care for what I have to say. If your reaction to Katie is anything like—”

  He jerked to attention. “Katie? What’s wrong? What does Katie have to do with this?”

  Hannah was momentarily flummoxed into silence. Her eyes went to Zach’s sinewy hand holding his pen in a grip so tight she thought he might break the object in two. Just as quickly, he began tapping the pen on the desk in a rhythm that reflected the emotional stress he suddenly seemed to be under. His reaction was already unnerving and she hadn’t even started on her explanation yet.

  “Nothing. I was just going to say that since you don’t like Katie—”

  Again, he cut her off. “I don’t dislike Katie.” His voice was strained.

  Hannah was surprised he would even try to deny it and told him so in no uncertain terms. “That’s crap, Zach. You’ve never liked Katie. You’ve tolerated her because she’s one of my best friends and she loves me. Why don’t you just admit it?”

  “Are we fighting? You’ve come here to what? Pick a fight?” Confusion replaced the pleasure on his countenance. She knew he wasn’t used to anything from his little sister except immediate compliance. She had never been one to rock the boat about anything. At least, not as far as he was aware. She was about to blow that theory into smithereens.

  “No. You’re throwing me off track by refusing to admit you don’t like Katie. I have something to tell you that doesn’t have anything to do with Katie, not really—”

  Zach’s pen landed in a thump on the desk in front of him in a display of impatience. “Damn it, Hannah! Does it or doesn’t it?”

  “It doesn’t!” she slammed out and took a deep, controlling breath. “It’s about Josh.”

  “Josh?” He asked in confusion.

  “Josh Turner,” she elaborated a tad more softly.

  “The cousin?” he questioned.

  “Yes,” she responded.

  Zachary’s brows drew together in a thunderous expression and Hannah could tell at once that he didn’t like where this was going. “What about him?”

  Hannah’s stomach clenched with nerves and her hands trembled, but she managed to speak in a strong, determined voice, “I’m going to marry him, this weekend.”

  Zach looked like he’d been sucker-punched for a moment before he visibly regrouped. “No, you’re damn well not.”

  “Yes, I am.” Her voice was adamant.

  “Bull fucking shit,” he refuted in a stream of obscenities meant to underline his feelings on the matter.

  “Probably tomorrow,” she responded as if he hadn’t spoken.

  Zach stood to his feet and began pacing the floor in a small area adjacent to where she was sitting. “What the hell is this all about?”

  She lifted her chin, boldly met his eyes, and responded sharply, abandoning the idea of having her say and getting to leave quickly. “I’m sorry I’ve hidden this from you all these years, but I was young and didn’t want to face your anger and hurt.” Her eyes searched his and she continued in a more gentle voice, “I’ve been in love with Josh for years.” As Hannah spoke, she saw her brother flatten his hand on his desk, helping to support his weight, as if he had taken a body blow. She swallowed. “A long, long time. Before Cindy left you. Before there was any animosity between our families.”

  “That’s not possible. You were too young.”

  “I had just started tenth grade when we spoke for the first time.”

  Zach’s face turned red and his hands clasped into fists. “He took advantage of you—”

  “No, he didn’t! Never! I chased him relentlessly. He would barely talk to me, let alone touch me. You have no idea how—how disciplined he was.”

  Zach was quiet so she continued, “He wanted me, too, don’t get me wrong. And I was incorrigible, practically throwing myself at him. But he wouldn’t take advantage of me, wouldn’t be less than honorable.” She watched him for a reaction but he held himself immobile, standing still and taking it in. “And I mean he wouldn’t touch me at all, he wouldn’t even kiss me. He promised that when I was older, if I still felt the same way, we could try then. And of course, I still felt the same. It’s a feeling that I’ve always had for him; I always will.”

  Zach’s eyes were narrowed and he looked as if he was trying to work out a puzzle. “He must be after something, it’s too coincidental that Katie would want to be your friend and—”

  Her feelings hurt, she interrupted him in a harsh voice. “Is it really so impossible to believe that he might want me for myself?”

  He looked her over, his eyes going from the top of her head to her feet and back again. His look visibly softened, “No, not impossible at all.”

  Appeased somewhat, she soldiered on. “And you’re wrong about Katie. Think about it, Zach. Now that you know how I feel about Josh, who do you really think pursued our friendship?”

  For whatever reason, Zach looked pained, as if the realization that she had pursued the friendship with Katie hurt him in some way. Some way that Hannah couldn’t begin to understand. He answered with a rough shake of his head, “Shit. You did.”

  The bluntness of his words left her with the vague thought that she wasn’t privy to what he was really thinking about. But she continued on the track the conversation needed to go. “Of course it was me. Mom and Dad were in Shreveport so much, Josh was always working, and then Ava got pregnant. Katie was friendly and sweet and more open than anyone I had ever met. It was like she got me, you know? She didn’t know how insanely crazy I was about Josh; she just knew I needed a friend. You’ve done her a disservice, Zach. You’ve been harsh
and cruel to her in looks if not in words. You have no idea what a kind and generous person she is.”

  Although she imagined her words might in some way pierce his tough hide, she never expected the tortured look that crossed his features. It left her with an altogether different kind of discomfort.

  “You’re right. Katie doesn’t have anything to do with this. We need to focus on the problem at hand. I still think he’s taking advantage of you. Didn’t it ever cross your mind that our family is wealthy and his … isn’t?”

  “No, it never crossed my mind and it wouldn’t have. Josh loves me. I know that. Josh hates to even talk about the inheritance because it upsets him so much.

  A look of disbelief heightened the stark contours of Zach’s face. “Why would the prospect of three million upset him?”

  “You have to know how he thinks. You think Chris Turner screwed you over? You had it easy compared to Josh. Josh has scars, Zach. I mean physical as well as emotional ones. All his life, he’s had to live under the bad shadow of his father. He’s had to overcome his father’s horrible reputation. He has it in his head that he wants to make it on his own. Be his own man. That sort of ridiculous, masculine stuff that I don’t always get, but nevertheless try to understand.”

  “So, you’re compensating for him already.”

  “Don’t get on your sanctimonious high-horse, big brother. You and mom and dad can keep the damn money. It’s only going to make Josh unhappy, and that will make me unhappy.” She hit out with something that would hurt when she knew she shouldn’t. “It’s always been about money with you. This is about something much more important. The only thing that matters to me. Love.”

  “Yeah? Well, you’re forgetting something. You need money to finish school.”

  Hannah smiled a small, satisfied grin. “I graduated this week—”

  “Graduated already?” She could be wrong, but that looked like pride on her brother’s face.

  “Yeah, in three years.”

  “Congratulations. Why the hell didn’t you invite me?”