by Fiala, PJ
“Perfect. See you at lunch.”
Joci cocked her head to the side. “Do we have lunch plans?”
Jeremiah slapped her on the ass. “Now that you live here with me, I’m coming home for lunch. Do you have a full workload today?”
“Not too bad.” Joci was smiling.
“Great. Meet me in the bedroom at noon, with nothing on. Lie across the bed, on your back, with your head toward the door. And be ready for me.”
With that, he kissed her on the lips and was out the door.
Joci smiled all the way to the back bedroom/office. She was turned on already, so being ready for him at noon wasn’t going to be a problem. As a matter of fact, it was going to be a long morning for her, thinking about him coming home for a nooner.
Joci worked on the video until eleven. She was organizing the pictures in an order she thought would work well. She was going to set the whole thing to music and was running songs through her mind. She stood up, stretched, and decided to take a quick shower before Jeremiah got home. She was giggling as she walked into the bathroom and turned the water on.
She took a nice long shower and made sure she was shaved and soaped—everywhere. She put body butter all over herself, so her skin was smooth, and dried her hair. She looked at the clock and noticed she still had about fifteen minutes. She walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and walked back to the bedroom, humming a song to herself.
She put the bottle of water on the bedside table and took her robe off. She stretched out across the bed like Jeremiah had asked her to do, on her back, and hummed while she waited for him. Soon, she heard the door open and heard his footsteps walking toward her down the hall. The bedroom door opened and she heard a soft whistle.
She looked up to see Jeremiah looking at her. His eyes were filled with lust and love.
“You are…without a doubt…the sexiest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. And you’re mine.”
Joci smiled from ear to ear. Jeremiah walked toward her and touched her cheek. He ran his hand down her cheek to her jaw and under her chin. Softly but forcefully, he pulled her chin up. He reached under her arms with both hands and pulled her to the edge of the bed, so her head was slightly hanging over the edge. He ran a finger down her throat and over to her breasts. He palmed a breast in each hand and massaged them a little bit. He pinched each beautiful nipple and made them hard peaks, straining for his mouth. Jeremiah chuckled. He could play with her all day.
Slowly he unzipped his jeans and let them fall to the floor. His boxer briefs followed his jeans. He pulled his t-shirt up over his head. In record time, he was standing at her head, completely naked. He stroked his hard cock up and down a few times watching Joci. Joci squirmed a little watching him pleasure himself. Jeremiah smiled at her.
“Do you like watching me, Joci? Does that turn you on?”
Joci licked her lips. “Yes, I like watching you. You’re beautiful. Watching you touch yourself is sexy as hell.”
“Is it now? Let me see. Touch yourself. I want to watch you.”
Joci reached down with her right hand and slipped her fingers through her soft folds. She moaned a little.
Hissing out a breath, he said, “You’re right, that is sexy. “Keep touching yourself, Joci, I want to watch you and hear you.”
He grabbed his cock and touched her lips with it. Joci opened her mouth and Jeremiah slid himself into her mouth. He knew she couldn’t take him all the way, so he kept his hand on the base of his cock so he wouldn’t get excited and forget how little she was.
Joci tightened her lips around his length and let her tongue slide along the underside of it when Jeremiah pulled out and slid back in. Jeremiah hissed out a breath. He had thought about this all morning, and still, he was amazed at the feeling of her mouth and watching her touch herself. Shit, there was nothing like it. Joci slid her tongue along the vein on the underside of his cock and he groaned.
“Joci…geez…fucking amazing,” Jeremiah panted.
Joci started wiggling around, but she just couldn’t quite get there. Jeremiah felt so much better than doing it herself. He watched her squirm around and knew she was having trouble making herself come. Fine with him. He would rather help her anyway. He leaned down and ran his tongue around her swollen, sensitive, little bud while pushing in and pulling out of her mouth. Joci moaned again and lifted her hips to intensify the pressure from his mouth.
He licked her clit again and sucked it into his mouth a couple of times. Joci reached up and cupped his balls in one hand, and put her other hand on the base of his cock. Oh, she loved the way he felt in her mouth, in her pussy, everywhere. Jeremiah used the opportunity to slide a finger into Joci’s wet little pussy. Two pumps and her orgasm started racing, her body warming and her breathing ragged. Jeremiah put pressure on her clit with his tongue, at the same time pushing two fingers into her wet channel, and she exploded. She was pulsing and clenching and trying to catch her breath.
Joci continued to rub Jeremiah while working her mouth along his length. She licked his balls and they sucked up inside of him. Gently sliding back into her mouth, Jeremiah let go. Joci swallowed quickly to drink all of him down. Jeremiah laid his forehead on Joci’s belly, giving them both a little time to catch their breath. Joci licked his cock as it fell out of her mouth, and he groaned again. He stood up as soon as he could, climbed onto the bed next to Joci and pulled her into his arms. Joci wrapped her arm around his waist and kissed his chest.
They lay quietly a few minutes and Jeremiah kissed the top of Joci’s head.
“Sorry, baby, I meant that to last longer. Sometimes you make me come so fast my head spins.”
Joci smiled. “It isn’t about the amount of time. It’s about the quality. That…was high quality.”
Jeremiah squeezed her shoulders again and sighed, contented and happy.
“I suppose I should feed you before you have to run back to the shop. What would you like?”
“Why don’t we finish up the pizza from last night?”
Joci nodded, “Sounds good. Give me about ten minutes.”
Joci got up and put her robe on. Jeremiah watched her and smiled.
“I love you, Joci. So much it hurts.”
Joci smiled at him. “Love shouldn’t hurt. But, I know what you mean. I love you, too.”
Joci walked out to the kitchen and started warming up the pizza. She set the table and got two bottles of water out of the refrigerator. Just as the microwave dinged, Jeremiah walked into the kitchen. He was pulling his shirt on over this head. He looked delicious; really, she was a lucky woman. As she was watching him, his head poked through the top of his t-shirt.
He looked at her and smirked. “I do have a brain, you know.”
Joci burst out laughing. “Yes, you do, but you also have that smoking’ hot bod. I love looking at you.”
Jeremiah sat down and they began eating lunch. Joci was dying to know, so she asked. “How did this morning go with LuAnn?”
Jeremiah shrugged his shoulders. “I guess okay. She acted contrite, and she’s been pretty quiet. Janice said LuAnn hasn’t asked anything about the rest of the weekend at all, which is kind of weird. LuAnn always wants to know what she missed. Honey, all I care about is that she’s being good. I won’t tolerate anyone hurting you, ever.”
Joci looked over at him, “Thank you,” she said softly.
Jeremiah chuckled. “You don’t have to thank me, honey. I mean it. I love you, and I don’t want anyone to hurt you.”
Joci nodded. She loved him, too. She wished she could get over this niggling little feeling that LuAnn was about to drop a bomb or something. Jeremiah was right. It wasn’t like LuAnn to not want to know what she missed, especially when it came to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah broke the silence. “Did you call Jackie and Sandi this morning?”
Joci shook her head. “I never call Jackie before noon. Yikes, she’s crabby in the morning. Sandi worked this morning, so I’ll call her after 2:00. Ar
e you afraid I won’t do it?”
She was smiling as she asked. Jeremiah was a great guy. He was a good person, but when he made up his mind, he would move heaven and earth to get what he wanted. Right now, he wanted to hear Joci sing, and he wanted babies. How was Joci going to get around that?
Jeremiah wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I can’t help it that I want to know the things about you that others know. I want to know everything about you.”
He never looked away from her, which she had quickly learned was his way of letting her know that he intended to get his way.
“I feel the same way, but you keep things from me.”
Jeremiah looked at her like she slapped him. He furrowed his brows and stared into her eyes. “I haven’t kept anything from you.”
“Really? Why won’t you tell me why you keep LuAnn around? You said you couldn’t explain it.” Joci’s voice got quiet. “Are you committed to her in some way, did you once have feelings for her… or do you still?
Jeremiah stood up and walked around the table. He leaned down and pulled Joci to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight. She could feel his heart beating a rapid rhythm.
“I have never loved anyone, Joci. Not until you. You’re it for me, babe. I need you to believe that.”
Jeremiah pulled back just enough so he could kiss her. It was gentle and sweet. A kiss that curled her toes just as much as one of his passionate kisses did.
When he ended their kiss, he moved his hands into her hair and cupped her nape in his hand. With his other hand, he ran his fingers down the side of her face.
“You are so perfect, Joci. I still can’t believe that God brought you into my life. I’m not like those other fuckers who treated you like shit. You need to start believing that.”
Joci smiled at him and looked into his eyes. She believed that he loved her, but once again, he was avoiding answering her question. She nodded and stepped back a little. Joci turned and started clearing the table.
Jeremiah knew he was going to have to tell her about LuAnn, he just couldn’t do it yet. He hated the wall she just erected between them. It made him feel cold and alone again.
He watched Joci move around the kitchen. He was at a loss for words. He decided to go back to the shop and let her have some time to herself. He kissed her on top of her head and told her he would be home at five o’clockish and left the house.
Joci didn’t know what she wanted to do. She had lost her enthusiasm for finishing the video for the Veteran’s Ride. She didn’t feel like unpacking boxes. Quite frankly, right now she felt like packing up and going back home. Maybe that’s what she would do—go home.
Five hours later, Joci’s phone rang. She wiped her hands on a towel and picked it up without looking at who was calling.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” Jeremiah’s voice was tight.
“I’m at home.”
There was a long silence. “No, you aren’t. I’m here—and you aren’t. It doesn’t look like you’ve been here all afternoon. Where are you?”
She could tell he was trying to keep it light, but the tightness in his voice was a dead giveaway.
Joci sighed. “After you left for the shop, I decided to come home and clean up a little.” Her voice grew soft. “I didn’t feel like staying there any longer.”
Jeremiah sucked in a big breath. There was silence on the other end of the line while he tried to control himself. Joci looked at her kitchen, which was as clean as a whistle right now, and leaned against the counter.
With as much lightness in his voice as he could muster around the fear and tightness Jeremiah said, “This is your home now, Joci.”
Joci closed her eyes. She couldn’t say anything.
“Are you coming home, baby?” Jeremiah was on the verge of smashing something. He hated that just when he thought they had moved so far forward, they were moving backward again. He was going to have to tell her about LuAnn. He could hear Joci sniffling over the phone. God dammit. “I’ll come and get you,” he said around a tightness he thought would choke him right off.
“No…I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Her voice so soft he barely heard her.
Chapter 22
Trust
Joci pulled into the driveway. Jeremiah was in the garage waiting for her, pacing back and forth. He turned and looked at her and moved aside as she pulled in. He ran over, opened the door for her, and pulled her out of the car. Without saying anything, he took her hand and started walking into the house. As soon as they were inside, he slapped the button on the wall to close the garage door and took her by the hand, drawing her into the living room. He sat on the sofa and pulled her down next to him. He looked into her eyes for long moments.
“Tell me what was going on today. With you. With why you felt the need to leave here.”
Joci grimaced a little. She wasn’t sure how she should answer. She licked her lips, trying to form the thoughts to answer that question.
“Were you leaving me?” His voice cracked.
Softly, so softly, he almost didn’t hear her. “No. I needed space from you. I didn’t want to unpack anything else because that felt permanent. I wasn’t feeling very permanent after you walked out. You know if I can’t trust you, it will never work. If you can’t talk to me, I can’t trust you. We have a real problem here.”
Jeremiah closed his eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. He swallowed hard and opened his eyes to look at her.
“Yeah. That’s what I thought. Not at first. At first I thought you left me. But, you didn’t take anything with you, so then I figured you needed some space.”
He got up and went to get a beer out of the refrigerator. He looked at Joci to see if she wanted anything; she shook her head no. He walked back into the living room and sat next to her on the sofa and turned to look at her.
“LuAnn’s brother, Lance, was my best friend. We went to high school together. We went into the Marines together. We were inseparable. We managed to keep ourselves stationed together and then deployed together. I loved him like I love Dayton, Tommy, and Bryce.”
Jeremiah’s voice was cracking. Joci’s heart swelled for him. She figured there was going to be a sad end to this story.
“Lance’s parents died when LuAnn and Linda, his sisters, were young. A lot like you and Jackie. Lance looked after them. Made sure they were safe. He watched over them. But he wanted to be a Marine so damn bad; we both did. So, he told them he had to go, but he would be back. An aunt and uncle watched over the girls. They were already in high school by that time, so it wasn’t like he was abandoning them. But he always knew when we were finished in the Marines, he would come back and finish taking care of them. He sent his checks home to them and called them all the time. He really loved them. By that time, Barbara was pregnant with the boys. Lance and I knew that, at least for me, my time in the Marines was almost over. I was coming home. Then we were deployed to Iraq.”
Jeremiah took a long pull off his beer. His chest heaved as he drew in a deep breath.
“We were under fire. It was horrible. It was chaotic, and we couldn’t see anything. The sand was always blowing, and the buildings are the same color as the sand. We couldn’t see shit, and we couldn’t hear shit because of all of the gun and mortar fire. My unit huddled behind an overturned vehicle to reload our weapons. We were mapping out our plan when Lance heard an incoming grenade. He threw me down on the ground and then lay over me to protect me.”
Jeremiah had tears rolling down his cheeks. He took another breath to try to calm himself. His voice was very quiet. “He didn’t make it.” Jeremiah choked.
Joci leaned forward and hugged him tight. She rubbed his back and held him while he cried. He wrapped his arms around her and let the tears flow. He just couldn’t talk about it. They sat that way for a very long time. Jeremiah was trying to collect his thoughts and his composure. Finally, he pulled away and wiped his eyes.
“I don�
�t love LuAnn; I never have. But I feel that because of me, she doesn’t have Lance anymore. She doesn’t have anyone to take care of her. She always was wild and unfocused. Where will she work if I don’t keep her at the shop? I owe it to Lance to make sure she has a paycheck, that she’s somehow is taken care of.”
Joci didn’t know what to say. She sure hadn’t expected this. Now she felt like a sap. She had needed to know, but it didn’t make her feel like a champion.
“Jeremiah…Lance wasn’t asked to save you. He loved you and wanted to protect you. You don’t owe him. There is no way you can repay him, except to live a good life and be good to people. You have the Veteran’s Ride every year to help to give back to people just like yourself and Lance. You can’t live your life trying to pay back a debt that isn’t payable.”
Joci looked into his eyes. He was watching her very closely.
“That being said…I understand why you would want to try. I do understand it.”
They hugged again for long moment.
Joci took a deep breath and continued rubbing Jeremiah’s back. “We have to find some way to make LuAnn understand that you love me, and she can’t keep interfering.”
Jeremiah nodded. He knew that. He was at a loss as to how to make that happen. He had never, ever given LuAnn any indication that there would ever be anything more between them. They leaned back into the sofa and sat staring straight ahead for long moments.
“Thank you for telling me, Jeremiah. I needed to know what it was.”
He kissed the top of her head and took a deep breath.
With a hoarse voice, he said, “It feels like a weight has been lifted…talking about it. I’ve never told anyone that before.”
Joci looked over at him and furrowed her brows. “Really?”
Jeremiah shook his head, “Really. It’s just too personal…and I feel guilty.”
“LuAnn and Linda don’t know?”
Jeremiah sighed, “They know I was with him when he was hit. They don’t know that he saved my life.”
Joci hugged him tighter to her. “I’m very glad he did.”