Unexpectedly Yours: A Forever Love Story (InterMix)

by Jeannie Moon

  This was heaven. Holding Josh close, Caroline began to move in a gentle rhythm, listening to her body and his, and knowing that she was completely safe. “Like this?”

  “Yeah,” he responded with barely a sound. “A-plus.”

  ***

  There was no other way to describe it. Watching her expression as he entered her was like a drug. Her face held such emotion, and Josh never thought he’d ever want to see emotion playing a role in sex. Especially with this woman. A month ago they weren’t even on each other’s radar. They’d been running on parallel courses for years, but he’d never paid attention. Now he couldn’t avoid it. Four weeks, just four weeks, and he didn’t want to think about being with anyone else.

  He didn’t know exactly what all this meant, but it shook him to the core, and while he held Caroline, kissed her beautiful face, touched her and let her set the pace to their lovemaking, he saw what he’d been missing all this time.

  She trusted him. Caroline had given him everything when she opened herself to him a few short weeks ago and let him in. He was right to worry about the whole virginity thing. He didn’t realize that the depth of it went so beyond the physical act. This was about trust, about faith.

  No one in his life really trusted him, but she did. She’d trusted him with everything.

  Josh matched Caroline’s movements, holding her tight, loving how her body molded to his. She was small and soft and she was his. Only his.

  And while that thought filled his head, it also slapped at his heart. And that’s when he knew this was serious and that they both had a lot to lose.

  ***

  For a little kitchen, there were a lot of cabinets, and Josh opened a few before he found a glass and filled it with water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. Caroline was asleep, exhausted from the last few hours, and Josh didn’t understand why he hadn’t been able to fall asleep himself. He was so revved up he felt like he could build a house.

  His reaction to her was nothing like he’d ever experienced. He’d never felt such blind possessiveness, such responsibility for a woman. He wanted to blame the virgin thing, but he didn’t think that was it. Something else was going on. Something new.

  He cared for her. A lot.

  More than the sex or her looks, he liked who she was. Which meant he definitely shouldn’t sleep with her again. “You are so full of shit,” he said to himself. “Who am I kidding?”

  “That depends,” a throaty female voice said. “What are we talking about?”

  Josh turned, and in the doorway was Caroline’s roommate. He’d gotten to know Tessa a little since he and Caroline started hanging around together, but it was the stories Caroline told about her that helped him see that the two were as close as sisters. He smiled at the willowy redhead whose raised eyebrows told him he was about to be interrogated. She was Caroline’s best friend and he figured that gave her the right.

  “You, Mr. Campbell, were the last thing I expected to see. I guess dinner went well.”

  “It was kind of a disaster, actually.”

  Tessa bent over and laughed. “Perfect. Why was it a disaster?”

  “Porto Salvo was a disaster. We ran into two women I know. It was uncomfortable.”

  “How was Caroline?”

  He wanted to say she was perfect. He didn’t think the woman ever made a misstep. “Caroline was classy. We went to a diner after. That was nice.”

  Tessa held up the box of cupcakes. “And why were these on the floor of the living room?”

  Josh ignored the panties that were also dangling from her finger, but he didn’t ignore the cupcakes. He took the box from Tessa, and opened it to see if the treats had survived being flung halfway across the room. Not bad. One was smooshed against the side of the box, but it was still edible. The other one looked okay, the one with glossy, dark-chocolate icing. He held the box out to Tessa and when she reached for the chocolate cupcake, he regretted making the offer.

  “Not that one?” She was grinning. Great.

  “Oh, uh...”

  “Well?” Tessa was messing with him. She knew.

  “That’s for Caroline,” he said with a grumble. Jesus, was he that done in already?

  Tessa took the almond/coconut cupcake and smirked as she took a taste of the icing. “So tell me about you and my buddy.”

  “Nothing to tell.”

  “No? There was underwear hanging from a lamp in my living room. I think there’s something to tell.”

  “I’m not getting into this with you. If you want information, talk to her.”

  Josh turned to leave because her smug attitude reminded him of Meg, and Josh had no intention of feeding into it. Tessa touched his arm, probably realizing she’d overstepped. “I’m sorry. I’m worried about her. She doesn’t do anything halfway and she has a history with you...”

  “A history?” There was a history? She dreamed about him? He had to get to the bottom of this.

  “Never mind. Be good to her. She’s the best person I know.”

  “I happen to agree with you.” Josh grabbed his glass of water and headed back to the bedroom with the remaining cupcake. Maybe Caroline would be awake. They could eat and maybe... Damn. He had to stop. She was like a drug and Josh was becoming more and more addicted.

  But when he walked into her room and gazed upon her sleeping under the puffy down comforter, just looking at her gave him a wash of happiness. He flashed back to the whole pretty sister-smart sister conversation they’d had the first time they were together, and let it roll around in his head. Taking her in, he had no idea what she was talking about, because from his vantage point Meg couldn’t hold a candle to her.

  But there was more, and that’s where things got dicey.

  Climbing into the bed, he wrapped an arm around her and held her against his chest, and let her scent seep deep inside him. He’d never let this kind of feeling take hold. And tonight, between the awareness he felt at the restaurant and making love to her, Josh wondered if he could do this. He knew he could fall in love with her. Hell, he was already on his way, but could he avoid hurting her? He never figured himself to be a guy in a relationship, and he still didn’t. But she was becoming his everything and he couldn’t give her up.

  Feeling her move, Josh thought about making love to her again. He had a feeling he’d be thinking about that a lot, and that’s when Caroline turned to face him. Her hand came up and stroked his face, and his heart twitched.

  “Is Tessa home?”

  “We ran into each other in the kitchen.”

  “Was she nice to you?”

  “Yes.” Sort of. It was hard to say how she acted. Except for the fact that she looked at him like he was an ax murderer.

  “She gets protective. I love her, but she’s scared off a bunch of guys.”

  Okay, so Josh liked that. He had to thank Tessa for being scary because he didn’t even want to think about Caroline with another man. The thought made him crazy.

  He hadn’t noticed that the weather had turned until he heard the rain start to hammer against the windows. Caroline turned into him and he noticed she was tense. Rubbing his hand up and down her spine seemed to help, until the first thunder clap.

  “Oh, shit,” she muttered.

  Josh pulled her close, although she was pretty close already. If she could climb inside him he thought she might. “You’re afraid of thunder?”

  “Don’t laugh at me!”

  He chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  “Liar,” she hissed.

  “Why are you afraid?”

  “I was caught outside in a bad storm when I was younger. The noise gets me.”

  “Okay. But you’re safe here.”

  Now he was lying. She wasn’t safe with him at all. Maybe from the storm, but he couldn’t vouch for anything else. While the thunder was loud
, Josh knew that there were other things that were a lot scarier.

  Regardless, he kept hold of her, rubbing her back until the thunder and lightning stopped and her body finally relaxed. She had to be exhausted. Her body had tensed at the first clap of thunder and had been tight as a strung bow for at least fifteen minutes. He’d never seen anything like it. She wasn’t just afraid of thunder, she was fully and completely terrified. “I have the cupcakes.”

  Cupcakes had to help.

  Caroline’s sleepy face popped up. “Really? They survived.”

  “One was trashed, but edible; I gave that to Tessa. But the dark chocolate made it. Interested?”

  “Are you kidding?” She turned over and pushed herself up, looking at the crushed box on her dresser. “I had a dream about the chocolate one.”

  “Hold on,” he said, grabbing her hands and pinning her to the mattress. “We made love and you dreamed about a cupcake?”

  She giggled. God, it was the sweetest damned sound.

  Obviously knowing his feeling, she raised herself up and kissed him lightly. “Jealous of a cupcake, are you?”

  “Hmmm...” He rose and brought the box to the bed. Caroline’s face was a mix of sweetness and seduction and Josh took the chocolate cupcake from the box and ran his finger over the icing. Her eyes were sparkling in the dim light streaming in from the window. When she licked her lips, he brought his finger to her mouth and she licked the creamy chocolate. Jesus Christ.

  The cupcake ended up on the night table. He hovered over her and pushed her hair back from her face, marveling at the delicate beauty of her features. The women they ran into tonight, women from his past, had no appeal, but the woman in bed with him was driving him insane.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  “I’m thinking about you. About what I’m going to do about you.”

  “Oh? Is there some kind of decision?”

  “You know I’m having a hard time with this.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. But I shouldn’t be here.”

  “Uh-huh. I know.” She reached around and slid her hands into his hair, pulling him down for a kiss. “You shouldn’t be here and this is a huge mistake.”

  His mouth played with hers, sipping and nipping at her lush, full lips. “It’s a disaster.”

  “Right. A disaster.” Her hips lifted and pressed against him and Josh heard himself groan. She may have been inexperienced, but she knew exactly how to make him respond. He got hard immediately.

  “You’re too easy,” she said with a laugh. But she stopped laughing when he didn’t hesitate and slipped inside her and started moving. It wasn’t fast and hard like before, but slow and soft. Sexy. Hot.

  “I know I shouldn’t say this, but I’m glad it was you.”

  “What?”

  Her voice was dreamy and Josh wondered if she was just so tired she’d crossed into another realm.

  “I’m glad my first time was with you. I always wanted it to be you.”

  His thrusts became deeper and she matched his passion, arching to get closer. What she’d just said surprised him, scared him even more, and made him face what he felt for her one more time. But everything blurred as they moved together. She was his right now. No other man knew her body. No other man had been inside her. She was his, and every movement made Josh aware that he didn’t want anyone else to have her.

  “Josh, mmm...”

  Hearing his name slip past her lips tugged at his heart and then he felt the gentle wave overtake her. This wasn’t the soul-stealing orgasm she’d had earlier, but as he felt his own climax approach and he spilled himself into her, he wondered what made this so perfect. They fit each other. Their bodies were in tune.

  None of this made any sense. None. But as he settled back and pulled her to him, he wondered where this would go if it took its natural course. Could there be a future for them?

  That’s when Caroline sniffed and burrowed into him, falling right to sleep. Josh’s mind started to race because he realized how far-gone this really was. They’d just had unprotected sex and Josh didn’t really care.

  He knew he was clean, and Caroline had never had another partner, so STDs weren’t the problem. The reality was that Caroline could get pregnant, and as Josh let that possibility sink in he realized it didn’t bother him.

  He never forgot protection. Even if he’d been seeing a woman for a while and she swore she was on birth control, he took responsibility. But Caroline made him think only about being with her, about making love to her, and this was a new and scary place for him.

  But as he looked down at her curled against him, Josh understood that he was in this. He just didn’t know if he could find a way to stay.

  Chapter 11

  Caroline double-checked her list of grocery items and was satisfied she’d gotten everything. Over the course of the past few weeks she’d stocked Josh’s kitchen, making him more than a few wonderful dinners.

  In return, over the past week he’d managed to make her a couple of wonderful breakfasts.

  Caroline was floating, and for the first time in her life she wasn’t waiting for the bubble to burst. It was amazing.

  She and Josh spent as much time as they could together. They cooked, they joked, and they talked about anything and everything. Sometimes he’d bring work home and she’d have something to write and they’d hole up in his den and spend time together, and that was when Caroline felt what they meant to each other. When the words didn’t matter.

  She was having dinner with her mother the next night and Caroline was thinking about asking Josh to come along. She hoped he would. It was time for her mother to know about the two of them. It was time for Mom to know about her life.

  And it was time to talk about changes that were coming. Instead of worrying or wallowing in her feelings about the situation at work, Caroline had taken action. A few weeks ago, taking advantage of her contacts through her grad school program, she’d started looking for a new job.

  Today she got an offer. And it was with a big, prestigious engineering firm that was seen as female-friendly. Pretty soon she’d be able to kiss Roberts and Michaels good-bye.

  Josh had taught her that she was in charge of her life. Whether it be engineering or writing, or family, she was the one who would make the difference. And he was right.

  The writing was coming along. She had a ways to go on that front, but sending out her work and learning to deal with the rejections had given her more of a stake in what she was doing. She was hungry. She had a desire to be successful, and she’d stopped thwarting her own efforts.

  Everything was pretty much perfect. Josh would be happy about the job offer. He hated the firm where she worked and she couldn’t wait to surprise him with the news and to thank him for pushing her. For having faith in what she could accomplish.

  With regard to his project, he hadn’t asked for anything from her except advice on how to handle small glitches in the planning, but she knew the whole business was getting to him. The scuttlebutt at work was that there were delays getting the physical survey done. Possibly intentional ones. Caroline couldn’t put a finger on the reason, but she suspected Josh’s father was pulling Mark’s strings and she couldn’t figure out his motivation. It was in his best interest to move the project forward, but every time a test was scheduled, something went wrong. She asked Josh about it, but he wasn’t saying much and it seemed he was trying to protect her from knowing the details. She understood why he’d do it — Josh was nothing if not protective — but she knew she could get to the bottom of the problem. Caroline knew whom to ask, and how to get the survey nudged forward, but Josh was keeping things to himself. Maybe tonight she’d get it out of him.

  It was their cooking-date night, and this time, instead of going straight to his apartment, Josh had asked her to meet him at h
is office. Chewing on her lip, she admitted to herself that she was a little giddy that he’d asked her there, that he wanted her to see his world. He was letting her in, and that was no small thing. Miraculously, she wasn’t running behind, and as she left the building she noticed Mark on his cell phone, near the fountain on Sixth Avenue. He looked formidable. Square, strong, and every inch the boss she didn’t want to piss off. But soon she’d never have to see him again.

  Since the trouble with him had kicked into overdrive, Caroline had done some digging and unearthed a bit about Mark Strickland’s past. The man was a Princeton-trained civil engineer with almost twenty years of experience at high-profile firms. He’d moved up the ladder because he was a master game player. He was handsome and a great talker, which drew people to him, and he always managed to get the job done. When he did something questionable or unethical, he often got away with it, but there were lines even Mark Strickland couldn’t cross. And that’s when he got into trouble.

  Mark “loved” women, almost as much as he loved himself, and she’d found out that in his last position more than one female staff member had lobbied for his removal. Whatever had happened went away quietly, but he did leave his firm, landing in the corner office at Roberts and Michaels, where he ran things with a combination of fear and finesse.

  Most of the time he went for fear.

  The man did every adrenaline-junkie thing out there from high-altitude skiing to skydiving. It was no wonder he engaged in high-risk behavior in his career with regard to women. He wanted a thrill, a challenge, and his latest target was Caroline.

  She was hoping she could get away from the building quickly, so he wouldn’t see her. But as she was making the turn toward the subway, she heard her name.