“Yes, you could. I didn’t do anything, Sam. This was all you.”
“No. I couldn’t. Josh, your encouragement, and your undying belief in me. You gave me the confidence to believe that I could do this. And you gave me the courage to get through it. I couldn’t have done any of this without you,” I tell him simply. He kisses me then, a slow, deep, passionate, romantic kiss that I feel all the way down to my tingling toes. Wow!
“What do you say we go home now and celebrate?” he whispers, looking into my eyes with a sexy grin.
“Can we celebrate by christening a few more rooms?” I ask shyly. And I know that I’m blushing slightly.
He smiles wickedly at me. “Oh, absolutely, baby. I’ll even let you choose the rooms.”
“Hmm? How about … the kitchen and the library? And the deck outside our bedroom?”
“I’ll race you to the car,” he whispers, biting my earlobe, and I giggle.
Chapter Eleven
Joshua
Her back arches as her body convulses around me, her fingers twisting in my hair and her right foot pushing against my left shoulder.
“Joshua!”
My name is a garbled moan on her lips as she shatters, screaming out in ecstasy. God, I love the taste of her! I trail soft, languid kisses up her torso, past her breasts and to her neck as she slowly surfaces from her third orgasm of the morning. Each one delivered courtesy of my relentless tongue – a personal best!
“You are so incredible,” she whispers, caressing my face, and I smile as I kiss her deeply.
“Tit for tat, baby. Just my way of saying thank you for such an uplifting morning,” I whisper with a raised eyebrow, and she giggles, blushing a pale rose color. No doubt remembering her early morning oral escapades which woke me out of a sound sleep.
I roll over, taking her with me, and we snuggle up together, holding one another closely. “What would you like to do today?” I ask as my fingers find their way into her hair and she sighs contentedly.
“Well, first … I want to get today’s paper and see if there’s a review of the opening,” she answers a bit nervously. “And then, good or bad, I want to go hiking.”
I smile at her request. Hiking has quickly become one of her favorite things to do, and I’m glad. I like spending time outside with Samantha; it’s a nice way for us to enjoy each other’s company. I tighten my hold on her as I kiss the top of her head. “Hiking it is.”
We get up and get moving then, dressing in our standard hiking gear – athletic pants, t-shirt and jacket for me. Yoga pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt for Sam. And after we’ve dressed and are sitting at the kitchen table, eating bowls of cereal and fruit, Samantha’s phone rings. As she talks, I look out through the huge floor to ceiling window that sits in front of the kitchen table, looking over our new back yard. This mini palace is really your place, Pierce. You actually live here!
Shaking my head slightly at that thought, I suddenly hear Samantha gasp. I can only hear her side of the conversation but, from what I gather, Lola has already read the reviews of Sam’s gallery opening and they are stellar. Samantha is over the moon with happiness and she hangs up and throws her arms around me. Once she calms down enough to finish her food, we talk about the show and the reviews as we eat, and she is so damn adorable I can’t stand it.
It’s sprinkling when we climb into the truck and back it out of the garage. But it soon stops as we get underway, heading to Lake Hills Greenbelt. Sam continues to chatter on and on about the events of last night, and I can tell that she is both relieved that it was such a success and happy that it’s finally over.
“Before we hung up, Lola actually asked me to be thinking about another show! Can you believe that? She said next time we should feature my landscapes and portraits. Is she crazy?”
Her voice sounds panicked and I frown as I look over at her. “Well, you do want another show, don’t you?”
She blinks at me for a second, like my question has caught her off guard. “Eventually! But not right on the heals of the first one; I need a little time to recover here!”
I laugh at her and keep driving. When we reach the park, we get out and choose a trail, walking hand in hand. We’ve never been to this park before but, it’s fairly close to our new place so, I thought we should check it out. We walk in silence for several minutes, and then I look down at her.
“I’ve decided that I’m going to take that Sergeant’s exam in a couple weeks,” I say quietly.
“Really!” She sounds excited and she beams up at me, and I nod.
“I like the idea of helping to guide the younger guys coming up. Mentoring them … showing them the ins and outs of the job. Like the old timers did for me,” I shrug.
“Josh, I think that’s wonderful! Have you told Lee yet?”
I shake my head and look down at her. “I wanted to tell you first.” She smiles at my words and I let go of her hand and wrap my arm around her, pulling her close as we walk, telling her more about the exam and what happens after I pass it. Assuming I pass it.
We walk in silence for a little while then, and suddenly it starts to rain. Not a gentle little sprinkle like before. Now, it is coming down in buckets and Sam and I are instantly drenched. We look at each other with goofy grins and I take her hand before we bolt for the nearest shelter. As we reach the wooden structure, she is overcome with giggles and I can’t help but laugh with her. I love that sound so much! Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her close as our laughter subsides and I look down into her enchanting green eyes. She is so beautiful!
“I think we’re stuck here for a while,” she smiles, referring to the downpour.
“I can think of worse places to be stuck, baby,” I say, smiling back at her. She laughs again and looks out at the rain coming down and I feel her shiver in my arms. She’s only wearing those sexy little yoga pants and t-shirt; she must be freezing now that she’s soaked. “Here,” I say, unzipping my jacket and pulling it off. I swing it around to drape it over her shoulders and something falls out of the inside pocket.
“Oh, you dropped something,” Sam says.
I place the jacket around her shoulders and look down with a start. I know exactly what fell to the ground and I have to recover it immediately. I spot it instantly lying on the ground and I kneel down to pick it up, and as I do it hits me like a bolt of lightning. I have been carrying this thing around with me for days now – since poker night when she made me those amazing peanut butter cookies. Looking for the right moment … trying to figure out the right thing to say, the perfect thing to do. And my heart starts pounding in my chest as I realize that this is the right moment and I have somehow ended up in the perfect position – on bended knee!
Looking up at her, Samantha is drenched and beautiful and looking down at me in amazement. And I know that it is now or never.
“I love you, Sam,” I say quietly, holding my grandmother’s ring in my hand.
“Josh?” Her voice is small and full of emotion and she is looking at me questioningly.
“I thought my life was full,” I tell her softly. “That it was meaningful and had purpose. But Conner was right … I was just fooling myself … because until I met you, my life was so empty.” I feel the knot in my throat, and I know that I won’t get through this without getting emotional. Taking a deep breath, I push on, trying to stave off the unmanly tears. “You are everything that I never knew I wanted. My heart began to beat the moment I first stepped foot into your hospital room. And that night that I first kissed you on your balcony … that kiss was like taking my first breath. You brought me to life, Samantha! And I don’t think that I could ever live without you again … I wouldn’t know how to breathe, my heart wouldn’t know how to beat. So … I’m not asking here, Sam. I am begging. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, Josh,” she whispers. She says nothing more; she just prolongs my agony as she stares down at me, dumbfounded. And I watch as a tear begins to travel down her cheek, as if in slow motion.
“Pl
ease, baby … say yes!” My voice is a desperate whisper, and I am silently panicking on the inside.
“Yes,” she says with a soft sob, smiling down at me. “Yes, yes, yes!” She is bouncing up and down in that five-year-old little girl way that she has, and I can’t stop myself. I stand suddenly and take her into my arms, mid-bounce, and hold her to me tightly for several seconds. When I set her on her feet again, she looks up at me with the biggest smile and I know that my own smile mirrors hers. Taking her left hand, I slowly slip the ring onto her finger and I hear her let out a soft gasp.
“Josh, it’s beautiful,” she exclaims. “How did…,”
She stops short but, I know what she’s thinking. How did I manage such a sizable ring on my salary. It’s an honest question; one that I don’t mind her asking. And I love the sentiment this ring holds. “This ring used to belong to my grandmother,” I say proudly, looking into her eyes. “She told my mom that she wanted me to have it someday. To give to the woman I want to spend my life with.”
“I love you so much, Joshua,” she whispers, tears streaming down her face again. And I can’t hold back anymore. I take her into my arms and kiss her slowly and passionately. I’m really not certain how long we stand beneath the wooden shelter waiting for the rain to stop but, we pass the time lost in each other, locked in a red hot embrace. And we’re both breathless and panting when we pull away.
The rain has slowed slightly, and Sam looks out at the darkening sky and says, “I think now might be our chance to make a mad dash to the truck.”
Nodding my agreement, I help while she slips her arms through the arms of my jacket and pulls it around her. Then I take her by the hand. “Ready?”
She nods, and we make a run for it, sprinting back down the trail we’ve just come up, laughing and giggling the entire way. When we make it to the truck, I quickly open the driver’s side door and Sam climbs in, scooting to the middle, and I quickly slide in after her and start her up. As we get underway, Sam is still giggling like a schoolgirl, and I can’t help laughing as I wrap my arm around her, pulling her close. And she is shaking like a leaf, she’s so wet and cold.
I reach over and turn up the heat in the truck, then wrap my arm around her and pull her close once more. We don’t say much on the quick ride home. We don’t need to; we are both lost to the enchantment of the moment, caught up in the magic of the proposal, and the ring and our love, and the rain. It’s a potent combination, and one that I wouldn’t have thought could bring such euphoria but, it does.
I pull the truck into the garage of our new house, and marvel once again that I actually live here. When we climb out of the truck, I take Samantha by the hand and we enter the house through the side door of the garage, stepping first into the mudroom that’s just off the kitchen. And the moment we do, Sam begins to strip.
She removes my jacket, letting it fall to the floor, followed immediately by her t-shirt. “We should get out of these wet clothes as quickly as possible,” she says, shimmying out of her yoga pants and shoes. She doesn’t need to ask me twice. Lifting my t-shirt up and over my head, I am out of my athletic pants and my soaked underwear and socks in no time. And when we are both completely butt naked, I reach for her and she yelps, slapping my hand and jumping backwards out of my reach. I know that I’m wearing a startled expression right now.
“You give a girl a ring and you think you can just grab her?” she says playfully, her bright green eyes sparkling like emeralds at me. “I am not that easy, Detective. You’re going to have to catch me first!”
“Oh, really?” I smile at her sexy little game. Then I lunge at her and she squeals in delight and takes off, running through the kitchen. Laughing, I run after her, our sopping wet clothing forgotten on the mudroom floor as I chase her through the house: through the family room, past the living room and up the front staircase, down the hall, and into our bedroom. She stops right in front of our bed and I grab her, pulling her into my arms as she giggles uncontrollably. And she is just so incredibly beautiful.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you, Samantha?” My voice is a choked whisper, and she smiles so sweetly at me.
“Oh, Josh. I love you too. I love you so much,” she says, looking into my eyes.
I kiss her then, passionate and deep. My arms wrapped around her waist as I begin to walk her slowly backwards toward the bed. Our bodies meld as we sink onto the mattress, my hands running over her silky soft flesh as I caress every inch of her. And soon I am buried deep inside her and we are lost in each other, drowning in the depths of our passion as our bodies writhe and move together in unison.
Over and over, I make love to her like my life depends on it, pouring all of my emotion and intensity into her again and again. And I pour out my heart to her as well, telling her all of the things I’ve struggled to say over the course of our courtship. My heart feels so unbelievably full, and it all just comes spilling out as we make love, my eyes locked on hers as we move.
“I love you, Sam,” I whisper as I move inside her, in and out, pumping slowly and rhythmically. “I will always love you, baby … I will always take care of you … I want you to be with me forever … I will never hurt you, baby; I promise … I will never touch you in anger, Sam … I will be so good to you, I swear, baby … I promise, you will always be safe with me. Always! I love you so much!”
“Oh, Joshua!” It’s a soft tearful moan as her body builds toward a crescendo and my intensity increases, driving her steadily higher. She cries out as her orgasm overtakes her and she explodes in my arms. Her body tightens and convulses around me as I detonate deep inside of her, calling out her name in ecstasy.
*****
I laugh joyously as I watch Sam holding out her hand, wiggling her fingers as she examines her engagement ring again, watching the diamonds sparkle and catch the light. The ring fits her finger perfectly, and she looks so sexy wearing it and nothing else. I tighten my arms around her and pull her even closer to me, snuggling under the covers after our intense lovemaking.
“Do you like it?” I ask her softly.
“No. I love it! It’s breathtaking, Josh,” she answers. “Will you tell me about it?” she asks, smiling at me.
I return her smile and lean in, kissing her lips softly. “My Grandma Mona,” I begin, “that’s my mom’s mother. Well, she and my Grandpa Dominic … they weren’t rich or anything.”
“Dominic?” she interrupts questioningly. “Like your middle name?”
I smile and nod at her. “They never had more than two nickels to rub together. And when they got married, all they had were these two simple, inexpensive, silver-plated bands. Not worth much of anything.”
“Then where did the ring come from?” Samantha asks right on cue, her voice full of wonder. “It has to be at least three and a half carats.”
“It’s actually closer to four,” I inform her quietly. “And as for where it came from … well, their entire marriage, Grandpa would always work two … sometimes even three jobs, trying to make ends meet and keep food on the table for Grandma Mona and Mom and Aunt Celeste. But what Grandma didn’t know is that every payday, without fail, Grandpa would set aside a little bit of money. Just squirrel it away without her knowing. And whenever it would come down to making sacrifices, he was always the one that went without so that none of his girls ever had to. But he never touched that money he was saving. He did that every single payday for the first ten years of their marriage. And on their tenth wedding anniversary, he took all of that money and went to Tiffany’s and bought her the biggest diamond he could afford.”
“Oh, my God,” she says softly. “That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard. Is it true?”
“Yes. Every word,” I answer.
She’s quiet for a few moments as she looks down at the ring and mulls over my Grandpa’s sacrifice. “And, why did she want you to have it?” she finally asks, her voice a quiet whisper.
I shrug my shoulders a little and sigh. “I was fascinated wit
h this ring when I was little. It was shiny and pretty, and I used to play with it … twirl it around her finger all the time, like this,” I say bashfully, recalling the memory as I demonstrate on Sam’s hand. “I was always really close to her,” I mumble. I don’t know why I’m feeling so shy all of a sudden; Samantha knows all the highlights of my horrific childhood now. “Because of all the shit going on in our house … going to my grandparent’s place was like a safe haven for me. And she would always dote on me.”
“And bake you peanut butter cookies?” she smiles.
“Yes,” I smile bashfully.
Sam falls silent again for a moment, and then she asks, “Did they know? That you and your mom were being abused?” she asks softly, almost timidly. And I think she’s afraid of upsetting me.
I nod slowly. “I think they all knew,” I answer her quietly. “But things were different back then. There was no Domestic Violence law. The cop’s hands were basically tied; a man could beat the living shit out of his wife and, legally, that was okay. The cops could break up the fighting but, they couldn’t arrest him. Not without the wife pressing charges. And nine times out of ten, that would never happen. The wife was usually much too terrified to go against him. There wasn’t much anyone could do.” I’m quiet for a second as I think back on that time. “You know … that fucking law finally went into effect just a few months after the old man died. A few lousy months,” I finish quietly.
Again, Sam is silent for a moment. And then she reaches out and runs her diamond-clad hand over my cheek, caressing my face, and I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips, kissing her palm.
“Thank you for sharing that with me,” she says softly.
“It’s your ring now,” I smile at her. “You should know its history.”
“It’s a beautiful ring, Josh. And an even more beautiful love story, and I am so honored to be a part of it,” she smiles at me. “Thank you for proposing to me.”
Her words are so sweet and innocent, and they melt me. “Thank you for saying yes,” I whisper, caressing her face. She smiles broadly at me for a second and then launches herself at me.
Pierced: Pierced Trilogy Boxed Set Page 82