by J. S. Scott
“Oh God...” She arched higher and Josh pushed his fingers into her heat.
He groaned against her breast, licking, and sucking her nipple while his other hand created a whirlwind of delicious pressure in her pussy. Time and place started to slip away. The music faded against the siren rising in her head. God, it had been so long. So very, very long. He did everything too right. And it was coming too fast.
“Josh...” she panted, gripping the chair so tight her hand had gone numb. Glancing down, she found his eyes closed, long golden lashes soft against his cheek, an expression of bliss on his face, that sexy mouth covering her breast again and again. “Josh...I can’t...”
As if knowing she was trying to tell him she couldn’t wait, he pushed deep into her body and...did something...exquisite. Something that made the razor edge of heaven streak through her body, made her mouth drop, made her throat close around a scream of ecstasy.
Then he scraped his teeth over her nipple and she felt the bite all the way to her pussy, shooting her over the edge.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck...” The orgasm hit her so hard, her body jerked and she fell forward. Josh caught her around the waist and held her tight as the orgasm ripped through her body in shards of pleasure and light. Smaller pleasure shocks rippled through her, pussy clenching, clit tingling, belly quivering.
She hadn’t even found the strength to open her eyes, when Josh gripped her waist, lifted her off the ground and drew her over his lap.
Her knee caught on the edge of the chair, and josh hauled it free, dragging her thighs to straddle his own. “Sorry, fuck... Can’t wait... Jesus, Grace... Look at me, baby.” With one hand positioning his cock against her slick sex, he gripped her face with the other, and dragged her gaze to his. “Look at me.”
As soon as her heavy-lidded eyes latched onto his, he lifted, pressing the head of his cock past the tightness of her entrance. The stretch, the burn, the pressure—it was exquisite, and Grace closed her eyes on a sound between a moan and a cry.
Josh froze. His hand tightened on her face. “Grace?”
“So good,” she panted. “Don’t stop.”
“Jesus...” his muscles uncoiled and he shoved her skirt up fisted it against her hip as he lowered her in excruciatingly slow increments onto his cock. But he was thick and long and by the time she surrounded him, they were both dripping sweat. “Fuck, baby, you’re so damn tight.”
She tried to smile, but half-winced instead. “I don’t get out much.”
“That’s insane.” He kissed her lips. “You’re so hot, so gorgeous...” He kissed her neck, giving her time to adjust to his size. “God, you feel so fucking good...”
“Man,” she laughed, tipping her head, giving him room to slide his mouth to her collarbone. “You’re a talker...”
“I’ve wanted this for so fucking long...”
“Then let’s get this show started.” She tipped her head, kissed his lips and whispered, “Hook your feet on the chair rungs, and hold on for the ride.”
Josh’s thighs tensed beneath her as he repositioned his boots, and she met his gaze, stroking her hands up her body, and sweeping her bikini top off over her head. Josh’s hungry eyes fell to her breasts. She continued to slide her hands around her neck, beneath her hair and collected the silky mass into messy handfuls.
Then she started to move. She didn’t know if this rhythm came naturally to all women, or if her dancing made it feel so perfect, but dragging his thick cock against her walls and driving him back in until the pressure tugged on her clit, and spread pressure through her pelvis felt beautiful, and perfect, and as primal as breathing.
“You are more woman than I ever dreamed.” His hands traveled over her body, his gaze following. “Sexier than my hottest fantasy.”
Her second orgasm built fast and deep, a push of pleasure every time she sank over him. She gripped the back of the chair and used her thighs to pump harder, faster.
Josh’s hands cupped her head, drawing his mouth to hers, where his kiss was erotic and loose and wet, just like their sex. Then he broke away his hands sliding over her breasts, pinching her nipples shooting twin shocks of pleasure straight between her legs. He gripped her waist, his big, rough hands spanning across smooth delicate skin, and drew her down on his cock harder, while lifting into her.
The head of his cock hit that place deep, deep inside her that squirted pleasure through her body and she moaned.
“You like it hard?”
“Hard and deep. I can’t get enough.”
Josh leveraged the rungs of the chair. His thighs, rock hard and warm, clenched on every upward thrust. His hands pulling her hips down to meet him.
“Oh shit, yes,” she breathed, her chest inflating with another climax. “God, perfect.” Another slam and she whimpered at the extreme perfection of it. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
His thrusts grew faster, creating a perfect rhythm. “Look at me, Gracie.”
She opened heavy lids, and found a level of heat in his gaze she could ever remember seeing in any man, not even Isaac. Josh was focused, intense, determined. And she realized she wasn’t owning him, he was owning her.
And that was exactly what she wanted—to be his.
She released the chair with one hand cupped his face, and pressed her forehead to his.
“Come for me again, Gracie,” he ordered more than asked. Pounding, pounding, pounding. “Come for me.”
This orgasm hit like a punch of velvet, harder and deeper and longer than the first, arching her back, and rocking her body. Josh’s muscles turned to rock beneath her, his guttural sounds vibrating against the skin of her neck as he broke, hips pumping, hands digging into her hips.
Then he suddenly relaxed, slumping in the chair, dropping his head back, releasing her body to drop his arms out to the sides. Breathing hard, he closed his eyes, his face utterly lax, sweat dripping from his temple. He stretched his legs out with a groan and the muscles rocked beneath her.
“Don’t...move...” he said between pants. “Let me...find my...brain...”
Grace smiled, her forehead resting on his shoulder. Her body felt loose and tingly and amazing. And her heart hurt—but in a good way, stretched full and aching with so much love she didn’t know what to do with it all.
A knock sounded on the door. “Nikki? Charlotte needs you. Her costume ripped and she goes on in ten.”
She groaned, lifted her head and called, “Be right out.”
Then put her head back down and snuggled closer to Josh. He chuckled, the sound deep and satisfied. His arms slid around her, one stroking her back, the other her hair. She wanted to sink in and fall asleep with him like this. The blissful thought made her smile, but knowing he’d be leaving soon turned the sensation bittersweet.
“Before you get all caught up in the vortex waiting for you out there,” his voice rumbled near her ear, “let me just tell you that was the very best sex ever. Like...ever.”
Sex. Yep, that’s what she’d planned. That’s what she’d delivered. And it was still all they could have.
Now, she just had to figure out what to do with all these emotions left over.
“Amazing.” She kissed his neck. “I knew it would be.” The pinch of reality crept in, and she forced her head from his shoulder. “Guess the fun and games are over, though.”
She pushed up on her knees, easing him from her body with a laughing groan. He helped her to her feet and said, “Throw me one of those rags, baby, would you?”
Crouching to pick up her panties, bikini, and cape on the way, she plucked up a clean white rag and tossed it to him. While he cleaned up, she shook the white dust off her clothes and redressed.
Josh stood, zipped his pants, then swayed and gripped the chair for balance. “Whoa. All my blood must still be a little too far south.”
She chuckled and moved languidly up behind him, and laid a hand on his sweaty back.
He turned, swept her close, and kissed her. Then slowly pull
ed out of the kiss with, “Stay with me tonight?”
Oh. That she hadn’t expected. Flashes of intimacy ticked through her mind and a sizzle of fear coursed along her ribs. She didn’t need any more reasons to fall deeper in love with him. Not when he’d be gone in a matter of days.
“I’m going to be here late,” she said with a casual smile. Better to keep this light. “And I’ve got six A.M. cheer practice.”
Another knock on the door. “Nikki? Charlotte’s on in five, and she’s getting panicky.”
Grace pushed up on her toes and gave him a soft, sweet, but chaste we’re-done kiss. “See you tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled, but she saw the disappointment in his eyes.
She knew she looked like she’d just been fucked silly in a room full of white dust, but she didn’t care. And the fact that she wasn’t ashamed for going after the best sex of her life with the only man she’d ever truly loved, gave her a sense of complete freedom. Maybe for the first time in her life.
At the door, she turned the lock and pulled the door open a few inches, then glanced back and found him watching, his expression veiled now, but a lost sense of confusion hung around him. The urge to console him gnawed at her, but considering who he was, she knew that was impossible. Giving him the night to come to the same realization was best for them both.
Chapter Seven
Josh stood at the front door of Safe Haven the following evening holding a bag of craft supplies that should have lightened his mood. But the unease that had gnawed at him all day remained.
By the time Grace had finished cheer practice and gotten to the club, the place was buzzing with activity. She’d barely had time to shoot him a smile and a, “Hey, how’s it going?” before she’d been swept up in the vortex of schedules, music choices, costumes and dance routines.
And their lack of communication after what they’d shared the night before had left him feeling insecure and disconnected. He didn’t want their encounter to become a one-time, casual, off-the-cuff fluke, and he was afraid that was exactly how Grace had seen it.
He shook the worried thought from his head and knocked, hoping spending some time with Carolyn would preoccupy him for a few hours while Grace was working.
Tammy greeted him with her typical enthusiasm and lead him through the living room and into the great room where he found Carolyn snug in a lounge chair with ear buds in.
“I don’t want to disturb her,” he said, pausing just inside the archway.
The great room had been turned into a Christmas wonderland, and smelled like a pine forest. A live, twenty-five foot Noble Fir reached into the cathedral ceilings, twinkling with multicolored lights and glistening with tinsel. Figurines decorated every horizontal surface, more presents had been stuffed beneath the tree.
“Nonsense.” Tammy urged him forward by the arm. “She’s had a really good day, this is the best time to visit. I just wish Grace could spend some time with her today.”
Tammy rubbed her hand on Carolyn’s shin to get her attention. Her eyes opened, then focused on her caretaker, and Carolyn smiled, one of those warm, comfortable smiles. She reached up to take a headphone from her ear when her gaze darted to Josh, and she paused.
His gut tightened, fearful his presence would spark another setback for her.
Slowly, her smile broadened. “My Lord, Josh? Is that you?”
Relief eased his shoulders. “Hey, Carolyn.”
He leaned down, gave her a one-armed hug and kissed her cheek. She smelled of soft perfume and powder.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh, son, how are you? It’s been so long. How’s the shoulder?”
Jesus, she remembered? He was still reeling from her remembering him at all.
“Better. Much better.” He pulled back and crouched beside her chair. Her eyes were watery with emotion and she stroked his face with a cool, frail hand. “You look amazing.”
“Aw, you’re sweet,” she said, patting his cheek. “Is Gracie here too?”
“She couldn’t get away from work tonight.”
“That little girl.” Carolyn lowered her hand. “She works so hard. I wish...I wish I could have done more to make her life easier.”
“She seems pretty darn happy.” Josh covered her hand with his and squeezed. “And you’re a great mom.”
Her smile was softened. “Gracie will be better. She’s going to make an amazing mother.”
Grace. A mother. The idea warmed a place deep in his belly. Why hadn’t he ever thought of that before? “I’m sure she will. She learned from the best.”
A smile of gratitude fluttered over her lips. If Josh hadn’t seen Carolyn lose it yesterday, he wouldn’t believe she needed to be in a home. She was completely lucid and sharp, her blue eyes watery but direct.
“Isaac should have given her a baby,” she said. “If he had, they might still be together.”
Josh’s mind drifted backward. Whenever he’d brought up the subject of children to Beck, his teammate brushed it off, telling him Grace wasn’t ready. “Did she want one?”
Carolyn laughed softly, her expression filled with love. “Oh, yes. From the moment she and Isaac got serious. And then, even more when he was gone so much.” Carolyn shook her head, her gaze going distant again. “She was so terribly lonely. She had me, but I was always working or tired. A baby would have been such a beautiful addition to her life. In Grace’s eyes, the sun would have risen and set on her child. But Isaac...” she shook her head, then shrugged.
Beck was selfish. Josh didn’t need Carolyn to tell him that; he knew. But Beck also had to be selfish. He was a warrior. His mission in life was to protect his country. Any other mission diluted focus. And there was no room for straying focus as a SEAL. Josh had been selfish during those years, too – it was the very reason he hadn’t asked Grace out when he, Beck and the rest of the team had met her at a restaurant where she’d been waitressing. But Beck hadn’t had the same reservations.
Tammy, who’d been standing by, patted Josh’s shoulder. “Looks like you have everything under control. Enjoy your time. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Josh nodded, then returned his gaze to Carolyn. “So, how are you feeling?” He lifted the brown bag and smiled. “Up to a little project?”
“Oh...” she clapped her hands in front of her chest. “You know how I love crafting.”
“I do. And I’m also hoping you still love butterflies.”
She gasped, her eyes sparkling like a kid. “I love butterflies.”
He pushed to his feet, held the bag under his arm and offered her both hands. “We’ll need to sit at a table.”
“This is so fun. I wish Gracie could be here. She loves craft projects.”
The little seductress loved crafts, huh? Josh grinned and tucked that nugget away for later use—something more along the lines of edible body paint.
He helped Carolyn to the table and pulled a chair up under her, then turned the bag over spilling all the supplies he’d bought earlier that day across the table. “Any guesses yet?”
“Oh...” Her eyes lifted to Josh’s, “a sun catcher?”
“Bingo.”
Her fingers shifted through the large black butterfly foam shape and the rainbow of tissue paper. “Josh... You’re such a sweet boy.” She smiled at him sadly. “I know you must miss your team, your work as a SEAL, but Grace and I missed you so much when you were gone.”
He pulled a chair up to the table and clasped his hand over hers again. “I appreciated every letter, every package you sent. You know that don’t you?”
“Of course. Thank you, sweetheart.”
“One of my favorites was the one you sent right before my accident. Which is why I chose this project for tonight.”
“I’m sorry, son,” she looked a little worried. “I don’t remember what package you’re talking about.”
“How could you?” he said, making light of her memory lapse. “You sent so many, there’s no w
ay you could keep track. It was a box of different sun catchers you’d made with your second graders, who donated them to our team.”
She raised her brows, and Josh could see her searching her memory with no luck. As he set up the craft, spreading out newspaper and lining up all the supplies, he said, “Each kid made a different design. So I hung the turtle is Dunlap’s room, because he’s always late.”
That made Carolyn laugh and the distress in her eyes eased.
“And I gave the elephant to Ghost, because he’s got that damned photographic memory. The rooster went to Decker, because he’s just a...”
Ooops.
“Prick?” she supplied with a sly little grin.
Humor tickled his insides and he burst out laughing. Carolyn joined in. Josh hadn’t felt this good in so long. “And I gave the octopus to Joey because he’s such a—“
“Pussy,” she finished.
“And the peacock to—“
“Had to have been Bobby,” she said. “He liked to strut his stuff for the ladies.”
“How’d you know that? He was always on his best behavior unless he was alone with the guys.”
“Not always,” she smiled down at the colorful paper. “I heard about his antics at the diner where Grace used to work.”
Josh chuckled, remembering how Bobby’s crude pickup line had backfired on him. “She told you about the pickle?”
Carolyn’s brow creased and she gave Josh a curious grin. “Remind me.”
“So, Bobby ordered a burger. Grace told him the restaurant makes the best pickles in the county, and asked if he’d like one on the side. Bobby comes back with, ‘I’ve already got a great pickle, honey, but I’d be willing to share it with you.’
“Without a second’s pause, Grace wrinkles her nose, but keeps her voice sugary sweet and says, ‘No thanks. All those pickles get canned around here.’ ”
Carolyn’s laugh was rich and flowing, and the sound seemed to sparkle through Josh’s chest. “That’s my girl.”
Josh squeezed Carolyn’s hand. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too, but Grace has missed you most.”