He kept his voice quiet enough that even the couples dancing within a foot of them wouldn’t be able to hear. “For telling you to date other people. Which for the record, I do not want you to do.”
“Then why did you say that you did?”
“Because, I saw the glasses, my glasses on your dresser. And there were pictures of us, and it just—”
“Freaked you out,” she interjected as her eyes widened in horror.
“Yeah, but not in the way I think you think it did.”
“Well, I think it freaked you out because you thought I had a creepy shrine to you.”
“No, that wasn’t it. It just made me realize that you had had feelings for me for a long time and that you really hadn’t had any other relationships. I got scared because I thought that if by some miracle we were ever together, for real, then after the newness wore off, you would get bored. Or curious about what else was out there. I was just scared that you’d built me up into something that would never be sustainable and you would leave, or worse, you would stay and be miserable.”
He stared down at her waiting for her to call him an idiot, just like Viv had so helpfully pointed out he was. But instead a crease appeared between her brows. “I’m sorry you thought that would happen, but it never would. It couldn’t because I haven’t built you up into something in my head. I know you. You’re my best friend.”
He should have known better than to expect her to react the same way Viv had. Just like she’d said that she knew him, he knew her. Audrey would never call him an idiot. Or if she did, it would be over something stupid. Not something real.
“I’m sorry, Audrey. I’m sorry that I’ve been an ass. I’m sorry that I didn’t just talk to you. To find out what you thought. What you felt. The truth is you really do deserve a hell of a lot better than me.”
“The truth, if we’re talking about the truth, is that you are a good man. You’re not perfect. No one is. But you are loyal. Honest. Hardworking. You would never hurt anyone intentionally. And you protect the people that you love. The truth is that you cheat when we play quick draw. And you sneak twenties into the tip jar when my back is turned. And, if we’re talking truth then you sort of suck at bowling.”
Josh chuckled. He’d only agreed to be on the damn league because he knew that she was on it. He’d never liked bowling and it actually hurt his back to play but he did it because it meant he got to spend more time with her. And she was worth the pain.
She lifted her hand and pressed it to his cheek. “And the truth is that I love you Josh. I always have and I always will.”
This was not a conversation he wanted to have with her in a crowd of people. Also, he was about three seconds from tearing her dress off of her which would probably be frowned upon considering there was roughly two hundred people there including the mayor.
“Come home with me.” It came out as more of a statement than a question as he rubbed his hand up and down Audrey’s back. “Stay the night.”
Audrey’s eyes widened. “Stay the night?”
“Yes. Stay the night.”
“But what about your rule?”
“You break all my rules.”
Her lips curled up at the edges. “Okay.”
As much as he wanted to pick her up, throw her over his shoulder, and carry her out of the room caveman-style, he figured she wouldn’t appreciate the scene. So instead, he grabbed her hand and tugged her off the dance floor. He saw Viv cheering them on as they passed by her but he didn’t slow down.
He wanted Audrey. He needed Audrey. Now.
27
Audrey and Josh barely made it through the door before he slammed it, picked her up and pressed her back up against the wall. His mouth covered hers in a soul-claiming kiss that had tension curling low in her belly. There was a fire in their kiss that hadn’t been there before, a passion that was just now unlocking.
She wasn’t sure if it was because they’d missed each other so much or if it had to do with all of her pent-up frustration she had over being so upset this past week. But whatever it was, it was working. Maybe this is why people liked make-up sex so much.
She still couldn’t quite believe that she’d told him she loved him, but she was glad she did. He hadn’t said it back, but he had taken her home. It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, but she’d take it. Josh was a thinker. He did things in his own time. He had to process things, and she’d sort of sprung a lot on him lately. Her virginity. Him being the one that she wanted to take it. And now that she loved him.
In her heart, she believed that he loved her, too. He wouldn’t have shown up tonight if he didn’t.
Her hands roamed the strong planes of his back as he moved lower, kissing her neck. Then lower still, he pulled the strap of her dress down her arm and since she wasn’t wearing a bra her breast was exposed. Within seconds his lips surrounded her nipple, and he bit down lightly on it as his tongue flicked across it.
She loved the feeling of his mouth on her, especially when it was there. Her hands moved to Josh’s hair and she fisted them, keeping him in place.
Their breaths were both labored, but she heard a panting that she didn’t think was coming from them. She opened her eyes and couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Um…Josh…we have an audience.”
He lifted his head and Audrey pointed at Thor walking in circles behind him in the entry way.
He turned back around to her and stepped back. “I’ll go feed him. Don’t move.”
When he turned and walked into the kitchen Audrey was still trying to catch her breath as she began to slide the strap of her dress up her shoulder since one of her boobs was just hanging out.
“I said, don’t move,” Josh said from inside the kitchen.
She had no clue how he’d known what she was doing, but she immediately dropped her hand down to her side. She really, really liked his take charge side. But then again, she liked every side of Josh.
By the time he came back into the room there was a glint in his eye. A predatory glint that made her entire body tingle with anticipation. With each step that he took the tingle intensified. When he was within just two feet of her he reached behind his back and pulled off his shirt. Seeing his bare chest was always going to be one of her favorite views.
When he stopped in front of her his hand cupped her breast without any preamble. He rolled her nipple between his finger and his thumb before pinching her just enough to sting which sent a shock of bliss exploding between her legs. Then he slid the other strap down her arm and removed her dress completely. As the material pooled at her feet, his hands were already back on her chest, kneading her full mounds.
The last time she’d been with him she’d voiced what she wanted asking him to blindfold her. This time instead of using words, she wanted to show him with actions.
Her hands slid between their bodies and she began to unbutton his pants. He continued massaging both of her breasts in his large hands as she slid his zipper down. Once she’d taken care of that she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of his boxer briefs and started tugging them down.
He reached between them and assisted her and within seconds he was stepping out of his pants. Her plan had been to lower down to her knees once he was naked, but before she got the chance to do that she felt her feet lifting off the floor. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around him and she felt the impression of his hard shaft against her wet panties.