Chapter Forty
Josh
Again Julia consumed his nightmares last night. He knew that the timing of their onset wasn’t a coincidence. His feelings for Carina were growing stronger by the second, along with his fear of losing her.
Cradled in his arms, his girl sighed in her sleep. He wondered how sore she was from their very productive evening. He had taken her two more times after he had awoken to her straddling him, calming him from a nightmare that had been cruel and disturbing. He had been disoriented when he had come to, but even in that fog he knew what he needed. He needed Carina to love him, to chase his demons away and fill his thoughts with his new reality.
He inhaled the scent of her hair and pulled her close. Less than twenty-four hours ago he had been giving himself a last-minute pep talk to help him survive the day ahead, when he would meet one McGinnis after another. He had no idea if her parents and brothers would accept him or if they would find it incredibly rude of him to just show up and intrude on Patrick McGinnis’s birthday party. All he knew was that he needed to see her, to show her that she was what he wanted. Not Amanda, not that life he had clung to for far too long.
Carina shifted and unintentionally brushed his cock with the curve of her hip. He went from a semi to a full erection that was aching to be nestled in his girl once again. He heard her chuckle. “Good morning,” she said. Her fingertips trailed down his arm.
“You’re still here,” he said, kissing her neck.
She turned and buried her head in his chest. “I’m sorry I left you that morning without even a goodbye. I’m not proud of that.”
He didn’t intend to make her regret their first morning after. She had nothing to apologize for then or now. He lifted her chin with two fingers and gazed into her eyes. “I’m the one who could have handled things better.” He kissed her swollen lips. “No more regrets, Carina.”
Her chin was still within his grasp when she nodded…and then gave him a devilish grin. “I’ll regret leaving you in your current condition,” she said, gesturing to his arousal. “May I help you with that?”
“How sore are you?” he asked, his fingers already making their way south. He detected a slight wince as he swiped her entrance with the pad of his thumb. “You need to rest, baby.”
Carina stuck out her lower lip and pouted. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just not used to…you know,” she said.
And Josh couldn’t have been more thankful for that. She didn’t need to be experienced to please him. He pulled her out of bed and walked her to the bathroom. “You’re taking a warm bath while I make you breakfast. After we gorge ourselves with food, I was hoping to keep you captive, rent movies and when you’re feeling better, make love to you over and over again.”
Just before they reached the doorway to his bathroom, she stopped abruptly and turned to face him. The expression on her face made him pause. Did he assume too much? Did she not want to spend the day with him?
He was about to ask her what was wrong, if she was angry with him, when she sank to her knees and took his cock in her hands. “I’ll take my bath…after I take care of you.” She licked the underside from root to glistening head. Before his legs could give out, he grabbed the doorframe with both hands and surrendered to her once more.
***
Carina
They were working on their third movie and their second round of takeout when Josh’s phone chimed. It was the fourth text he had received in two hours. Each time he had picked up his phone, read the message, grimaced, and returned the phone to his nightstand.
She was just about to let the green-eyed monster out of its cage when her own phone vibrated on the bed next to her. She retrieved her phone and stared at the message:
“Looking forward to your answer…12:15 sharp.”
She had forgotten what tomorrow could possibly mean. If her plan didn’t play out like she hoped, she would have to prepare for the worst. Her career could be in jeopardy and her family may suddenly have to deal with the fallout. She cringed at the thought of her parents and brothers seeing or hearing about those photos Eric had taken of her, but there was no way in hell she was going to submit and sleep with him.
“Everything okay?” Josh asked.
She turned the phone face down onto the bed before he could see the message. She didn’t want to lie to Josh, especially now that they were together. He deserved to know the truth. But then she thought about that night when Josh had almost drowned Eric in a fountain. The look in Josh’s eyes, the rage she had seen and felt dripping off him, told her that the man she loved was more than capable of killing someone he perceived as a threat. No, it was best to wait. She didn’t want Josh to take matters into his own hands and possibly get in trouble with the law. Eric was her problem. She wanted to be the one to take him down and make him suffer.
“Everything is perfect,” she said, cuddling into his neck. “Well, almost.” She worked her fingertips down Josh’s chest and rested her hand just above the waist of his lounge pants. “I’m quite restless.” She slid her hand beneath the waistband and found him ready for her. “Can you help me?”
The concern in his eyes was replaced with intense desire and she was immediately flipped over. He discarded her panties and the oversized t-shirt of his she was wearing, leaving her naked and crouching on her hands and knees. His clothes joined hers on the floor and she heard the tearing of a foil wrapper.
“So beautiful,” he said, caressing her ass cheeks with firm but gentle hands.
She had never been taken like this, with her ass in the air, completely at someone else’s will. But there was adoration in his tone and as his hands glided from her rear to her breasts, she felt like he was worshiping her. Hovering over her, his fingers trailed from her tight nipples to her clit, where he massaged and stroked the taut, needy nub. A finger slid past her slick folds and entered her. The pain that had been there this morning had left her completely and she was ready to accept him, in any position of his choosing.
“I want you, Josh…please,” she said. She leaned on her elbows and offered herself to him.
His hands found her waist and she felt his cock push into her from behind. She was certain he was being careful; that fear still lingered within him that he would hurt her. To assure him that she was fine, incredible actually, she begged for him to give it to her. He groaned against her back as he slammed into her. His grip tightened. She loved how he made her feel. Completely enveloped by him, she clenched around him and her orgasm took hold. With one last thrust of his hips he grunted and said through staggered breaths, “I love you.”