Chapter 8
Delaney stood at the front of the tent, staring at the flap, dreading climbing in for the night. The cloud-covered sky hid what little light the moon and stars could have provided.
After Josh’s friends left, he’d spent most of his time in the boat on the phone, texting or searching something on his iPad while he made sure all of his devices were fully charged. They took one quick boat ride over to some island that sold food, but otherwise, he barely spoke to her. He hadn’t been mean, but he certainly hadn’t gone out of his way to spend any time with her or even check to see if she were okay.
A light flickered inside the tent, and she heard the drag of a zipper. Sucking in a deep breath, she kicked off her shoes, forced a smile, and scooted in backward.
Her heart fluttered as she shifted to her side and realized he’d zipped the sleeping bags together. She opted to sit above the covers, for now. Part of her liked the idea, but the other part wanted to throttle him for being so presumptuous that she wouldn’t mind. A cool breeze rippled through the tent, and she shivered.
“You might want to get underneath soon. It’s going to drop to fifty, or even below.”
“Really? It’s summer.”
“It’s the end August, and it can get cold up here at night.”
“Okay.” She paused. “Why’d you zip them together?”
“Body heat. We might need it,” he said casually. He didn’t even look up at her as he tapped on his iPad.
“What are you doing?” She wanted to all him a cold fish for being so standoffish, considering all she’d told him.
He set aside his tablet, then tucked his legs under the sleeping bag, twisting his muscular frame to face her.
She swallowed, staring at his powerful, bare chest with just a trace of blond hair in the center.
“Working on a plan that will put Craypo, Kirk, and all their cronies behind bars, so you can go back to your life.”
“How, exactly, are you going to do that?”
“I’m calling in a bunch of favors.” He palmed her cheek. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded.
He blinked, dropping his hand. “Good. Now, let’s get some sleep.” He shifted his body, putting his back to her as he settled into the sleeping bag before turning the light down to a faint glow.
“Josh?”
“Yes?”
“I really am sorry about what I did and how we met.” Her heartbeat slowed. How could she feel as though she lost him, when she’d never really had him in the first place? “I really do like you.”
“I like you, too.” He fluffed his pillow, but didn’t turn.
The butterflies in her stomach floated to a standstill. She had no right to be disappointed. Their kiss earlier hadn’t meant anything. She settled down between the sleeping bags, tucking her hands under her cheek and staring at the back of his head, determined not to fidget. Keeping her breath steady, she closed her eyes, forcing her body to relax, praying sleep would come quickly.
But it didn’t.
When she felt the sleeping bag slide across her arm, she opened her eyes and saw his profile etched in the faint light glowing in the darkness. She couldn’t tell if his eyes were open, so she continued to lay still, once again hoping sleep wouldn’t elude her too long. She concentrated on the sound of crickets, the water gently lapping against the rocks on the shore, and his rhythmic breathing.
“Still awake?” he whispered.
“Yes.” She relaxed her body and rolled to her back, realizing how sore her muscles had become in her attempt to remain motionless.
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
A throaty laugh escaped her mouth. “Considering the last few days, I don’t think you need ask permission.”
“I can’t stop wondering why, before me, and especially before Kirk, you couldn’t ever have an orgasm.”
She laughed harder. “Sorry, but I don’t understand why this is so important to you.”
“I’m not all that special or necessarily great in bed.”
She giggled, which she hated, because she sounded like a schoolgirl. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“I’m so glad I amuse you,” he said as he propped his head up, elbow on his pillow. “But you? You’re amazing, and the way you came for me was mind-blowing. I can’t imagine that it’s never happened before.”
“Still having trouble believing I’m telling the truth?”
“I believe you, but I don’t understand. You’re the most sensual woman I’ve ever met.”
“I’m not even close to being sensual, and honestly, I’ve never really liked sex.”
“Why?”
“After the incident with Kirk, I went to counseling. Not so much because of what he tried to do, but I really thought there might be something wrong with me.”
“There is nothing wrong with you. Trust me. Everything works the way it’s supposed to, and then some.” His fingers floated like a feather across the sensitive skin on the inside of her elbow.
“That is the worst line you’ve ever given me.”
“I’ve never given you a line.” His fingers curled around her wrist. “Did the counseling help?”
“It helped me understand that my problem was more psychological than physical.”
He laughed. “I’d say we proved that theory correct, but did you ever find out why?”
“My first time wasn’t very pleasant.” She closed her eyes. The memory still caused a sense of embarrassment.
“I’m no girl, but I understand that is true for most women.” He rubbed the sensitive skin on her palm.
She rolled her head, and now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness inside the tent, she saw the outline of his face perfectly. His normally strong features, softened. “That may be true, but I didn’t know I had a yeast infection, and it felt more like someone rammed a hot curling iron up there.” She anticipated her voice would tremble, revealing this truth about herself. But it hadn’t. Nor had she felt ashamed. The words rolled of her tongue as if this were a normal conversation among friends.
“That sounds painful. What about when the infection was gone?”
“You are persistent, I’ll give you that,” she said, shocked her face wasn’t hot with embarrassment. She never spoke about this with anyone but her therapist, and even then, she’d been mortified. “I thought that was the pain. I was only seventeen, and never had a yeast infection before, so the next time we had sex, same thing. For five consecutive times, it was that bad, so he broke up with me.”
“You really have shitty taste in men.”
“That, I do,” she agreed. “About a week later, I went to Planned Parenthood because it burned so bad. I was terrified I had some sexually transmitted disease or something.”
“Did you tell the doctor about the pain during sex?”
“No,” she said. “I figured it was the reason it hurt so bad, considering how that exam felt, but I guess it stuck with me my entire life, and part of the reason I’ve always waited until I really knew someone, so I would feel more relaxed, and then perhaps I could get there. It almost happened a few times.”
Josh traced his forefinger across her bruised cheek before he leaned in and tenderly kissed her lips. He slid his arm under the top sleeping bag, resting his hand on her stomach as he deepened the kiss. He had a way of melting away all her concerns, replacing it with a sense of confidence.
When she wrapped her arms around his thick shoulders, she had every intention of yanking his body on top of her until she felt the scar on the back of his shoulder, where a bullet had torn completely through his body. She cupped his face, ripping their mouths apart.
“What?” He blinked a few times.
She tapped his shoulder. “Tell me about these,” she demanded.
He groaned, rolling to his back. “Wouldn’t you rather hear about my first time?”
She tucked her head into the crook of his shoulder, palmed the scars on his side. “I’m sure it was wonderful for you.”
He laughed, his fingers dancing up and down her bare arm, sending warmth across her skin. “Actually, it was pretty pathetic. I was clueless about the female body and might have lasted a whole two minutes. My girlfriend was quite disappointed and dumped me the next day.”
“You’re either teasing me, or you have shitty taste in women.”
“Definitely the latter,” he said, shifting to his side and pressing his body against hers. “I’ve learned a thing or two since then.”
She smiled. “I’d say more than two, but you’re changing the subject, and I want to know about the person who shot you.”
“There is a big difference between the girl I met at the Boardwalk and the woman in my arms right now.”
She kissed his chest. “That has nothing to do with—”
“I’ll tell you what happened in a minute.” He held her tight. “I want you to know you’re much more confident now. I’m guessing—or maybe hoping—it’s because you no longer have secrets you’re trying to keep from me.”
“No secrets.” She could understand why he continued to bring it up, but it only reminded her that he’d never be able to forget.
“You’re still a little on the innocent side, but stronger. I like this woman better.”
“Good line. Now, tell me who shot you and how it’s tied into Craypo, Kirk, and my brother.”
“The last woman I was sleeping with pumped five bullets in me.”
“What?”
“Told you I had bad taste—”
“Why would she shoot you, and what does she have to do with Craypo?”
“She was Craypo’s wife.”
Delaney blinked a few times before scrambling to a sitting position. She stared at Josh, who stayed on his back, one hand behind his head, the other fingering the scar on his shoulder.
“I’m not such a Boy Scout after all, am I?”
“I’m… I…I…have so many questions, I don’t even know where to start.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “How did you end up with his wife?”
“I was working undercover inside Craypo’s organization, trying to gather as much incriminating evidence as I could, but it was difficult.” His inflection went flat and distant.
“So, you slept with her to get information?” She cringed. The question sounded worse than what she’d meant.
“No.” He turned his head away and let out a dry laugh. “About six months into the operation, when I was finally in the inner circle, I found out a large shipment of illegal weapons was ready to go out and thought I’d finally get what I needed to bring down Craypo. There was a charity event that Craypo and his family ran every year, and that’s where the first meeting was supposed to take place. Craypo asked me to escort Nicole because he was going to be late. In the limo, I got a tip from an informant that the buyers weren’t going to show and that they had planted a bomb in the venue, hoping to take out Craypo. As much as I would have liked that, I couldn’t let innocent people die.” He continued to look in the other direction, at the side of tent, hand over his shoulder.
“So, what did you do?” Tentatively, she placed her hand over his palm, lacing her fingers through his. He didn’t twitch or brush her away, but the Josh she knew was no longer in the tent with her, trapped instead in an old memory.
“I told the limo driver to take Nicole and her kids home because I’d heard there could be trouble.”
“Children?”
“Two little boys,” he said softly, the emotion seeping back into his voice. “She argued with me, but I got out and slammed the door, racing toward the entrance, assuming the driver would do as I told him. Before they left, Nicole got a good look at me talking with a few uniformed cops. She put two and two together, and the next day, when the story broke, she confronted me.”
“I take it the bomb didn’t go off, right?” Delaney asked as she let out a long breath in a whoosh.
“No, but now I had a different problem, and I figured I was a dead man walking until Nicole said she’d keep my secret if I would help her and her boys leave Craypo.” Josh looked at Delaney. His forehead wrinkled, and his green eyes changed from light to dark. “She told me that Craypo beat her and the boys.”
“That’s certainly believable, based on what you’ve told me about Craypo.”
“Believable, but not true. I let her seduce me. I let myself fall a little in love with her and those boys. She gave me all sorts of incriminating evidence on Craypo. I had so much that a month before she shot me, I could have walked, and it would have been enough…but I didn’t. I wanted to save her and the boys, and I wanted to ride off into the sunset with them.”
Delaney reached out with her free hand and cupped Josh’s face, her thumb fanning the soft skin just under his eye. “When did she shoot you, and why?”
“I had an exit plan for her all set up, but she called me one day, saying she needed to talk to me. That she needed out sooner. That Craypo was on to us. I told her to come to my apartment with the boys, and we’d work it out. I met her in the parking garage, with my car loaded with all the evidence she’d helped me collect. She got her boys—”
“They were with her?” Delaney leaned over and kissed one of the scars on his arm. His hand came across the back of her head, his fingers running through the strands.
“Her boys stood in front of my car. I thought she was ready to leave, but instead, she pulled a gun on me. I reacted and went for cover, but not before she fired twice.” He lowered the top sleeping bag, placing Delaney’s hand over the two scars on his side. “I got a shot off, but I missed and hit the back tire of her car. She fired three more times.” He tapped his skin where each bullet had ripped through his body.
Delaney followed his motions, letting her fingers linger over the damaged skin, sensing the physical torture he’d endured along with the emotional blackmail that he’d suffered at the hands of the woman who shot him.
“She got my keys out of my pocket and got in my car while I tried to stay awake long enough to get my phone and call it in. As I lay there, bleeding out, I heard the bomb that had been planted in my car go off.”
“Oh, my God!” Delaney snuggled up against him, kissing his neck and shoulders. “That’s horrible.” She held him as tight as she could, wanting to absorb all the pain. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, but then cocked her head back. “Why on earth would you believe me—help me—after what I did to you, considering everything that deplorable woman did?”
“Her boys didn’t deserve to die,” he said calmly. “And neither do you.”
“I’ve never thanked you for saving my life.”
“It’s not necessary to say.” His hand slipped under her shirt, warming her back, his fingers tickling her spine, sending messages to every sensitive spot on her body. “There are two other reasons why I believe you and want to protect you.”
“What are they?”
“You owned up to what you did the moment those men hurt you.”
“No point in lying about it after that jerk hit me or your friend showed up with pictures of my asshole brother doing just fine.” She traced a path across his lips with her index finger. “What’s the other reason?”
“You’re really damn good in bed.”
Before she had a chance to say anything, he’d rolled over on top of her and shoved his hot tongue deep inside her mouth with urgent fury. His knees separated her legs as he settled between them. Moist heat slid from her immediately. The way he kissed her with such force and desire empowered her, making her ache to touch every single inch of him. To feel how he would respond to her touch.
She squirmed, holding him tight, but pushing him to his side at the same time. She wanted to make him feel exactly how she felt when he gave her pleasure. To see the expressions on his face when she touched him.
Once she was on top of him, she kissed his neck and shoulders, running her tongue across his muscular chest as she eased her way lower, grazing his nipple with her teeth.
He hissed. “What are you doing?”
“I want to find out what pleases you.”
“I can tell you…whoa.”
She ran her hand up his thigh, cupping him over his boxers. “I want to find out for myself.”
“That’s a good place to start.” His response came in a throaty pant. “But you don’t have to do that if you don’t like it or want to.”
“Do you like this?” There hadn’t been a single time she could think of when she had initiated intimate contact. The men she’d known had always moved her hand there, or asked her, or even pushed her head toward their erections. She wasn’t opposed to doing it, but she didn’t feel comfortable—no, she didn’t feel confident—and until now, the thought of it did nothing for her sexually. Now, she wanted to caress him. Hear him moan with deep desire. This time it was all about him and what he wanted in a lover. But at the same time, this was her way of taking back her life. Her sexuality.
As she lowered his boxers, taking the length of him in her hands, studying the beauty of him, her panties moisten as she throbbed to be touched in return.
She could wait.
“Yes,” he said.
“Will you help me?”
“Excuse me?” he asked with a high-pitched voice.
“Show me, like I did with you.”
His head hit the with a resounding thud against the wooden deck underneath the pitched tent. “I’ve never done that before in front of anyone.”
“Neither had I.”
“You’re killing me,” he ground out.
She watched in awe as he stroked himself, his hand going up and down, occasionally stopping at the top, his thumb gliding over the head. She never dreamt or fantasized about watching a man pleasure himself, but it was one of the most sensual things she’d ever seen. Placing her hand over his, she moved with him, until he slipped his hand over hers, guiding her to grip him tighter.
“Would you like me to use my mouth?”
“You really have to ask?” He looked up at her with wide, laden eyes.
She stopped moving her hand and cocked her head. She had to hear him say it.
“Yes. I would like that.”
She bent over, holding the base in her hand as she darted her tongue out, licking his head, listening to his guttural moans and feeling his muscles flex and his body tense under her caress. She gauged her movements based on the way he breathed. He held her head, brushing her hair out of the way, but not once did he push her further down on him or try to shove himself deeper.
“Delaney.” Her name sounded more like a long breath. “You’ve got to stop.”
“Why?” She looked up at him, licking her lips, tasting him. “Don’t you like it?” For a brief moment, she wondered if she’d done it all wrong.
“I love it, but I’m going to come if you put your mouth on me again.”
“What if I want you to? Would you like it?”
“I think I’ll like anything you want to do to me, but I can’t rebound like you. It could take a while… Jesus…”
She covered him with her mouth, taking as much of him as she could, before gliding her mouth back to the top and running her fingers across the tip.
She repeated the motions a few times, listening to him hiss until he stiffened.
“Delaney.” His climax spilled out into her mouth and hands. He tasted like a warm, salted Margarita, only slightly more bitter. She continued to stroke and lap him until he stopped her.
“I was having fun.”
“Too sensitive right after.” He leaned up on one elbow, looping his other hand behind her neck, drawing her closer. “Kiss me,” he whispered.
He didn’t have to ask her twice.
She wanted to devour him, but he forced the kiss to be slow and sweet until he pulled away. “Do me a favor,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Take off all your clothes and climb under the covers so I can pleasure you. I’m hoping I can actually rebound and—”
“We could stop right now, and I’d be thoroughly satisfied.”
He growled. “I wouldn’t. Not until I feel you quiver and shake while calling out my name.”
“Well, when you put it that way...” She rushed to removed what little clothing she wore then tucked her back up against his chest. “We do have protection, don’t we?”
“I did think to pack some,” he said, reaching his arm around her body, tucking his legs behind hers, and pressing himself against her ass. He gently pinched her nipples, rolling them around between his fingers. He sucked on her earlobe while he brushed his fingers across her intimately.
She raised her arm, looping it over his shoulder. Her body skin tingled with heat. She needed him just one last time. Rolling her hips against him, press built against her ass. “I thought you said it would take a while.”
“I think my rebound time just broke a world record.”
“You know what I want?”
“Tell me.”
She draped her leg over his, pressing herself against him. “I want you inside me now.”
“That can be arranged.” He reached over his head, rummaging through his bag, his other hand still caressing her breast, teasing her with a promise of what was to come. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“No, We do this how you want it.”
“I want everything with you,” he whispered in her ear as he entered her, inch by agonizing inch.
She held the forearm he had wrapped around her chest while his other hand rubbed her in slow, torturous circles.
“You want me to go faster?”
“I want whatever you want.” She chomped down on her lip as she resisted the urge to grind herself against him in quick thrusts, her body on the verge, ready to scream out his name, but each time she was almost there, he nearly stopped moving.
“I’m making you crazy.”
“You’re making us both nuts,” she said with a choppy breath.
“That’s true.” He rammed himself into her.
She gripped his arm with one hand while reaching around and clutching at his neck with the other, grinding herself against him.
But then he pulled all the way out, leaving her cold and empty. “Why’d you…”
He thrust himself deep again, groaning in her ear.
“Oh…God…”
He held her leg, rocking his body, whispering her name.
“Josh...” Her body quivered as he plunged himself deep inside.
“Beautiful Delaney…” he nibbled her ear as he exploded inside her with such force, another wave of pleasure sizzled across her skin.
Slowly, they continued to rock together until she relaxed in his arms, exhausted and exhilarated, just like when she’d jumped off the cliffs.
“You know, there are few reasons I’m staying with you, letting you protect me,” she said between heaving breaths.
“Yeah. What are they?” he asked.
“I feel safe with you.”
“What else?”
“You’re damn good in bed,” she whispered.