Chapter 19

Samantha

The tension bleeding off Josh put her on edge.

She wasn’t sure what was wrong. He’d been great all night. The evening had been totally boring, but together, they’d made it fun as they usually did most things.

Josh had a surprisingly slapstick sense of humor that didn’t often come out. She got the feeling she brought it out in him, and she was really pleased about that.

Tonight had been tedious as hell, what with all the speeches and then the lousy food and the crummy band, but together, they’d gelled well as they always did.

Always.

It was getting to be a scary watchword for her.

Whenever she thought of him, it was never in temporary measurements of time. It was with ‘always’ and ‘forever’, and no matter what Josh said, she knew he wasn’t that kind of guy.

In all the time she’d known him, in all the time Jamie had, she didn’t think he’d ever dated anyone longer than what they’d been dating. Or if he had, it was a mistress he’d been keeping on the sly.

Fuck, the man kept mistresses… Ugh, she hated the very notion.

She hadn’t dared tell Jessica, who would totally pitch a fit, every single one of her feminist wiles bristling to attention at that tidbit of gossip.

Still, they all made mistakes. Hadn’t she made a huge one? Why shouldn’t Josh be allowed to make the same errors in judgment?

Blowing out a breath as she settled into Josh’s limo and headed for her home—where they usually ended these things because of Erin, who was usually being cared for by one of Josh’s guards, a guy called Drake who had kids of his own and was awesome with Erin—she half-turned so she could look at him.

The privacy screen was up and she really felt there was something going on here that was creating an undercurrent.

She wasn’t used to that.

Josh, for all his flaws, was surprisingly honest with her. In fact, he was brutally honest with her. The shit he came out with sometimes could be like verbal daggers, but that brutal honesty was something she’d prefer over BS and lies.

Like when he’d told her about Jasmine. He rarely sugar-coated anything. And Samantha preferred that. It made it easy to know where she stood with him.

And yet, her teasing from before, a joke about his getting rid of her that she hadn’t even meant, had caused this… well, she wasn’t sure what.

“What’s going on, Josh?”

He sighed as he settled into his seat. The leather creaked and his cashmere coat slipped silkily against it with a gentle whisper. “Nothing’s going on.”

“Liar,” she said softly.

“No, nothing’s going on. I’m just thinking that’s all.”

“You know what thoughts do, don’t you?”

“Cause trouble?” He grunted. “Look, I’m trying to figure out a way to say something to you without you freaking out. That’s all.”

“Is it something bad?”

He shrugged. “No. A lot of women would love to hear it.”

She squinted. “You do realize no woman likes to hear that, right?”

When he rolled his eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, what can I say? I’m just a crowd-pleaser tonight.”

She knew Josh hadn’t meant to, but his teasing actually put her at ease. “Okay. Just shoot me with it. I’d prefer that to you being all tense tonight. I have plans for you, and they don’t involve parts of you being tense. Well, only one part of you needs to be stiff.”

Her joking had him snickering, and she beamed a grin at him. He liked her stupid attempts at jokes, often chuckling at them, and she loved that. Jamie had always told her she was an imbecile, that she was pathetic. Josh never did that. If anything, he’d looked at her like she was the funniest damn woman on the planet!

It was heady stuff.

“Oh, you have plans for me, huh?”

“I do. Several plans.”

“Greedy wench. What have I done? I’ve created a monster!”

She laughed. “You’re so glad that you did. Don’t even lie.”

“A woman who’s greedy for my body? Several times a day? Yes, you’re right. I’m so not glad about this situation.”

It was her turn to snicker, and then she prodded him. Again—she liked it doing that. He always let her. Would never grab a hold of her wrist with a clasp that was so tight he’d leave bruises. Would never find a way to put her in a chokehold or that would use her strength against her. Those tiny prods… she’d knew he’d never realize how much trust they took. How much faith she had in him to do that.

“Come on then. Out with it. Tell me what’s going on. Is it business?”

Sometimes he went distant and she knew it was because of work. Samantha wasn’t entirely sure how he spent so much time with her, but was glad he managed to do so. If it meant that, sometimes, his focus was a little off, she didn’t mind. Was just grateful he was making time for her and Erin, because a man like Josh had to do exactly that. Make time.

He rubbed his chin. “You know, I don’t even know where it came from. It just appeared out of nowhere, and it’s kind of left me reeling. But then, I figure that’s about right, because you left me reeling.”

She frowned. “That doesn’t sound like a bad thing.”

“No, I never said it was, did I? If anything, I said most people would think it’s a nice thing.”

“So why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you’re not interested in getting serious with me.”

Her throat choked at that. “Oh.”

He sighed. “See.”

She peeped up at him. “No.”

“No? What does that mean?”

“It means, no.”

He grunted. “Explain, Samantha.”

“It means, that was before. This is now.”

She couldn’t stop herself from sliding across the seat, couldn’t stop herself from nestling into him, and when he lifted an arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, she cuddled into him harder. In his arms, she truly found a safe haven.

She’d never expected to find a man’s embrace secure. But with him, she did.

In fact, there were many things she never expected to find herself doing with another man, and yet with Josh, it was as easy as breathing.

It was crazy. Insane. She knew that. She did.

They barely knew each other. Not really. Not for long without Jamie’s toxic influence, and yet, this felt so right where it had always felt so wrong with her husband.

Tucked close to him, she whispered, “I-I think about more with you.”

He stiffened. “You do?”

“Yes.” She peeped up at him. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No. It’s a great thing,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Look, I’ve been trying to think of ways to tell you this, Sam, but it’s hard because I’ve never felt this way before and I know you haven’t really wanted that from me anyway… But I’ve come to realize the reason you’re so special is because I love you.”

She tensed in his arms, then turned slightly so she could look up at him. “You do?”

He nodded, and she could see the tension written into his features. Could see how very hard that had been for him to admit.

She bit her lip, and whispered, “I feel the same.” Then, she squeezed her eyes shut. “I know I shouldn’t love you. Not so quickly.”

“Who says that?” he demanded, and he reached for her hand so he could squeeze it. “Nobody knows how the heart works, Sam. Nobody. And I know you’ve barely been without Jamie, I know you should probably have more time to yourself, but why? Why be alone when you can be with me and we can be happy together?”

“I know you’re right,” she whispered, staring up at him, feeling like she had the moon in her eyes and the sun in her heart. “I-I…. people can say what they want. They don’t know what I went through. In all our years together, Jamie never made me feel as cherished as you’ve done in the past few months. And, from this moment on, you don’t have to think about him.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I know you’re careful with me, Josh. I know you think I’m breakable, like porcelain. But I’m not. You don’t have to think that. I’m tough, I’m strong. I can handle anything you have to give.”

Josh gulped. “I hate him for what he did to you.”

“You think I don’t? But you know what? The best way to beat him, Josh, is for us to be happy together. And do you know what? I really think that’s possible. I really think we can be deliriously happy together.”

His grin made a cheeky appearance then. “You do, huh?”

She laughed. “Yeah. I do. I know it, in fact.”

“Look at you, Ms. Confidence.” He let out a growl. “I love it.” She laughed again when he hauled her onto his lap, and rather than keep her knees pinned together she spread them so he was pinned beneath her.

“I have plans for you, Mr. Sexy.”

He snorted. “Plans that involve the limo or a bed?”

“Why not both?” Her eyes sparkled as she dipped her head and their lips met. The minute she sank into him, she let out a deep moan that had pleasure roaring through her.

What he could make her feel… Was it any wonder she’d fallen for him?

Was it any wonder she was in love with this man who made her feel like she could fly?

Piercing his mouth with her tongue, she slipped hers against his, mimicking exactly what she wanted to do. At that moment, she felt so liberated, so alive and carefree that to be in his arms was a freedom in itself.

Why shouldn’t she have this?

Yeah, it had come out of nowhere, but whirlwinds happened, didn’t they?

And if she didn’t allow herself to explore this, then Samantha knew she’d regret it forever.

She reached between them, her hands delving deep to feel his cock through his pants. He moaned against her mouth as she fumbled a little, working hard to bare him. The minute the hot, hard silk was in her hand, she wanted to roar herself. The groan that escaped his lips made her want to throw her head back in delight, but the confines of the limo’s cab didn’t allow for that.

It was kind of annoying, but at the same time, it turbocharged everything.

This wasn’t going to be a long, slow act of lovemaking. This was a declaration of intent.

They were going to claim each other. Here, and now.

In fact, no.

She was going to claim him. Put her stamp on him.

A man like Josh, he needed that. She knew he didn’t realize it, but that was why she kept on making an impression on him. She didn’t think the sun rose and set on him because of who he was. She thought it because of what he was.

A good, kind, honorable man.

Everything she’d never had before but which would be an intrinsic part of her future.

Josh’s hands came to her hips and she felt him dragging her dress up and away. Thank goodness it wasn’t one of those fitted gowns, rather, one that was free flowing from the waist. She waited for him to drag it over her legs until she could move even more freely. His fingers delved between them and when he found bare skin, she let out a whimper.

An honest to God whimper that had laughter, so loaded with feminine wiles and delight, flooding from her.

When he connected their sexes, an urgency to the move that she felt and responded to, she could feel how slick she was.

Knew how close she was.

There was something about him that made everything intense, urgent, and at that moment, she knew if he didn’t get inside her, she’d explode.

And not in a good way either.

As his hardness slipped inside her, filling her deeply to her core, she let out a long, low moan. Riding him, she loved the dark confines of the limo as it made their scents overwhelm the space, triggered a reaction on a visceral level that made the primeval creature come to the fore.

She rode him until her thighs ached, until her knees were stiff, and still it wasn’t enough. She felt her juices slipping between them, slicking his skin with her wetness, her arousal for him.

Then, he made a killer move. His signature move that blew her damn brains every single time.

His fingers came to flicker with her clit, and like that, with less than five careful, slow rubs, she came. The fireworks that went off behind her eyes came in tangent to his low grunts and groans that made her eardrums vibrate with the same pleasure as her climax.

Just knowing he was inside her?

Just knowing he’d found release with her?

Once again, it filled her with a feminine power she’d never had. Something that he gave her.

As he gave so much to her that she knew, in her own way, she’d always be grateful for.

With this man, in her arms and between her legs and at her back, she could do anything. She realized that now.

She was free to live her life how she wanted because he would always be there for her.

“I love you,” he whispered, his forehead damp and sweaty as it pressed into hers, and his voice was hoarse with emotion and reaction. “I don’t know where it came from, I don’t know why it happened, but I’ll spend the rest of my life being grateful for the fact I met you. And I’ll spend the rest of those days making you happy, Samantha.”

“Rest of your days, huh?” she asked, her own voice husky in reaction.

“Why not? I like to tie things up when I plan out a contract.”

She laughed. “I’m a contract now.”

“The best contract I’ll ever sign in my damn life.”

The End