Hidden Depths (14 page)

He pushed again, grinding against her heat, seeking the
release his body craved. When he felt his sac start to tighten, that little
zing telling him his orgasm was near, he pushed back, her teeth nipping his lip
as she tried to hold him there.

"God damn it, Gia. I will not fuckin' come in my pants
again, like some dumbass kid."

He pulled down his zipper, shoved down his jeans and boxers
all in one swift move. Wrapping his hand around his cock he watched as Gia's
eyes widened. "I said I wouldn't fuck you, and I won't. But, I am going to
get some release tonight, too."

Her eyes got even bigger, and not for the first time, Josh
wished to hell he knew what she was thinking. He may have just ruined
everything.

And he would care. Be sorry for it. After his dick quit
aching.

"Lay back." She didn't hesitate, just rushed to do
as she was told.

"Move your hips to the edge of the bed so I can reach
you."

Again she scrambled to do as she was bid.

Once again he took his shaft into his own hand, wrapping it
tight and beginning the pace he would need to find his own pleasure. "I'm
going to masturbate, and you're going to watch me. I'm also going to slide my
fingers into you, and you're going to imagine it's my cock inside you."    

She didn't say anything, but her breathing got faster and
her little tongue peeked out to lick her lips. He took that as consent.

Josh buried three fingers into her, unable to find even a
shred of gentleness. He was so far gone. He pulled his shaft and thrust into
her, keeping their pace even. When he needed to speed up, he sped her pace too.
It wasn't long before they were both coming.

Josh let go with a roar as her muscles clenched his fingers
again, the little spasms were the final push he needed to find his own release.
He turned, watching as his seed flew out and landed on her chest and stomach
before he collapsed on the bed next to her.

Just before he drifted off to sleep, his only thought was at
least he'd marked her. If he couldn't lose himself inside her, at least he had
spilled onto her, leaving his mark the only way he could.

Some time later Josh woke up. He took a moment to admire the
woman sleeping next to him before rising to clean up. He removed his pants and
pulled his underwear back up, then he went in search of a clean washcloth. He
cleaned her up with warm water then lifted her and placed her under the covers.

He should get dressed and go home, let her sleep alone. They
hadn't talked about him staying here tonight.

As he watched her snuggle into the pillow, he felt a strange
little tug at his chest. He didn't want to leave.

Besides, he knew she had to work tomorrow and he only had a
small window of time to bring her six more orgasms. It was probably wise to
stay here, that way he could make the most of the morning. Smiling like a kid
on Christmas Eve, Josh climbed back in the bed and pulled Gia's warm naked body
next to his. She snuggled into him like he'd slept with her every night of
their lives.

Damn... there was that little tug again.

Chapter 18

By the time Gia got into work on Sunday, she breathed a deep
sigh of relief. She was running away and she damn well knew it. But she had
needed to get away from him. Away from her own desires.   

What she had started as a way to prove him wrong, naming a
number she would have considered impossible, was merely proving him right and
her weak. Six times... that man had made her come six times in less than twelve
hours.

She had awakened this morning to feel his fingers tweak her
nipples. His lips nibbled her neck and ears. His warm, naked chest had pressed
against her equally naked back. His fingers teasing and probing between her
legs. His heat, his drugging kisses and his gentle touch had brought her off
again before she was even completely awake.

After a gentle, rolling rise to orgasm, he had slipped down
under the covers to taste the fruits of his labor, so to speak. His mouth had
wrought another rush to pleasure, leaving her breathless and sated while he
jumped out of bed and into the shower.

It wasn't until he had walked back into her room, dressed
and looking ridiculously handsome, that it occurred to her she should be angry.
The man had spent the night in her bed, without even asking her first.

Sure, it could be argued that she had not exactly been up to
chatting since he had pretty much knocked her unconscious with pleasure last
night. Or that he had woken her in the most pleasurable way possible. Or that
she was the one that had put a time limit on this... thing... between them in
the first place. And she hadn't actually said he couldn't stay the night.

But none of that had seemed to matter as he stood there,
fully clothed and smirking at her, all showered and clean with a day's growth
of beard on that annoyingly perfect face of his. So, she had growled at him and
thrown the nearest thing she could find; her pillow.

And he'd laughed. The asshole had actually laughed at her.

So, she did what any sensible woman would do. She'd called
him names, stormed past him, and locked the bathroom door behind her.

By the time she'd gotten out of the shower, he'd been gone.
As she had headed down to the kitchen, trying to convince herself she was happy
about that fact, she had smelled freshly brewed coffee.

He'd made coffee. The damn man had made her coffee.

So, here she was, hiding in her office trying to sort
through her feelings.

As much as she physically enjoyed this, it could never be
anything more than that. A strictly physical relationship. And physical
relationships did not involve him making her coffee in the morning, let alone
staying the night in her bed. No one ever stayed the night at her house, and
she rarely stayed at theirs.            

If she were honest with herself, she hadn't really minded
him being there this morning. It had felt normal... wonderful actually. Which
was the problem in a nutshell.

Again, trying to be honest and face the facts as they were,
she was fairly certain he was going to win this little wager they had going.
Six in less than twelve hours was a pretty good indicator that another four orgasms
in the next thirty six hours were almost guaranteed. So, he was going to try to
force the issue. Try to get her to admit that there was something between them.
And there was. There always had been.

It didn't mean she had any intention of doing anything about
it. Not now, not ever. Josh, it seemed, had other ideas.

If you had asked her two months ago she would have said
there was no way he would ever pursue that little spark. She had fully expected
that he would bury it, along with everything else he felt. He was on one path
and she was on another.

Then he had walked into her shop and asked for a tattoo. No,
demanded a tattoo. And he kissed her. Kissed her with enough passion to ignite
a fire in her. A fire she had banked as she pushed him away. Since then, Josh
had been anything but predictable. She had always known there was a lot hidden
beneath his shiny, polished, lawyer veneer. Now, she was starting to wonder
just exactly how much he really buried in that perfect, all American image of
his. He seemed so... different, lately. More demanding. Stronger. More
controlling. More... dominant.

And, God help her, she loved it.

She was clearly a masochist.

Rolling her eyes at her own thoughts, she tried again to
focus on work.

Epic fail. She couldn't think of anything but his lips, his
hands, his kisses... and the next thirty six hours.

If she was already so ridiculously focused on him, what
would happen if she let this go on? If she admitted that she was drawn to him,
admitted that it was more than simply unfulfilled desire, would she be able to
have a physical relationship with him and still keep her distance? Could she
possibly enjoy what he was offering without wanting more?

It had never been a problem before. She'd had many
relationships. Probably more than her fair share, if she were continuing with
this honesty crap. And she had always been able to enjoy the relationship, both
the physical and companionship aspects, without ever wanting it to be more.

So, why was she so worried about this one being different?
Just because she had known Josh a lot longer, because they had been friends for
so many years? Or was it because he was just so different from anyone she'd
ever dated before?

Whatever her issue, she had better figure it out before
tomorrow night. Somehow, she didn't think this new, less docile version of Josh
was going to let her get away with saying, "Thanks for the fun. See you
later, 'gater."

Josh went home, changed his clothes and headed over to the
club. He was supposed to be meeting his parents to play a few matches of
tennis. Not exactly top on his list of fun things to do on a Sunday.

But, he hadn't had any time to see them outside of work
since he and Deb had told him it was over. He was hoping that seeing him, alive
and well and not moping, would get them off his case about Deb.

Needing a partner, he had called Kelly and asked her to play
with them today. Their families had been friends for generations. Literally.
His grandfather had gone to school with hers. When his family had relocated to
the west coast, her family had followed a few years later.

He was actually surprised that his parents had never pushed
the issue of him and Kelly becoming an item. Maybe they would have if he hadn't
started dating Deb during college. Kelly and Gia had been friends in high
school, although Josh still had no idea how they had met. Kelly and Deb had
gone to school together, although they hadn't been more than passing
acquaintances until college. In fact, Kelly had introduced Josh to both Gia and
Deb at a party one evening.

Josh had been attracted to Gia even then. Even went so far
as to flirt a little and test the waters. Unfortunately, he'd already had a
girlfriend then, so it was always harmless flirting. They hadn't lasted long,
but by the time they'd broken up, Josh had been firmly entrenched in the
'friend' category with Georgia. And that's where he'd stayed.

Though he had turned to Gia for a few things over the years,
like getting her help to pick up his car, there had always been an edge, even
to their friendship. They had never been the soft and cuddly, confession type
of friends. She had always seemed to delight in riling him up. Making him
angry, or pushing him until he admitted something he didn't want to. Something
he wanted to keep hidden, even if only from himself.

She made him crazy. She viewed the world in a whole
different way than he did. While he always did what was expected, played the
part he was born into, she had always been free. A little wild, a little
dangerous, always different and always true to herself. She never seemed to
care what anyone thought. For years, he had tried to blame his attraction to
her on that very fact. Tried to see it as more envy than attraction. After all,
they argued more than they agreed. He convinced himself that he couldn't
possibly be attracted to her, not really. Rather, he just wanted the freedom
she had, to do as she pleased and damn the consequences.

It had been total bullshit. He really had no idea how he'd
managed to ignore it for so long. And now, he had one chance to get it right.
One chance to convince this amazing, beautiful, free-spirited woman that she
could be happy in a relationship with a stuffy, uptight lawyer. That was going
to be no small task.

Was he up to the challenge? Two months ago, he would have
said no. Now... yeah, maybe he was.

Something about breaking up with Deb, giving in to impulse
and kissing Gia, taking chances he never would have taken before... it seemed
to have set something loose inside him. Something he didn't want to put back.
Something that seemed like it had been lurking there in the shadows his whole
life.

And he liked it.

Now, he just had to hope he could put the veneer back in
place when necessary. Like now...

He turned just as Kelly walked up and tapped him on the
shoulder.

"Hey there," she said. "You looked a little
lost in thought? Anything you'd like to tell me about?"

The smirk on her face left little doubt that she was up to
something. Or that she knew something he didn't.

"Nope. Just waiting on you. You ready?"

She shrugged, the smirk still firmly in place. "Sure.
Let's go beat the pants off your parents."

After tennis, they were all sitting and enjoying a nice
lunch. They had played two games, each pair winning one, so the atmosphere was
relaxed and everyone was in good humor. Josh included. As lunch was wrapping
up, his mom finally asked about his good humor.

"Josh, it's so nice to see you smiling again,"
Fanny commented.

"Thanks, Mom. I feel pretty good. This was fun. I'd
forgotten how much I like tennis. The sunshine, the fresh air, and some
exercise, all rolled into one."

"Glad to hear it. And the company was very pleasant as
well," Fanny continued. When Kelly just nodded and smiled politely, Fanny
kept right on talking. "So, Kelly, it was unexpected to see you here
today? Will we be seeing more of you?"

Again Kelly nodded, apparently oblivious to where Fanny was
heading, but Josh wasn't fooled. He thought about butting in, correcting her
assumptions, but waited. He wondered just how deeply his mother would pry. And,
when Kelly would catch on.

"Probably. Now that Josh and Deb have broken up, he
mentioned he needed a partner for tennis. I know he plays with Blake when it's
just the two of them, but that would hardly be a fair team for you guys. Being
as Blake played in college and what not."

"Oh, only for tennis? What a shame. We were hoping we
would see more of you socially. Maybe at Sunday night dinners?"