Just Breathe Trilogy Box Set (65 page)

By late Monday night, I find myself walking over to Joe’s with Sadie. Joe hugs me immediately upon opening the door and we stand connected for a long time without saying a word. When Joe loosens his grip on me, my mouth springs to his. Joe’s lips follow mine eagerly until I push for more physical intimacy.

Joe shakes his head despite keeping his lips glued mine. “Not like this, Emma.”

My body press harder against his as my hands cup his face to hold him still, not wanting to hear his words. Joe’s body immediately responds, but a few seconds later, Joe forces himself away from me. Not taking no for an answer, I start to strip in his foyer, moving to follow his attempts to back away. Joe is swayed to my intent by the time I’ve got nothing but my panties on and my hands down his pants.

I’ve got us both naked before we make it to his bed. Unable to wait for Joe to get the condom on, I drop to my knees and plunge his cock into my mouth. He’s completely hard by the fourth stroke. Not letting me finish him, Joe tosses me onto the bed and crawls over me once the condom is on. Our mouths mash together and I can feel his desperate need for me, which seems to be just as intense as my need for him. His mouth moves to my neck as his hand plays with my sex. He groans his satisfaction when he feels how wet I am between my legs. Joe drops down and plants his mouth on my folds, manipulating my body with his mouth and fingers easily. My first release comes quickly due to denying my body any form of pleasure for the past few days.

Taking his time as I finish shuddering from the pleasure, Joe gradually moves up my body. My tongue dives into his mouth and my hips shift, eager to feel him inside. Joe denies us both entry as he nonchalantly explores my neck and chest. I try to slide my body down so we’re level for him to fuck me. Joe kisses my mouth, but then moves back to his previous adventure. When I try to move again, Joe captures me by the hips and restricts my movement. My hands try to pry my body free, but end up locked next to my head.

Unable to break free, my legs wrap around his, pulling him closer. When Joe lets go of my arms, my legs release, expecting him to give me what I want. Instead, Joe continues his gradual exploration of my body. Frustrated and wanting more, I maneuver our naked frames until I’m positioned above him. He tries to flip us, but I’m able to remain on top and slide down on his shaft. My body shivers at the penetration. He tries to shift us again, but I manage to pin his arms down against the bed. My hips savagely rock up and down repeatedly in desperate need for release. Joe pulses his groin up and my legs widen, wanting optimal penetration. My face buries into his neck as the orgasm violently shakes my body.

Flipping me onto my back, Joe begins to plow into my wet, sensitive cave. He pushes hard as my legs curl around his thighs. My arms wrap up over his back and my hands latch onto his shoulders, securing my body in place. My nails scratch down his back when his organ hardens, causing me to climax. Joe doesn’t slow — his pace fiercely quickens and another orgasm tears through me as he shudders his own release. My lungs intensely burn as my body revels in the combined pain and pleasure.

The sudden urge to cry consumes me and I roll away from him trying to hide. I feel Joe caress my skin with his hand while his lips try to comfort me along my shoulders. Ashamed of my openness, I jolt out of bed and look for my clothes.

“What are you doing?” Joe asks, chasing me down the hall.

My body freezes for a moment, but I say nothing.

“Emma, please,” he begs with pain in his words.

I continue to gather my clothes, getting dressed in the foyer since that’s where they fell. When I have my bra, panties and pants on, Joe spins me around to face him. I try to fight, but my muscles feel too weak to challenge him. My eyes stay fixed on the floor not wanting to look at Joe.

“Talk to me . . . please,” he implores.

All I can do is shake my head.

“Do you need me to reschedule the trip again?” he searches.

I shake my head with a little more definitiveness. The last thing I want to do is to cause anymore delay for my business moving forward. He graciously postponed it because of Maggie’s condition. My work is one of the few things I can control in my life right now. I don’t even feel like I can control myself — especially with him.

“Stay. . . please.” His hands cup my face trying to get me to look at him. “Please.”

I pinch my eyes shut, not wanting to expose myself. My head uncontrollably waves in opposition.

“Emma . . . beautiful,” he coaxes. His mouth sweetly captures mine.

My body instantly gives into him — needing him — wanting him — all of him. I press into him, hoping he’ll understand. Joe immediately pushes my pants down as my feet scurry to break free. Two seconds later, he rips off my panties and he heaves my body backward, colliding us into the wall.

“Fuck me,” I hoarsely moan after not talking for four days.

Without thought, Joe’s mouth trails the length of my body until his mouth teases my navel. The sound of metal sliding across the marble floor catches my attention and I watch Joe search his pants’ pockets. He grunts irritation, but shifts, leaning far to reach something on the table by the door. Joe lifts his hand to his mouth and tears open a fresh condom wrapper.

“Fuck me,” I quietly demand, dancing my fingers in his hair.

Joe obliges before I finish uttering the words. He slams his shaft into me, pounding me into the wall. Memories of when he took me like this last time flood my thoughts. Strike after strike, the wetness in my sex increases, giving Joe full opportunity to plunge into me as deep as he can go.

“God . . . you feel so good,” he announces as he huffs into my neck.

“Mmmm . . .” I sigh.

He continues to ram me, bringing me closer. Joe’s fingers squeeze into my ass and my arms fasten tighter around his neck. Blow after blow into my aroused cave, we grunt and moan. The unrelenting pleasure surges into me, soaking his cock as shrieks of ecstasy reverberate from my throat.

I feel his body shaking from both pleasure and fatigue. We stay sandwiched against the wall for several minutes. Without letting go, Joe steadies us before carrying me back to his bed. I lounge temporarily, unable to move. Before joining me, Joe heads to the bathroom. Unable to see what he’s doing, I lay quietly waiting for his return. The sensation of a warm, damp cloth over my lower belly, wiping down the exterior of my sex draws my attention. I watch Joe meticulously clean and inspect my body before returning to the bathroom.

A few moments later, Joe guides my body over the bed and covers me with a sheet. He conforms his torso to mine, spooning me as Sadie slumps her body over us. I wait patiently for Joe to fall asleep — this is the only way I’ll be able to leave without his opposition.

The compulsion to urinate forces me to get up — I must have fallen asleep. I change in the bathroom and grab my things, leaving without a word. Sadie gradually follows me with mild coaxing and in no time we are homeward bound.

The next morning, I take a cab with Sadie to head to Maggie’s unannounced. Arnold cordially greets me and informs me that Maggie is feeling better as he leads me to the back patio. My heart steadies with relief when I see her eating. I hear Henry off in the distance on the phone as I approach Maggie.

“Hey you!” A small smile flickers across her face.

“Hey,” I eek out, curling my mouth to the left.

Maggie reaches for me, directing me to join her.

We sit quietly for a long while as we soak up the morning sun that is cascading over our legs. Nǎinai and Mŭqīn come from inside the house a few minutes later with some tea and food. They both kiss and hug me, longer than usual.

“Jared said you haven’t spoken with him since Thursday,” Maggie breeches the uncomfortable subject.

Lowering my head, I offer, “I haven’t talked to anyone.”

“You okay?” she checks.

“Yeah . . .” I unconvincingly lie.

“I’m sorry to put you . . . .”

“Don’t be,” I cut her off. “I’m glad you called me.”

“I know, but . . . .” Maggie's sighs. “I know this is hard for you too.”

“I’ll be fine,” I fib.

The sight of her does help a little and the more I start to see my old friend again, I know I’ll get better.

“Henry said your business trip got cancelled. I’m sorry,” she changes the subject.

“It’s fine. Joe rescheduled it for next week. We leave Wednesday,” I mention gently. “You’re more important.”

“I know,” she hesitantly agrees. “But . . . .”

“But nothing,” I sternly counter. “You’re family.”

I didn’t realize it until I did some research online that Maggie could have had a complication with the miscarriage — the kind that could have caused her own death. Regret for leaving and being selfish for my own thoughts and feelings compelled me to come back to Maggie today. I needed her to know that I’m here.

There’s a lingering sadness in Maggie’s eyes, but I can honestly say that I see significant improvement in her mood from when I saw her last week. I wonder if seeing me is helping in some way — dispelling her thoughts about how much this event has affected me.

“I want updates while you’re there,” she commands with a sweet smile.

“Of course,” I happily consent. “Do you think you’ll be up for some video conferencing or interviews a week later?”

I’m hoping that getting Maggie’s attention onto a new topic might help facilitate her recovery — and perhaps mine.

With a genuine grin, Maggie states, “Definitely.”

“Good. I need to see how the potential staff respond and interact with you before we make our final decisions of hiring,” I express, keeping our attention on positive subjects.

“Can’t wait,” she says. “So, what’s new with you?”

“What do you mean?” I check.

“I don’t know,” she says with a smile, shrugging her shoulders. “I didn’t know if anything else has come up since the last time we talked.”

“Nope,” I say. “Nothing new.”

Silence falls upon us as we relax in the sun for a while.

“Maggie?” I ask, getting the gumption to breech another topic that weighs heavily on my mind.

“Yeah, Emma?” she returns.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize.

“For what?” she inquires, obviously not knowing where I’m going with this.

“For leaving you . . .” I begin, hanging my head in shame a bit. “I shouldn’t have left you . . . .”

“Don’t be silly,” she challenges, cutting me off. “I know it wasn’t easy. How could I be mad? You came when I needed you . . . there was no one else who I thought to call who could help me the most . . . with you, I knew everything would be fine.”

I squeeze her tight, allowing a few tears to fall.

“I knew you’d need your own time,” she shares. “You always have in the past when things became intense like this.”

“Yeah,” I sigh.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, okay?” she directs.

“Okay,” I agree.

“I mean it,” Maggie insists.

I nod.

“I love you,” she adds.

“Love you,” I reply, holding her tighter.

We stay together for the rest of the day, talking now and then, including our family in conversation that comes up or joining theirs. Henry seems a little better too, but he has his moments, just like Maggie, when the pain creeps back in from time to time. He seeks comfort from me a few times — or, is he looking to comfort me? I’m not sure, but I don’t mind either way. I like to think we’re comforting each other.

I stay at Maggie’s, working remotely on my iPad. I decided before I got to her today that I’d stay as long as she needs me; at least until my trip. Arnold informs me of lunch being severed as I’m checking the software functionality with Raven 1.0. My eyes stay glued to the screen as I head out to the patio. Just as I sit down to join Henry, Maggie, Mr. and Mrs. Wú, Mŭqīn and Nǎinai, my head jerks up when I hear Jared’s voice. My gaze finds him, Nathan and Pop-Pop. We share pained smiles, but I can tell that they aren’t angry with me either. This is a time when I’m very thankful for the relationships I have with them. They take turns greeting me as if nothing unusual has happened.

Once we get settled around the table, Arnold announces Joe’s arrival. I should have expected there would be more people with the number of place settings. Joe makes his way around the table, saying
hello
to everyone before taking his seat.

Conversations are light, and after our meal, Jared and I catch up by going for a walk around the property.

“I’m sorry,” I begin, shame-faced at my actions.

“It’s okay,
Kitten
,” Jared lovingly accepts.

“No . . .” I start to explain, but he cuts me off.

“
Kitten
, it’s okay. It was hard for everyone. I can only imagine how it was for you when . . .” his voice trails for a moment. “I know you don’t believe that it’s okay for the way you reacted, but it is.”

My eyes begin to well up and a lump forms in my throat. The thoughts and feelings that are still flooding my body surprise me. I am unable to look at him. Jared’s arms firmly wrap around me. A smile flits across my face as the smell of him makes me feel at home. My body uncontrollably responds, molding my arms around his neck.

“I was scared too,” he admits. “Scared for Maggie. I’ve heard stories about . . . .”

“Don’t . . . please,” I beg, not wanting to discuss it.

“Okay. I’m sorry.” Jared lets out with a sigh. “You did everything you could. You’re . . .” he encourages.

“No . . .” I argue. “I know she forgives me, but I still abandoned her.”

“No, you didn’t. You left her in the care of the rest of the family when it became too much for you,” he warmly justifies.

“No . . .” I disagree.

“What’s most important is that you were there when she called . . . when she needed you . . . and you’re here now.”

“Yeah,” I say partially, still not fully agreeing with my friend.

“You needed your own time to cope before you can help Maggie finish doing the same,” he sweetly advises.

“I guess.”

“I hate to say this,” he begins. “But, I’m glad Maggie called you. I don’t know what I would have done if she called me first. I probably would have made it worse.”

“No,” I object.

“Yeah, I would have,” he debates. “You knew how I’d be and that it wouldn’t have helped her. I would have just made things worse for her if you didn’t have Joe block me and get me to calm down.” Jared takes in a deep breath. “You and Maggie are my family. You two are the most important things in my life next to Nathan and Pop-Pop.” Jared pauses, like he’s trying to find the right words.

“I know,” I soothe, understanding the thoughts running through his head as he fights back tears. “I know. I love you.”

“I love you,
Kitten
,” Jared returns with tears.

Jared and I don’t say anything else. We continue to hold and comfort each other for a while before heading back to our family. Everyone stays for dinner and well past sunset. Dinner contains a few more family members who help add some more life back to the house. Joe offers to take me home, but I opt to stay the night with Maggie. I need her to know that I’m here for her — perhaps I need it too.