Redemption (Forgiven Series) (36 page)

When we finally made it to his bedroom, Josh set me down long enough to pull my shirt over my head, leaving me in only a tank top. He quickly shed his own shirt, and when he picked me up again, I wrapped my legs around his waist. Both of us still soaking wet from the rain, the water from my hair slipped down my face to my chest and he used his tongue to lick upward until his lips reached mine.

“I missed you so much,” he breathed against my lips.

He placed me gently on the bed and kissed a path up to my ear, scraping his teeth across the lobe.

“Josh,” I moaned, fisting my hands into his hair.

His lips sucked a path to where my tank top began and he traced the line of it with his tongue, pulling back to blow lightly on my skin and sending shivers through my body. Strong hands slipped down my ribs, until they reached the bottom of my shirt and he slipped it over my head, revealing the lace bra underneath.

“So many layers, when all I want is to get to what is on the inside,” he groaned and unclasped my bra. There was barely enough time for my heart to beat before he was sucking my nipple into his mouth, using his teeth to graze the sensitive skin before sucking hard and grinding his hips. Even through the thick denim I could feel his erection pressing against me, making me even hotter than I had been a few seconds earlier. Reaching down, I released the button and eased my hand inside to wrap my hand around him.

“Oh god, Jersey, if you do that I’m never going to last,” he groaned.

“Then don’t make me wait.”

I arched my back, forcing my hips against his. Lost to all reason, he was up and out of his pants and making quick work of mine in seconds. When he came back to me, his lips on mine were like an aphrodisiac that I couldn’t ignore, his fingers moving like a soft caress down to tease my clit, then slowly sinking inside of me.

“Trying to tease me?” I asked, breathless.

“Maybe,” he whispered against my lips.

When his thumb slid up to run circles around my clit, I ceased to think at all. Tingles ricocheted through my body, erasing everything from my mind. As fast as lightning, my body let go, sending me over the edge into a spectacular orgasm.

As I fought my way back from oblivion, I wrapped my hand around his neck, bringing his lips back to mine, pushing my tongue between his lips. The taste of him was everything I remembered, but the feel of him as he slid into me was something I never wanted to forget again. His lips possessed mine as he thrust into me.

“You feel amazing,” he panted.

Reaching around, I scraped my nails down his back. Grabbing his butt caused his hips to slam into me harder.

“Again,” I begged.

“Like this,” he said as hips came down again.

“Mmmm…”

I felt that familiar clenching of my muscles as the pleasure began to pull me under. Josh’s movements sped up and became erratic until he came on a shout.

“Jersey!”

His body slumped against mine as we both tried to catch our breaths. Rolling to his back, he wrapped an arm around me to pull me with him. Being in his arms like this made me feel like I was finally home. Yet there was still something on my mind. Back at the bridge he’d taken the blame for what happened and that wasn’t fair.

“Josh?” I leaned up on my elbows so that I could see his face.

He tilted his head to look down at me. “What’s up, Jersey?”

“I need to tell you something and I need you to listen.” I felt his entire body stiffen beneath me, waiting for the blow.

“Okay…” he said cautiously.

Tracing the lines of the tattoo on his chest I admitted, “Tonight on the bridge, you said you were sorry for walking away when I needed you.” He nodded, but I continued before he had a chance to say anything. “You walking away was a wakeup call for me. It made me realize that I needed to face my demons, and even though it was hard doing it alone”—he winced at the mention of me doing it alone—”I think it needed to be that way. Losing everything made me realize that I had to work to get it all back. And you were worth every second,” I said leaning over and kissing him lightly on the lips.

He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, keeping my eyes locked with his. “I love you with all my heart.”

“I love you, more than you’ll ever know,” I whispered as the emotions took over.

He hugged me to his chest, letting me take my time to deal with the feelings running through me.

“Ready for round two?”

My head snapped up to look at him and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that all you think about?”

“Hmmm… let me think about that.” He tapped his index finger to his chin. “When you’re around… yes!”

I shook my head. “Then let’s not disappoint,” I said, straddling him and leaning over to take his lips with mine, sending us both to a place where things were everything we’d always wanted.

“Jersey, are you ready yet? We’re going to be late,” I called down the hall.

“I’ll be right there,” she yelled back, which normally meant another ten minutes.

It was Caleb and Angie’s wedding day. I’d moved into my own apartment about a month after graduation because I’d known they would need their space as newlyweds, plus I wanted to move Lauren in with me. She still had a year left of school so I got an apartment near campus. Since I’d gotten a marketing job with a local firm it made it easy. We got to see each other every night and on the weekends, except when she had a game.

Lauren had done it. She’d worked hard on her therapy and was able to get back on the mound this past season. She had more strengthening exercises than before, but she was doing it. Many people called the fact that she hadn’t lost any of the speed behind her pitches a miracle.

Overall, things were going really well. Lauren still had hard days every once in a while when she thought about her dad, but I did my best to help her through those times by showing her the love she had surrounding her, especially from me. Not once in any of those times had Lauren looked for an easy escape. Instead, she sought comfort in my arms. At first I wasn’t sure how good at helping her I would be, but as it turned out, I did a pretty good job.

It was a good thing we’d gotten our own place because sometimes things between us got out of control. We still fought hard… but made up harder. Watching the screwed up relationship between my parents, I’d been afraid of what would happen when I did find “The One.” But I was facing my fears, and it was worth every second with her.

Hearing Lauren coming down the hall, I stood up to meet her halfway so that we could get the hell out of there. Nothing could have prepared me for the sight that greeted me.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, frozen to my spot. She looked sexy as hell, and I immediately had to adjust the pants of my tux. How was I going to look at her all day and keep my hands to myself. The pink sundress had a halter-top that accentuated all of her curves, while the back was completely open, leaving the golden skin of her shoulders open to view. She looked absolutely beautiful, and I just wanted suck and lick every inch of visible skin on her body.

Angie had said she wanted her bridesmaids to wear something simple but damn, I never expected Lauren to look so sexy in a bridesmaid dress.

“I know I look hot,” she smirked, clearly enjoying my appreciative gaze. She took my hand. “Now let’s go before we’re late,” she said, snapping me out of my daze.

We needed to get to the church early because we were both in the wedding. I was shocked when Caleb asked me to be his best man. I always thought he would choose his brother, but he maintained that without me, this day would never have been possible.

I was honored at the thought of standing beside my best friend while he married the woman of his dreams—a woman whom I also happened to love like a sister. Personally, I wasn’t ready to take that step yet, but Lauren and I had talked about it and she’d agreed things were good the way they were. She wanted to give herself more time dealing with things that were out of her control.

She was perfect for me and I was absolutely certain we would get to that point someday, when we were both ready. For now it was just nice to be together without interference from assholes like Ryan. The day after Lauren had come back I’d paid a visit to the bastard, making promises I fully intended to keep if he came anywhere near her again.

We arrived at the church to find that everyone else was already there. Checking that I had the rings and my speech in my pocket, I bent down and kissed Lauren on the lips, trying to keep my focus as my eyes slid to the V-neck of her dress. There I was, at my best friend’s wedding, trying to think of a way to get Lauren alone. She must have seen the look in my eye because she shook her head and moved in the direction of Angie’s room. “I’ll see you in a bit,” she called over her shoulder. When she stepped out of sight I made my way to where Caleb was waiting.

“Hey, man,” I said, walking through the door.

Caleb looked at his watch. “Late again?” he asked sarcastically.

I threw my hands up. “Hey, don’t blame me. I’ve been ready for a half an hour.”

He chuckled. “I figured as much.”

“Are you ready for this?” I said, taking the seat next to him.

“Definitely,” he grinned.

“Not even a small amount of nerves?” I joked.

He punched me in the arm. “Don’t be an ass.”

“Aww, things wouldn’t be the same if I tried to be serious,” I told him.

“Very true.”

A little while later, there was a knock at the door to tell us they were ready. Caleb and I stood up, and headed to join the rest of the groomsmen who were already at the altar. I pulled Caleb into a hug. “Congratulations, man. I’m so happy for the two of you.”

“Thanks Josh,” he said patting me on the back. “We couldn’t have done this without you.”

Stepping back, I nodded and gestured for him to go ahead of me out to the front of the church. It looked beautiful, but I had eyes for only one thing. Lauren would be the first bridesmaid to come out. And even though I wanted to see how beautiful Angie looked, the only thing on my mind at the moment was seeing Lauren in her dress again. I took my place beside Caleb and waited as the music began. The girls slowly made their way up the aisle. Once Lauren stepped out, my eyes locked with hers and I watched each step she took. The soft glow of her cheeks made it impossible to look away until she turned to watch the bride come down the aisle. Angie looked beautiful as she made her way to Caleb’s side.

The ceremony passed with my gaze locked on Lauren and before I knew it, the priest had pronounced Caleb and Angie, man and wife. The cheers went up in the church as they kissed. I looped my arm through Emily’s and made our way down the aisle behind Angie and Caleb. Ironically, Lauren was paired up with Andrew, behind Caleb’s brother and sister. We stayed a little while for pictures and then made our way to the reception. In keeping with Jacobs tradition, the reception was being held at the Statler hotel—a place that would always hold the most amazing memories for me.

We made it through all of the required dances and I was finally able to dance with Lauren. Pulling her into my arms, I whispered in her ear, “You look beautiful tonight.”

“You’re looking pretty good yourself,” she smiled.

“Don’t you two look happy,” Emily said as she and Andrew came over to dance next to us.

“Why wouldn’t I be happy? My best friend just got married and now I get to dance with the hottest girl here,” I said with a smile.

“I’ll have to disagree with that. No offense, Lauren,” Andrew corrected.

“None taken,” she laughed.

Andrew pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Damn, this is the third time he’s called. I’ll be right back,” he said kissing Emily on the cheek.

“Okay,” she smiled and smacked him on the ass as he walked away.

I shook my head. “And you talk about me,” I laughed as she walked off the dance floor. My laughter died the minute I looked down and saw the desire in Lauren’s eyes.

“So… the hottest girl here, hey?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.

“Jersey,” I warned.

“I know, I’m just messing with you. We have plenty of time when we get home,” she hinted.

Holding her tighter to me I said, “I love you, Jersey, for better or worse”

She smiled. “I love you, too.”

I bent down to place the softest kiss on her lips, knowing that someday we’d be the couple reciting those vows but for once that thought didn’t scare me. Instead, I recognized how lucky I was that Lauren had walked into my life and loved me as much as I loved her.