The Fight for Us (29 page)

“Well, that overzealous fuck was what I call incredible sex. Maybe the best sex of my life actually.”

He finally relaxed a little, and he smiled, leaning to her lips, but he paused before he kissed her. “Yeah.” His lips met hers gently for a moment.

He pulled the washcloth from her body, and he stood, tossing the rag into the bathroom to land in the sink. He rounded the bed, turning the bedroom light out but ignoring the bathroom light and leaving it on. It was fairly early yet, but she wanted to be in bed with him, and when he returned, he pulled the quilt and top sheet down as she wriggled her way underneath them. He climbed in beside her and lay facing her as he stroked the hair along her forehead.

“I’m falling in love with you. You should know that.” His voice was serious and calm, but her heart sped.

She smiled. “Good. Because I’m pretty sure I’m long past the falling part and well into the love part.”

When he kissed her this time, it was sweet and gentle. He pulled her body close to his, chest to chest, and mouth to mouth, and he continued that slow, melodic kissing. It was quiet, and their lips smacked over and over until it faded away, and her eyes got heavy and her brain got slow and muddled.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Isaiah woke to the most incredible sensation on his dick. It was pressure. It was gentle. It was exquisite, and he managed to keep his eyes closed and his breathing calm until he could reconcile it. It was Joss. And there was no way in hell he was going to interrupt this. He opened his eyes slowly, forcing his body not to respond any more than it already was to the sight. He was hard and aroused, and as he peeked at her, it was a struggle not to moan.

He hadn’t had any reason in the world to keep the bathroom lights on, but he was infinitely glad he had. The subtle light through the cracked door fell directly on her. Her lips were parted as she watched her hand move slowly and delicately over the shaft of his cock. He didn’t want to close his eyes again, but he knew she’d glance at him eventually. It was coming just as sure as he’d be coming in her mouth soon enough, and he wasn’t ready for her to catch him. So he closed his eyes. He soaked in the feel of what he couldn’t see her doing, and he patiently waited to sneak a peek again.

His timing was impeccable, and when he slowly opened his eyes again, she was leaning to him, staring intently at the head of his dick. Her tongue reached out tentatively, licking her way to the tip where the skin drew up in a peak. He couldn’t not moan at that, and when her eyes flashed to his, she pulled back as a quiet gasp escaped her.

“Don’t stop,” he whispered.

She studied him for a moment. She was still just as naked as she’d been when they’d fallen asleep, and she was sitting back on her feet at his side facing him. Her breasts were so incredibly perky—smaller but round. He loved them. He loved tasting them, tugging at her nipples with his mouth, and now, those tight little buds were constricted and aroused.

She leaned slowly down, and he held his breath as her lips passed over the head of his cock, distending and sucking him hard into her mouth. He cursed, and her eyes snapped back to his again. But she didn’t stop. She pushed down, taking more of him into her mouth. He pushed himself up to his elbows, watching every move she made, and she quickly set a mesmerizing pace, pulling him in and sucking and licking as she did. Her hand clamped around him at the base of his erection, tightening and pulling up with the pace of her mouth. The sloppy wet, laving sound was pushing him over the edge quickly, not to mention just how fucking tight her lips were against his skin.

Every muscle in his body was taut when he finally came. He was pulsing into her mouth, and she was watching him as he spasmed and twitched through an incredible orgasm. When she sat up, she licked her lips. He sat up to her, kissing her and thrusting his tongue into her mouth, tasting his saltiness. He returned the favor after that, careful to keep his fingers to himself so as to give her sore pussy time to recover from the overzealous fuck. But he used his tongue gently. Every last spot of skin he could find between her legs was licked, and after she came, she fell asleep and he watched her.

He eventually fell asleep and woke early. She was sleeping soundly, and he crept from bed, not bothering to dress. The house was warm even if the landscape beyond the four-season room windows was brutal and frigid. The sun was barely peeking over Lake Superior, and after standing and looking out at his private stretch of shore for a moment, he left for the kitchen, making coffee before he returned. He sat in his reading chair, picking up the most recent book he’d been struggling to immerse himself in. It was proving pointless with his mind so fixated on other things, and as he glanced up at her, he was struck by the similarity of how she looked and how he’d envisioned it the morning before.

She was on her stomach with one leg pulled up. Her head was facing him, and she had the most precious content look on her face. He glanced back to his book for a moment, but then he set it aside and walked quietly over to her. The sheet was nearly all the way up her back, and he wanted to see more. He slowly pulled it down along her body, exposing more of her back to him, and when he reached her bottom, he kept going. Her perfectly round cheeks were exposed to him, and thanks to the night before and her willingness to let him explore, he knew exactly what he’d find if he delved between those cheeks. He absolutely intended to, but not at the butt-crack of dawn—pun entirely intended.

He chuckled quietly as he returned to his reading chair, and he didn’t bother trying to pick up his book again. Instead, he watched her as he drank his coffee. It took her forty-five more minutes to wake up, and that time was filled with her stretching, moaning, and whimpering in her sleep as she slowly woke and fought it every step of the way. She’d hum as she’d shift position, and her face would scrunch up and then relax. But finally, her eyes opened, and she hummed again. Every sound she made was erotic, and by the time she stood from the bed, stretching as she did, he had a raging hard-on.

She walked to him, noticing his dick on his stomach instantly.

He rolled his eyes. “You naked in my bed is torturous.”

She crawled onto his lap and snuggled into him, and he quickly grabbed the heavy throw on the ottoman in front of them, draping it over them before he wrapped his arms around her.

“I do love you,” he said. He’d been worried he’d misstated it the night before. He understood the concept of being far beyond the falling part of it.

“I love you too.” She snuggled in closer. “We’re not on the parent time-clock until tonight, you know that right?”

He did know that, and he was diggin’ it big-time. “Yes. Did you have something in mind? I’m guessing you’re a little too sore for sex, so maybe a movie?”

She laughed. “I’m fine, I promise. I need to start looking for an apartment actually, so I’d like to get online sometime.”

His stomach muscles tensed just at the words alone. “Or you could move in here. Not like we don’t have the roo—”

“No. I can’t do that.” She pulled back.

“Is this that whole bit about teaching our girls to wait until they’re old enough to have sex? ’Cause I’m forty-two, and I have no problem saying I’m plenty old to make love to the woman I love.”

She suddenly seemed to be going out of her way to avoid looking at him, and he couldn’t figure out if he should be offended or not.

“It isn’t that.” Her voice was quiet. “I just can’t yet. It’s too soon. It’s not for the right reasons.”

“I beg to differ.” He remarked sarcastically. Really he was just trying not to get irritated.

She pulled herself away, sitting on the ottoman and facing him. They were too naked to be having such a conversation, and he knew them both well enough to know they had the propensity to let this spiral downhill. Stubborn brats, both of them.

“Try to understand I’ve been beholden to another man for a really long time. I don’t want to fall back into that dependence.” She studied him as she spoke.

“Don’t lump me into that category with him just because I want to share a home with you. I would never expect you to be beholden to me in exchange for the roof over your head. That’s not fair, nor is it accurate.” His voice was bordering on anger. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Isaiah, it’s just not—”

“Your tits are distracting.” He stood abruptly. “I’m taking a shower. If you want to join me, fine. But leave this conversation here. I don’t want to get upset, nor do I want you getting upset with me.” He walked away to the bathroom. He turned the shower on to heat up and stood naked at the sink brushing his teeth.

It took her less than a minute to follow, and when she entered, she was still just as naked as he was and her hands were planted firmly on her hips. She was striking the damn pose again. She’d not had reason to use that posture for some time now, and here they were, once again, squaring off. Of course, she’d not been naked as a jaybird last time. As he turned to her with toothpaste suds foaming from his mouth, he took in the nude version of angry Joss. He couldn’t help but laugh. It did not go over well. He sprayed toothpaste at her as he laughed, and she glared.

“I need to pee. Get out,” she commanded.

He spit and rinsed, ignoring her as the steam from the shower slowly started filling the bathroom. And when he finally had a clean mouth and he’d stifled his laughter, he turned to her again. “The toilet’s in a separate room for a reason, Joss. Feel free.” He held his hand out toward the small toilet closet at the back of the bathroom.

“It still makes me uncomfortable.” She looked horribly vulnerable all of the sudden. “Please just get out.”

He grumbled as he went, but he did heed her request and waltzed back into his bedroom to wait. He heard the toilet flush moments later, and he walked to the door, but he paused there as he heard her turn the shower off followed by turning the bathtub faucet on. Huh…

He pushed the door open to see her staring down into the tub, and when she looked up to him, she spoke. “I don’t want to fight either. And if I’m going to bathe with a man, I’d prefer it to be in a bathtub.”

He smirked, crossing his arms as he appraised her. “Yay. We get to sit in one another’s dirty bathwater.”

She finally smiled, and he was finally happy again. He’d not gotten his way, and he certainly intended to, but she didn’t hate him at the moment, and her pose had faltered quickly. Perhaps he was finally learning how to handle his feisty girlfriend.

* * * *

Joss and Isaiah managed to make it through the day without arguing about where she should live again. He’d even left his laptop on the bed with a sticky note that had the password on it while she was brushing her hair and her teeth. He sat in the four-season room, waiting for her to finish getting ready. As he glanced up from his book as she re-entered the bedroom, she only glanced at the laptop for a moment before staring at him impassively. But she left it where it lay, ignoring it beyond that for the rest of the day.

By the time the girls got home that night, he was ready to bop her over the head and make her stay. That’s just how much he enjoyed being with her. It felt too right having her there and too ridiculous imagining her anywhere else. The girls ran in, bypassing him and Joss as they watched T.V. on the couch, and made a beeline for Nat’s bedroom.

“Good to see you too,” he hollered after them.

Two heads poked around the corner of the hallway a moment later, smiling sheepishly.

“Hi,” Nat said.

“Yeah, what she said,” came Harp’s more sarcastic response.

When Steph waltzed in casually, she flopped down in the armchair sitting caddy corner from where he and Joss were curled up on the couch. “Diggin’ the new pad, Isaiah.”

“Thanks. Me too. How ’bout you convince your bestie here to move into it?” He climbed up from the couch as Joss grumbled and moved out of his way. When he grabbed a beer from the fridge he offered one to Steph too. She nodded. He flopped down on the couch again, and Joss balked at him.

“Thanks for offering me one.”

He glanced at her. “You’re not my friend.” His response was complete sarcasm.

She harrumphed, snatched his beer from his hand, and took a drink. Steph laughed at them.

Joss looked to her and cocked her head to the side. “Traitor.”

“What? I’m with Isaiah. You should just move in. It’s not like you have anywhere to live.”

“Move in?” both girls squealed as they rounded the corner.

Joss instantly groaned. “No. We’re not moving in.”

Harper instantly shot back, “Whatever. I’m painting my bedroom in stripes.” She spun on her heel and headed back down the hallway as Nat laughed and followed her.

Steph left shortly after that, and after snuggling with Joss for an hour and getting more turned on than he had any business getting with two teenagers down the hall, he sighed loudly and she pulled herself up from his clutches.

“Harp and I better go. Supposed to start snowing tonight. Don’t want to get snowed in.”

He pulled himself up, following her as she headed back toward Nat’s bedroom. “Yeah, what a shame that would be.” He retorted, and she glanced back, rolling her eyes.

But they didn’t find the girls in Nat’s bedroom. Instead it was the second bedroom that shared the Jack and Jill bathroom with Nat’s bedroom that they heard excited chatter coming from. They snuck up to the door, peering in quietly. The girls’ backs were to them, and he wrapped his arms around Joss, stilling her before she could interrupt them.

“I’m thinking stripes here. And this is where I would totally put my poster of Robert Pattinson!” Harp’s hands were up framing the picture she had in her mind as Nat stood beside her.

“Yes!” Nat exclaimed. “And that other poster you have of Taylor Lautner could go on the opposite wall. Like a Team Jake wall and a Team Edward wall!”

“Yes!” squealed Harper.

He could feel Joss moving as she silently chuckled. He leaned down to her ear, nipping her earlobe.

She turned to him, whispering, “You really want to saddle yourself with this craziness?”