Hidden Barriers (16 page)

“What happened that made you come to this conclusion?” I ask, thinking something monumental had to have occurred since you just don’t stop pining for the one you love overnight. What if he still loves this woman? If she’s his sister’s best friend, chances are she’ll always be around. Who’s to say he won’t toss me to the side and try to get her back at one point? My head is spiraling out of control at all these questions, and he hasn’t even told me his reason for the epiphany.

“She’s pregnant with my brother’s best friend’s baby,” he says solemnly as if telling me will scare me away. I have no idea why, but I suddenly reach out to touch my hand against his face.

Leaning his head into my hand, he closes his eyes before saying, “That’s what makes you so special. I haven’t felt this connection with anyone else besides
her,
maybe not even with her, and definitely not with any of the other girls I’ve slept with.”

“You really need to stop talking about all the
other
women you’ve slept with while you’re in my bed, but I’ll let it slide, since my room is apparently a confessional tonight,” I say as I continue to try to lighten the mood. Chuckling, I push out my legs to stretch as Josh grabs my feet, placing them onto his lap and slowly massaging the balls of them. “Mmmm. That is almost as good as candy,” I say, teasing him.

“Oh, really?” he asks, dropping my feet to the bed again as he crawls on all fours up the bed until he’s hovering over me, basically pinning me to the bed. He searches my eyes for any sort of panic.

Have I become that comfortable with Josh that I no longer see him as a threat?

I see the cockiness in his eyes, and I know he’s about to seduce me again. “Is there anything you might find better than candy?” He dips his head, placing lazy kisses along the curve of my neck. Suddenly, his body is no longer close enough to mine. I need to feel him. All of him. Clearing my throat, I barely speak the words, “Well, there might be one thing that’s better than candy, but I haven’t had it in a while.” A sly smile splays across my face.

His fingers tenderly graze my lips, and the sudden awareness of my desire has my body on fire. “Tell me, Sam,” Josh whispers over my ear. “What haven’t you had in a while that’s better than candy?” His lips run along my jaw until he reaches my mouth, lingering over me just far enough away that I can feel his breath on me.

Come on, Sam. Think of something clever; he’s expecting you to say sex. Think. Ah ha!
Time to tease him a little. “Oh, I think you know,” I moan as his hand begins to roam under my shirt again. Damn it. He’s trying to distract me.
Focus, Sam!
Finding my bearings again, I squirm underneath him. Licking my lips slowly, I watch as his eyes plead with me to say the words he wants to hear. I chuckle because I can’t take it any longer. I want him just as much as I know he wants me.

“What’s better than candy, Sam?” Josh asks again, placing more of his weight on top of me as he pushes one of his legs between my own.

“Cake.”

His head shoots back as though I just slapped him across the face. “Did you seriously just say ‘cake’?”

“Yeah, but not just any cake. I’m talking chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and topped with chocolate whipped cream frosting and chocolate sha—” I’m cut off from my chocolate fantasy by Josh’s lips silencing me.

“You are going to stop talking about cake right now,” Josh says as he begins his torturous attack by tickling my sides. Laughter consumes me, and I realize he has stopped tickling.

“What?” I ask.

“That laughter and smile on your face just then, mixed with your sassy mouth, are what sets you above every other girl for me. That warms my heart and completes my day like you have no idea,” Josh says as he kisses me slowly.

I pull away and hold his eyes with mine. “Right here. This moment. You and me. This is by far better than a room full of candy. I’ve never felt this happy with anyone, ever.”

The feeling of sleeping in your own bed is comforting in and of itself. When you fall asleep in the arms of a beautiful woman, that’s peace. The moment you wake up next to the woman who’s quickly taking your heart in her hands, comfort and peace cease to exist. This is absolute euphoria.

I’ve been lying here watching her sleep for a while now. The sun has been slowly creeping its way into the room through her windows, illuminating the glass chandelier over her bed. Rainbow prisms dance against her walls as I gently push aside a stray hair, so I can just watch her sleep.

I already knew I was quickly falling for her, but after last night, I knew she was it for me. Yeah, true, we’ve only known each other for a short time, but when you know, you know. There is still so much about her that’s a mystery, but I could spend the rest of my days willing to find out.

Lying here, facing her, I push that pesky stray hair from her face again and wonder how it was that any man, let alone her ex-boyfriend, could ever want to hurt her. The heinous things he did sickens me. What could have run through his head to want to take her life? She’s the most angelic creature, and I have to wonder what could have been.

Where would I be now if Stone actually succeeded in killing her that night? My body tenses immediately at the idea of her not being here with me. Even now, I don’t have any power to help keep that asshole behind bars, but I’m definitely going to find out everything I can about the fucker, and I will protect Sam the best I can. If that means giving my life for her, then I’ll do it. If I already took an oath to serve and protect strangers, I will gladly put my life on the line for her.

The sound of my phone vibrating next to me interrupts my thoughts. Rolling over, I catch the messages on my screen. Apparently, I’ve missed a few since last night, including a missed text from Nick asking where I was and who I was doing, one from Courtney to let me know Jeremy would be home in the afternoon and Mom wants us all over on Sunday, and another text from Tarryn asking if I want another go this afternoon.

I quickly send responses to all of them, except one. Tarryn. My fingers hover over the keypad as I turn to admire the woman sleeping next to me. I turn back to my phone and don’t hesitate on my response.

It’s over Tarryn. I’m moving on. Don’t text or call me again.

After turning off my phone before sliding it back onto the nightstand, I start to roll over toward her again when a soft knock sounds at the door. My eyes move to look over my shoulder as the door slowly creaks open. Lucy pushes her arms through, holding two cups of coffee, but her eyes are squinted shut. “I can’t see anything, just in case anyone is naked,” she whispers as she tries to find her footing.

I slowly roll out of bed, attempting not to wake Sam. I make my way toward Lucy until I’m able to grab the coffee mugs from her hands. The freshly brewed aroma is inviting and instantly perks me up. The easy late night pick me up for cops. At two in the morning, this is my go-to drink when driving the empty highways doesn’t do any good to stay awake. Coffee is even better first thing in the morning when you have absolutely nothing to do all day, but enjoy another woman’s company.

As I take a sip from one of the mugs, I look at Lucy who still has her eyes shut. “It’s okay, Lucy. We’re dressed.” She blinks open her eyes while checking out the room. “Thanks for the coffee,” I say, taking another sip of the overly sweetened morning wake me up. Clearly, this was made for Sam.

“Sure, I figured you’d need it after I saw the bottle of near empty Jack downstairs. How is she? I mean, did she tell you?” Lucy asks softly, so she doesn’t wake Sam who has begun to stir slightly in bed.

“Yeah.” I look over at Sam and remember every painful word she spoke last night. “She told me. That fucker gets anywhere near her again, he’s going to have to go through me,” I vow.

“Let’s just hope he stays where he is. She’s not been herself for weeks, and I want my fun-loving bestie back,” Lucy mutters before retreating toward the door again. “Well, I’ll be downstairs getting ready. Make sure she’s up in another hour. We’ve got derby practice at noon and kickboxing and spin class after that. Derby opener is just a few weeks away,” she points out before heading down the hall. Was that an invite or a demand? Either way I plan to see Sam in action.

Shutting the door quietly behind me, I head back to Sam, placing the steaming mugs of coffee next to the bed before climbing back in next to her. I wrap my arm around her waist, feeling her push her sexy ass against my dick before yawning and blinking her eyes open. She squints as the bright sun blinds her while she starts stretching, and her ass continues to rub in all the right places.

“Sam, I’m asking you nicely, because I’m about to lose all control over my actions, but please stop moving your ass over my dick unless you plan on taking this relationship to a whole other level.” Seriously, one more grind from her, and I will pin her underneath me and slam my dick so deep she’ll be unable to speak.

“Another level, huh?” she asks as she rolls over me until her legs straddle me and her chest rests against mine. Her body screams
I’m yours for the taking
, but her eyes say something different. They’re tantalizing and playful at the same time. A sly smile forms on her lips before she moves her breasts up along my pecks. Pushing herself up, she stretches her arms above her head as I get a glimpse of her bare stomach peeking out and begging for me to kiss it. Damn it.
Get your mind off sex, Josh
.

Easier said than done when Sam’s heated core is causing my dick to stir, even more knowing how close we are at the moment.

Sam continues to keep her eyes on mine as she leans forward again, reaching around my head as she comes back with the mug of coffee.
Seriously?
! I’m about to burst out of my pants because of this little sugarcoated vixen, and she wants coffee right now? That’s it. I can’t take it anymore.

“Sam, put down the coffee.”

“But?”

“I’m two seconds away from tearing off your clothes and giving you something better than coffee, cake, candy, or whatever other food you are addicted to. So, I will ask you one more time, put down the coffee.”

“No!” she barks.

Shaking my head in disbelief while rubbing my hands over my face, I look up at her. “Are you certain that’s the answer you want to give me?”

She shakes her head in return as if my question was preposterous. “Of course, that’s my answer. I have coffee. See,” she says, pointing to her mug as she takes a sip. “Nothing you can do right now will make me put this down.”

“Nothing? Are you sure?” I muse.

“Yep. Nothing.”

Bringing my cupped hands up to my lips, I blow hot air into each of them before rubbing them together in a teasing manner. She asked for this. Moving slowly, I run my hands along her thighs on either side of me. Then, I graze my thumb above the waist of her lounge pants. Her eyes suddenly widen as the coffee mug remains still against her lips. Her body quivers, and I notice her breathing has become fast-paced, almost panting. I slide my fingers under the waistband of her pants, only to discover she’s not wearing any underwear.

“No fuckin’ underwear? Are you kidding me right now?” I roar. “Sam, really, I can’t…”
Leaning over, she places her coffee mug back onto the nightstand before pulling her arms out of the sleeves of her shirt. “Well, if you can’t, then I will, dipshit,” she says before pulling the fleece over her head as she sits hovering over my dick wearing nothing more than a bra and lounge pants. I try to keep my mind focused, but it’s becoming impossible. Groaning back in agony, I continue to watch her prolong her agonizing attack on my body.

My hands clench tightly against her thighs as her hands slip suddenly below my shirt, and she begins running her delicate fingers over my skin. I shut my eyes as every muscle in my body tenses. Then, I feel her body move above me until her hands push up my shirt, leaving her body flush against mine.

The sensation is weakening my resolve by the second. I can withstand the high-speed car chases and some of the most dangerous criminals the state has to offer, but this sassy brunette has me on my knees begging for more. Never, and I mean never, would I ever expect to find so much in a woman I wasn’t even looking for.