Hidden Depths (16 page)

"So... should we just go ahead and discuss the giant
elephant I just dropped into the room? Or did you want to try to ignore
it?"

Josh laughed, but didn't look nearly as uncomfortable as she
felt.

"It's only an elephant if you want it to be one, Gia.
Deb is not an issue... unless you make her one."

"As nice as that sounds, that's not really true, Josh.
Yes, you guys broke up, but not that long ago. You were together for years.
And, let's not forget, she is much more well suited to you than yours truly.
You and I both know this is just some passing, physical... itch, you want to
scratch."

"Itch. This is just some itch I need to scratch? What
about you? You're the one that keeps telling me your response is only because
you haven't had sex in awhile. That sounds a lot like an itch to me."

Gia nodded, acknowledging the truth in what he said. There
was no way she was going to contradict him. She couldn't. Not without letting
him know that she felt more for him. She was in no way ready to admit that this
was more than just physical for her.

When she said nothing, Josh stepped closer, pushing into her
personal space. "Speaking of... I think it's time I get back to work on
correcting that situation. I believe we left off at six this morning, right?
So, that means I need to bring you four more orgasms to win the bet. What say
we head up to my room and see if we can't take care of that right now?"

Just that easily she felt her body start to respond. Denying
him was stupid. Denying herself was even more foolish. Remembering the decision
she'd made this morning, she shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs enough
to finish this conversation.

"Wait. Just... Stop. There's no need..." He leaned
in and nibbled at her neck, ignoring her words along with the hand pushing at
his chest. "Josh... we need to... talk... the bet..."

His hot breath tickled her neck, then her ear, before she
felt his lips tug gently on her lobe, pulling softly on the earrings there.
"Wait... seriously... You win!"

He stopped, his lips nibbling once at her collar bone before
pulling away.

"I win.... what?"

"The bet. You win the bet."

The beginnings of a slightly smug smile settled across his
full lips, but his eyes squinted as if he didn't quite trust what he was
hearing. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means... you win. This is not just because I
haven't had sex in too long. I am... attracted to you."

"Okay..." he said, dragging the word out.
"So, you're attracted to me, specifically to me, not just anyone that
could 'scratch an itch', so to speak. Is that what you're saying?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice not to give too much
away.

"And, what does this mean for us? Are you agreeing to
date me now? To quit fighting this?"

She shook her head. "No, not date. Not exactly. We
can... enjoy this while it lasts, but we need to set some ground rules."

Josh stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. His
look was still some blend of pleasure in winning, and doubt.

"Ground rules. Okay, like what?"

"Like no dating."

"No dating. I don't think I understand then. Why don't
you tell me, in complete detail, what exactly you mean, Gia. You agree that
there is something here, agree that we can 'enjoy' it, but we can't date. So,
explain what that means."

"It means it's just physical, Josh. We can see each
other, we can be physically intimate, the 'no sex' thing I said last night is
off the table, but we aren't dating. We need to keep this completely between
us."

"So, let me just make sure I actually understand
this... We can have sex, be together physically, but only behind closed doors.
You don't want anyone to know we're together. Does that sound about
right?"

Gia nodded. Did he sound angry? Wasn't this what every guy
dreamed of? A no strings attached, purely physical relationship.

He stared at her. Actually, glared at her would be more
accurate. Long moments passed before he finally spoke again.

"So, tell me why exactly you're embarrassed to be seen
with me?"

Josh had to admit she honestly looked a little shocked when
he asked that. It seemed to him that she was attracted to him, but ashamed of
it for some reason. But she really seemed surprised by his assessment. Maybe he
was wrong?

"I'm not. Embarrassed by you, I mean. It has nothing to
do with that."

"Okay, then why exactly does this need to remain a
secret? That is what you're proposing, right? A secret relationship."

"Well, yes. But not because I'm embarrassed, at least
not the way you make it sound."

"What other way is there, Gia? You're either
embarrassed to be with me or you're not. There's really only one way to take
that."

"No, I'm not. I just..."

She blew out a breath, tossing her head to the side to get
her hair out of her face. She started pacing. Josh wasn't sure if it was a stall
tactic or if she was simply trying to sort out her words, so he waited. As much
as he wanted to be with Gia, he wasn't going to become involved with her if it
was truly only sex she was after. He already knew he wanted more from her. He
was willing to wait, to be patient and let her catch up to him, but not if she
was ashamed to be with him.

"You and Deb just broke up, Josh. Everyone knows that.
Just like everyone knows us, knows that we bicker and argue. They know that I
make you crazy. We would be an unlikely match under the best of circumstances.
Toss in the fact that, less than two months ago I was supposed to be a
bridesmaid in your wedding to someone else, and it would just be... too much.
I'm not saying that we can never tell anyone, just not now. Not any time soon.
I just want to keep it a secret for awhile. Until the dust settles. There's no
reason to rub Deb's, or anyone else's for that matter, face in this.
Okay?"

Josh was still skeptical, but what she said made sense. Kind
of. Or maybe he just wanted it to make sense. He wanted her. Desperately. And
apparently he was willing to take her any way he could get her.

Before he could even really process the thought, he found
himself nodding his agreement.

Despite his hesitation, his body was more than ready to take
her up on her offer. A physical relationship with Gia. A chance to finally lose
himself in the body that was driving him to distraction. The body that was
right in front of him, dressed like a fantasy made reality. The body that
seemed to call out to him like a siren of myth. 

"Fine. We'll keep it a secret... for now."

Moving quickly, before she changed her mind again, Josh
grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into him, planting his lips firmly
against hers. He kissed her until he felt her relax against him, her hands
coming up to tangle in his hair.

It occurred to him that this may not be so bad. She clearly
responded to him, whether she wanted to or not. Maybe he could use the physical
attraction they had to foster the kind of relationship he truly wanted. After a
while, she would become more comfortable with this fire between them. Maybe
then she would be willing to have a more traditional relationship. If nothing
else, he would have one hell of a good time trying to convince her.

He pulled his lips away, just long enough to smile down at
her as he brushed her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear. He looked
into her eyes, watching the beautiful green color start to darken with desire,
her breathing already accelerated. "So, since I won the bet, I think it's
time to collect my prize. Don't you?"

Chapter 21

Now that the decision was made, the parameters laid out, Gia
felt free to relax and enjoy this. For the time they had together, she could
indulge all her secret fantasies, touch every delectable inch of his body, lick
and taste every little piece of his skin. And she intended to. Starting now.

She grabbed his hand and tugged, pulling him behind her as
she all but ran down the hallway to his room. She heard him chuckle a little,
followed by "In a hurry much?"

She smiled over her shoulder at him, dropping his hand to
quickly peel off her shirt, revealing the black and purple lace bra underneath.
At his quick intake of breath, she figured she had made her point. She knew she
had when he grabbed her wrist and tugged her up against him, kissing her hard.

On a little chuckle of her own, she pulled her mouth away
only far enough to ask, "Now who's in a hurry?"

Another deep kiss, this one she felt clear down to her toes.
She was more than ready to strip down and go at it right there in the hall if
that's what he wanted. As good as last night had been, as many times as she'd
come, there was just no replacement for actual sex. She wanted to feel his hard
length moving inside her, feel his strength as he pounded into her. And she
wanted it soon.

She grabbed at the hem of his shirt, yanking and tugging
until he finally released her lips long enough to let her pull it off. She took
a moment to admire what she'd revealed. His body just didn't fit the image of
any lawyer she'd ever seen. He was all hard planes and sculpted muscle. His abs
were still well defined, breaking into not six, but eight little ridges. His
jeans were hanging low on his hips. Just low enough to tease her with what she
couldn't quite see. And she really wanted to see. And touch. And taste.

Last night she had been too lost in her own pleasure to
really notice his... attributes. Now she wanted, no she needed, to get up close
and personal with those attributes. To pay her respects, so to speak.

He let her look her fill. Or maybe he was too busy looking
her over to notice. When she reached for the button on his jeans, however, he
grabbed her hand and shook his head.

"We are not going to rush through this Gia. I have waited
a very long time for this and I intend to enjoy every minute of it."

"Can't we just rush through the first one? We have all
night to keep 'enjoying'."

Now he laughed deeply. "Nope. No rushing. Not even the
first time. Especially not the first time." He turned and headed to his
room, this time tugging her behind him.

As she crossed the threshold, she toed off first one shoe
and then the other, reaching down and peeling off her socks. He watched raptly,
his eyes running up and down her now bare legs. As she reached for the zipper
on her skirt she said, "Bet I can change your mind about that 'rushing'
thing."

He grabbed her wrist again, stopping her from removing the
skirt. "Leave it on."

She raised her eyebrows a little at the command in his tone,
but dropped her hand. Apparently, he really liked these skirts. She smiled a
little as she pushed him backward onto the rather large bed in the middle of
the room. When he fell back into a sprawl, she knelt before him and proceeded
to remove his boots and socks.

"Wait, Gia. I'll do that."

"Lay down Josh. You won't let me remove your jeans or
my skirt, but I am damn well going to get these boots off."

He laughed again, finally conceding to let her have her way,
at least in this.

Once his shoes and socks were off, Gia decided to have a
little fun. She curled her fingers into little talons and slowly raked her
rather short nails up his legs. She was scraping them over jeans, so she didn't
figure she could hurt him. She dug deep, pressing hard into his calves, grazing
more gently past his knees, and digging a little deeper again into his thighs.
As her hands made it up to his hips, she heard him suck in his breath, a little
groan escaping on the exhale. Pleased by his response, she moved her hands
inward, just grazing the sides of the erection straining against his zipper,
before running her nails down, between his legs brushing her knuckles against
his sac.

When he groaned again, she decided she was finished.
Standing upright she spread her legs to straddle his thighs and climbed up onto
the bed, settling herself gently but firmly onto his groin. With a little twist
of her hips, his eyes popped open, their blue depths shooting fire. She felt
heat pool between her legs, her already throbbing core responding to the desire
she felt emanating from him.

She gave another little twist, this time to please herself
as much as him, thrilled when his hips lifted in response to her movement.
"Still want to take this slow?"

She grabbed his hands, raising them up to settle against her
heavy, aching breasts. His eyes closed, his hands squeezing her fullness,
testing the weight, before his thumbs brushed across her nipples, wringing a
little whimper from her as pleasure shot straight down from her breasts to her
center. Her clit pulsed against the ring there, seeking the pleasure she knew
was coming.

His hips pushed against her again, his erection rubbing that
little bundle of nerves, bringing an even louder cry from her. "Please,
Josh," she said, surprised to hear herself begging already.
"Please... I need this. I need you."

Josh was going crazy. Gia was sitting on him, rubbing and
twisting against his shaft, riding him like he'd always dreamed of. He was straining
for control, fighting to keep from simply flipping her over and fucking her
senseless. He wanted to make this first time special. Memorable. He wanted it
to be something she'd never forget.

He sucked air into his burning lungs, squeezing her breasts,
flicking the nipples and trying to calm his raging erection all at the same
time.

And then she said, "Please Josh."

It was too much. Her little whimpers and cries, followed by
her words, broke through what little control he had left.

With a growl he flipped her over, pushing her further up
onto the bed as he went. He stood quickly, removing his jeans and boxer briefs
in about one second flat. He opened the nightstand drawer, grabbing a condom
before he climbed back up pressed his lips firmly against hers.