Hidden Depths (18 page)

Josh finally laughed, a real laugh. "So, you're not
even a little... I don't know, shocked or something by the fact that I want to
tie you up?"

She smirked a little and wiggled her eyebrows at him.
"Don't forget about spanking me. And, why would I be shocked. Surprised,
yes, but there's nothing really shocking about that. Unless there's more.
Something you're not telling me?"

"Ha! No, that's about it... mostly anyway. But isn't
that enough? I know it would be enough to throw most women. At least the women
I know."

"Well, I'm not most women... although I am a woman, and
you know me, so your statement is not exactly true. Now, to answer your
question... no. It's not enough to scare me off. In fact, it sounds kind of
fun, honestly. I mean, I'm good with trying anything... at least once. As long
as it's consensual, and you're with a partner you trust, then hell... go
wild."

Josh rolled over and stared at her, with this utterly
shocked expression on his face. It was almost comical. His mouth was hanging
open, chin dropped, his eyes as big as saucers. She managed to hold back the
laugh... just barely.

"Are you being serious right now? Tell me you're not
pulling my leg, Gia."

"Josh... I'm dead serious." She somehow managed to
keep a mostly straight face.

"So, we can try... anything, or everything?"

"Well, I'm not going to say everything unequivocally, I
won't do anything disgusting. But otherwise, yeah."

Now he looked kind of smug and disappointed at the same
time, like he had just found the pitfall he'd known was coming. "What
would you consider disgusting?"

"Oh... weird things. Like, no bathroom play... if it
should go into the toilet, then it needs to go into the toilet, and no
bestiality or necromancy or anything like that. Otherwise, we can probably give
it a shot. Why, planning on peeing on me or something?"

"Oh, God no! Nothing like any of that."

She couldn't hold back the laugh this time, seeing as he
looked like she just suggested he eat cat poop. "Well then, I think we'll
be fine."

Josh rolled over, facing her as he balanced on one elbow, a
slow smile settling across his face. Was she mistaken or was there desire
already burning in the depths of those blue eyes?

"So, let me make sure I've got this straight. We keep
this just between us..."

"Right, no telling anyone, not even our friends. That
also means no PDA's."

"Okay, we keep it a secret, but we can have sex, all
kinds of sex, any time and in any way I can think of... aside from the gross
factor. Is that right?"   

"That sounds about right."

"Georgia Ann McClellan, you just negotiated yourself a
deal. So, should we shake on it? Or would you care to 'seal the deal' another
way?"

"Oh, I'm sure we can find a better way... lots of
better ways."

Josh pounced, rolling her underneath him as he sealed his
lips against hers. Her laughter rang out as she tore her lips away from his.

He quickly changed that laughter to moans when his lips
closed around her nipple once again.

For the time being, she was too caught up in desire to even
contemplate humor.

Chapter 23

She was dating Joshua Taylor.

She was sleeping with Joshua Taylor.

She was fucking Joshua Taylor.

No matter how she said it, it still never seemed real. It
always sounded like something out of a dream, or her own little imaginary life
play. Certainly not reality. And if she couldn't believe it herself, there is
no way anyone else would.

Sigh... Thank God she made him swear to keep it quiet. She
could only imagine the shocked looks, the questioning stares, the absolute
disbelief on people's faces if they ever found out.

Not to mention the looks of pity mixed with the absolute
certainty that all was finally right with the world again once they broke up.
She couldn't stand that.

Their little tryst, for lack of a better word, had already
been going on for almost a week, yet it still didn't seem real. Probably
because it wasn't. Maybe she really was just dreaming all of this.

Just to be sure, she gave the inside of her arm a quick
pinch.

"Ow! Damn."

"What'd you do?" Aaron asked, interrupting Gia's
little reverie.

"What? Oh, nothing."

He laughed, replying sarcastically, "You know, I didn't
think I would need to actually tell you to keep the needle gun away from your
fingers. But, if we need to go back to basics..."

"Ha ha. No smartass, I did not ink my fingers."

Gia got up and walked out to the front desk, pulling up the
second chair and plopping down with a ‘humph’.

"Ever feel like you're living in an alternate
reality?"

"An alternate reality? No, not that I've ever
experienced. But you have been a little out of it the last few days. What's
going on?"

She shook her head. She really didn't want to talk about
it... or did she? Maybe she could tell Aaron. He wouldn't think less of her
when Josh inevitably called it off, would he? And she really needed someone to
confide in...

"Okay... well... you know that guy that was in here?
Josh?" At Aaron's nod, she continued. "Well, I've sort of been seeing
him. Just recently." She grimaced, waiting for the laughter, or the
expression of confused shock.

She got nothing. He actually seemed expectant, like he was
waiting for her to continue. When she said nothing he finally prodded,
"And?"

"And... nothing. That's it. We've been sleeping
together for the last week."

"Okay. So, is he bad in bed, or what?"

"What? No! He's not bad in bed. Why would you assume
that?"

Aaron kind of shrugged and laughed at the same time.
"Well, he is a lawyer... and he seems a little stuffy. Plus, you kind of
seem like something is bothering you, and good sex generally has the opposite
effect. At least in my experience."

Now Gia was laughing right along with him. "I would've
thought the same thing. Especially with his choice in past girlfriends, not to
mention fiancées, I would have expected good old fashioned missionary style
sex. But there is more to him than meets the eye. One of our friends told me
recently that 'still waters run deep' with Josh, and it's proving to be
true."

"Huh... Who would've thought. So then, what's the
issue?"

"Well, nothing. Or, not yet. But... I mean... well look
at him. Then look at me. I get the whole opposites attract thing, but it never
works out. So, it's really stupid. This whole thing is really stupid. I should
just put a stop to it now, right? I should go call..." she turned and
stood up before Aaron interrupted her.

"Whoa, Gia. Back up the crazy train. Haven't you known
him for like a decade or something? And he's managed to stick around that long.
Besides which, you guys just got together. A week... that's a little early to
be getting all wigged about the eventual break up."

Gia sighed, flopping back down into the chair.

"I know. I just don't want to look like an idiot for
even trying this thing with him. It's foolish, it'll never work, we don't
fit... and I've never been big on setting myself up for guaranteed
failure."

"Who says it's guaranteed anything?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nice attempt at a pep talk, but
let's be real."

"I am being real. You haven't managed to scare him off
yet, so obviously he can handle the whole package that is Gia. And he still
wants to date you, right? So the opposites thing doesn't apply."

"Sort of... except we aren't dating. We're just
sleeping together."

Aaron was completely silent. Nothing. She wasn't even
entirely sure he was breathing. She squirmed in her chair. When he still said
nothing, she finally asked, "So, now you think I'm a tramp, right?"

He burst out laughing. Hard. When he finally managed to
catch his breath, his face was red and his eyes were all watery. But he was
shaking his head. "No, not a tramp. That's not what I was thinking."

"Okay, then what's so funny? Come on, I could use a
good joke."

"Honestly?"

Gia shook her head.

"Well okay... my first thought was, a no strings, just
sex relationship... where can I get one. That was quickly followed by, this guy
is an idiot for not wanting more with you. Which was then followed by..."

He stopped, looking at her like he was waiting for
something. Or debating something. "Go on."

"Well, who decided it was only sex? Cuz if I had to
hazard a guess, it was you not him that placed it in that category."

He was right, but there was really no way he could know
that. "Why would you think that? Conventionally, men always want sex and
women always want more."

"Yeah, well, you're not exactly conventional. And, I
met him, remember? I got the impression even then that there was something more
between you. I figured if someone was putting on the brakes, it was most likely
you. No offense intended."

She shrugged, nodding her head kind of side to side.
"None taken. I guess I'm more transparent than I like to think I am."

He smiled. "Not really. I have to admit, the 'alternate
reality' was another big give away."

He looked at his watch then looked back up at her.
"We're closed in about fifteen minutes. Want to just call it a day and
lock up now?"

She looked at the clock, surprised by how late it had
gotten. "Yep. Let's lock up."

     They wandered around the quiet shop, not uncommon for a
Thursday evening, putting things away, closing blinds, flipping off lights.
After just a couple minutes, they headed to the front door together.

Suddenly Aaron, stopped in front of her, turning back to
face her.

"Maybe you should give him a chance, Gia. I think this
uptight lawyer might just continue to surprise you."

Gia was shaking her head before the words were even out of
his mouth. "Nope. It's sex. Good sex, granted, but nothing else. I intend
to enjoy it while it lasts, and hopefully we can be friends when it's over.
But, thanks for listening to my whining tonight."

Once outside, Gia turned and locked the door behind her.
When she spun back to face her car, Josh was there waiting for her.

Despite her words from only moments before, her heart did a
little skip, jumping at just the sight of him.

Oh yeah... only sex. Sure.

Now if she could only convince her heart of that!

Josh watched her walk out with that damn tattooed giant, and
he couldn't stop the surge of jealousy. He wanted to march over to Gia, plant
his lips on hers and stake his claim. Right in front of the guard dog.

But he couldn't. It was against the rules. Her rules! So
instead he stood there like an idiot, with a ridiculous grin pasted on his
face, nodding politely to Aaron.

It hadn't even been a week, and Josh was already tired of
keeping this secret. He was thrilled that Gia had finally seen that there was
something between them. Something he had wanted for years. Something he had
sworn would never happen. He wanted to shout it to the world, tell everyone
they knew that Gia actually considered him worthy of her attention. Instead, he
was forced to hide everything.

You'd think after all these years, he would be good at
hiding his true feelings. For some reason though, this bothered him. A lot.

Pushing down his frustrations, Josh was able to offer a more
sincere smile of greeting to Gia. It would have to be enough that she at least
looked pleased to see him.

"Hey, baby. I thought maybe you'd be up for a late
dinner."

Her smile faltered a bit. He continued before she could
remind him of the 'no public' rule, "I brought food from the restaurant. I
thought we could eat at your place. Sound good?"

The smile returned as she stopped next to him. "Sure.
That sounds great. I could definitely do with a little food."

"I figured. You never seem to eat much when you're
working."

He leaned forward to kiss her before he stopped himself.
Instead, he reached to grab her hand. He wanted to touch her somehow, and
figured that was more discreet.

She squeezed his hand before pulling back and reaching into
her purse for her keys.

"Follow me back to my house?"

Gritting his teeth, Josh nodded.

"Oh, and don't forget to..."

"Park in your garage. I know."

He turned on his heel and walked back to the driver's side
of his Jag without saying another word.

Chapter 24

Josh parked and followed her in through the garage door.
When he came over, she had taken to parking in the driveway, leaving him in the
garage. A pain in the ass when he had to leave before her in the morning, but
she only had a one car garage.

Once inside, he dropped dinner onto the kitchen table. As
soon as his hands were free, he grabbed Gia, pinned her against the counter and
fisted his hands in her hair. He pushed hard against her before finally
settling his lips against hers for the kiss he'd wanted from the moment he saw
her.

Now that he had her back in his arms, a little of the
frustration started to melt away. Just as she melted into the kiss. But there
was still something pushing at him. He wanted her... now. Here in the kitchen.

He palmed her ass, lifting her and setting her on the
kitchen counter. All without lifting his lips off of hers. He pulled her hips,
bringing her right to the edge, pressing her against his shaft. He was already
hard and aching.

Pulling his lips away, he sucked in a breath and asked,
"How hungry are you?"

She nipped and kissed at his neck, licking a trail down his
throat. "Very. But not for food."

On a growl, Josh managed to ground out, "Good,"
before pressing his mouth back down on hers.

After another minute or two, he needed to feel her skin
against his. He pulled back long enough to remove both his shirt and hers.
Deciding the hook would take too long, he simply pulled down the cups of her
bra, pushing her breasts up and out. The nipples were a tempting pink, hard and
pouting at him with the little rings shining silver. He dipped his head,
sucking first one, then the other. Suctioning hard, he bit down, licking the
tip in apology, before biting down harder the second time.