Hidden Depths (22 page)

She felt him relax against her, kissing her head before
tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. Another habit he seemed to be developing
just for her.

"I did too, Gia. More than I can even say." He
kissed her nose. "Thank you."

She felt the first hint of tears pressing behind her eyes.
Trying to keep things light and casual, she answered, "Anytime, lawyer
boy. Anytime. I told you I was up for trying anything. And based on just how
well this worked out, I would say we could try some more." She stretched a
little, wiggling against him. When she felt the first stirrings against her
belly, she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of her. "But not right
now... I'm a little wiped from our last experiment."

He smiled again, pulling her closer as she rolled to her
side. She snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped his
arm around her.

Just as she started to doze back off, she could've sworn she
heard him whisper something. It sounded strangely like 'I love you'. But that
couldn't be right.

Deciding it was just her over active imagination at work
again, she let sleep take her and pull her into the dreamland where those words
could actually be a reality.

Josh simply held her while she slept for as long as he
possibly could. As much as he loved sex with Gia, as much as the spanking had
exceeded his every expectation, surpassed his every fantasy, he loved this part
as well.

If he were honest with himself, he simply loved Gia. All of
her. Her sweet personality, her loyalty, her sarcastic sense of humor, even
when it was at his expense. Her openness tonight, her willingness to give
herself to him completely had broken through more than just a sexual barrier
for him. She was more than he could have possibly dreamed.

He was head over heels, crazy stupid in love with her. He
wanted to shout it to the world.

And he was supposed to keep it to himself.

That frustrated the living hell out of him. But, since it
was her one stipulation, the one limit she had put on this relationship, he
knew he had to honor it. It would just be a lot easier to do if he understood
why.

He'd thought maybe it was because of Deb. That kind of made
sense, but he wasn't going to keep it hidden forever, and since Deb was most
likely a permanent part of their lives, the need for consideration would only last
so long. But it really seemed like there was something more, something he
wasn't aware of, behind her decision.

As she curled more deeply into him, he felt his heart give a
little lurch.

He would stick to her rules, at least for now. He couldn't
risk losing her, losing this, so soon after finding it.

He felt sleep coming to claim him, sneaking in one last kiss
against her head before it grabbed hold.

Chapter 30

Gia woke up, her head still foggy, her dream still swirling
around her. She could still feel the stinging bite of Josh's palms against her
fleshy backside. Her body pulsed with remembered pleasure, a little moan
escaping before she could silence it.

She could feel him, hard even now, pressing against that
tender flesh. She would be willing to bet it was still red. She knew it was
still scratchy. Not painful, just tender enough to remind her of the night
before.

Once again, those wonderful memories caused a physical ache
inside her. She was already wet, her body needing more. Greedy. Josh was making
her greedy.

Just as she started to wonder if she should wake him, he
took the choice from her. He rolled her flat on her back, pressing his lips to
hers before she could even gasp in surprise.

This kiss was different somehow. Tender and soft, yet no
less passionate. It spoke of yearning, desire. Love in place of lust.

But that's not possible... he couldn't love her.

Recalling her final thoughts as she drifted off to sleep
last night, she finally understood. This was a dream. A wonderful, sensual,
amazing dream. She wasn't really awake. She was sure that if she merely pinched
herself hard enough, she would truly wake up.

But she didn't want to leave this dream just yet. Deciding
to simply ride it to its inevitable conclusion, she let herself go, sinking
further into the kiss.

Since her hands were still free, she buried her fingers into
Josh's too long hair, loving the silky feel. When she made little fists, gently
tugging his mouth more firmly against her own, he moaned, the sound going straight
down her throat to settle between her thighs.

Since this was her dream, she could do as she wished. And
she wanted to taste him again. To feel him in her mouth, hot and hard, molten
steel sliding between her lips.

Shoving his shoulders to flip him off  her, she was
surprised by his weight. Shouldn't he be lighter in a dream? Giggling softly,
she headed south, trailing kisses across his skin.

God, he smelled good. He smelled all sweaty, like a man
should after amazing sex, with an underlying scent of soap and some spicy smell
that was just Josh. "I've always loved the way you smell."

He groaned softly as she tongued and nipped at his nipple
before moving down the soft trail of hair. A map, leading her to Paradise. When
she reached her destination, she gently kissed the tip, delighted with the
sounds he made. As a clear drop surfaced, showing the excitement he couldn't
possibly hide, she licked it off before wrapping her lips more firmly around
the head. Sliding down, she sucked him gently into the back of her throat
before pulling away. The suction she created caused a loud popping sound as she
reached the rim.

She giggled as she licked again, trailing her tongue from
top to bottom. "I love this. You're so hot, so heavy in my hands. And God,
you taste so good."

At that Josh groaned, digging his hands into her hair to
guide her mouth. She sucked him deeply again, letting him slide part way down
her throat. He thrust in once, twice, three times. On the fourth little push,
she swallowed, bringing him even more deeply into her throat.

He groaned, pushing her off while she laughed in delight.

This time when he rolled her over, he rolled on top of her
at the same time. His cock nudged her folds, sliding between them as her
moisture coated his shaft. The tip grazed her clit, bringing a soft little gasp
of pleasure. Josh pulled back,  his shaft piercing her sheath, sinking in only
an inch or so. He leaned forward, pressing his lips back to hers, plunging his
tongue deep into her mouth just as he plunged his cock deep inside her.

She cried out, his mouth absorbing the sound.

He plunged slowly, keeping the pace tender and gentle, the
pleasure heightening slowly. As her first orgasm approached, Josh slowed his
pace, keeping her on the precipice without letting her roll over it.

Josh could feel her sheath tightening around him, her
muscles quivering right on the edge of release. But he didn't want this to end
just yet.

Gia was so soft, so gentle, in this early morning interlude.
She seemed more open than usual, wearing her emotions on her sleeve. He loved
it.

Taking his time, extending the pleasure for both of them, he
thrust slowly again, gradually speeding the pace.

Once again she reached that edge, but this time he let her
slide over it, her orgasm rolling through her. Rather than her usual squeezing
grip, her internal muscles seemed to almost pull at him, caressing him with her
body. Josh tried to hold off his own pleasure. When her orgasm continued on and
on, he couldn't hold back any more.

On a long, deep groan Josh joined her, crashing over the
edge into the deepest orgasm he'd ever had.

As soon as he could breathe again, he leaned in to kiss her
gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply in return. As
he pulled back she whispered, "I love you."

His breathing stopped completely. His heart lurched in his
chest. When everything finally restarted, he managed to ground out "I love
you, too."

Gia smiled softly, rolled over and was asleep instantly.

Josh pulled her tightly against him, afraid to let this
moment go. He never wanted to lose this feeling. Even with her tucked safely
against him, sleep was slow in coming.          

The next morning Josh rose, having barely gotten any sleep.
After Gia had finally dozed off last night, Josh had tried to process what had
happened. Or more specifically what she'd said. It seemed too good to be true.
And totally out of character for her.

Josh wanted to believe her, to believe that she felt the
same. Yet nothing in their relationship thus far had given him any indication
that she felt that way. He wasn't stupid. He knew she was attracted to him.
Extremely attracted to him. She definitely felt the same chemistry he did.
But... and this was a big but, she didn't even want anyone to know about them.

If you loved someone, you wanted to share that with your
friends. She was insistent that they hide it from them.

It didn't make any sense.

At. All.

So, he was in the kitchen, making coffee and puzzling over
what to expect from Gia this morning.

He poured a cup of coffee, turning as he started to take a
sip, to see Gia standing in his kitchen wearing his shirt. And only his shirt.

"Good morning." He paused a beat, testing the
waters. When she looked a little cranky, which was totally normal for Gia in
the morning, but not in the least bit uncomfortable, he smiled. "Want some
coffee?"

To that she rolled her eyes, walked past him and grabbed a
mug, pouring a cup from the pot.

She leaned back against the counter, using both hands to
bring the mug to her lips. She paused, to inhale the aroma before gingerly
sipping the hot drink.

Josh groaned. She even made drinking coffee sexy.

After a couple of sips, she looked up at him and smiled.
"Better. Thanks."

The laugh rumbled out of his chest. It would be too easy to
get used to having her here in the mornings. Every morning.

She started heading out of the kitchen, back toward the
bedroom.

"I'm going to jump through the shower, if that's okay.
I need to get home and get changed before work."

"Uh, yeah. That's fine."

She was acting completely... normal. Like Gia. Not like a
Gia who had told him she loved him the night before.

Had he dreamed it?

She stopped just outside the hallway, stripping off his
shirt before looking back over her shoulder. "Want to join me?"

Yep... it must have been a dream. He grinned, grabbing his
mug and following Gia back toward heaven.

Chapter 31

The following week, Saturday morning dawned bright and
clear. Though it was early October, this weekend promised to be unusually hot,
not to mention humid.

Josh had plans to play tennis with Blake, but the
thermometer was already creeping past ninety when he got there just before nine.
When he saw Blake walking towards him, already looking as wilted as he felt, he
made an immediate change in plans.

"What do you say to skipping the tennis and heading
straight to lunch?"

Blake laughed. "Works for me, but I think it's still
breakfast."

"Whatever. As long as it's indoors. This heat is
nasty."

After a brief discussion, they decided to forego the club
completely and head over to a nearby pancake house to eat and grab some coffee.
After getting seated and placing their orders, it took Blake a matter of
seconds to start grilling Josh.

"So, you seem to be in better spirits these days."

Josh smiled. He knew it probably looked a little smug, but
there wasn't a damn thing he could do about that. "Yep."

"You must have managed to get over the 'heartbreak' of
losing Deb?"

"Uh, yeah. Totally over it."

Blake just laughed, long and deep, making Josh join right
along with him.

"So, things are going well with Gia, then?"

Once again Josh realized that he couldn't blatantly lie to
Blake. So he settled for a shrug.

Which just set Blake off to laughing again. "You know,
for such a damn fine lawyer you have a terrible poker face when it comes to
anything personal."

Rolling his eyes, Josh finally gave up and said, "I
just don't want to outright lie to you. And I can't say anything... about
anything."

Blake nodded his head as the laughter started to die down.
"Okay. So, don't say anything. It's not like we couldn't tell something
was up anyway. You guys were setting off some pretty decent size fires last
weekend."

Josh froze. So much for not lying. "I have no idea what
you're talking about."

Another laugh. "Wow, totally deadpan, man. And right on
the heels of 'not lying'. That's kind of amazing."

Now Josh sighed. "I have no idea what you're talking
about."

When Josh simply repeated the same thing, all Blake's
laughter died. "So, I'm getting the impression that we're not supposed to
talk about Gia."

Josh looked straight at him and cocked his eyebrow. "I
have no idea..."

"What I'm talking about. Okay, got it. So, don't talk,
just listen. I'm assuming that you and Gia are working things out, something
you can sit there and deny all you want, but the chemistry between you two is
off the charts. And for whatever reason you guys want to keep it to yourselves.
Which is fine. In theory."

"In theory?"

"Yes, in theory. But, you're forgetting that we are
your best friends. Most of us have known each other for at least eight years,
and in some cases a lot longer than that. Kelly knows, I know, Dev knows you're
at least trying to make something happen there. That's what I know for sure.
But, unless they're blind and stupid, everyone else has figured it out after
last weekend."

Feeling the air leave his lungs in a rush, Josh acknowledged
defeat. "She wants to keep it a secret. From everyone... including you
guys. That was the one stipulation she had. No one was supposed to know."