Hidden Depths (27 page)

When he reached the ankle cuff, she spread her legs,
bringing her foot out to meet him. Despite the anger, he couldn't help but
smile at her willingness.

He strapped the last cuff around her wrist. Now that she was
tied up he voiced his intent. "It is my intention to tease you mercilessly
tonight, Gia. I will have my way with your body, anything and everything I
choose. I will bring you to the edge of orgasm, many times, but you are not allowed
to come until I give you permission. Nod if you understand."

A silent nod was all the confirmation he needed. He was done
with words.

Crawling on his knees, he moved in between her spread legs,
noting the moisture already pooling there, before sinking forward to bury his
mouth into her folds.

Gia had lost all track of time. She wasn't sure if she'd
been lying there for days or merely hours, but her body was so aroused that
every nerve ending was screaming for release. Josh had done exactly as he'd
said he would, bringing her right to the edge of release only to stop, pulling
away and leaving her writhing against the sheets.

At some point he had removed the rest of his clothing and
was now moving around the room completely nude, the sight of his body adding to
her need.

If his body was any indication, he was just as close to the
edge as he was. Every muscle in his torso was straining, more defined than
she'd ever seen them. His whole body was covered with a fine sheen of sweat.
His cock was rock hard, not even bouncing with his movements any longer, just
straining upward, the head so swollen it was purple.

And still he wouldn't let either of them find the release
they both wanted.

Once again he climbed up onto the bed, running that engorged
head between her sopping wet folds. He teased at her entrance, brushing by the
opening only to continue on until he brushed by her throbbing clit.

She couldn't stop the long cry that escaped her lips. It
felt so good it bordered on pain. Another brush, this time dipping into her wet
sheath before slipping upward.

Oh, God. If he did that again she was going to come no
matter what he said to her. "Josh, oh fuck. I need to... I'm
gonna..."

He sat back on his knees, reaching behind him to unsnap the
cuffs freeing her ankles. With the freedom of her legs, Gia should've been able
to relax, but the orgasm that he'd denied her wouldn't subside this time.

"Josh, please... I can't stop this time." She was
thrusting her hips against the air, searching for any sort of friction. One
little touch would send her over the edge.

"Don't you fuckin' dare, Gia. You will not come until I
say you can!"

He reached forward and unsnapped her arms, his erection
brushing against her engorged folds as he moved.

She writhed beneath him, all thought lost as the pleasure
crept ever forward.

The second she was free, she wrapped both arms and legs
around him using all her strength to pull him into her body.

As his length sank all the way in on one deep slow stroke, she
felt her internal muscles begin to clench and tighten around him.

"Oh hell, Gia. Let go... just let go. You can come.
Come now!"

His words were the last catalyst she needed, her body
responding to his command. She exploded around him, felt him thrust harder into
her body before his movements stopped completely for one, long breath, only to
resume with more force as he rode out his own release.

As their pleasure began to subside, he pressed kisses into
her hair, murmuring sweet words, telling her how good she felt, how happy she
made him.

How much he loved her.

The next morning when Josh woke up, Gia was gone. She hadn't
left him a note, hadn't even made a pot of coffee. There was no sign that she
had even been there last night. If it weren't for the cuffs hanging off the
sides of the bed, he'd be inclined to think he dreamed the whole thing.

He knew that he wouldn't get a phone call later this
morning. Just as he knew that if he called her she simply wouldn't answer. Gia
was gone, just as surely as if she'd left the state. She wouldn't be back.           

He'd somehow known that last night had been an ending. Known
that he had ruined what they'd had with his actions at the club. He had no one
to blame but himself.

He had at least gotten one more night with her, one more
fantasy fulfilled, one more chance to hold her in his arms. He'd had two months
with her, more or less. That was two months longer than he'd ever expected.

He tried to convince himself that it was enough. It had to
be enough. She had wanted a strictly physical relationship and he had screwed
that up last night. In a large scale fashion.

So, it was over.

He would be fine. He had managed to keep his distance for
eight years, he would do it again. He would be fine. He figured if he just repeated
that often enough, he could force it to be true.

His heart, shattering into pieces within his chest, told him
he was wrong.

Chapter 38

Over a month. It had been five weeks since she had walked
out on Josh. They had only been together for seven weeks. That barely counted
as a relationship. Wasn't it supposed to take less time to get over someone
than the amount of time you were together? She thought it only took half as
long to get over them.

So, then why was she still so miserable?

She hadn't even seen him since the night of the ball, so it
wasn't even like she had a constant reminder being thrown in her face. Their
friends had all seemed to make a silent pact that they would make sure the two
were never in the same place at the same time.

Deb had turned out to be remarkably supportive, bringing by
coffee, offering an open ear if Gia ever wanted to talk about it.

She'd merely smiled, told Deb she appreciated the offer, but
she was fine. She was always fine. When someone would ask what happened, she
would simply shrug and tell them they just hadn't worked together.

When their friends would try to argue that they were perfect
together, that she was wrong, she would simply shrug her shoulders and remind
them of the Black and White Debacle, as she had come to call it. If she and
Josh had truly belonged together, there was no way she could have caused him to
act so irrationally. To embarrass himself in front of everyone he knew. To act
so out of character.

Since there was really no argument for her reasoning, they
would all just kind of shrug and look sheepish. So she would smile at them,
once again assuring them that she was fine.

And she was fine. Mostly. She couldn't think about him, talk
about him, or even go to certain places without a strange ache in her chest. A
weird tight feeling that would hit in waves. If she did enough deep breathing,
it would eventually go away, and then she was fine again. At least she wasn't
spending all day crying in her tequila.

Nope, no crying... and very little tequila. Instead she did
what she had always done. She stayed busy. Work was going well, so she worked
as many hours as she could fill with appointments. She had also continued going
to the gym she had joined. Her house was spotless. She had even gone out with
Aaron and some of his friends a couple times.

So what if she hadn't seen much of her normal circle of
friends.          

A knock sounded on the front door, bringing a smile to her
lips.

She opened the door to see Kelly standing there holding two
cups of coffee. Gia knew one of them would be a mocha, her favorite coffee
indulgence. Kelly had started showing up every Saturday morning since she and
Josh had broken up. She was here to check up on Gia, which should be really
annoying, but she had good intentions. The fact that she brought coffee
probably helped.       

At first, she had asked Gia what had happened. What went
wrong, why weren't they still together. Gia had steadfastly refused to answer
her questions, merely repeating the standard lines of 'they simply didn't
belong together', and 'it was never intended to be permanent'. It had only
taken a few weeks and Kelly had quit asking.

As Kelly strode in, walking breezily a cheerful smile on her
face, Gia immediately became suspicious. She looked too happy. Even by Kelly
standards.

"Spit it out, Kells," Gia said flopping back on
the couch and holding her hand out for the coffee.

"Spit what out?"           

 "Whatever it is that has you smiling like you're
taking a family photo."

"Oh... that. Well, we're going to The Tavern
tonight."

Gia felt her muscles lock, holding her in position, her
coffee halfway to her mouth. She hadn't been into the bar since...

"No. I have to work."

"Gia, you can't keep doing this."

"I'm not doing anything. I just have to work." 

"Are we finally going to talk about Josh?"

"No, because there's nothing to talk about. I think I
have an appointment scheduled for seven tonight."        

"Uh huh. That's the problem. Sure, Gia. Whatever you
say."

Lifting one eyebrow, Gia said, "Sarcasm doesn't suit
you."

That set Kelly off laughing. "I forgot you had the
market on sarcasm cornered. My bad."

"Ha ha. You're just a laugh riot this morning."

"Yes, well... if we're done tossing insults around, you
have two choices. One, tell me what actually happened with you and Josh. Two,
you come to The Tavern tonight."

"If I go to the bar, you'll back off about Josh?"

"Absolutely."

Gia thought about it for a moment. Maybe she should go.
Maybe it could be cathartic, helping her get back to her normal routine. She
couldn't avoid her friends indefinitely, nor could she avoid the places that
reminded her of Josh. If she went tonight, it would also prove to everyone that
she really was fine.

Decision made. "Sure. I'll be there. I really do have
to work, so I have no idea what time I'll get there, but I will come by."

"Promise?"

"Yes, pushy. I promise."

"Good. Then I should probably tell you that Josh may be
there."

Despite the little shiver, it wasn't really too much of a
surprise. "I sort of expected that."

"Okay. Did you also expect that he might have a date
with him?"

The little shiver expanded, turning her blood to ice. Josh
had a date. Josh had a date. "And why should that matter to me? I'm not
with him anymore."

Kelly said nothing, but the look on her face spoke volumes.
After a moment she finally said, "Gia, come on sweetie. I know you better
than this."

"You're right. You do know me. Which means you should
know that I don't do relationships. Josh is no different. The sex was great, I
won't deny that, which is probably why you guys all thought there was more
between us than there really was. But that's all it was. Sex. Now it's over,
and Josh is free to date whomever he chooses."

"Georgia Ann McClellan, you are a terrible liar. Nobody
breaks off their wedding to a girlfriend of four years, to be with a woman for
'just sex'."

Forcing a smile she hoped would look convincing, she said,
"I did mention it was really good sex, didn't I?"

Kelly simply raised her brows, pursed her lips and waited.

"Kells, it was only sex. It couldn't be anything else.
You know me, you know my past. There is no way that the son of a wealthy,
influential, restaurateur is going to end up with the daughter of an abusive
drunk that spent her teen years in foster care. This was never intended to
last, as I've said before. He needed an escape from reality for a while, and I
hadn't had a bed partner for almost a year. That's all."

"Gia, I love you like a sister, and because of that I
am sick and tired of you thinking so little of yourself. Yes, I know your past
and so does Josh. So does most of our little group. The only one that thinks less
of you for it, is you."

Kelly stood, grabbing her bag and heading for the front
door.

"You know, in addition to your self-loathing, this
little scenario of yours certainly doesn't give Josh much credit. I happen to
think more of him than that, and I'd like to think you do too. Either way, be
there tonight, by ten, or I will personally walk down to your shop and drag you
out by your hair!"

The door shut behind Kelly before Gia could utter another
word.

Blake showed up at Josh's house on Saturday morning. Josh
heard a quick rap on the door, followed by the door opening and a shouted,
"Hey Josh... where you at, man?"

Figuring Blake would find him, Josh simply ignored the
question and kept beating the crap out of the punching bag. Lately, if Josh
wasn't at work he was in his basement and Blake knew that.

Sure enough, in just a few seconds he heard Blake walking
down the stairs. "I figured I'd find you here."

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Just coming by to inform you that we're
going to The Tavern tonight. And you're coming too." 

Silence. The only sound in the room was Josh breathing as he
tried to calm his racing heart. Finally Blake said, "What the hell are you
doing, man?"

"Exercising. It's supposed to be good for you."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Yeah... I know."

"It's been over a month and you're still a mess. Have
you at least called her, tried to talk to her, or..."

"No, and I'm not going to. It's over, Blake. That's
that."

"You know, you say that, you even manage to sound like
you believe it most of the time. But you're still not right, Josh. I've never
seen you like this."

"I know."

"That's it... just 'I know'? You have nothing more to
say?"

"Nope."

Josh reached for a bottle of water, grabbing a towel out of the
cabinet and wiping his face.