Worth the Risk: A Contemporary Romance Bundle, page 48
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Okay, but promise me you’ll tell them before we get there.”
“I will if you will.”
Jack reached down and hooked his little finger around hers like they’d done when they were kids. “Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
Jack pulled her on top of him and covered her face with kisses. “Let’s get back to distracting each other.”
Chapter 2
The phone had been ringing off the hook all morning. Josie would have let voicemail take care of it, but that would only mean she’d need to return all the calls later, and later she wouldn’t have time. She’d have to take a half day to get down to her parents’ house before the holiday started, and she had tons of work to get done before then.
“Good morning. This is Josephine Levine.” She expected one of her clients.
Instead, her mother’s exasperated voice greeted her. “Josie! Thank goodness. I’m glad I caught you. I’ve been trying to reach you at the apartment for days!”
Guilt picked at Josie. Jack had kicked the phone off the hook while they’d been making love, and it had been two days before either of them realized nobody could get through. “You should’ve called my cell. We never answer the landline.”
“What’s the use of having it, then?”
Josie laughed. “I don’t know, good point. You have my cell number, don’t you?”
“Yes, I have it,” her mother said. “I just didn’t realize you wouldn’t answer your other phone. Listen, Jojo, I’m going crazy here. Aunt Flo has nowhere to go for Passover this year, and Dad said she could come here. Of course, I don’t mind. I love your Aunt Flo, but you know she won’t come without Pansy and Apricot.”
Josie winced at her mother’s childhood nickname for her. “Mom. Breathe.”
Ava sighed. “Those dogs are like Flo’s children. I can’t ask her to leave them home. But you know Bernie and his allergies, and Bea with her bad back. And with all the kids, where am I going to put them all?”
Josie smiled. Her mother didn’t need her help. Her mother could have organized Attila the Hun’s elephant-mounted hordes without batting an eyelash or breaking a nail. Josie tapped her pencil on the list of things she still needed to do before leaving work tomorrow. “Mom, I’ve got to go.”
“But what about you? And Jack, too? We’re going to be packed to the brim this holiday. Not that I mind, of course. You know I love a house full of people more than anything. But it’s a lot of work, I don’t mind telling you.”
“Mom—”
“Our family is growing and growing.” Ava paused significantly. “Your brother and sister are married, and now they have the kids—”
“Mom, enough.” Josie took a deep breath. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“So, tell me already?”
“Jack and I…” Josie paused. “Jack and I will be sleeping together.”
“Josephine, you’re a treasure. That’ll solve all my problems. I’ll put Aunt Flo in the back downstairs bedroom with the dogs. Bernie can go on the third floor and the kids in the playroom. Marty and Bea can take your old room, Seth and Rachael and the baby can stay in Seth’s old room, and Miriam and Brice can stay in her old room. The Golds will go in the guest room. You and Jack will sleep in the basement. It’s perfect!”
“No, Mom, I—”
“Later, doll. I have to run to the supermarket! I want to get some of that chopped liver your brother likes so much. See you tomorrow. You’ll be here before dinner, right?”
“Right.” Josie sighed and listened to the dial tone for a moment before putting the phone back in its cradle. Then she laughed. Most young women would have sent their parents into a tizzy by suggesting she’d sleep with a man she was bringing home. Her mother, on the other hand, was thanking her. Of course, if it had been any man other than Jack, her mother would have swooned.
But it was Jack. Josie tilted back in her desk chair, her eyes half-closed. She was in love with her best friend, and it was better than anything she’d ever dreamed of.
As children, they’d played tag and hide-and-seek. In high school, he’d been her date when soccer stud Kent Dillon dumped her the afternoon before the junior prom. She’d cried on his shoulder and he’d offered to beat up the guy who’d hurt her so badly. In college, he’d visited for weekends and sent her dorm-mates into a flirting frenzy. After that, they’d kept in touch regularly, never going more than a week or two without calling, and when he’d finally moved to Harrisburg to follow a job, they hadn’t been apart for more than a few days at a time.
She’d spent more time with Jack than she ever had with any boyfriend. She’d shared more with him. Given more of herself to him. Despite all that, becoming lovers had opened a side of him she’d never seen.
This morning she’d wakened to find a lacy black garter belt, crotchless panties and matching bra laid out on the bed beside her. Sexy, seamed stockings completed the ensemble, which had come with a note. Wear me. Josie liked nice underwear, but comfort usually came before fashion. She’d worn the lingerie anyway.
Now she shifted her thighs against one another and shivered at the sensation of her flesh so bare beneath her skirt. The garter belt was surprisingly comfortable, stretchy and soft instead of scratchy like she’d expected. The stockings were whisper-thin, and when she slid her legs together it felt like she was rubbing herself with silk.
Her phone rang. Startled, she thumped her chair back down solidly on the floor and picked it up. “Josephine Levine.”
“Are you wearing them?”
Josie turned in her chair and locked her office door. “Yes.”
Jack’s deep rumble stroked her ear through the phone. “How do they feel?”
“Good.” His voice sent a spear of desire straight to her crotchless clit. Josie put her feet up on the desk, and tilted her chair back again.
“I’ve been thinking about you all morning. I bet you look so hot.”
Josie looked down at the black skirt she’d worn today. It was shorter than she normally chose for work, and the heels of her shoes a good two inches higher. “You know it, baby.”
Jack gave a whispery groan that made her pulse pound. “Tell me.”
“I’m wearing a silky blue blouse, open at the throat. My skirt comes to the middle of my thighs.”
“Shoes?” He sounded hopeful, and Josie grinned.
“Black patent leather. Three inch heels. Ankle strap.”
He made a soft sound like he was licking his lips, and Josie shifted in her chair to let her knees fall slightly apart. Jack sighed. She heard the crackle of static from his cell phone.
“Pull your skirt up so the tops of your stockings show.”
She did. “Are you driving?”
“I’m on my way to a sales call. Don’t ruin the mood.”
She laughed, loving that even the sexiest moments between them were filled with humor. “The tops of these stockings are lace.”
“I know. Tell me about the panties. I bet your pretty pink clit is showing right now, isn’t it? Is it standing up for me?”
Oh, he was a master at talking dirty. Josie had a lot to learn from him. His words had taken her breath, but she managed to whisper, “Yes.”
“Touch it for me.”
Josie cradled the phone against her ear and stroked her forefinger across her now-aroused clit. Her pussy grew warm beneath her touch. She moved her finger in small circles that soon had her biting her lip to hold back a moan.
“Open up the front of your blouse. Your tits must look so fine in that bra. I wish I were there to suck your nipples.”
She wished the same thing. With her free hand, Josie did as Jack had told her. Her flesh was creamy white against the black lace. Her nipples pushed at the front, and she ran her palm over one before tweaking it between her thumb and finger. Her pussy was slick with her arousal, and she slid a finger down to bring some of her moisture up to her clit.
Another crackle of static reminded her where Jack was. “Don’t wreck.”
He chuckled. “I pulled over. I’m in a parking lot. I’ve got my prick in my hand right now, Josie, wishing it were in your mouth.”
A mental image filled her head. Jack, his tie loosened and his suit pants undone, his thick, long cock gripped firmly in his fist. He wouldn’t be wearing his earrings on the job, but his eyes would be shaded by mirrored sunglasses. She pictured the way his tongue would snake across his full mouth as he concentrated on pleasuring himself. In her mind, his strokes grew faster, and so did hers.
Her fingers danced on her bud, stroking and pinching. “I’m going to come.”
His groan sent her toward the edge even faster. “Me, too. Talk to me, Josie. What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about you kneeling here in front of me,” she whispered, even in her arousal aware she was still at work. “You put your face between my legs, and you lick my pussy until I come.”
Jack gave a wordless groan she recognized. “And then what?”
“And then you’d fill me up with your cock and fuck me.”
As she said the words, her body shook with climax. His muffled cry told her he’d come, too. Josie pressed her palm to her beating clit as the shudders wracked her. At last, she was still. She pulled her skirt back down and put her feet on the floor. “Jack?”
“I’m here.” She heard the smile in his voice. “Oh, shit. I’m going to be late. I’ll see you tonight. I love you.”
The words never failed to move her. “Love you, too. See you later.”
He disconnected, and she hung up the phone. There was something to be said about middle-of-the-day sex, she mused as she bent back to tackle her To Do list. It made going to work a whole lot more fun.
Chapter 3
“Are you planning on moving back home for good or just going for a few days?” Jack watched Josie carrying the last load toward his car.
She looked down at what she had in her arms. “I need my body pillow and my bed pillow. Sleeping on the futon is not going to be fun.”
He waggled his eyebrows at her. “I’ll make it fun.”
“Don’t be so sure,” she replied. “You know Mom will have the old army cot set up for you.”
Jack took the bag she’d slung over her shoulder and shoved it into the trunk. “You didn’t tell her yet, did you?”
“I tried to. But you know my mom. It’s hard to get a word in edgewise.” Josie stuffed her pillows on top of the suitcases and closed the trunk, then turned to face him sternly. “Did you tell your parents?”
Jack made a show of looking at his watchless wrist. “Oh, man. Look at the time. We’d better get on the road. Traffic is going to be nuts.”
“Jack.” Josie reached for his arm. “Maybe we don’t need to tell them for a while.”
He linked his fingers through hers. “Why don’t you want to tell them?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I guess I just want this to be ours for a while longer. Just ours. I don’t want to share it with anyone.”
He nodded and pulled her close for a hug. “We share it with our downstairs neighbors about five times a week and twice on Sundays, Josie.”
Their downstairs neighbor, a cranky Goth artist who insisted on being called Mina in homage to Bram Stoker’s heroine, had taken to pounding on her ceiling whenever they made the least bit of noise. They’d been making quite a bit of noise since they’d moved in.
Josie sighed. “Once we share it with family, though, it’ll get too big.”
“I didn’t think it could be too big.”
“Jack, I’m serious.”
He squeezed her. “I know you are, baby.”
She tilted her head to look up at him. “They’ll start making insinuations about getting married, having kids. All that stuff.”
He got a funny look on his face. “And?”
She shrugged. “I’m not ready for all that speculation.”
“We’ve been together for seven months. You’re going to have to tell them some time.”
“Oh, listen to you,” she countered. “You haven’t told your folks either!”
He grinned without shame. “You’re right.”
She looked at the car, filled with their luggage. “If we tell them now, they won’t let us sleep together, you know.”
“Then we won’t tell them!” Jack’s protest made her laugh. “Not until it’s time to go home. Okay?”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
She was silent on the drive. Thinking. There was really no reason not to tell her family she and Jack were now a couple. She looked over at him, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel along with the music from the radio. Her love for him made anything she’d ever felt for any other man seem like a schoolgirl crush. She couldn’t imagine the rest of her life without him.
And still, she wanted to keep him to herself for a while longer. It was selfish. She knew that, but as soon as they told their families, the speculation would start. When were they going to get married? Settle down? Have kids?
For now, Josie only wanted to ride what they had, enjoy it. Love Jack without thinking too hard about the future.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Jack said. “Fifty cents to act them out.”
“I’m worth more than fifty cents,” she replied archly.
“Baby, you worth at least a buck-fitty.”
She laughed. “Gee, thanks.”
“Seriously, Josie. What are you so quiet about?”
“You want to know a reason why I love you so much?” she said. “Because you’d even bother to ask.”
He reached for her hand. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Believe me, Jack. There are plenty of guys who wouldn’t give a damn what their girlfriend was thinking about.”
“Girlfriend.” He snorted.
She looked at him. “What’s funny about that?”
“It just sounds funny. Girlfriend. Like we’re in junior high. Will you be my girlfriend? Yes, no, maybe. Circle one.”
“Well, whatever you want to call me, most guys wouldn’t care what I was thinking about.”
They rode in silence for a moment more. Then he said, “Lover.”
“What?”
“Lover. That’s what I’d call you. Or my woman.”
She had to look at him hard to see if he was being silly. “Your woman?”
He shot her a glance as he eased into the line of traffic entering the Pennsylvania Turnpike. “Yeah. My wo-man.”
Josie rolled her eyes, but was secretly pleased in a strange way. “Wo-man, huh?”
“Yeah, because when I see you, I say, ‘Whoa, man!’”
“Jack!” She began to laugh. “You are too much.”
He took her hand and put it near his crotch. “Never too much for you, baby.”
Just like that, she was wet for him. All it took was a simple cocky grin, a suggestive phrase, and she was imagining taking him in her mouth. A moan slipped from her mouth before she could catch it.
He glanced at her again. “Josie?”
She rubbed her fingers on the soft, worn denim of his jeans and was rewarded with a hardening bulge. “Watch the road.”
She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid across the seat toward him. His zipper stuck but she tugged, then folded open his jeans. As usual, he wore dark boxer briefs. His erection pushed at the front, and she slid him free. He pulsed in her hand. She leaned over and took him into her mouth.
He muttered a curse that had her smiling around his cock. She sucked lightly on the tip, then slid her mouth down as far as she could. The position was awkward and she couldn’t get him too far into her mouth without his zipper branding her cheek, so she concentrated on the head. A slippery jewel of pre-come glimmered, and she used her finger to rub it into his skin.
He shifted to allow her better access. His hand cupped the back of her head. She took him deeper, then withdrew to roll her tongue around his cock head. He groaned, and she lifted her head to remind him, “Watch the road!”
“I’m watching, I’m watching. Don’t worry, I won’t do a Parenthood.”
She remembered the scene from the Steve Martin flick, when the couple crashed their van because the wife was giving the husband a blow job. “I sure hope not.”
She bent back to her task. Josie had never minded oral sex, not like some of her female friends who moaned and groaned about the effort it took to give a good blow job. Josie figured if she was going to let a man go down on her, she should at least consider returning the favor.
But sucking Jack wasn’t about returning favors. She did it for the pure and simple pleasure of it. She loved making love to him, loved giving him pleasure. She got off just knowing what she was doing was going to make him come.
The soothing noise of the engine helped her find the rhythm. She clenched her thighs together, a trick she’d mastered a long time ago to get herself off when touching herself wasn’t an option. It took a while, and it didn’t always work, but she thought right now it might.
The car rocked along the smooth pavement. Josie’s clit rubbed at the front of her panties with each squeeze of her thighs. She loved Jack with her mouth, and as the first bright sparks of orgasm began to tingle in her pussy, she felt him convulse under her tongue.
She took him as deep as she could. His hand tightened on her head. She took everything he had as her body twitched with climax. She held him in her mouth for a moment, until he let go of her hair, and then she tucked him back inside his jeans and sat back in her seat.
“That was nice.” Jack ran a hand over his head.
Josie smiled and reached across to squeeze his shoulder. “Just say whoa.”
Chapter 4
By the time Jack pulled into the driveway, shadows had begun to pool beneath the huge trees lining the street. Inside the large, three-story house, golden pools of light filled the windows. Josie could see people moving inside.
“Looks like we’re the last ones here.”
Jack pocketed the keys.
