Love Me, I Dare You! (Hell Yeah!) Page 15

  “Ride your bike?” Josh’s voice grew closer as he came to her. “Come on in, honey.”

  “Thank you. Yes, I can ride my bike if I have a clear path.” She laughed at the thought. “I’ve taken a few spills though. When Tesla perfects those driverless cars, I’m going to be first in line.”

  “I bet you will.” He walked her in, then proceeded to describe the layout of his home, walking her through each room. “Don’t worry. I won’t leave you alone.”

  Emma listened to him carefully, running her hand over the rough stones of the fireplace, the smooth cool surface of the antique oak table and ladder back chairs, the cool tile on the kitchen cabinets that Josh informed her was blue. In her mind’s eye, she was forming a picture. “What’s on the floor?” she asked.

  “They’re hardwood, mahogany, although I have to tell you that the floor needs refinishing.” He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “To be truthful, everything is rundown and in need of redoing. Sadly, I don’t have the money to get started yet.”

  “A task like this shouldn’t be done quickly. Restoring your home is an exciting prospect, one that should be done with love and care. From what I see here, Josh, this is a place to be proud of, you’ll be able to make this into a true home.” Emma soothed her fingers over the cold smoothness of a porcelain doorknob. “Is this white?”

  “Yea, it is.” He was beginning to sense that Emma had the ability to see things much more clearly than he could. “My bedroom is this way.” Josh took her by the hand and led her down the hall and into the room at the end. “The dresser is against the right wall, a double window on the left.”

  Emma slowly moved around the space. “What’s this?” She’d found a small work table covered in small tools and what felt like pieces of leather.

  Josh took his hat off and waved his hand, scoffing. “Oh, that’s one of my foolish pipedreams. I make leather doodads.” He picked up a couple of items and placed them in her hands. “This is a wallet and this is a belt. I’ve even got a saddle started.”

  “Wow. O Josh, this is wonderful!” She moved her finger over the decorative grooves he’d carved in the leather. “I can feel a pattern, winding vines.”

  “Yea, I use these tools. It’s called a stamp set.” He laid a beveller and a pear shader in her palm.

  Emma felt the tools, weighing them, running her fingers over the tips. “So, beautiful,” she remarked, rubbing the wallet against her cheek. “This isn’t just a hobby, is it? You’re good at this.”

  “Well…” Josh waffled, shuffling his feet. “I enjoy it. This seems to be a craft that would tie everything in my life together – rodeo, ranch work, my heritage. I’m not that good and it would take a pretty big investment to get enough supplies to work with. Plus, I’d need a connection, a market to sell this stuff. I don’t really have a hope of it working out, I do this mostly to relax, fill the hours when I can’t sleep.” He frowned, knowing he sounded fairly pathetic.

  “I don’t know,” Emma smiled at him. “Making our dreams come true is what it’s all about, right?” She reached out to touch his arm. “You don’t want to have regrets, we need to strive and make our lives the very best they can be. Fix your eye on a goal and go for it.” Emma let her finger trace a strong vein that stood out near his wrist. “I wanted to experience love at least once in my life, so I put aside my fears and laid it all on the line with you.”

  Love. The word made him nervous. “What we’re doing isn’t love, Emma.”

  Instead of being hurt by his words, she grinned at him. “No, I know it isn’t. I just didn’t know what else to call it.” She moved a few feet until she encountered the bed. “So, this is where we’ll…play. Is that a better word? I’ve heard Avery use it before.”

  “Hell, yes.” Josh felt his cock begin to harden and his blood pressure begin to rise.

  “Are you really hungry? Do you think supper could wait?”

  The suggestion Emma made caused a growl to rise from Josh’s chest. “Hell, yes, I’m hungry. For you. The food can wait.”

  “If you’d go put the potato salad in the fridge…”

  Emma bit her lower lip, probably having no idea what it did to him. Josh couldn’t believe his innocent little bartender could be so sweetly provocative. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard in a long time. Be right back.” He took a few steps. “Sit here.” He helped her down. “I’ll put up the salad and get a condom.” When he returned it was to find her sitting so prim and proper, her knees together, her hands folded in her lap. She had no idea the picture she made –pure seduction wrapped in an aura of chastity. Emma looked so trusting, yet when he came closer he couldn’t help but see that her hands were shaking almost imperceptibly.

  “Hey, you’re not having second thoughts are you?” If she said yes, Josh didn’t know what he’d do. Every fiber of his body was intent on getting as close to this woman as possible. Josh crawled up on the bed behind her, pressing himself against her back, folding his arms around her, one over her breasts and the other around her waist.

  He squeezed her, hard enough to constrict her breath but the act only made her feel safer. “No, I want this.” She bent her head to kiss his arm. “I want you.”

  “Good.” He bucked against her hips, letting her feel his erection. Nipping her lobe, he slid a hand down her side and around to pinch her bottom lightly. “Now, let’s get you out of this pretty dress.” Pushing her hair to the front, Josh unhooked a tiny clasp unable to resist planting a warm kiss on the exposed sexy nape of her neck. As he eased the dress up and over her head, Josh found a lot of bare flesh to stroke. “I want you to know something.” He tugged her down to the mattress, then moved beside her so he could ease her shoes from her feet. Setting them aside, he let his hands skate up her calves to her knees. “God, you’ve got the sexiest legs.”

  Emma laughed. “Is that what you want me to know?”

  “No.” Josh hooked his thumbs into her panties and slipped them down and off, stopping to press a kiss right above her mound. “Emma, I’ve been with a lot of women,” he confessed, rising to his feet.

  Emma turned her head away from him. “I know, but I don’t need to know the details.” She was sure he’d been with many beautiful women who knew the score.

  Josh laid down beside her, trailing his fingers from her shoulder to her wrist lightly. “That’s not what I’m getting at. I should have told you the other night, but I just need for you to know that I’ve never taken chances. I’ve always, always, used a condom. When I went to the doctor the other day, they gave me a clean bill of health. No diseases. STD’s. You can trust me.”

  Emma found his face with her fingertips, trying to read his expression. She smiled shyly, “I’m on the pill, my doctor recommended it.” She didn’t address the topic further, instead Emma reached behind her, unfastened her bra and offered herself to the only man she’d ever wanted. “I’m ready for you.”

  Josh briefly rose to shuck his clothes, letting them lie where they fell. “We’ve got a long way to go before you’re ready. I’m not making the same mistake I did last time.”

  “Come sit in my lap.” Josh sat on the bed, took her by the hand and moved back in the bed until he was sitting up, resting against the headboard. “Face me.”

  “Like this?” She draped her legs over his, steadying herself by holding onto his shoulders. “You’re so big.” She ran her hands over his pecs. “I like the hair on your chest. Is it dark?”

  “Yea.” He closed his eyes while she played, scratching his chest lightly with her fingernails, circling his nipples. “No one could doubt you’re a natural redhead.”

  “Why?”

  “This.” He used one finger to soothe down the neatly trimmed landing strip. “Sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen. Same beautiful red as up here.” He tugged on a lock of her hair.

  Emma couldn’t help it; she couldn’t be still. He was just so available – his lips – she leaned in to kiss him. His chest – she kneaded the ha
rd muscles. His manhood – she scooted close enough that her sex touched his. “I’m enjoying you so much,” she whispered as if she was sharing a secret with him.

  “Give me those lips,” he growled, cupping her ass and pulling her even tighter to him.

  Josh left it up to her, giving her an opportunity to take what she wanted. Sparks sizzled under her skin. She let her fingers brush his strong forearms, then let them walk their way to his shoulders. Instead of going for his mouth, she feathered light kisses over his chest, taking the time to lick his nipples. He said nothing, but his muscles hardened as she moved up toward his throat. “You taste good,” she told him. “Salty. Musky. Manly.”

  “Good thing, I guess,” was his only answer.

  She leaned in and brushed her lips over his, fully expecting him to take control.

  But he didn’t – he waited. So she did it again, framing his face and using her lips to trace a path over his eyelids, his cheekbone, coming to rest over his mouth. “Open,” she whispered.

  With a low, harsh growl, he gave her access, but she still didn’t relinquish control. She held his face and used her tongue to play with his, moving it in and out the way she wanted his cock to take her pussy.

  “Christ!” he groaned, giving in, wrapping his arms around her body and hauling her so close to him they couldn’t breathe. “What you do to me!”

  They kissed passionately, her heart pounding, her blood heating. Emma lost herself in his kiss, her hands roving over his body. “This is a freedom I never anticipated. Sometimes, at night, I nearly go crazy wanting to be touched.”

  “Temptress,” he muttered, kissing her neck, scoring her collarbone with his teeth. “Do you feel the difference?”

  “What do you mean?” Emma was right where she’d been the night before, shaking with desire.

  “It’s just like anything else, baby. The more you give, the more you get.”

  Emma understood. She wasn’t just receiving, she was initiating. “Want me to give more?”

  “I want it all.” He repeated what she’d told him before.

  “All it shall be.” Placing her hands underneath her breasts, she lifted them. “Open wide.”

  Fuck. Josh opened his mouth and took as much of her breast into his mouth as he could. Sucking. Drawing. Using his tongue and teeth to give her bliss.

  All Emma could do was hold on and swoon. Josh was voracious, sucking at her nipple – pulling, biting, tonguing. She closed her eyes, curled her toes and ground her hips against him in supplication. As he feasted at her breasts, he gave her the sweetest pleasure. “Oh God,” she whimpered, loving the way he chewed on one nipple while he milked the other one between his fingertips. A wave of greedy heat was rising between her legs and she needed Josh more than she needed air. Grasping at the hand on her breasts, she tried to push it down to her clit. A knowing male chuckle met her ears.

  “Not till you cum for me.” Josh rubbed his face on her tits, loving the contrast between pale skin and rosy nipples, reddened by his kiss. “Let’s see if this helps.” Covering both globes with his hands, he kneaded and massaged, alternating his mouth on each until the peaks were stiff and throbbing. He couldn’t believe he was the first one to see her like this, to touch her, to take pleasure in her body.

  “Don’t stop,” Emma pleaded, as Josh continued his onslaught, suckling at her nipples until a storm of starbursts flashed behind her eyes. She cried out and shook in his arms and he held her, giving her time to recover before he began again.

  “Ready for more?” he asked when she quieted.

  “Oh, yes.”

  So was Josh. Pressing a kiss right between her breasts, he slid his fingers into her soft folds. Looking into her eyes, he felt a great loss that she couldn’t hold his gaze captive with her own, that she couldn’t see the adoration on his face. But maybe that was for the best – their agreement didn’t include matters of the heart. This was sex, pure and simple. “Emma, I’m going to touch you until you’re ready for me.”

  “I’m ready for you now!” she argued.

  “Soon, baby.” He pushed two fingers inside of her and used his thumb to rub over her clit, slow circles designed to arouse and make her wet.

  “Please,” she entreated, spreading her legs wider to make room for him.

  “I love the way your voice sounds when you beg so sweetly. Husky, so damn feminine, strong yet trusting.” As he rubbed her slit, playing with her clit, Josh returned to her breasts, layering sensation upon sensation. Soon, she was shaking, wet and slippery. It was time.

  Reaching for the condom, he put it on. “You’re going to ride me. Okay?” She held her hands out as if waiting for him to guide her. Josh threaded his fingers with hers. “Raise up, let me in.”

  She went up on her knees, giving him access to position the head of his cock at the entrance to her vagina. But before he could push it in, Emma reached down and wrapped her hand around him.

  “I need to know what you’re like.” She stroked him from root to where they were joined, giving his stalk a little squeeze. “I want you.”

  “Take me.” Lowering her hips, she welcomed Josh inside of her body. Slowly, he began to push up. She was excruciatingly tight, so he had to work for every inch. “Okay?” he asked.

  “Yes, don’t stop.”

  Taking her at her word, he thrust up hard, closing his eyes as he fully seated himself, the walls of her vagina squeezing him so tight he thought he might pass out. “Hold on to me, Em. Move. Make us feel good.”

  Emma took him at her word. She started slowly – undulating, rising, falling, squeezing – she slid up and down on his pole, stealing kisses and rubbing her breasts on his chest. When the euphoria became too much, she buried her face in his neck, letting the climax overtake her. “Now, you take over. I need to feel your power.”

  “My pleasure.” Josh picked her up, reversed their positions and plunged deep. “Feel good?” He watched her face for any sign of discomfort. When there was none, he pushed back in. At her groan of pleasure, he increased his speed, pumping in and out of her tight pussy in a heated joining. She moaned, giving him those same sexy noises, little whimpers and purrs of encouragement. “Please. Faster. Harder. Deeper.”

  Emma didn’t know what she’d expected – but it wasn’t this gnawing aching hunger for more and more of him. Where she’d been empty, now she was full and every time he pulled out, she held her breath until he filled her once more. Clutching his shoulders, she dug her fingernails in, gasping with happiness as tears of joy fell from her eyes. How could she express what this meant to her? “Is it good for you?” she asked, needing to know. “Tell me it’s good for you.”

  “Heaven, pure heaven to be inside you,” he breathed the words out in soft groans against her neck.

  His admission seemed to give her confidence. Raising her face, she tangled their lips together in a fervent kiss, while he pounded her into the mattress with abandon. “I didn’t know it could be like this,” she whispered as a delicious tension began to build deep within her core.

  Over and over – in and out – Josh moved within her. Long strokes that she met with bucking hips, tightening around him again and again.

  “Cum for me, Emma. Cum for me – I dare you.”

  His commanding voice was all it took. Emma began to cum and once it started, she couldn’t stop. The climax peaked and swept over her with every thrust. As he stretched her, burning her alive, the orgasm kept coming, keeping her on the edge. Her whole body clenched, milking him, going on and on as if it would never end.

  Josh couldn’t breathe, he felt no need to breathe. His whole universe was focused on being inside of her. And when he felt her go over the edge, he followed, his release shooting out of him, a bellow of ecstasy echoing through the room.

  Emma held him as he shivered, running her palms up and down his back while he kept his face pressed against her throat. “What is this, Josh? What are we feeling?”

  “Chemistry, Miss Emma. Pure, sweet ch
emistry.”

  Completely satiated, she kissed him on the cheek. It didn’t feel like chemistry to her, this felt an awful lot like love. Tightening her arms around him, she sighed. No matter what he called it, Emma knew she’d just given herself body and soul to Joshua Long.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Thank you for bringing me home. I had a lovely evening.”

  “So, did I. Sleep well.” Joshua kissed her on the cheek. Proper protocol was escaping him. He was swimming in unfamiliar waters. “Goodnight, Emma.”

  She stood at the door and waited. He walked to his truck, knowing she was still standing there. Not watching, of course, but listening to him leave. Every step he took was an effort, his feet felt like blocks of cement.

  Only when he was in the truck and driving away could he take a full breath. And when he glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the light was still on, her silhouette still visible in the door, Joshua almost turned around and went back.

  Almost.

  The time he’d spent with Emma Zachary had been memorable. After they’d made love…had sex – whatever - they’d eaten the food Emma had prepared, then had sex again. He hadn’t been able to get enough of her.

  After the last time, with her still trembling and quaking in his arms, it would’ve been the easiest thing in the world to pull her close and surrender to sleep. She’d been ready, willing for anything he asked. Emma was easy to read, but Josh knew the best thing was to put some distance between them – for both their sakes.

  …Emma gently shut the door, flipping off the light. Neither she nor Fergus needed it. Her faithful dog rubbed his head against her leg. He’d been patiently waiting while she’d stood and listened to Joshua Long walk out of her life.

  He hadn’t said that was the case, not in so any words.

  But Emma could tell. She might be blind, but she wasn’t dumb. She could see that Joshua was pulling away.

  “Let me get your leash and we’ll take a walk.” Mechanically, Emma fastened the clasp onto Fergus’ collar and they let themselves back outside, taking the few minutes necessary for the big lab to do his business.