Entice (37 page)

Hmm
… Finally, she was licking all of his warm muscled skin, and she loved it.

Looking up at him from where her mouth was nibbling, she watched his eyes darken. As she felt his hands move to land on her bare ass, he squeezed her flesh.

Sitting up, Shelly dragged her palms down his body, and with her eyes on his, she slowly dipped them inside his parted jeans.

His eyes narrowed, and he focused on the hand that was now wiggling down into his pants. She grazed her fingers against his boxers, and then winked. She started to move off of him, so she could tug the jeans down.

However, as she moved from his waist, Josh jackknifed up and came for her, obviously thinking she was going somewhere. Giggling a little, Shelly decided to play and moved to dodge his hands, which just made his eyes take on a fiercer look. She got up to her knees and was about to stand and run to the bedroom. As she got one foot up under her, she felt two big hands grab her around the waist, pulling her back down to the floor.

He flattened her out on her belly and stretched out over her. She heard him breathing a little harder while he rubbed against her ass.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled in her ear.

Shelly smiled into the carpet and pushed her hips back.

“I was just going to pull off your pants, but you panicked.”

Josh moved away, and then tugged her hips up and back until she was on her hands and knees. Looking over her shoulder, Shelly saw his eyes had zeroed in on her ass and between her thighs, where she knew she must have been glistening wet.

“Well, do you blame me?” he asked as he slowly stood.

Shelly watched him from where she was, waiting for him to get down behind her and take her. However, this view she liked, too. As she watched, he pushed off his pants and boxers, and then removed his shirt.

Awestruck, she silently followed his movements with her eyes. He dropped down onto his knees behind her, and before she knew it, she was whimpering as she felt him reach out and slide his fingers between her thighs. He removed them from her heat and slipped them into his mouth for a taste.

“I have to be careful with you, Georgia. You often change your mind,” he told her.

Shelly moaned at the raw sex in his voice, and then dropped her head forward, presenting herself in silent invitation.

The man is insane.
There was no way in hell she’d be changing her mind anytime soon.

***

Josh watched as Shelly arched, pushing her ass back at him. He was so fucking hard he thought he might physically hurt her when he finally got inside all of that waiting heat.

Moving forward, he rose up on his knees and gripped her hips. He heard her breathy shudder as he moved the throbbing tip of his cock along her ass, sliding it down against her wet puffy folds.

“Now, Josh! God, do it now,” she almost screamed.

He punctuated her request with a solid thrust.

Even though she had braced herself on her hands, when he first thrust forward, he felt her slip a little. Her naked back arched, and he gripped her hips, slowly pulling his glistening erection out from between her juicy wetness.

Watching his own departure from her tight little body only served to spur him on further. So, he tightened his fingers into her hips and slid them down to the sides of her thighs before thrusting forward again. When he heard her moan, that was the moment he lost all control.

***

Shelly could swear that she felt every inch of him as he slowly withdrew the first time, only to drive back inside of her time and time again after that. The sheer desperation in him pulled at Shelly more than any gentle lovemaking could have. As she felt his hand move smoothly up her spine, gathering in her hair, she felt her body contract and tighten around him. She felt him thrust in hard and deep, and then they both screamed.

Shelly thought they were lucky they didn’t pass out from the sheer erotic pleasure of it all.

Chapter Twenty-Five

As Shelly stood across the crowded room from Josh that night, three things occurred to her at the same time.

One, Danny Zuko had never looked so hot. Two, she was a complete and utter moron. And three, she was one-hundred percent in love with Joshua Daniels.

It was funny because she wasn’t one to believe in “aha” moments, but this was most certainly one of them.

He wasn’t even looking at her or doing anything remarkably special. He was just standing by the bar with Mason, laughing at something his friend had said.

Suddenly, every little piece of the puzzle finally moved, shifted, and locked together. Shelly sat down gingerly at the table and watched the man she was finally
seeing
for the first time.

If she had to pinpoint the moment it had started to all slide into place, it would definitely have to be the desperation in him this afternoon. When he had come to her and taken her with such raw passion, something had switched on inside of her. It was like he had lit a fuse, and it had spread like wildfire up through her body, setting her heart ablaze.

Resting a hand on the table, she reached out with her other one to take a glass of water in her shaky hand.

What the hell do I do now? Just go over and tell him?

After all, it hadn’t been like he had been very receptive lately, always shushing her.

“Hey there.”

Shelly looked up to see a little round peach beside her—Lena in costume. If Shelly hadn’t known the story behind the outfit choice, she might have thought her friend was slightly insane. As it was though, the peach was a lovely nod to a creative date Mason had once come up with.

Shelly tried to smile but felt it came off a little strained. “Hey.”

“Are you okay?” Lena asked as she tried—and
tried
was the exact right word—to sit beside her.

That made Shelly chuckle a little before nodding. “I think so.”

Lena finally situated herself, even though the outfit pushed up to just under her ears. It really was rather comical. She had bright green tights on, so showing anything she shouldn’t wasn’t an issue. On her head was a nice little green cap shaped like leaves. The overall picture was downright hilarious.

“What do you mean you think you’re okay?” Lena asked, looking over to Mason and Josh. She turned back to Shelly. “Did you two have a fight?”

Shelly swallowed, shaking her head. “No, not at all. Just the opposite actually.”

Lena frowned, and then probed, “Opposite meaning?”

“I’m totally in love with him,” Shelly blurted out.

She then widened her eyes and clapped a hand over her mouth. She watched as a wide grin split across Lena’s face.

“Did that feel good?” Lena asked. “Or are you going to throw up?”

Shelly looked over to the guys again. This time Josh was staring right back at her, and then he winked.

All of a sudden, Shelly was thinking that she felt just like Sandra Dee from
Grease
, and yes, she had gone as Sandra Dee. She was dressed in the white preppy sweater, red skirt, ponytail, and all.

In fact, Josh had taken one look at her and smiled before kissing her brains out. Dressed in the black leather jacket, the black shirt, and the black jeans, he declared that
finally
he was the bad boy she had accused him of.

Oh god
, her heart
would not
calm down. It had kicked up and was now thundering a deafening beat as he went ahead and added to the wink. He smiled in that devastating way that had first put him on her radar so many months ago.

Shelly turned quickly to Lena with a panicked expression. “I don’t know what to do next.”

Lena smiled and tried to reach across to Shelly but the peach impeded her. It would have been ridiculous if Shelly hadn’t been sitting there realizing that the next few hours would probably either secure her future happiness or commit her to a lifetime of heartbreak and misery.

No pressure though.

“How about you tell him?” Lena suggested.

Shelly gave her friend a deadpan look and told her, “Wow, thanks for pointing out the obvious there, peaches.”

“Hey! You asked,” Lena defended, pouting and sitting back the best she could.

She really did look beyond absurd.

“It was more of a rhetorical kind of thing. I know what I need to do.” Shelly paused, and then looked back to the man she now knew with certainty she wanted for the rest of her life. “Now, I just have to convince him I mean it.”

***

Josh knew something was up. His spine had been tingling all night. He wasn’t exactly sure what had happened, but Shelly had changed somehow.

“Earth to Josh. Hey!” Mason said, waving a hand in front of him.

Josh turned his eyes to his friend and raised an eyebrow.

“Did the guys tell you they are ahead of schedule?” Mason asked him.

Josh nodded, taking a swig of his beer. “Who the hell are you supposed to be again, man?”

Mason spread his arms out and did a mock bow as he stood there dressed in a white pirate shirt coupled with a black vest and cream pantaloons.

“I’m Casanova. Lover of all women.”

Josh shook his head, chuckling. “And douche bag extraordinaire? What on earth were you and Lena thinking? She looks so uncomfortable anytime she tries to sit.”

Mason chuckled. “I suggested it, and she liked the idea. Well, until I brought the costume home, but by then, it was too late.”

Josh shook his head. “Shocker, man, total shocker.”

“Hey, that’s my wife you’re talking about. I happen to think she looks cute as a peach.”

Josh looked over to where Lena was squished up, seated with Shelly.

“Okay, she does look cute.”

Mason hummed his agreement, and then told him, “And your Man-Eater looks downright tame tonight, dressed as innocent little Sandra Dee.”

Josh then let his eyes wander to the perfect blonde ponytail and the red and white get-up. He had to admit that he wished he was staying tonight, just so he could get under that skirt.

“Yeah, well, maybe she isn’t quite the man-eater I first thought.”

“Oh yeah?” Mason queried.

“Yeah,” Josh agreed, lifting his beer for another swig. “In fact, she’s pretty fantastic—in every way.”

Mason gave him a shit-eating grin. “In a forever kind of way?”

Josh looked over to Shelly, who was now watching him. He winked at her and then smiled, watching her pale a little before gathering her composure. When she turned back to Lena, he himself turned back to Mason.

“Oh yeah, man. In a forever kind of way.”

***

Shelly took a deep breath and nodded. “Yep. I’m going to tell him tonight. Maybe he’ll stay.”

Lena nodded, and then grinned up at Rachel as she appeared beside their table from the crowd. She was dressed as a ninja tonight, wearing black skintight leggings that rode low around her waist, showing off her pierced navel, which, apparently, Mason knew about. She’d paired them with a slinky black top that clung to every curve of her body but left her arms bare. She wore a black scarf wrapped around her head and neck, revealing only her startling, now sad, blue eyes. The only reason Shelly knew what she was supposed to be was by the fake sword on her side.
Oh yeah, and I had to ask.

“What’s going on?” Rachel asked as she sat down beside the peach.

“Sandy over here is going to tell Danny that what they had over the summer really was true love.”

Rachel snorted at Lena, and Shelly rolled her eyes.

“Ahh. So you finally worked out he was a keeper, huh?”

Shelly felt her spine straighten, like she was defending herself.
Hang on,
why should I?
She had just been erring on the side of caution.

“Fine. Okay, yes, you’re right. I finally caught up.” Shelly paused, and then like a teenage girl, she added on a sigh, “He’s amazing.”

Rachel let out a grunt and stated softly, “Excuse me while I get a violin.”

She turned to the left, pretending to get the fake violin no doubt, and that was when Shelly saw her freeze.

Shelly raised her eyes to follow Rachel’s line of sight, and that was when she noticed him.
Isn’t that...

“What the hell is he doing here?” Rachel demanded in—
oh boy—
Super Domme’s voice.

Lena struggled to sit up and peer across the crowd to where they were looking. When she locked on to who they were staring at, Lena turned to Rachel.

“I thought you said you didn’t know him,” Lena said.  

Rachel’s spine straightened, and her shoulders went back a noticeable inch. “I do
not
know him. I don’t even know why he’s
here
,” she stressed, looking physically agitated.

Shelly tried to calm her.
Shit
, she had enough on her mind. She didn’t need Rachel having an anxiety attack.

“Look, if he’s given you shit in the past—” Shelly started.

However, before she could finish, Rachel stood abruptly.

“He hasn’t done anything to me.
I. Don’t. Know. Him
,” she stated, and then turned on her heel, stalking off.

Shelly looked at Lena with a shocked expression, and then they both turned back to see the man from Whipped, whose eyes were currently on Rachel’s retreating form.

***

Josh had gotten a text from Cole that he was just now making his way in.

He’d apologized for not dressing up, but he was coming from the office. Josh hadn’t thought that it was so unusual. After all, the guy practically lived there.

Scanning the room for his friend, he saw Cole as he stepped through all the colorful costumes. He noticed that his lawyer and friend was looking at the table with Shelly, Lena, and Rachel. Josh smirked.
Hell, who can blame the guy?
They were a good trio to be watching, even though two were taken and the other one was more like a loveable sister.

Plus, Josh didn’t think Cole dated anyway. It wasn’t like he ever had time, considering the painfully long hours he put in on his job.