Just Breathe Trilogy Box Set (67 page)

My expectations are quickly squashed when I look back as Joe prompts me to flip over. His mouth immediately converges with my sex, washing away my disappointment instantaneously. Joe’s tongue and fingers dive in, striking the very locations that bring me to orgasm.

While Joe licks his fingers clean from my release, I sit up and get to work on his belt. Joe and I stare at each other with eager anticipation as we both work to get him naked. Just before I get the chance to taste the pre-cum I see on the tip of his penis, Joe starts putting the condom on. Bending down and catching my waist, he shifts me back on the bed as his mouth returns to mine.

I gasp when Joe’s penis breeches the rim of my cave, gradually slipping in deeper. With slow, rhythmic thrusts, Joe takes his time. I notice him watching me when our lips release each time as if he’s studying every reaction I have to his body touching me. My second orgasm arrives quickly.

Joe alters his position when Sadie jumps on the bed where he’s kneeling straight up, with his cock still inside of me. My body rings from a new sensation as he holds onto my hips, waiting to see where Sadie will end up.

When Joe yanks on my hips a second time, pulling me toward him to make sure he doesn’t pop out, I announce my desire. “Again,” I pant.

Joe begins to lower himself and I lift my hand to stop him.

“No,” I direct.

He gives me a quizzical look.

“Stay up,” I explain.

Joe obliges when I direct his hands back to my hips once he’s kneeling again.

“Yes,” I confirm. “Just like that.”

Joe eases into rhythmic pulses as if he’s not sure about my level of enjoyment. It doesn’t take long for my moans to reassure him. His thrusts become harder and faster when I raise my pelvis up slightly, allowing him better access. My right hand jumps to my clit, feverishly rubbing.

“Don’t . . . stop . . .” I cry as I feel the release building inside.

The orgasm rushes into my body, causing convulsions and moans that reverberate throughout my frame to escape my mouth. Joe lowers, kissing me sweetly as my body finishes pulsating.

“That sounded like a good one,” Joe comments, grinning from ear to ear.

“Mmmm hmmm,” I concur, unable to vocalize any other sound.

“I’ll make sure we do that position again,” he notifies.

“Good,” I agree.

Joe returns his mouth to my neck, taking his time tasting me as he entwines our fingers. He returns to the slow, rhythmic thrusts into my body, and all I can do is drink up the euphoria coursing through me.

Enjoying ourselves, we don’t rush. Joe takes his time like he doesn’t want this moment to end. My body shivers each time Joe pumps into me, sensitive to each caress on every inch of my body, especially on the inside.

As the next orgasm stirs inside of me, I can tell Joe is getting closer too by the way he groans and the slight increase of his thrusts.

“God . . . I love the way you feel,” he whispers into my ear.

Several more thrusts and Joe groans, orgasming with me.

As we lay connected after our release, my brain wakes back up. Did Joe just say what I think he said? No. No. Yet, he did use the
L
word. Shit. I don’t care how he used it. He used it with me — that can’t happen.

“You should probably get going,” I say impassively.

Joe’s expression changes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I lie. “You’ve been here a while and we’re leaving Wednesday.”

“What’s going on?” he asks, not believing me.

“Nothing,” I deny.

“You’re acting weird,” he accuses.

“No, I’m not,” I say defensively.

“Did I do something wrong?” Joe looks worried and hurt.

“No,” I quickly reply, nervous by his reaction. A pain forms in my chest seeing him like this.

“You sure?” he checks.

“Yes,” I console.

Sadie comes over seeking attention, ironically helping to diffuse the situation. Joe studies me for several long seconds and I have trouble maintaining eye contact. He uses the bathroom before getting dressed and I put on my silk robe while he finishes buttoning up his shirt. Neither of us talk. This is the first time the silence is awkward — at least for me.

I find myself walking Joe out to the door and right after he cracks it open, he suddenly turns, grabs me and delivers a fervent kiss. My body melts immediately and molds to his, wanting the embrace to last.

When my eyes open after our lips part, I find that a smile has returned to Joe’s face. I can’t help but return the expression.

“See you,” he states with a mild hint of questioning.

“See you,” I breathe out, desperate to taste him again.

Joe presses his lips harder to mine, keeping them there for a long time, barely pulling away before returning them again for more. What is this spell he has on my body?

“Goodnight, beautiful,” his voice sings.

“Goodnight, Joe.”

The past few days have been much better for Maggie and the whole family. Joe’s parents went to visit, having lunch or dinner the past two days. I joined them only for one of the meals, wanting to stay at home and work with minimal distractions before our trip. It’s really nice to see more of the real Maggie — the happy, fun-loving Maggie. She even perked up a little when reminded of the premier. Everyone seems excited, except me.

Wednesday morning, Sadie and I are in the plane with Joe and his parents heading to Oregon. The flight is much more bearable, especially since it’s my fourth trip in an airplane. The five of us get settled quickly into our hotel and then have lunch before heading to the facility.

Apparently, Joe and Mr. Covelli were able to get a really good price on the property, especially since they purchased the thirty plus acres next to it. The facility is an old, rundown factory on the border of the town it’s located in, with easy access to the main highway. Several of my current staff who live in Oregon meet up with us to know where their new office will be. As we tour the place, I notice that it’s already been gutted and many of the new structural layouts have been put into place, along with radiant floor heating and a cooling system. The section that will be the home for Raven Media has a small office upstairs and private access to the lower level that will contain the servers. I take a variety of pictures, sending them to Maggie to show her the current status. Once the interior walls and floors are finished, Joe, Maggie and I will return to supervise the delivery and installation of the hardware.

Mr. and Mrs. Covelli, Joe, and I bid farewell to my staff after treating them to dinner. I fight with Joe about covering the bill and there’s a pleased, smug look on both of Joe's parent’s faces as he and I banter. I share a gloating smirk when I win. Back at the hotel, Joe’s parents say goodnight, leaving Joe and myself in the bar after having a round of cocktails and chatting with us for the last hour.

I head to my room, changing before taking Sadie out for a jog. Joe joins us and we cover about five miles by the time we get back. Somehow Joe manages to get past me as I open the door to my room, letting himself in when I announce that I’m going to take a shower.

“What are you doing?”

“We’ll, we both need to shower, and knowing how eco-conscious you are, I figured we’d conserve water,” he innocently states.

“Conserve water?” I repeat, making sure I heard him correctly.

“Yes,” he confirms, grinning. He leans forward to kiss me, but I block him with my finger.

“Nice try,” I reply.

“Why not?”

“We’re here on business and . . .” I stop myself from the real reason.

“And . . . ?”

Shit. He heard that extra part.

“And, I don’t mix business with pleasure,” I calmly respond.

“It’s a little late for that, beautiful,” he counters.

“How?”

Joe gives me a look — a look I understand. It’s a look that says
we’ve been having sex this whole time after already starting our business venture, and there’s no way I’m going to talk him out of it
. He snags a kiss, sealing his victory.

“What’s wrong?” he checks. My expression must have alerted him.

My eyes lower, not sure how to tell him. “I . . . it’s . . . .”

God, this is so awkward.

“It’s that time of the month,” I blurt, nervously giggling after the words escape my lips.

I can’t believe I just told him. I’ve never offered that information to a guy — a guy that isn’t Jared.

“That’ doesn’t bother me,” Joe sincerely offers. “Even just to shower and hang out.”

My fingers anxiously twist in his shirt. It’s odd to me how it doesn’t bother him at all.

“Okay,” I hesitantly agree. “No sex?”

“No sex,” he sweetly replies. “Not unless you change your mind.”

My eyes squint, confirming that I won’t change my mind. “Give me a second first, okay?”

“Sure, beautiful,” he says, giving me a long peak.

I head into the bathroom with Sadie on my heels, closing the door behind me for a little privacy. After I get my menstrual cup out and cleaned, I tuck it away in my toiletry bag. “Okay,” I say, cracking the door open.

Joe peeks around the door, making sure I was serious. He catches me with my running shirt halfway up my body, and he quickly places his hands along the edges, assisting me. Once my shirt is off, Joe pulls me into him, delivering his lips to mine ever so gently. He takes a small step back and removes his shirt. When my hands start to push my running capris down, Joe tentatively helps, as if making sure he isn’t overstepping boundaries. I let him, but my body shakes when he kneels in front of me, assisting to lift each foot out and places his mouth on my navel. I hear him take a long, deep breath in and then his mouth inches up my belly, past my breasts and stops at my collar bone. In one quick movement, Joe shrugs his shorts and underwear down to the floor and then carefully removes my sports bra.

“What are you doing?” I question, not sure why he’s starting a bath.

“I thought we could start in the tub,” he comments. “We can end up in the shower afterward.”

“Okay,” I tentatively agree.

“We don’t have to,” he begins.

“No, it’s fine,” I confirm. My hands tremble a little.

Joe turns off all of the lights, except the recessed lighting at the bottom of the sink area. I grab my jar of bath salts from a bag and my hands clasp uncomfortably in front of my sex, not sure what to do. Holding out his hand, Joe softly tugs for me to move forward. He lets me sprinkle in the salts and then takes the jar, returning it where it belongs. He holds my hand as I step into the overly large, white porcelain tub. Once I get settled, Joe climbs in, sitting behind me with his phone in hand. He turns on some music and we lounge, enjoying the music. Joe either has his arms wrapped around me or is playing with a strand of my hair when he’s not kissing the back of my head, my shoulder or holding my face to the side to get to my lips.

At some point, Joe gets a little daring, walking his fingers down my belly. He swirls his finger around my bellybutton and then slides it down my hip and onto my thigh, to the tip of my knee that is sticking out of the water. My mouth is unable to object when his fingers slide back down the way they came and end up circling my lower belly, just above my sex. My breathing becomes a little unsteady for how close his hand is, and before I know it, a moan releases from my mouth when his fingers gently rub over my clitoris. Joe’s hand doesn’t falter and continues without a break in pace.

“I thought . . . we said . . . no sex,” I awkwardly comment between light pants.

“This isn’t sex,” he hums into my ear.

“No?” I check.

“No.”

“Then, what do you call it,” I question, not stopping him.

Joe’s teeth nip at my earlobe and his other hand caresses my breasts and nipples. “Do you trust me?”

“I . . .” my voice whimpers, enjoying what he’s doing to me. “I . . . don’t know.”

Joe chuckles and his hands continue their steady pursuit.

Suddenly, our eyes meet and I lift my chin, wanting to kiss him. Joe obliges as his fingers continue to circle on my nub. My hips start to sway a little, almost matching the rhythm of his hand. I grip onto his knee to steady myself better as the pleasure swirls inside.

“Cum for me, beautiful,” he directs in his sexy voice.

“Mmmmmm . . .” my voice hums.

My panting gradually increases along with the rocking of my body.

“That’s it,” he coaxes. “Cum for me.”

“Yes . . .” I agree, wanting it to happen.

My feet press against the far end of the tub as my hips lift and the muscles inside my vagina clench down, desperate for release. In the next moment, the orgasm catches fire in my body.

Joe’s hand gradually slows over my clit until my body stops convulsing from elation. He assists my body back down into the tub, stroking my arms as he continues to hold me. “See . . . not sex,” he states.

I shake my head in opposition to his words. “What about you?” I check.

“Don’t worry about me,” he insists.

“I think it’s hardly fair,” I offer, turning to face him.

Joe kisses me several times before refusing again.

With a wicked grin on my face, I lean in and whisper, “Touch yourself . . . please.”

When our eyes meet, Joe nods agreement. I stay kneeling, watching him stroke his cock with slow, long strokes. My gaze bounces between his face and hand for several minutes until I see his eyes roll back into his head. Leaning forward, my lips meet his and he eagerly takes them, slipping his tongue in to dance with mine. Joe’s mouth moves forward when I peel away, growling his protest until my mouth plays with his neck. His free hand cups the back of my head as I bounce up and down his body, back to his mouth and to his nipples on occasion.

“Tell me when you’re going to cum,” I direct, biting his earlobe.

Joe grunts his understanding.

My hands slide down his thighs, grazing his balls, which elicits a moan and makes Joe’s eyes flutter. He gently tugs on my neck, pulling my mouth to his. Stabilizing myself with my right hand on the back of the tub, my left continues to fondle his sack while we kiss, causing Joe to grunt into my mouth. He whines when I pull away, but doesn’t seem too upset when I return to his nipples.

“God, Emma,” he says through gritted teeth.

“You better tell me when,” I demand, biting down on his left nipple.

Joe yanks my mouth back to his. After his tongue swirls with mine several times, Joe rests his forehead on mine. “I’m . . . going to . . .” he announces.

I pull to watch, but he’s got a strong hold on me, so my eyes look down just in enough time to see him cum into the water.

“Fuck, beautiful,” he whimpers.

“See . . . not sex,” I mention.

Joe laughs. “Not sex.”

He cups my face, kissing me for several long, passionate minutes before shifting his hands down to my ass and scooping me closer into him. We stay together for several more minutes, consumed by the presence of each other until Sadie walks up and drinks some of the water.

“Sadie,” I softly scold.

Normally I wouldn’t care. Epsom salt, water and essential oils won’t hurt her, but the idea of her also getting two other flavors does not make me feel good.

I push Sadie’s head back, shifting off of Joe to climb out of the tub. Grabbing her bowl that’s by the door, I fill it and she drinks it eagerly.

As the tub drains, Joe turns on the shower and we hop in. Once we’ve finished, I offer to go to his room to get some clothes, but Joe objects, saying he doesn’t mind lounging naked or in a towel. Joe helps me with my lotion and once he’s got my entire body covered, he uses some for himself. He heads out to the bedroom first, expecting me to be right behind him. I quickly close the door and lock it so I can get my menstrual cup back in without any curious onlookers.

When I open the door, I’m meet with a quizzical look from Joe. I bite my lip and shrug my shoulders as I walk past him, noticing that he’s still naked.

We turn on a movie, but we hardly pay attention to it. As I lay on my back in the middle of the bed, Joe, still naked but under the covers from the waist down, lays on his stomach between my legs with his head on my chest. I play with his hair as he kisses me occasionally and we talk about different things.

“Henry and Maggie seem to back to their regular selves,” Joe mentions.

“Yeah,” I agree with a smile.

“And, it looks like you are too,” he adds.

My lips purse together and I nod, not really wanting to talk about it.

“Are you feeling better?” Joe checks.

“Yeah,” I confirm.

“You don’t sound it,” Joe accuses politely.

“I just don’t like talking about it,” I share. “I’m sorry for how I acted.”

“What do you mean?” he asks confused.

“For fighting you when you were trying to console me. For avoiding you and everyone and . . . for leaving the way I did,” I explain.

“I don’t think you need to apologize,” Joe states. “We all deal with things differently . . . and that was pretty intense for everyone involved, even me.”

I shrug my shoulders, accepting his words to some extend.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Joe encourages. “I actually thought you would have responded differently.”

“Why do you say that?” I ask, curious by his statement.

Joe lets out a heavy breath. “Jared . . . he explained some things to me.” He pauses, waiting and watching for my reaction. “Things about your past . . . like how things were for you the first year or so when you two met.”

I wince hearing his words, but I’m not as uncomfortable as I thought I would be.

“Don’t be mad at Jared,” Joe requests sweetly. “I asked . . . and pushed to know . . . just in case I could help.”

My head bobs in reply. “What did he tell you?”

With a soft smile, Joe’s body noticeably relaxes. “Little things,” Joe begins. “How you didn’t get into a car for several years. How you’d have panic attacks when you finally did . . . having the dream all those nights.” Joe’s pauses for a few seconds. “How you like to control things . . . like it’s your way of coping with the stuff you can’t. How he believed that Maggie’s miscarriage might make you more distant . . . at least for a while.”

I look away, wanting to hide the pain.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Joe searches.

“What?”

“Maggie . . . the mis . . . .”

“Don’t,” I snap a little, cutting him off. “Please. Don’t say the word okay?”

“Sure, beautiful,” Joe agrees, moving closer to console me. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I answer.

“I . . . it was hard,” I share.

“I know,” Joe agrees.

“I’m sorry I left and didn’t let anyone . . . .”

“Don’t,” Joe interrupts. “Don’t apologize. Like I said, we all cope in different ways. I’m just glad that you’re back.”

I don’t say anything as I try to calm myself.

“You know, you’re a great friend to Maggie,” Joe praises. “You did what you could and I know that Maggie and Henry are grateful for everything. You showed up when she needed you and you did the best that you could.”