Twenty-six

TWENTY-SIX

Josie

"Wow. You look amazing. That dress looks perfect on you."

A shy smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. It didn't seem to matter that Huck offered regular compliments to me—I still felt my face flush now. Would I ever get used to being treated this way?

"You already saw the dress on me when you took me out to buy it," I reminded him.

"I know, but it's different seeing it paired with the shoes and you having your hair and makeup all done up. You're absolutely stunning, Josie."

My gaze dropped to the ground briefly as I allowed the good feelings Huck left me with to move through me. I wasn't quite sure they'd fully settled when my attention was pulled to the shoes on his feet. My eyes began to drift up his legs toward his waist and over his torso until they finally settled on his face again.

God, he was handsome.

On any random day, I'd found myself captivated by the way he looked.

Now that he was decked out in a suit, it was safe to say I was exceptionally lucky. He took my breath away.

"You look especially handsome today, so at least we'll be arriving at the wedding in style," I said.

His mouth quirked up in a smile as he stepped forward, closing the distance between us, and slid his arm around my waist. He tugged me toward him, my hands flying to his chest, and barely a moment later, his mouth was on mine.

Seeking, tasting.

Huck and I had done a lot of kissing and touching lately, but we hadn't taken that next step. While there was a part of me that wanted it, was desperate to be with him like that, there was another part of me that was afraid.

I didn't feel fear about Huck himself. The worry I was experiencing was about how I'd even be able to take that step without losing myself.

As it was, simply kissing him led to me feeling like my entire world stopped. When he touched me while he kissed me, it felt like my entire world had tilted on its axis. I couldn't imagine what it would be like, how it would feel, if Huck kissed me and touched me while he moved inside me.

But every time he did this, every time we kissed each other, and that kissing led to roaming hands and desperate moans, I inched closer and closer to being ready to take that step.

And why shouldn't I? Whether I'd known it from the start and ignored it, or I just hadn't been sure about it, I no longer had any doubt.

I was completely, totally, in love with Huck. I hadn't had any good examples of what love was supposed to feel like all throughout my life, but I knew now. What I felt for him didn't compare to anything I'd ever felt before.

So, I knew it was the real deal.

I just had to work up the courage to tell him the truth about what he meant to me, and I believed it was important to do it at a time that didn't require us needing to leave to go to a wedding. Because with the way he was currently kissing and holding me, I wasn't entirely sure I'd stop us if he wanted to cross that line. If that happened, missing the wedding would come with a very high probability.

Huck's arm tightened around my body as he separated his mouth from mine and began kissing along my jaw and toward my ear. "We have to leave."

His voice was a deep whisper, his breath against my skin sending a shiver down my spine. "Yeah," I whispered back. My voice came out shaky. "We should go."

Huck pulled his head back, looked at me adoringly, and smiled. Warmth spread through me, my heart beating a little faster in my chest at the way he was looking at me, and I wondered what thoughts were going through his mind.

Before I knew it, I was the one who likely had an unreadable look on my face. Huck and I, along with quite a few other people, had just sat through Jesse and Sawyer's wedding ceremony. After the bride and groom, together with their bridal party, walked back down the aisle, everyone followed behind to make their way to the reception.

And it was on the walk into the ballroom, where the reception was being held, when my thoughts had drifted to what I'd just witnessed. When Huck had asked me to attend the wedding with him, I was excited about being here with him. It was never about the wedding for me. How could it be, when I didn't even know the two people getting married?

But after having watched them exchange vows and commit themselves to one another, there was a part of me that was glad Huck and I hadn't taken steps to get distracted before leaving his place earlier. I would have missed this, and I was glad I didn't.

I'd had such a wonderful time with Huck all throughout the cocktail hour and dinner, getting to know some of his friends from work better. We'd done some dancing, consumed cake and other desserts, and just enjoyed our time together.

I truly hadn't believed the night could get any better, but then Huck stood again after we'd taken a break for some dessert and asked, "Would you like to dance with me?"

How could I turn him down?

The next thing I knew, I was being held in Huck's arms as we danced together. Never in a million years would I have ever thought I'd get this lucky.

I gave myself some time to soak it up and take it all in, but eventually I couldn't hold myself back any longer. This felt like the perfect moment.

"This was beautiful," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm really happy for the both of them."

"I was surprised by how much the ceremony affected me," I shared.

Curiosity and concern washed over him. "Were you… were you thinking about the fact that you were engaged not that long ago?"

My eyes widened with horror, my stomach dropping. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. "Oh God, no. Not at all."

"Okay. I think that's good. What did you mean, then?"

I glanced to my right, where I saw Jesse and Sawyer dancing with one another just a few feet away from us. The pair were so caught up in each other that neither noticed me looking at them.

When I returned my attention to Huck, I said, "It gave me hope."

"Hope?"

Nodding, I explained, "During the ceremony, I recalled the story you'd shared with me about what they had gone through. Knowing that Jesse and Sawyer lost their way so long ago but somehow managed to find their way back to one another makes me believe that happy endings are possible despite adversity. I mean, I saw it with Liv and Brixton when they were at the diner, but seeing this was different. I don't know. I guess it really hit me at that moment that it's possible I could have that, too."

Huck's features softened, the corners of his mouth tipping up. "You're going to have that, honey. I have no doubt about it. If you want that happy ending, you're going to get it."

Maybe I was setting myself up for disappointment, but I had to ask. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

I licked my lips, hesitating briefly. Once I pushed this issue, once I put the question out there, I wouldn't be able to take it back. I considered that possibility and quickly realized that wasn't an option for me. Even if I didn't hear what I was hoping to hear, I still needed to know how he felt.

Finally, I asked, "Do you want this one day?"

"A wedding?"

I shrugged. "A wedding, yes. But I was referring mostly to the marriage."

For several long moments, Huck didn't respond. It seemed he needed to take at least the same amount of time to consider his answer as I needed to ask the question. As sure as I was about my desire to know how he felt, I was suddenly feeling unsure this was the right time to ask.

What if he didn't respond the way I hoped, and I had to spend the rest of the time at this wedding feeling awkward?

Following a painstaking delay, Huck said, "For a long time, I thought about marriage as being something I'd eventually want. To some degree, I guess I assumed it would ultimately happen. But I only ever viewed it as an idea, if that makes sense."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean," I confessed.

My eyes followed the movement of Huck's throat as he swallowed. They remained there until he spoke and pulled my attention to his face again. "The easiest way to explain it is probably for me to just be totally honest with you. I hope this doesn't freak you out completely, but it's only been since you've come back into my life that I've started seriously thinking about my future, about who I want to spend my life with."

My lips parted, my mouth suddenly feeling particularly parched. "Are… are you saying?—"

"I'm saying that I've fallen in love with you, Josie."

Despite the rapid rise and fall of my chest, which proved my lungs were functioning, oxygen seemed to be in short supply. My pulse was pounding—in my chest, in my ears. I could feel the blood rushing in my veins.

Huck Davidson had admitted he'd fallen in love with me.

Maybe I'd just gotten my happy ending.

"You love me?"

His head tipped slightly to one side, his eyes roaming over my face in nearly the same way he'd been looking at me before we left his place earlier. "I do. Of course, I do. But I don't just love you, honey. I'm in love with you."

I nodded slowly, hoping to communicate my understanding. My eyes began to dry out, because I refused to blink. I was worried I'd blink, wake up, and be utterly devastated to learn I'd made it all up.

Apparently, my silence led to Huck feeling a bit of panic. His arm tightened around me, and he called gently, "Josie?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you freaking out? Did I just reveal too much too soon?"

It was one of the few times I'd heard uncertainty and worry in Huck's tone. The sound of his fear was enough to have me reacting.

I swallowed hard, shook my head slightly, and replied, "I'm not freaking out, Huck. Or, well, not in a bad way. The thing is… well, I've fallen in love with you, too."

Huck's solid body suddenly felt like he was flexing every muscle he possessed. "Are you serious?"

I smiled at him, feeling the happiest I ever had in my whole life. "Yes. I was going to tell you before we left your place, but I was worried we might not leave if I did. I didn't think we should miss the wedding."

Something darkened in his gaze. "Is that so?"

I nodded.

The look in his eyes grew even more intense, holding me as captive as his arm around his waist was. "How do you feel about leaving here early?"

My belly dipped with a twinge of excitement. "They already cut and served the cake," I reasoned. "We've been here for hours, so I don't think it's that early."

Like he'd been waiting for this moment all his life, Huck released his hold on me, took me by the hand, and led me across the room to where Jesse and Sawyer were still dancing with one another.

We said goodbye to them before waving at a few others on our way out the door. And the next thing I knew, Huck and I were in his truck on the way back to his place.

I couldn't remember a time when I felt so excited.

I was no stranger to nerves.

Over the course of my life, they had become a staple in my day-to-day interactions.

But where I'd experienced nerves in such a negative way before, this was completely different. This was unlike anything I'd ever faced.

The trembling in my belly used to mean danger was on the horizon.

Now, it meant that something magical was happening, something worth looking forward to.

Huck and I were back at his place, and he'd led me up the stairs to his bedroom. After having kissed me repeatedly from the second he opened my door on the truck until we made it here, it was safe to say we were both ready for more.

Just moments ago, Huck had spun me around in his arms and stepped close as he pressed the front of his body against the back of mine. As one hand slid around my waist and settled itself low on my abdomen, he gathered my hair in his other hand, shifted it off to one side, and dropped his mouth to the exposed skin where my neck met my shoulder.

Instinctively, my head dropped back against his shoulder as I squeezed my thighs together.

This was exactly what I had expected. Huck had barely touched me, and I was already a mess. By the time he had me naked, I didn't doubt I'd be pleading with him to offer me some relief.

Huck's mouth traveled up toward my ear, peppering soft kisses along the way. Once there, he nipped at my earlobe with his teeth and sent shivers across my skin.

"Huck," I rasped.

"Tell me what you want, Josie," he whispered against my ear. His breath was hot, his voice a deep rumble, and he wrapped his other arm around the front of my body, his hand settling on my opposite shoulder.

Nothing in my life had been better. Nothing would compare to this moment. And since Huck was asking me to tell him what I wanted, I figured it was worth asking for it all.

"To have what you said we were always meant to have, Huck," I said softly. "I want all of you. And I want you to take all of me."

His hand pressed in firmly against my abdomen as his mouth moved along the side of my neck. After allowing his lips to linger there a bit, he turned his head, burying his face in my hair, and inhaled deeply.

I reached my hands back and sunk my fingertips into his outer thighs, my back arching slightly and my ass pressing firmly into his groin.

Huck groaned. "Are you sure, honey?"

I'd never been more sure about anything in my life. "Yes, Huck. Please. Let's not deny ourselves from having this any longer."

Huck's arm that had been draped across the upper part of my torso drifted down my body, his large hand splayed across the top part of my chest. It wandered down toward my breast, my body aching to feel that intimate touch.

An instant later, his palm covered one of my breasts and gently squeezed the flesh. "Oh, God," I moaned, squirming against him.

I knew it.

I knew it wasn't going to take much for me to lose all sense of myself and become a mess of desire and lust and need.

But it felt good.

We hadn't removed more than our shoes, and it was already better than anything I could have hoped for it to be.

Huck's other hand traveled up my body until both of my breasts were in his hands. I continued to writhe against him, loving the feel of him hard against me.

"Huck, please," I begged.

In a flash, he released his hold on me, and as I surged forward on a desperate cry, he brought his hands to the back of my dress. "I'm not going to deny you, Josie. Fuck, I don't think I could if I tried."

Relief swept through me, even as I balled my hands into fists and anticipated him getting me out of my dress. Either I was too worked up or Huck was a master at delaying gratification, because it felt like he was moving at a turtle's pace as he unzipped my dress.

But as I felt his knuckles brush gently against the skin on my back, I realized I might have been wrong. Maybe it wasn't about delayed gratification at all. Maybe it was about teasing and building me up even more than I already was.

Because with each featherlight stroke of his knuckles against my skin, I squeezed my legs together even tighter.

And when Huck spoke, he proved that was precisely what he was doing. I could hear the amusement in his tone when he said, "You seem frustrated."

"I never thought you would want to restrain yourself so much," I panted.

He got the dress fully unzipped, brought his hands to the straps at my shoulders, and slid them down my arms until the weight of the dress had it pooling at my feet. Then, as I stood there with my back to him in nothing but a sexy bra and panties, he shared, "I've waited all these years for you, honey, and you're already way better than I ever thought you would be." He stepped close, the material of his suit rough against my bare skin. After resting his hands lightly on my hips, he added, "I'm going to give you everything you want tonight. I promise I'm not going to stop until you know that your body and your heart were only ever meant to be loved and worshipped."

My lips parted, a wave of anticipation and excitement rolling over me.

Huck spun me around, captured my mouth with his, and held me close to him. I'd already known how his kisses affected me. This one was no different. It was possessive and hungry. It was claiming.

And the moment his tongue slipped past my lips and explored my mouth, dancing and dueling with my tongue, I felt a wave of that same hunger and possessiveness move through me.

Suddenly, I needed to have more of him.

I began tearing at his clothes, pushing the suit of his jacket down his arms before loosening his tie around his neck.

One of Huck's hands drifted down over my ass and squeezed as he pulled me in tight against his erection and forced a groan up his own throat.

I'd been frantically opening the buttons on his dress shirt and squirming against him, all while refusing to lose the connection between our mouths.

But it eventually became too much at once, and I had no choice but to tear my mouth away, so I could focus my effort on the remaining buttons. The second I had the last one undone, I ripped the shirt open and yanked it down his arms.

Then I took a step back and gave myself half a second to take in the sight of his nearly naked body. Almost immediately, I felt another wave of desire move through me.

I wanted to touch him and taste him. I wanted to feel his warm skin and hard muscle beneath my fingertips. I wanted to be wrapped in his strong and comforting embrace as much as I wanted to feel his hands roaming over every inch of my body.

I bit down on my bottom lip, stepped forward again, and touched my fingertips to his naked torso. They traveled lightly across his pecs and down his abdomen. When they made their way to the front of his pants, I made quick work of the belt, button, and zipper there. Once I urged his pants down over his ass and thighs, ultimately pooling at his ankles, the both of us stood there in our underwear, staring at one another.

My eyes roamed, not one spot on his body left unnoticed, and there wasn't anything I didn't like about what was in front of me.

But what I liked most of all was what I saw when I looked into his eyes. The need I felt in his kiss only moments ago was now present in his stare. He was looking at me with such longing. Like he was in the middle of a desert with nothing around for miles, and I was the only thing that quenched his thirst.

"God, you're beautiful," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

For the first time in a very long time, maybe ever, I felt powerful. That power had nothing to do with physical or emotional strength, either. It was about knowing there was a man in this world who looked at me like Huck did, like he would give anything to experience what we were experiencing right now for the rest of his life.

Without another word, he closed the distance between us, hauled me up against his body once more, and kissed me again.

And this kiss was the best of all.

Because while there was moaning and whimpering and tasting and savoring, there was also warm skin and roaming hands and naked bodies and budding desires. It came as no surprise that, in the midst of it all, we tore at each other's remaining clothing.

Before I knew it, I was on my back in Huck's bed, and there was nothing between us. We took the time to just feel, the moment and each other. We kissed. We kissed so much, my lips were swollen.

There was a pulsing need between my legs, an ache growing stronger and stronger. He really was doing what he'd said and showing me that he wanted to love and worship my body.

And it seemed it was doing a number on him, too. Because Huck was just as turned on, the hard length of him pressed firmly against me.

I wanted that.

God, I wanted him more than I'd wanted anything else in my life.

And the more we kissed, the more I wanted it.

But we also never stopped touching.

My hands glided along the smooth, solid surface of his shoulders and arms while his hands squeezed my breasts. Then I ventured down his sides and over his ass, where I squeezed before I slid my hands around his hips and between us. He shifted his weight to one arm while his fingers crawled their way down my body, meeting mine at the intimate juncture of our bodies.

With my eyes pinned on his, I curled my fingers around his length and watched the muscle tick in his jaw. He flattened his palm against me, slipped his fingers between my parted thighs, and cupped me between my legs.

"You're so wet," he growled.

I offered a single stroke with my fist, pulling another groan from somewhere deep inside him. "And you're so hard."

One half of his mouth quirked up with a smile just before his fingers began to rub and play between my thighs.

It felt unbelievable, that strong pull in my lower belly building immediately.

But as good as it felt, I was still so caught up and attempting to come to grips with the fact that Huck Davidson was naked, hovering over me, and touching me like this.

And I was touching him, stroking him, and listening to him struggle to hold on to his control as he kissed my mouth and along my jaw.

Eventually, the physical sensations overtook the emotional results of what was happening between us, and I couldn't continue without getting more.

"Huck, please," I begged when his mouth had drifted down to the front of my throat. "I want to feel you inside me."

My legs and arms were wrapped around him, holding him close, so I begrudgingly released him when he said, "I've got to grab a condom."

Though I hated the way it felt to lose him when he lifted his body from mine, I knew I was going to get all of him back in the best way possible. Sure enough, Huck made quick work of the condom, but he didn't immediately join me in the bed again.

"Huck?" I called.

"Yeah?"

"Is everything okay?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes moving over my body. Then he climbed back into the bed, brought his mouth close to mine, and whispered, "Everything's perfect."

His lips touched mine in a soft, sweet kiss before he reached down between our bodies and positioned himself.

He was right there. So close. But he didn't push forward.

The anticipation had built so high; I was far too eager. "Please," I whispered.

Huck's eyes met mine, and following a beat of tense silence, he slid himself inside.

There was no controlling the sound that came out of me. I didn't know if I'd moaned or whimpered. Maybe it was a combination of both.

Huck's hands framed either side of my face, his expression unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Without moving anything but his hips, he pulled back and thrust inside slowly two more times before he remained rooted to the spot.

His thumbs swiped tenderly over my cheeks, and he said, "I don't know what I did to deserve this, but you can't imagine how lucky I feel for this second chance to love you."

My heart exploded in my chest, the tip of my nose beginning to sting. "Huck."

"Fuck, how did I get so lucky?" he croaked.

That he believed he was the lucky one was a testament to the kind of man Huck was. His life had been filled with so much good, and all I'd ever known was heartache. If anyone should have felt fortunate in this situation, it was me.

But I thought the best way to tell him that was to answer his question. "You were the only one who ever cared about me, Huck. You're the only one who ever deserved to have this with me."

"I love you, Josie."

I lifted my head from the bed, brushed my lips against his, and murmured, "I love you, too."

"I'm going to give you everything now, honey."

Smiling against his lips, I said, "I want it all."

And that's when it happened.

Huck decided we were done talking and became a man of action. He kissed my mouth and began moving his hips again, thrusting himself in and out of my body. It started off slow and measured. It was sweet and beautiful and everything I could have ever hoped for it to be.

But as the pleasure built and that pull in my belly grew stronger, I couldn't just sit back and accept whatever Huck was going to give me.

I told him I wanted everything.

That meant I needed to take what I could get.

So, I did.

And the languid pace of it all soon shifted to something else.

We became slightly more frantic. We were both seeking—to give and to receive.

Mouths collided.

Tongues tangled.

Hands roamed.

And the sounds. God, the sounds that filled the room indicated Huck was just as lost in me as I was in him.

It was, by and large, the best experience of my entire life. I was with a man who loved me, who would go to the ends of the earth to protect me.

There was nothing better.

There was no one better.

Huck was it. He was the man I was meant to be with all along.

We rolled several times, our bodies became covered in a sheen of sweat, and somehow, despite how long this thing had been building for the both of us for weeks now, we didn't race to the finish.

But eventually, there was only so much we could take.

Between the emotional and physical connection between us, it was impossible to believe we could prolong it forever.

And before I knew it, my breathing had grown shallow and that knot in my lower abdomen tightened until I was crying out through the pleasure, my orgasm tearing through my body.

Huck didn't stop. He didn't slow down. He kept at me, one delicious stroke after another, until it left me.

That's when I opened my eyes again, saw the intensity in his gaze, and felt the shift from him. He picked up his pace, one of his hands reaching down to curl around the back of my thigh. My leg was hitched higher on his side, and the next thing I knew, I was watching with utter fascination as Huck came apart above me, his muscles tensing and flexing as it ripped through him.

I'd never seen anything more fascinating in my entire life.

He was gorgeous.

He was perfect.

And when he made it to the other side and looked at me again, I blurted, "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Huck smiled, dropped his mouth to mine, and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips while he moaned. After he pulled back, he returned, "I don't know how I ever lived without you."

That was it.

That was all I needed to hear.

What we just had mixed with all the words we shared, there wasn't anything that could ever take away what this meant to me. To us.

Finally, for the first time in my life, I believed I was exactly where I was supposed to be. And that's when Huck's sentiments really rang true. Because if I took the time to think about it, I didn't know how I ever lived without having him in my life, either.