Twenty-eight

TWENTY-EIGHT

Josie

A low, guttural moan filled the air around me. The sound sent a thrill of desire through me, motivating me to continue doing what I was doing, just as I was doing it.

Huck and I were in his bed, he was on his back, and I was resting on my shins, positioned between his thick muscular thighs with the fingers on one hand curled around the base of his cock. My mouth was wrapped around him, and I was doing my very best to drive him wild.

Based on his response, I could only assume I was succeeding in achieving my goal. One of his hands was on my forearm, the fingers on the other gripping my hair. Huck didn't use his hands to control my movements. He merely kept them where they were as a means to touch me.

Of course, he inadvertently used them—his fingers pressing in on my forearm or fisting my hair—to reveal what things I did that he liked.

I'd been at him for a while—sucking, licking, and teasing—and I was loving every minute of it almost as much as Huck. Ever since the first time I'd done this for him and learned just how much he enjoyed it, I found myself wanting to do it for him regularly.

Sure, there was the part of me that recognized he'd want to reciprocate and use his mouth on me—which was close to being the best thing I'd ever experienced in my life—but that wasn't the reason I did it.

I did it because Huck loved it.

I did it because he enjoyed it.

I did it because I wanted to give him something that could lead to him groaning like he had been.

I did it because it made me excited to make him feel good.

And that was precisely what was happening right now. I'd been working his length, sucking him in deep, and hollowing my cheeks as I pulled back. I'd used firm pressure and a steady pace. The more he groaned, the faster I went, and the deeper I took him. When my jaw needed a rest, I was still just as attentive with the licking, kissing, or fisting. Our bodies were hot, my mouth was wet, and neither of us could seem to keep ourselves quiet.

I was on another downward glide, taking him in as deep as I could, when his hand fisted my hair, and he growled, "Fuck, Josie, I love your mouth."

I hummed my pleasure at hearing the reaction he was having to what I was doing before pulling back all the way to the tip and allowing my gaze to travel up his torso toward his face.

Huck was looking down at me, something burning in his stare. That intense heat in his eyes only made me want to please him more. So, following a beat where I freed him from my mouth to offer a mischievous smile and a soft kiss to the tip, I took him in deep again.

I'd kept my eyes on him and watched as his head dropped back onto the pillow and another guttural moan escaped. "You're undoing me."

I might have liked that even more.

When I did this to Huck, he always offered lots of praise. He didn't fail to communicate with me whenever we were intimate, even if it wasn't always verbal. He made it clear what he liked in a variety of ways. Whether he knew I found that to be motivating or not, I wasn't sure, but I loved hearing it or feeling it. I loved knowing I was making him feel so good.

If there was one thing I'd learned recently, it was that sex and sexual acts didn't have to feel like a chore. It wasn't about forcing myself to do something because it was expected of me or because I was fearful of what would happen if I didn't.

With the right person, with someone who loved and respected me, sex was beautiful. It was wonderful. I craved being able to give to Huck, to please him, because not only did I know he'd give me the same in bed, but he'd also go above and beyond in every other aspect of our lives to protect and care for me.

Huck allowed me to continue what I was doing for a while longer, letting me take him to the very edge, but then he knifed up, slipped his hands beneath my arms, and dragged me up his body.

He drove his fingers into my hair, angled my head back, and kissed along the skin at the front and side of my throat as he rolled me to my back. I already knew what was in store for me without him having yet executed it.

Because there wasn't a chance Huck was going to miss the opportunity to return the favor and get his mouth between my legs.

Pulling his head back, he brought his eyes to mine, that fire still burning in them. "You're the most incredible woman I've ever met, Josie. And you're so fucking beautiful. I can't get over it."

"Do you like what I do to you?" I asked him.

A smile formed on his face, and he dropped his mouth to mine. He brushed his lips gently over mine and whispered, "I love everything you do, honey. Nobody has ever given me what you have."

I smiled against his lips. "That makes two of us."

After pressing a chaste kiss to my mouth, Huck corrected me. "I haven't given you what you deserve yet."

"So, what are you waiting for?" I asked, my tone teasing.

Huck kissed me once more, his lips lingering a bit this time, before he crawled his way down my body, his mouth kissing and sucking on my breasts on his way to the ultimate prize.

Much like he had been with me, my hands were constantly seeking out spots to touch him. His back, shoulders, and arms—there wasn't any place I left untouched. And as he continued his descent, I sought out his hands that continued to touch and tease my breasts. Or when he finally threw my thighs over his shoulders and immediately began eating me, one of my hands went to his head.

I had to hold on.

I had no choice.

Huck was undeniably talented with his mouth. I should have known he would be incredible.

He went at me with wild abandon, eating like he was starved, and built me up with such ease.

His lips kissed, his mouth sucked, and his tongue swirled. I tried to contain myself, to relax deeper into the mattress and not put in the effort to seek out an orgasm, but it didn't matter.

Huck was just that good. I didn't have to do any work at all, and the way he ate forced my heels into his back.

And Huck knew he was talented. He knew he was good at what he was doing. It was obvious, considering I never stopped moaning and squirming. When he got me close, he'd pull back or change things up until it left me. Then he'd do it all over again until I was a writhing mess of pent-up sexual frustration.

It was on the fourth time he'd done that—or maybe it was the fifth—when he pulled back, rolled on a condom, and drove inside.

We'd been playing for so long beforehand, things got out of control. The relaxing I'd been attempting to do while Huck had his mouth between my legs was gone. Now, it was frenzied actions on both sides, seeking to get ourselves to that point of no return.

We both wanted to deliver and to take.

Huck drove in hard. I rolled my hips to meet and match each thrust.

And before I knew it, my hands were wrapped around his biceps, with my eyes focused on his and my lips slightly parted. I saw the look on his face and knew he was right there with me.

"Come with me, Josie," he demanded.

I really had no choice.

Then again, this was the only time in my life where I enjoyed following orders. When I was with Huck, and he was doing everything to make me feel good.

So, I let go and came with him, the pleasure splintering all through my body to the tips of my fingers and toes.

When we made it to the other side with Huck's body was heavy over mine, I said, "This really is the very best way to wake up."

His body shook with his laughter, the sound sending another wave of pleasure through me in a completely different way. It was warm and comforting. I never imagined I'd ever feel this happy, but Huck managed to give this to me.

He pressed a kiss to my cheek before he said, "I have to agree. Any time I'm with you, it's always good. But when you have your mouth on me, I'm eating you, or my dick is buried inside your pussy, there's very little that could ever top that."

"Do you ever worry that it'll change?"

"What do you mean?"

I shrugged. "Do you think it's possible things could ever get mundane between us, or that we might just decide that it's not working for some reason? I don't know. I don't want to be a pessimist, but sometimes, I still find it difficult to believe things will always be this wonderful between us."

Huck's hands framed my face—something I noticed he did whenever he wanted me to know he was going to be gentle with whatever he was going to say to me. "The last thing I'd ever want to do is think about things ending between us. I love you, Josie. That's what I'm focused on. I don't see this getting boring, because I love everything about each second that I get to spend with you. Right now, I can't see this ever ending, because I feel like I've finally got the woman I was meant to have in my life all along. I'm not going to let go of that so easily, and I hope you feel the same."

He always knew just what to say to make me feel reassured about anything causing me concern.

So, I smiled at him and said, "I feel exactly the same."

"Good." He pressed a kiss to my lips. "Let's get cleaned up and go have some breakfast."

With all that we'd done with each other—the morning sex, breakfast, and getting ready—the entire morning flew by. Though we'd done a lot together, it seemed our time to spend with one another before we had to go to work just wasn't enough and had passed in a flash.

Before I knew it, Huck and I were heading out the door to get into his truck, so he could take me to work.

"What's all that?" Huck asked as I approached the door, where he was waiting.

I held up both hands and reminded him, "It's the baby shower tonight after work. This is the gift for Jessica."

"And is that one of my duffel bags in the other hand?" he questioned me.

Nodding, I confirmed, "Yes. I hope you don't mind, but I needed a bag to put a change of clothes in. I didn't want to head to the restaurant wearing my work clothes. Is that okay?"

"Ah, that makes sense. I don't mind at all. I just hadn't realized you were taking anything with you. Here, let me carry it out for you."

Huck took both bags from me and carried them to the truck. A few minutes later, we were on our way.

"Now, you said one of your coworkers is going to take you to the restaurant tonight, right?"

"Yes. Either Kerri or Lori said they'd give me a ride there and back to your place afterward, so you shouldn't need to worry about coming out to get me."

Huck reached across the center console for my hand. "I wouldn't mind if you needed me to, though. If anything changes, you can call me. I have no problem coming out to get you."

I looked over at him just as he glanced in my direction. We exchanged smiles, and I said, "I know you don't, and I love you for it. I'm hoping to get myself a car one of these days so you don't have to keep doing this, though."

"There's no rush, honey. I already told you earlier in the week that I have no issues with taking you where you want to go, but I understand you want some freedom and independence. The offer I made earlier in the week still stands. I'll float you some cash to help you get a car faster."

He had done that.

But after everything Huck had done for me, I just couldn't take the money from him. He'd already done more than enough for me, and it would have felt wrong taking his money, too.

Fortunately, if I continued working hard, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I could scrape together a couple thousand dollars and buy myself a car that would get me to and from work and anywhere else I needed to go.

"Again, I know you will, and I appreciate the offer, but you know I just can't do it," I returned. "I really want to start standing on my own in some areas, and I think that'll be one way to do it."

Huck squeezed my hand in response.

We'd arrived at Betty's with about five minutes to spare before the start of my shift.

As he always did, Huck got out, rounded the hood of the truck, and opened my door for me. Once I was out of the vehicle, he grabbed the gift and duffle bags from the back seat and handed them off to me.

No sooner did I have them in my hands, Huck slid one arm around my waist and tugged me toward him. With my hands full, my body collided with his, and the next thing I knew, his mouth was on mine.

I kissed Huck back, my body melting against his as he moaned. Both of his hands came up to frame my face, and only after I let out a moan to match his, he separated our mouths. "I'll miss you today."

I smiled against his lips. "I miss you every day when I have to work."

"I do, too. But since I don't get to pick you up in a few hours when your shift is over, this one is going to be especially difficult. I'm just glad I got a piece of you this morning. I hope that's going to last me until you get back later."

Leaning more of my weight into his strong body, I said, "If it doesn't, I promise I'll make it up to you when I get there."

"That's fair."

"And let's be honest, even if it does last you until then, I'm probably still going to want to have some fun with you anyway," I shared.

Huck's body shook against mine as he laughed. "And you think this has a chance of becoming boring?"

He had a point. It was unreasonable to believe we'd ever tire of one another. I didn't know how I could ever grow sick of being treated the way Huck treated me.

I held his gaze a beat, feeling warmth and a wave of appreciation move through me for this man. "I should go."

He gave me a nod and a peck on the lips. "Okay. Will you do me a favor and let me know once you're on your way home?"

Though he likely tossed it out there without even realizing what he was saying, every time he said that word to me, I couldn't miss it.

Home.

Huck always referred to his place like it was my home. I realized it was only my temporary residence, but Huck's house was the first place that ever felt like a real home to me. So even if I knew it wasn't really mine, I never corrected him whenever he used that word with me. It felt too good.

One day, I'd have to address it with him, but today wasn't that day.

"I'll let you know as soon as I'm on my way," I promised.

He gave me one more kiss, dropped his hands away from my face, and said, "Have a good day at work and a fun time with your friends tonight."

Normal.

God, this was so normal.

And until I had it from him, I never knew what it felt like. "Thanks, Huck."

"You're welcome, honey. I'll see you tonight."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

With that, I walked away toward the diner, and I did it with a smile on my face. It was difficult not to be happy these days, especially over the last week since Huck and I had taken that next step in our relationship.

We'd confessed our feelings to one another and had finally scratched that itch that had been there for the both of us for such a long time. And with each day that had passed with Huck in my life, I was feeling great and finding myself to be more and more relaxed about where I'd come from and confident in where I was headed. While I was sure therapy was helping a lot with that, I believed Huck was a big part of it, too.

I made it to the entrance of the diner, looked out into the parking lot, and saw Huck still standing there beside his truck. His arms were crossed over his chest, his ankles the same, and he was smiling proudly at me.

My heart swelled in my chest at the sight of him standing there, particularly with the way he was looking at me. This had become a thing for me to look back and see him watching me as I made my way into work each day that he dropped me off. He refused to get back inside his truck to drive away until after I made it safely inside, and I couldn't have loved him more for it if I tried.

I shifted both bags into one of my hands, beamed at him, and blew him a kiss before I waved. Even from the distance, I couldn't miss the way his laughter lit up his face and shook his body. He caught my kiss in the air, shoved it into his pocket, and waved back just before I pulled the door open and walked inside.

As much as I would have been content to have an easy day at work that would have allowed my thoughts to drift to Huck and how much my life had improved since he came into it, things didn't work out that way.

It seemed that no sooner had I gotten my things set down in the back and tied my apron around my waist, the day got out of control. I had assumed it was simply par for the course for a Friday, especially now that it seemed word was spreading about the new diner in town.

On the bright side, the hectic day was great for tips and getting me closer to my financial goals.

I just wished I would have known the craziness at work wasn't merely what I'd assumed it to be. I wished I had known it was a warning, an indication, of what was in store for me.