22. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Layla

How have I never realized the insecurities that run so deep in Josh? He's been such a fun-loving individual to everyone around him. It never occurred to me that he would be struggling internally so much.

There seems to be some conflict within him between doing what he loves, living a simple life, and being the man he thinks he needs to be.

Sure, having these experiences is amazing and fun. If we happen to get the opportunity to enjoy amenities like these, why not take it? But I don't need or even want these things in my life. I've lived a middle-class upbringing and got thrust into an upper-class life when my dad's business really took off.

I've seen the difference in the people who start to make more money than they know what to do with. I would choose any easy, middle-class life any day of the week.

The problem is getting Josh to understand that.

He pulls into the driveway of a massive white mansion with a huge southern wrap-around porch. The driveway runs up to the side of the house, where Josh uses the garage door opener in the car to park the car in the four-car garage.

"Alright, here we are," he cuts the engine and turns to me.

After he gets our bags, he takes my hand and leads me into the house. He walks me into the kitchen, which has large white cabinets and white marble countertops. The island is the size of my bathroom at home.

There are huge glass doors that slide back, creating no barrier between the back patio and the kitchen. There is a large pool with southern live oak trees all around. I can see the water in the distance, with a large dock.

The island is covered with food, and a wine bucket chilling some white wine with two glasses. There are candles lit all around the pool.

"Josh, what did you do?" I whisper as my eyes start to water.

He steps up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, kissing a path along my neck. "I wanted to spoil you, to do something so you know how special you are to me."

I look up at him through my watery eyes. "This is incredible."

"You're incredible," he says, then leans down and kisses me softly.

I turn my body and wrap my arms around his neck, deepening it. I'm so overwhelmed with how he makes me feel. He's not shy with his actions or words, even after only two weeks together. No one has ever treated me like this. I don't even think I deserve all of this.

I want to repay him for this, but I don't even know what I can do. Then suddenly, I feel his dick harden against my stomach. I think there's something I can do to show my appreciation. I break the kiss and get down on my knees.

His eyes follow me all the way down. "What are you doing, Freckles?"

I reach for his grey shorts and unbutton them while he watches, taking my time. Then I move onto his zipper, pulling it down slowly with a smirk.

"I'm saying thank you, Josh."

I pull down his shorts and boxers until they hit the floor. His long, thick dick bounces up into my face. I wrap my hand around the base and stroke it up and down.

He watches me intently as I lift higher on my knees then wrap my lips around his tip, giving it a tight suck.

"Fuck, baby," he whispers. "You don't have to say thank you like this."

I slide my mouth off him and look up through my lashes. "Are you telling me you don't want my thank you?"

He smiles down at me and shakes his head. "I'd never reject your thank you. I dream about your thank you all the time. I've wanted it since I met you, but I just wanted you to know I didn't do all of this for a thank you."

Ever the gentleman he is, making sure I'm not doing something because I feel obligated.

"Babe, I'm doing this because I love having your dick in my mouth. This is how I want to say thank you."

His eyes turn dark then a dirty smirk appears on his face. "Then continue, please. "

I nod my head with a smile, then slide his dick back in my mouth all the way this time until it hits the back of my throat, and I gag.

"Fuuuck," he growls as his hands grip my hair. "You like taking all of me like that?"

I moan while I continue to move my mouth along him. His face, when he bottoms out in my throat, is hot as hell. His jaw falls slack while he watches, almost as if he is in awe.

"I'm gonna fill your dirty mouth with my cum. Do you want it, baby?"

"Mmmm hmmm," I hum while his dick still fills my mouth.

His dick is soaked with my saliva. It allows my hand to slide over his dick easily.

It doesn't take long before he's cussing and coming down my throat. I love watching him lose control.

I pop off him, and he lets go of my hair while he is still panting and catching his breath. I stand up and wipe my mouth off with the back of my hand.

He steps closer to me and kisses my forehead. "You really didn't have to do that. But fuck you are good at it."

"I like making you happy too, babe."

He laughs as he lifts me off the ground and places me on the countertop. "Keep calling me babe, I'm gonna lose my shit and fuck you right here."

"You like me calling you that?" I raise an eyebrow with a smile.

He steps closer and kisses me gently. "I love it. It makes me feel like I'm yours. "

"Well, aren't you?" I ask hopefully.

"Fuck yeah, I am. I think I have been since the day I met you."

My heart jolts and pounds in my chest. Whatever this is between us, it feels like it's meant to be, like something bigger is working to bring us together. Maybe we have always been meant for each other.

"Now," he starts. "Let's get some food in you. You're gonna need your strength for what I have planned for you tonight."

He picks up a strawberry and places it near my mouth. I take a bite then he pops the remaining piece into his.

"Do you want me to give you a tour first? Then we can grab a plate of food and sit outside?"

"That sounds perfect."

I hop off the counter while Josh tries to navigate this ridiculous house himself. There are eight bedrooms, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, a game room, a movie theater, and so much more that it's hard to even recall all of it.

At one point we end up in a closet, Josh thinking it was another bedroom. We find ourselves in a fit of laughter.

"What the fuck. I thought this was the room that had a good view of the water," he laughs as we back out.

"I'm beginning to think we're crashing in a stranger's place that was not loaned to us for the night. Did you steal that Ferrari?"

He wraps an arm around my neck and pulls me in. "Shit. You're onto me. And I stole the plane too. In fact, I just researched how to fly on the internet. I'm surprised we didn't die. All my ploy to impress you. Is it working? "

"Well, I didn't die on the plane. So, yeah, it seems to be working."

We eventually make it back downstairs to the food. He opens our champagne and pours me a glass. We both fill our plates with food and walk outside to the table that is off to the right of the large pool.

After we eat our food, we walk into the master bedroom, which is on the first floor and has its own little patio that leads to the pool. We put on our swimsuits and walk out the back.

The sun has started to set as the sky is painted with different hues of orange, pink, and red.

Josh runs and jumps in the pool instantly. I laugh and watch him as he swims over to the edge that I walk to. He stands and pushes his dark hair to the side. His rippling stomach is on display, chest hair soaked from the water, looking every bit like the man of my fantasies.

He rests his forearms on the edge of the pool and smiles up at me. "Get over here, Freckles. Take a seat."

"I can't get in the pool?"

"Not yet. First, I want you right here," he slaps the cement.

I sit down in front of him as he makes space for me between his arms. My red bathing suit is skimpy and shows off just as much as the one I wore in Italy, which pissed him off so much. But I figured this one is alright since he will be the only one seeing it. Plus, I like getting a rise out of him. It's fun and has proved to lead to my benefit in the end.

"Good girl. Put this foot up on the ledge. "

He points to my left foot. I'm not sure what is going on, but I follow his instructions. Then, before I have time to process it, he hooks a finger in my bathing suit, pulls it to the side, and has his mouth on me.

"Ahhh," I shout at the shock of it all.

But my hand is already in his hair, pushing him harder against my clit. I lift my ass off the edge and grind into his mouth. He responds with a moan of his own like he loves my pussy being shoved further onto his face.

He grabs my ass with both of his hands and keeps me in place, then he shakes his head back and forth.

"Fuck, babe," I respond. "I'm not gonna last long."

How can I when he is like an animal eating his damn prey after a long hunt? He's ravenous, almost violent, as he works me with his tongue, sucks on my clit, then shoves his fingers inside of me.

I come on a scream, not sure if any neighbors can hear, but unable to control it. I bite my lip to try and stifle my cry of satisfaction. My body is still convulsing when he pulls me into the pool and kisses me. My trembling legs cling to him as they wrap around his body.

Then I rest my head on his shoulder and let out a sigh. I didn't know I could ever feel this content. I could actually fall asleep in his arms right here in the pool.

He walks us further in towards the deep end, all while holding me to him. There are no words that are needed. We float around like this for a while until my body recovers. I pull away from him and start to swim backward .

The water is the perfect temperature, cooling my body from the humidity of the late July summer air.

We swim for over an hour, Josh challenging me to a race from one side to the other, me winning each time. I was a lifeguard, and on the swim team, he didn't stand a chance. Then we stumble upon a freaking bowling alley in the basement where we play a full game, Josh killing me. I don't mind, though. It gave his ego the boost it needed after losing to me in the pool.

We clean off in the rain shower, grab the bottle of champagne, and lie in the large bed that looks out onto the water.

I lie my head on his bare chest as I begin to rub my fingers up and down him aimlessly as we talk.

"Did you actually hate me all of these years?" I ask out of nowhere.

His fingers start to play with my hair. "I've never hated you a day of my life."

I sigh, "Neither have I."

"Are you sure about that?" he asks.

"I promise. It was just my defense mechanism because I liked you so much. I didn't want to. If anything, I hated how much I didn't hate you at all."

We lay in silence as our admission hangs in the air. I don't know why I continue. "When I was seventeen, I used to lie awake at night thinking about what a future with you would look like."

"You did?" His fingers caress my arm. "What did a future with me look like?"

"It's silly. Just remember that I was seventeen. "

He chuckles. "Tell me, Freckles. I won't make fun of you."

"We lived on the water. I know that sounds crazy with the prices of homes here on the water, but it wasn't some huge home. Just a normal four-bedroom home, big enough to grow a family. It had a huge wrap-around porch with enough yard space for me to have my own garden. We had a dog named Biscuit that you said I could get if I to wake up with him every morning because you aren't a morning person. He would be tan, the color of a biscuit."

I brace myself for him to laugh or, worse, get out of bed and never want anything to do with me. I did warn him I was only seventeen at the time.

"That sounds like a perfect life, Freckles."

It does still sound like the perfect life, even better today now that I know what it's like to be with him.

"It does," I whisper back as I look up at him.

"I think we should tell your brother about us," he blurts out.

"My brother? You mean Asher?"

"Yeah. Well, your other brothers kinda guessed it at Brie's birthday party."

My head lifts off his chest. "You mean they know about us? Did you admit to it?"

He nods his head. "I didn't want to lie. Are you mad?"

"No. I'm not mad. I'm just surprised. Were they mad?"

"Shockingly, no. They were kind of… excited."

"Excited?"

"Yeah," he runs a hand through his hair. "It was the weirdest thing. They acted like they knew we wanted each other for years. I don't know if they were messing with me or not."

Well, that's not what I was expecting to hear. Liam and Eric not only being observant enough to notice something between us, but then to be excited about it.

"Huh. That is weird. So, you want to tell Asher? Well, that's a relief. Charlotte knows and I made her promise not to say anything. But she doesn't want to lie to Asher."

"I guess if Charlotte knows too, it makes sense to tell Asher. He is my best friend, after all, and I'm not going anywhere. Not where you and I are concerned."

My heart flutters. He really doesn't understand how sexy it is that he is all in and so vocal about it.

"Then, let's tell him."

He pulls at his hair like he's a bit nervous. "I'm worried he's gonna hate me."

"What? Why would he hate you?"

"Because you're his sister, his younger sister, and I'm his best friend. There are rules."

He looks so cute being all worried, the crinkles in his forehead. I lean up and kiss his cheek. "I promise you Asher won't be mad. Surprised, sure. Mad, no. Okay?"

He nods his head. His gaze drops from my eyes to my neck to my breasts. His stare turns bold and assessing. I feel like the breathless girl of seventeen when a simple look from him would make me lose my breath. I swallow tightly as I hold his stare.

Then he twists me in his arms until I'm lying underneath him. He kisses me with a hunger that makes my body shiver with anticipation.