15. Torin

Chapter 15

Torin

I could finally breathe.

After our night together on the couch, I knew things would go one of a few ways. Joss would wake up and tell me off or he'd pack his bags and leave. Or, best-case scenario, he would still be happy about this thing developing between us.

Thankfully, it was the latter.

I didn't sense an ounce of regret in his smile or his words or the way he kept glancing at me as he inhaled three of his muffins with my coffee.

It really was nice. Better than that, it was perfect. For the rest of the day, Joss found chores to do around the house in between taking care of Bella and running a few errands.

For the next several days, we kept things casual. Constant glances across the table, brushes of hands or light kisses, and cuddles on the couch in the evenings. But nothing got really physical again until Friday night.

My CEO mentioned me by name as a key driver for the project that was touted as "product of the year" by several news outlets, and I was walking on air when I shut down my computer at the end of the day.

"Let's do something special tonight." I wrapped my arms around Joss from behind as he was vacuuming. "I'll cook, and you keep Bella awake as long as possible so she sleeps well tonight."

Joss laughed. "Well, I'll do my best. She's been sleeping pretty well this week, so we're probably fine." He turned in my arms and placed his elbows on my shoulders. "What's the occasion?"

I shrugged and kissed him. "Just want to have some alone time with you." I pulled back and waggled my eyebrows. "Some grown-up time, if you're ready for that."

Joss fell against my chest and squeezed me to him. "God, yes. Every day has been torture. I thought you'd changed your mind."

"No way." I placed my hands on his cheeks and tilted his head so I could slowly kiss him, practically climbing right inside him. "I just didn't want to move too quickly. But I want you so fucking bad."

He filled his cheeks with air and slowly exhaled. "Are you really sure you want to be with me? I mean, what about women? I'm not a woman just because…" He gestured to his chest. "You know."

I laughed and kissed him again. "I know you're all man, Joshua. And I love that about you." I held his gaze. "All of you."

Joss's eyes sparkled as he smiled. "Okay, then. You cook. I'll be on tire-out-the-baby duty and we'll meet back here in…an hour?" He looked at his watch as if we were actually timing it.

"I might need more like an hour and a half, but I'll let you know when I'm ready." I cocked my head and tapped my finger to my chin. "Do we have enough stored milk that I can liquor you up tonight?"

Joss chuckled and pulled back. "I'm definitely up for a glass or two, but that's about as liquored up as you're gonna get me. But yes, we have plenty stored, so Bella won't go hungry. In fact, I'll pump after dinner, so she can still have a warm bottle tonight."

Fuck, I really did love him. Maybe I always did. But in the past few days, it really hit me that the kind of love I felt for Stacy was more like a sister or best friend. With Joss, my whole body wanted to intertwine with his. I wanted him to be mine in every way, and I hoped to drive that home tonight. Preferably, in my bed where I wanted him to stay indefinitely. "All right, then. I'm gonna run to the store, and I'll be back in a few minutes. Do we need anything else?"

"Nope. I went this morning, so I think we're good on all the basics. I might have even gotten stuff for a charcuterie board on Sunday while you watch the game."

Once again, the words were on the tip of my tongue. But I held it and gave him a peck on the cheek instead. "Text if you need anything else."

As much as I wanted to go all out for dinner, I also wanted to make it quick. Steaks on the grill, baked potatoes in the oven, and a frozen peach pie sounded romantic enough for me. I also picked up a broccoli salad from the deli because Joss was constantly reminding me how important it was for him to eat his greens while he was feeding.

With the steaks resting, I dressed our potatoes the way I knew Joss liked and plated our dinner. Joss used some of his milk to make a small amount of rice cereal for Bella to help fill her tummy for a good night's sleep. At first, I was hesitant to introduce any kind of solid food, but the doctor assured me there was no reason not to try since we wanted to get as many calories in her as possible.

And she seemed to enjoy the change of texture in her mouth. At least as much as she actually kept in her mouth. Most of it ended up smeared in her face and hair and all over me or Joss.

I looked at him over my shoulder. "You about ready?"

Joss looked over at me and smiled. "Yeah. It smells so good. She's just about done, so we should be able to tag team eating, and then I'll give her a quick bath."

I brought our plates to the table and set one in front of him. "I'm gonna take a quick shower too, so I can take her in with me. We could both use a quick rinse."

Joshua looked up at me with big eyes. "Yeah, I guess I'll take a shower too then."

I swallowed. "Good idea."

And so began the most angst-filled meal of my life. Joss and I made small talk about Bella actually wanting to crawl, and then I told him about the meeting I had with my CEO. But in the back of our minds, we were both thinking the same thing. We are getting laid .

At least, that's what I was thinking.

And by the way Joss's knee shook the whole time, whether Bella was on his lap or not, I was fairly confident he was thinking it too. When he cleared the table and I took the baby into my room for a quick shower, we were both just counting down the moments until we were back together again.

Bella loved being in water, and although she was slippery, I was able to get her rinsed off and myself washed up in just a few minutes. I slipped on a pair of loose shorts with nothing underneath then got her dressed for bed.

Joss snuck in and put a fresh bottle on her dresser while I was changing her, so I quickly finished up her bedtime routine then met him out on the couch.

He had two bottles of wine out and two empty glasses on the table as he glanced up at me. "I didn't know if you'd be in the mood for white or red so I didn't open either."

I looked at him, carefully watching his reaction. "Do you have a preference?"

"I usually drink white," he said.

"Done." I opened that bottle and poured both of our glasses. After handing one to Joss, I held mine up for a toast. "To reconnecting with the people we were supposed to be with all along."

His stare was heavy as he looked at me with so much emotion. "To reconnecting with the people we wanted to be with all along."

"Cheers to that." I clicked my glass against his and we each took a drink, still staring into each other‘s eyes.

Instead of taking a sip, Joss finished half his glass and then put it on the table. "Wow, that's good. I haven't had wine in a long time, but I like it."

"I can tell." I chuckled and took one more drink before putting my glass on the table too. Once my hands were free, I put them on Joss's waist and pulled him closer to me. "I want you so bad, Joshua."

"Me too," he whispered.

I leaned into his neck and inhaled his warm, clean scent. "Everything. Every drop."

Joss was still but didn't question me. Instead, he turned and pressed his lips to mine. We started off with slow, lazy kisses, but they quickly evolved into desperate pleads for more. Before things got too far, I pulled back and pressed my forehead to his. "Can we take this to my bed?"

"Yes, please."

I smiled as I dragged Joshua up the stairs into my room. We put our phones on the nightstand so we could hear the monitor if it went off, but my attention was one hundred percent on the man standing at the side of my bed. "Take off your clothes, Joshua."

He pulled his T-shirt over his head and slipped off his sweats.

I grinned when I saw he wasn't wearing underwear either. At least we were both on the same page on that. My hands immediately went to his pecs as I kneaded his muscles then slid over his biceps to get a good grip on him. "I want you to be mine, Joshua. I want to fuck you and remind you why we found our way back to each other. Do you want that too?"

"Yes, Daddy. Fuck me hard."

When that word came out of Joshua's mouth in the bedroom, it was completely different from when he uttered it in the context of me being Bella's daddy. One was strictly paternal. But when Joshua said my name like that, it was primal and needy for me to claim him. Exactly what I planned to do.

I pressed him back onto the mattress, taking a moment to just appreciate how beautiful his body was. Joss didn't spend a lot of time in the gym, but he was still perfect in every way. Even more so now that his body had evolved to be not only more manly but with a gift I never imagined he could give me.

My shorts were released, and I lowered to my knees so I could take him into my mouth. The second his hard length landed on my tongue, I remembered how much I enjoyed giving him blow jobs. It has been one of my favorite things to do, and I had forgotten how much I got off on having complete control over this man's release.

He didn't come until I allowed him to, and the feeling of owning his pleasure in that way was heady. "I'm too close, Torin."

Good. This wasn't gonna be a one and done. He was gonna come until he was bone dry and begging for mercy.