“No, no. My lack of coordination I’ve
been hiding so well from the rest of the world would be revealed and although
I’m normally up for a good laugh, today is not one of those days,” she said,
trying to pull her hand free.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Josiah responded
as he dragged Susan further into the water.
They were out waist deep, or rather her
waist as he towered over her, before she realized she’d not put up a big enough
fight.
Damn her body for not listening to her mind
, she thought. The chill
of the water did little to extinguish the flame rushing through her veins,
especially once Josiah placed her in between the edge of his surfboard as it
bobbed on the surface of the water and his body. He held on to the board with
both hands caging her in his arms, while his bare chest pressed lightly against
her naked back. With the exception of the small strips of material from the
turquoise bikini she wore, their skin met and although she couldn’t speak for
him, caught fire where they touched.
“The first thing you should do before
mounting the board is familiarize yourself with the length and girth of it. Touch
is very important," he breathed against her ear while the water lapped
against their bodies. The vivid colors of blue and red on the face of his board
grew out of focus and the crowd she had noticed earlier blurred. Her complete
focus was on the feel of his breath against her ear, the silkiness of his words
fogging her mind, and the needs of her own body that had gone so long without
attention.
Josiah lifted her hands from the water, placing
her palms down against the surface of the board while his hands rested lightly
on the tops of hers. He slowly guided them from tip to tip, her fingers just
skimming the waxy textured surface.
“Feel the hardness of the board?” he
purred. “You never want to mount a flimsy board.”
Unable to take the sexual innuendos or
the desire to place her hands on Josiah, Susan pulled herself free from his hands
and pushed the board away from her. She immersed herself as long as she could
hold her breath, which wouldn’t have been nearly as long as she needed to
compose herself if she’d stayed for days. When she pushed herself to the
surface of the water, Josiah sat straddling his board with a smug look on his
face.
“Lesson’s over,” she said while making
her way out of the water and heading to the comforts of her beach blanket.
“But I haven’t properly shown you how
you should mount it yet,” he laughed, following close behind her.
Susan spun on her heels when her toes
touched the hem of the blanket and pushed her index finger into his chest. “I’ll
have you know a lesson in mounting is the last thing I need. I’m perfectly
capable of mounting anything on my own without your aid,” she said without a
single thought of what she spoke. Josiah pushed his chest into her finger then
had the audacity to lick his lips, tucking his lower lip between his teeth.
“Your mounting skills are definitely something
I would very much like to see at some point,” he said with a cocky grin on his
face.
Susan snatched up her towel and began
drying herself off before his words registered in her mind. “Maybe that could
happen…hmmm…never,” she said grabbing her bag and stomping her way in the
direction of Rowan's house.
“Smooth move, genius,” Susan heard Tessa
say just before she ran up next to Susan.
Chapter 13
Josiah handed Rowan a cold beer and the
plate of hamburger patties Madison sent him out the back door with, as soon as
Rowan finished firing up the grill. There was nothing better after a day of
surfing than grilling and drinking as far as Josiah was concerned. Well, with the
exception of one particular past time that involved a woman beneath him, but he
didn’t see that happening anytime soon, especially after the little stunt he’d
pulled with Susan earlier.
Rowan pressed the cool bottle to his
lips and took a quick drink before he spoke. “So, how’d those surfing lessons
go today?” he laughed as he slapped the patties on the grill.
Josiah leaned against the deck railing
and let out a groan. “Apparently my sexual aura isn’t as appealing as I once
thought.” He shrugged.
Rowan tossed him a look with a raised
eyebrow. “My understanding is that it was more your mouth than your sexual
aura.”
Josiah just huffed and continued
drinking. When he’d suggested giving Susan a surfing lesson, he’d had no other
intentions but that. Upon entering the water with her and watching the water
lap at her golden skin, he’d lost all thought of anything other than getting
close to her. Once he felt his flesh next to hers, the head on his shoulders
swam away and the head between his legs took over operations and controlled his
mouth in such a way that Josiah wished he could negate the moment and start
over. In reality, he would like to see Susan’s mounting skills, but if he’d
been a wise man he would have kept that to himself until the time seemed fit to
bring it up. Today was not that time. She’d looked absolutely stunning standing
in the water with him as the bikini she wore flaunted plenty of flesh for him
to fantasize about later. So much that he’d not been about to control his urge
to touch her or to be near her. The events of the day pulled him away from the
conversation with Rowan and he missed the question Rowan had asked, yet still he
absently nodded in agreement.
“Really?” Rowan said swinging his body
around to face Josiah. He stared wide-eyed with a beer in one hand and an
over-sized spatula in the other. The sight would have made Josiah laugh, except
he realized in that moment that he’d given an answer to a question he didn’t
know the context of.
“Wait, what did you just ask?”
“I asked if you came to a decision about
coming into practice with me and Cade.”
Before Josiah could answer, Susan
sauntered out the back door with a stack of plates, napkins, and utensils. He
was thankful for the distraction, because he hadn’t actually come to a decision
yet. Susan looked absolutely breathtaking. After she’d stomped away from him on
the beach, she’d returned to Rowan’s and showered. She replaced the turquoise
bikini that had accentuated her assets quite nicely with a teal sundress that
stopped just above her knees and contrasted perfectly with her golden skin. Her
long blond tresses fell just past her shoulders and still held a bit of
moisture from her shower, while she opted out of shoes. The bright red polish
coating her toenails drew his attention to her feet and he found that they were
just as sexy as the rest of her. He’d always been an ass man, but with Susan he
discovered that there wasn’t one part of her that he didn’t enjoy eyeing more
than the other. Josiah walked over, placing his beer on the table and relieved her
of the load in her arms.
“I’m sorry,” he said just above a
whisper, knowing that she’d know exactly what he’d been sorry for.
“It’s no biggie,” she responded, shaking
her head. She took the napkins and utensils from him, then began setting them
out while he followed behind with the plates. She looked over her shoulder with
a sexy grin. He wasn’t sure if she meant it to be that way, or if she just
naturally looked sexy when she smiled. As the smile reached her eyes, they sparkled
and he got caught up in the beauty of them. He wanted to see her smile more
often, he decided.
Cade, Tessa, and Madison followed
shortly after Susan, all carrying something to add to the table for their
dinner. Madison still hadn’t been feeling like her normal self, which was why
she chose to pass up the beach today to rest and join the group for dinner
tonight. Rowan encouraged her to take a seat when she went to stand next to him
by the grill. He placed a quick kiss to her forehead and watched her closely as
she gently lowered herself to one of the chairs. The gentleness with which
Rowan handled Madison was as if she were at any moment going to fall apart
physically. Josiah watched her for a brief moment, still unsure what brought on
her sickness and yet still unwilling to bring it up with Rowan. When the two of
them were ready for the rest of the group to know, they’d let it be known.
Josiah noticed also as he watched Cade
place the condiments on the table how he’d not once taken his eyes from Tessa. The
regard Cade held for his wife was in complete awe and adoration, something he’d
never seen Cade give any woman before. At least not openly as he did now. When Tessa
glanced over at Cade, he mouthed a silent I love you and she gave him one in
return. Josiah swallowed his laughter when Tessa walked behind Cade and gave
his ass a swat after she placed a couple bags of chips in the center of the
table.
That was so typical Tessa
, he thought. Cade, in response, leaned
over and placed a lingering kiss on Tessa’s mouth and Josiah turned from the
display of affection, more uncomfortable with it than he thought he would be.
It wasn’t as if he weren’t happy for the
two couples. Hell, he was more than glad to see the two people who meant the
world to him in relationships that brought them this much happiness. It did,
however, make him realize how much he wanted that for himself and how out of
place in the moment he felt. He glanced over at Susan and wondered if she were
feeling the same awkwardness he was.
“Susan?” he said, drawing her focus to
him. “Could you help me grab a few more beers from the kitchen?”
“Would you mind grabbing me water?”
Madison asked when Susan nodded and the two of them began walking to the door.
“Not at all,” Josiah said with a gentle
touch on her shoulder.
The evening had been uneventful,
laughing at stories from their college days and throwing down a few beers. Josiah
shared a few of his own stories of his time at war, withholding the most
gruesome parts as to not bring the party to a screeching halt. Everyone chimed
in at one point or another, but Susan had kept silent for the most part, with
the exception of a few laughs when Tessa had told of the time she and Susan
worked together on a project. Something about a doctor and his pants caught his
attention, but Susan brushed it off and changed the subject. The sparkle in her
eyes as she laughed had him mesmerized, holding his attention until it faded. When
the night ended, of course too soon for Josiah’s liking, he offered to walk
Susan out to her car.
“That was nice,” Josiah said while they
descended the steps.
“It really was. I’m glad Tessa called
me.”
“I am too.” Josiah stood with his thumbs
tucked into the front pockets of the shorts he wore while his fingers tapped
against the denim. A nervous habit he’d picked up in high school when a beautiful
woman stood before him. In the midst of trauma, he was steadfast, but in front
of Susan he felt unsure of himself.
“Well, I should get going,” she said,
her statement bringing the movements of his fingers to an end.
“Can I see you again? I mean, I know
Tess invited you over today, but I was hoping you and I could maybe catch a
movie, or maybe dinner another night.”
“Look,
Josiah, I like you, I do. You seem like a really nice guy and Tess and the guys
love you, obviously, but I just don’t really have a lot of free time in my life
right now. I wouldn’t even normally spend this much time at the beach or just
hanging out. It really is an anomaly for me, so I’m going to have to decline
your invitation.”
Josiah shrugged it off as if it were no
big deal, but truth be told he was a little disappointed. They’d had a good
time tonight, and he’d not once put his foot in his mouth or had to apologize
for his words. For him, that made the night a success. And from his perspective,
Susan seemed to enjoy herself as well, even making more eye contact with him
than she had previously. Maybe he read her wrong, but he’d thought he caught her
a few times stealing a glance here and there. Josiah shoved it from his mind as
best he could and gave her a quick hug. He watched her pull out of the
driveway, wishing like hell he’d insisted that they see each other again. He
wouldn’t force himself on her, no man who did that deserved to keep his cock
attached between his legs in his opinion, but he’d not had his fill of her just
yet. Besides, he was willing to bet that she didn’t get out and enjoy herself
as much as she should. He hoped to remedy that situation in the near future, if
she allowed him.
Chapter 14
Josiah sat on Rowan's sofa flipping
through the hundreds of channels the cable box offered and couldn't find one
thing worthy of watching. He'd stopped at the Military channel out of habit. That
channel had been one of his favorites when he roomed with a couple buddies near
the base in Georgia when he was stationed there for a short time. One would
think it would be the last thing they watched having lived the life, but it had
become an almost daily ritual for them to sit and watch it. He flipped past it
now, not finding any interest in it. Or maybe it was that he couldn’t pull his
mind from the past few times he’d been around Susan.
The first memory to fill his thoughts
had been when he’d taken her home from the hospital. Although she’d been
adamant about things being fine, he knew something was bothering her, but
didn’t feel the need to push it when she’d not wanted to talk about it. But
when he'd gone back to take her purse to her, he'd not expected to see her
crying. His first thought, of course, was that he'd said something in the car
to upset her, but as he played over in his mind their conversation, there
wasn't anything that warranted tears. When he’d offered to talk things out with
her, she’d thrown him the old worn out line that she was fine. He knew she
wasn’t fine. People didn’t cry just to cry. Something always set them off and
he knew she wasn’t being honest with him. She wasn’t obligated, though, so he
didn’t push the issue. He’d contemplated telling Tessa, but figured since they
were such close friends she’d already know what was going on with her and it
really was none of his concern.