Page 26 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
The corner of his mouth ticked up.“Unless you’re volunteering to do it.I much prefer the bed.Do you still need the light?”
She glanced at the lantern, then shook her head.“No.”
He blew the flame out.It would take a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the sudden darkness, but she was still able to see him lay back on the blanket.He was lying on top of it.Was that all he had?
There was only one blanket on the bed, she noticed.It was nearly as thin as the sheets.Should she give it to him?
“Stop thinking so much, Violet, and go to sleep.”He lifted his head to look at her.“Come tomorrow afternoon, you’ll be a single woman again.”
That statement should have made her happy, but as she crawled underneath the blanket, she told herself the disappointment she felt was due to the fact she didn’t get to tell her family goodnight.That it had nothing to do with the fact Josiah would probably run straight to Elkin the first chance he got and file a petition to get their marriage annulled, assuming he didn’t intercept Reverend Peele and destroy the license before he had time to file it with the courts.
She sighed and rolled to her side, putting her back to the room, and closed her eyes to put the entire day behind her.Disappointment made her eyes burn and if she thought about it hard enough, she knew it wouldn’t take much to make her cry.
This wasn’t how any of this was supposed to happen.She’d imagined herself in this situation so many times and never once had she felt so lonely.
The ticking of a clock somewhere in the room was the only sound she heard and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t ignore the fact that Josiah was only a few short feet away from her or that the pillow her head rested on smelled like him.
Would it make her look desperate if she turned her face into the pillow and inhaled deeply to savor his scent?
Probably.
Did it stop her from doing it?
No.
She inhaled a deep breath, the scent of leather and gun oil and something that was exclusively him filling her senses.She could drown in that scent.
How many sleepless nights had she imagined this very thing?Of her being in his bed, his arms around her, while he showered her with soft kisses and told her she was beautiful.Of how happy he was that she was his wife while whispering how much he loved her into her ear, his big hands roaming her naked flesh as he set her body on fire.
Josiah shifted behind her and a glance over her shoulder showed him on his side now.That floor had to be uncomfortable.
She turned back around, her thoughts on him laying on the floor.He’d be stiff as a board come morning.He should be able to sleep in his own bed.If anything, she should be the one on the floor.It's her fault he’s having to sleep there to begin with.
He shifted again a few minutes later, a small groan filling the silence.She bit her lip as a completely inappropriate idea popped into her head, but once it was there, she couldn’t get rid of it.Nor could she stop herself from opening her mouth to voice it.
“Would you like to join me in the bed?”
Josiah’s eyes flew open.Did she just say what he thought she said?
Lifting his head, he saw her sit up on her elbow and look at him over her shoulder.He knew without asking, she wasn’t suggesting what his sex-starved cock hoped she was.Even so, all the blood in his brain was slowly traveling to his lower extremities and once again, he saw her in his minds eye, splayed out on that bed, naked, legs spread wide waiting for him while those russet curls between them glistened with her arousal.
He swallowed past the lump forming in his throat and let his head hit the floor with a small thump.
“We’re both adults.”Her voice had lowered an octave and sounded almost breathy.“And technically married, so it wouldn’t be completely inappropriate.You shouldn’t have to sleep on the floor just because of the mess I got you into.”
No, he shouldn’t, but could he really crawl into bed with her and not get a raging hard on?
Hell no.Just thinking about it made his balls ache.
It took only a thought to see her standing by his bed when he’d stepped into the room earlier.They’d both been shocked, him more so, he was sure.If he lived to be a hundred, he’d never forget the sight of her standing there, her full breasts on display, rosy nipples peeked and so suckable his mouth had watered.
His heart nearly stopped when he looked down and saw those thigh-high stockings, tied on with dainty blue ribbons and the short underpants she’d been wearing.He could still see her in his mind's eye and his cock pulsed with each hard thump of his heart.
“Josiah?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you hear me?”
