Page 58 of Moving to Love
Joci leaned forward and hugged him tight. She rubbed his back and held him while he composed himself. He wrapped his arms around her and let the tears flow. They sat that way for a very long time. She rubbed her hands over his back and through his hair, anything to soothe. Finally, he pulled away and wiped his eyes.
“I don’t love LuAnn; I never have. But I feel that because of me, she doesn’t have Lance anymore. She doesn’t have anyone to take care of her. She was always wild and unfocused. Where will she work if I don’t keep her at the shop? I owe it to Lance to make sure she has a paycheck, that she’s somehow taken care of.”
Joci didn’t know what to say. She sure hadn’t expected this. Now she felt like crap. She swallowed and placed her hand on his jaw, looking deep into the green orbs she loved so much.
“Jeremiah…” she said, “Lance wasn’t asked to save you. He loved you and wanted to protect you. You don’t owe him. There is no way you can repay him, except to live a good life and be good to people. You have the Veteran’s Ride every year to help give back to people just like yourself and Lance. You can’t live your life trying to pay back a debt that isn’t payable.”
She looked into his eyes, seeking and searching for words to comfort him.
She took a deep breath. “That being said…I understand why you would want to try. I do understand it.”
She continued rubbing his back. “We have to find some way to make LuAnn understand that you love me and that she can’t keep interfering.”
Jeremiah nodded. “I know, and believe me, I’ve been wracking my brain. She’s always sought a certain amount of attention from men. But she’s been especially nasty since you’ve been coming around. Maybe she’s afraid of losing the bit of security she has at Rolling Thunder because she views you as a threat to that.” They leaned back into the sofa and sat staring straight ahead for long moments.
Their hands were linked, and she absently rubbed circles with her thumb. “Thank you for telling me, Jeremiah. I needed to know what it was.”
He kissed the top of her head and took a deep breath.
His voice was raspy when he said, “It feels like a weight has been lifted…talking about it. I’ve never told anyone that before.”
Joci looked over and furrowed her brows. “Really?”
Jeremiah shook his head. “Really. It’s just too personal…and I feel guilty.”
“LuAnn and Linda don’t know?”
Jeremiah sighed. “They know I was with him when he was hit. They don’t know that he saved my life.”
Joci wrapped her arms around him. “I’m very glad he did.”
“I need you, Joci,” he whispered.
Without a word, she stood and took his hand, pulling him to the bedroom. Once inside, she urged him to lie on the bed. She began unbuttoning his jeans while he consumed her lips, her tongue. She enjoyed running her hands over him. Feeling his heated skin under her fingers was a thrill. It was like running her hands over freshly laundered cotton. A bit of texture, warm from the dryer, and the scent, one she wanted to inhale.
Her lips kissed and licked up his chest, paying special attention to each nipple. She pushed his arms up over his head so she could slide his shirt off. Gently running her hands over his body, feeling the plains and ridges of his muscles, watching them quiver under her touch, she met his eyes. “You’re a good-looking man, Jeremiah Sheppard.”
She stepped back long enough to divest him of his jeans and boxers. She admired him lying across their bed, naked, aroused, and allowing her to do as she wanted to him. A light shiver winged through her body. Goosebumps grew on her arms, and her nipples puckered tight. She pulled the remainder of her clothing off and slid her hands up his massive thighs as she stood between them.
Her hands roamed his body, enjoying the feel of his skin on hers. She bent down and licked his balls as her hands found his thick erection and massaged him from root to tip. Jeremiah hissed out a breath. She smiled against his balls, placed a few light kisses, and stood. She reached over to the nightstand and pulled out some massage oil, squirting some into her palms, and rubbing them together to warm it.
Jeremiah’s eyes never left hers. He reached over and grabbed a pillow to prop his head. She smiled as she wrapped her fingers around his thickness and began to pump him up and down, the oil making his cock so silky and smooth under her fingers.
“Jesus,” Jeremiah husked out.
She smiled again at the coarseness in his voice. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips, and his cock jerked in her hands. She smiled again. “I want to make you come with my hands, Jeremiah.”
“Jesus.”
Joci increased the pressure and speed of her manipulations. She alternated between watching his cock slip through her fingers and watching his face. He was beautiful, this man of hers. She wanted to make him come without him having to do anything for her.
She slid one of her hands over his balls, and they pulled up inside of him. As she reached the tip of his cock, she ran her thumb over the head, causing pre-cum to form. Jeremiah’s breathing grew choppy, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He fisted the comforter on the bed and threw his head back as his muscles tightened. “Joci…fuck...baby.”
She watched the ropes of semen spurt from him as she slowed her manipulations. His cock pulsed as he groaned. Once he had emptied himself, she gently massaged him as he softened. She walked to the bathroom to wet a cloth so she could wipe him up as he regulated his breathing. Softly, she swiped the warm cloth across his abdomen, cleaning him. She tossed it into the bathroom hamper and slid into bed beside him.
He quickly wrapped her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. He swallowed a few times. “I’ve never done that before. Fucking amazing.”
Joci smirked. “I’ve never done that before, either. Fucking amazing is right.”
