Page 112 of The Crush Next Door

And my God, was it worth the wait.

Josh's groans as he pounded into me reverberated through me, my own moans loud enough to wake the dead. Or the neighbors. If they were asleep.

But I didn't even know what time it was, what day it was, where I was, when I was. All I could feel was Josh, our bodies one, insatiable, burning for each other.

Every muscle tensed in my body as I sought that release that might just break me apart. Or Josh might break me apart. Or both.

His face was awash with pleasure as I looked down to see where our bodies were joined, the sight making me shudder with pure lust while he drove in and out at a perfect pace that made me wild, taking me to unknown depths.

I was actually fucking Josh. After all this time. Hot, sweaty sex with Josh. And it was everything I'd dreamed of... more than I'd dreamed of. More than I could have conceived of.

Knowing he was probably close and both of his hands occupied as he held onto me, I knew I needed to get myself off. So I touched myself, Josh's heated eyes watching me as his lusty sounds increased in volume, both of us loud as hell.

"Jess," he moaned. "You're... you're..."

But I never heard what he was going to say because I fucking fell apart right then, Josh's hips grinding into me, pushing me over the edge, making me shout as sharp fragments of pleasure overtook my body, spasming around him, milking him, pulling him along with me as he pulsed inside me, filling me with heat, his primal grunt sounding right near my ear.

Lord have mercy.

There were no words... no words as I rested my sweaty forehead on his shoulder, still shuddering with the aftershocks of my release. I couldn't even believe what had just passed between us. It was unreal. It was like nothing ever before. Not even close. Was it the same for him?

His own ragged breaths were hot in the space where my shoulder met my neck, our chests pushing against each other while we both tried to come back down to earth.

Minutes passed. Hours passed. I didn't even know.

Slowly, Josh let me down, his hands releasing me back into a standing position as he pulled out, leaving the evidence of our passion sliding down my leg.

"I'm so sorry," Josh whispered, pulling back to look me in the eye. "But I completely forgot to use a condom. I can't believe I forgot. I just..."

He rested his head against my forehead as I continued to try to get my shit together.

"I just wanted you so bad," he said. "All of you."

"All of me?" I asked, even in my post-sex haze realizing how important this was to me now. "Including the cranky, sarcastic asshole me?"

"All of you. The sometimes cranky you. The sometimes sarcastic you," he continued with a teasing smile. "All of it. I don't even care. I just want you so fucking much. All of you."

I couldn't believe what he was saying. Josh wanted me and accepted me for exactly who I was, a relief I'd never even come close to feeling, something I hadn't even dared dream of. For Josh, I was enough. Just the way I was. I couldn't even fathom completely how that felt.

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

Right. The rest of what he'd said sank in. "I'm on the pill."

"Oh, good," he breathed. "But honestly, I wouldn't even care if you got pregnant. I'd actually be thrilled to start a family with you. I've never wanted that with anyone before, but I want that with you."

"What?" I gasped.

"You heard me, Jess. I want you so much. You—you—God, I don't even know how to say it."

Oh, my God. I knew what he was going to say. And I felt exactly the same. I loved him so much. I loved him. Josh. He completely held my whole soul in his hands right now.

"I'll say it first," I whispered, his lips so close to my own. "I love you, Josh."

His overheated body shuddered beneath my hands. "I love you. God, I'm so in love with you. You've completely changed my whole world."

Foreheads pressed together, our eyes burned into each other, with love, with passion, with lust, with everything. This was love. This was what I'd always dreamed of—love, friendship, someone accepting me for who I was. No pretense. No hiding.

I loved Josh, and he loved me. Me. And I'd never been happier. A happiness that went soul-deep. A happiness that I wanted to show Josh again, this time slower, this time tasting every damn inch of each other.

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