Page 150 of Dove
“Josh,” she said, cutting me off. “I feel fine. A little sore, maybe, but…” She blushed, a beautiful flush on the apple of her cheeks. “It’s a good soreness.”
“A good soreness?” I teased.
She pushed at me, but I kept her close.
“You’re sure?” I had to ask, had to make sure.
“Yes, Josh.” She leaned up to give me a sweet kiss. “I’m more than sure and more than fine. I… I loved last night.” She looked up at me through her lashes. “I can’t wait to do it again.”
I groaned, leaning my forehead against hers. “Don’t do that to me.”
“Do what?”
“Make me start the day with a hard on. I’ll be thinking about the next time I can have you under me all day.”
She shivered against me. “I’ll be thinking about it, too."
I wrapped her up in my arms, kissing her deep, then spun her around and gave her a swat on the ass. “Go take a shower before you make me sayfuck itand we stay in bed all day.”
She laughed, but it sounded a little breathlessly. “We couldn’t!” she called over her shoulder.
“Oh, yeah?” I growled playfully, stepping after her. She made a small shriek and ran up the porch steps.
The screen door closed behind her as she went into the house, and I took a moment to breathe. There was nothing more I wanted than to follow that woman. Just thinking of her up there reminded me of the last time we showered together and how she got on her knees for me. She took me so well.
Just like she took me so well last night.
“Fuck, get it together, Josh.” I rearranged myself in my jeans and started walking.
There was too much to do and not enough time to do it.
But I’d make time for Dove, just like I always had.
Especially if it meant I got her under me again tonight.
33
DOVE
When I was freshly showered and felt like a person again, I went downstairs to make coffee and scrounge up some breakfast. Josh had to be hungry. We hadn’t had but a few bites of the left-over things he’d brought last night, and he’d jumped right into work. Guilt gnawed at my belly worse than hunger, but I’d take over for him in a little and he’d get to clean up himself.
After Josh left and Mom got sick, I’d grown used to doing things myself. Gareth helped for a while, but as her illness worsened, he grew busier caring for her, and I helped out in the only way I knew how. I worked on the farm. I managed the things I could, and the rest, I brought to Gareth. Sure, the farm didn’t look as good as it once had, but since Josh had come back, we’d been slowly fixing her up. I needed to get used to the help, even if it sometimes set my teeth on edge. I never wanted to seem like I couldn’t do something, because if you gave me enough time, I could. I’dbeendoing it. And Gareth might not have outwardly expressed it, but I know he’d been grateful.
Now that I had Josh to help with the farm, it was hard to hand over the reins—to rely on him after so many years of hisabsence. But with every action he all but said he was here to stay, even if the actual words had yet to leave his mouth.
I had to trust in that. Inhim.
I whipped up a quick breakfast of toast and eggs and left his in the microwave to keep warm. I ate quickly, hoping to catch him before he finished too many of the morning chores. Knowing him, he’d likely try to get them all done before I could relieve him, just to help me out.
A soft ache filled my heart.
He’d always been the sweetest boy to me, and that hadn’t stopped in adulthood, either.
Josh might have been an adult when he left, but he’d grown into a man while he’d been away. Sometimes I couldn’t believe that he’d been missing me as much as I’d been missing him.
Last night just cemented the fact that he was it for me. I might have fooled around some, but waiting for Josh had been worth it. He’dmadeit worth it. I doubt I would have experienced what I did with him with anyone else. Not just the pleasure, but the pure connection. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, like we were intertwined now. My heart, mind, and body had reached out to him—and his mine. I’d welcomed him into me, giving him a space to call home within myself. I’d always kept that space for him, but knowing he wanted it? Knowing he held that same space within himself for me? No one else will ever compare after that.
Was it sad that I already missed him, when I’d barely gone an hour without him?
