Chapter Eleven: Reunion
“You look like shit,” Joey announced when a bleary-eyed Josh answered his hotel door at three in the morning.
“Considering the time? I didn’t sleep,” Josh mumbled. Losing the tenuous phone connection with Kitty had haunted him all night. What if she didn’t believe he was willing to move heaven and earth to fix whatever was wrong with their marriage? He’d walk through the fires of hell to make Kitty happy. He needed to make her see that. But how could he when he didn’t know where she was? “Could you come back later? I’m not in the mood—“
“Okay, but I brought along somebody who wants to see you.”
“I’m not exactly dressed for company.” He was wearing the light drawstring pants he normally wore to bed. He couldn’t imagine any one he would be willing to meet at this hour – especially if Joey had found some girl willing to ‘ease’ his friend’s pain.
“I’m pretty sure she’s seen you in less,” Joey mused.
Josh frowned – which immediately changed into a beaming smile when Kitty stepped from behind Joey. “Kitty!” he sighed happily and extended his arms. “C’mere, sweetness!”
Shyly, Kitty put her hand in his, opting not to succumb to his entreaty just yet.
The coolness of her reaction was not lost on either man.
“Later, C,” Joey muttered as he walked away.
“Lucky for me Joey was just coming in or I don’t know how I would have gotten up here,” Kitty murmured.
“Lucky for me. If not, you could have insisted they call me.”
“Yeah, right. I’m going to convince them that I’m not one of the million groupies just wanting to get up here?”
“Baby, you got way too much class to be mistaken for a groupie.”
Realizing they were standing in the doorway and he was only half-dressed, Josh wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her into the room. He closed the door and turned to his wife. “I’m sorry about that bad connection yesterday.”
Kitty shrugged. “It happens.”
“Usually not when I’m begging my wife for a second chance.”
Without thinking, she traced the dark circles under his eyes. “You haven’t been taking good care of yourself.”
Josh wanted to melt at her light touch. He didn’t know how to respond, so he said nothing.
Kitty dropped her hand to her side with a sigh. “I don’t know where to being.”
“The start. The end. The middle. I don’t care, baby. Just tell me what I need to do.”
“Burn the bed.”
He frowned, not following her. “Burn this bed?” He’d do it. No question there. He’d do it if it made Kitty love him.
“Not this one. Your bed.”
“My bed?”
“As in the one in the master bedroom at your house.”
“My bed at home?”
“And sell the house.”
“My house?”
“Are you that attached to it?” she questioned quietly.
“I’m a helluva lot more attached to you.” He put his hand on her waist to draw her closer. “Burn the bed and sell the house. Is that it?”
Kitty shook her head. “It’s a start.”
“Can I ask why, sweetness?”
“Why it’s a start?”
“No. Why the house and bed?”
“You did buy that house for her – and you slept with her in that bed.”
How could he have been so stupid! It all made sense now. “I’ll even torch the bedding,” he promised.
“Thank you.”
Josh pulled her even closer, resting his forehead against hers. “I am so sorry, baby. I didn’t even
think—“
“She came to visit me one day, before you moved me in, when I was rearranging the furniture. She wasn’t very nice. She told me how you had been with her and how you f—“ Kitty broke off with a sob.
“Shh...baby, don’t cry.” Josh tried to kiss and lick away every tear but there were too many. “I’m so sorry. You never told me.” Kitty had refused to move in and then refused his bed. He had acted liked the aggrieved husband. The signs had been there and he’d been so intent on having his way, he didn’t see how badly she was hurting.
As her sobs wracked her body, Kitty let herself be held, her face pressed into his warm, hard chest. Josh stroked her hair and back, making soft, comforting noises of assurance. When nothing seemed to comfort her, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. He lay down with her, nuzzling her and whispering his love until she finally quieted.
“Sweetness?” he ventured softly after a long while. It was then he realized, she had cried herself to sleep.
Easing away from her, he removed her shoes and jeans. Rejoining her, he pulled up the covers and tucked her against him. Apparently neither of them had slept during the night. Kitty’s little nose found it’s favorite nesting spot against his neck. God, this felt so good, so right! They would work it out.
The first thing Kitty became aware off when she woke was the fact she was cocooned in her husband’s warmth. He had fitted her back against him in spoon-fashion and wrapped his arms around her. His face was pressed in her hair – and his usual morning erection rested hot and hard along her bottom. The urge to turn and succumb to the magic they had always shared was strong. She tamped it down. They should still do more work before she allowed herself to be drawn into intimacy.
Josh flexed his hips, enjoying the feel of his hardness against Kitty’s little butt.
“Knock it off,” Kitty grumbled, chastising him.
“Mmm…morning, sweetness,” he purred, rubbing his face in her raspberry-scented hair. His tongue traced along the shell of her ear. “Did you sleep well once I held you?” One hand moved beneath her shirt while the other sought to slip into her cotton panties. The jab of her elbow in his ribs was immediately followed by a grunt of pain. “What was that for?” he demanded.
“I don’t want to use sex to smooth over things or avoid issues anymore.” Kitty removed herself from his grasp and turned to face him.
“You and I have never had sex, Kitty,” Josh reminded her irritably. “We’ve made fantastic, mind-blowing love, but it has never been sex between us.”
“Euphemisms.”
“No. There is a world of difference. If I wanted sex, I could fuck any convenient hole,” he announced crudely. “And it’s not hard to find if that’s what I want. When I want earth-shaking, mind-blowing, soul-deep lovemaking, I need you and only you.”
Kitty blinked. “Okay.”
Okay what? he wondered. Okay, good definition – or okay, let’s get it on?
Kitty traced a finger over his lips. “We’ve had this tendency to let our reproductive organs rule our heads.”
He captured her finger in his teeth, sucking on it. He watched as her eyes went dark with desire. Taking her hand, he kissed and nibbled his way from the delicate flesh on the inside of her wrist to her shoulder.
“Josh!”
“Let me, sweetness,” he coaxed softly. “Let me make you feel good.”
“No—“
“I’m not asking anything for myself. I want you to—“
“Josh!” She was breathless as he thumbed one breast until the nipple peaked.
“Say, yes, Kit. Say yes, and I’ll take you to the stars.”
Kitty decided she was weak. She should hold him off until they had more settled, but she had missed his touch so very much… “Yes, but, blue-eyes, don’t make me go alone.”
There was no triumph or gloating in his sweet smile. “I promise, sweetness.”
The kisses they shared were tender and slow. Josh wasn’t going to rush. I had seemed they had always been in a hurry since the day they met. If she was feeling unloved and a stranger, then he needed to teach her what he was about. He’d been given a precious second chance and he wasn’t going to blow it.
“Mmm…” she purred when his hand moved beneath his shirt to caress the silky skin of her ribs and back.
When she opened her mouth to speak, he closed it with a gentle kiss. They always seemed to be taunting and teasing each other while they made love. He wasn’t so sure that wasn’t part of the problem, why it felt like “sex” to her. “Just feel, sweetness. Don’t talk.”
Josh lifted the shirt from her body and laid it aside. He removed her bra in the same fashion. He wasn’t going to be tearing the clothes from her as he so often had. Trailing soft, nibbling kisses down her throat, he traveled downward to tenderly lick and suckle her little buds until they were hard. Her soft gasps of pleasure were his reward.
Kitty seemed to realize what he was trying to do. She lightly caressed his shoulders, back and chest.
When he moved lower, she fully expected to feel his mouth on her. Instead he kissed his way down one leg to her toes, then back up the other side until he reached her mouth once more. Then he removed her panties and his pants. Rising above her, he entered her in a slow glide that stole her breath, stopping a moment to feel her walls quiver and hold him.
“Josh…”
Again his lips stopped her words.
It had never been like this, a slow melting pleasure that grew with every stroke. She hadn’t known she could nearly dissolve with bliss. Instead of a wild, screaming explosion, rapture broke over her in continuous waves, leaving her breathless and sated.
“I love you,” she whispered against his neck as he took his own release.
“Oh, baby, I love you, too,” he murmured as he gazed down at her lambent eyes. He’d been right. “I’m sorry, Kit. I should have known—“
Her hand covered his mouth lightly. “We both have work to do. I never said the blame was all yours.”
No, she hadn’t, but he was the one who failed to see the problems.
Josh lowered his head to nuzzle her neck. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes not to lose you, sweetness. I nearly died when you took off your rings.”
Kitty wrapped her arms about him, holding him close to her heart. They lay in each other’s arms for some time – until the telephone intruded.
Josh reached for it. “JC.”
“We got that radio spot in an hour and a half,” Joey announced.
“Yeah. Okay. Fine. I’ll be ready in an hour.”
“You okay, C?”
Josh gazed down at his wife and smiled. “Yeah, I’m good.” He rang off.
“I take it, you have to go,” Kitty stated.
“Go with me.”
“All I have is the clothes I arrived wearing – and I’d swim in yours.”
“I’ll have the concierge open the boutique and I’ll get you something.”
Josh rose and went to the duffle bag he kept with him at all times. What a fine specimen he made, padding naked across the room. When he returned to the bed, he sat down and reached for Kitty’s left hand. “I want these back where they belong.” He held her engagement and wedding rings.
Kitty hesitated. “I think there’s a lot more we need to do.”
He didn’t argue. Kitty was here and she still loved him. It was probably more than he deserved. “You’ll have to help me. I can’t fix what I don’t know is broken.”
“We need to learn about each other. We never really got to know one another before we got married.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes, sweetness – but wear these again. Please.”
Her reluctance was still evident when she took the rings from him. It was almost like putting them on gave him permission not to try. But Josh looked so hopeful. “For now.” She slid the rings on.
“Forever,” Josh murmured.
While she had showered, Josh had gone to find her fresh clothing. Kitty was surprised to discover how much thought he had put into his selections. Evidently, he had paid attention, either when removing her clothes or the few times he had helped her with laundry. The bra fit nicely. The white silk panties were her size. The plain cotton tee-shirt in lavender brought out her eyes. The walking shorts in tan fit well and matched her sandals.
“I think it’s safe to send you shopping,” Kitty told him as she ran a comb through her still damp hair. He had even remembered her toiletries. “I don’t have any makeup—“
“You don’t need any. You’re so beautiful, it hurts to look at you.”
She met his eyes in the mirror. “Don’t you know we actresses use make-up as a kind of mask?”
“All the more reason you don’t need it. You don’t need to hide from me, sweetness.”
“Are you sure you want to see the unattractiveness in me?”
“It’s what we need, Kit, to see each other – warts and all,” he reminded her softly.
“Hey, JC!” Joey thumped the door. “Let’s go!”
Grabbing Kitty’s hand, Josh led her out to the hallway.
“Kitty!” Lance was as surprised as the others to see Josh’s estranged wife come out of his room.
“Hello, Lance.” Kitty felt awkward. Surely, they all had to know she had left Josh. What must they think of her?
Josh refused to let Kitty be the object of curiosity. “I invited her along. Let’s go.”
In the limo, Josh sat, holding Kitty’s hand, letting the conversation flow around them.
“So,” Chris decided to get past the awkwardness with directness, “how long are you here for, Kitty?”
“With Josh? The shoot’s taking a five-day break to set up in Nevada. If I fly there from wherever you guys are, that gives us four days together.”
Four days! Josh wanted to crow from the rooftops. Kitty was joining him for four days! She’d never been on tour with him before.
“Do you mind?” she asked the group.
“Mind? A beautiful lady travelin’ with us? Do we look that stupid?” Justin laughed.
“Well—“
“Don’t answer that, brat,” Joey warned.
Kitty shook her small fist under Joey’s nose. “Only George gets away with calling me that.”
“Yeah. I am so scared of you,” Joey snorted.
Everyone laughed and the conversation became less stilted.
Josh stopped Kitty before they entered the studio. “Thank you, sweetness.”
“For what?”
“For giving me four days.”
“Come on you, guys!” Justin called to the couple. “Quit mooning over each other and get in here!”
When the couple entered the small glass enclosure full of electronic gizmos, Justin muttered, “Newlyweds…”
Josh sat in front of a microphone and pulled Kitty onto his lap since chairs were at a premium in the close space.
“That’s right, JC. You’ve only been married what? Nine months?” the deejay asked.
“Eight,” Josh corrected with a smile.
“And five of them in secret.”
“The kind of celebrity we have can be tough on a new relationship.”
“But Kit Winston has her own fame.”
“Not nearly what these guys have,” Kitty stated. “I am still not recognized on the street.”
“I hear that’s going to change with you’re the movie that’s released next month.”
“I’m pretty sure all their fans didn’t tune you in to discuss my career,” Kitty reminded the man with a chuckle.
“Yeah, we didn’t bring her along so she could plug her new movie,” Chris complained teasingly.
Everyone laughed and then settled down to the interview. Josh wrapped his arms about Kitty’s middle and rested his chin on her shoulder. As the interview went on, Kitty leaned back against him. She noticed he wasn’t the talker in the group. Even Lance, whom she knew as soft-spoken was more out-spoken. Unless they touched on a subject Josh was passionate about, he was content to listen.
“So, what’s next?” Kitty asked as they sped away from the studio and an enormous crowd of screaming fans.
“Lunch,” Joey stated.
“After lunch?”
“Sound check, meet and greet, dinner, then some down time,” Josh told her.
“I guess, I need to go shopping during what? The meet and greet?”
Josh reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He presented her with a plastic card. “Here’s a virgin credit card.”
”Josh, I have my own—“
“You’re here for me, sweetness.”
Not wanting to fuss in front of his friends, Kitty took the card. Her married name was stamped into the plastic. When had he done that? “Thank you.”
“Everything I have is yours, Kit.”
“Well, in that case…what kind of limit does this thing have?”
Everyone in the car laughed, including Josh. He knew she was no gold-digger. “Just try and spend the limit.” He was pretty sure she couldn’t come close.
Kitty sat cross-legged on the stage as the guys moved around with their microphone equipment, fine-tuning the sound for the evening’s performance. She had never been to one of their concerts – and if the fans outside the studio were any indication, it was going to be loud.
“What’s that big screen for?” she asked as Lance walked past.
“Mainly for people in the nose-bleed seats, so they can see what’s going on. Sometimes we show video on it.”
She shook her head. “The only time Pet plays places this big is when she’s with the Reverend and Michael.”
“We’re not exactly in their league.”
“Not into saving souls?”
“Only our own,” Joey remarked as he stopped beside Lance.
Justin joined them. “You never have been to a concert?”
“Nope. Never. I didn’t know exactly who you all were until Pet introduced me to Lance.”
“But you already knew Joey and JC.”
“I knew Joey as an actor who did some singing – and I knew Josh as his friend.”
“Are we holding court, milady?” Chris mused as he joined the rest.
Kitty grinned. “Kinda looks that way.”
“Hey, she’s my lady,” Josh announced as he parted the men whohad collected around his wife.
“She asked me a question,” Lance offered in explanation for his being there.
Josh squatted in front of Kitty. “Whatcha need?”
“I’ve got your ‘skies the limit’ credit card. What else could a girl possibly want?”
Josh grinned at her.
“I think they’re gonna get sickening,” Joey told the others and they all moved away.
“You sure know how to clear a room,” Kitty laughed.
“Seriously, baby, what did you want to know?”
“Lance did answer me,” she assured him. “I was telling him I had never been to a concert—“
“Never?”
“Not this size. The stage is enormous and there’s so much going on…”
“We like to entertain and make sure our fans think they got their money’s worth.”
“With all this staging, they must.”
Kitty’s voice grew quiet and husky. “And as to what I need…You haven’t kissed me since we got out of bed this morning.”
“I can change that right now.” Kneeling before her, he bent his head to hers, tenderly capturing her mouth with his. “Oh, yeah, sweetness. I’ve been needing that, too.”