After the pizza, they all went for the pre-concert sound check and the meet and
greet with some fans. As per usual, Kate stayed with security.
“I know it’s her,” a blonde teenage girl pointed at Kate.
“She doesn’t really look the same,” her equally blonde friend stated.
“I’m gonna ask.”
When the girls got up to the table, the first one asked Josh, “That’s your
girlfriend from the video, right?”
Josh looked up to see her indicating Kate. “Yes, it is,” he replied, signing the
picture the girl had placed in front of him.
“She looked hotter in the video,” the second girl commented.
“You think so?” Was his non-committal answer as he signed her picture as
well.
“Is she your real life girl friend?” the first one asked.
“Yes, she’s my lady.” The term ‘girlfriend’ didn’t do justice to the way he felt
about Kate.
“I loved the way she had you all drooling in that video. Think she’d sign,
too?”
“We can ask.” Josh waved Kate over to the table. When she came to his side,
he slid an arm around her waist. “Kate, meet one of your fans.”
“My...what?” Kate was taken-aback.
“I think it’s great how you had everyone of them eating out of your hand in the
video,” the first girl gushed.
“It’s just make believe,” Kate told her.
“They way JC looked at you wasn’t make believe.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Josh murmured. Even he had been surprised at the amount of
heat they generated on film.
The teenager thrust her picture at Kate. “Can I have your autograph, too?”
“Mine? Whatever for?”
“Please?”
Kate took the picture and borrowed the pen from Josh. Neatly under his
scrawled signature, she wrote ‘Kate Nicoletti’.
“A star is born,” Josh murmured as he heard a whisper run through the crowd
about ‘the hot girl from the video’ being there.
“I think you’d better grab a chair.”
“No way. I---”
“It is you!” Yet another teenager pointed at Kate. “My boyfriend says he doesn’t
mind me watching that video, because he has something to look at, too!” The
girl handed Kate a still from the video where Kate was dancing with Joe and
Josh was trying to get her to partner him.
“Get Katie a chair and a pen!” Josh called.
Kate took a seat between Lansten and Josh. Much to her surprise, she ended
up chatting about the making of the video. Did she know all the guys? Was
she really JC’s girlfriend? Amazingly enough, most fans were glad they were a
happy couple. The most popular photo set in front of Kate was the one where
she had jumped on Josh’s back, just before he had tuned the tables on her.
“It looks like you had a lot of fun,” one girl stated.
“We did,” Kate assured her.
At the end of the session, Kate’s hand was tired. She still found it difficult to
believe someone had wanted her autograph and wanted to talk with her. A
couple of teenage boys had even flirted with her.
“I told you you had star potential,” Lansten reminded her as they headed back
to the hotel for a brief rest before the concert. “Your look, your voice, you’ve got
the whole package.”
“Well...I am unemployed in a few months...” Kate pretended to consider it.
“As long as you realize you’d still be traveling with us,” Josh told her.
“How so?”
“We’re the six musketeers now,” Joe pointed out. “Five guys and a girl.” The
same phrase he had used when they filmed the video.
Kate shook her head. “I prefer behind the scenes. I didn’t like the ‘hurry up and
wait’ of video. I don’t care for all the lights and glitz -- and who would choose my
wardrobe? I shudder to think!”
Josh smiled. “And I don’t think I liked the way those boys were drooling all over
you.”
“Well, it’s about time! I swear if I hear one more girl talk about your ‘dreamy
eyes’, I’ll hurl.”
That sent laughter throughout the car.
It had been nearly two weeks since he’d come off the stage after a performance
and found Kate in the wings. Josh thought as he wiped his face on a towel. As
always, he was drenched in perspiration. He removed the microphone
equipment and stripped off his over-shirt, leaving the black tank-top on.
“Kate!” he called as he shucked his pants and grabbed a pair of baggy jeans to
replace them.
“Yes, your lordship?” Kate quipped at being summoned in such a demanding
tone.
“Ah, baby, don’t be like that,” he crooned. He pulled her to him and kissed her
breathless. “I can’t wait to get back to our room,” he whispered, his lips on the
delicate flesh below her ear.
Kate could feel him growing hard against her stomach.
Josh bit at her neck, knowing he was making her anxious as well. “It’s been too
long, Katie.”
“Come on, you guys!” Joe called. “Let’s ride.”
Josh grinned down at Kate as they fell in behind Joe. “Now that’s a
thought...”
“Control yourself, Joshua Scott,” Kate quipped.
“Only for a little while longer,” he reminded her. “I plan on losing control
real soon.”
In the limo, Josh pulled Kate onto his lap. He ran his hand up and down her
thigh, keeping her as hungry as he was.
“I think that’s the best performance we’ve had in weeks,” Lake stated. “It’s gotta
be havin’ Kate back.”
“Gotta be,” Josh murmured against her neck.
“Not one major mess-up,” Lansten added.
“Admit it,” Joe announced. “We all do better when we know Kate’s here.”
“This is my last tour, guys,” Kate reminded them.
“I doubt that.” Joe looked meaningfully at Josh, who only had eyes for Kate.
“Her last tour as our wrangler,” Josh amended.
“But I’ll make sure you get someone you can work with. I’ll make Olivia have me
interview them, if I have to,” Kate assured them. “No one like Jameson is gonna
slip under this girl’s radar. You guys deserve better than that.”
“I just loved the look on that guy’s face when you trounced him,” Chris
chuckled.
“I’d never seen you be such a bitch before,” Lake laughed. “It was pretty
awesome!”
“I don’t think you should be calling my lady a bitch,” Josh stated. He
remembered how the nicknames Kate had been given had hurt her feelings.
“Well, I was one. That’s exactly how I wanted Jameson to see
me,” Kate defended Lake’s assessment. “I’m not a spineless weenie like Patrick
Jameson.”
Everyone laughed at that.
“Besides, he got exactly what he deserved. The snob usually travels with an
elitist crowd, classical pianist is his usual client.
“We musta really freaked him,” Lansten laughed.
“Especially the way you dress.” Kate grinned. “He’s more into tuxedos and
chess.”
“Yeah, he didn’t want to play foosball with us,” Lake told her.
“I’m surprised you asked. You never let me play.”
Joe snorted. “You know why, too.”
Josh was no longer in the conversation, concentrating on teasing Kate by
moving his hand between her thighs.
Kate’s hand stopped him from reaching his destination. “Be good,” she warned
him quietly.
“I plan to be very good to you tonight, baby,” he murmured against her ear,
nipping at it, then running his tongue along the shell. He could feel her quiver
and was glad he could unnerve her. Kate could be such a cool customer; he
loved seeing her go wild.
“Are we there yet?” she whispered breathlessly.
“Almost, sweetheart. Almost.”
“I won’t even ask if you two want to hang out,” Joe said to Josh as the group
stepped off the elevator. It would take a blind man not to see the couple wanted
to be alone in the worst way -- and even a blind man could feel the heat. “See
you tomorrow morning.”
“Night all!” Kate waved as Josh pulled her towards their room.
It had been too damned long since they made love, Josh thought as he hurried
Kate along the corridor. Ten nights, he hadn’t held himself inside her, listening
to her soft whimpers of pleasure as he drove into her. Kate being Kate was
enough to make him hot, but the extra adrenaline from the show and their
separation had him ready to explode.
Fumbling with the key card, he opened the door and rushed them in. Without
bothering with lights he backed her against the door.
“I hope you’re as ready as I am,” he growled against her throat.
“Oh, yes!’’ Kate gasped as his hands moved beneath her shirt.
It took mere seconds for him to rid her of her shirt and bra. Bending his head, he
suckled her breasts until she squirmed and begged, “ Josh, please...”
“I aim to, Katie.” As he kissed her, mating his tongue to hers, his hands were
busy unfastening her jeans. He shoved them down until she could kick free.
Lifting her against the door, he guided her legs around his waist. He trailed his
fingers along the inside of her thighs. One hand found the dampness of her
panties between her legs and rubbed there.
“Josh...” Kate whimpered, her arms tightening around his neck. “Please...”
“There’s something I gotta do.” He unwrapped her legs then her arms.
Bereft of his body against hers, Kate’s feet touched the floor. She giggled when
she realized she was naked, save her panties and sandals. “You’re
over-dressed for this party.”
Josh grinned. “I guess I am.”
Kate helped him remove his shirt, grazing his nipples with her fingernails,
knowing full well it made him crazy. Toeing off his shoes, he divested himself of
pants, boxer-briefs, and socks in one smooth movement.
Once again, Josh backed Kate against the door as he captured her mouth. His
hands stroked her with light touches everywhere, fueling her frenzy once more.
His mouth moved down her throat, taking little love nips as he made a path
downward. He nibbled and suckled at her nipples once more. Still lower, he
skated his mouth to her stomach, to her navel. Dropping to his knees, he peeled
her panties down her legs, removing them and her shoes with an economy of
motion -- until she stood trembling and naked before him. A light might have
been good. The faint light from the far bedside stand was too meager. He’d
love to see her so aroused and needy. One hand moved up her calf, lifting her
leg to drape over his shoulder, opening her to him.
“Josh?”
“I’ve just gotta taste you, Katie. Last time you were too new...I don’t wanna wait
anymore.”
“Josh!” Kate felt his hands between her thighs, parting her. Thank God for the
door or she would have fallen. Nothing she had ever experienced prepared her
for the hot shock of his tongue. “Oh!”
“Oh, God, baby! You’re sweet here, too.”
Josh continued to lap and nibble at her center, causing shock-waves through
her. She was climbing new heights and was afraid of falling. She gripped at his
shoulders as she felt herself tense, until she thought she just might break apart..
Then it hit her -- a starburst of hot pleasure. “Oooh, Josh!...”
“That’s it, baby. Let it go!” he urged as she shook with the power of her
ecstasy.
Josh moved back up her body, carrying her legs around his hips. He thrust into
her, her insides clutching at him in the last contraction of her release. “Jeeze,
baby, you’re so hot...so tight and wet...” He pulled back and titled her hips a
little then moved even deeper.
“Oh!” Kate didn’t imagine it could get any better than their first night together.
She had wanted to die with the pleasure of it! Now, she discovered it could
indeed be improved upon. “I won’t break.” She nipped at his ear then soothed it
with her tongue. “Harder...Faster,” she urged.
Josh accommodated her, pumping into her forcefully, his hips slamming into her
like a jackhammer.
“Josh!...Oh, Josh...Ooohh!...”
Her body clenched him, milking him as he released himself into her.
“Oh, Katie baby...” he groaned as he shoved into her one last time.
The hot wave of ultimate pleasure swept both of them into its molten vortex.
It took a long moment before they could breathe.
Josh lowered his head to kiss her mouth tenderly. “I love you,” he whispered
against her neck, feeling her still shiver with awareness.
Kate took a shuddering breath. “How did you manage to improve on
perfection?”
“Didn’t you know? Love gets better with practice.”
She shook her head. “It can’t. I’ll die if it gets any better.”
“No. But the French call it the ‘little death’.”
Josh stepped back so he could sweep her up in his arms. He made his way to
the bed and set her on her feet. He stripped back the bedspread and covers.
Urging her to the mattress, he lay next to her. Unhurriedly, they shared soft kisses and exchanged loving touches. Now, that the first explosion was over, they could take their time in loving each other.
“Mmm...baby, I love it when you do that...makes me crazy,” he murmured when
she scratched her nails over his flat nipples.
“I know.” Kate dipped her head to lick at them.
Josh groaned his pleasure. He dropped his head back to the pillows as she
continued her foray down his torso. He had guessed Kate had a talent for
seduction and he had been oh-so right. Her hands and mouth were working
magic on him. His body forgot he’d just had the best sex of his life only moments
earlier!
“Kate!” he moaned when her tongue swirled at the tip of his manhood, then
licked him up and down like a long-lasting sucker. “Oh, baby...” Soft hands
cupped his sacs as her lips sank on him, taking him into her mouth. Damn, but
she was good. He could feel himself getting closer...
“No, Katie.” Josh eased her head up, bringing her face to his. He kissed her
tenderly as he drew her beneath him. “I want to be in you when I let go.”
“But you...to me?...”
“I had to...I needed to taste you.” His hand moved down her body caressing and
fondling until it moved between her legs. He tested her readiness. By the sharp
intake of breath and her wetness, he knew it wouldn’t be long before they made
love again. He slid a finger into her.
Kate could barely find her voice, his fingers were so very talented. “I--I thought
guys liked that,” she quizzed. In another second she wouldn’t even remember
her own name!
“We do...I do...just not tonight, sweetheart.”
Kate pulled at his shoulders. “Please, now, Josh!”
This time he eased into her slowly, letting her feel every inch of his love.
“Oh!”
Josh kept up his slow, easy pace until Kate became impatient, clamping her legs
around him, thrusting her hips up on his downward stroke.
“I think my Katie likes it a little rough,” he taunted, enjoying her eagerness
thoroughly.
“Shut up,” she said through clenched teeth when he held back. “Come on!’’ she
demanded.
“Make me.”
Kate shoved at his shoulders and rolled atop him. Bracing herself with her
hands on his chest, she rode him.
“That’s it, baby...Yeah, like that...” Josh encouraged her to be his bold,
uninhibited lover. He stroked her thighs and breasts as she moved on him. “My
beautiful wild Katie...”
“Josh!...” she cried, her body clenching around him as the hot incoming tide of
rapture took over once more.
Grabbing her hips, he thrust upwards once...twice...”Katie baby!...” he groaned
as he took his own release.
Kate collapsed on his chest, trembling and fully sated.
After a long moment, Josh shifted Kate to his side and reached to pull the covers
over their damp bodies. He kissed her hair, her cheek and stroked her
soothingly. Kate was really something in and out of bed. She was amazing in
both places.
“I’ll hafta remember you don’t like it gentle,” he mused. “Who’da guessed a little
thing like you likes it hard and deep?”
Kate tweaked the hair on his chest and watched him wince. “It’s not nice to
make fun of me, you know.”
He kissed her forehead. “You just surprise me, that’s all, baby. You’re so
tiny...”
“I like it when I can almost feel you in my throat,” she confessed softly. “It’s
like...I don’t know...You’re in me and I’m filled with you and...” She didn’t know
how to express how it felt to hold him in her body, that they were one...
Josh held her close to his heart. “It’s like for that time we’re together...really
together, one.”
She nodded.
“Me. too, baby. I love the way I feel when I’m inside you, when you hold
me...and when I let myself go in you...It’s just damn fantastic!”
The wonder in his voice was conviction enough for Kate. She nuzzled his chest.
“I love you.”
“Mmm...baby, I love you so much....”
At that moment, Josh’s eyes fell on the box of condoms on the bedside table --
the unused box of condoms! He groaned. In his rush to make love to Kate, he
had forgotten all about protection!
“Kate, I forgot to protect you,” he announced softly, preparing himself for a
tirade.
Kate looked at the worry and concern on his face. She lifted her head to kiss his
frown away. “We both forgot. I am just responsible for it as you are.” She felt
too happy, too good and well-loved to worry about it. She couldn’t change what
had happened even if she wanted to -- and she didn’t want to. “As long as you
don’t have some horrible disease to pass on, it’s okay.”
“You sure?”
“Mmm...hmm.” She snuggled against him sleepily.
“What if you get pregnant?”
“Then we’ll be parents,” she sighed, then closed her eyes. She was quickly
asleep, all the activity of the day -- and night catching up with her.
Lucky for him Kate didn’t see the satisfied smile on Josh’s face. A guy could
only hope...
Kate woke hours later and found herself neatly trapped in her sleeping lover’s
embrace. She was on her back with Josh lying on his side, facing her. One of
his long legs pinned hers to the mattress. One arm clamped around her middle.
It was if he feared her disappearing while he slept.
With a gentle finger, she reached up to smooth the worry lines on his forehead.
Those were new.. Before he had always looked so peaceful and young when he
slept. She suspected she had put those creases there, her indecision, her
cowardice, her lack of faith.
“I’m so sorry, Josh,” she whispered.
Slowly, Josh opened his eyes and saw Kate’s sad expression. “What’s wrong,
baby?”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize how much I hurt you---”
“Shhh...Katie, it’s behind us now.”
“No, it’s not.”
“It is. I swear it. I’m not blaming---”
Kate placed silencing fingers across his lips. “Let me finish.”
Josh nipped at her fingertips. “I mean it, Kate. I don’t want you beating yourself
up about this. You were under a lot of pressure from all sides. God, I don’t see
how you held up so well!”
“I didn’t. I ran.”
“Outa self-preservation.”
“I ran from the one person I needed to be running to.”
“Ah, sweetheart...” He stroked her cheek. “At least, you realize that.”
Her soft eyes misted with tears. “I just crumpled. I held it together when Olivia
started accusing me of whatever it was, then I fell apart. I just wanted to run
away -- and I did. I didn’t stop to think about who I was hurting...Those two times
you called -- I was there. I just couldn’t...”
“Ah, baby, stop.” Josh pressed her face against his chest to comfort her.
“I--I just wanted to hide somewhere and be miserable.” Her tears were flowing
hot and steady. “I’d lost Mama. I’d lost my job, a job I’m damned good at. I was
sure I’d lose you, too.”
“Not a chance,” he assured her.
She lifted her head and swiped at the tears with her fingers. “I was like a
wounded animal. I wasn’t rational. The things Olivia said...”
“What did she say?” He had some bones to pick with Olivia
Hamilton. They were going to have a long chat when he got back to
Orlando.
“She made it sound like I had lied to her about us from the start. The last time
she and I discussed you, you were barely talking to me. She didn’t seem to see
how we could be barely speaking and lovers in such a short time. Then she
acted like I must have pursued you since you’ve never been exactly the lothario
type.”
“She should’ve seen how I chased you.”
“Then she supposed it was a shallow tour thing. Then there was the age
difference---”
“Age,” he grumbled. “Doesn’t anybody give me credit for maturity?”
“I do.”
He gave her a lop-sided smile. “Now you do.” It’d hadn’t been so long ago
Kate had made the years difference in their ages a unbreechable chasm. “What
else, Kate?”
“The company’s reputation would be damaged because I slept with a client.”
“We slept together before we ever made love.” Sleeping together had been
away to comfort each other with the other’s nearness.
“But do you think anyone would truly believe that?”
“People who really know us would.”
“I think Olivia thought it was all about proximity and sex.”
“Baby, she was dead wrong. It’s all about loving each other.”
Kate grinned impishly. “Well, I did have to practically beg you to do the deed.
Does that make me a wanton?”
Josh had to chuckle at the archaic word and Kate’s ability to bounce back. Then
he became serious. “If you hadn’t been the woman I love, I wouldn’t have
hesitated. But I wanted a future with you, not just sex.” He thought for a moment.
“And I don’t think ‘wanton’ is a word I’d use to describe you. Curious and
generous are better descriptions -- and it was great for my male ego.”
Kate stroked a hand over his rumpled hair. “I think you needed some of that
after your last girlfriend.”
Josh said a silent ‘amen’ to that. The other woman had been a ball-buster. No
wonder he was attracted by sweet Kate.
“You know how to give me what I need when I need it,” she told him
honestly.
Josh smiled. “So do you, Katie.”
Nuzzling her neck, he felt her arms come about him. It was wonderful to feel no
hesitation in her. When he lifted his head once more, she stroked his cheek,
tenderness glowing in her honey-brown eyes. Turning his head, he pressed an
opened mouth kiss into her palm. Right at this very moment, he knew what true
contentment was.
“Josh, you’d better go back to sleep. We have a five-thirty wake-up call.”
“Hey, you’re the one who likes these late night chats.”
Kate stiffened at his words. “I can’t sleep when my mind is whirling. I can
always find another place to bunk if I disturb you, sleeping beauty.”
“That's not happenin’ and you damn well know it.”
“I do, do I?” she challenged.
Josh grinned at her. “Yes, you do, Katie.”
She lifted her mouth to his, her body flowed up to meet his. Every inch of skin
that could make contact did. Her hands slid up his back to his neck and locked.
Her tongue lured his into her mouth where she sucked it lightly. Josh groaned
into her mouth as his hands moved to stroke her body. He hardened swiftly.
Tearing his mouth from hers, he demanded huskily, “Didn’t you just say we
needed some sleep?” She had to know how hot she was making him.
Breathlessly, she murmured, “Okay. I’ll stop.”
When she tried to roll over to her side of the bed, he held her down. “Let’s not
make a habit of this -- getting me all hot and bothered and then saying ‘okay,
let’s quit’.”
“You were the one who was complaining,” she pointed out.
He skimmed one hand down her leg, then lifted it to make room for his body
between her thighs. Kate give a little gasp when his erection nudged at her
entrance. “A guy doesn’t sleep real well in this condition.”
Kate nipped at his lips playfully. “I’ve got the cure for what ails you.”
Josh lowered his mouth a fraction of an inch from hers. “That you do,
sweetheart. That you do.”