Deeper
This was certainly a strange way to waken, Emily mused. JC’s face was snuggled against her breasts and one of his hands cupped her woman’s mound. Clearly, he still slept; his long lashes fanned his cheeks. Despite the day’s growth of beard, he looked like a sweet little boy at rest. Smoothing the tumble of dark curls back, she pressed her lips to his forehead. JC made her believe in the sweetness of love again. It had been snatched from her when a careless driver hadn’t seen the blonde boy and his red ball as he sped down the residential street. JC made Emily believe love between a man and a woman could exist despite the fact she would never walk again.
JC’s mind slowly climbed up from slumber. Emily’s satiny, scented flesh had made the softest pillow for his weary head. He hated it when he had to be away from her. With the resumption of the tour, it meant far too many nights away from her arms. The break they were taking from touring later in the year was just what he needed.
Emily threaded her fingers in his soft, wavy hair. “You aren’t a sleep anymore.”
JC nuzzled her breasts. “No. I just like us being like this. Your arms around me. You touching me. I savor each sensation.” He lifted his head to meet her gaze. “Morning, baby.”
“Good morning, Josh.”
A lazy smile claimed his lips. “It is when I wake up with you.” Realizing where his hand rested, he began to stroke her.
Emily gasped when he eased one finger into her. “Josh!”
He shifted so he could kiss her tenderly. “Now, Em. You never let me taste you. I want it now.”
“You—you don’t need to…”
“Hell, yeah, I do!” He wanted to learn the delicate, musky flavor of her. “I’ve been starved for it.”
She looked at him like he was insane. “Guys don’t like that—“
“What?” He was incredulous. “Who told you that? Bright-eyes, you’ve been letting the wrong men love you.”
Emily blushed. “There has only been one other…”
“He was a jackass. He taught you to go down on him but wouldn’t reciprocate? That’s just wrong.”
“I like pleasing you,” she protested.
“And I will thoroughly enjoy pleasing you.”
”Josh…”
“It’s incredible, baby,” he told her softly. “Nothing is more intimate, more connecting. To explore, taste and please your lover…to lap up her love juices as she reaches the highest peak of rapture…It’s awesome. Nothing compares to it.”
She still looked dubious.
JC rose above her, his knees parting her legs, his forearms keeping him from crushing her. “Bright-eyes, I’m sorry whoever initiated you into love was so selfish,” he told her softly, his eyes glowing with tenderness. “It’s all about sharing and wanting to give your lover everything.” His kisses were lingering and breath-stealing.
“I do want to give you everything,” she assured him breathlessly as his mouth made a foray to her neck and ears.
“Then let me do this for you, baby.”
“I – if you really want to.”
“I really want to.”
JC’s mouth courted her breasts, teasing the nipples until they were hard and she was squirming. He then continued lower, bathing her satiny ribs with his tongue, dipping it into her navel. It wasn’t until he moved below her belly her body began to tighten.
“Relax, Em. I want you to enjoy my loving you.” His voice soothed. He nuzzled her soft, pale thighs, skating his hands up and down her legs. It occurred to him that part of her protest was rooted in her self-consciousness over the thin legs that did not work. “Baby, you’re nothing but beautiful to me. Every soft, sweet inch of you.” Those must have been the right words. She relaxed back into the mattress. “That’s my beautiful baby girl,” he purred as he parted her thighs even wider.
“Josh!” she gasped as she felt the unfamiliar sensation of his tongue traveling the length of her outer petals. He repeated it several more times until she became accustomed to it.
“You taste fantastic,” he told her.
“Are – are you done?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“I’ve just started,” he murmured against her intimate flesh.
Emily grabbed fists full of sheet as he continued licking at her. She hadn’t known a man could enjoy doing such things – or that she would actually want him to. And she did so want him to explore her even more!
JC knew the moment she began to enjoy his ministrations – her hips came off the mattress as much as she was able, offering herself to him. “Like it now, baby?”
“Oh, yes! Is there more?”
“You bet there is. Ready?”
“Please, yes!”
He buried his face against her, thrusting his tongue into her hot center.
“Oh!” But this time it was a soft cry of surprised pleasure. “Josh…”
Tenderly, he fastened his lips around her pleasure pearl, sucking lightly as he flicked his tongue at it.
“Josh-u-a!…Oh, God!” Emily reached down to tangle her fingers in his hair as she arched into his pleasure giving mouth. “Please, baby…” she begged helplessly.
JC gave her what she needed. He redoubled his efforts until she cried out and gave him the love nectar he eagerly consumed. Moving back up her body, he kissed her dewy flesh on the way.
“You liked that a little?” he teased, smiling down at her love-glazed expression. “You won’t fight me next time?”
Emily stroked his neck and shoulders, smiling drowsily. “No and no.”
“No?”
“I didn’t like it ‘a little’, you moron – and you damned well know it!”
He grinned.
She drew him close to nip at his lips. “Somebody’s feeling neglected and wants some lovin’, too.” His manhood was hot and hard against her thigh. “Come to me, sugar britches.”
He quickly sheathed himself, then eased into her, stretching her, filling her. “This what you want, baby?”
“Oh, yes!” Emily closed her eyes, savoring the wonderful pleasure he gave her. “You always give me what I want.”
“As long as I am what you want, Em, I’ll always give it to you,” JC promised as he kissed her.
He was definitely falling in love, JC decided. Every spare minute he owned belonged to Emily – and when he wasn’t with her, he thought about her constantly. The guys were probably sick of hearing about his beautiful, precious new girlfriend, but he didn’t think he’d ever tire of Emily. He’d practically moved into her place, her closet and bureau had surrendered space for his wardrobe. Emily never said ‘no’ or ‘don’t be getting so comfortable’, so JC was certain she felt the same way.
Lance. JC had never been particularly close to the blonde bass singer, but it was Lance who didn’t roll his eyes and beg JC to shut up when he made Emily the topic. So, it was poor Lance who had to listen to JC drone on and on about Emily. And JC was grateful for the friendship.
The tour was beginning to interfere with his love life, JC mused as he pulled up to Emily’s house. He had to wonder at that. He’d never felt the desperation just to touch her face, to look into her eyes, during the separations from any past girlfriends – and he’d fancied himself in love! Oh, he’d been plenty horny, but it hadn’t been this soul-deep hunger. And he still hadn’t declared himself in love!
“The time has come,” he murmured as he got out of his car.
Opening her door with his key, he stepped into the house. Rory greeted him with wagging tail.
“Hey, boy.” He stroked the dark golden head and rubbed the velvety ears for good measure. “Where’s Em?”
Rory merely waved his tail faster.
“Okay. You’re not the Lassie type, I see. Guess I’ll find her myself.”
Emily was busy saving her recent data when gentle hands covered her eyes. No panic rose in her. She knew JC’s scent.
“Guess who?”
“Mmm…George Clooney?” She named one of her favorite actors.
JC chuckled. “Nope. Try again.”
“Gimme a hint.”
“Younger than Clooney and tours with a ‘boy band’.”
“Hmm…Nick Carter?”
“Hey!” His laughter was full-blown by her teasing him.
“Josh, get your hands off my eyes. There are better places to put them,” she reminded him.
“Hell yeah!” He stepped back to allow her to turn around.
“You’re early, mister.”
“I’m sorry, Em. I couldn’t wait any longer. I missed you like hell.”
The benefit of being in a wheelchair, Emily mused silently, was the fact her eyes were level with the front of his jeans – the bulge was unmistakable. “I see that.”
“Baby, I don’t mean that.”
“I know, sugar britches,” she said softly. “I missed you, too.”
His smile was warm and appreciative. “I love you, Emily Westerfield.”
Her eyes went wide. “Josh—“
JC stopped her words with a slow, melting kiss. “I love you, bright-eyes,” he repeated. “I want the whole world to know; but more importantly, I want you to know.”
Emily reached down to detach the footrests of her chair, allowing him closer without banging his ankles. She put her arms around his lean waist and laid her cheek against his middle.
He pressed her close. This felt so good. “Baby…” he sighed contentedly.
For a long moment, they held onto each other in silence. She was the one to break his hold. Her hands slid his shirt up. His flesh quivered when she pressed damp kisses on his flat stomach. How could such a sweet gesture be so sexy?
JC groaned softly when her hand stroked him. “Emily, I think we need a bed—“
“No, we don’t. Not for this.” She opened his pants and shoved them downward, his shorts following.
“Em…God!” He was cut off when she lovingly gave his scrotum a tongue bath. “Baby, you’re so good to me…”
She danced her tongue and lips along his inner thighs, deliberately ignoring his eager manhood.
JC was in no particular hurry to have her finish him off. He thoroughly enjoyed letting her love him leisurely, like she didn’t want it to end either. Moaning, he buried his fingers in her hair as her mouth closed over the head of his shaft. The tip of her tongue teased him as her lips finally slid down on him.
“Baby…Mmm…Yeah…You do that so good, baby…” Nearing completion, he began thrusting his hips forward. “C’mon, Em!…Take me there!…Yesssss!” he exploded, giving her it all.
Emily licked the head of his manhood, cleaning away the remains.
“You’re incredible, bright-eyes,” JC told her huskily as he gazed down at her.
She nuzzled his stomach. “I’m nothing special.”
“The hell you aren’t!” JC pulled up his clothes, loosely fastening his pants.
“We’re done?” she asked.
He bent to lift her in his arms. “Baby, we’re just starting.”
Emily came out of her bedroom in a tank top and shorts. Grabbing her purse and van keys, she headed to the door, Rory directly behind her.
“Where’re you going?” JC had never been at her house in the late morning, so he didn’t know her routine.
“To be tortured,” she answered breezily as she continued out the door.
“Baby?” He followed her to the van.
Quite independently, she opened the rear door and pushed the button to lower the lift. “I go to physical therapy during the week, remember?” To Rory, she said, “In you go, fella.”
“Can I come?”
“Why would you want to do that?”
JC shrugged. “Maybe I could learn to help you.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but not necessary.” Emily rolled her chair on to the platform and raised it. Hitting a button, she repositioned the platform to close the van door.
JC moved to the passenger side and climbed in as she locked her chair in front of the steering wheel.
“Josh…”
“This is part of your life, bright-eyes. That makes it important to me.”
With a sigh of resignation, Emily said, “If you feel like wasting your time…”
“Time spent with you is never wasted.”
JC watched the therapist put Emily through sets of manipulations and contortions.
“I told you the man was a sadist,” Emily joked as she grimaced.
“You know you love me, Emily,” the athletic-looking blonde man retorted.
She chuckled. “I must. Why else would I pay to be tortured by you five times a week?”
“Except for holidays.”
The banter had an easy rhythm – like it was a well-rehearsed routine.
“So, what does Emily’s guest think?” The man looked to JC.
“I would like to learn how to do these exercises with her, so I can do them when she travels. That way she won’t get stiff.”
“You’re planning a vacation, Emily?” Tom, the therapist asked.
“I’m not, but Josh thinks I should accompany him when he travels.”
Tom nodded. “I can give you the exercises and Emily knows how to do them by heart. If you can come with her for a while, I can teach you.”
“I’ll make sure I can make it.”
“Josh—“
JC gazed down at her eyes full of tenderness. “Let me do this for you, baby.”
With a sigh of defeat, Emily acquiesced. “I suppose. You just want to learn how to torture me.”
A naughty grin replaced the sweetness. “I have other ways to torture you, bright-eyes.”
“T-M-I!” Tom announced, laughing.
Emily looked at the daunting task of cleaning out the closet in her guest bedroom. It would be like facing her past, the things she could no longer do. Thus far, she had managed to avoid opening that door. When Ben stayed over, he didn’t need the space. And JC was the only other person who spent nights with her – His clothes resided next to hers in her closet.
JC. It was because of her sweet, giving lover, she had chosen to remove the remnants of the girl who no longer existed. It was more than her use of a wheelchair or the passing of years. Emily had changed. She wasn’t the daring, fearless girl who would do anything to be part of her adventure-seeking boyfriend’s world. The man in her life now didn’t require acts of physical bravery – she was more liable to risk her heart than life and limb.
With a deep breath, she pulled open the portal to her past. Skis, repelling ropes, a motorcycle helmet, various and sundry sports equipment.
She looked to Rory who sniffled the unfamiliar contents of the closet. “Some sports freak is going to be very happy,” she muttered. “I’m glad Doug cleared out the garage last year.”
She had picked this particular time for this unsavory and rather sad project, because JC was back with the tour for several weeks. She was becoming accustomed to working around his absences. It was when she did things that required uninterrupted hours of concentration. It was nearly impossible to concentrate when a pair of very talented lips played the sensitive cord on the side of her neck like a violin virtuoso!
Hours later, Emily had pulled most everything out of the closet – and with Rory’s assistance had drug it out to the garage for a charitable foundation to pick up at a later date. All that remained was the boxes on the shelf.
“Guess Lis or Doug will have to help. Neither of us can reach that stuff,” she said to the dog.
When the phone rang, she snatched up the portable. “Hello.”
“Hey, baby.”
JC’s soothing voice flowed over her weariness.
“Hey, sugar britches. What are you up to?”
“Missing the hell out of you.”
“I miss you, too,” she told him softly.
“You do?” He sounded hopeful and eager. Emily could be so independent!
“Yes. I’m cleaning out a closet and can’t reach the shelf.”
Instead of being disappointed, he laughed. “Gee, thanks, Em!”
“Anytime, Josh.”
“Baby, we got a travel break.”
”That’s wonderful for you. You can rest.”
“No, so I can come home to you.”
“Josh—“
“Will you be there for me, bright-eyes?”
“Of course, I will. Do you know when you’ll be arriving?”
“As soon as I get up to the door.”
“What?” Peeking out the window, she saw his jeep pull into her driveway next to her van.
Still talking on his cellphone, he asked, “Where are you?” JC stepped out of his car and walked to the front door. “What room?” He used his key to gain entry.
“Back bedroom.”
Emily barely had time to turn her chair to face the door before he appeared.
God! She was so damned gorgeous! It seemed as if she had attempted to fasten her hair on top of her head with one of those claw like things. Dark hair escaped everywhere, giving her that tousled, sexy look, messy like an unmade bed. Dust smudges decorated her face. She wore a tight tank-top that left little to the imagination; he quite clearly saw her nipples through the well-washed fabric. The brief shorts she wore left an amazing stretch of pale legs revealed.
Emily fidgeted under his perusal. “Josh?”
“You look good enough to eat,” he said huskily.
“I’m a mess!” she protested.
“If they could bottle that look, somebody’d be rich.” He strode over to her and bent to brush a kiss on her lips.
“Miser,” she teased.
Her smile was answered with a grin.
“Something about finishing cleaning a closet was mentioned.”
“I don’t really expect you to help me get rid of this junk on your precious free time.”
“And what am I supposed to do?”
“Take a nap? Read a book? Relax?”
“Being with you is relaxation for me, Em.”
JC went to the closet and lifted a fairly heavy box down. “Where do you want this?”
She waved towards the bed. “I haven’t the faintest notion what it is.” She wheeled over to the bed while he retrieved a smaller, second box. Lifting the flaps, she peered in. “Oh, my God!” She blanched and began to weep.
“Baby? What is it?” JC looked into the box and understood. Trophies. Medals. Plaques. All touting her athletic prowess. They had laid dusty and forgotten until now. Now they mocked her.
“Get rid of it!” Emily insisted.
“But, Em, these are something to be proud of – something to show your kids.”
“You think I’ll have children?” she muttered.
“I want kids,” he replied – and he hoped she would be the mother of his offspring.
“Please, Josh. I can’t bear it…”
He picked up the box and set it in the hall.
“I meant the garbage,” she told him.
“Let’s see what’s in the other one first. That way if I need to dump it, I’ll only need one trip.” That seemed to appease her. Her awards were not going into the dumpster. They were going to his house.
The smaller box, a large shoebox, held bittersweet memories. Photographs. She held up a picture of a man in perhaps his late forties, his black hair silvered at the temples, his eyes a brilliant blue – that had to be Emily’s father, Paul Westerfield. The petite blonde smiling up at him had to be Maureen, his wife, Emily’s mother.
“They look happy together,” JC commented.
“This was taken a week before their accident. They had been married twenty-five years and were still in love. May be it was better they died together.”
He recalled how the elder Westerfields had been killed in a boating accident when Emily was 18 and freshly graduated from high school.
“I was supposed to have gone with them that day, but my boyfriend wanted me to go somewhere with him,” she remembered. “And like the smitten teenager I was, I thought he was more important.”
There were other pictures. Alyssa’s and Doug’s wedding. Ben’s baby pictures. Several photos were of Emily and a dark-hair boy – the boyfriend. JC didn’t mind seeing how beautifully his baby had matured, but there was something about that guy that grated on his sensibilities.
“You’re keeping these, aren’t you?”
Emily nodded. “Back on the shelf for now, I guess.”
He replaced the box on the shelf and closed the closet door.
“This was harder than I thought it would be,” she whispered, her voice tinged with sadness.
“What all was in there?” he asked as he sat on the bed. He carefully lifted her to his lap where she gratefully snuggled her tear-stained face in his neck.
“My past.” Her words were muffled against his skin. “I’m glad you’re here.”
”Because I can reach the shelf?” he teased gently.
“No, so you can hold me,” she sighed shakily.
JC felt her tears and rocked her soothingly.
“I think you’ll be an awesome daddy, Josh. You give the best hugs.” She raised her head and straightened, sapphire blue eyes met sky blue. Her kiss was soft and sweet, reminding him of their first, brief kiss they had shared. “You are such a special man.”
“I think you’re pretty wonderful yourself, bright-eyes.” JC wiped at the tears that made tracks on her dirty cheeks.
“Josh, lay down with me,” Emily whispered against his lips.
“Where?”
“Right here.”
Placing her on the comforter, he stretched out beside her, one of his hard thighs moving between hers. This wasn’t about sex. This was about love and comfort. They touched, kissed, nuzzled and stroked one another – and even though he had wanted to make Emily feel better, JC found himself soothed as well.
Finally, Emily tucked her head beneath his chin and closed her eyes.
“We taking a nap?”
“Mmm…hmm…” she purred contentedly.
Smiling, he dropped a kiss on her hair and closed his eyes.