lips to her palm.
Humor tried to surface when he didn’t include dramatic in the denial, but Tish was too upset to welcome it.
“Hearing that from you is goddamn beautiful. But you’re gifting that beauty to someone who doesn’t deserve it, honey.”
Her palm tickled from his bristles. “That’s not true. You’re a generous, caring man who deserves every obsessive feeling I have for you.”
He seemed to wilt that much more. “Fuuuck. This isn’t right. You’re gonna kill me, Tish-Tosh. Actually, Nick’s gonna be the one to do the honors when he hears about this. Holy hell. Are you even aware of the sacred rule you’re about to make me break?” His hand landed on her waist, and he squeezed as hope burst to life within her.
The rule he was about to break? Could that mean…? Her thoughts splintered when he sent his hand traveling down over the curve of her hip. He swiped his thumb dangerously close to the crease where her torso met her leg; then he was coming back up to settle at her waist again. Holy shit. Were they going here?
“Yeah, fuck that. You’re not making me. I’m just a weak motherfucker who wants what he wants and is going to take it even though he knows goddamn well he shouldn’t. Tell me to go. Tell me you changed your mind and you want me gone, Tish. You gotta do it because I can’t.”
“No. I don’t want you gone. Not ever.” As much as she hated hearing that undercurrent of self-disgust in his voice, she couldn’t do what he asked. It felt as if she’d been waiting her whole life for this moment, and she wasn’t about to throw it away.
After a long minute of nothing but them breathing and her staring at the diamond shaped patch on his cut that labeled him judge and jury, she couldn’t stand it anymore. When she spoke, she made her voice as unobtrusive as possible, terrified she was going to spook him into fleeing. “Will we do this?”
“Shh. Close that tempting mouth a little longer while I make a real effort to talk myself out of it.”
The tension left her, and she smiled when she heard her old Josh. But no way was she going to give him time to decide this wasn’t right for them when she knew damn well it was. So, feeling her nerves return, Tish, virgin that she was, attempted to seduce a man for the first time in her life. She went with instinct, rather than skill, and simply let the need she felt lead her.
She turned her head and nuzzled her cheek into the hard pillow of his bicep. “Why are you fighting this, Josh? You don’t have to.” She hesitantly lifted the hem of his shirt and placed her hands flat on the hot, tight skin of his waist. She was glad he couldn’t see her because her eyes rolled so far back in her head she was pretty sure she caught a glimpse of her own ass. “I promise to listen and do everything just as you tell me. I’ll make it so good for you. You’ll never find a better student. A more enthusiastic one.” She couldn’t even hear him breathing anymore. “You might as well take what I’m offering you because it’s already yours.”
She stretched up to place a kiss on the underside of his jaw and then followed with a few more light touches of her lips until she reached his Adam’s apple. She was tempted to let her tongue out to play, so badly did she want to taste him, but she wasn’t brave enough.
“I’m not asking for anything in return but some relief. I promise.” She fortified her nerve, then came out with the nastiest thing ever to leave her virgin lips. Never in a million years could she have imagined making such a confession to a man. But this was Josh. She pushed up onto her toes and waited until she felt his earlobe tickle her lips. “My pussy is hungry for you. And no matter how much I make myself come while thinking about you, I can never reach deep enough to satisfy that craving on my own.”
A growl came from his chest as a shudder rocked him. “You little bitch.” His fingers dug into her flesh. “You