A Treasure Worth Seeking
By: Shellie - shelliemg at gmail.com
Chapter 11Joey and Ami left at 9am, three days later, and both JC and Lauren experienced the departure with mixed emotions. Lauren had become rather attached to Ami, particularly over the past few days and she was sad to see her go. It was nice having another female around to talk to, especially one she could discuss her conflicting feelings for JC with and trust them not to be shared. And Joey…he was just a ton of fun. Who wouldn’t be sad to see him leave?
But their leaving meant that she and JC would finally get to have their date. Just the thought sent a thrill down Lauren’s spine. They stood together, the three of them, waving to the couple as Joe backed out of the drive. They were half way back to their homes when JC stepped away to head to his own front door. "My place? 7:30?"
She grinned. Holy shit, he wasn’t wasting any time. "I’ll be there. With bells on."
"Will that be all?" his smile was mischievous.
"If you’re lucky."
"7:30!" He waved and went inside.
Lauren spent the day cleaning. She’d spent so much time with JC and his friends that her house was due for a good top to bottom. She figured she would be done in plenty of time to shower and get ready and be at JC’s by 7:30. She also had decided to let Caroline skip her nap that afternoon in hopes that she’d be nice and sleepy by the time dessert rolled around. Blushing at her own thoughts she concentrated on the task at hand.
It was around 4 that afternoon and she was squatting on her hands and knees trying to swat one of Caroline’s shoes out from under the couch with the broom when someone knocked on her front door.
"Jesus Christ. Why do people always wait until I look like a freaking dust bunny to come knocking on my door?" Remembering who had been knocking the last time she grinned as she pulled the front door open.
"M-mom…" she stared wide eyed at her mother and two sisters. "Wha- What are you doing here?"
"Surprise!" they beamed. "We wanted to come see how you and Caroline were doing!"
Lauren was engulfed in hugs, comments about how she looked like a maid and requests of the wear-abouts of her daughter. The entire time all she could think was…no. No! Not today!
After a quick shower – mostly spent trying to figure out what the hell her family was doing there – the afternoon was spent listening to the three of them talking at once. Again it was apparent how different she was from her mother and sisters. One story after another they shared about who was dating who, who was getting married, who was getting divorced. This person was sleeping with that one but her husband had no clue. Such and such had obvious plastic surgery and was lying and claiming it wasn’t. The hours flew by and dinner preparations had begun, the four of them in the tiny kitchen was overwhelming and Lauren was beginning to fear a headache coming on. I need to call Josh. I don’t want him to start cooking for Carrie and I. Damnit! Why did they have to come today?
"Honey, where is your skillet? Do you have any Olive Oil?"
"Of course I have Olive Oil. What kind of question is that?" she smiled, grabbing the skillet for her mother and the oil for her sister. Carrie’s tired cry filtered through the noise and she escaped from the kitchen to check on her daughter.
She found Caroline in her bedroom, a tube of red lipstick in her hand…and on her face, in her hair and on her arms. "Caroline!"
"I can’t get off," the girl whined, rubbing at her chubby cherub cheek with a reddened palm.
With an exasperated sigh Lauren reached for her daughter, carrying her by her armpits into the kitchen and holding here there for her mother and sisters to inspect. "Look what I found. I’d strongly suggest you check your purses. Someone just lost a lipstick." Frowning she left her family members behind as they tried hard to stifle their giggles.
It took forever to get all the lipstick off, and after finally putting her cranky daughter to bed and eating a cold dinner alone in the kitchen she dropped down onto the end of her bed with a sigh. Her mom and sisters were still in the living room waiting on her to come back but she’d just needed an escape for a moment to clear her head. Quietly she wished for Josh.
Josh! Oh my god! She jumped to her feet. She’d forgotten to call him and tell him she wasn’t coming! She ran through the house and out the back door calling for them to watch Carrie, she forgot she was supposed to be somewhere and not to wait up.
She stopped running half way between their houses trying to calm her breathing. She ran her fingers through her hair, mentally kicking herself for not even taking a moment to look in the mirror before she’d run out the door.
It was well after 11. Guiltily she frowned as she approached his back porch. The house was mostly dark and she feared that she’d missed him. Her heart pounding in her chest, she stepped up onto the wooden deck. The living room glowed softly through the large windows and she could see a figure reclining on the sofa. It took a million years for her to make those last three steps.
She knew he was watching her through the glass but she knocked anyway. His voice was soft, "Come in."
She slipped inside, her expression guilty until she really looked at him. The vision stole her breath. He was reclining on the black leather sofa, left knee bent, right foot resting on the floor. His arm closest to the sofa back was bent behind his head, the sleeve of his button up shirt tight around the muscle flexed beneath it. In the other hand was an empty wineglass, resting crookedly on his thigh. His hair was mussed, his shirt unbuttoned, one side trapped between his body and the couch. His stomach raised and lowered slowly with each breath and she caught herself staring at the thin trail of hair that circled his navel before disappeared into the low waist of his jeans.
She forced herself not to gasp for air. His eyes slid closed slowly then opened, a smile spreading across his face. "Well…hello."
"I’m so sorry. My mother and two sisters just showed up at my door this evening. I tried to slip away to tell you so many times but…I’m so sorry. And then Carrie got into someone’s lipstick. She painted her entire head and arms and …it was just a mess." She looked around the room at the table set for two, the candles, the flowers. "Josh…I’m so, so sorry."
He waved his glass at her, "Don’t worry about it. I figured something must have come up."
"Did you cook?" she asked softly.
"I did but it didn’t come out like I wanted so it’s okay. Really. The wine is good though. You should have a glass with me." The muscles in his stomach flexed, shifted, and suddenly she was parched.
"I’d love to." She didn’t recognize the voice as her own, deep and sultry, aroused. He heard the change too and his eyes darkened, his smile becoming wicked as he watched her. He flexed again, this time rising into a sitting position and reaching for the empty wine glass on the table. He sat it next to his own and filled them both.
Hesitantly she approached sitting next to him on the couch but not close enough. He held her glass in her direction but when she reached for it, he pulled it back. "Come closer."
She smiled, knowing he was thinking the same things as she. This was a different Josh, sexual, seductive and probably a little bit drunk. Her own seductive smile eased across her face as she moved closer, only stopping when her thigh pressed against his. His body was radiating heat like a furnace. He handed her glass to her and took a sip of his own licking his lips slowly after. She came closer than she ever had in her life to moaning out loud without actually doing it.
"So, should you be over with your family?"
"No. They weren’t invited. And I love them but…I just don’t want them here. Not right now."
"Why not?"
"I just have other things on my mind. Things I’m trying to figure out. They interfere with that. And they are nosey as hell."
"What kind of things?"
"Just things." She smiled.
"Things like me?"
"Pretty much, yes."
"Hmmmm. So, they are watching, C?"
"She’s asleep, but yes, they are watching her."
"So does that mean you don’t have to rush back?"
She swallowed hard, unable to recall being this aroused ever and he hadn’t even touched her yet. Yet. She hoped it was just a yet and not wishful thinking on her part. "That’s what that means, yes." She took a large swallow of wine.
"Good." He sipped his again before sitting it on the coffee table in front of him. He eased onto his knees between hers. She sipped her wine again before he plucked he glass from her hands, sitting it behind him with his own. "Good, because I have something to discuss with you."
His hands raised to her throat, sliding up to hold her lightly beneath her ears, his finger tips just slightly tangled in the hair at her nape. He leaned forward, head tilted just a bit to press his lips, damp from his tongue, against hers. He didn’t waste time. His tongue slid between her lips tasting of warm wine and something more, something erotic and much more intoxicating than mere alcohol. She kissed him back, weeks of tempered desire unleashed at the first brush of his tongue against hers. He devoured her mouth, his lips strong but satiny soft, aggressive and seductive and worshipful. The seconds ticked by, turning to minutes until he pulled away allowing her to breathe. Her head dropped back heavy, and his lips glided over her chin to trail hot, wet, sucking kisses down her throat. At its base he paused, paying close attention to the curve, the soft skin there.
Beneath her sweater, his fingers brushed along her ribs sending a series of rocking shivers down her spine. She gasped aloud and he smiled against her throat. "Mmmm, your skin is so soft." Pressing her back he pushed the hem of her sweater up exposing her flat muscular stomach. Bending he pressed tiny kisses and wet flicks of his tongue against the smooth skin. Working his way higher his lips met the lace of her bra. He raised questioning eyes to hers, found his answer and smiled in return. Grasping her top he tugged it up and over her head, discarding it onto the floor beside him as his eyes danced over her silk like skin, glowing golden in the candlelight. His fingers raised to the top of her bra, trailing along the lacy edge lightly, over one breast, down into the valley between then up and over the other. Her nipples hardened painfully at his teasing touch. She watched his eyes, focused on her nipple through the sheer black lace. She saw him swallow, lick his lips, bite the bottom one. Any moment he would touch her with is mouth and she knew she was going to fall to pieces in his arms.
Finally his head bent, sucking the aching bud into his mouth, lace and all. Her back arched and she gasped his name as the heat from his mouth melted her from the inside out. One of her hands tangled in the long waves of his hair, the other moved down his neck and into the collar of his shirt, reaching as far down his back as she could. His skin was hot and sleek, the muscle hard beneath as her fingers moved along his flesh. Needing to touch more of him she used both hands to push his open shirt off his shoulders. He rose from her breast, shrugging the shirt off before reaching for her again, gripping her waist, pulling her hips to the edge of the couch. He pressed her chest to his as his mouth found hers once more, his fingers grazing over her skin to where her bra was clasped. Unhooking it, he caused the garment to slacken between them. Breaking away from their kiss he used his lips to push the straps from her shoulders, wet kisses and brushes of his scruffy chin causing her skin to tingle. Her hands slid into his hair, drawing his mouth to hers once more.
This kiss was even longer than the first, her bra disappearing from between them, their bodies, their burning hot flesh pressing against each other. His hands moved down her back, one sliding into the waistband of her jeans, curving over one soft round buttock, his fingers grazing the cleft between just slightly. He broke their kiss, licking his way to her ear. Both of her hands tightened in his hair, holding her cheek to his, her breath coming in shallow pants against his ear. He flexed his forearm pulling her intimately against him, his arousal pushing into her soft swollen body through their jeans. "This is going to be unbelievable" he panted as he ground his body against hers. "Jesus…Lauren, please tell me you’ll stay…"
"Tell you I’ll stay?" she panted biting and kissing her way along his stubbly chin. "Where the hell do you think I’m going to go right now?"
She slid her hands from his hair, over his shoulders and down his chest to his stomach to trailing along the loose waistband of his jeans. When her fingers brushed the head of his penis, just barely peeking from soft denim his head jerked back, his breath hissing from between his teeth in sinful pain. "Fuck…" he panted raising his hips, trying to feel her touch him once more. She smiled and shivered simultaneously, the baby soft skin of his tip made her long to feel it against her thighs, her stomach, her cheeks, her lips, her tongue. The erotic images flashing through her mind made her hands shake as she attempted to unbutton his jeans. His frantic, open mouth kisses against her mouth, neck and chest further rattled her nerves making the task even more difficult.
"Help me…" she whispered and he complied, jerking the button open, his arousal pushing the zipper down on its own. She teased him again, just brushing his cock with the back of her hand, feeling it jump, hearing him whimper. She slid her hands into the denim, groaning in pleasure when she discovered him naked beneath. Her hands skimmed over his slim muscular hips, curving over his ass, squeezing playfully before she moved them up and over his back again. Her eyes found his, so midnight blue they looked black in the darkened room. "Take me to bed."
He stood suddenly and she caught him by the back of his thigh, holding him still as she slipped one hand into his jeans, cupping his stiff sex. She brushed her lips along the sensitive skin and he cursed, a chain of whispered words that made her skin flush with excitement. When her lips closed around him he dipped slightly as his knees gave way. He caught himself, his fingers delving into her silky hair as he whispered her name over and over. She worked him with her lips and tongue, her throat massaging him as she took him in completely. After just a few moments he groaned painfully and stepped back. "Stopstopstop, I’m gonna... Come with me."
Taking her hand he pulled her up to stand in front of him kissing her as he walked backwards toward his room. His fingers popped the button on her jeans open and slid inside, slipping beneath the lacey panties beneath to curve into her sleek hot flesh. She stopped walking as he caressed her, and braced one arm against the wall to keep her balance. He smiled, stepping closer, dipping his knees to hold his arm at a more accessible angle. He pushed two fingers deep into her body and she gasped beginning to pant hard against his chest. Her back flattened against the wall and he grinned, pleased by her pleasure. He’d dreamed of her a thousand times but never had his dreams been this erotic. Never had she reacted so unbelievably to his touch. His blood pounded though his body, his head hurt, his cock throbbed. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to wait much longer he released her from his sensual grip. "Come…" He turned away from her this time, only touching her hand as he pulled her into his room behind him. He took several deep breaths as they walked, trying to regain some small portion of his composure before he lost his mind too quickly.
He stopped at the foot of his large bed and turned, stripping them both before sitting down on the edge of the mattress and pulling her to stand between his knees. Running his large palms over the backs of her thighs he pulled her forward, kissing her navel, the soft skin below. He eased her legs apart slightly, bending his head to touch his tongue to her sensitive flesh. At the first velvety brush against her clit her knees buckled. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling, pulling her down on top of him on the bed. Rolling her onto her back he again parted her legs, bending to trace her silken folds with his tongue. She whispered his name, knotting her fingers in his hair as he kissed her intimately. His mouth was warm and worshipful, bringing her to the point just before her release and then slowing, easing her down again until the muscles of her legs where quivering from exhaustion.
"Josh…please…" she begged, her voice weak.
He raised his head, crawling forward on the bed and lying atop her, "Please what?"
"You’re killing me, teasing like that."
He nipped her neck with his lips as he settled himself between her thighs, his aching sex pressing against her slick swollen center. "Good, because that is what I was trying to do."
"I’ll remember that for next time," she whispered, rocking her hips, sliding against him intimately.
He raised himself above her, pressing the tip of his cock against her opening. "I really like the sound of that."
She was practically panting with anticipation. "The sound of what?" she whispered.
"Next time." He bent to kiss her, his tongue slipping into her mouth as he pressed his hips forward, sinking into her slowly. She moaned into his mouth, her hands sliding down to grip his back, her legs wrapping around his hips pulling him harder against her. "Mmmmm." He growled as he rocked, grinding his body against hers.
"Josh…"
His lips left hers to sear a trail from her ear to he shoulder as he moved slowly within her. His gentle rocking motion soon graduated into harder more powerful thrusts, pushing her upward on his bed until she was forced to brace her arms above her for fear of crashing into the headboard. He rose up on his knees, grasping her by the backs of her legs and raising them, hooking her knees over his shoulders before leaning forward and sliding into her waiting body again. His eyes locked with hers as he began to move, filling her with deeper, more penetrating thrusts than before leaving her breathless. He could feel the muscles in her body began to tighten around him, telling of her approaching release. The anticipation of her body gripping him, the muscles holding him tight as she came almost pushed him over the edge and he fought for control, pushing harder against her, willing her release to come with his.
A moment later her neck arched, her shoulders rising off the bed as she screamed in ecstasy. The expression on her face, the whimpering noises, the shuddering breaths attacked his senses, overloading them, sending him spiraling over the edge into his own oblivion. His world went black, he couldn’t see, couldn’t hear but he could feel, the warmth of her body pulsing around him, milking him as he came. And then that too was gone.
Slowly the world around him began to reappear. The sound of her breathing, the rustle of her body against his sheets. One of her legs was tangled with his and her hand was resting on his chest, her fingers trailing through the sprinkling of hair there. He turned his face toward her, moving to press a kiss beneath her ear. "I think I died."
"I’m still dead."
"Was I too rough? I’m so sorry, I just got carried away."
"Don’t apologize for that."
He chuckled rolling onto his side and pulling her against him. Her back settled against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her, cupping one of her breasts with is hand. "This wasn’t my goal in inviting you to dinner."
"I can’t promise you that it wasn’t my goal when I accepted. Okay, maybe it wasn’t my goal when I accepted, but it’s all I thought about today."
He chuckled, "Are you disappointed?"
"I’ll let you know when I recover."
* * *
"My mother and sisters are going to eat me alive when I get home."
"Why is that?"
"Because I’m sleeping with the man next door and I didn’t tell them about it."
"Well, technically we weren’t sleeping together until last night."
"Yeah, but they don’t even know there is a guy next door yet. Much less that I like him enough to sleep with him. This is going to be the family scandal of the century. They may kick me out."
"For having sex with me?"
"No. For not telling them first."
"Oh no. Tell them I’m medically handicapped and you were checking on me and I wasn’t doing well so you had to stay."
"They will want to come meet you."
"I can lay in bed and pretend to be dying."
"My sister has a daughter that’s 14."
"So?"
"She’s NSync’s number one fan, darling. She will recognize that the dying man next door to me is one of the guys on her daughter’s walls. I promise."
"Well shit. I can leave town?"
"Hell no."
"Why not?"
"I plan on taking advantage of the free baby sitters at every available moment until they leave town."
"Oh really?"
"Unless you’re opposed."
He laughed, pulling her atop him, "Oh no, that’s perfectly fine with me."
* * *
"Where the hell have you been?"
Lauren sailed through the room, stopping to drop a kiss on Caroline’s head as she passed. "Having S-E-X." She spun on her heel and headed for her bedroom as her relatives stared after her.
"You what?" three voices rang out in unison.
She turned on the shower in her bedroom, whipping her sweater over her head and tossing it onto the bed before sticking her head out into the hall. "He’s coming over for dinner tonight at six so you figure out all the questions you have to ask and ask them before he gets here. If you embarrass me in front of him, I swear to God I’ll move to a place where you can’t find me and you’ll never hear from me again." With a smile she slammed her door and headed for the shower.