“What?” I asked.
“She called yesterday, worried about you bein’ alone. We made a deal.”
This didn’t sound good.
“You…” I hesitated, “made a deal with my daughter?”
“Yeah,” he replied, not moving, staying leaned deceptively casually against the counter as he spoke. “She and Keira help me out with my house. I keep close and keep you safe.”
“You made a deal with my daughters?” I repeated, though with a frightening nuance of change to one word.
“Works for me, seein’ as I don’t have a kitchen or bathroom or furniture. Now, stayin’ with you, I do.”
My chest seized tight.
“Staying with me?” I breathed.
“She called just now to check in.”
I looked to his phone then to him, ruing the day that I programmed Joe’s phone number into my girls’ phones.
“I –”
Joe cut me off. “You spent the night with him.”
I pulled myself together and stated, “That isn’t any of your business.”
“Thought I made myself clear yesterday, Vi.”
“Yes, you did and I made myself pretty clear too.”
“Yeah, baby, you did, fuckin’ whimpering the minute my mouth got close.”
Shit, okay, he kind of had me there.
“Joe –”
“I told you not to play that game.”
“Joe –”
“You played it.”
I decided it was a good idea to start retreating so I did. Mooch started yapping. Joe stood there unmoving.
“I’d like you to leave,” I told him.
“You forgot,” he said and I stopped moving backward.
“Forgot what?”
“Can’t imagine you did. I didn’t. I feel you at night, even fuckin’ smell you, thought it was the same for you.”
His words and all they meant washed over me and I stopped breathing.
“Gotta remind you,” he murmured.
We locked eyes.
Then he moved.
I turned and ran.
Mooch followed me, thinking it was a game.
It was no game and I was way too slow. Joe caught me, swung me around and then up over his shoulder and stalked into my bedroom.
“Joe! Put me down!” I demanded, pushing against his back.
He did. Bending at the waist, he threw me on the bed.
I turned and got up on all fours, scrambling.
He caught my ankles, yanked them, my knees came out from under me and he pulled me to him, twisted me to my back then he landed on top of me.
“Joe –” I tried but his hand was in my hair, it fisted, he tilted my head and his mouth came down hard on mine.
Fucking hell, but that was it. It was insane but that was all he had to do.
He was wrong. I remembered. I remembered every second with him, even the ones when we weren’t having sex, and I missed them. God, so much, I had to bury it, covering it with everything I had so it wouldn’t break me.
But it all came back, the longing, the hurt, the hunger, everything we were, everything I wanted us to be and it was everything there was.
We tore at each other’s clothes, yanking them off while we wrestled for supremacy, kissing, licking, biting, touching, scratching.
“Christ, baby,” Joe growled as my hand wrapped tightly around his hard shaft.
“I missed you,” I whispered my admission, why, I didn’t know. It just came out of me.
His face disappeared in my neck and his mouth at my ear, he ordered, “Spread your legs for me, buddy.”
I did, he slid between then without delay he slammed inside, filling me.
My hands glided into his overlong hair and I moaned, “Baby.”
“Wrap your legs around me, honey.”
I did and used them, heels digging into his back to lift my hips and he went in faster, harder, deeper.
“Good Christ, you feel good,” he groaned in my ear.
It was debatable but I figured he felt better, though I wasn’t going to argue the point just then. Instead I wrapped him tighter, his mouth came to mine and he kissed me.
Not long after, I was close, his mouth was on mine but somehow he could feel it coming.
“Say my name.”
“Joe.”
He ground his cock in deep and demanded, “Who do you belong to?”
I closed my eyes and whispered, “You, Joe.”
“That’s it,” he growled against my mouth, driving deep and I felt it as he urged, “come for me, baby.”
“Okay,” I breathed and came, huge, hard, long, amazing, wrapping him tight, holding him close, pulling him deep as the orgasm he gave me had me in its grip and it was so beautiful, I didn’t want it ever to let me go.
It did, they always do, even the spectacular ones Joe gave me and I came down in time to listen to and feel Joe’s.