“You think being shoved up against a door is where I want to be? Please, the boy who took me to my prom had more finesse than you.”
“Interesting, so you’re telling me that some pimple-faced youth made your nipples harden, your words catch in your throat...” breaking off, Josh pulled in a deep breath and grinned. “…and made you wet your panties in arousal. I can smell you, Luxandria, and I’m barely touching you. Do you know what a turn on that is for a man? I bet your prom date thought so as well.”
“Get away from me, Joshua Kingdom!”
“No!”
Lux was playing for time, torn between her choices. Make him pay for the way he’d treated her all night, and what he’d just said, or give in to the way he made her feel.
It didn’t take long to make up her mind. What sane woman on earth, who, when faced with the man of her dreams would pass up the opportunity to elicit a demonstration of his prowess.
“What exactly are you saying?”
“Ahh, Luxandria,” Josh laughed at her. “If you want me to show you what I mean, all you have to do is ask. If you want me, all you have to do is say so.”
Lux felt the full force of his gaze. All traces of his amusement were gone as he waited for her response. The impression of his powerful body held her captive and that she wanted him was something she couldn’t deny. He felt wonderful. He was the cause of all her sleepless nights, all of her dreams of hot, hard sex. No matter how much time passed, the feel of him, the smell of him, all of him remained an integral part of her being.
“Do you remember how we fit, Luxie? I do. How it felt when I was deep inside you and I pulled out your moans of pleasure, as you took me deep inside you. I remember how I watched your face as we gave each other a little part of our souls. In those moments, there was nothing and no one standing between us. The only thing that mattered was the love we had for each other. Do you remember those times, Luxie?
Lux knew if she answered him honestly she would be acknowledging out loud all she’d thrown away. With the feel of his body against hers and his words pulling at her heart, she knew that to answer with anything other than total honesty would be wrong.
“I remember, Josh.”
“I’m glad. I want you to hold on to that feeling. I want you to remember that even though you may not believe it, everything I’ve done in the last eight years has been done because I have only your best interests at heart.”
His words took a few seconds to filter through the fog of her mind. When they did, it was as though a bucket of ice water fell on her head.
Pulling back, Lux realized he was trying to tell her something important, but the meaning eluded her. The haze of awareness he’d woven around her still fogged her mind.
Shaking her head, Lux tried to clear her thinking. One moment she was exactly where she wanted to be, in her husband’s arms, and the next he was pulling away from her.
“What’s going on, Josh?”
“Luxie.”
A voice floated around her and it didn’t come from the man who now held her at arm’s length. She recognized the voice, how could she not. It was a voice she’d grown up with and it belonged to the man she’d idolized for most of her life. Even though, Josh blocked him from sight, Lux felt her breath hitch in her chest.
Everything around her became a sort of vortex. All rational thought left her as they fragmented and scattered; while her heart thudded out of control. Her one lifeline was the tall man standing before her. Clutching on to him with all her might, her nails subconsciously bit into his flesh, but he didn’t make a sound.
Regaining a little control, she looked up at Josh and shook her head. She didn’t want to believe that he’d done this to her. That he’d brought her into his home and blindsided her this way.
“No!” Lux shouted into the silence as she fought to make sense of what was happening.
“Lux, please give us a chance to explain,” Josh whispered.
“No! Get away from me. Both of you get away from me. I hate you! I hate all of you,” as she spoke, her head turned from side to side, looking for an escape route. Wrenching away from Josh and in her confusion she moved further into the room.
Catching sight of her brother, she quickly turned her back on him and moved towards the patio doors, he had no doubt just come through.
“Lux,” Josh called.
She spun around at the sound of his voice, but didn’t stop her retreat. Each backward step she took, Josh followed, tracking her with a blank expression. He was frightening her. As imperceptibly as she could manage, Lux reached behind her body, her finger searching for the handle of the door. If she was lucky and Josh didn’t realize what she was doing, she could get away.