Touched by Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons) by Melissa Foster
“I want to sink my fingers, my tongue, into you.”
“Ohmygod,” she said in one long breath. She gripped his biceps, desire written in the flush of her skin. “Touch me.”
He pushed his fingers beneath the thin material and sank two fingers into her.
“Fuck,” he whispered against her lips, then claimed her mouth in a sensual kiss as he crooked his fingers deeper into her succulent heat, furtively seeking the spot that would send her over the edge.
“You’re so tight, baby.” He couldn’t continue using that language—not with Janie. Not when he wanted to love every inch of her. “I want to bury myself deep inside you and make love to you slowly, until you feel like you’re going to explode, holding you on the edge of ecstasy, begging for more. I want to feel your nails digging into me as you cry out my name and make you come so many times you can’t think.”
“Boyd…” She rocked her hips against his hand, her legs wound around his thighs.
He sucked her lower lip into his mouth and bit down just hard enough for her to make it sting. She whimpered.
“Sorry, baby. Got carried away.” Her head fell back with a pleasure-filled moan, and he continued his relentless pursuit of fulfilling her naughty request. “I can’t wait to see your face when you come on my mouth again.” He kissed the pulse at the base of her neck, feeling the erratic beat against his tongue.
“More,” she begged.
Boyd hesitated for a second, trying to gauge how far she wanted him to take the dirty talk, and in that flash of hesitation she gripped his biceps tighter, pushed harder against his fingers, and said, “Talk dirtier.”
“I loved seeing your lips wrapped around my cock as I fu—”
“Ohmygod, this is so hot.” She grabbed his head and kissed him hard as a climax gripped her. Her body pulsed around his fingers. He swallowed her cries of passion, holding her hip so she couldn’t escape the intensity as he took her up, up, up, over the edge again.
“I’m so hard, baby.” He needed more, but he wanted her to have control. This was her dirty-talk game.
She pushed his shoulders, guiding him lower, and he was more than happy to comply, devouring her essence as she pulled at his hair, arched against his mouth, and trembled and shook when she finally gave in to another intense release.
“Take me, Boyd. Take me now,” she pleaded.
He tugged open his jeans and pushed them down his thighs.
“That doesn’t sound very dirty, baby.” He squeezed the base of his cock to keep from losing it. She wanted dirty talk, and he wanted her to feel safe enough to give it right back if she wanted to.
She was quiet for a moment, her body writhing against him, her fingers digging into his skin. “I want to feel you deep inside me.”
Boyd loved that she didn’t get too down and dirty. She was sexy as hell without being raunchy—although he’d have loved it either way. One hard thrust buried him to the root. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself off the edge of the chair, taking him even deeper. Caught up in their emotions—their dinner and her notes forgotten—dirty talk went out the window, replaced with the sounds of their lovemaking.
Chapter Sixteen
WHEN THEIR BREATHING calmed and their limbs finally worked again, Boyd carried Janie into the bathroom and ran a bath.
“You’ve carried me a lot lately,” she said as she settled between his legs, leaning her back against his chest, feeling safe and loved.
“If we keep missing meals, you’ll be able to carry me,” he teased. “I’m starting to think your hurt ankle was all part of your evil plan to win the bet.”
He poured body wash into his palm and began washing her shoulders. His hands felt so good caressing her skin.
“I’m doing all the work. I have to write the story.” His hands slid deliciously over her breasts, making her hot and bothered all over again.
“Somehow it seems like you’re doing more taunting than writing, under the thinly veiled guise of research.” He gathered her hair over one shoulder and kissed her neck.
“You love every minute of it. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world lately, and not just because we’re having mind-blowing sex.” She held up her hand and he poured soap into it. She lifted his legs beneath the knees, washing them, and loving the feel of his body embracing her from all sides. She relaxed back against his chest again.
“You don’t even have to touch me and you blow my mind. Why do you feel so lucky?”
“Everything at work is going well, and it looks like I have a real shot at getting the promotion I’ve been working toward. That’s a biggie, because I’d finally be a writer instead of just an editor.”
“Just an editor? Baby, editing is every bit as important as writing. You make sure the text flows and is perfect before the public sees it. Don’t knock my girl like that.”
She loved hearing him claim her. “You’re right, and I love editing. But since I started playing around with writing romance, everything’s changed. I feel energized when I’m creating instead of polishing. I wanted to write so badly when I got out of college, and a few weeks later I was forced to bury those dreams. I haven’t let myself go there—mentally, I mean—for a very long time. I know it was just a silly bet, but you inspired me to try something I probably never would have done otherwise.”
“We’ve stirred up your creative juices.”
She pulled her knees up to her chest and turned in his arms. Her ankle felt much better, but she still had to be careful not to twist it too far to either side.
“It’s more than that, Boyd. You didn’t just challenge and inspire me in that way. You make me feel safe enough to explore lots of things.”
“Ah, we’ve released your inner vixen.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and nuzzled against her neck.
“It’s bigger than that, too. Being with you makes me feel happy and whole.”
He touched her cheek, and she covered his hand with hers. She found herself doing that a lot, wanting more of him. More of a lasting connection.
“Honey, you make me feel happy and whole, too. I tried to imagine my future without you in it, and there was nothing to imagine. It’s like there was life before Janie, and then there was life with Janie. There was nothing else.”
She felt his muscles tense. “But?”
“No but.” He lifted his face to hers and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I was invited to interview with a med school in Colorado next week.”
“Wow, that’s...” So far away.
“Far.” He sighed. “Let’s get dried off and we can talk about it.”
He helped her from the tub, and as they dressed, she wrestled with her thoughts.
“You’re going on the interview, aren’t you?” She’d never hold him back, not from something this important. But that didn’t stop the devil on her shoulder from begging her to tell him not to go.
They sat on the couch, and Boyd held her as they talked, which only made it harder for her to separate how she felt about him from what was best for his future.
“Yes. I’m going for the interview, but it doesn’t mean I’ll go to school there. I just—”
“Don’t explain. You have to go. I’m glad you’re going.” He deserved to live out his dream, but that didn’t stop the new, and apparently clingy, girlfriend in her from nearly choking with the realization that the man she was falling for might actually move away. He’d been up front with her the whole time, hadn’t he? He hadn’t tried to hide it, and yet it still felt like a surprise.
This was ridiculous. It was an interview, and she couldn’t hope it didn’t go well. She wasn’t that selfish.
Was she?
After a second of reflection, she decided she definitely was not that selfish. She wanted Boyd to achieve everything he’d ever wanted. She forced down the clingy woman clawing to get out and managed, “Would you like to practice interviewing? It’s only fair, after you helped me practice talking dirty.”
&nbs
Chapter Seventeen
BY WEDNESDAY EVENING Janie had come to grips with Boyd’s interview. She’d even managed to squash that clingy woman inside her. Boyd’s perspective of letting their relationship take its natural course and figuring it out later seemed okay. For now. He’d said it would be weeks before he knew anything one way or the other, and a lot could happen in a few weeks. Look how much had happened in a few days.
Janie and Boyd had spent the last few nights together, and although Janie was used to being independent, she reveled in their being a couple. Just this morning they’d walked down to the florist before work and bought fresh flowers. When they’d returned home, they’d run into Kiki as she was leaving for work. She’d teased Janie about being spoiled and Boyd about being whipped. Boyd had teased her right back, and Janie was just glad they got along so well. She couldn’t imagine life without either of them.
They’d taken a detour on the way home from work. Boyd said he wanted to show Janie a waterfall. True to his promise, Boyd continued to accompany Janie to the subway before and after work. She’d become an expert, cruising along with the crutch in her right hand and her cane in her left, although once she’d proven that to herself and Boyd, she tucked away her cane and held on to him instead.
“A waterfall?” Janie asked as they left the subway station. “I’ve lived here for years and I’ve never heard of a waterfall in the city.”
“I told you you’ve been hanging out with the wrong people. Stick with me and I’ll show you a few things around here you might have missed.”
“Like dirty talk?” Janie teased. “I definitely missed out on that.”
She heard his smile, which was something new. She could usually sense his smile based on his voice, but during their intimate moments, she’d become familiar with the sounds of his moods separate from his words. When he smiled, he exhaled a tiny happy breath, and when he was turned on, that breath turned guttural, and she imagined the look on his face was sinful.
“That was all you, honey.” He pressed his lips to the tender spot beside her ear. “Not that I minded skipping dinner to fulfill your dirty-talk fantasy.”
His sexy, deep voice stroked over her cheek, making her whole body shudder. She heard the unmistakable sound of rushing water, bringing her back to their adventure.
“I hear it!” She was mystified by the idea of a waterfall in the city. “Where exactly are we?”
“Greenacre Park. Cash and Siena turned me on to this little slice of paradise when I first moved here.”
“I like them even more now.”
“They’re great friends, and they are crazy in love with each other, which I used to tease Cash about, but now…”
“Now?”
“Now I understand how he fell for Siena so quickly. You know I’m crazy for you, baby.” He tightened his hold around her waist. “We’re walking into the park now.”
Crazy for me! Crazy didn’t begin to explain her feelings for him. He made her want in ways she hadn’t ever wanted before, feel things she had only read about. But it was the way he looked after her, without doing so because of her blindness but because he truly cared about her, that made her heart turn over every time she thought about him.
She tucked those intimate feelings away and focused on their unexpected date.
“It feels cooler. And it’s so loud. The waterfall completely drowns out the road noise. That’s amazing.” She felt like she’d been plucked from the city and dropped miles away from the concrete jungle.
“The waterfall’s only twenty-five feet high. Can you imagine how loud Niagara Falls would be? Maybe one day we’ll venture there, too.”
Janie lingered on that thought and the future it implied. “I’d love that.”
“Me too.” He guided her toward the sound of the waterfall. “We’re buffered from the road by walls and locust trees on either side, and they’ve created beautiful sitting areas with plants and trees. There’s a wooden trellis over the entrance and another over one of the sitting areas. It’s gorgeous.”
“It sounds incredible.”
“Water trickles down a wall to the left of the falls and flows into a narrow stream along the right side of the park, with rocks covering the bottom, so you feel like you’re really in a park.”
“I can’t believe people don’t talk about this place all the time.”
“It’s really pretty. Feel this.” He placed her hand on something cool and smooth. “It’s a granite bench, and behind it there are plants. Here, feel.” He placed her hand on thin, rough leaves. “And this.” He knelt, bringing her down with him, and placed her hand on delicate flower petals, then lower, on a wide planter, that felt cold and rough, like stone.
“The flowers are yellow and red, and there are peace lilies, which I only know because my sister loves them. They have big leaves and tall-stemmed white lilies that grow much higher than the leaves.”
She loved that he described things that other people might take for granted. “The mixture of granite and flowers is such a contrast,” she noted. “I love that. Can we go near the waterfall?”
“Baby, you’re going to feel the water. That’s why I wanted to bring you here. When I’m away on the interview, maybe you’ll think of us here, where we both can feel the water and smell the earthy plants instead of the city streets. I wanted to go someplace where I could experience what you experience.”
“Usually people want to know what I see, not what I experience otherwise. You have no idea how much what you just said means to me.” She reached for his cheek and drew him into a kiss that she hoped said it all.
“I have one favor to ask,” Boyd said as they continued walking. Droplets of water landed on her arms and face.
“Oh! Do you feel that?” She touched the wetness on her arm.
“We’re at the base of the falls. You can’t walk any closer or you’ll fall in.”
“Will it embarrass you if I get on my hands and knees to feel the water where it pools?” She knew the answer before she even finished asking the question, because Boyd didn’t want her to miss out on a thing.
He kissed her palm, then pressed it to his cheek, and she knew he wanted her to feel his smile. She loved that smile.
“Nothing you do will ever embarrass me. Will it embarrass you if I do it, too, and have someone take a picture of us so we can always remember it?”
Boyd and his pictures, another thing she loved about him. He wanted to remember everything they did. And that he wanted to get down on the ground with her made her feel even more in sync with him. “No, but I’ll always have a picture of it in my mind.”
“I know you can’t see the picture, but I can describe it to you in the future.”
He asked a man to take their picture. “I gave him my phone. Let’s touch the water.” He helped her down to her knees, careful of her ankle.
Her hands and knees were instantly soaked, and she laughed, because the whole thing—a waterfall in the middle of the city, sharing this moment with Boyd, and knowing some stranger was making Boyd’s desire to memorialize the moment come true—felt magical.
“I should have warned you.”
“No, it’s better this way.”
He held her hand and lowered it to the water, which was colder than she’d anticipated.
“Don’t move your knees any farther forward or you’ll fall in. Can we take the picture so this poor guy can get on his way?”
“Oh gosh, yes. Sorry.” She turned and felt Boyd’s arm circle her shoulder, and then his lips were on her cheek. Surprised, she turned in to the kiss. Boyd’s warm hand slid to the nape of her neck, drawing her deeper in to him.
“These are great pictures,” the guy said.
She’d gotten carried away and forgotten about the guy taking their picture.
“Ohmygosh,” she whispered.<
Boyd chuckled and gave her another chaste kiss.
“Thank you,” he said to the guy. He reached for the phone, keeping one arm protectively around her.
“You scramble my brain,” she said a minute later as their fingers skimmed the water.
“Honey, you scramble my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Chapter Eighteen
FIVE O’CLOCK SATURDAY morning Janie was sitting in bed reviewing notes on her braille device while Boyd slept beside her. They’d stayed up late last night watching Star Wars. Boyd described the scenes as Janie took notes, but she’d been more enthralled with the effect the movie had on Boyd and the way he described the scenes to her than the story itself. He really got into the action, the way she got into romance, and it helped her to understand his fascination with the genre.
Yesterday she’d finally been able to walk without the crutch, which made her commute that much easier. She almost hated to forgo the crutch, because it meant that she wouldn’t need Boyd with her when she took the subway. He’d modified his schedule so much for her, taking day shifts at the hospital while she was at work and having the guys at the firehouse cover his schedule there. She didn’t need to inconvenience him anymore, no matter how much she enjoyed sharing their morning commutes. Boyd didn’t let her pine over their lost time together. Without missing a beat, he’d gone right back to telling her how much her cane turned him on. He’d filled that hole with his cheesy lines, leaving her no room to pine for anything.
Boyd mumbled something in his sleep that she couldn’t make out. She stopped reading and listened more carefully. He continually offered to stay at his place, but she loved sleeping cocooned by his body too much to want to sleep without him. They’d be forced to do so when he went to Colorado for his interview, and until then she wanted as much time with him as she could get.
His breathing quickened and his legs suddenly jerked. She placed her hand on his arm and was surprised to find his skin damp with perspiration. He mumbled again, and she realized he was having another nightmare. He’d had one Wednesday night, and though it had lasted only seconds, it had shaken him up pretty badly.