Rumor (Renegades 3.50)

“Come for me again, Gracie,” he ordered more than asked. Pounding, pounding, pounding. “Come for me.”

This orgasm hit like a punch of velvet, harder and deeper and longer than the first, arching her back and rocking her body. Josh’s muscles turned to rock beneath her, his guttural sounds vibrating against the skin of her neck as he broke, hips pumping, hands digging into her hips.

Then he suddenly relaxed, slumping in the chair, dropping his head back, releasing her body to drop his arms out to the sides. Breathing hard, he closed his eyes, his face utterly lax, sweat dripping from his temple. He stretched his legs out with a groan, and the muscles rocked beneath her.

“Don’t…move…” he said between pants. “Let me…find my…brain…”

Grace smiled, her forehead resting on his shoulder. Her body felt loose and tingly and amazing. And her heart hurt—but in a good way, stretched full and aching with so much love she didn’t know what to do with it all.

A knock sounded on the door. “Nikki? Charlotte needs you. Her costume ripped, and she goes on in ten.”

She groaned, lifted her head, and called, “Be right out.”

Then put her head back down and snuggled closer to Josh. He chuckled, the sound deep and satisfied. His arms slid around her, one stroking her back, the other her hair. She wanted to sink in and fall asleep with him like this. The blissful thought made her smile, but knowing he’d be leaving soon turned the sensation bittersweet.

“Before you get all caught up in the vortex waiting for you out there,” his voice rumbled near her ear, “let me just tell you that was the very best sex ever. Like…ever.”

Sex. Yep, that was what she’d planned. That was what she’d delivered. And it was still all they could have.

Now, she just had to figure out what to do with all these emotions left over.

“Amazing.” She kissed his neck. “I knew it would be.” The pinch of reality crept in, and she forced her head from his shoulder. “Guess the fun and games are over, though.”

She pushed up on her knees, easing him from her body with a laughing groan. He helped her to her feet and said, “Throw me one of those rags, baby, would you?”

Crouching to pick up her panties, bikini, and cape on the way, she plucked up a clean white rag and tossed it to him. While he cleaned up, she shook the white dust off her clothes and redressed.

Josh stood, zipped his pants, then swayed and gripped the chair for balance. “Whoa. All my blood must still be a little too far south.”

She chuckled and moved languidly up behind him, and laid a hand on his sweaty back.

He turned, swept her close, and kissed her. Then slowly pulled out of the kiss with “Stay with me tonight?”

Oh. That she hadn’t expected. Flashes of intimacy ticked through her mind, and a sizzle of fear coursed along her ribs. She didn’t need any more reasons to fall deeper in love with him. Not when he’d be gone in a matter of days.

“I’m going to be here late,” she said with a casual smile. Better to keep this light. “And I’ve got six a.m. cheer practice.”

Another knock on the door. “Nikki? Charlotte’s on in five, and she’s getting panicky.”

Grace pushed up on her toes and gave him a soft, sweet, but chaste we’re-done kiss. “See you tomorrow?”

“Absolutely.” He smiled, but she saw the disappointment in his eyes.

She knew she looked like she’d just been fucked silly in a room full of white dust, but she didn’t care. And the fact that she wasn’t ashamed for going after the best sex of her life with the only man she’d ever truly loved gave her a sense of complete freedom. Maybe for the first time in her life.

At the door, she turned the lock and pulled the door open a few inches, then glanced back and found him watching, his expression veiled now, but a lost sense of confusion hung around him. The urge to console him gnawed at her, but considering who he was, she knew that was impossible. Giving him the night to come to the same realization was best for them both.

Josh stood at the front door of Safe Haven the following evening holding a bag of craft supplies that should have lightened his mood. But the unease that had gnawed at him all day remained.

By the time Grace had finished cheer practice and gotten to the club, the place was buzzing with activity. She’d barely had time to shoot him a smile and a “Hey, how’s it going?” before she’d been swept up in the vortex of schedules, music choices, costumes, and dance routines.

And their lack of communication after what they’d shared the night before had left him feeling insecure and disconnected. He didn’t want their encounter to become a one-time, casual, off-the-cuff fluke, and he was afraid that was exactly how Grace had seen it.

He shook the worried thought from his head and knocked, hoping spending some time with Carolyn would preoccupy him for a few hours while Grace was working.

Tammy greeted him with her typical enthusiasm and led him through the living room and into the great room, where he found Carolyn snug in a lounge chair with ear buds in.

“I don’t want to disturb her,” he said, pausing just inside the archway.