Hidden Depths Page 15

  Forcing a polite tone he didn't feel, he asked, "And just what exactly did you have in mind?"

  He watched while she considered her words, her eyes squinting a little as she bit her bottom lip. And he waited. As patiently as he could manage. Especially considering the only coherent thought running through his brain was to lean forward and suck that lip out from between her teeth.

  "Gia, tell me your damn rules!" he barked out.

  "Okay, not rules really, just guidelines."

  "Okay, then tell me your guidelines."

  "Well, we need to behave like we always do, which means sarcasm. We can't exactly be nice to each other all of a sudden, or people will know immediately. So, we need to keep up the snarky back and forth thing we've always done."

  Since he was feeling anything but nice right now, that should be relatively easy. "No problem. Anything else?"

  "Other than the basics, like don't mention the fact that we spent last night together at my house, there's really only one more thing I can think of."

  "And that is..."

  "No touching."

  "No. Touching." He deliberately pronounced each word as if it were its own sentence.

  "Yes... no touching each other."

  There was no way he could get through an entire night with her near him and not touch her.

  "That's a deal breaker."

  "What do you mean, deal breaker?"

  "I mean, I will touch you."

  "But then everyone will know."

  Josh squinted his eyes, watching her closely. As he looked, her breathing sped pace a little. Another few seconds, and he could see her nipples start to tighten and push against the black T-shirt she wore.

  "It's not the touching you're really worried about. Is it? You're worried about your response to me touching you."

  "No! It's not that at all. I just don't want anyone to know about us, Josh. You know that, and if you walk around with your hands all over me, they're gonna know."

  "Okay. Fair enough. I promise not to put my hands all over you. At least not where anyone else can see."

  "What?"

  "Well, I'm not going to promise not to touch you, Gia, 'cuz that would be a promise I would break. But, I will promise to make sure that I do not touch you in any 'more than friendly' ways if there is anyone watching. Fair?"

  He waited for her answer, watching as she squinted her eyes at him again.

  "Take the deal, Gia. It's the best offer I'm willing to make."

  Finally, she nodded.

  When she turned to go back into the store, Josh blocked her path with his arm, leaning in behind her to whisper in her ear.

  "If I'm supposed to keep my hands off you this evening, then I want a little taste to tide me over."

  When she glanced back over her shoulder, he took the opportunity to seal his mouth to hers. When he pushed her up against the wall again, she gasped. Her open mouth was an open invitation. One he couldn't pass up.

  Plundering her depths with his tongue, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing both hands up to cup and lift the wonderful weight of each breast. When he felt her nipples tighten and press against his palms, he flicked them quickly with his thumbs.

  When she groaned into his mouth, he took that as his cue to pull away. He wasn't going to take her in an alley no matter how good the idea sounded to his lust addled brain. Besides, he didn't want her sated. He wanted her aroused and on edge.

  He reached over and opened the door to her shop, pleased when she seemed a little shaky heading back inside.

  He would keep her secret, hiding their relationship from their friends. Pretending that nothing had changed. At least on the surface. However, he was planning to spend the night sneaking touches, teasing and arousing Gia as much as he possibly could.

  Sure, that could be considered sneaky and mean. But he figured that he was still sticking to the rules, just making them work for him instead of against him for a change. He expected that one of two things would happen; either Gia would decide she'd had enough and come clean with their friends, or by the time they left she would be so turned on that he could push a few boundaries in the bedroom. Either way, he was really looking forward to tonight.

  Chapter 26

  Josh headed outside, hopped in his Mustang and drove down the street. A little silly since it was within walking distance, but in order to adhere to the 'rules', he figured it would be best if he arrived in his own car, rather than leaving it in front of her shop.

  As it turned out, his eagerness to see Gia meant that he was in fact the second person to arrive at The Tavern, right behind Blake. This actually gave them a few minutes to talk, which was all fine and well until Blake asked how things were going with Gia.

  Running his hands through his hair, he searched for an explanation that would appease Blake's curiosity without giving anything away. Finally, he just kind of mumbled, "Not yet. Still trying to convince her to give us a chance."

  "No luck? Huh, that kind of surprises me. The way you guys were dancing a couple weeks ago, I would've thought you'd worked it out by now."

  "Yeah, well..." Josh just kind of let the sentence hang. He couldn't bring himself to directly lie to his lifelong friend.

  "So, has she said what exactly she's hung up on? Is it because of Deb? I mean, she was supposed to be in the wedding. I can see how that would be a problem."

  Josh was actually surprised. He didn't think it really had anything to do with Deb. Not anymore. But... could it? After a minute, he just shrugged. Deciding to use this line of questioning to help cover his tracks tonight, just in case someone saw something they shouldn't, he said, "Well, I haven't given up just yet. I'm still working on it."

  Blake laughed. "I'd be disappointed if you had given up."

  "Given up on what?" Dev asked, walking in behind Josh.

  "Gia," Blake answered. "Josh has been trying to convince her that they could have something between them besides snide comments. No luck so far."

  "So, you're interested in Georgia? Huh. I never would've thought she was your type."

  "Why? I wouldn't be interested in smart, funny, unique and stunningly gorgeous?" Josh couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

  Immediately backtracking, Dev started rambling. "No, that's not what I meant... I just thought... well, you and Deb were together, and she and Gia are nothing... it just doesn't seem... I mean, she is gorgeous, incredibly so... but, you..."

  "I get it, Dev. She's not like Deb. Which, since Deb and I are no longer together, is most likely a good thing. Don't you think?"

  Now Blake started laughing. "Don't even bother, Dev. I think you're forgetting that Josh here is more than just the son of a restaurant empire. He is in fact a lawyer. And, something you may not know, he gave thought to trial lawyer before settling into corporate. You will not win, no matter what you say."

  Shaking his head as Josh merely smiled sarcastically in his direction, Dev kind of ran his hands over his chin. "Trial law, huh? Defense or prosecution?"

  When Josh simply raised an eyebrow in answer, Dev answered his own question. "Prosecution. You would have been damn good at it too."

  Now Josh laughed, an honest laugh since Gia was no longer the main topic of conversation. "Yeah. I was pretty good."

  Shaking his head, Dev looked back at Josh, still clearly a bit surprised. "So... Gia, huh? Okay. I guess, setting aside the fact that you were with Deb when I met you... I guess I could see that. You guys have sparks, that's for sure. Although, I would have pegged it more as hatred."

  "Yeah, well..." Josh was saved from any further response by the arrival of Kelly, Deb, Shannon and Scott showing up en masse. The only one missing was Gia.

  Before he could find a chance to sneak away and call her, Kelly answered his unasked question.

  "I called Georgia. She's still at work, but she should be here in just a bit."

  Her uncanny little grin in Josh's direction led him to believe that Kelly, as always, knew more than she was let
ting on.

  This thought was confirmed when Kelly very discreetly maneuvered people around until everyone was sitting and the only chair left was between her and Josh.

  Realizing he had an 'inside man' he leaned in and started to quietly thank her. Before he got the words out, a quick glance told him Gia was here. The words stuck in his throat.

  He'd had his lips on hers less than an hour ago. It didn't seem to matter though, as the urge to kiss her senseless grabbed hold of his nuts and squeezed. How could one woman fill out a simple pair of jeans with such perfection. He watched her walk toward them, wishing for a moment she was walking away, just so he could watch her ass swing in that tight denim. Instead he took note of the tiny patch of skin showing below her fitted black T-shirt. Her hair was still in its braid from work, which was definitely to his advantage. Even in combat boots, she managed to look completely female, and so incredibly hot.

  Forcing down the surge of lust, he smiled gently, waiting until she finally met his eyes to smirk. Tonight was all about temptation and secrecy.

  Let the games begin.

  * * * *

  When Gia walked in and saw him, she couldn't stop the little pulse of heat that ran through her, settling between her legs. She knew he had something planned for tonight, but he'd promised to keep their little secret, so she hadn't been too concerned. When she saw the only open seat was next to Josh, and he was wearing a slightly evil grin, she started to rethink that opinion. Maybe she should be worried. Very worried.

  After the first thirty minutes, when Josh had behaved himself, acting like nothing more than a friend, she started to relax and let her guard down.

  The next time someone popped off with a sarcastic comment, Gia joined in, starting to feel more at ease. Maybe she had misread the little smirk? It wasn't until she aimed her first little bit of snark in his direction that she got a glimpse into his plan.

  Instead of merely replying with some caustic comment of his own, he shifted in his chair, effectively scooting closer to her. When he turned back to the group, his thigh was brushing up against hers. The contact, though minimal, was enough to send another little burst of heat up her legs. She sucked in a breath, squeezing her legs more tightly together so she wasn't directly touching him.

  The quick glance he sent her way let her know he knew exactly what he was doing.

  She added pissed off to her state of arousal. Never a good combination, she knew, but couldn't seem to stop the surge of anger.

  A few minutes later, and someone said something else that set her up to impart another little dig at Josh. She told herself to keep her mouth shut.

  It didn't work. This time he took the opportunity to face her directly bringing his head close to hers, staring her straight in the eyes. To anyone looking, it would seem like their normal battle of wills. And in one sense it was. What they didn't know, or she hoped they didn't know, was that his eyes didn't display anger, but rather desire... and a silent promise of retribution.

  When everyone proceeded with the conversation, she figured no one else had caught on to the heat between them.

  A second later, Josh leaned over and whispered quickly into her ear. "I let the first one slide, Gia. Not this time. That's one."

  She started to ask 'one what' but Kelly caught her attention with a question about how things were working out with Aaron.

  As she and Kelly talked, she felt Josh's hand beneath the table, teasingly drawing circles on her thigh. As little swirls of heat traveled up her leg, straight through her belly and settled in her breasts, making her nipples tighten into little nubs, she took a quick second to glare at him. She couldn't move his hand away without drawing attention to the fact that it was there in the first place, and he knew it.

  With a little grin, Josh leaned closer to Gia, moving that hand to place it on the back of her chair. Ostensibly to participate in the conversation she and Kell were having. In reality, he simply switched hands and started the same, lazy little circles on her leg, this time higher up her thigh. Now, she could feel his body heat pulsing against her shoulder, making her feel almost light headed with desire.

  Damn man. She wanted to feel his lips against her neck, her ear, her breast. When her thoughts began to spiral, the thought of where else she'd like his mouth caused a whoosh of air to leave her body suddenly.

  Acting with apparent concern, Josh gently rubbed her shoulder, teasing her collarbone while asking, "You okay, Gia? You look a little flushed."

  Glaring at him hard, she answered, "I'm fine. I just need another soda." As she started to rise, she made sure to hiss at him, "And some personal space."

  He merely smiled and leaned out of her way, mouthing back, "That's two."

  Chapter 27

  Josh was rather enjoying this evening. He was hard as a damn fence post, but watching Gia's discomfort was making it more than worthwhile.

  He waited until she was halfway to the bar before saying, "You know I could use another beer myself. Anyone else?"

  Blake and Dev both nodded, Deb asked for another martini, and Josh meandered over to the bar as well.

  Sliding directly beside Gia, a quick glance over his shoulder told him no one from their table could see them, so he moved until he was standing behind her, pinning her in with his arms.

  She let him order, pointedly ignoring him until the bartender walked away. Then she spun to face him, her eyes shooting fire.

  "Just what the hell do you think you're doing, Josh?"

  "Why Georgia, I have no idea what you're talking about."

  "Oh cut the crap, lawyer boy."

  Bringing them literally nose to nose, he whispered against her lips, "That's three, baby."

  "What are you doing? Someone is going to see us. Back up."

  Josh noted that she was telling him to back up, but her lips were moving the tiniest bit closer. He could kiss her, right here, right now. And she would let him.

  But, if anyone saw them, she would hate him, and what they had would be over before it truly began.

  With more control than he thought he possessed, he backed his head away from hers and spun her away from him, until she was facing the bar. Removing temptation, while still allowing him the feel of her body.

  "Teasing me like that, Gia, is worth two... so that makes it five."

  It took her a second to respond, letting him know she was just as affected as he was. "Five what?"

  He leaned in and smiled against her ear. "Spankings. Every time you tease, torment, or simply act bitchy, you are going to earn yourself another."

  She leaned her body back against him, almost sagging into him as gooseflesh ran down her arms. That, combined with the little shiver she gave, told him all he needed to know.

  "You really like that idea, don't you baby?"

  "Fuck you, Josh." Her words were harsh, though her tone was raspy. The desire he heard in her tone shot straight to his cock.

  Grabbing her hip with one hand, he gripped the bar with the other, half convinced he would break the damn thing with his grip. "Here and now, or did you want to wait until we get back to my house?" He used his grip to grind himself against her ass.

  He realized just how carried away they'd gotten when instead of pulling away, she leaned into him with a breathy little moan.

  "Ah, hell Gia." He pulled away from her taking a full step back before he did something colossally stupid. Taking a deep breath, he was trying to calm himself when the bartender showed back up, drinks in hand.

  Taking the beers, he asked Gia to grab Deb's martini and he turned to head back to the table. He stopped for just a second, and leaned in to say quietly, "Now we're up to seven, Gia. One for the 'fuck you' and one for the teasing. Just how badly are you going to behave the rest of the night?"

  As she stumbled, nearly dropping the drinks, he didn't even try to stop the little rumble of laughter.

  * * * *

  She was going to kill him. A long, slow, painful death. After she sexually tormented him for hou
rs on end first, of course.

  If she was honest, she was actually more angry with herself, or at least with her body, than he was with him. She had almost given in and kissed him at the bar.

  Kissed him... hell, she knew it wouldn't have stopped there. At that particular moment, she had forgotten where they were, who they were with. She hadn't cared. The only thing she could think about was having him slip that long, hard shaft inside her and easing the ache.

  Josh leaned over, whispering in her ear, "If you don't want me to fuck you right here at this table, you had better get that goddamn look off your face."

  "Go to hell Josh," she all but yelled at him. Everyone at the table glanced her way, but since the two of them arguing was nothing new, they merely waited for his response. When he merely smirked at her, they all went back to chatting about whatever they'd been chatting about.

  She made the mistake of looking at him and he mouthed out, "That's thirteen, baby."

  She couldn't stop the little shiver that ran through her. She had never been spanked, though it had long been a secret fantasy. Something she indulged in when she was alone in her room with her BOB. She had never considered it a real possibility. She had never thought she would find someone who was into that, and the one boyfriend she'd had that expressed an interest in bondage had seemed a little creepy. She hadn't trusted him not to take things too far. The real problem was that she'd never trusted anyone that much. So, she'd shoved those desires down deep and simply ignored them. Only dragging them out when she was alone.

  Now she glanced over at Josh. She trusted him. Completely. At least in this. She knew he would absolutely break her heart in the end, but she knew she could trust him with her body. And quite frankly, judging by the look in his eye, he may not give her a choice. She knew he was deadly serious. She was going to get spanked tonight.

  Another little shiver of anticipation ran through her.

  Suddenly Josh stood up, almost shooting out of his chair. "Hey, Gia. Dance with me?"