Page 20 of Theirs to Treasure

“It was a few years ago. He seemed okay. I thought he liked me. I really did, Sam.” Josie struggled to keep her voice steady. “Anyway, when we finally got ready to sleep together, I guess you could say he wasn’t all that impressed with my body.”

She stopped talking. Sam stroked his hand down her back. She was acutely aware that he could feel the outline of her corset. Therein laid the problem. “Russell insisted the lights be turned off.” Josie stared at a point over Sam’s shoulder so she didn’t have to see pity in his eyes.

“That guy is an idiot. You’re gorgeous.”

“You don’t know,” she protested.

“You forget, I’ve seen you. And I liked everything I saw.”

Once again, he turned her face, and she ended up looking up at him, and what she saw was anger.

For just an instant, she was scared, and he must have seen it.

“No, Josie, I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at your mother, and that asshole. Trust me when I say that I completely understand a parent belittling you, boy do I get that, but what I can’t wrap my head around is that asshole and his issues. If I was lucky enough to get a chance to make love to you, I would want all the lights on. I wouldn’t want to miss a thing.”

A full body shudder ripped through her.

* * *

Sam leaned forward and reached down to clasp both of her hands in his, and then he twined their fingers together. The intimacy overwhelmed her. He looked down at his big fingers pushed through the spaces between her smaller fingers and suddenly had an image of his erection parting through the tight muscles of her flesh. He looked up and saw a heavy-lidded response on her face, as if she was reading his mind, and then she squirmed slightly on the sofa.

Thank God, she’s on the same page with me.

Josie looked down at their locked fingers then back up at him with glazed eyes.

Sam leaned in and nuzzled the crook of her neck, inhaling the womanly scent of Josie. He rubbed his cheek up her jawline and finally took her mouth. He started by sipping at her plump lips, before he brushed his tongue against her lower lip, asking for entrance. She opened for him, inviting him inside, and her taste made him dizzy. He tasted the crème brûlée they had for dessert, but mostly he tasted the sweetness that was Josie. Again, and again he tangled with her tongue, getting to know what made her whimper, what made her lean into him. When she brushed her breasts against his chest, he broke away. He watched as her lashes lifted, her eyes a deeper brown.

He reached over and turned on the lamp behind him. Then he leaned over Josie, pushing her deeper into the back of the sofa, and turned on the lamp behind her. He hovered over her, noting how her eyes had gotten even darker. His hands went to the top button on her navy-blue silk shirt and ever so slowly unbuttoned it. He took his time as he unbuttoned each one, revealing the golden corset underneath. He was amazed that drool wasn’t dripping on the garment by the time he finished taking off her blouse.

“You know this holds me in a lot,” Josie warned.

“You normally look like a pin-up girl, Josie. Now you look like every one of my teenage dreams rolled into one.” His hands stroked over the smooth satin of the corset. “Do you use this, the same as the brace?” he asked.

“Yes, it gives me just as much support, but it makes me feel prettier. The brace makes me feel disabled.”

“Yeah, the migraines I have make me feel that way. Sometimes I can’t do anything but lie down until they go away,” Sam confided. As he talked, he stroked over the gold satin, moving closer to the dark swell of Josie’s breasts as they mounded over the top of the binding garment.

His eyes flicked over to the clock at the stove and saw it was seven-fifteen. He had forty-five minutes, and he knew exactly how to use them.

“Baby, you don’t sleep in your brace or corset, do you?” He saw the slight shake of her head, and he levered off her. Standing up, he bent over and scooped her up, striding to her bedroom. He went around and turned on all the lights he saw, including the nightlight plugged into a low socket, just to make a point, before he put a giggling Josie onto her feet.

“You’re a nut, Sam Booth.”

“It’s close to your bedtime, and I’m tucking you into bed.” He might not get the relief he needed but he was damn sure going to get a taste of Josie before he left tonight.

He looked around her bedroom, not surprised to see that her bed was made. They had that in common, the need to control their environments. It probably came from their childhoods being so out of their control.

Everywhere he looked, he saw color and feminine touches. He looked back at Josie. Breathtaking. His hands went to the waistband of her jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping, then guiding them down her smooth thighs, unsurprised to see gold panties to match her corset. He helped her out of her ballet flats at the same time he had her step out of her jeans. He ran his hands up her legs, resting them on her hips, and looked up at her. “Turn around. I want to undo the ties of this corset.”

He watched as Josie licked her lips and motioned to her side. “Actually, you can unhook it here, it’s easier.”

“Oh, Baby, there is no way in hell I’m not going to play with those laces. Now turn around.” He watched as her eyes dilated at his strong tone, and she immediately complied. Josie liked being told what to do in the bedroom. He smiled.

He pushed back the mass of curly hair over her shoulder so that he could get to the strings. His fingers trailed along the seam, touching the skin peeking between the crisscross of laces. She sighed with pleasure with every string he untightened. Sam pressed up against her back. His head bent low to nuzzle her neck, breathing her in as his fingers continued to slowly set her free, allowing her to breathe even more easily. With every inch of skin he revealed, he caressed and rubbed. He knew that she would be sore from the compression, and she moaned at the pleasure of his touch.

Suddenly the corset was expanded completely and falling. Josie caught it just before it would have fallen and exposed her breasts.

“Please, Baby, show me.” Sam again turned her around, this time within the safety of his embrace. Josie lowered the garment and let it slide to the floor. She put her hands to her sides, with her fists clenched. He could tell she was uncomfortable revealing herself, which was crazy. He thought he’d died and gone to heaven.