Page 90 of Prime Time Romance

I barely notice when he crawls up and lies beside me. “How was that?”

My arm flops onto his chest. “Ask me again in a minute when my soul returns to my body.”

I could fall asleep happy. Curl up in a ball, close my eyes, and dream of a naked Josh. But although Josh is lying comfortably beside me, one part of him is still very much awake.

“I need about thirty more seconds to recover, then I will be good to go.” I reach beneath his boxers and stroke him, my thumb brushing over his soft, velvety tip. It twitches in my hand. Now it’s his turn to moan.

I continue to stroke him, loving how hard he is from just the touch of my fingers, hearing the noises he’s making and knowing it’s me that’s causing them. Then a worrying thought surfaces.

“Question for you. Do you have a condom?”

Josh’s hazy, sleepy eyes grow wide.

“No,” I moan. “This is Carson’s Cove. Sex before marriage ranks right up there with underage drinking in the actions-have-consequences storylines.”

Josh reaches into the nightstand and pulls out a strip of condoms. A very long strip of condoms.

“I get the impression my man Fletch is smarter than people give him credit for. He has this place figured out.” He pulls one off the strip and rips the packaging with his teeth. He removes his boxers and rolls the condom on, then takes my head between his hands to kiss me. It’s sweet and slow, and my stomach fills with a thousand happy butterflies.

He grabs my hips and flips me onto my back in a single smooth motion. His lips meet mine as he rubs himself, right where I need him, getting me wetter and wetter.

He presses in with the tip, giving me a moment to adjust, then starts to thrust in slowly—taking his time, inch by inch. My hips have other plans. They drive up from the bed. He laughs, says, “I thought I was holding back there, but I can’t argue with that,” then fills me completely.

He leans forward, maintaining a slow, steady pace. My hands roam over his back, his chest, and his shoulders. All of the places I’ve been able to look at but never touch. The sensation builds again. My arms drop to the mattress as I think of nothing but how good he feels. How close I am to the edge.

He picks up speed, going harder and faster, and just when I think I’m about to fall, he slows and shifts position.

“I’m not quite ready for this to be over,” he whispers. He licks the tender spot behind my ear, and I shiver. He picks up speed again. But this new position has his hips in line with my clit. The new sensation is too much; my moans turn to ahs with every thrust. He presses up onto his hands, opening the space between us and using it to bring his thumb to my clit. He makes slow circles until I can’t hold out any longer. “I think I’m going to come again.”

He picks up the pace, and I get lost in the rhythm, trying my best to make this feeling last as long as possible. Until I can’t. I yell, “I’m coming.” Or maybe he does. Either way, I go off like a rocket. My head gets light, and everything blurs into a white haze.

Eventually, I come down. Back to the bed. Back to him.

He slips out of bed only for a moment to dispose of the condom, and when he returns, he holds out his arms until I nestle against his chest.

As I lie there, listening to him breathe softly, the puffy cloud of euphoria that I’ve been flying on starts to thin. I begin to fall.

The weight of everything that happened tonight drags me downward.

I brought this perfect man into an absolute mess.

I nearly got him killed.

We have no foreseeable way of getting back home unless I give Sheldon the ending he wants. That means choosing Spencer and not Josh.

We’ve found no evidence of another loophole. Even if one exists, the odds aren’t good that we’ll find it before this Friday.

Josh won’t get the chance to buy back his father’s bar. He’ll lose his dream because of me.

I tilt my head up, kissing Josh’s jawbone softly, savoring the way his stubble scratches my lips. I try to memorize how good it feels to lie here in his arms. How he smells. How safe I feel. How happy.

There’s no easy way out of this.

Which means I need to do it the hard way.

25

Josh