“Hmm. I think we’ll all be surprised by Ty.”
I lifted an eyebrow, questioningly, but Patience just smiled. “You always travel with an entourage?” I questioned, looking at the burly men in front of us.
Patience glanced ahead at the security guards. “Aaron’s particular about our protection.” Her eyes filled with an emotion I was all too familiar with. Fear. I’d seen it in my own mirror. But a second later, she blinked and it was gone.
“With good reason, I’m sure.”
She nodded and gave me a half smile. “They’re good like that. Protective over what’s theirs. Sometimes it can be strangling but they do mean well.”
My mouth dropped open. “What’s theirs?” I shook my head. “I’m not … I’m not, Joshua’s. We’re friends.”
Patience paused on the sidewalk, giving me a curious look. “The words might not have been spoken just yet but it’s there,” she added cryptically. “Come on, you two, let’s get inside. Daddy’ll be home soon,” she said to her twins who cheered at hearing about the impending arrival of their father. “Don’t forget to stop by soon. You have my number,” Patience said, extending her arms for a hug.
“It’s a date,” I agreed, returning the hug. I watched as all of them turned up toward the driveway of their home. Patience had Kennedy by the left hand while Kyle skipped ahead, declaring as the man while their father wasn’t around he had to watch out for his mom and sister.
I turned my head, laughing at how serious he seemed to take his duties. A few feet from Joshua’s front door, I pulled out my cell phone to see if I’d had any missed calls from him. I didn’t.
The driveway and front porch lit up as soon as I stepped onto the property. I appreciated that safety aspect of his home so much. As I entered the house, I thought about fixing something for dinner but wasn’t particularly hungry. That’s when I decided to head downstairs to work on the punching bag for a while. The basement had become decidedly less creepy to me after weeks of practicing down there with Joshua.
About fifteen minutes later I was down in the basement, playing some hip hop music on my phone to help energize me through the workout. I’d wrapped my hands exactly the way Joshua showed me but decided against using the gloves on the bag. I figured since in the real world, chances were I wouldn’t be wearing gloves if I ever needed to defend myself, better to practice for a more realistic scenario. I’d just keep my punches light enough on the bag to avoid injury.
What I hadn’t counted on, was about twenty minutes into my workout, I’d look up in the mirror to find an angry looking Joshua staring at me in the mirror.
“I taught you to always use gloves on the bag.” His words were deep and imploring.
****
Joshua
“You could’ve injured yourself,” I stated slowly as I stalked toward her. My body was filled with urgency to touch her, feel her. I’d already been pissed off since having to bring her home to deal with work bullshit. But then arriving home and seeing her going to work on my punching bag, turned my agitation to a deep need that I was ready to fulfill.
“I’m wearing wraps.” She held up her hands as if to show me. She was in the perfect position.
I moved quickly, reaching out and taking both of her wrists into my one hand, pulling them over her head and backing her body up against the mirror.
“Wraps aren’t the same as gloves, sweetheart,” I said, my lips grazing hers. If she went to protest anymore, it got lost in the searing kiss I planted on her. A low moan escaped her mouth. I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth, biting down on it with my teeth before releasing it and making a trail of kisses down her neck and back up to her ear. “Do you know how fucking hot it makes me watching you punch the shit out of this bag?”
“N-no, but you can show me,” she moaned, her body coming alive under my touch. She struggled to break her hands free from my hold. “Josh, I want to touch you,” she begged.
I shook my head. “No. Tonight you’re on the receiving end of everything I have to give.”
I pulled back and quickly spun her around, ignoring the tiny gasp of shock. I ran my hands down the side of her body, reaching to lift the workout shirt she wore before moving on to lower the running shorts, tugging them down. I growled in the back of my throat upon feeling the soft flesh of her thighs and backside.
I moved my hand around to her front at the same time I leaned in and nipped at the skin of her neck with my teeth. A sharp intake of breath was my undoing. My cock grew rigid in my pants. Kayla’s hand reached back, searching for the zipper of my pants, but I swatted her hand away.
“Do it again and I will have to tie you up,” I growled in her ear, nipping at her earlobe. I ran my fingers through her hair, yanking her head back.
“J-Josh,” she groaned in a way that sent chills through my body.
“I need to see you when I enter you.”
I moved us away from the mirror, bringing both of our bodies to the mat we usually used for her practices. That night the mat was getting a different type of workout in. It took only a few minutes to completely strip Kayla of her clothes, and another minute to do the same for myself.
“All fours,” I ordered.
“What’s the magic word?” Kay taunted, giving me a saucy grin.
“Now.”
