Page 44 of Fate In Fiction

“Hmm.” His nose brushing up jaw and the tickle through my stomach steals my next breath. “Are you saying you want to put me to the test?” Emmett whispers against my ear as I feel his erection push into my leg. The deepness in his voice swirls desire through me and settles between my legs.

Yes.

“No.” I’ve never sounded more unconvincing. Swallowing, I remain still as he rests his forehead on mine and reads the possible truth across my face. The unpredictability of the outcome screams with every pounding beat of my heart.

He slowly lifts his head and continues digging for what he wants to hear. A sly smirk tugs at his lips. “You told me you’d be honest, Josie.”

With a quick kiss to the tip of my nose, he chuckles, and I pull myself together. Europe, Josie.

“Honestly, you should get off of me and go rub one out.” My hands rest on his firm chest as I push him up. “You clearly need to let loose.”

“You don’t wanna help?” I narrow my eyes at his remark before Emmett climbs off me, but manages to take the air out of my lungs with him. “If we’re both this determined to win over our parents, we should be safe to enjoy our evenings.”

“You’re worth more than an orgasm.” I bolt toward my room and close the door. “Go have sex with yourself,” I call out, trying to stabilize my breathing.

“I’ll be a while, so if there is any humming, I won’t hear it,” he teases from the other side of the door.

“You’re the only thing in this place that hums.” And we both know damn well I told another lie.

EMMETT

“I’d love for you to meet her too,” I say to my mother as I stand on my balcony, looking out at the mountains. “She’s such a sweetheart. You’d eat her right up.” Not in the same way I wanted to the other night, of course.

“Maybe I will fly in next weekend to meet her. I’m happy for you, Emmett. For you two to already be living together speaks volumes.” The endearment in her voice is none I’ve heard before. “She seems very different from your other choice of ladies.”

“Which is probably why it’s working out so well. I needed a more wholesome gal to ground me.” I stifle my laugh, because Josie really is my ticket to take flight. “Things have been moving quickly, but I’m happy.”

“I am so proud of you, Emmy Bear.” Her nickname solidifies how much she is buying this. “You’ve really shaped up this past year, and I am honored to see you transform into the man I know you are.” Well, don’t I feel like shit, knowing how much she’s going to be crushed a few months from now. But, hey, she’s part of the reason I’ve turned out this way.

“Thank you, Mom. I need to get going. We are meeting Josie’s family for dinner.” We say our goodbyes, and the added weight of my parents needing to take me seriously begins to dissipate.

Slipping the phone into the back pocket of my grey slacks, I take a deep breath. Having free rein of my funds will be nice. Especially not having to fly coach again. This helicopter better change my fucking life.

The click of the front door signals Josie’s return from Stella’s. Where she spent all of Saturday and today. Thank God, we had a couple of nights apart after I “jokingly” asked her to help get me off. I run my hand across my chin to collect myself. Coming home after days of travel to a home-cooked meal was a sight to see. Her signature oversized sweater engulfing her body as she moved around the kitchen, Josie beaming with every bite of food she ate, it all filled me with pride—and also turned me on. She finally made a delicious meal. Her wins are my wins. In more ways than one.

My hands grip the balcony railing as I stare at the mountains. The ways this woman is getting under my skin wracks my brain. Emotionally and physically. Expressing my feelings and actually feeling them has never been something I’ve allowed another person to witness. Yet, with Josie, I wanted to talk to her about work. I wanted to hear her advice. I wanted to take her on the couch that night. The playfulness and challenging remarks as she pushed to her knees had me testing just how far she’d go. Her eyes wide and begging for me to lean down and kiss her pretty lips again. My body has never been more desperate to watch a woman come undone. Our moment was right there. Right. Fucking. There. She wanted me, but her words stated otherwise.

Fuck.

Giving in would be doing us both a favor at this point. Josie is sweet, in her sassy way. Placing her in a category is difficult because I’ve never met a woman who is so much… herself. She’s not trying to impress anyone. She’s just Josephine. Maybe she knows she’d get attached. I can respect her strong will for shutting me down, in that case, but her conveniently living here is only making it more difficult.

“Emmett?” Josie stands at my doorway, jolting me out of thoughts. “We need to get going.”

“Josephine, no.” Her hair is perfectly in place and light makeup has been applied, but her ripped jeans and oversized hoodie are not dinner attire. “We don’t want your father thinking I’m a bad influence on you and how you’ve lost all standards.”

“Just testing your reaction.” Her wicked grin is wide as her hands meet the hem of the hoodie to pull it over her head. When her shirt rides up, it exposes her stomach. “That hoodie is so comfy.” She pouts and tosses it to me. “Can we please show up in normal clothing?”

“Is this a guy’s hoodie?” I’m not the jealous type, but I can’t picture her purchasing that on her own.

“Yeah, it’s from a brief guy I dated.” She shrugs with a smirk and adjusts her flowy top. “I kept it because it’s like a giant blanket.” Her eyes light up.

“Uh-uh.” Shaking my head, I toss the hoodie on my bed. Walking over, my fingers grip her chin and tilt it up to look me straight in the eye. “I have plenty of hoodies you can swim in. You’re not wearing another man’s hoodie when you’re supposed to be mine.” My sudden possessiveness takes us both by surprise, but I own it. “Your blouse looks beautiful. Go change out of your ripped jeans before we end up being late.” I walk past her to wait by the front door.

“We could always use a dirty excuse as to why we are late. That would be another act for them to believe how smitten we are,” Josie yells from her room.

“As thrilling as our fictional sex life is, your father doesn’t need to hear about different positions I use to hear you scream my name, little darlin’.”

“Dramatic much?” She appears from the hallway in a basic black fitted dress and a pair of strappy sandals. “Let’s go before we are late, and they make that assumption on their own.”