At the same moment, my orgasm burst from me in a jagged cry that grew into a full-fledged scream that echoed off the tile walls and vibrated in my bones. My entire body shook with a sound that I didn’t even recognize as my own and with the intensity of the release. In that space of time, I was no longer a woman but an animal, shrieking and howling as she succumbed to the power of the feral beast that had caught her.
When the tempest passed, I was satiated and spent. I let go of the bar, letting my weight fall completely on JC. Still recovering from his own release, he stumbled to the bench and sat down with me on his lap.
“Whoa.” His chest moved up and down against my breasts as he tried to compose himself. After a minute, he said, “Well, I’m happy with our bathroom’s acoustics.”
I tried to chuckle, too drained to fully commit. I laid my head on his shoulder. “I’m happy with you.”
JC tightened his embrace. “Are you?”
We’d been so busy, so preoccupied with the events in our lives that it had been a while since I’d truly examined my emotions. Even with the stress and bustle, I realized now, the joy that had overtaken me when JC reentered my life was still alive and present, settled permanently within me.
“I am,” I said, kissing a drop of water off his neck. “I really, really am.”
***
One of the best things about our new condo—besides the shower—was its location. We were only a couple blocks away from The Bowery where Hudson and Alayna lived. JC walked me over, his hand clasped tightly in mine.
“I could have made it here myself,” I said when we’d made it to the front doors of the building.
“I know you could have. I wanted to see you a little longer before I have to jump on the phone.” He bent down to kiss me. “Text me when you’re leaving.”
“You’re so protective.”
“I’m so in love.” He kissed me once more then, when I was positively glowing from head to toe, he released me.
Inside the lobby, I’d already pushed the elevator call button when I remembered I wanted to tell JC there was leftover takeout in the fridge. I ran back outside to try to catch him, but he was already halfway down the block so I decided I’d text him.
Just as I was about to turn away, though, JC stopped to talk to someone leaning against one of the buildings. After a few seconds, the two of them began walking together back toward our condo.
It took me a minute to remember why the other person looked familiar. I’d met him before at the Brooklyn Park Bridge on the Fourth of July. It was Dom, the guy who’d helped keep JC safe while he’d been in protection.
The incident wasn’t really all that strange, still, as I headed up to Laynie’s condo, I couldn’t shake the old familiar feeling that there was something JC wasn’t telling me.
***
Three hours later, Laynie and I had completed much of the list of things I needed to do for the night. All we had left was to finish the seating chart for the reception, which was going to be at The Sky Launch.
“Did we get everybody?” I asked, studying the diagram of tables and chairs that Laynie had drawn up.
“Almost. We just have to figure out where you want to put Chandler. I’m still impressed you invited him.” After the night I’d announced my engagement, Laynie hadn’t expressed anything but support for my upcoming marriage.
“Only to the reception. It felt wrong not to.” I uncurled my leg that I’d been sitting on for half an hour and stretched it out on the floor in front of me. “Do you know who he’s bringing?”
Laynie shot me an apprehensive look. “Will it bother you if it’s someone he’s serious about?”
“Nope. Just curious.” I’d had almost no interaction with Chandler since the night we’d announced our engagement more than two months ago, but I’d thought about him on occasion. More like worried about him. Even though there hadn’t been anything I could do to heal his broken heart, I didn’t like the idea that he might still be hurting. “In fact, I hope it is someone he’s serious about.”
She sighed. “I don’t think it is. Sorry. He told me he didn’t know who he was going to take but that he thought it would be better if he brought a date of some sort.”
“I didn’t realize he was talking to you about that kind of thing.” If I had, I might have asked about him sooner. Or I might not have, since it was a hell of a lot easier to ignore my regret when I wasn’t talking about it.
“He’s not. That’s all he said. Honestly, though, I don’t see him much now that he’s in school, but he still works with Hudson a couple of days a week in between classes, and I saw him when I stopped by the office for lunch last week.”