She told them that she was being used as a pawn in an unwinnable game, explaining that by addressing the situation, she was giving the story more traction, and by not addressing it, the outcome was the same.
She explained that she was being violated again and that by covering the story, they were not only complicit in her continued trauma, they were perpetuating it.
“I mean it. You were fucking brilliant.”
“Thanks.” Her head dipped and she looked down at the ground, the way she did every time I’d given her a compliment. It was too bad that her reaction only made me want to compliment her even more. I wanted to tell her how cute she looked when she blushed, and how pretty her eyes were when they fluttered beneath her thick, dark eyelashes. I wanted to tell her how kissable her lips looked when she pursed them.
But since that wasn’t what I thought she wanted to hear, I asked, “Did you speak to your grandmother’s publicist?”
That was the first call she’d said she needed to make when we got our room keys.
“Yes.” She looked back up at me, her amber gaze meeting my eyes. “I also spoke to my grandmother.”
“What did she say?” My first instinct would be that she’d be proud of Josie, but Josephine Grace Clarke was nothing if not unpredictable.
A wide smile spread across Josie’s face. “She said it was about damn time. And then she made me repeat to her everything I said four more times. She cheered every time I came to the end.”
It made me so happy knowing that she had a support system. I knew that what I’d told my mom was right, Josie didn’t need me to protect her. But that didn’t make me want to protect her any less.
I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to be the person that she went to when things like this, or anything, happened. I wanted to be the one that she kissed goodnight, and the man who woke up beside her every morning.
But was that what she wanted? I had no idea. And with everything that had happened today, I didn’t think this was the time to bring it up.
We stared at one another in silence and I fisted my hands and pushed them down further in my pockets. I didn’t blame myself for itching to touch Josie. The air between us was thick with sexual tension and muscle memory took over on how to eliminate that.
After what seemed like several minutes, but was probably more like thirty seconds, I said, “Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”
I knew that if I didn’t get out of there, I was going to do or say something inappropriate.
“Oh.” Her shoulders slumped and I could see disappointment in her honey gaze. “You’re not going to stay?”
“Do you want me to stay?” I couldn’t help that my voice dropped an octave when I posed the question. My only guess as to why that happened was that the blood flow normally supporting my vocal cords all went south, putting extra strain on my pipes.
“Do you want to stay?” she countered.
“Fuck, yes.”
Her cheeks blushed at my quick, and decisive response and a small, flirty smile lifted at the corners of her mouth.
I repeated my question. “Do you want me to stay?”
“Yes,” she answered before I got the entire question out.
“Can I ask you one more thing?”
Expectation sparked in her stare as she nodded.
“What do you have on under the robe?”
Her breath was shallow, causing her chest to rise and fall rapidly, pushing her barely covered breasts against the terrycloth material. “Nothing.”
The zipper of my jeans might be permanently imprinted on my dick because it was straining so hard against it. “Show me.”
Her breath hitched and her teeth sank into her lower lip as she slowly untied the belt around her waist. The robe parted, revealing her full breasts, and my mouth watered at the beautiful sight. I closed the space between us in a single stride. My fingers trailed along her collarbone as I slid her robe off her shoulders.
As it pooled on the floor by her feet, she slipped her fingers below my shirt and ran her hands up my torso. I watched as my T-shirt bunched up and my skin twitched beneath her exploring touch. Wanting her to have full access to me, I lifted my arms and pulled my shirt off.