Joshua's Grace

Chapter 7 (3)

Joshua turned to see Grace making her way toward them. She had retouched her makeup. That lipstick wasn't going to last. He couldn't stop the smile that formed as that thought registered. She smiled in response, totally unaware that she was drawing attention as she made her way to the two brothers.

Zac looked from Grace to Joshua and shook his head in resigned acknowledgement of the inevitable. He sighed dramatically, stacked the glasses he was carrying and then tapped Joshua's shoulder. "Give me those bottles." Deftly he hooked his fingers around the necks of three brown bottles and Joshua placed the fourth in the stack of glasses.

"See you later." Joshua murmured as he walked off to meet Grace without giving his brother another look.

"Yeah, right." Zac muttered and watched Joshua move purposefully toward Grace, take her elbow and propel her out of the room. "Next century maybe." Zac continued to mumble to no one in particular as he ambled back to the rest of the party, his hands full, balancing the precarious cargo of drinks and glasses.

"Come on." Joshua said firmly. Grace followed him. No questions asked. She held onto his hand as they threaded their way through the throng and headed for some privacy. He led the way out.

Once out of sight of other people he stopped. Slowly he pulled her back into his arms to continue where they had left off. He backed her against the old timbered walls of the upper deck. His hands braced on either side of her head, his fingers splayed against the painted wooden walls. Once again his mouth began to rove in a gentle but demented fashion across her face. Grace slid her hands and arms beneath his jacket and around his waist, tugging his shirt free. She wanted to touch his skin, the way he was touching hers. She wanted to drag her nails across his back, to palm the lower muscles of his back and to run her fingers along his spine. She had no conscious thought, just this unrelenting need to touch him. Just when she had tugged the shirt free and her hands had started to put imagination into practice, Joshua initiated the most erotic kiss Grace had ever had. As his hips pressed forward and she was made even more aware of his erection, his tongue plunged slowly in and out of her mouth, fencing with her tongue and rimming the inner edges of her lips. Totally mindless she kissed him back. Striving to echo his movements, eager to give as much pleasure as she was receiving.

A loud cough, "Excuse us?" Said a laughing voice.

Joshua leaned forward, keeping Grace within the shelter of his body and arms. He tried to shield her from the prying looks. The other couple shuffled past. He breathed deeply when they'd gone. Then he laid his forehead against hers, their eyes inches apart.

"Fuck." He whispered without any semblance of romanticism. "I don't think this is the right place."

"No." She agreed in a voice that was husky and rough with passion. In that one word she communicated the desolate frustration she felt. His green eyes were almost as dark as hers. "I can't believe I do this in public." She whispered back, totally bemused by her behaviour, "What was in that champagne?"

He stroked her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs "I'm only this public with you." He fought for some semblance of control. "Come."

"Where?" but she followed him without waiting for a reply.

The rear of the paddle steamer was deserted. There was a gentle cooling breeze and the blades of the rotating wheel were flicking a fine spray of water that caught in the wind before hitting the deck. The sun had dipped totally out of sight, but in it's wake it had left a sky of misty pink streaks and a slowly darkening evening. Grace shivered slightly and only then remembered that she had left her shawl lying on the back seat of Joshua's car. Joshua noticed the shiver, he removed his jacket and gently placed it around her shoulders. It dwarfed her, making her look strangely vulnerable. He tucked his shirt back into his trousers and smiled at her when she looked mortified.