Free Dog Days of Summer by P. J. Fiala Page A

He pulled her face up to look at him and concern clouded his features.
    “God, Joci, are you okay. Did I hurt you?” 
    Joci shook her head. She swallowed a couple of times until she thought she could speak. Jeremiah kept looking at her and wiped the tears away with his thumbs.
    “Please tell me you’re okay, Joci. I never meant to hurt you.”
    Joci started to sit up but he held her in place.
    “I’m okay…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start crying. This…it was…sorry.”
    Joci swallowed again. Her voice was so soft, almost a whisper.
    “I’m overwhelmed. I’ve never felt like this before.”
    Yeah, he was a goner all right. Jeremiah pulled her back down on to his chest and held her tight. He swallowed hard a few times, too. That was the most intense moment of his life as well. After a few moments, Jeremiah took a deep breath.
    “ I know what you mean, Joci. That was overwhelming for me, too. I never dreamed a person could feel this way.”
    His voice was cracked and jerky.
    They lay together for a few minutes, and Jeremiah rolled over so Joci was at his side. He pulled out of her. God, even that was erotic, just feeling himself slide out of her almost made him hard as a rock again.
    Joci felt it as well; she whimpered a little when he pulled out.
    “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
    Joci watched him roll off the bed and walk to the bathroom. What a beautiful view that was. He had a great ass. He also had a tattoo across his back, from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. She hadn ’t noticed it before. But then, she had never seen him with his shirt off before. She heard the faucet turn on and water splash a little and, soon he was back with a warm cloth to wipe her up. Joci reached up to grab the cloth and he stopped her.
    “ I want to.”
    Jeremiah finished cleaning both of them up and then climbed back into bed and pulled Joci close.
    “Is there anything you need, Joci?”
    She whispered, “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
    He wrapped his arms around her tighter and took a deep breath.
    Joci swallowed hard, trying to keep her stupid emotions under control. Her heart was beating so erratically. She leaned up on her elbow and looked down at him. Jeremiah grabbed her and pulled her to him hard, afraid to let go. His voice cracked.
    “ I know you’re scared. I don’t want to make your life harder. I want to make it easier.”
    Joci took a deep shaky breath. “I’m scared shitless, to be honest, Jeremiah.”
    Jeremiah ’s mind was racing. He wanted to earn her trust. He knew in his mind that was going to be hard, but he wanted to earn it. Finally, he had a chance!
    “ It’s been a long fucking year, Joci.”
    Joci lay next to Jeremiah, thinking about all of this. It was inevitable that they would be together, but when she had woken up this morning, she would never have imagined she would be lying here with him tonight, naked and exhausted. It wasn’t going to be all sweetness and light touching; he seemed to like it hard and rough, too. That excited Joci. She had been afraid to tell her lovers in the past that she liked it harder. Not that she had that many—she surely had not—but it seemed nasty and dirty to want a man to push hard into her. She wasn’t able to put it into words what she liked, but she really enjoyed the way Jeremiah seemed to read her and give her just what she needed.
    “ Do you want to talk?”
    Joci leaned up again and giggled. “You want to talk? I thought men didn’t like talking after sex.”
    Jeremiah smiled at her, saying nothing else. His chest was still rising and falling from the exertion; his sexy eyes were still hooded.
    Joci chuckled. “You’ll need to get me home soon anyway.”
    Jeremiah snorted. “You are home, Joci. You’re staying with me tonight. If you think that was all there was for tonight, you have another thing coming. As for the days to come, we’ll play it by ear, but I want to be with you. Not just when the mood strikes you, but all the