Teach Me How To Love Again

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jill woke up with her head buried in Joe's chest. She wasn't entirely sure when she'd switched positions throughout the night, but she was as close to him as she physically could be. Her leg was in between his and her arms snuggled closely to his chest.

He looked down at her and smiled, tipping her head up and kissing her tenderly. He was elated that she was finally awake after an hour of feeling the same anticipation of a child waiting for his parents to wake up to come downstairs on Christmas morning. He fought against the urge to wake her up just to tell her how beautiful she was but he was unwilling to disturb her peaceful rest.

"Good morning, gorgeous."

"Hi." She fluttered her lashes a few times, a bright smile spread across her face as she stretched, the bedding falling down to reveal the tops of her bare breasts.

"Sleep well?" He asked and she nodded, staring up at him.

"The best I've slept in a long, long time." She admitted.

For the first time in ages, she felt content and well-rested. There was something comforting about Joe's presence. Jill was more than capable of taking care of herself, everyone knew that - even Joe. But knowing that she had someone next to her to protect her and care for her made her feel as though she could truly let her guard down.

Joe trailed his thumb across her bottom lip and kissed her once more. He resisted the urge to deepen the kiss and make love to her, though he wanted nothing more in the world than to have her writhing underneath him again.

There was plenty of time to explore and, oh, did he intend to explore.

After all of the damage her husband had done to her, he needed Jill to know that he wasn't the kind of man that only valued her body. He wanted all of her: body, mind, and soul.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, she'd barely touched her food at the restaurant due to nerves and he knew she must be.

"I'm starving," she replied.

"It's almost lunch time. There's a little spot near the lake that serves, why don't we go there?"

When they arrived at the restaurant, Joe requested a table outside that was secluded. Their privacy was important to him and he made every effort to protect it. As they ate, they discussed a plethora of things. Their conversations were never dull and he loved that he could talk to her about anything.

He marveled at how incredible she looked in a simple t-shirt and jeans. The dark contrast of her shirt made her blue eyes sparkle as they reflected the lake.

"What?" She asked, with a smile, as she felt him staring at her.

He returned her wide smile.

Joe opened his mouth to speak but stopped.

"Jill," he began. The look on his face was serious and she searched for his eyes. "There's something we need to discuss."

A million scenarios ran through her mind. Did he regret last night? Was he concerned that she was too young? Or damaged goods? She wasn't even legally divorced yet, after all.

He took her hand in his. "I don't know where this is going and I don't want to put any pressure on us to decide, but I know that I don't want the boys to know about anything yet. I know we're under..." He searched for the right word, "unique circumstances since we live in the same house but I'd like to keep things as normal as possible for them. You're the first woman they've taken to since their mother," he admitted. His eyes fell to his hands. "I just can't risk involving them and them losing you, too."