Sorry there wasn't a chapter yesterday...

Chapter 38.

Lauren woke but didn't open her eyes as she assessed the way her body felt and settled on the fact she just ached all over. She could feel she was lying in Joey's arms, his familiar scent teasing her nostrils. This was a whole new experience for them both... waking up together and she decided she liked it... a lot. She turned her head slightly and kissed his chest, feeling his arm tighten around her. She giggled as she realised his hand was inside the boxers she was wearing and curved across her bum, partially relieved he wasn't touching her more intimately.

She risked opening her eyes and tilted her head back so she could look at him. He was still asleep so she spent some time just staring at his face. He moaned softly, shifting in the bed and she wondered if he was waking up but his arm pulled her closer to him and he quieted once more. Her eyes ran over the perfection that was Joey Branning and she bit her lip as she saw the bulge at his groin. Maybe that explained the moaning she realised. She threw back the cover, smiling as she saw he was naked. As she'd suspected his cock was hard, pressing against his stomach. Without even thinking about it she ran her hand down his body and wrapped her fingers around him. His firm thick cock... all eight inches of him if she had to guess... and it was all hers... well, his too if we're going to be pedantic about it but it was hers to have fun with and she was planning on having plenty of fun… once she'd recovered a little. In the meantime she started to stroke him, making her movements slow, watching how he reacted to her touch with interest. His length really was a thing of beauty and that wasn't something she'd ever felt inclined to say about anyone else's. His cock swelled in her hand as she continued to work him and flashes of the previous night ran through her mind as she tried to picture it in her head. She rubbed her thighs together, regretting the movement and wincing slightly, vowing not to do that again in a hurry. She released her hold on his cock briefly, instead lowering her hand and cupping his balls... another place he was generously endowed. She brushed her thumb across them, hearing his breathing change beneath her ear as she did so.

"Babe...?" he whispered, startling her slightly. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't that obvious?" she said, continuing her efforts, her hand moving back to his cock and stroking him again, firmer now he was awake and with a bit of a twist.

"You don't have to do that... after last night..."

"You needed some attention, Joe... and I wanted to anyway..." she told him. Her hand moved faster and he groaned, both of them watching as her hand moved on him. His hips shifted in time with her hand and she knew he was getting close so she slowed down her movements, wanted to draw it out longer... like he had with her the night before. He groaned as her hand slowed and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from smiling. She let go of him again, returning to his sac, squeezing them slightly in her hand. His hand moved, heading towards his cock to continue what she'd started but she stopped him with a quick tap of her hand, "No, Joe... I'm doing this for you..." she told him and he dropped his hand back to the bed. She fondled his balls, rolling them in her hand, seeing his cock twitch against his stomach and hearing his breathing speed up.

"Babe..." he whimpered and Lauren took pity on him, moving back to his thick length and resuming her hand movements. She increased the speed of her hand, feeling the response of him in her grip and knowing he'd be coming soon. Sure enough a few seconds later he came all over her hand and his stomach, a loud moan being issued from his mouth. Lauren continued to stroke him until every drop was released from him.

"Well that was a bit messy..." she giggled.

Joey reached for a tissue from his bedside table and wiped off his stomach, Lauren lifted her hand and licked away what was there with a soft moan. Joey was staring at her with dark eyes once she'd finished. "How are you feeling this morning?" he asked her tenderly, his hand brushing across her bum, where it still lay.

"I think you might have broken me, Joe." She said, looking up at him with sad eyes. "I literally can't move..." she told him, pouting up at him. He rolled her onto her back, following her and kissing her softly but deeply.

"Then I guess I'm going to have to be the best boyfriend ever and look after my girlfriend all day, aren't I?" He told her once they pulled apart. She smiled up at him, it lighting up her whole face. "What?" he asked.

"You called me your girlfriend..." she said, her face colouring at what she'd said.

"Well, that's what you are, right?" he asked, not really understanding.

"Mmm hmm, but you hadn't called me that before... I liked hearing you say it."

"Well, girlfriend..." he said, stressing the word and smiling at her, "Would you like me to make you breakfast?"

"As long as I don't have to move to eat it..." she said.

"You're really in that much pain?" he asked, frowning at her.

"Yes, babe... You've broken me..." she told him again. Her hand reached up to his face, caressing his cheek gently, "Don't look so worried... I'll mend... I just need a couple of days before we do that again."

"A couple of days?" he murmured, a horrified look on his face.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, kissing him passionately. "I'll still look after you..." she whispered against his mouth, "just no sex for a while..."

"Would you like another bath this morning? Soothe all your aches and pains away?" he asked her quietly.

"Only if you join me..." she said.

"How about you have a bath while I get breakfast then after we've eaten and our food has gone down, we'll have another bath... together..."

She pouted again and he kissed it away. "Okay, you've convinced me..." she murmured. He pulled away from her and walked across the room, completely naked. "Uh, Joe... aren't you going to put some clothes on?" she asked.

"Wasn't planning on it..." he said, smirking at her. "I'll go and run your bath... stay there..."

"Not a problem..." she said slumping back on the bed and closing her eyes briefly.

*JL*JL*

She startled awake as she felt Joey lift her in his arms, "Did I fall asleep?" she asked, clinging to him and trying to ignore the aches in her body.

"You were just dozing, babe... I didn't want the bath to get too cold..."

"Okay." She said, pressing herself into his chest, kissing the side of his neck. He sat her on the toilet seat in the bathroom and she realised she needed the loo. "Can you give me a couple of minutes, Joe?" she asked, her face heating.

"Let me get you in the bath first, then I'll go and do breakfast."

"I need a couple of minutes before I go in there." He looked at her blankly, "I need the loo..."

"Go ahead..." he said, walking to the other side of the room and getting out some fresh towels for her to use.

"I'm not doing that with you in the room, Joe." She protested, "Please..."

"Fine... I'll go and clear up the room from last night..." he said, walking out of the room. Lauren couldn't help watching his bum as he walked out of the room. So sexy.

She quickly did what she needed to do, flushing the toilet and washing her hands. She was definitely a bit sore... down there... and she suspected she had a few bruises on her from last night if she was to look closer. Joey knocked on the door and she smiled, "You can come in now, Joe."

"You okay?" he asked as he pushed open the door.

"I will be... my sexy boyfriend is looking after me..." she said.

He pulled her up, not missing the slight wince as she got to her feet. "Seeing as it was your boyfriend who is the cause of your pain in the first place, it's the very least I can do."

"It wasn't just you, Joe..." she told him, rising on her tiptoes and kissing him gently.

"Have your bath, babe... before I get carried away..."

"Okay..." she said. Joey lifted her in his arms again and gently lowered her into the water. She moaned as the hot water ebbed around her body. "Oh, that feels good..." she said.

"Can I get you any tablets... to help with the pain?" he asked her, leaning his arms on the side of the bath, watching as she lay back in the water.

She shook her head, "Maybe later..." she whispered, closing her eyes and relaxing in the water. Silence fell in the room and after a couple of minutes she opened one eye and looked at Joey, smiling when she saw he was staring at her chest. "Joe... breakfast...?" she whispered.

He looked at her quickly, a guilty expression on his face, "Sorry..." he said quietly, his face colouring.

"I didn't say I didn't like you looking... I'm just hungry..." she told him, "I worked up a bit of an appetite last night..." she said, smirking at him. "What are we having?"

"It depends on what mum has in the kitchen. I'll find something..." He leant forward and kissed her softly on the mouth, his tongue brushing against hers lazily. "I'll come back up and see how you're doing in a while..." he whispered.

He stood up and Lauren openly gazed at his cock as he stood there, seeing he was half-erect again. Lauren watched as he walked out of the room, heading downstairs... still stark naked. She smiled and closed her eyes again, knowing she was going to be a very happy girl if they kept going at the rate Joey seemed to need to... very happy indeed... and hopefully her body would get used to that level of exercise and her recovery period wouldn't be so long... or painful.

*JL*JL*

Half an hour later she heard Joey walk up the stairs and into his room. He knocked on the door of the bathroom a minute or so later, "Breakfast is ready, babe..."

"Okay..." she said, "Can you help me, Joe?" she asked, pushing herself so she was sitting up. He opened the door and she was slightly disappointed to see he had a robe wrapped around his body now. Someone had to go and spoil all her fun she thought sulkily. "You got dressed..."

"Yeah, well cooking breakfast in the nude can be a bit dangerous... I didn't want to burn anything..." he told her and she giggled. She held up her arms and he put his hands underneath them and lifted her so she could stand up in the water. He picked up one of the towels and threw it over his shoulder, holding out his hands and helping her step onto the floor. He wrapped the towel around her body and rubbed it tenderly across her skin. "I brought up your bag... figured you'd want to put something on..."

"A robe would be fine..." she said, leaning against him as he looked after her. She could get very used to this, she decided. "And some knickers from my bag," she added. "Thanks Joe..." she whispered, kissing a bit of the skin revealed at his chest.

"Can you walk or do you want me to carry you?" he asked her and she grinned up at him. "Silly question..." he said, smiling at her. He lifted her and soon they were back in his bedroom.

"I could've walked... but I quite like the thought of you carrying me around..." she said softly as he placed her on the bed. He walked over to the door and pulled a robe off the hook on the back of it. Lauren opened her bag and fished out a pair of knickers, slipping them on beneath the towel. She removed the towel that was wrapped around her and pushed herself to her feet, trying to hide the pain she was in from him as he held the robe up and eased it onto her.

"You can't hide it from me, babe..." he said, looking guilty again.

"I still don't regret what we did, Joe... it was amazing..." she told him, leaning against him as he wrapped his arms around her. "It won't be as bad next time... my body will get used to it..." she whispered.

"Next time?" he asked, slight hope in his voice that he couldn't hide.

"We're definitely doing that again, Joe..." she told him, brushing her hand down his body and cupping his length through his robe, "We've got a lot of catching up to do... make up for what we've been missing out on..." she said, looking up at his face as she squeezed him slightly, "And when we get to wherever we're going we're only going to know each other so we'll have plenty of time on our hands while we get ourselves sorted."

"I like the way you think, baby..." he said, kissing her gently. "Now breakfast time..." he said, pushing her towards the bed while he went to the side of the room and picked up the tray. "Well, it turns out mum didn't have a great deal in... given she's away... but I found a pancake mix in the cupboard so we've got pancakes with maple syrup and some orange juice... is that okay?"

"It sounds amazing..." she said. She shuffled over in the bed, making space for him beside her. Soon they were both eating their breakfast eagerly, having both been more than ready for some food after the previous night. "Oh babe... this is divine... it's just as well you can cook because I burn water..." she said, "At least we won't starve!"

"I'll teach you..." he whispered in her ear, kissing her on the cheek.

"I'm sure you will... and I'll try not to kill you..." she told him softly. An image of Joey trapped in a car flashed through her thoughts and she winced slightly. She frowned, trying to wipe the horrible image from her memory but not quite able to. She closed her eyes as she chewed on her breakfast and her last thought reappeared. She didn't push it away this time, her heart racing slightly as she realised Joey was dead… his eyes were open and he was staring at her… and there was a look on his face that seemed to say it was her fault. She shivered and pushed the thought away again, opening her eyes and looking at Joey. He smiled at her and she tilted back her head and kissed him softly.

They ate in silence and Joey took away the plates, taking them back downstairs. She heard him go into the bathroom and clear up after her bath. While he was gone she pulled her laptop out of her bag and her mobile phone and switched both on. "What are you looking for?" Joey asked as he walked back into the room.

"I thought we could look and plan where we're going to go... where we'll stay and everything while we let our food go down..." she said, glancing up at him and smiling.

"Good idea..." he grabbed his mobile from the bedside table and switched it on. Soon he was dialling a number and Lauren watched him, leaning against him when he sat back down on the bed, "Dave... Hi mate... long time, no speak. How have you been?" He was silent for a couple of minutes, listening to 'Dave' at the other end of the phone, his fingers running through her hair softly. "Mate, I was wondering if you had a car I could borrow for a couple of weeks?" Joey eventually asked. "I need to get away for a little while and could use some wheels..." Lauren looked up at his face and he winked at her, "No, I'm not in any trouble... well nothing illegal anyway..." he admitted. There was more silence and Lauren wondered what Joey's friend was asking. "Of course it's a girl..." Joey chuckled, "It's THE girl, Dave... We need to put some distance between us and our families..." he told him. Lauren closed her eyes and tried to push away the emotions that built within her as she thought about not seeing Abi and Oscar... she was really going to miss them. She'd miss all of them really but Abs and Oscar would be top of the list... especially Oscar... she was his Lolly and they'd grown really close when their mum was sick and there was only her to look after him. "We'll be fine, Dave..." Joey said quietly. Another smaller pause, "Dave, I can't take your money..." Pause... longer this time. "Fine... but I'll pay you it back," Joey said. "We can come and collect the car tomorrow morning if that's alright. We're sorting stuff out today... I'll need you to drop a car back if you can..." Joey's arm around her shoulders tightened slightly, "Yeah, you can meet her tomorrow too... Thanks mate... for everything. I meant what I said about paying you back..." Shortly after that he ended the call. "Well that's a car and some money sorted..."

"He sounds like a good mate..." Lauren said.

"He is... one of the best..." He kissed her forehead, "He's looking forward to meeting the girl I'm running away with..." he told her softly.

"I bet he was surprised by you doing that..."

"He was... but he knows I must be pretty serious about you to be doing something like this..."

"I'm pretty serious about you too, Joe." She said and he kissed her softly.

"We should work out where we're going to go... maybe book a place for us to stay for a week while we sort out something more permanent?" Joey said.

"Can we afford that?" she asked.

"Yeah, babe... Dave's lending us ten grand..."

Lauren's eyes widened, "Is he made of money?"

Joey laughed, "No, well, yes I guess so... he inherited a lot of money from his grandparents a couple of years ago... but it hasn't changed him at all... he's still the same guy who I've been friends with since I was seven or eight."

"I'm looking forward to meeting him." Lauren whispered, turning back to her laptop and firing up the internet. They spent the next hour or so choosing where they were going to go and they ended up booking a relatively cheap holiday home for two weeks. Joey had suggested just booking into a hotel or a B&B but Lauren looked at him, kissing his jaw softly and then whispered in his ear that there were benefits to it just being the two of them and he quickly came round to her way of thinking.

*JL*JL*

"Please babe… open your eyes…" he pleaded, glancing once more at the machines that surrounded the bed and wishing he knew what they meant. He looked at her again, hoping that this time it'd be different to the other times he'd asked her the same thing. It wasn't. Her eyes remained shut and a little bit more of his hope disappeared.

A/N: I don't know about anyone else… but I'm starting to get a little jealous of Lauren… Send me a review. Back later with a second chapter... if I get enough reviews...