Chapter Twenty-Seven Juliette
TWENTY-SEVEN JULIETTE
Juliette is not in the habit of lying to her family, but she does not want her nosy sisters checking in on her when she’s with Luca. They’ve already harassed her enough about the snack experiment, which Livia keeps insisting on calling a “date.”
So she tells them she’s going to practice early in Miami.
All the Ricci girls lost Wimbledon. Claudia and Octavia both lost in the third round, while Juliette made it to the quarterfinal.
Claudia is staying in London, putting off going to the next tournament as long as possible.
Octavia, on the other hand, is vehemently against playing Miami in July.
“It was acceptable heat in April. I will not be dying for this stupid sport,” she said when Claudia complained about being left without a doubles partner.
There’s still a week after Wimbledon ends before the Miami Open starts, but her father still insists he come help Juliette train.
At least she’ll get two days of Antony-free time.
And even though she has an ulterior motive for coming to Miami, she does intend to get a few decent practices in so she can grow accustomed to the heat.
And have fun , as Luca put it. Her hands shake with jitters, and a nervous excitement refuses to leave her body, even though she should be exhausted from her flight.
It’s easier to focus on these emotions rather than the devastation of losing to Xinya in the quarterfinals. It hurts more than she wants to admit. She should have won. It felt within her grasp after the first set, but one bad bounce off the chalky line and suddenly her forehand was off.
And now fans online keep saying her quarterfinal curse is back in full effect.
Maybe she should delete the apps from her phone.
Now she’s in an Uber to the hotel where all the players are staying.
The hotel sits off the Biscayne Bay and has a sleek modern style that matches the glitzy Miami aesthetic.
Juliette admires the deep reds and lush ocean blues that accent the elegant curves of modern architecture and give a youthful flair to the otherwise gold and white hotel.
Despite the late hour, a bellhop takes her luggage up to her room, even if she won’t be sleeping there tonight.
It’s only been a few days since she last saw Luca, and she’s surprised that Luca initated this.
Her snack experiment worked out better than she could’ve anticipated.
And this invitation feels like an olive branch extended by Luca, one Juliette is hopeful works out.
She gets her key and makes a beeline to the elevator. She pulls her hood up, sunglasses perched on her nose, and keeps her head low. She doesn’t want anyone to catch her going up to the floor where Luca is and potentially start a rumor.
The glass walls of the elevator reveal the sprawl of Miami, and her stomach twists at how high up she is.
The expanse of rippling water shimmers with lights from party boats and the other high-rises.
She curses. She should have turned around and taken the stairs, but it’s too late.
The dizzying height makes her vision swim, the blur of starry lights disorients her.
The elevator eases to a stop, and the doors ping open.
She stumbles out and leans against the wall, taking a few steadying breaths.
Then, once her heart rate has slowed, she glances around the empty hall.
Colorful photographs depicting Miami nightlife clash with the riotous black and navy wallpaper speckled with pink flamingos.
She bows her head, overstimulated by the brightness of it all, and jogs down to the correct door.
She shakes out her hands before shoving her hood back.
She dangles her sunglasses in her fingers as she lifts her other hand to knock on the door.
She swallows and taps three times. Juliette’s skin prickles.
Her stomach is in knots, and her heart is pounding as if she’s falling, falling, falling.
The anticipation builds, a roaring crescendo that cuts off as the door opens.
Luca leans against the doorjamb, her hair smoothed back into a ponytail. She’s wearing a white T-shirt that shows off how tan she’s gotten. Her gray sweatpants hang low on her hips, and Juliette has to force her eyes up to Luca’s face.
“Hi,” Juliette says, sounding breathless.
Luca’s lips twist into a smile and she steps back, allowing Juliette to enter. “Hi.”
“Holy shit,” Juliette says as she enters the equally bright room. The walls are creamy white, but abstract shapes are painted in teals, oranges, and pinks all over. Weird, crystalline-like lights shower the room with sparkling white light.
Luca laughs, a huff of air. Nerves, perhaps? Juliette can’t tell. “It’s not really my style, but the hotelier insisted.”
Juliette pauses in the center of the living room, and her backpack slides off her shoulder to her feet.
Floor-to-ceiling windows show off the sterling skyline and beautiful bay, the water rippling like the metallic hide of a car.
The glare from the indoor lights makes it worse.
It’s almost as if Juliette is standing above the water, like she could reach out and touch the skyscrapers. She sways on her feet.
“Jules?” Luca moves into her line of sight, and Juliette tries to smile, but it stretches foreign across her mouth.
“Yeah?” Her voice wavers and sounds faraway.
“You look a little pale. Are you okay?” Luca’s brows pinch together in concern.
Juliette glances over Luca’s shoulder at the window, and another wave of dizziness threatens to topple her.
She looks down and sees her hand wrapped around Luca’s forearm.
Warmth sparks beneath her fingertips, and she tries to focus on that sensation instead.
“Erm, I forgot to mention this before, but I am not a fan of heights.”
“Oh,” Luca says, but it sounds like she’s underwater. “Come on.” She tugs on Juliette, who keeps her eyes on her feet until she is guided into a chair.
It’s a stool at a short kitchen island with no windows around it. Juliette swallows and tries to breathe evenly through her nose, but she can hear how harshly she is sucking in air.
“Here, drink this. The curtains are closed. I don’t know if that helps, but we could go to your room?”
Juliette fumbles with the water bottle but manages to twist it open. “No, I’ll be fine, as long as I can’t see how high we are,” she gasps out before taking a few careful sips of water.
Luca’s hand curves around her right wrist, and her thumb sweeps in soothing circles against Juliette’s hammering pulse point.
Juliette glances up, but Luca is staring at Juliette’s trembling hands.
Then, as if Luca feels Juliette’s gaze, her eyes lift, and Juliette tries to smile. “Thanks,” Juliette whispers.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” Luca says.
Juliette shakes her head. “How could you know? I never mentioned it. It’s not like this is new.” Her tremors lessen and then fade until her hands are still. “I wasn’t always afraid of heights.”
“No?” Luca prompts, her thumb never stopping the soft caress.
Juliette’s breath evens out and the tension in her chest releases. “I used to climb all the trees in our backyard when I was a kid. But when I was eight, I fell and broke my arm.”
Luca hisses through her teeth. “Ouch.”
Juliette nods. “I haven’t climbed a tree since, and I can’t stand heights.”
“Luckily you picked a profession where you never have to fly or end up in high-rise hotels,” Luca says with a smirk.
“Shut up,” Juliette says without heat, and Luca laughs. “All right, I told you a secret, tell me one of yours.”
Luca’s thumb falters on her skin, and she chews on the inside of her cheek. “I have anxiety, I’m afraid of everything.”
“That is not a secret,” Juliette says.
“Of course it is. No one knows except Vladimir and Nicky.”
“And me,” Juliette says. “You told me in Naples.”
Luca frowns, and Juliette flips her hand over and starts tracing Luca’s palm and fingers. It’s barely a touch, but Luca looks up at her with a hitch in her breath, her cheeks tinged pink.
“All right,” Luca says, her lower lip wet from where she was biting it. Juliette wants to kiss her again, taste if she’s wearing chapstick. “I like you more than I should.”
Juliette’s whole body jolts. “Do you really?”
Luca looks away. Juliette slides out of the chair, her legs wobbling, but she steadies herself.
She joins Luca on the other side of the counter.
Starlike silver light weaves across Luca’s face, highlighting her high cheekbones.
Juliette can’t read the emotion in her face, but Luca leans closer, as if they’re being pulled together.
“Yes,” Luca whispers, her voice rough. She clears her throat. Juliette twists their fingers together, her heart pounding. Juliette tilts her head toward Luca, and they’re so close that Luca’s breath skates across her face. Herbal, like she’s been drinking tea.
Juliette raises her free hand and skims her knuckles over Luca’s flushed pink cheek. “Tell me what you want.”
“ Everything ,” Luca breathes, squeezing Juliette’s hand so hard it stings.
Juliette’s stomach swoops, punching into her throat. It is so hard not to kiss her. It is like soaring and somehow, Juliette isn’t afraid.
“Be specific,” Juliette insists. Luca’s head dips, trying to kiss her, but Juliette turns her head away and chuckles. “Tell me, Luca.”
From this angle, she can see Luca’s eyes, dark and sultry, burning with a smoldering heat that Juliette can’t look away from. “I want everything from you. Kiss me. Touch me. Fuck me. Make me come, or don’t. Let me lick every inch of you. Let me worship you.” Luca’s eyes never leave Juliette’s.
Juliette never expected Luca Kacic to know how to dirty talk. She is stunned into silence, but the air between them crackles with the electric heat of untamed arousal and want. Then, Juliette lunges.
They crash together, desperate, hungry. Their hands unclasp as they scramble to touch every inch of each other’s skin they can.
Luca’s hands thread through Juliette’s hair, tugging her close.
Juliette grips Luca’s narrow hips, and they snap together like puzzle pieces.
Their mouths clash together in a wet heat, fighting not for dominance, but because the pain hurts so beautifully.
Juliette crowds Luca against the counter and slides her hands down to Luca’s thighs, fingers digging into soft cotton. Luca hoists one leg around Juliette, hooking it around her waist. The hot cut of her body burns every other thought out of Juliette’s head.
Luca claws at whatever patch of Juliette’s skin she can find with one hand while the other roots into her curls, holding Juliette’s head close and where she wants it.
Heat pools and centers in Juliette’s stomach as Luca whimpers in the back of her throat.
Juliette breaks off their kiss and tilts her head to nip at Luca’s jawline.
Her lips are raw and tingling as she methodically sucks kisses onto Luca’s pale skin.
She snakes a curving lick up to her earlobe. The scent of her hair, her skin, the perfume at the hollow of her throat, it all drives Juliette up a wall. “Is this what you meant by have fun ?” She asks.
Luca breathes hard, nearly hyperventilating. “Even better.”
Juliette smiles against her skin, and Luca shudders. “Good.”
Luca tugs on her hair and they kiss again, noses dragging against each other.
Luca’s tongue sweeps across the seam of her mouth.
Juliette slips her hand beneath Luca’s shirt, her skin hot and tacky with sweat.
Her fingers trace the dip of her waist, brush along the ridges of her ribs as she realizes Luca isn’t wearing a bra.
“Eager, aren’t we?” she asks as she pulls back.
“Efficient, I’d say,” Luca says. Her eyes are glazed, her pupils blown wide. She wriggles against Juliette.
“Bedroom?” Juliette asks.
Luca nods frantically. Her leg drops from Juliette’s waist, and she mourns the loss. But Juliette will have it wrapped around her again soon anyway. Luca twines their fingers and leads Juliette through the suite to the bedroom.
“Lay down and spread out,” Juliette orders, and Luca takes a shaky breath, flopping onto her bed. Juliette joins her, straddling Luca’s waist. Luca leans up onto the pillows and Juliette indulges in kissing her. Softer now, less frantic. They have time to relax.
Luca tries to intensify the kiss, hooking her arm around Juliette’s neck to drag her down and closer, but Juliette catches her wrist and squeezes hard.
Luca winces out of the kiss and Juliette loosens her grip, realizing it was too much.
“I only have one rule,” she whispers, and Luca blinks, staring up at her with tender trust. “If you need to stop, if you’re uncomfortable for any reason or you’re done, you say Margaret Court. ”
Luca’s eyes widen, and then she snorts. “Australian tennis champion and Christian minister Margaret Court?”
Juliette bites the inside of her lip to keep from laughing. “Yeah,” she says, “because you better not be moaning her name while we’re together.”
Luca smiles, and Juliette can’t resist swooping down to kiss Luca’s dimple. “Got it,” Luca says, laughing against Juliette’s cheek. “Safeword is Margaret Court. And that goes for you too.”
Juliette nods and then shifts back, stroking her fingers over Luca’s clothed stomach before she splays her hand and pushes the fabric away.
The material catches on the underside of Luca’s breasts and Juliette keeps it there, held taut.
Luca’s nipples press against the fabric, already tight and hard.
“Come on, Jules,” Luca whispers, her eyes heavy and hooded as she stares at Juliette.
“So impatient,” Juliette teases.
Luca’s chest heaves, and Juliette gives in and slips her other hand beneath Luca’s white T-shirt, cupping her right breast and sweeping her thumb in broad strokes across her nipple.
Luca stops breathing, and her mouth falls open as her head tilts back. Juliette leans down and mouths kisses onto Luca’s trembling stomach. “Lift your hips,” she says, slipping her fingers beneath the band of her sweatpants.
Luca thrusts up, back arching, and Juliette peels Luca’s sweatpants off.
And when Juliette looks down, she gasps.
Luca Kacic is naked from the waist down and dripping .