Chapter Forty-Five Juliette
FORTY-FIVE JULIETTE
Juliette kneels back on the bed, memorizing the line of Luca’s back, the sharp edge of her bony shoulders, the curve of her waist to the flare of her hips.
Juliette pushes the edge of her T-shirt up and sees those delicious back dimples.
She is so undeniably and wildly sexy that she drives Juliette feral.
“God, you’re perfect,” Juliette murmurs as Luca turns to face her.
The sun slants over her face at the perfect angle as she looks up at Juliette. Her left eye has more flecks of green, while her right one is more gilded gold. Juliette wonders how she never noticed before.
Luca’s mouth parts, and her lashes flutter as Juliette touches her jaw. She skims her fingers down the column of her throat as Luca’s gaze softens with a reverent and gentle trust.
Juliette’s throat threatens to close, and she blinks rapidly as Luca sinks into the touch, a shudder shaking Luca’s shoulders. “Can I undress you?” Juliette asks.
“I don’t know,” Luca says, a cheeky smile tugging at her mouth. “Can you?”
Juliette walked right into that one. She drops her hand from Luca’s throat and shakes her head. “My dearest Lux, my most majestic partner and glorious girlfriend, may I undress you?” Juliette asks, laying the teasing on extra thick, if only to get Luca to roll her eyes again.
Luca grins, her eyes crinkling. “I want nothing more.”
Juliette touches Luca’s shoulder. “Up on the pillows then.”
Luca scrambles to the middle of the bed.
Juliette crawls onto the bed from the bottom, and Luca laces her hands behind her head.
She cups Luca’s hips, brushing her thumbs beneath the cut of them before dipping beneath the waistband of her sweatpants.
“Lift your hips, babe,” Juliette murmurs.
The term of endearment slips out easily, and she loves how it makes Luca’s eyes darken.
Her hips arch up, languidly. Juliette shimmies the sweatpants down her hips and, with a sharp tug, pulls them down to her knees. She slowly works the pants down over her calves and ankles until they finally fall free.
Juliette tosses them to the wayside, forgotten and unneeded.
She lavishes soft, barely there kisses on Luca’s bony ankle, up to her calf, the inside of her knee again, the tender inside of her thigh.
Luca’s breath hitches, but Juliette doesn’t kiss her where she wants.
Instead, Juliette moves to the opposite thigh, kissing a trail down her right leg.
When she finally looks up at Luca, her fists are clenched into the comforter, her eyes dark and mouth ajar.
Juliette wants to lurch up and kiss her, but she restrains herself.
“I told you I wanted to”—she pauses, spider walking her fingers from Luca’s knee to her thigh—“know”—her thumb dips down to brush against her inner thigh—“every”—she sweeps her fingertips across the laced edge of her panties—“inch”—she slides her fingers beneath the band of them— “of you”—she finishes, peeling the panties from Luca’s hips slowly.
Even though Juliette has seen every inch of Luca’s body before, in the luminous sunlight, the pale skin the sun never touches is new and exciting.
Luca’s breath catches, and Juliette lowers her lips to kiss both of Luca’s hips as she gently tugs her underwear down and off.
Luca lowers her hips and lets out a breathy laugh. “You’re going to break me,” she mutters, eyes squeezing shut.
“I’ll always put you back together,” Juliette promises. This time, she is not going to push Luca away. Luca’s eyes are a little unfocused around the edges. Juliette smiles and leans over her to indulge in a kiss.
Luca latches on to her immediately, fingers lacing through her hair and tugging her closer. She makes a soft whimpering sound as Juliette licks into her panting mouth. Before, when they’d been hungry and desperate, this clash hurt, but now Juliette is careful and thorough.
And when she finally pulls back, her heart is throbbing in her chest, and she’s breathless. Luca tucks her curls behind her ear and smiles. “Now who’s a little flushed?” she teases.
Juliette shrugs. “Let me tell you a secret,” she murmurs, letting her eyes drift over Luca’s mouth. She brushes her fingertips over her wet lower lip. “I don’t have any problem telling you that you’re an incredible kisser and it’s hard to keep my mouth off you.”
“Is that right?” Luca asks, trying for confidence, but she’s out of breath.
Juliette nods, pecking her mouth again. “I wanted to kiss you about a thousand different times today.”
Luca draws Juliette down for another tender kiss. “Maybe you should’ve,” Luca says when she releases Juliette again. “I wouldn’t have complained.”
Juliette chuckles. She shifts back, sliding Luca’s T-shirt up. “Put your hands up,” Juliette says, “let me admire you.”
Luca rips her shirt off and keeps her arms above her head, one hand holding her wrist and showing off the stark black ink of Juliette’s name. Fiery red and gold streaks of sun play across Luca’s skin. Her thighs are moon-blanched, pale like she normally is, similar to her stomach and chest.
Juliette’s hands flutter uselessly, unsure of where to touch first. Luca lets one arm rest on the top of her head, soulmark still revealed, but her other hand trails down her neck, languid and light. Then, she cups her breast and plucks at her nipple, making her lashes flutter.
Juliette’s mouth waters as Luca’s legs tip open, displaying her flushed center. Her hands shake. She is consumed with the desperate need to touch. “I want to make love to you,” she says suddenly, her heart hammering.
Luca blinks. “Oh.”
“This isn’t just sex,” Juliette says. She’s never been more sure of anything in her life. “I want to be able to see your face,” Juliette adds.
Luca scrambles to sit up and drags Juliette into an all-consuming and desperate and sloppy kiss. “Need you, Jules,” Luca pants against her mouth.
“Get comfortable,” Juliette says. Luca works a pillow underneath her back, so her hips are tilted up at an angle.
Juliette pushes Luca’s knees wider so she can see all of her.
She gently slides one finger into Luca’s slick folds.
She takes her time before adding a second, and it isn’t until Luca is squirming that she uses her other hand to rub against her clit.
Luca’s body pulls taut like a bowstring, and a guttural groan is punched out of her. The sound ripples through Juliette, and the heat boils in her.
“Come on,” Luca whines, bucking her hips.
Juliette steadies her with a hand on her hip. She pulls out her fingers, much to Luca’s displeasure. “What’s the rush?” she asks as she uses her other hand to press a finger into herself.
“I want to feel you,” Luca gasps out. “Please, don’t make me wait.”
Juliette drops her head to pepper kisses on the inside of Luca’s thigh. “Let me take care of you,” Juliette murmurs.
“Jules,” Luca whines.
“I love you,” she whispers, unable to stop herself.
“I’d love you more if we fucked,” Luca gasps out, her hips flinching.
Juliette clicks her tongue and decides they’re both sufficiently wet. She moves, her whole body trembling as she straddles Luca’s thighs and slides until their bodies meet. Luca’s hips roll up and their clits nudge together.
Juliette pauses, panting and afraid to move and get away from the hot wetness of Luca. She wonders, delirious and trembling, if it’s possible to melt during sex. The sweet, delicious heat of Luca’s pussy meeting hers might make her.
Juliette reaches for Luca’s hand, twining their fingers together, and their soulmarks bump. It’s a searing blaze of gorgeous energy, and Juliette swears she can see the fabric of the universe twisting together, aligning in a spectacular wash of color that saturates them both.
Luca grinds her hips up, and pleasure spikes through Juliette. She drops to her elbows to kiss Luca. She’s sure if they aren’t touching, skin-to-skin, from forehead to toes, she’ll combust into thousands of sparks, and they’ll start a wildfire in the middle of New York City.
“Jules,” Luca breathes against her mouth as they barely even kiss. “Please.”
Juliette’s wrist lifts off Luca, and clarity rips through her.
Despite how much she wants to drag this out, she’s desperate.
She thrusts her hips into Luca and Luca meets her, the slick heat grinding together making it hard to keep an even pace.
Luca clings to her, fingernails raking down her shoulders and threading in her hair.
The simmer of her orgasm winks on the horizon.
Juliette blinks the sweat out of her eyes so she can see Luca properly.
Cotton fills her throat, emotion washing over her in powerful waves, consuming her in love that burns through all the hatred and jealousy she’s ever harbored.
How could she ever consider a negative feeling toward Luca when all she knows now is ultimate, unequivocal, and ardent love?
Luca is splayed out below her, vulnerable and trusting, panting and sobbing, falling to pieces, and hanging on to Juliette as she does.
“Jules,” Luca whispers, and then Juliette feels Luca’s fingers press against her, curling inside of her and pumping in and out. Flames of pleasure consume her and leave nothing but glorious ash behind. “Come for me,” she whispers.
Juliette does, shuddering and trembling and she rocks her hips down. Luca shudders, and Juliette can feel her throbbing through her own orgasm, the pulsations a feedback loop that seems to elongate Juliette’s orgasm.
“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Juliette says, over and over again because it’s all her body is capable of knowing.
Love is all she is. Love is all she can be.
It’s so intense that Juliette has no idea how long it takes her to come back to reality.
She has collapsed on top of Luca, exhausted and burning hot like she’s run a marathon with a fever. She turns her head, forehead pressed into the juncture of Luca’s neck and shoulder. A hand runs over her curls, over and over again.
“Hi,” Juliette breathes against Luca’s skin, delighting in the way she shivers and turns her head, chin knocking against Juliette’s head.
“Hi,” Luca breathes back.
Juliette twists onto her back. “Wow,” she says, staring up at the ceiling. Light flutters across the room, thoroughly golden as the hour burns its brightest for a few moments more.
“Yeah,” Luca whispers back.
Juliette forces herself up onto one elbow and surveys Luca.
She is a glorious and gorgeous mess. A blush spreads from the top of her cheekbones down to her chest and nipples. She is breathing heavily, and her legs are shaking. Sweat dews across her skin, soaking into the sheets beneath her. Her lashes flutter as she struggles to keep them open.
A flush of pride washes over Juliette. Luca turns her head slightly and catches sight of Juliette’s face. She gives her a crooked half-smile, dimple popping out as a small shadow in the glaze of sunlight.
Juliette drops her head to Luca’s shoulder, kissing her overheated skin. She feels like a lunatic, loving the taste of Luca against her lips. She is overcome by the simple fact that this woman is hers, and she is Luca’s.
“We need to clean up,” Juliette whispers, knowing her thighs are sticky. She would much rather stay in this moment forever.
“I hope you don’t expect me to,” Luca says with a raise of her brow. She gestures to herself, lax and boneless. “I don’t know if I’ll ever walk again.”
“That good?” Juliette asks, half-teasing.
Luca doesn’t shy away from it and nods. “The best.”
Juliette kisses her before she heaves herself into a sitting position and swings her legs over the side of the bed.
She hooks her backpack strap around her ankle and drags it closer.
She digs her wipes out of the side pocket and wipes herself clean.
Then she takes care with several more wipes to clean Luca.
“Come here,” Luca says as Juliette tosses the wipes in the garbage and smacks the air conditioner to get it rattling to life again.
Juliette crawls back onto the bed and collapses on her stomach. Wordlessly, they weave together, legs twining and foreheads touching, a pleasant warmth blooming wherever their skin touches. Luca’s eyes close and Juliette presses kisses to her lids.
“I love you,” Luca whispers, her voice hoarse and raspy.
Juliette bites her lip as once more, emotion surges to the surface. She closes her eyes against the prickling onslaught of tears.
The warm, familiar brush of Luca’s fingers against her cheek makes her eyes open.
She stares at her, eyes wide and full of unabashed and unashamed love.
Juliette shivers, but Luca presses in closer, arms wrapping around Juliette and drawing her even closer.
In the brilliance of the sunlight, there are no secrets, no hidden emotions, no unseen vulnerability.
And as Juliette breathes through the overwhelming surge of emotions too big for her body, she relaxes into the safety of Luca’s arms.