Chapter 11 Juniper
Juniper
Juniper smiled when she heard Billy’s chatter as he crossed the lawn, stomped up the steps and wriggled the door handle. She’d barely opened the door when his chatter was directed at her.
“Look, Mummy! William made me a turtle AND a frog!”
“Wow!” She looked down at the wood carvings he stuffed in her hands and gasped in surprise, looking up at William. “You did this?”
“Don’t you start,” he replied rolling his eyes and smiling at her somewhat sheepishly. “John made a bit of a fuss,” he said when she looked at him inquiringly.
“I’m not surprised. They’re amazing.” She ran her finger over the back of the frog then raised her eyes to his with a speculative gleam in her own.
“Anyway, are you feeling better?”
“Yes, much better, thank you. I only just got up about ten minutes ago.”
“Great, because I’ve organized dinner.” He held up a plastic shopping bag in one hand and a jaffle maker in the other.
“I thought you didn’t cook?”
“I don’t, but this particular meal is the dinner of champions. I wouldn’t have survived university without it. You gotta try it.”
“Okay.” She moved aside, waving her arm, gesturing to the kitchen. “You go right ahead. I’ll get Billy in the bath.”
As she bathed Billy, she heard all about the day’s events.
He hesitated a little before telling her he and William had a fight.
She was impressed with how William seemed to have handled it and as they had come back home, firm friends.
It seemed to her that her son had been testing William.
With bath time done and Billy playing quietly on the rug in the lounge area, Juniper moved into the kitchen.
“Hmm, interesting,” she said, skeptically. He was spooning tinned spaghetti onto buttered bread, then dabbing tomato ketchup on top.
“Don’t knock it til you try it.”
She laughed. “Fair enough. It sounds like you guys had a pretty good day.” She moved to the sink and filled a glass with water, grabbing some cold tablets on her way back behind the kitchen bench. “Billy told me he was rude to you on the beach.”
William paused midway to putting a tinned spaghetti sandwich in the jaffle maker, shooting her a look that was hard to read.
“I just wanted to say, thanks for handling it the way you did. He doesn’t often get like that, he’s normally pretty sweet tempered. He would’ve been very upset if you’d gotten angry back at him.”
To her surprise and confusion, she saw a look of relief flash in his eyes.
“No worries. He’s a great kid.” He placed three more sandwiches in the jaffle maker then closing it, leaned a hip on the bench and looked at her. “What does he mean when he talks about people’s colors?” He asked quietly.
“I’m not entirely sure, but I think he means auras.”
He frowned at her in confusion. “Auras?”
“They’re like energy fields that people give off. They emanate from our chakras.”
“You believe in that?”
“Sure, why not?”
He shrugged, clearly not really sold on the idea but then the jaffle maker sizzled, forestalling any further conversation.
A flurry of activity followed as Juniper grabbed plates, glasses and a bottle of refrigerated water and moved to the little dining table.
Billy clambered up onto his chair, eyeing the tray of toasted sandwiches that William placed in the center of the table with suspicion.
William picked up a sandwich and put it on Billy’s plate. “Careful. It’ll be a bit hot.” Then he turned to Juniper, a challenge in his eye. She tentatively reached for a sandwich and placed it on her plate.
“Mmm, this is DELICIOUS!” Billy announced.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Well, if Billy liked it, how bad could it be. She took a bite and surprised herself by finding it not too bad. It wasn’t’ great, but it wasn’t terrible. “It’s nice.”
“Liar.” William’s eyes were brimming with amusement, and she laughed.
“It hits the spot.”
“Can’t ask for more than that.”
“Exactly.”
Once they’d finished the sandwiches and Billy had eaten some yogurt, Juniper told him it was time to brush his teeth and go to bed. He tried arguing that he wasn’t tired for all of five seconds before he gave a huge yawn.
“William, can you read me my bedtime story?”
Juniper was about to interject, pretty sure William had had enough of childminding for the day, but he stopped her.
“Sure, if your Mum doesn’t mind.”
“I don’t mind if you don’t. I can squeeze in a shower.”
“Let’s go then.”
As Juniper got ready for her shower, she couldn’t help but smile at the exchange between William and Billy.
“This is my favorite book. It’s about farts. Do you like farts?”
“Of course. Who doesn’t?”
“Mum doesn’t.”
“My Mum doesn’t either. Mums usually don’t; They’re weird like that. Don’t put that there, you’ll roll on it in your sleep and hurt yourself.”
“But I want to cuddle it. No one’s ever made me a frog before.”
“Maybe just put it up here on your shelf, then you can get it first thing in the morning. How’s that?”
“Okay,” Billy replied, a mulish note in his voice.
“You gonna sit there looking cranky, or are we gonna read this book?”
“Read the book.”
“Okay then.”
After staying in her pajamas all day, feeling like she’d been run over by a truck, a shower and a change of pajamas, coupled with the cold tablets, had Juniper feeling almost well.
She took advantage of the rare luxury of being able to shower without needing to listen out for Billy, taking longer than she usually would.
When she got out, the house was surprisingly quiet.
Surely, William hadn’t left while she was in the bathroom?
She stepped quietly down the short hallway to Billy’s room and the sight that met her eyes melted her heart.
They were both asleep, with William lying awkwardly on his side, one arm under the pillow, the other around Billy.
Billy was curled against him, his palm resting flat against William’s cheek in a habit familiar to Juniper.
He loved to fall asleep touching her face.
Well, that was just the cutest sight she’d ever seen, but she had no idea what to do now; She could hardly leave him there, but she hated to wake him.
She decided to make a cup of tea and if he hadn’t come out by the time she finished it, she would wake him up.
She was just putting the dinner dishes in the dishwasher when William emerged, looking mussed and gorgeous.
“Jesus, I fell asleep.”
“I know.”
He leaned against the bench, scrubbing his hands over his face, then into his hair.
“Cuppa?”
“Yes, please.”
She turned her back to him to turn the kettle on, vibrantly aware of his gaze on her, feeling the flush of it up her spine. “So, big day, huh?”
“I wouldn’t have thought so,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t realize it had taken so much out of me. I really enjoyed it though. He’s a really great kid.”
She turned and folded her arms across her middle, smiling at him. “Thank you. It means a lot to me that you think that.”
A heated silence fell between them, spinning out as they just stood there, gazing at each other.
The kettle flicked off, but they remained where they were, immobile.
Then William pushed away from the counter and took the two short steps to get to her.
She looked up at him, her breath catching at the need in his eyes.
It mirrored her own. He lowered his head and claimed her lips.
She opened them, her tongue tangling with his.
But this time, there was no gentle exploration, it was hot lust and it shot fire straight to her belly.
He pushed his fingers into her damp hair, tilting her head to give him better access and she reveled in it, wrapping her arms around his waist, pressing against him, wanting desperately to get closer.
He ran his hands down her back, cupping her bottom, pulling her harder against him, then she gasped as he lifted her up onto the bench, stepping between her knees, breaking the kiss to press hot, wet kisses down her neck.
She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer until she had him where she wanted him, his erection pressed against her center.
“Jesus,” he whispered huskily, finding her mouth with his own again, kissing her hungrily.
Then his hands were finding the buttons on her pajama shirt, pushing it open, his palm covering her breast, his thumb rubbing across her nipple.
She moaned softly as waves of pleasure washed over her.
Desperate to feel his skin, she pushed her hands under his shirt, running her palms up his back, trailing her fingers along his spine.
But it wasn’t enough, so she grabbed the hem of his shirt and pushed it up until he raised his arms, and she could pull it off and drop it on the floor.
She curled her fingers into the hair on his chest, shivering with delight as he dropped hot, tingling kisses down her neck to her breast, then she gasped as he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked, sending a pull of pleasure to her core.
She buried her fingers in his hair and let her head fall back, while he moved his lips to her other breast. She dropped her hands to his shoulders when he lifted his head and looked at her.
With the tip of his finger, he traced a line from the base of her throat, down between her breasts, then lower, to the waistband of her pajama pants, running his finger slowly along the top. Once. Twice.
“You’re teasing me.”
A wolfish grin was his only reply as he bent his head to kiss her again, a hot, wet kiss, his tongue demanding, increasing the sweet ache between her thighs.
“William, please.”
“Please, what?” He murmured.
“Please, touch me.”
He pulled back and watched her as he slid his hand under the waistband of her pants, his clever fingers finding her center.
He moved his hand slowly, gently, watching her all the while, the molten heat in his gaze intoxicating her.
She whimpered as he rubbed against her, a low warning in the back of her mind not to be too loud; there couldn’t be a worse moment for Billy to come out.
She let her eyes drift closed as she took the pleasure he gave her, gripping his shoulders hard with her fingers, biting her lip as the hot pleasure washed over her.
The tension built as he pushed her higher.
His fingers were moving faster, more urgently, until she broke with a low moan, her body jerking against his hand, the tremors slowly subsiding as she let her head fall against his chest. She took long, deep breaths as his arms came around her, holding her close while her heart rate settled.
“We should go to bed,” she said when she finally had enough breath to speak.
“Not tonight.”
She lifted her head and looked at him in confusion. “You’re not going to stay?”
He shook his head.
“Why not?”
“Because when we make love, I’m going to make you scream and you’re not going to want to worry about waking any kids nearby.”
“Oh.” Well, that was hot. “But that’s not very fair.”
He cocked his head to one side questioningly, a smile tugging at his lips.
“One of us is happy and one of us is frustrated.”
He chuckled as he bent down to retrieve his shirt. Pulling it on he said, “I’m happy and frustrated.”
“But—”
He pressed a kiss to her lips. “It’s fine, Juniper. I’ll think of you while I’m in the shower.”
“Oh.” That was also hot.
He kissed her again. “I hope you’re feeling better.”
She eyed him quizzically. “You must know I am.”
“Glad to hear it. Good night.”
“Good night.” She watched as he moved across the small dining area and out the front door, her body still tingling from his touch. She smiled to herself as she put the tea things away, envisioning what she would do with him the next time she had him alone.