Chapter 15 William
William
The sun rose over the Tasman Sea slowly, gently, a soft ball of light just creeping over the horizon.
But when she got there, she sent her light streaking across the waves, through the window in the little cottage by the lighthouse, hitting William full in the face.
He’d forgotten to close the block out blinds the night before and boy, was he paying for it now.
He rubbed his hand over his face and opened his eyes, squinting in the flooding light.
He heard Juniper sigh next to him and turned to look at her.
She shifted in her sleep, trying to evade the creep of sunshine.
He got up and padded to the blinds, quietly lowering one just enough to stop the rays from hitting the bed.
It didn’t shut out all the light, but it would be enough that she could keep sleeping.
His heart squeezed painfully in his chest as he looked at her.
Sleeping Beauty. Such a cliché. But she was just so stunningly beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her.
And here she was, in his bed. Finally. She was a revelation; a generous lover who gave as good as she got.
But she was also fun; the thing with the chocolate sauce making them both laugh and feel turned on at the same time.
He felt his body stirring at the memories and backed away from the bed.
He could let her sleep a little longer, feeling pretty confident that when she did wake up, there was more fun to be had.
He was just finishing stacking the previous night’s dinner dishes in the dishwasher when he heard movement from the bedroom, then Juniper calling out, “I’m just going to have a shower.”
“Okay. There are towels in the cupboard in the hallway near the bedroom door.”
“I’ve got chocolate sauce in my hair,” she said, coming out of the bedroom, holding a towel and a bag of toiletries.
“Not even sorry,” he replied, grinning at her.
“Me either.”
He watched her as she turned back into the hallway, her exceptionally fine ass as she walked away a treat for his eyes.
She came out twenty minutes later in a terry toweling robe that finished at the knees and her hair wrapped up in a purple hair towel. “I’m making breakfast and then I’m going home to give Nana a break.”
“Sounds good. Can I do anything?”
“You can make the coffee.”
“Already done.” He followed her into the little kitchenette and pointed to the steaming mug of coffee on the bench.
“Oh, amazing.” She picked it up and took a sip, her eyes closing blissfully.
He grabbed his mug and moved to the entrance to the kitchenette to watch her.
She moved about with ease, pulling ingredients out of his fridge he hadn’t even noticed her put there the night before—eggs, mushrooms, shallots, cheese, capsicum, and herbs.
Then she stopped, frowning, riffling through the shopping bag she’d brought.
She sighed with frustration. “Have you got an egg whisk?”
“Ah, no, probably not. I’ve only got the basics.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “An egg whisk is basic.”
“Well, you know, I’ve just set it up minimally for now. The caretaker will have a budget to set it up how they want when the time comes.”
His words dropped like a bomb in the little kitchen, a sudden and harsh reminder that his staying there was temporary.
It had grabbed him by the throat the night before, when he’d returned from Melbourne.
The gut-wrenching restlessness had returned anew, leaving him feeling confused and empty.
Then she had turned up, her smile was soft but her green eyes were hot for him.
So, he’d let it go for the moment, just buried himself in her and let it go.
She responded by ignoring his statement, just reaching into the top drawer and grabbing a fork. “This’ll do.”
He wanted to say something, to acknowledge how he was feeling, how she might be feeling, but he had no idea what to say so he left it.
“You can make some toast, if you like.” She glanced up at him, a strained smile on her face.
“Sure.”
He dropped the bread into the toaster. She diced the vegetables and set them aside, dropped a dab of butter in a frying pan she’d brought with her, added the egg, sipped her coffee, and stirred the egg in the pan. The tension grew until he could almost feel it pressing against him.
“Look—”
She turned to him abruptly, urgency in her eyes. “Let’s not talk about it. Let’s not think about it. Let’s just enjoy it for what is, right now, in this moment. I don’t want to think about tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He reached out, wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her to him. With his other hand he tilted her chin up, pressing a soft, gentle kiss on her lips. The toast popped, startling them both, breaking the moment. She laughed. It sounded almost natural.
They ate scrambled eggs on toast out on the little paved area in front of the sliding doors, keeping it light.
“You’ll have to bring Billy up.”
“Definitely. He’d love the lighthouse.”
He thought about it for a little while. “I could have a barbecue.”
“You don’t own a barbecue,” she teased.
“I’ll get one. Do you think Mikky and Rafe would come?”
“Yeah, definitely. John and Nora, too, if you like. Which of course means Callum. Then it would be weird not to invite Leah. After that, you may as well invite the whole town.”
He laughed. “I’ll start by ordering the barbecue.”
“Good plan.”
They finished breakfast and made quick work of cleaning the kitchen.
“I’d better get dressed.” Juniper moved out of the kitchen, heading towards the hallway.
William was right behind her though, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her back against him, pressing hot kisses down the side of her neck.
“In a minute.” He spun her around, delighting in the fire that was already flaring in her eyes.
He put his hands on her hips, pulling her hard against him, claiming her lips in a searing kiss.
He walked her backwards until she was up against the lounge room wall, satisfied by her gasp of shock.
She was returning his kiss with fervor, her tongue tangling with his, her fingers buried in his hair. “I’m taking option two.”
“Mm, excellent.” She reached up and pulled the towel from her hair, dropping it to the floor, wrapping her arms tight around his neck.
He let the kiss spin out, hot and wet. He just needed to get his hands on her.
Without breaking the kiss, he reached for the tie of her robe, untying it and pushing it open.
He slid his hands up over her breasts, her nipples pebbling against his palms, her whimper of pleasure turning him on even more.
He hungered for her and he wanted to know she felt the same.
He wanted her drenched. He slid one hand down over her waist, down her hip, continuing down her thigh.
He then pulled her leg up, hooking it over his hip, grinding his erection against her center.
His shorts were the only thing that stopped him from entering her as she groaned with pleasure, pushing herself against him.
He broke off the kiss, grazing his teeth along her jawline and down her neck.
Then, in one smooth movement, he sank to his knees, shifting her leg so that it was draped over his shoulder.
She was right there, open for him. He pressed hot, hungry kisses along the inside of her thigh, to her core.
“Oh, god,” she whispered as he ran his tongue over her.
Her scent surrounded him. He felt drunk on the taste of her as he flicked his tongue against her clitoris.
She cried out, moving herself against his mouth and he could feel the tension building in her.
“Stop,” she said huskily. He didn’t want to, he wanted to push her until she fell over the edge and broke into a thousand pieces.
“William, stop.” He pulled back and looked up at her, her eyes dark emerald green and drowsy as they met his.
God, she was so beautiful it almost made him want to cry.
She pulled on his shoulder, willing him to his feet.
“Inside me,” she said urgently, tearing at his shirt as he stood up, forcing it over his head.
He hurriedly pushed his shorts down and sliding his hands down to her buttocks.
He lifted her, pressing her against the wall as her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck.
He thrust into her, almost coming undone immediately.
She was so hot and wet. He thrust again and she cried out, “Harder.” He thrust harder, again.
Again. Again. One more long, hard thrust and she went over, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she screamed.
Her body tightening around him, sent him over with her and he let himself go, pumping into her until he came.
Her head fell forward on his shoulder as she let out a sobbing breath and he could feel her heart hammering against his.
She shivered with pleasure as the last convulsions of her orgasm moved through her.
He held her there for a long time, trying to get his breath back and give his heart rate a chance to steady. “Okay, I’m quite a fan of option two.”
He chuckled. “Me too.”