Chapter 13 Julian
JULIAN
It’s the curve of Savannah’s shoulder blade. Why can’t I look away? Maybe because it’s a piece of her body that is perfection. It’s also the safest option because her magnetic eyes and angelic face are doing something to me. Unwrapping me. Making me a man who has been coming unhinged lately.
Lying on my side with my head propped against my bent arm, she lifts one eyelid from where she’s on her belly with a pillow bunched under her head and a sheet hanging low on her back. A bemused smile ghosts her lips.
“Something you care to share with the class?”
I crack a grin. “Nah. I’m just impressed with your stamina.”
She flips like a pancake to her back. “Uhm, that should be my line. I’m the one who’s younger with more energy.”
My fingers feather up her arm. “Let’s not judge based on a number.”
“Fine.”
I’ve taken this woman on her couch and in her bed, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m drowning in her. I learned how to swim long ago, but for some reason now, I can no longer swim to safety.
The way she smiles when she’s riding the wave of endorphins is new to me. It’s a good look on her.
“I should send my dress to the dry cleaner and make you pick it up,” she quips.
“Nah, that’s what I have money for. I’ll just buy you a new one.”
She pinches me, and I yelp to play along. “Are you saying I could have just used the company credit card and bought you new suits?”
“What fun would that be?” I let my eyes drift away from her and really explore her bedroom. It’s simple, except for a wall with a bunch of photos in various frames.
“Family?” I tip my head in their direction.
She doesn’t even need to follow my sight. “Yep. A few friends as well.”
Sure, I see people with family photos on their phones or when I go to somebody’s house. In this situation? It hits a little differently. Maybe because Savannah’s always distinct in a way that is only reserved for talking about her family. She has a unique aura. It’s a foreign concept for me.
I notice a framed piece of paper with lines from a crayon. “What in the world is that?”
It causes her to glance over her shoulder, and she smiles. “From my goddaughter.”
“It’s literally two lines that make zero sense. How does that end up in a frame?”
She swats me and laughs. “She’s just turned two. It was her first time holding crayons, and she drew a picture for me. I shall cherish it forever.”
“Yeah, no, not happening. I don’t think my parents even kept my prize-winning sea drawing I did when I was in first grade, let alone crayon lines. If I ever have a kid, I’m setting some rules.”
I’m not sure why any of that left my mouth. Both topics I do not wish to discuss.
“You want kids one day?” To be fair, I walked into that question.
I shrug. “Probably not. I would assume you want ten or something. Have to help on the farm in Purplehope.”
She snickers playfully. “First off, no way I’d have ten. I don’t live on a farm, and it’s Everhope, as you very well know. But no kids in my future anytime soon. I’m young still.”
“You are.”
“Anyhow, I’m going to enjoy my family not meddling right now. In ten years, if I live alone with a cat, then they’ll be sending men my way, I’m sure. Nobody loves meddling family,” she says lightheartedly, but my ears didn’t hear the tone.
Instead, the words strike me. “Absolutely fucking not,” I agree, but out loud and with grit in my tone. When I realize I let it slip, I sigh as I move and rest my head on the pillow next to her.
She looks at me, and her lips roll in, but she doesn’t say anything.
Her face is pained, but it’s for me because she senses that there has been a shift in my mind.
But it’s Savannah and she won’t pry. We may constantly snark and bicker with one another, yet she holds respect for topics that I wish to be untouched.
Maybe that’s the reason I find her more compelling. “I don’t talk to my dad at all. Not a single word. It’s been that way for years.” And it seems I’m letting her in.
She nods gingerly. “I’ve heard.”
“I was close with my grandmother, and when she passed when I was in college, it was in her will that I would become head of her company, but only once I graduated. My dad was interim CEO and made some moves to ensure I never got the company.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It gets better.” I grin bitterly to myself.
She cringes. “I don’t feel like it does.”
“Ding, ding. Points for Savannah. My dad was having an affair… with my sister’s sorority roommate.
To add a cherry on top of that, my mother is the one who discovered the photos of them together.
She got a nice divorce settlement and travels the world sending an email to check in only twice a year at best.”
“Ouch.”
“In the end, it’s a win for me. I have more interest in what I’m doing now, with zero strings to my family in terms of my company.”
She seems slightly disheartened to hear that. “I’m going to be honest whether you want me to be or not, but you’re probably holding on to a lot of anger.”
“Maybe.”
Savannah hums a sound. “I’m giving you a free pass and we can move on from a topic that I don’t think you would even pay a therapist for. But thank you for sharing. It connects a few dots.”
This woman. She’s pure. That’s quite possibly why I’ve been hard on her in the office. I’m not that blind. She’s everything that scares me. Savannah is everything in one package. Looks, smarts, humor, and now proven to drive me wild in bed.
It spells disaster because she deserves a man who sends her roses. Yet, she doesn’t give a hint that she’s dwelling on what this is. It’s simply sex. It has to be.
But right now, the world only exists outside, and I’m going to steal every second of this moment.
Her long finger taps my biceps. “I never actually got to the root of why you named your company Haven Crossroads. Haven, okay, makes sense. But why Crossroads?”
The corners of my mouth twist, and I consider whether to share or keep her guessing. “Maybe one day you’ll find out.”
She mocks a pout, and my response is to sneak my hand under the sheet and quickly find my destination; her soft thigh, with skin that feels warmer the higher I go.
She touches my face, her thumb swiping across my lips. I capture her thumb for a quick nip. “Julian,” she purrs. “What are you doing?”
I place kisses along her jawline, leading me to dive into her neck with an urge to bite her skin, mark her, and she gets a small nibble. She murmurs as she tilts her head back, which causes her neck to be on further display.
“I’m taking you because you’re naked and next to me,” I whisper against her skin.
“And how do you plan on doing that this time?” Her hand snakes around her body to touch my hard cock.
My nails claw into her skin on her hip. “Take you from behind with your ass up and your face against the mattress. There’s less chance of your mouth getting feisty on me.”
She lets out a derisive laugh. “You bring out the worst in me.”
I give a low chuckle. “I beg to differ. I’ve very much seen the best of you. Not a scrap of clothing and my cock deep inside your pussy.”
“I really wish that didn’t turn me on, you seem to have victory in bed.”
I swirl my finger around her soaking clit. “Glad we acknowledge that,” I say hoarsely.
“Such an arrogant ass.” There’s too much truth in her tone.
My devilish laugh should warn her, and I don’t respond to her comment. Instead, I lead us straight into position so I can slip inside her.
I should have left her after what transpired on the couch. But I’m a self-seeking winner, so every warning I give her, it’s not merely words, it’s the truth.
Her hips buck, when I thrust into her with blunt force, and it causes her to gasp. It’s my full intention to take over her body. I want control. And watching her claw the sheets feels like success.
But falling asleep after? That’s my failure.
The sun is rising. I can tell by the tint of light that appears in the crack in the curtains. I slowly sit up and rub my eyes before driving my sight to Savannah next to me, lying peacefully.
Did I get what I wanted last night? Now that I’ve had my fix, can I return to friction in the office? Maybe we’ve ruined that. She’s unpredictable at work, I’m not chasing, but my actions always seem to continue the game we play.
She begins to stir, and I debate whether I should sneak out now, or at least give her a good-morning. A small part of me contemplates ordering us breakfast, but that would entail staying longer. It could get messy that way.
I make my decision and search for my boxer briefs on the floor.
Sliding out of bed, I swoop them up and dress in a hurry.
The rest of my clothes are scattered across her living room.
I’m about to quietly tread to the bedroom door with what I have on, but I indulge myself with another glance at Savannah, naked in bed with a sheet draped slightly above the curve of her full breasts, and her hair is splayed across her pillow.
The corner of my mouth snags up because it’s impossible not to smile at her gentle beauty.
I lean down and rest my hands on the mattress to reach her forehead where I plant the faintest of kisses.
I’m not a coward. I’m ensuring our dynamic remains attainable.
Which is why I walk away, leaving her be.