19. Pink Isn’t Everyone’s Color
”IT SMELLS REALLY good in here.” Jules pulls in another deep breath as we step into my house. ”Where is that coming from?”
I close the door behind us and go to work taking off her coat—my coat. ”I asked Vera to make us dinner, so you could eat as soon as we got home.” I asked Vera to do a few other things while we were gone too, but she”ll discover that soon enough.
Julieanne’s dark eyes stay on my face as I unzip her from the bulky parka. ”Will I ever be officially introduced to Vera?”
I know I’m an ass for not introducing them when we first got here, but I didn”t want anyone else trying to monopolize Julieanne’s time when she needed to sleep. I”m not sure I want anyone else monopolizing her time when she”s awake either. Especially now that we wasted hours at headquarters. But it had to be done. As much as I didn”t want to take her there, it was the easiest and fastest way to get what my team needs to ensure we’re able to hunt down whoever was stupid enough to come after her.
”I”ll introduce you to Vera tomorrow.” Maybe. Unless I can come up with a way around it.
I peel away the coat and hang it in the closet before turning and going into the open kitchen. I keep my hands at my sides, trying to relax even though all I want to do is grab her. Touch her. Tell her what a good fucking job she did tonight. But once I put my hands on her, I won”t be able to stop, and she needs to eat and then she needs to sleep. It’s late and Jules isn’t used to living the way I do, and I”ll be damned if I ask her to.
I pull out one of the backed stools at the bar for her, tipping my head at it as I pass. ”Sit.” I know I”m being short. Abrasive. That”s how it has to be. If I give myself an inch with her, I’ll take a mile, and she won”t eat or sleep until I”ve had my fill.
If that’s even possible.
I pull the cast iron pot from the oven and lift the lid. The scent Julieanne appreciated as we walked in becomes heavier as steam rises from the thick beef stew inside.
Julieanne groans, the sound shooting straight to my dick. ”That smells divine.”
I grunt in acknowledgment and scoop a sizable portion into a shallow bowl before sliding it in front of her and dropping in a spoon. Rolling back the foil covering the pan of fresh-baked rolls, I dig a couple out, sliding them onto a plate before setting them next to the stew Jules is already digging into. Her lips purse as she blows across the steaming spoonful and I try to stealthily adjust myself. It wasn”t so long ago those lips were wrapped around me in the best blow job of my life, and I’m having a hard time keeping the image of her on her knees out of my mind.
I”m too fucking old to be acting like this. Too fucking old to be hard watching a woman eat. But, as with everything else, Julieanne has proven I”m not what I should be.
I dish up some stew of my own, but stay where I am, standing across the island from her, putting myself as far away from temptation as I can make myself get. We eat in silence for a few minutes before Julieanne finally starts in with her questions.
”Do you think they’ll figure out who it was?”
”They”ll find out who it was.” If for no other reason than they know I”ll lose my shit if they don”t. Before we left, I made it clear to Elias this is their top priority. Luckily, he’s smart enough not to question me, and simply agreed to shift the team’s focus.
We always have a number of ops in progress at any given time. Some only involve Elias’s team and some involve only Amos’s team. The bulk of them, though, involve both, and I have a feeling Julieanne’s problem will fall under that category.
”What will happen when you figure out who”s behind it?” Julieanne”s poking at her food now, her attention entirely on me.
And it has me wanting to lie. Wanting to soften the truth of what I”m going to do to the men who were stupid enough to go after her.
I”ve hidden behind what I am for years. Used it as a shield because I knew it would keep anyone and everyone where I wanted them. But I don”t want Julieanne to be afraid of me. In spite of what I once claimed, I don”t want her to see me as a monster.
Even if that”s what I am.
”I”m not sure.” The lie is easy to tell, and she accepts it, nodding before turning back to her dinner.
She”s quiet the rest of the meal, and I”m not sure if that”s good or bad. Julieanne is rarely quiet, and never misses an opportunity to question me, so I”m going to choose to believe she’s simply exhausted. That”s why, as soon as her food is gone, I take her plate and send her to bed. Again, she agrees easily, another indication she”s more tired than she lets on. I load the dishwasher and set it to run before packing away the leftovers and handwashing the heavy pot. I know Vera”s job is to keep shit clean, but there”s no reason to make that harder on her than it has to be.
Once everything is in order, I turn off the lights, intending to go to my office, but my feet move into the bedroom all on their own. The bathroom door is open, so that”s where I go, stopping short in the doorway at the sight in front of me.
Julieanne stands at the sink, wrapped in the fluffy robe Vera hung inside. Her new toothbrush is shoved between her lips, and her damp hair hangs around her shoulders. She turns my way, giving me a foamy smile before spitting and rinsing the suds down the drain. ”Thank you for getting me a toothbrush.” She sets her brush on the tray that matches the one beside the sink I typically use.
”I assumed you wouldn”t want to wait for yours to get here.” It”s a lie. The need to take care of Julieanne is just as strong as the need to protect her. The need to be close to her. The need to have her in my life and in my bed.
And using that damn second sink.
She turns to face me, pulling the plush robe tighter. ”I assumed this was for me too.” One hand smooths down the front. ”I didn”t think pink was your color.”
It”s not quite as bright as the one she wore at home, but Vera managed to get close. I’ll have to give her a bonus.
Julieanne pinches her lower lip between her teeth. ”I didn”t see any pajamas though, so...”
I want to tell her I”d prefer she slept naked, but again, I”m trying to give her time to acclimate. To recover from the past few days. But if she wears anything to bed, it”ll fucking belong to me. ”Take whatever you need from my closet.”
Julieanne nods. ”Are you coming to bed?”
I shake my head. ”Not yet.”
I expect her to question me, the way she usually does, but Julieanne just nods. ”Okay.”
I force my feet away, even though everything in me wants to grab her. Peel away that fucking robe so I can sink into her warm, willing body. Claim every inch of her as mine. Make her come so many times she won”t ever consider trying to leave.
Tomorrow. I just have to make it until tomorrow. Until she”s had time to sleep. The nap she had this afternoon wasn”t nearly enough, and I want her to have enough. Of everything.
”Goodnight, Jules.” I”m already turning away when I hear her soft voice behind me.
”Goodnight, Vincent.”
I close the door behind me, knowing I need an extra barrier between us. I”m down the hall and in my office, closing that door too, before I allow myself another breath.
The need for her is just as strong though, so I lock the door. Then I go to my desk and pull out a tumbler and the whiskey.
I”m two glasses in when Elias calls, letting me know they think they might have some connections, but need to do a little more digging before they know for sure. On one hand, it”s a relief, but on the other it means I”ll likely have to leave Julieanne soon. I”ll be damned if anyone other than me gets to deal with the prick who ordered that team to go after her.
I disconnect the call and down the rest of my third glass, savoring the burn as it slides down my throat.
Checking the clock, I stand. The whiskey’s taken the edge off and it”s been an hour since I left Julieanne. Plenty of time for her to be sound asleep.
I grab my phone, bringing it with me just in case more information comes through, and switch off the light before going to my bedroom. The lights are off, but the curtains are open, bathing the room in the soft glow of moonlight reflecting off the snow outside. I don”t usually sleep with the windows uncovered since sleep’s difficult enough for me as it is, but with the whiskey coursing through my veins, it”s easy to admit I can”t deny Julieanne anything.
That”s the real reason I took her to GHOST headquarters. She”s wanted it for so long, and I wanted to give it to her. I wasn”t sure how it would go, but she made me so fucking proud in there. It was part of the reason I struggled not to touch her when we got home. I wanted to show my appreciation. Reward her for being so goddamned perfect in every way.
I silently move into the bathroom, showering quickly before pulling on a pair of boxer briefs and sliding under the covers. I start out on my back, but need to look at her, so I roll to my side, still keeping a few inches of bed space between us. I”m a little drunk, but not that drunk. Even with the haze of whiskey clouding my brain, I know touching her now would only lead to trying to wake her up.
So I close my eyes and breathe deep, hoping the scent of her skin and the sound of her breathing will be enough. It has to be.
Before I can fully process what”s happening, Julieanne starts wiggling my way, closing the gap between us until the soft curve of her ass is pressed against me.
The soft curve of her bare ass.
”You”re warm.” Her sleepy voice carries a hint of a smile as she presses closer, rubbing against my rapidly stiffening cock.
”You’d be warmer if you weren’t fucking naked.” I grit my teeth at the feel of her against me.
”I”m not naked.” She grabs the hem of the T-shirt that”s ridden up around her waist. ”I put on one of your T-shirts.”
One leg slides over mine, bringing her knee up toward the ceiling. ”You’re just as naked as I am.”
”Am I?” I can”t stop myself from grinding against her, dragging the line of my cock up the split of her ass. ”Because it seems like my dick is covered while your cunt is bare.” I grip her hip as I rock against her again. ”Why is that, Angel Face?”
”I didn”t want anything to get in your way.” Her back barely arches, adding friction to the next thrust of my hips. ”But then you took forever to get here, and I considered just taking matters into my own hands.”
A possessive growl forms in my throat. ”You better fucking not.” The hand on her hip slides between her thighs, finding her just as wet and hot as I knew I would. ”I”m the one who makes you come from now on, Jules. Only me.” The nub of her clit is already hard and I stroke beside it with a teasing touch.
”I thought you were mad at me.” Her confession is soft. Almost hesitant. ”I thought maybe I did something wrong at headquarters.”
She shouldn”t have reminded me of that. Shouldn”t have put the memory of her sitting at that desk, scowling at anyone who passed by in my head.
”You were fucking perfect. Everything I wanted you to be.” I sink my middle and ring fingers into her body, grinding the heel of my palm against her clit. ”But I knew you were tired, and I knew that once I started touching you I wouldn”t stop until you were coming on my cock.”
”Then why isn”t your cock inside me already?” She arches against me again, her pussy clenching around my thrusting fingers.
”Is that what you want, Jules? You want me to fuck you?”
Her hand comes back to grip my thigh, nails digging into my skin. ”You said fucking me into tomorrow was always on the table, and it’s almost tomorrow.”
This woman. She”s fucking everything. So much more than I expected. So much more than I deserve.
And I’m going to keep her anyway. Julieanne doesn”t know it yet, but she”s never fucking leaving Alaska.
She”s never fucking leaving me.
I shove down the front of my briefs, not even bothering to take them off, then slide my cock along her slit, groaning at how wet she is. ”So fucking ready for me.” I line into place and thrust hard, impaling myself completely in one sharp move. Julieanne gasps, the inhale turning to a moan as I start to fuck her.
But the position is all wrong. I need more. I need leverage. I need to watch her ass bounce as I slam into her. So I roll, pushing her onto her stomach so I can kneel between her thighs. Gripping her hips, I lift them up and then slam into her, pushing her up the mattress and away from me.
And that won”t fucking do.
I grip her shoulder with one hand, keeping her in place as I bottom out again, the bounce of her ass cheeks against my hips making me groan. I”m drunk enough I won”t last long, so I reach under her with my free hand, slick fingers working her clit as I fuck her so hard her teeth probably rattle.
But the sounds she makes aren”t that of a woman suffering, so I don”t stop. I don”t stop as the noises she makes get louder and she starts chanting my name into the pillow under her face. I don”t stop as her hips jerk and her cunt clenches around me. I don”t even stop when I come right behind her. I keep fucking her, shoving my cum as deep into her as it will go because I never want it to come out. I want her to carry me around everywhere she goes. I want a little to slip out every time she laughs, reminding her of this moment. Of me.
But it still won”t be enough.
So I lean onto her, blanketing her back with my front until my lips are against her ear. ”Rest up, Jules, because I”m gonna need to fuck you again.”