Chapter 55
fifty-five
Before I even open my eyes, I know something is wrong. I blink, confused by my surroundings, until I realize, I must have accidentally fallen asleep in the living room.
Then I feel her—the cool brush of fingertips sifting through my hair. “Graham?”
Turning my head, I find Juliet standing beside me. Completely naked.
Instead of feeling aroused, a prickle of apprehension pulls at my shoulders. “What’s wrong?” I ask, gruff. “Are you okay?”
She smooths her hand down my spine. “I came to find you. I want you.”
My body wars with itself. My cock swells. My heart pounds. I roll to the side, facing her. “Right now?”
I don’t know much about relationships, but I know we didn’t have the greatest night. So this seems random, at best. Almost ominous.
But how can I resist her? When I love her so much I can’t breathe and she comes to me, wanting me?
Completely. Naked .
I let her guide me into a seated position and pull off my hoodie. She tosses it aside and straddles my lap. Moonlight slants over Juliet’s features, somehow more beautiful than ever. “Kiss me.”
Her breasts are closer than her lips. I brush my mouth across her dark nipples in turn. “Like this?” I murmur between her tits.
She gasps quietly, straining closer. “However you want,” she says on an exhale. “I want you to take me any way you want.”
My cock thoroughly approves. Blood rushes through my ears, drowning out the last of the warning bells in my mind. I skim my hands down her sides, relishing the restless way she shifts over me.
My erection tents my sweats, insistent. Her warm, soft flesh fills my palms. God . Has anything ever felt as good as she does? Or looked so luminous?
“You’re fucking beautiful,” I rasp, unable to think of anything else. “Have I ever told you that?”
Juliet’s golden eyes glisten as she softly trails her fingertips over my cheek. “You tell me every time.” Something moves across her expression. She clasps both hands on either side of my face. “Will you tell me again?”
The emotion beaming from each of her features makes me weak. “I’ll tell you forever.”
Her wet gaze gleams in the darkness. She whispers my name; part plea, part lament. “Graham.”
The words I’ve swallowed a dozen times rise to my throat then.
Who knows why? I don’t. I only know that they’re suddenly too big for me to contain.
“Juliet,” I murmur, locking eyes with her. “I love you.”
Her chin trembles against my palms. Tears slip over her cheeks, melting into my fingers while I hold her face. “Graham,” she cries. “Don’t.”
“I can’t stop,” I sigh. “I have tried . I’ve tried every minute since the first time I kissed you. But it’s fucking useless. So. I love you .”
With a quiet moan, she tackles me onto the sofa, banding her arms around my head and plunging her tongue into my mouth.
Her kiss says more than any words could. She pours all of her fear and longing into it; and, like always, I understand her perfectly.
Wild, Juliet nips my lips and tugs my hair. Punishing me for loving her, for making her care about me. I understand that, too.
She tears at me. Scratching, tugging, biting. I let her have her way, holding her tenderly and whispering to her whenever I can. I repeat the words again and again, meaning them more each time. When she finally runs out of steam, she presses her forehead into mine and pants quietly.
I nuzzle my nose against hers. “Shhh. It’s all right, baby. Rip into me all you want. I’m not going anywhere.”
Adoration and hesitation fight for space inside her eyes. More tears slide down her face. “I want you now,” she murmurs, hushed. “Please.”
She seems lost. I let my instincts guide me and fist her hair, pinning her in place, taking control again. “Do I still get it the way I want it?”
“Yes.” She quivers, her nipples tightening. “Anything you want.”
I guide her hips with my free hand, pulling her body into mine and pushing my sweats off. She tries to move back and sink onto me, but I tighten the fist at her nape. “No. Stay here.”
Face to face, where I can stare right into her soul. I watch her features break when I lick my thumb and reach for her center, stroking over her clit. She rocks into me, her frantic breaths gusting across my cheek.
I turn and catch her lips to give a deep, slow kiss, matching the swirl of my tongue to the whirl of my thumb. She moans into my mouth. The ragged sound sends a throbbing pulse through my dick.
“Touch me,” I order, moving to suck on the side of her neck.
Juliet uses both fists to pump my cock. Grinding restlessly, she rubs her tits against my chest while she strokes just hard enough to make me desperate. Snarling, I flip her onto her back and spread her silken thighs. With one thrust, I bury myself to the hilt. Her snug heat pulses around my member until I groan her name.
She cries out while I draw back to slam into her again. “ Graham! ”
I love my name on her lips. I love her hands clawing down my back to grip my ass and pull me in deeper. I love her body opening up to welcome me.
I love her .
I tell her again, mumbling an incoherent stream of praises into her breasts. When I brush my hand between our bodies to touch her clit again, she mewls a stream of Spanish. Her nails dig into my shoulders. I feel her body tighten around me on every plunge, bringing her closer to her release.
Lifting my head, I hold her gaze and watch her fall apart. So epically gorgeous, she makes my chest ache.
“Yes, baby,” I praise, resting my forehead against hers once more. “You’re so beautiful. I meant what I said—I’ll never stop. Forever.”
My thrusts grow sloppy as I lose control, pouring myself into her on a loud groan. Juliet holds me close while I come. She presses sweet kisses to the side of my face and lets me linger with my head on her shoulder.
“ Amado mío .”
Amado . She’s used the word before. I don’t know its meaning, but it has the soulful cadence of an endearment. Turning my nose into her neck, I inhale her jasmine warmth and shift my weight, clutching her body against mine while I roll us onto our sides.
Silence settles, so different from the first night when she blew up my entire world in one fell swoop. Now, instead of a relentless roar of uncertainty, the quiet covers us like a duvet.
Juliet massages my scalp. Every few minutes, I feel her lips brush my forehead and constrict my arms, hugging her closer. I doze for a while before Jules shimmies down to put us at eye level. She gives me one more light kiss.
“Come with me,” she whispers. “Let’s go to bed.”
We both get into my king-size. And for the first time ever, she falls asleep in my arms.
I never would have guessed that the first time might also be our last.