Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
DEAN
W aking up next to Juliette, I swear the sun has never shone so brightly. How long have I craved this? Wished for it? A man like me prays for nothing—but hell, I prayed for this. It’s even better than I dreamed. We’re naked. I lean down, pressing a light kiss between her neck and shoulder. The warmth of her skin, the sweet smell of her shampoo, the soft puffs of her breaths—all of it feels like a dream. I can hardly believe it’s real.
Her hair is tangled around her face. It’s messy but in a beautiful way. Or maybe it’s because I’m the one who made her look this damn messy. I barely let her get any sleep at all.
In this moment, everything feels so right—so perfect. The world feels so still—peaceful even. There’s no noise or chaos. Just me and her entangled in the sheets. I know this is all I need. Fuck, it’s all I’ve ever wanted.
I pull back slightly, only enough to take her in. She’s lying there so serene, and I feel the need to soak in every detail—to memorize every freckle, or how the sunlight catches the curve of her cheek. Right now, I feel whole—in a way I never have before. Not even when we were together the first time. Back then, I held myself back. I don’t have time for that nonsense anymore. Now, I just want to get her back. I want this morning to repeat itself over and over for the rest of my unworthy life.
Pressing my forehead to her shoulder, I let the warmth of her comfort seep into me. This is a closeness I’ve been starving for—like a castaway stuck on an island alone with no sign of hope. I have it now, and I never want it to end. Never again do I want to slink back to the frosty depths of life without her.
As I feel her stir, my body goes rigid. I don’t know how she’s going to react. Is she going to treat this as a mistake? Nothing more than a release? I’m not sure, but I’m not na?ve enough to believe that just because she slept with me, she’s forgiven me. People have angry sex all the time just to keep themselves from killing each other.
Juliette stretches her spine out like a splayed cat. The blanket falls off her chest, exposing her breasts. She looks back at me.
“Morning,” she whispers.
“Good morning,” I reply.
“Good would be at eleven a.m.”
Chuckling, I land a kiss in her messy hair. “I forgot you weren’t a morning person.”
“I don’t think anyone could be if they had someone inside them as many times as you were inside me last night.”
“Fair,” I shrug. “But no one would blame me for not being able to keep my hands off you.”
To make my point, I snake my arms around her and cup her breasts. She arches her back, pushing more of her chest into my palm. Her ass presses against my cock. All my blood follows, hardening the muscle at a head-spinning rate. I feel her gasp more than hear it. It’s hard to hear anything over the sound of the static in my ears.
“You want more?”
Her voice sounds so far away from me. I’m too dizzy to do anything but nod. She pushes me so I’m lying on my back. I’m pathetic, helpless to let her take control.
Juliette straddles her creamy thighs over my hips. The air crackles to life as her blue eyes meet mine. She drops herself down, swallowing me inside her in one go.
I groan. My cock is sensitive as hell after the last however many hours. Being in her warmth again is almost too much.
“You’re so wet,” I pant as she starts to move. “I love it.”
She circles her hips slowly. It’s like she’s teasing me more than fucking me despite her first move. The little minx. But I can’t lie. Shit like this is why I fell in love with her. She’s unpredictable—most of the time.
The white stars of heaven burst behind my eyes as she starts to move faster and faster. She feels so good. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve found release tonight. I’m still on the ledge of coming every moment I’m in her. There’s no off switch when it’s me and her. Never has been. I’ll pray to whoever I need to make sure it never will be. We don’t need that negativity in our lives.
I watch Juliette above me. Her hair tickles the tops of my thighs as she throws her head back. A sound of pleasure and harmony floats from her lips. It sends an electric current spiraling down my spine. My hands land on her hips with a loud clap. She gasps as I use my newfound energy to drill into her from beneath. I go as deep as I possibly can—just in case there’s not already a good imprint of my dick decorating the inside of her pussy.
Her cunt drips over my cock with every thrust. Heat crawls over my body. My skin feels too tight. She’s growing wetter and wetter. I wasn’t lying when I told her I loved it. Knowing it’s me that makes her that wet is the hottest thing I can think of.
The way her moans turn to small screams, I know she’s close. I double down on my assault, wanting to make sure she reaches the highest peak I can push her to. I snap my hips back and forth faster. My hands push her along with me.
A guttural groan comes out of her. Drops of her pleasure fling to my chest as she comes all over my dick. I don’t stop. I don’t slow down. I’m chasing my own pleasure, and the more I move, the wetter she fucking gets. She’s coming so damn hard; I’ve got a puddle growing on my chest.
My orgasm slams into me like a tsunami. I feel it all over my body. It’s like I’m being electrocuted—but I’m being brought back to life instead of dying. My moan matches Juliette’s. I squeeze her skin hard as I empty myself into her. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve done that, but it gets better each and every time. It’s so fucking good this time, I feel my soul leave my body. I knew she had my heart. Didn’t realize my soul was something to own. But that feels right.
Juliette collapses onto me. She shivers with the aftershocks of her release. I pull the comforter over her to give her some warmth. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her to my chest. Both of us trying to catch our breath, wrecked by what happened.
It’s not but a second later we start hearing raised voices coming down the hallway. Juliette slides off me.
“What the hell?”
I turn to look at her, but the doorknob to the bedroom starts to move. My head is still engulfed with a wildfire of bliss. I can’t understand what the voices are saying—they’re too muffled behind the door. Someone starts to bang on it.
“It’s Declan,” Juliette whispers.
That starts to sober me up, but it’s too little, too late. Declan’s already come through the door. Juliette snuggles into my arms as he stares down at us. He looks like he’s ready to pop that vein in his forehead. Funny. He was just this angry the last time I saw him.
“What the hell is this?” Declan asks.
“I’m pretty sure you can figure it out,” Juliette retorts.
Francine appears behind him, her face stricken with remorse. She takes one look at me and her daughter cuddled in bed.
“Declan,” she hisses. “Give them a moment to get dressed before you lay into them.”
My ex-boss settles his eyes on me. “You’re just content to betray me on all fronts, huh?”
“Declan, it’s not like that,” I huff. “I’m not betraying you by loving your sister.”
He laughs. And it’s real. His real, genuine laugh. He thinks I’m joking. But I’m not. Juliette and I just stare at him from our spot on the bed until he realizes we’re not laughing.
“Dean, no.” He shakes his head. “You can’t date my sister.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“I don’t care. You’re not dating her.”
I narrow my eyes. But before I can speak, Francine yanks on his sleeve.
“You can discuss it when he has clothes on. Leave them alone, Declan.”
Declan lets his mom pull him away. She lingers at the door after pushing him off.
“I’m sorry. He showed up out of nowhere.”
“You could’ve warned us,” Juliette says.
“I texted you and I almost had him out the door, but you just couldn’t be quiet.”
Francine walks off with that. Juliette turns crimson.
“My mom is a savage. She’s so hard to live with.”
I shrug. “I like that you couldn’t keep quiet. You shouldn’t be embarrassed by that. I’m pretty proud of it.”
“Of course you are,” she sighs. “That was pretty bad though. I didn’t think Declan would be so mad.”
“At least we got to finish before we got caught,” I reply.
I don’t know what to say about Declan. Whatever his problem is, I don’t understand it. It’s not like I’m the first one of his friends to hook up with one of his sisters.
Juliette chuckles at me. Her soft body shifts in my arms. She’s looking up at me like I’m her hero, her everything. And fuck if it doesn’t make me feel a thousand feet tall.
“We should probably get dressed,” she finally says.
“Good idea,” I reply, climbing from the bed. “I’ll get you a rag.”
I rush to dip into the bathroom and warm up a white washcloth. Carrying it back to the bed, I find Juliette splayed open. I reach down and gently wipe the cloth against her sore, battered vagina.
Juliette doesn’t flinch. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Uh,” I hesitate.
I never know what to share and what not to share. Would she appreciate knowing I’m staring at her because she’s my Goddess and her pussy is the altar I worship at? To me, Juliette McBride will always be the most perfect creature to walk the Earth. Come hell or high water, I’ll be right by her side the whole way.
“Dean?”
“You’re just beautiful is all.”
Her mouth curves into a smile. “Thank you.”
The washcloth is turning cold. I toss it away on the floor. My palms land on the soft bed as I lean forward and drop a kiss on her lips. She wraps her arms around my neck. One of her hands travels through my hair, tugging on it as she goes.
“I love you,” I say as I pull away.
She’s not ready to say it back, and I know that. So I pivot the conversation back to getting dressed.
“What do you want to wear for the day?”
“I can pick my own clothes out.”
Before I can stop her, she slips out from beneath me. The whoosh of air flowing behind her leaves a cold chill over my skin. I watch her naked ass walk to the dresser. It jiggles in the most gorgeous way. My cock starts to harden again. I want to say fuck it and take her again—press her right up against the dresser and rail her until she’s screaming—but her brother has already caught us once. I doubt she’ll appreciate reliving that nightmare.
Juliette is dressed in leggings and a large sweater. Her hair is messy but tamed into a bun.
“Are you going to make me go out there alone?” she asks.
I jump out of bed and rush to grab some clothes. Her eyes rake all over me as I pull on some gray sweatpants and a navy shirt. Juliette groans.
“You know what they say about gray sweatpants, right?”
Nodding, I smirk at her. “Is it working?”
“Is what working?”
“The gray sweatpants spell that makes you entranced with my dick?”
“I’ve been entranced with that motherfucker for years,” she says.
She turns the doorknob and walks out. Meanwhile, I feel like she dropped a little bit of a bomb on me. She always surprises me. But I didn’t see that admission coming. Maybe there’s hope for the two of us yet.
When I catch up with her at the end of the hallway, I intertwine our fingers together so she can’t keep running off all the damn time.
“What’s your name again?”
We hear PJ’s voice coming from the living room. I smile. My kid can be a funny little dude sometimes. He’s got his grandfather’s wit. That’s for sure.
“Declan,” Juliette answers as we step into the room. “He’s your uncle.”
“I thought I only had one uncle?”
“You do,” Declan growls. “Me.”
“But,” PJ starts before looking at his mom.
“Remember what I said about secrets,” Juliette says. “If they aren’t yours, what’s that mean?”
“They aren’t mine to speak on.”
Juliette nods. I don’t know how she manages to do it—raising a kid with so much wisdom like that but still believing she’s a terrible mother. It’s interesting. She goes to him and ruffles his hair.
“What secret?” Declan says.
“PJ, go play with Kane, please,” Juliette asks. “I’ll be in there in a minute to make you some breakfast.”
“Okay, mom.”
My kid glances back at his uncle one more time before taking off.
“Why are you here, Declan?” Juliette asks the minute PJ is gone.
“Diego called me. Said Dean answered your phone, and he put two and two together. He realized Chimera was my sister.”
“How do you know Diego?”
Declan looks at me. “You want to tell her or should I?”
“Tell me what?”
“I already told you. I burned some of Diego’s property up. Your brother had to help me out.”
She nods her head like she’s just remembering what I’m talking about. Declan looks surprised as if he really thought that would get me.
“Okay, so what does that have to do with me?” Juliette continues. “I didn’t burn anything down. I don’t see why you rushed over here.”
“How could you not tell me you have a child?” Declan asks, changing the subject.
Juliette sits on the couch, opposite the spot where Declan stands. She gives him a look.
“It wasn’t like you were the only one who didn’t know. I didn’t tell most people.”
“I spoke to Vivienne and Simone on the way here,” Declan says. “They both know. It’s really starting to seem like I’m the only one who didn’t know.”
“Declan,” I interrupt. “She was just doing what she thought was best.”
“Which was what? Raising her kid away from his only family? How is that what is best?”
“He has family here,” Juliette says. “Dean’s family.”
“How is Dean’s family his family?”
Declan asks the question, but as soon as it’s out in the air, the answer dawns on his face. He crosses the room in two seconds.
“You knocked up my sister?”
“Declan, it wasn’t like that.”
“You knocked her up and then left her to raise a baby alone,” he seethes. “I didn’t think you could get any lower.”
“What is your problem with me? You weren’t this mad when Balor started dating Simone.”
“Balor had his fucking head on right.”
Declan is growing angrier with every word. “He wasn’t some washed-up alcoholic hellbent on starting a goddamn war everywhere he goes.”
I flinch at his words. He’s not wrong. I’ve been a useless asshole since Juliette left. And in some way, that does make me unworthy of her. Not that I care. Deserving or not, she’s mine.
“You’re right,” I admit. “I’ve been fucking up for a long time. But that’s over now.”
“You’ve been fucking up since the moment you left your mother’s womb,” he snarls.
“Declan!” Juliette steps between us as Declan steps back to hit me. “Enough. Dean is your family. Even if you want to act as if he’s not, he’s the father of your nephew. Treat him with some respect.”
“Respect? Yeah, 'cause he’s shown me and the rest of your family so much fucking respect.”
“Declan, sir,” Kane says, coming into the room. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine,” Declan spits. “But I want you to remove Dean Walsh from the penthouse.”
“Excuse me?” I ask. “I’m not leaving.”
“You’re not staying in a place I pay for,” he replies. “You’re no longer my employee. You no longer get to drink yourself to death on company time.”
“I haven’t been drinking.”
“Heard that one before,” he snaps. “You need to leave now.”
I look at Juliette. The idea of leaving her kills me, but maybe it’s for the best. Just until Declan calms down.
“Okay,” I relent. “I’ll go back to Dublin.”
Juliette spins around, her precious face dipped in confusion. “You’re leaving?”
I cup her face and pull her closer to me. “If me being here is going to cause problems, I can leave. But I’d still like to be allowed to visit you and PJ.”
She shakes her head. My heart drops into my stomach. Does she want me gone? Did her brother convince her I’m no good?
Juliette sucks in a breath before saying something that cracks my chest open in the best way.
“If you’re leaving, we’re leaving.”