Chapter 6
Six
“If you could have any one of them, which one would you choose?” he asked with a playful smile.
She pulled her hand free. “Don’t, Jer.”
“Come on.” He brought her back. “Just look.”
The diamonds glittered in the late afternoon sun. Only yesterday this discussion would have made Juliana’s heart dance with excitement, but now she just felt dead inside.
“Which one do you like? How about the square one? That’s cool, isn’t it?”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“Let’s go in so you can try it on.”
“No.”
“Jule—”
“I said no.”
“Is there anything I can do?” he pleaded. “I want to take back everything I said this morning. I want to go back to where we were before.”
“You can’t take it back, and you shouldn’t have to. You were honest about how you feel.”
“Then tell me how you feel,” he said with quiet desperation.
She looked straight into his eyes. “I hurt,” she whispered. “Everywhere.”
“I’m sorry.” He looked down at his feet. “I love you so much. That I could’ve hurt you like this kills me.”
“Can we go back to the hotel? I don’t want to be here.”
“Sure.” He put his arm around her and led her to the car.
Back in their room, Juliana still didn’t feel up to talking, so she decided to take a nap.
“Do you mind if I go for a run on the beach?”
“No, that’s fine.”
After he left, Juliana stretched out on the big bed and turned so she could see the ocean.
Would the sound of waves crashing on the beach always remind her now of Jeremy telling her he wanted other women?
She ached when she thought about life without him—a life that revolved around her mother, her job, and her endless responsibilities.
But how could she stay with him knowing what she did?
Losing him would be like severing a limb, only more painful. For so long he had been her refuge, her sanctuary, her place of peace in the storm of her life. She closed her eyes and must have dozed off because she awoke with a start when Jeremy returned from running.
“Babe,” he whispered. “Are you sleeping?”
Juliana kept her eyes closed so he would think she was asleep. She couldn’t deal with any more just then. When she didn’t answer him, he went into the bathroom to shower. At home he sang—badly—in the shower, but here he was quiet.
He came out a short time later and squatted down next to her, brushing the hair off her face and kissing her forehead. A few minutes later, he stood up.
Juliana opened her eyes. He had a towel around his waist and was slumped against the big window.
“Jer?”
Turning to her, his face a picture of devastation, he said, “I’m sorry, Juliana. I’m so sorry.”
She held out her arms to him.
He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned into her embrace. “I don’t know how to fix this.”
Touched by his raw despair, she brought him down for a soft kiss.
He wrapped his arms around her and shifted her under him in the middle of the big bed. “Jule,” he whispered against her lips, “I love you so much. Let me show you.”
She arched into him, her arms tightening around him in surrender to the familiar dance.
He pulled back to gaze down at her before he tugged the shirt over her head. Capturing her hands, he left a lingering kiss on each palm and put them on the pillows.
“Leave them there,” he whispered, running his index finger straight down the middle of her, between her breasts and over her belly.
She trembled and fought the urge to reach for him.
Unbuttoning her shorts, he slid them and her panties over her hips and tossed them aside, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on hers.
He gave her ear his full attention then left wet, hot kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, and the end of her nose.
She tried to capture his lips, but he shifted to focus on her neck.
She moaned.
With the flip of two fingers over the front clasp of her bra, he freed her breasts and kissed her everywhere but where she craved him most. When he finally rolled her nipple between his teeth, she lifted off into a soaring climax that shook them both to the core.
In all their years together, it had never happened like that for her.
He rested against her until she caught her breath and then devoured her mouth in a series of kisses that left her weak with desire.
Cupping her, his fingers coasted through her slickness.
As another orgasm rolled through her in soft waves, he raised himself to enter her.
He gave her everything he had, as if it was their first time—or maybe their last.
And when it was over, he lay gasping on top of her, his eyes bright with emotion. “I love you, Juliana. I’ll love you forever.”
She closed her eyes tight against the burn of tears and held him close to her as the sun set over the beach.