“They’re of me and Theo. We’re… touching and…” She pauses and tucks some hair behind her ear, looking embarrassed and confused. “…making love.”
A splintering pain wedges itself between my ribs, threatening to puncture my heart. An unreasonable amount of anger follows. There’s no reason for it to piss me off or hurt so much knowing that Jules has been dreaming of Theo in that capacity, but it damn sure does. She’s his fucking wife, for Christ’s sake, and I’m just the bastard who has an infatuation with her. She’s not mine, and never will be.
Looking at her, shifting awkwardly in her seat as her eyes avoid mine, I know she senses my unsettling thoughts. I try to rein them in, at least enough to where she doesn’t see them. Outwardly, I soften the features on my face, while inwardly my blood heats to boiling levels.
“It’s okay to have those dreams, Jules,” I tell her through a thick throat. “Maybe they aren’t just dreams, maybe they’re memories.”
“Maybe so,” she returns quietly.
Theo walks back into kitchen then, looking to Jules, then to me, and back to Jules. His jaw hardens when he sees the flush on Jules’s face that hasn’t left yet. I grab my beer, down the rest, and drop it in the trash can.
“I’m leaving.”
I don’t miss the relieved look on Theo’s face, or the frown that pulls down Jules’s lips. I don’t say a word to either of them as I leave the kitchen. I stop in the living room to tell the others goodbye.
“I wish you could stay longer. I haven’t even got to see you,” Mom complains.
“You see me almost every day, Mom.”
“Not so much lately.”
“Helen, let the boy go.”
I look to Dad and see he notices way more than I want him to.
I bend and kiss Mom’s cheek. “I’ll stop by in a day or two for dinner.”
“You better,” she admonishes.
After saying goodbye to Ella, Vicki, Dad, and getting a kiss from Aria, I leave. I’m halfway to my truck when I hear footsteps behind me. I turn and find Theo coming toward me.
“Not now, Theo,” I forestall what I know he’s going to say.
“I want you to stay away from her,” he says angrily.
“That’s hard to do when she’s part of the family. Do you expect me to not come to any family functions? You know damn good and well Mom would never let that happen.”
He stops several feet away, his body tight with tension. He runs his hand through his long hair, then grips the back of his neck.
“You know what I fuckin’ mean, Luca,” he growls.
His eyes look crazed, and guilt once again plagues me. I have no doubt this is driving him crazy, and pulling the shit I did in the kitchen couldn’t have made it easier. He has every right to lay me out, right here and now, and looking at his clenched fists, I know he’s contemplating doing just that.
I sigh heavily. “I’m not going to do anything, Theo. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“I thought the same thing the last time and look how that turned out,” he grits between his teeth.
“I swear to you, I won’t. I don’t know what in the hell happened all those years ago, but whatever it was, that shit’s not in me. I feel nothing for Jules.” The lie slips out easily. I do feel something for her. I just don’t know what it is.
He takes a couple steps closer, his expression hardening. He doesn’t stop until he’s in my face.
“Good, because shit won’t happen like it did last time. You touch her, and I’ll fucking kill you.”
If any man other than Theo threatened me like that, I’d drop him faster than a whore drops her panties when she sees a hundred-dollar bill. He has every right to be angry and worried. The menace in his voice would scare most men, but he’s my twin, and I know what he’s capable of. Beat my ass or break a bone or two, yes, but not killing.
“Back off,” I growl. He may have that right, but I still don’t like him in my face. “I’ve told you, nothing will happen.”
After a moment of silence where we both glare at each other, he takes a step back.
“Make sure it doesn’t.”
He turns and storms across the yard, up the stairs, and disappears inside his house. I take a moment to pull in several deep breaths, before walking the remaining distance to my truck. After climbing inside, I peel away from the curb.
As I drive to the shop, I think about Jules’s dream. Not the one where she and Theo are having sex, although that one tries to worm its way inside, but the black room and the sinister silhouette she mentions.
Something tells me I’m that silhouette.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Luca
I CLOSE MY EYES AND breathe in the sweet wildflower scent, then bury my face in the thick luscious hair in front of me. My lips open over her delicate flesh, and I lick along the smooth skin, taking small bites as I work my way toward her ear. I smile when I hear her breathy little moans.
Her nails dig into my shoulders and her knees squeeze my ribs as she lifts her hips to press her center closer to my cock. I give her what she wants by grinding against her. I feel the warmth of her pussy through her panties and my jeans, and it drives me fucking crazy.
“Please,” she mewls. “I need you.”
I sit back on my heels and look down at her. Her beautiful amber eyes are glazed over with lust, and the light flush on her cheeks gives away just how much she needs me.
Her legs are spread around me with the backs of her thighs resting on the top of mine. I settle my hands on her knees, and slowly run them up her legs. She nibbles on her bottom lip and her breasts jiggle as she pants heavily.
“You need me?” I ask hoarsely.
“Yes.”
I smile again when the word comes out as a moan.
When my hands reach the apex of her thighs, her eyes close.
“Nuh-uh, baby. I want you to keep your pretty eyes open and on me.”
She opens them, but only halfway, and I know it’s because she’s relaxed and half-crazed with desire.
I let my thumbs lightly brush against the wet spot on her panties, and her breath hitches. When her hips jerk upward, I take advantage and slip my fingers under the waistband and tug the material down her legs. Seeing her pussy glistening with her arousal has my cock weeping and begging for relief.
I lift her hips and slide her toward me so her ass is resting on my spread thighs. I run the tip of one finger up her cleft until I reach the little button of her clit. I roll the nub between my fingers. Her mouth drops open on a silent cry of pleasure.
Reaching for my jeans, I release the button and pull down my zipper. She watches, and when she sees my cock, her eyes flare with hunger and she licks her lips. I swear I feel the touch of her tongue against my shaft. A drop of precome beads the tip, and I swipe it with my finger then swirl it around her clit.
“Oh, God, that feels so good. Don’t stop.”
I apply more pressure and her moans turn guttural.
I lean down so I’m hovering over her, resting my weight on one fist beside her head. I watch her face as I grip the base of my cock and rub the head against her pussy. When she lifts her hips, trying to fit me inside her, I pull back.
“Patience, baby,” I croon. “Let me play a minute.”
She bites her lip again, as if torn on whether she wants to demand I make love to her now, or continue the sexual torture she’s receiving. I smirk and tap the underside of my shaft against her clit. She shudders, and my cock thickens.
I bend down and run my lips across hers. Her tongue meets mine in a kiss that’s both sweet and hot as hell.
“Jules.” I whisper her name gruffly.
I can feel her legs quiver as she tightens them around me. I notch the tip of my cock at her opening, but only slide the head in. I want this to last as long as possible, and I know if I take her fully in this moment, it’ll end way too soon.
I fuck her with just the tip for several strokes, and she tries her best to bring me down so I’m fully seated inside her. Looking into her eyes, I see desperation and unabashed want.
I brace myself and pull my hips back, pausing only long enough for her eyes to meet mine, before I thrust forward, giving her every bit of myself I have to offer.
When she cries out in ecstasy, she completely and utterly shatters me.
“Theo!”