I’m not sure how long we battle for dominance, but neither one of us stops until I’m lying flat on my back with my legs hanging over the side of the bed and Julian hovering above me.
Before I have a chance to protest, he drops to his knees and makes quick work of my shoes and jeans.
He kisses his way up my thigh before stopping in front of my underwear. “Cute, although today is Friday.”
“I thought these were cuter.”
He smirks at the Wine Wednesday-themed underwear. “I agree.”
“Great. Now, less talking, more kissing.” I push his head down with my good arm, only for him to turn away and bite down on the inside of my thigh.
I jolt. “What the—”
“Stop rushing me.”
“By all means, take your time.”
His eyes blaze with silent challenge. He tugs on the band of my underwear, pulling them down while kissing every available inch of skin within reach. While I love his soft kisses, I quickly lose patience.
“To clarify, when I said take your time before, I meant with your tongue inside my pussy.”
“Did you?” he asks in that annoyingly dry voice of his.
“I get you’ve been waiting thirty long, painful years to lose your virginity and all—”
My mind goes blank as he yanks my thighs apart. Whatever control he had before snaps after only one pass of his tongue over my dripping center.
He devours me with a ravenous hunger I’ve never experienced from a partner before, and I’m afraid he may truly stop breathing from the way he sucks, licks, and teases me without ever coming up for air.
I lose all concept of time as he pleasures me. He studies my reactions like I’m his favorite subject, perfecting his technique of stroking, licking, and sucking until I’m begging for release.
Pressure builds in my lower half, the ache strengthening with every pass of his tongue and each suck on my clit.
My thighs tremble beside his head as I fight my orgasm, battling between wanting to come and wishing for this to last.
His eyes flutter shut. “So beautiful.”
I jolt as he flicks his tongue over my clit while sinking a finger inside me. My limbs shake as he adds another not long after, sending my nerves into meltdown mode.
“So responsive.” He pulls his fingers out to show me exactly that. My entire face flushes, drawing a devilish smile from him.
“So perfect for me.” He curls his fingers and strokes my clit from deep inside, instantly making me see stars. The way Julian knows how to manipulate my body from all angles makes me regret doubting his skills in the bedroom. I’ve had good sex before…but this?
Julian could teach a class on female orgasm.
I don’t have a single thought left in my head as I come with a cry. Warmth floods my body like a tidal wave, consuming everything in its path. Julian doesn’t stop his teasing as he continues to pump his fingers, riding out my orgasm with me.
I’m not sure how long it takes me to come down from the high. All I know is that at some point, Julian crawled back over my limp body and caged me between his arms.
I cup his cheek. “You’re telling me we’ve been fighting this whole time when we could have been doing that?”
He leans into my touch with a smile. My heart doesn’t stand a chance at slowing down if he keeps doing sweet things like that, so I pull away.
His head tilts. “Having second thoughts?”
“No.” Although I probably should, especially when he makes me feel like this.
“Good.” He kisses me one last time before crawling off the bed.
“Where are you going?” I motion toward his thick and equally impressive bulge.
He checks his watch. “Next time.”
My cheeks burn as Julian helps me get dressed.
“What now?” I keep my head down as I begin packing up my recently purchased belongings.
“We keep things fun and simple.”
My stomach takes a dive off a long, steep cliff.
“Shouldn’t we set some rules, though?” I might not have the most experience when it comes to relationships, but I have enough to know it’s best to set expectations. That way if I get hurt again, I’ll have no one to blame but myself.
He lifts a shoulder. “If you want to.”
“I think it’s probably best, so we don’t set ourselves up for hurt feelings.”
“Feelings? What are those?”
With my good arm, I toss a pillow at his head, only for him to catch it with ninja-like reflexes.
“I’m willing to go along with whatever you want, but I need you to be up-front and honest with me.”
Right. Easier said than done after the last time I was vulnerable with him.
People will never learn from their mistakes if you don’t give them a chance to.
I take a deep, empowering breath. “We should keep this private.”
A dark look passes over his face. “Got it.”
“It’s not that I’m embarrassed or anything.”
“Sure.”
“I don’t want people to think…”
“That we’re together,” he finishes for me.
My eyes drop to my lap. “Our mothers would get their hopes up.”
“More than they already have?”
I grimace.
“What else?”
“We should be mutually exclusive.” The thought of him being with anyone else makes my stomach churn.
“We already established that I don’t like sharing.”
“Obviously, based on the way you acted like a jealous caveman around Evan, Dan, and anyone else who stared at me for longer than a few seconds.” My eye roll gets interrupted by a pillow smacking into the side of my face.
Julian laughs, only to profusely apologize after I pretend he hurt my eye.
“Ow.” I stick out my bottom lip and sniffle.
“I’m sorry.” He kisses my temple, right above my “injury,” only for me to break out into a fit of laughter.
His hand moves from cupping my cheek to wrapping itself around my neck. “You played me.”
“You have no proof.”
His fingers press into the side of my neck.
“Fine.” I crack. “I did! But it’s not my fault you’re so gullible.”
He gives my neck one last squeeze before he gives my shoulder a shove. I fall back onto the mattress with a wince.
Panic flashes across his face as he reaches to help me sit up. “Shit. I’m so sorry. Are you okay? I should have been more carefu—”
I fix my sling. “Relax. It was an accident.”
His face pales. “On second thought, we should wait until you’re cleared by a doctor before doing anything else.” He takes a large step back.
“That’s not for another two weeks!”
“I’m not going to risk you getting hurt again.”
My heart does a betraying dive straight into enemy territory, exposing my weakness.
Him.
I’m not sure how long this thing will last between Julian and me, but I plan on making the most of it—and him—until the time comes for me to leave.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Dahlia
It’s easy to spend the rest of the morning in our own little bubble while picking up the party supplies and driving back to Lake Wisteria. With Julian playing our favorite songs from high school while I belt out the lyrics at the top of my lungs, time flies as we drive back to town.