Holding her eyes with his, he spread her lower lips and licked her from back to front, lingering on her growing nub. His other hand slid beneath her to squeeze her ass possessively. “I’m going to enjoy changing your mind.”
Julia clenched the comforter on either side of her as he plunged his tongue inside her, withdrew, then plunged in again. He rubbed her clit firmly with a rhythm that sent fire shooting through her. He blew lightly on her nub again. His tongue was everywhere while his fingers continued their war on her senses. He replaced his tongue with two fingers and found a spot that sent Julia out of her mind.
She cried out and thrashed against his hand. He held her easily and continued to pump his fingers in and out of her. When she was nearing climax, he stopped and looked up at her. “You know you want to say yes to me. Don’t fight it. Give yourself to it.”
He moved his fingers within her again, pausing to tug on her clit gently with his teeth, while never taking his eyes off her. “Say yes, Julia.”
A wave of heat rose within Julia that consumed her. She came with her eyes open, staring into his dark ones while crying out, “Yes. Oh, yes. God, yes.”
As she came back to earth, she thought, “What did I just agree to?” She realized she’d asked the question aloud as he rolled onto his back and lifted her so she was once again above him.
“Everything,” he said with a lusty smile.
His answer sent a nervous thrill through her. What is everything?
He took one of her hands and wrapped it around his still throbbing erection. She didn’t need more prompting than that.
I may not be up for everything.
But I’m down for this.
She eagerly took him in her mouth and took him to heaven.
*
In the dark of her heavily flower-scented apartment, Gio held a naked, sleeping Julia in his arms and stared up at the ceiling. He couldn’t remember a time in his adult life when he’d hit anyone. He didn’t do that. He stayed in control.
Until Julia.
From the moment he’d decided to bring her to the wedding with him—an act that had been uncharacteristically impulsive—he’d become someone he didn’t recognize. Emotion was best left out of most decisions. A cool head and determination equaled profit.
His philosophy hadn’t made him a lonely man, as some might expect. He knew he wasn’t a bad-looking man, but he was also jaded enough to realize that he could have been much less attractive and still gotten laid on a regular basis. Wealth did that. It was the ultimate aphrodisiac for enough women that he hadn’t realized until he met Julia how bored he’d become with the predictability of it.
Julia was like a day of sunshine after years of rain. Everything about her felt good—too good.
Fucking her should have made me want her less.
I should be gathering my clothes and calling for my car. Instead, he pulled Julia closer against him. He looked around. The light in the miniscule bathroom illuminated the room enough for him to see the entire place from where he lay. One wall had a small cupboard, a portable stove top, and a microwave. A wooden chair and table were covered with small boxes.
A police car went by outside, the siren blaring loudly through the thin walls. He ran a hand absently down the back of her head and buried it in her long hair. I don’t even let women sleep over at my place—why do I think moving her in would work out?
He looked down at her peaceful profile. Because the alternative is leaving her here again, and that is not going to happen.
She stirred against him. “Are you awake?” she whispered.
He ran his hand through her hair again. “Yes, and enjoying watching you sleep.”
She stiffened. “I hope I wasn’t drooling or anything.”
He felt uncharacteristically lighthearted and joked gently, “Gentlemen don’t wipe and tell.”
She slapped his chest playfully. “That’s awful. Funny, but awful.”
He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “I don’t have a reputation for being the nicest man. You’ll have to get used to it.”
She raised herself up on one elbow and looked down at him, gloriously unselfconscious about her nudity. “You say that like we . . . like we . . .”
He tucked a loose tendril behind her ear. “We?”
She looked down at him and chewed her bottom lip. “Tonight was wonderful, but it didn’t change anything between us.”
He pulled her back down against him. “I’d say it changed everything.”
“What happened to us wanting completely different things?” she asked.
He leaned down and kissed her shoulder. “I’d say we’ve proven that theory wrong.”
“I’m being serious.”
“If you’re hoping for a declaration of love, Julia, you’re not going to get one. That’s not who I am. But I want you beside me in my bed each night. I want to wake up to you. I can’t stay away from you no matter how many times I tell myself I should. For now, let that be enough.”
She closed her eyes and laid her head down on his chest. “I don’t want you to buy me anything.”
“I won’t give you a goddamned thing. I promise.”
She pinched his side lightly. “You’re such an ass.”
“But you’re coming home with me.”
“Yes,” she said softly.
It was the sweetest word he’d ever heard.
Chapter Fourteen
Julia called in her resignation the next day and no one seemed surprised. She’d done it during the day because she couldn’t face Tom and Paul. She wasn’t ready to answer the questions they’d ask.
Gio sent a driver over midmorning to pick her up and bring her to his apartment. It felt unreal handing his driver luggage as if she were going on a vacation. She couldn’t meet the driver’s eyes. Does he know? Does he care? Has he done this a hundred times before?
He grunted when he picked up her second case—the one that was full of her samples, her tools, and all of her magazines. Hey, hey. Be careful with that. That’s only my life in there.
The drive to Gio’s building uptown gave Julia far too much time to think. Through the car window, she studied the blur of pedestrians on the sidewalks and wondered what had brought each of them to New York.
How many of them reached their dreams? How many found themselves lost on tangents that distracted them long enough that their dreams slipped away?
The bellman met Julia at the curb and took her luggage with a smile. He led her to the elevator and rode with her, silently, to the top. The entire experience was surreal. An older man in a suit opened the door to Gio’s apartment and introduced himself as Miles, the butler.
He brought Julia’s luggage to Gio’s bedroom and asked if she would like him to unpack for her. The question surprised Julia. He was about her father’s age, and the idea of him unpacking her things made her uncomfortable.
“You do that?”
“Of course, Miss Bennett.”
“But then you’d see all of my . . . stuff,” she said and blushed.
A small smile stretched the man’s lips. Blandly, he said, “Whatever you prefer. I don’t mind.”
“Because you’re used to it?” She couldn’t contain her curiosity. “Are you used to it? Does Mr. Andrade have many women stay here?”