by Mandy Magro
Running his lips up the side of her neck and to her ear, he lingered. ‘Are you sure about this?’
With his hesitation, her voice of reason stormed to the forefront of her mind. ‘I really want to …’ she breathed, and then pulled back just a little with a groan. ‘But maybe it’s not the best idea we’ve had.’
‘Maybe not.’ Leaving his hands on her hips, he made a soft sexy male sound from deep within his chest. ‘You know, you’re killing me right now.’
Juliette threw her head back and huffed. ‘That makes two of us.’ The fact they fit like they were made for each other was hard to ignore.
He pulled back but left his hands on her thighs. ‘As much as every single part of me wants you, we really shouldn’t be doing this.’
‘Yeah, you’re right.’ She untwined her arms from around his neck and flashed him a bashful smile. ‘But it’s all your fault we got into this predicament in the first place,’ she purred, her pulse wildly uneven.
‘Mine?’
She nodded, smiling sassily. ‘Yes, yours.’
He matched her wayward smile with a bad-boy one of his own. ‘And why’s that?’
‘Because you’re waaay too tempting.’ She sat back and pulled her knees to her chest, peering at him coyly over the top of them. ‘In every single way.’
‘I like it when you look at me like that.’
‘You might well do, but you’re as frustrating as you are tempting.’
‘Ditto, Jules.’ He grinned when she gave him the forks. ‘Just because we’re not going to sleep together doesn’t mean we can’t snuggle up and stare at the stars for a little while, though. I don’t really want to end the night here, at least not on this note.’
‘You know what, I really like the sound of that.’ She grabbed his arm, settled back, and draped it over her stomach. They cuddled up nice and tight for a little while, neither of them feeling the need to talk in their drowsy contentment. A chill had crept into the breeze and she shivered against him. Wordlessly, he pulled her closer, so there wasn’t an inch between them.
After a long comfortable silence, he brushed a gentle kiss across her cheek. ‘It’s cold out here. Let’s go to bed and snuggle. It might help you get a good night’s sleep.’
She contemplated it. ‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea.’
‘Trust me.’ Shifting to face her, he smiled. ‘I have plenty of self-control.’
She laughed. ‘I’m glad to hear one of us does.’
He stood, taking her by the hand, and she allowed him to lead her into the cottage, down the hall, and towards the bedroom.
‘I usually sleep in my boxers, you okay with that?’ Joel’s fingers were at the ready to unzip his jeans.
She nodded, smiling. ‘Perfectly okay, especially when I’m already in my PJs.’
‘And they’re very sexy PJs at that.’
Juliette looked down at her very daggy attire. ‘If you say so,’ she said lightheartedly.
‘You’d look good in a hessian sack.’ Taking off his shirt, then slipping off his jeans, he never took his eyes from her.
Juliette trembled at the sight of him. He was a hell of a lot of man, with ripples and tattoos, his skin sun-kissed, his towering height making her feel safe and protected. ‘I don’t know about that, but thank you.’
He pulled back the covers and they climbed in. She snuggled into him, and Joel hugged her tight. ‘Night, Jules. Sweet dreams.’
‘Night, Joel. Dream sweet.’ The warm look in his eyes made her heart canter. As he cuddled her into him, she felt herself drift then float into the beginnings of a blissful sleep.
CHAPTER
21
Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains and glistened like glitter over the bedroom. Juliette woke slowly, taking a few moments to remember where she was before becoming aware that she was snuggled tightly into Joel, her head resting against his bare chest. The weight of his big strong arms warmed her, and the slow rise and fall of his chest was soothing, almost dragging her back to sleep. It felt so good, so right, just being here with him, as though they’d never been driven apart. What she’d give to stay like this forever, to pretend they were together, without a care in the world. So close, with his breath feathering across her cheek, the thought she could reach up just a little and place her lips upon his sent shivers of delight through her. But as much as she longed to do so, it would be a mistake.
The breeze shifted the curtains, sending sunlight flickering across his handsome features. Stirring, he opened his eyes, his warm smile all-encompassing. ‘Hey there, you.’ His voice was husky and his stubble had grown darker overnight, giving him more of an edge.
Her stomach fluttered and then plummeted like a rollercoaster. ‘Hey there, yourself.’ Six feet of absolute temptation, he was a magnificent example of what a man should be – rugged, protective, strong and courageous. She could only imagine what people would think, and say, if they were caught in bed together. Nobody would believe they hadn’t made love. Should she really care if they didn’t? Like Joel had said, they both knew the truth of things, and after being lied to for most of her life, she was learning that was all that really mattered. To hell with the gossips.
‘How’d you sleep?’ His voice washed over her, stilling her thoughts.
The heat in his eyes warmed her all the way to her toes. ‘Better than I have in forever.’ She untangled from him and stretched with the grace of a cat.
‘Good.’ His smile was sexy and sleepy. ‘Mission accomplished then.’
‘Too right.’ Rolling onto her stomach, she pushed wisps of wayward bed hair out of her face before resting up on her elbows. ‘Thank you for staying here with me, and being a decent man while you’re at it.’
‘No, thank you for letting me spend the night.’ He sucked in a breath as he brought himself to sitting, resting his back against the bedhead. ‘Sorry about kissing you, it’s just …’ He paused, regarding her, the burning light in his eyes one she was familiar with from all those years ago, although, now, it seemed richer, stronger.
She cut him off. ‘Please, don’t apologise. We honestly can forget it ever happened.’
He contemplated this. ‘What about if I don’t want to forget it happened?’ His lips quirked, those lips she longed to kiss again, and again, and again. ‘I know now isn’t really the right time to be telling you this, but I still love you, Jules.’ The raw emotion in his voice moved her unbearably and she blinked back a sudden onslaught of tears. ‘No matter what, I always will. I just want you to know that,’ he added earnestly.
She stopped breathing, unable to answer him for fear of what she wanted to say with all her heart and soul. ‘Well, while we’re being totally honest with each other …’ She halted, trembled, wondered if she was doing the right thing, but the need to tell him the truth, so he knew how much he meant to her, drove her onwards. ‘I still love you, too, Joel. Very much.’
‘You do?’ He gazed at her as if savouring her every word.
‘Yes, I do. But that’s not enough to make this work between us. There’s a lot of water under the bridge, Joel.’
‘I know.’ He briefly closed his eyes, sucked in a slow, steady breath, and then gave her a rueful glance. ‘I shouldn’t have given in to how I feel, especially when you’re going through a divorce. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.’
‘It wasn’t entirely your fault, Joel. I kissed you too, and I wanted you too.’ She took a few moments to catch her breath and steady her voice.
He drew in another deep breath and then smiled, though a sadness lingered in his gaze. ‘So, where do we go from here?’
She thought about it. ‘Let’s just focus on today. Right now, I’m feeling very blessed to have you here, helping me through the mess I’ve got myself into.’ She smiled. ‘Especially seeing as your sister has decided to go gallivanting halfway across the world right when I needed her the most.’
‘If she knew how messy it’d all gotten, she’d be back
in a flash. You know that, right?’
‘Yes, I do. Which is exactly why you can’t tell her when you finally get to talk to her.’ She sat up. ‘I don’t want her giving up her dream because of me.’
‘Well, I’m glad I can be here for you.’ He leant in and gripped her hands, looking at her like no other ever had – as if she was his breath, his reason to live. ‘I know I hurt you when I left, Jules, but hopefully now you’ve spent some time with me, and you understand why I did what I did a little better, you can forgive me and we can move forwards with all that turbulent water under our bridge.’
Momentarily, Juliette found herself lost for words but, desperate to clear the air and make peace, she forced herself to say what she needed to. ‘To be honest, to you and to myself, I forgave you a long time ago, Joel.’
‘You did?’ He looked at her with uncertainty.
She nodded and bit her lip, weighing up what she was about to say next. ‘All these years, it’s been easier putting all the blame onto you, seeing as you weren’t around, but now you’re back, and I’m going over everything again …’ She sucked in a shuddering breath. ‘… it’s me I’m finding it hard to forgive, for turning my back on you like your father did.’
There was nothing but love in his eyes as he regarded her. ‘You had good reason to feel the way you did.’
She picked at the chipped paint on her fingernails. ‘Your father thinks he has good reason too.’
‘Yeah, I suppose he does, but that doesn’t give a father the right to judge as harshly as he has.’ Joel clasped his hands behind his head before resting back again. ‘If I had a child and they went and did something I didn’t condone or understand, I would never turn my back on them, no matter what.’
‘I know you wouldn’t.’ She tried to curb the rising sense of guilt for hurting him, and for not wanting to report what Levi had done to her. ‘I’m going to go and visit Mum today, while Malcolm is at his men’s club meeting down at the church. I just hope she doesn’t blame me for bringing everything to light about his affair with Kathryn.’
‘Yeah, it’s a common thing for people to want to shoot the messenger when they’re confronted with something unpleasant.’ He heaved a weighty breath. ‘But I have to say, something tells me your mum is going to breathe a sigh of relief once it sinks in.’
‘I really hope you’re right.’ The tears she’d been holding at bay gathered and fell. ‘Because once I know she’s not living under his roof, I’ve decided to go to the police with you and tell them everything that mongrel did to us that night.’
‘Oh, Jules, are you serious?’ He gathered her into his arms, holding her tight. ‘I’m so relieved. This is the right thing to do.’
Sniffling, she nodded into his chest. ‘I know it is.’
He stroked the back of her head. ‘Where do you think your mum will go if she leaves him?’
‘I’d say she’d move into the spare room at Aunt Janey’s place, above the bakery. She offered it to me when I told her I was leaving Lachlan, but I couldn’t move there, not when I have the animals to think of.’
‘Yeah, makes it harder with them tagging along,’ he replied lightly. ‘I don’t think Warrior would dig being kept indoors.’
She looked up at him and chuckled. ‘It would be a little cramped.’
‘Too right.’ He raised his brows. ‘How ’bout we go and have a cuppa with Mum? She’ll love catching up with you, and it might help you take your mind off everything.’
‘I’d really love that.’ She disentangled from the comfort of his arms and stepped from the bed. ‘Do I have time for a shower first, to freshen up?’
‘Yeah, of course, go for it.’
Juliette grabbed her towel from where she’d slung it over the corner of the bedroom door. ‘You want one too?’ She paused in the doorway.
Joel’s eyes glinted with mischief. ‘With you?’
She tipped her head, grinning. ‘No, you cheeky bugger. After me.’
His chuckle was deep and gravelly. ‘Nah, I’m right. I’ll have one later, when I get home.’ He stretched out on the bed, his masculinity so very tempting. ‘I’ll be right here.’
‘Righto, back soon.’
‘Take your time,’ he said, smiling at her in a way that made her stomach fill with butterflies.
She did, shaving her legs, washing her hair and even taking the time to apply a little tinted moisturiser, mascara and gloss before tugging on her favourite denim shorts and singlet and joining him back in her bedroom. He was a sight to behold, spread out with the sheet kicked off, the ripples of his burly chest donned with artistic ink, the romance novel that had been on her bedside table now in his big, strong hands. He was engrossed in the pages.
‘You enjoying that?’
‘Uh-huh.’ He didn’t turn to her, but the quirk of a cheeky smile played on his lips.
Tossing her towel back over the door, she wandered towards him and sat on the edge of the bed. ‘What bit are you up to?’
He finally peered over the top of it, wiggling his eyebrows. ‘The raunchy bit.’ He sat up, closed the pages and placed the book into his lap. ‘I reckon I need to start reading books like this. It’s not as mushy as I thought it would be, and the main bloke is a real man who even wears an Akubra and rides a horse.’
‘Sounds a bit like you, huh?’ She toyed with the ends of her hair that she’d swept into a high ponytail.
‘Yeah, I suppose so,’ he said after a thoughtful moment.
‘I know a few blokes that read them, and they’re hooked.’
‘Well, there you go.’ He grinned. ‘I feel better, knowing there’s more of my kind that like reading them.’ Sliding past her, he stood, grabbed his clothes from where he’d tossed them last night, and began getting dressed.
Juliette started making the bed but couldn’t help peeking towards him as she did. Carnal images chased through her head, and she ached to shove him back on her bed and have her way with him.
Zipping up his jeans, he flashed her a knowing sideways glance before dragging his T-shirt over his head. ‘Busted.’ There was a thread of amusement in his tone as he tugged the shirt down over his rock-hard abs.
She grinned despite herself. She wasn’t going to deny she was perving. ‘Sorry. Can’t help it.’
Dressed, he helped her straighten the doona. ‘Right back at you.’ He eyed her with consuming focus, the tilt of his lips teasing her.
But she wasn’t giving in to his charm, or her desire to tear every shred of clothing from him. Even though she blushed from head to toe as the heat of his brazen, blazing stare pressed into her skin, even from the opposite side of the bed. His magnetism was lethal. She swallowed against the shocking surge of heat and quickly busied herself, grabbing her phone and whatever else she could distract herself with. Bed made and pillows fluffed, she slipped on her thongs and they made their way outside into the glorious summer’s day.
* * *
Juliette shifted in her seat, folding then unfolding her legs. The way Joel kept glancing at her from where he was leaning up against the butcher’s block in the centre of the impressive galley-style kitchen was making her insides crash and tumble.
‘Well, I might leave you two lovely ladies to it and go and check in on Dynamite. I want to take him for a bit of a gallop to stretch his legs,’ he said casually, draining the last of his coffee. ‘You want a hand unpacking once I’m done, Jules?’
‘Yeah, that’d be great, thanks, Joel.’ The conversation felt unnatural, the undercurrents between them hopefully only noticeable to themselves. ‘But make it later this arvo, when I get back from Mum’s.’
‘No probs, just give me a shout and I’ll head over.’ He brushed a kiss over his mother’s cheek. ‘Catch you later, Mum.’
Pausing, Sherrie tipped her head, assessing him like only a mother could. ‘It’s not like you to wander out without having a shower first thing in the morning, love.’
His mouth kicked up at the corner, but other than tha
t, he remained impressively poker-faced. ‘I just thought I’d better check in on Jules first thing, to make sure she was settling in okay.’
‘Is that so?’ Her lips quirked too, but she allowed the smile to spread as she turned to Juliette. ‘Nice of him to think of you straightaway, isn’t it, sweetheart?’
It took Juliette a moment to breathe before she could reply. ‘Yes, it is. Lovely.’ She offered a quivery smile in Joel’s direction and, while his mother wasn’t looking at him, he pulled an oh-shit-we’ve-been-busted face. Juliette had to fight from bursting into laughter.
‘Anyhow, toodle-loo.’ And off he went, his socked feet padding down the hallway followed by the slap of the door. Short moments later, his boots clomped across the verandah and faded as he walked away.
‘I really appreciate you and Mr Hunter letting me stay here.’ From her place at the dining table, Juliette watched Joel’s mum at work. For a homestead with many rooms, this was the place people always gathered, to delight in her cooking.
‘Of course, sweetheart. Anything to help out.’ Surrounded by mixing bowls, with a smear of flour on her cheek, she was very clearly in her happy place. ‘You’ve always been like a daughter to William and me.’
She smiled softly. ‘Thank you, Sherrie. That means a lot.’ The scent of the sourdough bread baking in the Aga made her stomach grumble.
‘Good Lord, I heard that from here,’ Sherrie said with a chuckle. ‘Sounds to me like you need feeding.’ Placing the last of the plates in the draining rack, she bustled over to the pantry and went up on her tippy toes, plucking her biscuit tin from the shelf. ‘Would you like a jam drop cookie to dunk in your tea?’
‘Oh, yes, please.’ She smiled as Sherrie offered the biscuit tin to her, and she helped herself to two. ‘I’ve really missed this, sitting here with you, drinking cups of tea and chatting. It’s sad how time seems to get away from us.’ Juliette felt silly, having avoided doing exactly this all these years because she felt guilty it hadn’t worked out with Joel.
Sherrie turned and offered Juliette the warmest of smiles. ‘Me too, love. More than you know.’