by Leroux, Lucy
Julie continued to watch him expectantly. His shoulders dropped. “All right. Peyton is someone I had a thing for, but we never dated. She was taken, even if it was only in her head at first. Eventually, it wasn’t. She just married Maggie’s oldest brother Liam—him and this other guy named Matthias.”
Julie’s lips parted. “She married two men?”
“Yup.” Ethan grinned carelessly. “It was fun to flirt with her, but I can’t say I’m pining. I think I’m looking for someone a little more traditional than that.”
“Oh,” Julie said, a little breathlessly. “I can see why.”
The room was warmer than it should have. It could have been because they were standing a lot closer than was strictly necessary. Julie seemed to feel the tension in the air that even the mention of Peyton hadn’t been able to dampen. Flushing, she looked away.
“I should put her down,” she said, heading in the direction of the spare bedroom.
“I’ll help.” Helplessly, he followed, even though she didn’t need help. Luna’s diaper had been changed before the car ride home. The little one was out for the night.
Julie flipped on the hallway light, then nudged the bedroom door open. Stopping short, she gasped.
“Where did this come from?” Julie stepped into the room, circling the crib he’d ordered online.
“Ikea,” he replied. “I assembled it this morning before you got up. I guess you didn’t see it earlier.”
She pivoted to face him, tears shimmering in the dim light. “No, I was busy with the workmen. Oh, Ethan, thank you, but you didn’t have to do this. It was nice pretending tonight, but we’re only here temporarily.”
Pretending? There was no pretense in what they had done tonight.
Instinct kept him from saying that aloud. For some reason, Julie still needed to act as if there was nothing going on between them.
“Even if you all move on soon, Luna’s going to need a proper crib,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “Don’t worry. She won’t outgrow this one for a while.”
To prove his point, he nudged her, taking the little girl from her arms. He laid her on the bed, covering her in a blanket he’d ordered for his bed that had arrived in the wrong size. The narrow twin flannel made a decent toddler blanket, provided he folded it in half.
“There,” he said, tucking in the excess flannel into the sides between the mattress and the wood. “Now, she’s all set.”
He put an arm around Julie, admiring the picture and the peace the sight of a sleeping toddler inspired. It made her tense. He was going to let go, but, after a beat, she relaxed into him, melting against his chest.
“What did you mean when you said it was fun to pretend?”
Her eyes had drifted closed. “With your friends tonight—the way they looked at us.”
“How?” he prodded.
Her lashes were so long he’d never be able to read her eyes from this position. “Like we were a family.”
Those words should have acted like a bucket of ice water. It was saying something that he felt hotter, as if his abdomen had melted.
“It doesn’t have to be pretend.”
He leaned closer until his lips were touching hers.
The instant he kissed her for the second time, he knew. Their first kiss had been a spur-of-the-moment thing—insanely hot, but ultimately not life-changing. This was different. This woman had been living in his space, breathing the same air, and sleeping in his bed without him for weeks.
He was going to change that tonight.
“I’m not supposed to kiss you again until you say yes,” he muttered in between hot, openmouthed kisses. He pulled away to check her reaction.
Her eyes were clouded with desire, but there was the tiniest pucker between her brows. “Wh—” she began, but he’d already covered her mouth with his again.
Another blistering kiss. This one shredded his self-control. Pulling her into the hallway before he did something indecent in front of the sleeping toddler, he lifted her into his arms.
He felt like cheering when her long legs wrapped around his waist, but his mouth was busy. Very busy.
Pressing her hard against the wall, he nudged the door to Luna’s room until it almost closed, then he carried Julie down the hall to the threshold of his room. But he didn’t move inside. Not yet.
“Ethan,” she moaned. It was music to his ears. But it wasn’t the definitive yes he wanted.
He pulled away. “As I was explaining to my namesake tonight, the verbal consent part is important.” He moved his mouth to her neck, licking and biting gently.
God. She tasted like caramelized sugar. Who actually tasted as good as they looked? Who?
“Yes, yes,” Julie panted, burying her hands in his hair as she pressed her breasts against him.
Thank the fucking stars. Ethan hauled her closer, pulling her legs tightly against his cloth-covered crotch. He kicked open the door to his room a little too hard. He paused at the threshold but the bang hadn’t woken Luna, so he carried Julie inside and closed the door.
He laid Julie on the bed, but he didn’t give her a chance to change her mind. He was on her the next second, stretching his hard body over her lush curves. It felt amazing, and they weren’t even naked yet. He decided to take care of that as soon as possible.
Ethan stripped out of his shirt, hazily aware he’d tugged too hard and lost a button. His pants were next. He was down to his boxers when he realized Julie was staring up, her mouth open.
There was enough light coming through the windows for him to see her bemused expression.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered, wondering with dismay if she had changed her mind. But she simply reached out, touching the top ridge of his six-pack with tentative fingers.
After that, her little black dress stayed on for roughly six seconds. Moving faster than he thought possible, he tugged it over her head, revealing paradise.
It didn’t matter she was wearing a basic cotton bra and panties. She could have been wearing La Perla and it wouldn’t have enhanced the view in any way.
Creamy light brown curves gleamed like candy. Her breasts spilled over the top of the bra as she took a shaky breath. His hands covered the glorious mounds, kneading them briefly over the fabric before slipping under the tight band to palm her nipples.
Julie gasped, moving up. Her legs parted involuntarily as he rubbed the tight buds for a second before undoing the bra and tossing it away. The panties joined it in short order.
Feeling like a glutton, Ethan moved down her body. The taste of sugar filled his mouth as he kissed and licked her skin, lingering on places he’d been fantasizing about since that first night. It had been so wrong to desire such a vulnerable woman, but the heavens had smiled at him for that act of selflessness. Ethan was being rewarded now.
He drew the skin of her inner thigh into his mouth hard enough to leave a mark before moving his attention to the heated flesh between her legs.
Julie was breathing fast, but he didn’t gentle his touch. Instead, he pulled her thighs toward him as he loomed over her pussy, an unmistakable sign he was about to feast.
He bent his head, taking a long, slow lick. He lapped her from top to bottom before reversing the circuit. When he swirled the tip of his tongue over her clit, she cried out.
“You taste better than the dessert we had tonight,” he said, blowing over her burning folds before going back for more.
Julie giggled, but it was cut off as she gasped, squirming.
He settled over her slick velvet, working it with all the skill he’d learned from years of playing the field. But it wasn’t like before. Doing this to other women had simply been a means to an end.
Tonight, every sound and shudder Julie made was a personal victory. He could have come from that moan alone.
Julie’s legs thrashed, and she tightened around his tongue. Holding her legs down, he waited for the tell-tale pulse of her orgasm, letting her ride it out before rearing up unt
il his cock probed the pink vee at her core. He let the tip caress her clit before circling back down to flirt with the tight ring at the entrance of her sheath.
“Please,” Julie begged, urging him on with her legs. Her fingers shook as she pressed against him, rubbing those fabulous creamy tits against his chest.
His plan to tease Julie and bring her to climax again before he fucked her flew out the window. In the next heartbeat, his cock was throbbing, pushing inside her.
It was more difficult than he would have guessed. She was so tight he had to push hard to breach her entrance, yet she still didn’t give. Breathing hard, he flexed his hips, pressing his hard-on deep until she yielded, going soft around him as he drove home into her honeyed warmth.
“Fuck,” he groaned as he slid home. It must have been a really long time for her.
Ethan raised his head to ask if he’d hurt her, but her mouth touched his as her hips undulated beneath him with a restless, almost-frenzied motion.
That was all it took. His vision swamped out and instinct took over until he was bucking, withdrawing and surging in a rhythm older than time itself.
Sensation blurred as he gave himself over to that primal drive. Ethan was little more than an animal, a creature of testosterone and hunger whose only desire was to claim their mate. Mid-surge, he stopped to bite down on the juicy under-curve of Julie’s breast until she cried out. It was a touch too hard to be truly playful, but he couldn’t stop himself. It was as if he were imprinting himself on her very skin.
He threw his head back, lost in the pulsing pleasure. Underneath him, Julie tightened, surging up to meet him with a cry. She clamped down around him, taking her with him as she splintered in a second climax.
Ethan let go with a strangled shout, pouring every bit of himself into her before collapsing on top of her. It took him a full minute to raise his head. He kissed her still-panting mouth.
“Sorry,” he breathed, apologizing for crushing her. He rolled to the side, pulling her tightly against him.
“Ethan,” Julie whispered when she caught her breath.
“What?” he murmured, drowsy now.
“Never apologize for that.”
He fell asleep laughing.
Chapter Sixteen
Juliet stirred early the next morning, instinctively sensing she was alone in bed.
Her sleep-addled brain roused swiftly as she remembered the night before. The memories were like a warm wave, spreading from her tingling and slightly bruised lips, down her body to the tips of her toes.
Even her breasts felt swollen under the sheet, the tips hard and aching. And that was nothing compared to the ache between her legs. She was prepared to linger, replaying the night’s events when she realized she was not alone.
Ethan sat in the chair by the bed. Juliet scrambled up abruptly, pulling the sheet higher against her bare breasts.
“Hi.”
“Hey.” His voice was flat, and he didn’t smile. Juliet swallowed suddenly, unable to shake the presentiment of disaster. Something is wrong.
Ethan’s serious demeanor continued to chill her despite the warmth of the bed.
Mierda. You shouldn’t have slept with him. He regretted getting intimate with her. And why should he have been happy about it? She was a parasite, a needy single mother dependent on his largess, and he’d come to senses.
“Ethan,” she began, but he held up a hand.
“I woke up early. Too keyed up about the raid later, I guess.”
“Oh.” Was his issue related to that? “Is it dangerous?”
She hadn’t even considered he might be worried, and how selfish was that? To her mind, Ethan was superhuman, so solid and strong it seemed as if nothing could touch him. And that was stupid. She, of all people, should know better.
He shrugged, dismissing her fears. “Not really. We plan everything down to the last detail. It’s as safe as crossing the street for us.”
“But something might still go wrong,” she persisted. His manner was kindling her anxiety. What if something happened to him?
“Forget about that for now. I have to talk to you about something.”
Oh, God. He was going to ask her to leave. Bracing herself, Juliet tightened her grip on the sheets and waited.
Ethan passed a hand over his face. “I, uh, I woke up early.”
“You said that already.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah. Anyway, I was going to wake you, too, because I felt bad about passing out after only one time. It’s been a long week and what we did—well, it was…intense.”
“For me, too,” she said, wondering where he was going with this.
After a beat, Ethan continued. “Then I realized you couldn’t go again, not for a while. You need time to recover, right?”
“Uh, maybe.” She was sore, but why was he so concerned? And why was he watching her as if she’d just kicked a puppy?
Ethan leaned back in the chair. “Look at the sheets.”
She glanced down, confused. “What?”
His face hardened. “I said, look at the damn sheets, Julietta.”
He might as well have slapped her. Stricken, Juliet glanced down, finally seeing the blood.
Ethan stood, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “If you were a virgin last night, then who is Luna’s mother?”
Chapter Seventeen
He knew before she opened her mouth that Julie was about to lie. It was all over her face.
Fuck. This was not how he’d thought this morning was going to go.
“Who is Luna’s mother?” he ground out again. It felt as if his throat was closing in on itself. It was so hard to get the words out. “Because I know for a fact it can’t be you.”
She stared, her mouth opening and closing a few times beneath panicked brown eyes.
“I am her mother…now.”
It was almost a whisper, harsh and ragged, as if he’d torn the confession from her. But he couldn’t stop. This was too fucking big. “Please tell me you didn’t take that baby from her birth mother.”
“No!” Julie closed her eyes, shaking her head with a jerk. “And I never said I gave birth to her.”
Unbelievable. “You know that’s what I thought. You let everyone believe she was yours.”
Ethan scrubbed his face with his hands, pacing back and forth a few steps in front of the bed. “It was a lie of omission, but it was still a lie—well, I need the fucking truth cause I’m a goddamned agent of the FBI. You know I cannot let this go. Who gave birth to Luna and why is it just the two of you now?”
Julie bunched the covers, pressing them to her stomach as if it were hurting. “I…she…Luna is my sister Daniela’s baby. Daniela is gone now. Dead.”
It was terribly tragic information, but all Ethan could feel was relief. Julie was Luna’s aunt. He could breathe again. But they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“And Luna’s father?” he asked.
Julie’s head snapped up. She stared him square in the eyes. “My sister’s husband is also dead.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, completely softening. “When did they die?”
“Over a year ago.”
Over a year ago? Fucking hell. The gnawing pit in his stomach was back, but for a whole other reason. “That was when your parents died.”
She breathed through her nose audibly before nodding.
He swallowed hard. “The same day?”
Another nod.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. “They didn’t die in a car accident, did they?”
Julie shuddered, her face crumpling.
Ethan was on the bed like a shot. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest as she started to cry. Feeling like an asshole, he rubbed her back, pressing her against him hard enough to meld their bodies.
“I’m sorry. But, after last night, I had to find out what was going on.”
It took a long while, but then she nodded. “I know. I should have said something, but I never tell anyon
e about my family. I—I just didn’t think. Last night wasn’t supposed to happen and…”
“And you didn’t think I’d be able to tell it was your first time,” he finished.
He felt her shoulders move in the tiniest of shrugs. Ethan’s mind was turning, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out the rest of the story.
Julie was highly educated. She spoke French like a Parisian and had been very much at home at the Caislean, a five-star hotel for dinner. Julie came from money—money he strongly suspected had some blood on it.
“They were gunned down, weren’t they?” he asked. “That’s why you don’t like guns.”
She tensed in his arms. “Yes,” she whispered.
He waited another long moment. “Cartel?”
Julie hesitated, but then she nodded before shivering violently. “I know the guns weren’t like yours. They had been shot many times. There were too many bullets for a handgun.”
Automatic weapons. That didn’t necessarily mean cartel violence, not these days, but it was the most obvious explanation.
“We were having a small party,” she said with a tiny hiccup. “It was for Luna’s christening. I…I hid with her in a closet until the noises stopped.”
Son of a bitch. The gut punches kept coming. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed her back. “Can I ask one more thing?”
Her face was buried in his chest. “What?” The word was barely intelligible.
“Is it legal?
“Is what legal?
“Having custody of Luna. Is it a formal arrangement?”
“Not exactly,” she said, peeking up. “I didn’t file any paperwork, but there was no time. I had to leave. It…it wasn’t safe.”
“You didn’t have more family down in Mexico you could have gone to?” he asked, aware the answer didn’t matter. If Julie had been scared enough to run with a baby, then nowhere in Mexico would have been safe.
Julie spoke haltingly, as if she were thinking about it. “I have some cousins somewhere, but we never visited. My parents were different from them. They liked money and lived well. They had a million friends, some of whom I called aunt or uncle, but that was just our way. They weren’t blood. I know both sets of grandparents are dead.”