Jules reached her warm hand under his shirt, feeling the ripples of his abs, and he couldn’t help but shiver slightly. Scooting up, she kissed him lightly, and with a growl, he pulled her on top of him. Grabbing her hair, he kissed her hungrily, his other hand roaming down her waist and to her taut ass. He felt himself get hard instantly and groaned into her mouth when she grinded her hips against his.
Jules pulled back briefly to take off her shirt and bra, revealing perfect, round breasts. He took a bud in his mouth, swirling his tongue around. He needed to taste more of her, he needed to be inside her. She seemed to feel his urgency and in a second, she was nude on the blanket, her hair in messy waves.
Trevor gazed at her perfect body, her silhouette glowing against the moonlight. This was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
He removed his clothes with speed he didn’t know he had and pulled her down. “God, you’re gorgeous,” he murmured into her ear before entering her without another word.
Jules gasped at the sudden pressure, but her gasp turned into moans as he pumped into her. “Fuck,” he growled, “fuck!”
This woman was doing crazy things to his mind and his body; he thirsted for her.
“Oh, Trevor,” she gasped, her hands gripping the blanket above her. “Faster, please, harder!”
Her words fueled his ecstasy and drive, and he found himself thrusting into her with abandon. He gazed into her face that was strained with pleasure, an image that would stay with him forever. He knew he couldn’t last long this time, as much as he wanted this to go on forever.
“Come for me,” Jules murmured, as if knowing he needed the sweet release. “Come for me, Trevor!”
With a burst of finality, he buried himself in her roughly, burying his head into her neck, and let his seed spill into her. He groaned with pleasure, breathing hard into her.
“Baby, that was…” His voice was hoarse.
Jules smiled sweetly, looking up at him. Her hair spilled around her like a halo. “I know,” she whispered.
Trevor eased himself out of her and laid down next to her, immediately enveloping her in his arms once more. He relished in this feeling, of having this perfect woman next to him, feeling her warmth, her pulse, her heartbeat.
How could he stay away from her after this? How could he never feel this again?
The next morning, Trevor woke up with a feeling of dread. Today was the first day of his life without Jules. He knew it sounded dramatic since they hadn’t known each other for very long, but once he had met her, he couldn’t get his mind off her. He felt this yearning for her that he hadn’t had with all the other woman, no matter how alluring and sexy they were.
His heart dropped more when he heard his phone buzz at the office.
I had such a wonderful time last night. Want to head to the gym later for a little sparring? See if you can keep up with me? ;)
He sighed. Yesterday had to be the last day. He couldn’t live with himself if she was to get hurt because of him. Or worse. With a sigh, he closed the text without a reply. It would be hard, but this was necessary.
He had to do what he could to protect her.
There was no other option.
Chapter Fifteen
Jules looked at the clock for the hundredth time that night, wondering why she always allowed herself to get stuck at the office for so long. She had the authority to leave when she wanted, yet she often was there long past anyone else.
Part of her wanted to believe she got more work done when she was alone, but the fact of the matter was that she really didn’t want to go home. She had tried her best to ignore her phone that afternoon, but to no avail.
It seemed the more she tried to ignore it, the more his lack of response bothered her. She had sent Trevor that text message late in the morning, and she had fully expected to hear back from him by then. But her phone was still silent.
As the hours ticked by, Jules looked at her phone repeatedly, wondering why he wasn’t responding. She wasn’t the kind of woman to blow up someone’s phone when they clearly didn’t want to talk to her, but she also didn’t want to think about what Tony had said.
He had told her straight-up that Trevor was the kind of man to move on quickly from women, but she had chosen to ignore him and think with her lady parts rather than her brain.
She didn’t want to admit that the cold shoulder hurt her feelings, but at the same time, it did more than she could say. She felt used by him—something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. She was always the one who didn’t want to get into a relationship. She wasn’t used to how it felt to be on the other side of the equation. But she had been warned and even without the warning, she could’ve been able to tell that that was the type of person Trevor was. It was obvious just by looking at him that he could have any woman he wanted. Why settle for just one?
She had thought things were different, though, especially after the night before. If he was telling the truth about not having been out on the boat for a long time until yesterday, didn’t that mean she was special? Shouldn’t things be better with them? Or was she just kidding herself?
With a sigh, she shoved her laptop into its bag and headed out the door. She needed to work off some steam, and the only way she could do that would be to go to the gym. She had been hoping she would run into Trevor when she stopped by, but tonight, she really hoped he wasn’t there.
But when she saw his muscle car in the parking lot, she knew she couldn’t just let this slide. Jules was not the kind of woman to play games, and she certainly wasn’t the kind of woman to be played with. If he didn’t want to be with her, or if he thought it was nothing more than sex the night before, he was going to have to man up and tell her that directly. She wasn’t going to allow him to just disappear on her. She wouldn’t let it happen. She had more dignity than that and she was going to let him know it.
Jules walked into the gym, ignoring the worried look she got from Tony as she did so. She didn’t want to explain herself or the situation to him, and she knew he would ask if she had him train her that night.
At first, she thought she would say something to Trevor in passing, but when she saw him beating his fists against the bag, she was immediately reminded of them in the ring, and she couldn’t let it go.
She had had casual sex in her life before, so she knew when there was something more to the story. She had felt something with Trevor and was convinced he felt something for her as well. He simply had to. The way he had acted with her was too familiar and comfortable for there to be nothing between them.
She refused to believe he had used her for sex.
“Well, look who it is. Glad to see your car still works, though your phone evidently doesn’t,” she said coldly when she walked up behind him.
Trevor turned around, surprise clearly written on his face.
“Jules! I didn’t know you would be coming in tonight,” he said with a charming smile. She could see he was playing a game, and it only pissed her off further.
“Yes, I did come in tonight, to work out. I didn’t know you’d be here,” she said coolly. “After you blew me off, I didn’t know what you’d be doing.”
“I didn’t know you and I had the kind of relationship where I had to tell you what I was up to,” he retorted. She could see, once more, he was grasping. He was looking for any sort of way out of this situation; it was clear as day.
“I didn’t know we had the kind of relationship you could just vanish on me and expect me to think it’s okay,” she replied. Her eyes were on fire, and Trevor refused to hold her gaze.
He sighed and looked down. “Alright. Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you, and you do deserve more than that. But I can’t let you get close to me, Jules. I just can’t,” he said as he turned back to the punching bag. He was hitting it hard, and she could sense there was truth to what he was saying. She didn’t know what it was, but he had to be hiding something from her.
“What do you mean you c
an’t let me get close?” she demanded. She crossed her arms and looked at him with raised eyebrows. He wasn’t going to get off that easy.
“I mean there are things that are going on in my life that aren’t in my control, and I am not going to let you get hurt because of it. Please don’t ask me about it, Jules. This is something I really can’t talk about.” He looked at her over his shoulder, and she felt slightly taken aback.
This was a side of Trevor she hadn’t seen before, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She hadn’t even thought this side of him existed, he was always just so confident, charming, and carefree. There was something so genuine in the way he was talking to her right then. In the way he was looking at her. There was something about him that told her he meant what he said.
This wasn’t a game.
“What happened to us last night was out of my control. I didn’t mean to feel the way I do about you. You have to give me that. I can’t just walk away from it now like it was nothing. You’ve done something to me no one else has been able to do in years, Trevor. It has to mean something.” She spoke in a low tone and looked at the ground, ready to hear what he had to say.
He sighed. “This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with you at the same time. You could wind up hurt or even killed if you get close to me, Jules. I can’t have that on my hands.”
Jules was surprised at the mention of getting hurt or killed. What in the world was he talking about? Was he bullshitting her? Was he really doing something dangerous? She crossed her arms and looked around the gym. They were the only ones there, and she was grateful for the privacy. She said nothing for a few beats, then she sighed.
“Well, I don’t think it’s up to you to decide what I get to do with my life. Look, obviously I want to ask you what the hell is going on, but I have a feeling you don’t want to tell me. I just know that I want to be with you, Trevor, and if that means I’m going to risk being hurt, that’s what it means. I’m not going to just give up and throw in the towel now because of something that might or might not happen. I know I barely know you, but last night…it was amazing. I want to get to know you more, and I’ll risk anything to do that.” She looked at him square in the eye as she spoke, and he gave her a look of surprise.
“You don’t understand what you’re getting yourself into,” he said, shaking his head and turning back to the punching bag. He hit it a few times before he looked over his shoulder again. “You don’t know what this all really means.”
She took a step forward, ignoring what he said. Without saying a word, she stepped on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. They shared a kiss for a moment, then she pulled back and looked into his eyes.
“I’m a big girl, and I can make my own decisions. I want to do this, Trevor. Please, give me a chance here.” She kissed him once more before he had the chance to answer, and the kiss quickly began growing in passion. She pulled back once more, breathing hard. “What do you say?”
Trevor shook his head once more, but with a resigned smile. “God, Jules, you’re going to be the death of me.”
“Let’s go get something to eat and get out of here, huh?” she suggested with a grin. He nodded.
“I can take today off. It’s not going to kill me,” she said as she slung her bag over her shoulder. With no one else in the gym, she felt comfortable walking back with him to the men’s dressing room, sitting on the bench and watching as he removed his clothes.
If there was one thing about Trevor, it was that he certainly wasn’t shy. He took all his clothing off right in front of her, making no effort to hide anything. Jules smiled as she watched him.
She was certainly enjoying the view.
Chapter Sixteen
“I wouldn’t at all be offended if we were to go somewhere else tonight,” Trevor offered. Jules was sitting in the passenger seat of his car, looking out the window with a bright smile on her face.
“No, I wanted to go to your favorite place. No other place is going to be as good,” she replied. It was true, she had asked him in the dressing room what his favorite restaurant was and insisted that they go to that one for dinner.
He liked an Italian place on the south side. True, it was on the bad side of town, and he did worry that they might run into a rough crowd while they were there, but it didn’t stop him. He had confidence they were going to be okay, and he wanted to share something of his with her.
It was nice having her by his side once more, but at the same time, he was worried. Being with her did put her in a level of danger. That was just the way it was. He wanted to ignore it and not believe it was true, but he couldn’t turn a blind eye to the fact those men had come to his office that very day with their ominous threats.
He didn’t want them to threaten her as well.
They got to the restaurant and he opened the door for her, behaving as the perfect gentleman the entire way. Jules smiled as she put her hand in the crook of his arm. It was clear she was excited about the restaurant, and he was glad he got to be the one to take her there.
As they stepped inside, he started to relax. But it was short-lived.
No sooner had they been seated at their table than Sucre and his two men walked into the restaurant. As always, they glanced around the room to find any familiar faces before they sat down, and Trevor’s heart sank when they rested on him.
The three men walked over with the same smiles on all their faces, and Trevor would have given anything to punch them all. But he sat down and tried to keep his cool, talking to Jules as though nothing had changed.
“Mr. Strome! Fancy seeing you here! And what a lovely little plaything you have here.” Sucre smiled down at Jules, who frowned under his gaze. Trevor could see in her eyes she had suddenly realized what he was talking about when he mentioned she could get hurt, and it made his blood boil.
He didn’t mind what they did to him, but if they were to do anything to her, he would kill them all.
She rose from the table, excusing herself. “I’m sorry, but I think I need to freshen up before we order.”
She glanced at the men with a smile, and Trevor told her he would wait for her to get back before he ordered anything. Once she was out of sight, Sucre turned his attention back to Trevor.
“I didn’t know you would be so bold as to bring her out here on the same day we remind you that things are going to change,” he said with a delighted laugh. “Are you trying to make this easy for us?”
“You aren’t going to touch a single hair on her head,” Trevor growled. Sucre laughed.
“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary. Or maybe it will be. It’s really hard to say with the way things go these days. But you should know that I’m really good friends with the owners of this joint. If you try anything stupid, you’re going to be shut down so fast you won’t even know what hit you.” He glanced around the room and Trevor followed his lead. He didn’t know Sucre had a connection to anyone in the restaurant, but he could see by the way the staff dropped their eyes when Sucre looked at them they were all terrified of him and what he could do. Great. This was no longer his favorite restaurant.
“Like I said, it’s interesting you would bring her here is all. It’s almost as though you wanted us to see her with you.” Sucre sneered.
“Look, Sucre, I’m getting really tired of your shit. You are going to fucking leave her alone and fuck off!” he snapped, giving him the most threatening look he could muster.
“Alright, alright. You can throw your threats around if you want, but you should know that it’s not going to do a thing for you or your little plaything,” Sucre said with another sneer.
He pulled a card out of his pocket and dropped it on the table. Trevor glanced down, seeing immediately that it contained all the information they could possibly have about Jules. It had her work address, her home address, her phone number, her full name, everything.
“Where did you get this?” he demanded, fear creeping into his chest. Sucre laughe
d.
“Does it matter? You can see that I know what I’m talking about, and that girl has already been thoroughly investigated by those who care to know.”
“I don’t know what makes you think you needed to do that in the first place,” Trevor said, crossing his arms and looking from one of the faces to the other.
“Again, my friend, does it really matter? You can see that we know your girl, and we know the connection you have to her. You can tell me to fuck off now, but I promise you, we are done playing nice. Enjoy your dinner with your senorita. This may well be one of the last that you have.” Sucre smiled condescendingly at Trevor, and Trevor relaxed.
He was ready to fight then and there in the middle of the restaurant, but it didn’t look like it was going to come to that.
“Leave her the fuck alone,” he warned once more. Sucre laughed and shook his head, and the three men walked over to the other side of the restaurant and sat down.
Jules returned from the bathroom looking grim. Trevor was glad she had missed most of the conversation, and he gave her the best smile he could when she returned.
“Are you in trouble?” she asked after a few moments of silence. He gave her a confused look.
“Why would I be in trouble?” he asked, trying to make light of the situation as best as he could. She shrugged as she looked over her shoulder at the men.
“I don’t like them,” she said quietly. He could hear in her voice that she was scared, and he didn’t blame her. Trevor reached across the table and put his hand over hers. He didn’t care if Sucre saw. He already knew more about Jules than Trevor thought he ever could.
“Don’t be scared. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you,” he said with as reassuring a smile as he could manage. She looked at him with wide eyes, and Trevor was struck with how trusting she was.
She put her hands over his and looked at him with an urgent expression.
Cold-Hearted: A Billionaire Secret Baby Romance (The Alabaster Club Series Book 2) Page 8