“Always. The elevator’s this way.”
I follow him inside of the parking garage elevators. He hits the correct floor number and then we stand there, our reflections mirrored in the smooth silver interior. We’re both staring at the other. I realize too late I haven’t freshened up. I quickly begin smoothing my hair down and making sure my clothes aren’t wrinkled.
His hand shoots out to grab mine, stopping my primping. “You’re gorgeous.”
“To you. Your parents might not think so.”
“Where do you think I got my great taste from?”
“Playboy? I saw the magazines in your office when we were packing.”
He grimaces. “The articles are inspiring.”
I smirk just as the elevator doors open. “Yeah right.”
There are only two doors down this hall. Julian goes to the one on our left. He doesn’t bother knocking. He takes his key out and sticks it in the lock. Pushing the door open, he grabs my hand and we both enter the condo together.
The first thing I see when I enter is the view. Nothing but floor to ceiling glass windows. There’s a building blocking the panoramic view in its entirety, but it fades to the west, and all I can see is the bay. The mist hangs over the city. Sun bursts through the top and shines into the living room, catching the glass vases. There are hardly any walls, giving the entire space a large open floorplan. Modern furniture decorates the room. There’s a smell, like sage and coffee, permeating the air.
Artwork adorns the walls. Large canvases with colorful beautiful paintings are placed intermittently around the open space.
There are two people in the kitchen sitting at a dark wooden table. I size them up before they have a chance to see us. I recognize the woman as the person on Julian’s phone. Charlotte’s blonde hair is in a high tight bun. She’s drinking something hot. Steam rises from her cup and wraps around her soft delicate features. The man across from her is hard where she is soft. His features are sharp and angular. His gray hair is styled and his deep gray eyes smile lovingly at his wife.
“What? No party?” Julian says.
They both look over with shocked faces. Almost immediately they’re up and embracing their son. I stand beside them awkwardly as they interact.
“Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Kaelyn. Kael, this is my mother, Charlotte, and my father, Timothy.” Julian touches my shoulder and guides me over to his parents.
I smile shyly. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
Charlotte smiles widely and moves in for a hug, smelling of black tea and sugar. “Welcome to our family,” she whispers in my ear.
I’m thrown by her comment when she hands me off to Timothy. Julian looks like his father, but his father’s hairline is further back and his brows are heavy. Their eyes are eerily identical. I bet his mother falls into them the same way I do.
Timothy hugs me tightly. “It’s also nice to meet you, dear. I heard Julian was bringing his girlfriend, but I didn’t know she’d be so opposite from the other.”
I frown into the crook of his neck. “Are you disappointed?” I whisper.
“Delighted actually,” he whispers back, making me grin. Timothy lets me go and winks at his son. “How was the drive?”
“Fine,” Julian responds easily. He’s already younger and we haven’t even been here for five minutes. “I could use a shower and a cup of coffee.”
His mother hooks her arm in mine. “We fixed the back bedroom up for you both. Probably a good thing you made us wait so long,” she adds, getting her jab in. “Let’s, dear.”
Julian and his father fall into step behind us. I glance over my shoulder once to find him smiling tenderly at me. When he sees me, he winks.
“Are you originally from Savannah?” Charlotte asks as we travel down the hall. “I don’t hear an accent.”
The hall, much like the rest of the house, is decorated with gorgeous paintings. One catches my eye. Flowers of all shapes and sizes wrap around a piece of metal fencing. The landscape behind the fence is dreary and wilting. It’s almost as if the beautiful flowers are reaching through the wire fencing to get to the land that needs it most.
Julian clears his throat. “Why don’t we save the Q&A for later?”
“No,” I answer anyway. “I’m not from Savannah.”
“Where are you from?”
“Mom,” Julian says tightly.
“Julian,” she says, even tighter. Charlotte lets my arm go to open a door at the end of the hall. Stepping back, she motions for me to enter. I look at Julian nervously.
He puts his hands on my waist and guides me forward, leaning down to whisper in my ear. “You’re so sexy when you’re nervous.”
I recall the way his fingers teased me when his mother called and remind myself not to let him get me alone in his parent’s house.
I step out of his hold and look around. Everything is clean and crisp. Even the white sheets look perfectly placed. I imagine his mother taking her time picking through linens and wonder if all mothers care this much about their children. That I can’t answer that question makes me unbearably saddened. It hurts in a way I’m not used to. Normally, I don’t have many comparisons to bother me with. But Charlotte’s looking at her son like he’s the most perfect blessing in the world, and I’ll never know that.
I look away from them and swallow my sadness.
The bed is large and inviting. I walk over and brush my fingers against the soft white comforter. It even smells different in here. Like new things and cold air. It’s hard to trust. I expect Charlotte and Timothy to swat my hand away and guide me to the basement, or worse somewhere else. Maybe Bruce is there waiting for me, desperate to remind me I am unworthy of everything I want.
I go over to another painting on the wall. Light from the opposite window shines onto the painting as the Ean’s speak behind me. Men with large heads and skinny bodies chase a single figure painted red. Dark shadows chase the men. It’s disturbing how they don’t look behind them. Don’t they know the shadows are coming for them? And even if they all reach the woman, she can only pick one. The shadows are waiting for the rest of them. I shiver. As long as the winner sees what he wants, the shadows don’t exist. It isn’t until he loses do they matter.
I look over my shoulder at Julian. I can’t lose.
“We’ll let you two get settled in,” Timothy hints, guiding his wife toward the door. “Breakfast will be ready for you when you’re ready for it.”
Charlotte looks comically disappointed. “Don’t take too long,” she threatens, allowing Timothy to close the door behind them.
The moment we’re alone, I feel it. Like warm breath down my back and rough hands on my skin. The lion wants me.
His eyes are trained on me. He looks dangerous, like he can have me without moving a finger. His eyes trace my body the same way, leaving me aching.
“Your parents are down the hall,” I remind him needlessly.
“You can scream into my chest,” he offers. “I’m going to make you scream, Kael. Loud.”
Shit. I back away from him and he follows, stalking his prey. “How about we wait?”
“You undress, or I can undress you. Either way, you’re going to end up naked with my cock deep inside of you. I need to be inside of you right now, baby.”
Heat snakes up my spine. The ache between my legs magnifies. Still, I back away. “Julian,” I manage.
The lion counters my steps. He backs me up until I’m against the wall. As he speaks, he unbuttons my jacket. “It would be a shame to mess up the bed, don’t you think?”
I attempt to think through the want in my brain. “No.”
Smiling at his hands, he undoes the final button on my jacket and pushes it open, his large hands enveloping my small waist. “We’ll just use the wall.” Finally, he looks at me as his fingers begin undoing the button on my jeans. “I don’t have any condoms so things are going to get messy.”
“I like messy,” I whisper, watching his fingers unzip
my jeans. I press my palms against the wall as he kneels on the ground to wiggle my jeans down my legs. He quickly unties my Converses and then my jeans and socks magically disappear. My black lace thong barely covers me. He leans forward and kisses my inner thigh. “I want messy.”
His tongue leaves my thigh wet as it slides closer to my middle. With me watching he presses his tongue over me hard through my panties. I jerk and involuntarily moan out loud. I can’t help it. He parts my thighs and licks me over my panties, making every single part of me feel on fire. I bite my lip to keep from moaning. It doesn’t help. It’s hard to keep myself upright when my legs feel like rubber. I delve my fingers in his hair and balance that way. But Julian doesn’t want me to balance. He wants to kill me. Without warning, his fingers slip under my panties and pushes them to the side. His tongue presses like hot silk to my clit, caressing me until I am so wet I can feel it dripping down my thighs.
“Please,” I beg.
He wipes his mouth off and looks up at me, eyes silver and burning. He takes his shirt off, balls it up, and then hands it to me. “Put this over your mouth.”
I gratefully grab his shirt and cover my face with it. His tongue finds my clit almost immediately. My muffled moans fill my ears as his tongue licks and flicks me. The muscles in my thighs quake. His fingers join the party and stretch me as his tongue sends me over the edge. I’m thankful for his shirt as I gasp through my orgasm.
His jeans disappear. My ass is in both of his hands. He lifts me up and presses my back into the wall at the same time his cock slams into me. I bury my face into his neck as he presses into me roughly. The shirt drops from my fingers. I feel like this is one of those times where I’m a step behind. Where are his pants? I’m still on that and he’s thrusting into me, filling me with every inch he has to give. Slobber coats his throat as I moan into the crevice between his shoulder and neck uncontrollably. The ache he just soothed begins to rebuild.
“Don’t be afraid to be happy,” he groans, opening my legs wide and pressing impossibly deeper into me. “I just want to make you happy, Kael.”
I cling to him, trying and failing to keep up. Eventually, I give up like I always do and simply resolve myself to breathing and feeling. The wall digs into my back as his deep groans fill my ears. I want more of him. I want all of him. I part my legs in his grasp and feel him slide in even deeper. The sweet burn is my undoing. After that, I no longer exist. I know at some point I used to be a person with thoughts and words. Now I am nothing but the blinding pleasure erupting between my legs. My moans become pleas of desperateness.
“Julian, please,” I gasp repeatedly, needing to hear his name on my lips. My nails dig into him. I can’t help it. I can’t feel anything but my orgasm radiating throughout my entire body like an electric shock.
All I can think is: happiness is worth the fear.
The moment he pulls out of me and lets me go I slide to the ground and onto my knees. I don’t think he planned for it. He was just being careful. I open my mouth anyway. I brace my hands on his thighs as he looks down at me, knowingly guiding his slick cock into my mouth. I greedily suck him. It’s my turn to make him scream. I take him into my mouth as much as I can, simultaneously wrapping my tongue around him as he moves in and out of my mouth. When his end comes, I’m ready for it. I don’t spill any of him. I swallow it all down, knowing the day I waste an ounce of him is the day I waste everything.
After, I rest against him, breathing hard with my brain completely clouded. Above me, I hear him doing the same.
“Shower time,” he mumbles, grinning lazily at me. He’s always so damn sexy. He grasps my hand and leads me into the bathroom across the room. The large mirror over the sink showcases our naked bodies.
For a moment, I stand there and watch us. Thick brown hair beside my dark red. Dark blue eyes and his cool gray ones. Abs that make my mouth water and hands that know just how to touch me. There’s nothing about Julian I would change. He’s introduced so much into my life. Pleasure, want, desperation, and love. There is so much more left to feel.
Nervousness fills my insides as he starts the tub. It’s a large deep basin against the wall. My incessant fear is starting to throb inside of me. Julian is still in my brain, licking between my legs. But I can still find it in me to fear the thing that brings me so much happiness and hope.
“Get in. Kael?”
I blink. His hand is held out to me. I grip his fingers and allow him to assist me into the tub. He follows me in. I sink down until my back is pressed against his chest. His legs border me, holding me in place. Below the water, he grips me tightly.
“What are you thinking about?” he wonders quietly, tracing a pattern on my stomach.
“Forever.”
He chuckles confusedly. “You mind elaborating?”
“There’s so much more left to us. I can’t wrap my brain around it all.”
“Then don’t. I don’t expect you to have everything figured out right away. I don’t even have half of it figured out. It’s all right to be confused and unsure. Your fear is so used to controlling you, you can’t think without it. Sometimes not knowing is the best part.”
“Not knowing is terrifying.”
“Look, Kael. I can’t show you anything in a magic crystal ball. I can’t convince you of anything. All I can tell you is what I want for us. That’s going to have to be enough.” He’s getting agitated.
I don’t want him agitated. I lean back and catch his eye. “I can do one day at a time.”
“What more do you need?”
I bite my lip and nuzzle against his neck. “All I need is you.”
“No. Obviously, I’m not enough. You’re letting people who don’t even matter get in the way. I mean damn it, Kaelyn. They don’t matter. I understand they hurt you. They let you go, mistreated you, and introduced some unfair things into your heart. But you have me now. I want to love you and all you can do is compare what I want to give you with everything you’ve never had. Let me up.” He begins to rise from around me.
I panic. I grab hold of his leg and cling to him. “I don’t mean to.”
Closing his eyes in misery, he takes a deeply pained breath. “That’s the part that kills me. Let me up,” he repeats harshly, begging to be free of me.
I’m either killing him or he wants to kill me. Either way, I feel gutted when he rises out of the water naked, soaking wet and unhappy. He grabs a towel off the hook and wraps it around his body.
“I’ll bring your clothes in,” he throws over his shoulder before closing the bathroom door sharply.
I sink morosely under the water’s soapy surface and leave my eyes open, staring up at the frothy bubbles. Crying under the water seems counterproductive, but at least this way I don’t have to wipe my eyes. One duffle bag of my clothes is on the bed and Julian is nowhere to be found when I come out.
I sigh dejectedly and sink onto the bed, pulling out my bra and panties. After putting them on I sift through my clothes and dress. I spot Julian’s towel on the floor and use it to dry my hair. Once I comb through it I decide I can’t put it off any longer. I have to face his family. How can I fit in with this family when the heart of it left me naked in the bathtub?
His mother and father sit across from their son when I step awkwardly into the kitchen. Julian doesn’t look up when I come in. He simply shoves food into his mouth.
Charlotte grins sweetly at me and pulls out the chair between her and Julian. I smile timidly and sit down. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” She grabs a plate and starts piling it high with fluffy golden eggs and thick pieces of toast. “Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee’s good.”
“Julian, go get your girlfriend a cup of coffee. And refill my tea please.” She gives him a hard look as she sets the plate down in front of me.
“I can get it,” I offer, but he’s already up, disappearing deeper into the kitchen.
“Nonsense. I didn’t raise a selfish man. I raised a man
worth keeping. Now, let’s talk about you. You look a little young. How old are you?”
I grab my fork for something to do. “I’m eighteen.”
Timothy looks up from his plate, eyes wide. “Only eighteen?”
“Is that a problem?” Julian demands. He sets a mug of coffee down in front of me and the tea in front of his mother. Without asking he sits and begins filling my coffee with cream and sugar from canisters already on the table.
“No,” his father says placatingly. “It’s a surprise. Carry on, Char.”
Charlotte watches him fix my coffee as she speaks. “Women mature much faster anyway,” she says, eyes meeting mine. “What are your plans for college?”
Help me. I clear my throat and look down at my plate. “I haven’t thought about it much.”
“Understandable. I switched majors four times before I settled on an art degree. I sold my first painting to one of my professors and it was a sealed deal for me. I knew being an artist was what I wanted to do. You’ll figure it out,” she assures me, patting my shoulder. “My daughter Clara still hasn’t settled on a degree. She goes to college between working. She’s like her mother. Working for other people makes her cranky.” She laughs adoringly. “You’ll meet her on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
I just come out and say it. “I was given up for adoption when I was a baby. I don’t know if I do. I guess I could, but I doubt it.” Beneath the table, Julian’s hand settles on my knee.
Charlotte’s eyes widen. “You mean you’ve never met your birth parents?”
“No.”
“How unfortunate. Were your adoptive parents supportive?” She says this hopefully, to ease the sting of her question.
“Which ones?” I mutter dryly, stabbing my eggs.
“Oh,” she replies, sensing the truth. She’s learning I’m not the perfect girl for her son. I am riddled with holes and am completely unworthy of him. At least she doesn’t give up. “How did you and Julian meet?”
I don’t realize my hands are shaking until he grabs one in his and holds it tightly. He leans over and kisses the side of my head. “We met at her job. She was a waitress.”
Under The Peaches (Teaching Love Series Book 1) Page 38