by Silks, Lacey
“That water was freezing, K. And you nearly died. I guess I had more urgent issues on my mind – like your life.”
“Right. But I like you hard.” I reached down and grasped his ready shaft.
“And I like you wet.” That lopsided grin of his lifted as his hand slid between my legs, and he drew his fingers between my folds.
“It’s the water,” I lied.
“Well, then I guess I should make sure you’re wet for me, not because of the shower.”
And before I could ask him how he was planning to do that, Julian was down on his knees, kissing my inner thigh and sliding his fingers between my tender flesh. I braced my back against the shower glass as he pulled his tongue up my slit.
“Oh, God!”
“Good?” He looked up.
“Really good.”
And he dove in again, his fingers spreading me in prep for his full tongue assault. I opened my legs wider. Julian’s fingers prodded my opening, while his slick tongue drew through between my lips. He settled a bit higher, right at my clit, flicking and suckling my blazing cunt with ardent greed. The skillful suck of his mouth brought my hips forward. The succulent nurture erected my nipples and my hands found my breasts on their own, molding the flesh, feeling my soft skin in my palms.
“That’s right, baby,” he said in between the slurps.
Julian’s fingers invaded me from the inside, pushing in until his hand squished against me, pounding right between my legs. The world spun again. My back slid up and down the shower glass; my skin squeaking against it. This was so out of control, but so right at the same time. The tightness began releasing too quickly. He kept his mouth on me, his head bopping down below, reviving my desire to a delicious new height.
“Ahh!” I screamed, feeling the burst spread from his mouth though me, the urgent quivers shaking my limbs and curling my toes.
Too fast! I need more! I thought, and Julian wouldn’t stop, as if reading my mind. Another orgasm tore through me, pulsing from my clit, reducing my entire body to jelly.
I slid my hands to my sides and tapped his head to stop. Julian grazed up my body, his hot skin on mine. Pressed between the shower glass and him, I felt my head spin and closed my eyes.
“You’re delicious,” he said into my mouth.
I just nodded, because I couldn’t get a word out.
“And I’ve been in love with you too.”
My eyes flew open. “What?” I said into his mouth.
“I love you, K,” he breathed into me, filling my lungs and my soul at the same time completing me. “And, I’m sorry I was such a dick before.”
“Shh,” I touched his lips with my finger. “I’ve got you too.”
* * *
The next morning I woke up before Julian. For the first time in a long time I’d had a peaceful dream. My mother was there, planting in her flower garden. She looked happy – very happy. I remembered that time. She didn’t know I was listening to her humming under her nose. It was one of my fondest memories of her.
Now, looking up at the ceiling, I couldn’t help but smile. Julian slept on his front with his left arm over my chest, cupping my right boob. Every once in a while he’d gently rub it and squeeze it, as if he were having a pleasurable dream. The sound of a buzzing phone disturbed the peace.
“Can you get that, K?” he mumbled, probably through his sleep.
I gently removed his arm to answer the call. An unknown number showed on the screen, and I pressed the green icon. “Hello?” I whispered.
No one answered, but I could tell they were there, on the other line, listening.
“Hello?” I asked again.
“Julian Cross?” The female voice asked and I dropped the phone. And it wasn’t that the voice was a woman’s – it was because I thought I recognized it.
I backed up against the headboard pulling my knees up to my chest. No, it was all in my head! It had to be. I made a mistake. It had been so long, how could I recognize my mother’s voice? My dead mother’s voice?
“Are you all right?” Julian asked, propping himself up on his elbows. “Who was it?”
He reached for the phone saying, “Hello?” and then looked warily at me. “Cindy... yes, it will be three more days... forward it to the usual email... thank you... bye.”
“Kendra, are you all right?”
“That was your secretary?” I asked, feeling my body tremble.
“Yes, what’s the matter? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”
Or heard one, I thought.
“I’m sorry. I thought I recognized her voice.” Avoiding Julian’s gaze, I jumped out of bed and scrambled to pull on a pair of panties and my sweats.
“Well, you’ve heard Cindy before. C’mere.” He patted the bed beside him. “Who did you think it was?”
“I just thought it was someone else.” I regarded him from under my lashes, wondering whether he’d think I was crazy. But I couldn’t take the chance he’d think I wasn’t well, so I didn’t say anything.
A bird flew right outside our window, startling me.
“Is everything all right, K? You’re so jumpy. You don’t regret last night, do you?” Julian scooted closer to my side, adjusting my body to curl into his.
“Last night was wonderful.”
Julian’s mouth covered mine with a lingering kiss before he said, “I want you in my arms every night, K.” He trailed his lips to my cheek and down my neck. “And every morning,” Then grazed along my jaw line to my earlobe. “And afternoon.”
I laughed freely. “When will you get any work done?”
“Fuck work. It’s overrated.”
A laugh escaped from my chest. “I love your dirty mouth.”
“Then come here. My dick is already throbbing for you.” He pulled me under the sheets. I had a feeling we’d spend the next three days in bed – not that I was complaining.
While I knew he was kidding about work, I couldn’t help but feel that I too needed to figure out what I would do about my nightclub. I missed Kissed, but the lure there was still too much. Once we returned home, Julian had promised me answers about my father’s business dealings. Perhaps by then I’d be ready to somehow reclaim the club that I’d lost.
CHAPTER 13
The days were finally getting longer. Winter’s beauty decorated the front lawn and the back yard. Julian spent late hours at his office while I started going over the club’s finances and planning for a grand opening. It would still take a few months before I could return to Kissed, but I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. This seemed like the next logical step.
Each evening, Julian arrived home late. The gray shadows under his eyes worried me. During the second week after we’d returned from Austria, Julian and Tristan were both elbows deep in trying to capture David Wright, the man who had ruined Allie’s childhood. Tonight, he was staying at Tristan’s house, overseeing an operation to catch the bastard.
I stretched my legs on the swing in the sunroom, reading a book. The sound of a motor rolled through the house. I set my Kindle down and followed the noise into the garage. The door was half-open, letting the cool winter air inside. Julian’s back was turned to me as he played with the gas under his right hand. The exhaust purred with each twist of his wrist. I watched his arms flex and back muscles shift as he manipulated the handles, realigning his backside for that perfect ride. He reminded me of a little innocent boy seeing a motorcycle for the very first time, except I knew that Julian had ridden a bike since his late teens.
I strolled to his side. His boots were soaked and cheeks flushed red. Julian’s scarf and winter jacket hung over a column of four spare tires. He must have walked home from Tristan’s house. Allie and Tristan lived next door, but with the size of properties the Cross brothers owned, Julian might as well have walked three blocks. When he looked at me, he smiled with his tired eyes. I leaned in for a drawn-out kiss. Julian pulled me into his arms, until I was seated sideways in front of him. He turned off
the ignition.
“I haven’t seen you on a bike in a while.” My moving lips brushed his.
“It’s been a busy few months.”
That said so much to me. Julian had sacrificed every minute of his life helping me heal. He could have done anything he wanted to, yet he chose me.
“It’s done. Wright is dead.” Each time Julian blinked, his eyes appeared heavier.
“How’s Allie?” I asked, brushing his hair off his forehead and out of his eyes.
“She’s shaken up.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m glad he’s dead.”
While I couldn’t even imagine what Allie had gone through as a child, I’d always felt a connection with her. I knew what it was like to have a sick man after you, and luckily for me, I got away from Donato before it was too late.
“In the long run, this is much better than putting the son of a bitch behind bars and wasting taxpayers’ money on a trial.”
“You should sleep,” I said, furrowing my brows.
But he shook his head sideways. “No, I need to let loose. Will you take a ride with me?” The way he asked in his deep throaty tone insinuated I’d be riding him instead of the motorcycle; or perhaps it was just me, needing Julian each time I saw him.
“Really?”
With the exception of Vienna, I hadn’t been out of this house since I returned. The sound of leaving with Julian on his bike revived buried excitement I thought I’d lost.
“Yeah, really. I don’t want this home to feel like a prison to you. Besides, I need to get away too.”
“Where will we go?”
“I don’t know. Wherever the road takes us,” he winked. But something told me Julian knew exactly where we were going.
I hurried to the house to change and quickly twisted a side braid in my hair. This way it wouldn’t flop around on the bike. When I came back, Julian was already in his jacket, tightly zipped up to his neck. His helmet hung on one of the handles. As I approached he reached down behind the bike, lifting a huge box.
“I thought you might need this,” he said, handing it to me.
My chest drummed and I hurried closer, pulling on the black bow as he held the package. I opened the lid and inside was a matching leather jacket with pinned insulation.
“Thank you!” I wrapped my arms around his neck, nuzzling into him. “I love it.”
“I can’t let you freeze out there.”
I slid into the jacket, put on my helmet, and straddled the bike behind Julian. My arms naturally wrapped around him from the back.
“It seems you remember how to do this.” He looked back with a smirk.
I squeezed tighter. Of course I remembered; except this time I was riding with the right man. Both Cross brothers loved their bikes and reserved riding them for pleasure. Julian turned on the ignition and the engine rumbled between my legs.
Leaving the house felt liberating. I didn’t even know where we were going and didn’t really care. The sound of passing wind, the smell of the lukewarm winter, and the feel of Julian’s back against my chest was perfect. He rode along the shoreline, speeding up between neighborhoods. Following the movement of his body, I leaned to the side on each turn. Out in the distance on my left, there was nothing but the black ocean decorated with a handful of bopping boats. Behind us, the seductive city lit up the sky. After a few miles I lowered my head against Julian’s back, letting it rise and fall with each breath he took.
When he finally stopped in a park, the place appeared empty. At first I didn’t find that odd, but when the lights flicked on, illuminating each tree in twinkling white rows, my jaw dropped. The faint sound of music played in the distance. I knew Tristan had pulled off gestures like these in the past, but I haven’t been privy to Julian’s imagination just yet, and I was looking forward to what he had planned.
“You did this?” I asked in a half-whisper, gawking around me. When I turned to see his pleased smile, it made my heart go pitter-patter.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes, but why?”
“You’ve been locked up in our house for too long... I just wanted to do something for you.”
“Our house?” I asked. The comment didn’t scare me as much as I thought it would.
“Of course it’s our house. Even if you wanted to move out, there’s no way I’d let you.” His commanding tone made me feel wanted and desired. He offered his arm, and I hooked mine into the loop. “Come, I want to show you something.”
I followed Julian’s guiding arm. In between the trees, more lights shimmered. The carnival music got louder with each step until we reached a carousel from a fair. I knew the ride wasn’t a permanent fixture in the park and wondered whether Julian had specifically had it set up for us. The horse figures spun around in a slow rhythm, some bopping up and down. An older gentleman stood by the controls, smiling. He extended his arm and motioned us inside just as the last spin slowed to a stop.
“I can’t believe you did this.” I sat down in the horse-drawn carriage, where a blanket had already been set. “You know, I always thought I’d go back out into the world by going to a store, or maybe a restaurant, but I never thought I’d step into a fairy tale first.”
He kissed my lips, leaving the warmth of his skin behind. When in the world had he found the time to arrange all this?
“You deserve it, K. You’ve put up with way too much these past few months. Fairy tales aren’t even enough. I want to make all your dreams come true.”
They already have, I thought, leaning against his shoulder.
Arm in arm, we rode the carousel around without saying a word. Once it stopped, the older gentleman brought up a basket and left. Julian opened the cover as I watched with anticipation, to see whether perhaps next he’d pull a rabbit out of a top hat he’d hidden somewhere.
The smell of fried homey food hit my nose and I felt my stomach grumble.
“It’s only fries, chicken burgers, Caesar salad and fruit.”
“Only? Are we staying overnight?” I laughed.
“We can do anything you want, K.” He reached inside and passed me a burger.
We stayed in our seat, underneath the blanket, munching on our food. The change of scenery from our house to this park definitely lifted my spirits. It assured me I could step out into the world and have a regular life; even though with Julian, the definition of regular was always extravagant. Over the past months, my thoughts about the first time I’d go out had scared me, each time making me wonder what else could happen to destroy my life. But then again, I’d been abducted from home, so were we truly safe anywhere? The only time I felt safe was in Julian’s arms.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am it’s all over,” he said as he leaned back and sipped on his coke.
The relief on Julian’s face and in his relaxed shoulders made him so vulnerable. It was a rare sight. He rarely let his guard down or allowed himself to relax.
“I’m glad Allie’s safe too,” I said.
“I have something else for you.” He removed a small box from the inside of his jacket pocket.
“Please don’t tell me you’re proposing.” I looked around to see whether there was a church nearby. After the stunt Tristan pulled with Allie, proposing minutes before their wedding, nothing would surprise me from the Cross brothers. However, I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment.
Julian laughed. “I promise I’m not. Open it.”
I lifted the cover. Inside was a set of car keys.
“You got me a Beamer?”
“The lease on your car ended while you were... away. And I’m sure you’ll want to start getting back into the swing of normalcy. I wanted to get you a Bentley, but I know you like these more.” He pointed to the keys.
“Julian, this is too much.” I handed back the keys.
“Why?”
“I can buy my own car, you know, once I get the club going.”
“The club’s been running smoothly, K. You’ve seen the fin
ancials. But I know you’d like to reinvest the earnings.”
“I’ll accept this only if you let me pay back.”
He thought about that for a moment. “Fine, but I say when that will be.”
I had a feeling I wouldn’t get a better deal than that, and I also knew I wouldn’t hear about paying him back until snowmen could survive in a summer heat wave.
“Ready to go out on your own?”
“I don’t know. I want to be ready, but I’m afraid of the triggers we talked about.” My doctors had said anything could cause a relapse, including places, sounds, and actions. I wasn’t afraid to step out, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fear the triggers that could jolt my memories.
“I need to know whether you are because I have to go to Washington next week. It’ll be for a few days,” Julian said. “You’ll have the house all to yourself.”
“And you’re trusting me not to turn it into a dump?”
“I’ve always trusted you, K, and I’ll be a phone call away. Tristan is next door if you need to get in touch with him. Will you be all right with me gone?”
“I’ll miss you. You’ve been my anchor. But of course you should go.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I will always be your anchor, K. But I’ll try to find you a replacement anchor while I’m gone.”
Julian held a mischievous look. His eyes, framed by those long lashes, shone with excitement until I asked, “What’s in Washington?”
He considered my question for a moment before he answered. “Mostly business.”
I cocked my head to the side. Julian still looked as tired as he had when he’d come home, and it seemed my question added a layer of worry to his face. He finally exhaled, saying, “If I get the answers I seek while I’m away, so will you. I promised in Vienna to help you put your past behind you, and I’m a man of my word.”
I wondered what Washington had to do with my past; and now I was convinced that whatever answers Julian was looking for involved my father more than me. After all, he was the one who’d worked there.
Julian covered his mouth, forcing back a yawn.