Beach Reads Boxed Set

by Marie Force

  After he’d finally managed to stop shaking, he was hit by a wave of rage so deep and so intense it took his breath away. That those fucking monsters, those fucking arrogant bastards thought they would get away with this…

  The hair dryer turned off, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He didn’t want Juliana to see the rage. That wasn’t what she needed from him right now. She loved him. Nothing else mattered. Not tonight.

  The bathroom door opened, and he turned to her, deciding instantly that he had never seen anything more beautiful than Juliana in the white bathrobe with her shiny dark hair flowing down around her shoulders. Her usually vibrant olive skin had a pallor to it that made her brown eyes seem even bigger than usual. His gut clenched when he remembered how the bandage on her forehead had gotten there and what might have happened…

  Pushing those thoughts aside, he held out his hand to her. “I found some medicine.” He pointed to the two small bottles of Sutter Home from the mini-bar.

  “Bring it on, but I warn you, it’ll go straight to my head.”

  “Does the cut hurt?”

  “No.”

  “I asked the cops to get you some Tylenol. It’s over there if you need it.”

  “Thanks.” She moved to the window to check out the view of the harbor. “I figured your phone would be ringing nonstop.”

  “I shut it off.”

  She turned to him. “Can you do that?”

  He handed her a glass of wine. “Tom can deal with the media tonight. That’s why he’s the boss. Feel better after the shower?”

  “Much better. Do you think it’ll be on the news?”

  “It probably already is, but your name won’t be mentioned. Tom will see to that.”

  “What does it mean for the trial?”

  “I don’t know, and right now I don’t care. I don’t want to think about that.”

  She ran a hand over his bare chest and toyed with the St. Christopher medal he wore on a thin gold chain.

  He trembled under her caress.

  “I’m frightened for you, Michael. What if they hurt you? Or worse? You’re trying to put them in prison—”

  “Don’t.” He tipped her chin so he could see her eyes. “Don’t bring them into this room with us. I don’t want them anywhere near us. Not ever, but especially not tonight.” He kissed her. “Not tonight,” he whispered. He took the wine glass from her and put it on a table. Running his thumbs along her jaw, he slid his fingers into her hair. His lips glided over hers in a soft, easy caress that quickly became passionate.

  She loved him. He didn’t have to wonder or hope anymore. And when her arms encircled his neck and her tongue met his in ardent response, he was lost. He picked her up, carried her across the room, and laid her down on the big bed. With his eyes trained on hers, he kicked off his pants, reached for the belt to her robe, and tugged it open.

  He ran his hands over her reverently. “Oh, Juliana,” he sighed, his lips pressed to her belly. “You’re every fantasy I’ve ever had come to life.”

  He cupped her breasts and had to remind himself that they had all night. She was so beautiful, so perfect in every way that he resisted the urge to devour and took the time to savor. That she loved him, too, was nothing short of a dream come true. She was a dream come true. He rolled his tongue over her pebbled nipple, and she gasped with pleasure.

  “You smell so good,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but it turns me on like nothing ever has.”

  She chuckled. “It’s Aveda.”

  “Mmm, I love Aveda.” Reluctantly leaving her breasts for the time being, he kissed his way down, nudged her legs apart, and nuzzled her with his lips and then his tongue. He teased her with short caresses that had her panting for more and then deeper strokes that made her moan. He kept it up until she was wild beneath him. Finally, he focused his tongue on the spot that pulsed with desire and slipped a finger into her.

  Releasing another choppy moan, she lifted her hips in encouragement and grabbed a fistful of his hair to keep him there. It took only a few strokes of his tongue and finger to send her flying.

  He looked up, startled to find her cheeks wet with tears. “Juliana? Are you all right?”

  She nodded and reached out to him.

  “What is it?” he whispered against her neck. He felt her fingers tunnel through his hair and was reminded of the first time she had done that, the moment he knew for sure that he loved her. Lifting his head, he found her eyes. “Tell me.”

  Biting her lip, she studied him. “You know I want this—I want you—right?”

  “I think so.”

  “And that I love you? I really love you?”

  “I’m still getting used to that one,” he said with a smile, the wonder of it hitting him all over again. How had he ever gotten so lucky?

  She rested her hands on his face. “It’s just that I’ve never, you know, done… this—”

  “With anyone else.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re feeling guilty.”

  “Kind of.”

  Afraid she was retreating from him, he leaned down to kiss her softly, gently. Ignoring his own urgent need, he said, “We don’t have to, Juliana. Not if it doesn’t feel right to you.”

  “But it does. It feels right. You feel right.”

  Her hands traveled from his face to his back and down to clutch to his backside.

  He trembled with want, but still he held back.

  “Make love to me, Michael.” Lifting her legs up and around his hips, she offered herself to him and smiled as she took him in.

  Fully sheathed in her heat, he was swamped with the sensation of being exactly where he belonged. This was it. She was it. She was the one.

  “Look at me, Juliana.” Their first time, which could have been awkward, wasn’t. They moved in effortless harmony, like a couple together for years rather than weeks. “Don’t look away. I want you to see how much I love you.” He waited, held off, watched. He saw her eyes flutter with fulfillment even before he felt it, but still he wouldn’t let her look away, wouldn’t take the chance that she would think of anything—or anyone—but him in that moment.

  Calling upon every ounce of self-control he could muster, he drove her up and over once more before he let himself join her in the most earth-shattering, mind-altering climax of his life. It left him gasping for air, for reason, for sanity.

  So… This was what it meant to make love, to really and truly make love. He’d never before emerged from a sexual encounter feeling so irrevocably changed.

  “I love you, Juliana,” he whispered against her neck. “There’ll never be anyone but you for me. Not ever again.”

  “I love you, too.” Her fingertips trailed over his back as her lips found the sensitive place where his neck met his shoulder.

  He shivered. “What if we made a baby?” he asked, unable to believe he hadn’t thought of it before now. That, too, was a first.

  “I’m on the pill.”

  “Damn.”

  She laughed. “I thought you wanted to leave the baby-making to your sisters.”

  Raising his head so he could see her, he said, “Not anymore.” He dropped light kisses on her cheeks, her nose, her chin, and the butterfly on her forehead before he reclaimed her lips. “Tell me again, Juliana. I need to hear it again.”

  She looked into his eyes. “I love you, Michael. I love you,” she whispered, bringing his mouth back to hers.

  He rolled them over so she was on top. “Show me.”

  Her throbbing forehead woke Juliana at five the next morning. As she eased out of Michael’s embrace, reached for the robe on the floor, and pulled it on, he sighed but didn’t wake up. She found the Tylenol he had gotten for her and swallowed the pills. Taking another long drink from the bottle of water, she went over to the window.

  The sunrise flirted with the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Inner Harbor. From this vantage point, she couldn’t quite make out the salon on t
he far end of the shops and restaurants that lined the harbor. The normally bustling waterfront was quiet and still. Juliana had never seen it quite so tranquil.

  Off in the distance she noticed one of the party boats that populated the harbor and the Chesapeake Bay and was struck by the memory of attending her senior prom with Jeremy on one of those boats. Oh, Jer. What am I going to do?

  She turned to look at Michael, and her heart galloped when memories from their night together flashed through her mind. Her body tingled as she recalled his intense lovemaking. She couldn’t say exactly why, but being with him had been different than being with Jeremy. Maybe it was because of all they had been through in their short time together, but she’d never felt more cherished in her life than she had in Michael’s arms. He made her feel as if she was the answer to every question he’d ever had.

  Gazing back out over the harbor, Juliana summoned the courage she would need to face what was ahead. Before much longer, she would disappoint one of the two men she loved—one of the two men who loved her. Mrs. Romanello warned her it would come down to a choice, and she was exactly right.

  Juliana was startled out of her thoughts when Michael came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He nudged her hair aside to gain access to her neck.

  “What are you doing up so early?”

  Covering his hands with hers, she trembled from what he was doing to her neck. “Couldn’t sleep. What about you?”

  “I couldn’t find you.”

  Against her back, she felt his arousal.

  “Come with me,” he whispered.

  With a last glance at the sunrise, she let him take her to bed.

  Michael held her close to him and tried to catch his breath as his heart hammered in his chest. Would it always be like this with her? What had been hot and passionate with Paige was all of that with Juliana and so much more. “It’s still early.” He kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t you try to go back to sleep for a while?”

  She laughed softly. “You’ve got me wide awake.”

  He propped himself up on one elbow. “Let’s get the hell out of here for the weekend, Juliana,” he pleaded. “I want to take you to Rhode Island. Please go with me?”

  After studying him for a moment, she said, “Okay.”

  “Yeah?”

  She brought him down for a kiss. “I’ll have to bribe my brother to take care of my mother for the weekend, but he’ll do it.”

  “Why don’t we just get up now and go? I have a couple of things I have to do, and then we can hit the road.”

  “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

  “I’ll order us some breakfast.” He gave her one last kiss before he released her. “Any preferences?”

  “Whatever you’re having is fine.”

  Once again Michael was struck by the differences between Juliana and Paige, who would’ve had a very specific request. In just a few weeks with Juliana, the idea of being married to Paige had become preposterous. He pulled on a pair of gym shorts, called in the room service order, and opened the door to the hallway to get the paper.

  “Morning, Mr. Maguire,” the police officer on duty said. “Everything all right?”

  “Yes. I’ll need a lift to my house in about an hour if that’s okay.”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Thanks.”

  Michael took the paper back into the room and wasn’t surprised to find a story about the vandalism to his house above the fold on the front page of the Baltimore Sun.

  [LTR]

  Benedetti Prosecutor Victim of Vandalism

  The home of Michael Maguire, lead prosecutor in the ongoing murder trial of Marco and Steven Benedetti, was vandalized on Thursday evening. A large rock was thrown through the window of Maguire’s Butchers Hill home. Maguire’s roommate suffered minor injuries. He was not home at the time.

  The Benedetti brothers face first-degree murder charges in the slayings of three city teenagers a year ago. The trial, in recess today for an unrelated matter, will resume next week in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

  Police refused to comment on whether the incident is related to the trial, nor would they release any further details.

  A spokesman for Maguire’s employer, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Tom Houlihan, had no comment.

  Calls to Circuit Court Judge Harvey Stein, who is presiding over the trial, were not returned by press time.

  [END LTR]

  Michael was relieved that Tom had succeeded in keeping Juliana’s name out of the story.

  She came out of the bathroom. “Shower’s all yours.”

  “The story is in the paper.” He handed it to her. “No details, though.”

  “Good.” But she winced as she scanned the article. “It mentions your roommate was injured. I need to make a phone call.” She dug her cell phone out of her purse. When she turned it on, it beeped with multiple messages. She found the number she was looking for and pressed send. “Hey, Mrs. R, it’s me.” Pausing, she said, “It’s just a tiny cut. Honest.” Another pause. “We have cops all around us. There’s nothing to worry about. We’re going out of town for the weekend, but I’ll come by before we go, okay?” Juliana nodded. “I will,” she said, closing her phone to end the call.

  “What was that all about?” Michael asked on his way to the shower.

  “Our neighbor. She’s like a mother to me. She’s the only one who knows I’ve been staying with you, so I knew she’d panic when she saw the paper.”

  “So you told someone about me, huh?” he asked with a satisfied smile.

  She grinned. “Go take a shower.” After Michael closed the door, she called Vincent.

  “What?” he roared.

  “Sorry. I forgot how early it is.”

  “What do you want, Juliana?”

  “You have to take care of Ma this weekend.”

  “I don’t gotta do nothing.”

  “I’m going away, so it’s you or no one unless you can get Dona to help you.”

  He snorted. “As if. Are you off to see Mr. Wonderful again?”

  “No. I’ll be back Sunday night. Check on her, Vin. She’s been worse than usual lately.”

  “She’s living on booze. I can’t ever get her to eat anything.”

  “We’re going to have to do something about that one of these days.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks for the help.”

  “I’m going back to sleep.”

  An hour later, Michael and Juliana were driven home by a police officer.

  “Let me go in ahead of you,” the cop said.

  “The window’s already fixed,” Michael noticed.

  “Your boss took care of that himself. A guy who grew up in Canton with Houlihan was over here at eleven last night to fix it.”

  “That’s good of him,” Juliana said.

  “Everything seems okay,” the cop said. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

  “We’ll be leaving town until Sunday night,” Michael said.

  “I’ll need to know where you’re going. Houlihan wants someone on both of you until the trial is over. Maybe even beyond that.”

  “We’ll be in Rhode Island, so we won’t need coverage there,” Michael insisted. “I’ll talk to Houlihan. Someone needs to be with Juliana for about an hour while I take care of something, and then we’re good until Sunday.”

  “Okay,” the cop said and left them.

  Michael watched Juliana fixate on the open space in the room, the coffee table’s absence a glaring reminder of what happened the night before.

  Michael tugged her hand. “Come on.”

  “They did a good job cleaning up,” she said softly. “You’d never know.”

  Her steered her up the stairs. “Let’s pack and get out of here.”

  Two officers in a police cruiser followed them to Mrs. Romanello’s house.

  “Will you come in for a minute?” Juliana asked Michael. “I’d like you to meet her.”<
br />
  “Sure.”

  He wore a black sweater with faded jeans, but Juliana knew that when she pictured him, she would always see him in a suit.

  “Where’s your house?”

  Juliana pointed. “That one.”

  He glanced at it and followed her up the stairs to Mrs. R’s front door.

  “Hey,” she called when they walked in. They followed the sound of a mixer running in the kitchen. Juliana kissed the older woman’s cheek.

  “Oh, hon, let me see.” Mrs. R turned off the mixer and tipped Juliana’s face so she could get a better look at the wound. “It shouldn’t leave a scar.”

  “I’m not worried about it,” Juliana said, touched by her friend’s concern. “This is Michael Maguire.”

  Mrs. R sized him up and reached out to shake his hand. “Hello.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “I’m not pleased about this, young man.” She gestured to Juliana’s face.

  “Believe me, I’m not either.”

  “You’ll come stay here,” Mrs. R said to Juliana.

  “That’s a good idea,” Michael agreed. “We’re going out of town for a few days, and then Juliana will come stay here until the trial’s over.”

  “Hello, I’m in the room,” Juliana protested. “I’m not moving out, Michael, so you can both stop running my life.”

  “It’s not safe at my house,” he insisted.

  “Are you staying there?”

  “Well… Yeah.”

  “If you’re staying, I’m staying.” She gave him a look that let him know the subject was closed. “Go do what you need to do so we can get going,” she said with a nudge to get him moving.

  “I’ll be less than an hour,” he told Juliana. To Mrs. R he said, “Nice to meet you.”

  “You, too. Keep this girl safe, do you hear me?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, hesitating.

  Juliana realized he wanted to kiss her, so she walked him to the front door.

  He slipped his arms around her. “While I’m gone, how about you go next door and find something you can bring with you to wear in a place where there’s candles and wine and music, okay? Something you’ve been saving for a special occasion.”