Читать книгу Finding Julia - Desiree Holt - Страница 8

Julia had never showered with another person, not even at camp or in college. Standing under the warm spray with Luke, feeling his hands slick with soap sliding over her skin, was more erotic than she could have imagined—if she’d been able to imagine it. He cupped her breasts and kneaded them gently before rasping his nails over her nipples and pinching them with a light touch. With tender movements, he stroked his way down her stomach to the nest of curls covering her mound, working lather into them before sliding a finger inside her.

She jerked slightly and he caught her gaze.

“Too sore?”

She shook her head mutely, unable to find words as new waves of pleasure swept through her.

“I love how slick you are,” he murmured, working his long fingers in and out of her. “And hot. God, you could burn me alive with your heat.”

She wanted to touch him, too, wanted to feel him in her hands. She wrapped her slim fingers around his cock, now swollen and erect again. She loved the feel of the velvet skin over steel, the smoothness of the broad head, the fine hair covering the sac holding his balls.

He sucked in a breath when she manipulated him with wet fingers.

“Careful, sugar. I don’t want this party to be over before it starts.”

She could hardly believe he’d be ready for her again so soon. Everything with Luke was new and different and exciting. She didn’t want to sleep, afraid she’d miss some pleasurable experience.

They never truly slept, dozing now and then between wild bouts of lovemaking. For the first time in her life, Julia felt wanton and uninhibited, as if another person had taken possession of her body. She wanted to pleasure Luke as he had done for her, relishing the feel of his shaft in her hand, the silkiness of his skin, the heaviness of the sacs between his legs. She was tentative at first, but urged on by his cries of passion, she became bolder and bolder.

He took her every way possible, each time more creative and inventive than the last, never allowing her to retreat. Nor did she want to. She was drunk with pleasure, her body constantly demanding more. And the words he kept murmuring to her were exciting words, raw, and erotically stimulating.

She resented the inevitable approach of morning, wanting to push back the hours, and extend the night forever. Lying next to Luke was like bonding with strength, but a strength that protected and cherished. When they finally fell asleep for the last time, they spooned together, one of Luke’s legs thrown over both of hers, and she slept dreamlessly.

The ringing of the phone with her wakeup call startled her out of sleep, leaving her at first disoriented. Why was there a warm male body lying next to her? Then every intimate detail of the night flooded her brain. She was immediately aroused and anxious. Would he regret everything that happened? Would she? Would it be uncomfortable? What should she say? Do?

Then she felt Luke’s morning erection rising against her bottom and snuggled against it.

“Careful,” he told her, his voice still drowsy with sleep. “What you feel could lead to dangerous things.”

And so it did, wiping away her anxiety.

There was almost no foreplay this time. They were both ready, as if their bodies knew this would have to last until… Who knew when? Luke simply rolled her to her back, bent her knees back to give him full access, and plunged into her pussy. The wet flesh sucked at him, welcomed him, and held him tight. Again he held her gaze, his liquid eyes boring into hers as he plunged in and out of her slick walls. It seemed like only seconds before they both climaxed, bodies shuddering as spasms gripped them. The walls of her cunt flexed and pulsed as she bathed his cock with her liquid heat.

Spent, they lay wrapped together as they’d done during the night, dragging air into their lungs.

“I don’t want to let you go,” he murmured, his lips against her ear, his warm breath like a soft breeze against her skin.

“I don’t want to go, either. I think I’ll call home and tell them the rest of the year has been cancelled,” she said in a sleepy voice.

The last thing she wanted to do was get up. Maybe she could close her eyes and wish them into Never Never Land.

His fingers brushed against her cheek. “You haven’t said a lot about your situation at home,” he told her, “and I didn’t want to ask you about it.”

“Don’t. Let’s not spoil this.”

“Your husband—”

“Is a pen stroke away from being an ex. And no one I want to bring into this conversation.” She nibbled on her lower lip, a nervous gesture she’d picked up in recent years. It suddenly occurred to her Luke hadn’t addressed his own matrimonial status. “I didn’t even think to ask if you’re—”

He shook his head. “This is a discussion meant for another time, and I didn’t want to ruin what’s happening here by going into the sordid details.”

“Please don’t—”

He touched a finger to her lips. “I’ve been divorced for two years. It wasn’t pleasant and neither was the marriage. Enough said. For now.”

He kissed her, long and slow, his tongue slipping into her mouth and teasing hers to dance with him. Then reluctantly, Julia pulled herself out of bed. She stopped, self-conscious in her nudity with Luke’s eyes on her, and he laughed.

“I find it delightfully appealing you can still be shy with me after everything we did.” He yanked the top sheet from the bed and wound it around her, brushing her breasts and her hips lightly as he wound the fabric like a sheath. “Go take your shower, then I will. I’d suggest we do it together, but you might never catch your plane.”

Heat bloomed on her cheeks as memories of the previous night flooded her brain. “Okay.”

When she was showered and dressed, she waved toward the bathroom. “Your turn. Shall I order us some breakfast?”

“Please. I think I could eat a horse.”

Julia giggled, a sound nervous even to her own ears. “If they don’t have any horses, will bacon and eggs do?”

“Sure.”

She grinned at him as she closed the bathroom door.

Once she was dressed and packed, she again felt unsure how to act. Was she supposed to thank him for the most stupendous night of her life? Doing so seemed both stupid and inadequate. Should she apologize for being so wanton? No, that didn’t seem quite right either. She was caught between wanting his approval of her as a woman and not earning his disapproval of her where their business was concerned.

While she waffled about it in her whirlpool of insecurity, breakfast arrived. She busied herself setting it up on the little table by the window. When Luke came out of the bathroom in slacks and shirt, he walked over to her and gave her a slow good morning kiss. And when he held her chair out for her to sit down, he brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her neck, then nipped the lobe of her ear. Sitting across from her, he studied her as she buttered her toast and took a small bite.

“You look like heavy thoughts are weighing you down.” He paused. “Any regrets?”

Was he nervous, too?

Julia smiled tentatively, memories clanging around in her brain, and again she felt her cheeks heat. “How could there be?”

“Will you be okay when you get home?” he asked her. “I sense you have an unpleasant situation waiting for you.”

“Yes. I’ll get through Thanksgiving one way or another. Then I’ll make sure my attorney gets Charles to sign the final papers so they can be filed…at last.” She sighed. “I always feel I’m walking on egg shells around him.”

“Why does he continue to create a problem for you? He’s already accepted the divorce, right?”

Julia shrugged. “I’m not sure he’ll ever truly accept it. Not because he loves me, but because he hates to lose. I have an excellent attorney, and he’s gotten me an excellent settlement. I had a very—unsettled—childhood and I’m determined my children won’t have to go through what I did. I want security for them. And I don’t want to uproot them from the only home they’ve known.”

He studied her face, a question in his eyes.

“Someday I’ll tell you about the drama I lived with and the uncertainty. Not now. But I don’t want my children to suffer the way I did. Charles will look for any little thing to refuse to sign the final papers and find a way to destroy the agreement in place. My attorney won’t let that happen.”

Luke reached across the table and put his large hand over her small one. “Be careful, Julia. From what you tell me, one wrong move could put you in an untenable position.”

He did his best to put her at ease, drinking coffee, chatting as if they’d done this forever. The intensity of last night’s lovemaking still clung to her, reaching out to her like a powerful drug. She wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and spend the entire holiday weekend wrapped in his arms, offering him her body, giving and taking pleasure, shutting out the rest of the world. Whatever emotion gripped her last night still clung to her.

She stared down into her coffee cup, her mind whirling. Something nibbled at her, a question she was sure would come out wrong no matter how she phrased it.

“Do you do this often?” she blurted out, then felt the heat creeping up into her cheeks. What an absolutely stupid thing to say. She ducked her head, wishing she could dive under the table. “I’m sorry for saying something so inappropriate, not to mention rude.”

“Do what?”

“Nothing.” She couldn’t look at him. “Forget it.”

“Julia.” He touched her hand. “You can ask me anything you want. So, do I do what often?”

“Go to bed with a woman the first time you meet her,” she mumbled the words into her lap.

His fingers idly stroked across hers. “We didn’t go to bed, Julia. We made love. There’s a big difference. But if it’s important to you, I haven’t done either one for a long time.” He lifted his coffee cup, watching her over the rim as he drank.

She lowered her eyes. “I can’t believe women would leave a man like you alone for long.”

“Like me?” He laughed. “Horny? Rich? Sexy? What?”

She felt herself blush again. “I should learn to keep my mouth shut. All I do is keep making things worse. It’s… I look at you and…”

“It’s fine.” His tone softened. He put his coffee cup down, reached across the table, and took one of her hands in both of his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh at you. It’s a…touchy subject for me.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up.” She looked down at her empty plate, unable to meet his gaze. She didn’t want to see the coldness she was afraid would be there.

“Julia.” He got up and came around to her chair, lifting her to her feet. Placing a finger beneath her chin, he tipped her face up to his. His mouth brushed against hers, a light touch at first, then deeper…but not passionate. This was affectionate, reassuring. He threaded his fingers through her hair and gave her lips a light flick with his tongue before lifting his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was a perfectly normal question. It reminds me of words my ex-wife threw at me, and not in a good way. So I try to make a joke of it.”

“Forget I said anything.” She chewed at her lip again. “Please. I don’t want to spoil this morning.”

He kissed her again. “I’m probably sensitive about it because of…history. And for now I’m not saying any more. But don’t beat yourself up. You couldn’t spoil anything if you tried.”

They ate silently for a moment, and then Julia told him in a quiet voice, “I don’t, either.” Luke looked at her questioningly. “Fall into bed with someone I’ve just met.”

He reached across the table and wrapped her small hand in his larger one. “If I thought you did, it wouldn’t be my bed you’d fall into, and we wouldn’t be sitting here having breakfast.”

Julia stared down at her plate.

“Julia, something special is happening between us. Let’s get that out in the open. This is more than a hot night in the sheets.” He leaned toward her. “I can’t wait until your divorce is final. I want to see you more. Explore what’s happening between us. This is sudden and fast. I mean, Jesus. This time yesterday, we hadn’t even met. But I think it could be real. And if you’re honest, you’ll admit it hit us both the same way, right?”

“Yes.” She spoke in a low voice. How did she handle this when her heart jumped at what he was saying? “It scares me.”

He wouldn’t let her look away. “It scares me too. I don’t want to do something stupid and kill it before it even has a chance to get started.” He studied her face as if looking for answers. “If we sign this contract, you’ll be coming back here again. We’ll have time together to see where this goes. We can take a good look at the possibility of taking this to the next level. Sound good to you? Am I being presumptuous?”

“No…yes,” she whispered, almost afraid to break the spell. “No, you’re not and yes, I want to.”

“Then let’s get you to the airport so you don’t miss your plane.”

Luke insisted on driving her to the airport, pointing out the scarcity of taxis the day before Thanksgiving.

“Besides, it means I can prolong going home. We close the offices at noon today and I’d hate to be the only one left.”

She didn’t want to leave him. Luke was right, what they shared went beyond sex. Was it possible to fall in love with someone so quickly? And now, still wrapped in the glow of their night together, she had to leave him.

“Don’t come in with me,” she said, when they pulled up to the curb.

“I’m not. I’m terrible with goodbyes.”

“I guess you’ll call me about the contract?”

“Right after Thanksgiving. If I can’t get you at your office, I’ll try your cell phone.”

“All right. Well, goodbye then.”

“Goodbye, Julia.” He looked as if he wanted to say something else, then simply held her to him tightly and kissed her, a long deep kiss saying more than words ever could.

Julia finally pulled away, turned, and walked into the terminal.