Chapter Nineteen

Alex led Julia to his room, not quite believing she’d agreed to come home with him. He was almost afraid that if he let go of her hand, she’d bolt.

But she didn’t. As they stood facing each other at the foot of his bed, she brought their linked hands to her mouth, and softly kissed his fingers. Then she placed his hand on her cheek, and covered it with hers as she looked up into his face. Desire burned in her eyes. She wanted him as much as he wanted her.

The knowledge set his blood on fire. He lowered his mouth to hers. The instant he touched her lips, she moaned and pressed herself against him, winding her hands around his neck, sifting her fingers through his hair. Her mouth opened eagerly to his, the tip of her tongue touching his in an innocent caress. He devoured her, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth to taste her sweetness. Their tongues touched, caressed, mated, loved.

Julia began pushing his jacket off his shoulders. “I want to touch you,” she said between kisses. “Let me feel you. Please, Alex.”

He’d do anything to please her. He tossed his jacket to the floor, then lifted the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head. Julia spread her hands across his abdomen. Her fingers glided over his chest and shoulders, caressing each muscle with loving attention. Her touch drove him wild with excitement. It was all he could do not to throw her onto the bed and sink himself into her, over and over. Grasping her shoulders, he made himself stand still and endure her tender torture.

She touched the eagle tattoo on his shoulder. “This is so perfect for you. You’re strong and brave like an eagle. And so beautiful. So very beautiful.”

“Julia.” God, I love this woman. “I need to see you, too.”

She smiled shyly and removed her jacket, tossing it on a chair in the corner of the room. Then she pulled her T-shirt over her head and stood before him in a lacy white bra. She reached behind her to unfasten the bra. Alex’s breath hitched as it slid slowly down her arms to reveal her lovely, pale breasts.

“Perfect,” he said, touching the impossibly soft skin. He traced the shape, tested the weight of each milk-white breast with his hands.

She inhaled sharply, her eyes drifting shut. “Not perfect. Too small.”

“No, baby. Perfect. I’ll show you.”

Turning her to face the mirror on his dresser, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, his hands cupping her breasts, kneading them with his fingers, his thumb and forefinger gently rolling the hard nipples.

“See how your breasts fill my hands. They’re just the right size, as if they were made for me to touch.”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Only you.”

Her words nearly sent him over the edge. He kissed her shoulder, trailing light kisses to her neck, and she let her head fall back against his chest to allow him better access. She smelled so good, a combination of vanilla and sweet roses. Her scent, the feel of her skin, her soft sighs, intoxicated him with pleasure. He was drunk on Julia. If this was what it was like to love her, he never wanted to be sober again.

Soon it wasn’t enough. He needed more of her, his body demanding satisfaction. Reaching for the zipper of her jeans, he pulled it down and unfastened the button. He pushed the jeans down her legs, kissing her shoulder blades, her spine, the small of her back as he slid slowly down her body till he was kneeling behind her. Her muscles shivered under his lips. When he reached her buttocks, he placed his hands on her hips and turned her to face him. Leaning forward, he touched the tip of his tongue to her sex. She moaned and clutched his shoulders. Alex licked and sucked, his tongue finding the sensitive nub that had her shaking and crying his name. A moment later she tensed and then cried out as her release came. She clung to him, bracing herself with her hands on his shoulders, her cheek resting against his head.

When the tremors in her body subsided, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. She felt insubstantial, as if she weighed nothing. Without a word he laid her carefully on the bed, then stepped back to strip off his remaining clothes. Julia watched him, her chest rising and falling with her accelerated breath. His cock sprang forward, hard and aching, as he freed it from the confines of his clothing. He found a condom in his nightstand and rolled it over his length. Julia reached out her hand.

“Come to me, Alex.”

Shaking with need, he positioned himself between her spread legs, his cock nudging the entrance to her body. She lifted her hips to meet him, her hands moving restlessly down his back, kneading, stroking and fondling each muscle from his shoulders to his buttocks. He sank himself into her, shivering as he felt her tight, wet heat surround him. Bracing himself with his hands on either side of her head, he stared into her eyes. He wanted to see her face as he made love to her, wanted to watch her fly apart.

She lifted her hips, urging him on. “Please. I need you,” she said. “Please.”

He softly kissed her lips. “I need you, too.”

He pushed deeply into her, and watched her eyes go wide. Then he withdrew slowly, almost pulling all the way out. She whimpered, her hands clutching at him in protest. He plunged into her again, a little deeper this time, a little harder, then withdrew with excruciating slowness once more. And then again, and again, and again, deeper and harder with each penetration, slower with each withdrawal. Her head fell back as she whispered incoherent words. But she stayed with him, her hips rising to meet his with each thrust, moving to the rhythm of his body.

“Look at me, baby,” he commanded.

Her glazed eyes slowly opened. He withdrew once more, and she shivered, on the brink of release. He was on the edge himself, but he hung on, not wanting to let go until he’d brought her to climax.

On the next plunge, she shattered around him. She cried out and held him tightly. Her cries made him go wild. He thrust into her harder, faster, deeper, until he no longer knew where his body stopped and hers began, where his soul ended and hers began. With one last thrust, he cried out and spilled inside her.

They clung to each other, both breathing heavily, their bodies slick with sweat, hearts racing. Alex held her, never wanting to let her go.

After some time, their breathing returned to normal. He slid off her, knowing he must be crushing her. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the shiny trail of tears down her cheeks.

“Julia, baby, did I hurt you? God, I’m sorry.” He ran his hand over her face, her shoulder, her hip, searching for injuries.

She cupped his cheek with her hand. “No, of course you didn’t hurt me. It’s just…” Fresh tears poured from her eyes.

Her tears destroyed him. Nothing could ever feel worse than seeing Julia cry. He couldn’t bear the thought of the woman he loved distressed or unhappy, especially if he was the cause. He massaged her shoulder. “What’s wrong, mi querida? Don’t cry, please don’t cry.”

She made a sound that was part sob, part laugh. “I’m sorry… I don’t know why I’m crying. That was so—”

Her breath hitched, momentarily preventing speech. Alex waited on tenterhooks for her to speak, wiping fresh tears from her eyes with his thumb.

“So amazing,” she said at last. “I can’t believe…” She took a deep breath to get herself under control, her hands moving over his face, and her fingers running through his hair.

“So amazing,” she said again. She smiled at him, and at last he saw her joy shining through the tears. “I don’t have words to tell you how I feel right now.”

She didn’t need to say it out loud. He could read it in her eyes, and in her smile. He could feel it in his heart, because he felt the same way. Something magical, almost sacred, had passed between them. As if they had spoken to each other, soul to soul.

“I know, baby,” he whispered. “I know.”

He gathered her in his arms, and in a few moments they were both asleep.

****

Julia awoke to the delicious sensation of Alex’s mouth on her breast. She reached for him, arching her body to bring him closer. He took each hardened nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue, gently suckling, licking, biting. His hand drifted down her belly to the apex of her thighs. She opened her legs for him, her body shivering in anticipation of his touch. He parted the folds of her sex, inserting a finger inside her. She threw back her head and moaned in delight, writhing on the bed. God, it felt so good. He felt so good.

“You like that, baby?”

“Yes! Yes!”

He inserted a second finger and she was gone. She convulsed around him as wave after wave of pleasure turned her limbs to water.

But Alex wasn’t through with her.

He turned her onto her stomach, her knees tucked beneath her. Covering her body from behind, he held himself up on one elbow, his other hand reaching beneath her to once more find her most sensitive spot. With one touch she was wet and wanting him again. Moaning, she pushed her backside against his erection, rubbing him, encouraging him.

Needing him.

He slipped easily inside her, and she gasped, the sensation so different in this position than she was used to. He completely filled her, and so deep it was almost painful.

He waited a heartbeat, letting her become accustomed to him being inside her this way. And then he began to move.

With his clever fingers stroking her and his penis pushing deep into her, she was overloaded with sensation. But it was good. So incredibly good.

Her climax came from the tips of her toes. It burst out of her in a kaleidoscope of colors, a cacophony of sound, an excess of emotion. She cried out his name.

She heard Alex’s hoarse whisper next to her ear. “Yes, baby, yes. Let it come.”

A second later, with one final thrust, his own release came, and she realized he’d hung on, waiting for her orgasm.

Waiting to please her before himself.

When the spasms stopped, he rolled off her. Julia turned to face him. She couldn’t form any words to tell him how she felt, how good she felt. So she simply stroked his face and stared into the dark chocolate depths of his beautiful eyes.

After a long time, Alex kissed her nose. “I need a shower.”

“Now?” She rose on her elbows to check the clock on the nightstand. “It’s three a.m.”

“I feel like I’ve had a workout,” he said, pushing himself to a sitting position. He chuckled. “A couple of workouts. The best workouts of my life.”

She laughed, feeling ridiculously happy and joyously free. “I know what you mean. That was…”

She shook her head and laughed again, not able to describe her feelings. Alex brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss.

“Yeah, I know, mi cariño.”

He turned on the bedside lamp. Then he slid out of bed, removing the used condom and tossing it into a garbage can. He stood before her in all his gorgeously naked splendor, and, just like that, Julia wanted him again.

“I could wash your back for you,” she said, slipping out of the bed to stand in front of him.

A spark of interest lit his eyes. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.” She wound her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. “I give great…back washes.”

“I’ve got to warn you,” he said, his hands kneading her ass and bringing her against his penis, which had come alive once more. “My back is really, really dirty. It might need a lot of attention.”

“I’m always up for a challenge.”

“So am I.”

Without warning, he scooped her into his arms and carried her across the hall into the bathroom. She laughed all the way to the shower.

****

Julia woke slowly, stretching her arms over her head and arching her back. She felt deliciously sore, her inner thighs pleasantly aching. Alex had made love to her with such tenderness, such passion, as if his only concern had been her pleasure. Last night was… She hardly knew how to put it into words. “Amazing” barely did justice to the things she and Alex did to each other. “Transformative” came to mind. Had she been truly transformed by last night? She felt light, free, happy, so different from the last three years. So different from…forever.

This won’t last, Julia. It never does.

No! She wasn’t going to listen, at least not right now when she felt so happy. She was going to enjoy the feeling as long as she could.

She turned on her side and saw that Alex was awake and watching her. She touched his face and smiled into his eyes.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, cariño.”

“Mmm, I love when you talk Spanish to me. It’s very sexy.”

He touched her face, a smile lighting his eyes. “Oh, yeah? I’ll tell you what I love. I love seeing you first thing in the morning, when your hair’s all messed up and your eyes are still sleepy. But the best part is that sexy little smile that tells me you loved making love with me last night.”

“I did, very much,” she said with a smile.

His hand skimmed down her shoulder to her waist and then to her breast. She was instantly aroused, wanting him all over again. Laughing, she pushed him onto his back and slid on top of him, straddling his thighs. She stroked him, loving the warm, velvety feel of his penis and the fact she could make him hard so easily.

“Last night was wonderful,” she said. “Perhaps we could—”

The doorbell rang. Julia froze. The bedside clock proclaimed the time in bold red letters: nearly twenty minutes after ten. Her breath caught in her throat. No, no, no. It couldn’t be. How could she be so stupid?

“Oh, my God!”

She pushed herself off Alex and slid from the bed, searching frantically on her hands and knees for her discarded clothing. Tears stung her eyes.

“Julia? What’s wrong?”

She hastily fastened her bra and pushed her arms through the sleeves of her T-shirt. “I’m sure the Stewarts are at the door. They were supposed to bring Ava home to my place fifteen minutes ago, and when I wasn’t there… Oh, god, they’ll know we slept together.”

Alex pulled on his pants. “So what if they do? I’m sure they didn’t expect you to remain celibate for the rest of your life. They’re not going to think any less of you.”

He didn’t understand. His neighbors were probably watching the scene unfolding on his doorstep right now. They’d put two and two together and figure out why the Stewarts were there with Ava on a Sunday morning. News about them would spread all over town. Soon they’d be the object of gossip. Alex would hate that. He wasn’t used to his private life being on public display. Why would he want to stay in a town where he had no privacy?

“I’ve got to go.”

She felt cold inside, her stomach threatening to be sick. She grabbed her shoes and ran to the door.

When she opened the door and confirmed that the Stewarts were indeed on the front step with Ava, the look of disgust Wyatt gave her nearly buckled her knees.

Lily looked from her to Wyatt, clearly uncomfortable. “Good morning, Julia. We would have kept Ava with us, but we’re meeting our friends for brunch…I tried texting you…” Her voice trailed off.

“I overslept. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Dr. Alex!”

Ava ran past her to get to Alex. He picked her up and hugged her.

“Hi, Sweet Pea. It’s good to see you.”

With one last look of contempt, Wyatt turned his back and walked toward his car.

“Ava.” Julia’s voice was sharper then she intended. “It’s time to say goodbye.”

“Bye, Dr. Alex.” She kissed his cheek, and he set her on her feet. “Bye, Grandma.”

Lily bent and kissed her. When she straightened, she looked at Julia. “Don’t mind Wyatt. He just…” She sighed and shook her head. “He’ll come around.”

Julia nodded briskly, knowing Wyatt would never change his mind about her. “Thank you for looking after Ava.”

“It was our pleasure. I’ll talk to you soon. Goodbye, Dr. Campbell.”

“Goodbye, Mrs. Stewart.”

Lily walked down the front walk. Wyatt had already started the car, anxious to get away. Julia squeezed her eyes shut as a wave of mortification and shame passed over her. She knew she’d done nothing to be ashamed of. She knew that. It wasn’t as if she were married. But when she saw the look in Wyatt’s eyes, she’d felt like the dirt beneath his shoes.

“Julia? Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She couldn’t look at Alex or she’d start crying. She held out her hand to Ava. “We have to go.”

Ava reluctantly grasped her hand and started down the front steps. She turned once more to wave at Alex. “Bye.”

“Bye, Sweet Pea.”

Julia hurried home as quickly as she could, anxious to avoid the prying eyes of neighbors. She wanted to cry. For a brief moment she’d let herself believe a life with Alex could be possible, but now the rose-colored glasses had been ripped from her eyes. The most wonderful night of her life had turned into the ugliest morning.