“Do it!” she sobbed. “Do it! Do it!”
He didn’t ask what she meant. He didn’t need to.
He turned his fingers to the top of her vagina, to the wet, velvety walls and rubbed in slow, even drags against the bump.
Juliette came apart with a scream that could have shattered glass. She broke with a violence that nearly scalped him when her entire body seized. But he kept pumping and sucking right until she stopped convulsing and her sobs had calmed to pathetic whimpers. Only then did he pull free. The hands tangled in his hair dropped limply to her sides. She lay perfectly immobile except for the brutal rise and fall of her chest and the occasional jolt of her body.
Satisfied by his handiwork, Killian reached for his back pocket and pulled out his wallet and the fresh condom he’d tucked inside. But he was beginning to think he should just start carrying an entire box around with him. Grinning to himself, he tore open his pants and rolled on the rubber. Juliette was still barely coherent when he hoisted himself up on the island with her. passion glazed eyes opened a slit to peer up at him. That was all he got until he thrust up inside her. The plunge widened her eyes. She gave a weak whine as her sensitive body gripped him with a ferocity that was almost painful. Her hands flew to his hips. Her legs lifted and wound around his ribs.
“Harder,” she croaked, emphasizing her demand with the anchoring of her nails into the clenched muscles of his ass.
He was nothing if not compliant.
He fucked her. Hard.
He pounded into her until they were both drenched in sweat and crying out with release. Only then did he slump down over her, crushing her. Their bodies heaved against the others, a symphony of trembling limbs and cracking hearts. It was Juliette going rigid under him that propelled him up onto the balls of his hands to peer down at her.
She was so still, her enormous eyes the only color on her otherwise ashen complexion.
“Juliette?”
She stared up at him like the devil himself had materialized in the room. “Do you think anyone heard us?”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her the next city over probably heard them, but the horror in her eyes stopped him.
“I don’t think we were that loud,” he said instead.
She pressed a hand over her mouth. “I’d be mortified if your men…”
“They are paid very well to turn a deaf ear,” he assured her.
“Oh my God…”
“Hey.” He lowered the second hand she raised to cover her eyes. “Watching you come alive for me, fall apart for me…” He sucked in a deep breath through his nostrils. “I’m not stopping that for anyone.”
Her cheeks continued to glow an alarming red, but she no longer looked horrified. She gave him a pained little smile though, which he took as success.
“It was really nice,” she admitted.
He kissed her, long and slow. “Aye, it was.”
Drawing back, he dropped down off the island and reached for her. She landed in front of him and quickly began straightening her clothes. He left her just long enough to dispose of the condom and fasten his own clothes before returning. He scooped her panties off the floor before she could and held them open for her to step into.
Juliette stopped. She stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Really?”
Killian shrugged. “Gallant, remember?”
Chuckling and shaking her head, she took hold of his shoulders for balance and stepped into the article. He dragged them up her legs and settled them neatly on her hips. He smoothed her skirt over top and stepped back.
“Thank you,” she said.
He inclined his head. “Let’s see if our food has arrived.”
She made a quiet humming sound. “Might want to eat somewhere else though.”
Killian burst out laughing. Actual laughing. The sound exploded from somewhere deep in his belly with such a force that it actually startled him. Juliette giggled watching him.
Soft footsteps had them glancing towards the doorway just as Frank stepped into the room. The bigger man paused on the threshold, eyebrows lifted high to a nonexistent hairline. He glanced from Juliette—who fidgeted and brushed nervously at her skirt—to Killian—who cleared his throat and tried to act composed.
“Your food is here, sir,” Frank said.
“We’ll take it in the dining room,” he told the man. “Thank you, Frank.”
Bowing his head once, Frank turned and left them.
“I should probably leave afterwards,” Juliette said once they were alone. “I haven’t been home all day and Vi has a tendency to take that as permission to give Mrs. Tompkins a hard time.”
He didn’t like that plan. He didn’t want her to leave, not until he’d gone to sleep. It might have been a fluke or simple exhaustion, but he’d slept the night before. He’d slept the whole night until dawn. He hadn’t jolted awake drowning in his own sweat. He hadn’t scrambled to the edge of the mattress and thrown up with the severity of his nightmares. He needed that. He needed her to stay for a few more hours.
“Are you sure you can’t stay a few more hours?” he coaxed, cupping her chin and tracing a thumb over her mouth.
She chuckled. “Can you go another round?”
Killian grinned darkly. “You know I can.”
Chapter 14
Fall slammed down over them with a vengeance that seemed unwarranted considering what a beautiful summer they’d been having. Vicious cold winds ripped leaves from their branches and turned manicured lawns to a brittle wasteland of frost. It was practically winter without the snow, not that that was too far off.
Juliette normally hated winter. Hated the cold and bulky clothes. She still did, but at least she no longer had to wait for the bus to arrive or leave early to make said bus and be at work on time. John and Tyson arrived promptly every morning in their shiny SUV and drove her wherever she needed to go. A second car, a BMW—also in black—arrived for Vi, which she absolutely loved. Juliette wasn’t certain what she told people about why there was a hulking man following her around, but she never complained about it. It probably made her feel like some kind of celebrity. A third car, a van, sat parked outside the house, watching over Mrs. Tompkins. Juliette couldn’t imagine what Killian was paying for all the security, but she was grateful for it.
October descended with a flurry of activity at the hotel. Every day was a new request to book the banquet hall for a party. Some were even booking for Christmas, which was lucky as most of the slots were already full. But with the new season and the approaching holidays, more and more people flocked the front counter or kept the phone lines buzzing with hopes of booking a room. Juliette no longer had the assistance of one prickly Celina Swanson so the task was left solely to her to accomplish. Being overwhelmed was an understatement. Her only saving grace was the evenings she spent with Killian, the nights he helped de-stress her in the most amazing and wicked ways. But like all good things, she would leave the warmth of his arms and head home in the predawn hours while he slept. She wouldn’t necessarily say it was unfair, because those were their terms of agreement, but there were times she wondered what he would do if she stayed. If she just shut her eyes and let herself sleep the whole night with him. It was the fear of breaking their contract that kept her from finding out. It was the fear of losing him. Sleeping over was just not worth that.
Not that it mattered really.
The months were going by too quickly. It was a sinking comprehension every time she tore a new page off the calendar and realized just how little time she had left with him. It was a cold, sickening sort of slap that filled her with the need to burst into tears or hunt down a wizard to turn the time back. Each time, she was forced to remind herself there were more months left than they’d already used and she shouldn’t worry about it. She knew she couldn’t use that pep talk forever, but it worked for now.