His laughter filled her ear and made her chuckle. “Nice try, but it was a tie so you didn’t beat me.”
She hissed through her teeth. “That’s just what I wanted you to think.” In the background, she heard a car door slamming shut. Then the crunch of feet on snow and she realized he must have just arrived home. “Guess you have to go now, huh?” she murmured, unable to keep the pout from her voice.
“Aye, but I’ll see you tomorrow. I promise.”
With a sigh, she said goodbye and hung up. She set the phone on the end table and stared at it a long while before dragging herself off the bed and into the bathroom. After a quick shower, she dressed in a long t-shirt and climbed into bed.
The fire was slow burning, working its hot, greedy tongue up the length of her body in deft little flicks that had her writhing in anticipation for more. It consumed miles of flesh in a lazy trail that seemed to take forever to reach her apex. A choked sound forced its way up her chest and pooled at the back of her throat as her back arched to the languid dance of pressure gliding over and around her throbbing clit.
“Killian!”
His name tangled with the whimper that finally escaped its confinement. The tongue faltered as though startled by the sound, but it quickly renewed its insistence with a vigor.
Juliette gasped and reached for the hungry mouth lapping at her, guiding her effortlessly to the edge. Her fingers curled into thick, wavy strands of silk. Her knees lifted and fell apart in open invitation for more. Her companion groaned appreciatively. The sound vibrated against her core, giving it just the right push to send her over with a wail she stifled between her teeth.
The mouth vanished and she whined at the loss only to have her arms filled with broad shoulders and a familiar weight.
He drove inside her without a pause. The invasion popped her eyes open. It tore her back off the mattress with a strangled cry. Her gaze met dark ones on a face painted in shadows, but unmistakable. Her heart leapt and her mouth cracked into a smile in delight.
“Killian.”
He kissed her. He tasted like chocolate and her. She welcomed it, welcomed him as she wound her legs around his hips, drawing him in deeper.
The kiss intensified with his every demanding thrust. She met every one. Every kiss. Every thrust. She let him swallow her moans as his body rode hers expertly to a second climax that was met a moment later by his.
His weight settled comfortably on her, but she knew it wasn’t all of him. His face nuzzled the side of her neck as she littered tiny kisses along the seam of his shoulder. Her arms clasped him tightly to her.
“Please don’t be a dream,” she whispered against his skin.
His response was the turn of his head and the violent claim of his mouth over hers in a kiss that dissolved her bones and sent the room spinning all over again.
“I can’t believe you’re really here,” she murmured some time later as they lay in a tangled mess across the rumpled expense of her bed.
She lay partially on top of him as he traced the bumps of her spine with lazy fingertips. Her head rested against his chest and she could feel the steady patter of his heart thumping beneath her cheek. One leg tucked comfortably through his as she drew lazy circles against his exposed skin with a finger.
“Wasn’t going to,” he said quietly into the top of her head. “But I couldn’t think of anything, except to see you again.”
She lifted her head and peered down at him. His beautiful face was barely visible beneath the curtain of darkness, but his eyes shone with their own inner light that never failed to mesmerize her.
“Stay the night?” she asked.
Fingers smoothed stray locks of hair behind her ear. “For a few hours.”
Juliette’s heart sank. Her shoulders drooped.
“None of that now,” he said. “What kind of example would we be setting for your sister if I stayed?”
He was right and she was ashamed that she hadn’t even thought of Vi.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You’re right.”
Even concealed, she could see his features softening. She felt it in the gentle glide of his fingers tracing the side of her face.
“I would if I could.”
With a sigh, she lowered her head and rested her brow against his chin. “Thank you for coming.” She raised her face and peered down at him. “I missed you.” She flattened her hand against his cheek and pressed her thumb over his lips before he could speak. “I know you’re going to tell me I shouldn’t—”
He took hold of her wrist and gently drew her hand away. “God help me, but I missed you, too.”
Elation sent her heart tap dancing in her chest. His words stole all her senses, even disappointment over him leaving in a few short hours. Juliette beamed as she dropped her mouth and kissed him.
He was gone when Juliette woke up only a short few hours later. The blankets had been drawn tightly around her, but the heat of his body was no longer enveloping her. If it wasn’t for the sweet thrum between her thighs and the fact that she was naked, she might have mistaken the previous night for a dream.
Grabbing her clothes, she quickly dressed before the rest of the house could wake up. She righted her room. She was in the process of tossing her roped sheets into the hamper when she spotted the thin, black box on the nightstand, next to a card and Jake’s phone. A fat, red ribbon circled the case, contrasting brightly against the dark velvet. Juliette stared at the thing. She knew full well that it hadn’t been there when she’d gone to bed. Her heart skipped a beat as she reached for the card and turned it over.
Her name winked up at her from the back in perfect, scrawling penmanship and nothing else. She set the card down and reached for the box. It was real velvet, not the sort that anyone could just buy at the dollar store. It bristled lightly against her skin and she had to suppress the urge to stroke it to her cheek. Instead, she turned her focus to easing a finger beneath the bronze little latch. The top popped open with only a slight squeak from the hinges. More velvet filled inside with a layer of silk. Against the navy bed lay the most beautiful pendent Juliette had ever laid eyes on.
Early morning light danced off the elegant curve surrounding a flawless sphere and caught on each of the four stones embedded in a bed of gleaming silver. Vines twisted in jagged knots around the pale face of a beautiful girl in a Victorian gown. Her long, unbound curls lay in perfect waves around bare shoulders and was held in place by a lily pinned to the side of her head. Juliette turned the cameo in her hand and early light skated along the swirling scripture etched into the silver slat on the back.
“Your happiness drives me.”
The writing was faded, like it had been done years ago and she wondered if Killian had found it in a pawn shop or some antique dealer. It didn’t even matter. The pendent was by far the most thoughtful gift anyone had given her in years. She’d almost forgotten what that felt like.
Moving quickly into the bathroom, she slipped the delicate chain about her throat. The cool metal settled lightly against her skin. The pendent nestled just inches below her collarbone. She fingered the carved gemstone and grinned at her own reflection.
Excitement thrumming, she grabbed Jake’s phone and sprinted downstairs. Jake, Phil, and Melton were in the kitchen, surrounding the island with steaming mugs of coffee when she rushed in. All three jumped. Melton hissed when scalding liquid sloshed over the rim of his cup and burned his hand.
“Sorry!” she said, unable to stop grinning. “Do you think you’re up for a drive?”
Jake set his cup down. “Ma’am, we go whenever you’re ready.”
Too geared up to tell them she didn’t mind waiting until they were finished their coffee, she handed Jake his phone and nodded.