Page 201 of Only With You

“I’m done for today.”Julianna plops down on her bed with a fatigued huff and lies on her side to face me.

“You would’ve been done sooner if you’d let me help you.”

I wanted to help pack, but she was adamant she wanted to do it and said she had a system. I picked up on it quickly but still, she refused. As much as I hate that she’s doing this alone, I know it’s what she needs.

So I let her be, but I stayed in her room, playing whatever song she requested on her keyboard.

“I know, but I’m done now.” She smiles tiredly and raises her head, resting it on her shoulder. “I love this song.”

I’m playing “Your Hand in Mine” by Explosion In The Sky. I’d never heard of this or many others until Julianna. But now that I know exactly what she likes, I’ve made it my mission to learn each and every single one, so I can play them for her whenever she likes.

Julianna pushes off the bed and strolls over to me. She snakes her arms around my shoulders, letting them loosely hang in front of my chest, and leans forward until her face is next to mine.

“I love watching you play,” she says softly and kisses my cheek.

I smile and continue to play while she holds me. I don’t look up to know that her eyes are on my fingers, tracking their movement as they move along the keys.

“What are the colours you see and how do they look?”

“I see violet, magenta, cobalt, and indigo. They start off like small spots of paint splattered on a canvas, but when the music intensifies and progresses, those spots become streaks. Almost like lightning, but instead of going down, they go horizontal and move erratically,” I explain once I’m done with the song.

I shift my body just slightly to slip an arm around her waist and pull her forward and onto me until she’s sitting on my lap.

She giggles, arms still around my neck. “Why did you do that? I wanted to keep watching you play.”

“You still can,” I murmur against her temple and kiss it. “What do you want to hear?”

“I don’t know, I love ‘See You in the Dark’ but something about the way you play ‘To Build a Home’ just…” She dreamily sighs, loosening her body against me, and rests her head on my shoulder.

“How about I play both?” The beat to both songs is different and I’m not entirely sure if it’ll mash well, but I do it anyway. I press the keys, the tune blending and colours from each song merging.

Julianna follows each note, humming along and not missing the beat when I shift from one song and then the other.

I continue to play and let my gaze shift away from the keys and wander down to Julianna’s frame. She senses me staring, because she looks up at me and then her eyes dip to my lips.

My heart thunders in my chest and all sense of reality slips my grasp. I stop playing and cup the side of her face, pulling herclose until our lips connect. They’re warm and soft against mine, and she tenderly kisses me.

It’s not rough or hungry like it usually is. We take our time. Her tongue glides along my bottom lip before she slips it in my mouth. Her fingers knot through my hair at the base. She gently tugs it and twirls a lock around her finger.

I groan into her mouth, revelling in the way she feels and tastes.

She smiles against my lips, sighing in contentment as I do because I’ve never felt more at peace than I do now.

Her eyes, dilated and heated, lock with mine and I know what that look says without her having to voice it. I know what she wants because I want it too, but this is different and I don’t want to rush or degrade her for the sake of getting off.

I want to appreciate her and I want her to know that she has as much control as I do, if not more. Because Julianna owns every part of me.

“I’m yours,” I whisper against her lips, kissing her one last time.

She flushes, cheeks staining a rosy hue. “Just mine?”

“Yes, my Love. Just yours. I promise.”

She smiles, the kind of smile that makes my heart flip a million times. It’s the kind I screenshot and lock in a special box in my head dedicated just for her. Because that smile, fuck, that smile feels like an all-consuming high that I never want to come down from.

Climbing off me, she stands and takes my hand in hers, interlocking our fingers, and guides me to her bed. With my back to it, we stand in front of each other. She doesn’t say anything but grabs the hem of my shirt, and I let her tug it off and help her when it’s at my head. She undresses me, taking her time, fingers softly caressing across my skin, eliciting goosebumps only she can evoke.

Then I do the same for her. I undress her, taking my time, admiring and appreciating every inch of her body.

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