Page 65 of His Juliet

My heart jolted when I realized a tear was falling down her cheek.

A fuckingtear.

I moved off the bed, kneeling in front of her. “Did I hurt you? Please tell me how to fix it.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s nothing you did. I’m just—” She let out a distressed noise. “I need to do yoga,” she blurted out.

I waited to see if more of an explanation was forthcoming, but she didn’t say anything else. I was completely out of my depth. I’d never done the whole relationship thing, preferring to fix problems with violence or money. This was something altogether more complicated, but I didn’t mind. I was quickly realizing I would do anything for Juliet.

“Okay,” I said, gently squeezing her leg. “Let’s do some yoga.”

She dropped her hands, and I couldn’t stop myself from cupping her cheek. She looked so fucking sad.

“I know I sound crazy.” Her jaw was tight, tone defensive.

“You don’t sound crazy. I just want to give you what you need.”

She took a shuddering little breath and crouched beside me to grab a yoga mat under her bed.

“I only have one mat, but you can use it if you want to join me.”

Fuck. She was too sweet.

“You use it, baby. I’ll follow your lead.”

She looked unsure, but I gently nudged her and she rolled out the mat in the incredibly limited floor space. There was just enough room for me to squeeze in beside her.

She started standing and did a series of stretches, which I followed the best I could. I worked out for a couple hours every day, so it should have been easy for me to keep up. But then she moved into some balancing poses that had me almost on my ass, whereas my girl wasn’t even shaking. She bit her lip against a smile when I almost fell again.

“Umm, let’s move down to the floor.”

I gratefully followed her, very much enjoying the view of her ass as she lay on her stomach and pressed her chest off the floor.

I didn’t understand why we were doing yoga, but I certainly didn’t hate it.

We continued in silence, the distant sound of traffic our only soundtrack. Eventually, Juliet stilled, lying on her back. My hand brushed against hers and she took it, lacing her fingers with mine.

She breathed in sharply, like she wanted to speak. I waited, going against all my instincts so I could be patient for her.

“That wasn’t my first time, but it was the first time I’ve wanted to have sex.”

Her quiet words hung in the air for a moment, and then they fell, piercing my chest like bullets. I squeezed her hand as rage coursed through me, but I forced myself to stay lying on the floor.

“Will you tell me what happened?” I kept my voice gentle.

“I was so stupid. My friends and I had gone out to a club to celebrate Vivian’s twenty-first birthday. I met a guy there. We danced most of the night together and he seemed genuinely interested in me.”

She said it like it was shocking that someone would be interested in her when she was the most gorgeous, wonderful person I’d ever met.

“We exchanged numbers and he asked me out. He said he wanted to take me somewhere nice. We went to a restaurant on the east side. He was attentive and charming the entire dinner. He made me feel special. After dinner, I got in his car. I thought he’d just take me home, but instead, he took me to his place. I was a little nervous to go inside with him, but he said we’d just stay a little while and then he’d bring me home.”

I hated this. Hated the robotic way she told the story, like she was trying to detach from the pain.

I squeezed her hand. “You’re safe now.”

She took a shuddering breath. “We started kissing and it was nice, but then he kept trying to take my clothes off. I said no, and he backed off right away, but I still felt uneasy. I wanted to go home, but he said I should stay and we could watch a movie he really wanted me to see. I should have just left, but I was desperate for attention.” Her voice hitched. “I’m so pathetic. I liked feeling special and wanted, so I stayed.”

“Don’t say that about yourself.” My words were hoarse, emerging from my throat like gravel. “Please, sweetheart. You did nothing wrong.”

---