Page 23 of Kissed and Missed

I take it, allowing him to pull me to my feet. “Can we take a shower?” I ask, careful to keep my voice soft and unassuming.

His throat bobs. “Of course.”

The bathroom at the back of the suite is about the size of my and Sophie’s living room. Every inch of it is outfitted in black and white marble, and a tub shaped like half an egg is stationed right in the middle of the floor.

The shower, however, is a work of art. A massive glass wall encloses the space, which has a tile bench along one side, and noless than four shower heads aimed in different directions on the other.

“Wow.” My voice echoes off the polished stone as I stand back, watching Julian stride over to the dials and knobs on the wall beside it. Fingering the hem of my sweater, I wait for him to turn toward me again, the bathroom echoing with the sound of the shower water, before pulling it smoothly over my head.

Pretending I don’t notice him watching me, I allow my bra to fall too. “Are you going to join me?” I ask, unable to help my smile as I slip my thumbs beneath the waistband of my pants and panties, pushing them to fall in a heap around my ankles.

Julian is still standing beside the shower, his arms crossed, and for the first time, I feel the tiniest bit unsure. What happened before was all passionate and pent-up. We barely slowed down to get each other naked before he was inside me. This is different. I’m standing butt naked in front of him, with the warm bathroom light leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination.

He lifts his chin, gaze burning right through me. “Come here.”

My tummy tenses as I obey, stepping over the marble floor until I’m right in front of him, and yeah. I’m no longer concerned about Julian not liking what he sees.

Bowing forward, his lips brush my ear as he murmurs, “Turn around and bend over. Hold onto your ankles.”

It’s a miracle I don’t pass out in my hurry to do as he asked, dropping forward until I’m nearly bent in half. I watch between my legs as Julian’s feet step closer, and I have to bite my lip to stop myself from crying out when his fingers dip just inside my tender entrance.

“My cum is leaking out of you,” he murmurs, and my eyelids flutter as he circles my clit with his release. The falling water in the cavernous shower is loud enough to drown out my moan ashe eases the same two fingers inside me, fucking me slowly. “Do you need more, Valentine? Do you need me to fill you up again?”

“Please.” The backs of my thighs are burning from being stretched like this for so long, but when I lift my head high enough to catch sight of us in the mirror above the vanity, all discomfort is quickly deemed a worthy sacrifice. Because, what I see there, ishot.

There’s no other word for it.

First, there’s me, naked and bent over, wild-eyed and messy-haired, a pink flush crawling over my cheeks as I get more worked up. Then, behind me, stands Julian. He’s still fully dressed, wearing the same button-down and slacks he did to the meeting with the PR people. All his attention is focused on his hand moving between my legs, and when I arch higher, offering him more, I watch his jaw tighten in response.

“That’s my girl,” he growls, curving his fingers to brush my G-spot. “You don’t need to think about anything else right now. Just come on my fingers, I’ll take care of you.”

He isn’t asking for much. Already I’m so lost in the moment, I couldn’t care less what people outside this room think about me, or what the internet is saying about my brand-new relationship. Let them talk. I’ll just be over here coming on a hot billionaire’s fingers.

“Julian,” I whimper, the muscles in my legs growing weaker as he works me closer and closer, efficient and precise in his ministrations. “Oh god, oh god—” I come so hard that lights burst on the insides of my eyelids and my cry echoes off the walls of the bathroom. Steam is filling the space, and when Julian finally removes his hand from the small of my back, allowing me to straighten up to face him, my head spins.

“I fucking love making you come,” Julian grunts, taking my face in his hands and kissing me chastely. There’s somethingabout seeing him like this, growly and possessive, swearing, that makes my insides all fluttery and warm.

“Get in the shower,” Julian murmurs, stepping away from me after another soft, revenant kiss.

I feel his eyes on me as I obey, stepping into the warm spray of water with a happy groan. “This is definitely superior to the shower in my apartment,” I tell him over my shoulder, smiling as I hear the distinct rustle of clothing hitting the floor.

“I’ll fuck you in it anyway, I’m not picky.”

I giggle at his wry, mischievous tone, peeking over my shoulder just in time to see Julian stepping into the shower and closing the glass door behind him with a quiet snick. Almost instantly, steam begins to build up in the enclosed space, creating a dreamy haze around us as my eyes rake shamelessly over his naked body.

My sexuality has always been fluid, but dating women felt easier somehow, and it became my comfort zone. There is nothing feminine about Julian Ballard. He’s undeniably masculine, and comfortable with it. Before him, I wouldn’t have expected to like that quality in a partner, and maybe I still don’t. Maybe I just likehim.

“I’m really into you,” I confess as Julian stops beside me, water from all the fancy shower heads cascading over both of us now. “It’s kind of scaring the crap out of me.”

I reach up to touch his chest, drawing my fingers through the sodden, dark hair there, creating little patterns that are instantly washed away by the water pouring over us. The tip of his hard cock brushes my belly button.

“I know this is a lot.” His voice rumbles through his chest into my hands, and I feel his lips brush my forehead. “Those few days when you stepped back, when you weren’t talking to me, and I thought I’d pushed you away for good… They were some of the worst days of my life, Honor. I don’t blame you for doingit, though, or regret them. It forced me to see things from a new perspective.”

I peek up at him, and my pulse skips when I find his eyes already on me, burning and unquestionably truthful. “Which is?”

He lets out a long, rocky breath and steps forward, crowding me into the cold shower wall. “Getting to know you has been the best part of my life, and there are no circumstances in the world worth giving you up.”

14

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