Page 102 of The Boss

So I pull back and stare into her eyes, trying to find some clarity amid the lust. "Jules, slow down."

Her fingers falter out of me, bemusement touching that fair face. "Are you questioning your want for me?"

"Of course I’m not! I just need you to take your time."

Her hand finds its way back between my legs. "You sure? Seemed like you were close."

It's true. I was close. But I don't want to give her that satisfaction so easily. "Positive."

"All right, we'll do it your way."

She leans forward and kisses me, gently pushing me back against the wall. Her hands are still on my body, but they're softer now, exploring me like it's the first time she's encountered my form. Her fingertips brush against my skin, savoring every inch of me. I melt against her, surrendering my resistance as she pushes deeper inside me.

This isn't about me wanting her. This is aboutherwantingme.

There are no demands here, only promises. And Julianna makes sure she keeps them. She takes her time, letting me know how much she wants to make me come. Even though the rest of the venue is filled with guests who could walk in on us at any moment, she doesn't rush this encounter. No matter how many times we've had sex before, this one feels different.

Because she knows it might be the last time. That’s why she inevitably reverts to that previous state, taking me with a force of desire that I don’t know how to counteract once I’ve succumbed to her rough and wonderful seduction again.

But let me say that Julianna would never lose control like this with a woman she didn’t genuinely love. She’s not a member of the amateur club. Her ego would never let her yield to something like that.

“Jules…” I’m pushed over the edge. The realization that she’s telling the truth makes me come with a slow, hot burn that drains her of the last of her stamina deep, deep within me. The intimate sensation creates a new bond between us that wasn’t there before I walked out on her.

Still, this doesn’t let her off the hook.

Yet when I press my forehead to hers the moment I climb down from my climax, I know that I will never be able to love another woman the way I love this one.

“Don’t push me away, my love.”

I give her a sleepy grin. “You’ve still got some groveling to do, Ms. Marcon.”

“I’ve got the whole damn day to grovel to you. This is only the beginning of my third chance at groveling, Lessa.”

I’m going to hold her to it. We are at a wedding, after all.

Chapter 51

Julianna

You’re damn right that I’m not finished groveling. If anyone thinks I’m not going into overdrive making sure Alessa Penrose knows that I worship the ground she walks on, then they’re not paying attention to who I am and what I’ve been saying for weeks.

I’m so close. I can taste a true reunion with her on the tip of my tongue. But I’m not counting these damned chickens until I’m in Aruba with her, enjoying our first real vacation together. I promised her that I would take her somewhere before school started again, didn’t I?

As soon as we rejoin the reception, I broadcast to the room that I’m back in Alessa’s good graces by putting a firm arm around her waist and directing her to my empty +1 seat at the head table. The moment they see us, Ted scoffs in great amusement and his new husband leans in to whisper somethingto everyone else at the table. Good-natured laughter erupts as soon as Alessa and I are within earshot again.

“We were wondering where you had run off to,” Jordan says to my girlfriend. “Awful shame seeing this bachelorette pollute my nice wedding with her brooding.”

“As long as it’s enchanting brooding,” Alessa says without missing a beat. She sits in the chair I pulled out for her. “But I have it on good authority that both Marcon siblings are fairlycaptivating.”

“Fairly, she says,” Ted mutters. “Did she go to the same school of subtle shade as our mother, Jules?”

That same mother is at the far end of the table pretending she doesn’t see Alessa. My father slings his arm along the back of my girlfriend’s chair and holds up a fresh glass of champagne. Alessa spares him a cordial smile before turning back toward my brother. “Forgive me, but if I fawn over you too much, your sister will get jealous.”

“She’s always been jealous of me.” That smug smile wants me to punch it off his face, doesn’t it? “Bless my baby sister’s heart.”

“Please,” Jordan says. “No inciting sibling bloodshed at our wedding.”

“But other kinds are fine?”

---