Page 103 of The Best Wild Idea
“I finally feel like I’m . . . I don’t know how to describe it.”
“At peace?” I ask her, knowing the feeling deep down in myself. This might have been a journey to help Jules to move on from the love of her life, but I feel like I’ve also taken myself on the same journey. To say goodbye to someone I, too, never hoped to live without.
“I guess,” she admits. “But also like I’m ready, in a really good way.”
She takes a step toward me, holding up the two glasses.
“Stop right there,” I tell her, letting my eyes slowly wander down the length of her, all the way down to her bare toes and back up again to meet her eyes.
“What? What’s wrong?” Her eyes search mine.
“I want to remember you exactly like this,” I tell her. “You in that dress, the Eiffel Tower outside our window. That look on your face.”
“This look?” she asks, taking another step toward me, beaming.
“That and the one you’re about to have next . . .” I say gruffly. “Now, get over here.”
She laughs and walks across the room back to me.
“Can you even have this?” she asks, holding a glass out to me. “With all the pain meds in your system?”
“Absolutely,” I tell her, clinking the bubbling glass against hers.
“To new beginnings,” she says.
“To you,” I add.
“And to him,” she whispers, leaning in to kiss me. “For the foresight he had to create a trip like this, knowing how it might end.”
We smile at each other, but before I can get a tiny sip down, Jules takes the glass from my hand and sets it on the nightstand beside me.
“I think I know what will help you feel even better than that,” she says, raising a brow.
Then she leans in to kiss me. My body springs to life at her touch as she runs her hands down my chest. I wince when she accidentally grazes my elbow.
“Oh my gosh. Did that hurt?” she asks, looking panicked.
“No,” I tell her. “At least not the part where you were touching my chest. My elbow is a little tender though.”
She pats my leg apologetically. “Let me see if I can help you forget the pain.” She smirks up from under her lashes, then leans in again, this time careful to stay back from the side with the cast. “How about here?” she asks, brushing her lips against mine.
“Mmm, that definitely helps,” I murmur into her kiss.
“And here?” she asks, tracing her lips down toward my jaw. She finds that sensitive spot just under my ear and nips it, before biting down on my earlobe, tasting it between her teeth, sending a shiver down my body.
“That’s even better,” I tell her, tilting my jaw up to give her more space to do whatever she wants.
“I think I remember the doctor saying something about this helping, too,” she says, caressing the growing bulge of my pants. She looks up to watch my face while slowly unzipping them, then slips one hand under the fabric of my boxers. “This doesn’t hurt, does it?” she asks, dragging a gentle fist up and down, barely skimming the surface like a tease. I’m already hard in her hand.
“Not even a little,” I groan, pressing my head back into the mound of pillows behind me. I may be laid up in bed for a few days, but I don’t mind if this is how we end up spending the time.
“Let me see if I can help you out even more then,” she says, pulling my shaft out of my boxers. She hikes her dress up, positioning herself right above it, teasing me with anticipation.
I push my hips up, as she sinks down.
“God, you are incredible,” I murmur. The sparkling tower lights up the window behind her, but I only have eyes for Jules.
“Is this okay?” she asks, kneeling on either side of my hips.
