Page 18 of Lost Passions (Timeless Affection)

It means now that I know what it means to find the kind of love that fills all of the gaps and makes you whole.

There’s perfect silence in the room for a moment as James absorbs what I just said to him, the tremor in his lips the only signal that he heard me.

Then...his nostrils flare. In a fractured heartbeat, he’s in front of me, his hands weaving in my hair and his mouth on mine, hot and heavy.

One kiss is all it takes to set my soul on fire. I pull back, out of breath, and feeling out of control. I should stare at the floor, his boots, not his legs that are hardly contained in his black breeches, or his biceps that bulge as he crosses his arms in front of him.

Every single muscle on this man is tight and thick. I squeeze my thighs together and he growls. He growls. I do it again and he’s on me again in a second. My head snaps back as his hands grip me above my waist and he hauls me up. I’m plastered against him with my fingers in his hair—every luscious silk strand. His mouth slams into mine. Bloody hell.

Hot, sweet like wine and sexy as hell, his tongue sweeps in to taste me. Deep lashing licks to shorter strokes, and my heart leaps into next year. It’s happening. He’s finally letting me back in. I want it like I’ve never wanted anything before. I’m taking a new path and he’s leading the way. No matter what happens between us, he will become a part of me again and I’ll take him with me forever.

He breaks away, breathless and pleading with his eyes. “Tell me to stop, Juliet.” His chest heaves beneath my hands as I run them all over him and then his shoulders, feeling the rippling veins on the side of his neck and up to his jaw. I hold him as a struggle plays out on his features and in his gaze.

“Talk to me,” he whispers.

I brush my lips against his. “I want this.”

He groans his agreement and tugs on my dress, trying to figure out how to loosen the bodice. He finally pulls on the right thread and the dress slides down my shoulders and then down my arms until it falls to the floor. Left in practically nothing, I wonder what he’s thinking.

* * *

(James)

“Tellme to stop and I will.”

I give her a chance to end this game, to stop the madness, because she needs more time or maybe I do. “Say no or push me and it’ll be done.” Juliet comes to a standstill, reaching forward for my fists and placing them on the very thin strings of something that barely covers her perfect arse. A contraption that I’ve never seen but that makes me want to order a million more to be made for her.

Her smile is devious. “I like your hands on me. I will like them even more when I can feel them there tomorrow.”

On the tip of her toes, she presses her lips to mine, watching me as she always has.

“Don’t be gentle. Be mine.”

“Hell.” I groan and lean in to devour her mouth.

Without hesitation, she opens to let my tongue fight with hers. There is no thinking, no planning; I want her mouth everywhere, and so it is, sucking my lips, my jaw, my neck, and then she falls to her knees. She trails her hands down my chest as her teeth pull at the waistband of my breeches.

I warn her with a look, my head tilted with a small shake—don’t do this.

She smiles.

She fucking smiles and tugs until I spring free. I change my stance, opening my legs so she has access everywhere, and my hands slide into her hair.

“Okay?” I ask, and clench my eyes shut because her answer is to put her mouth on me, flicking her tongue in a way that would put any Parisian whore to shame. I try not to think how she became so skilled.

She takes me in, sucking so hard that when she pulls away, I let out a growl. She does it again. This time her moan vibrates around me, and my body starts to tremble. I don’t deserve her, and I tell her that as she continues to perform magic.

“Juliet,” I moan her name in warning. I’m embarrassingly close.

I’ve fantasized about what it would be like to feel her, to be this close to her. It’s been a dream that’s been repeated every night since she was gone, torturing me with images of what could never be. I’m still having trouble comprehending that she’s really here. The urgent swipes of her tongue, the way her delicate touch dances across my body has me on edge.

Desperation comes out in the punch of my hips. It’s too soon. I’ve wanted to be with her for so long that I can’t remember what it feels like to not want Juliet. Now that it’s happening, I’m certainly not going to let it be over this soon.

I tug her hair to pull her up although it takes everything in me to stop her from continuing her perfect ministrations. I bend to take her mouth, her tongue, and strip her bare at the same time.

I have her in my arms and our kiss goes on as we stumble to the bed. In seconds she’s on my silk sheets, hands above her head, a step up from the floor which is where we nearly landed in our frantic need to touch and lick skin. Juliet sighs, as if this is the exact position she’s dreamed of: naked, spread out before her King, with the shredded evidence of her beautiful dress on the floor.

“What do you want, baby?” I ask, sinking to my knees as I stare at her laying there—as regal as any queen. She moans and arches, her hand falling from its grip on the sheets to stroke my hair.

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