Page 32 of The Return of Her Billionaire Husband

Juliette linked her arms around his neck. ‘Kiss me, Joe. Make love to me.’

He drew her closer, his arms a strong band around her body, his mouth coming down on hers in a kiss that was soft and yet deeply passionate. Sensations swept through her body—hot, urgent sensations that made her weak at the knees. He lifted her in his arms, carrying her as if she weighed little more than a child, and took her through to the bedroom. He lowered her feet to the floor in front of him, his hands already setting to work on her clothes. Juliette got to work on his and within moments they were both naked and lying, limbs entwined, on the bed.

Joe’s mouth came down on hers, firmer this time, his tongue entering her mouth to tease hers into erotic play. Molten heat pooled in her core, need pulsating deep in her feminine flesh. His mouth moved from her lips to explore the soft skin below her ear, his tongue flickering against her sensitive flesh until she writhed with pleasure. He went lower to her décolletage, tracing the fine structure of her collarbone and down to the gentle swell of her breasts. The action of his mouth and tongue evoked tingles and prickles and needles of pleasure through her breasts. Her nipples tightened, her spine melted, her need escalated.

His hand went to her hip, gliding to her bottom to tilt her towards him. ‘Dio mio, I want you so much.’ His voice was a low, deep, agonised groan. He kissed her again, his tongue tangoing with hers until she was mindless with desire. He lifted his mouth off hers and rolled away to get a condom.

Juliette thought of telling him not to bother, that perhaps they should try for another baby instead of using protection. But she decided to keep that conversation for another time. A time when she had a better understanding of how he felt about her. He had never said he loved her. But she knew deep in her bones he cared about her. Cared more than he was probably willing to admit. And wasn’t she a bit the same? She hadn’t declared her love for him. Not yet.

Joe applied a condom and came back to gather her close. His eyes were so dark with desire they looked densely black. ‘I’m glad you came with me to Paris.’

Juliette pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. ‘I’m glad I came too. And, speaking of coming...’ She hooked one leg over his and gave him a come-hither look.

‘Leave it with me.’ He smiled a sexy smile and brought his mouth back down to hers. ‘I’ll see what I can do.’

* * *

During the night Joe reached again for Juliette, his arms gathering her close to his body. She made a soft murmuring sound and nestled closer, her head resting on his chest right where his heart beat a steady rhythm—but not for much longer. He could feel the quick uptake of his pulse as his body responded to her silky skin, her smooth limbs, the soft waft of her warm breath. The scent of her filled his nostrils, the glide of one of her hands against his thigh making his breath catch. His groin swelled, heated, burned at the thought of her touching him. Desire rolling through him in ever-increasing waves.

The moonlight coming in through the window cast her body in silvery light, making her look like an angel that had flown from heaven and lain down beside him. Heaven just about summed up what it felt like to hold her. To make love to her. To feel her body enclose his, to feel her respond to him hadn’t lessened his desire but rather fed it, nurtured it, expanded it.

Her hand crept ever closer until she was encircling him with her fingers. ‘Are you awake?’ Her voice was a whisper that made his flesh tingle all over.

He smothered a groan as his body throbbed under her touch. ‘I am now.’

She glanced up at him with shining eyes, a cheeky smile curving her lips. ‘Do you want me to stop touching you?’

Joe felt like he would die if she stopped touching him. He rolled her over to her back and leaned over her with his weight propped on his elbows. ‘How about I touch you to even this up a bit?’

He cupped one of her breasts, rolling his thumb over her nipple, watching her response play out on her features, in the catch of her breath, the parting of her lips, her gaze flicking to his mouth. His hand went down from her breast to the tiny cave of her belly button and then beyond.

‘Oh...’ Juliette gave a breathless gasp, her legs folding outwards to welcome his touch. ‘Oh...’

Joe moved down her body, using his lips and tongue to bring forth her earth-shattering response—a response that never failed to thrill him. Making love with her was on another scale from anything he had experienced before. A scale he had never reached with anyone else. Her response to him touched him at the centre of his being. Making him feel every movement of her body, every stroke and glide of her fingers, every soft press of her mouth, as if his body’s nerves had been tuned to another setting. A higher, richer, more pleasurable setting.

Juliette flopped back down against the pillows, her face flushed, her eyes bright as gemstones. ‘I’m not letting you get away with that without a payback.’

‘Is that a promise?’

She smiled and scrambled to a sitting position, pushing him down so he was on his back. ‘What do you think?’ She straddled him and slid down his body until her mouth was close to his erection.

He sucked in a rasping breath. ‘I can’t think right now.’

‘Then don’t. Just feel.’ And when she closed her mouth over him that was all he could do. He was reduced to sensations so powerful, so all-consuming, he thought he would lose consciousness. The teasing suction of her mouth, the sexy glide and the kittenish licks of her tongue made him fly into a vortex of mind-blowing, senses-spinning ecstasy.

He came back to earth with a deep sigh of contentment and brought her down so she was lying on top of him, her legs entangled with his. He stroked the length of her spine in slow movements, enjoying the press of her breasts against his chest, the beat of her heart against his, her hair tickling him where it cascaded over him like a mermaid’s.

He listened to the gradual slowing of her breathing, felt her body gradually melt into full relaxation as she drifted off to sleep.

A long time later he too closed his eyes but it was a long time before he went to sleep...

* * *

On Monday morning Joe woke a little later than was normal for him. He turned to reach for Juliette but the space beside him in the bed was vacant. For a brief moment panic gripped him in the chest like a claw—a sudden, savage claw that reminded him of all the mornings he had woken without her beside him. But then the sound of her moving about in the bathroom relaxed his tense muscles like the injection of a prophylactic drug. Relief swept through him in deep calming waves.

After spending the weekend wandering around the city of Paris hand in hand, they were flying back to Italy this afternoon. He could not remember a time when he had felt such a deep sense of hope. Hope that their relationship had a chance to be restored, regenerated, renewed. But while Juliette had initially agreed to stay a couple of weeks, she hadn’t said anything about staying longer. He wanted her to stay longer. He wanted to resume their marriage. To start afresh. To build on the new understanding they had now after spending time together.

Juliette came out of the bathroom already showered and dressed. ‘Good morning, sleepyhead.’ Her smile was as bright as the sunshine pouring through the window and his breath caught in the middle of his chest.

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