Page 143 of Alive At Night

It was pleasant, so pleasant, and my lips curved in a sated smile. I felt a dip in the mattress before lips brushed my temple, and heat encased me again as Julian pulled me into his chest.

A comfortable silence settled between us as we breathed in each other’s presence until Julian eventually broke it.

“I want to ask you something.”

“Hm?”

It was the only answer I could muster.

“Why?”

“Why?” I opened one eye to see Julian watching me with a thoughtful expression. And then I opened the other, curious.

“Why did you decide not to have sex before?”

“How do you know it was my decision?”

“Because no one in their right mind would be dating you andnotwant to sleep with you.”

I swallowed, trying to ignore what his words did to me. “It’s hard for me to trust people sometimes. That they really want me. That they won’t leave me. And I just couldn’t get myself to sleep with any of my exes until I felt some sort of…reassurance. I figured if they cared about me at all, they would wait. They’d stay.” I closed my eyes again. “They never did.”

Julian’s gentle touch urged me to open my eyes again. His blue eyes were so beautiful as they studied me that I almost had to look away. He seemed to be trying to find the right words, but he didn’t have to. He didn’t need to find any words. Not tonight.

“But I trust you, Julian,” I whispered.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He cleared what sounded like emotion from his throat. “I’ve always been here, and I always will be.”

I snuggled deeper into him.

“I know.”

A contented sigh breezed over the top of my head before Julian murmured in my ear.

“It’s after midnight. We missed the countdown.”

I smiled into his bare chest. “Well, I still got my kiss, and that’s what really matters. Happy New Year, Julian Briggs.”

“Happy New Year, Juniper St. James.” He paused. “And excuse me, but you gotmorethan just a kiss. I think that means it’s going to be a good year.”

Hugging him tighter, I nodded.

“I think that means it’s going to be the best year.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

julian

FOR THE FOURTH TIME since starting my job at Gardner Law Firm, I woke up next to Juniper St. James. And this time, she was naked. More importantly, though, I was allowed to touch her.

I smoothed my hands up her sides, remembering how all these curves had looked when she was on top of me, how she’d felt herself up while riding my—

“Oh, really?” Juni’s raspy morning voice broke through my recollections as she squirmed beneath my hands. “That’s pretty, uh, unusual for him, isn’t it?”

I lifted my head, and when I realized Juniper was on the phone, I scowled at her back.

“Hang up, Juni.”

She whipped around, turning on her side to face me. “No,” she emphasized into the phone, her eyes widening as she spoke. “No, of course I’m not with a guy. That was just the TV. I should reallyturn it down.”

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