Page 148 of Alive At Night

“You better,” I finally muttered in response to his promise for later. He’d given me a taste of what he could do, and I wanted more.

“So greedy, aren’t you?” Julian chuckled darkly. “Always wanting it.”

I made an indecipherable noise, too distracted by how Julian’s fingers had drifted beneath my dress, caressing my skin in tight, ascending circles. When he found my underwear, he traced the seam down until I had to bite my tongue to avoid making other sounds.

“I’m not—” I started to protest, but Julian swiped a finger beneath my underwear, toying directly with my clit, and my ability to talk vanished momentarily.

“Don’t lie, Daisy.” He whispered a kiss over my forehead, breathing his words softly.

And then Julian pulled away, leaving me to stand there breathless as he stalked back to the sofa. Once settled, he threw one arm up again, resting it along the top.

“Do I get to see the blue one?” he asked like the last minute hadn’t happened, nodding his head to the row of dresses I still hadn’t tried on in the fitting room.

I shook my head, struggling to withhold a smile of my own. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“No, Juni.” He shook his head. His grin grew, sly and charming, and it nearly took me out completely. “I’mlovingthis.”

That was it. Those words right there. They were the best part about this entire evening so far.

Because I knew, without a single doubt, that they were true.

Julian didn’t take me here out of a sense of obligation or duty. He didn’t want to take me on a date simply to prove something or to fulfill his side of a deal. He asked me out because he wanted to.

And amazingly enough, he was loving it.

And so was I.

It was the first date I’d probably ever had that felt like the guy cared about what I might enjoy, but I wasn’t surprised. When Julian said he knew me better than any other guy out there, he was right.

Meanwhile, Greg Kennedy had dropped into my DMs on social media at least three times this week, but I wasn’t sure why he thought I’d ever respond when he’d treated each of our dates like an annoying prerequisite to getting sexual favors. But not enough sexual favors that he wouldn’t cheat on me, of course.

When I couldn’t seem to get my legs to move, Julian encouraged me.

“Come on, Rosie.” His look was gentle as he urged me to get going. “As much as I love staring at you, we’ve still got a seven o’clock reservation to get to.”

“Who needs dinner when you’ve got dresses?” I laughed.

“Youneed dinner,” Julian said seriously before growing amused again and dropping his voice. “Think of it as fuel for later, love.”

He winked, knowing what he was doing.

Meanwhile, I tried not to melt on my way back to the dressing room.

* * *

Much to Julian’s satisfaction,I was still wearing the black dress when we left the boutique. However, Charlotte also boxed up one other dress—a blue one—for me to pick up another day.

I tried not to feel guilty about how much Julian had insisted on buying. I really didn’t want to argue with him, especially considering how strongly he reacted when I offered to pay the first time. But no one had ever spoiled me like this before. It felt…nice.

He settled his hand on my leg as we made the short drive to the restaurant where he’d made reservations. I squirmed beneath his fingertips, impatient for more of his touch with how he’d teased me in the boutique. Julian knew it, too. He tucked his fingers beneath the hem of my dress, tickling lightly as we pulled into a parking spot. He squeezed my thigh as he put the car into park, and I gasped.

“It must be a little uncomfortable, isn’t it?” he asked, glancing over at me.

I cocked my head to the side. “What is?”

“Sitting there wearing underwear that’s soaked for me.”

A roll of my eyes was my only response because I didn’t want him to get the satisfaction of knowing he was right. My whole body pulsed, needing him. I tried to look away from his knowing face before he could catch the truth in my eyes, but I was sure he still saw right through me.

---