Page 89 of Julian

“Julian,” I whisper against his mouth.

The sound of his name seems to undo him further.

His kiss turns more ravenous, deeper, his rough beard scraping deliciously against my skin as his mouth trails from my wet lips to my throat. He exhales against my collarbone, warm and uneven, and every place he touches me feels heightened, overly sensitive beneath his large hands.

My fingers knot into the front of his shirt while he backs me slowly toward the large, four-poster bed, and the second my legs hit the mattress, I give way.

His shirt disappears first.

One second my hands are gripping fabric and the next my palms are against bare skin—warm, smooth, solid muscle shifting beneath my fingertips—and the sensation alone melts me. He’s all heat and strength and restrained power finally let loose.

Then his hands find the hem of my shirt.

He pauses long enough to look at me, his eyes dark with restraint hanging by a thread.

“You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you?” he asks quietly.

“Yes,” I breathe.

That’s all it takes.

My shirt joins his on the floor.

His hands slide along my bare skin like he can’t touch enough of me at once, and every place his mouth follows leaves behind a taste of his raw sexuality. I feel the cool brush of air against my body one second and the overwhelming warmth of him the next. The weight of him, controlling me. The roughness of his hands contrasted against the gentleness of the way he keeps looking at me. It’s pure, unbridled sex, yet in a venue so comfortable and reassuring, I let myself go in ways I never imagined.

And when pleasure finally crashes through me, it hits so hard it’s surreal. I can’t tell which way is up now.

My back arches against the sheets, his hands exploring every inch of my body, his name breaking apart on my lips while the entire world narrows down to sensation—pressure and ecstasy so intense it leaves me breathless beneath him.

He finishes seconds later, burying his face against my neck with a low sound that sends another wave of heat through me as his arms tighten possessively, desperately.

And somewhere inside the haze of exhaustion and satisfaction and his body wrapped around mine, one impossible thought enters my mind: I could fall hopelessly in love with this man.

Chapter 23

Julian

It’s been a very long time since I’ve been this excited about the beginning of a new year.

For the past several New Year’s Eves, midnight has felt less like a celebration and more like a benchmark that comes and goes without much fanfare. Another year gone. Another twelve months placed firmly between me and the life I once had. I attended the parties because attendance was expected. I shook hands, raised the champagne, watched the ball descend over Manhattan while privately feeling nothing beyond the exhaustion of surviving another orbit around the sun.

But tonight is different. Tonight, Harper’s beside me.

The black Town Car glides down Fifth Avenue through the sea of lights and bundled tourists. Harper turns her face toward the window as we pass the towering Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, her eyes widening.

She’s stunning tonight.

Her blond hair falls in soft waves around her bare shoulders, glossy and impossibly touchable after the appointment I arranged for her this afternoon at Laurent et Cie, a salon where Hollywood’s most glamorous actresses routinely spend obscene amounts of money pretending beauty is easy.

Her black silk gown skims every curve of her body, and the blinding diamond earrings I gave her catch the passing city lights every time she turns her head.

And then of course there’s her scent. Warm vanilla and jasmine. I can see her relaxed and rejuvenated from the massage at the wellness boutique in Flatiron where I sent her earlier today.

This last day of the old year has been one long exercise in spoiling her.

Not because I think she requires luxury to be happy, but because I enjoy seeing what happens when someone who has spent most of her life taking care of everyone else is finally cared for properly.

Harper catches me looking at her now and smiles.