13
Nick took a sip of his beer, tipping the cool bottle to his lips and letting the liquid wash down his throat. Swinging his bare feet up onto the coffee table in front of his sofa, he picked up the remote, fast forwarding through the fights he’d downloaded until he found the one he was looking for. It was almost a guarantee he’d be fighting Brody Hansen in the tournament, and Nick planned to spend his evening looking for weak spots in Brody’s game and figuring out how he could exploit his flaws.
He took another sip as he pressed play. Hansen had won this first fight by knockout in the second round, a fate Nick planned to avoid. He wanted to study the way Hansen defended, the way he attacked, and make mental notes he’d go over with his trainers tomorrow morning. Craning his neck to the side, he stretched out his tired muscles. He’d been pushing himself hard, because winning this tournament would prove—to himself, to everyone—that he was a world-class martial artist. He’d moved away from his family and friends for this opportunity and was spending more time training than ever before. But if he was being honest, his training had been particularly brutal since Jules had come back into his life. It was the only way he could stop thinking about her.
A dull ache settled right in the center of his chest, just like it always did when he thought about Jules. With a sigh, he took a long pull of his beer, trying to chase away the memory of how she’d tasted as she’d come against his mouth on her desk. He hadn’t fully realized just how much he’d missed her taste until then. And God, her eyes. They’d been so open, all of her shields down as she’d tried to convince him to fuck her right there on her desk. He replayed the memory, and hope warred with self-preservation, gnawing at him, back and forth like a saw until he felt ragged.
With a shake of his head, he returned his attention to Hansen’s fight, noting the way he tended to drop his hands a little after throwing a jab.
A few soft knocks came from his front door, and setting his beer down on the table, he stood to answer it. Ready to tell whoever was on the other side that he wasn’t buying what they were selling, he pulled the door open.
His heart vaulted into his throat when he saw Jules, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright, her lips slightly parted. He met her eyes and swallowed thickly, every cell in his body vibrating with hope.
She licked her lips and sucked in a shaky breath, her eyes still holding his. “Yes.”
Hell. Fucking. Yes.
That single syllable was like a million different kinds of joy that Nick could barely process because he was too busy pulling Jules toward him, unable to get his mouth on hers fast enough. The second his lips touched hers, she let out a soft moan that cascaded over him. Her hands tangled in his hair as her tongue slid hungrily against his. His mouth moving against hers with increasing urgency, he slipped his hands under her thighs and hoisted her up. Her legs came around his waist and he backed into his apartment, somehow managing to kick the door closed. She was soft and warm against him, and even though she was so much smaller than him, she fit his body perfectly.
He broke the kiss, managing to drag his mouth away from hers and everything that it promised. “Say it again,” he said, setting her down and caging her against the inside of his door, his palms flat against the wood on either side of her head. She took several rapid breaths, her breasts pressing into his chest, and unable to help himself, he dipped his head, dragging his lips along her neck. He teased the skin right below her ear with his tongue, and she gasped, the sound going straight to his dick. But before they went any further, he needed to hear her say it again. Needed to make sure it was real.
“Yes, Nick. Yes.”
Relief and lust and happiness all tangled together in his chest.
She whimpered and skimmed her hands under his shirt. “God, I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Jules. So goddamn much.” He reached behind him and tugged his T-shirt over his head. Before it even hit the floor, he was kissing her again, deeper and slower this time, savoring and tasting, basking in the feeling of her body pressed against his. Knowing she was here because she wanted him, wanted to give them another chance, was almost too much, and he had to remind himself to breathe. It was as though everything was swelling—his heart, his dick, something else inside him that he couldn’t name—because she was here, and she was his. Again, and finally.
She broke the kiss and stroked a hand over the bulge in his jeans. Fiery pleasure flared down his spine, and his hips thrust toward her. “Ever since you left me on my desk, all I’ve been able to think about is how much I want you inside me again. How much I want to be yours again.”
He smiled, one side of his mouth inching up, and with one palm still braced on the door, he tugged open the tie of her wrap dress. The fabric parted and he pushed it open, his palm brushing over her side and down to her hip. His gaze wandered over her black lace bra and the rounded tops of her breasts, the creamy expanse of skin, the tiny black panties, her slender legs. As his eyes traveled slowly back up her body, a single word beat through him: mine.
“Say it one more time,” he whispered, every muscle in his body tightening as he dipped his hand lower, giving one of her cheeks a firm squeeze.
“Yes, Nick. Ye—” But she never finished, the last word stretching out into a moan as he pushed her panties to the side and brushed his thumb over her clit. Her body shook a little, and he eased two fingers into her, letting out a grunt at how wet and tight she was. No woman had ever felt as gorgeously perfect as Jules.
His Jules.
God.
She gripped his shoulders as he fucked her slowly with his fingers. “Oh shit, Nick,” she moaned, her head thumping softly on the door as she writhed against him. He moved his hand again, trailing his mouth up her neck, wanting more than anything to make her lose her damn mind, just like he’d done so many times in Chicago. But this was different. Bigger and brighter, because she’d said yes. Because she’d chosen to come here, chosen him. Chosen them.
She clenched around his fingers and let out a long sigh. “You make me feel so damn greedy. God, I’ve been waiting so long for this.” Her back arched off the door and he groaned, tension radiating through his body with the need to get inside her. “Please, Nick. Fuck me. Right here, right now. I need you. Don’t make me wait anymore. Please.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, and it was the way she begged him so sweetly, so earnestly, her blue eyes burning bright with need, that snapped his control.
“Fuck, Jules,” he breathed, his mouth crashing back into hers. He slipped his fingers free and tugged her bra down until her breasts spilled out. He cupped them, his hands rough on her nipples, hard and peaked against his palms, and she moaned into his mouth. She fumbled with his jeans, prying the button open and pulling the zipper down, her hands pushing almost frantically at the fabric, taking his boxer briefs down with his jeans. His cock snapped up and into her palm. She stroked him roughly, and they moaned in unison as he thrust into her hand. His entire body throbbed almost painfully, and he knew the only way to ease the ache was to slide into her, hard and deep. To reclaim her, in the best possible way.
He dropped his hands to her ass and lifted her, her panties still askew from his fingers. With her back pressed against the door, she wound her legs around his hips and he clenched his jaw against the need to drive into her. “Condoms are in my bedroom,” he managed to grind out as she slicked her wetness over him.
“No. Just you. Right here. Right now.”
He glanced down at his cock, glistening from rubbing against her. In Chicago, they’d always used condoms, always kept that barrier between them. The fact that Jules didn’t want anything between them this time, wanting to connect with him as intimately as possible, sent an emotion he couldn’t quite identify crashing through him.
His eyes met hers, and he almost couldn’t breathe, because everything he felt for her was overwhelming. From the way her eyes shone softly at him, he knew she felt the connection between them too. They’d had a connection in Chicago, but this was different. More intense. Rare.
It was everything. She was everything.
Jules tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, her fingers tracing over his cheekbone. Nick could read every emotion flickering over her face, could see her like he’d never seen her before. “Nick, please. I need you,” she whispered, and the need to be inside her consumed him, obliterating everything else.
His eyes holding hers, he lifted her another few inches and eased her down onto his cock. They both let out a half sigh, half moan as he slid deep, burying himself inside her. For a second, maybe longer, he held completely still, not wanting the moment to end, it was so fucking perfect. Perfect, and without a doubt the most intimate moment of his entire life.
He felt like he’d been wandering for a year, and now he was home.
She slid her hands up his chest and wound her arms around his shoulders, her fingers weaving into his hair. Rocking against him, she shuddered and closed her eyes. “I missed you so much. God, I’m so sorry—”
He cut her off with a deep kiss, flexing his fingers into her ass as he moved her up and down. “Don’t be sorry,” he said, his lips brushing hers. “Just be here. Be here and stay.”
She took a deep breath and clenched around him. “I’m here.”
Something hot and sweet soared through him, and he adjusted his grip on her, working his hips as he started to fuck her hard, slow, and deep. Her shoulders bumped against the door, rattling it in its frame. He circled his hips, dragging his cock against her clit as he withdrew from her and she arched against him.
“Oh God, Nick,” she gasped as he did it again. “You make me feel so full. So perfect,” she sighed. Possessive satisfaction burned through him at how good he knew he could make her feel, and he felt like both a king and a conqueror, claiming and owning what he’d fought for. He dropped his head and scraped his teeth over her collarbone. Sweat beaded along his hairline as he picked up his rhythm, unable to hold back and make it last.
He brought his mouth back to hers just in time to swallow her loud moans as she came, her pussy fluttering and then clenching around him in a rapid rhythm. He fucked her harder, drawing out her orgasm. Heat engulfed his entire body, coating his skin, tightening his balls, making him sweat with pleasure as he drove into her over and over again. Everything—lust and love and need and relief and satisfaction—wove together, messy and bright like fireworks colliding.
“God, Jules,” he ground out as he thrust deep and came hard, pouring everything he had into her. It was one of those soul-sucking orgasms, so deep and intense that he felt as though it had pulled a piece of him into her.
For several seconds, they held still except for their heaving chests, Jules still in his arms, their bodies still connected.
With her fingers in his hair, she pulled his mouth to hers, teasing at his tongue with hers, kindling a new fire with a few languid strokes. He wasn’t sure if it was biology or chemistry, but the science of how fucking amazing they were together was undeniable.
“I need more,” she whispered against his mouth.
He smiled. “Good, because I’m not done with you.” He managed to kick free of his jeans and underwear, and still inside her, he walked them through the apartment and into his bedroom. With a low growl, he tossed her down onto the bed. “Naked, sweetheart. Now.”
She smiled up at him, that naughty smile that had always promised the best kind of trouble. Her bottom lip caught between her teeth, she rose to her knees on the bed and shrugged out of her dress, tossing it to the floor. Her eyes dipped down his body and she licked her lips as she unhooked her bra, letting the straps fall down her arms. She dropped it onto the bed, and then slid her hands down her body to her underwear. The insides of her thighs glistened. That sight turned him on even more, while twisting his gut tight with something both tender and possessive, reminding him that she’d let him come inside her, nothing between them. She worked her panties down her hips, letting them fall around her knees and then slipping out of them. She brought her eyes back to his and slid a hand between her legs, pushing a finger inside herself. Her hips swiveled and she raised her finger to her mouth, sucking it. “We taste good,” she said.
Something raw and primal charged through him, and he stepped toward her on the bed, weaving his hand into her hair. “Show me how much you missed me. Clean off my cock.”
She made a low humming noise in the back of her throat and smiled up at him, big and bright. He smiled back, loving that she loved to be dirty with him, loving that she let him take charge. He’d always had a knack for knowing exactly what she needed, and apparently the year apart hadn’t dulled his dirty-sexy-fun-times-with-Jules instinct.
With gentle pressure on the back of her head, he urged her down onto all fours in front of him on the bed, his eyes devouring her now that she was fully naked.
She licked a long, slow path from the base of his cock to the tip, sucking just the head into her mouth. Although he’d come only minutes before, his balls tightened as pleasure kicked low in his gut, twisting his insides into something tense and explosive. She glanced up at him through her lashes and with long, teasing pulls, worked her mouth over him, engulfing him in the glorious wet heat of her mouth.
“Show me how much you can take,” he said, his voice low and rough, and he thrust into her mouth, unable to stop his hips from moving.
She made that sweet humming noise again and took another inch, swirling her tongue over the head. Moving up and down, she sucked him a little bit deeper with each sweep of her lips, choking a little when he nudged the back of her throat. Burning satisfaction clutched at him, and he was so damn hard, so damn close, that it would’ve been the easiest thing in the world to let go and come in her mouth, to watch her greedily swallow everything he had for her.
But that wasn’t what they needed. Not this time. Tonight was about connection, and he needed to be inside her again.
“Come here, sweetheart,” he said, his voice a little raw with the wave of tenderness crashing through him. Her eyes glittering up at him, she released him, stroking him as she rose to her knees. He traced his hands up her back and pulled her close, closing his mouth over hers in a deep kiss. “Mmm. We do taste good,” he whispered against her mouth.
Her chest hitched slightly. “So good, Nick.”
Kissing her again, he stroked his hands up and down her back, and then palmed one of her breasts, loving the way it fit perfectly in his hand. She arched into his touch as his thumb played over her nipple, teasing it before rolling it between his fingers. He broke the kiss and dipped his head, sucking that nipple into his mouth and swirling his tongue over it. He scraped his teeth over it, and Jules let out a low, throaty moan.
She tunneled her fingers into his hair, her nails raking over his scalp. He glanced up at her, her nipple still in his mouth. For a second, everything stilled, and as their eyes met, something passed between them. He knew that Jules felt it too, because suddenly a laugh bubbled up out of her, light and free. Unable to help himself, he laughed too as he tumbled her down to the bed, supporting his weight on his forearms as he settled on top of her.
“My Jules,” he murmured, brushing a strand of her hair out of her eyes.
She laughed again, softer this time, and she wound her arms around his shoulders. “Yours,” she whispered, and he couldn’t hold back anymore. He lined himself up with her entrance and pushed into her.
Her back arched up off the bed, her hands tight in his hair. “Oh shit, Nick. Yes! God.” He smiled down at her and she clenched, hot and wet and perfect around him. He smiled as he brought his mouth to hers, loving that he could draw that kind of reaction from her. She slipped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into his ass. He thrust into her, deep and slow, and she moaned against his mouth. When he broke the kiss, she smiled up at him, so open, so beautiful that he almost told her he loved her.
But even though the words were on the tip of his tongue, he held back, not quite ready to make himself that vulnerable with her.
He flexed his hips, thrusting in and out of her once more before he stilled. “Tell me why you said yes.”
She licked her lips and worked her hips against him, but he held still, needing to know.
“Because I love . . .” She arched against him again, and he stroked in and out of her, once, his entire body throbbing. She moaned and sucked in a deep breath. “I love who I am with you. Because I know that what we have is real, and I want to give it a chance. Because you look at me . . .” She moved a hand from his hair to his cheek, tracing her fingertips over his cheekbone, his mouth, his jaw. “Like that.” His chest constricted almost painfully, too many emotions to name ripping through him.
He took her hand and pinned it above her head, flexing his hips again as he resumed a slow, easy rhythm of thrusts.
“Because no one has ever made me feel as incredible as you do,” she panted, her breaths coming faster now. “Because you’re Nick, and I’m yours.”
“Mine,” he said, kissing her as he swiveled his hips, dragging his cock against her clit as he slid in and out of her. Even though he was inside her, it still wasn’t enough. Maybe nothing ever would be.
“I’ve been yours since that night in the bar in Chicago.”
“Why did you deny it?” he asked, stilling once again.
Her eyes met his. “Because I’m scared. I don’t want to be, but I am.”
A pang of protectiveness washed over him, and he kissed her again. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. Don’t be scared.”
“It’s not that easy,” she whispered, and he pressed his forehead to hers.
“Then let me be brave for both of us until it is.”
She smiled up at him again, and it was so bright that he couldn’t help but laugh a little. “My Jules.” He buried his face in her neck and pumped his hips, the mattress creaking beneath them, Jules’s moans filling his ears as he sent her over the edge. With a few deep thrusts, he followed her. His heart slammed against his ribs, his entire body weak and sated. Afraid he was going to crush her, he slipped out of her body and rolled to the side, pulling Jules against him.
“Nick?” she asked as she lazily traced circles on his chest with her fingertips.
“Yeah?”
“Why did you want me to say yes? After the way I—”
He cut her off with a gentle, lingering kiss. “Because I know we’re meant for each other. Plain and simple.”
“Because we have such great sex.”
“That’s part of it, sure.” He tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his eyes. Knowing she felt scared, uncertain, and insecure, and wanting to chase all of that away. “But it’s because I feel so damn alive with you, and everything feels bigger and brighter. Because you’re beautiful, and smart, and make me laugh, and put up with my jokes. Because the second I found you, I knew I’d been looking for you for a long time.”
She inhaled a shaky breath, blinking. “Can I stay tonight?”
He cocked his eyebrow, his limbs too heavy to do anything else. “You have someplace you’d rather be?”
She levered up onto her elbow and looked down at him, her blond hair falling over her shoulder in a messy curtain, her blue eyes sparkling as she smiled. “Well, maybe. I mean—”
He grabbed her and pulled her against him, closing his mouth over hers in a slow, hot kiss. “Don’t even think about getting out of this bed.”
She laughed and snuggled into him, and he closed his eyes, basking in the sense of peace enveloping him.
Everything was right with the world again.