Julian's Pursuit (21 page)

“Miss me?” I rasped against her ear.

A soft sigh escaped her, and she tipped her head back to give my mouth better access. “I miss your warmth.”

I kissed the soft, smooth column of her neck. “I miss your everything.”

Another sigh fell from her lips as I smoothed a hand over her hips and cupped her ass.

“You were checking out my butt this morning, weren’t you?” Her voice was husky from sleep.

“I’m always checking out your ass. And your tits.” My other hand stroked her breasts, thumbing her nipples, pinching the buds gently.

Grinding her ass against my erection, she murmured, “I’m not that tired anymore.”

“Mm.” I slipped a finger between her legs and groaned when I found her hot and wet. “Be right back.” Pushing myself to a sitting position, I stripped out of my clothes, tossed them aside, and grabbed a condom off the nightstand.

While I sheathed myself, Sadie gripped the hem of her T-shirt and dragged it over her chest, causing her breasts to bounce erotically.

Then she moved to the edge of the bed and got down on all fours.

I paused to take my fill of her. There was something so goddamn sexy about seeing her on her hands and knees, gloriously naked with her ass in air, those soft, swaying tits elongated by gravity as she looked over her shoulder and gave me a slow, seductive smile.

With her knees spread far apart, I had a perfect view of her extruded clit and her smooth pussy, pink and dewy, coated with tiny beads of moisture.

“I have a surprise for you,” I told her. “Something I picked out at the paint store.”

It was a soft, bristled paintbrush the size of pencil. An artist paintbrush.

I knew Sadie liked her toys, and I couldn’t wait to make her body my canvas.

With deliberate slowness, I trailed the tip of the brush down the length of her spine, watching goose bumps unfurl across her lustrous skin as I made the slow journey to her spectacular ass.

Then, kneeling on the floor, I dipped the paintbrush into her gathering juices, lightly swirling the soft bristles across her folds, then back.

Continuing upward, I playfully traced a heart across her rounded ass, then added the initials J on her left cheek and S on her right.

In response, she giggled and wiggled her butt, and I lost all control.

Without taking my eyes off that sumptuous ass, I tossed the paintbrush over my shoulder, lowered my mouth, and bit down on her succulent flesh. Gently, softly nibbling her cheeks before lapping away the initials until there was nothing left.

Then, settling myself more comfortably between that ass, I continued downward, palming her cheeks, pulling them apart slightly as I cleaved my tongue through the moist folds of her labia.

Fuck. She was so wet, her syrupy juices dripping off my chin as I burrowed my face deeper, pulling those lips apart with my fingers, groaning as I laved the inside of her walls.

She moaned deep in her throat, moving her hips, using her fingers to stroke her clit as I sucked her folds greedily between my lips, making wet sounds of suction as my tongue swirled inside her fluttering slit.

“Oh, God,” she whispered tightly. “Don’t stop.”

Gripping her hips, I controlled her movements as I lazily mouthed her labia, molding her lips with my lips, teasing her slit with deep, unrelenting sweeps of my tongue.

As her juices wept from her pussy, I let my groans of appreciation vibrate against her quivering flesh.

“Julian.” Her breath came in shallow gasps, the thin pleading sound in her voice urging me on as I hummed against her hot, swollen sex.

Palming the rounded cheeks of her ass, I kneaded the soft flesh as I tongued her pussy, eating her out with a hungry, heated demand until she was close. So close.

“Please,” she whimpered, shuddering, fighting to breathe. “Don’t stop.”

I did.

And she moaned and stretched at the loss, her thighs glistening with her juices, her ass hanging off the edge of the bed as her body strained toward me.

My dark gaze locked onto that perfect ass. Smoothing my hands over the generous curves, I slid my cock into her slow and deep, letting her feel every hard ridge of my erection.

With each inward stroke, her pussy clenched and rippled around my shaft while her long breasts swayed back and forth.

I reached under her to hold her swaying tits, fondling them as I buried myself deeper, using my entire body to stroke inside her, pumping her, fucking her, building her up to a high that could never be duplicated, drawing out the agonizing pleasure until the explosions tore through both our senses.

The next morning, I awoke to find my cock covered in a sugar-covered doughnut, and Sadie collapsing into a fit of giggles at the absurdity of it all.

Later, after she’d devoured the doughnut
and
my cock, I framed her face with my hands and stared into her eyes. “You’re amazing, you know that, right?”

“I know,” she said, her slumberous gaze filled with warmth and humor that made me long for this kind of intimacy on a daily basis.

“So.” I reclined against the pillows. “What are your plans today?”

“Mm.” Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, reminding me of how sensuous her mouth looked when it was wrapped around my cock, sucking me straight to ecstasy. “The usual Sunday chores. Grocery shopping, cleaning.”

“How about we skip all that today?” I ran a knuckle along her cheek. “And I’ll get all that done tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“I’d like you to meet my family.”

“Your sister?”

“Uh-huh. And my niece.”

Her gaze drifted to my hand, her fingers idly playing with the Rainbow Loom bracelets on my wrist. “So…” She bit down on her lower lip. “I’ll get to meet the little girl who made you this?”

“Yeah, you’ll meet Shelby. Evan will get to meet her, too.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Okay. The kids can have a play date.”

“Yes,” I said, reaching for her. “A play date.”

She lifted her gaze to mine, her brows drawn together in an imitation of concern. “You think that’s a good idea?”

“Of course.” I dipped my head toward the valley between her breasts and traced my tongue down her deep cleavage.

“You think they’ll get along?” A deep sigh escaped her as I took her nipple into my mouth and gently sipped the tender crest. “What—” Her last word was interrupted by a low moan as I felt her nipple stretch and distend inside my mouth. “What if they don’t?”

Slowly, reluctantly, I lifted my mouth from her breast. “Don’t worry,” I whispered roughly before dipping my head to her other breast, fully intent on having a play date of my own. “It’ll be great.” My voice was muffled against her tits. “Trust me.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

The play date didn’t go too well. Not at first, at least.

“Mom.” A whine crept into Shelby’s voice. “I’m bored.”

“Remember what mommy told you?” Vivian said patiently. “Only boring people get bored.”

Shelby blew a wisp of hair from her face. “Can I play with your iPhone?”

“No, honey.” The reproof in her voice was mild, but it was there. “Evan is here. Why don’t you go play with him out back?”

“But I want to play with your phone.” Shelby pouted. “Why can’t I play with your phone?”

“The battery is dead,” Vivian said in all seriousness, and I stifled an urge to laugh. I used the very same tactics with Evan. Lies. Harmless lies.

But little Shelby wasn’t easily deterred. “Can you take us to McDonald’s?”

“Sorry, honey,” Vivian said somberly, and I could sense another lie coming. “It’s closed.”

“Mom.” Shelby’s voice pitched higher. “You never let me do
anything
.”

Vivian gave me a half-scrambled eye roll. “Sorry, she’s not usually like this. I let her stay up late last night ’cause she really wanted to see her dad. And he didn’t get home from work ’til almost midnight.”

“You don’t have to explain,” I assured her. “Evan’s the same when he doesn’t get enough sleep.”

Abruptly, I heard the back door slam shut and in the next moment, Julian appeared in the living room. “C’mon, Shells.” He took her hand and winked at her conspiratorially. “I’ll take you and Evan to McDonald’s.”

“But Mom says it’s closed.”

“McDonald’s will open in an hour,” Julian said, ignoring Vivian’s daggers. “Let’s go have some fun with Evan in the backyard. We can’t leave him there all by himself, can we? And later, I’ll take you guys to Mickey D’s. I promise.”

“But what if Mommy won’t let me go?” Shelby asked, her brown eyes wide and unsure.

Julian and his sister exchange a quick glance, then Vivian said, “You can go.”

“Thanks, Mom!” Shelby almost skipped for joy.

“Do you know,” Julian said, turning to face the little girl, “that before your mom ate quinoa, chia seeds, and kale, and downed green tea and wheatgrass smoothies like nobody’s business, she used to stuff her face with greasy fries and chocolate shakes?”

“She did?” Surprise marked her pretty features.

“She sure did.” Julian led her from the room. “She went to McDonald’s
allllll
the time.” He dragged the word out with exaggerated courtesy. “And look at your mom now. She turned out just fine.” He cleared his throat loudly. “For the most part.”

“I heard you, Julian,” Vivian called after his disappearing back.

I smiled. “I take it he spoils her a lot?”

“Oh, you won’t believe how much he spoils Shells. He thinks she hung the moon,” Vivian said reproachfully, but the warmth and affection she felt for her brother lit up her face and lingered in her eyes. “But Shells doesn’t have any grandparents, not here anyway, so Julian tries to make up for that.”

I looked out the window, watching Julian, Evan, and Shelby tear up the grass as a friendly looking German Shepherd skittered and streaked around them in tight circles. “He’s really good with the kids.”

“Of course he is,” Vivian said, concealing her wicked amusement beneath a giggle. “Julian’s an overgrown kid himself, if you haven’t noticed.”

Smiling, I stared out the open window, watching them roughhouse together, the sound of their laughter carried on the wind. “Was Julian always like this?” I asked, finding myself wanting to know more about him.

There was the slightest hesitation before she responded. “No. Not always.”

I said nothing, waited.

When she spoke again, I sensed the consideration behind her words. “There was a time when I thought I’d almost lost him.” After a sharp intake of breath, she said quietly, “I’m just glad I have my brother back.”

Almost lost him? To what? And how had she almost lost him?

I didn’t know and I didn’t want to pry. After all, we had only just met.

For a moment, Vivian seemed lost in thought, her eyes distant as she stared out the window.

I followed her gaze. Julian was lying on the lawn, flat on his back, and the kids had turned him into their own personal Jungle Gym.

“He adores Shelby,” I said, bringing her back to the present.

“Oh, they’ve been inseparable since day one,” Vivian said with a warm smile. “When I had Shells, Liam—my husband, he had to work really long hours. He’d just opened a restaurant, and that took a lot out of him.” She exhaled hard. “We were both exhausted all the time. And Julian was a lifesaver. I can’t tell you how many times he got up in the middle of the night with Shells and fed her a bottle so I could get some extra sleep. She was a colicky baby, but he always managed to soothe her. He’d sing to her and gently rock her to sleep, pacing up and down the house all night. And he’d have to get up early to go to work the next morning.”

What a good brother
, I thought.
And someday he’d make an amazing dad and a great husband
.

The thought stopped me cold like a shot upside the head.

I took a mental step back to examine my feelings.

Is that what I want from Julian?

Something that will last? Something permanent?

Is that what he wants from me?

As if she could hear my thoughts, Vivian said, “Julian hasn’t been in a serious relationship in a while.” She paused. “Not after Chelsea.”

There was a lull in our conversation and I could sense she wanted to tell me more.

And in the next breath, she did. “She was his fiancée, and a good friend of mine. He, uh… he took it really hard when she ended their engagement.”

Wait—what? Julian was engaged? And he’s been through a broken engagement?

“Why’d she break it off?” I asked, speaking the words before thinking them through.

“I don’t know.” A frown pulled at her brows. “I think they were at different places in their lives. She was still in college at the time—in USD. And he got a job out here in the bay area. He was working really hard, trying to get his career started. He wanted to make something of himself, and in a lot of ways he was doing it for her. He wanted them to have a good start when they got married… to give her the stability she craved.” She sighed. “Anyway, they were spending a lot of time apart, and she grew close to someone else. Someone she ended up falling for.”