“Yeah? It was good?” I hated the uncertainty that wobbled in my voice, but it was too late to take it back now.
“Juliette, that was beyond good. Your hands, your mouth, the way you played with my balls. I came so hard in your mouth. It’s not usually that quick. That’s because of you.”
I searched his eyes, carefully assessing the truth of his words, and he held my gaze patiently, satisfaction and gentleness shining through. No sign of deceit or disappointment.
Warmth filled my chest, and I felt a goofy grin on my face, but I couldn’t help it. I felt like a teenager, giddy after fooling around with a boy for the first time. Hell, it had been so long, it practically was like my first time again. Even better than the first time, though, because back then it was all innocence and hope. Now I knew how lucky I was that Dylan seemed as into it as I was.
After the sexual disaster of my last relationship, feeling Dylan come, knowing I’d done that for him, made me feel likeI could do anything. I couldn’t wait to go down on him again. I hoped he’d want me to do it again.
I’d only been intimate with two guys. Matt and I were each other’s firsts, and we’d figured everything out together. Sex was messy and amateur and fun.
Then there was Jake. Jake clearly had way more experience than Matt or me. He had tricks up his sleeve, or should I say, down his pants, that I’d never known before. At first, it was exciting to be with Jake. But what had started as him taking the lead because he had more experience turned into him taking the lead because I had no rhythm, which is apparently important during sex. Coordination is apparently important too. So is making the right kinds of moans and noises. We stayed together for a while longer, rarely having sex, then still longer with no sex or kissing or touching, until eventually it became clear that he just didn’t want to have sex withme, and that was the end of our relationship.
I’d been on a few dates since, but none led anywhere. So to say it had been a long time since I’d had sex, or fooled around at all, or even felt sexy, was a huge understatement. What just happened with Dylan was nothing short of a miracle. My uncoordinated hands and my unrhythmic movements made him come.Take that, Jake, you big jerk.
Dylan pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts and back into the moment when he shifted me off his lap and onto the couch next to him. He pulled his pants back up and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Before I could worry that he moved me off his lap, he pulled me close into his side.
His warm touch and the steady rising and falling of his chest was lulling me to sleep, but I tried to fight it. I wanted to treasure every moment of this magical day.
“Juliette, baby, you’re falling asleep. I should take you home, but now that I have you here, I don’t want to let you go. Will you stay tonight?”
Hell yes! In my head I jumped up, squealing and doing a happy dance, but out loud I simply said, “Yes.”
“Would you rather stay here on the couch or go to my bed?”
“Bed.”
He stood, pulling me into his arms like I weighed nothing. I wrapped my arms around his neck, not because I worried he’d drop me, but just because I wanted to be as close to him as possible.
He carried me into his bedroom and laid me gently on his bed, which was neatly made with a soft navy blue blanket. He watched me for a moment before gently brushing a curl back behind my ear. That curl would never stay there, but that’s okay. He could repeat the sweet motion all night and I’d still crave more. “I love your curly hair. It has a life of its own.”
I blinked back tears. Laying in his bed, his gentleness, his words. It was too much. “Thank you.”
He looked at me in that assessing way he had. He didn’t miss a thing. “That means something to you.”
“I like it, too. But a lot of people, including my mom and my ex-boyfriend, prefer it straight.”
“You look so sweet, but then you have these wild curls, too strong to tame. I love the juxtaposition of it, and it fits you perfectly. There’s so many sides to you, and I can’t wait to discover all of them. And, Juls, so far I like everything I see.”
I reached for his hand that was playing with my hair and pulled it in to press a kiss to his palm. I had no words. He looked like he understood, though. He caressed my cheek and kissed my forehead before standing. He walked to his closet and returned with a t-shirt that he handed to me. “Go get ready for bed. There’s a toothbrush in the bottom drawer that you can use.”
I got up from the bed, trying to look more coordinated than a turtle stuck on its back, and made my way to the bathroom. I opened the drawer and found an unopened toothbrush with a dentist’s name printed on it and an unopened bar of soap, along with a first aid kit, a bottle of ibuprofen, and a pain relief cream. I frowned, hating the thought of him getting injured at work and needing any of them. I relieved myself, rinsed my face, and brushed my teeth. The toothpaste tasted like Dylan’s kisses. I got undressed, except for my underwear which I left on, and I put his t-shirt on. It had the Station 9 logo on the chest, hung down almost to my knees, and smelled like Dylan. I was never giving it back.
I walked out of the bathroom, trying to look smooth and confident, but the moment I saw Dylan sitting at the edge of the bed, looking delectable in just a pair of black boxer briefs, I froze. He was so muscular, so sexy, so perfect.
But Jake’s voice was in my head.Why are you walking like that? Are you hurt?That was his response the one time I tried to put a little extra sway in my step when I walked to him.Shut up, asshole,I said to the voice in my head.Dylan likes me.
13
Dylan
Juliette in nothing but my t-shirt was a vision. My eyes roved over her freshly washed face, her hair pulled back, showing the sleek lines of her neck, her shapely legs under the hem of my shirt, my Station 9 logo on her chest, the anticipation glimmering in her eyes. I felt a possessiveness I’d never felt before. This girl was mine. I wanted her in my shirt, in my bed, in my life.
She took a single step into the bedroom before she paused and nervousness washed over her beautiful face. Sitting at the edge of the bed, I spread my legs and opened my arms, beckoning her to me. “Come here, Juls.”
She rushed the few steps to me, not slowing down until she was between my legs, her chest against mine, her core against my throbbing dick, her arms wrapped around me, her hands in my hair. Yet, somehow, the warmth in my chest that she ran into my arms when she was nervous overpowered everythingelse. My dick was happy, but my heart was even happier. I was starting to think there was nothing I wanted more than to be with this girl. I wanted to be her safety net, to give her the freedom to soar, knowing I’d be there to catch her.
“Juliette,” I whispered.