The orgasm she was too ashamed to want was building anyway, ignoring her inhibitions and shyness, twisting deep in her belly.
Will gave an experimental thrust, meeting her. The extra inch she took made her squeal as her ass clenched around his shaft, squeezing as her pussy contracted around nothing, his thumb vibrating on her clit as her orgasm tore through her. She forgot to breathe as colors burst behind her eyelids, ecstasy shooting through her entire body, straightening her fingers and curling her toes. She screamed with the pleasure of it, unable to hold back the torrent of overwhelming sound that sang through her.
“Fuck, fuck!” Will groaned a litany of profanity in her ear so intense that it made her shiver. His cock twitched in her ass and she shuddered and clawed at his shoulders as yet another terrible orgasm spasmed through her body.
Slowly, the storm between them quieted, and he settled over top of her, half crushing her to the mattress. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, her emotions tumultuous and overwhelming. When he pulled out, she felt unpleasantly empty, yet relieved. Her mind drifted, and exhaustion settled over her like a weighted blanket of calm.
Will came back to her at some point and she hadn’t realized he’d gone anywhere. He washed her face with a warm cloth, then ran the cloth between her legs and over her asshole, making her hiss in discomfort.
He pulled her into his arms, crooning nonsense to her, half of his words muffled by his face being in her hair. She caught a few words, like “amazing” and “love,” but she had no context and was too exhausted to figure out exactly what he was saying. He could have been talking about how amazing the party was and how he loved her design. All she knew right then was that she felt safe and warm in his arms—that his embrace stopped the chattering of her teeth, and that he even smelled good when he was sweaty.
The way he took care of her felt a lot like love, but she was damned if she’d say it first.
Chapter Twenty-One
“There must be two hundred people here.” Will glanced down at Beau, wondering if this had been a bad idea.
“Well, this was going to happen sooner or later.” Juliet grinned up at him and took his hand. “We’re ripping off the Band-Aid. If you do it fast, it still hurts, but it gets the whole thing over with.”
When Juliet had said she wanted him to meet her family, Will had assumed there would be a pleasant dinner at a restaurant or something, or possibly a home-cooked meal. Being Juliet’s date for her parents’ twenty-fifth anniversary hadn’t quite been what he had in mind.
“Just be glad the extended family isn’t here.”
“There are more of them?”
“This is just my aunts, uncles, cousins, and brothers and sisters. Their significant others. A few close friends. There are way more people at reunions.”
“You’re lucky you’ll never have to go through this with my family.”
She snorted. “I already had to do this with your family. I met everyone at Catacombs pretty much the same day, remember? That Band-Aid got yanked off so fast it took skin with it.”
Will smiled to himself. He often thought of his friends and patrons at Catacombs as his family, but he hadn’t realized Juliet had already caught on to that. To most people, it was difficult to explain how someone could be family and yet not be a blood relation. Then again, considering what Juliet more or less signed up for with him and Beau, at least for now, she probably knew better than anyone that having a genetic link didn’t make a difference.
Besides, he’d noticed the workers at Stride were all close like that too.
He let his gaze settle on Juliet for maybe the millionth time since he’d picked her up. She was more beautiful every time he saw her. It was difficult to believe he used to think she was stuck-up. He’d never met a more down-to-earth woman in his life.
No games. No subtle hints at wanting him to pay for fancy trips or gifts. She didn’t even know the bracelet he’d collared her with was worth fifteen thousand. Knowing her, if she did find out, she’d smack him and make him return it. Hell, when they did groceries, she insisted on using coupons.
Maybe it wasn’t fair of him to want something long-term with her, but he did despite the fact that someday she could leave and tear his heart into little pieces.
Juliet led him to a couple who seemed to be holding court in the middle of the tastefully decorated community center. Although they were too young to be hippies, the forty-something couple definitely seemed the type.
If these were Juliet’s parents, they must have been horrified by how professional and aloof their daughter was when she was in full work mode. Tonight, though, she was wearing a simple green dress and sandals with her hair loosely braided. It was sexy as hell and yet still completely modest. Then again, maybe the sexy part was just her and not so much the dress.
Will was going to have to remember to keep his eyes in his head, considering this was a family function and he was trying to make a decent impression. He got the feeling that if he seriously fucked this up, it could damage their relationship.
No pressure.
Oh, and he’d brought Beau—the baby that represented exactly what Juliet had never wanted in life. Nothing like making a good first impression.
The older woman noticed them coming and grinned at Juliet, then checked out Will and gave her two thumbs up. Juliet flushed and grinned back, then glanced up at Will with undisguised happiness.
As though he’d rather be anywhere else?
Looking down at her mischievous smile and twinkling blue eyes, something twisted in his chest.
God, she was so perfect.