He ran his hand from her throat, between her breasts and over her navel until he reached the waistband of her pants.
Breaking the kiss, he supported himself on his elbow while he looked down at her. She was panting; the flush in her cheeks had blossomed out to touch her throat and chest.
“How far?” He didn’t want to scare her. Didn’t want her regretting this. Regretting them. He needed to know how far he could take it.
She tugged at the back of his head. Joe instantly understood. There were things Julia could only whisper in darkness. That wouldn’t always be the way between them, but for now, if it made her feel more secure, he’d happily give her it.
He turned to give her his ear.
“I’m on the pill,” she whispered.
Every muscle in his body went taut. He studied her face, looking for any sign that she might feel this was something she had to rush into. She didn’t. Not with him. He would wait a lifetime for her. Her eyelids were lowered, her cheeks redder than seconds earlier. She was embarrassed by her own boldness.
“Baby?” When she looked at him, the depth of longing he found in her eyes was a punch that sent him reeling. Because it was for him. “You trust me that much?”
She sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth and then gave him a jerky nod. He was about to say something when she opened her lips. He waited for her to speak.
“I’m not a virgin.” Her face turned luminous. “And I know you would protect me if you thought you could harm me.”
Hell! She brought him to his knees. He had to clear his throat to speak. “I’ve been tested. I’m clean.” He brushed his fingers through her silky hair. “And I would die before I hurt you.”
Her eyes turned impossibly dark. “Then take me,” she whispered.
His eyes locked on hers, so he couldn’t miss it when it happened.
He saw the moment Julia Collins gave herself to him. He saw her give her soul. Willingly. To him. Joe snatched it before she could take it back. He hid it deep inside of himself, where nothing could touch it. Where it would be safe. Where he could protect her. Because nothing would get through him to damage the precious gift Julia had just given him. Nothing.
She was his. Julia was his. She might not have realised what just happened, but Joe didn’t care. He’d coax her along until she caught up. But this woman was his. Forever. To protect. To love. To keep.
He fell on her with a hungry kiss that stole his senses. All he could think of, all he could see, hear, smell, feel was Julia. This woman who humbled him with her courage and trust.
Joe dipped his hand under the waistband of her sleep pants, feeling the edge of cotton against his fingertips. He’d never felt anything sexier. A desperate need to see her naked almost derailed him. But this was about Julia. This was about building a future for them. And the foundation had to be perfect.
He slid his fingers under the cotton, feeling damp, silken curls. He trailed a finger through her wetness, making her lift her hips from the bed. She thrust her tongue into his mouth and groaned. Desperate—she sounded desperate. He circled the little nub of nerves that would drive her even closer to the edge, swallowing her gasps and moans. Her breasts pressed against his chest. Soft to hard. Nails dug into his shoulder as he drove her higher. She was so slick with wanting him that he had to fight the urge to rip her pants off and plunge deep inside of her.
Slowly, oh so slowly, he dipped a finger inside her, feeling her clench around him. A sweat broke out on his back when she forgot to kiss him, lost in sensation and unable to focus on anything else. Joe shifted lower to her throat. Her head went back as he rubbed circles around her clit. Her knees fell wide. Her hips pushed up to him and he moved his finger in and out of her, mimicking the action he’d soon enact. Short, shallow breaths, eyes shut, cheeks flushed, her lips parted as she gasped his name. He’d never seen anything so beautiful and knew he never would. This was it. Julia was the standard by which everything else would be judged, and he already knew he’d find it wanting.
“Joe.” It was a slightly hysterical plea.
He felt her muscles tremble and tense. She tightened around his finger, making him ache to be inside her. He pressed his thumb to her clit and watched her explode. A second of tense nothing—no breathing, no noise, no movement—before everything in her shuddered and gasped and reached for him. Her thighs pressed together, keeping him in place. He didn’t stroke her any more, knowing she was sensitive. Instead, he kissed her throat and soothed her with murmured words, telling her how beautiful she was and how wonderful she’d been.
With languorous movements, her thighs relaxed to release his hand, and she shuddered when his finger slid out of her. A slow, heavy flutter of her eyelids before she looked up at him. No, she looked into him. In that moment, he knew she could see his soul. He only hoped she knew what she was looking at, because his soul was tattooed with her name. He was hers. Forever.
Julia lay sated and pliant as Joe slid her sleep pants and underwear down her legs. He stood to take off his jeans, lost for words at the sight of her, naked on his bed. A second later, he was crawling between her thighs, pressing his body against hers. He stared into her eyes, wanting to tell her he loved her, terrified it would ruin everything if he did. All he could do was show her.
His kiss was gentle, slow, teasing as he pressed his hard length into her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hooked her feet over his thighs, surrounding him. Grounding him. The world faded completely as he slid inside her. There was only Julia. He couldn’t put what was happening into words. His mind was recording every sensation, every movement, every sound she made. He felt her wet heat grip him tight. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he noted how perfectly they fit, but it was a fleeting whisper of a thought. In this place, a place where only they existed, there was no space for thought. Only feeling. Knowing. Showing.
As he rocked his hips, he watched her eyes close in slow motion, as though it was too much effort to keep them open. Joe slid a hand under her rear, angling her the way he needed her, until he pressed against that secret part of her that sent shocks of wildfire dancing over her skin. She clenched around him, making him groan. He wanted this to last for hours but knew it would be over far too soon.
Their hips moved as one, in a perfect rhythm that had them gasping for air. Her legs tightened around him. Joe felt her nipples rasp against his chest. He leaned up to watch her face as he spoke to her with his body. As he told her she was it for him. She was his forever. And she would always belong to him.
He felt the tightening at the base of his cock. His legs tingled. His muscles clenched.
“Mine,” he barked. “Mine.”
He moved his hand out from under her, splaying his fingers low on her abdomen, aiming for that little button of pleasure, stroking it hard, making her tense with him. Making her fall with him. Together. Always.
Her head fell back, her neck flexed, she wailed her release and he felt her milk him with muscles deep inside of her. A second later, he followed, in an explosion of jerking muscle and blinding sensation.