The Allure Of Julian Lefray Part 26

I smiled. "No they didn't. I was watching her husband's face. He was oblivious, including the fact that they came all the way from Texas to get a picture of a Texan."

She crossed her arms and leaned back against the elevator wall.

"Besides, it's payback for the cab ride over here."

She arched her brow and studied me from across the confined s.p.a.ce. There was an unspoken war taking place between us-one that I wasn't sure I could win. I thought she was about to argue with me when she bent forward and slipped her hands underneath the bottom of her dress. The slit on her left thigh pulled wider and I clenched my fists to keep from slamming the emergency b.u.t.ton on the elevator panel. She reached up, took hold of her black thong, and slid it all the way down her legs. I watched the material descend her long legs as a rush of blood swept through me.

She held it out on the tip of her finger and smirked.

"You wanted to feel it so badly while they were taking the photo, so here you go," she said, tossing it at me.

I caught it in my right hand and smirked.

She crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s up even higher. I loosened my tie and slid my suit jacket off my shoulders. She watched me start to undress as the elevator pulled to a stop on my floor. The doors slid open and I gestured for Josephine to step out first. She narrowed her eyes, clearly untrusting of my motives.

"I can be a gentlemen sometimes." I smirked.

She laughed and headed in the direction of my hotel room. I pulled my keycard out of my wallet and stepped up behind her.

"Though I know you prefer when I'm not," I said as I unlocked the door.

She turned around, gripped the two ends of my tie and pulled me into the suite. The lights were off, the city was our torch as she tugged the tie from my collar and tossed it over onto the couch. My jacket was next and then she stood there, eyeing me up and down with excitement.

She reached behind her to the zipper of her dress and I stepped up and gripped her hand to stop her. I wanted to take it off her. The midnight blue fabric was the last defense between us. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pressed against me with every inhalation, and she waited there with bated breath for me to release the dress and let it fall to the ground. I wrapped one hand up around her neck, at the base of her skull. I used the leverage to tilt her head back and then I stared straight into her eyes, watching for any last sc.r.a.p of insecurity.

"Will you be honest about how badly you want me right now or do I need to slide my hand between your legs to get the truth?"

A rose blush bloomed from her chest, up over her cheeks.

She wrapped her left leg around me and the slit in her dress pulled open just like it had in the elevator.

I let my hand run from the inside of her knee, up over the smooth skin of her inner thigh. Her breath picked up as I skimmed higher, up to where her thong should have been. I watched her features as I slipped my finger between her thighs. She was completely lost to the moment. Her eyes rolled closed and she bit down on her bottom lip. I pressed a finger into her, watching her cheeks flush with color, and then I contemplated taking her right there, up against the door of my hotel room.

I slid another finger inside her and moaned at how amazing it felt to finally feel all of her. I could have stayed right there all night, teasing her with my fingers, but I wanted our first time to be different. I wanted her to remember it as the best s.e.x she'd ever had.

I pulled back and unwrapped her leg from around my waist. She opened her eyes and glared at me, surprised by my quick departure.

"Uh, you'll have to try a little harder than that. I wasn't even close."

I laughed and stepped back.

"Take the dress off, Jo."

She propped her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. "I've already done everything for you. This is the only thing you have to take off."

"Your bra?" I asked.

She smirked. "I'm not wearing one."

I ignored the shot of adrenaline that accompanied that confession.

"What about your shoes?" I asked. They were laced up like gladiator sandals and looked like they'd take an hour just to untie.

"I a.s.sumed you'd ask me to leave them on or something."

I smiled, but didn't confirm her suspicions. "I have a feeling this will be a little rough and I don't exactly want scars on my back from those heels."

Her smirk widened. "Oh, you're going to be rough?"

I shook my head at her incessant questioning. "Jo, lay down on the bed."

She looked back at the king-size hotel bed, perfectly coifed by the afternoon maid.

"But my dress is still on."

I dragged my hand through my hair and kicked off my shoes. "Then take it off."

"Bossy, boss man."

I stepped forward and reached behind her for the zipper on her dress.

"They sewed me into it," she said, lifting up on her tip toes to kiss the edge of my jaw. "You'll have to-"

Her words were drowned out by the sound of fabric ripping.

"Julian!"

"I'll pay to get it fixed," I a.s.sured her before she could throw a hissy fit.

Her green eyes locked on mine with a flare of att.i.tude and then she reached for the collar of my shirt. She clenched her fists and pulled as hard as she could. The first b.u.t.ton on my shirt flew across the room, but none of the others even budged.

"That was far less dramatic than I thought it would be," she laughed.

Her dress slipped down as she laughed, exposing a few more inches of supple skin. I gripped the dress at her hips and pulled the material down even more, all the while thanking the bra G.o.ds for their absence.

She worked on the b.u.t.tons of my shirt while I ran my hands over her chest, down her flat stomach. My eyes raked over her skin, following the trail of my hands. I hardly noticed when she slid my shirt over my shoulders, but as soon as it was gone, I pushed her back toward the edge of the bed and climbed up on top of her.

Her hair fanned out around her head. Her lips parted and her chest rose and fell in quick successions. The longer I looked, the longer I cupped her curves, the rosier her skin became beneath my touch. I smoothed my hand down the curve of her hip, down between her legs. She arched her back and dug her nails into the backs of my arms.

"Julian," she moaned.

I nudged her legs apart with my knee and watched her green eyes squeeze shut.

"Are you nervous?" I asked, curious about her reaction.

She scrunched the bed sheets in her hand, opened her eyes, and stared up at the ceiling.

"A little bit. It's just been a while and the last time I did this, it was dark and I was a little drunk and he definitely didn't touch me the way you're touching me."

I smiled and scanned down her body, watching my finger slip higher up her inner thigh.

"Like this?" I asked.

She squirmed beneath my touch and kept a tight hold on the sheets. "I'm about to spontaneously combust if you don't..."

I smirked. "Do what?"

She pushed up onto her elbows and her gaze flitted back and forth between my eyes.

"Julian Lefray, please put me out of my misery. Do you realize how long I've waited for this?"

I laughed and pressed my hand to the center of her chest, pushing her onto her back.

"I've waited just as long, Jo, but you have to relax. You have the most beautiful body I've ever seen. Just let me touch you."

She groaned and let her body fall back onto the bed. I gripped her hips and pushed her up higher on the bed. Her head hit the pillows and she watched me with a curious stare.

I scooted down and skimmed my hand down across her chest and stomach until I could grip her thighs and spread her legs even wider.

"Oh, Jesus," she whispered, throwing her arm over her eyes.

"Jo, relax," I whispered, pressing one hand to her stomach to hold her on the bed and using the other to keep her legs open. If I was about to put my mouth between her legs, I didn't want her to buck up and break my nose.

"Okay. Okay," she said, taking a calming breath. "I'm relaxed, I promise."

Liar. Her body was still humming with nervous energy, but I loved the way she felt. She was so easy to touch, so full of beautiful curves that I'd been fantasizing about for the last few months. I was mesmerized by every part of her. The soft skin over her hip bones, the dip of her belly b.u.t.ton, the arch of her back as I dragged my hand up her thigh and then pressed a finger inside of her.

Her lips parted and I gave her a second to still, then I followed the path of my finger with my mouth.

There was no point in waiting for her to remain still. Jo laughed and talked the whole way through the night. Every time I pushed her a little further, she'd slink back and make a joke, trying to lighten the moment.

She watched me with curious eyes as I slipped off my pants and boxer briefs. It was the first time she'd stayed silent the entire night. I crawled back on top of her and kissed up her chest, over the swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and up the side of her neck.

"I'm not nervous anymore," she whispered as she wound her fingers through my hair. "I want this so badly."

I leaned back to catch her eyes and we stared at each other in silence. If I stopped then, Monday morning wouldn't be any less awkward. We'd already gone so far. I'd already seen every inch of her skin and I'd already heard a symphony of moans from her supple lips. No amount of time could erase those memories. I knew that, but as I slipped inside of her and she shook beneath me, I realized there was so much left hanging between us. She was completely open to me. For once, there were no pretenses or expectations. She wasn't pushing me away and I wasn't pretending that she was just a friend. No more playful, witty flirtation. Just l.u.s.t, distilled.

Josephine He took his time with me, winding his fingers through mine and pushing them out to the sides. He ground his hips against mine, watching and studying my reactions so he could discover what really drove me mad. I must have been so easy to read, because he could do no wrong. When he skimmed the tops of my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, I squeezed his hands tighter. When he caught my earlobe between his teeth, I moaned softly against his cheek. When I came apart beneath him, my whole body shook. My eyes squeezed shut and my nails dug into his skin so hard I was sure I'd draw blood.

In that moment...

I knew I was his.

Chapter Thirty-Nine.

Josephine Monday morning was monumental for two reasons.

First, we had to decide which architecture firm to hire for Lorena's new offices. This was a big deal and would ultimately shape the entire design of her store.

Second, there was the little fact that Julian and I had made love on Sat.u.r.day night and now we were going to have to work together. No biggie.

I woke up early on Monday, stood in front of my mirror, and applied a thin layer of makeup-mascara to hide my nervous eyes, red lipstick to give me false confidence. The entire time I got ready, I replayed the previous day and contemplated how easy it'd been to wake up in Julian's bed.

"Dude, you're basically crushing me right now," I said, pushing him off of me at the crack of dawn.

Julian was a cuddler, a suffocating cuddler. I woke up with half of his body on top of my mine. I was practically suffocating and when I rolled over, my lungs thanked me for the extra air.

"Mmm...again," he murmured, still half-asleep. His hand found my left b.o.o.b and I rolled my eyes.

"You don't get s.e.x before I get breakfast. Now get up and let's go find a bagel."

"You're so high maintenance." He laughed, rolling over and stretching his arms above his head.

h.e.l.lO, NAKED JULIAN.

The man was all toned, tan skin and six-pack abs. I wanted to lick him from his toes to his forehead, but more than that, I wanted a bagel and some d.a.m.n cream cheese.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon. I'm hungry."

He groaned and threw the blankets off, and my eyes bulged out of my head a little bit. The man needed to warn people before he just stripped down like that. I was momentarily dumbstruck as I took in the contour of his abs and the curve of everything that lay below.

"Jo, my eyes are up here," he joked.

My face turned the color of a Cherry Icee and I promptly turned away from him to examine his hotel closet.

"I'm stealing a t-shirt and then I'm going to leave this apartment to hunt down food. My stomach is eating itself as we speak."

Julian's hand wrapped around my waist and then he pulled me back against his chest. His palm splayed out on my stomach and then he inched lower. My stomach dipped and my knees buckled. Traitorous body.

"Nope. No," I said, resisting the temptation to give in to his pursuit. "If that hand moves any lower, I'm going to karate chop you."

It moved lower and my body betrayed me. My stomach was like, "Meh, I can wait to eat," and my girly parts were like, "h.e.l.l YEAH, this is a great idea." And that's the story of how Julian banged me on the floor of his closet with his suits and ties judging us from above.

Our breakfast turned into a stroll through Central Park and then a lunch. I eventually made an excuse about having to do laundry (yeah, right) and cleaning (ha ha) and we parted ways after a breath-stealing kiss.

As soon as I stepped away from him and walked to the subway, the last twenty-four hours started to set in. The same parts of my brain that had pushed me to sleep with Julian were now firing off insecurities and worries at a pace of 1000 thoughts per second. Were you s.e.xy enough? Did you make enough s.e.xy sounds? Did you make too many s.e.xy sounds, thus coming across as a crazy p.o.r.n star? Did giving him a b.l.o.w.j.o.b seem cool and hot or just plain desperate? Did you come across too needy or were you cool and casual?

Cool New York girls can have s.e.x without emotions. They are confident and strong. They don't second-guess their decisions and they don't question what a man wants. YES. That's me! I'm cool and confident!

I walked a little quicker to the subway after that with my head held high and my shoulders pushed back. I could have broken out into a ch.o.r.eographed dance routine if only I'd had backup dancers with me.

Unfortunately, that confidence had dwindled sometime during my various REM cycles because by Monday morning, my take-no-s.h.i.t att.i.tude was gone.