Hate to Crave You Page 17
He dipped his head, rubbing his lips over hers before whispering, “Take a guess.”
“You want to play charades?”
He moved lower, pressing a kiss to the curve where neck and shoulder joined. “Try again.”
“Cards? Strip poker maybe?”
“You’re a terrible poker player,” he pointed out.
“Hey!” She jabbed him with her free hand. “I’ve gotten better, thank you.”
“And who all have you been practicing with?” he teased. “If you’ve gotten better at strip poker?”
“Ha, ha.” She turned her face to kiss him, but he slid lower, evading her.
“Try again.”
“Want to give me a…hint?” Julianna’s breathing hitched as he moved lower, his lips pausing to encircle one nipple. He tugged on it, drawing it away from her body, scoring it with his teeth before slowly releasing it.
“Well, it does involve you being naked.”
“Hmm…strip charades, then?”
He laughed as he moved on down to her navel. “No, baby. No cards, no charades. Just you and me, naked…maybe this will help.”
He pressed his mouth to the wet, slick folds between her thighs and listened to her ragged intake of breath. When she breathed out, it was a moaning sigh of his name.
She tugged her hand free of his and shoved both hands into his hair, arching up to meet him.
He cupped her butt in his hands, tilting her up to better meet his mouth.
Her taste was a seduction, salty-sweet and intoxicating. He flicked at her clit with his tongue, then caught it between his teeth and tugged. She whimpered so he did it again, and again, until she was rocking up in a ragged rhythm, driving her hips against his face and pressing him more tightly to her.
He loved it. He loved everything about it, from the way she drove her heels into the mattress for better leverage to the way her head thrashed on the pillow.
Tearing his mouth away, he stared up at her.
“Don’t stop,” she said, whimpering.
“I want to see you,” he said. And he feasted on her with his eyes. She was so beautiful. The pendant he’d given her lay between her breasts, glittering in the faint light. Her nipples were tight and swollen, lifted to the ceiling, her breasts rising and falling with each ragged gasp of air.
“Roman…”
He lowered his mouth back to her cunt and pressed on, adding two fingers to her sheath and twisting his wrist as he thrust inside her.
She bounced up, thrusting against him hard and fast. “Yes!”
He did it a second time and she started to come.
He kept working her until the climax ended. Once she was still, panting for air, he climbed up her body and kissed her. “We’re not done yet,” he muttered against her lips.
“I am,” she said, groaning. “You almost killed me.”
“Let me bring you back,” he told her. And he started all over again, kissing her nape, catching one nipple, then the other between his lips.
It didn’t take long for reaction to settle in, then she was writhing against him as he settled his hips between her thighs. The wet, waiting folds of her pussy caressed him as she rocked against him and he swore, clenching his teeth against the urge to come right then and there.
Reaching between them, he grabbed his cock and aimed, head poised at the heart of her.
“Now, Roman,” she demanded.
He wasn’t about to argue. With a thrust of his hips, he buried himself inside her. She cried out, twining her legs around his hips, hooking her ankles together behind his ass. He withdrew slightly, then sank back inside, shuddering at the feel of her.
She tightened her ankles, dragging him back inside her and arching up to grind against him as if she just couldn’t get enough.
He understood how she felt.
He’d never get enough of her.
“Julianna,” he muttered, seeking her mouth out.
They moved together, him riding her as she arched up under him, each moving toward the next orgasm. Hands slicked against sweat-dampened flesh and into wide, searching eyes.
Roman gritted his teeth as he felt the climax edging closer. She wasn’t there yet—
Then she was, her fingers sinking into the muscles of his back as her head fell back and she thrust it into the mattress, chanting out his name.
“Roman!”
He caught her mouth in a deep, hungry kiss and stopped fighting.
They came together, him on the heels of her and when it ended, he collapsed on the bed, slumping down so that his head lay pillowed between her breasts.
A laugh snorted out of him a minute later when she said in a drowsy voice, “I guess that was better than a game of strip charades.”
Epilogue
Julianna
“Sir, can I get you anything before we take off?”
Roman smiled at the flight attendant. “Scotch, neat.”
Charles Castle echoed the request while Juliana asked for a glass of white wine on her way to use the facilities.
She paused by Roman and dropped a kiss on his head.
On her way out of the main cabin, she heard her father speaking and paused just a moment to hear his question.
“I suppose it’s wishful thinking to hope that you’ve spoken to your father recently,” Charles said, his voice gruff.
“I’m afraid not, Charles. You and I both know he’s not likely to give in. He’s just too set in his ways.”
“He always was a stubborn old goat.” Charles blew out a breath. “Her mother and I keep hoping, but…” His voice trailed off.
“I know.”
Julianna’s bladder panged so she hurried on to the restroom as they continued to speak.
When she returned, she loitered a moment longer, staying just out of view, listening once more. A smile curved her lips as the two men she loved the most spoke to each other. They’d become friends. More, her father was becoming a father-like figure to Roman, which she adored.
“…things with your brothers? Your mother?”
“I’m pretty sure your wife would have mentioned that she ran into my mother at the spa.”
Julianna could hear the smile in Roman’s voice and the grin on her face spread in reaction. Oh, yes. Her father had heard that the two mothers had a brief run-in at their mutual spa. Julianna had made certain of it.
“The two of them spoke.” Roman sounded amused.
Julianna had relayed the whole story to him—or what she knew of it—the very night it happened. The next day, his mother had called him and asked him to join her for lunch.
According to Roman, she’d been unusually blunt when she told him, I want my children to be happy. If Julianna Castle makes you happy, then that’s what…that’s who I want for you. I’ll handle your father as best as I can.
“Yes, Janice mentioned it. She said that they both came to a meeting of the minds,” Charles said, his familiar voice cutting into Julianna’s pensive reverie. “Your mother is a remarkable woman, you know.”
“So is your wife.”
The flight attendant brushed by her, pausing at Julianna’s side. Julianna lifted a finger to her lips and mouthed, Shhhh…
The woman flashed her an understanding smile and moved on into the main cabin.
Julianna waited a moment longer, then followed her, just as the drinks were passed out.
She watched as Roman tipped his glass toward Charles in a silent toast.
“Are we drinking to something in particular? Why was I left out?”
“Nothing in particular, sweetie,” her father said, smiling indulgently at her. “Roman just mentioned how his mother ran into yours at the spa a couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh, man.” Julianna rolled her eyes. “You should have seen the way some of the attendants there acted. You would have thought they were going to have a catfight the way people were cowering. But Mom and Ava just looked at each other for what felt like an hour, then they gave each other one o
f those air kisses and decided to meet in the spa’s bar for a drink so they could catch up.” She made quotes in the air with her fingers. “Naturally, I wasn’t invited. Mom told me to enjoy my pedicure.”
Roman laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Julianna asked, although she expected she knew what had him so amused.
“My mother, getting into a catfight,” he replied, shaking his head.
“Janice is more likely to get into a fight than your mother,” Charles said, chuckling a bit himself. “She’s got a fiery temper. It takes a bit to get her going, but once she’s worked up…” He sighed and smiled.
Roman eyed him narrowly.
“He’s right,” Julianna said, drawing his attention to her. She grinned at him and shrugged. “Mom once threw a shoe at Dad’s head during an argument.”
“A shoe?”
Charles laughed. “She did. I can’t believe you remember that. You were…mercy, you must have only been five years old!”
“I remember it, though! It hit you, too!” She laughed, reaching for her glass of wine and lifting it to her lips. After taking a sip, she put it down and laced her fingers in her lap. Without thinking about it, she started to turn the ring on her finger.
Feeling Roman’s eyes on her, she glanced up and saw him watching her.
She looked down at the engagement ring on her hand, then looked up at him, smiling.
“You and your brothers are doing well enough, it seems,” Charles said, his astute gaze resting on Roman once more.
Julianna groaned. “Daddy, please stop. You’re turning into a mother hen.”
Roman waved it off. “We’re fine, Charles. I think you rather impressed them the night you had the cookout.”
Charles pretended to buff his nails. “I do enjoy taking a turn behind the barbecue from time to time.”
Julianna had been surprised that the other two Montrose brothers had accepted the invitation to the cookout they’d had a few weeks ago.
“It wasn’t just the barbecue.” Roman grinned. “You and I kicked their asses at basketball.”
Julianna snorted. “Sometimes I think he’s found the fountain of youth. He kicks my ass when we play.”
“Which isn’t very often anymore.” Her father scowled at her.
“I’m tired of you kicking my ass.” She gave him an affronted glare and he laughed.
“Next time, maybe we can rope your sister or brother into joining us and we can have a real family feud,” Charles said, his eyes lighting up. “The Montroses versus the Castles. Winner take all.”
“Then we’d better get Sarah,” Julianna said with a sigh.
Her father covered her hand with his. “He’ll come around, sweetie. All things in time.”
Julianna wanted to believe that, but time didn’t seem to be fixing the scar between Roman and his father. Time hadn’t helped fix whatever it was that had her brother Joseph on a one-way path to destruction. She didn’t know if time was going to help at this point.
Feeling Roman’s eyes on her, she looked up.
The understanding in his gaze helped ease some of the gloom and she managed to smile at him.
Really, just looking at him made her feel better.
Who wouldn’t feel better, having this man look at her like you’d hung every star in the sky? The pale crystalline beauty of his eyes, that smile on his face. It was everything. He was everything.
“Maybe we should go over the itinerary for the trip,” Charles said, clearing his throat. Unaware of their preoccupation with each other, he continued, “The site manager is going to meet us at the airport when we land. Which is a disgustingly long time from now.”
Julianna laughed. “Daddy, you’ve made this trip dozens of times in your life. One would think you’d get used to it.”
“I’ve also been to the dentist dozens of time in my life,” he announced. “And I still hate going.”
“He has a point,” Roman said, tipping his glass in her father’s direction.
“About the dentist?” She made a face. “Absolutely.”
“I knew I’d fallen in love with you for a reason.” Roman drained the rest of his scotch, then put the glass down on the small table next to his chair, turning his attention toward Charles as the man drew a large portfolio case from the space next to his chair.
There was a large table in front of them and he used that as a workspace, unzipping the case and pulling a large, aerial image from inside.
“This will be our first trip out to this particular mine, Julianna. Roman, you traveled out there before, correct?”
Roman leaned forward, placing a hand on it the image to help hold it in place as the pilot came on the speakers to announce it was time for takeoff.
They all buckled in, but kept their focus on the image of the mines.
“Yes. I visited this one, and one other. You and Julianna took care of the Sri Lanka visits. Sometime in the next year, I think we should all visit them together, including Moira, if at all possible. I know she’s busy with her end of things, but we could take two weeks and get it all done, let the teams see who is in charge now, let them get to know us all a bit better. I want to be visible leaders in this.”
Charles nodded his agreement while Julianna started to twist her ring again. It had already become habit.
“The main export we have here is sapphires,” Charles said, tapping the image with a pen. “I’ve been thinking…”
As he continued to speak, Roman looked up and met Julianna’s eyes across the table once more.
She smiled at him and took a sip of wine.
The plane started to taxi down the runway and they both directed their attention back to the aerial image of the mines.
“I was thinking, while we’re there,” Charles mused. He slid Julianna a look, then eyed Roman. “The two of you will be shopping for wedding rings at some point, eh? Or at least getting them designed. I happen to know that Julianna is a sucker for a good sapphire.”
Roman cocked a brow at his future father-in-law. “Is that a fact?”
“She’s been known to appreciate them.”
Julianna reached over and swatted her father on the arm. “I think we can handle this ourselves, Daddy.”
“I’m just saying…isn’t that what you kids say these days?” He winked at Roman. “Just keep it in mind. Be on the lookout for a nice sapphire.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
There would be time for it, Julianna mused. In her mind, she started to imagine a delicate, platinum band that would go perfectly with the diamond engagement ring she already wore. A princess-cut sapphire, its cut flawless, sparkling in its unique setting…
“Julianna…”
She jerked herself out of her daze and met her father’s, then Roman’s eyes. “Sorry. Daydreaming.”
“You’re doing that a lot lately,” Roman noted.
She twisted the engagement ring on her finger and said, “Guilty.”
His eyes slid down to the ring on her hand, then back up to meet her gaze. A slow smile curled his lips and her heart caught, then did a slow flip over in her chest.
“Sapphire, huh?” he murmured, reaching across the table to trace his finger across the diamond of her engagement ring, understanding perfectly just where her mind had gone.
She answered him with a smile of her own, falling into the intense blue of his eyes. She could see forever stretching out in front of them—their forever.
As her father continued to talk, they smiled at each other and linked hands.
They were going to make it.
Maybe Roman’s father wouldn’t ever come around, but Julianna’s parents were there for them, his mother was there for them, and the siblings were absolutely rooting for them—all of them.
I love you, she mouthed to him.
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips.
Against her skin, he whispered it back. “I love you, too.”
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Bella is a Wall Street Journal (Begging for Bad Boys) and USA Today Bestselling Author (Begging for Bad Boys, Alphas for the Holidays. Shifters in the Snow: Bundle of Joy, Shifters in the Shadows), who loves writing steamy, high-action romance stories about bad boys, athletes, firefighters, billionaires, and alpha males who know what they want and aren't afraid of laying claim to the women who catch their interest.