“You won’t have to worry about getting in trouble,” he pointed out rather casually. As if what he was suggesting was no big deal. “You wouldn’t have to answer to anyone. You could be free.”
His words held a certain appeal. It was more than the idea of no longer being tied to the Sanctuary, but the fact he wanted her to leave with him. The notion did silly things to her heart and clouded her thoughts.
There were days when she wanted nothing more than to disappear. The overworked and underappreciated syndrome, but she never seriously considered leaving. She had to remind herself it wasn’t an option as he trailed those agile fingers over the tips of her breasts. Her mouth watered. “I can’t, Julian.”
His fingers slipped to the other breast that was now aching and heavy. “You can do whatever you want.”
She licked her lips. “I can do what I want now.”
Julian raised a doubtful brow. “That isn’t true. You’re chained to your duty.” His finger curled around her hardened nipple as he spoke. “Do you think your Nathaniel will allow this to continue?”
Lily bristled. “Nathaniel has no control over me like that.”
“He doesn’t?” Julian chuckled softly, his smile tender. “He controls everything. He holds your Contract. Does that not mean you must obey his every decree?”
“Yes, but…” She trailed off. There was no pretty way of looking at this. Julian was right.
“There are no buts, darling,” he whispered as his gaze fixed on her rosy peaks.
“You don’t understand,” she argued. “As nice as what you offer sounds, it’s not possible.”
He shifted against her. “We will see.”
She glanced down to where his body brushed hers. He was hard, and all thoughts of forcing him to understand it could never be an option were thrown out the window. “Julian?”
He paused, grinning devilishly at her. Then he pressed her back down as he placed himself over her body. “I believe I could do this all day.”
One gentle thrust set her on fire. She reached down and cupped his rear. “I think I agree.”
And Julian did, over and over till they collapsed into each other’s arms. He didn’t mention her leaving again, and Lily was grateful. They were able to create a little cocoon in her room, where the world outside didn’t exist. In his arms, she could forget about her duty and what she would face when she returned to the Sanctuary. It didn’t matter that it was only temporary.
Chapter Twenty-one
She woke to find the sheets completely removed from her and Julian’s lips latched onto her breast, drawing her nipple deep into the warm recesses of his mouth. Dazed, her hand fluttered to his head. A ball of lava formed in her belly. “What…what are you doing?”
He lifted his head, smiling down at her. “I was beginning to think you’d never wake up. It’s late in the afternoon.”
They hadn’t fallen asleep until the sun started to rise, and her muscles ached in a delicious way. When he hadn’t been doing crazy things to her body, they had nestled together, talking until they both passed out.
Sleep still fogged her brain as her lids fluttered open. There was a wicked glint to his azure eyes and a mischievous tilt to his sensual lips. He picked up her right hand, bringing it to his lips and sucking her finger into his mouth. She felt the pull all the way to her core.
“What are you doing?” she asked, breathless.
“I want you.”
“You have me,” she said, using the same words he had told her while on the couch.
“Do I?” He sat up, swinging his legs off the bed and standing in one fluid motion. “Prove it to me.”
Her heart thundered as she rose unsteadily. Things seemed to blur around the edges as her eyes locked with his. He gripped her shoulders, bringing her to her knees on the bed so that she was kneeling in front of him. The unspoken demand was clear, and her skin tingled.
She reached out, wrapping her hand around his cock without breaking eye contact. Moving her hand from his base to the head, she felt him swell in her palm.
“I woke up earlier, and all I could think about was you.” He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “I can’t stop thinking about you— about this. It consumes my thoughts.”
She shuddered as his hand dropped to her breast, tweaking her nipple. Dipping forward, she darted her tongue out and circled his engorged head as she watched an array of emotions flicker across his striking features.
He groaned, staring at her with such intensity she felt like a goddess. She stroked his rim, laving the ridge with her tongue and then back to his head, lapping at the moisture beading there. “You like this?”
“Yeah…I like…a lot.”
Her tongue followed the length of his throbbing member. He reared against her as if she had done something rather drastic. “Oh, you like that more?”
His lips parted, and he nodded. She did it again, and this time her lips followed the path. His hand left her breast, balling in her hair, opening and closing mindlessly. She kind of liked him like this, completely vulnerable to her. It was usually the other way around.
Before long, he was cradling her head as she worked him with her lips and tongue. His groans sparked her own lust, boiling her from the inside. But then he reached between them, grasping her free hand and lowering it to her own sex.
Pulling back, she recoiled from what he was silently urging her to do. “I…I can’t.”
He lowered his chin, his heated gaze piercing hers. “You can.”
Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment even though her sex was throbbing, excited by the idea of pleasuring herself while she pleasured him. “Julian…”
Shifting slightly, he guided her hand down until she cupped herself. Then, as she watched him, his finger pushed hers inside. She moaned from the wicked act, her skin flushing for a whole different reason.
He guided her hand until she was doing it herself, then cupped the back of her head and urged her to pick up where she had stopped. Taking him in her mouth once more, she sucked harder as she thrust against her hand.
Julian’s eyes grew luminous. “Oh God,” he groaned, picking up rhythm, forcing her to take his full length as she slipped another finger into her wet folds.
Suddenly, he pulled away from her mouth and wrapped his own hand around the base of his member. “I want to watch you finish yourself,” he ordered roughly.
The erotic act of pleasuring herself while he watched made her dizzy. She wanted to refuse, but it seemed like her moral compass had fallen to the wayside. Unable to say no, she eased down onto her back and moved her fingers in and out. This wasn’t the first time she had touched herself, but with him watching it was so much more potent. Her toes curled as she came close to the edge.
He kneed her thighs apart and knelt between her legs, slowly stroking himself as his eyes followed her fingers in and out, covered in her arousal. “Harder,” he whispered.
And she did. Pumping her fingers, she arched her hips up to meet her own thrusts. Her head tipped back, and her soft moans filled the bedroom as she watched him through glazed-over eyes. Her hips came clear off the bed as she grinded against her fingers. Her heart was thundering deep in her chest and stomach. The need for him to be against her consumed her in a way that left her panting with want.
His scorching gaze followed her arousal as it ran down her thigh. Never breaking eye contact, he bent at the waist and lowered his mouth to her thigh. Using his tongue, he lapped up the slick moisture. The act toppled her right over the edge. She came, writhing shamelessly.
He climbed over her, his attention feral and possessive. Slipping an arm under her waist, he flipped her onto her belly. Her fingers dug into the sheets as Julian rained kisses down her spine, over her hips and her plump cheeks. Then he drew her to her knees, using his thigh to push her legs farther apart.
She was primed, ready, her sex filling with anticipation. This…this was what she’d needed, what she desired so badly. For him to take her, to fill her. His tip probed her moist entrance, teasing her until she
