“Wanna watch TV for a little while then?”
Juliet nodded and he followed her into the living room, trying not to stare too much at the sway of her hips. Instead, he settled himself on the couch near her as Juliet turned on the television and flipped through channels until she found something she wanted to watch.
After a few moments, Dan felt comfortable and confident enough to pull Juliet back to lie against him. She peered up at him suspiciously.
“What? You need to relax. It’s not like we haven’t laid about like this before.” That was true enough-they had even fell asleep once after a particularly crazy show, tangled up in each other’s limbs on the couch on a tour bus. But his motivation wasn’t quite so simple this time, he thought, breathing in the scent that radiated from her hair and body; it was like fresh roses after a summer rain.
“My hair is going to get your shirt wet,” she told him, though she didn’t stir, instead relaxing against his shoulder. Dan rolled his eyes.
“Like I even care about that. It’ll dry.” Dan fought against the urge to wrap his arms around her, to reach up and cop a feel of her breasts through her tee shirt. He wanted more than anything to feel her nipples harden under his palm, to hear the catch in her breath that would signal her arousal, but he reminded himself that she was too exhausted to think rationally, to make up her mind.
Instead, he moved his hands to her shoulders and began slowly kneading the tight muscles there, finding the knots that long hours of work and awkward sleep had formed. Juliet moaned softly, relaxing into him by degrees.
“Where did you learn how to give a proper massage?” she asked him absently, turning her head to direct his fingers where they would do the most good. Dan chuckled.
“From you, of course.” Juliet had magic hands; he had discovered it when they had been on tour together. He had been complaining of a cramp in his neck one night after a show and she had raised an eyebrow, gesturing for him to turn around.
He had and she had gone to work at once, her small, deft hands soothing and working away the tightness in his muscles until he couldn’t even remember the pain that had been there before. She had repeated the favor a few more times, and Dan had paid attention to what she did, committing the pressure of her hands to memory. His girlfriends had had plenty of good things to say about his newfound skill.
“You’re really good at this,” Juliet murmured, and Dan felt himself getting drowsy as she started to doze off. His hands ceased to massage and instead caressed slowly, until he felt her breathing slow to a sleeping pace. He ran his fingers through her hair, feeling the silkiness of the drying strands.
Juliet shifted, getting more comfortable against his body, and Dan felt a hot pulse of lust run through him as she curled up into him, wrapping an arm around his waist. Dan decided suddenly that he would have no opportunity like the one presently before him; he leaned in and pressed his lips to her temple, holding her close and breathing in her scent slowly. Juliet stirred and he backed off, directing his attention to the TV until she subsided.
Juliet stirred again, and Dan held his breath. Her eyes stayed closed but in the midst of her sleep, she moved up, planting a sleepy kiss on his lips. “I’m glad you’re here, Dan,” she mumbled, giving him another all- too-brief kiss.
“You’re supposed to be asleep,” he whispered, not wanting to wake her if she was. Juliet stretched against him, her lips dropping down to his neck. Dan was torn; he didn’t want to take advantage of her-it certainly wasn’t right to do anything with a woman who was asleep and not aware of what she was doing. But by the same token, the feel of her lips against his skin, the way her body pressed against him, was too much for him to ignore.
“Mm, you smell good.” Juliet nuzzled against his neck and then seemed to fall back into a deep sleep, her arms tightening around him for just a moment before they relaxed. Dan stayed tense for several moments until he was certain she would stay asleep. He sighed, unable to help himself as he slowly caressed her back, trying to pay attention to the television show.
After about an hour, Juliet stirred against him again, this time waking up completely. She yawned, her back arching in a luxurious stretch, and she opened her eyes. Dan tried to suppress the smile that started to form on his lips; Juliet started when she realized that she had slept wrapped up in his arms, with her head cushioned by his chest.
She gave him an embarrassed smile, starting to sit up. “Don’t get up now,” he told her, pulling her back down against him. “I’m perfectly comfortable.” Juliet blushed, hiding her face against his chest. Feeling suddenly as though he was in a dream himself, Dan pulled her up, looking into her eyes. “You kissed me,” he told her, unable to resist smiling. Her eyes widened.
“I didn’t.” Dan laughed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body against his.
“You did. You told me you were glad I was here and then you kissed me.” Juliet blushed again and tried to squirm free of his arms. “It’s true, isn’t it?” he asked her, brushing his lips against her forehead. Juliet shook her head, avoiding his gaze and renewing her struggles to get free.
“I was sleeping,” she muttered defensively, ducking her head down. Dan brought her face up.
“You’re glad I’m here. You like me, I know you do.” Juliet bit her lip and Dan couldn’t restrain the urge; he closed the tiny distance between them and kissed her, running his tongue over her bottom lip until she let him in. He kissed her deeply, his arms tightening around her as she began to respond.
After several moments, she pulled away and he let her. “You’re so annoying,” she said, the heat in her voice belied by the way she couldn’t quite help smiling. “You’d better not be laughing at me.” Dan shook his head, trembling with the effort of holding back the chuckle he felt building up inside of him. He kissed her again briefly.
“I happen to like you too,” he told her, running his hands through her hair. He let his hands roam over her body, looking into her eyes to make sure she knew he was being honest. “Christ, woman, I’ve liked you for years. You’re incredibly hot, talented, smart…” Juliet blushed, shaking with laughter even as she gave him a playful smack.
“As if you didn’t have women falling all over themselves for you,” she replied, sitting up but staying close to him. Dan laughed, reaching out and taking her hand.
“You’re not like them,” he told her, pulling her down onto him but not letting go of her hand. He brought it up to his lips instead, pressing a kiss to her palm. “You’ve never fallen over yourself for me, for one.” Juliet snorted, looking up at him through her eyelashes and Dan thought that she had no idea how utterly alluring she looked when she did that.
He leaned in and kissed her again; pressing her body against his so that he could feel every inch of her, feel the heat of her through the thin fabric of her pajamas. He could feel her nipples hardening as he deepened the kiss, letting his hands run over her curves. He moaned into the kiss, nipping at her bottom lip playfully. He could feel himself getting hard, just from the contact of their bodies.
Mindlessly his hips pushed up into Juliet’s as he tried to ease the ache in his throbbing cock. He broke away from the kiss, letting go of her and brushing her hair back from her face.
“How awake are you?” he asked, looking into her eyes. She was more awake than she had been before, but he could still see the marks of fatigue on her face. Juliet’s eyes were dreamy with arousal, but she gave him a tired little smile.
“About 60 %,” she answered. Dan took a long, shuddering breath and fought down his rising lust. He could wait. He’d waited for years. Another few hours wasn’t going to make a difference.
“Go curl up in bed then. I’ll get dinner and then we can go to the studio and get some work done.” Juliet stared at him for a moment; Dan gave her a playful shove and sat up to kiss her on the cheek. He brushed his lips along her jaw to her ear and whispered; “There is plenty of time for me to fuck your brains out when you’re not sleep-deprived. Go sleep.”
Juliet turned her head and claimed his lips, giving him a long, lingering kiss before she stood and meandered toward her bedroom, shooting him one last inviting look over her shoulder before she went in to rest.
***
They were in the studio again; Juliet had insisted on driving her own car, and after her hours-long nap, Dan couldn’t argue with her. He had ordered delivery from a high-end restaurant in town, salads and grilled chicken and steak and pasta.
