Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81867 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
I lift my eyes to meet his. “Will you kiss me?”
CHAPTER 21
Callum
Emotion explodes within me, reminiscent of the fireworks last week. Tenderness, passion, relief.
Love.
Always fucking love with this woman.
“Do you want just a kiss?” I ask.
Juniper’s gaze never wavers. “We both know it won’t stop there.”
I prowl around the island and she swivels on her stool to face me. I take one of her hands in mine. “Not what I asked. Will you want more? Because if you don’t, I will stop it at just a kiss.”
She swallows hard and whispers, “I want more.”
That should elate me because God knows I’ve fantasized about her for years. No one has ever compared to her in or out of bed. But there’s no stopping my frown of concern. “You’re buzzed.”
“So what?” she throws back. “Do you think I’m so impaired I don’t know what I’m doing?”
No, I don’t think that. She was tipsy when I picked her up from Brienne’s and her inhibitions are probably low, but she’s clear-headed enough. “I don’t want you to have regrets.”
She sighs dramatically. “I’m tired of regrets. You’ve had them, I’ve had them. We let them go, right?”
I release her hand, only to place both my palms on her beautiful face. “Juni… I love you. But I’m going to do things right. You telling me you want more than a kiss is weakening my resolve.”
“That sounds like a you problem and not a me problem,” she quips.
I can’t help but laugh and because she’s immobile from my grasp, I at least fulfill her request for a kiss. My lips press against hers, forcing her mouth open, and she sighs into me.
My head angles, tongue swiping slowly against hers. Lust barrels through me at the first truly intimate touch we’ve shared in years. I’m resolved to pull away but Juniper groans as her tongue tangles with mine. It’s a sound of pure need and my body tightens with desire.
“Fuck,” I mutter against her lips. “You’re not going to make this easy.”
“I am trying to make it easy,” she murmurs, turning her cheek to rub against my jaw. “I knew that beard would feel good against my skin, and that was just my lips.”
I know exactly where I’d like to rub my facial hair and it’s not anywhere on her face. The thought of it spurs me into motion and I do a quick mental check. I did turn off the stove, right?
Fuck it, the house can burn for all I care.
I swoop Juniper up with my hands under her ass, lifting her from the stool to carry her to my room. Her acceptance is immediate with her arms wrapping around my neck, legs around my waist, her head tilting so she can kiss my neck.
Christ, that feels good and it’s not just her lips grazing the sensitive skin below my beard line, but the fact that it’s Juniper Ryan, my first, only, one true love initiating touch with me.
In my room, I deposit her on the bed and move over the top of her with one knee on the mattress and one foot still solidly on the ground. I need that—she makes me dizzy with desire.
Juniper stares up at me, a trusting smile playing on her full lips. The animal in me wants to shred her clothes to pieces because I want her far too badly. I want her naked and I want inside her, right now.
But although we’ve been intimate with each other more times than we could count in the past, this feels all too shiny and new. I don’t want to rush any part of it.
Bringing my other knee up, I press my palms onto the mattress beside her head. My gaze roves over the angles and soft curves of her face, taking care not to get too lost in the allure of her eyes. I know the more turned on she is, the more the gold will leach out and the darker they’ll become. I used to love to study the changes as I touched her.
My eyes pin on those lips which have slid over nearly every inch of my body. Bending down, I graze my mouth over hers ever so gently, but even that small touch is electric. A welling of need produces a rumble in my chest.
I deepen the kiss, giving her my tongue again, and Juniper’s hands press against my chest. Not to push me away, but to lay over my breastbone where my heart booms. Her head lifts, her tongue invading my mouth with urgency. A tiny purr flutters out of her and it makes my dick ache.
Just a kiss.
A fucking great kiss and I’m ready to bury myself deep.
Juniper’s hands move down my chest, dip under the hem of my T-shirt, then slide back up. Her soft fingers travel across my abdomen before bunching into the material. She makes a yearning sound, trying to pull it past my shoulders.