Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
I wrapped my arms around his waist as I drew in a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm my nerves. “Sorry,” I whispered.
Julian kissed the top of my head. “Don’t be sorry, baby. I need you to communicate with me—tell me when I’m being too much.” He leaned back and linked his fingers with mine. “I want to show you something.”
He led me through to the living room. One of my paintings caught my eye. It was hanging above the fireplace—placed there just perfectly so that if you sat on the couch, your attention was immediately drawn to it.
It was the picture I painted of Julian and the baby we had lost. I’d sent it to him a couple of months ago, hoping he might want it. I hadn’t expected him to keep it, much less hang it up where anyone could see it.
Tears welled in my eyes as I tightened my fingers around Julian’s, a sob breaking from my chest. “You kept it.”
“Of course, I did, baby girl,” he whispered in reply because speaking any louder would ruin the moment. “That painting was one of the most beautiful things you could ever give me. I cherished it. It was the first thing brought into this house.”
My heart throbbed painfully in my chest, and I reached up to rub the heel of my hand over it, hoping to relieve the ache. “I’m so sorry,” I told him, my voice breaking. “Sometimes, I wonder if I hadn’t fought you so much every step of the way, where would we be now?”
“Everything happens for a reason, no matter how shitty the things that happen are,” Julian quietly replied. “I’ve never blamed you, baby. The moment I found out you were admitted into the inpatient hospital, my heart broke for you. If anything, I should be apologizing for not being there for you when you really needed me. Maybe if I had answered my phone that evening, things would have been different.”
“I pushed you away,” I whispered, not tearing my eyes from the painting.
Julian gently squeezed my hand. “Your words cut me, baby girl.” I flinched as I squeezed my eyes shut. He drew me against his side and leaned down to settle his lips over my temple. “Look at me,” he softly ordered. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at him through my tears. He reached up and brushed his thumbs under my eyes. “We both did shit that we shouldn’t have, but it’s made you so much stronger, baby. You’re no longer afraid to show how you’re really feeling, and I’m so fucking proud of you for facing your demons.”
“I dreamt of you all of the time. You always told me in my dreams that I’m your goddess—like you used to before everything that happened.”
He tenderly smiled at me. “You will always be my goddess, Meghan. Not a goddamn thing will ever change that, you got me? Cry, scream out your fear and your pain, but always rise above it all, baby. Standing strong in the face of it all is what makes you my goddess.”
I reached up on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck, slanting my lips across his. He released a low growl from the depths of his chest as he quickly gripped my ass in his hands and yanked my body close to his. His hand slid up my back until his hand was tangled in my long, dark hair. Angling his head, he deepened the kiss, drawing a low moan from the back of my throat as I opened my lips under his, allowing him to deepen the kiss even further.
“Are you sure you want this?” Julian asked quietly against my lips.
“Yes,” I whimpered, desperate for him. “Please.”
He groaned as he kissed me again. His hands gripped my ass. “Don’t!” I tried to warn him, knowing he was going to lift me. “I’m heavy—" I gasped when he easily lifted me up, his lips cutting off the rest of my sentence. I released a loud moan as I tangled my fingers in his black curls, My thighs tightened around his waist, and I grinded down against him, desperate for friction.
“Fuck,” Julian growled as he began to walk out of the living room. “Your curves are driving me fucking wild.”
He leaned me back a moment later, and my back came in contact with a soft mattress. My heart was pounding in my chest, and every part of me was aching to become one with him like we used to.
He yanked his hoodie over his head and moved over me, his biceps flexing as he lowered himself over me in the push-up position, taking my lips in a hard kiss that wreaked havoc on my senses.
I spread my legs, and he lowered himself between them, so I was cradling his hips between my thighs. “Yes,” I whispered as he moved his lips over my jaw and lightly thrust his hips. I moaned and arched my back, my hands sliding under his white t-shirt to glide over the toned muscles of his back.