Relieving her of the glass, I brought it to her lips so she could sip, and then I set it on the side table.
“I love you,” I said firmly, my hands holding her face toward me, my eyes laser-focused on hers. It wasn’t a sentimental moment. It was grave and serious. She needed to understand this. “And I loved Darla before I knew she existed. Now I can’t breathe without her. Or you.”
Jules’s eyes filled with tears, and I watched her swallow. Hard.
“You feel me? You get what I’m saying, Jules?”
She nodded.
Our mouths fused again, our kiss not ending until our lips were bruised and raw.
I took her hand in mine and led her to her bedroom. It was the smaller room, I noticed, and hated that for her. Darla had the larger bedroom, complete with a toy chest and a kid’s desk, but a double bed against the wall was all that adorned Jules’s room.
Inside the dark room, I closed the door. “Is this okay?”
She nodded again.
“You can hear Darla?”
“Yes.” Her voice was raw with emotion.
I slipped my hands behind her head, releasing the bun and letting her hair fall free. My lips were drawn to her neck; it was a pull stronger than the one that controlled the ocean outside.
“Jules,” I said softly, turning her and pressing her back into the door. Taking my time lavishing the smooth skin along her collarbone, I touched the tip of my tongue to each goose bump.
Greedily, I snatched her shirt over her head, my lips leaving her skin for a millisecond, and then they were back on her. Kissing, sucking, laving.
I couldn’t get enough, rock hard, coming out of my skin with want.
My hardness pushed its way toward her slight softness. My erection met her belly—the same belly that had carried my daughter. At the thought, my desire reached an all-time high.
“Take me to bed,” Jules murmured.
She didn’t have to beg.
Gently, I guided her to the mattress and spread her out in front of me. I bent and ran a hand up her calf, over her thigh, and into the back of her shorts, unable to deny myself a quick squeeze of her ass cheek. She laughed and squirmed enough for me to shimmy her shorts down. They were the kind with the panties attached, so Jules now lay in front of me, naked and pure.
“Too many clothes on you,” she whispered.
I shoved my legs free and lay down on top of her, careful to keep my weight on an elbow. With my free hand, I ran my length along her wetness. I wanted to slip inside, no barriers—literally and figuratively.
“Please,” she moaned.
“What?” I kissed along her cheekbone.
“I want you.” A shiver ran through her body as she spoke.
“Let me take care of you first.”
“Later. I want to feel you now.”
“I need to grab a condom.”
“I’m clean, on the pill. We already had an oops; the odds are in our favor.”
“I want you so bad,” I said, my words humming from my chest.
“Take me.”
