“You don’t have to say it back. I know that you?—”
“Jules, shh.” He covers my mouth with his finger, then quickly replaces it with his lips. “Infinity times infinity times infinity,” he mumbles against me, then steps back so our eyes lock. My heart skips a beat or two, and I’m suddenly so overwhelmed with bliss I could burst. “I love you so much, Juliette Caldwell,mon petit papillon. I think I have from the very beginning.”
From the beginning…
I want to make a joke if he means the restaurant or masquerade party, but I’m left breathless at the thought of him loving me as I do him.
Before I know it, happy tears fill my eyes, and a smile graces my face.
He takes me in his arms, and I inhale deeply, engulfed in his masculine scent. This is one of my favorite places, safe in the arms of my love. Feeling his heartbeat against my cheek and his arms wrapped tightly around my body.
“In the last year, my life was flipped upside down, so it was par for the course when you came into my life out of nowhere.” I reach up and caress his face, needing to feel him under the palm of my hand. “You were so unexpected, H, but now, I couldn’t imagine my life without you. You make me feel whole again. Whenever I’m around you, I get this feeling that ignites my insides, and I suspect you’re the only person who will ever make me feel like that.”
“What feeling?” he murmurs.
“It’s hard to explain…it’s like little zaps of excitement or flutters dancing through my body.”
“Like butterflies?”
I trace his tattoo over his shirt. “Exactly.”
“Jules, baby.” He takes a deep breath. “I’ve come to the conclusion that butterflies are the center of it all. You stole my breath from the moment I laid eyes on you, but when you walked in with that butterfly mask, I knew it was all over from there.”
My heart hammers in my chest at his words. “I love you so much, Harrison.”
He smiles softly and runs his hands through my hair. “Did I ever tell you Claudina is named after the butterfly species Claudina Agrias?”
“No. Is that why you have the tattoo?”
He nods. “It is. All the brothers got one when she was born. Then you walked into my life,mon petit papillon. It started to make sense…and now it’s coming full circle.”
“What is?” I whisper.
“If only my brothers could hear my thoughts right now.” He smirks, but quickly becomes serious. “There was a missing piece to our family, and somehow, I think Camila handpicked you for us. She believed butterflies were a sign from the afterlife.”
My mouth opens, but my voice catches in my throat. Goose bumps spread over my body, and an overwhelming feeling of pride fills me.
She picked me.
An urgent need to be closer to Harrison hits me out of nowhere. I put my hands up so he can pick me up, and we can be face to face.
“Kiss me,” I demand.
He crushes me to his body and claims my lips with pure possessiveness. Our tongues dance together, and our bodies melt into one.God, he is the best kisser in the world.
They’re the type you feel from your fingertips all the way to your toes.
Arousal burns inside me as our kiss deepens, and I’m desperate to feel even more of him; I rock against him, eliciting a low moan from my lips. Harrison’s grip on my behind is lethal, taking control of my body, rubbing me against him in hard, deep movements.
Oh god.
Breaking out of the kiss, I lean back, panting, attempting to catch my breath. Our eyes catch and lock on each other. No words are needed. He desires me as much as do I him, and he knows exactly what we need.
Boom.
“Ah!” I jump in his arms.
A loud knock bangs on the door. “Appetizers are out. Let’s go, you two. Finish whatever you’re doing later,” Leo calls out.
