Page 3 of The Butterfly Effect
The forward, commanding tone of his voice left little room for argument. I met his gaze as he looked directly at me for the first time. His eyes were darker than I had originally thought, like you could fall into them and never find the bottom.
“I thought I shouldn’t assume you’re a good man,” I joked with him and scanned the crowd for my friends, catching Andy’s attention.
“You shouldn’t. But I can give you what you need.” When I hesitated, he stood up from the stool as my friends made their way across the bar. “Or don’t. Your call.”
Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist when he took his first step. The muscle in his arm rippled under my grip, and I quickly pulled my hand back. “Okay, I’ll go,” I said, as a rush of heat grew instantly in my core. Did I look as desperate as I felt? I hadn’t felt that heat radiating in my core in months. A small curl pulled at the side of his mouth. He nodded knowingly. “Let me just tell my friends I’m leaving.”
I turned and walked the small distance to the girls, aware he followed my every step with his eyes. Andy and Katie both gave me a questioning look, tilting their heads to the side. “So, uh, it’s a really long story and I promise to call both of you the minute I get home. I’m going to go home with that guy. Also… one of those random guys probably tried to drug me, and then he almost hit me, but uh, this guy… William… he stopped him. And now he wants to take me home with him, so…” I shrugged as my friends laughed.
“You better be careful. Share your location and call us when you get home, just in case,” Katie lectured. She was the mom-friend and always had been.
“And I want all the details.” Andy shook her shoulders and nudged me with her elbow.
“Obviously.” I nodded at them. “You guys be careful, okay? Those guys are bad news.” My friends nodded and gave me a small hug before nudging me in William’s direction.
“Shall we?” he asked, gesturing in the direction of the door. I nodded towards my shoulder and bit my lip, letting him lead me across the last of the bar, out the exit, and into the parking lot. His hand was firm against my lower back. He crossed to the valet-parking counter and handed the teenage boy a ticket. The boy walked away, and as he did, William slid his hand up my back and placed his arm across my shoulders. I breathed in deeply with a shiver, inhaling warm cinnamon and a hint of bergamot, like he’d just had a cup of tea. I breathed out a satisfied sigh, and a small laugh rolled through his body, now pressed against mine.
Before the cold fall Michigan air chilled me, the smooth purr of an expensive engine could be heard crossing the lot to where we stood. I raised both eyebrows. “Thisis your car?” I looked at him, blinking quickly. My dad had always appreciated nice cars, but he could never quite afford his dream car. He’d probably piss himself if he saw that car pulling up to the curb in front of me.
“Yes. Why?” His face didn’t show any amusement, and I imagined I wasn’t the first person to show surprise at his Aston Martin.
“This is just areallynice car.” My voice sounded strained as he reached around me to open the door. I hadn’t moved and finally took a step towards the end of the curb.
“Yes, Julianna. It is.” He motioned towards the open car door and tilted his head. “Are you going to get in?”
A warm blush quickly filled my cheeks as I stepped into the car. The smell of the leather surrounded me, and everything was black and clean. It took all of my control not to run my fingers across the dash, and when William got into the driver’s seat, I tried to hide my amazement. He was probably used to taking women home in this car. How many had ridden in this seat before me? I didn’t care.
“I bet women are surprised at your car all the time, huh?”
He glanced at me from the corner of his eye as he held the steering wheel loosely with both hands. “You could say that. I don’t normally pick up women at bars. I let them come to me, so usually they don’t need a ride.”
My stomach fluttered as nausea momentarily swept through me. I took a deep breath of clean leather and cinnamon and rested my mostly bare back against the seat. “I guess I should feel special then.”
“I wouldn’t.” His voice held a hint of a laugh, and I whipped my head towards him. There was a small, cocky grin on his lips that made my stomach swirl.
William was mostly quiet for the rest of the ride to his place, and when we pulled into his driveway, I wasn’t terribly surprised by the vast size of the mansion in front of me. If the man drove an Aston Martin to the bar, then surely he lived in a huge house. He pulled into the garage, next to another Aston Martin, this one red. If he were here in this garage, my dad would lose his mind. I laughed under my breath.
He climbed out of the car and quickly made his way around to open the door for me. His grasp was firm as he held my hand and helped me out of the car. When I stood up straight and fixed my dress, I caught him running his gaze down my body. I smiled and ran my hand over my hip, his eyes following the trail.
Without saying anything, he pulled them from my figure and led the way to the door and into his home. As expected, the inside was decorated with expensive furniture and art. There wasn’t much more than a couple of statement pieces in neutral colors on the walls. He didn’t have any pictures of people in his living room. A small twinge of pity for him went through me when I assumed that meant he didn’t have many people to take pictures with.
Heat came off his body when he stepped up behind me and ran his hand down my arm. His lips were warm and soft when he pressed them into the crook of my neck below my ear, and an uncontrollable moan slipped from my lips. I was starting to relax against him when he bit into my neck, causing a sharp pain to run through my nerves and to my quivering legs. When he ran his tongue along the bite, I sucked in a small gasp and moaned again. He chuckled, grabbing my arm and turning me to face him.
I must have had a dumbfounded look on my face based on the smirk that crossed his lips. I hadn’t even been in the man’s living room for more than a couple of minutes, and I was already willing to beg him to take me. He opened his mouth to say something and apparently thought better of it before turning and walking away from me and towards a dark hallway off the front room. With each of his measured steps across the dark oak floors, my heart beat out of my chest in a matching rhythm.
“Are you coming?” He had turned around and noticed I wasn’t behind him. I pulled myself together and stumbled forward, quickly following. The clack of my heels on the floor echoed under the vaulted ceilings, and when I reached his side, he grabbed my hand and lightly pulled me behind him into a large bedroom. His bedroom.
She didn’t blinkher blue-gray eyes as she followed me into the bedroom, her nerves only showing in the way her breath hitched when I took a step back towards her. Julianna didn’t shudder when I slammed the door behind her and pinned her against it, but the gasp that left her lips when her back met the cold wood went straight to my dick. I pressed my body against hers, holding her against the door even as she tried arching towards me.
Julianna flicked her gaze between my eyes and my mouth, and when she licked her bottom lip before lightly sucking it into her mouth and biting down, I let out a small growl and moved my head towards hers. She tasted like honey, and the way she parted her lips and ran her tongue along mine was hungry. She was desperate to gain the control I wasn’t going to give her. I bit her tongue before sucking on it gently, catching the sweet whimper she released with my mouth.
I let her pull her arms free when she melted against me. Her touch was light against my chest as she moved her fingers across the fabric of my shirt and under my suit jacket, sliding it off my shoulders. The jacket hit the ground, and I kicked it aside.
Without moving my lips from hers, I lifted her into my arms and she wrapped her legs around my waist. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and the hardness of her nipples pressed against the silky black fabric of her skimpy dress, begging to be touched. My erection pressed against her, straining behind my pants, and she rocked her hips to rub against me. I closed the distance between us and my bed, the desperation I’d sensed from her at the bar clear in the way her knuckles turned white as she gripped my tie.
When we got to my king-sized bed and I dropped her onto the mattress, the shriek that left her lips would make you believe I’d dropped her from the balcony. An amused smirk pulled at my lips, and I stepped back to remove my tie, now wrinkled from her grasp. Julianna followed my movement with her eyes as I laid it on the bedside table, and I caught her stare in mine when she reached up to unbutton my shirt. She breathed heavily with each button, licking at her bottom lip. I wanted to take her wrists in mine and speed her up while my erection twitched against my pants, but I kept every breath even.
Julianna unhooked the last button and slid my shirt off, letting it drop like my jacket. A small, breathy giggle burst from her, and she quickly shut her mouth in an attempt to take it back.
