Page 37 of The Butterfly Effect
“You left.”
“Yes, I had to go. Now let’s get you a new drink because in about five minutes, your hand is going to hurt like a motherfucker.”
I put my hand on her back and led her to the bar, pleasantly surprised when she didn’t fight it. She relaxed her body against my hand, and my chest squeezed.What the fuck are you getting yourself into?
The bartender looked less pleased to help me this time when I held Julianna between me and the bar. I admired the way she fit there, looking so small and leaning against the counter so her ass bumped me just slightly when she moved. She kept looking at my hands on the bar and up the arms that framed her against it, her eyes hovering on my tattoo as they always did. I flexed my forearm with a smirk, enjoying the blush that grew on the back of her neck.
“Long Island and a tequila shot, please,” Julianna said when the bartender continued to look past her.
I looked at her, almost as surprised at her order as I was at the confidence she ordered it with, and laughed. “Make that two tequila shots.” I raised an eyebrow as if to saywhy notat Julianna when she looked up at me. The bartender walked away to make our drinks, and I moved back a step, giving Julianna room to turn and face me. “How’s your hand?” I knew the answer before I asked her.
“It fucking hurts.” She gave it a small shake and cradled it in her other hand again.
She frowned and furrowed her brow, and something in my stomach stirred. I grabbed her hand and held it in both of mine, turning it over and looking at it. She let me open and close her fist and move her fingers, and while she had pain on her face, she didn’t stop me. “I’d assume nothing is broken, but it’s going to be sore for a while. You’ll want to ice it and take some painkillers.”
She softened her face, and the anger that was in her eyes earlier was gone. “Thank you. You know, for saving me…again.” She looked down at her hand still cradled in both of mine.
I lifted her face with her chin so she was looking at me. “I didn’t have to save you.” I laughed. She looked at me, confused, and when she pursed her lips, I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and get her home. I used my thumb to pull her bottom lip from her mouth and stared into her blue-gray eyes. “Judging by the way you looked at him and balled your fists, I may have been saving him.” She laughed, the kind of laugh that made her throw her head back, exposing the soft skin of her throat.
We picked up the tequila shots the bartender sat on the counter, and I tossed a few bills there to cover the tab and a generous tip. Julianna cleared her throat, a mischievous smile on her face, and I raised an eyebrow. “I like to give the same toast when I take shots with my friends, so here goes.” She giggled and it shot straight to my dick. “Cheers to the folks at the back of the bar, and to the crowd in the middle. But let’s raise this glass for the bartenders, and hope they only judge us a little.” She winked, tapped her glass against mine, and tossed back the shot before wrapping her lips around the lime in her hand.
I couldn’t stop the laugh that roared through me before I took the shot. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever fucking heard.” When I looked away from her, Katie and their other friend were staring at us. They looked both amazed and protective, and I turned back to Julianna. “It appears your friends are glaring this way. Maybe you should go back over and check in before I take you home. You probably want to get that on ice sooner rather than later.”
She nodded and grabbed my hand, a bold confidence that I had only seen when she was arguing with me in my office crossing her face. I let her pull me towards her friends, and I didn’t act surprised when she dropped my hand as we got close to them. Both of the women stared at us, and I smirked. “Katie,” I greeted her with a nod.
“Hi, William,” she said with a cordial smile. “This is our friend Andy.” She introduced her with a tone that implied Andy already knew all about me, and really, that wouldn’t have surprised me. The fire-haired woman next to her stuck out her hand to shake mine, straightening her back and giving me a stern, protective look.
“Nice to meet you.” I took her hand and gave her a slight nod.
“Same to ya.” She said it nonchalantly, dropping my hand and her tough façade with it. Both women turned to Julianna and perked up. “Jules! Are we going to talk about how you just punched that perv in the face?!” I was sure one of them had never actually punched a stranger in a bar, so it was going to be a source of excitement for them for several weeks.
All three girls laughed, but Jules blushed. “He was asking for it. I would have done it again, but…” She looked up at me from under her eyelashes. The light sarcasm in her voice and the way she looked at me had me shaking my head.
“Next time, I’ll let you destroy the guy.” I shrugged, not doubting that she would be able to. Her friends laughed and widened their eyes when I leaned down so my lips were near her ear. “There won’t be a next time, though.” She shuddered and sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, and I laughed when her friends caught her tell, tilting their heads.
Julianna cleared her throat and downed the last of her drink. “You going to dance with me before you make me leave again?”
I shook my head with a laugh. “No. I don’t dance. We should go. Your hand is going to start swelling soon. It’s already bruising.”
She laughed and stepped closer so her body was flush against mine, but I didn’t step back. When she looked up at me again, I wanted to press my mouth to hers. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to get her mouth close to my ear, and she held both of my shoulders with her hands for balance.
“Humor me,” she purred in my ear, rolling her hips against me and dropping from her toes back to her heels before sinking back into a low squat and sliding up my leg.
I cursed under my breath, wrapping my hand behind her when she stood back up and pressing my leg between hers. She ground against me with the music and whipped her hair over her shoulders. Her breaths came short and quick as the crowd around us practically faded away. I hated dancing, and I hated the music playing, but I did not hate the way Julianna’s curvy body fit against mine or the way she let out little moans she didn’t think I could hear when my leg hit her center just the right way. She was intoxicating, and as the song ended, I needed to drag her out of there if I didn’t want to take her on the dance floor right then.
“You got your dance. Now I’m taking you home.” I hooked my hand around the back of her neck. I brushed my lips against her ear, and she shivered.
She sighed but gave in, knowing she’d be pushing it to get a second dance. Although if she had asked me for another one, I’d have probably danced with her all night. The woman just did something to me. She waved at her friends before turning and walking towards the exit, letting me guide her out of the building.
In the car, she turned to me. “Thank you for taking me home. You don’t have to,” she said, crossing her arms and then wincing before uncrossing them.
“Yes, I did, Julianna. I want to make sure you take care of your hand.”
She turned and looked at me when I said it, but didn’t respond. Instead, she cradled her hurt hand and looked down, chewing on her lip. She was quiet while we drove, bobbing her head to the songs on the radio. Her hurt hand sat on her lap, but she gripped her thigh with the other. The thigh she wasn’t holding on to shook, and I couldn’t pull my attention and side glances from it. When we pulled up at her apartment, she sat and stared at me, pressing her lips together.
I shut off the car, but before I could unbuckle my seatbelt, she was climbing over the center console and into my lap. Her dress rode up to her hips when she straddled me, and my body was reacting to her before she pressed her lips to mine. She nipped at them and when I opened my mouth, she slid her tongue in.
It was like a desperate electricity ripped through us. Images filled my mind of her dancing in the club and the way her body moved, the jealousy that coursed through me when the other man touched her, followed by the proud and intense arousal when she’d punched him, but mostly the way she pressed and rubbed her body against mine to the music.
