Page 75 of I Knew You
My eyes flitted between her lips and eyes, drawn to her like a moth to a flame.
“Oh.” Her gaze drilled into me. “Melanie, the sister? Or a girlfriend with the same name? If it was, you could tell me, you know. I can handle your preferences.”
My heart skipped a beat. “My preferences?”
She squirmed and averted her gaze. Uncomfortable feelings stirred in the tiny space between us.
“Yeah. I mean, if you have a girlfriend, she’s probably petite, blonde, skinny—all the things you liked when we were young. She probably loves the outdoors as much as you. Maybe even goes fishing with you on the weekends. She shops at outfitter stores, for sure. She can probably make a delicious deer roast. She raises free-range chickens. She drinks beers with you in the evenings…” She still wouldn’t look at me.
“That’s my girlfriend?” I chuckled softly.
My smile quickly fell away as I watched tears pool in the corners of her eyes.
“Hey.” I soothed, reaching over with my free hand and gently cradling it against her flushed face. I used my thumb to smooth over her cheek in a loving stroke, infusing everything I had into my touch. She didn’t pull away. “Why are you so worried, sweets?”
She considered me for a moment before replying. “I don’t want you to lie to me,” she whispered. The first tear fell, and I caught it with my thumb, wiping it into her skin.
“I haven’t lied to you,” I replied as softly as possible, framing her heart-shaped face with my hand. “I would never lie to you, especially about another woman. I went to dinner with Melanie, my sister. I told you I am unattached, and I am. And as for my preferences…” Adrenaline pumped through my body as I slid my hand down her jaw to her neck, letting my fingers rest on her collarbone peeking through the top of her distressed T-shirt. I let my rough fingertips slip over her soft skin. I felt her shiver, yet her body gave off heat unlike anything I’d ever felt.
There would be no one else after I had her.
“You’re my preference,” I whispered. Her breathing stopped.
Giving pleasure through words and touches turned me on the most. But this gesture of want, this tiny admission of my true desires, gave me more satisfaction than I’d ever had in any previous encounter with another person. Unmatched.
Julianna East wasn’t just any woman. I leaned into her fully before I could stop myself, and I kissed her. Firmly. Fervently.
On the inside, my heart was racing, beating loudly in my ears. The heat built between us as our mouths met passionately, lips moving over each other in sensual perfection; I lost all conscious thought.
She had to know how I felt.
Actions spoke louder than words. Why did it take me fifteen years to realize it?
Chapter Sixteen
Julianna |October 10, 2024
Adream.
It had to be a dream.
Yet these weren’t phantom images that I conjured in the darkest recesses of my imagination late at night. His warm lips were moving over mine, and I had never felt more in a kiss than at that moment. It was raw, surprising, and so very real.
With each meeting of our mouths, he was branding himself on me. This was how our wedding night was supposed to be. Even if our marriage wasn’t legitimate, it belonged to us.
I couldn’t steady myself at first, shaking and trembling. But soon, our lips found a rhythm, and the anxiety melted away into something fulfilling.
I had the most attractive person I’d ever encountered making out with me—again.
Though Bram was so much more to me than a pretty face, Icouldn’t deny it felt good to be wanted at that moment by someone so unattainable.
I let the sensations of desire carry away my defenses. I was weaponless when he was being so bold. His tongue swept over my own, and I let out a small, involuntary moan.
That seemed to invigorate him further, and his weight pressed against me. He was careful, but he devoured me until I was fully on my back. He was patient and skilled with his movements. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitancy on his part, and I tried to match his confidence.
He was heavy, grounding, and solid. I wound my arms around his shoulders, my hands moving up behind his back and through his close-cropped hair. He used his elbows for balance and seemed to be fighting to keep his body weight from pressing on me fully, but I wanted him to let me feel his weight. Pain be damned.
It took me tugging on his shirt collar before he acquiesced.
