Page 54 of The Sound of Forever
It’s all the permission I need.
I lean in slowly, giving her time to stop me, to change her mind. But she doesn’t. When our lips meet, it’s soft, tentative, like a question neither of us knows how to answer yet. Then she tilts her head, and the kiss deepens, shifts, becomes something more. It’s not just a kiss—it’s a confession we didn’t need words for.
Because this is when I realize that I was made for this moment, made to love her. Nothing else explains how natural, how right it feels to hold her, to breathe her in, to give her everything I have with just this kiss.
It’s not just a beginning—it’s everything.
“Yeah?” I ask, brushing my thumb across her cheek, catching the stray tear that lingers there.
She shakes her head slightly, a small, incredulous smile tugging at her lips. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Me either,” I admit, my voice low. “But I know one thing—I’m falling for you, Julie. I’m falling for you. Hard.”
She gasps, looking at me with those big, beautiful eyes. I wonder if I’ve pushed too far. But then she smiles, a real, genuine smile that lights up her whole face.
“Good,” she whispers. “Because I think I’m falling for you too.”
And just like that, everything changes. It’s alive—electric with the promise of something new, something I can’t let slip through my fingers.
This is pure need.
Undeniable.
A force that demands release.
Her eyes meet mine, lit with fire, her lips curling into a smile that steals my breath. She’s devastatingly beautiful. The kind of beautiful that hits like a punch to the chest.
She tilts her head, her gaze locked on mine, and my hand moves instinctively. My fingers skim along the soft curve of her jaw, down the delicate line of her throat. Beneath my touch, her pulse races—wild and unsteady, as though her heartbeat matches mine in this moment.
I lean in, capturing her mouth in a kiss that burns. It’s a claim, a promise, a collision of everything we’ve been building toward. She melts into me with a quiet moan, her hands twisting into my shirt, pulling me closer as if she’s afraid I might disappear.
My hands find her back, tracing the length of her spine, memorizing every inch of her. She’s warm and pliant under my touch, her body arching into mine, and I’m lost in the feel of her.
The kiss deepens, a vortex pulling us under. Her lips part for me, and I take everything she’s offering, meeting her need with my own. My heart pounds in my chest, each beat echoing the urgency coursing through me.
She breaks the kiss first, her hands pressed against my chest, a gesture that’s firm but not a rejection. She pulls back, her breaths quick and shallow, and I feel the space between us like a tangible thing.
Her wide eyes meet mine, and in them, I see everything—desire, uncertainty, and a hint of fear. The smile that teased her lips earlier is gone, replaced with something raw and vulnerable.
I rest my forehead against hers, the air between us charged and humming with possibility.
“I want you,” I say, my voice rough with need, the words more a confession than a statement. “No, I need you so fucking much, Jules.”
She holds my gaze, her silence stretching until she answers in the only way that matters—her lips crashing into mine.
Her kiss steals the breath from my lungs, leaving me lightheaded, burning. She arches into me, seeking more, and I give her everything she asks for. My mouth trails down to the sensitive spot under her ear, drawing a gasp from her.
“Keane,” she whispers, and the way she says my name is almost enough to undo me.
My hands explore her curves, learning every inch of her, as though she’s a song I’ll never tire of playing. She moves beneath me, her quiet sounds of pleasure fueling the fire inside me. I capture her gasps with my lips, kissing her as though it’s the only thing keeping me alive.
I should stop. I know I should. But the way she clings to me, the way her body responds to mine—it’s impossible to pull away.
Not yet.
ChapterFifty-Two
Julianna
