Page 17 of Rocker

But Phillip is shaking his head. "It's not your job to reassure me, baby girl. I'm a grown man, and it's about time I take control of my own damn life. My relationships." His eyes lift to mine, and I see his throat bob.

My bottom lip trembles, a thousand questions on the tip of my tongue. My whole heart is bursting with love and pain for what he's been through, for how he's viewed himself all these years. If I'd known…. but I had. I had known, at least subconsciously, which was why I tried to fix every single problem in his life.

"I'm more sorry than you can ever know for how I treated you, Juliet. So sorry that you were hurt when I was trying to hurt myself."

A tear finally slips down my cheek, and Phillip is on his feet instantly, crossing the room in three long strides to sink to his knees before me and wipe it away. The moment his hands are on my face, the dam breaks, and all the pain I've felt for the last days, weeks, and years comes flooding out. Phillip curls his arms around me, and I cry into his shoulder for what feels like forever. By the time I finally manage to catch my breath, I pull away to see there's a wet spot on his t-shirt from my tears. "I'm sorry," I say automatically, but Phillip gives me a sharp glare.

"You're not apologizing for a damn thing, maybe forever, Juliet." He smooths back the strands of my hair sticking to my damp cheeks. "I'm not here to ask for a second chance, baby girl. I know I haven't earned that right. I came to tell you that I'm in love with you, that I'm going to fight for you, for myself, and I'm not going to stop until they put me in the ground."

As it turns out, I'm wholly unprepared for a sweet, romantic, and considerate Phillip Lowell.

It's been a week since he showed up at Cash and Noa's, and while he had to leave almost immediately to rejoin the tour, he's been flying back to LA every chance he gets. In between, I've received a near-constant flow of heart-stoppingly romantic texts, calls, and flowers left on my doorstep. He seems to be pulling out all the stops to treat me how I deserve, and I'm still holding him at arm's length.

Even a few months ago, I would have melted into a puddle of Juliet on the spot if Phillip had sent a stylist over to the pool house with a whole selection of beautiful new dresses for me to pick from, picked me up in the very same Land Rover whose flat tire led to us meeting, and bought out an entire Michelin star restaurant for the night, just to take me on a date.

Now, well, I still melt, but the Juliet puddle also includes a whole lot of anxiety because I still haven't told him about the absolutely massive secret that is growing bigger every single day and making me vomit everything I eat.

I know I have to, this isn't something I can keep to myself, but I'm terrified that the news will make this new Phillip disappear. He's just starting to get his life under control, and I'm going to blindside him with an unplanned pregnancy? I don't even know if he wants more kids. Daisy is an adult, and for all I know, Phillip doesn't want to start over from scratch.

He's trying so hard, I know he is, but I'm doing everything I can to shield my heart from further damage. At least until after I tell him today.

"You're not going to chicken out, right?"

I glare at Noa, who is perched on the bathroom vanity, watching as I apply mascara. Phillip is due here any minute. He only has about six hours in LA before he has to get back on the jet to prepare for a show in Texas, but he totally shot down my offer to postpone tonight's date. "No. I'm not going to chicken out." Probably.

Noa raises her eyebrows skeptically. "Are you sure about that? Because you said that last time."

I did. "I'm going to." I insist, trying to ignore the churning in the pit of my stomach, which has absolutely nothing to do with morning sickness.

"I can only get Cash to keep his mouth shut for so long." She warns me. "He's going to slip up."

I open my mouth to reply, but I'm interrupted by a short knock on the pool house door, and Phillip's voice calls through. "Juliet?"

"That's my cue." Says Noa, shooting me one last meaningful look before sliding off the vanity and off through the house. I hear her and Phillip speaking quietly, but the door closes again, and we're alone.

Stepping out into the living room, my heart flutters at the sight of Phillip standing there with an enormous bouquet of peonies in hand. I'm not wearing anything special, but his gaze is hungry as it rakes over me, making heat settle in my core and wetness spread over the white lace panties I just put on. You'd think after holding onto my V-card for so long, I'd be used to taking care of myself, but that was before Phillip. Now, all I want is his hands on me, his cock stretching me open, his teeth nipping at my breasts, neck, and lips.

There's a beat, barely more than a second, where we just look at each other. Then the flowers hit the floor with a dull crinkle of paper, and Phillip is striding toward me, dragging my body into his and claiming my lips with his.

"I fucking need you, please baby girl." He growls against my lips, the hard ridge of his erection pressing insistently against my stomach.

I need him too.

Chapter Nine

Phillip

Ihadn'tplannedontoday going like this.

She's still keeping me at arm's length, still trying to protect herself, and I don't fucking blame her. I fucked this up, and she has every reason to want to go slow. I feel lucky she's letting me in the same room as her, never mind letting me try to fix this. Juliet is the most important person in my life. I don't care if it takes another week, month, or year, she's going to trust me again, and I will do my damnest to make sure she never regrets it.

Then, I look at her in her little black dress, and every ounce of willpower I've been employing goes out the window. I'm not the only one, either. The second my lips meet hers, Juliet is giving as good as she gets, and when I lean down to pick her up, she wraps her legs around my waist without hesitation, griding her greedy pussy against me.

Yeah, I'm going to fix my own shit and our relationship, but I'm also going to make her cum. A lot.

I walk back into the bedroom she just left and tilt us onto the center of the bed, still kissing desperately. Juliet whines when I pull away, her fingers tightening into my hair to keep me where I am. "I want to eat your sweet little pussy. That good with you, baby girl?" I push my hand between our bodies, a precum slicking the head of my cock when I feel how soaked she is already. "Fuck, you need this so bad, don't you?"

"Phillip-" She cries out as I slip two fingers beneath the side of her panties and into her wet heat.

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