Page 50 of Unpacking Secrets
As tempted as I’d been to tug her back into my arms after letting Blue outside, it was clear that she wanted to get solid ground back under her feet.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t really know how this kind of thing goes,” she said, waving her hand between us.
My brows lifted as I waited for her to continue. When she stayed silent, I murmured, “What kind of thing?”
“This. Us. I’ve never had a . . . casual relationship.”
I drew a sharp breath as her words struck home. Did she think I was just sticking around for a roll in the hay?
“Oh, Juliet,” I said gently, reaching over to cup her face in my hand. “My feelings for you are anything but casual. If I’ve given you the impression that they were, I really, truly apologize.”
“Oh,” she said in a small voice, then a little louder, “Oh.”
She jerked slightly then, as though startled, and her cornflower eyes searched my expression for a moment. A flash of something that might have been panic crossed her face.
“Easy,” I said, keeping my tone light even as I wondered why that would frighten her. “I’m not pushing anything, I hope you know that. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
Juliet sucked in a deep breath, but she nodded while she let it out. “I didn’t think you were pushing, I just . . . I don’t have a great track record with relationships of any kind, period. You know about my ex, and the ones before that weren’t much better.”
I stroked her cheek gently, a soft movement meant to soothe. Maybe her admission shouldn’t have made me want to sucker-punch the past partners who’d hurt her, but it did. Especially the one who’d proposed on her mother’s deathbed.
On the other hand, I couldn’t ignore my relief at the fact that things hadn’t worked out between them.
I was dedicated to making sure we were both clear about exactly what she deserved, and I was more than willing to let her determine how she wanted this to play out, even if she worried it was my heart at risk rather than her own.
“If you’re not sure about anything, you say the word and it stops. Physical or emotional. What you want is important to me. I’m not asking you to profess your undying love, I just need us to be clear on what you want.”
The smile she gave me was heartbreakingly vulnerable, so I rubbed my nose against hers until a soft laugh escaped her lips.
“So, are we getting dressed, or do you want me to kiss you some more?”
“Oh, I want you to kiss me some more,” she said, tossing the shirt aside and rising to her knees so she could throw one leg over and straddle my lap.
“Excellent choice.”
She draped her arms around my neck, her nipples brushing my chest as that smile blossomed into an expression of exquisite promise. “Then I guess we’ll see where things end up.”
“I like the sound of that.”
In fact, as my hands explored the softness of her skin, I could think of nothing better than following her lead.
Twenty
Juliet
Sometimelater,wemoved to the bedroom, parting only long enough for Henry to let Blue back inside.
We paused just inside the door, still wrapped around one another. When a few minutes of pathetic whining at the bedroom door still didn’t gain her an invitation to join us, the dog’s footsteps padded back to the living room for the night.
I discovered soon enough that Henry had very much meant it when he said he wouldn’t rush or pressure me, even now that things had progressed—the man had the patience of a saint. That wasn’t to say he wasn’t an active and enthusiastic participant, but something about knowing he wanted me to set the pace gave me a heady sense of power.
As a result, I grew bolder with each passing minute, with each kiss and caress that spurred that raging fire into a million individual flames burning so hot I thought I might melt.
And, when I did, Henry was right there to catch me.
He swept me into his arms as he had in the forest and laid me on the bed, stretching out alongside me.
