“Are you laughing at Betty?” she asked in mock horror.
“Not at all,” I assured her. “I’m laughing because it’s the perfect car for you.”
“It is,” she agreed. “I love it.”
“Betty, huh?”
“Yep, and Betty the Beetle is a badass,” she joked.
Everything I learned about her made me like her more. Julia was interesting and real. It was priceless. I knew I’d never be bored with her.
After we had left the bakery parking lot, it took us just under fifteen minutes to get to my house. I quickly parked in the circular driveway and hopped out to help her out of her car. She took my hand and looked around with surprise.
“I didn’t have you pegged as a suburb dweller,” she teased.
“No?”
“Not with how much you work,” she explained. “I figured you probably lived in a condo.”
“My sister and her family live two blocks over. It made sense to buy in their neighborhood. This way I’m always around if they need me.”
She smiled up at me approvingly. “I love how close you are to your sister. I always wished I had a sibling.”
“You’ll love Jamie. She’s my best friend for a reason.”
I opened the door to the house and held it open to let her in. She looked around curiously, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“It’s so inviting and homey,” she said.
“JJ strikes again,” I laughed. “My idea of décor was a couch and table set from Ikea. She disabused me of that notion pretty damn quick.”
Julia laughed, and I took her hand again as I showed her through the house. She loved it, and I enjoyed her reaction to the house since I fully intended for it to become ours. After the tour, I took her into the living room so we could relax. We kicked off our shoes and then I turned the fireplace on. I poured us each a glass of wine before joining her on the couch.
The second I sat down next to her and pulled her into my arms, things heated up. She turned to me and lifted her head so that we were face to face. I couldn’t have resisted her if I’d wanted to – and I sure as hell didn’t want to. Since our make-out session in my car, I’d kissed her more than a dozen times over the course of the day, but this was different. Deeper and more personal, it was just the two of us connecting at the deepest level.
Our other kisses had been slower, but being alone left us both free of inhibitions. It was immediately hotter and more desperate, and I found myself on top of her, cradled between sexy thighs as I ground against her. Her hands roamed up and down my back as the kiss went on, and her little whimpers combined with the way she rubbed against me sent a clear message that my girl wanted to be with me as desperately as I wanted to be with her. My heart damn near stopped when she pulled up the hem of my shirt and ran her hands over my skin.
I ripped my mouth from hers and came up a bit so I could look down at her. “Sweetheart,” I groaned, “so fucking good.”
Julia used my new position to her advantage, bringing her hands from my back to my stomach, her hands pushing my shirt up as she ran them up my torso.
“Mm,” she murmured, “your skin is so hot to the touch.”
That was because I was on fire for her. I shuddered and ground myself against her. My hands had been at her waist, but I couldn’t keep myself from touching her. Setting my hand on her leg, I ran it up and down.
“Ryan,” she whimpered.
Never had my name sounded better.
She brought one hand out from under my shirt then traced it over my jaw as I stared down at her in wonder. The trust I saw in her eyes staggered me.
“Take your shirt off,” she pleaded. “I need to touch you."
I didn’t hesitate, quickly sitting up and pulling my shirt over my head. I tossed it onto the floor next to the couch without a second thought.
I groaned when Julia sat up and pulled her tunic up and over her head. I swallowed hard as I stared down at the creamy perfection of her skin. She was stunning. The way her full breasts filled her dark pink lace bra was stunning, and the sight of her stiff pink nipples peeking out at me behind the lace was a visual I knew I would never forget. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, until the moment she brought her hands back to me and ran them over my chest. I felt my cock weeping pre-cum and I groaned.
“Your hands feel so good on me,” I growled.
“I love the way it feels to touch you,” she breathed softly.