I give her a rusty smile and head toward the kitchen. I don’t like knowing Juniper is upset and I’m not there to make it better. How it all changed so fast is beyond me, but I feel our connection throughout my whole body, all the way down to my bones.
Stepping into the small galley kitchen, I stop a few feet away from the woman who is changing everything about me. She’s facing away from me, bracing herself on the counter and taking deep breaths. When a sob escapes her throat, I can’t hold back any longer.
I move closer, hesitating slightly before resting my hand on her shoulder. Jesus, I’m no good at this intimate stuff, but I’m trying. I can be better, I know I can. Juniper just needs to give me a chance.
“Mr. Sloan,” she murmurs before sniffling.
“Vincent,” I whisper, correcting her again.
“Vincent,” she repeats, looking at me over her shoulder. My girl has unshed tears in her heartbreakingly beautiful eyes, letting me know she’s at the very limit of what she can handle. That’s okay. I’ll be right here to handle everything else, if only she’d let me.
I turn her toward me with my hand on her shoulder, wanting to somehow breach the last few inches of space between us. I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s a first for me, and I must say, I don’t like it.
Juniper doesn’t make me suffer for long. She surprises me by leaning closer, closer, closer, until her arms wrap around my waist and she buries her head into my chest. I close my arms around her, crushing her against my body.
I hold her while she cries silently, her shoulders shaking as she clings to me. Juniper trembles in my embrace, letting go of every stress, every fear, everything she’s been holding on to for so long.
“Let it out,” I whisper, trailing a hand up and down her back.
She shivers and snuggles closer, breaking something inside of me.
“I’m right here, angel.” I’m not sure where the pet name came from, but it feels right.
“I w-was so scared,” she stutters out. “I thought… I thought I lost her.”
I nuzzle into the top of her head, breathing in her sweet coconut and sunshine scent. How she manages to smell like warmth and light, I have no idea, but it’s true.
“I’ve got you,” I murmur. I have no idea what to say, but my words must be at least somewhat comforting. She relaxes the tiniest fraction, letting me smooth my hands over her back and comb her wildly beautiful hair.
“It’s always been my mom and me. She’s all I have.” Her whispered words sink down into my chest, cracking my damn heart wide open. As if I weren’t already vulnerable enough around this woman.
“You have me,” I tell her gently as I weave my fingers in her hair. Tugging at the strands slightly, I tip her head up and fall right into her eyes. They glisten with tears and are rimmed in red, but my Juniper is still the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen.
“I don’t understand,” she says hesitantly.
“Me either, but I feel it. Don’t you?” I dip my head down, hovering just inches above her lips and feeling her soft breath against my skin.
“What do you feel?”
My heart is thundering in my chest, my muscles shaking with tension and need. I’m desperate for her touch, her kiss, her sweet surrender.
“You,” I whisper before nipping her plump bottom lip. I lick the same spot, soothing away the little bite. Juniper shivers and presses herself closer to me as she fists my suit jacket. The need to mark her as mine takes hold, overshadowing every other instinct and thought in my head.
Our lips meet, briefly at first, and then again with more intention. I slide my tongue between her parted lips, swallowing down her surprised gasp. Juniper lets out the softest moan when I lick the roof of her mouth. I do it again, loving the way she shivers at my touch.
Walking us back a few steps, I pin Juniper against the counter, growling with approval when she immediately grinds down on me. The heat of her pussy makes my already hard cock swell even more, imprinting the metal zipper on my sensitive skin. It sends a jolt of pain right along with the pleasure coursing through my body.
“Fuck,” I grunt, pulling back slightly to take in Juniper’s disheveled state. With rosy cheeks, glossy eyes, and tangled hair, my angel looks more like a temptress.Mine. All mine.
Standing up on her tiptoes, Juniper winds her arms around my neck and pulls me down, sealing her mouth over mine. I love it. Love that she’s as desperate as I am. That has to be a good sign, right? I’ll make her addicted to my kisses, my touch, my everything. It’s all for her now.
I fall into Juniper’s wanton kiss, meeting her with just as much passion as she’s showing me. Drinking down her sweetness, I glide my hands down her sides and grip her hips, rocking her against my throbbing dick. She jumps and whimpers when I bump against her clit, and fuck,fuck, I think I might come from that sound alone.
I continue thrusting against her sensitive bundle of nerves, already addicted to giving this angel pleasure. Trailing my lips down her throat, I lick and nip the skin on the way. Juniper lets out a shaky breath, tipping her head back to allow me better access.
I nuzzle into the side of her neck, pausing to gather my thoughts. Juniper weaves her fingers through my hair in the most tender of touches, stroking my scalp as I breathe her in. This moment is somehow more intimate than the kiss we just shared.
Lifting my head, I peer into those clear green eyes, making sure she’s okay with everything that just happened. I’m met with a shy yet filthy smile, like we’re keeping a dirty secret. I don’t want Juniper to be a secret, but Jesus, the look in her eye is so deviant, I might have to coax it out of her again.