Layers Off (16 page)

I followed Julian’s guiding arm. In between the trees, more lights shimmered. The carnival music got louder with each step until we reached a carousel from a fair. I knew the ride wasn’t a permanent fixture in the park and wondered whether Julian had specifically had it set up for us.  The horse figures spun around in a slow rhythm, some bopping up and down. An older gentleman stood by the controls, smiling. He extended his arm and motioned us inside just as the last spin slowed to a stop.

“I can’t believe you did this.” I sat down in the horse-drawn carriage, where a blanket had already been set. “You know, I always thought I’d go back out into the world by going to a store, or maybe a restaurant, but I never thought I’d step into a fairy tale first.”

He kissed my lips, leaving the warmth of his skin behind. When in the world had he found the time to arrange all this?

“You deserve it, K. You’ve put up with way too much these past few months. Fairy tales aren’t even enough. I want to make all your dreams come true.”

They already have,
I thought, leaning against his shoulder.

Arm in arm, we rode the carousel around without saying a word. Once it stopped, the older gentleman brought up a basket and left. Julian opened the cover as I watched with anticipation, to see whether perhaps next he’d pull a rabbit out of a top hat he’d hidden somewhere.

The smell of fried homey food hit my nose and I felt my stomach grumble.

“It’s only fries, chicken burgers, Caesar salad and fruit.”

“Only? Are we staying overnight?” I laughed.

“We can do anything you want, K.” He reached inside and passed me a burger.

We stayed in our seat, underneath the blanket, munching on our food. The change of scenery from our house to this park definitely lifted my spirits. It assured me I could step out into the world and have a regular life; even though with Julian, the definition of regular was always extravagant. Over the past months, my thoughts about the first time I’d go out had scared me, each time making me wonder what else could happen to destroy my life. But then again, I’d been abducted from home, so were we truly safe anywhere? The only time I felt safe was in Julian’s arms.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am it’s all over,” he said as he leaned back and sipped on his coke.

The relief on Julian’s face and in his relaxed shoulders made him so vulnerable. It was a rare sight. He rarely let his guard down or allowed himself to relax.

“I’m glad Allie’s safe too,” I said.

“I have something else for you.” He removed a small box from the inside of his jacket pocket.

“Please don’t tell me you’re proposing.” I looked around to see whether there was a church nearby. After the stunt Tristan pulled with Allie, proposing minutes before their wedding, nothing would surprise me from the Cross brothers. However, I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment.

Julian laughed. “I promise I’m not. Open it.”

I lifted the cover. Inside was a set of car keys.

“You got me a Beamer?”

“The lease on your car ended while you were... away. And I’m sure you’ll want to start getting back into the swing of normalcy. I wanted to get you a Bentley, but I know you like these more.” He pointed to the keys.

“Julian, this is too much.” I handed back the keys.

“Why?”

“I can buy my own car, you know, once I get the club going.”

“The club’s been running smoothly, K. You’ve seen the financials. But I know you’d like to reinvest the earnings.”

“I’ll accept this only if you let me pay back.”

He thought about that for a moment. “Fine, but I say when that will be.”

I had a feeling I wouldn’t get a better deal than that, and I also knew I wouldn’t hear about paying him back until snowmen could survive in a summer heat wave.

“Ready to go out on your own?”

“I don’t know. I want to be ready, but I’m afraid of the triggers we talked about.” My doctors had said anything could cause a relapse, including places, sounds, and actions. I wasn’t afraid to step out, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fear the triggers that could jolt my memories.

“I need to know whether you are because I have to go to Washington next week. It’ll be for a few days,” Julian said. “You’ll have the house all to yourself.”

“And you’re trusting me not to turn it into a dump?”

“I’ve always trusted you, K, and I’ll be a phone call away. Tristan is next door if you need to get in touch with him. Will you be all right with me gone?”

“I’ll miss you. You’ve been my anchor. But of course you should go.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I will always be your anchor, K. But I’ll try to find you a replacement anchor while I’m gone.”

Julian held a mischievous look. His eyes, framed by those long lashes, shone with excitement until I asked, “What’s in Washington?”

He considered my question for a moment before he answered. “Mostly business.”

I cocked my head to the side. Julian still looked as tired as he had when he’d come home, and it seemed my question added a layer of worry to his face. He finally exhaled, saying, “If I get the answers I seek while I’m away, so will you. I promised in Vienna to help you put your past behind you, and I’m a man of my word.”

I wondered what Washington had to do with my past; and now I was convinced that whatever answers Julian was looking for involved my father more than me. After all, he was the one who’d worked there.

Julian covered his mouth, forcing back a yawn.

“Thank you for taking me out. I love this.” I looked out into the distance. “But you’re tired and we should get home.”

“Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could find the strength to argue with you.”

Julian packed up the remaining food into a compartment on his bike, and we were on our way. Once we had parked in the garage and the engine’s rumble underneath me stopped, I pulled away. Robbed of Julian’s warmth, new emptiness filled me. Part of me wanted the gentle vibrations between my legs to return, but another part needed more. The insistent throb in my panties practically begged him for more. Just the thought of having Julian touch me again made me slick. I hopped off the bike, only to lift my leg over the front, straddling the seat so that I faced Julian. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my mouth to his. His mouth opened invitingly, accepting my lips and tongue as if he’d been waiting for them for centuries. I removed his helmet and weaved my fingers into Julian’s soft hair.

When I pulled away, his eyes had already darkened with lust.

“Thank you for everything tonight,” I said. “Sometimes I wonder ho...”

He shut me up by covering my mouth with his, and I forgot what I was about to say. Julian unzipped my jacket, slipped it off my shoulders, and tossed it aside.

He curled his hand underneath my neck, forcing me backward. I lay down over the fuselage, my head resting on the odometer between the handles. The spot was oddly more comfortable than I would have expected it to be.

Julian’s finger grazed the hollow of my neck before sliding down the center to the zipper on my shirt. He drank in the sight of my rising breasts before unfastening. Need flowed on his every breath as the shirt fell open, exposing my lacy black bra.

“There’s no way I can make it to the bedroom without having you, K.”

The promise rolled through my body like a bowling ball headed down between my legs where that one pin was waiting to be knocked off. Julian lowered himself on top of me. My legs lifted higher as my ass pressed right against his crotch. His weight over my body and down against my pelvis felt comfortable and arousing at the same time. Grateful for the bike’s size, I leaned my head to the side. He nuzzled at my earlobe before trailing his searing lips down my neck, under my chin, and onto my nearly exposed cleavage. His fingers dug into my splayed thighs, and he began kneading my muscles, traveling upward to my hips and my ribcage.

Julian gripped my bra with his teeth, pulling it down, and lowered his mouth over my nipple. His tongue swirled around it, suckling gently at first, teasing me, letting the sensation flow through my body and settle at the most sensitive areas. I already knew where this would lead, and Julian knew how to play with my breasts to get the desired outcome. And when he finally clasped his teeth around the stone-hard nipple, gently rolling his tongue over the tip before pulling up and letting go, I pushed my hips higher toward him, needing the building ache to release. The helmet hanging on the bike’s handle fell to the floor, but Julian didn’t seem to worry.

“Easy baby,” he said before lowering himself off the bike. “Stay there.” Julian’s commanding tone made me wonder what he was up to. His breaths were heavy and deep, lips swollen from kissing my breasts.

He flicked his fingers over my jeans and I felt them loosen. Grasping the waistband at my hips, he yanked them off me, right on that bike, leaving me in my panties, loose bra, and an open shirt. For a moment I wondered how he got my boots off too, as I was sure my feet were now bare. A gust of wind swept through the garage, sprinkling shivers over my arms and legs. I hadn’t even noticed the garage wasn’t closed yet. Julian pressed a remote control in his pocket and the double doors rolled down, sealing off the cold winter air. Moonlight filtered through the glass windows at the top, lighting the garage in gray and white tones. With another click on his phone, heated air flowed from the ducts overhead, ruffling Julian’s hair. Even in his exhausted state, he looked like he stepped out of my wildest dreams. With his attention back on me, Julian lifted my hips and gently pulled my entire body forward so that my back rested flat on the motorcycle.

He lowered himself behind the bike, right where my ass was nestled at the edge, disappearing from my view. His hand guided my dangling foot to his lips and he skimmed my toes, slowly trailing his hot kisses up my calf and inner thigh. When he finally lifted my legs over his shoulders and I felt his breath near my panties, a shudder of delight swept across my body. I couldn’t get enough of his touch. Hooking his finger into my underwear, he tugged them off my hips.

“You’re so fucking wet, K,” he breathed into me.

His words were like something you’d hear in a porn movie – and filled with confident desire. And they were enough to wet me even more between my legs. The pull of his finger from my soaked opening to between my folds, up and then down, had my thighs tensing and hips writhing on that bike. I could feel his warm breath so close. I reached above my head, stretching out as if by some miracle I could control what he did to me – which I couldn’t. Julian held the reins. He expertly dominated the feelings that were exploding inside me, limiting my movement with a slight pressure from his palms against my ass cheeks, or flat down on my belly. He played around my hole, circling his finger on its rim, and then gently inserted one inside me.

I squeezed around him, feeling that one finger wouldn’t be enough. I needed
him
inside me. And then the second finger joined in. He did something magical there, rubbing against my front inner wall. That exquisite contact exploded from there, directing a zap toward my clit. At the same moment his mouth closed around my swollen folds, licking just below where I needed him.

My shattered voice was not my own as I heard my moans echo through the garage.

“Higher, please.”

“I know, K. Patience.”

But how could I be patient? His tongue swirled so deliciously close, licking me up and down and back up, yet not high enough. The frenzy inside me had my hips pushing up into his mouth until he clasped my clit and flicked it feverishly, stopping every few seconds with a gentle lick. The sound of his mouth on me cut the last strings that were withholding my release, and he sucked the orgasm from within. I let go and erupted into his mouth. My legs shook and hands gripped my own breasts because there was nothing else to hold onto.

The jitters continued for a while before dissipating.

Julian slowly trailed his kisses up along my belly, through the valley between my breasts, to my neck until he reached my mouth. I tasted the remnants of my own juices, hot and sweet, his tongue swirling through my mouth as if it were still down between my legs. This only awakened another tingle down there and I felt my thighs tense. I was already preparing for another round. I couldn’t get enough of him, his thick cock, and fondling hand rubbing my pussy in gentle circles.

He stood at the bike’s side. I drew my hand to his jeans where that curved bulge strained from underneath. Lifting my leg over the bike to one side, I used his arms to sit up, and unzipped his jeans. Pulling them off his hips with such an erection wasn’t easy. I made a mental note of getting him naked first the next time. When they slid lower, I was surprised to see Julian wasn’t wearing any underwear. This was very unlike him.

“Not enough time to get dressed this morning?” I teased.

“Thinking ahead and limiting the number of clothing articles you’d need to get off me.”

That’s when I noticed he wasn’t wearing any socks either. They were already on top of his boots at the side.

“Are you saying I should go commando more often?”

His brow lifted as Julian smirked. “A very interesting thought, K.”

Once his jeans fell to his ankles, he stepped out of them. Julian removed my shirt from my shoulders, whispering, “Want to do the honors?” as he handed me a foil packet.

What I really wanted to do was take his length in my mouth to taste that glistening drop of pre cum on his tip and play with his balls in my hands. I sat back on the bike and grasped his shaft in my hand, stroking it slowly from the base up, looking right up into his eyes to see the pleasure it gave him.

Julian’s abs sank as he sucked in a breath.

I ripped the corner of the foil with my teeth and heard Julian catch his breath. Placing the rubber circle on his crown, I rolled it down.

“Stand up, K. And turn around.”

I followed his lead and leaned over the side of the bike, wiggling my ass for him.

“So beautiful,” he said, his hand already between my legs getting me ready, spreading the dampness around.