Page 51 of Must Love Lavender and Little Lies
Juniper arched an eyebrow at me, then unlocked the door. Pip ran to greet us, Juniper bending to pat him in welcome. When she rose again, she turned and looked at me.
“I think you need some chamomile?—”
Without thinking more, I put my arms around her and pulled her closer, kissing her passionately. I caught the light taste of rose on her lips, mingling with lemon and something sweet that was all her. I smelled the sweet scent of wildflowers in her hair and on her dress. The deeper I kissed her, the more she responded.
A soft moan emanated from her.
Mindful of my tusks, I poured myself more deeply into her, my tongue roving the inside of her mouth. But more, I wanted to taste her more. I wanted her with every ounce of me. My manhood pressed against my trousers, begging to be free. I wanted all of her. I had always seen Juniper as my friend, but the idea that one day another man may have her, all of her, made me feel sick and heartbroken. She wasmy Juniper.
My hands roved across her back, then down to her butt, where I gently gave her a squeeze. She moaned lightly in my ear.
“Granik,” she whispered.
“I don’t know. Juniper…”
“This engagement and now…”
I kissed her more deeply, my hand pressed to the small of her back. My whole body made its feelings entirely, inconveniently clear. I wanted her, but not just like this. I wanted her in every way a person could want another. The thought of some other man having her filled me with despair. She wasmy Juniper.She had always beenmy Juniper.
“Granik,” she whispered in my ear.
“Tell me to stop,” I replied.
“Tell you to stop?” she asked, her hands slipping under my shirt, untucking it as she touched the bare skin on my stomach.
“Tell me to stop,” I said, unbuttoning the top buttons of her dress.
“I… I… I can’t. I don’t know anything anymore.”
“Tell me you don’t feel something more for me, too, something that wasn’t there before, or maybe wasalwaysthere. Tell me anything, Juniper, because I don’t know what to think, and you’re always right.”
“I think… I think I?—”
But her words were interrupted by a knock on the door.
We both froze.
Juniper looked up at me. And in that moment, we came back to ourselves.
“Junie,” I whispered, suddenly horrified. What had I done? What had I been thinking? “I’m sorry, I?—”
She shook her head as if to console me. “No, Granik, it’s?—”
A knock came again.
This time, Pip jumped onto the back of the settee and looked outside. He barked cheerfully and wagged his tail.
“Juniper?” Portia called.
Juniper stepped back. “I should… Portia might have…”
I nodded. “Yeah. Right. Of course,” I said, smoothing my hair back and trying to force my throbbing member into silence. Unable to convince him that it was time to retreat, I went to Juniper’s couch and sat, pulling a pillow over my lap.
How embarrassing.
“One moment,” Juniper called as she righted herself, buttoning her dress up once more. She turned to me. “I can tell her to go. Should I tell her to go?
I shrugged helplessly.
