Page 28 of Riding Hard

I come, and it’s so intense my entire body trembles. My vision blurs, and that’s when he slams into me so hard that my vision doesn’t just blur. I actually see stars. Beautiful sparkling stars.

He stills.

I feel his cock twitch, then he lets out a groan before he releases his grasp on me. He folds over my body, burying his face in my neck, and I feel his lips touch the side of my throat. He moans against my skin, his tongue sneaking out to taste me.

“Better than I imagined,” he murmurs.

Wrapping my arms around him, I wonder if this could be anything real? I’m not sure it is. It feels like it’s a dream. Like it’s my imagination playing tricks on me. I can’t trust myself, and I just threw so much caution to the wind that now that I’m coming back to earth, I’m worried that I just fucked everything up for myself.

I don’t know what to say. I’m afraid that I’m going to break the spell, that I’m going to mess everything up, so I don’t speak. I just hold on to him, wondering if my hands fall away, will he just vanish?

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FOUR

LOOT

Reluctantly, I slip from inside her body before falling to the side, landing on this shitty-ass mattress with a loud squeak. A silence falls over us, and while it’s comfortable enough for me, I highly doubt that she’s feeling the same.

I’m a stranger, and judging by her reactions, the hitches in her breath, her widening eyes, the way her lips part in awe—this isn’t something she does… ever. Twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have even thought about what she’s feeling, what she’s been through, what she’s seen.

But the pull with Juliette is stronger than anything I’ve felt in my fifty years on earth. Wrapping my arms around her, I do something I probably shouldn’t, or maybe it just feels like I shouldn’t, because I never have, not even with Destinee.

I drag her across the bed and settle her against my side. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to stay here, but this is where I want to be right now—with her pressed against me, both of us naked.

I feel her fingers trace one of the tattoos on my chest, and I grunt at the sensation, which sends goose bumps all over my flesh. I fucking like it. Which means I need to know how she ended up here and why she looks over her shoulder at every given second, expecting something or someone to jump out at her.

“Tell me, Juliette,” I demand.

“I like it when you call me Jules. Nobody has ever called me that before,” she whispers, almost so low that I miss it.

Lifting my hand, I glide my fingers along her cheek, then through the side of her hair, tangling them in the strands before I tug her head back slightly. Turning my head, I look down at her, my eyes finding hers.

“Then that’s what I’ll call you,” I murmur.

I don’t know what the fuck this is, but whatever it is, I like it. I like having her right here, pressed against me. Her soft, warm body, her blue eyes. She’s long and lean, but it doesn’t take away from her feminine softness. I didn’t know this was what I’ve been missing.

“Tell me, Jules,” I repeat, knowing that she’s avoiding my question.

“I don’t want to,” she whispers.

“Why?”

She places her palm against my chest, trying to push up, but I don’t let her. I keep her where she is. Enjoying the way she feels far too much to allow her to leave or even put an inch of distance between us.

“Because if I tell you, then whatever this is, it will never happen again.”

I can’t imagine what she could tell me that would change what just happened between us or make me not want to do it again, because even though I’m not sure I could get hard right this second, I’m already thinking about working my way back up.

“Try me.”

“You don’t know me,” she breathes.

I snort, my gaze searching hers. “We don’t know each other, babe. We’re gonna work backward here, mainly because I’m an animal and I couldn’t keep my eyes and hands off you.”

Her lips curve up into a small smile, and I can’t help but wonder just how out-of-this-fucking-world amazing she would look if her whole face lit up. The darkness behind her eyes doesn’t ever go away, not even when she’s coming.

“It’s the age-old tale,” she begins. “Girl meets boy, boy is an asshole, girl runs, boy chases, and the story replays on a loop.”