Love Beyond Words (City Lights, #1)(36)

“So beautiful,” he murmured, taking her in. “My god, Natalie, you are so beautiful.”

He kissed away any reply she might have had—she had none; it was all she could do to keep breathing— and then trailed his mouth down her neck, between her small breasts. She gasped; the feel of his hair against her bare skin, brushing her collarbone, was a kind of ecstasy all its own.

He pulled away long enough to tear off his sweater, but she stopped him before he could remove the t-shirt underneath.

“Let me,” she said, echoing his words. She trailed her hands down to edge of his shirt and lifted. The meager moonlight found every hard line of his body, filled in every cut of muscle. His elegant clothing had hinted at his physique but hadn’t prepared her for the reality or what it did to her.

“God, Julian…” she encircled him in her arms, wanting to feel that body pressed to hers, a moan escaping her when it did. Soft skin and hard muscle enveloped her, the scent of his cologne stronger now and she closed her eyes, reveling in being this close to him. And then she wanted much more than to be held and kissed. I want him, right now.

“Take it off,” Natalie whispered. “Take it all off.”

Her words were the permission he must have been waiting for. He kissed her again, demanding and hard, his breath rasping in his nose. He undid the clasp of her bra and slid it off her arms to toss it aside, relinquishing her mouth in exchange for her naked breasts. She moaned at each touch; the light bite of his teeth, the pull on her nipples as he sucked and licked. Shards of electric heat radiated from under his lips; she’d never been touched like this, never imagined it could feel so good and perfect.

He encircled her waist with one arm, lifted her easily, and laid her on the bed. She sank into the softness, cool silk on her back and Julian’s warm skin everywhere else. His mouth found hers again, and their tongues slid against each other deliciously.

Clothing fell away, warm skin pressed against warm skin; they kissed and touched until the passion burning between them demanded more, demanded everything. A fresh swell of desire crashed over Natalie when she thought of what was coming next.

“Wait.” He pulled back, his voice haggard with want. He fished a condom from a box in the nightstand drawer and was deft about its application; she was hardly aware of an interruption. And then he was over her again, holding her face in his hands. She exulted in the beauty of him this close, his eyes that were filled with only her.

“My love…”

Their lips touched again, grazed and tasted and parted. And then he kissed her—the sweetest kiss of her life—as he slid inside.

She gasped at the pressure, the exquisite heaviness that filled her completely, and clung to his neck and he pushed deeper, until there was no space between them. His face crumpled with agonized restraint. “Oh god, Natalie…” he groaned and rested his forehead against hers for a moment, as if mastering himself. “Are you okay?”

She nodded quickly. “Oh yes. More than okay…” And then words failed her, thought failed her, as he began to move.

Slowly at first, a gentle rocking, a smooth rolling of his hips. More kisses, long slow kisses that mirrored the rhythm of his thrusts. Natalie luxuriated in every sensation, the heat of his mouth, the warmth of his skin, the weight of his body on hers. And between them, at their joining, a pulsing ache of pleasure that grew stronger, more potent with every movement.

Julian kept the gentle pace but she could feel the urgency in him simmering, ready to be unleashed. It mirrored her own. She returned the kiss, opened her mouth wider, wound her fingers into his silken curls to pull him to her. He drove deep inside her now, fast and hard, unbridled, free of the constraints of his conscience. He held nothing back. It was as if she could feel his every emotion and they all belonged to her.

Natalie’s own desire became ravenous; he was giving himself to her and she wanted all of him. She spread her thighs wider, tilted her hips so that he was deeper, and held him tightly as he rocked against her. Words and passages from his books floated in and out of her thoughts, whispering that all that beauty was hers now in a way she could never have imagined. It was almost too much.

They shared the same breath, his sweat mingled with hers, the ecstasy building between them like a small sun. He shuddered and thrust a final time, and the heat between them was searing.

She may have screamed or called out his name—she was too delirious to know for sure, but as the rolling swells subsided, something inside her broke loose and the damnable tears threatened again.

Julian started to move off of her, but she held him tightly, savoring the weight of him over her and inside her, strong and substantial and real.

“I’m too heavy…”

“Just for a moment,” she said quickly, but the thickness in her voice gave her away.

“What…?” He lifted his head to look at her. “Oh, my love, it’s all right. It’s just…release. I feel it too.”

She nodded, breathing deeply until she trusted herself to speak. “I just…I’ve been alone for so long.”

He smiled and kissed away her tears. “Not anymore.”





Chapter Sixteen


Moonlight cast a silvery slant over the bed and the city seemed to be sleeping outside the immense windows; the quiet was so thick. The soft susurration of Natalie’s breathing broke the silence. Julian thought he would fall asleep with her; his body felt heavy and sated. But it was too good to have her there, in his home, in his bed.