His head dips as he runs his tongue through me and I arch myself into him, begging him for more. I can feel his hands stroking the back of my thighs before they move to my ass. His fingers dig into my skin as his tongue dips into my pussy. I scream so close to the edge. Brian is alternating between dragging his teeth over my clit and swirling his tongue in me and I start to fall over the edge, yelling his name as I find my release.

I’m breathing heavy and barely coming down from my orgasm when I open my eyes to see Brian’s face in front of mine.

“Don’t check out on me now, babe. You’re mine for the rest of the damn night.”

Holy shit.

Chapter Twenty One

Julia

I lay there spent from the havoc Brian wreaked on my body. Every muscle in my body is deliciously sore. Feeling that connection with him again was amazing. It felt like we had never been apart. Brian’s hand skims over my stomach and I laugh as he tickles me.

“I love that sound. Besides my name pouring out of your mouth when you come, it’s my favorite.” I feel my cheeks heat. His dirty mouth gets me every time, and he knows it.

I lie next to him not really knowing what to do next. Where do we go from here? There’s no turning back now. Brian and I are together. I feel guilty knowing that I’m going to be going back to the home I shared with Dan. Maybe we should just stick to his house from now on. Everything feels so uncertain and unpredictable and that scares me. I have always been a planner. I knew where I was going and how I would get there, except right now.

Brian has always been a wild card, the one person that I could never predict. I think that’s what attracted me to him. He has this crazy personality and attitude. He is himself all the time and makes no apologies for it. I wish I were more like him, but I was bred to care what people thought of me. Keeping up appearances is a full-time, mandatory, exhausting job and Brian has always been my escape from that.

Dan never pushed it too much, but he and his family were the same way my parents were. Perfect to a fault. Not a hair out of place. Not a visible wrinkle in any attire. Never anything to show but a smile in public. Now that I look back on everything, I think it was a big reason that kept me from wanting kids as soon as we were married.

I was the kid who was never allowed to play on the floor because it was dirty. The playground was not only germ ridden, but filled with people below us. My enormous backyard was off limits because of the havoc it would wreak on my pristine outfit. As ridiculous as it is, I used to see kids playing in the rain, or walking home covered in dirt and be jealous. They all seemed so free.

“You still with me, Jules?” Brian’s voice breaks my trance and I look over at him.

“Yea, I was just thinking.”

“About what?” He leans on his propped up arm as he looks over at me.

“You, me, us. My family. Everything feels like it’s caving in.” I take a deep breath. I didn’t even intend to tell him that, but Brian has a way of putting me at ease and making me feel like I can just let everything out. Aside from Lacey, he is the only person who has ever completely known me. Most people get the polished Julia. The girl who bites her tongue, who always says the right thing, who never steps outside of the line. Brian is really the only one who has ever met Jules. I think it’s half the reason that I love his nickname for me. It makes me feel like a whole different person. Jules says whatever is on her mind, she isn’t afraid to make a mistake, and she does what makes her happy.

Brian’s hand trails over my stomach. “I know that it feels like everything is fucked up now, babe. That’s because it is.” I look over at him in confusion. “What? It’s the truth. What you need to remember is that the rainy days eventually end and the sun comes out. You just have to grab an umbrella and weather the storm. The only thing I can say to try to make it better is that you will never need to suffer through another storm on your own. I’m here and I’m never leaving again.”

I turn to face him and wrap my arms around his neck. “I can’t believe that this is real, you know? I thought that I would never see you again, much less be with you like this. People don’t get second chances like this.”

He kisses me before lying on his back and pulling me to his chest. “Well, we did get a second chance and I plan to make the best of every single minute.” I yawn against him barely able to keep my eyes open. “Go to sleep, babe. I plan to take full advantage of you every day for the rest of your life.” For the rest of my life? The fact that he just hinted at forever has me wide awake. There is no way that I will be ready to talk about that anytime soon.

I bite my tongue not wanting to talk about the subject anymore. I have barely been able to wrap my head around the fact that we are together again. As I fall asleep all I can think of are his words “for the rest of your life.”

***

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lacey’s fist slams on the counter.

“Lacey!” I look around the shop silently apologizing to my few early bird customers. “Can you keep it down? I don’t think the people in the next town heard you.”

“Keep it down? You just blew my fucking mind. I mean are you sure that he is telling you the truth? That Dan really did all of that shit?” I laugh at her frazzled state knowing the feeling times ten.

“Yea, I didn’t want to believe it myself but I can tell Brian is telling me the truth. I still don’t think I have fully accepted it and now I just have so many questions. Were there other things he hid from me? Did I really know him the way I thought I did?” I thought I had known everything there was to know about my husband until that was all torn to shreds.

“So what is up with you and Brian?” Here we go.

“We are going to give it another try.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lacey’s fist slams on the counter again.

“Lacey!” I grab her hand and lead her back into my office.

Once I shut the door she starts talking a mile a minute. “You’re giving it another try? How is that even remotely a good idea! You guys tore each other a part! You were a damn zombie for months! Why would you…how could you want to put yourself in that position again?” She plops down on my chair and runs her hands through her hair in what seems like frustration. “How do you know he has good intentions? He came here on a mission to hurt you and he was doing a pretty damn good job at it.”

“I don’t know, Lace. I can’t explain it. Even before I lost Dan, the connection with Brian was still there no matter how much I tried to deny it. As much as I hated it, I couldn’t escape it. I feel like we are right together, like we make sense. The part of me that was missing isn’t anymore.”

She looks over at me and takes a deep breath. “Okay, I just want you to be happy. You tell that damn caveman that if he hurts you again, I will hunt him down and chop his dick off myself.”

I wince. “I’ll be sure to tell him that.”

“Okay, well, I have a house to show.” She stands up and wraps me in a hug. “I’ll call you later.” The door shuts behind her and I grab my phone to text Brian and see what he is up to. I hear the door open and I laugh, “What did you forget to yell at me some more?”

When a response doesn’t come, I turn around to see a man I don’t recognize with a gun. His hand comes down over my mouth trapping my scream in my throat. Another man walks in behind him in a well put together suit. His foot kicks the door closed as the first guy backs me against the wall, his hand moving to wrap around my throat. “Don’t scream or you will regret it,” he whispers in my ear.

“Miss Fisher, how nice we finally meet, although I wish it were under better circumstances.” His voice sounds sophisticated but there is an air of danger behind it that sends chills through my body. “So sorry to hear about your husband’s sudden passing, especially since it happened before he could make good on our deal.”