Past & Present (Love at First Sight Book 6) Read online

  Her lips pursed together as she stifled a laugh. I wondered how ridiculous my expression must have looked. I certainly felt like a deer caught in headlights.

  With a sigh, I strolled forward and snatched a pen and a blank sticky note from her stack, jotting down the address before I lost my nerve.

  “I need you to do something for me,” I said as I put her items back and handed her the note. “Every day this week, I want you to have flowers sent to this address. Charge it to my personal account.”

  I started to turn when another thought entered my mind. I ignored her look of surprise and added, “Make it different flowers every day, okay? Start with something yellow—sunflowers, maybe?—and end with red roses on Friday. A shitload of red roses. You know what? Just, uh... just shop around and send me links to what you find so I can give final approval before you send them. That’d be great.”

  Her jaw was practically hanging open when I hesitantly turned away, but I didn’t stop to hear her response or second-guess my decision to put it out there in the open. In fact, I caught myself with an almost constant smile throughout the remainder of the day.

  The smile grew even larger late in the afternoon when Juliet called.

  “Oh my goodness, you didn’t have to do this!” she cried out over the phone. “They’re so pretty.”

  I had made sure of that. Martha sent me links to some beautiful arrangements early in the morning like I asked, but I had denied all of them. I marched down to her desk and explained that cost was not a concern and I while I liked everything she picked out, I wanted bigger.

  Round two was perfection. Huge arrangements of peonies and roses and other flowers Martha raved about that I never even fucking heard of. It was perfect.

  But still not enough. Which was why I didn’t go straight home after work.

  “I’m glad you like them,” I said, casting a glance to the shopkeeper who raised an eyebrow. “Can I call you later? I’m in a meeting.”

  “Oh! I’m sorry. Yeah, call me tonight. And thank you again.”

  “Talk to you later, sweetheart.”

  I ended the call and gave the woman an apologetic smile as I said, “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s no trouble. I take it that was the woman you’re buying this for?”

  “It was,” I confirmed as I inspected the necklace closely. “I think she’ll love it. I hope so, anyway.”

  “I’m sure she will. And is that all you’re interested in purchasing today?” she questioned, her eyebrows raised high before her gaze flickered to the side.

  I’d only come for a necklace, but when I followed her gaze and caught sight of the selection of engagement rings, I swallowed hard.

  It was insane to even think about it, yet alone look at them. But even with the distance between myself and the glass case, a particular ring caught my eye and I couldn’t look away. That had to mean something. Didn’t it?

  “Maybe I’ll browse a little more first. It wouldn’t hurt.”

  The shopkeeper grinned like she damn well knew I wasn’t leaving that store without a ring.

  When I got back in my car with not one but two boxes and my bank account nearly six-figures lighter, I begrudgingly admitted that she wasn’t wrong.

  10

  Juliet had a shift early Friday which meant we were free to plan a date that night. I made sure the necklace was safe in the center console before making my way to her house, growling with irritation when my phone rang on the way there.

  The blocked calls had been coming in all week and though my curiosity was killing me, I had managed to follow my gut instinct not to answer.

  “Leave a message or stop fucking calling,” I muttered as I turned the phone off.

  I’d be with Juliet soon enough which meant the phone didn’t need to be on. The only person I cared to talk to tonight was her.

  Since both of us were pretty beat from work and Jamie was going to be out all night with his boyfriend, Juliet offered to cook dinner for me at her place. I accepted without hesitation, excited for the chance to see more of her house.

  More specifically—her bedroom. All in good time.

  I tucked the necklace box into my coat and made my way to her door, frowning when she opened the door looking slightly frazzled.

  “Dinner’s almost ready. We’ll have to eat in the living room.”

  I pouted when she turned away and rushed to the kitchen, but understood the lack of a proper greeting when the oven timer dinged a moment later. I hid the box containing her gift behind a pillow on her couch before following her path to the kitchen.

  “Why do we have to eat in the—oh. Shit.”

  I told Martha bigger and had seen the images myself, but they apparently hadn’t scaled quite right in my mind. Her kitchen table was lost beneath the multi-colored blooms. There hadn’t even been enough room for today’s delivery of three dozen red roses. It explained why they were sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

  “I love them. I really, really love every single one. But we’ve been eating in the living room for two days. I have the sunflowers in my room, but there just isn’t enough space in there for all of them,” Juliet said, laughing as she pulled something out of the oven. “Jamie says I must be really good in bed.”

  “You are, but I hope you know that’s not why I sent them.”

  She rushed over to kiss my lips before gracing me with a smile worth more to me than the flowers and the jewelry combined.

  “I know.” After her assurance, she gave me one more peck on the lips. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  I spared a glance toward the kitchen counter and cocked an eyebrow. I was so busy looking at the flowers that I didn’t even notice the fact that every inch of the countertop was covered with different types of food.

  “Jesus. How many people were you cooking for?”

  Juliet blushed. “I started cooking way too early, and in an effort to keep myself busy, I went a little overboard.”

  “I can see that.”

  “It’ll all get eaten. I’d bet that Jamie will hit the leftovers as soon as he gets home. In the meantime, help yourself.”

  She handed me a plate and we served ourselves like we were at a buffet before moving into the living room. We sat at opposite ends of the coffee table thanks to the massive bouquet of roses while a cooking show played softly on the television.

  “Watching that probably didn’t help any,” Juliet said with a chuckle as she switched it off. “It just gave me more ideas.”

  I swallowed the bite and said, “It’s fucking delicious. Seriously—better than anything I’ve eaten at the restaurants we’ve been to together.”

  “Really? Thank you so much.”

  The happy note in her voice and the look in her eye told me that my compliment meant more to her than she was letting on. After I finished chewing and washed down the latest bite with a swallow of wine, I set down my utensils.

  “This is it, isn’t it? What you wanted to go to school for?”

  She never admitted to me what she wanted to do with her life, but she had hinted that working at Edelman’s was teaching her plenty. I hadn’t understood it at the time but when she nodded and confirmed my suspicions, it all suddenly made sense.

  “You need to pursue this,” I said solemnly, crawling on my knees until I was closer to her. “If this is what you want to do, you have to do it. You can do it.”

  “But if I don’t work—”

  “Fuck Jamie,” I growled, closing my eyes to keep from seeing her angry expression. “Sorry, but he can be responsible for himself. Just… what if I help you? You can’t be pulling in that much from waitressing. What kind of expenses do you two have here that you need to cover?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “No. Don’t do this to me.”

  My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “Do what?”

  To my horror, I could see her eyes becoming glassy. What the hell had I done?

  “Don’t off
er me your money. I can’t—I won’t take it. I don’t want to be your... your paid companion.”

  Realization dawned on me and I backed away like she slapped me. Was she fucking serious?

  “You think me offering to help you translates into you being a whore? What the fuck kind of logic is that?”

  “Ethan, we have sex. You giving me money every month for bills would just—”

  “Then move in with me. Bring Jamie, I don’t care. Just... just stop looking at me like I’m trying to buy you,” I said incredulously, standing up and running my hand through my hair. “That couldn’t be further from my intention.”

  I almost cringed when I glanced at the pillow that was hiding the necklace. I bought it for her only because I wanted to, but now I was horrified at the thought of giving it to her.

  “I don’t have an agenda,” I said softly. “If I’ve done anything to make you feel like that—if the flowers were too much—please just tell me.”

  Juliet stood as well, looking down at the floor with an expression that looked a lot like shame. It made the sick feeling in my stomach lessen, but it didn’t disappear entirely.

  “I’m just not used to it. I’ve dated successful men before, but no one like you. No one who... who gave me gifts or even seemed to think of me unless we were together,” she explained, looking at me with wide eyes that begged me to understand.

  But I didn’t. How could I? I couldn’t fathom how any man could be with her and not want to give her the world.

  “Even when I’m with other people or trying to work—you’re always on my mind. I never stop thinking of you, Juliet. Never.”

  11

  I was hoping the honesty of my admission would put Juliet at ease. Instead, my stomach twisted in alarm when her lip wobbled and she covered her face with her hands as she started to cry.

  I apparently couldn’t do anything right, but that didn’t stop me from going to her and pulling her into a hug. I had no fucking idea why she was crying or how to fix it and the helpless feeling was slowly killing me.

  “Please don’t cry, angel. Please,” I mumbled into her hair. She shook from the force of her tears and my heart clenched painfully. “Fuck. I don’t know what I did.”

  “It’s not you,” she choked out between sobs. “I’m just—I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?”

  She didn’t answer right away, but I could feel her shoulders slowly starting to relax and I knew she was trying to get herself under control. That was good. She just needed to breathe. When she spoke, it was muffled by my chest.

  “I’m sorry for thinking you were anything like the others.”

  Oh thank God. There had been a brief moment of terror when I was convinced she was going to say something that would break my heart right after I had managed to put it back together for her.

  For her. It hit me like a load of bricks.

  “Juliet.” She didn’t resist when I pulled away and cupped her chin, tilting her head up so I could meet her eyes. “I don’t want to pay you for sex. I asked if I could help you because I want to help you. I want you to be happy. To follow your dreams.”

  The three words I had whispered against her forehead were on the tip of my tongue, but she placed a finger over my lips and stopped me. I frowned as she gave me a watery smile.

  “I know. And I’m sorry for ever thinking otherwise,” she said, pausing to sniffle. “You scare me, you know.”

  “Because I’m so big?” I mumbled against her finger, my lips quirking when she laughed.

  “No. No, I like that.” Juliet looked away for a moment and took a shuddering breath. “It’s not you. Not really. It’s how fast I fell for you. That’s what scares me.”

  I gripped her wrist gently and pulled her finger from my lips.

  “Believe me. I know exactly how you feel.”

  “You do?”

  She seemed stunned and I couldn’t help but to laugh and shake my head.

  “Of course I do. Do you think I would have sent this many flowers to someone I wasn’t falling for?” Her jaw dropped and that look of adoration returned. “I love when you look at me like that. And I love you, Juliet.”

  She threw her arms around my neck and I lifted her from the floor, resisting the urge to spin her around in fear of knocking over the roses. She pulled her face away from my shoulder, her eyes looking frantically between mine.

  “I love you, too. God, I thought I was crazy. It is crazy to feel like this so soon.”

  “Yeah. I think my idea to get to know each other worked a little too well.”

  “Seems that way. Not that I’m not happy about it.”

  I put her down, ignoring her protests so I could cup her face in my hands and kiss her tenderly. It felt so right that I didn’t want it to end, so I kept it as light as possible.

  But when she slid her tongue into my mouth and pressed herself up against me—all bets were off. The kiss became hungry and aggressive, the desire to take her growing stronger.

  We broke apart and she gasped while I panted heavily. Her eyes were hooded, pupils blown wide with lust. Fuck, I wanted her more than I ever wanted anything in my entire life.

  “I need to be in you. Right now.”

  “My bedroom is—”

  “No. Now.”

  Juliet squealed in surprise when I grabbed her and backed up until I was sitting on the couch with her in my lap. With a grin, I manhandled her until she was straddling me with a knee on either side and thrust up against her. Her head tipped back and the most beautiful moan I’d ever heard escaped her pretty lips.

  “So gorgeous,” I whispered as I pulled down the top of her dress. “And all mine.”

  She moaned again when I sucked a nipple into my mouth and rolled the stiff bud between my teeth. While my mouth was busy, I used my hands to hike up the dress. I froze, removing my lips from her breasts with a pop.

  “No underwear at all?”

  Juliet shrugged. “Well, we agreed to stay in tonight and it’s not like they weren’t going to come off eventually anyway.”

  “Easy access,” I said with a hum of approval as I dipped a finger into her tight pussy. “I like it.”

  “More,” she begged as she ground down against my palm.

  I gave her two more fingers and continued biting and sucking at her nipples while she desperately tried to undo my slacks. Once the zipper was down, I raised us both and we worked together to shimmy them down until my cock was free.

  Juliet wasted no time. She shoved my shoulders and pinned me against the couch with a wild look in her eyes before lining me up at her entrance. I gripped her hips as she started to sink down, grinding my teeth together to keep from bucking up into her when she paused to adjust.

  By the time I was balls deep, I could feel a bead of sweat on my forehead. It was clear that she needed a moment, so I used the time to raise her dress up and off her body, slinging it behind us before running my hands over her bare skin.

  Her finger twisted into the lapels of my jacket and I thought her intention was to undress me in return. When she surprised me by using it as leverage instead as she begun to ride me, a groan rose from low in my throat.

  “You’re so huge,” she panted as she rolled her hips at a slow, deliberate pace. “It feels so fucking good.”

  I wanted to beg her to go faster, but all I managed to choke out was, “I love you.”

  Her hands framed my face and she whispered, “I love you, too.”

  Then she was leaning over to smash our lips together and she bounced her hips up and down so fast I knew I wasn’t going to last.

  In the back of my mind, I was looking forward to the day when we lived together. Regularly fucking her would undoubtedly increase my stamina.

  As it was—I was almost ready to pop and I wasn’t sure how long I could hold myself off this time. Not with her riding me like I was her prize fucking stallion.

  With a growl, I gripped her hips and pulled her flush against me, holding her
in place and ignoring her whimpered protests. Before she could speak, I was pushing myself up and turning until her back was lying on the cushions of the couch.

  I kept one foot on the floor and one knee on the couch as I lifted her legs and started to thrust. I kept my movements slow as I adjusted her legs at slightly different angles until I finally saw her eyes pop open and she squealed with pleasure when I found the spot I was looking for.

  “There we go,” I muttered as I started pounding her hard. Her squeals turned into screams and I could feel myself grinning. “Like that, do you?”

  “Oh fuck, YES! Don’t stop, don’t stop!”

  “I won’t. Not—not until you come.”

  Which was hopefully going to happen in the next sixty seconds because my balls were already drawing up to my body, ready to blow.

  I didn’t know whether it was just the perfect stimulation of her g-spot or if her body was just that in tune with mine, but it was only a matter of moments before I could feel her fluttering around me. Her back arched off the couch and I felt the muscles in her legs spasming in my hands.

  “Juliet. Fuck, fuck, fuck—I need you to come. I need you to come on me right now,” I pleaded.

  I couldn’t stop my thrusts from becoming erratic. I was losing control. So close. So fucking close.

  I propped one of her legs on my shoulder and desperately rubbed at her clitoris, groaning with delight when I felt her immediately soak my cock with her juices. There was so much heat and she was so fucking slick that I couldn’t hold back any longer.

  I slammed to the hilt and shouted her name as it released in a white-hot rush. The pulsing of my cock felt like it lasted forever. As soon as I came down from the rush of climax, I was damn near ready to pass out.

  I gingerly pulled out and forced her legs closed, attempting to remove her from the couch before my jizz leaked out and stained the brown fabric. I eased us both down to the floor instead, leaning back against the couch for support. I was more than willing to clean up the mess from the linoleum if it meant five minutes of not moving.