on some things, but you have to believe that I have my reasons. They’re not despite you—they’re for you. Everything’s always for you.”
“Julian, I don’t think—”
“Don’t think Phoebe.” Weaving his other arm through my thick hair, he pulls my head against him. “Not right now.”
“You just can’t expect…” The protest dies on my tongue as his hand finds its way under my skirt, causing me to draw a sharp breath.
“I need you. Tell me you need me too. I want to hear you say it.”
My scattered breathing is all I hear as his hand slides up my thigh. Impatient, he pulls me firmly against him. Closing my eyes, I rest the back of my head against his chest while his full lips draw circles on my skin.
“Just say it,” he whispers in my ear. “Tell me you still want me.”
My mind goes blank, and all rational reasoning is replaced by raw desire. Wrapping my hand around the back of his neck, I brush my lips against his cheek.
“I want you.” Three words are all I say as the hand on my thigh grasps the string of lace resting on my hip and tugs it down. I feel him fumble with his button, and my heart skips a beat.
Julian’s lips press against my ear once more. “Hold onto the counter.”
Releasing his neck, I tighten a secure grip onto the edge of the kitchen counter and hold my breath. His own breathing quickens as he lifts me onto my toes. With one possessive thrust, he reclaims my body as his own.
He’s home.
Eleven
Julian
The world spins beneath my feet as my breathing calms. I drop my forehead onto Phoebe's shoulder and draw air back into my burning lungs. As she melts against me with a soft sigh, I can’t help burying my face in her thick, dark hair and breathing her in.
Coconut.
I fill my head with her scent—a mix of her favorite shampoo and raw sexuality. It’s a deadly cocktail that sends all thought and reasoning straight to my dick.
As many times as I’ve fucked her, it continually surprises me how my need never diminishes. She lights a fire inside me only she can tame.
She’d scared the hell out of me.
From walking into that hospital room to walking into our home, I’ve felt her frustration and know she’s felt mine. I thought being away on the publicity tours would get my mind off what’s happening, especially in knowing Zane’s people were watching.
It’s just made me crazier.
I worry about her. I worry about our baby. I worry nothing I do will be enough for them.
It scares me to the point of taking out my frustrations on her, again. I hate the man I’ve become, but hearing her scream at me—like she’d reached the point of no return—broke me.
“Nothing, Julian. I don’t want anything from you anymore.”
I’m losing her, and the tighter I hold, the more she slips away. I’m standing in the middle of our kitchen, holding the woman I love, wondering what kind of self-sabotage I’ve done to my life.
Daniel Dalton is winning.
Suddenly, the earlier anger toward Phoebe turns inward.
Lifting my head off her shoulder, I pull her with me as I sink to the tile. Phoebe naturally molds into my lap as I lean against the cabinets. Her steady breaths rise and fall against me, and I stroke her hair, my lips pressed against her temple.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Her voice sounds so faint that I half expect her to splinter and disappear.
“For everything. For making you doubt me.”
A worried line sinks between her eyes. “Is that really what you think?”
“It’s what you said.”
“No, Julian, it isn’t.” Placing a hand on my chest, she turns to face me. “You’ve been pushing me away, and, yes, I’ve been upset, frustrated, whatever you want to label it. But I’ve never doubted you.” She frowns. “Maybe what the future holds, but never you.”
“The look in your eyes before… It was like you’d already given up.” I grit my teeth as I wait for a response—afraid of what she’ll say and of what she won’t.
Sighing, she palms my cheek. “I’m a fighter, Julian. I’ve had to be one all my life, and I don’t give up what I want easily. We’re going to fight—that’s just life. But a fight doesn’t mean I don’t love you, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean that I’m giving up on you.”
“You said you doubted what the future held.” My hold on her hips tightens. “I can’t lose you, Phoebe, but I