L.A. Fire (36 page)

 
“Julian,” I said in a warning tone. “You’re totally spoiling me. I’ll never be
able to drink a regular bottle of wine again.”

 
Julian swept down toward me and brushed my lips with his. Then he pulled back
slightly, the expression in his eyes intense and serious. “I love pampering
you,” he said. “I want to give you everything you’ve ever desired. And I want
to take care of you, Sarah.” He brushed his lips against mine again, then
pulled my hair off my shoulder and kissed my bare neck. “Will you let me take
care of you?” he asked, his eyes back on mine again.

 
I lowered my eyes, and let out a long sigh. A moment later I flicked my eyes
back to his and looked at him pleadingly. “Julian, I need you to lean on me
too. I can’t just let you take care of me and not give you the same in return.”

 
Julian crouched down beside me, and grabbed my hands, giving them a squeeze. “Remember
how you told me you wanted me to be honest with you? Wanted me to open up to
you?”

 
I nodded. His eyes suddenly became hard. “I told you before that my family went
through some financial hardship when I was a kid. We got over it, but I’ll
never forget how it made me feel. This was before my dad made it big as a
producer. He was struggling, and in debt. He couldn’t give my mom the kind of
life he wanted for her. In fact, she had to take a degrading retail job with a
tyrant boss who harassed her all day.” Julian paused for a moment, and his face
tensed up. “It’s not that she couldn’t handle it. She could. She was a strong
woman. And she wasn’t against working hard. But she wanted to raise us. To take
care of her family. That’s what she wanted for herself. I hated that her work
took her away from us. I hated that she came home every day feeling dull and
worn out. And it just killed my dad that he couldn’t provide for his family
enough that his wife could stay at home and raise their children.”

 
Julian stood up, his face still strained, and poured himself a glass of wine.
“I remember feeling helpless. I wanted to see both of my parents happy, but
especially my mom. And I vowed to myself that if I ever made good money, I’d
take care of the people I loved.” Julian took a step toward me and slowly ran
his finger along my jaw line. “The truth is, Sarah, that the thing that I need,
the thing that I crave, is for those I love to lean on me. To let me take care
of them.”

 
I took a sip of my wine and let what he was saying to me sink in. I could feel
him eyeing me closely, and I lifted my head to meet his gaze. “But who takes
care of you, Julian?” I asked.

 
He let out a long sigh. “When you show me that you trust me enough to lean on
me, you’re taking care of my needs. You wanted me to be honest and open up to
you. Well this is me being honest. I need those I love to lean on me.”

 
My heart suddenly swelled when I realized what he was saying to me. “Are you
tell me that you’re– ”

 
“In love with you,” he finished, his features darkening, and his eyes fervent.
I started shaking. My eyes were glued to his, and understanding passed between
us. I saw him swallow hard, and his usually impassive face contorted with
strong emotion. He loved me. Julian McGregor was in love with me. I felt my
throat constrict painfully, and then tears started welling up in my eyes.

 
Then the words came out of my mouth without any hesitation. “I love you, too Julian,”
I choked out, my voice trembling. He let out a long, shuddering breath, then
growled, and took a swift step toward me. Then he swooped me up into his arms.
He clenched his fist in my hair and sealed my mouth with his. My lips trembled
beneath him, and then my whole body shook in his arms.

 
“I’m taking you upstairs,” he said, his soft, warm breath gusting against my
face.

 
“What about dinner?” I asked, gesturing toward the spread on the table.

 
“Dinner can wait,” he said. “This can’t.”

 
Julian carried me upstairs, and placed me gingerly on the bed. He stood over
me, staring at me for a long moment, his eyes soft, and lingering over every
inch of me. Then he started gently, reverently undressing me, taking off my
lace dress, then my bra and panties. I kneeled up on the bed and hungrily
reached with my lips for his mouth. We pressed our lips hard against each
other, and then our tongues were entwined, thrusting into each other’s mouths
first playfully, then with wanton abandon, both of us moaning and urgently
pulling ourselves closer. My need to feel his hard, muscular chest against me
was overwhelming.

 
Acting on my needy impulse, I ripped open his linen shirt, sending the buttons
flying. Julian chuckled slightly, then help me slide him out of his shirt. I
rubbed my hands ravenously up and down his ripped chest, then pressed my lips
to it, creating a long, slow trail of my mouth from his stomach down to his
crotch. As I started unbuttoning his khakis, I could see his cock was already
hard and straining against the material of his shorts. With a few gruff
movements, I slid down his shorts, letting them pool at his feet, and then his
magnificent cock was in my hand.

 
I fisted him at the root, and started working my hand up and down his shaft. He
made a moaning noise, and his face tensed up with ferocious lust. I stared up
at him as I vigorously worked his cock, watching his eyes close, listening to
his breathing become labored and rapid, and reveling in the power I had to
please him. As he writhed with pleasure in my hands, I slid from the bed to the
floor, and started flicking my tongue against the crown of his length. He
tasted salty and hot, and I was impatient for more of him. When I took him into
my mouth, my jaw eagerly opened wide to receive him.  He let out a low
growl, and started thrusting into me. Still fisting him at the root, I took him
to the back of my throat, delighting in every plunge of his cock into my hot
and quivering mouth. When I felt the first squirt of precum, I quickly licked
it up and moaned against him, sending a vibration through his cock that made
him gasp. He reached down for my breasts and started tugging and rolling my
nipples, sending heavenly jolts of ecstasy coursing through my body.
     

 
“I’m going come. Into your hot little mouth,” Julian grunted. I started working
my jaw harder, sliding my mouth furiously up and down his shaft. Julian kept
thrusting, faster and faster, until he finally exploded into my mouth, his hot,
salty cum splattering in the back of my throat. I reveled in the taste of him,
reveled in the fact that I could do this to him. Make him cum this long and
hard. When I’d finally sucked him clean, he lifted me up from my knees and
pressed me against his chest. His whole body was trembling, and he squeezed me
tightly to him. “God, Sarah,” he said. “You’re fucking incredible. An absolute
dream come true.”

 
I moaned against him and whispered, “You are too, Julian. You’re just too good
to be real.”

 
Julian pulled back to look at my face, and his eyes were tender and reverent,
sending warmth flooding through me. “This is real, Sarah,” he said. “And I’m
not going anywhere. I love you, and I’m going to take good care of you.”

 
I felt my lower lip start to tremble. When Julian saw my reaction, his eyes
filled with heat, and he leaned into me, and gently took my lip between his
teeth. I whimpered slightly as he parted my lips with his tongue, then dipped
it in my mouth, taking long savoring licks. I laced my fingers through his hair,
urging him closer. Julian slid his hands down along my waist, then cupped my
buttocks, pressing my sex against his. I started rubbing myself shamelessly
against him.

 
He groaned, and I felt his cock get hard again. “I can’t get enough of you,” he
whispered into my ear, then lay me down on the bed, taking a nipple into his
mouth. It instantly became hard again as he expertly circled the peak with his
tongue, sending thrills through my body and making me ache for more. As I
moaned and writhed beneath his touch, he plunged his finger inside me, gently
thrusting in and out. “You’re so aroused,” he said, his eyes darkening. With
one swift movement, he slid down off the bed so that his head was between my
legs. He spread me wide open, and I heard his breath quicken. “I love looking
at your hot little cunt,” he said, stroking my folds with his finger, running
it up and down my clit, making me shiver with delight.

 
“Please, Julian,” I said, rolling my hips in response to his touch. He chuckled
slightly, then kissed my mound, gently but possessively.

 
“I’m going to take care of your beautiful cunt,” he said. “I’m going to
pleasure it and savoring it.” Then he flicked his tongue hard against my clit,
sending a sharp jolt of delight pulsing through me. I spread my legs wider,
eager for him to take me. He chuckled triumphantly, then stroked my clit with
long, sultry licks. I heard my breathing become ragged as he licked me harder,
more insistently, bringing me close to the brink. He must have known when I was
about to come, because each time I reached the threshold, he brought me back
down again, showing me that he was in charge of my pleasure. In those moments,
he owned my pussy, owned me, owned my desire, and he knew it and wanted to make
sure I knew it too.

 
He pulled his mouth away and said, “This time I’m going to let you come, Sarah.
You’re going to come just for me.” His licks at first were long and lingering.
He teased me with his tongue, making my need tighten. Soon I was writhing, aching
for release. Every stroke of his tongue was a delicious thrill that brought me
maddeningly close to orgasm. When I was coiled as tight as I could get, he
started flicking his tongue furiously, giving me the release I was ready to beg
for. He finally sent me over the edge, and I pumped my hips against him as
ecstasy roared through my veins.

 
When the last tremor passed through me, Julian slid up to me and started
savoring my neck, waiting for my breathing to become more even. When I finally
settled down, he pulled my back up against his warm chest, and started stroking
my hair. I snuggled into him, reveling in the feel of his strong arms
enveloping me, caging me in, holding me close. “I want to spend every night
like this,” he whispered in my ear. I twisted around in his arms and smiled up
at him.

 
“I’m addicted to you,” I said. “And there’s no way I’m going to be able to
quit.”

 
Julian’s eyes sparkled with delight, and he started stroking my hair. “Good.
Because I can’t quit you either. I don’t want to.” His expression became
serious all at once. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to give you,” he
said, gently pulling himself out of my arms and to his feet. He walked over to
his antique dresser, pulled open a drawer, and started rummaging inside.
 A moment later he returned to the bed, and opened his fist. A key. My
breath instantly caught in my throat. “This is for my place,” he said.

 
I had a vision of Megan coming over to return the key, and I instantly felt a
flash of jealousy and apprehension. “Is that the one Megan returned?” I asked.

 
Julian shook his head. “No,” he said. “I had a new one cut. I’m superstitious
that way. I don’t want anything that was Megan’s have a place in our
relationship.”

 
I relaxed for a moment, but then suddenly the uncomfortable knot I’d felt in my
belly while talking to Megan at the premiere returned. “Are you giving me this
key as a substitute for you revealing yourself to me?” Julian gave me a
peculiar look. “If that’s what this is, I don’t want it. I want you, Julian.
And I want to know everything about you. I don’t want access to your house. I
want access to your thoughts and feelings.”

 
Julian’s eyes lit up with understanding, and he sat down on the bed and started
massaging slow circles in my bare back. “This isn’t a substitute, Sarah. Think
of it more as a symbol. This key is symbolic of me wanting to share my life
with you.”

 
My heart swelled at his words, and I felt a strong pressure in my throat. This
wasn’t actually happening. It couldn’t be. This was exactly what I had craved.
True intimacy. Julian wanted to share all of himself with me. His free hand was
resting on the bedspread, open, the key lying in its palm. I tentatively
reached for the key, then grabbed it decisively. Julian grinned, and his eyes
flashed with joy. He pulled me into his lap and pressed his lips to mine,
drawing me into a long, urgent kiss.

 
He pulled back, and, cupping my cheeks in his hands, he tilted my face up
toward him. His eyes were dark and earnest. “I want you to move in,” he said. I
felt a twinge of apprehension, and lowered my eyes. I loved that Julian wanted
me to come and go freely, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to live with him
full time. He tilted my chin up toward him again so that our eyes met. “I can
see you’re not ready yet,” he said, his voice full of disappointment, “but I’m
willing to wait, Sarah. Take as much time as you need to think this over. If
you only want to come over for a few nights a week at first, or just drop by on
a random afternoon, I’m okay with that.” He looked at me tenderly, and brushed
his lips against mine. “I just want you to know that I am ready. I’m ready to
take the next step with you.”