Mission Happy (A Texas Desires Novel Book 3) (23 page)

“Oh God, Connor.” She spread her thighs wider and lifted one long leg to rest over his shoulder. He took it as an invitation to continue. Determined to take his time, he ate at her slowly, mouthing, nipping, and licking every part of her until his mouth concentrated on her clit. Her taste, her texture, the little sounds that were all his Julie spurred him on. She eagerly rolled her hips into his mouth as his tongue laved against her. He’d thought she’d been turned on and soaking wet before, but her body’s intense and almost violent reaction as he slipped two fingers inside her tight heat took the passion between them to another level.

“Connor. Oh God.” She dug her feet in the mattress and scraped her fingernails against his scalp as her cry turned unintelligible and primal. When his own hips started grinding into the mattress, he moved, struggling to free himself of the jeans. She lifted her head until her panicked, needy gaze hit his. Her breath heaved from her chest. Her hair was slightly disarrayed and the passion and need he saw reflected there took his breath away. “Connor, finish me. Please.”

Connor crawled up her body, pushing her back as he trailed simple swipes of his tongue and lingering kisses along her body as he continued to shove at his jeans with one hand. They had gathered right below his ass. He managed to nestle his dick between her thighs, seeking, then finding her heat. In one sure drive of the hips, he pushed himself forward into her tight, wet channel where she consumed him, body and soul. Julie’s eyes slid closed and her head fell back as she rolled her hips against his, taking him balls deep.

“Shit, babe,” Connor muttered, sweat breaking out along his forehead as he held himself up by his hands and began moving in and out of this woman’s magnificent body. Julie lifted a leg and draped it over his waist, her heel digging into his ass. She was so perfect—this moment better than anything before. He buried his forehead into the crook of her neck as her arms circled his back.

“This is so good,” she cooed.

Connor allowed his hips to set the pace in slow, steady thrusts. He pulled almost free before driving forward to bury himself deep each and every time. Careful of his weight, he shifted slightly to lean on his elbows, his hands holding Julie’s head in place as he descended to capture her mouth with his. He shoved his tongue between her parted lips, wanting her to know how extraordinary she tasted as he made love to her.

She responded furiously, opening wider as she continued moving her body with his, meeting him thrust for thrust. There was no more denying the magnitude of his attraction. He’d met his one. His only one. Julie was his perfect partner.

As Connor began the steady build of pistoning hips, he broken free of her mouth and moved along her jaw until his tongue outlined the shell of her ear. With a breathy whisper, he said the words he held so deep inside his heart.

“I love you, Julie.”

Forcefully, he tangled his fingers in her hair, holding her still as he kept his mouth against her ear.

“I know it’s not fair. I know it’s a lot, but I love you.”

The power of saying those words for the first time in his life caused his body movements to become erratic. His heart pounded as fear gripped him. He’d said… Dear God, he’d said it. He slipped in and out of her body in automated, stilted movements, until he missed his entry, his body not his own any longer. His breath burst out as he tried to rise off her, only to drop back down over her. He screwed his eyes closed as he laid his forehead gently on her shoulder. He couldn’t catch his breath no matter how hard he tried.

Julie wrapped herself around him, holding him tighter than ever before as her hand rubbed up and down his back in strong, tender caresses. She tried to look at him, urging his head up, but he wouldn’t lift off her shoulder.

“It’s too much. This is all too much. I can’t… There’s so much we don’t…”

“Connor. Look at me.”

Honest to God, he tried to look at her. He rocked his hips, attempting to renew his rhythm, but his hard-on had faded as worried thoughts swirled. He turned his gaze to the pillow beside her.

“You have to know I’ve loved you since the first moment you looked my way at Cache. Honestly, even longer than that. I wanted you since the first time I laid eyes on you,” she said.

This was so much more than bedtime confessions. It scared the shit out of him.

Moments passed before he forced his head up. Could she possibly mean that, or was he so pathetic that she wanted to pacify him until she could get the hell out of there? She never loosened her hold on him, and she might have even held on tighter once she took a good look at his face.

“This isn’t a bad thing. You aren’t alone in this. We’ll figure out your future. Our future. I can help. I want to help. I want to be with you. You and me together.”

“You deserve better than me,” he muttered, turning his head away. In contradiction to the painful truth of his words, he reached his hands underneath her, drawing her into his arms while lowering his head to her shoulder again.

“Are you kidding? I don’t deserve you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met.” Her fingernails dug into his back as one arm hooked around his neck. “Connor, please look at me.”

It took him time to muster the nerve to meet her eyes. Embarrassment flowed through him. Why would he have dumped all this out to her right then? He couldn’t even hold an erection under such a simple yet complicated-as-fuck declaration.

When he did meet her gaze, he stared at her blue eyes. Her hair was a mess, her makeup smudged, her lips plump and pouty from his kisses. His heart swelled. Her natural state of balance filtered in through the broken cracks of his soul, making him feel instantly better. He lifted a hand, letting his fingers skim over her face.

“You love me?” she asked sweetly, in contrast to the worried searching of her eyes.

“I do,” Connor answered honestly. “But I’ve got a lot to work out.”

“I know, but we’re stronger together, and I really want us to be together.” She lifted her head, kissing his lips as she lowered her palm to caress across his ass. “Can we keep this going?” Julie very effectively arched her hips against his, and then did it again. “Don’t drag it out, okay?”

His dick grew instantly hard.

“Okay.” Connor closed his eyes and reached between their bodies, pushing his again eager dick back inside her. All the emotion coursing through him needed an outlet. He wanted her to feel the truth of the words that had slipped free in that unguarded moment. He snapped his hips, driving hard into her. His thumb reached for her clit, applying pressure, circling a few times before her body tensed, her fingernails digging into his back once again. She closed her eyes, parted her full lips, and that was all it took. He drove forward one last time, arching into her, releasing his seed deep inside her hot body. Connor rode the swift wave of passion, the intensity coursing through him. He swore he heard her say, “I love you,” before the darkness took him over. Falling down on top of her, he was sound asleep within seconds.

Julia leaned toward the bathroom mirror, making quick strokes to brush mascara on her eyelashes. They were running a little late this afternoon. Of course, if you asked her, it was all Connor’s fault due to his inability to look anything less than delicious. Then, factor in his complete lack of desire in following their pre-established schedule. If she was within arm’s reach of the man, within minutes, they were having sex—three times in the last four hours, and she was absolutely certain he’d have no trouble going at it again.

“I’ve never seen you wear this much makeup.”

Per Connor, he had donned his
fancy
clothes in honor of Lara’s baby shower. His new, perfectly pressed black denim jeans hugged his legs, accentuating those powerful thighs and his tight, round butt. The black-and-brown baroque swirl print, long-sleeve dress shirt accented his dark complexion while the fabric stretched across all that muscle as if it had been made just for him. He finished off his ensemble with a pair of freshly polished black cowboy boots, and her guy was looking hotter than ever, which didn’t help in fighting off his advances.

She refused to meet his gaze while he leaned against the doorframe looking all sexy. The last time she mentioned how well the shirt complimented his features, she found herself with her skirt hiked up, hanging on to the small counter of the sink as he pounded roughly inside her. Yes, the moment was great. She’d absolutely do it again, but she’d gone through all her pairs of panties for the whole trip. And that was for the second time. Yesterday had been very much the same way. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands off each other, and that always resulted with her spread wide, riding Connor in whatever position he could talk her into.

Thank God, Connor knew how to use a washing machine.

“I have to wear so much makeup while working that I don’t usually put it on when I’m off set,” she answered, when she finished with the mascara and leaned back to survey her handiwork in the mirror. Julia assessed both eyes, blinking several times before leaning back in, brushing quickly again over each bottom set of lashes.

“It makes you look different.”

She stopped the motion of her hand, letting her eyes shift to meet his gaze in the mirror. How had it not occurred to her until this very minute that she still hadn’t told him about the extent of her acting success? A pit formed in her stomach as she stared at her reflection, contemplating all the consequences of that possibly faulty decision. Mechanically, Julia ran the brush along her lower lashes, no longer paying attention to how she looked.

Maybe she hadn’t told him because it didn’t truly matter. Honestly, he didn’t seem to care about any of that. They hadn’t even discussed her life in detail. If she’d just dropped her information like that, she’d appear arrogant.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught him turning from the doorframe, fully facing her in the mirror. He studied her. She wasn’t glammed up, but she wondered if she had added enough makeup that recognition might be coming to him without her having to say the words. Heck, he could have already put two and two together and just flat didn’t care.

Her heart soared at the possibility. Now, that would be the best outcome of them all.

“Have you heard from anyone?” she asked and reached for the lip-gloss, quickly running the tip over her lips. That seemed to help shift his mind onto a new topic.

“Ty’s here. They came last night with Kenzie’s parents. They’re all staying at the Bryants’. Reed and Lara got there at some point yesterday. Her roommate couldn’t come. Something about work, but they still have a full house,” Connor said, studying her face. “The makeup really makes you look different.”

“I told you that,” she said, patting his chest as she shimmied past him.

Taking a deep breath, she forced all those insecurities out of her thoughts and looked around for her shoes. She’d chosen a long, loose-fitting maxi dress for today. The weather in Texas was so weird.

She didn’t want to overdress, but didn’t want to underdress… The weather made it hard to plan.

“Do I look okay?”

“Beautiful,” Connor said, his tone speculative. He’d turned in the bathroom doorway and done little more than face her in his casual, patient, waiting stance.

“Why doesn’t that sound convincing?” she asked. Connor cocked his head to the left still intently staring. “What? You’re giving me a complex.”

“Beautiful good. You look exotic,” he added.

“Are you trying to have sex with me again, because I’m pretty sure the baby shower’s started,” she teased, wiggling her feet inside a pair of flats. They’d haphazardly made the bed and most of her things were scattered across the bedspread. She grabbed her purse and went back to the bathroom, again shimmying past him because he hadn’t moved. Julia quickly filled her purse with lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara while looking over anything else she might need. “We aren’t coming back here before dinner, right?”

“We can if you need to. Nothing’s set in stone except an eight o’clock reservation.” She looked up to Connor who remained focused intently on her.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is something off?” she finally asked, turning toward him. If he had something in his head, he needed to get it out before they ever left this house.

“No. You’re just different. That dark eyeliner makes your eyes pop. I feel like I have seen you before.”

“You might have seen me. I’m an actress, remember?” she asked, wanting the words to come out to finish the statement. If she manned-up and told him, then she’d know for sure whether he cared.

“I do remember,” he said, moving closer, his hands going to her waist as his lips descended, making her put that thought on the back burner again. She grinned, tilting her head to accept his kiss when a loud bang on the bedroom door ruined the moment, both their heads swung to the left as if they could see the door through the bathroom walls.

“If we aren’t going, you could have filled me in,” Bruno shouted from the hallway.

“We’re coming!” she called out, purposefully moving from Connor’s hold, tossing her purse strap over her shoulder, creating distance as she went for her sweater on the end of the bed. As Connor came for her with that I-want-you expression and his he’d-be-fine-skipping-the-baby-shower attitude, Julia yanked open the bedroom door and came face-to-face with a scowling Bruno wearing a snug black suit—his standard uniform.

“You look nice,” she said, smiling brightly. He just stared at her and took a step backward into the hall to let her out of the room. He never gave an inch where she was concerned. Now with Connor, on the other hand, Bruno had totally changed his tune. They talked endlessly—okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. They’d probably said a total of four sentences between them, but for each of them that said a lot. It seemed Connor’s ability to make an eighteen-hundred-yard shot with a basic rifle—something like that, she wasn’t entirely certain because hearing about the different guns and scopes and ammunition was like listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher talk. But whatever the deal, the skill impressed Bruno.

“You following?” Connor asked from behind her.

“Yup,” Bruno said.

She rolled her eyes at the front door, pulling it open. Of course, he responded to Connor. She headed straight for the truck, hearing it unlock before she ever got to the passenger door. The skirt didn’t allow for a whole lot of climbing, and she stared at the seat, wondering how she would maneuver. Luckily, Connor came in behind her and hoisted her up into the seat. She scooted to the center. Not the most comfortable spot, but it felt good to be sitting right beside Connor. She liked to tuck her hand around his thigh as he drove.

It wasn’t long before they pulled to the front of the house. Cars—mostly trucks—filled the driveway, and following what she now knew was country etiquette, guests had parked along the yard, side pasture…just about anywhere there was space.

“They must have invited the whole town,” Connor said, parking at an angle on the side of the driveway. Connor stepped down from the cab and turned back to help her out. Instantly, she could hear the loud noise coming from the party in the back, that plus all these vehicles had her nerves on high alert. Her team had worked with Ty’s while coordinating security, but everyone had truly believed this to be a family affair. Other people would compromise her ability to move around so freely if word got out she was in town.

“What?” Connor asked when she got on her feet. She looked up, trying to school her features. She’d let her guard down with Connor, always being one hundred percent herself with the man. It was hard to remember she needed to shield things.

“I didn’t plan on all this,” she finally said as she met his gaze. She watched the confusion her words brought to Connor’s face as Bruno pulled his car right up next to the truck. He’d planned to stay inside the vehicle, keep an eye on the driveway, for the length of the party; Ty’s security planned to handle the house. She watched Bruno lift the gearshift to park and look their way. His brow furrowed and, surprisingly, he got out of the car.

“What’s wrong?”

So much for masking her face from either of them.

“I’m not sure,” Connor answered him while keeping his eyes on her.

“What?” Bruno asked her gruffly again, standing next to Connor, both of them staring at her intently.

“There’re a lot of people here,” she said.

“Ty Bateman’s security estimated about forty people. No pictures allowed. They’re all in the back,” Bruno explained as if he’d said that a million times instead of once on the plane three days ago.

With a deep breath, she decided that didn’t sound so bad. Connor lifted his brow in question and stared back and forth between them. She wasn’t as free as Connor to just go where she wanted to go. That was what she needed to explain. But that conversation wasn’t for right now. More than anything, Julia loved the normalcy she and Connor shared. She didn’t want that to ever end.

“Okay. I’m leaving my purse,” she finally said with a deep sigh and reached into the cab of the truck to toss her purse inside. He stepped back and took her hand as Bruno shut the door. Connor’s concerned, confused gaze stayed trained on her until she started for the front porch. As they took the steps up and came to the door, Connor didn’t immediately knock.

“Whatever just happened, tell me when you’re uncomfortable, and we can just go. We don’t have to stay,” Connor said and lifted the key fob. The honk sounded as he pushed the button to lock the truck doors.

“I don’t want you to leave your friends. If I need to go, Bruno can take me,” she tried to explain, knowing her words were cryptic at best.

“No, I’ll take you. I invited you here,” he said, tucking his keys inside his front pocket.

His sweetness made her smile, and she let it pass that, technically, she had invited him to be her date, but he totally didn’t get her concern. Connor’s entire demeanor showed his desperation to identify whatever problem had set her off, but he just couldn’t figure it out.

She suddenly realized she had to bite the bullet and explain her fame before they entered the house. Julia took a deep breath and turned to him, but before she could open her mouth, Connor reached up to knock on the front door. Seconds later, the door opened to a plump, middle-aged woman with a dishtowel in her hands.

“Connor!” She looked over her shoulder, back into the house. “Honey, Connor’s finally here. Come in!” She didn’t let him get more than a foot inside the front door before she wrapped him in her arms. The scene made Julia smile and relaxed her nervousness. The woman was short, her arms barely circling Connor’s waist, forcing him to bend to accept her hug. These people obviously loved her guy.

“Let him in, Linda,” an older man said as he came up behind her. Linda did let go, and Connor stepped past her to shake the man’s hand.

“And you brought a date! I had no idea you were doing that, you stinker.” For the first time since she’d entered the house, Linda’s eyes focused on her. No mistaking the instant recognition that lit her gaze.

“Yes, ma’am. This is Julie. Julie meet Linda and Jerry Bryant. She’s a friend of Kenzie’s and had an invitation already, so I didn’t think it mattered,” Connor said, explaining his lapse in manners. Under normal circumstances, she would have thought that was so sweet—watching this big burly man explain why his etiquette was still intact—but Linda Bryant’s look made the nerves spike again.

Linda’s smile grew brighter, and she stood straighter and sucked in her belly. Julia knew the signs of a star-struck fan. She cut her gaze to Connor, and her heart sank. Damn, he’d seen Linda’s change too.

“Of course it doesn’t matter, and I know exactly who she is.”

Julia extended a hand, but Linda reached up to pull her down into a warm hug.

“Jerry, you see who we have in our house?”

“I do,” he said, giving her that gentle handshake that older men seemed to give women. Dread coiled in her stomach. Connor reached down, took her hand in his, and smiled warmly at her. Julia had her fake, big giant smile in place as she looked at him then both the Bryants.

“Reed’s in so much trouble. Ty, too. They didn’t tell me you two were seeing each other. You are seeing each other?” Linda asked. She had started to move away to give them room to pass but stopped in the middle of the entranceway to turn back and wait for an answer.