by Mandy Magro
Teasing where her nipples pushed beneath the thin cotton of her dress, he smiled. ‘You have too many clothes on.’ His voice was thick, raspy with desire.
‘So do you,’ she breathed while pulling his T-shirt from him. Then she helped him out of his jeans with a rapacious insistence.
Blazing hunger raged through him as he helped her wriggle out of her dress and she moaned low in her throat, driving him on, driving him wilder. But then, in unison, they slowed, lingered in their touches, and gazed at one another, unfathomable love passing wordlessly between them.
‘My god, you’re magnificent, Jules.’
‘Ditto, Joel Hunter. In every single way.’
‘I need to be one with you.’ He urgently sought out her lips once more, and she arched into him as he slid his lips down her throat, over her breasts, pausing to savour her nipples, grazing his teeth over them before taking a downward trail.
Juliette writhed beneath him, moaning. ‘Please, Joel. I want you. Now.’
Craving to give her what she wanted, what he wanted so badly, unhurriedly he slid within her, inch by glorious inch, until they finally became one. And then he was lost, drowning in her, their lovemaking beyond anything he’d imagined. Nothing else, except him and Juliette, existed. The entire world had faded away, leaving just him and her, here, loving one another in the way he’d craved for what felt like forever. Her cries of pleasure were like a spark to his soul, and a flood of heat swept through him as he matched her thrusts, and together they climbed the pinnacle and tumbled, blissfully, breathlessly, over the euphoric edge.
* * *
Bed hair extraordinaire and her sleeping eye-mask still in place, the suddenness of her alarm had Juliette leaping from the bed. Running blind, she stumbled over the pile of clothes on the floor, kicked her toe on god-only-knew what, and barely stopped herself from hitting the floor when she grabbed hold of the dressing table, knocking everything on top of it over in the process. A quick warning bark let her know Brute had been caught up in the mayhem.
‘Sorry, buddy,’ she said, his soft padding paws fading off down the hallway as he escaped the madness. She needed to let him out for toilet duties. Pronto.
Groaning while slipping her lavender scented eye-mask to the top of her head, she pulled her knickers from where they’d crept into her butt and straightened her skew-whiff tank top. A note from Joel sat upon the bedside table with a bright red hibiscus flower resting beside it. She tucked the flower behind her ear as she plucked the note up and, grinning like a lovesick teenager, read it.
Good morning, gorgeous. Sorry I had to slip out early, I didn’t want to wake you. I’ll catch you a little later on and we can pick up where we left off, before falling asleep. ;)
Love you, Joel. Xx
Wandering down the hallway, she drifted on the lingerings of the erotic night. High on Joel, she let a very antsy Brute out to relieve himself before she found herself in the shower with no real idea how she’d gotten there. The tenderness of Joel’s touch, the hunger of his mouth, the ecstasy of his fierce yet gentle possession of her – she’d been helpless against the powerful tide of passion rushing back and forth between them. Humming to herself, she grabbed the bar of soap and ran it over her body, recalling how he’d kissed almost every inch of it.
Stepping from the shower, she towelled off, suddenly feeling guilty for what Joel had gone through with his father, and all because of her fear of Malcolm. She could see the pain in Joel’s eyes, the storms he’d raged against to keep her secret, but not for much longer. She needed to make things right. For him. For them. For herself. So she could be whole again, and so she didn’t follow in her mother’s footsteps by ignoring what was right in front of her all this time. Joel was right. Without answers or closure, the deep wounds in her were still open, still bleeding. But before she went to the police with him, she had to face her demons head-on.
Dressed in a few minutes, she was in her car before she knew it, drenched almost through to the skin after having to run through the rain. Her windscreen wipers thrashing madly, she wriggled in the driver’s seat as she sped along the highway, a woman on a mission if she’d ever been one. It didn’t take her long to get to her first stop. Pulling up out front of the building, she cut the engine and slowly exhaled. Her fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly they cramped. The darkness in her stirred. Her blood boiled and her pulse raced out of control. She was furious and terrified. Even so, she stepped out, marched towards the door, and stepped inside.
Relieved the waiting room was empty, she tried to smile at the receptionist. ‘Can I see Doctor Muller, please?’
‘Sorry, but the doctor is a little busy right now. Is it urgent?’
‘Yes, it is.’ Juliette’s chest tightened, as did the fists shoved into the pockets of her jacket. ‘Does he have a patient with him?’
‘No,’ the receptionist answered warily.
‘Good, then he’s free to see me.’ Juliette choked down the lump in her throat. She had this. She could do this. Without a second’s hesitation, she shoved the door open and stormed into his office like a heat-seeking missile.
Levi Muller paled before her eyes. ‘Juliette, what are …?’
The very sight of him sent a jolt through her so savage she almost stumbled as the small room closed in on her. ‘Are you really going to ask me what I’m doing here?’
‘Yes, I am,’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘I don’t want you here, so that means you’re trespassing.’ Forceful and egotistical, he was infuriatingly sure of himself.
Shards of hostility crackled through the air. She sucked in a breath and dove, headfirst. ‘Joel is right, you need to pay for what you’ve done to me, and to him.’ Slamming her hands down on his desk, she levelled her stare into his muddy brown gaze, noticing with satisfaction the fear etched into it. ‘And so help me god, I’m going to make you pay.’
‘I wouldn’t if I were you, Juliette.’ His eyes narrowed and a thin, sly smile slashed across his face. Running hands through his fiery red hair, he rose and took steps towards her.
As spine-tinglingly fearful as she was of him, of the hands that had torn at her clothes and had tried to strip her of her virginity, she stood her ground. ‘Don’t try and intimidate me because I’m not scared of you.’ She stood stock-still, tall and confident. She refused to give him the satisfaction of sensing her utter terror.
‘As I said to Joel, the police aren’t going to believe your story for a second.’ He folded his arms and rested back against his desk. ‘So save your breath and stop wasting your time, and mine, playing this stupid little game.’
‘Oh yes they will believe us. We have evidence.’ She instantly regretted saying so but ran with it. ‘Damning evidence at that.’
‘I don’t believe you.’ Although his shoulders lifted in a heavy shrug, something in his gaze shifted.
‘I don’t care if you don’t believe me.’ She swallowed down the fear threatening to close her windpipe. ‘The police will.’
Levi rolled his eyes and sighed. ‘It was so long ago, Juliette, when we were all young and stupid. Can’t you just let it go and get on with your life?’
‘Being young and stupid is no excuse for trying to rape me.’ It was said with way more conviction than she felt right now. ‘You lowlife son of a bitch.’
‘I didn’t rape you.’ He almost laughed but stopped himself. ‘You stupid girl.’
His indifference about something so tragic, so life-altering, blew her away, but what had she expected from a man like him? Before she burst into tears, or punched him in the face, or both, she spun in her boots and stormed out the open door, past the shocked receptionist, who she was sure as hell had just heard everything, and into the sunshine. And then, to her surprise and relief, she took the first deep breath in what felt like eleven long years.
One demon slayed, one to go.
She climbed back into her ute, reversed out, and headed towards another place she’d avoided like the plague. She d
rove on autopilot, not allowing herself the luxury of changing her mind. Ten minutes later, pulling around the side of the house, she spotted his car. Panic, fuelled by her living nightmare, fired her already racing pulse into a wild frenzy. But unlike every other time she’d thought she was courageous enough to do this, then chickened out, or used the fact she didn’t want her mother to cop his wrath, she had no excuses. She wasn’t running away. Just like facing up to Levi, she could do this – she had to. She wanted to be whole again, to be all of the woman she knew she could be, for herself, and for Joel.
Striding towards the patio, she stopped at the front door and raised her hand to knock, but was startled when it shot open and fierce eyes glared out at her.
‘What in the hell are you doing here?’ Her mammoth of a stepfather stepped out, leaving only a few inches between them. ‘It’s all because of you that Joan has left, sticking your nose where it isn’t welcome.’
Intimidated but determined, Juliette swallowed down her fear and looked up into the eyes she hated. Her breathing laboured as she tried to piece together everything she’d rehearsed, but she was failing to open her dry mouth.
‘Well?’ he roared, making her jump. ‘What have you got to say for yourself, girly?’
She took a little step back, considered making a run for her ute, but stopped herself, just. Hands fisted at her sides, she finally found her courage and her voice. ‘How dare you pawn me off to Ronald and Margery Davis to get this house.’
He shrugged, smirking. ‘Well, it worked a treat, didn’t it?’
Juliette had to stop herself from slapping him across the face – it wouldn’t end well if she did. Red rage washed over her, and she glared at him through slits, her teeth gritting hard and her fingernails digging into her palms. ‘I hate you, Malcolm. For all that you’ve done to me, and to my mother. It’s your own fault she left, and about time she did. You’re an evil man, a cheater and a sinner, and she deserves better.’
His burly arms folding across his quickly rising and falling chest, he seemed to get bigger before her eyes. He leant into her space, an inch from her face. ‘What did you just say to me?’ Then, not waiting for a response, he straightened and began to pull his belt from the loops of his trousers.
Terror gripping her, Juliette turned and ran. Jumping into her ute, she locked the door, and only then did she dare to look back. He skidded to a stop at her door and bashed on her window, his contorted face the epitome of malevolence.
‘Open this damn door, Juliette, or …’
She revved the ute to life and took off down the driveway, gravel flying out behind her and the tail end swaying. Sobbing, she glanced into her rear-vision mirror to watch him quickly fade away, the belt hanging from his fisted hand. He was a bully and a coward – a man who hid behind his cloak and the walls of that house. When she went to see Wombat at the police station with Joel this afternoon and told him what Levi had done that night, she was also going to tell him about Malcolm and the hell she and her mother had lived in for all her life. She wasn’t sure anything could be done about it, but at the very least, Malcolm would be chased from the church, and this township, once word got out – and around here, that wouldn’t take long.
CHAPTER
23
It was close to ten and Juliette was fighting to keep her eyes open. The four hours she and Joel had spent with Wombat down at the station, giving their statements, and sitting there while he’d listened to the recording Joel had got of Levi confessing, had been even more exhausting than she’d expected. Now, curled up on Joel’s couch with a blanket tossed over her lap, and Brute rolled into a ball beside her, another yawn had her stretching her arms high. Through bleary eyes, she watched Joel pottering in the kitchen, making them toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and tea. She still found it hard to believe she was here, with him, feeling so loved, so cared for, so protected, while Levi Muller was spending his very first night behind bars. But it was only the beginning. Wombat counselled them to be ready for the next couple of weeks – the courtroom was going to be gruelling. It made her even more exhausted just thinking about it. Gently manoeuvring Brute, she stretched out and closed her eyes, just for a few moments …
‘Jules, baby, wake up.’
‘Hey?’ she muttered, trying to force open sleep-heavy eyelids. Joel was kneeling down beside the couch, his hand resting on her hip. ‘Dinner is served.’ He gestured to the coffee table, where two toasted sandwiches and two steaming mugs waited.
Shaking the sleepy fog from her mind, she slowly sat up, swung her feet to the floor and eased over so Joel could sit beside her.
‘You feeling okay?’ Worry laced his tender tone.
She nodded. ‘I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck, and then reversed over for good measure, but I also feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and my heart now that everything is out in the open.’ She raised her brows. ‘Well, other than the fact Lachlan cheated on me with another man, that is. I don’t think it’s necessary to reveal that bit of the story. We’ll leave that to fate to figure out.’
‘You’re a good person, Jules, keeping it to yourself for the sake of a man who doesn’t deserve it. And I’m super proud of you, facing up to everything today, although …’ Grim lines etched the sides of his mouth. ‘… you really should have taken me with you to see Levi and Malcolm. Anything could have happened to you,’ he said in his strong, sure voice.
‘Yes, you’re right, but it didn’t.’ She offered him a gentle smile – he was only worried for her. ‘Please don’t take it personally. I just needed to do it on my own. And I knew if I told you, you would have tried to stop me.’
‘Damn straight I would have. Okay, I’ll try not to take it personally.’ He shifted a little, his mouth twisting into the smallest of smiles. ‘I can only imagine how you’re feeling right now.’
When Joel passed her the plate with her toasted sandwich, Juliette’s mouth watered. ‘You’re going through it all too, Joel. Don’t forget.’ She gave him a loving, thankful smile before tucking in.
‘Yeah, in a way, but it’s you that’s living every second of it, and it’s you that had to relive the fear of what Levi did to you.’
‘I felt …’ She grimaced. ‘… I don’t know if it’s the right word, but … a little dirty, telling Wombat what happened that night in such minuscule detail, but then I know, in time, by seeking the justice we deserve, it will help me heal.’ She took a sip from her tea. ‘And it’s going to help your relationship heal with your father too.’
‘Yeah, I hope so.’ Joel swallowed his mouthful of food. ‘Are you going to be okay, having to go over it all again with my parents tomorrow morning?’
‘Of course. I’m actually keen to see how your father will react once he knows the truth of just how brave and protective his son really is.’ She tenderly placed her hand on Joel’s cheek. ‘Everything’s working out, for all of us.’
‘It sure is.’ He smiled from ear to ear. ‘Who would have thought, when I came back here, that you and I would be together again?’
‘It’s a dream come true,’ Juliette said with an equally big smile.
‘Ain’t it ever?’ Placing their empty plates back on the table, Joel pulled her to him and kissed her. ‘I don’t ever want to live another day without you by my side.’
‘Ditto, my beautiful man.’ Needing to be closer still, Juliette straddled him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her robe fell open a little, revealing her naked body beneath the silky fabric. His gaze drinking all of her in, Joel slid his hands beneath it and over her bare skin, igniting heat with the suggestive trail of his fingertips. Juliette ached to ravish him as she felt him harden beneath her.
He tilted his head up to look at her, smouldering fire in his eyes. ‘I need to show you how much I love you.’ He undid her hair from the careless twist at the nape of her neck.
‘I’d like that very, very much.’ She arched into him a little more and leant into his ear. ‘You’re
my absolute everything, Joel Hunter,’ she said in a breathless whisper.
His hands gripped her hips and, standing, he took her with him, across the lounge and up the stairs that spiralled to his bedroom. His eyes remained hard on hers as he eased them both onto the bed.
Pausing, Joel smiled. ‘I have something I need to ask you.’ His gaze blazed with the same fire she felt for him deep within her soul.
He looked worried, and she found herself holding her breath. ‘What is it?’
Leaning across her, he tugged his bedside drawer open and then, pulling her up to sit with him, opened the tiny box, revealing the engagement ring he’d offered to her all those years ago. ‘Juliette Kern, my little firecracker, my soul lover, my best friend, my world, will you be my wife?’
Tears sprang and she let them fall as she covered her gaping mouth. ‘Oh my goodness, Joel. Yes, yes, yes!’ She held her hand out and he slipped the ring onto her finger. Antique and filled with so much significance, this ring was much more beautiful to her than the one that used to rest there. She regarded him through her teary gaze, loving the way he looked the happiest she’d ever seen him. ‘I love you, so much.’
‘I love you too, Jules.’ He took her hand in his, gazing at the ring, his thumb rubbing her hand. ‘I completely understand you’re not officially a divorced woman, but as soon as you are, my beautiful fiancée …’ He raised his eyes to her. ‘You and me are getting hitched.’ He pulled her to him and kissed her like he could never get enough of her.
Juliette’s heart sang the most beautiful of tunes. Joel had just made her the happiest woman alive. Her fingers itched to run through his hair while she kissed his generous mouth, long and deep. In the space of a heartbeat, she gave in to him, tumbling into his embrace, his hungry caresses making her heart skip and skitter. Her breathing out of control, she locked her arms tighter around him, his groan of pleasure driving her on, making her want him all the more. She reached down between them and released him from his jeans, revelling in his manliness. Stroking the silky smoothness of his longing for her made her ache for him all the more. She tipped him backwards, raised her hips, angled herself and sank down, driving him deep inside of her, unable to bite back a moan. He moved with her and she surrendered to him as his hands traced the curve of her hips and her back, before lacing into the loose hair at the nape of her neck.
