by Angel Vane
Chapter Fourteen
The warmth of Julian’s hand clutching hers as he opened the door to their condo was the only thing keeping Mena sane. His touch brought a semblance of normalcy and familiarity in the midst of a night that was most likely going to change their lives forever. The Kenyan journalists had quickly dug up information on Julian from his heroic acts in St. Basil, and the news had hit the internet faster than either of them expected. Her phone hadn’t stopped ringing. Her father, a journalist himself, as well as other family and friends, kept sending text messages, demanding details about the terrorist attack Julian had prevented.
Mena didn’t want to be in the public eye. After Pricilla Dumay had tried to kill her, to protect the case the PIIB and St. Basil police were building against her former boss, Mena had been shielded from much of the media scrutiny. Julian hadn’t been as lucky. Now he was faced with avoiding the press again.
“You okay?” Julian asked as he closed the door behind them, his hand still gripping hers tightly.
Mena shrugged, not trusting herself to talk. Julian had shielded her from the journalists, nearly carrying her through the throng as he dismissed their questions with a concise, “no comment.” The Nairobi police had provided an escort to their condo in the Westlands, where more reporters were camped outside. Mena thanked God they’d chosen a location with top-notch security to protect the residents from unwanted visitors. Slipping into the building through the secured garage, they’d avoided any further interactions with the media. Mena knew that wouldn’t last long.
“It’ll blow over soon. In a day or two, no one will remember me,” Julian said, a hint of hopefulness in his tone.
Mena’s knees buckled as she stared into the soulful brown eyes looking back at her. She inhaled sharply, one thought slamming through her mind over and over. Her breath quickened as panic flooded through her.
Julian could have died tonight.
Died. Gone. Forever.
Taking a step toward him, Mena slipped her hands around his neck and buried her head in his chest. A flood of emotions rocked through her body as tears slid down her cheeks, wetting his dark shirt.
Julian lifted her into his arms, squeezing her tightly. As he buried his head in her hair, she felt his muscles relaxing.
Lacing her fingers within his, Mena raised his hands to her lips and kissed them, loving the masculine scent wafting from his skin. One wrong move and she could have been holding these hands in the morgue or worse, not holding them at all.
Would the police have given her any information about him?
She wasn’t his wife.
There was nothing to connect them, no proof of how much they loved each other, or how committed they were to each other. Would she have been left wondering and waiting for his parents to give her information?
Mena shuddered. She had to push the gruesome thoughts from her mind.
Julian eased his hands from her grip and slipped an arm around her, pulling her to him. Mena looked up into his eyes, moved by the love and desire reflected there.
Julian leaned down, brushing his lips against hers, softly at first, before his tongue parted her lips and slipped inside her mouth. She savored the feel of his tongue against hers as she pressed her body into his awakening erection.
The heat of their kisses hit a crescendo as Mena grinded her hips against Julian, eliciting a low moan as their bodies rocked against each other. She wanted to consume him and be consumed by him. Merging their bodies into one and never lose the feeling of being with him. She wanted the memories of his touch and his presence to be tattooed on the canvas of her heart for eternity. Mena hadn’t realized how much she loved Julian until his life was on the line tonight. How much she couldn’t imagine living a life without him.
Her hands found the buttons of his shirt, and she quickly forced each one through the holes, then pushed the shirt from his body.
Leaning back, she savored the view of his sculpted chest and abs, watching his pecs rise and fall with each breath. Mena pressed her hands against his warm skin, allowing her fingertips to trail downward, tracing the grooves of his muscles.
Julian slid his hands along her back until his hands cupped her butt, gently massaging as the intensity in his eyes grew stronger. Mena pushed away all thoughts, allowing her mind to go blank. She didn’t want to think or worry. The man she loved was standing in front of her … alive.
Slipping her hands lower along Julian’s abdomen, she rested her eyes on the growing bulge in his pants. An insatiable desire and passion ripped through her body as she grabbed the waistband, unbuttoning them in one fluid motion. She reached her hand inside his boxer briefs, sliding against his skin until she felt his rock hard penis throbbing in her hand.
Massaging the shaft, Mena leaned toward Julian and whispered, “Make love to me.”
Julian’s eyes smoldered as he pushed her backward, pinning her between the wall and his body. Mena wiggled out of her dress, revealing her bare breasts and lacy thong. She lifted a leg, wrapping it around his waist. Reaching his hand between her legs, he pushed her lace underwear to the side and stroked her. His fingers glided easily across her arousal.
She was more than ready for him. She ached for him, needing him to fill her and push away the thoughts of losing him.
Julian lifted her higher, and Mena wrapped both legs around him as he pressed her back against the wall. Ravaging her with a blistering kiss, he removed his fingers and entered her with force. Mena let out an uncontrollable whimper as she stretched to fit him. One hand pressed against her hip to keep her steady and the other on her breast, Julian squeezed and fondled her nipple in perfect concert with his penetrating thrusts. Mena savored the feel of the friction mounting between her legs as he slid back and forth within her, possessing her, staking his claim on her.
The intoxicating fragrance of hot lust and desire lingered in the air. Waves of pleasure undulated through her body, building in intensity, sending her into a manic frenzy. Julian trailed a blaze of kisses down the side of her neck as she gripped his shoulders tightly, gyrating against him and pushing herself to the brink of ecstasy as he thrust deeper, reaching her most sensitive spot.
Mena cried out Julian’s name, panting and breathless, as she squeezed her thighs tighter around him, forcing his penis deeper within her. Julian let out a husky groan, then clamped his hands around her wrists, jerking them from around his neck and pressing them against the wall above her head. His thrusts came faster and frenetic as he expanded inside her reaching the verge of climax. A flurry of sensations washed over Mena as she let out a primal moan with her orgasm. A second later, Julian reached a climax, pulling her tightly into his arms as his love flooded within her.
Slowly, Mena unwrapped her legs from his body and placed her feet on the floor.
“Don’t move. Not yet, let me hold you,” Julian whispered, his face nuzzled into the side of her hair, his embrace melting from tight to tender.
The warmth of his love enveloped Mena. She allowed herself to be present in the moment with him, sharing the intimate space without a thought of anything else. Nothing mattered more than being with Julian.
Intertwining her hands in his, she pulled away, leading him down the short hallway to the bedroom. He followed her without resisting, pressing against her back, unwilling to allow any distance to come between them.
Tonight had been a close call.
Too close.
Mena knew it, and so did Julian. In a flash, they could have been separated forever, wondering what could have been if the suicide bomb had detonated. Sadness welled within Mena’s chest, but she pushed it away. She couldn’t let her thoughts take her down the grim path of the disaster that could have been. They had survived. They were together. There was nothing but the future ahead of them.
Turning slowly, Mena faced Julian. He lifted her arm toward him, his fingers caressing the rose gold charm bracelet on her wrist. The symbol of their love.
“I know I scared you tonig
ht,” Julian said, his eyes expressing regret. “It’s hard for me not to help when I know I can. But I realize it’s not just my life on the line anymore. For the first time since Broman … somebody other than my mom gives a damn if I live or die.”
Mena swallowed hard, fighting back the tears. She hadn’t realized how alone Julian had felt after the attack on the SEAL team. He’d always been so strong and fearless, but he was also an island waiting for her to find his shores.
“It’s not fair of me to ask you to be anything other than the man I know you are. But I won’t lie. I don’t know if I can handle going through something like that again. Watching you risk your life for everyone else, knowing there was nothing I could do to save you,” Mena admitted.
“Just knowing that I had you to come home to was all I needed. There was no way I was dying on that rooftop and leaving you alone for some other man to comfort,” Julian said, kissing her wrist. A tingle of excitement flooded through her at his touch.
“Really? That’s what you’re worried about? Some other guy swooping in to take your place when I’m mourning you?” Mena said, a laugh escaping her lips.
Julian nodded, giving her the sexy smile that drove her wild.
“Well, you better stay alive so you won’t have to worry about that,” Mena teased, then pushed Julian down onto the mattress. Straddling him, she leaned down to kiss him fully on the mouth as he entered her once more. A jolt of ecstasy simmered through her body as round two began.
Hours later, Mena laid in the bed, her arms cradling Julian as he snored softly. They’d made love repeatedly through the night, devouring each other with an intense passion Mena had never felt before. She wanted to remember every moment of being with him—the heavy weight of his body resting against hers, the slight brush of his breath against her skin, the intoxicating brown eyes she could stare into forever. Everything she could have lost tonight.
Chapter Fifteen
“Come back to bed,” Julian said, reaching his arms toward her.
Steam billowed from the bathroom as Mena stepped out onto the cool tiled floor of the bedroom. She tucked the towel around her damp body tighter. “You know I have to go to work.”
Mena side-stepped away from Julian’s grasp. One more caress, one more touch, and she knew he’d convince her to stay home. As tempted as she was, Mena was ready to get back to her normal life. She was still working on the complex restoration of the ivory bracelet, and she didn’t want to lose momentum. “Wangari said the police have completed their investigation and the museum is open to the public again. She wants the staff to come in today.”
“What if the reporters are still down there? They know we’re together. I think you should wait a few days to make sure they don’t harass you,” Julian said.
A dozen or so reporters had staked out their condo building over the weekend, forced to stand across the street by the security guards as they hoped for a chance to catch Julian leaving. The attempted suicide bombing and the American ex-Navy SEAL who’d saved more than a hundred guests had dominated the news.
“Already checked with Fred downstairs. It’s all clear,” Mena said. The news coverage of the attempted bombing had died down to a trickle by Sunday. The police had yet to determine who was behind the attack.
“Sounds like you’re eager to get out of here. I thought you liked being locked up with me,” Julian said, pouting.
“I loved it, you know that,” Mena said, trying to ignore his emotional blackmail.
Avoiding the paparazzi outside their condo, she and Julian had ordered grocery delivery and stayed happily holed up away from the world for the weekend. They’d binge-watched movies, cooked up favorites from back home, and spent hours making love. A perfect weekend after what they’d gone through Friday night.
What Mena had loved most was Julian opening up more to her about his past. His early days in the Navy, training for the SEALs, and his first few missions. She’d watched him come alive as he told her about the hijinks he and Broman had gotten into over the years. She was surprised they hadn’t been booted from their boat crew.
Mena couldn’t help but notice the absence of Sunny Tate from his stories, and she’d resisted the urge to bring up the dark beauty. Hadn’t Julian proven to her over and over again that she was the only woman who mattered to him? She knew there had been women in his past just as she had men in her past, but none of that mattered anymore now that they’d found each other.
“What am I supposed to do without you here?” Julian asked, propping himself up on his elbows.
The covers shifted off his naked body, revealing smooth tanned skin, perfectly sculpted muscles of his chest and washboard abs. The dark blue sheets, draped low across his waist, barely covered the part of him she adored most.
Mena didn’t respond, but she hoped Julian wasn’t planning to go back to work with the TIDES team. She knew he could handle himself in any situation, but she didn’t want him working private security.
“Try relaxing. Do something fun that you love to do,” Mena suggested.
“Fucking you is fun. I love to do that,” Julian said. The crinkle in his forehead was irresistibly sexy. Mena had to resist the urge to touch him, or she would never make it out of the apartment.
“Try something that doesn’t involve me, since I will be at work,” Mena said, shaking her head at him. He was incorrigible.
Julian laughed, leaning back onto the pillows of the bed. Mena saw a hint of his penis, stirring with desire. His eyes were smoldering, burning her skin with passion from a distance. She had to resist.
“You need a cold shower,” Mena teased.
“I need you. Drop your towel, I want to watch you get ready for work,” Julian demanded.
“One condition,” Mena said.
“What’s that?” Julian asked, his voice husky with desire.
“You can’t move from that bed, and you can’t touch me,” Mena said, playing with the edge of her towel.
“Can you touch me?” Julian asked.
Mena contemplated for a minute. “No, I can’t touch you either. No touching allowed.”
“Can I jack off while I watch you?” Julian asked, shifting into a more comfortable position.
Mena bit her lip. She wasn’t sure she had the willpower to watch him jacking off at the sight of her and not want to straddle him and push him over the edge. He knew he was testing the limits of his willpower and hers. “Go for it.”
“Let the show begin,” Julian said, a sly smile spreading across his face. He pushed the covers from his body.
Mena dropped the towel to the floor and watched as Julian’s cock grew hard instantly. The sense of power surging through her at the impact she had on him filled her with desire. Opening the closet, she pulled down a box of red Louboutins and slipped them on her feet.
“You … are … so … fucking … sexy … and … beautiful … and perfect,” Julian said, his hand moving slowly up and down his shaft.
Mena felt her heart slamming into her chest. She was wet as her body craved him. She wanted to feel him inside her, sliding and thrusting, bringing her to climax as he had numerous times over the weekend. Licking her lips, she resolved to resist him and tease him a bit. She could do this.
Reaching over to the drawer, Mena removed a lacy thong and swung it around her fingers, the charms of her bracelet tinkling as she moved her arm.
Julian panted faster.
Mena took a step toward the bed.
“That’s cheating,” Julian managed to force out of his mouth. “You’re torturing me right now, you know that, don’t you?”
Mena gave him a dazzling smile, then turned around and bent at the waist as she slipped the thong on. Swerving her body seductively to the music in her head, she turned around and squatted low, bouncing twice before standing again.
“Damn it,” Julian muttered, his hand moving quicker, his breath in short, intense bursts speeding up. “Not going to last much longer.”
Mena was ple
ased. She lifted the matching lace bra from the drawer. Raising her arms above her head, she swiveled her hips in smooth circles, giving him a full view of her breasts lifting with each movement. Slipping her arm into one strap of the bra, Mena caressed her breasts, squeezing her taut nipples with her fingers as she let out a low moan.
“Fuck,” Julian whispered as his body tensed, then arched. His hand wet with the evidence of his orgasm, spewing from his cock.
“Really? You couldn’t hold out much longer?” Mena teased.
“Get over here,” Julian said.
Mena walked over to the bed and leaned down, pressing her lips to his. Julian parted her mouth with his tongue, sliding inside, swirling with intense passion, all the while respecting her rules of not touching her anywhere else. Damn, she loved this man.
After a few moments, Mena reluctantly broke the kiss, then turned her attention back to her wardrobe.
“What do you think? Gray pants and red shirt or black pants, white shirt, and red scarf?” Mena asked, pulling the two ensembles from the closet.
Julian sat up, resting his head on his hand as he stared at her two options, looking from one to the other. She loved how he was taking this decision seriously.
“Depends. What do you have going on today?” Julian asked.
“Wangari wants me to give a behind the scenes tour to a prominent group of European collectors this afternoon. They’re looking for a place to house some magnificent African art they’ve acquired over the years, and Wangari wants them to select the Tribal Museum. That’s why I need to go to work. I don’t want to let her down,” Mena said.
“Go more traditional for the investors. Black pants, white shirt with a dash of color from the scarf and the shoes,” Julian said, looking pleased with himself.
