Moonlight Sins

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Pleasure hummed in her veins as she got her first real good look at what she’d only briefly seen in the hall. He was . . . God, he was gorgeous, and she didn’t even know where to begin with him.

  Lucian extended his hand.

  Heart pounding at every pulse point, she walked over to where he stood and placed her hand in his. He drew her in, and the first touch of their bodies, chest to chest, hip to hip, with nothing between them, shattered every semblance of a coherent thought.

  The tips of Lucian’s fingers skated up her hips and sides. One hand caught the mess of hair and balled it up. He tilted her head back. When he spoke, his mouth danced over hers. “This is already better than tea, right?”

  Julia laughed as she slid a hand to the nape of his neck. “So much better.”

  “Told you.”

  Then his lips were on hers, tasting and teasing until his tongue ran the seam of her mouth. He was kissing her like he hadn’t done it before, slowing it down until she opened for him. Somehow, and she really had no idea, he got her onto the bed as he kissed her. He kept moving her, hand under her arms, lifting her up further, never once breaking the kiss.

  Once he had her where he wanted her, in the center of the bed, he moved back onto his knees and just . . . just stared down at her.

  Julia’s heart started pounding so fast she feared she’d have a heart attack. “What . . . what are you doing?”

  “Memorizing what you look like right now so I can sketch it later,” he said in a deep, husky voice that made her toes curl.

  “What?”

  He trailed his fingers along her jaw and then over her lips. “I’ve drawn you.”

  “You have?” Surprise filled her.

  “I have.” Those fingers of his were replaced with his mouth. He trailed a path of kisses over her jaw and then down her throat.

  Her hands settled on his shoulders. “Can I see it?”

  “Maybe.” His lips danced over her collarbone. “But now I have a better idea of how I want to sketch you.”

  Considering she was naked in his bed, she wasn’t sure if she could handle that sketch. But then she wasn’t thinking about that, because his mouth was on the move, blazing a trail to the aching tips of her breasts.

  God, he knew how to use that mouth of his.

  She bit down on her lip as his mouth closed over a nipple. Her hands tightened on his shoulders and her back arched when he sucked deep. His fingers found the other breast, and between that mouth and those fingers, she was already lost in him all over again. Pleasure bolted throughout her body as her hips twitched restlessly, rocking against his hard length.

  Lucian slid his hand from her breast. His palm glided down her stomach as that wonderful mouth of his replaced his hand. As he drew the other nipple deep in his mouth, he slid a finger deep inside her.

  A keening moan parted her lips as she kicked her head back. Her body responded without thought.

  “I could get drunk off those sounds,” he said, working another finger in her.

  She opened her eyes, breathing heavily. “I could get drunk off you.”

  That devilish glint filled his eyes as he dipped his chin, dragging his tongue over the tip of her breast. “Every part of you is addicting.”

  She ran her hand down his chest, her fingers lingering on tight muscles. A fire was building in her blood again. “I could say the same about you.”

  And that was the truth.

  Everything about him was addicting. She felt like a fiend in that moment, chasing after the release she knew he promised, the bliss he was creating with his fingers and mouth. A tight flutter started deep insider her. It wasn’t enough.”

  “Please.” She dragged her hand up to the shorter strands of his hair.

  He lifted his mouth from her breast. His fingers were still inside her, moving in and out. “Please what?”

  He was going to make her ask for—beg for it. “I want you.”

  Lucian twisted his hand, pressing his palm against her. “You want me to do what?”

  She dug her fingers into the hair and pulled, drawing a hoarse chuckle from him. “I want you in me.”

  “That’s what I’ve been waiting to hear.”

  Lucian moved, snatched one of the wrappers off the bed. He had that condom on in record time. Tiny shocks of pleasure darted to the very ends of nerves as he lined their bodies up. He braced himself, one hand at her hip as he pushed in a few inches. They both stopped, their breathing in rushed tandem.

  “It’s . . . it’s been a long time,” she whispered.

  “Yeah?” He kissed her, drawing her tongue into his mouth. “Might make me sound like a selfish bastard, but I’m glad to hear that.”

  Julia drew one leg up, hooking it over his hip. The motion forced him to sink in deeper, all the way. The sound he made as he dropped his forehead to hers was nearly her undoing.

  “You’re going to kill me,” he groaned.

  The pressure of him inside her was stealing her breath. “I think you can handle it.”

  “I don’t know.” His lips glided over hers again as his big body trembled. “I want to drag this out, but I don’t think I can.”

  “Don’t.” She cupped his cheek. “I don’t want to wait any longer.”

  He closed his eyes briefly. “Thank God.”

  He took her then.

  Lucian’s mouth was on hers as he dragged his thick length almost all the way out and then he thrust in. Julia’s cry was swallowed by his kiss. The fullness of him stretching her had the pleasure ratcheting up with every push and pull.

  His hands were everywhere. So were hers. Her fingers dug into his tight ass. His palm closed over her breast. The steady rolling of his hips picked up as Julia whispered his name over and over, begging for more.

  And he gave more.

  Lucian told her in heated words how much he loved the way she felt, and those words scorched her. Their movements became frantic. Rhythm was lost. There were no more words. Just grunts and moans, a language of flesh meeting flesh. Her back arched and her hips lifted, seeking him—seeking more and more.

  Then she was on that precarious edge of what she knew was going to be beautiful and powerful. Lucian seemed to sense this, because he shifted his body just right, and then he was thrusting and grinding, building the friction to intense, consuming levels. His hips were pounding into hers, all pretenses of control and seduction gone.

  The tension coiled tighter and tighter, and then he reached between them, to where their bodies joined, and did something incredible with his thumb. Julia broke, the release exploding through her. Waves of pleasure washed over her. She was only half aware of his body slamming into hers.

  “Julia . . .” His voice was a hoarse shot against her lips as his hips jerked and then he stilled deep inside her.

  It felt like an eternity had passed before either of them moved. Lucian slowly lifted his upper body, resting his weight on an arm. “You okay?”

  “More than okay,” she murmured. “It was . . .”

  “Amazing? The best you ever had?” he suggested helpfully. “You’ll never be the same again? You saw Jesus, didn’t you?”

  Julia laughed as she lightly smacked his arm.

  He caught her hand and brought it to his mouth. “It was amazing. I don’t even have words and I always have words.” Kissing each knuckle, he then lowered her hand to the bed. “Be right back.”

  Julia bit down on the inside of her cheek as he eased out of her. Once the weight and the warmth was gone, Julia rolled onto her side. She watched him walk over to a closed door she quickly discovered led to a bathroom. Water turned on as she curled her knees up. Her heart was still racing and her body still felt like every bone and tissue was replaced with feathers and pillow stuffing.

  Lucian strolled back into the room, obviously a hundred percent confident with everything on display. She wasn’t complaining as her gaze roamed over him. She wished she could sketch, because her fingers practically ached with the d
esire to do so.

  Silence crept in as Lucian returned to the bed. He pulled the covers back and then climbed in, stretching out on his back. Nervousness crept in, replacing that wonderful languor that had invaded her senses. What was she supposed to do? Stay? Leave? This man didn’t do relationships or women more than once for the most part, so he probably didn’t want them sleeping in his bed. Which was probably the smartest thing to do. She shouldn’t be sleeping in his bed.

  For some dumb reason that felt more serious than actually having sex with him.

  She probably needed her head examined, she thought as she started to sit up.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Julia halted. “I was going back to my room.”

  “Uh, no. No, you’re not.” Lucian hooked an arm around her waist and dragged her over to him, fitting the front of her body to his side.

  So, she guessed she wasn’t going back to her room.

  She was stiff at first, unsure of how to process the fact he wasn’t kicking her out of his bed. Slowly, she relaxed, letting her cheek fall to his chest and her hand to his stomach.

  “You know what?” he asked after a few moments.

  “What?”

  “I think I’m going to need seconds.” He placed his hand over hers, and Julia started to grin. “And thirds. Like a fucking buffet of Julia nonstop.”

  Chapter 26

  Lucian’s gaze flew to the ceiling. The room was dark and the warm body curled into his was sleeping peacefully.

  Footsteps. Damn footsteps.

  He knew that’s what he just heard, because he hadn’t fallen asleep. No, he was lying here, watching Julia sleep like some kind of damn creep. He couldn’t help it, though. There was a part of him that couldn’t believe she had come to him, that she’d opened up about her ex-husband and that she hadn’t been scared when he admitted that he’d done things he wasn’t necessarily proud of.

  He strained to hear any other sign of the footsteps, but after a few moments, he found himself looking at Julia again. Truth was, if someone was up there doing jumping jacks, he probably wouldn’t pull himself out of this bed.

  Lucian had never felt that way before.

  Fuck. He really was out of his element here as he reached down, scooping several strands of hair off her cheek, brushing them back from her face.

  He was enthralled with the lines of her face. Such interesting angles blended together to form such a perfect shape. He was addicted by all the soft curves, wanting to memorize every inch with his fingers and lips. And he was fascinated with the genuine kindness he saw in her eyes and heard in her words.

  In his world, that was a rare thing.

  No one was kind or helpful with expecting something in return. Julia was both things and expected nothing.

  She’d loved her ex-husband—loved a man who obviously didn’t deserve her, and Lucian wanted—

  He stopped those thoughts. What in the hell was thinking? Actually, what was he doing? Because he knew, deep down, he knew that tonight wasn’t about getting off or fucking an obsession out of his system. It was nothing like that.

  So what did that mean?

  Lucian didn’t know as he trailed his fingers down her bare arm. She wiggled in response, pressing against his side, and he was immediately hard. Just like that. She wasn’t even awake and trying to seduce him, and he was already seduced.

  Running his fingers down her side and over her hip, he knew he should let her sleep. Hell, he should probably get some himself, but that’s not what he did.

  He eased onto his side, smiling when she shifted onto her stomach, making this little murmuring sound. Brushing her hair aside, he pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck and then followed her spine all the way down to the curve of her ass, kissing and licking.

  Lucian knew the moment she was awake. Her body stiffened for a second and then relaxed. He rose behind her, planting a knee on either side of her.

  She drew one leg up, her hips moving restlessly as he slipped a hand farther down. “Mmm,” she murmured. “What are you up to?”

  “Seconds,” he told her. “I want seconds.”

  And he got them, with Julia on her belly and her ass up, pressing back against him as he gripped her hips. He took those seconds, and when he was done, his body slick with sweat and hers trembling with the aftershocks of release, he wanted more.

  Lucian needed more.

  Twisting her hair up into a knot, Julia shoved a thick bobby pin into the strands, securing the mess of hair into place. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Lucian didn’t look over at her as he thumbed through a ring of keys. “Yeah.”

  Julia did not believe that for one second. From the moment he showed up while she was working with Madeline and said he wanted to get the stuff out of his mother’s room for his sister, it was like a totally different person manifested in front of her.

  He’d gone quiet and remote, and Lucian was never quiet—ever—or remote, especially not last night . . . or this morning, when he woke her once again, this time with his hand between her legs and his mouth on her breasts.

  He got seconds.

  And then thirds.

  So she wasn’t taking the weird vibe he was throwing off personally. She also wasn’t letting herself focus on what had happened between them. Not a single part of her regretted last night, not at all. He’d been pretty up-front last night about who he was. Lucian didn’t need to tell her this was going to be a one-night stand kind of thing. She was able to read between the lines of what he said. They weren’t starting a relationship.

  They weren’t starting anything.

  But that didn’t mean . . . well, that didn’t mean she didn’t care about Lucian. That she was okay with what he was forcing himself to do.

  At first she’d thought it had something to do with Daniel, but even after he left and an entire day later, Lucian was still silent.

  She’d fretted over how to handle this as the afternoon progressed and he helped move his sister back to the bed. But it had been Lucian who suggested they get this over with, and so here they were, standing in the wing of the house Julia had never stepped foot in while Livie sat with Madeline.

  The left wing looked exactly the same—long halls with numerous, closed doors, and flickering wall sconces, except it was darker. It seemed as if the bright sunlight from outside couldn’t penetrate any of the windows. There was a chill in the air that wasn’t present in the other side of the house. Since Devlin and Gabe stayed on this side, she imagined they preferred to keep it cooler and that was the reason for the temperature differences. The illogical part of her brain was dwelling over the ghost stories Lucian had told her about as she glanced down the dark, narrow hall they’d walked through.

  Lucian cursed as he stared down at the keys.

  She felt bad for him. Going through his mother’s things had to be painful, no matter how many years had passed. Biting down on her lip, she glanced over her shoulder as she tapped her foot restlessly. Lucian didn’t need to be doing this. She didn’t want him to be doing this. And she knew he probably felt like he had to. That this was his sister he was helping and this was his mother’s room—a room that obviously wasn’t entered often, because it had taken a good thirty minutes for Lucian to find where Livie had the keys stashed.

  “Got it.” Lucian shoved the key into the lock. A click echoed like thunder, and with a twist of his wrist, the door inched open. The scent of vanilla wafted out.

  Lucian didn’t move as Julia peeked through the foot or so opening. The room was dark, so she saw nothing. Wetting her lips, she placed her hand on his arm. His head swung to hers, and those eyes closed off.

  She drew in a short breath, her mind racing to find a way to get him to agree to not do this. “I’m hungry,” she blurted out.

  His brows knitted.

  Okay. She needed to elaborate on that. “I didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast. Someone made me late this morning. No names mentioned.�
�

  Lucian’s expression softened by a degree.

  “So I’m hungry. Do you think you can make me a sandwich?”

  He now stared at her like she’d grown a third boob in the center of her forehead. “You’re asking me to make you a sandwich?”

  Fixing a smile on her face, she nodded. “A grilled cheese sandwich. I really love them, and I haven’t had one in forever.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “A grilled cheese sandwich?”

  “Yes. I’m not particular with the type of bread. I like the good old unhealthy stuff—white bread, but if you have wheat or whatever, I’ll take that.” She could feel her cheeks warming, but now she kind of wanted a cheese sandwich, like for real. “Can you make me one?”

  Lucian just stared at her.

  “I would do it myself, but I don’t want to touch anything in that kitchen. Everything looks like it’s worth more than my life.” She was smiling so widely she feared her face would crack. “But I’m really hungry and you wouldn’t like me if I’m really hungry.”

  “And why is that?”

  “I get really cranky. Like next level mean,” she told him, which wasn’t a lie. “If you Google hungry, you’d find a picture of me glaring back at you. Plus, I get super dizzy and sick if I don’t eat when I’m hungry.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep.” That wasn’t exactly true. Neither was her next statement. “I think it’s a low blood sugar kind of thing.”

  “You think?” One brow lifted. “Shouldn’t you eat some candy then?”

  Crap. “Do you have candy? Because that would be great, too. Candy and a grilled cheese sandwich.”

  Lucian dipped his chin and looked away as he lifted a hand, clasping the back of his neck. Silence stretched out between them, and she really thought he was going to tell her no, but then he sighed. “Lock up when you’re done.”

  Julia blinked.

  “Meet me in the kitchen and I’ll have a grilled cheese sandwich waiting for you.” He held up the keys. “And candy . . . for your blood sugar problems.”

  She bit the inside of her cheek as he dropped the keys in her palm. “Will do.”