“Why do you say that?”
She shook her head. “I went there to take care of her, but she had other plans. As soon as I walked through the door, she started in on me. My skin looked pale, I was depressed and unhappy . . . anything she could say to wear me down, she said. At first, I just thought it was the shock of losing my father, but it didn’t stop.”
“Why didn’t you confront her about it?”
“I don’t know. I think after a while, I just started to believe her. She said you’d never take me back. She . . .” Julia sobbed. “She said my father’s death was my fault. If I hadn’t left, he would still be there with her! I didn’t know what she meant for the longest time. Then, the phone call came that changed everything.”
“I told you that my mother had gone to counseling. At first, it was just as a precaution. A doctor my father knew approached me at the funeral and suggested it. Honestly, it gave me two hours a week without her around, so I didn’t have a problem with it. About a year ago, her doctor called me out of the blue and asked to meet. I thought that he wanted to do some sort of joint therapy at my mother’s request, but when I got there, she wasn’t around.”
“Did he want to meet to talk about your mother?” I asked.
“Yes,” she whispered at the memory. “He wanted to talk to me about her but he couldn’t. It was all very evasive, but he did ask me to do one thing—he wanted me to petition the courts for the power of attorney over my mother. At first I refused, but he kept pressing, telling me that there was something wrong with her but that he couldn’t say anything more because of his oath. Finally, I agreed and signed the paperwork.”
“What did your mom think of that?”
“Nothing. Somehow, her doctor managed to get everything done without her knowing. It was terrifying for weeks. I would check the mail and wait for it to be delivered, perpetually afraid that she would find out what I was doing and kick me to the curb.”
“You had a home here, though, Julia.”
“A home that I thought was gone forever? Don’t forget that we hadn’t spoken in years. The only time we ever communicated was when Amy needed it. How could I know that you would still be here for me?”
I shook my head. I had nothing to say. I was as much at fault as she was. If I had reached out more, maybe things would have been different. “Julia, it wasn’t entirely your fault.”
She vigorously shook her head. “No. I was the one who left. Do you want to know everything or not? Because we could go off on a dozen different tangents right now.”
“Sorry,” I said as I gently rubbed her shoulder. “Please keep talking.”
“Once the paperwork went through, I had a few meetings with her doctor. It wasn’t pretty. She’d told him things I never would have imagined. He had the sneaking suspicion that she had been poisoning me for years. That’s why the seizures stopped when I moved away. All I could think about was what she’d said before, that my father’s death was my fault.”
“Oh, no,” I whispered.
“The doctor pressed her about it, but he could never get her to admit to poisoning him. But the question still lingered. My father was sick for weeks before he slipped into that coma and died. The doctors always assumed my medical condition was genetic but unidentifiable.”
“I see now why you didn’t want to come back,” I muttered.
“When I left, the possibility of a murder trial was still very real. How could I drag you into that? If what the doctor thinks is true, and I do believe it is, my mother slowly murdered my father to get me to come back home. I ignored it. I refused to go back there for so long. His death was my fault.”
“Julia,” I whispered.
She pulled away from me. “I told you I was a monster.”
“Are you kidding me? You can’t be held accountable for her actions. That wasn’t you! You’re one of the sweetest people I know. You couldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I could!” she screamed at me. “I did hurt people! I hurt everyone that I cared about, all because of one little lie!”
“Jenny,” I said. “You know that I never did anything with her. She was just a kid!”
“It doesn’t matter now,” she said softly.
“Obviously, it does still matter if you’re bringing it up now,” I hissed. “Of course you left after the way I talked to you. I lied to you, and the size of the lie didn’t matter. I pushed you away and into her house. This is on me.”
“Aaron,” she said. “You understand why I can’t give you an answer now, don’t you?”
“I want to be there for you. I don’t care what that entails. If it means we’re going to trial, so be it.”
“I don’t want you to do that though. I don’t even know if it’s going to reach that point, but if it does, I must leave again. It might just be for a few days, but it could be months.”
“So you would leave us again? Just like last time?”
“I came back when you needed me, didn’t I?” she said softly.
“Yes, you came back to help me carry on a lie that I’ve been holding onto for the last five years. A lie that I wouldn’t have to tell if you would have trusted me the first time.”
Julia rolled her eyes and climbed out of the hot tub. Instantly, I regretted my harsh words. She was so unwilling to accept that things weren’t her fault. After the childhood that she’d had growing up, I could understand the fear, but this was different. She claimed to love me, but still, she pushed me again. It wasn’t protecting me. It was hurting me even more. I didn’t want things to end this way.
“Julia,” I said carefully.
She stopped. “What?”
“I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. You know how much I appreciate your coming down here so my mother wouldn’t find out about the divorce. I don’t know what I thought was going to happen, but the second I saw you, that old feeling of hope popped back up.”
“Aaron,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I am damaged goods. Ones with a terrible past that is going to jump up at any second and show its ugly face. Being with me isn’t a good idea.”
“You didn’t always think that way,” I reminded her. “There was a time when my love was all you needed to feel safe.”
“Love and trust,” she whispered. “That was all I needed until the harsh reality of being an adult showed up. Not everyone gets their happily ever after.”
“Why not? Why should everyone else get to spend their lives with someone they love but you get the short end of the stick? I think that’s bullshit. I think you’re scared to let others in.”
“I did let you in!” she hissed. “And you know what I got? A reporter showing up at work and asking me about my husband and a sixteen-year-old girl.”
“Are you ever going to forgive me for that?” I asked, the anger starting to build up inside me. It was beating a dead horse. I knew that she was tossing Jenny back in my face as a form of self-defense but it was still driving me insane.
“I don’t know if I can forgive you! It was just one silly little lie, yes, but it started so much more.”
I laughed. It was cold and harsh. “So that’s the truth of it then, isn’t it? You don’t blame yourself for what happened. You blame me for getting tangled up with that girl.”
“No,” she said. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. I had never seen her look so stubborn and sure of herself. It was a huge turn-on. “I don’t put all the blame on you. I put it on both of us. Yes, Jenny was the drink that pushed me over the edge, but I went down that path without hesitation too. It’s not the past. It’s the future that has me worried. I don’t know if we can ever go back to who we were before.”
“I don’t want to be those people again. We were young and passionate, yes, but we fought and struggled to get by in our relationship. You’re an amazing woman, and I want to get to know you all over again. I think our daughter deserves that much.”
“She does, and so much more. You need to think about this too, because
you’re asking for a life just like before. I can’t promise that I’ll always be around when you need me, and I can never let you into that dark chapter of my life. Is that really a relationship you want?”
I swallowed hard. My instinct was to nod my head and tell her yes, that I wanted everything she had to offer. I didn’t care about the rest of it. We could find a way to make it work. I was madly in love with her and I’d move heaven and earth to keep her with me. I couldn’t open my mouth to say the words though. I needed time to show her just how much I cared. She let out a sigh and held out her hand.
“Why don’t we call it a night?” she asked with her easy smile.
I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go to bed.”
Chapter 15
Julia
I stripped down, letting the robe fall to the floor. Instantly, his hands found their way to my body. I was dripping water all over the floor as I grinned at him. No matter what happened between us, one thing would never change. We’d found the perfect sexual match-up the very first night we were together. His likes and dislikes perfectly aligned with my own.
“You’re so attractive,” he whispered to me. “I’ve never seen a woman as beautiful as you.”
I laughed. “You always did know how to charm a girl.”
“Come here,” he said as he pulled me closer to him. “I just want to kiss you.”
I let my mouth fall open as he captured my bottom lip between his teeth and gently sucked on my lip. I closed my eyes involuntarily as they rolled back in my head. My hands found the soft, naked flesh of his hips and dug in. He covered my lips with his own, the passion building quickly between us.
He gently pushed me back against the bed, but I broke away from him and shook my head. “Nope, we both smell like chlorine. Let’s take a shower instead.”
“I’m all yours,” he whispered.
I knew that he was all mine. The power that comes with sex filled my body and gave me courage. I turned on the shower and stepped into the glass enclosure. Instantly, steam began to fill the room as he followed in behind me. His cock was already rigid and glistening with moisture. I wanted to drop to my knees and take him in my mouth, but I could tell from the way he licked his lips that he had another plan.
I backed away from him until I felt the warm tile at my back. He growled a little as he pinned my arms against the tiles, kissing my wet neck and playfully biting at me. I didn’t resist. Everything he did turned me on in some new and exciting way. As his head passed between my breasts, he paused and took one into his mouth, once again biting down before moving to the other one.
His hand drifted between my legs and gently forced them apart. My nectar mixed with the water, slickening my body for him.
His fingers probed at my body as he slipped one and then a second into me. They spread me apart as his tongue found my swollen bud. He flicked at me with his tongue. Every time it made contact, I sucked in a sharp breath, trying to steady myself but losing the battle. He worked my body, wiggling his fingers and sucking on my clit until I couldn’t take it anymore. The pressure inside me let loose, the orgasm exploding out of me.
It was more than I could take as I grabbed ahold of his head and crushed him against me. The sensation of his mouth shot through my body and made me scream. I quickly shoved my arm in my mouth to muffle the sound. My knees started to feel weak, but Aaron’s strong shoulders supported me through it. It felt like it carried on for hours before I was strong enough to stand on my own again, and when I did, I only wanted one thing—to return the favor.
I shoved him against the wall, the water dripping down over his body and falling on my face. I didn’t pay any attention to it as I grabbed ahold of his cock. It was rigid and he was already on the brink of coming simply from tasting my own sweet nectar. I plunged his dick into my mouth and started to suck on him, giving him long strokes between flicking the head of his cock with my tongue and playing with his balls.
He wrapped his hands around my hair, pulling me closer then shoving me away. I loved it when he took control of the romance. It lit my fire. Gently squeezing his balls, I felt his cock as it became an iron rod. He thrust my head forward with one final grunt and shot his salty juice into my mouth. I swallowed the warm nectar, licking the head of his cock clean as I fell away from him. Breathlessly, he gazed down at me from where he towered over me before getting down on his knees.
“Get on your knees,” he said in a gruff tone.
I loved that position and he knew it. My body was still throbbing from earlier, begging for his shaft. I spread my legs apart for him, showing him my body and wiggling my ass a little. When the sharp sting of his hand making contact with my flesh hit me, I shuddered with pleasure. He knew everything that I liked. I had no complaints. I felt the tip of his shaft at my entrance and pushed back against him.
He responded by burying his cock deep inside my body in one swift thrust. The pleasure bounded over as I shook. He thrust into me again, and I found myself on the verge of another orgasm. His large organ stretched open my already sore body and made every nerve ending stand at attention. As his fingers dug into my hips and he used my own weight to gain more power for thrusting, the sensations overpowered me.
Giving myself over to the earth-shattering joy, I called out his name. He fell forward onto me, thrusting like a wild man until once again, his seed spilled into my body. My core clenched down onto him, milking every last drop. We stayed locked together like a pair of wild animals as he gently caressed my breasts, bringing me down slowly and delicately from the crippling roller-coaster ride.
“Wow,” I said as Aaron climbed into bed.
He smiled. “Yeah, I think that was one of my favorites.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked playfully. “Any others you want to tell me about?”
He shook his head and leaned down onto one arm, his eyes meeting mine. “You were there for every single one of them, so there is no need. However, I would be happy to give you a visual reenactment to jog your memory.”
“I bet you would!” I said playfully.
“Sorry,” he whispered as he kissed my collar bone. “I just can’t help myself. I like that we have all the time in the world to keep exploring each other’s body. It’s like no time has passed at all between us.”
“Really? I feel like so much has changed. Amy has changed the most.”
“Little kids will do that,” he muttered.
“I know. I don’t want to miss out on any more of her milestones,” I said softly. “I want to be there for her. I just hope that’s going to be a possibility.”
“Well, you know where I stand on the matter. I want you back in her life, no matter what happens between us.”
“Thank you,” I whispered to him.
I pulled him closer to me, our bodies dry now but smooth from the water. He smiled down and kissed me. My lips still felt tender from the kissing before, but I wanted his skin to brush against mine in that tender way it did. He always calmed me down, or at least his body did. When I brushed my hands down his stomach to the soft patch of curls below, I was greeted with his hard organ.
“Again?” he whispered in surprise.
I nodded my head as he propped himself up on his elbows and climbed between my legs. I loved the wild and uninhibited passion we had for each other, but it was nice to be at peace with Aaron too. As his shaft found its way into my still damp body, I let out a sigh of relief. Making love to him was like a sedative for the soul. Everything else slipped away except for the way his body made me feel.
The soft curls of hair on his chest brushed against my nipples, and they stood erect for his gentle lips. He suckled on me gently, taking his time and making every lick count as he slowly pushed himself deeper into my body. I stretched to accommodate him, knowing that he would hit bottom eventually and again send me shuddering into the light.
Every thrust was taken with great care, this time different from before. Our eyes locked onto each other, and without words, we shared a bond. He
knew every depth of my fear and I felt the pain that he’d gone through over the years without me. The passion slowly started to burn until I couldn’t take anymore, and I arched my back as my body clamped down on his, making him spill his seed into my waiting womb.
He held me there in that place with him for a few more minutes before slipping off to the side. His arm, draped so easily around me, never left my waist. He didn’t want to let me go. He leaned forward and kissed my shoulder as I felt his body pressing against mine. I could have laid with him all night, slowly making love and talking for hours. Still the weight of the day was catching up with me. The emotional turmoil from before started to ebb its way into the fantasy of Aaron’s arms.
“Aaron?” I asked carefully.
“Hmm?”
“What would you have done if I’d said ‘no’ to your little plan? Would you just keep lying?”
“No,” he said as he cleared his throat. “But I wanted to give you the opportunity to come back first. I was going to call you, but you called me first.”
“What made you decide to stop lying to them after all this time?” I asked. “It just seems a little strange.”
“I don’t know. I figured it was time. Did you know next month will mark five years since you left? It was a wakeup call for me when I realized that.”
“So, you were done fighting for me after that?”
He leaned up and tilted my chin to see my eyes. “No. I would never stop fighting for you. But I decided that after five years, the rest of the world had a right to know. I was going to come to your mother’s house to find you, actually.”
“You were?” I asked, stunned.
Aaron nodded. “I was planning on going right after the school year started. I knew that it was time for me to do something about us. I never wanted ‘us’ to end, and I was going to make sure that you knew that.”
“Wow,” I said.
“So, what would you have said?” he pressed. “If I’d shown up on your doorstep with a dozen roses and asked you to come home?”
One More Kiss: A Second Chance Romance (One More Series Book 1) Page 9
