Jules narrowed his eyes accusingly at his own reflection in the rear-view mirror. It did not make him proud that despite the fact that Glory was sitting beside him in abject misery, just experiencing the perfumed heat that radiated from her body pumped him into a painful boner.
Thinking to settle this thing between them once and for all, he made a decision.
He turned left when he should have gone right and continued along the long winding road while Glory sat ghostly-quiet beside him.
When he came to a sudden stop at the top of the small hill, Glory suddenly threw herself out of her trance-like state and began to fumble with the door handle. Jules looked on in surprised alarm at this odd and sudden display of frenetic energy. Watching her struggle Jules had the impression that Glory looked like a rabbit caught in a trap, frantic to escape.
Oh, no you don’t.
Jules used the automatic lock release just on the driver’s side and left Glory in the passenger seat trying to fumble her way out.
He jogged around to the side of the truck and pulled the door open for her. She was so intent on freeing herself that when he pulled the door open Glory leaned out and fell straight into his arms.
Perfect.
“If you had waited I would have helped you down.” Jules’s hands stayed firmly on her waist as he helped her regain her equilibrium
“I’m okay.” Glory struggled to pull herself free but stopped when she realized that the hem of her dress had somehow managed to stay stuck on the door handle.
“Uh-huh, I can see that.” Jules held her fast against him while he reached past her to tug the garment free. But just before he did, he gave her a bold smile.
“Nice panties." Jules cocked his head and looked pointedly at the small patch of silk that covered her gorgeous ass.
Glory blushed as she realized her whole bottom was exposed.
“Damn it," she cried out as she pushed against him, but her struggle to free herself only resulted in the fabric being twisted and stretched further up her body.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before, baby.” He smirked.
“Nothing you’re gonna ever see again.” Glory snatched the hem out of his hand.
“No? Well, then I better take advantage of the moment.” Jules reached around her to smooth his big palm over her skirt. And with a wicked grin, he gave her ass cheek a long squeeze.
“Stop that.” Glory slapped his hand away. “We’re at the clubhouse?” She looked around in confusion.
She had been so preoccupied and distressed about the scene in the courtyard that she hadn’t been paying attention.
Lesson learned.
If she were going to deal with whatever that bastard Santino was going to dish out, she better keep her head on straight.
“What are we doing here?”
He folded his big arms across his chest and regarded her silently.
“I don’t have time for games, Jules.” Glory felt a shiver of apprehension run through her as she fought to keep her voice low and even.
“And I sure as shit ain’t playing one, Glory.” His tone matched hers.
“Then tell me what we’re doing here.”
“There’s a question I need answered.”
“And you couldn’t ask me whatever it is on the drive home? Or at the lake house?” She huffed impatiently.
God, please don’t have this be about Santino she sent up the silent prayer. She was almost certain no one had seen them together, but she wasn’t sure. She needed time to process—to think.
Glory felt a sudden tug as her small cold hand was wrapped in Jules’s warm one. Without another word he pulled her quickly across the compound, through the doors of the kitchen house and down the narrow hallway that led to his room. He kept a firm hold on her hand while he reached into the pocket of his pants, took out the keys and unlocked the door.
Glory barely had time to register what was going on before she found herself standing in his room.
“Jules! What are you—oh!” Glory squeaked as she felt herself suddenly surrounded by muscular arms. Before she had a chance to recover from the surprise, his mouth covered hers. The heat that coursed through her was both foreign and achingly familiar. As the pressure of his mouth increased Glory was helpless to do anything but relax in his arms.
God, how she had missed this.
How she had missed him.
“Jules, that wasn’t a question,” she whispered weakly as his lips left a trail along her collar bone and worked its way down to the globe of her breasts.
“Sure it was,” he whispered back as he felt her nipples grow taut underneath his gentle touch. When he heard the moan that she couldn’t stop escaping from her lips he said, “And I’m happy as hell to see that the answer is still yes.”
Then he kissed her again. Deeply, passionately, possessively.
And she returned that kiss with all the longing of a woman who had been without a man—who had been without her man—for much too long.
She reveled in the warmth of his touch.
In the way he made her feel safe.
Made her feel protected.
Made her feel—loved.
Jules broke off the kiss just long enough to stretch Glory out on his bed. Then with slow deliberation he began to unbutton her sundress. As he released each small fastener, his eyes held hers until the last button was undone. Then with a low growl, his mouth began a slow thorough feast of her willing body. His hand moved up her smooth legs in long light caresses until his rough palms began to tease the edge of her panties. When she felt his strong fingers slip under the fabric, her thighs parted their welcome.
“Ahh—silk—how I have missed you.” He grinned against her ear.
The small nervous laughter that rose in her throat quickly turned to a deep satisfied sigh as he quickly rid her of the panties. Jules pulled away from her and in a quick flash he stood, pulled his T-shirt over his head and slid his pants down his thighs. Before Glory finished her next breath, he was on her. Glory’s soft small hands smoothed over his hard, muscled body as if in reverent memory. Her fingers grazed over every inch of Jules’s massive chest. They drew over the intricately inked mark of the Saints—a broken winged angel that spanned the width of his rib cage. Lightly she skimmed over the hard ridges of his muscles and traced the raised tissue of his scars. Her mouth followed the path of her fingers all the while placing light feathery kisses on his hard belly.
And below.
When she reached the hard, pulsing, rigid flesh, she fed on the length of him.
“Baby, stop,” Jules rasped out. When Glory felt his hand fist in her hair, she looked up at him questioning. With easy strength he pulled her up and tucked her to his side. It took less than two beats of her heart for him to slip on the condom.
Through the haze of heat and wet and raw lusting need, Glory whispered the sweet surrender and complete control to him that she knew he craved.
Jules growled low as he parted her thighs with a knowing hand. Her head fell back against his shoulder and she sighed against him while his fingers dipped deep inside her. Bending his head to catch her nipple, Jules sucked and nipped at the swollen tip in rhythm with the slow steady thrusts of his hand. The exquisite pleasure began to build inside of Glory until it washed over her in the tight rush of the swirling, blinding pleasure of climax. Jules held her close, murmuring softly to her as the throbbing in her body eased. She felt a renewed surge of pleasure when he pressed his erection against her again. With infinite care and gentleness he pushed deeper and deeper inside her with a pulsing rhythm. Glory’s long legs wrapped around his hips, drawing him in tighter. She let out a long moan of pleasure as she felt him build then fill her with long pulsing throbs of ecstasy.
Glory loved the low throaty sounds Jules made at the last. The ragged uneven cadence of his breathing, the sound of her name whispered between the long slow kisses that she could never get enough of.
She luxuriated in the power of Jules’s full weight b
efore he rolled off her. Glory lay limp and exhausted in his arms while warm currents of pleasure seeped through her body. For the moment it was impossible to worry about anything or anyone. Nothing existed but the here and the now.
Jules lifted a lock of her silky white blond hair and let it run it through his fingers.
“Like being inside of a damn angel,” Jules whispered against her hair.
“Not quite,” Glory whispered back in languid protest.
“Don’t move,” Jules said to her as he swung his arm out from under her head. She smiled when his trip to the bathroom gave her a great view of his well-shaped ass. A few seconds later, she was tucked back at his side.
“Jules—” She sighed with regret and a wish that good things could last forever.
“Stay here tonight.” Jules surprised her. His long strong fingers made lazy circles against the soft skin of her stomach while he cradled her head in his arm. Glory curled up against him and sighed.
“Stay here with me, baby,” he whispered again against her hair, tempting her.
It was so warm lying next to him. So safe. So secure.
And she was so very very tired. The stress of the day, the weeks, the months, and the years seemed to crash down on Glory all at once. The worries of a lifetime threatened to drag her under into a deep swirling tidal wave of exhaustion. Glory wanted nothing more than to stay nestled against the warmth of Jules’s powerful chest and to fall asleep with his strong arms around her.
She wanted to give in to one last night of blissful surrender before the uncertainties of the present and terror of the future came crashing down around her. She wanted to give herself the gift of one uncomplicated night where she was just a woman basking in the heated afterglow of making love to a man.
She wanted to stay.
More than anything she wanted to stay.
And so she did.
Chapter 16
RAP RAP RAP
Glory’s heart almost pounded out of her chest when she was jarred from a deep dreamless sleep. She squealed in dazed confusion as she felt steely arms grab and push her to the other side of the bed. A big, strong body was shielding her between himself and the door in an instinctive protective move.
“Jules?” Glory stared at the ink tattooed on his back, her eyes still unfocused and dull from sleep.
“It’s okay, babe,” Jules reassured her even as he lunged to the side of the mattress, grabbed the clothes on the floor and began to get dressed.
Glory scampered off the bed to do the same.
RAP RAP RAP the door shook on its hinges.
“Whoever the fuck that is has about five seconds to get the hell away from my door before I put a goddamn bullet right through it,” Jules yelled.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, brother,” Reno said. “Boss wants to see you.”
“Now?” Jules called out in exasperation.
“Definitely now,” Reno crowed. “Told me, if you’re not out in five, to come in and get you. Even gave me the master keys.”
Glory heard the jingle of a heavy key ring through the door.
“You open that fucking door and I’ll cut off your dick and shove it up your ass!” Jules roared.
“I’ll do you a favor, man, and tell Prosper you’ll be out in five.” Reno chuckled out his response. “But you want to be careful what you threaten, brother, because you sure as hell don’t want to have to answer to my old lady about that missing dick thing.”
“Goddamn it, Reno, I’m not kidding. You tell Prosper anything you wanna tell him, just get away from that fucking door!”
“Now you’re down to four minutes, man, stop wasting time yelling at me, and give your woman a proper goodbye. Then get your ass out to meet with your prez.” Glory could hear Reno’s boot heels beat a retreat across the wooden floor.
Glory looked from the rumpled bed to Jules and back again in dismay.
“They know we’re— we’re—” Glory paused looking for the right words. Her face flushed pink while her hair hung around her shoulders in wild disarray. “This is so damn embarrassing. If Prosper says anything to Pinky, then she’ll tell the girls and I will never hear the end of it.” Glory buttoned up her dress with shaking fingers.
“So the fuck what? You’re a grown woman. Nobody’s business what we do or don’t do together. Even Prosper’s not going to go interfering with shit that personal.” Jules pulled the T-shirt over his head then bent and tossed Glory her panties.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” Glory was not convinced. “Still wish everyone in the damn club house didn’t know we were in here together.”
“Why the hell not? They’re bound to find out sooner or later. Might as well get it over with.”
“Bound to find out what?” Glory lifted her dress and tugged her panties up. She paused as she strapped on her sandals and gave Jules a wary look.
“About us,” he said, matter of fact.
“Jules—this was a one- time thing. I can’t do this with you again.” She frowned. The events of the past two days had been unexpected, confusing and alarming to say the least. The run in with Santino had been a total—she searched her mind for a word that could even come close to describe it and landed on—mind fuck. The incident had thrown her into emotional turmoil for sure. But she was a big girl and the choices she made were her own, especially when it came to who she shared a bed with. And while the choice to spend the night with Jules was something she took full responsibility for, she had no intention of repeating that particular moment of weakness.
“Why not?” He buttoned up his jeans, then bent to pull his boots on.
Glory finished strapping her sandals and stood up, then she said with a gentle tone, “Honey, you’re good at whole bunch of things, but relationships aren’t real high on that list.”
“Relationships?” He paused mid pull and looked up at her.
“See that? The way you said that? You said the word ‘relationships’ like you were spitting poison out of your system.” She looked back at him and sighed.
And though she knew this was coming, knew this would be the end result of their night together, she couldn’t stop the swell of disappointment that sprang up at the startled look on his face.
Because even if there were moments during their time together that Jules had appeared to be commitment minded, in the end it had turned out that his idea of what it took to make a relationship work and hers were worlds apart.
Jules’s voice pulled her out of her reverie. “Okay Glory, I ain’t got time to argue with you. We can try to play it your way, but I wish us both good fucking luck with that. Because if you think that this ain’t gonna happen between us again? Babe, you are wrong.”
Glory gave him a look of startled surprise.
“Really? That look? You doubt it? Think about it.” He pulled her close and lifted her chin gently. “I'm one hundred percent sure you’re in my bed again.”
Glory looked into those beautiful blue eyes, felt the heat of his body so close to hers and despite her inner resolve, she was ready to rip off her clothes and leap into that bed again with him right then and there. God's honest truth.
She let out a long slow sigh. Jules was right.
There was no way she could see him flexing in the lake house every day without wanting some of that.
Without wanting some of him.
That is if she lived through whatever dastardly deed Santino had lined up for her.
“You’re right,” she blurted out.
“Damn straight, I’m right,” Jules agreed, but with none of the smug arrogance she had expected to hear in his voice. There was only something that sounded strangely like relief and maybe a little bit of happiness.
“I love being—” Glory hesitated, because despite Jules’s rough and ready vernacular, she had no desire to be crass about the night they had just shared together. So she waved her hand toward the rumpled sheets and tried again. “I love being with you.”
He gave her a t
ender, if slightly triumphant, smile.
“But Jules, we’ve gone down this road before and I think we can both agree that it doesn’t end well,” she reminded him.
“So maybe this time we take a different road,” he offered.
“I’m not sure you’re the turn over a new leaf kind of guy, Jules.” She said with surety and a tinge of regret.
“What makes you think I was talking about me?” He teased her with a smile.
“I’m trying to have a serious conversation here,” she scolded him.
“Continue, by all fucking means.” Jules responded and tried his best to look chastised.
“I’m just saying that there’s this thing between us. A powerful attraction between us and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t work.” Glory groped to find the words for a situation that she really had no explanation for.
Jules, it seemed, had no such problem.
“Not how I see it. From what I remember, it always has worked between us. And it sure as hell seemed like it was working for us last night,” he continued with a wicked gleam in his eye, “I’m pretty sure by those little whimpering noises you made and the way you clamped your legs around my back that you—”
“I did,” Glory shot out, embarrassment coloring her face.
“A couple of times.” Jules smiled at her.
More than a couple. And damn if her toes didn’t curl at the thought.
Glory forced herself back to the matter at hand. “What I am saying is that I think we can both recognize that, as two healthy adults, we have needs and urges. And as you pointed out, we have a pretty good track record in that area, so I suggest that we satisfy those needs together—if you’re willing.”
“Good track record?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I’d say so, yes,” Glory confirmed.
“So let me get this straight.” Jules’s eyes turned hard as he regarded her slowly. “You’re saying that once in a while you might have the urge to be fucked good and hard and you want to use my dick to get that done?”
“I guess that’s what I’m saying.” Glory ignored his look of outrage and her own aforementioned inner resolve to the contrary. Because selfishly-speaking, great sex with Jules, with none of the complications, angst and heartache, sounded just about damn perfect right now.
Saving Glory (Hells Saints Motorcycle Club Book 4) Page 10
