Accidental Fiancé (Unintentionally Yours #5)

24. Julian

Chapter 24

Julian

M arcus laid back in the leather recliner, a puff of smoke rising from his cherry cigar. It flared as he breathed it in. “Do you think the girls know this is what we do while they’re at the spa all day?”

“Does it matter?” Apollo asked, readjusting in his recliner as he sat up and looked down. “Harriet, nice work.”

His nail tech smiled, nodded, and kept filing at what he called his foot, but what we called evidence there was a hobbit in our bloodline somewhere.

My pedicure ended half an hour ago, but I was relaxed as hell and not ready to get off the lounge recliner yet. Other family members were hanging out in various spots in the house, but when the ladies left for their spa day, a few of us had one of our own. We were happy that they were having a relaxing day together, and it was nice to be able to hang out with the guys without distractions and get our own services.

“Maggie didn’t ask what we’d be doing, but it wasn’t like Mom gave her time to. I think she wanted to get her out of here as fast as possible to stop me from objecting.”

“Why would you object to her joining spa day?” Apollo asked.

I sipped my cognac. “I wouldn’t exactly object as much as try to warn her about everyone.”

“She’s a big girl,” Marcus said. “I’m sure she can handle herself.”

Now was as good a time as any. “So, what’s up with you and Chloe Foster? You know how much of a pain in the ass she is. You were there after that fight I had with her boyfriend.”

“That was high school stuff, Julian. I’d like to think we’re all past that. You holding a grudge?”

“I wouldn’t be if I believed she’s changed. She hasn’t.” Except she didn’t blackmail me in high school like she’s doing now .

It wasn’t about the money. I wasn’t thrilled about it, but a million dollars a day for seven days wasn’t going to dent my bank account. What pissed me off was that she knew about us somehow and she had no shame using it against us. I was glad today was spa day; I welcomed the break from having to look at her smug face for a while.

“You gotta learn to get over shit,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s not healthy to carry all that baggage.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from shouting, “Your girlfriend is blackmailing me!” Instead, I mildly shrugged. “I don’t know about that, Marcus. I think when someone is part of the reason your face is scarred for life, you get to hold a grudge of some sort.”

Apollo sighed exaggeratedly. “I did the best I could with what I had at the time. I’m much better at stitches these days.”

Marcus laughed. “Yeah, well, being Chloe’s new boyfriend, I don’t plan on hitting Julian anytime soon, so we won’t have to test that theory.”

“Do I smell cigar smoke in my house?” Mom’s question carried down the hall.

I never saw Marcus move so fast as when he jumped out of his chair and bolted for the backdoor to the lounge, lit cigar in hand. She had done the same thing since we were kids whenever she knew we’d been misbehaving. She’d shout the accusation like she was angry, but then gave us enough time to cover it up. I wasn’t sure if she did it so she wouldn’t have to punish us or if it was because Mom liked being the fun parent.

The nail techs, estheticians, and massage therapists who had descended upon the lounge knew it was time to clean up when Mom returned. We paid them extra to be ghosts and slip out of the house unnoticed. They were packed up and gone before Mom poked her head through the doorway.

“Smells like a brothel in here. What have you boys been doing?”

“Nothing, Mom. How was the spa?”

“Wonderful, as always.”

Maggie walked in next, making a beeline straight to me. She took my face in her hands and kissed me within an inch of my life in front of everyone. My mind blanked out completely. She whispered, “Take me upstairs. We need to talk.”

I swallowed, realizing everyone’s eyes were on us. “Excuse us.” I grabbed Maggie’s hand and led her upstairs while my younger cousins chuckled behind us. What the hell had happened at the spa to make Maggie demand a private talk? And why the kiss?

When the door was closed behind us, I started to ask, “What did Chloe?—"

But before I could get the words out, Maggie pounced on me, her mouth on mine, her hands pulling at the waist of my shirt. I could have gotten lost in her so easily.

As much as I liked where this was headed, I needed clarity. We’d gone down this road in the closet, and things got weird after that. I didn’t want that to happen again so I took her hands in mine and broke the kiss. “Maggie, tell me what happened at the spa.”

Her eyes were glazed, and her breaths came out in puffs as her chest heaved. “Later, I promise.”

Good enough for now. I pulled her to me, relishing the soft warmth of her body on mine. When I reached around for her ass, she let out the sexiest moan as I squeezed. I backed her to the bed. We lost half our clothes between kisses on the way there.

I gave her a playful shove, and she tumbled back onto the mattress, where I peeled away the remaining layers until I was rewarded with every inch of her silken skin. Whatever they’d done to her at the spa, her skin glowed. She had never been so beautiful as when she laid there, splayed out like my own personal feast.

Every part of her was deliciously sweet. I licked her from her ankles up while I tore away at what was left of my clothes. But it wasn’t enough. I needed to be inside of her more than I needed to breathe. My cock ached for it, and when I pulled her to the edge of the bed, her lips parted in shock and anticipation. “Please, baby, don’t make me wait.”

I didn’t. We moaned together as I began to enter her. Just a few inches at first, I hadn’t done as much as I liked to normally get her ready so she wasn’t as prepared for it. Her tight heat doubled my vision. I worked my way into her slowly, back and forth, until I buried myself deep inside. When I was as far as I could go, I scooped her up and carried her to the head of the bed to lay her on the pillows.

Things took a turn from there.

I couldn’t explain what had changed from one second to the next. Maybe it was me. But moving her higher up onto the bed shifted things. This wasn’t some frantic fuck in a closet or a lust-filled loss of control. I stared into her warm brown eyes, and in that breath, I couldn’t deny it anymore.

I rubbed my thumb over her bottom lip and she pulled me down for a kiss. It wasn’t long before our bodies started up again. I went deeper into her with every thrust. Slowly, methodically, with every stroke to draw out our pleasure. As I gazed into her eyes, I swore our hearts synced up along with our breaths.

Maggie met me on every thrust, her hands on my face, my neck, my back. She grabbed my ass and pulled me deeper still as she belted my waist with her legs. When she clenched on me, and her body went rigid, I kept pace for her. “That’s it, baby. Be my good girl and come on my cock.”

Her gasps made me crazy, and as she came, she cried out my name. I refused to stop, even as my own orgasm begged for release. I throbbed so hard it took my breath away. She whimpered beneath me, “Now you.” That’s all I needed to hear, my climax coursing through me as I spilled into her, the pleasure almost too great to bear.

I spooned her tightly afterwards. Although I didn’t understand what was happening between us or what any of it meant, I was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Still, I wondered what brought this on. I whispered in her ear, “I think you owe me an explanation.”

She took a nervous breath. “I know what happened with Grant Worthington.”

It was like a record scratch ripped through my head. Fucking Chloe. I didn’t know how she knew everything, but she always seemed to. Of course, she knew about my crush. Eighteen-year-old me wasn’t exactly subtle.

“I never meant for you to find out. That was private and not your problem.”

Maggie rolled over to face me. “I think it’s sweet.”

“Sweet?” I asked as I sat up. I was naked, but this was a different kind of exposure. The kind I tried to avoid like the plague. “Maggie, what happened that day?—"

“What did happen that day? According to you, I mean.”

I rubbed my temples to stall. Lying to Maggie wasn’t an option. “I found out Grant had been the one to go to the principal with that bullshit about you and Mr. Poundstone.”

“So you knew it wasn’t true?”

“Of course.”

“Go on.”

I hated telling her. I’d thought for sure none of it would ever come out, considering how much my mother paid Grant’s family back then. But the NDA only covered him—not Chloe—and after he moved across the country, I thought that would be that.

“It was right after Dad’s funeral, a couple of days out from it. I wasn’t in the best frame of mind. When I found Chloe and Grant smoking behind the cafeteria, I snapped at him, told him to take back what he had said about you and Mr. Poundstone, told him to make it right.”

“What did he say?”

I’d never forget it. “He said, ‘You’re just mad your girlfriend’s a slut.’ Then Chloe handed him one of those loose bricks from the cafeteria expansion project and he swung on me with it.” I pointed to my eyebrow. “After that, all I saw was red. Either from anger or the blood pouring down my face, probably both. Whatever it was, I pounded on Grant until I heard something break, and he screamed. That brought me back to myself.” I felt sick saying the words out loud. “I need you to know, I am not that guy.”

“Jules, I know that,” she said as she cupped my cheek in her hand. “He hit you. He hurt me. He got a man fired. A broken arm is fair payback.”

“When I thought of you suffering because that asshole told a lie, I lost my shit. I was a stupid kid with an unrequited crush, and?—"

“Wait, a what ?” she breathed.

No, no, no, fuck . All these years, all this time, and now is when it slips out?

I had to get out of there. I grabbed my clothes. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Talk to me, Jules. Please.”

I yanked my shirt over my head. “The fight was not your fault, Maggie. Let me be clear about that. It was my crush, which made it my problem to deal with, and I behaved badly. That’s all on me. Don’t beat yourself up over my stupid decision.”

“I’m not.” But her hollow voice said otherwise. Maggie’s guilt bloomed in front of my eyes.

My heart raced and I felt sick. “This was why I never told you about any of it. I knew you’d blame yourself. Please don’t.”

“I—"

“I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back in a while.” I shut the door behind me and ran outside, desperate for some space.