Page 89 of Pucking Forbidden

With a whoop, Carson grabs Skyler around the waist and dips her back over his arm. She lets out a laugh as he kisses her, and we applaud and cheer, swept up in the excitement and joy of the moment.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: ONE NIGHT

JULIAN

The rest of the night moves with an easy rhythm. The sort-of-reception-mostly-afterparty shifts from a quiet, high-end dinner into a private, exclusive lounge with low lights, smooth music, and an open bar.

I stay close to Hadley through all of it. Every time she moves, my hand finds the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd. When we sit at the velvet booth, my fingers slip into hers beneath the table. She doesn't pull away once. She just leans her shoulder against mine, smiling up at me with those deep brown eyes. Right in my space.

Neither of us drinks. After the morning's realization, I don't want a drop of alcohol blurring the edges of tonight. I want to remember every single second of this.

Around midnight, I notice the other couples starting to split off. Jensen and Grace are whispering by the exit. Zander guides Rylee toward the elevators. The space clears out, leaving just the low hum of the jazz music and the amber glow of the candles.

I lean closer to her ear, the heat of my breath stirring her hair. “You ready to go, Hads?”

She looks up at me, her eyes clear and sober. “Yes. I’m ready.”

The walk back to the suites is quiet, the frantic energy of the day shifting into something intimate now that it’s just the two of us walking down the carpeted hallway. When we reach the door to her suite, she turns to face me. The silence between us is electric, vibrating with everything we haven't said out loud.

Hadley reaches up, her small hands wrapping around the lapels of my tuxedo jacket, pulling me just a fraction of an inch closer. “Stay with me tonight, Julian. Please.”

I exhale a long, ragged breath, my hands coming up to rest on her hips. The fabric of her dress is smooth under my palms, her skin warm underneath. “Hadley...my restraint is already dangerously thin right now. If I walk through that door, I’m not just going to cuddle you through the night.”

She doesn't blink. “Good. I’m not really interested in just cuddling anyway.”

She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me.

My control shatters into a thousand pieces. I cuff the back of her neck with my hand, slanting my lips over her mouth as I kick the door open behind her. We stumble into the dark suite, the door slamming shut with a heavy click.

The kissing is primal. The result of simmering hunger that’s been building for weeks. I strip my jacket off, dropping it to the floor, my hands frantic as they find the zipper of her dress. The pale-pink fabric pools around her feet, leaving her standing in front of me in nothing but her pale lace underwear. She is breathtaking. Small, delicate, but completely unashamed as she looks up at me.

Her skin is smooth and pale, and she’s got delectable curves that I want to drag my tongue over.

“Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” I growl, scrubbing a hand over my mouth as I gaze down at her.

I lift her in my arms. She’s so light, it barely takes any effort. Her legs wrap around my waist as I carry her to the bed. My mouth moves down her throat, tracing the line of her collarbone, my hands gripping her hips as I hold her flush against me. I’m vibrating, my heart thumping so hard I’m certain she can feel it against her ribs.

Reaching the bed, I set her down and shift over her, my knee separating her thighs. There’s a damp spot on her panties that has my cock going rock hard in an instant.

“Julian, wait,” she whispers, her breath hitching.

I freeze, my muscles locking, my eyes snapping to hers in the dim light. “What's wrong? We can stop right now. That’s no problem.”

“No, don't stop.” Her cheeks flush dark as she holds my gaze. “I just...I need to tell you…I’ve never done this before. I’m a virgin. But I want this! I want you.”

Something rumbles inside me at her words. A deep, territorial roar echoes in the dark spaces of my mind. A virgin. I hadn’t considered she’d be a virgin. Not that it truly matters, because I’d want her just as fiercely either way. Still, in a world where everything is fleeting, where people give pieces of themselves away until there's nothing left, she has kept this, and she’s giving it to me.

A fierce, possessive heat floods my veins. A primal, protective part of me wants to wrap itself around her and never let her go. I love that I’m her first, and as I look down at her heart-shaped face, a dark, unyielding realization settles in: I am never going to be her only.

“Hadley,” I choke out as I lean down until our foreheads touch. “Look at me.”

She opens her eyes, staring straight into mine.

“I'm going to be careful with you,” I promise, my hands framing her face, my thumbs wiping away the single tear gathering in the corner of her eye. “I’ve got you. Just tell me if it hurts, and if you want me to stop, just say so.”

She nods, smiling softly. “I trust you.”

Grinning, I lower myself back down to kiss her.