The Last Round (16 page)

She shuts her eyes. “Dammit, Julian, I’m putting my heart on the line. I’m struggling with the battle my heart is fighting against my head.”

“Look at me,” I encourage her. She does as I ask, and now I’m looking into the most beautiful broken golden brown gems. “We will not rush this. We’ll take it one day at a time, and see where it goes.”

After a heartbeat she nods, her eyes still holding doubt. “Yeah?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says. I breathe out a smile, and she laughs through her tears.

I pull her in and kiss her, and not just any kiss. I give her the kiss she deserves. The kiss that shows how lucky of a man I am to have her back in my life. I give everything in this kiss. It’s not urgent or greedy. It’s slow and filled with so much more. She weakens in my hold; I tighten my embrace, my hands tracing the curves of her body. I turn her around and guide her backwards, out of
our
closet.

Natalia stumbles over her shoes as she tosses them off. I grip her elbows to keep her balance. She giggles against my lips, my grin stretches against her mouth. Her smile disappears as she reaches up on her toes, her fingers digging into my hair. I groan as she deepens our kiss, and I bite on her bottom lip. She cries out a moan, my arousal growing by her sounds. I continue to guide her toward the bed until the back of her legs press against the mattress.

We pull away from our kiss just for a moment. I look down taking her in, her eyes filled with lust, and love. My fingertips trace down the crook of her neck, and move her hair off of her shoulder. I watch her as she slowly and seductively removes her clothing and my heart lurches.

When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t expecting
this
. I wasn’t expecting to make love to my wife again, to see her so vulnerable and stunning before me. I can’t help but to step back and admire her beauty. How every ounce of her delectable body is a fucking masterpiece. She’s as real as they come and she’s
all
mine.

Hungry, I pull her in, my tongue slowly tasting what I’ve missed; exploring her mouth slowly like it was our first kiss. I can feel her legs shaking, as my tongue moves gently against hers. Natalia’s palms press against my chest, her fingers gripping at my shirt. “Take it off.” She groans, and I easily oblige. Our lips still locked, never missing a beat, I swiftly remove my clothing. Completely naked, I crush her body to mine, my hard-on pressed against her stomach.

This excites her and her fingers explore my chest, traveling down towards my cock. She grabs my erection and I swear it pulses in her hand as she gently runs her hand from the base to the tip. Desperation takes over me, the need to have her forces me to toss her back onto the bed, and lay myself on top of her. She spreads her legs wider, but I don’t push myself in just yet. I teasingly allow my mouth to explore her body, stopping every so often as I torture her, waiting for her to beg for more. A grin spreads across my lips and I lower my tongue, tracing and sucking down her neck. She moans. I trail kisses along her breast taking her nipple into my mouth, sucking and tugging and feeling it harden against my tongue. Her back arches and her breathing accelerates as her body closes the space between us. I kiss down her stomach, traveling below her belly button. Natalia’s legs shake as I sink my head low and suck her clit. And she tastes so
fucking
good. I can tell by how wet she is that she’s beyond ready for me. I sink two fingers inside her. “
Julian
. . .” She moans and it ignites me.

I dip my head low and suck, lick, and thrust my tongue against her swollen flesh. The more she moans, the faster I thrust. The more she calls out my name, the harder I suck. It doesn’t take her long, her fingers find their way to my hair and she tightens her grip. Her legs buckling as she lets go of a glorious orgasm.

I sit up, her chest heaves up and down, her head is pressed against the bed. She looks satisfied, but I’m most certainly not finished with her. Not yet, not ever. I grip her thighs and slide her down. She lifts her head and with drunken eyes, she gazes at me. Her stare traces down my body and stops at my protruding dick. She darts her tongue out and drags it across her lips, sucking in her bottom lip and it drives me nuts.

I enter her, slowly at first, and something takes over her. Her head yields back, fingers clawing against the silk sheets. Her hair spreads over the mattress. My arousal strengthening as I gaze over the curves of her bare and exposed body.

I couldn’t control it anymore. I thrust inside her. She cries out. I grip her hips, slowly backing out and thrusting in her again. She rotates her hips further into me as she clenches around me. It drives me fucking insane.

We continue to move like this for what seems like an eternity. Our bodies working in perfect sync. It’s like we’ve never lost a beat. All the history we shared, our undying love for one another, and the undeniable chemistry is more tonight than any huge role or fight. Tonight it’s just her and me. Julian and Natalia. Like it always was, like it will always be.

Natalia

“OKAY, NOW YOU’RE
freaking me out. You need to spill everything!” Viviana lets out in a harsh whisper.

Smiling, I lean back in the first-class chair, and think of the past two days.
Magical
. Julian and I spent literally every second with each other.

“Natalia!” she yaps, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I tilt my head to look at her, my grin brighter. “You need to get out of the clouds, dude!
Tell
me. Are you and Julian a thing again?”

I suck in my swollen bottom lip, which aches from Julian biting it for the past forty-eight hours. “We’re working on it. Not exclusive . . .
yet
.”

Her mouth widens. “Omigod. You slept with him, you slore!” she states, mixing up whore and slut, creating her own word as she’s done in the past.

I laugh out loud, then lean in to her, whispering, “Viv, the past two days have been . . .” I breathe it all in, remembering how amazing it was. How alive I felt with Julian. We spent hours doing nothing but talking, and laughing, and making love. The only time we left the bed was to use the bathroom or grab a bite to eat.

My sister flashes a genuine smile. “I’m happy for you. You look sixteen again. You have this glow.”

“Thank you,” I lean back onto the chair, “I
do
feel sixteen again. If that even makes sense.”

“It does.” She leans back as well, then tilts her head my way. “Just be careful. Okay, Natalia?”

The cloud I’m on instantly dissipates beneath my feet and I’m falling. My grin falls as well. Brows raised, I face my sister. “Why would you say that?”

“I’m just concerned for you, that’s all. I want nothing more than for you to be happy. I love Julian like a brother and I want to see you both grow old together, and make me an auntie one day.”

“But?” I add for her.

“
But
, we all know how Hollywood marriages work. You’ll be traveling a lot, he’ll be training for his next big fight. What if he goes back to his old ways?”

“No.” I shake my head, disagreeing with her. “He hasn’t been in the partying scene since Vegas, before he went to rehab. And he’s been sober ever since. He’s making a change, Viv, he really is.” I defend him.

“I know that, Natalia. But we both know what this lifestyle brings. You’ll be hosting a lot of events, and you’re a social drinker. When he goes to these events with you, he’ll be surrounded by that lifestyle again. What if he picks it back up? I’m just saying to be careful, okay? I don’t want you heartbroken again.”

“Julian promised that will never happen again,” I mumble; the words are more an assurance for me than her. I look away and slump in the chair, doubt seeping through the cracks of my head.

“Well, we all know he’s known to break his promises,” she barks. “Remember Dad’s funeral? You needed him and he didn’t come, instead he was stuck partying all weekend.”

My eyebrows pin together, heart skips by the second. I face my sister. “Why are you doing this?” I ask a bit harsh. I know all of this, but why would she throw it in my face? Can’t she see we are trying to make things work between us? Can’t she see Julian is trying his hardest to make a difference within himself?

“No, Julian is not perfect,” I argue. “I know it’s going to be a long time before I can fully trust him again. But I cannot
truly
forgive him if I keep throwing his past in his face. We made a promise to each other last night. We are moving on and keeping the past exactly where it belongs.” Every word comes out a bit harsher than the first, and I can feel my face heat from the anger building.

Viviana is taken aback, her eyes widening. “I’m sorry, Natalia.” Her eyes dart downward to the fingers twirling on her lap. “You’re right. I don’t know what’s come over me. I didn’t mean to intrude. I know you and Julian will make things work out and you will be fine.” She looks up with sincere eyes as she offers an apology. “Please forgive me.”

I inhale deeply, allowing my nerves to calm down a bit. “It’s okay. I understand, you’re just looking out for your little sister’s best interest. But please understand, this is my decision. Julian and I will figure it out.” She nods and pulls me in to a hug. I’m still a bit irritated, but her embrace eases my anger.

My sister and I have never stayed upset with each other for longer than a day. One time we got into a big argument and didn’t talk an entire night. I crawled out of my bed and tiptoed into her room. We were about eight and nine. I slipped into her bed beside her and asked for forgiveness. We hugged it out and all was better.

Viviana pulls away from our embrace and looks up at the flashing light that indicates we can unfasten our seat belts. It’s the first time since our flight took off that we can stand from our seats. “Thank God, I have to use the restroom.” She unbuckles her belt and stands. “I’ll be back.”

I nod, and look out of the tiny window, the wing of the plane looks like it’s chasing clouds. Luckily the weather in Philly is warmer than most Novembers. Which makes for a smooth ride back home. I think over what Viviana said about Julian and me, but then I remember how amazing the past couple days have been and I can’t help but smile.

“I hope that smirk is because you’re thinking of me,” Julian blurts out in a playful tone.

I turn my head and see him. He’s standing in the aisle next to Viviana’s seat and he looks gorgeous as ever. His just-fucked hair tousled a little more on the right, and if anyone can make a pair of ripped jeans and a plain white thermal look hot, it
is
definitely Julian.

“In fact, you were the mastermind behind my thoughts. How do you do it?”

The corner of his lip tugs up into a knowing Julian smirk. “It’s just something I’ve learned to master over the months. It was all part of my evil plan.” He takes a seat beside me, in Viviana’s assigned seat.

I giggle. “What are you doing here?” I ask, looking around for a flight attendant. I wanted Julian to be on the same flight as us, but all the first-class seats were taken. He had to settle for coach, which he didn’t complain about one bit.

“I saw Viviana get up. There’s a line for the bathroom; she’ll be awhile. I couldn’t help myself.” He brings his hand to the side of my face, pulling me in. His lips gently kiss mine. “I needed another taste.”

“You don’t think you’ve had enough?” I tease.

He wrinkles his brows. It’s a goofball expression. “
Never
.”

I burst out laughing, then lay another kiss on him. He leans his back against the headrest, his face tilted toward me. “My uncle and aunt are excited we’ll be there tonight.”

I smile. “I am too. Who is going?”

“Well, they are calling this their first annual Friendsgiving dinner.” He chuckles. “My uncle invited a few of the guys from the gym and their wives, and family. It’s going to be a huge thing. It became so big, they’re having it at the gym, since their house can’t fit everyone.”

“Oh wow, that’s exciting. You think we’ll have time to nap before going over?”

He brings our locked hands up to his face and brushes my knuckles over his lips. “You’ll have plenty of time, but I was thinking of other ways to kill the time.” He winks.