Love at First Flight (22 page)

“For grandkid sleepovers,” Michael
explained, leading her back to the kitchen. He went to peek into the garage.
Returning to her, his arms circled her waist. “No one's home,” he whispered
against her lips.

She pushed him away. “Stop it!”

“What?” he asked, his lips quirking with
amusement.

“We're in your
parents'
house. Behave.”

“Why?” He backed her up against the
kitchen counter for a searing kiss.

“Michael,
stop,
” she pleaded when he kissed her again.

“I've needed this for hours.” He held
her tight against him as he teased and tormented with his lips and hands until
she was breathless.

She moaned when he went to work on her
neck and throat. “Stop,” she whispered.

He cupped her breasts and ran his thumbs
over her nipples. “I want you.”

Filled with nervous laughter, she said, “I
can tell.”

He dropped his hands to her bottom,
pulled her tight against his erection, and reclaimed her mouth. Even when
Juliana's cell phone began to ring, he kept up the mischief until she tore
herself away from him to reach for her purse. “It's Mrs. R,” she told Michael.

“Juliana?”

“Hi. What's up?”

“Jeremy's in town, and he's looking for
you.”

“Oh my God! What's he doing there?”

Michael gave her a questioning look. She
held up a finger to say just a minute.

“He said he had plane tickets for this
weekend and decided to come as planned. He wants to know where you are. What
should I tell him?”

“I'll call him.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea?”

“Don't worry,” Juliana assured her
friend. “I'll take care of it.”

“He's urn, well—”

“What?”

“He's wound up because he can tell
you're not living in the house. He's having a fit.” Juliana groaned. “Did you
get there okay?”

“Yes, about half an hour ago.”

“Okay. Call me back if you need me for
anything.”

“I will. Thanks.”

“What's going on?” Michael asked when
she flipped her phone closed.

“Jeremy's in town. I guess he's raising
hell because I'm not there. Mrs. R said he figured out I'm not living in the
house. I noticed how dusty the place was this morning when I was there. He
knows I'd never let it get like that if I was living there.” She paused before
she added, “I need to call him.”

“Okay.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.” He kissed
her forehead and steered her into the living room. “I'll wait for you in the
kitchen.”

Juliana took a deep, calming breath and
released it before she opened her cell phone to push number one on her speed
dial.

“Babe?” Jeremy said, apparently pouncing
on the phone. “Where the heck are you?”

“I'm out of town. I needed to get away
for a while.”

“I really wanted to see you this
weekend. I was hoping we could get past all this craziness.”

“We said three months. It's only been
one.”

“Come on, Juliana! This is getting
ridiculous.”

“I'm sorry you feel that way, but I need
this time to figure some stuff out.”

“What stuff?”

“I've got to go, Jer. I'll talk to you
in two months.”

“Where are you living, Juliana? I can
tell you're not staying here.”

“With a friend.”

“You don't have friends that I don't
know.”

“I do now.”

“I miss you, babe,” he said, his voice
urgent. “It's making me sick. I miss you so much.”

“Bye, Jer.” Overwhelmed by the emotion
and distress she'd heard in his voice, Juliana buried her face in her hands.

“Are you all right?” Michael asked from
the doorway.

Making an effort to rally, she forced a
smile. “Yeah.”

He came into the room and sat next to
her, drawing her into his arms.

Juliana relaxed into his embrace,
comforted by the strong beat of his heart.

“Better?” he asked after several quiet
minutes.

She tilted her face up and kissed him
softly. “Much.”

He cupped her cheek and was about to
kiss her again when they heard the garage door open. She pulled away from him.

He groaned. “You owe me,” he whispered,
helping her up from the sofa.

Juliana giggled and followed him into
the kitchen.

Michael's mother burst into the room
with a huge smile on her pretty face. “I see Maryland license plates in my
driveway!” She stopped short when she saw that her son wasn't alone. “Oh, and
you finally cut your hair! I love it!”

“Hi, Mom.” Michael smiled as he leaned
down to kiss and hug her. She was a shorter, rounder version of Michael. Her
brown hair was shot through with silver and her blue eyes skipped over her son
and his companion. “This is Juliana Gregorio. She's responsible for the
haircut.”

Maureen extended her hand. “Pleased to
meet you, Juliana. Wonderful job on the hair.”

Juliana shook her hand. “Thank you, Mrs.
Maguire.”

“Please, call me Maureen.”

“Where's Dad?” Michael asked, helping
himself to a beer from the fridge.

Juliana shook her head when he offered
her one.

“He's working until five. He'll be
thrilled to see you.” Maureen swatted Michael. “Why didn't you tell me you were
coming? I would've cleaned the house.”

“Cleaned what?” Michael asked, looking
around at the spotless house.

“Your home is lovely, Maureen.”

Maureen looked at Juliana with an almost
surprised expression. “Thank you.” She turned back to Michael. “How'd you get
away? No court today?”

“Nope. The judge had something else to
do.”

“How's the trial going?” Maureen asked. “Pretty
well.”

They had agreed not to mention the
trouble at his house to his family since they would worry.

“Your sisters will be delighted that
you're here. Are you staying at Maggie's?”

“I hope she has room.”

“It's the off-season. She's slow.”

“Maggie and Luke own a bed and breakfast
inn,” Michael explained to Juliana.

“Well, let me call them all,” Maureen
said. “I'll invite everyone over for pizza, sound good?”

“Sounds perfect,” Michael said, looking
to Juliana.

She nodded in agreement.

***

Many hours later, Michael's sister
Maggie showed them to a fancy room on the third floor of her home.

A natural blonde who favored their
father, Sean, Maggie gestured to a doorway. “The bathroom's right through here,
and there're plenty of towels in the closet. Do you need anything else?”

“No, we're good. Thanks, Maggie. Just
make sure you tell Mom you gave us two rooms.”

She laughed and kissed her brother's
cheek. “Do you think I was born yesterday? Very nice to meet you, Juliana.
Very, very nice.”

“You, too, Maggie. Thanks for
everything.”

“I'll see you in the morning. Come on
down whenever you get up.”

“Good night.” Michael closed the door
and turned to Juliana. “My sisters love you.”

“They're so nice. And the kids are just
adorable.”

“How many French braids did you do tonight?”

“How many girls are there again?”

“Seven.”

“That sounds about right.”

Resting his hands on her shoulders, he
leaned in to kiss her. “They all loved you. Almost as much as I do.”

“I just can't imagine what it would be
like to be part of a family like yours. You can tease and bicker and fight, but
it's obvious you all love each other so much. You're really lucky, Michael.”

“I know I am. Paige was only here once.
It was a total disaster. Her complaints were endless: the kids were too loud,
my sisters were bitchy to her, my mother didn't like her. On and on.”

“I just don't see how...” Juliana shook
her head when she thought better of it.

“What were you going to say?”

“I don't see how you lasted so long with
her. I know I shouldn't say that, but I wonder.”

“I've come to realize I was killing time
with her.”

“Until what?”

“Until I found you.”

“You say the sweetest things,” she said,
caressing his cheek.

“I mean it.” He hugged her. “You know I
do.” She relaxed into his embrace. “Michael?”

“Hmm?”

“Can we go to bed now?”

“I thought you'd never ask.”

She giggled as he backed her up to the
bed, his eyes hot with intent. “I didn't know I needed to ask.”

“You don't.” His lips cruised up her
neck. “I'm all yours. Any time you want me.”

Shivering from what he was doing to her
neck, she reached down to cup his straining erection through his jeans. “How
about now?”

He moaned.
“Juliana...”

Trailing a finger up and down the length
of him, she said, “Hmm?”

He sprang into action, pulling and pushing
at clothes, until he had access to what he wanted.

Delighted to have driven him a little
crazy, Juliana laughed at the picture she must've made with her shirt pushed up
to her neck, her bra pulled down, and her jeans tangled around her ankles.

“What the hell is so funny?” he asked
through gritted teeth as he plunged into her.

Juliana's laughter faded into a gasp.
Arching her back to meet his thrusts, she managed to say, “I thought we'd get
ready for bed the way civilized people do.”

Slowing the pace of his hips, he rolled
her earlobe between his teeth. “How do civilized people get ready for bed?”

“Often, they get undressed.”

“I uncovered the good parts.”

Slipping her hands under his shirt, she
eased it up and over his head. “Mmm, more good parts,” she said, running her
thumbs over his nipples.

He groaned and pushed into her again as
she wiggled under him. “What're you
doing?
”

Choked with laughter, Juliana said, “Trying
to get my pants all the way off.”

With his foot, he swept her jeans away
and then hooked her leg over his hip. “Much better.”

“Mmm,”
she whispered.
“Michael...”

“I love the way you say my name.” He
brushed his lips over hers.

“Don't stop, okay?”

Laughing, he said, “Don't worry,
stopping isn't in the plan. Feel good?”

Juliana looped her arms around his neck.
“Amazing.”

“So there might be something to be said
for uncivilized?”

“Oh
yeah...
”

He went deep, and she cried out as an
orgasm hit her hard and fast.

“God,
Juliana...
”

She opened her eyes in time to watch him
lose himself in her. Moved and astounded by the wonder of it, she held him
close to her.

“We can do it your way now,” he said
after a long moment of quiet.

“How's that?”

“Civilized.”

“Why would we want to when your way is
so much better?”

Smiling, he brushed the hair back from
her face and kissed her.

As he gazed at her with unabashed love,
Juliana somehow knew she would never forget this particular moment.

CHAPTER 19

THE NEXT MORNING, MICHAEL AND JULIANA
WATCHED his nephews play against their cousins in a close Little League baseball
game.

“Which team are we supposed to be for?”
Juliana whispered to him.

“Both. Definitely both.”

“Welcome to my world,” Maureen said when
she overheard their conversation. “Next year the girls are going to try to get
them all on the same team. This is too stressful.”

After Colm and Cormac's team beat
Patrick and Sean's, Michael and Juliana had lunch downtown with his parents. He
fought a losing battle with his father for the check, and when his parents left
to do some errands, Michael and Juliana walked back to Maggie's. On the way,
they window-shopped in the stores and boutiques that lined the waterfront.

“See anything you like?”

“All of it,” Juliana said.

He laughed.

An odd expression came over her face. “What?”

“That guy, across the street. I've seen
him somewhere before.”

Michael turned to look. “Which one?”

“The brown jacket. See him?”