Alive At Night (Wildflower Series Book 1)

FOR THE FOURTH TIME since starting my job at Gardner Law Firm, I woke up next to Juniper St. James. And this time, she was naked. More importantly, though, I was allowed to touch her.

I smoothed my hands up her sides, remembering how all these curves had looked when she was on top of me, how she’d felt herself up while riding my—

“Oh, really?” Juni’s raspy morning voice broke through my recollections as she squirmed beneath my hands. “That’s pretty, uh, unusual for him, isn’t it?”

I lifted my head, and when I realized Juniper was on the phone, I scowled at her back.

“Hang up, Juni.”

She whipped around, turning on her side to face me. “No,” she emphasized into the phone, her eyes widening as she spoke. “No, of course I’m not with a guy. That was just the TV. I should really turn it down.”

Those last words were definitely directions that I fully planned to ignore. Even when Juniper mouthed, “Gemma,” at me.

Nope. Uh-uh. My sister didn’t get to take this from me. I let her have Juni for years, and now she would have to share. But not right now. Right now, Juniper was naked in my bed for the first time, and we had plans that didn’t involve my sister. Right now, she was mine.

“Hang up,” I muttered, softer this time.

Juniper didn’t hang up, telling Gemma she had stayed in last night.

Yeah, stayed in my bed.

Where we still were.

Had she forgotten?

Deciding she needed a reminder, I caught her lips with mine as soon as she’d finished her sentence. She sucked in with surprise as I tugged on her lower lip with my teeth. Mine. These lips were for me this morning. They weren’t for talking to best friends.

I dipped my head to her neck, sucking lightly on her skin as she muttered something noncommittal into the phone. God, she smelled good. The floral bouquet was still there, but her usual perfume was mixed with the scent of sex and sweat. It was intoxicating. This was what being drunk first thing in the morning felt like, huh?

Juni’s breath hitched, but it didn’t keep her from answering Gemma’s question about what book she had read last night. When she stayed in.

Sliding my palms up to her breasts, I cupped them and brushed my thumbs over her nipples. Juni’s eyes closed as she pressed her lips together, holding in a sound that I desperately wanted to hear. When I took Juniper’s nipple into my mouth, she gasped. Audibly, this time. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. After a pause, she sighed.

“Yes, fine, I am with a guy,” she admitted with a half groan. “And I have to go, but I’ll call you later. Okay?”

Juni barely waited for a reply before ending the call and throwing her phone to the other side of the bed, letting loose a loud moan.

“You’re the worst,” she complained. “The absolute worst.”

Even as she said it, she wound her fingers into my hair and held me against her chest. I smiled and flicked my tongue over her taut nipple.

“You like it,” I shot back.

She didn’t say yes, but she did whimper my name. I’d allow that. For now.

“Gemma was confused that you left without telling her last night,” Juni explained between cute little attempts to catch her breath as I continued to work my mouth over her. “She thought I might know what happened because your dad said something came up at work.”

“God, I told him that was a bad excuse,” I muttered, moving to take her other nipple between my lips.

“Yeah, Gemma doesn’t really believe it.”

I shrugged, not caring. I couldn’t remember a happier moment than when I’d walked through the door last night to find Juniper waiting for me. I couldn’t remember feeling more at peace than when I was so deep inside her that I didn’t know where I ended and she began.

Gemma could be suspicious; I didn’t regret leaving last night. Not at all. How could I? Look where I was right now.

“We’re done talking about my sister,” I decided. “Actually, the fact that you’re talking at all tells me I’m not doing my job well enough.”

After that, I got to work.

And Juniper didn’t say much else.

Except to scream my name, of course.

Juni peppered me with questions about my plans for our first date. First, over text message because she wanted to know what to wear, and then, as we drove through the city. But I wasn’t sure why she thought she would get me to fold. I had years of experience holding myself back when it came to her, so I just smiled and kept my eyes on the road, which made her all the more furious.

My plan was a bit of a gamble, and I wasn’t usually a betting man. But I was at the point where I’d risk it all to give Juniper even a slice of happiness.

My heart rate tripled when I led her into a small boutique in the heart of the Beacon Hill neighborhood. But with one step over the threshold and one look around, reassurance flooded through me. Because, just like I thought the first time I was here, this store was Juniper.

Colorful fabrics filled the racks lining the walls while the displays in the center of the store boasted more accessories than I’d ever seen. Jewelry, bows, and other hair contraptions I didn’t understand sat in tiered arrangements. For being such a small shop filled with so much stuff, it didn’t feel tacky or overdone in the slightest. The dresses were pressed and perfect on their hangers, the jewelry sparkled beneath soft lighting, and Juni fit right in.

Her little intake of breath told me she agreed. “Oh, this place is so cute.”

She said the words in a hush under her breath, which I found adorable, considering there wasn’t anyone around to overhear. Well, a middle-aged woman with long, black hair stood behind the register, but besides that, we were alone.

I stepped forward to greet her, but she beat me to it.

“Julian.” A smile cracked on her face as she moved to look at Juni. “And Juniper. Here, let me take your coats.”

Juni’s eyes popped wider as she slipped out of her coat and handed it to the woman, and I didn’t even bother trying to hide my smile.

“Charlotte.” I passed her my coat with a nod. “Thank you again for having us.”

“Of course.”

She clapped her hands together, nearly as delighted as I was. And after giving me a wink, all her attention switched to Juniper.

“Let’s get started, shall we? Julian told me a bit about your style, so I selected a few items and hung them on the rack by the dressing rooms.” Charlotte pointed to the back of the store, and Juni’s head turned on a swivel, her lips parted. “Of course, no pressure if none are quite right for your date,” Charlotte continued with a wide grin. “And if you happen to see a bottle of bubbly around over there, feel free to pop it open while you shop. Any questions?”

Juniper looked like she had a lot of questions, but she shook her head absently.

“Excellent!” Charlotte exclaimed. “I’ll be around if you need anything.”

Juniper blinked twice at the beaming woman before saying thank you in a breathy, wispy voice. She flashed a soft grin, but I could tell she was a little lost. Planning to rectify that, I expressed my gratitude to Charlotte once more before whisking Juni to the side to murmur in her ear.

“This is why I told you not to worry about what to wear. I wanted to take you shopping for an outfit before dinner.”

Her eyes lifted, stunned. “You—what?”

I smiled. “I just thought you’d like this place.”

“You just…” Juniper’s voice trailed off as she stared around the store again. “You just thought I’d like this place.”

“Yeah.” I shrugged, leading her slowly to the dressing rooms where the bottle of champagne was. I wanted to pour her a glass. “I came here because they had the sweater I got Janie for Christmas. And as soon as I walked in, I thought of you. Do you think you can find something?”

I hadn’t just thought of Juniper. I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head for a single goddamn second. It led me to ask Charlotte, who’d been working the register, if I could ever arrange something like this and how much it would cost. She was immediately tickled that I even asked—that much had been clear—but then I accidentally spilled how Juni was my sister’s best friend and coworker, and then Charlotte wouldn’t even answer my question about the cost until I told her the entire story. Or most of it, anyway.

Now, I was pretty sure that she was our biggest fan.

She didn’t charge me a damn thing.

I’d make sure it was well worth her time to keep her doors open just for us, though.

“Do I think I can find something?” In a daze, Juni walked to the clothing rack with the dresses Charlotte had selected. She ran her fingers across the matching hangers before looking over her shoulder. “Do I think I can find something?”

“Okay, you gotta stop just repeating me, Juni baby.” I held out a champagne flute, and she took it from me, her lips beginning to spread in the slowest, most pure smile I’d ever seen. “Answer the question.”

“Is—are—do we have this whole place to ourselves?” she whispered, leaning in like it was a secret.

She didn’t answer my question, but the shiny anticipation in her expression was enough for me.

I nodded, striding over to give her a little pat on her ass. “Now, get to shopping, will ya?”

“Okay,” she squealed, the corners of her eyes crinkling now with excitement. “But you’re not buying me anything. Just bringing me here was more than enough.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” With a little push, I buried us between the racks of clothes, caging Juni between my arms. “No more saying shit like that. If I want to buy you a dress, I’m gonna buy you a fucking dress, Juni.”

She bit down on her lip while eyeing up the racks next to us. Specifically, the price tags.

“But it’s—”

“I’ve worked hard for years,” I muttered, cutting her off, “so I could take care and spoil the people I—”

Love.

“—care about.”

Fuck.

She swallowed, her throat visibly bobbing. Her eyes dropped to my mouth, and my fingers curled desperately around the fabric fluffed up behind her. Sequins shimmered across her face, and the vision before me was so Juni-like.

And I…cared about Juni.

For so long, I was scared to admit that, but now it was impossible not to let it rule all my thoughts and actions. I deeply cared about Juni.

More than I should on our first date before we’d made anything official or talked about how serious this was. But I was in deep, so, so deep, and as far as I was concerned, this was as serious as it got. This was I’m-never-letting-you-go serious.

I slipped a finger beneath her chin, tipping it up so she’d look at my eyes, not my mouth. For my own sanity, of course. “Have I ever been irresponsible with my money? Do you think that’s something I would ever risk?”

She shook her head mutely.

“Good, then we agree.” Because I couldn’t help it, I brushed my lips over hers. It sparked something I couldn’t finish, not now, and I hated putting space between us again. “Now I desperately want to see you try on some dresses.”

She nodded, that smile returning. And then it cocked to one side. “But you hate my dresses.”

I stepped back, letting her slip by so she could start perusing the handfuls of outfits as beautiful as her. “No,” I scoffed. “That’s not true.”

A raised brow told me she didn’t believe me. “Is that so?”

“I never hated your dresses, Juniper.” I kicked back on the velvety sofa arranged outside the fitting room. “I hated that you always looked so fucking pretty in them, and it only made it that much harder to resist you.” I dropped my voice. “I hated how goddamn fuckable you looked in them.”

My response made her cheeks flush, and I grinned with delight. She was going to pick out a pretty little dress, and then tonight, I was going to fuck her in it just like I’d imagined.

Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I’d be excited about a fashion show.

But then again, never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I’d be taking Juniper St. James on a date.

And tonight was only the first of many, many of those.