Love Is Crazy (Love Is… #1) (31 page)

“You ready?” Dillan asked.

“Yep.”

“How brave are you?”

His question started her heart thundering through her body. “What?”

“How brave are you?”

Here she was, sitting in a plane with the sole intention of jumping out of it. “I’d say I’m pretty brave.”

“Yeah, she is,” Ian said, patting her leg.

“Awesome! I’ve got something in mind for you. ” Dillan told her that when it was time to jump, that she should walk to the very edge of the plane, let her toes hang out over the edge, and then, instead of jumping, he wanted her to lean out over the edge until she fell and he’d take care of the rest.

And then suddenly, the doors on the airplane were open. Her toes were on the edge. The sky stretched out in front of her, and the ground seemed light years away. The giant hangar where she’d spent the morning was nothing more than a tiny spec down below. Her heart was in her throat and Dillan was strapped on her back. Despite what Ian had said, Dillan was nothing like a crazed leprechaun at this point. He was calm and confident and kept reminding her of everything she’d learned on the ground.

She took a breath. Stared down at the ground so far below her. Took another breath.

And then, without waiting to think, she did it. She leaned forward, ducking her head like she’d been instructed and holy shit! She was falling! Somehow, Dillan flipped them so they were facing the plane as they fell and Julz got to see Ian step up to the doors. He waved and she could have sworn she saw pride all over his face for just a second before Dillan got them flipped over again and they were facing the ground.

Dillan was right. This was nothing at all like a drop on a roller coaster and it was everything she’d ever imagined being able to fly would feel like.

Out of nowhere, Ian came zooming down past her, a human torpedo, and then he straightened his body to slow his fall. With Dillan’s help, they zoomed and maneuvered through the air until they were, indeed, close enough to hold hands. It took every bit of courage in Juliet’s heart to take her hands off the straps around her chest to reach out for him, but she did it. And when her hand was safely wrapped in his, she looked into his eyes and knew that she’d truly never be the same. This experience had Life Changing Event written all over it.

When it was time to open the canopies, they maneuvered away from each other and Dillan pulled the cord. Juliet braced herself for what she was sure would be a massive jerking experience as the parachute filled with air even though Dillan and Ian had both assured her it wasn’t going to be bad. Of course, they were right. It was no worse than jumping feet first into a pool of water. The four minute trip down to the ground was like an adrenaline fueled meditation session. She’d never been more in the moment. Ever. No worry. No stress. No anxiety. She just … was.

They touched down without issues and as soon as Juliet was free from Dillan, she raced right into Ian’s arms. “Oh my God, thank you! Holy shit! I can’t believe I just did that!”

Ian did his best to hold her tight even though she was wiggling around with excitement. She totally got Dillan’s attitude when they first arrived. And this was his
job.
This was how he
lived.

“Yep. You did it. I totally knew you could.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this …” she looked around, searching for the right word. “Powerful. I’ve never felt this powerful before. Like I can take on anything.”

Ian exchanged a knowing look with Dillan. “And just think, you haven’t even done it by yourself, yet.”

P
owerful
. That’s exactly how Ian wanted to make Juliet feel. Safe. Capable. Not just taken care of, but strong in her own right. He wanted to build her up and make her better. He wanted to see this look on her face every day.

As adorable as she looked in her flight suit, she looked even better out of it, where his hands could touch her skin and his eyes could rove her curves. She’d chatted away non-stop as they walked back to his car and kept on going as he threw it in gear and headed back towards Bliss for lunch. It was nice to see her like that, throwing her practiced smile out the window and just being herself.

“Wait a minute,” Juliet said, interrupting herself. “I thought you said you didn’t fly anymore.” Concern and confusion creased her delicate face.

“I didn’t fly that plane today.” He knew what she was driving at, but it was fun to play with her.

“You know what I mean,” she said, rolling her eyes and laughing lightly. “You were up in the air. In a plane. And then you jumped out of the plane. Which has to be worse than actually driving one.”

“Driving one, huh. That’s the word you’re going with?”

She slapped him playfully on the arm, widening her eyes. “Yes, that’s what I’m going with and you know what I’m trying to ask. So spill it, Moore.” The transition of her face from playful to fearful as she realized that she’d not only hit him, but also gave him an order broke his heart a little. That wouldn’t do at all. He wanted her comfortable enough around him to be herself.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, purposefully keeping his voice light and his face bright. He waited until her fear receded before he continued. “You’re right. After the accident, I didn’t want to fly again. I wanted to keep my ass on the ground. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that was fear talking, because there was never a time in my life that I didn’t want to be in the air. And you know what? I refuse to let fear rule me. That’s when I had the idea to start skydiving, get myself up in the air again. Battle down all the crazy stuff I had in my head when I first came home.”

Ian still didn’t like talking about the accident, but he’d keep sharing if she asked. If he expected her to be completely open with him—and one day soon he was going to push her for information about that Tech Lord guy and he would expect her to be open with him—then he’d need to be just as open with her. He waited for her to ask another question about what happened, but she just sat quietly, staring out the window for a few seconds.

“That’s the kind of answer I’d expect from you,” she finally said, just when he started to think she wasn’t going to speak again. “Strong and capable. Filled with willpower and self-awareness. I wish I was like that.”

“But you are.”
For the most part,
he finished in his head. She carried around so much self-doubt. So much latent sadness inside her. It held her back from truly believing in herself and the decisions she made. But she had the strength to get past it, and what she didn’t have, he was going to give her. And the first step was confidence.

“No. Not like you.”

“Yes. Just like me. Look, I’m not going to pretend to know what caused you to need four states and almost a thousand miles between you and the city, but that took guts. Just you and your little dog, too, in a car, heading off to who knew where.”

“Yeah, but it was stupid. Doing it without a plan, just rushing off as soon as I was brave enough,” she said, ignoring his Wizard of Oz reference.

Brave enough.
That was the first time she’d even come close to acknowledging the fear he’d seen in her eyes in all those pictures of her with Michael Phillips when Ian had Googled her. “I expect that you had a very good reason to need to make the choice as quickly as you did.” Ian reached out and put a hand on Juliet’s thigh and she jumped, her eyes far away.

“I did.”

“And you don’t think it took guts to go ahead and do it once you knew it was time to leave?”

She thought for a second, the darkness on her face lightening. “It did,” she said, nodding. “But it was still stupid.”

Ian put his hand back on the wheel but turned to catch her eye. “Are you saying you’re not happy here?”

Shock washed away the self-doubt on her face. “Oh, no! I’m happier than I’ve ever been!”

Ian could tell she really meant it. “And are you saying that you don’t like where you are?”

“I love it here.” The look on her face was like dawn breaking. Understanding and realization dropping her shoulders away from her ears.

“Then it sounds like there was nothing stupid about what you did, whatsoever.” He enjoyed the surprise on her face for a second. “And I’m glad you’re happy. And I love that you love it here.”

She fell quiet and Ian knew he’d given her a lot to think about so he took over the conversation and chatted away while she digested what he’d said. The radio was on and the sun was shining and he could actually watch stress fall away from her, like she was letting go of something heavy. By the time they were nearly finished with lunch, Juliet was beaming and animated as they talked.

“What a fantastic day,” she said, wiping her mouth and throwing her napkin on her plate.

“I can’t argue with that. But I’m ready for you to show me just how grateful you are.” It was time to push her boundaries just a little.

Her eyes lit up and she leaned towards him, lowering her voice. “You ready for that blow job?”

“I’m in the mood for a whole lot more than just a blow job.” He looked towards the hall that led to the bathrooms in the back of the crowded restaurant. “Meet me in the ladies room.”

Her jaw fell open and her eyebrows just about ejected themselves off her face, but he could see her consider it. Watched her eyes grow hungry at the thought of it. “You like that idea don’t you?”

“Maybe.” She drew the word out and a blush flared across her cheeks. “But I don’t know if I can.” She looked into her lap. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Juliet Lane.” He waited until she met his eyes. “First of all, you can’t disappoint me. Everything about you surprises me and makes me happy. But second of all, you just jumped out of a
freaking airplane
. And you didn’t think you could do that, either.” He waited and got to watch that feeling of power bloom in her again.

She bit her lip and stood, her eyes never leaving his. She stood there for a few seconds, biting her lip and blushing and Ian started to wonder if she’d end up sitting right back down again. He should have known better than to doubt her because damn if she didn’t turn away from him, saunter back towards the hallway that led to the restrooms, and disappear around the corner.

H
oly shit
, holy shit, holy shit. She was really going to do this. She was going to have sex in the bathroom of a crowded restaurant the very same day she jumped out of an airplane! Who the hell was this girl because she sure wasn't boring old Juliet Lane. There’s no way Willow would believe her when she told her.
If
she told her. Okay,
when
she told her because there was no way Juliet could keep this day to herself.

At least the bathroom was clean. And, it was one of those single deals where they’d be able to lock the door. But, even with that door closed tight, she could still hear the clink and clank of forks on plates and the murmur of conversation coming from the restaurant. And if she could hear the people out there, then they could hear her, and she’d never been very good at keeping quiet. Especially with Ian.

She realized she was pacing and grasped the edges of the sink with both hands and stared at her reflection in the mirror. If Ian didn’t show up soon, she’d lose her nerve, and she really didn’t want to lose her nerve. She wanted to do this. For him. But also for her. She wanted to nurture that feeling of power he fostered inside her. That feeling of bravery. Plus, her panties had gotten a little damp the second he mentioned it. Maybe she was more daring than she gave herself credit for.

The door swung open and Ian slipped inside, pressing it shut behind him and turning the lock to send the bolt home. She straightened and couldn’t take her eyes off him, couldn’t help the smile that stretched wide across her face. In fact, she realized with horror, she was one second away from breaking into nervous giggles. Nothing sexy about that. Nothing sexy about that at all.

But then Ian reached out for her and she crossed the space into his arms, his mouth hungry and eager on hers, his tongue caressing her lips until she opened her mouth and let him in. Her body burned for him. She needed him inside her, filling her, stretching her. She needed the release that he’d bring, the muscle sagging, can’t walk, leg-quivering pleasure.

But first, she had a promise to fulfill.

She dropped to her knees and pulled on his belt, her eyes on his. He sighed behind closed lips and there was that feeling of power again, charging around inside her, making her want to feel him grow harder in her mouth and know that she was the one doing it to him. She fiddled with his pants until she got him free, his long sheath warm and velvety in her hands. She swirled her tongue around the tip, smiling when she tasted the tiny drop of moisture that beaded there.

She kept her lips tight as she brought him all the way to the back of her throat, softened the muscles and pushed him a little deeper until she couldn’t breathe and pulled back, gasping for air. She looked up and found him watching her, lust burning in his eyes, and it only made her want to do it again. And again.

“You’ve gotta stop,” he whispered. “I need
you.
All of you.” Ian pulled her to her feet, lifting her shirt once she was standing and kissed her breasts, pulling on her taught nipple through the lace of her bra with his mouth. She fought against a moan and kept her hands on his dick, stroking him, egging him on. He pulled her bra down and sucked on the delicate white flesh of her breast. Sucked so hard it almost hurt, and when he pulled away, he’d left a mark.

“Mine,” he whispered, and heat flamed at her center. She stared down at her breast, Ian’s mark clear against the pale skin inside her tan line. His. Oh, God, yes. His.

He pulled at her waistband and she kicked off her shoes and socks, stepped out of her shorts and he lifted her up to perch on the edge of the sink. She wrapped her legs around his hips and clutched at his back, feeling the long strands of muscle working as he entered her in one quick thrust. Her mouth flew open and she gasped loudly, unable to stop herself from making the sound.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that,” he whispered and thrust his hips forward again. And again. Her breath hitched and she bit her lip, letting her head fall back. “Look at me, Juliet.” He moved slowly now, teasing her, and the sound of her name on his lips made her moan in pleasure. When she met his eyes, he shook his head and put a finger to his lips, sliding in and out of her, building speed.

“I can’t stay quiet,” she managed, her words stuttering with her sharp intakes of breath.

“You have to. Be a good girl and do what I say.”

And then, without breaking eye contact, he put one hand firmly over her mouth and sheathed himself deep inside her, pushing harder and faster and harder still and faster still and hitting that spot. That one good spot that no one had ever reached before and an orgasm started building up inside her. One that felt way more like flying than falling. She locked her eyes on his, and he locked his on hers, both of them building together. She fell over the edge first, wave after wave of pleasure made all the more intense with every stroke of his cock against her ever tightening interior walls. He drove into her again and again, hitting that spot over and over until she thought she’d have to scream. Just plain have to if he didn’t stop. It was all too intense to hold back.

Just when she was about to lose control, he came with one shuddering thrust of his hips and wrapped both of his arms around her. She dropped her head onto his shoulder while her center clenched around him, still contracting, both of them panting, until that damned giggle rose in the back of her throat. She tried to swallow against it, but it came out anyway, echoing against the cheap tile.

“That was funny?” he whispered, sliding out of her, eliciting one more gasp before zipping up his pants and getting himself set to rights.

Juliet shook her head. “No, it was wonderful. I’ve just never done it in a bathroom before.”

“And that makes you giggle?”

Juliet hung her head. “I giggle when I’m nervous.”

Ian brushed a bit of hair back from her face. “You never, ever have to be nervous with me around. I got you.”

“I know,” she replied. “It’s just new to me. To be taken care of.”

“Seems like this is a day of firsts, then.”

She hopped off the sink and picked her shorts off the floor, thankful her panties had stayed neatly tucked inside. “It was definitely that.” After she dressed and took a moment to smooth her hair into something that didn’t look like she’d just had hot bathroom sex, she looked at Ian, at a loss. “Now what?”

“Well, hot stuff, we walk out of here hand in hand, heads held high.”

“But what if someone sees?”

“So what? Do you know any of these people?”

“No, but I might one day.”

Ian linked his arm in hers and pulled her towards the door. “How about this, I can just about guarantee that anyone who sees us is gonna know what we just did and they’re all gonna be jealous, at least on some level.”

She couldn’t really argue with that, although some part of her was afraid they’d get in trouble or something. Public lewdness? Wasn’t that a thing? But it didn’t really matter because they couldn’t stay in here all day, and it extra double didn’t matter because Ian had unlocked the door and was pulling it open.

Pulling it open to show an older woman leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her ample stomach, fiddling with her phone, waiting. She looked up, shock playing in her eyebrows, and then a knowing smile slid across her face.

“Hello, Mrs. Cernshaw,” said Ian, pulling Juliet along after her body went rigid with fear.

“Ian,” said the woman, greeting him with a twist of her head and a glimmer in her eye. “I’d tell ya to have a nice day, but it looks like you already have.”

Juliet couldn’t stop herself from giggling and she stumbled after Ian into the restaurant.

“Head held high, Juliet,” Ian whispered to her through the side of his mouth.

She was pretty damn sure that everyone in the busy restaurant was looking at them, aware of what they’d done, snickering at them with each other, but with Ian’s hand firmly wrapped around hers and her chin up and her eyes straight, that sense of power returned. That’s right. She’d had sex in the bathroom. With the hottest guy in the whole damn town, nonetheless. After skydiving. How many of these people could say they’d done even one of those things? Not many. She was pretty darn certain of that.

Ian paid the bill and led her outside, letting go of her hand only to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her close. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“No. That’s all you.”

“I won’t argue that I’m pretty amazing myself, but you’re stealing the show, doll.” He pulled her through the blazing June afternoon, heat seeping up through the black pavement and swirling around her legs. A blast of hot air fell out of the car when he opened the door for her and Ian told her to wait while he got the car started and the AC blasting.

“How’re you holding up?” he asked over the hood of the car.

“My legs aren’t very interested in holding me up at all, thank you very much.”

“Well, that’s good to hear, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” Ian smiled. “How’s your energy? I’ve got one more stop planned, if you think you can manage.”

“I don’t know how much more excitement I can handle, but I’m willing to find out.”

“That’s the spirit.” Ian ducked down and climbed into the much more tolerable car. “But, this is a very tame trip. Boring almost.”

“I’m not gonna lie and tell you I’m not a little relieved.” Juliet relaxed into the soft leather and let her head fall back against the headrest. “What do you have in mind?”

“I thought we’d go to the hardware store and look at some paint samples.”

She actually loved that idea. She had all kinds of ideas for color palettes and had thought more than once that she could be working on little details like that in the evenings after Ian had gone home. She told him as much as he navigated the streets of Bliss and pulled into the parking lot of the hardware store.

“Well, that’s all well and good, with one stipulation,” he said as he put the car in park and pulled out a car shade for the window, muttering about how he should have remembered it the first time.

“Oh, yeah,” she asked, unnerved by his stern tone of voice. “Afraid you won’t like the color I choose or that I won’t do a good enough job?”

“No, nothing like that, silly. I just don’t want you working from sunup to sundown. And let’s be honest, there’s a fairly decent chance you’d do just that.”

Julz couldn’t disagree. Not completely. “But I like to stay busy.”

“Me too, but sometimes we’ve got to sit still a little. It’s good for the soul. Or so I’ve heard.”

He led her into the store and plopped her in front of the paint samples, nodding his head in agreement with most of her choices. She chattered away about the way she envisioned the house looking when they were done, about all the potential it had, how happy she was to be there.

“What?” she asked with a little crinkle of her nose when she realized he’d stopped answering and was just smiling at her.

“You.”

“What about me?”

“I like you. I think you’re beautiful. And super cute right now with your ‘been fucking’ hair and your tan legs poking out of those little shorts, going on about all the same things I love about that house.”

Juliet’s eyes went wide and her hands went to her hair, trying to smooth the little wisps away from her face.

Ian took both her wrists in his hands and gently pulled them away. “Don’t. I like it.”

They talked a little more about the paint and even made a few decisions on color. Ian was paying for several gallons for the kitchen and living room when Juliet finally realized how much money he’d spent today. Guilt twisted in her stomach and she started chewing on her lip.

“And,” Ian said, not noticing. “If you run out of a color, you could just run down and buy another gallon or two. Keep the receipts and I’ll reimburse you the next time we get together.”

Her stomach clenched again at the thought of dipping into her money envelope. She was going to have to find a job. Soon. And she was pretty sure Ian wouldn’t like it when she brought it up. He genuinely seemed to like taking care of her, spoiling her with little surprises and making sure she had everything she ever needed. And, if she was being honest, she liked it, too, especially because it meant she had plenty of time to spend with him. But, it was also just as important that she stand on her own two feet. If everything she had came from Ian, well, where would that leave her if things didn’t work out? With a few boxes of old stuff jammed into the back of her Hyundai, that’s where.

“So, here’s the thing,” she said over the rattle of the cart wheels on the pavement in the parking lot. “I think I might need to get a job. I’ve got some money, but not a lot. And it really stresses me out to see that number dwindle without knowing I have a source of income. I don’t want to take time away from the renovations, and I
really
don’t want to take time away from being with you, but…” she held out her hands and shrugged helplessly. “I thought maybe I could get a waitressing job, something with variable hours. I don’t have a lot of expenses, but, I do need to have a way to make money.”