Alive At Night (Wildflower Series Book 1)

“KEEP THE HEELS ON,” I commanded as Juniper walked into my apartment. “I need to see what you can do in those.”

Juniper listened, walking straight into my apartment with a slight sway to her hips. Her heels clicked as she walked across the living space and sat on the corner of my couch to wait for me. Butterflies—goddamn fucking butterflies—erupted in my chest when she lifted her sooty gaze to mine.

“Finally alone,” I muttered, low enough that I didn’t think she heard me.

But her legs clenched tighter, a telltale sign that she didn’t just hear my words—she heard my intent.

Juniper tracked my movements without saying anything. I dropped my keys on the kitchen counter, and the gentle clinking reverberated through the quiet apartment, stirring up the tension. I swore I could hear her heartbeat. Or maybe it was just a feeling. I could feel her heartbeat.

I wondered if she could feel mine, which picked up as I crossed my apartment and sank onto the couch next to her.

“Hi, gorgeous,” I said, immediately sliding my hand onto her thigh.

I was going to be the clingiest fucking boyfriend, and I didn’t even care. I was obsessed.

“Hi, handsome,” she replied, her body shifting toward me as her attention warmed me from the inside out. A pretty blush spread over Juni’s cheeks, making me smile. If my simple compliment made her blush like that, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

I dropped my eyes, letting them trail over her outfit for the hundredth time tonight. “Look at you sitting here, waiting for me like a good girl.”

Her eyes flicked up in a half roll, but her lips twitched in an attempt not to react. “Don’t get used to it. Consider it an early birthday gift.”

“Yeah?” I cocked a brow. “We’ll see about that.”

I was more than confident that she would want to replay tonight.

I drifted my palm up her thigh, squeezing slightly. Juni instinctually opened for me, gasping my name as her body betrayed her. With her legs parted, I snuck my hand under her dress for the third time tonight and wasn’t disappointed with what I found. I was still a greedy asshole who wanted more, though.

But before I could continue touching her, Juniper moved. She shifted onto her knees, swinging one leg over my thighs to straddle me. And as soon as she sat her ass down on my lap, all I could think about was how fucking good her weight felt on top of me. Not to mention her tits were in my face, and goddamn. She could lean forward and suffocate me with them, and I would say thank you.

Juni placed both hands on my chest before sliding them beneath my suit jacket, forcing me to shrug it off my shoulders. Then she began unbuttoning my shirt, and every time her fingers brushed my skin, I had to suppress a shiver. She knew exactly what she was fucking doing to me, smirking as she ground her hips down, making my cock stiffen with every movement. I clenched my hands into fists, wanting to touch her but also not wanting to interrupt what she was doing.

Juniper’s eyes flicked over my tense body.

“That control of yours won’t last long, baby,” she cooed after a long moment of pulsing silence.

I groaned. She was right; I wasn’t going to last. Not when she called me baby, making me melt into the fucking ground.

“You forget something, Juni,” I breathed, somehow rallying from the beautiful blow she’d dealt me.

“Hm?” Juniper hummed as she pulled the bottom of my shirt out from my pants, continuing to unbutton it.

“I have years of practice controlling myself around you,” I replied before sucking in as she raked my bare chest with her long nails.

I might have controlled myself around Juniper over the years, but she wasn’t sitting on my lap then, and she definitely didn’t have her hands all over me. For that reason, I knew my argument could have been better, and Juniper saw right through my words.

She smiled, looking down at me with triumph in her gaze. “Is that so?”

God, she was about to do something utterly irresistible, wasn’t she?

With my shirt draped open over my chest, Juniper slid down my front and then dismounted from my lap to lower herself to the floor. She kneeled before my feet, leaning back on her heels while still wearing those killer shoes.

I watched as she slid a finger into her cleavage, fishing out lipstick wedged in her bodice and reapplying it to her pretty lips. Her hooded gaze studied me steadily while the color on her lips deepened to a cherry red. Once she finished, her eyes dropped, skimming my body until they landed on the tent in my pants. She pressed her lips together, giving the lipstick a little smack of finality.

When she was done with that little show, Juniper flung the cosmetic tube to the floor and put both hands on her thighs. Slowly, she rucked her dress up, causing all the air to vanish from my body as she stopped just before I had a full view.

The worst sort of cliffhanger.

Juniper looked up at me beneath her lashes, and there was a challenge in her gaze. But I didn’t care about that. All I cared about was having more of her.

“Let me see you,” I said, my words deadly soft.

“You’re bossy when you’re…” Her eyes flicked back to my erection. “Hungry.”

At that, my mouth stretched wide in a smirk. “I told you to remember that.”

“Believe me…I didn’t forget.” Juniper bit down on her bottom lip, sucking it between her teeth in such a tempting way. Her lips were so fucking kissable. “But I think I’ll take matters into my own hands.”

Before I could even absorb her words, Juniper dragged her dress up the rest of the way, letting me see her beautiful pussy. The visibility was low in the living room, with only a few lamps and the lights from the cityscape casting a glow over the space. But even through the dimness, she glistened for me.

I put both hands on my knees, gripping them tightly as though I could physically hold on to my control.

Her words finally caught up to me as she reached between her legs and swiped a finger through her pussy until she zeroed in on her clit, rubbing in tiny, circular movements. A moan left her lips and reached my dick, making it twitch in my pants.

She was making my high school wet dreams come true right now. I’d die a happy man, having seen the sight before me.

Juni met my gaze, beat for beat, and I had to clear my throat before I could speak.

“You can make yourself come, pretty girl, but it’s not going to give you the relief you want.” I leaned forward, bracing myself on my knees as I spoke in a slow, measured way. “You’re not aching for an orgasm. You’re aching for me. There’s a difference.”

A tiny, adorable growl ripped from Juni. It was soaked in frustration because she knew I was right. I was sure she was enjoying herself, but it wasn’t satisfying in the way she wanted. The way she needed.

I thought she would give up, but she took it a step further instead, dipping her middle finger into her pussy, plunging it deep. I clenched my jaw as she groaned. As hot as this was, I was starting to feel impatient as all hell. I couldn’t wait to elicit those noises myself.

I was so busy thinking about how I planned to make that pussy mine tonight that I barely noticed when Juni pushed up on her knees, not until she lifted her glistening finger, bringing it to my mouth.

“Suck,” she demanded before brushing arousal across my lower lip.

Jesus Christ. She was playing with fire now, wasn’t she?

I crushed her wrist in my grip, holding her hand there so I could do as she said, immediately parting my lips to let her finger slip into my mouth.

An opportunity to taste Juniper? I’d never pass that up. Not in a million years.

The familiar taste of her blossomed in my mouth as I sucked her finger past her knuckle, wrapping my tongue around her so I could get every last drop. And then I ripped her finger back out and pinned her with a heated look.

“Your turn, love.”

She smiled, and I didn’t even have to explain what I meant before Juniper was tearing at my belt buckle. In record time, she had my pants undone, hanging open as she paused to stroke my cock through my briefs, making me throw my head back with a groan.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get the rampant desire under control as I felt Juni pull my waistband down, letting my erection spring free. A wet heat consumed me, and I opened my eyes again, needing to watch Juniper swallow my cock.

Fuck. Those red lips worked over my length, taking me deep and then pulling back to kiss my tip. She was destroying me. This was completely destroying me. She dragged her tongue up the underside of my cock and then licked that spot right below my tip that really did me in. I knew she’d find it. She always did.

“I’m obsessed with the things your mouth can do,” I rasped, threading my fingers through her hair to encourage her to pick up the pace slightly. I was so impatient after everything that had happened tonight. I needed to hit the back of her throat and then come down it.

I felt Juni’s lips curve around my dick at the praise and decided she deserved more.

“I’ve never seen anything prettier than how you take my cock, Juni baby. Nothing is prettier than you.”

She whimpered. I felt it around my length, and her sounds ricocheted inside me like a pinball. Meanwhile, I was lighting up like a winner, racking up pleasure, higher and higher, until I knew I wasn’t going to last.

“It’s too good. You’re too good, Daisy. I’m going to—”

Juniper drew me to the back of her throat before looking at me with clear, hot intent. And there wasn’t a chance in hell that I wasn’t going to give her what she wanted.

My high took over while Juniper had me locked in a staring contest, flashing me those fuck-me eyes while she took every last drop of my cum. And then she made sure to drag her lips over my length, leaving a red lipstick stain before popping me out of her mouth. As soon as she swallowed, I tugged on her hair.

“Get up here,” I gasped, but it was unnecessary. Juniper was already crawling into my lap, all but launching herself at me. I caught her, and within seconds, our mouths collided.

Juni, Juni, Juni. I’d never get tired of feeling her lips move beneath mine, of tasting her. She might feel like a goddess beneath my fingers, look like a princess, and smell like an entire bouquet of flowers…but Juniper tasted like sex.

No wonder I was fucked from the minute she kissed me in that hotel room.

No wonder I could feel myself growing hard again from how her tongue thrust into my mouth, coated with my taste.

“That was—fuck.” I ripped my lips from hers to kiss her jaw, neck, and every inch of skin I could find. “But it’s never enough, not with you.”

Juniper took her turn exploring, kissing a path up my body until she had my earlobe between her teeth, grazing my skin. “If you want more, you’ll have to come and get it,” she whispered before springing off my lap.

I watched as she took off across my apartment, moving gracefully, still wearing those heels and that dress. I took off after her, catching Juni around the waist from behind as she was about to dive onto my bed and pulling her against me. And then it was my turn to find her ear and let my hot breath fan the shell of it, making her shiver.

“It’s cute that you thought you could get away that easily. I’m going to catch you every single time, Daisy.”

Her breaths were short, but I heard her smile between each one. “I’ll catch you, too.”

Pure appreciation swept through me for how she matched me in every single fucking way. She always had, and I wasn’t sure why I didn’t realize earlier that there would be no denying this. No denying us. There would never be anyone better for Juniper than me, and there would never, ever be anyone better for me than Juniper.

“You caught me a long fucking time ago, Juni. I never could escape you. I tried. God knows, I tried. I moved across the country for college because I thought it would help me forget you, but how could I ever forget someone as goddamn perfect as you?”

“Julian…” she moaned, but I was pretty sure it was more in response to how I encouraged her to bow down over the bed, giving me all the access I needed to tease her exposed, soaked pussy with the tip of my cock.

Stealing her underwear earlier was the best idea I’d ever had.

“You want it like this, don’t you?” I smoothed a hand down her back, appreciating her curves. My fingers itched to strip her, but I’d been thinking about fucking her in this dress all night long. “You want to be bent over and taken from behind like the dirty girl you are, huh?”

Juniper sucked in, and I knew I hit a bit of accuracy with my words. I let my smirk fly free, knowing she couldn’t see how satisfying that knowledge was. Meanwhile, I wiped lipstick off my cock with the bottom of my shirt as I waited for her answer, wanting it to be ready to bury deep inside her.

“Yes, I want that,” she admitted breathily, surprising me. “But I have a feeling you’re not going to give me what I want.”

I chuckled. She was right; as much as I wanted to sink inside her right this second, I wasn’t going to fuck Juni from behind tonight. I needed to see her face light up as she found heaven.

“What’s holding you back, baby?” Juniper looked over her shoulder at me, fluttering those lashes and speaking in a sinfully soft voice. “Do I get to see what else is in your bedside table?”

I swallowed a moan. If Juni realized that calling me baby was my weakness, she would use it on me all the time, and I’d be done for.

“Not tonight. I don’t think you’re ready for me to stretch your pretty ass.” I drifted my hand over her backside, feeling her shivers explode beneath my palm. My fingers inched between her beautiful cheeks, giving her a small taste of pressure, and she gasped with appreciation. Fuck, this girl. I pressed my length between her legs, wanting her to feel what she did to me. “No, it’s just that you’ve been driving me wild for years, and it’s time you feel what it’s like.”

I flipped Juniper over so suddenly that her shriek filled my bedroom. But her lips stretched in a smile as she bounced back on the bed, staring up at me. That smile melted into an expression of surprise and arousal when I yanked down her bodice, desperate to see more of her, even though I was reluctant to take off her dress entirely.

This would do, though. This would definitely do.

My cock stiffened at the sight of her. Christ, every inch of her was beautiful, but those tits…shit, they were incredible. They heaved as Juni took deep breaths, and I brushed a finger over one nipple, teasing with a feathery light touch until it peaked for me.

“So beautiful,” I murmured.

Juniper whimpered my name. She squeezed her eyes shut and arched into my hands as I moved from one breast to the other. I smiled, watching how she tried to get more from me as she squirmed.

She would get everything. But she was also going to use that sweet mouth of hers to beg for it.

“Yes, baby?” I prompted before brushing my lips over her collarbone, sucking lightly. “Is there something you want?”

Juni’s quick intake of breath was her only response. She chose to writhe and twist instead, encouraging my lips to lower. I obeyed because I couldn’t help it, roughing my lips over her breast before latching onto a nipple, enjoying how Juniper’s back lifted off the bed in response.

She moaned loudly, tangling her fingers in my hair and holding me there so I wouldn’t stop.

But I couldn’t wait any longer. Juni’s mind met mine in the same place because she immediately reached for my shirt, pushing it off. It fell to the floor, followed by my pants as Juniper tugged them down.

“I can’t wait to be inside you again,” I grunted, loving how frantic her movements were. It was exactly how I felt.

Once I was naked, Juniper fell back into the sheets again, and a surge of arousal attacked me when I watched her melt into the fabric, her tits rocking gloriously. She cocked a brow, surveying how I wasn’t doing a damn thing, too stunned by how amazing she looked.

“Clearly, you can wait…otherwise, you’d be fucking me already.”

I shook my head, my smile creeping out. “You’re such a smart-ass.”

Her expression matched mine. “You like it.”

My grin grew wicked. “No, I love it.”

I loved her sharp, talented mouth. I never dreamed I’d get to taste it so freely.

“Julian…please. Please fuck me,” Juni whimpered, finally giving me what I wanted as she begged for it. Not that I would have been able to deny us much longer, anyway. No matter how badly I wanted to stretch this moment out forever, my restraint was nearly nonexistent. I started to pull away, reaching for my bedside table, but Juni stopped me.

“I don’t want you to use a condom,” she said, gasping for air. “I just want…please.”

“You sure?” Even as I clarified, I eagerly returned to my spot between her legs and bunched her dress up around her waist. Her words were too good to be true, and my head spun.

She nodded, eyes wide and wanting. Her dark irises bloomed with desire—like the prettiest flower. “I told you. I’m on birth control, and I trust you. I’m yours, Julian.”

Tonight was almost more than I could handle. I’m yours, Julian. Fuck, I wanted to make her scream those words until she came.

As for birth control, I didn’t give a fuck about that. But I figured telling a girl that you wanted her to have your babies on the first date probably wasn’t the way to go.

“You want it?” I rasped, trying not to let the emotion overcome my voice. I wrapped my cock in my fist, pressing the tip between her legs and taunting her with the pressure. And even though her hips lifted, asking for more, she shook her head. My lips curled at her continued smart-assery…that is, until her lashes fluttered, and her lips parted with a breathy sigh.

“No…Julian, I want you.”

“Oh, baby,” I groaned before any remaining shred of restraint dissolved, and I sank. Fell into her, deeper and deeper, as her hot, wet pussy stretched around me. Heat rippled up my body, and I wasn’t sure how I’d manage to keep myself in check when she felt this fucking good. Perfect—Juniper Kate St. James was perfect.

She’d always been perfect. But I’d realized recently the only thing I ever wanted to change about her was her last name.

Her head tipped back, her mouth opening as a wordless cry poured out. Face flushed, eyes rolling, neck arched—Juniper was a vision. I stilled, buried to the hilt within her, and she finally blinked up at me, our eyes connected.

She was killing me. Fucking Juniper was one thing, but fucking Juniper bare was otherworldly. I felt like the luckiest man on Earth. Or off it. I was the luckiest man in the universe.

She started to make tiny rocking movements with her hips, rubbing against me, searching for that friction that I so desperately wanted to give her. I slipped my hand lower until it was wrapped around her throat. While squeezing slightly, I pulled my cock out and thrust back in again, making Juniper’s eyes fly open. They were wide enough that I could see every dark, beautiful part of her.

“You have no idea how beautiful you are right now, do you? You told me that you’re mine, but baby, I’m yours. I’ve always been yours. And I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want you. I will always want you.” I closed my eyes, catching my breath and my control before I came too soon. When I opened them again, Juniper was staring straight into my soul. “I’m so fucking lucky, Juni,” I whispered.

A spark ignited in her eyes, and without warning, she tipped her hips higher, wrapping her legs around my waist. I felt the scrape of her heels as they settled on my back, and a growl slipped through my lips at how much further inside her I could reach in this position.

Juniper’s heels dug into my back, almost as though she was punishing me for the years we could have had this, and I deserved every mark undoubtedly left on my skin. Clenching my jaw, I lost it as waves of pain and pleasure rolled through me.

I repeatedly bucked into Juni’s sopping wet heat, and my name started rolling off her tongue with every unrelenting thrust. The way she chanted it felt like a promise, and damn, I wanted to be good enough to make her keep it. I dropped my head, nuzzling into the crook of her neck, where I knew all she could probably hear were my ragged moans, in time with the way our bodies moved together.

Her cries were rising in volume, but it wasn’t quick enough. She felt too good, and I’d be damned if I came before she finished. With that singular thought in mind, I grabbed her legs and pried them from where they were currently locked around my waist.

Juniper scowled like she hated that tiny bit of separation I’d created. “What—what are you doing?”

I smirked. “I think these heels would look even better over my shoulders.”

Juniper’s breath released in a hiss as I flung her into that exact position, and I smirked while reaching between us to find her clit. Her body tightened as I increased the pace of my thrusts, now determined to see how quickly I could make her explode.

“That’s it,” I moaned. “You take me so good. It’s so fucking amazing.”

I watched the praise light her up, and her lips parted. She was holding her breath, and since I’d learned that meant she was close, I kept my pace steady. Seconds later, glorious satisfaction rolled through me as she fell apart, clenching sweetly around me. The points of her heels and the curves of her fingernails dug into my skin as I fucked her through her climax, wringing every last wave of pleasure from her body.

And then I followed her, coming so hard that the room flipped upside down and inside out. Juniper was the only one keeping me grounded, and I clutched her to me until every last aftershock faded. I felt my cum spill from her body, and filling her up was so fucking satisfying that my eyes momentarily rolled back.

“Juni…” I breathed, coming back down to Earth. “Juni, I—”

Speechless. I didn’t have any more words. None that I could piece together at the moment, at least. So I forced myself to move instead, slowly pulling out and stripping Juni until she was finally naked in my arms, her dress discarded onto the floor.

I rolled her on top of me, not wanting to crush her. She rested her head on my chest, right above my heart, and I stroked my fingers through her hair leisurely.

“Julian?” she whispered.

“Yes, love?”

Her smile curved against me. I felt it, etching into my heart.

“Do you remember your eighteenth birthday?”

“Of course I remember.”

“Of course?” She scoffed. “You were drunk off your ass.”

I smiled. She wasn’t wrong, but… “It snowed all night. It was cold as fuck in the garage, even with all the teenagers packed together and the heaters we pulled out. And you…” I sucked in at the memory. “You wore this shimmery, white dress like you wanted to outshine the snowstorm.”

Juniper’s breathing stuttered. “You hated that I wore that.”

“Yeah, well, it was cold, and I was drunk. I didn’t know how to keep you warm without offering to be the one to do it, and I was too scared to do that.”

The moment stretched between us, quiet but peaceful, until Juni’s sweet voice broke it.

“Julian?”

“Yes, love?”

“I’m cold.”

My grin grew so wide that my lips cracked. I rolled Juni over, holding her against me until I’d wrestled the blankets over us.

“Can I be the one to keep you warm?” I murmured, leaning in to brush a kiss over her bare shoulder.

She giggled adorably.

“I thought you’d never ask.”