Never Let Go by S. J. Evans (best novels to read for beginners .TXT) 📕

        “I hope that I’m not interrupting something magical here,” Derik piped up from behind them after a while, coughing into his fist a little, “but I do believe that I am still in the same room as you two, and your mother, Skye, is waiting for us.”

        Skye’s heart leapt at the sound of her father’s deep voice. And if she hadn’t been so completely entranced by the spell that Jules’s touch cast on her, she would have been shamefully embarrassed to have been so . . . intimate with her boyfriend in her father’s presence. Especially when her said father wasn’t too fond of the idea of them together.

        But the fact was Jules had yet to let go of her, his presence still as intoxicating as ever, and all she could think about was how tantalizing their—many— kisses had been. It didn’t matter that Derek was surveying their every move; all that mattered was how safe and secure it felt to be in Jules’s loving embrace.

       Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, her mind still wrapped in its pleasure-induced daze. A small, pitchy sound bubbled up from the bottom of her throat. Despite the fact that she knew she should be pushing Jules away from her and scurrying on into the dining room where her mother was waiting for the three of them to join her at the table for dinner, with a sincere apology for her rude behavior directed towards her father, she leaned in for one last satisfying kiss on the lips from Jules.

        He grinned against her lips. “We’re not done here,” he murmured, running his fingers slowly up her spine, taunting her. His voice was husky, his words sluggish. She could tell he was being like that on purpose, just to torture her. “Meet me upstairs, in your bedroom, after dinner with the ‘rents. I’m not ready to let you go just yet.”

        Skye’s heart was pounding, and not only from his touch; his words were just as effective, just as achingly tempting as his lips were as they left a tantalizing trail of kisses along her jaw, her neck. Something tickled her stomach as she realized she wasn’t ready to let go yet either. They had unfinished business.

       But, at the moment, that didn’t matter. Because tonight was her last night in Troven for a while, her last night with Leah for a while, and they had yet to discuss the specifics of her upcoming living arrangements with Derik and his family.

         Ever since he had asked Skye to let him into her life, she had been itching to open up to him, itching to discover the truth about why he had ever left in the first place. And while she had learned the important details, she still longed to understand each and every detail of him that he would be willing to share. And the best way to do that, she figured, was to move in with him for six months. Six more months to fix a relationship that had ceased to exist for the past seventeen years of her life. He owed her that much.

         So thus began a new chapter in her life.

         But unfortunately, little to her dismay, this chapter had little to do with the boyfriend that stood before her now, sporting his trademark smile that had the power to make her week in the knees, every time. And, seeing as how they wouldn’t be around each other for a little while, she longed to make the most of their last night together. The thought of leaving him without so much as a memorable farewell was unbearable.

           “It’s a date,” she promised Jules, nearly out of breath from the heat that still lingered in her body, coursing through her veins like liquid fire. Her swollen lips were curled into a lazy smile, her body still reeling from the pleasure of their less-than-innocent act. She just couldn’t seem to snap out of it. It didn’t help that Jules still had her in his arms, either.

      Going against the part of her that couldn’t help but get utterly lost in his embrace, she pressed her small hands against his chest, pushed herself away from him. Her body ached to stay in his arms forever, but her mind—still a little hazy from his touch even—knew better. After all, Derik was still present. And now, with her common sense weaving its way back, she was starting to second-guess her hasty decision to be so affectionate with Jules in his company.

       The things I do for this boy, I swear, she thought, shaking her head in the slightest. It’s a good thing he seemed to enjoy that just as much as I did. Otherwise he’d be in big trouble right about now. And even worse . . .  so would I.

        Turning her back towards Jules, she narrowed the space in between her and her father, with a sheepish smile on her face while her gaze flitted about the room. “Sorry, Derik,” she said, as genuinely as she could. “We just got a little carried away, I guess.” She tried her best to feign her innocence, flashing him what she hoped to be a convincing smile. “It won’t happen again.” Her stomach tightened a little at the lie, but she couldn’t take it back now. She wasn’t about to trust her father with every little personal detail of her life yet. Not when she had only met him a mere few months earlier. There were some things he just didn’t need to know.

      “Good to hear.” Derik, with his gaze boring into Jules’s, crossed his arms over his chest, taking a step closer to the two of them.

         Skye’s heart faltered when she noticed the look of fatherly over-protectiveness that came across Derik’s face. She knew that look, and it usually meant that a confrontation was in order. And confrontations were never the least bit comfortable, especially when they came from Derik.

         Clasping her hands tightly together in front of her, she tried in vain to ignore the urge to reach back and grab Jules’s hands, to pull him close and never let go. After all, Jules didn’t need to have “the talk” with Derik again. He and Skye weren’t about to do anything that intimate any time soon.

         “I still don’t know how I feel about you two having your hands and . . . other body parts . . . all over each other.” Skye nearly cringed at Derik’s tone of voice, even though she figured he was purposely trying to make the two of them as uncomfortable as possible. “And I highly doubt you want to have another meeting with me again, young man.”

        Skye peered over her shoulder at Jules, who now stood tall, regarding Derik with a straight, no non-sense expression, his hands tucked in the pockets of his pants, his grin replaced with a hesitant smile of respect. “No, Sir,” he said, sneaking a quick glance at Skye. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of pink, which in turn seemed to relax him a little. “She’s right: it won’t happen again.”

        For a moment she thought he really meant what he had said, and her heart missed a beat. But when she saw the twinkle in his eyes, and the way his lips crept into a wider smile, she knew he was still on her side. I’m sorry, she mouthed, flashing him an uneasy smile.

        His smile only grew in response.

        “Very well,” Derik said, snapping Skye’s attention away from Jules. His expression softened as he lightly touched her on the shoulder. “What do you think, Skye? Are you ready for dinner?”

       Letting out a breath she’d unconsciously been holding, she nodded. Her heartbeat had returned to its regular, steady pace, her insecurities had vanished into the back of her mind . . . everything back to how it should be. A flutter of nervous excitement spread like a frenzy throughout her stomach. “Ready.”

        “You’re free to go put that tux back where it came from, son,” Derik instructed Jules, holding his arm out for Skye to take. “Before Leah finds out that her daughter wrinkled it.”

“GUESS WHO?”

       Skye, with her hands deep in the sudsy dishwater of the kitchen’s deep-set, stainless steel sink that was filled with and array of dirty dishes from dinner, jumped at the sound of Jules’s smooth as silk voice, laced with a suggestiveness that sent heat coursing throughout her bloodstream. Warm hands, calloused from the many hours he spent working on his father’s farm over the summer, covered her eyes. His breath provoked the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end, warm against her cool, sensitive skin.

        “No idea,” she whispered, with a smile, breathless from his close proximity. Her body yearned to mold into his; her hands itched to reach back and grab hold of his, to entwine their fingers together.

        After an hour of being apart from him, trapped in the seat between both Leah and Derik— as they had insisted— during dinner, she had become slightly restless from his absence, longing to be with him as they’d planned to be. Even with the distraction of conversation around the table, she couldn’t help but find herself lost in her fantasies of an innocent night spent alone with Jules. Not to mention lost in his mesmerizing gaze as they sneaked each other secret little glances throughout the night.

        Now, she stood, frozen in place, having abandoned her task of washing dishes for the moment, with Jules’s chest pressed up against her back, his mouth brushing her ear, and nothing more to say. Then he laughed, the familiar sound echoing softly in her ears, and her knees went week, her body surrendering to the pull of his touch.

      “You’re a terrible guesser, Trouble,” he said, and slowly pulled his hands away from her eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist instead. “Ever even played this game before?”

       Laughter tumbled from her lips as she recalled the many times the two of them had played this game together, reciting nearly the same words each time. “You bet I have,” she replied, turning around in his arms and reaching up to leave a trail of suds along his jawline, the sound of tiny bubbles popping filling the space between them. “I’m a sucker for surprises, after all.” Tangling her wet fingers in his hair, while water trickled down her arms and onto his olive-green t-shirt, she pressed herself even closer to him—if that was even possible— and added, “But I could never mistake the sound of your voice, Julian Rane. Never.”

       His grin widened and his emerald eyes were alight with admiration as he leaned down and gave her one long, tender kiss on the forehead, taking his time. She closed her eyes, treasuring the moment, and let out a shaky breath. Her entire body quivered in his embrace.

        “Skye,” Jules whispered, capturing her hands in his and bringing them down into the limited space between them, “you’re so beautiful.” He kissed her knuckles, one at a time, a smile still poised on his lips. “I can’t believe it took me so long to find someone like you.”

      Skye’s heart soared when he crashed his lips onto hers, pinning her against the counter with his body. His words replayed over and over again in her mind, filling her with an overwhelming spirit of glee. The moment was like paradise, and nothing could change that. No one could interrupt them—Leah had already retired to bed for the night, seeing as how it was shortly after nine, while Derik had retired to the living room sofa for a couple hours of Sports Central, something he rarely abandoned for anything other than a bathroom break— and every second that passed was pure bliss.

       Eventually, after what felt like an eternity but had, in reality, only been a few minutes, Skye managed to break away, turning her head to the side. Jules’s lips left a trail of kisses along her jaw and down, until