“Hi!” she and Bellamy said in unison.
He walked over to Jules, his every step stirring butterflies in her chest. She wondered how he’d act toward her around Bellamy, and when he put a hand on her hip and leaned in to kiss her cheek, she felt absolutely giddy…and desperate for more.
“Hi, Pix.” He looked at Bellamy, who was beaming at them. “How’s it going, squirt?” He winced. “Man, this is awkward. I can’t call you squirt, Bell.”
Bellamy frowned. “Why not? You’ve always called me that.”
“Because I can’t be with Jules and think of you as a kid. It’s not right, and you’re not a kid.”
Bellamy looked so disappointed, Jules said, “I don’t want it to be awkward between you guys because of me.”
“It’s not,” Bellamy and Grant said.
“As much as I hate it, he’s right,” Bellamy said. “Squirt is a kid’s nickname.”
“Sorry, Bell. I probably should have thought about that a long time ago.” Grant took Jules’s hand, then held up their joined hands. “Are you cool with me and Jules seeing each other?”
“Yes. I’m thrilled for both of you, but if you hurt her again, you’ll have me to deal with.”
“I think Archer has that covered,” Jules said.
Grant’s expression turned serious. “Did he say something to you?”
“Just that if I shed one tear, he’ll kill you.”
He chuckled. “Great.”
“Just don’t act dumb again and you’ll be fine,” Bellamy said sharply.
“Right.” Grant’s jaw clenched, and he glanced at the wagon. “That’s a lot of wreaths. Did you really make these? They’re awesome.”
“Yes, with help from our moms and the others, which reminds me. I kind of outed us to them,” Jules said.
Grant shrugged. “Whatever.”
“I don’t even know who you are right now,” Bellamy teased. “Did an alien come down and inhabit your body?”
He pulled Jules into his arms and said, “Something like that.”
Jules wanted Grant to inhabit her body. She’d been like a body of live wires all day thinking about him. She never knew that fooling around could be so addictive. She needed to kiss him, really kiss him, and she needed it now.
“We’d better get going. We have a lot of deliveries to make.” Jules squeezed Grant’s hand, leading him toward her office. “I just need to get my bag. We’ll be right back, Belly.”
She hurried into her office, closing the door behind them, and plastered her lips to his. His strong arms circled her, tightening as he deepened the kiss. His tongue swept through her mouth in a dizzying rhythm. His hands moving over her body, just as desperate as she was for him. The titillating scratch of his whiskers made her crave more. He fisted his hand in her hair, causing a delicious sting on her scalp as he angled her mouth beneath his, holding her exactly where he wanted her. He made a greedy growling sound as he kissed her rougher, and her thoughts reeled away.
He backed her up and lifted her onto the desk, wedging himself between her legs, and reclaimed her mouth more demandingly. Heat invaded her core, spreading like wildfire through her chest as they rocked and groped. She felt wild. In her mind she saw them stripping naked and making love right there on her desk. She’d turned into some kind of sex-craved maniac. She’d never even had missionary sex and she wanted him to take her on the desk!
Oh yes. She wanted everything with him.
She didn’t know how long they were making out, but when their lips finally parted, she felt drunk on him. He nipped at her lower lip, and she loved that, too. But when he pressed feathery kisses to the corners of her mouth, her arousal spiked. How could such light kisses turn her on so much? Did he know how much he was taunting her?
He brushed his beard along her cheek, speaking roughly into her ear. “You lure me in with your sweet camouflage, then completely destroy me with your sinful kisses.”
“I do?” she asked breathlessly, a thrill racing through her.
“Hell yes.”
He took her in another intoxicating kiss that went on so long, it left her delirious with desire. He gathered her in his arms and touched his forehead to hers. “Fuck, Pix. I’ve never felt like this from kissing. I need a minute before we go out there.”
She giggled. “Me too. I think my legs have turned to dust.”
He grinned and kissed her again, a quick hard press of his lips that sent electricity skating down her core. “We’re never leaving this office if I keep kissing you.” He took a step back, adjusted his erection, which was another major turn-on, and said, “So, this is where your magic happens.”
She closed her eyes, breathing deeply to try to calm herself down. “There’s never been any magic in here until now.”
“What is this?”
Her eyes flew open at his serious tone. He was looking at his paintings hanging on her wall. She pushed from the desk with her heart in her throat. “I couldn’t let you throw them away.”
Shadows of betrayal darkened his eyes. “You took those from my trash?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t looking for them at first.” As much as she didn’t want to out herself as his secret pixie, she had to do it. “When I dropped off the welcome mat, your trash was knocked over, and I saw the paintings. I couldn’t bear the thought of you throwing them away. And after that, I did look for more, because they’re a part of you, and—”
“And I chose to throw them away,” he said angrily. “They’re ugly and dark, and you of all people shouldn’t see them.” He reached up to take one down.
“No!” She threw herself between him and the paintings, hands up. “They’re emotional and beautiful! They’re part of you! If anyone should see them, it’s me, because I care about you. And how do you know that next week or next year you won’t wish you’d kept them?”
“Because I don’t want to think about the way I felt when I painted them,” he answered.
“But you said it felt better to get it out.”
“Jules,” he warned.
“I was only going to hold them for you in case you ever wished you hadn’t thrown them away, but then I wanted to see them so I could try to understand what you’re feeling. I know you feel better after painting them, but I don’t want to pretend those bad feelings don’t exist. I want to help you heal from them, and how can I do that unless I fully understand what you’re going through?”
“Jules,” he said softer.
“I’m sorry, Grant. I didn’t mean to betray your trust. I only wanted to help. They’ve helped me realize how much you’re going through, which got me to thinking that maybe you can help others with your paintings.”
He sighed and shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“One of the reasons you wanted to go back to Darkbird was because it’s doing something meaningful and important. Maybe you can do something just as meaningful with these. I was thinking about how you sold your paintings and gave the money to Ava after Olivier died, and about where you are now. You’re angry because everything was stolen out from under you, as well you should be. But you said that painting helps to get the anger out, which got me thinking about how many other people have lost limbs and their careers fighting for our country. Many of them probably feel the same way you do, but maybe they don’t have a secret pixie to help them find something to get those feelings out. What if you did something with these that could help them?”