23
Lumi
Lumi and Julien stumbled into the kitchen as Julien opened the door. She thought of what to say to explain her strange behavior.
Julien leaned back against the center kitchen island, focused on her expression. She looked up at the skylights and bit her lip. The scenario that she had thought of in her head was not going according to plan. “I—I don’t know what to say,” she managed, shaking her head sheepishly as she stared off toward the dining room.
“Then show me,” he said. His eyes burned with desire.
“Sh-show you?” she asked.
Julien nodded wordlessly, not taking his eyes off her.
Her heart seized within her chest. If they decided to do this, it would be the point of no return. She took a deep breath. The same energy that had spirited her to this very kitchen in a haze would also be her parachute.
She reached out to Julien and took hold of his shirt collar, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. Once their lips touched, he lost all pretense of calm composure. He swooped her up onto the island so she faced him and his lips trailed down from her mouth to the hollow of her neck, and bit her softly, sending shudders through her entire body.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and when he let go and pulled back, she leaned in, kissing his neck in turn. He pulled away from her again.
“Mmm, don’t do that, love,” he whispered hoarsely, “I’ll lose it too quickly.” And then his attention was back on her. He gently bit, kissed, and sucked on her tender skin. A low moan escaped Lumi’s lips, and she was surprised to hear it, but at the same time was helpless to contain it.
In her excitement, her breasts swelled, and she gasped as Julien slid his lips down the front of her chest, unbuttoning her blouse as he went. She was impressed by how he managed to do all this in one deft move and was temporarily distracted by that thought until he unhooked her bra and fixed his mouth to her nipple, causing her entire body to arch back in pleasure and her mind to abandon all other concerns.
He coursed his other hand up the plane of her belly and firmly encircled one of her breasts, gently kneading it as he tended to the other. As if they had a mind of their own, her legs came up and wrapped themselves around Julien’s hips, interlocking behind his back. She could feel him briefly smile against her breast. He rose to kiss her mouth, and she could swear she felt his lips tremble as they met hers.
He pulled back from the kiss and began a trail down her belly. When he got to the waist of her jeans, he looked into her eyes as he unbuttoned them and then slowly peeled them off, followed by the burgundy lace thong. His arms slid around her waist to pull her closer to him, and he flashed her a beaming smile before he leaned down to nip at the fullness of her thighs. He bestowed little bites on the tender skin, making inroads toward her core, teasing her. He gazed up at her, a look of feigned innocence on his face and a devilish glint in his eyes. Then he ran his tongue between the folds of her sex, and she felt her breath seize in her lungs. He continued this languorous motion, slowly and deliberately.
There came a moment when she could no longer bear it, and she pulled on Julien’s shoulders, begging him with her body. He broke away and grabbed the metal chair that rested next to the island, where he had thrown their discarded clothes. There was a crinkle of aluminum foil as he fished a condom out of his wallet. “Got it,” said Lumi, and she ripped it open and rolled it on. He sat down on the chair and, with one arm around her waist, brought her down to him. Slowly, steadily, he plunged inside her.
He sucked in a sharp breath as he felt her warmth and wetness envelop him. She sighed as she felt him filling her entirely. They stayed like this, motionless for a moment, until Julien leaned forward, buried his face in her neck, and slowly began to move. He edged out of her and she felt bereft of him until he slid back in, giving her that delicious fullness again.
It was so much easier for her to move since she was on top of him, and she found herself helping him, grinding her hips against him, raising them up and then dropping the full weight of her pelvis on his. He groaned every time she did this, leaned back in the chair, and let her control the pace.
Somewhere between the flumes of sheer fire that filled the space between them, she lost track of where her skin ended and his began.
His name began to form on her lips, but at that moment he thrust deep into her, deeper than before, and the only sound that came out of her was a primal moan as her orgasm spread through every fiber of her body. Julien, who had been on the verge of climax, lifted her up onto the island and pulled her even closer to him. Seeing that she had found her release, he allowed his own to engulf him.
Once they had both orgasmed, it occurred to Lumi that they hadn’t said a single word to each other since they first groped against the kitchen island.
Lumi gazed out the immense kitchen window and watched as dawn marbled the sky. The kitchen island had become a makeshift bed, and Julien’s shoulder was her pillow. She stifled a yawn. She was unsure exactly what time it was. Morning was about to find them entwined on the countertop, and somehow this did not bother her at all.
She shifted her weight to her side so she could look at him. After the third time they had coupled, he’d said he was just going to close his eyes for one minute and had drifted off to sleep, hugging her close to his chest. The slope of her shoulder held an imprint of the fishhook from his bracelet.
Awake now that light was starting to stream into the kitchen, Lumi studied Julien’s features. She admired the way the light danced off the tips of the orange lashes that fringed his eyes. Who was this man who drove her wild? She thought back to how he seemed to enjoy her arousal, how pleased he looked when her face was contorted in pleasure. She had never experienced that with anyone.
She was surprised by how sweet he was with her. How he held her in his arms as if she were porcelain. At the same time, he treated her as though she could hold her own. She thought back to his words when he had punched Verdi at the absinthe bar. She’s not a chick, she’s a woman and a chef, and a better chef than you.
Seeing him this peaceful and vulnerable, she couldn’t help but admit that she felt something for him. She reached out to trace the outline of his jaw with her fingertips. Julien stirred, stretching his body. He caught her hand in his and kissed the back of it. She closed her eyes, savoring this feeling. When she opened them, his amber ones stared sleepily back at her.
“Lumi,” he whispered. “Hey. Would you like some breakfast?”
He yawned and stretched his muscled form.
“Breakfast sounds pretty good,” she said over the rumble of her stomach.
“Well, then . . . first order of business: wipe this countertop down with bleach,” he said, laughing.
He tightened his arms around her and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, then jumped down from the island. He held his arms out to help her down. He pulled on his green plaid boxers and jeans, and Lumi reached for her bra and panties.
Then he walked toward the closet for cleaning supplies. He cleaned the counter quickly and walked to the refrigerator. He took out a carton of brown eggs and milk and grabbed flour, onions, some potatoes, and olive oil from the pantry.
Lumi sat in the metal chair, her eyes following his movements around the kitchen. Two months ago, she had sworn to herself she wouldn’t taste his cooking, and now here she was, watching him cook breakfast for her shirtless. She sighed to herself, bemused. Life sure had a lot of unexpected twists and turns.