Her movements over him became harder, more desperate. She lost the Zen-like calm somewhere in the storm, and she pulled Romeo into the darkness with her. When he stopped kissing her, it was only to lick her neck and suck at the sensitive skin, marking her in a primal claiming that would have been painful if she wasn’t completely out of her mind.
He tugged her braid once more and growled, “Come for me.” And Jules did, hard, shaking from the force of it and screaming his name as the ecstasy slammed into her like a freight train careening wildly out of control. Somewhere through the haze she felt Romeo stiffen under her, his big arms tightening around her like a drowning man searching for salvation. He clung to her as tightly as she did him as they crashed and burned together.
192
When the tide started to recede, leaving them quivering under the aftershocks, Jules started to notice their harsh breathing and feel the first aches from the fighting and fucking, but she was more content than she’d been in days. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and ran her fingers over the sweaty, sinewy muscles of his broad back, enjoying the way they shifted lightly under her touch.
Romeo kissed the inside of her arm and whispered, “I love you.”
“Mmm,” she hummed, still blissfully surfing the aftermath of her orgasm. “Love you too.”
“You can play sensei next time.”
“Nah.” Jules grinned and blushed as she admitted, “I kinda like the way you do it.”
Romeo laughed, placing another kiss against her shoulder. “I like the way you play uke. You take direction well. It’s sexy.”
Jules giggled and would have said something if the loud buzz of the front lights turning on didn’t have both of them stiffening in shock. There were only three other people who had keys to the Cellar, and none of them knew Jules and Romeo were involved. Romeo had the forethought to grab one of the tops next to them and toss it over Jules’s back, but all she could do was turn around in horror to see who had caught them.
Then she heard, “Oh shit,” before she saw Chuito standing there, stunned. Even with his tan skin, Jules was fairly certain the light heavyweight champion was blushing.
Without saying anything else, Chuito turned on his heels and walked back toward the front, and Jules scrambled off Romeo. “I got this.”
“You’re naked,” Romeo whispered back at her.
Jules clutched at the gi top Romeo had thrown on her and grabbed a pair of pants before she ran after Chuito. She put her arms through the top that she realized was Romeo’s rather than her own, because it hung like a tent on her.
193
With no belt she held it closed and called out when she got to the front desk,
“Chuito, wait!”
“I didn’t see anything.” Chuito’s back was to her, and he rubbed at his eyes with both palms as if trying to wash away what he’d seen. “Okay, I did see a little. Or a lot.
Too much. I’m gonna forget what I saw. There’s definitely a bottle of Patrón with my name on it.”
A hysterical giggle slipped out of Jules as she stepped into the pants that were fortunately hers. She was still working on pulling them up when Chuito turned around, catching her struggling with her pants and Romeo’s gi top hanging wide open as it sagged down her shoulders.
“Carajo! ” Chuito spun back around and snapped, “You didn’t get dressed before you came after me?”
“I’m working on it!”
He took a cooling breath and started, “Jules—”
She couldn’t help it; she laughed because the situation was so ridiculous it was funny. “What?”
“I can’t un-see any of that.”
“You’re okay,” she assured him as she tried to fight the hysteria that had her choking back more laughter. “But listen, this is important, you can’t—” Chuito peeked over his shoulder, and Jules straightened, holding Romeo’s gi
together, keeping all the vitals covered.
He turned around and folded his arms over his chest, looking hesitant as he asked,
“Can’t what?”
Jules winced. “You can’t tell anyone.”
Chuito rolled his eyes and looked away. “This is definitely not an experience I want to relive by telling others.”
194
“No, really,” Jules said seriously. “You know how this town talks. If you tell someone, it’ll get back to Wyatt, and Romeo ain’t ready for him to know yet.”
“It’s cool.” Chuito shrugged. “I get it.”
Jules took a shuddering breath, thinking it’d be a minor miracle if this didn’t get out. “Chuito—”