He had to work with what he had before Jules pushed him over the edge. Romeo wasn’t real sure how great of a job they did with the condom, kissing and panting, their hands brushing while Jules held him and he tried to roll it on, but in the end it didn’t matter.
Jules cried out when he pushed into her, doing it rougher than he usually did because she was already so wet and ready for him. Then he was fucking her hard and fast, indulging himself in the feel of her, letting her heat and passion wash away all the pain and guilt that had been steadily choking his soul for the past twelve hours.
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Jules clung to him, riding out the storm, her nails digging into his shoulders as she met him stroke for stroke. The moment was surreal. The sound of their bodies moving together. Jules’s low moans mingling with his. The slick feel of her skin against his. The heat of her tight pussy wrapped around his cock as he pushed them higher and higher.
It made Romeo feel as if everything was right with the world.
Perfect. Beautiful. Untouchable.
Then Jules’s arms tightened around him. Her hips jerked forward as her back arched. Her keening cry of ecstasy slammed into Romeo, forcing him over the edge.
Reality came hurtling back at him through a sea of pleasure, like the pavement threatening at the end of a spectacular leap of glory. Even through the rush, he hated that it was ending. The climax meant thinking and feeling something past the bliss of being with Jules.
It wasn’t even hazed in the aftermath. It was all astonishingly real, forcing him to suck in a startled gasp, because he’d forgotten how sharp the pain was. He forced Jules to bear most of his weight as he buried his face in the curve of her neck and listened to her come down from her own high. He tried to enjoy her gentle return to earth, living through her, comforting himself with the knowledge that though his life might be all ragged, sharp angles, with intense highs and lows, Jules had always been more even-keeled.
She was all rules and routine, never changing, always steady and dependable. He wished there was a way to keep her forever happy, to make sure that if he was there or not, she still enjoyed life and did all the things she loved, and he searched for the answer while she petted him and lovingly stroked his back.
“You wanna marry me?”
Jules stiffened beneath him. “Excuse me?”
Romeo pulled up and looked at Jules, who was still flushed from the sex. Her eyes were wide and shocked, her lips parted in stunned disbelief as she gaped up at him.
Strands of golden hair clung to her neck and forehead. Romeo worked at brushing them
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behind her ears as he used her shocked silence to reevaluate and determine that he really was serious.
“We could just go to the courthouse and do it,” he went on, hoping to explain himself correctly. “Like in secret. No one has to know.”
“Are you being serious?” Jules finally choked. “If we go to the courthouse here, everyone will know.”
Romeo shrugged. “We can go somewhere else.”
“What the heck is going on with you?” Jules asked him, still gazing up at Romeo as if he’d grown two heads. “This is way out of left field.”
“We love each other,” Romeo said simply. “Might as well make it legal. Don’t have to advertise it, but if something happens, you’d get what I have. Nova and Tino got their own money. Not like they need it.”
“Is something gonna happen to you?” Jules asked in concern.
“I got this fight next week.” Romeo avoided her gaze, because lying to her wasn’t easy. “Anything could happen. I don’t exactly live a cautious life.”
“Are you nervous ’bout the fight?”
“Yes,” Romeo said, letting all the anxiety flow into that one statement. “I’m very nervous about it.”
Jules frowned. “But you’re better than Lipton. Much better. ”
“I’m just saying shit happens.” Romeo avoided her gaze once more. “Nasty shit happens every day, and it’d be nice to know you’re taken care of if it did.”
“I’m taken care of,” she assured him. “I’ve got plenty of money, Romeo. My daddy left us a lot. He was like Wyatt. He didn’t ever spend anything. He lived in a house that was paid for and just invested and invested some more. Wyatt and me don’t have to work. We just do it ’cause we love it.”
Romeo arched an eyebrow. “I bet I have more money than you do. Lots more.”
“I’m sure you do, but so what?”
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“So what? I want you to have it,” Romeo snapped, the stress adding an edge to his voice. “I’m asking you to marry me, Juliet. Are you gonna say yes or what?”