Alive at Night (Wildflower, #1)

by Amelie Rhys

it something I can give you? I need to know what you’re ready for. I need to know what proof you want.”

“I want you, Julian,” I admitted. My voice sounded raw to my ears, but it also sounded real. “I’ve been wanting you. So now I want you to prove that you want me, too. Completely and constantly, like you claim. Not just in these moments.”

“Not just in these moments?”

“It’s hard to trust that things that happen at night will still feel real in the morning,” I explained.

“Don’t be a moonflower, Julian,” I whispered. But his grin only grew. “I won’t be. I’m going to give you proof morning, noon, and night, Juni. Trust me. This is the easiest thing you’ve ever asked of me.”

didn’t seem bothered by my silence, though. Leaning forward, he gave me the briefest kiss on the forehead before striding off toward the door again. When he reached it, he glanced back. His lips curled as he trailed his gaze over me, making me regret not kissing him when I had the chance. “See you in the morning, Juni baby,” he murmured. And then he was gone, leaving me excited to fall asleep for the first time in a decade.

The flattery is unnecessary. You don’t have to do that. JULIAN: Oh, it’s necessary. Been holding my tongue for far too long. This time when I turned my head into the pillow, I screamed.

Me too

lobby. My mind began racing into overdrive as I overanalyzed that simple hand-grab. But there wasn’t any time to make conclusions about it because Julian started to slow his steps as we approached Tyler at his reception desk. Tyler gave us a wary look as we neared, and I had to swallow

good night last night, huh?”

“You could say that. The part of it at Juni’s place, at least.” Cameron’s eyes widened, and I smacked Julian in the chest for putting ideas in his friend’s head. “Not like that,” I hurriedly added. “Not yet.”

“Not yet?” Cameron repeated

“Not yet.”

dress, I returned to the living room wearing sweatpants and one of his old high school football sweatshirts. Julian did a double take.

“Damn,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw as he took me in. “Looks good on you. I always knew it would.” “I can’t believe you hung on to this sweatshirt,”

“You think I would have ditched it before getting to see you in it?” Julian...

“I could really get used to you doing that for me,”

“You did it that night in the hotel, too. One of my favorite fucking moments.” “I still have your shirt,”

“From the wedding. When you let me sleep in it.” “Keep it,” he insisted. “I like to imagine you wear it sometimes.” Refusing to admit that I’...

I get to keep these, too?” I asked teasingly, gesturing at my outfit. “If you want,” Julian answered, even though I wasn’t at all seriou...

“Well, I still have to make it home.” Julian shrugged, walking into the open-concept kitchen to grab a wineglass from a bar cart in the corner. “Or you could stay.” “Stay?” “Stay.” His eyes rose slowly. The glasses clinked on the granite countertops as he set them down. His voice dropped again. “I want to be around you constantly, Juniper. You can have the bed to yourself, I don’t care. Just…stay.”

sure about that, Juniper?” She froze, eyes widening. My brows furrowed. “What?” She licked her lips before talking. “You said my name.” My smile broadened annoyingly. I hated not being in control of my facial features like this. “Don’t get used to it. You’ll always be Daisy to me.”

was fucking mine. Juniper St. James was mine; there was no denying it any longer. She thought she was Noah’s to take out on a date? Never, not ever. They were both fucking around with me, and I knew it, but that didn’t stop me from spiraling until I had Juniper back in my arms again. She. Was. Mine. And now I just needed her to stick around long enough so I could prove it to her. I’d never had a problem sharing. But sharing Juniper St. James? Not a chance in hell would I ever be good at that.

the corner of my kitchen counter, leaning on the end of it so I could get a full view of her in my college football jersey. And nothing else. In a slow, torturous movement, she set her glass of water back onto the counter before spinning. BRIGGS, written across the back of the blue-and-gold jersey, flashed at me. “I’m a little sad that I never got to see you play in college,” she said

“Captain.” She was trying to fucking kill me. “Juniper,” I intoned—a warning. “Julian,” she said, her voice sultry and sweet. Her eyes landed on my bare chest, dropping until they hit the blanket around my waist, which was thankfully covering a painful case of morning wood.

leaned forward, pinning her with a stare so she knew how goddamn serious my next words were. “Unless you want to lose your virginity by getting bent over my kitchen table before work, I’d suggest you go back into my room right fucking now,” I said, lowering my voice and making sure it dripped with intent.

“Does it bother you?” she whispered. “Bother me?” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “When you tease the hell out of me? Yes, yes it—” “No,” she cut me off. “Not that.”

me to open my eyes again. “That I’ve never—” She glanced away. “No.” I shook my head as I understood, and then I kept shaking it, pushing myself up. “Fuck no.”

obsessed,” I emphasized, which got her attention. Her eyes snapped to me, widening when she realized I was walking toward her with clear intentions. I needed her body against mine, and then I got it. My fingers tangled into her hair at the nape of her neck, and I yanked down, forcing her to look up at me and listen to every word I was about to say. She gasped, and the heat was back. “I’m beyond obsessed with the idea that no one else has fucking touched you like I plan to.”

“I’m a selfish man, Juniper,” I murmured, “and you made my goddamn year with that news.” She frowned. “You’re not selfish.” “Oh, I am with you. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

I get grumpy

I have to share you with others, and I’ve been doing it my whole life. So now…” “So now?” Juni repeated when I didn’t finish my sentence. “Now I can’t stop thinking about getting a part of you all to myself.” I sighed, knowing I needed to stop this conversation before I got carried away. “But I know I won’t get it this morning, so I need you to give me a goddamn break.” Juniper’s lips curved, her expression now sparkl...

on her hair, trailing my fingers down her neck in a soft caress. “Yesterday was a good day,” she said, shiver...

“You’re right that I never accepted you like the rest of my family did,” I said. “I never wanted to hurt you, Juniper. It’s just that this…this was the only kind of Briggs I wanted you to be.” “And what kind is that?” I swept my gaze up and down her body one last time, memorizing how she looked in my jersey. “The kind that’s mine.”

“Juni baby.”

“Someone’s going to hear you call me that,” she hissed. I took a sip of my coffee before grunting, “Good.”

that’s not true.” “It’s not?” “No.” She grinned over her shoulder, looking at me beneath sooty lashes. “I love fucking with you.”

“Juni,” I said, “are you ready for me to ask you out?” Her fuck-me eyes vanished, and she lifted one shoulder with a shy expression instead. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to ask, would it?” I smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

was my turn for that, and I intended to do it even better than he had. Julian melted beneath my mouth, molding to me as he groaned into the kiss, eager and desperate to return it. God, I’d missed this, missed feeling like we were both going to lose it unless we got another taste of each other. I knocked Julian back into the closed bathroom door, wrapping my arms around his neck and letting my fingers sift into his gingery hair. Julian fumbled with the lock before his hands landed on the small of my back, holding me tight to his body.

knew I should stop, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to. Abandoning reason was the only option at this point. I pressed my lips to his harder, coaxing them open

Julian mumbled for me to be quiet. He said it so sweetly, though, that it barely registered. And when he bit down on my lip, I gasped even louder. “Juniper.” The way he growled my name caused heady awareness to zip through me. Right. Right, we were in a bathroom. On Christmas. At his parents’ house. Shit.

“Do you think they’ll realize?” I muttered between kisses. Julian shook his head and responded in short sentences while trying to keep his mouth on mine. “They were done with gifts. Everyone’s cleaning up. No one noticed that I left.” “Good.”

“God, Juni.” He breathed his words against my mouth while sliding his fingers down my jaw to grip my chin. “Please don’t make me go that long without kissing you ever again.” “Ever again, huh?” “Ever.” He brushed his lips over mine once. “Again.” And then once more before asking huskily, “Did you like your present?”

loved my present. I wished I’d known you were doing that so I could have gotten you something, too.” His smile caressed mine as he replied. “There’s only one thing on my wish list this year, and you can still give it to me.”

“Juni baby…” He paused, releasing his grip on my ass to reach up and touch something on the top of my head. It wasn’t until I felt a little tug that I realized he was readjusting the bow in my hair. Then his gaze dropped to mine, and it shone with a thousand holiday lights. “Can I have a date for Christmas? I want to take you out.” On the inside, I squealed. But on the outside, I kissed him tenderly before whispering against his lips. “You can have as many dates as you like, Julian.”

“Thank fucking God.” Julian crashed his lips into mine, transitioning our kiss from sweet to passionate and needy. He cupped me in his hands again, lifting until nothing remained between us, and I felt everything. Everything. His erection pressed into my stomach, flooding me with forbidden desire.

“But that won’t be for a while, will it?” I breathed, kissing down Julian’s neck. He tipped his head back, letting it hit the bathroom door with a light knock and a rumble from his throat. “Our date won’t be until we get back to Boston. What about tonight?” “Tonight?”

“Tonight, Julian.” I hooked one finger into the waistband of his pants and used another to trace the outline of his growing erection. “I want to give you something tonight.”

“Holy—” Julian looked down at me, clearly comprehending but glitching internally at what to do about it. “But you—I want—” “I want to, tonight. Me first,”

“Please.” A smirk pulled slowly onto his expression. “Did I just hear that correctly?” His voice was husky and soft now, his eyes no longer

“Was that Juniper St. James begging for my cock?” “I’m not begging.”