Love Beyond Words (City Lights: San Francisco Book 1) by Emma Scott

then frowned. “There was a card…” He fished around in his jacket pocket. “It’s a little late now…”
    Natalie held out her hand, eyebrows raised.
    Julian laughed shortly and gave it to her, looking away as she read it.
    Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, it read, and Natalie felt that soft water warmth all over again. Love, Julian
    #
    He parked in front of her building, shut off the engine, and then sat with both hands gripping the steering wheel. Natalie curled toward him, warmed and drowsy by the heat emanating from the leather seats, and more than a little tipsy from the wine. The day’s sublimity was making her bold; she had a sudden image of standing before him in her apartment wearing nothing but the Victorian pendant. Her skin flushed hotly at the thought. She’d never felt this way before, could never have imagined feeling this way about anyone. But not even her ingrained shyness could stop her from reaching out and taking Julian’s hand in hers.
    It surprised him, she saw, and he turned in his seat to look at her, to watch her hold his hand in both of hers. His eyes were full of warmth and longing. He leaned closer and the nearness of him was more intoxicating than any wine. The scent of his skin and his cologne, the warmth of his breath…She even savored the scent of his fine clothing that smelled new and clean. And his eyes…the blue of his eyes was a tropical sea and she fell into them, became submerged in their depths.
    “Natalie…”
    “Yes.” She smiled drowsily even as her pulse quickened. It was almost as if she’d become accustomed to how he set her at ease and completely undid her at the same time.
    “Ah, god, don’t look at me like that,” he said, his voice thick.
    “Like what?”
    “Seductive.”
    “No one has ever called me seductive before.”
    “Impossible,” he said gruffly, and before she could draw a breath, he took her face in both of his hands and kissed her.
    Natalie was thankful she was already sitting down; she felt herself falling away, dizzy and drunk for this, the first kiss, that she had been dreaming about for months.
    His lips were gentle, caressing hers, sweeping over them. She could do nothing at first but tilt her head back and let him do as he pleased until his tongue ventured to touch her. A gentle invasion, a wanted invasion. She parted her lips wider to accept him, let him explore her, and then kissed him back, stroking the warm velvety wetness of his tongue with hers. Oh god, delicious. He tasted of the Crème Brule they’d shared for dessert, expensive wine, and beneath that, his own delectable sweetness.
    Natalie heard a little moan escape her. She pushed out of her seat toward Julian, wanting to feel more of him, and slipped her hand into the curls of his hair that felt just as soft and silky as she had imagined it to be. He moved closer, grazing her lower lip with his teeth before covering her mouth completely with his. Their tongues danced and stroked and slid along each other until Natalie lost all sense of time and place. There was only this incredible sensation…and the want it was building inside her.
    Julian shifted, trying to maneuver closer in the enclosed space of the car. A short blast of the horn startled them both and they flinched away. Natalie laughed nervously, while trying to catch her breath. Julian did not.
    He looked about, like a sleepwalker awakened, and put his hands back on the steering wheel.
    “Julian?” Natalie started to reach for him but suddenly felt she shouldn’t.
    “I…” He twisted his hands around the wheel, not looking at her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start anything until…”
    Natalie bit her lip where she imagined she could still feel his touch, fading now. “What is it?”
    “I have something to tell you.”
    He sounded hesitant, agitated, when a moment before he had been lost in the kiss with her. Hadn’t he? She sat back in her seat, bracing herself. The warm flush of desire he’d