Look at Me [Dimitri x Plutonium]

[[ Sure, that's a good idea ]]

Mike kept silent almost throughout the entire span their little group was working on the project. He gave into as little small talk as possible, but he tried his best to give some input. He didn't want Juliette to think, after all, that he was just some slack who wanted some sort of easy way out. That's the most of the kind of talking he did. On the most part, he faked being on his phone and ended up telling Alex all about his rants about Renee. He tried texting Juliette more than once but as usual, she ignored everything. Not to mention, she seemed to have forgotten he existed. Even when they had their last tutorial session, she was a little cold towards him. He tried to ask her, he really did, but she excused herself too early and rushed out even before he had the chance to instruct his driver to bring her home as usual. What annoys him most is how she wasn't cold at all around Gerard. They had been talking a lot lately and she seemed to be happier. It was weird, because they never talked like that. Sure, they kissed and made out, they touched and fucked, but they never had the chance to just sit down and talk about random things. They never had the chance to laugh heartily the way Gerard and she did, and he doesn't know why it bothers him too damn much.

On the afternoon they spent at Juliette's house, Mike was a little late. He didn't join the group on their way there but when he arrived, they were just settling in. He was about to remark at how homey her house felt but the bitter feeling ate him up and he figured Gerard must have already complimented her house ahead of him. Mike waved at everyone before settling on the couch beside Renee who patted the space beside her. More than once she tried to feed him potato chips but Mike simply smiled and declined. He told her though, that he appreciated her thoughtfulness and that seemed to be enough to make up for his seemingly polite decline at her flirtatious acts.

"I'll just sort out some of these things," Mike said as he took a couple of papers and scanned through them while trying his best to figure out how to patch the pieces together.

"Well actually, Mike, I kind of outlined our project so that it'll be easier for us to pile our notes," Gerard remarked. He didn't mean anything by it, really, but Mike nearly crumpled the papers on his hand if only it didn't affect his image.

"Oh, well, alright then. Thanks, bro." Mike set the papers aside just as Renee started announcing about some sort of ball and--

how Gerard had always wanted to ask Juliette out on a date.

Mike's gaze instantly hovered to Juliette who seemed to be lost for words. He wasn't sure if she was speechless out of joy or speechless because of how blunt Renee's words are. If they'd go and Juliette would agree to have Gerard as her date, then he'd be stuck with Renee. Renee's girls would see him with Renee. Everyone would see him with Renee.

And he didn't want that. Everyone should see him with Juliette.

But Juliette has Gerard now.

And Gerard has her.

"Well that's really great, I'm sure you three would have an awesome time," Mike said. He masked his emotions with a bubbly tone as he spoke as if none of it mattered to him. "I'm really sorry Renee, I can't really book anything this winter. I'm having a couple of photo shoots for the summer collection of some brands," He told Renee before turning to face Gerard. "Bro, Juliette's a nice girl. She's really great, and funny, and--" he stopped before he could say anything more. "--and really lucky to have you. You take good care of her, ayt?"

Gerard, thinking that this was just a kind man-to-man kind of exchange of words, nodded to Mike and gave his shoulder a quick tap. "Yeah sure, Mike. I will." He then turned to Juliette, smiled at her, took her hand and gently kissed the top of it. That made Mike clench his fist. "So what do you say, mademoiselle, will you allow me to take you to the Winter Ball?"

Mike watched everything unfold with a smile yet his eyes betrayed what he felt inside. Little did he know that Renee was actually observing Mike's every reaction while Gerard would glance his eyes to her. It looked like he was being shy about asking Juliette but he was looking at Renee and they acknowledged some sort of mutual observation.

"Mike, darling, are you okay?" Renee cooed. She took his hand and unclenched his fingers. His palm had already turned a sickly pale color because of how hard he had been clenching his hand.

Internally, Mike stiffened at the act because he felt like he was caught red-handed, yet he didn't let it show. Instead, he took her hand, squeezed it a bit, and set it down gently. He then shifted his position a bit so that he'd turn his back on Juliette and Gerard to face Renee. "Have you heard of Daniel Simons?" Daniel was his co-model who walked the runway with him in the VS fashion show. "He's been dying to attend college parties lately. Maybe he'd like to escort you." Renee's mood lit up so much at Mike's offer so she ended up pulling her to him in a hug and thanked him over and over again. She even dared to kiss her on the cheek. "You're the best, Mike! Thank you!"

[[OOC: I was supposed to continue on until Gerard and Renee left Juliette's house but I didn't want to go beyond it since we're waiting for Juliette's response to Gerard's request. That response is completely up to you. ]]

When everyone looked to her, her jaw hung slightly open. There may have been a blank look in her eyes, but her head was anything but. Thoughts were reeling through her head a mile a minute. The idea that Mike was probably going to agree to go with Renee out of obligation had her head spinning. Gerard and her going together would have been a given, but that wasn't a shock to her. The shock was that Gerard was hoping for a date with her. In fact, according to Renee, he had been wanting to ask out on a date. First of all, a DATE? With her? Butterflies had begun to fill her stomach, but these were not the same ones that she got with Mike. These were nervous in the sense that, of course she was flattered, but. Wait, did that mean...he liked her, though? Oh gosh, that was why he had been being so nice. That time he asked to go to coffee, he meant a coffee DATE. No matter how many times she repeated that Gerard could like her in her head, she just couldn't truly believe it.

Who could possibly like her? Her personality? A sheltered, awkward bookworm with no people skills? Was that actually attractive? Sure, she had her brains. But that was it. Her only talents were reading and singing somewhat decently. Physical wise, well, Gerard could compare her to Renee right now if he wanted to. Renee was the physical opposite of her. If Gerard could possibly find someone like her beautiful...that made Juliette happy. Gerard was very sweet, and of course, handsome. But--

Mike's voice brought her back to reality. From the moment his words fell from his lips, she felt her entire heart begin to break. Did he think that she liked Gerard? Of course not. Sure, he was a wonderful guy, and someone she had grown to be able to talk to without feeling nervous.

But, Gerard would never be Mike.

No matter how much her and Gerard had in common, she could never see him in the same light she saw Mike. After days of thinking about him and Renee, she knew she really did like him. Even before Renee had brought out that vicious jealously, Juliette had realized her feelings. Getting them to stop was hard. Especially when his face was literally everywhere. He was on billboards, banners in the subways, magazines, media, and on her mind. She was barely able to find sanctuary from her growing feelings in her books. When she began to picture him in romantic scenarios as she read love stories, she knew that she had it bad. Gerard was handsome, even model material, but the handsome Mike was in her eyes went far beyond that of his model status and physical looks. It was what he hid from the world that made him handsome. That sweet smile, his Russian accent, his affectionate personality. Everything about him had somehow grown alluring to her.

Something in her brain was telling her to give Gerard a chance. The rational part of her knew that she had a better chance of being with Gerard than ever being with Mike. Liking Mike would only lead to a broken heart. However, her heart, the irrational part, would never allow it. It was impossible. Not after Mike had given her such new sensations and emotions.

He was the only person that had ever made her feel so...free.

So even if Gerard was a wonderful guy that could give her a normal relationship, there would be no contest. Mike was the only one she wanted. Even if the life he lived as a celebrity, and the life she lived sheltered, wouldn't allow that to happen.

"You take good care of her, ayt?"

How dare he. How dare he say such sweet things about her and not realize what it did to her heart. Did he know she liked him and this was his way of telling her he didn't feel the same? Or was he just automatically assuming this was what she wanted? Either way, he shouldn't make assumptions without talking to her first. The irritation that had been building up with Renee, and the anger she had toward Mike for just sitting there and letting it happen, plus his assumptions of her feelings were pushing her on the verge of an outburst. The hand that held her pen had begun to shake, and if she balled her first any harder, she would break her pen. Honestly, she wasn't sure who she would yell at first. Renee for flirting with the guy she liked all week, plus being blunt and putting Gerard and her on the spot. Or Mike, for allowing Renee to be touchy-feely with him and to somehow get the fact that she liked him hammered into his brain.

Before she was able to even think of what to say to either of them, her other hand was enveloped. There was that familiar warmth. But, it wasn't Mike, it was Gerard. Instantly, she wanted to pull her hand away. But, not before her planted a gentle kiss on the back it. Her pen hit the table out of pure shock. Something about having the knowledge that he liked her made her nervous. Almost as if he were invading her personal space. She didn't want to be anything more than friends, and now here she was faced with a situation that in retrospect she had always dreamed of, but really did not know it would be so uncomfortable. Any girl would have loved to have her hand kissed by a foreign boy. However, this wasn't the pair of foreign lips she wanted kissing her. Not French, but Russian. Not Gerard, but Mike.

All she wanted was Mike.

The answer was so easy, but she couldn't find the courage to decline. There was a fear of disappointing Gerard, of hurting him. She didn't want to lose her new friend to the awkwardness that would occur between them knowing the other didn't reciprocate. Acapella practice would be jut awful. But lying to him would be worse. Her lips, pursed, suddenly opened and with apologetic eyes she began to speak slowly.

"Gerard, I--" Just before she could say more, she heard Renee's own concerned voice. Was something wrong with Mike? Juliette's gaze shifted from apologetic to concerned as she saw how pale his hand was. Although he gave Renee a smile, Juliette knew that he was accustomed to not letting people know what was wrong. She felt overjoyed when he arranged a new date for Renee, but only for a split second. The minute Renee's lips brushed against Mike's cheek, something in her heart and mind snapped.

Her hand carefully pulled out of Gerard's before pretending to feel her phone vibrate from her pocket. She read the screen without Gerard or Renee noticing that there was absolutely no sign of a text. "Oh gosh, they are on their way home early." Juliette, not really an actress, feigned panic considerably well as she quickly gathered the rest of the project. "Um, I'll finish tonight. It won't be a problem, but you two really need to leave before the get here." Renee seemed to open her mouth as if to ask what's wrong, but she probably noticed the daggers she was no longer able to hide. Renee, never seeing such a fierce look from the shy Juliette, simply gulped and was the first to leave. Not, of course, without giving a flirty wave and wink to Mike. "Mike, I have to get the last of the notes from you, so you can stay for a split second." She flashed him a smile, but her eyes gave him the exact icy, daggered look she gave Renee. Gerard didn't protest, but clearly looked like he still wanted an answer. "I'm so sorry Gerard. I have to ask my grandparents about the ball, but let's get coffee after practice tomorrow. I'll let you know then." She didn't mean to sound in a rush, but really she was. She wanted everyone out of her house, but not before she gave Mike a piece of her mind. Gerard, satisfied as he could be with her response, nodded with a half hearted smile and leaned in. His lips brushed her cheek, sending uncomfortable shivers down her spine before he was gone.

The minute the sound of Gerard's footsteps hit the stairs, she took a painfully long breath in, before letting it out in a huff. Her back was to Mike as she locked the door, but her entire frame was shaking. "What is wrong with you?" Her voice shook the same as her body did as she continued to keep her back to him. "How dare you assume that I would want to go to the ball with him, and then say something like 'Oh, take care of her.' What, am I your puppy dog or something?" She hissed, her fists balling as the words began to spill from your mouth. "If anyone here is your puppy dog, it's Renee. Your number one fan. And you love it, right?" She spat the dancer's name before continuing. Her voice was growing continually more hurt. "You let her fawn on you, like some sort of prince. She's been flirting with you all week, and I know, you have to be nice to your fans, but..." She paused, feeling something wet on her cheeks. Oh gosh, why couldn't she control her emotions. How come she couldn't control the words that were coming out of her mouth? No, she couldn't let him know Renee was bothering her anymore. With one more deep breath, she spoke in a quieter voice "What were you upset about earlier? I saw your hand had been shaking."

Mike already got up and was about to follow Gerard and Renee but when Juliette instructed her to stay, he obliged and walked back inside the living room. Her tone of voice was light and seemingly okay (aside from the panic) but her eyes said so much more than panicking that her grandparents were already near. Once the doors were closed and they were all alone, that's when Juliette snapped.

And that's when he allowed himself to snap as well. There were no more prying eyes; just the eyes that were used to seeing him behind the camera. The eyes which held daggers as sharp as the words she was saying. He let her speak. Mike didn't say another word and though every word that flowed from Juliette's mouth hurt him a lot, he the anger he felt overpowered the pain. Juliette knew him more than any fan in the world. Hell, he didn't even know if Juliette was his fan but that's what he appreciated the most about her; it's how he's just some guy in her eyes. But this. This was too much. If she weren't anyone but Juliette Torres, he would've snapped at her so much. He would've raised his voice at her but instead, he just stood there with his arms crossed and looked at Juliette in the eye as she spoke her heart out. Her words were stinging him a lot and he couldn't believe she could say such accusations about him, about him loving the kind of attention Renee was giving, about him loving the popularity and all that. Tears were starting to run from her eyes but for the first time since knowing her, he was unmoved by it.

"Are you done?" He asked. He let his arms loose once her voice was quieter. He started circling around her like a vulture spying on its prey, watching its every move. He was looking at her and her alone and for a while, all he did was just that. He didn't want to speak yet in fear that he might end up getting too mad and getting her hurt even more. He wouldn't want that, even if he was hurting, too. Just by simply remembering how Gerard dared to kiss her cheek was enough to make him want to punch a whole through the wall.

"Yes, I admit allowing Renee to do all of those fucking things but I'm a celebrity. I have to be nice, I have to not appear too snobbish as to not allow a simple hug. You would've known I hated every moment of it if you actually bothered to check on your phone instead of deleting every message I sent you." Mike stopped circling around her. Mike stood right in front of her, towering her intimidatingly with his arms crossed and looking down at her with eyes full of mixed emotions, none of it was positive. "What's your excuse, Juliette? You didn't know? You didn't know that Gerard fucking likes you? You didn't see it in him? Let me guess, they weren't on the books. They weren't in the things you watch at night when you're alone. Is that it?"

Mike ran his fingers through his hair in annoyance. He took a deep, long breath and scoffed it out in attempt to calm himself down but it did nothing to calm his nerves. So many thoughts ran through his mind at that very moment. A part of him wanted to hold back the truth but a greater part is ready to admit. If he's going to lose Juliette, then be it.

"I told Gerard to take care of you because I can't all the time. I urged you to go the ball with him 'cause you can be seen with him." Mike spoke a little softer this time but clearly, he was still holding so much emotions inside. His Russian accent was thicker and was even almost inaudabily English as he stressed out on every word so strongly. "Wanna know why my hands had been shaking?" Mike bit his lip and looked away for a while before taking a deep breath. He looked at Juliette and almost ached to touch her face, to bring her close to him again, but his words would break her. He would break her. And that's something he didn't want to do in his own arms.

"Gerard could be a boyfriend your grandparents would approve of. He's smart, he's good-looking, he's part of your acapella group. Gerard could be so much more your family would gladly entrust their precious girl to while me, what am I, Juliette?" He paused to keep himself from raising his voice too much in fear that the neighbors might hear. Or worse, they might hear and recognize his voice. He already sealed off his identity by bringing a different car and putting sunglasses and a cap on but his voice wouldn't mask him out. "I have to be nice to girls like Renee. I have to travel a whole fucking lot. I'm not always here, don't you fucking get it?" Mike was too upset, he ended up punching the wall beside him which insantly made his knuckles bleed. "I fucking like you so goddamn much but I can't, okay, I fucking can't because I'd end up destroying you and you are too goddamn precious to me for me to let that happen and--" Mike ran his fingers through his hair again, but his lip and looked away. "Damn it."

Without another word, Mike took his cap and sunglasses and rushed out of the house. She couldn't have been calling him back or maybe not, but his mind's too occupied to actually process anything properly. All he knew was that he needed to get out of there and he needed to get out of there fast. His heart raced as tears rushed down from his eyes. More than once he heard other cars honking him out of the way but he didn't pay attention to anything. For the nth time in his life, he felt like he lost something precious to him, something which truly makes him happy, in exchange for a career, a life, and a reality he couldn't escape from. He never felt genuine love, care, and appreciation for him. Once again he was thinking, "if I'm not a model, will people still treat me the same?" For the first time in his entire life, he felt that someone actually saw him as a person; a living, breathing human being that existed beyond photoshopped billboards and magazine spreads, beyond toned abs and tight underwears. Juliette saw him as this guy who failed Literature, who loved sweets, who had a thick Russian accent which never seemed to disappear despite being an American for so long.

And this was a girl he had to push away.

Mike punched the steering wheel again and just as he got lost in his thoughts further, a loud sound brought him back to reality yet it was too late. The last thing he heard was the clashing sound of metal against metal, and glass shattering everywhere. There was an excruciating pain electrifying every inch of his body until there was nothing left but darkness and emptiness.

---

Mike woke up in a jolt and the first thing he heard was the beeping sounds of hospital monitors. Everything was still a blur around him as his vision failed to straighten up for at least a minute or so. When his senses started kicking in again, he began to observe his surroundings as he tried his best to recall what happened. His body still ached in places and his face stung with a burning sensation. Mike looked around for any signs of life in the room and when he spotted a girl sitting down with her head down on the table, he almost assumed it was Juliette. Then again, the ginger hair instantly made him realize it was Alex, after all.

“Alex,” Mike called out weakly. He tried to reach out to wake her up but as soon as he moved his hand, he groaned in pain. In the end, he was informed that he broke his right arm, the fingers on his right hand (not because of the accident, but because of the punch), his left leg and a couple of bones in his ribs. The doctor said it was pretty bad, but they managed to fix it. Alex and his management gave strict orders to not let anyone except for Mike’s parents (who never came, but they called up to check once in a while) see him at that state. Mike demanded to have Juliette come over but Alex put up a fight about it. They argued about the probability that Juliette might leak something beyond what the media was informed to say (Mike Romanov, road crash with his sedan colliding with an SUV, recovering in hospital, nothing too bad). Mike argued that Juliette was not that kind of girl but Alex, being a strict manager that she was, didn’t dare trust anyone. Mike gave up after a few days, figuring that Juliette might not want to see him anyway.

---

Mike spent three agonizing weeks in the hospital in which his only entertainment was the TV, Alex’s stories, and tweeting out that he was doing okay already. Of course, he didn’t dare post photos at all primarily because he was afraid of how he would be treated after this accident… now that he has a huge scar on the left side of his face, running down from just below his left eye down to his jawline. Alex was still contacting prosthetic and plastic surgery experts on how they could fix that for it will be a problem for his career.

Three painful weeks after the accident, Mike was allowed to go back home. He was actually quite okay by the third day of the second week but Alex insisted he heads out when he’s already fully okay. He said he didn’t want anyone to capture photos of him in casts and wheelchairs. Of course, there were a dozen paparazzis waiting for them in the parking lot of the hospital on the day he was allowed to make his exit but his bodyguards were good at keeping them and some media reporters at bay. He had the left side of his face bandaged and he had sunglasses to cover his eyes as he walked along towards his van. It kind of stung him to hear, “what happened to your face, Mike? Will you stop modeling because of that?” It seemed like Alex heard it too since she frankly answered, “it’s none of anyone’s business right now so please just back off.”

Mike, Alex, and his bodyguards arrived at his condo late in the afternoon that day. Alex helped him settle in for a while before taking her leave to fly off to New York to talk to the plastic surgery doctor about what they could do with Mike’s scar. Alex gave him strict instructions to stay at home at all costs. As soon as Alex left, Mike was all alone. He turned the TV on and at that very instant, he already heard news channels saying that he was already out of the hospital. Mike rolled his eyes and groaned as he turned the TV off. He spent the next few hours playing the piano which served as his stress therapy years ago. Though his hands still hurt just a tad bit, the music drowned the pain away.

Not just the physical pain, of course.

There was something in his tone of voice and the way he eyed her reminded her closely of the first argument they had. In fact, he asked 'Are you done?' in the exact same tone of voice. It gave her an almost sickening sense of deja vu. This time tensions were much higher. The air between the two of them as he circled around her was toxic. If she hadn't known how truly hurt he was, she would have thought he eyed her with a condescending gaze. Her fist balled harder with each step he took, and at one point it turned the same pale colors his had earlier. There was such horrible words pouring from her mouth earlier, but both of them were much too far too hurt. When she stopped in front of him, she just barely caught a glimpse at the emotional storm in his eyes before needing to look away. When he actually began to speak, she turned her head away more. These were all things she knew, but didn't want to hear coming from him. He was right, of course he had to be nice. It didn't mean she wanted to see it though. It didn't mean that she wish she could fawn over him like that. Maybe not in a 'fan-girl' type of way, but in general.

Her mouth stayed in a thin line throughout the entire duration of his rant about the text messages. The sad part was she truly did feel bad about not being able to answer him. It was how he thought she didn't even check that made her mad. "Didn't we already go through this? I can't respond to them! You just don't get it!" She spat back. No one understood. "If you don't think I read them, then you are sadly mistaken. And I'm so, so sorry that I couldn't respond due to the fact I can barely stay after school for a project without being interrelated. You wouldn't know anything about never being able to go anywhere or do anything, Mister Celebrity." She composed herself, but only for a moment before he broke her again. 'They weren't in the things you watch at night when you're alone. Is that it?' Her lips parted in complete and utter distraught before her expression turned completely sour. Her eye turned to slits and she shook her head slowly. Honestly, she began to lift her hand to slap him, but bit her lip to the point of bleeding to stop herself. Instead, she balled it once more, her knuckles turning white. Her eyes became blurry while slipped down her cheeks, but despite how sad her tears were, her expression was one of pure rage. "Be quiet, just-- just shut up!" She yelled before raising her hand and jabbing her finger against his sternum. The porn she watched at night may have been useful when she slept with him, but otherwise it ate at her. She felt guilty watching them and shameful for enjoying them. It scared her to sit there at night and wonder what would happen if she did ever find love, and they found out. And Mike had calmed that panic inside of her. He didn't mind it. But, maybe she was wrong.

The heat turning her face red was either from anger or from pure embarrassment, Juliette wasn't too sure. What she was sure of, was that there was no way to stop the words that began spilling from her mouth. "Why do you even care if he likes me? Is that so bad? Because if he doesn't than no one will. And it sucks, because the only person I have ever liked--" Her hand covered her mouth. No, she couldn't tell him. "--It's not like you are my boyfriend or anything. So you shouldn't care, right? You don't want anything more than to be the kind of friends who just sleep together, right?" Her voice cracked at her very last words. She wasn't saying it to be awful to him. She was saying it to protect herself. Maybe if she convinced herself that was all he could possibly want, her feelings would cease to grow. But, the moment she said them she wanted to take them back. Of course she didn't truly think that. In fact, she thought that there was a small, small possibility, that he could like her. Getting her hopes up scared her, however. She had gotten her hopes let down in the past, and at this point, hope was a risk.

For a while he didn't speak, and that only made the turmoil inside of her grow. The panic enveloped her body at the thought of how much she could have hurt him with her word. Her eyes watched him anxiously as his lips parted, his voice full of quaking emotion. He wasn't as upset with her as he was about who he was. And his words should have made her so happy, but they hurt. They stung, they burned, those words are what felt like they were destroying her. The moment he punched the wall, she jumped out of her daze from hearing his words. Instantly, her tear brimmed eyes filled with concern, and she reached out to grasp his bleeding hand. But he was gone. Her body was frozen in place, in fact, she couldn't even watch him go. So many times her lips had parted to say his name. Even after he was gone. After standing there for what felt like an eternity, she turned around and closed the door, and then checked the wall, cleaning off the spots of blood he left in silence.

The next hour consisted of her sitting in her room, her body curled up under her fuzzy blanket and just sobbing. Is this what a break up felt like? The thought made her want to laugh given they weren't dating. But they could have. If he liked her as much as she liked him she would have been with him in a heartbeat. If he were away traveling she would have waited for him. Hell, she waited for her mom for 18 years and still nothing. As long as she knew he would come back from his trips and still have time to study with her, she would be happy.

That would never happen now. She hurt him too bad, and he didn't think he as what she wanted. Her eyes burned as she let out another shaking sob upon the realization she never fully told him how she felt.

The front door opening startled her. Sniffling, she slowly lifted herself off the bed and wiped her eyes. If her grandparents asked, she would tell them she read a sad book or something. It wouldn't be the first time a book made her so emotional. Her eyes moved toward the clock. Huh, they were late. With a long, shaky breath, she opened her bedroom door and went to greet them.

"Welcome home..." Juliette murmured as she walked into the living room. Her grandparents were sitting on the couch, the TV on with full sound. Both of them were engrossed in what seemed like the news to ask note her red eyes and nose.

"Oh, mahal. Sorry we were late. There was a bad, bad accident. Traffic was awful. Your Lolo and I couldn't figure out why there were so many news trucks there, but here. Look." Her grandmother ushered to the tv with a remote. Curious, Juliette stood behind the couch and watched.

'National Idol, Mike Romanov, road crash with his sedan colliding with an SUV, recovering in hospital, nothing too bad'

All of the air left Juliette's body, as well as the strength. Her hands gripped the back of the couch for support. If she hadn't leaned against the piece of furniture, her legs would have given out on her. Never in her life had she felt panic like this. There was no way a Sedan and an SUV could only result in minor injuries. Her grandmother's voice began to confirm that, "Tch, Tch, the news always makes up lies. That crash was a lot worse than what they are describing. He was being driven away when we got there." She hadn't realized it, but a cry had shook her body, bringing her grandparent's gaze toward her. Both their eyebrows were knitted in legitimate concern as left the room and locked herself in her own. Aside from the body quaking panic, her sobs shook her as well. He wasn't dead, thank God. But that didn't mean he wasn't terribly hurt, or worse. For the first time, she almost considered texting him, or even calling him. All she could though was wish she had stopped him.

--

The next few weeks were bleak for her. The day right after the crash,s he went to school with bags under her eyes. That day she considered wearing a sweatshirt, but she couldn't let people know how awful she was feeling. People started noticing her only because of how different she carried herself. The Professor even caught her zoning out a few times. He kept her after class and inquired if she was worried about her pupil. To that, she responded with nothing but a nod before getting out of there as quickly as possible. The group got an A, of course. But they did not celebrate, not after what happened. Renee had voiced she heard he was fine, but Juliette knew better.

Gerard had inquired if she asked her grandparents to the ball, and with a feigned smile, she told him they were much too strict. It wasn't a lie. Instead, in hopes of getting her mind away from the guilt and anxiety plaguing her body and mind, she went to coffee with him. He knew something was wrong by her lack of words, so he simply smiled sadly and let her know that he would be there. He was slowly starting to piece together what her and Mike's feelings for each other might have been. As hurt as he was, he worried more about the depression Juliette had developed.

Her eating patterns changed from loving food, to barely touching it. If anything, she ate at night when she couldn't sleep. Her sexual libido was zero, even below that. The idea of watching porn and masturbating never crossed her mind once. How could it when all that was on her mind was how Mike's crash was her fault. If she had stopped him from running out, or getting into that fight with him, maybe he would be at school and fine. She tried asking Alexandra if she could see him, nearly begged actually, countless times. After a while, his manager explained that he was fine and it was for publicity purposes only that she could not see him. Juliette thought that maybe he didn't want to see her. She didn't blame him, after everything she said to him. To think, her awful words were the last thing he heard. He could have heard her telling him his true feelings if it wasn't for her anger.

One day, her grandparents finally asked her what was wrong. They had watched her grow thinner. Of course she still ate enough to retain strength. But the weight loss still threw them for a loop, especially given they had no idea about her and Mike. Juliette's forced a smile. She really hadn't noticed the weight loss. Then again, her jeans didn't fit without belts. She wasn't withering away, though. Sure, she was lethargic, but not weak. She simply told them that she got a bad grade on a test, and she was beating herself up about it. That wasn't a lie, either. Her grades were a bit lower, not much. At the lowest she got a regular B on a homework assignment. As exaggerated as that seemed, it was the truth. Her rank was still being maintained, but it was a slippery surface.

As much as it scared her to get bad grades, she didn't care. In fact, she thought she deserved it. Maybe it was a punishment, in some weird way, for not being truthful with Mike. Juliette thought that him getting hit by a car right after their fight was punishment enough though.

--

One day, while waitressing at the restaurant, she got a text. 'Call me' from Alexandra. In a heart beat, she went out back and called her. The moment the line was picked up, Juliette spoke, cutting Alexandra off before even a 'hello'

"How is he, is he okay?" She whispered. Her voice sounded so tired, It surprised her to hear how exhausted she sounded from crying. There were nights sometimes she still cried. Her reasons for crying changed, sometimes it was sadness, other times it was fear, loneliness, anger. All in all, she was emotionally drained.

"...He's fine. He's still hurting, but he's home. Juliette-- listen. I want you to go see him. I don't know if something happened with you two, but he's not him. Even if he was hurt in the accident, he just seems...upset. Go and see him. I'll drop you off there if I have to." Juliette opened her mouth to say 'yes' right away, but nothing came out. In fact, she didn't know if she could see him. Would he even want her there?

No, she needed to see him.

"I-I'll go. Just give me a half hour. I need to get a few things. Pick me up at this address." She read off a business name before hanging up and running inside, telling her grandparent's she needed to run out to go to work. They opened their mouths to question her, but she was out the door to quick.

--

This elevator was all too familiar. So was this situation. Here she was with a box of sweets in her hands. Usually she had a notebook, which she did have to give him since he missed so much school. But she wasn't here for school this time. The only difference was, she had keys to his penthouse. Getting off the elevator, she walked down the hall, spying herself in the mirror. Thank God for makeup. It helped cover up the bags under her eyes. Even though she hadn't cried in a few days, her eyes seemed bloodshot, probably from lack of sleep. Hopefully he wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Maybe the weight loss was for the better, even if it wasn't much, she felt like she looked closer to Renee's figure now. Although, she still had curves. Her train of thought stopped when she reached his door, as did her breathing. The drive to see him was replaced with an extreme amount of panic. She even thought of turning right around. But then, music. Piano music. She had always loved the piano.

It was such a sad song. Just the sound melted the fear into a longing, the melody drawing the key from her pocket and into the lock. With one deep breath, she turned the key and pushed the door open. The moment she did, she looked to the piano in his living room. For a second, his back was to her, as if he expected Alexandra. Carefully, she placed the cupcakes from the bakery down on the counter before making timid, cautious steps toward him.

When he finally turned around, her body froze. All she could do was look at his face. He looked as tired as she did. Maybe even more so, if that was possible. In her eyes, his entire form suddenly looked weak and frail. Those dark brown orbs of hers searched his face for any type of emotion he exemplified upon seeing her. Her body moved much too quickly for her to wait, though. If he wasn't hurt, she would have thrown her arms around him and cried. Instead, she just stopped in front of him. It took only a moment before tears of guilt, sadness, relief, happiness, so many emotions, spilled from her eyes. He was still hurt in more ways than one. She was able to tell just my looking in his eyes. What could she say? 'Sorry? Are you okay? Do you hate me now?' She wasn't sure what to say, she was too scared to speak. Finally, she just let everything she had been feeling control her. Carefully, she lifted a shaky hand toward his face, stopping just before the bandage on the left side of his face. The more she looked at it, the more she thought how much of her fault this was. A sob shook her as she finally allowed herself to touch him, her fingers grazing over the bandage and stoking his face like had done with her so many times. It made her realize that he was actually there in front of her, and safe.

"Oh my gosh." She cried quietly. Gosh, she wished she had been out of tears. She didn't want to cry in front of him. Without really thinking, she stood on her toes, carefully moving his face toward her as she planted the gentlest of kisses on the bandages before pulling back. "I--" Another sob chocked her up before she forced her voice back. "I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. I-I didn't know what happened, no one would tell me." The words had begun to do the same thing they had when they were arguing, spill from her mouth without stopping. "I was so scared." She repeated again before letting her hands fall from his face. She had no right to touch him after what had happened those few weeks ago. With a long pause, she opened her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Mike." She sobbed over and over. "I should have stopped you, I shouldn't have let you run out of my house. If I had stopped you, you wouldn't have--" Somehow, she had begun crying like she had when he first got hurt. It was a lot quieter due to the fact her body was worn out, her body shook no less. "It's all my fault, and I wanted to say I'm sorry. But--" She needed to leave him alone, surely he hated her. There was something she needed to say.

"--But I wanted to tell you what I wasn't able to last time." Her fingers curled into fists as she fought the urge to stroke his face again. "I care about you. You're the first person I have ever cared about, like this I mean. And, I hid it. I tried to make these feelings I only read about in fiction books disappear because I knew they wouldn't be reciprocated. I never thought of being hopeful because hope never worked out for me, and--." She had to stop herself because she wasn't too sure where her train of thought was going. Behind the tears staining her cheek, a rosy blush had appeared. "I don't even know if you want to hear this. I like you. I like you so much. So, so much. It scares me how much I could start liking a guy I slept with before even actually getting to know him, damn it-- The point is I want to be with you. I want to be with you even if I'll have to sneak out or something, and wait for you to get back from trips and model shoots with girls prettier with me. I just...I just like you a lot." Funny, all her life she had been good with words, but now she didn't know what to say, or how to say it.

It felt like steam shot out of her ears the moment she let her feeling pour out. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, and her face had turned red to match her eyes. Turning around she buried her face in her hands, her back to him now as she took a step toward the door. "I don't blame you if you hate me. I really don't. I just needed to say it. But, I'm going to go." She murmured before slowly lowering her hands and moving toward the door. If she looked at him, she would just start crying, or worse, want to stay.

The only person who can freely go in and out of his condo was Alex so when he heard the door open, Mike continued playing a nameless song on the piano and allowed her to do whatever she needed to do. To his surprise, he heard a voice that made his heart drop. He felt that heavy yet enlightening sensation which nearly sent chills down his spine. "Oh my gosh," she had said. His lips parted in shock as his eyes searched hers at the same time she did. Both of them were in a state of shock as none of them spoke a single word for quite a while. He remained frozen on his seat while she approached her slowly as if he'd disappear at every step she stook. She was getting closer and closer as every second ticked and at every step, his heartbeat heightened. There were so much questions, so much unspoken words he needed her to know. He looked at her as if she, too, was a mere trick of the mind. A part of him didn't want to believe she was here but at soon as her hands took his face and her lips kissed his bandages, he closed his eyes to savor the moment. And then, the words flowed out of her and he wanted to stop her more than once to tell her that everything's okay, none of it was her fault, but everything poured out of her at maximum speed. Amongst everything, though, only one statement retained in his mind:

The point is I want to be with you. I want to be with you even if I'll have to sneak out or something, and wait for you to get back from trips and model shoots with girls prettier with me. I just...I just like you a lot.

She liked him. Good God, she liked him. She didn't like Gerard, she liked him. And she was willing to do everything to be with him. Will he risk it, though? Will he risk her publicity and private life just so they could be together? But maybe they could live like this, right? Maybe they could continue meeting up privately and they can enjoy short bonding hours in his room. They can eat cookies. Cupcakes. Sandwiches. He can take her to places with his private jet. He could give her anything. Anything her heart desired. All the books, the writing stuff, all the happiness, all the love... all the sex. He could give it all to her. The thoughts plaguing his mind was making him smile but before his thoughts turned into spoken words, she already had her back turned and was ready to go. It took her a few steps away before his senses finally caught up with him.

"No, wait, umm..." Suddenly, everything felt awkward. But it was the cute kind of awkward. Mike found himself uncontrollably smiling and he couldn't form coherent words. There was so much he wanted to say but for now he needed her to stay. He wanted her to stay. "Can you umm... stay with me, love? I uhh... can't exactly function well on my own yet." At that, he stood up from his piano seat, took her hand and turned her to face him. Despite the stinging sensation of the scar on his face, he still managed a smile as he gently and lovingly kissed her lips. "We'll make this work, love. I won't let anything happen to you." He stroked her face and tucked a few stray strands away from her face. Her eyes were slightly swollen and he noticed the dark circles under her eyes as well as the noticeably reduced weight. That made him frown. "You've lost weight, love," Mike noted. His arms snaked down and his fingers locked behind her waist as he pulled her against him until their bodies touched again. Mike let out a soft sigh. He spoke to her with his forehead leaning against her own. For the first time in three weeks, he finally felt okay. He felt secured. He didn't care about losing his endorsements and his identity as a model because of the scar on his face and what-nots. He'd rather lose that than lose the girl who saw through his facade and saw him. The real him. And she liked him for it. She didn't like him because he was rich and famous. No. She liked him because maybe she saw something beyond what his fans saw on the outside. "I'm sorry for making you worry so much, love. I wanted you to visit me. Really. Alex and I argued a lot about it. I asked her countless times to ask you to come over even though I was so sure you wouldn't want to see me anymore. I just... I just wanted some sort of closure between us and I didn't want you to worry too much. But she didn't want it. And now you're here, you're here and oh god Juliette, I never knew. I'm so sorry I never knew. I never knew I was important to you maybe as much as how you are to me. I thought I was just... just this guy. And Gerard... he was so much like you. I'm nothing like him. We can't talk about the things you like because I don't know anything about it but I'll listen, love. I'll gladly listen. I'm just--" He paused and chuckled. "--Ah, I'm talking too much again. I'm just so happy. I'm so happy you're here right now." He kissed her forehead. "So, please, love. Stay. Stay for a while."

Taking her hand again, he led her to the living room and allowed her to sit down first before sitting down beside her as well. Before anything else, Mike took the bandage off of his face, that was turned to her opposite direction, as some sort of way to come clean. "Love, I just wanted you to see that, you know, I'm not... looking like how I looked before." Mike slowly turned to her as he took a deep breath. There was a shy smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head. His scar was far from getting unnoticed. It was a long streak on his face cut by a jagged glass of his shattered windshield on the day of the accident. "Alex is finding a way to have it off, but I doubt it would fully disappear." Mike stood up to throw away the dirty bandage in the trash can. He then took the cupcakes and munched on it while walking back on the couch. He was okay, to say the least. He still limped as he walked and his arm hurt a bit along with his sides but the pain was tolerable. They could be dulled away by pain killers after all. Losing the girl he cared so much about would cause a pain much, much painful than the physical ones he was feeling now and the more he saw her right there in his place, the more he realized it was next to impossible to lose her now.

"Remind me to make it up to you someday," Mike said, smiling. "You had been bringing me cookies and cupcakes and here I am, limping around and I can't even make the sandwiches you loved the last time." There was a sad chuckle at the end of his words though he tried his best to smile.

As soon as he was back on the couch, he tilted his body sideways a bit so that he'd face her. "So tell me, love, how are you these past weeks? Tell me."

He can't wait for the day none of the aches existed. He wanted to hug her again, he wanted to kiss her so much again, he wanted to take her to so many places and dine with her in his favorite restaurants. He wanted to do so many things now that they were, dare he say, dating.

Once she was sure the redness from her face was gone, she lowered her hands. Good, at least she finally said it. At least she apologized. Yet, there was so much more to apologize. If she stayed any longer, though, she wouldn't want to leave. Oddly enough, no matter how many times she told herself to leave, her feet suddenly wouldn't budge. She hated this, it wasn't her place to think she could stay, but that was all she wanted. She wanted to stay there and take care of him, and make sure he was okay. For three weeks the agony of not knowing what sort of condition he was in did away at her. Three weeks of guilt and crying on and off. Now here she was with him, finally able to tell him her feelings. Perhaps after all the awful things she said he no longer reciprocated. Would he give her an answer before she left? Did she need an answer knowing full well what she said to him was awful? Without really thinking about it, she opened her mouth to ask him when his voice interrupted her.

Stay?

Before she could really let his words sink in, warmth enveloped her hand. It was the first true warmth she felt in weeks, and the familiarity of it caused her to squeeze his hand just as he leaned in. The next warmth was her favorite; his lips against hers. As a reflex, her head tilted to the side, almost following him as he pulled away. With their fingers entwined, he lifted his free one to caress her face. It was her turn to close her eyes and savor the sensation. It was only when he began to speak did she slowly open her eyes. Shouldn't she be the one telling him 'I won't let anything happen to you.' After all, he just got hit by a car. When she realized he was studying her, her eyes moved to look at the floor. It made her self conscious knowing that he was beginning to notice how deteriorated she must look. Although it felt nice to hear his concern, he needed to worry more about himself. His comment on her weight made her chuckle bitterly. "I suppose it's better than gaining it. Please, don't worry about me--" She whispered just before his arms pulled her in, earning a gasp from her. For a moment, she just stood frozen in his arms, scared to wrap her arms around him. More than anything, she didn't want to hurt him any more, both physically and emotionally. As soon as he leaned in, pressing her forehead against her own, she couldn't hold it in anymore. With the utmost care, she slipped her arms under his own before coming up and gently wrapping around his shoulders. Her actions were slow out of caution.

While he spoke, all she could do was observe him in fascination. Here he was, in front of her. Speaking to her in that accent she adored more than any music she could ever listen to. Juliette's eyes probably took in his face dozens of times, as if to make sure he was there. But the more warmth she felt from his body so close to hers, the longer his voice floated into her ears, the greater his words made her heart ache with affection, the more it validated everything she had been afraid of was now irrelevant. For the first time in weeks, her heard flooded with relief and happiness. With every word he rambled the more her lips curled until finally she gave him a beaming smile. He really was so important to her. And even if he didn't understand about the things she liked, she would teach him, because she loved teaching him in general. And she wanted to learn more about him than what she already knew. She would listen to him about anything, even if he rambled like he was now. In fact, when he caught himself and started laughing, she almost begged him to keep going. After weeks of grey, there was finally some sort of light.

Could she really stay, though? With how fast she ran out of the restaurant, she wasn't sure how long it would take for her grandparent's to question her eagerness. What had her excuse been again? Oh gosh, she couldn't remember. The second Mike's lips kissed her forehead, all of her apprehensiveness disappeared.

Staying with Mike was all that mattered to her.

Sitting beside him, she eyed him anxiously as he removed his bandage and turned to her. The sight of his scar caused her heart to drop into the pit of her stomach. Not because it distorted his handsome face in any way, but because it made her picture how much pain he must have been in. Without really thinking about it, her fingers carefully traced it, her touch like feathers as caution not to hurt him. Her eyes began to fill with tears again, and she felt herself biting her lip. There were so many emotions that had built up. Positive and negative; happy, relieved, pained, guilty. When she realized she had been frowning, she didn't want him to think it was because the scar made him look bad. "I'm so sorry, you must have been in so much pain." Her voice cracked as she pulled her hand away to wipe her eyes, careful of her makeup. As of lately she had been using waterproof mascara, and clearly for good reason. "I'm so sorry..." She whispered again, her body shaking as she held back sobs. Her hand moved back to caress his face, moving his blonde locks sweetly as she smiled through her tears. "It makes you look tough, though." She chuckled.

He moved off the couch before she could even think to protest. Alexandra had told him he was recovering still. Watching him limp, she could obviously see why. The moment he took a seat down again, she glared at him. "Didn't you just say you were having trouble functioning on your own?" Her voice was scolding, but the glare had melted into a soft expression. Playfully, she took some of the frosting off the cupcake and painted his scar-free cheek. "You can make it up to me by not getting up, silly." Now it was her turn to get up. For a moment, she just stood in the kitchen. There had been only a few times she had been his kitchen, so it took her a few awkward looks around the counters to figure out where his napkins were. Once she found them, she went back over to the couch and wiped the frosting from his cheek. As she did so, she couldn't help but realize that they were now, well a thing. At least that's what she thought they were. They both liked each other, right? So now they were....boyfriend and girlfriend? A couple? Dating? Her cheeks began to glow red on the spot, and quickly she pulled her hand away shyly, folding her hand in her lap.

Upon hearing his question, she allowed herself to glance up at him briefly. Her gaze was incredibly brief however as butterflies plagued her stomach. "T-T-These past few weeks, um.." Stuttering, she fidgeted with her finger, her blush growing knowing that his gaze was on her now. What was wrong with her? Why was she having trouble speaking to him, even when they spoke countless times alone. Well, they hadn't really spoken since she figured out she liked him. Now that she knew the feelings were reciprocated, she couldn't help feeling a bit sheepish.

But still, she was so happy.

For a second, she had to really think about what happened over the past few weeks. Juliette had been pretty down in the dumps, so it felt like much didn't really go down. Finally, she remembered. "Well, w-w-we got an A on the project. The professor told me he was impressed with your work. Renee's ball happened, and funny story, Gerard ended up going with her since you couldn't set her up with that other model. I think they only went as friends though. Um--" What else? She didn't want to bore him or talk about herself too much. "Oh-- and, the acapella group had our concert...But." She paused and finally worked up the courage to look at him. "I-I-I really wish you could have been there." Her cheeks somehow managed to glow pinker. What a stupid thing to say. Why would he go to one of her concerts? He was busy, not to mention he was a celebrity. There was no reason for a celebrity to go to an acapella concert. "All in all, I've just been really worried. I was so...scared." She turned herself toward him, leaning her body against the back of the couch as she reached over and ran the back of her fingers over his cheek. "But now, I'm so relieved." She cooed with a bit of a smile.

She stared at him for a long while, her eyes looking up at him from under her eyelashes. Finally, she couldn't really keep her mouth shut about it anymore. "So...uh. Are we, well, are we dating?" Juliette took a breath in, holding it while waiting for his answer. Immediately, she wished she hadn't said anything. This was so new to her and she didn't understand. "I'm sorry. I just never went through this before and God knows I wouldn't have thought you reciprocated and I'm so happy and excited and--" To shut herself up she leaned in and kissed him. It was careful, and she was scared to kiss him anymore than she was now out of fear she would hurt him. Gosh, she really missed his kisses. Before she lost herself in it, she pulled back, allowing her lips to brush his before giving him space. Good. At least she shut up. "I guess I'll be sneaking out a lot." She smirked. It worried her, thinking about getting caught. "You could always...sneak over to my house too. If you want. If you can, I mean. Annnnnnyway." She quickly changed the subject. "How was yours? What exactly happened? Are you sure you're okay? Do you need me to get you anything?" Although she still felt a bit shy, her concern for him overpowered her nerves.

Throughout the constant change of topic she did, Mike found himself smiling as he observed her. His girlfriend. Yes, his girlfriend. He needed to internalize that term properly because it was the first time he ever had one. Yes, Mike had flings. Hell, he even constantly had sex with a woman a lot older than him but never did he have a girl he can call his own. Never did he have a girl who he can hold hands with, kiss under the moonlight, take on dates, and make love with with actual strings attached. Goodbye to their friends with benefits setting. Sure, there would be a lot of sneaking around but now he was more assured that everything was and will be worth it.

"Give me a sec to process everything you just said," Mike told her without resisting the urge to laugh softly. "First of all, are you saying that my scar makes me look tough? Are you, Juliette Torres, implying that didn't look tough before this?" He laughed again and planted a quick kiss on her lips. "I'm tough, love. You'll be safe with me. I'm the toughest boyfriend there is!" It was a statement supposedly for humor purposes but for some reasons, his heart sped up a little. It was silly, actually, that they can actually kiss and have sex yet these small sweet things cause the butterflies in his stomach to fly around even more. With that, he took a deep breath, took her hand and held them firmly with his own. "Yes, love. We are dating. You, Juliette Torres, are my girlfriend." He stroked her face as he said this before kissing her softly on her lips. Goddamn these injuries. These instances, he thought, seemed to be the best to have sex in.

Before narrating his own three weeks, he told her how proud he was that their group got an A. He knew Juliette must have done a lot of repairs to their researches because they were barely done when things got out of hand at her house a few weeks ago. He also affirmed the idea of attending one of her acapella concert. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there, love. I'm sure you were great. Remember back at Doug's party? It was the first time I heard you sing and I swear to God, Juliette Torres, it was too godforsaken hard to stop myself from smiling and telling myself, 'hey, this girl's pretty awesome'," he told her. He also said that he'd try his best to sneak to her place sometimes but her grandparents might get suspicious. Or their neighbors might, and they might report it to her grandparents. Mike told her that the least he wanted was to get her in trouble. This kind of setting was going to be tough, Mike was sure of it, but he knew very well they'd be able to handle it. After all, they already met up secretly in his condo more than once and everything went well.

Mike pulled her against him so that her head would rest on his shoulder while he draped his arm behind her. "I don't really remember much of my three weeks," he began. His eyes were gazing quite distantly while his fingers absentmindedly played with the strands of her hair. "I remember getting sick and tired of hospital scents and injections. I never liked injections. I've grown sick and tired of Alex telling me what to do and what not to do, I mean," he chuckled. "It's not like I was in any position to sneak away anyway, right? I wouldn't want the media fuzzing too much about it, too." Mike shook his head a little right after speaking. "To be honest with you," Mike kept his head down as he spoke. "I didn't know which pain was more unbearable. Yeah I've got all of these broken things and this glass slice on my face and they stung a lot but day in and day out, I wondered about you. I wondered if you'd still talk to me, if we'd still be the same, or if I already lost you as a friend and everything else. The physical pain can be dulled, you know? Painkillers, they did a lot of help. But the pain of the heart? The emotions? That screws you up. There's no medicine for that." At that, he leaned against the top of her head and pulled her closer so that the arm draped behind her now embraced her against him. "But I'm more than okay now, love. You're here and, Good Lord, you're my girlfriend. The person I thought I lost forever is now mine and I'm hers. Isn't that great, love?' He kissed the top of her head.

There was a moment of companionable silence between the two of them until Mike's gaze rested on the clock at the opposite wall. It was almost 8:00pm. "Love," Mike began. His tone of voice was a bit panicked. "You've got to head home, love. Your grandparents might be worried sick about you."

Two weeks had past since the first night she was able to visit him after the accident. After that night, visiting her injured boyfriend (the very word still made her giddy) had become impossible. Her grandparents had been suspicious about her running out of the restaurant after Alexandra had called him, so she had to lay low and only see him on the Mondays. It was torture to say that least

And in more ways than one.

Seeing him to do work was easy. He had gotten a lot more diligent in working, which she always felt extremely ecstatic about. Her mouth was always running off about the book, and she knew he wasn't as interested in her 'book talks,' but he always listened. Whenever she began to realize how intently he was listening to her talk about books, of all things, made her stop mid-chatter and put her hand over her mouth. His grades had increased drastically, earning praise to her from the professor. Juliette always told him, however, that the one person he needed to praise was Mike himself. He promised to do so when he did come back to class. For the school, and Juliette herself, his healing was their top priority.

Then there was the not so easy part. It usually happened after they finished up studying and note-taking. Since they were just starting out as a couple, some moments were awkward. Mostly the cuddling, for Juliette mostly. She wasn't entirely sure if Mike even got butterflies, but her's were always through the roof. Sometimes she would get jumpy when their hands touched during the actual study time, or when he always put his arm around him. The funniest part of studying with him, now that they were dating, was that she refused to be all cute and romantic during studying. Instead, she was relentless and firm about not acting like his girlfriend until his work was done.

Last week she had to leave early. Not because of her grandparent's suspicion, but because she needed to leave. The night started out like any other, studying until about 6:30. And then after they always relaxed and talked. His shoulder had become an permanent spot for her head, and her shoulders for his arm. And not that it wasn't wonderful. But then came the kissing. And for a while, their kisses had been only sweet. There was a problem, though.

The two of them hadn't done anything to relieve each other's sexual libido in...about a month. Maybe for him it was easy to kiss her without getting fired up. For Juliette, things had become unbearable. The last two weeks especially. Their kisses always started out as just a peck or sweet. Then, one kiss became two, and two jumped to about ten. After that she would always lose count. The number of kisses became proportional to the amount of passion partnered with them. The only thing that held her back from completely switching to naughty Juliette was the reminder of his injuries. The fear of hurting him outmatched her lust every time, causing her to pull back flushed and needy. That particular night she had become so worked up, she was sure she wouldn't be able to stop from moving farther than kisses. In a jumble of nervous apologies, she had gathered her books, pecked his lips and booked it out of his apartment. The minute she got home and confirmed her grandparents hadn't arrived back, she locked herself in her room.

She didn't even need to watch porn with how worked up he had managed to get her. Her panties were nearly soaked before she could even start touching herself. Masturbating had somehow become easier just imagining what he could do to her. Imagining his beautiful Russian accent speaking the naughtiest of whispers into her ears. Her fingers did no justice to the way his own felt whenever he teased her. It was the only release that kept her from going nearly feral on him. After several solo orgasms, she would lay in her bed a sweaty and breathless mess feeling extremely guilty for wanting sex. The sexual demon inside of her craved him, but the girlfriend part of him craved having sex for the first time as...lovers? There would finally be feelings behind the lust. Whenever she thought it, she would get nervous and giddy all the same. She wasn't sure how much longer she could last.

--

The same week on Thursday, she was at acapella practice. During the course of the three weeks Mike had been hospitalized, she had become closer to the girls in the group. In particular, the three girls that had devised the plan to sneak her into the party. Maria, the one whom had lent her the dress for the party, picked up on her mood change incredibly quickly. It was like she was some sort of mom, constantly asking her 'You doin' okay?' whenever she walked into practice. Her kindness was one of the only things that really got her smiling during those depressing weeks. After Mike had began to recover at home, the two of them interacted even more. In fact, Juliette even thought of her as her first real female friend. Sadly, they were only able to really interact during acapella practice.

After saying some goodbyes, she began to head over to the library to work. As soon as she got there, the head librarian let her know that the library was pretty bare.

"Just take the night off. You deserve it. You're always going it seems like, so take a rest." Juliette blinked a few times in surprise. Huh, she never really got random nights off.

"Oh, um, thank you! I really appreciate it!" Juliette sputtered before waving a quick goodbye and heading back onto campus. For a moment she just stood there in the dark before realizing she could go visit her boyfriend. Her grandparents would think she was at work 'til late after all. Suddenly, she was really, really excited. Maybe she would even surprise him. Should she bring him sweets? Or coffee? She hadn't really had time to bring him anything in a while, and she really loved watching him eat them. Not in a weird way, she just found it cute. Especially since no paparazzi could see the world's number one model snacking on a cookie. The thought made her smile as she made it over to Starbuck's to grab a brownie for him.

--

Juliette was giddily bouncing as she knocked on the door. He wouldn't expect her to night, so surprising him had her anxiously excited. Would he be happy to see her? Or maybe he was busy with some sort of model booking? She hadn't heard much word about the plastic surgery. The fact that a scar could ruin his modeling career always made her stomach feel sick, but she never brought it up. It seemed like it could be a sensitive subject, and the last thing she wanted was to make him upset. He already had school work and injuries to worry about.

As soon as he opened the door, she found herself beaming almost uncontrollably. "Surprise!" She chuckled, standing on her toes and pecking his cheek. "Is it a bad time? I got off of work and...well, it's obviously sorta rare so-- and I wanted to, um, see you." Words never came easy when she talked to him, especially now that they were dating. Perhaps it was because she liked him so much that she couldn't even express herself. When she got the okay, she stepped inside. His penthouse still never ceased to amaze her. To think he had it all to himself. He must get lonely sometimes. Thinking about that only got her wishing she could visit him more. "Oh! I brought you a brownie. You can eat it later if you want." She placed the bag on the counter before standing their awkward. Huh, she had never just stopped by without any work. Like clockwork, she ended up walking over to the couch and sitting herself down quietly before he joined her.

They turned the TV on, but with how much they always seemed to talk or just sit in silence, enjoying each other's mere presence, it was only background noise. "I wish you could at least come back to school." She whispered, lifting her head and staring at him. "You must get bored just sitting in this place. Then again, you have a piano, a TV, a computer, and a hot tub so...maybe you don't." She joked, hoping to lighten the mood. Even though they couldn't really interact as a couple at school, she missed seeing him in class. "I suppose if I lived here I would never get bored. But, I'm a bookworm who does nothing but drown herself in books, studying and watching anime on the internet." The more she thought about what she was saying, the more she realized how pathetic she must sound. Instantly she shut up, placing her hand over her mouth and chuckling. They had going off on a tangent and talking too much in common. She could listen to him talk forever, though. Moving her hand back, she spoke quietly, clearly a bit embarrassed. "I'll shut up now..."

She trailed off, studying his face. His scar was healing quickly, and a few times before she had kissed his cheek without hurting him. Her eyes had trailed the length of the scar before settling on his lips. Her thought process didn't even have a chance to stop her before her fingers grasped his chin. Moving his chin toward her, she moved her head, meeting his lips with her own in a delicate kiss. It was just one, but that started the chain reaction (as it always did.) Their lips brushed together a few times slowly before coming back together over and over. The sounds of their kisses became more and more close together before they had reached the familiar point of passion. Her fingers let go of his chin, falling to his shoulder and sliding behind it, and resting on his neck. Even though her mind had gone cloudy from kissing him, she was still careful of his neck, just in case it was still sore. Her other hand reached up, laying against his chest as her head gingerly tilted to the side. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she began french kissing him. It was almost on instinct. She wasn't exactly used to it yet, so of course her tongue was shy. It's slow dance with his own had gotten her heated up.

That was when all the pent up sexual desire finally boiled over. Pulling away, she slipped off her glasses just before her lips took their previous place. With her lips still kissing him, her body moved on its own. Her leg moved over his body, and suddenly, she was straddling him. Her brain was not even close to registering her actions, and the lust fogging her judgement kept her from getting embarrassed. She managed to still be careful with his body, not pressing herself against him and only wrapping her arms around his neck. After a while of making out and french kissing, she just barely pulled away, her forehead resting against his. Her breath was ragged, and with her lips only centimeters from his own, intermingled with his own. Gazing at him, he would clearly be able to see her familiar, lust ridden eyes. Carefully, she pressed her chest against his own, pausing to listen for any noises of pain and discomfort. When she didn't hear anything, she sighed in relief. Instantly afterwards, her hips began to move. Grinding against his lower region teasingly slow. As much as she loved to tease him, it was also teasing her as well. The rubbing against her nether region through her clothing brought on a quiet, strangled moan from her. The movement only continued in her desperate need she had to sate.

"Mike." She began before another gasp shook her body. "I'm sorry--mhmmmm" Her sultry voice purred, closing her eyes to enjoy the moment before beginning to speak again. "I don't think-- ahhh-hah...I can last any longer." Her lips found his once more, slowly kissing him in time with her hips. Finally she pulled away, her eyes slowly opening before purring in a low voice, "I need you. I want you so bad--ahh! Please, please oh gosh, just...fuck me." She had never said anything like that in her life. Maybe while she was thinking about him when she was fingering herself at night. But never to him.

There was something about the way she spoke about her favorite books and characters that kept his sense of hearing glued to her words. Honestly he didn't know what she was talking about and didn't even have a single clue about it but it was her enthusiasm and the way her voice rose along with it that kept him wanting to know more. Somehow, it made him curious. What was it about books that she finds addicting? What was it about books that she finds solace in? Mike wasn't one who'd understand the importance of books. Over the past weeks, while Juliette told him about the novels and characters she adored, he told her so much about his personal life which magazines and talk shows would pay millions just to know about. He told her that he loved sports especially swimming and frisbee. He told her he had motion sickness before but because of his frequent travels, he got over it. Most of all, he shared to her that he had a thing for music. He loved listening to music and if his schedule didn't constrain him too much, he'd love to learn more instruments. The only thing he had time for was the piano which he used to study back in Russia. Mike figured he should tell more about the personal stuff someday, like, stuff about his family and everything else. Perhaps he should find the time to tell her that Alexandra used to be his fuck buddy but there were no strings attached to that. Of course they somehow cared about each other, but not deep enough to call it love of some sort.

It wasn't deep enough - not even close - to make him feel the same way he does with Juliette.

It's been torture, somehow, to finally call Juliette his girlfriend but they couldn't frequent their house dates because of her strict guardians. What hurts the most is how they can't even communicate via text for the same reasons. They had Monday tutorial sessions though, and though he greatly appreciated that, a part of him still wanted more. He wanted to relive the night they first became intimate but this time, without the doubts and the fears of tomorrow. He wanted to hold her bare body in his arms without the fear of waking up to reality.

And speaking of bare body, it had done nothing to calm his yearning for his girl. Not even the good news about his grades which Juliette told him about a few days ago didn't help. She was cheerful and was even jumping slightly to how proud she was of him but, being a biological guy that he was, his ears registered her words but his eyes could only look at her bouncing breasts. God, how he'd love to touch her again. How he'd love to be inside her again. come to think of it, since that fateful night in Douglas' mansion, they didn't have sex yet. All they did was one foreplay and countless makeout sessions which usually left him with an aching bulge under his boxers which he secretly had to relieve with the thoughts of her.

---

That Thursday was another chill Thursday for him. It was starting to get boring at home and though he had an entertainment system complete with typical boy stuff like video games and countless DVDs, now that he had a girl to call his own, what was once his personal sanctuary felt extremely lonely and empty now that the girl he's starting to share everything with is not around. Come to think of it, because of the stupid accident, he never got to take her out yet. Hell, he never got to prepare his home extravagantly for a scrumptuous dinner or something. He never got to buy her nice things yet, because he can't go out and he can't have Alex do those things for him because, well, Mike didn't tell her yet. He assumes she knows though, but a confirmation from him still needs to happen.

With a casual white v-neck shirt and loose boxers, Mike was sitting down on the couch and playing games on his iPhone when he heard the door open. Seeing Juliette at the other side made him jump. Goddamn it. She had seen him in all his naked glory yet he felt too self-conscious now that she's witnessing his, well, house look. Although he already took a bath (thankfully), his hair was unkept and he didn't bother to wear something nice.

"Surprise!" she said. It was such a surprise indeed. It was cute how she clung on to him in an instant as his arms found its home around her waist while she talked and talked again. If there was one thing he found out about Juliette is that she wasn't the silent type at all. She loved to talk especially about the things she loved and her speech is almost always on maximum speed and although these kinds of things used to annoy him, right now, he found himself smiling and looking forward to hearing more of her stories. His insecurities about his house look dissolved in an instant as she spoke. He thanked her for the brownie and kissed her lips lightly again before joining her at the couch. She turned the TV on but they both knew it served no purpose between the two of them. What kind of stories did she have for him today? The sound of her voice was a lot more important than the blabbers on TV primarily because he was sick and tired of hearing his name in entertainment channels.

But there were no stories about her week this time.

Her lips moved in a different way.

She started kissing her which he instantly got lost in and their lips locked as they both fell on the couch with her leading him on. Fortunately his couch was long enough to fit his frame as he balanced both of their bodies together. She kept on kissing him until her hips moved against his groin and because only a thin cloth separted her woman parts and his, he instantly felt himself burning with need.

And then her words came. Her words of longing came. She continued moving her hips against his own as she told him such lustful words he thought he'd only hear from her in his dreams. Oh god, how he'd love to know about this naughty Juliette as much as the good girl on the surface.

"Don't say sorry, baby," He moaned against her ear when she leaned closer. He breathed against the shell of her ear as he spoke with the same burning lust inside him but goddamn it, he couldn't move his hips too much yet.

"I want to fuck you, god, Juliette, I want to fuck you so badly," He told her. "But I can't move my hips too much, love." Mike held her waist to put her in place as he smiled up with lustful eyes at her. Slowly, he took her shirt off and raised it above her head to throw it on the floor. Next came her bra, freeing her breasts which he had longed to see for so long. For a while, he was only looking at her breasts as he breathed heavily.

After a while, he looked up at her as both of his hands played with her nipples, erecting the pink nubs at every gentle flick and pinch. His hands then cupped both woman lumps as he massaged her breasts with great longing. He groaned in desire, lust, and need as he did so.

Maybe now, it was a good time to know more about his naughty girl.

With a playful smirk, Mike withrew his hands from her breasts and though he struggled a bit, he took off his shirt and let it join on the pile of clothes on the floor. He then raised up his arms above his head and joined his wrists together, pretending that some sort of cuff kept his hands tied.

"Hey, miss naughty girlfriend of mine," he said, smirking up at her. "What do you want to do with your helpless horny boyfriend?" Mike winked at her to add more effect to his lustful tease. "My dick needs your pussy, love. I want to be fucked. Come on, baby, I'm all yours now. Play with me."

It was a relief to hear him tell her she wasn't hurting him. In fact, she wasn't too sure she would have been able to stop grinding on him despite being sore. The sound of his voice hot and bothered against her ear had her completely melting. At the sound of her other pet name-- 'baby' -- she purred in response. She had to admit, she really loved hearing him call her that with his voice coated in lust. The only other times she had heard him call her that was at times when sexual acts were involved. It seemed that 'baby' was the name given to her non-glasses wearing alter ego: the downright naughty Juliette.

And boy, was she about to get naughty.

His words of desire in return had her moaning quietly. His accent had her slowing her hips' tantalizing movements in order to calm herself down. With how hard he was growing beneath her, surely just his boy parts rubbing against her would push her over the edge. She would need to be careful given how long she had gone without having sex with him. With how thin her black leggings were, just the thought of him entering her and the way his boy parts rubbed against her, were enough to make her orgasm at that very moment. Hell, he could probably get her to cum by just moaning 'baby' in her ear at this point. Gosh, did she miss feeling how hot his voice made her. Especially when they told her how much he craved fucking her. The words he spoke were only the ones she heard in her fantasies.

Her dark eyes met his own as he reached up for her shirt. Her arms moved to accommodate him, letting him pull the article of clothing over her head before it landed somewhere irrelevant. Next came her bra. Due to the fact she didn't own lingerie of any sort (since she never had anyone to actually wear it for) it was simply black and rather plain. She made note that perhaps she could sneak off after practice one day and run to Victoria's Secret or something. It would be a treat for both of them given the fact she loved cute lingerie and hopefully he would love it on her.

The minute her bra hit the ground, she felt the bashful need to cross her arms and hide her breasts. He had seen her body only one before and it still had some getting used to. It must have been easy for him to show her his body, after all he was a model. She on the other hand was far from a model, and having him as a boyfriend had her a bit self conscious about it. Shyly, she looked down at her chest, moving hers arms to cover herself only to be intercepted by his own hands. With a shiver, her hands slowly fell and allowed him to grope and kneed her breasts to both of their pleasure. With a slow breath in, she shivered beneath his warm hands. With every touch and squeeze her skin lit aflame. Her eyes moved from his hands, up his arms and to his face, watching in embarrassed delight how he couldn't quite take his eyes off of her. Biting her lip hard when he pinched at her nipples, her hips began their slow grinding again. Touching her breasts was never a gesture she had done while masturbating, so his hands on her felt oddly pleasing. Knowing he would be the one to touch her exclusively like this made her purr.

Affectionately, she watched as he began to remove his shirt with a struggle. With a quiet chuckle, she moved her hands to help him out. "Don't hurt yourself, silly." Her fingers brushed through his messy, light-colored hair just as he raised his arms. With a raised eyebrow, she watched as that familiar smirk painted his face. The minute he began to speak, her mind was reeling. A rosy blush tinged her cheeks as she swallowed any bashful or shy feelings. A lustful fog clouding any sort of trace of the sweet Juliette. Oh no, he just released the beast. She wasn't his naughty girlfriend, she was his succubus of a girlfriend. And teasing her the way he was now was dangerous.

She found her eyes slowly lidded as she glanced to the side. Her coat lay on the arm of the couch. Due to the Christmas season approaching rapidly, she had grown accustom to keeping warm and wearing a scarf. A smirk to match his own suddenly appeared on her lips as she clicked her tongue, reaching over and grabbing it before tying the grey article around his wrists. When she finished, she leaned back and admired her work before leaning in. Her bare chest pressing against his own chest and enveloping his lips in a long, hungry french kiss. While their tongues danced, her hips had sped up again, and she rubbed her breasts against him. When she finally pulled away in dire need for air, her glazed eyes found his before purring in a honeyed voice.

"You shouldn't play with fire, handsome."

With a dip of her head, her lips found the nape of his neck, suckling at the skin before she lifted her hips off of him. Reaching down, her hand slid underneath the hem of his boxers for her prize. His member was hot, pulsating under her fingers as she grasped it. Beginning to stroke him beneath his clothing, she waited after a few slow strokes before moving off of him to stand up. First, she slid his boxers off of him, discarding it into the ever growing pile on the floor. Her hands had reached for her leggings, stopping as she grasped the hem and admiring how delicious he looked. Quickly, she slipped out of her black leggings, surprised to see a small stain over the area that her panties had rubbed against. Was she seriously that wet? Juliette knew she could get wet, but she had never gotten moist enough to go through her panties. Her fingers had begun to hook underneath the hem of her black v-kinis before glancing up at Mike. Clearly, he was enjoying the show. Juliette realized there wouldn't be an opportunity to tease him quite like this ever again. She sat herself atop of him again, her legs spread apart so that she was kneeling without her completely straddling him. There were some nerves despite how completely turned on she was. Was he okay with her being dominant like this? Would he be okay with being teased? Part of her was worried he wouldn't like it. Another part of her, the truly naughty part, couldn't help but want to tease him. With a gulp, she began to speak, hoping that the words would come easy. Words were supposed to come easy for her, after all.

Juliette reached down, grasping his freed cock gingerly and beginning slow and torturous strokes. She had leaned down again to suckle at his neck before her lips moved up to his jawline and to his lips. "I don't think you realize--" She began, pulling away from him, her hand speeding up a bit before continuing. "How much I've wanted you to fuck me." She drawled. Her fingers did the playful walking motion up his sternum, tickling him just slightly as her voice egged him on. "I haven't been able to concentrate on studying or reading. All I can think about is how much I need you inside of me." Her own words were making her extremely wet, and she found herself reaching her free hand down and slowly rubbing at herself. Her breath hitched, a moan shaking her body as she whispered more. "Now, look what you've done to me. Making me wet enough to ruin my panties and even my leggings." Her hands continued to work both him and herself alongside her words. "I've dreamed of you doing all sorts of things to me. Even more than what you and I did together after the party. But...what do you want to do to me?" Her eyebrow quirked. The hand playing with her girl parts was working her up too much, causing her to moan and pull her hand out of her panties. She could feel how slick her nimble fingers were with her juices.

With a smirk, she lifted her fingers for him to see. "See? This is how wet you've made me for the last few weeks. " The sound of her stroking him was suddenly very loud in her ears. His pre-cum had dripped onto her fingers, slickening both his shaft and her hand and making it easier to jerk at him. Her senses suddenly felt much too overwhelmed to keep teasing him. The sight of him tied up with such a lustful expression, the sound of his moans and sweet nothings in her ear, the feeling of his throbbing cock hot in her hand. Juliette couldn't take it anymore.

She needed him.

Her pussy, covered by her panties, rubbed up against his cock invitingly. The sensation of his cock teasing her pussy through clothing drove her sex drive through the roof. Juliette's entire body quivered with nothing but raw desire as she moved to pull her panties off. She knew he needed a condom, but at this point she would go mad waiting any longer. The moment they were off, she grabbed his member again, pressing the very tip of him against her eager passage. He brushed against her labia, eliciting a groan from her. Despite how ready she was just to have sex with him, she couldn't stop from teasing him just a bit longer. Her hips lowered, allowing him to slide into her just a bit before she stopped. "Mhmmmm, Mike." She cooed in his ear as every inch of him slipped inside of her. Barely a second passed before her hips had slowly begun to bounce atop of him. They were new movements for her, so at first they were slow and out of rhythm. Soon, they were automatic, fueled by the constant need to have him inside of her. With a pleased whimper, she leaned in and planted her lips against his own. Their tongues took no time to find each other, dancing desperately as her hips found the perfect rhythm. She slid her arms around his neck, reaching up and untying the scarf before locking herself in place. Her mind was already lost in a cloud of pleasure, but she wasn't done teasing him with her words just yet. "Does-- haaaah-ahh! Does my pussy feel good? Because it-- oooooh loves....loves your cock." The squishing sounds that their bodies made together were evidence of how much her body needed this. "More...more." She begged as her hips began to gyrate in small circles while continuing to engulf his member over and over.

[[ I'm doing this simultaneously with my work so I'm so sorry if it's crappy and, well, all over the place. Some things seem rushed and lacking of detail, I think ]]

There was confusion at first when she got off of him to reach for her scarf but when she tied it around his wrist, Mike groaned in delight. He never had kinky sex before but this turn him on immensely. She didn't make it tight, but it was tight enough to keep his wrists in place. He'd gladly keep them in place for her. And then, her words came. Her words which made him sorrowfully regret he was still in recovery mode because how he'd love to return the dominance over her. He shouldn't play with fire, huh? Oh, she should know who the fire was. Yes, it was her who shouldn't play with fire. But then again, fire and fire could create a bigger flame, and he'd love to witness that flame as soon as possible. His wrists were tied and he laid there helplessly as she continued kissing him and rubbing her whole body against him with utmost lust and passion. He felt the desperation to embrace her and keep her in place but the more he shifted his wrists from the knot, the more turned on he felt about being dominated by the girl he loved. As far as he knows, he hated it when someone was more powerful than he was but this, this was too sensual to hate. She was whispering words to her - lustful confessions - along with her hand stroking his cock and her soaking pussy. He watched her and listened to her but the simultaneous lustful words and actions drove him crazy. His breathing became heavier as he groaned at every sentence she spoke. She thought a lot about him inside her, perhaps as much as he thought about fucking her over and over again. She thought about him doing all sorts of things to her, things perhaps he was too scared to do because of the fact that this was only her second sexual intercourse but too horny to desire to do it. Fire with fire, huh. Someday, Mike thought. Someday.

She lifted her fingers to show him how coated they were from the lustful desire of wanting to be fucked. He groaned and hissed like an animal at her for the suppressed need to free away from the scarf to take her hand and lick off her lustful juices. "You're fucking driving me crazy, baby. You'll have to pay for this soon," He told her. His voice was hoarse as he spoke with heavy breaths because of the immense lustful desires in him. "You are so unfair. How come you stripped me off and you have those panties still on? Come on, love. Take them off. Now." Just as he spoke those words, Juliette freed herself from him to remove the last piece of clothing she had. The wet thread that was visible for a second or two made him lick his lips. She was too wet and too inviting for him to want to eat her out. He wanted to taste her again, to feel that he dominated her again, but he loved this new change too. Her entrance on him was slow and painful not in a sense of physical pain, but the teasing sort of "pain" it gave his cock. She was too slow and too teasing but the way she moaned with her slow movements made him forget about the desire. "Come on, love. Ride me. I want to feel you," He said. Juliette started her movements; slow, awkward, and cute at first but then she started getting to used to it until her hips moved professionally on top of him. He groaned louder than ever when she started moving faster on top of him until she leaned in to silence his sounds with a kiss. He kissed her fervently and they both shared another wet and lustful kiss while their sexual parts did a connection of their own. Juliette reached up to untie him and slowly, he held her shoulders to gently push her up so that she'd sit up on top of him again.

"No leaning down, love," He told her with a smirk. He was still slightly cripple and still recovering, yes, but that didn't mean he can't be a sexual demon too. Not fully yet, maybe, but even just a tad bit, he wanted to dominate her too. When Juliette was already in a sitting position on top of him, Mike held her hips and guided her as she bounced up and down on his cock. Afterwards, he held her arms in place as well. "No covering of breasts this time, love. I want to see them bouncing. I want to see you loving it. Come on." He teased her more as he looked and stared at her bouncing breasts on purpose. "Ty prekrasna," Mike murmured softly. He made sure Juliette saw how he looked at her body, admiring it with both love and lust. Honestly, it was more of lust this time but he knew Juliette knew that there was more to it than lust. It's just that this time, he wanted to be a pervert too. Mike was quite a perverted guy actually, and Juliette was about to find her sexual match soon enough. Next time, he'd love to have an extremely lust-driven sex with her because he was sure they both knew they were just playing around. After that fiery sex, they'd end up cuddling and sweetly kissing.

But no time for sweetness this time around. He wanted something more fiery than sweet. He wanted lust more than love. He wanted a good fuck, more than a sensual making love. Somehow, he felt his partner also wanted the same.

"Come on, love. I don't want it slow and innocent. You want to be fucked, right? Then make me feel how much you want to be fucked. Come on. I know you want me, love. I know your pussy wants my cock. You love my cock, right? Come on. Show me how much you love my cock." He allowed Juliette to do a faster pace and he acknowledge her efforts with affirming words. "Aghhh... good girl, love. Good girl. Mggnnhhh..." The faster Juliette moved, the more he told her "good girl" like some sort of a dominant sex master training his new slave. Ah, this kinky sex was driving him mad. He wondered if Juliette loved being kinky too, and what more they can explore in the next days especially when he's already feeling better. As Mike continued to groan in delight and pleasure, he kept on guiding her movements and keeping her arms in place as she continued riding her so desperately and so lustfully. Her efforts were rewarded with Mike's lustful moans and hoarse groans.

After a while, Mike made her stop for just a few moments so that they could both gather and normalize their breathing and so that her legs could rest a bit. At that brief moment, Mike's sweet side surfaced for a while. He panted heavily yet instead of a smirk, Mike had a smile on his face. He wanted to mouth out the words "I love you" which was a first for them both, but he wanted to say it out loud perhaps later on when the lust had died down. When that short moment was done, Mike guided her hips this time to do a sliding motion on his cock so that she'd rock forward and backward against him. It was a new sensation for his cock too which made him groan louder and made his head roll back against the arm rest of the couch. "Ah fuck, love. You feel so good. Come on, baby... good girl..." Mike continued guiding her movements in such a manner until he felt the sensation that he was about to shoot his load inside her. Of course he knew he can't do that so even if it was undesirable for him to ask her to move away, he had to.

"Love," He murmured weakly. "Suck me. Come on, love me. Agghh... I'm about to... mngghh... cum... come on, love... hurry!" When she was off of him and his cock felt the warmth of her mouth, Mike couldn't keep on holding it in anymore. She barely had her tongue teasing him again when he came so hard, he was almost sure his load reached her throat without a problem, making him groan in delight and moan out her name.

Then again, it can't only be him cumming. It can't only be him feeling the immense pleasure of their first of countless kinky sex.

Still with a lustful yet slightly tired smirk, Mike lifted her chin to face her. "Do you want to try another new thing, baby?" He teased her with a wink. "Come here, baby. Ride my lips. I want you to cum in my mouth."

By now, her hips were moving completely on their own. Never once in her life did she ever think her hips could ever move like this for such a prolonged period of time. It was as if by primal instinct her body needed him inside of her so badly. Gosh, she was going to be so soar in the morning. At least it was a work out. With the rise and fall of her body, she could hear the way their bodies slapped together with such force. The frequency in which their bodies came together and the sound of skin to skin, only served as a reminder of how desperate they were for each other. Fueled by passion and lust and depravity of sex for so long, their bodies moved in perfect sync. There was always a want to have sex before, just to feel how great it must feel. But Juliette would have never thought sex with a person could feel so good.

Especially, at the moment, kinky sex.

His teasing voice was driving her completely wild. Moans and teasing had always been her biggest turn on. The sounds of sex in general were what drew her to most porn she watched. Mike's voice was different. His voice as a whole was a turn on. Anything he said during sex or any sort of sexual instance put her in a trance. It's like he knew exactly what to say in order to make her melt. Teasing, commands, sweet nothings. She wanted more, she craved it. It was quite possible that she could get drunk on his words. She could only imagine how much phone sex they could have if she were actually able to call him. In return, it excited her to know her voice did the same. The idea of being his siren, seducing him with just the sound of her voice, it excited her. Here he was groaning at every little teasing word that fell from her lips. He was completely melting, driven mad with such feral lust. It had seemed very embarrassing at first, but it somehow became easier the more he showed signs of loving it. Now that she was actually having sex with him, the pleasure that shook her body made it a bit hard to speak. Every time she even thought of responding to his words, a sweet moan rang throughout the entire room.

The moment she untied the scarf, his hands immediately found her body. His hands were hot, a ave of heat spread over her skin whenever he touched or held her. When he held her arms down, she gasped, suddenly very embarrassed about how much her breasts were bouncing. The more they bounced, the more they gave away how desperate her movements were. She couldn't hide it, how much she was loving this sex, that is. If her moans and songs of pleasure didn't give it away, it was the way her body moved atop of him. Her eyes, still glazed over with pure desire, watched fondly as he spoke quietly in Russian. Honestly, she wasn't quite sure what he said. For all she knew, it was some sort of dirty talk. But the way he looked at her...it was almost too adoring to be dirty. Her heart flutter between its rapid pumping, and if her face wasn't flushed and rosy already, he could have seen her blushing. She felt self conscious under his gaze, but at the same time there was a want to have him look at her like that. Her affectionate gaze didn't last long. His words began to grow naughtier, dirtier, kinkier. It was hard to register his words with how loud her moaning was, but boy did she hear them.

Growling in response, she licked her lips. The affectionate gaze had been replaced with lidded, craving eyes. There was an increased need to kiss him, to moan her own kinky words into his mouth. But telling him full out was even better. Between her lustful cries, she nodded, hating to admit how much she wanted his member inside of her, completely filling her needy core. She meant to smirk right back, but all she could do was whimper in response to his dominating words. The minute he called her a 'good girl' the submissive girl that was staying quiet snapped. She hissed, brushing her teeth against her lips and nodded. Her lips finally curling in a smirk as her hips sped up just a bit more. Quite honestly she wanted to hear him call her her 'good girl' more, to praise her for her sexual deeds. What the heck was wrong with her? Being kinky enough to want him to praise her. She couldn't help herself, though. It was just the way he called her that. That condescending and domineering voice that got her going from day one. Two could play at the game, however.

"Harder. Bury your big cock inside of me. I love it--Hah..hah..." She panted before swallowing the shyness of allowing such dirty words to escape from the fantasies within her head. "You're making me so wet. Do you hear the way your cock slides into me? That's the sound--unghhhh-ahhhh! That's the sound of how much your good girl loves your cock." She growled lowly. Gosh, listen to how submissive she had become, telling him that she was his. She hated to admit it, but she wanted to be his, only his. She was his girlfriend after all. And although she wouldn't always be submissive, she wanted to be called a good girl over and over again. Just like he was doing now. "Your cock feels so good deep inside of me. Please, just like that, give my pussy more. My pussy craves it, that cock of yours." She couldn't stop the naughty words, she absolutely loved it.

The sound of how wet she was had gotten louder. The squelching noises gave away how good he was making her feel. She could feel the way her juices just dripped from her nether lips every time he thrusted into her. They were hot, just like the inside of her core. They took a break, her hips slowly coming to a stop, only to slightly grind against him more, causing sweet coos of pleasure. Her chest heaved, her breasts moving with every rise and fall of her chest. His smile parted the clouds of lust that had blinded her. Gosh, she loved that smile. She wanted to reach out and stroke his face. Butterflies made her stomach do flips. All she wanted was kiss the lips that housed that wonderful smile. She prayed for and scorned the day the world would get to see that smile. He wouldn't have to put up a front anymore, but that smile would no longer be her treat. What was this pleasant, heavy feeling that weighed on her heart?

She really didn't have time to ponder it before he began to move her hips again. a surprised, yet very, very pleased moan filled the air. Her hips began a new sort of rocking, his cock filling her and hitting areas that were different from if she were laying down. It was even better than anything she felt before. Her cries grew louder the more she moved for him, moving in any way to make him hit her sweet spots. Her head lolled back slightly as she cried out again, her pussy continuing to coat his member only to create more noise. "You're making me...mhnnnnn so, so...wet. Fuck me, please fuck me more. " She finally let such a foul word from her lips, but with the most positive of inflection. This position had been a favorite of her's in porn. But she also looked forward to the day he could move his hips and take her from behind. Desperate moans got caught in her throat as that sudden building sensation threatened to push her over the edge. But she held out, knowing full well if she came while still riding him, he would have to cum inside of her.

Reluctantly, she slid off his cock and jerked at him, her juices covering her hand. Her lips suckled the head of his cock just as he shot his hot sperm into her awaiting mouth. She closed her eyes, murmuring in pleasure as she swallowed enthusiastically. Her body still craved release, and for a second, she thought about fingering herself right in front of him, but then he grabbed her chin. With raised eyebrows, she repeated his question over and over. Before she knew it, she was supporting herself on the arm of the couch, his face directly under her as she very shyly lowered herself atop of his lips. His hands held her hips firmly, keeping her in place. The moment his tongue took the first teasingly lip, she cried out, her entire body nearly jolting. "Oh...Oh my God...aghhhh." Almost instantly, her hips began their gyrations over his handsome face. His tongue did wonders on her, and she fondly remembered the last time he at her out. Her movements were slow, letting that skillful tongue of his taste every part of her wet little flower. "D-Does that pussy taste good? Do you love my taste?" She whispered between pants. "Eat me out, ravish me. That's it, handsome. More! You love my taste, don't you? Does your good girl really taste that good--haaaaaaahh. You're just getting greedy, now...But I love it." She felt herself growing more aroused, wetter, her nectar nearly dripping onto his greedy lips.

Her neck had been craned backwards, her moans directed toward the ceiling when she forced herself to look down at him. The sight that her eyes settled on was one of the most arousing things she had ever seen. "You look....mhmmmm so good down there." She smirked, biting her lip and giving him one incredibly slow grind of her hips. One of her arms carefully reached down and ran her fingers through his hair, the other supporting her body with the arm of the couch. Her touch had been gentle first, but the closer she got to orgasm, the more her fingers grasped at his hair. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to keep him in place. "Mike, oh gosh Mike you're gonna make me cum." She pursed her lips, listening to the sound of his lips and tongue going to town, suckling the lips of her labia and drinking her nectar with fevor. "Oh yes, oh God yes. More. Taste me more! Ooooooh, oh Mike!" She called out, closing her eyes tight as her back arched and she allowed herself release, her head falling back while a euphoric moan caught in her throat. She moved her hips as an orgasm caused her body to quiver, only slowing down as she came down from her high. Even after, she crooned, rubbing her lips against his tongue as he finished every last drop of her.

Finally her body couldn't take it any more, she moved off of him slowly. Carefully, put her one leg between his own, and the other outside of his, and laid herself down against his body. They both were still burning, sweaty and panting. After so long of not being able to kiss him, she did so. There was still hints of lust and need, but more so affection. They were slow, yearning kisses, her forehead pressing against his. Slyly, she reached down, two of her fingers trailing up the length of his cock. She wanted to go for round too already, but her body was sore. Her other hand laid against his chest, her finger doing small, lazy circles over the area of his heart. Once her breathing was back to normal, she pulled up, looking down at him sweetly, lips slowly turning into a soft beam. "I never really liked my name, but when you say it..." She trailed off, her hand sliding up his body and caressing his cheek. "It sounds nice." She whispered, her eyes suddenly sad. No, she shouldn't go into her sob story.

But there was a need, a want, to tell him.

"I know you don't like books, but I know you know Romeo and Juliet." She began, her voice quiet as she laid her head down on his chest. "I hate that book. I can't stand even hearing about it." Which was a surprise, given it was a classic. She loved the classics, and he would know that. "It was my...my mother's favorite book. She named me after her, Juliet that is. Mom read that book constantly when she first learned to read English, or so Lola told me." Her eyes looked distant, not really staring at anything. "...She left me." Now, her voice was quiet. "She had me, couldn't support me, and left me with my grandparents and nothing but that book. All because she ran off with my father and...he left her." Tears filled her eyes, and she wasn't sure why, because she was sure this story didn't bother her anymore. Then again, she never talked about it. She never spoke a word of it, not even to her grandparents. She had always been indifferent to her mother's actions. But maybe she wasn't. Juliette continued, "She said 'I'll be back for her, someday.' But it's been 18 years and nothing. No birthday cards, no post cards, no phone calls. Nothing." Where was she going with this? Juliette could feel herself getting sad, and she didn't want to worry him, so she laughed bitterly instead. "Maybe that's why my grandparents keep me locked away. They don't want me to make mistakes like my mother did. Maybe that's why they hate they hate the younger generation in general."

With one last chuckle, she shook her head, lifting her head again before shaking it. "I'm sorry...You don't need to know about that. The only tragedies you need to hear about are the fictional ones. Sitting up, she grabbed her glasses and slipped them back on before wiping the tears that failed to fall from her eyes. Putting on a smile for him, she leaned back over and planted a kiss on his forehead. "What's your family like? Were you born in Russia? What part? Do you wish you stayed?" She murmured, searching his eyes with an affectionate gaze.

If Mike could only respond, he would tell her a lot of things. He'd call her a good girl again, he'd tell her how much he loves her taste, and yes, he was being greedy now because all he wanted was to eat her and taste her and to be the only man who could ever do that to her but his lips were occupied with her other lips. Mike admitted he was almost out of breath more than once but he adored the sensation nonetheless. Fuck it, this new kink almost made him hard again but he concentrated on her taste instead so that he wouldn't get aroused. Once he gets hard, this whole night would only be an endless cycle of fucking. He'd love that of course, but he wouldn't want to tire her out. She had been doing all the work tonight after all. Rest assured her efforts would be rewarded greatly when the time comes. Oh, she will be greatly rewarded.

Every time he gets a chance to speak a little, he told her how much he loved how she tasted. For once, he spoke so submissively and surprisingly it turned him on. "Oh yes, baby... I love the way you taste... mngghh... more baby... give me more... hey, come on now... don't tease me like that." He stopped her from her movements and kept her in place steady on top of him so that he could part her lips with his tongue and reach further inside. He licked and slurped like tomorrow wouldn't exist until he felt the excessive throb of her clitoris which made him tease the sensitive nub more with his tongue to make her reach ecstasy. It didn't take long for her to scream and moan so loudly with his name included as she came hard on his mouth, coating his lips down to his chin with her own juices. Damn, it tasted so good. It wasn't something he'd want to spit out.

When Juliette got off of him, he wiped his lips with the back of his mouth before having her cuddle against him. Mike smiled at his girl, took her in her arms and listened to her as she spoke. somehow, he was so sure that she'd want to talk about the sex they just had but to his surprise, she opened the conversation about her hating her name. Mike kept silent as he listened to her and when he felt her chest rising and falling heavily, Mike squeezed her shoulder in comfort. God, he didn't know. He didn't know Juliette had such a back story and it ached his heart to find out that she was literally abandoned by her own parents. It kind of gave him the understanding on why her grandparents were that strict on her but he wished for the chance to prove himself to them. Mike was determined to take good care of his girl and if there's some sort of incident of getting her pregnant, he wouldn't dare abandon her. For a while, Mike didn't say a word. He sympathized with her in silence, rubbing her bare shoulders in comfort as he did so. When she got up to chuckle away her sadness, Mike didn't smile. Instead, he had a worried look on his face as he took off her glasses again and wiped the remaining tears with his thumbs. "You don't have to hide away what you feel, love. If you want to cry, I'm here. I'm your boyfriend now, love, I want to know everything about you. Even your sadness, even your heartaches, okay?" Mike smiled at her but his eyes were still painted with sadness and worry. Mike was never really fond of books, but he knew the right words to say simply because those were the words he, too, would want to hear. He figured if he was a guy wanting to hear such words, more so a woman would love to hear them especially in times of need. Mike took a deep breath as he returned her glasses. "I'll share the burden with you, love, because..." He paused, kissed her lips in affection, and tried to smile the best smile he can despite the still saddened look on his face. "...I love you, Juliette. And I care so much about you."

When she asked her about his family, it was his turn to try his best to put on a facade though with the way her eyes searched his, he knew there was no escaping it. "I was born in Moscow with parents who are big in business. My father owns a lot of multinational companies and my mother is a very famous superstar in Russia," He began. He was gazing elsewhere as his mind floated in the past while his fingers absentmindedly played with Juliette's hair. "They were always so busy and they always wanted me to be like them because I am their only child. So one day, I was three years old then, my mom got me to model for a local clothing brand for kids. Since then, the projects came in frequently and mother was very happy about it because she felt she had a son as popular as her and father." He paused for a while to recall more of his past which he rarely did since transferring to the US. "I don't get to spend time with them so much. They were always busy. I was always left with a nanny and they'd make up their absence with grand gifts. It went from the latest toys, to the latest fashion trends and gadgets." Mike paused again. He shifted their positions so that he'd embrace Juliette and allow himself to rest on her shoulders this time while his arms were around her waist. "I was 15 when I was forced to go here. I don't regret it, to say the least. Sometimes I don't know what's sadder, if it was my life there or my life here. Since then, Alexandra was my manager and my guardian. It didn't take long for me to get uhh... popular here but when they heard this accent, they didn't want it. I had to train myself to speak like an American." He said the last statement in a flawless American accent but then, there was a long pause. He contemplated on whether to tell Juliette or not, but if they were to be a strong couple, there shouldn't be any secrets. "Love, Alex and I... we used to fuck a lot." He admitted with a heavy heart. "I was 18 when my sexual desires started becoming a monster and she was, well, a woman divorced by her husband. She uhh..." Mike took a deep breath. "...did the first move. She touched me first but I never considered it a harrassment or even reported it to my parents because... I admitted I liked it." Mike paused again. "And then I started growing, and started learning how to have sex. Alex and I became fuck buddies more than just having a manager-talent relationship." He embraced her tighter. "But I swear to God, Juliette, she doesn't mean anything to me and I don't mean anything to her. We're good friends, yes, but we don't see each other in such a way. Hell, she doesn't even know my Russian accent is still strong."

Mike pulled himself away from her to sit up and look at her with eyes full of concern. "I haven't touched her and didn't find the desire to touch her since I found the joy of having sex out of emotions with you. I told myself I wouldn't want to touch any other girl anymore. It didn't matter if we had a 'friends with benefits' kind of thing because back then I was so sure you didn't like me back, so I found contentment with our small tutoring time and... touching time. That was okay for me as long as it's with you." He kissed her and look straight into her eyes. "I love you, Juliette." Mike kissed her again. He then pulled away, smiled his usual smile at her, and stroked her face with his hand. "And I love your name, Juliette Torres. I'll speak your name over and over and over again, and tell you I love you over and over and over again until you forget about the horrible past of that name. I love you, Juliette Torres." Mike smiled and rested his forehead against her own. There was a companionable silence for a while until Mike remembered he never told her his real name yet.

"Love, my name is Mikhael Angelo V. Romanov. V is for Vladimir. And I'm yours, Juliette Torres. I'm all yours."

If it wasn't his hand wiping away her tears or rubbing her shoulder, she would have pulled away. Every time the subject of her mother came up with her grandparent's, she immediately shut down or shut herself in her room. The subject would be dismissed with a feigned smile, or an excuse to study would be made. Funny, she really did study whenever she made that excuse. Thinking back on it now, she had never really let her grandparents comfort her about the subject. And now, with her tearing up, there was an understanding that being abandoned hurt a lot more than she had thought. Still, her lips curled into the best smile she could muster as his hand reached toward her face. Upon seeing the concern painted on his face, her brave front faltered. The moment she felt his thumb wipe her tears, she felt more spill from the corner of her eyes. There was no crying, but with every bat of her eyelashes, another tear appeared for his thumb to wipe away. Hearing him speak, she was unsure what would make her cry more; the subject of her mother, or the sincerity in his concern. When he asked for confirmation, all she could do was nod with a quivering lip. If she even opened her mouth to speak, she knew she would end up sobbing.

For a long while, she allowed herself partial release of her emotions. There was no use in hiding them, not when he could see through her. Still, she wouldn't cry. Juliette concentrated on the warmth his touched gave her, or the comforting sound his hushed voice. Finally, after several tears were wiped away, she managed a half-hearted smile. Her eyes sparkling with tears, but also a silent gratitude. Despite even a hint of a smile, she could still read the worry in his eyes. Before she could assure him of anything, he spoke up. His voice was quiet, trailing off as he slipped her glasses atop of her ears and adjusted them to sit on her nose again. His anxious expression was clear to her now, and her heart ached with guilt. The sudden weight of his words took her by surprise, however. She would never want to burden him with her problems, not when he had so much on his own plate. A celebrity, world renown. He had his image to worry about, his modeling career, his schedule, not to mention his grades. He needn't worry about his girlfriend's sob story about her mother being young, stupid and love crazy. Still, as his face drew closer, and she closed her eyes, she couldn't help but pour her gratitude into their tender kiss.

Speaking of love--

Distracted, Juliette gazed at him with a content look on his face. Her mind was doing a quiet sort of reeling, contemplating how strange it felt to get at least some of her name-complex off her chest. There were also little thoughts here and there, while studying, about how lucky she was to have him. Here she was, sitting naked in a slowly-getting-chillier living room on the couch that her and her secretly dorky, Russian, celebrity of a boyfriend just made kinky love on. Playing back the scene of his comforting in her mind, she couldn't believe how cheesy it was. Cheesy in the romantic sense that it reminded her of the romance novels she had read. She would have never thought that a man would actually wipe her tears away or want to share her burdens, or make passionate love to her, and kiss her sweetly after, or tell her he loved her. Man, she sounded completely pathetic--

Wait, what?

Physically, her content face melted into a completely blank expression. Her thought process on the other hand was anything but. At first, all she heard was 'love,' which was normal given that was his pet name for her. Following that was the word 'you' and then her name, though, and that didn't make sense to have her name come right after her pet name, right? "...Huh?" She inquired not-so-intelligently and absolutely involuntarily. It was more a question she asked out loud rather than actually to him. Piecing the parts she did hear and the filling in the blanks faced on context clues, the calculating expression on her face turned into one of utter revelation. For a moment, she thought about asking him to say whatever he had said again, just so she could confirm it. But the hopeful look on his face...somehow said it all. Brown, teary eyes widened, and for a second no emotions shook her. None at all.

And then, they came all at once.

A storm of happiness, giddiness, nervousness, excitement, affection, adrenaline-- every sort of shaking emotion, hit her. Despite all of those emotions, she didn't act or move. She simply sat there. Finally, her hand moved up to her heart, squeezing the area around it as an act to pinch herself. Good, her heart hadn't literally stopped and she was awake. The confirmation started some waterworks again. Tears brimmed from her eyes and she reached back up with both hands to wipe them, her bare body shaking slightly as she held back her cries. At first, the crying threw her for a loop, scared her in fact. It wasn't actual, loud and sappy crying, but quiet cries brought on by emotion. She had read fiction upon fiction where feelings were admitted through words like 'I love you,' and even through books, her heart would flutter. But this, she never imagined such raw emotion hitting her. Maybe it was a mix of things. Like the fact her heart was still very vulnerable from the subject of her mother. It was more than that, though.

It was the realization that she loved him too that hit her so hard. And that scared her a lot. She was 18, still so young and locked away in a tower all her life. There was so much she hadn't experienced, and love was definitely one of those things. He was 20, only two years away, but in school so much farther. In life he was so much farther. Had he ever been in love before? And if so, what did it feel like for him? Juliette only knew love from words described in books, and it was always different. Reading, she had learned so much from books, but love was something she could never grasp just from simple words. She had never liked the unknown. And love was so unknown, yet...in a cheesy way she just knew--

This was her first love. He was her first love.

Thinking back, it's funny how incredibly strange their relationship started. But, the foundation it began with made sense. They started...well backwards. Traditionally, dating and getting to know each other came first, and then sex. But, they weren't exactly normal people. Not just in the sense he was a celebrity and she was a normal bookworm. The alcohol helped out a bit, but in the end, their intimacy was built around some sort of connection and mutual understanding. Two people that couldn't be real around anyone were able to be themselves in the eyes of the other. Before she knew it, he had excavated and unearthed parts of her she didn't even know existed. He had found pieces of what must be her true self hidden under a quiet and reserved exterior; a loquacious, sassy, and incredibly naughty young lady. And she had found the qualities that truly made him a treasure. Her treasure. She had come to treasure him so. She treasured the feelings he gave her, the fluttering in her stomach, the nonstop beating of her heart, the consideration and concern, the showering of affection. And she found herself always hoping to return it.

After calming herself down, she sniffled and found herself beaming a true, brilliant smile. Eyes sparkling as she chuckled, her thumb brushing the corner of his lips. "At least smile when you say it." She crooned, opening her mouth to return those powerful words, but nothing came out. For a moment, she panicked. All her life she had been so eloquent with words. These were words that she could have written so easily, but here she was with her mouth open and probably looking like some sort of idiot (for the second time today.) Blushing hard, she closed her mouth, desperately hoping he didn't think she was reluctant to say it, or worse; didn't think she reciprocated. Before she could try again, he seemed to get right into his own past.

Letting him speak, her mouth slowly closed, and she allowed herself to calm down. It didn't last long, because then came her heart's turn to ache. His face and voice were so far away, just like when he had talked about his stay at the hospital. The entire time, she kept complete silent, her dainty hand resting atop of his and laying her in between his own. Whenever it seemed like his voice and eyes grew farther away, she gave his hand a squeeze to bring him back, letting him know she was there. It seemed they had family issues in common too, although their situations were just a bit different. Strangely enough, she found his situation made her angrier and much more sadder than her own. Her parents had never been there for her, in fact, she didn't even physically know where they were on the continent of North America. Who knows, maybe her mother returned to the Philippines, or her father went home to be the drunk he was in Ireland. Mike's parents were alive and healthy. He knew they were there. And yet, they were never actually there for him. His mother threw him into a world he didn't exactly choose. Juliette was at least glad he had grown to enjoy some aspects of celebrity life. For the most part it just seemed to leave him exhausted.

The sound of his American accent had her scowling. "Promise me, you will never use that accent around me, ever." she smirked in hopes of lightening the mood, if only a little. It reminded her of the horrid and unfortunate first encounter she had with him. "The American version of Mike Romanov and I didn't get off to a great start." She snickered and pecked his cheek before allowing him to go on. Immediately, she grew tense when the subject of Alexandra came up. The moment he trailed off...she knew exactly where he was going. As much as she hated to say it, she figured that was the case. It sorta made her wary for a while, even before they started actually dating. The idea she was having sex with him and then Alexandra doing the same made her blood boil. "...I sorta knew." she whispered carefully, praying he wouldn't get mad for her assumptions. After swallowing her jealous emotions, she explained herself. "It was after we-- ahem- slept together for the first time... Girls would look at me different, probably jealous of our date." She cringed remember how uncomfortable going to class and working at the library was with the looks she received. "I heard them make legitimate comments of how cute you and and Alexandra looked together. How much of a 'power couple' you would be. A lot of people ship you two." She stared down at their hands rather than looking him in the eyes. She couldn't, not because she was angry or jealous (although she sorta was,) but because she felt inadequate.

Alexandra was graceful, slender, tall, mature-- a woman in every single sense of the word. Juliette found she compared herself to a lot of girls. But she found comparing herself to Alexandra brought the self-loathing she had done before to a whole new level. Short, chubby, chatty and a klutz who had her nose stuck in books and loved Disney. She was the equivalent of a middle school girl physically, in her opinion. "There were articles, which obviously didn't have much base to them. I knew, though, that there was no way you could just know how to be good in bed. So I connected two and two..." Her voice was a whisper. She could never compare to Alexandra, not in physique or maturity. A woman Juliette knew she wasn't, but she wished she could be. Despite the flaring anger and jealously, she couldn't be that angry. There was something in his voice that was genuine. After all, she had seen through the first act he ever pulled on her (their first meeting) in a matter of minutes. If he was telling her this, it meant that he must be serious about this relationship they had going. Finally, she took a deep breath and turned to him, a half smile pulling at one side of her lips. "I'm glad you thought to tell me, at least. It really does mean a lot."She whispered, lifting her head just as his lips found her own once again.

Her entire being felt light and airy, and her heart felt heavy as his words had her dreamy. Automatically, she leaned her head into his hand, reaching up and keeping his hand there while their foreheads touched. If he called her Juliette, she wouldn't mind. Hearing him keep saying her entire name had her both blushing and chuckling. The only time she heard her full name was when she was in trouble or too busy reading at home. It was almost too much to bear, hearing him say something as simple as her name with so much inflection. She opened her mouth again to finally answer him when his voice, once again, stopped her.

Mikhael Angelo V. Romanov.

She wasn't sure why his true name was a surprise to her, but it was. Her dark brown orbs grew larger as she took it in. It suited him perfectly. A name befitting someone so royal and handsome. Not that he was a prince, but he was spoiled like one, as well as almost unrealistically good-looking as one. Of course his real name wasn't Mike if he was born in Moscow. She let out a quiet laugh. It was their secret, her secret. His wonderful name that not any one of his fans knew. She would store that piece of information in her heart forever. Mikhael Angelo V. Romanov... "My middle name Divina. It's Spanish, oddly enough." After a long pause of searching his awaiting eyes, she took a deep breath. Pulling her hand back, she cupped both his cheeks, planting a ghost of a kiss on his lips before pulling back with a brightest of grins on her face.

"...I love you, Mikhael Angelo Vladimir Romanov." There was a pause between each part of his name. Juliette loved it, the sound of his real name rolling of her lips. She could say it over and over again if she could. Maybe she would, sometime. "Iniibig kita." Which she learned from her Lola, when she was little, was how to say 'I love you' to someone quote 'you were going to marry.' Maybe not married, but in the sense of romantic love, she was right. "Mikhael Angelo Vladimir Romanov." She couldn't help but whisper it again before kissing him again. "I much rather call you Mikhael than Mike...may I?" she inquired, blushing bashfully at both admitting her love and asking such a silly question. "I-If that's okay?" Suddenly, she felt frigidity and nervous. Did she convey it to him correctly? Was their even a correct way to even say 'I love you' for the first time? Before she could make a bigger fool of herself, her phone rang. She shot up from where they sat a bit too quickly, her legs like jello as she fell to the floor. "Oh gosh." She hissed. Her legs were really sore. Of all times to be a klutz, did she have to choose such an intimate moment? And here she thought she actually looked pretty mature for once. With a loud sigh, she reached for her phone on the table and composed herself before answering.

The call was quick, luckily, and her Lolo was only calling to remind her to order tickets for their Christmas trip to the Philippines....The realization had her growing eager to get off the phone, and once she said her goodbyes, she shot up from the floor. The painful soreness had her sitting on the couch as quick as possible. "First, don't say a word." She glared, the blush from before darkening at the possible jokes he would make about how her legs became sore in the first place. "Second, my grandparents take a trip to the Philippines for Christmas every year. I'm not much for traveling far distances," she ran her sentences off incredibly fast, excitement had her speaking a mile a minute. It wasn't that she was much for traveling, quite honestly, she was actually terrified of flying. The first time she traveled to another state she passed out before they even took off. It was so embarrassing that she would never tell anyone, well ever. "So I'm free for Christmas Eve...and the rest of Christmas break..." Her voice trailed off, and she searched his eyes expectantly for her hints to click in his mind. When they did, the plan was set.

--

Christmas Eve couldn't come fast enough. Time moved slower when waiting for something. Usually Juliette didn't have much to be excited for, especially on Christmas since she usually spent it in her room watching Christmas movies by herself.

This year was different.

Not only did she have Christmas to be excited for, she had the excitement of buying people gifts. Mike being the number 1 person on her list. Maria was on their, too. Even Gerard and Alexandra were going to get a little something from her. Saving up money was pretty easy, after all she didn't buy many cute clothes. She bought a lot of books, but recently she hadn't much time for reading. Most books could be read online, but she always loved the feeling of having a book and pages between her fingertips.

Between the last time she was at Mike's (which she was still completely awestruck over) and today, she hadn't seen him other than two tutoring sessions. Even then, she left right away. There was too much going on near holiday breaks in college. Exams, homework, extracurricular. It was hectic and mentally exhausting. Plus, she had to worry about working and how much money she had to spend on Christmas gifts. This was the first time the idea of 'giving' on Christmas really had her antsy for Christmas to arrive. In the past, she always drew her Grandparent's Christmas cards, or got up early and made them breakfast, or helped with dinner. The tradition for them to start traveling back to see their family started when she got into high school, so after that, Christmas was...extremely lonely. It was funny how much things changed since then. Uncanny, actually. She was going to go from completely alone to staying at her boyfriend's penthouse for more than a week! Minus working and going home to clean. Hopefully the neighbors wouldn't notice.

Before break ended, she was able to distribute her gifts to her classmates. Maria got a gift card to her favorite clothing store, and necklace from a boutique near the bookstore Juliette frequented, and a Beyoncé CD (her absolute idol and quote Maria, 'Goddess') and of course, a homemade card. Gerard got a Starbucks gift card, a regular homemade card and a CD with Various Broadway tracks. Alexandra would get a pair of elegant hoop earrings with a choker to match. It wasn't crazy expensive, but was still quality and suited her.

Then their came what to get Mike.

She spent countless nights racking her brain. It wasn't that she didn't know what he liked, it was just giving him something special. At one point, she finally got a few ideas. First, she asked him what his favorite color was. If he inquired why she asked, she would only pretend to zip her lips and feign ignorance. After learning that simple, little fact, she went straight to craft store and pulled a few all-nighters. His first gift, was a crocheted scarf in said color, for when he went home to Moscow in the cold. After the craft store, she ran to the bookstore and picked him up a book on how to bake a bunch of different sweets. Lord knows they both could make some use out of that one. The music shop was next, there she picked up the two CD's for Gerard and Maria, and a CD with classical piano music for him. A few of the tracks on their were her favorites. Maybe one day she would get him the sheet music for those pieces. The last thing...Maria actually suggested.

Maria was able to see right through Juliette's denial of dating Mike. In fact, she saw right through the denial of sleeping with him, too. 'They say a girl starts to look more like a woman after they sleep with a guy. Or something like that. There's just been something about the way you carry yourself, that and you've been on cloud nine since Mike got out of the hospital.' Were her exact words. Juliette guessed they were friends for a reason. After practice one day, Maria literally dragged her to Victoria's Secret of all places. The minute they walked in, Juliette made a beeline for the exit. It was one thing for her to shop in a lingerie store in the first place, but with Maria?! Maria prompted her to relax. Apparently girlfriends did stuff like this all the time. The entire trip consisted of Juliette blushing at every suggestion Maria made and then forcing her to try it on-- only to barge into the changing room and critique her. One suggestion was actually Santa Claus lingerie, which Juliette drew the line at right away. Some things were meant to be sacred. Santa was one of those things. At the end of the day, Juliette found herself laughing about it. It was refreshing to think that she actually had a friend to laugh like that with. The two of them after an hours of Juliette feeling self conscious, agreed to a very frilly, yet classy pair of lingerie in, of course, Mike's favorite color.


Christmas Eve finally arrived after an agonizingly long time. She had packed a bag for the first two days at his house, and decided she would come home to straighten up the house afterwards. Juilette made sure to pack everything, check, double check and then triple check. She had her shampoo, toothbrush, deodorant, perfume, giant makeup bag, change of clothes, books (plural, of course,) DS for at night, just in case, shoes, headbands, and finally her cell phone. In a cute snowman bag with white tissue paper was his gift. As instructed by Maria, she wore her final 'gift' for Mike under a dress Maria gave her to borrow for the festive evening. It was a red, casual cocktail dress. The sleeves were sheer, and the dress clung to her curves, making her feel even more so wary of her body then she already was. The skirt came down just at her knee, and on her feet she sported a pair of subtle black kitten-heels. Her curly locks of dark hair were pulled into a sort of half up, half down style, allowing her to show off her one double pierced ear with diamond studs. Surprisingly her grandparents had allowed that for her 18th birthday. If she had asked for a tattoo, she would have been burned at the stake. After twirling in the mirror about ten times, she eagerly headed over to Mike's penthouse.

As always, the moment he answered the door, she was bouncing in her place. Before she could even get in the doorway, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. "Merry Christmas." She whispered, enjoying the moment as the realization that she was actually with someone on Christmas washed over her. She was sure the sensation would hit her randomly the entire night. She pulled back from the embrace, taking her bag and carefully bringing it inside before turning to him with his present. Suddenly, a shy spell hit her, anxiety coming soon after. What if he didn't like it? What if he absolutely hated it, actually. What if he didn't like the shade of the scarf's color? What if he had the piano CD already? Her worrying trait began to act up, but she swallowed her fear, the eagerness to actually give him a Christmas present much stronger than her anxiety about it. So, pulling it from behind her back, she presented it to him with both hands. "Do you think...you can open it now?" She inquired, batting her eyelashes hopefully. It wasn't exactly Christmas yet, but she just couldn't wait. "I was never much for waiting to open presents on Christmas day." she admitted, embarrassed. As a kid, getting new books on Christmas was literally heaven on Earth for her. This year, she wanted to watch someone else experience the same excitement.

There were so many emotions happening all at once. He wanted to comfort her, he wanted to tell her that the assumptions of everyone - including her - were all wrong. Yes, he and Alex had some sort of history, as people call it. But it was clear on both their sides that they were mere friends with benefits. Hell, Mike knew about Alex's on-off fling with some guy she met somewhere. She was like an older sister to her, and he was a pesky little brother whom she had to clean up after. Alex had to work so hard to keep Mike's image well and good so for a while, Mike felt he had to fulfill her sexual desires in return. He was a lost teen who grew up without guidance so for quite some time, it was simply sex and booze for him. A pointless life fulfilling more of the desires of his fans than his own. So what did he do? He indulged on the fame instead. Mike breathed it, lived it, and became it. He became very obsessed with the thought of being famous since he found his strength in it. Not only did his parents complimented him at every success of his projects, but also he measured his worth through his fame. There was a feeling in him that it was his sole purpose in life until a certain bodacious bookworm marched into his life and put him back in place. In a few exchange of words during a certain first meeting, she actually reminded him that fame wasn't enough. He was famous, yes, but it won't get him through everything in life. For the first time, someone actually stood up to him and it was an oddly fulfilling sensation. He felt taken aback, insulted even, but as soon as she was gone and he had the night to think about everything, he realized this girl wouldn't play an ordinary role in his life.

And now that girl was his girlfriend.

"Oh, American Mike Romanov and you didn't go along well? Admit it, love, you loved me from then on," He teased her with a smirk and a sarcastically-defined American accenet as she kissed his cheek but he couldn't keep up with the feign teasing. He burst into laughter as well when she started chuckling. When their laughter faded, Mike embraced her and held her lovingly in his arms. Her words ached him somehow at how inferior she felt against Alex and he wondered if consoling her would make her feel any better. "You're more than a woman in my life than she is, and than she ever will be, love, I promise you that. You're the one one I love." He kissed her forehead and her lips to seal the promise.

Then came the part about his name. A few moments ago, he wondered why Juliette had a stunned look on her face when he told her he loves her but when it was her turn to say the same thing, Mike was fully aware he mirrored the same emotion. Hearing the words "I love you, Mike!" or "I love you, Mike Romanov!" was nothing new to him but hearing a heartfelt "I love you" followed by the syllabically-emphasized full name of his, it was a totally new sensation. He never knew his heart could feel that way and he never knew someone could actually stun him like that. Even after having her speak words which he did not understand, all he could do was to gulp and stop himself from tearing up as well. His eyes felt moist but he stopped them from pouring out, thinking that Juliette might find it weird for him to cry. His heartfelt smile made up for the lack of words. He smiled at her and pecked her lips before hearing her slightly odd request. "Seriously?" He asked, chuckling. Never in his life was he called Mikhael with the defined choking "ha" so he wasn't exactly quite sure what to feel about it. He raised a brow at her and chuckled at the same time before shaking his head slightly. "It's not a problem, but it feels weird, you know?" He took her hand. "But for my girl, it's fine. My princess' wants comes first." He told her sweetly as he kissed the back of her hand. It was an uncalled for gesture - one which Mike had always wanted to do to a special girl - so even if the timing was quite odd, he liked the idea of kissing the back of her hand like royalty and calling her his princess.

When her phone rang, she got up in an instant and noticed how she walked. He gasped and chuckled at the sight and when he told her to not speak a single word, he nodded to her although as she spoke on the phone, Mike made sure she'd see him eyeing every inch of her body, making sure to stop and stare at her breasts and her pussy along the way. He also made sure he'd see her licking his lips sensually at the sight. When the phone call ended, Mike burst out laughing. It was the kind of unfiltered laugh which makes one lack poise and decency, but Mike didn't feel bothered about it. His laughter filled the room just as Juliette told him she was free during Christmas Eve and Christmas break. His eyes lit up in delight. That would mean he'd have her. Oh god, he'd have her for days.

"Well then, love, you're more than welcome to stay here in your second home," He told her as he took her hand and pulled her to top him. "It's a Christmas date for us, then." He made out with her one last time before pulling himself away so that they could get dressed. If he didn't have the drive to do that, who knows how many more rounds they could've gotten.

----

Mike and Juliette agreed that they wouldn't be seeing each other a lot in the days between their kinky couch sex and Christmas eve for various reasons. Mike told Juliette she needed to assure her grandparents that she was okay. She was usual. He didn't want them to notice anything weird about her so that they'd feel at ease about leaving her for a week. They had two tutorial sessions though, and it took so much for him not to strip her off and kiss her. His only drive was that he'd have her alone for days without interruption and without worry. That in itself was enough of a Christmas present for him.

Of course, Mike wouldn't let his princess experience her first Christmas with a boyfriend become a dull one.

She loved literature, yes, so Mike thought it didn't seem so special to buy a book for her. She didn't seem to be one who loved excessive clothes, so he wondered if getting her a dress would be a good idea. For days he went around searching for gifts and prayed and hoped no entertainment news would publish about him going around looking at items for girls or else he'd blow the surprise. Surely Juliette would know he was looking for something for her. In the end, he resulted to online shopping wit the help of Alex. He ordered necklace online and had it shipped to her house to avoid speculations. It was a seemingly humble and simle necklace but the six diamonds studding the J pendant were real and the silver chain was crafted with special non-tarnish sterling material.

A few days before Christmas, he stared at the red box which held the necklace inside. He was sitting down on his desk in his study room and played with the box, wondering what more he could give her. There was a thought in him which made him wonder if Juliette measured gifts based on quantity or quality. He wondered if a simple necklace was enough. Lost in his thoughts, Mike sighed and set the box aside. He opened up his iMac and started typing out a few words.

And then, it hit him. Mike attempted to type out a simple short story. Even before starting he knew it'd suck, but he hoped Juliette would appreciate the idea that a literature-hating obnoxious model attempted to do something like that. Mike wrote their entire love story from the moment they first met until the recent days of pure excitement for Christmas, narrating everything in his point of view.

To Juliette,

I don't like reading, I don't like analyzing novels. Precisely why I need a tutor, right? I hated the idea of having a tutor. I hated having to sacrifice a few hours of my Monday night studying. I was told that the best in class would be my tutor but why did I care?

But then, this pretty lady came entering my unit with a couple of books and notebooks in her hands. She looked shy, timid even, but she was eager to teach me. I thought this girl was putting up a facade like I was. Maybe, she was just being nice. Maybe she, too, didn't want to teach any more than I wanted to learn. But then again, here's an obnoxious little Russian model thinking that she's being shy because she was facing Mike Romanov. I tried to bribe this girl. Tried to get her to do my work for me. But you know what? She scolded me and reminded me of so many things about life. I knew from then on, she wouldn't be just anyone in the greater scheme of things. I thought to myself, maybe she'd be a friend. A good friend. A best friend, even.

But this girl was you, Juliette Torres, and you became my girl.

Fast forward to Douglas' house party. It was supposed to be a joke. Call it an ego, if you may, but I just wanted to show you that I can and I will take you to that party. And boy, Juliette, you played along with my game really well. We didn't go together, we met up at the party. I was near the pool sipping on some punch when I heard the performance starting. I saw the main vocals of the acapella and I had to squint my eyes to see clearly. I honestly thought it wasn't you but the words running through my head were, "that girl's hot. From this distance, she already looks very pretty and her voice... her voice is the loveliest thing I've ever heard." Fate then played our joke too and spanked me with the sight that it was indeed you, my top-in-class tutor, singing her heart out on stage. It furthermore proved the thought that you wouldn't be just anyone. I was starting to notice you more and more.

We were the biggest thing that night. The biggest rumor, the biggest scoop. And they teased us about it. Got us closed up in one room for an hour. I thought, maybe, we'd just talk. We'd just chitchat, you know? 'Cause I was sure you weren't into the whole kissing and fucking in parties thing. In my eyes, you were the typical good girl who wouldn't do a single bad thing on earth.

But underneath the good girl is a naughty one who surfaced that night.

You snatched the lingerie from the bed and tried them on. While you were changing inside the bathroom, I was drowning myself with alcohol. I needed a little... calming down. My thoughts had already been wild since entering the room and seeing the sexy piece of clothing on the bed. But you know what? Reality was better than the mental images. When you walked out of the bathroom and covered yourself with your arms, I knew I had to keep you in place. You were already rushing back to change, but I had to beg you not to because, at that moment, you were the cutest and most beautiful girl I've seen. You had the curves in all the right places which made you sexier than those models I've worked with. You were shy, but you had no reason to be. You were beautiful. You are beautiful.

And then, it hit me. Some guy might abuse your first time. Someone might not treat you right and treat you carefully, so... so I wanted to be the first one. I wanted you to feel the pleasure in a good way. I wanted you to be treated right, because you had to be treated right.

To my surprise, you allowed me to touch you. You allowed me to run my hand everywhere, and you invited me to do more. I asked you to have sex with me, and you agreed. God, Juliette, you agreed. But then, our time was almost up. We needed to get out. I needed to take you home. I needed and wanted to give you the best night.

And we had the best night, didn't we? You were so beautiful in every aspect of that night. You were shy, a little scared even, but I boosted your confidence. I wanted you to know it was okay. I would take care of you. Even if we won't end up together after that night, I would be the best friend looking out for you. Do you remember I spoke something in Russian that night? I said, "I want to be by your side always."

And now I am. I'm your boyfriend, and you're my girl.

It seemed like a long letter of some sort, but Mike tried his best to make it sound a little more... literary. He included more details like what he felt during the group project and how jealous he felt over Gerard. He told her his exact feelings when he told her, finally, that he liked her a lot. He told her how his heart ached at the thought that it might be one-sided, and that she might fall for Gerard because they were alike in all ways, and how these thoughts caused the stupid accident. He told her about how happy he felt when she confessed her feelings to him as well, and how he knew from then on that he could face anything. He knew from then on he could face the challenges their relationship may bring, and the challenges his scar might bring his career. Mike told her every single detail of his emotions from all the sex and foreplay they did, to the simple conversations, to everything in between.

He made a mental note to ask her how his work faired out for her taste.

On the night before Christmas, Mike told her to dress up before coming over. He can't take her out to a special date yet, especially not during Christmas eve, but he can turn his humble home into a special date place even for a night. He opened up his curtains to let the colorful and bright city lights illuminate his entire living room while his dining table was candle lit. On opposite sides of it were two plates and two wine glasses and just beside the table was cart where the wine, cheese, and ice bucket were. On the kitchen counter were various dishes which were prepared by his friend who was a celebrity chef. Tonight they had ham, pot roast, mashed potatoes, and buttered bread for their Christmas dinner. He was still fixing a few finishing touches when he heard his door open, followed by an enthusiastic girlfriend who threw herself at him. He caught her and laughed softly as she clung to him. "You got to tell me beforehand that you're gonna come in, you know? You might just come in here all of a sudden and I'm doing things which are... private," He raised up his brow and smirked, giving her the idea of what he meant yet he chuckled and kissed her lips gently. She seemed excited about the present which made him worry about his own. He took a deep breath and handed her the small paper bag with the red box and the folded paper of their love story. Mike was never really the creative type so the packaging of his gift looked too dull compared to what he had for her.

"Merry Christmas, love," He said as he handed her the paper bag with one hand and taking her gift with the other. He already wanted to thank her for getting him something but he wanted to thank her sincerely for the things she got him as well. As soon as he opened the bag, Mike's face lit up as he saw the items inside. There was a scarf with the perfect sky blue shade (now that he thought about it, he remembered their conversation when Juliette asked him to describe his favorite color. He had told her "sky blue" then, but she wanted to know the kind of shade he wanted. He told her he didn't want it too light or too dark and now she got the perfect scarf for him), there was a recipe book of desserts, and there was a CD of classical piano music. He had a couple of classical piano music in his phone but to him, having a CD was like how it was for Juliette having an actual book despite the online and digital versions. For a while, he was silent. He simply gazed at the items with awe before sealing the bag again and pulling her in a tight embrace. "You're the best, love. Thank you for these gifts. I love them all. Thank you."

As Mike pulled away, he looked at her with a shy smile. "I uhh..." He began, fumbling on his thoughts and words again. "I hope you'll like what I got you, too, love." Thinking about the story he wrote made him want to disappear in embarrassment but he prayed and hoped she'd like it nonetheless.

"Private, hmm?" She cocked an eyebrow with a knowing look before rolling her eyes playfully. Giving him a quick kiss on the lips she pulled back, arms still wrapped around him, and matched his smirk. "You do know I'm already your 'private' tutor. So, I'm sure I could help you out with these other 'private' matters." She pulled one of her hands away, bending her fingers to make air quotes before stepping back and handing him the gift bag containing three of his four presents. Despite not even opening his gift to her yet, just seeing it made her entire face light up. Her fingers wrapped around the bag, pulling it up and hugging it to her chest with the other hand carefully. It didn't seem like there was another breakable inside, so she simply looked down at it, not even studying its contents, but marveling at the fact this was a Christmas gift from her boyfriend. The first Christmas gift she had ever gotten from someone outside of her family, someone who made her heart swell in a new way. If she didn't have to hide his gift at home, she would have kept the bag too, honestly. There was a jittery excitement to open it right away, but first, she wanted to see him open his.

Standing there and watching him fish out the presents was complete and utter torture. The only thing that kept her from jumping out of her skin was shuffling awkwardly in her heels. He seemed to be studying the bag with the same awe she had. Just seeing that put her at ease, but only for a moment. The minute he moved the tissue paper away she felt all the air leaving her lungs and stop flowing entirely. At first she thought he was pleased, but then her spirit began to fade as silence filled the air. Her fingers played with his bag in discomfort and she opened her mouth to apologize if he didn't like them. Then, without even a warning, he sealed the bag and she was in his arms. She almost protested, scared the two of their bodies would crush his gift bag even more. His words sent a relieved warmth from her head to her toes, and her entire being swelled with pride. Now, she was fueled by his approval of her gifts. Her large, doe eyes searched his expectantly, similar to that of a child eagerly awaiting to rip open their gifts on Christmas day. Noting his bashful actions only made her more curious as to what he must have gotten her. She hoped it didn't seem like just getting a gift in general was what made her excited. It was receiving a gift from him that made her ready to tear open the bag and jump the gun on opening the present. But she also wanted to savor the moment.

With the utmost care, she opened the bag, finding two contents: A folded piece of printer paper and a velvet red box. Both items instantly got her heart racing with anticipation. Her hand reached down, fishing the piece and the box out before placing the bag to the floor. With the small box secure in her hand, she maneuvered her fingers and opened the note with both hands. The moment she saw her name, her heart fluttered, and then she went into Juliette reading mode. Now, those who see her read in public haven't really seen how into reading she got. And with this letter addressed to her, she knew she was going to truly enjoy reading it. A few things occur when she really reads something. First, her eyes move at about a fraction of a second. As she read over and registered the sweet words on the piece of paper, her eyes flickered back and forth . Her lips moved, mouthing the words silently as a big, goofy grin slowly grew on her face. A bell-like laugh spilled from her mouth at the very first sentence. Despite reading how their rough beginning started, the sparkle in her eye and grin never left her face. Reading the letter, she became animated; giggling, scoffing, gasping (especially at the part about the lingerie.) As soon as she hit that paragraph her face went a bright shade of red. She felt like she was reading some sort of erotica novel, but forgot about her embarrassment when she read the words 'beautiful' and how he described his thought process of their sweet, first night together. As Mike watched, he surely could see the way her eyes began twinkling in a different way. Towards the end, the sparkle in her eyes became those of tears, and she did her best to keep her emotions in check. The part about the Russian really got to her, and like some sort of cheesy romance novel, she felt a tear stream down her blushing cheek. That one tear was the only one she let escape, she didn't want to blubber on such a wonderful night. After a very animated, silent reading of his Christmas present, she folded the paper back, wiping the tear carefully and laughing in an effort not to cry.

"No spelling or grammar errors, and A+ for word choice." She teased in a voice so soft. Despite her joking words, she couldn't bring herself to say anymore out of fear she may start crying. With a deep, shaky breath, she opened the pretty red box. The moment she did, her eyes grew wider than all of those shining diamonds put together. Jaw dropping, she shield her mouth with her hand. The piece of jewelry before her was probably the most beautiful she had ever seen. As a little girl, she had played with her Lola's earrings and necklaces, wearing them and pretending she was the Queen of Sheba or something. It was a simple letter of the alphabet, a 'J' for her name. But the thought behind it made it one of the greatest treasures any queen could adorn. Before she knew it, year after tear was falling from her eyes. There was just so many feelings put into his two gifts, enough to overwhelm her. Biting her lip hard, she looked to him, squinting her eyes to see through the countless tears as she embraced him, careful not to get tears or makeup on his nice clothes. "...I adore both of these, so much." She whispered, smiling as she sniffled and wiped her tears, taking a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking again. "Thank you, Mikhael." She cooed. She promised she wouldn't call him that regularly, but this seemed like a moment where she should. "Here," She held out the box to him. "Could you please put it on me?" She asked before turning around and lifting up her hair, baring her neck to him.

The 'J' was cold against her skin. She hadn't worn a necklace in a long time, and sadly she wouldn't be able to wear this regularly. She would carry the box with her as much as she could, though. And for the duration of her stay at his home over break, she would adorn the piece of jewelry. Once it was on, she turned back around right away and stood on her toes. Her lips found his in a tender, lingering kiss before pulling away. "I wish I could have your letter framed." She partially joke, she at least wanted it laminated. Her grandparents would notice in a heartbeat, however. For a moment, she thought of informing him that he had one more gift. But she had a nagging feeling that if she told him, dinner would get cold. So she would wait.

The aroma of their Christmas dinner wafting into her nose was the next thing to overwhelm her senses. For a split second she glanced into the kitchen. A variety of pots and pans were out on the stove, as well as spices in their given containers sitting on the counter. He must have put a lot of thought into dinner, the sight of all those spices made her think of her grandparents. If only she could tell her Lola that her boyfriend was almost up to par with her own traditional cooking. Even if tonight's meal wasn't cooked by him, surely that would impress the old woman, someone who could cook for her granddaughter. It would either impress her or make her jealous. Just hearing her Lolo compliment someone else's cooking got the old woman going on a jealous cooking streak. No one ever left the table hungry on those nights. Juliette and her Lolo always shared a silent, triumphant glance when they were well fed all because Lola had a big head and wanted to out-cook someone. Leftovers were almost always present on those nights. With as much food as their was tonight, surely they would be eating the same thing together for the next day or so. Leftovers or not, she would be able to stay over with him and eat for the next few days. It really would be one of the most exciting Christmas breaks she had. It would be the first Christmas in a while she spent with someone, and that didn't mean characters on a page.

This was someone she truly cared for.

After helping him finish setting the table, she sat down on her side and folded her hands in her lap atop of her napkin. There was so much food, she was sure she would fall into a food coma. If she did that, though, then she wouldn't be able to show off his last gift. The very image of her showing him her lingerie had her blushing in her chair at the table. Quickly, to cover it up, she dished herself some food and began eating. Her eyes fell on the wine, a deja vu rushing over her and she smirked. Images of wine and lingerie in Dougla's guest bedroom replayed like a movie. "Are you trying to get me tipsy again?" She crossed one leg over the other at her seat as he allowed her to pour her a glass. Well, if she didn't drink a little, she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to work up courage for the last part of the night. Juliette caved, deciding she would need just a tad bit, like he had needed himself the night of the party. With a sip, she placed it back on the table before resting her chin on her empty hand. "Santa doesn't like boys who are naughty."

But that didn't mean she didn't.

After a few more drinks and enjoying her boyfriend's top notch cooking, she found herself becoming a lot more looser in terms of her worries. Her face felt flushed and her mind felt a bit swimmy. It wasn't as bad as it was the night at Douglas party, but familiar nonetheless. A lustful glimmer had crept into her eye, and she took one last swig of her wine before placing the glass down and helping him clear the table. When all the plates were stacked and placed in the dishwasher, she turned around, leaning up against the counter. "So there is one more thing I bought you..." She began nervously. Oh gosh, she really wished she would have drank a bit more. It was better than no courage at all. Juliette swallowed the fear, eyeing him seductively despite her anxiety. "I'll give you a hint." She began and reached for his hand, pulling him toward her. She had one of his legs rest between her own, and the other resting outside her left one. As he towered over her, she took another deep breath, searching his eyes from under her eyelashes before laying her hand against his chest. "The first hint; it's your favorite color." She whispered, her hand slowly running up and down his sternum. "The second; You've modeled for the company." Her voice had grown quieter, more seductive and breathy as his body heat began to transfer onto her. Maria's dress had begun to get a bit too stuffy. "And the last hint...." She reached up, placing her dainty hand on the back of his head and slowly pulling him toward her. Her lips captured his in a slow, tantalizing kiss. She could taste the alcohol on his lips, the scent of him making her dizzy before she pulled back just slightly.

"You'll only see it when you strip a certain girl of a certain red dress..." She smirked before forcing her lips against his own one more time. Good, the alcohol was working. It also helped that the lust from two weeks of waiting had built up to the breaking point. So much for being good on Christmas. Between the kisses that grew hotter, she spoke, "Any ideas?" before being silenced by his lips over and over.

Mike knew there could've been better ways to thank her for her gifts but he was so stunned at that moment that he figured a hug would've sufficed. He was still trying to put his emotions into coherent words when Juliette started opening his gift, snapping him back to reality and making him feel nervous about the whole thing. Needless to say, he was more nervous about the letter. Unfortunately for his madly anxious heart, Juliette picked the paper first. He watched her with great intent as she unfolded the paper with utmost care and started reading what he wrote. A thousand thoughts cascaded in his mind then, mostly insults about his writing. You're stupid, Mike. She reads a hell lot. Your amateur and suckish writing wouldn't even be close to it. His attention divided into his self-insults and watching his girl read the piece of letter he wrote. He noted how her eyes moved rapidly and how she mouthed the words with speed. At some parts, the side of her lips would stretch. Still at other parts, her face would redden and it was the cutest sight ever. Mike figured she could've been reading the intimate parts and perhaps, for the first time, she got a sneak peak on his thoughts during those times. He had been completely transparent about his thoughts, about how he admired her beauty and how, well, how a guy would feel upon seeing such a sexy figure. He didn't know he had been holding his breath throughout the time she read the letter. Only when she had given him a grade did he let out his breath and smiled in relief. "No spelling and grammar errors, and an A+. I think I'm learning well from you, love. Are you learning well from me?" He gave her a playful wink before helping her out with her necklace. He couldn't help smiling at that point, even if she couldn't see the look on his face. It was such a small moment, but Mike had always dreamed of such a thing with him helping a girl he loves wear a precious necklace. Mike couldn't help himself kissing the back of her neck after securing the necklace in place. It would still take a little getting used to though, hearing her call him Mikhael but as usual, with Juliette, it was the kind of change he didn't mind.

Mike held her hand as they walked to the table while she told him about wanting to have his letter framed. "Can you please not put some crappy writing up on a frame?" He said, laughing a little. "I bet it's nothing compared to all the books you read but hey, at least I got an A+ from you. That's a good thing, right?" Mike spoke a little better this time. He was no longer weak and had fully recovered aside from the occasional aches here and there but the rest is all good. He could function normally again and his energy was back. As they enjoyed their dinner, Mike listened to her comical stories which never failed to make him smile. Between the two of them, Juliette had more stories to tell mainly because she lived more than he did these past weeks. Mike didn't have a single project and his official press conference about the accident wasn't going to happen until after the new year, so he had a few more weeks to kill. Fortunately, one week would be dedicated to his girl alone. Mike told her about the press conference and how he felt nervous about the whole thing. He told her how much he hated memorizing stories and partial lies just so the media would stop prying further details. Mike didn't dwell on the subject too much, though. He didn't want the night to be filled with his personal worries. Instead, he watched as Juliette enjoyed the food he had his friend prepare for the night. He might have gone a little overboard with the quantity, but it was worth it seeing how much she loved the food.

And the wine.

When she asked him about wanting her to be tipsy, Mike playfully scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Should I remind you what happened in the couch two weeks ago and how it happened without a single. trace. of alcohol?" He teased, yet he still poured her a glass (and another, and another) until she felt content. Mike didn't have something as strong as what the house party had months ago so he didn't feel too worried about her drinking too much. Partially, there was a selfish side of him which actually didn't mind a drunken naughty Juliette for Christmas but the disadvantage of that is how she wouldn't remember much tomorrow. Mike didn't want that. There was something odd about the way she acted. First, she had been asking for one too many drinks. Second, Mike noticed she was in a bit of a hurry in cleaning the table. He kept silent throughout as they stacked the plates and cleared the table from any scraps of food until she spoke again. As Mike looked into her eyes, he noticed the other side of his girl surfacing once more. Honestly he didn't expect christmas sex because he figured Juliette would've been the kind of girl who enjoyed companionable silences or simple house dates during holidays but he didn't mind Christmas sex at all. As Juliette pulled him closer, Mike smirked at his girl and raised his brow at her. Juliette was being dangerously close now, even putting her leg in between his own which was almost enough to make him grow hard just by feeling her upper thighs beneath the cloth of his pants and her dress. She started giving him hints but the first two didn't make sense. Mike modeled for a lot of companies so he wasn't exactly sure where Juliette was leading him but upon hearing the last hint, Mike smirked and hissed before having his lips captured and locked into a fiery kiss. God, there was something about the way Juliette initiates their sex time that drove him over the edge. The moment their lips locked, Mike groaned against her lips, held her waist, and pushed her gently until she was pinned against the wall.

"You're driving me mad, love," He murmured against her lips. Mike gave her lips a few more lustful kisses before playfully sucking on her lower lip. He met her eyes with his own, mirroring a lust stronger than ever before. The first time they had sex, they were both still exploring their limits. They were still strangers then, strangers who started off in a bad way, strangers who wanted one night of escape. Back then, they were desperately in need of something. An escape, maybe? A night of genuine happiness? Until now Mike didn't know what he wanted that night and what made him want to become intimate with his tutor but he was glad it happened. On the second time, Mike was still partially disabled from the accident to Juliette had to do most of the work. This time, there was no holding back. He was fully well, and he knew how horny his girlfriend can be. This time, he already knew what she can do.

So it's time for her to know what he can.
ir
"You really know how to work my strings," Mike told her. His accent thickened around his words once more as his eyes narrowed a bit and became half-lidded with lust. "Is this another night of letting go?" He kissed her and spoke against her lips while his hands started working on the zipper on the back of his girl's dress. "We can be bad tonight, love," He murmured. His lips stopped giving her own the attention for a while as he trailed the tip of his tongue down along her neck and stopping midway to nip and suck on it hard. She had a week with him, a week where no authorities governed her life, so for once he wanted to place his mark there. Good thing the weather was quite cold so she could always cover it up with a scarf if she needs to go elsewhere but as long as she was living under his roof, Mike wanted to see the mark on her neck. As he continued marking her neck, the zipper came to its full stop and Mike had to pull himself away for a while to let the dress fall down on the floor. Unlike the first time he saw her in a lingerie, this time, there was no shame. He looked at her from top to bottom and he dared to be a guy this time. He actually stared at her breasts for quite a while and hovered his eyes down where her panties were.

"I'm sorry I'm staring too much, it's just--" Mike licked his lips. He took another glance from head to toe (still stopping and staring at certain parts) before finally resting his gaze on her face. "My favorite color on the sexy body of my only princess," he said. "Remind me again what I had done to have a girl like you in my life?" There was a strong urge to strip her off completely then and there but it would be such a waste to give the beautiful intimate clothing a few minutes of fame.

And with that, he had an idea. Mike's sweet side dissolved in a matter of seconds. It was time for him to dominate over his girl and to bring out her naughty side even more. He wanted her to need him so bad, to need him to fuck her so bad.

"I propose a game," He began. At that point, he was already untying his bow tie and setting it aside on the counter. "It's called the 'how-long-til-Mikhael's-princess-wants-her-boyfriend-inside-her' game." He gave her a playful wink. "The rules are simple, love." He took off his coat and set it aside on the counter along with the tie before walking backwards until his back hit the wall a few feet away at the opposite end of Juliette. "No touching, no relieving. If you want me, demand it from me. Ask of it from me. Beg it from me. Do we have a deal?" He gave her another playful wink before slowly and painfully (for Juliette), he started stripping off each article of clothing on his body one by one. His fingers worked on the button of his shirtsleeve slowly until it parted to expose a bit of his toned torso. He shook it off from his shoulders before working on his pants until even that one joined his pile of clothing on the floor. Unlike the previous times, Mike wasn't wearing boxer shorts this time. He was wearing black briefs which didn't need to hold out stuffings just to make it look bulging. Needless to say, Mike was already extremely aroused. He looked at his girl seductively and started running his hand down his torso towards his cock which he fished out from the shackles of the garter cloth of his briefs. He started stroking his shaft slowly at first before gradually picking up speed as he groaned and moaned Juliette's name while looking at her the entire time. "On nights I'm alone... mgghh... I remember you, my naughty girl... and agghh... I do this," he lustfully said as he continued touching himself. "You just make me want to make love to you always, Juliette... mngghh..." Mike continued stroking and rubbing himself with great speed until his pre-cum started leaking out. "Agghh... Juliette.. mggh... Juliette... fuck with me, Juliette... agghh... come on, baby, fuck with me..." All the while, Mike didn't avert his lustful gaze from his girl.

The moment he hissed in approval, she returned the favor by purring right back. His hands grasped her hips as her arms took their spot around his neck. The sound of their almost desperate kisses came one after another. Lost in their lustful affections, she barely knew he was moving her toward the wall. Being pinned against it, she pulled away, gasping in her own delight before using her arms to pull him back in. By the time he began murmuring to her, her mind was already clouded. His words were silenced by her lips, but she heard them and could feel herself smiling against his lips. As much as she loved getting hot and bothered by him, she loved driving him wild even more. With new bravery and a need to sate the ever growing arousal between her legs, she slowly rolled her hips against his own. Gosh, she felt guilty for being this way on such a holy holiday. When she was little, she did her best to be one of the kids on Santa's nice list. Then again, she was basically forced to be on the 'nice' list her entire life. Not that she minded being a good kid, but she also wanted to live a little.

Tonight was her chance to make the naughty list. After all, she was too old to get presents from Santa. A present from her boyfriend, though...that sounded wonderful.

"I don't think I'll mind being on the Naughty List this year." Juliette breathed hotly against his lips before pulling back and matching his gaze. She loved it, the way his beautiful, blue colored eyes glazed over with such sexual yearning. At his statement about letting go and just being bad, she couldn't form coherent words. His tongue skillfully traced down her neck causing her head to loll back as she let out a slow moan. She felt herself going weak at the knees, her neck being one of the most sensitive parts of her body. It seemed he was beginning to discover her weak spots. She took in a sharp intake of breath, his mouth beginning to leave a mark. If her grandparents around, she would have been completely panicking, but now she welcomed it. Getting a hickey from her boyfriend, well there was a first time for everything. His arm snaked around her, finding the zipper of the festive dress and loosening its hold on her. This was the big reveal. The light material tickled her arms as it fell to the floor, and there she stood, flushed breathless and up pinned against the wall. The alcohol had given her some confidence, yes, but she could still feel her cheeks burning with a bit of embarrassment. Not as much as last time.

Juliette would be lying if she if she denied not loving the way he looked at her. She observed him taking in every inch of her body. Her olive skin against the contrasting sky blue lingerie that clad her curves. After about a good minute watching him eagle eyeing her breasts, she snickered. "My eyes are up here, hotshot." Her finger tip trailed under his chin, moving it slowly upward til she tilted his head to look into her eyes while she quirked an eyebrow. At his comment about her lingerie, she chuckled. "Maria liked them, too." For a flicker of a moment, her eyes went soft at his questioning. Sometimes she wondered the same thing about him. It felt like some sort of dream to think someone as important as Mike Romanov, could fall in love with someone insignificant. She was lucky, no even more than that. She was blessed. But something in his eyes changed. Some sort of mischievous glimmer that looked all too familiar. Oh. It was the same glimmer that appeared on his face about two weeks ago. The night they had rather kinky sex on his couch over just in the other room.

And it seemed that they were going for round two.

Her eyes watched him, clearly wary as she crossed her arms at his proposal. Uh-oh. Something about this game made her want to pout, but she would indulge him. Crossing her arms, she cocked her head to the side looking at him with humor in her lust-glazed eyes as he removed his jacket. As he began his teasing there was a silent agreement between the two of them. She would play his painful game. Especially if she got a chance to get a show as well. As he began his stripping, she moved back over to the counter, putting her back to it and propping herself up on it as if she were sitting at some sort of show. It was as if he was some sort of male-stripper rather than a model tonight. Lord knows he had the body of Adonis, he would have been perfect for it. Her dark eyes stayed glued to him, heart picking up speed with every article of clothing that hit the ground. Time seemed to go slower the more he stripped himself of his semi-formal attire for the evening. When he finally showed skin, she felt her fingers curl around the edge of the counter in approval. Her mind flashed to images of the days they were skin to skin, chest to chest. It was as if she could feel his warmth and began to crave it.

His teasing only became more torture for her.

With his shirt and pants gone, he was left in a very handsome pair of briefs. Her eyes scoped out the protruding bulge, and a wave of heat enveloped her as he set it free. It's been two weeks since he took her with that tool of his, and the very sight of it made her weak. The name of the game was beginning to set in, and he had only just revealed himself to her. As his hand traveled down his chiseled chest, she had bated breaths, almost growling when he began to stroke himself just feet away from her. He moaned his name, and oh gosh did she adore it. As much suffering as it was to not be the one touching him or receiving his touch, she loved the sound of her name in such a yearning manner. After several strokes, she crossed one of her bare legs over the other in hopes of at least ridding herself of the throbbing below. Juliette could feel how wet she already was, surely staining her new, frilly lingerie and most likely the counter (she would have to clean that later.) It was her turn to eye up his most sexual parts. Every stroke sent a pulsating need for him up and down her spine. His cock looked delicious, and as the pre-cum began to slick his hardened member, she licked her lips painfully slow just for him.

He began to moan for her, his voice like a siren song to her musically trained ears. The sound of her very name and his rather visual words had her whimpering. Her knuckles curled, nearly turning white against the counter, her toes doing the same. She crossed her legs tighter, but it didn't stop the throbbing of her wetness. Not even in the slightest. She wanted to lose this game and go right over to him and be the one to stroke him herself. The sight of his cock shining from his pre-cum gave her throat a suffering dryness. She could just taste it from the memories of having him taking her mouth, licking at him like he were her favorite piece of candy. The more he spoke of how he thought of her, the harder it became to hold on. "Is this payback for last time?" She whimpered, eyes finally moving to lock with his own, lidding as if egging him on to show her more. Finally, the sounds of his moaning, his story-telling, his cock being jerked at, they all became way too much.

Juliette began to cave.

"I love it when you talk dirty to me." She purred lowly. "You're driving me absolutely crazy, right now. The shyness had completely dissipated from her body, only the bravery from the alcohol and the overwhelming desire were left. "Ooooooh, I love it that you think about me like that." She whispered, biting her lip as she took in his self pleasure once more. "Mhmm..." She whimpered again, pouting as she continued. "I want you to--" She pushed herself off the counter slowly before beginning to take steps toward him. "Hold me, play with me, absolutely ravish me," With each little part of her long list, she took a step closer to him. She got as close as possible without touching him, but she leaned in, her lips just inches from his. She could feel his panting against her swollen lips. It took every ounce of will power not to lose control and grab him, force her lips on him again. "And fuck me." She growled slowly. Each word stressed. She turned and walked toward the wall he had pinned her up against. Normally, a sober Juliette wouldn't have the confidence or courage to pull this next movie. But a way too horny and tipsy Juliette would do just about anything to have her boyfriend go crazy. She leaned up against the wall, pressing herself against it, her curvy bottom facing him.

"Please, oh gosh please just take me from behind. Right here if you have to." A throaty cry fell from her lips just before she bit down on her lower one hard. "For the rest of the week, I want to fuck you everywhere in this penthouse of yours." Honestly, she wondered if she would remember what she just said. She wasn't that drunk, but her mind was so cloudy right now. Some of her words surely wouldn't register. "Have sex with me in every place you can think of, Mike." Her legs closed slowly and she brought her thighs closer together to try once more to stop her pussy from begging silently. The throbbing was growing worse and worse. If she could join him and finger herself right there for his pleasure, she would have. Instead, she bent over a little more to tease him a bit, showing him how wet she was. "Do you think of me like this? Up against the wall and soaking wet, begging for you. Because I will. I can't take it much longer." Her words were turning more into moans at every sentence. "Aghhh, please. Please fuck me. Just bury yourself inside of me and ride this pussy all night." She was a bit surprised by the words coming out of her mouth. She was even more so surprised by the next few actions she was pulling.

Her hand came down, not to touch herself, but to move her panties. Her fingers didn't pull them down, oh no, she simply moved them out of the way to give him a peek at how bother he got her. Juliette couldn't see how soaked her nether lips were, how much they shined from her juices nearly flooding and pouring from her. "I'm not a nice girl tonight, Mike." Her body quivered, shivering as she pressed her confined breasts against the cold wall. "Punish me if you have to, I don't care. Just for the love of God, fuck me with that handsome cock of yours. My pussy craves it...needs it." She let go of her panties, slipping the tip of her finger pass he lips and biting down. Hard. "Unnnghh." She whined. "Wanna taste of this wet, little pussy? Or are you going to go straight to putting that cock inside me? Either way, I need you to do something to me. Anything. I'm all yours for the night. Now that you can move those hips, use them. Show me." With that, she began to beckon him with his name in a strained, sweet voice.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "You win, I give." she admitted breathlessly as she reached down and just brushed her fingers over her clit. It sent such a strong shiver down her spine that she cried his name louder. "Aren't you going to come and stop me? It's your fault I have to touch myself like this. Please, don't make me wait anymore."

Juliette was the biggest tease of his life. Every time they became intimate, she keeps on surprising him in ways he never thought she would. In this instance, not even his wildest imagination pictured her bent down against the counter, begging him to take her right then and there. He never pictured her as the adventurous type. Kinky, yes, but not adventurous to want to be fucked anywhere. Ah, his penthouse had so many areas for that and the thought of fucking her all around turned him on all the more. As she showed her the results of his own teasing, Mike groaned at the sight. The bottom part of her pretty underwear was soaked with her juices, making the choice of eating her out or inserting himself inside her a tough one to make. Mike was so aroused, it was painful to not stroke himself a bit more as the sexual tension intensified.

"Naughty girls need to be punished, love," Mike said, his voice hoarse with the raging desire to be inside her. With a slow pace, Mike stepped towards her in his full naked glory. He held the sides of her underwear and let it fall down on the floor before unhooking her bra allowing it to slip off her shoulders. God, he loved her body so much. Even if she wasn't facing him, the sight of her bare skin kept his gaze fixed on her. "What does my girl want, hm?" Mike murmured as he trailed slow and gentle kisses down her shoulder while he held her waist. "Does my girl want to be fucked right here, right now?" He kissed her shoulder blades up along the side of her neck until her jawline as he spoke sensual words to her with matching deep, husky breaths. "I hope you haven't forgotten I'm okay now. And we're finally clear that we both want each other so damn much. So... there's no holding back tonight, baby." Slowly, he teased her opening with the tip of his hard, erect cock and brushed it along her lower wet lips. Just the mere sensation of her wet entrance kissing the tip of his needy cock was enough to drive him insane. He noted how her inner thighs had gone wet as well so he was sure taking her by surprise wouldn't hurt her anymore.

And that's exactly what he did.

Without a word, Mike groaned out loud in unison of his entrance inside her. He made sure he was slow enough to not hurt her, but fast enough to take her by surprise in such a way that he was already completely inside her in the span of one gasp. Juliette was a little more loose now, but not too loose to allow his cock to easily move in and out. Ah, such a sweet and wet embrace. Mike held her firmly in place as he thrusted in and out of her continuously, slowly at first, but it didn't take long for him to gain speed. Her pussy embraced his shaft so perfectly that Mike felt extremely over the edge at every thrust he did. There was a slight fear that he might not be able to help himself and he might end up cumming inside her, but he made sure to make a silent mental note at the back of his mind to withdraw at the right time. With the already heightened pleasure and leaking out of pre-cum just a few moments ago, Mike felt himself reaching his peak a little too soon.

"Come on, baby, moan for me... mgghh... come on, baby... tell me how horny you are for me..." Mike continued teasing her with his words and with the thrusts of his hips but it only took a few more thrusts before he struggled to pull himself out for a while to let his load out on her. He groaned like an animal in utmost lust as he stroked his shaft fervently until his cum shot out from the tip of his cock, splattering the liquid just on top of her round and full ass. Mike never got the chance to look at her behind the way he did now and just the sight of her ass made him want to go another round. Of course, he knew he had to, since Juliette hadn't reached her peak yet.

And of course, because he wanted to.

Taking the night's experience to greater heights, Mike kissed her shoulder blade once more before walking to the other end of the room to turn the lights out completely. He wasn't sure if Juliette had a thing for his next plan, but some said it was a very arousing sexual act any couple would love trying. Of course it would be a little risky for Mike, being a young man known to the public, but his building was high enough and the highest one in the city, and he owned the top floor. The top floors of the other buildings were around five to six floors down. Hissing at the thought and the anticipation, Mike pressed another button to fully open the curtains in the living room. His window was pure glass from the ceiling down to the floor, and only the dim lights of the city below illuminated the room. This was safer for him because it was dark inside and since the night was Christmas Eve, he was sure everyone was busy. The mere thought of his next act got him aroused once more.

Mike walked back to Juliette, took her hand, and led her towards the glass. Hell, even an act as crazy as this was never pulled out with Alex before, so this was a first for the both of them. It excited him to know that for the first time, he was doing something unique with the girl he loves.

"No one could see us from here, but imagine the world watching," He teased her. He pushed her slowly and gently until her breasts were pressed firmly on the cold glass. He held her waist once more to keep her in place before inserting himself once more inside her. "Mngghh... tell the world, love..." He uttered huskily as he began his thrusting pace. "Tell the world how much you love fucking with me." Mike pinned her against the glass and he repositioned his hands so that he rested it on top of Juliette's own with their fingers intertwined. As he held her in place, Mike continued thrusting fast inside her, reaching as far as her pussy would welcome and allow him.

It was a shame. Her fingers no longer could even put a dent in her desire. Fingering herself didn't have that same intimate feeling as when he did it instead. In the past, she had never really imagined herself thinking about someone in particular when she masturbated. And then he appeared. He was like some sort of drug. That forbidden fruit that tasted the sweetest. One taste, one hit, and she could never go back to the plain, nightly masturbation she used to have. The only thing that could truly sate that deep, bodily desire...was him. The wetness between her thighs, the cloudiness in her eyes, the heaviness of her breathing, it was all very clear evidence of the physical need for him. Juliette could only hope she had the same effect on him. Earlier he had said she 'knew how to work his strings.' But she wondered if he understood how completely mad he drove her. To propose a game like this, though. He must really love to tease her. She liked teasing, but not on the receiving end. Then again, it made everything a lot more passionate, almost desperate. It made that moment of release more delicious. He wasn't the only one that could tease. Two could play at this game, and clearly her own words were undoing him.

There was that voice again. She had begun to familiarize herself with how his voice dropped whenever he was aroused. One word in such a low, smooth tone could capture her full and undivided attention. At the moment, however, the lust clouding her mind had her distracted. She only became painfully aware of his proximity when he leaned over her and she moved her hand away from her lower regions, letting the bra fall to the floor. Juliette pushed herself off the counter a bit, her now bare back against his own bare chest. The vibrations from his heart, as well as the heavy breaths getting caught in his throat, reverberated to her own body. Her head turned a bit as she glanced over her shoulder, watching the top of his head as he peppered kisses onto her shoulders. Every kiss left the spot on her skin aflame and a small, quiet whimper falling from her mouth. His words had her shivering as she breathed out as slowly as she could. She needed to control herself. "Y-you...hahh. You know exactly what I want." She answered, pursing her lips at his next question. She didn't want to answer out of embarrassment, out of shyness, and because he already knew the answer. This was just another tease. So she kept quiet, listening with bated breath as he explained how he was now in perfect physical condition. It would be a lie to say she didn't already know. In fact, she knew that even before they started getting intimate tonight.

She bit her lip from voicing her desires, not wanting him to get the true satisfaction of teasing her like he wanted. They were still playing a game, after all. But suddenly something hot rubbed against her nether lips. She gasped, moaning almost immediately as her fingers curled against the counter top. As a reflex, her hips moved back, allowing him to move closer to her opening, brushing and rubbing her even more. In both a need to tease him, and to try and sate herself a bit farther, she moved her hips up and down. The head of his cock now trailing along the entire length of her pussy. In an attempt to stop her moaning, she gritted her teeth, but to no avail. One moan after another spilled from her lips until she couldn't take it anymore. Her lips opened to tell him to take her when she gasped instead. In one swift movement, he was inside of her. Her voice cried out almost sloppily as he thrust his hips painfully slow. She loved it, as slow as it was. She could feel every inch of his member filling her, brushing every spot that gave her chills. He was taking her in a new position that had her hornier than ever. Getting fucked from behind with his hands digging into her curves and keeping her in place. She loved it.

Gradually, his hips began moving faster. The speed of his thrusts was in direct proportion to how much she cried out for him. She couldn't even hear her own voice calling his name, only the wet, sloppy sound of him sliding into her. She couldn't even comply to his commands, no coherent words could be formed. She was like some animal deep in heat; sweaty and panting while being bent over and ravished from behind. Her hips moved by instinct, meeting his with fervor before he pulled out and released his seed onto her bare skin. She hadn't reached her own edge, yet. But this gave her a moment to catch her breath. Juliette's legs felt wobbly, and she lowered herself onto the counter, laying her head against the could counter-top while trying to compose herself. She wanted more, though. She wanted that release and the chance to hear more sounds of their love making. Both from his mouth and from their own bodies in response. He had begun to lean over her again, and she prepared herself with sexual excitement to go again. Instead he simply kissed her shoulder and walked away. Surprised, she stood up, having to grab the edge of the counter to keep herself from falling. Her dark, lidded eyes followed him as he walked off. Was he done?

Far from it, actually.

With a still clouded mind, she watched as he approached her again. As he grabbed her hand, she took in the sight of him in this new atmospheric light. The city landscape illuminated his body. The sweat of their lovemaking had him shiny and far more tempting than before. All she saw was him. Her mind hadn't quite clicked on what his plan was until a shock wave of cold shot up and down her body. She gasped as her breasts pressed against the frozen glass. Suddenly, Juliette was fully aware what was going on. There was a need to hide herself, to shield her bare body from the world. Even with is words of reassurance, she had become too conscious of the public eyes far, far below. Of course she was smart enough to realize the low probability of someone seeing her-- But she was still the shy Juliette to everyone around her. The teasing in his voice slowly took away her fear, turning her thoughts back to the aching of her body. The sudden contrast between how cold her body was, to how hot Mike's was had her quivering. Soon, she was pinned against the window, getting fucked deliciously for the 'world' to see. No one was watching, but she still felt a tingling excitement. Now, if there was a slightest possibility someone could truly see them, she would have said no. But, there was only the fantasy. And she loved fantasies. So she complied to both their desires, shifting her body onto the glass and closing her eyes.

"I love it. I-- mmmhm." She paused to purr and look over her shoulder, locking burning eyes with his own, "--I love the way you fuck me." She admitted, blushing even with how rosy and flushed her face already was. Her fingers closed around his while she reached one arm back, allowing her hand to play with his hair and pulling him closer to her. With one arm no longer supporting her, she leaned further against the window. Her breath, and the growing heat of her body fogged the glass. Her head tilted back and she groaned to the feeling of how deep her could bury himself into her. "You feel...oooooh--haaah-! D-D-Divine." There was that literature major in her speaking. But the further along they went, the more incoherent she could think. Her mind could only think of naughty things to tease him with. "Make me..mngh-ahhhah...scream. Make this pussy crave you....ahhh--more!" Juliette purred, her hips moving by themselves, the sounds of their working bodies loud in her ears. Their bodies collided, the sound of hard slapping filling the air, and she could feel how it almost stung. She didn't care, though. Her need to sate the burning in her core had only grown between the brief period he stopped fucking her. "Moan for me, Mike....mhhmm..please?" she begged, looking over her shoulders again as she ground her hips in small circles. In response her voice hitched in her throat. Gosh, she was so close. If she could, she would talk dirty to him all night. But they would have enough time for that.

After several minutes of her crying out against the window to him, she felt herself slowly growing closer to her own peak. "I'm....aghhh...so close, babe...More, fuck me...ahhhhh--more." She whispered between cries. There was such a large desire to cum with him inside of her, but she was smarter than to risk something like pregnancy for pleasure. After several more deep thrusts, she couldn't take it much more. Instead of having him thrust into her, she moved her pussy along the length of his cock, having him brush over her pussy lips with every slow thrust he made. Juliette's body quaked against both his body and the glass. Her fingers curled between his own, and she did her best to keep her voice down, but to no avail. Her cries, as always, were loud and sweet, and like a siren she called his name. After waiting so long to have sex with him again, her orgasm was strong. It left her body shivering against the cold glass and drenched with sweat. Despite the peak, her hips continued the slow movement. Her juices continued to coat his cock as he brushed against the lips of her now sensitive lady parts. These movements continued for a long while before she finally moved, turning toward him and pushing her back against the glass.

There was still hints of lust in her eyes, but they were hidden by a growing look of affection. "...Kiss me." She cooed in command." Juliette didn't wait, her arms wrapping around his neck with one arm and pulling him in. It was a sweet, lazy kiss. Her tongues hinting at a small dance as she crooned at the feeling of his cock. He was still hard and ready for his own release. One hand reached down, stroking him tormentingly. Her lips moved to his ear. "Cum for me, Mikhael."

This was the kind of moment he only thought would only exist in his wildest dreams yet he had longed for this to happen in reality. Finally, there were no apprehensions. There was no holding back. Mike can go wild with Juliette without worrying about what she'd think and without worrying about his injuries. And oh, he did go wild. He thrusted in and out of her the way he never did before. It almost made him worry that it would hurt her, but Juliette responded quite the opposite way. She met his thrusts with her own, making the room filled with the sound of flesh hitting flesh. the sound of her firm ass hitting his lower hips hard was such an arousing sound to hear, making him give in to her request of moaning for her though his moans were still incomparable with the way she moaned his name in ecstacy as she reached her limit. Mike didn't want it to end. He wanted to jump to round two right then and there, but Juliette pulled herself away. Mentally he was thankful for this because somehow, he felt like he wouldn't be able to hold himself back. He wanted to feel himself filling her inside, but he didn't want her to take dangerous anti-pregnancy pills.

When she pulled her to him and locked his lips with her own, Mike smiled against her lips and murmured an inaudible "I love you." He was about to kiss her again when all of a sudden, he felt her hand wrap around his cock, making him moan out loud in surprise. It was one of the most unfiltered moans Mike ever let out. He ended up resting his head on her shoulder while his arm snaked around her waist.

"You're driving me so insane, you know that?" Mike uttered in between heavy huffs of breath. He allowed himself to go weak on her with most of his weight leaning towards her instead of himself. He remained silent afterwards with only his heavy breathing and soft groaning filling the room until his whole body tensed as his cock shot its load for the second time that night. Mike groaned out her name.

He was steady for a while. He wanted to speak, he wanted to tell her how much he loves her again, but the words remained unspoken. He was only smiling slightly as he rested his forehead on her shoulder before pulling himself away from her to turn the lights on and close the curtains of his windows.

"You're really a beautiful girl, you know that? Tell me again what made you love me?" Mike told her with a soft chuckle. Afterwards, he walked to his room and took a towel and a bathrobe. He wrapped the towel around his waist before walking out of the room and handing the bathrobe to his girlfriend. "This house is your house too, love, I hope you keep that in mind." He told her with a smile and then, awkwardly, he scratched the back of his head. It was funny how he fully felt confident around her every time they have sex but right after, he still felt completely captivated by her, making him feel so unsure about himself. "I uhh..." Mike began. "I bought a bunch of girly bath stuff. I don't really know if I got the right things but there's a lavender bubble bath foam thing in the bathroom and an unused loofa sponge. There's also a bunch of hair stuff there, I hope you find them useful. Do you want me to prepare the water for you?" He chuckled to himself. "Ah, why am I even asking. I should... you know... just-- I--" He shook his head with a smile. "Let me just prepare your bath for you."

Mike spoke in Russian inaudibly to himself as he walked back inside his room to prepare the bath tub. He made the water extra warm since the night was quite chilly and he poured some of the lavender bubble bath foam before splashing the water slightly to create more bubbles. Once he felt contented with his work, Mike smiled and placed a couple of rose petals on top of the bubbly foam. The entire bathroom (in fact, even his entire bedroom) smelled of lavender.

"You can take a bath now, love!" He called out. Mike proceeded out of the bathroom to start preparing the bed for the night. There was a smile on his face he couldn't get rid of as he fixed the pillows and the blankets knowing that he would experience living with his girlfriend for a week starting that night.

Mike wore a pair of boxers and an old shirt before plopping down on the bed to give Juliette some privacy when she takes a bath.

The sudden weight of his body startled her, but she was able to steady herself before she could possibly fall over like the klutz she was. His words had her smirking slightly, but it slowly melted into a soft smile as her murmurs of sweet nothings continued. Her chuckle was hot against his ear as she listened to him squirm and melt from her simple touch. As sexy as he was, and gosh was he sexy, he was also...cute. Although, now that she was coming back to her regular, good-girl Juliette senses, she felt herself growing bashful. It was almost scary to think that she could make him so powerless, but in such pleasurable way. It was both an invigorating feeling, as well as an unnerving feeling. He gave her so many feelings all at once, it was just overwhelming. With a few more pumps of her hand, she pulled her lips back just sightly as his forehead took its place against her bare shoulder. "The feelings mutual..." She whispered against his neck before peppering kisses onto him like he had her shoulder blades. With considerably less lust clouding her mind or actions, she took in every little detail she could about this sexually intimate moment they were sharing. He was stimulating every sense of hers. The way he held onto her waist, pulling her skin to skin. The sound of his hitched breath so close to her ears. The sight of his hips moving just barely in time with her strokes. The taste of salty sweat that covered his skin. And, the scent of his shampoo and fresh sex in the air. He truly overwhelmed her.

After several rather shy strokes to his cock, she felt him tense up against her. Warmth coated her hand, sticking to her fingers and even dripping onto the floor. Almost immediately, she thought of kneeling on the floor and cleaning the last few drops off of him herself... But if she did that she would want to go another round. It was Christmas, they should have probably at least gave some thought as to how this was supposed to be a holy holiday. Instead, she used her mouth to clean her fingers instead. She would never tell him outside of her sexual persona, but she adored the way he tasted. For a moment, just a quick taste brought on a small wave of desire, but physically, she was much too worn out. With her thoughts slowly coming back together, she couldn't help but feel a tad bit guilty for not holding back her desires. It was funny, even though she was 'naughty' this year, she got one of the best gifts she could ever ask for. For Christmas this year, she could say she got a handsome, semi-dorky--no-- really dorky, boyfriend with a sexual libido to match hers.

After a few moments, she heard his breathing normalize and he pulled back. Just after he pulled away, she realized how her back was from being against the glass window. Not to mention, she was naked and just standing there in front of him with the curtains still very much open. Quickly, her arms crossed over her chest and she walked away from the window before watching him flip the switch to close his curtains. As he did so, she noted the way he was looking at her. It wasn't in a sexual manner at all, and yet she felt like hiding, she felt bashful. Especially, when he called her beautiful. What Juliette couldn't hide was the sheepish smile that joined the rosy blush on her face. Maybe he couldn't tell with how flushed her face was, but she had a feeling he could. Watching fondly as he walked to his room, she turned and went to gather her undergarments. It was funny to see them on the floor in the kitchen, and a bit embarrassing. As she bent over and scooped both the bra and panties, she felt a pang of deja vu. Clearly, picking up her own clothes in his apartment had become a common occurrence. With a scoff, she turned to see him back in the room with a towel wrapped around his waist. In his hand was a bathrobe. She set her clothes on the couch before walking over to him and slipping the article on. It was warm and welcoming, much like the next few words that came out of his mouth. Her home, too? The idea definitely made her happy if not excited. In a strange way, this was like a sleepover. Sure, a first sleepover for a girl was probably meant to be with a bunch of girls where they talked about boys, but this was good enough. A sleepover with her boyfriend. That's even better than a regular sleepover. Her mouth opened to respond when he began to ramble on about buying her bath luxuries. At first she was going to make some witty remark on how this felt like a hotel rather than her own home. But the more nervous he got, the more her stomach began doing flips of their own. Her fingers began playing with the tie of the robe and she began to stumble on her own words. "Um-- well y-you don't have...to. Uh-- ah-- okay...If you really want to." Somehow she ended up speaking at the exact time he did, only making things more comical and just plain awkward. As he began to turn, she reached out and took his hand. "Wait." She prompted before leaning in slowly, leaving a long peck on his cheek as soon as he turned around. Immediately her gaze shifted sideways and she couldn't look him in the eyes. "T-Thank you." She grinned a bit, despite blushing for the fifth time and not making eye contact. There was an overwhelming need to tell him how much she loved him, but she wanted to wait til they went to bed.

Reluctantly, she let go of his hand before turning toward the front door where she left her overnight bag. It had enough essentials for tonight and the night after, but she would need to return home to do laundry and just check up on the apartment. She was sure her neighbors wouldn't notice any difference, she was usually quiet over the holidays anyway. After scooping up her very much used lingerie, his voice called from his room. As soon as she stepped foot near his room, the smell of lavender wafted into her nose. Did he mind so much of that smell? She herself had always found lavender relaxing. In fact, her grandmother burned some incense at the restaurant after closing every so often to give feelings of serenity for the next day. It was funny to see his room again. As much time as she spent here, she hadn't seen his room since that first night. Near the corner of the room, she placed her bag down and fished some pajamas out of it, and some makeup remover before zipping it and walking past him to enter the bathroom. As soon as she shut the door and turned to face the tub, she gasped, almost dropping her belongings. She hadn't expected him to prepare a bubble bath for him, with roses floating on top of the water nonetheless. Despite how much she was blushing, or perhaps the steam in the bathroom adding to that, she felt herself giggle. "What am I, a princess or something?" She asked aloud with another soft scoff, more-so to herself, but he probably heard her. She stripped herself of the robe and found a hook on the back of the door before slipping into the tub.

It was an odd sensation. Taking a bath, that is. She hadn't done it since she was a child. And never once had she done it with such expensive soaps and bubble bath. Her grandparents led a much simpler life. They didn't care much for anything other than the necessities. The only real luxury they had was their own television in the living room. Even then, they only watched the Filipino channel, which was all just strange babbling other than the things she picked up over the years of being nagged at in Tagalog. Otherwise, they spent what they had on luxuries for her. Her computer, her video games, the television in her room. They didn't understand why she loved technology so much, but they realized it was something that kept her busy. As long as her grades were close to exceptional, they didn't mind. It was such a contrast to the current moment. Here she was in a high tech bathroom in a tub full of sweet-smelling bubbles and rose petals. Her finger poked at a petal, watching lazily as it hovered on the surface of the water. From time to time, she would take a handful of bubbles and blow them away in a quick breath of air. Juliette was so in the moment, at one point she started singing quietly to herself. It must have meant she felt at home, because she totally forgot Mike was just in the other room.

She had continued to sing throughout shampooing and conditioning her hair when she finally did remember he was in the other room. Immediately she shut her mouth, hoping she wasn't too loud. There was a comforting feeling knowing he was out there waiting for her, but it also made her feel like she was on her toes at the same time. Was this what living with your significant other felt like? Honestly, all she wanted now was to slip into his arms and go to sleep. It was one of the things that had kept her up the previous night. Not in a hot an bothered way, but in the nervous, giddy way. His arms were always warm and welcoming, and she recalled the night she had fallen asleep in them so long ago. The fluttering in her heart picked up just thinking about it. Juliette wondered if he felt the same way. A sudden dreamy feeling floated into her body at the very thought. Did he ever think about things like this himself? The sudden giddiness and butterflies that overwhelmed her caused her to sink under the water to calm herself down. When she emerged she sighed. As warm as the water was, if she stayed in any longer, she would get pruned and that probably wasn't attractive. She reached for her make up remover to wash the face makeup off her face when she stopped dead in her tracks. He had never seen her without makeup, and the more she pictured herself without it, the more she didn't want him to see her without makeup. Her mascara was waterproof, so she would leave that on. Her rule of thumb was that she would never go in public without, at the very least, mascara. Gosh, she hoped mascara was enough makeup to look at least a bit decent. If she wore mascara to bed, the worst thing that could happen was it smeared in the morning. It was better than him seeing her disheveled and totally without makeup.

When she finally forced herself out of the wonderfully warm water, she grabbed the towel laid out for her. She slid her black boy's shorts underwear on and baggy tee-shirt that may has well been a shorter nightgown. She hated wearing pants to bed, it was just uncomfortable. She had a funny feeling Mike wouldn't mind, though. After drying her hair with a blow dryer, she watched her reflection as she reached her hands towards her long, espresso colored locks before working them into her usual, semi-messy, sleepy-time bun. Her eyes then caught sight of her face again. The lack of makeup was giving her some anxiety. Now she usually didn't have anxiety about not wearing makeup in her own home, obviously. But, her boyfriend was out there. Her model boyfriend, whom spent hours up hours with beautiful models who probably were still gorgeous without makeup. What if he got turned-off by the her without makeup? Even after they had sex, she still had makeup on. Of course she didn't believe he was shallow in any way. Well in the past she did, but that was another story and obviously when they first met. That wasn't the point at the moment. No, no, she couldn't stay in the bathroom fighting with herself. Her hand reached for her glasses and she slipped them on before swallowing the anxiety and leaving the steamy bathroom.

As soon as she opened the door, she realized how hot that bathroom must have been. A rush of cold air hit her bare legs and she immediately went for her bag. She crouched over her bag before fetching a hard cover book and climbing into bed. As a reflex, she opened her book and her eyes began to take in the words on the crisp and new pages. But realized two things, one; her boyfriend was sitting there next to her, and two; she was exhausted. How could she read when she was with someone else? "I'm sorry." she slipped off her glasses, shut the book and put it on the side table before sinking deeper under the covers, yawning and laying her head down on the pillow. "I guess I thought I was at home." She joked with a soft, tired look in her eyes. "I usually read before I go to bed, but that isn't a surprise to you, I'm sure."

Another yawn fell from her mouth as she moved closer to him slowly. She was a bundle of nerves, knowing full well he could hold her all she wants, and vice versa. They were a couple now, which was much more than they were when he first held her in his bed. So her heart was racing more than ever before. Her head was now on the pillow he would be laying on. And looking up at him now, her anxiety about wearing makeup slowly melted. Her hand reached up toward his face, moving his hair out of the way with a caress of her hand before giving him a clearly exhausted, lopsided smile. "I love you." she crooned, searching his eyes before pulling him down to kiss her on the lips. It wasn't lustful in any way, but was long and slow nonetheless. The kind they would share after love-making. A kiss she would continue all night if she could. She pulled away just barely, pecking his lips one more time before murmuring, "Best Christmas ever, by far." Now that he was closer, she pressed her body to his, draping her arm over his torso and tangling her legs with his. He was so warm, which was what she looked forward to the most when being in his arms. Warm enough to make her fall asleep in an instant.

[[I figured you could set up his reactions to all of this and then how they wake up in the morning/spend the morning. You can even make the plans for the day and then we can switch off. Just let me know!]]

Mike fiddled and played with a few apps on his phone as he waited for Juliette to finish. It amused him and made him smile, knowing that she might take a while. Girls were usually like that, and he didn't mind if Juliette enjoyed such girly pleasures as well even if she knew she didn't enjoy a lot of the girly pleasures most girls do. On the other hand, it confirmed his thoughts even more when she started to sing. Mike felt himself smiling so widely, his cheeks started to hurt. Just like Juliette, Mike, too, was having his own waves of deja vu to that first night when he heard her perform up on stage. She was such a siren with a heavenly voice luring the guys to her. Mike wasn't an exception to that. Despite how annoyed he was with her at first, he still found himself gazing up on "the girl performing on stage" convincing himself that he hated the voice if it was Juliette's yet he continued watching her and finding himself smiling and even slightly rocking his head with the way she sang.

And now he was hearing that heavenly voice again, the lovely singing voice whose song stretched on for a while until it came to an abrupt stop. Mike wasn't able to stop himself from laughing softly.

"Hey, babe!" He called out. "The concert shouldn't be done. I was just enjoying it!" Mike was partially tempted to go to the bathroom and check on her but he wanted to give her this time to herself. Sure, they were a couple who already explored and tasted every inch of each other's bodies, but he still wanted to give her some me-time privately. Mike shook his head to himself instead as he set his phone aside to turn the television on. He surfed through a few channels before oddly settling for CNN to watch how other countries were celebrating their Christmas Eve. That gave him a good idea on how to surprise her for New Year's Eve.

it took a few more minutes before Juliette emerged from the bathroom all fresh and smelling like the bath foam he bought. For a while he stared at the length of her flawless legs until his eyes rested on her pretty face. He couldn't help smiling at her. "How was it?" He asked. "Did I buy the right stuff?" He watched her take the book from her bag before settling beside him and turning the cover to start on a new novel. Mike didn't have anything against that. In fact, he found it rather cute so he just looked at her before she came to a realization. "No, it's okay, love. Go ahead if you want to read, I don't mind." He told her lovingly. Still, she closed her book and set it aside along with her glasses. Mike found that very sweet, it almost made his heart melt. For an entire lifetime, he adjusted to make people happy. To be honest, Mike didn't want her to read. He wanted to cuddle with her, he wanted to just enjoy this night with her, but at the same time, he didn't mind if she wanted to get lost in a book. He'd be more than happy to watch her and that in itself was enough for him.

As if reading his thoughts, Juliette scooted closer to him and they kissed like they've never kissed before. It was a sweet kiss, one which would make any guy or girl melt in the arms of their partner. He smiled against her lips and when she told him she loves him, Mike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't think it'll ever lose its effect on me, you know, when you tell me you love me," He said. As he looked straight into her eyes, Mike noticed the heavy mascara she had on her eye lashes. That made him frown slightly.

"Your makeup might damage your eyes, love," He said. Mike pulled away from her for a while, got out of the bed, and headed to the bathroom where he was supposed to get tissue paper. He noticed Juliette's makeup remover on the side of the sink so he took that as well. He never really knew how to work with such things so when he got back to the bedroom, Mike was holding a few pieces of tissue paper on one hand and the bottle of makeup remover on the other. He dropped a few drops of the makeup remover on the tissue paper and dabbed it gently across her eyelids to get rid of the mascara. It was a mess at first, spilling all sorts of black stuff on the side of her eyes and below, but it took just a few more gentle dabs and wipes to finally rid her eyelashes of the black bonds. Mike smiled at her. "There you go, love. Open your eyes." He said.

It dawned on him that it was the first time he ever saw Juliette without her makeup on. There was an odd sensation brewing inside him, making him feel giddy, hot, and nervous all at the same time for reasons he didn't know what. She had Asian blood flowing inside her, that was for sure, and it mixed very well with Western blood giving her such a unique beauty. Mike loved how she looked naturally a lot, lot more than how she looked with all of those substances to supposedly beautify her face. "Please don't ever wear makeup again when you go here," Mike said in trance-like voice. His eyes were searching her face with utmost admiration. "God, Juliette, why are you hiding under so many things when you're... you're just... so..." Mike couldn't help it. He kissed her hungrily all of a sudden and he gently pushed her down on the bed, topping her easily. Fuck it, he was losing it again, and all because of a pretty face.

"You're so beautiful, Juliette, goddamn it you're so beautiful," He whispered against her lips. Before losing it completely, Mike pulled himself away from her and took his place back on the bed beside her. "Now, before you sue me with sexual assault, let us sleep." His back was turned to her because he needed to. He comically waved his hand as he spoke. "And don't you dare look at me, Juliette Torres! I'm practicing self control here and so God help me." He raised his head up a bit and then he took his pillow, placed it over his head and buried his head under it.

"You drive me so insane, love." A murmur came from under the pillow.

Here she was very keen on going to bed. But all of a sudden he began to go on about her eye makeup and how it could damage her eyes. One night of wearing mascara on her eyes wouldn't ruin them. As soon as he began to move out of the bed she shot up and reached out to stop him. "Mike, wait!" She protested, but to no avail. He was already in the bathroom by the time she opened her mouth again. With a frustrated huff, she brought her knees to her chest and sat there in what looked like an upright fetal position. Her stomach began doing uncomfortable flips. The last time she didn't wear makeup in front of anyone (except her family, obviously) was...the beginning of middle school. It was a reflex wearing it now, routine. Now that she thought about it, it said a lot about her confidence as well. Then again, she really liked makeup. It was the one freedom she had compared to other girls. Other girls could wear short skirts and tank tops in public, at least she could wear eyeliner and lipstick. At this moment, the issue wasn't freedom. It was the fact she was too self conscious to have her boyfriend look at her face without something as minuscule as mascara on her eyelashes. As he came out of the bathroom with her makeup remover and some tissue she began to finally protest. "I'll be fine. One night of mascara won't do anyth--"

Something very cold and very wet hit her eye, startling her into being quiet. Clearly he was not taking no for an answer. "Mike, I could do it myself." she murmured quietly, clearly defeated. So there she sat, arms wrapped around her legs and biting her lip and grimacing. Finally, she felt the tissue being pulled away. His voice was inviting, but for a few silent moments she didn't make an effort to open her eyes. Juliette realized that she couldn't hide her face from her boyfriend forever. Slowly, she opened one eye cautiously, than the other. They had been shut so tight that it took a second for them to adjust. But there he was, looking at her expectantly. Immediately, she looked away, he could surely see how apprehensive she was, how scared she was. He didn't say anything for a long time which obviously didn't make her feel any better. Was it really that bad? Her eyes closed tightly and she pursed her lips. "Please don't stare." She whispered and opened her eyes to find him staring very intensely at her. To her surprise, the look in his eyes was far from disgust. His eyes poured into her so intensely that she thought of looking away again. All she wanted to know was what he was thinking.

And what he was thinking told her she had nothing to fear.

The relief was slow, but then came all at once with a flood of happiness and sheepishness. The apprehension melted away from her face until she was absolutely glowing. "R-Really?" She asked unconsciously out loud. Her makeup-less eyes were lit as she let out a bright, free laugh at his request. "You are going to be disappointed. I actually like makeup. But...I'll consider it." She teased before cocking her head to the side with a sweet look in her eyes. "I'm so what...?" She whispered before being overwhelmed with a very fierce kiss. Before she knew, she was being pinned to the bed, breathless and surprised. His words sparked that deep, heated feeling in her core. The words were meant to be sweet, adoring, but there was something in his voice. "Thank you." She whispered just as heatedly. There was restraint, though. Juliette was exhausted from running around like a nut just that morning to get ready to go to his house and worrying about if he would like his present. Not to mention the heated sex they had maybe an hour ago. She had begun to reach for his tee-shirt to pull him down to kiss her again when he turned over and faced away from her. Although disappointed, she found herself chuckling when he buried his head under a pillow.

"Huh, I guess no cuddling for you." She feigned nonchalantly. Really, she would be very disappointed if he didn't hold her in his arms tonight. She grabbed the pillow, moving it off of him before leaning over him and planting a kiss on the side of his head and whispering in his ear. "Could you at least close your eyes and face me then? You don't have to look, I just..." She swallowed her embarrassment, feeling herself blushing before she could even speak. "I just kinda wanted to sleep in your arms..." She admitted almost inaudibly in his ear. "But, I guess if you don't want to--" Her voice trailed off as she set the pillow back on his head. That seemed to catch his attention. In a matter of moments, she got what she wanted. For the second time since she met him, she fell asleep almost instantly in his embrace, happy and content.

--

Waking up, the first thing that pulled her to consciousness was a familiar smell. It was a comforting smell: masculine and mature. His cologne from the other night mixed in with his bedspread. Still half-asleep, she absently pulled herself closer to the smell, as well as the warmth enveloping her. At home she usually did this with blankets. But blankets didn't wrap around her like this warmth seemed to do. The realization of where she was and who she was with slowly sank in, but she didn't open her eyes. His heart beat was loud and steady against one of her ears. The beating had been so repetitive, she thought it almost like a white noise. It drowned silence out, and was comforting enough to get her to sleep. From the other ear, she could hear him breathing, his face nearly buried in her sprawled out locks of ebony hair. She could feel the rise and fall of her sleeping partner's chest from beneath her arm. Meanwhile, his arm wrapped around her upper body, keeping her close and snug against him. Consciousness slowly began to set in and reluctantly she opened her dark eyes. All she saw was blurry outlines of the room around her. What made it worse was she didn't have her glasses. Out of reflex, she began to turn to reach for them--

She couldn't move.

His arm kept her firmly secure within his grasp. Her lips curled into an amused grin as she carefully, just barely tilted her head upwards. Hopefully the movement of her head wouldn't stir him. For a second, she thought about waking him up and poking fun at him, but catching a look at his sleeping face, she found herself content with just letting him sleep. He had such an angelic, peaceful look to him, despite actually being a monster in bed and sometimes incredibly mischievous. The longer she studied him, the more she contemplated how odd it was she could see this side of him. He was a man whom millions, maybe trillions of eyes had laid upon, and yet they would never see him through her eyes. It would be a lie if she denied wanting to be the only person who knew Mikhael Romanov. With so much stress of keeping up an image, a facade, and on top of dealing with the media's constant pestering and prodding about his career, "You must be so tired." She murmured as she reached up and affectionately shifted a few stands of sandy hair from over his eyes.

After a few moments more of playing with his hair, she knew she needed to get moving or else she would fall asleep again. Craning her neck, she planted the softest of kisses against his lips before beginning to maneuver herself from his hold on her. Juliette recalled being able to escape his hold on her the last time she slept in his arms so long ago. Small, cautious movements were getting her now where. In fact, he may have even tightened his hold. With a quiet huff, she realized she decided to risk him waking up. She had a non-celebrity, daily routine to follow. First, a shower. Then breakfast. Then usually she got to school, or did housework on the weekends. But that wasn't the case being that she was in her celebrity boyfriend's penthouse. Maybe she would just read. First, she seriously needed to move. Biting her lip, she took his arm and pushed it off of her. Stopping mid-way to see if he stirred. Nothing. After that, she untangled her legs from his own and finally was able to sit up and stretch. Even after several more not-so- quiet movements he still slept like some sort of animal in hibernation. With a smirk, she clicked her tongue and entered the bathroom.

Taking a shower would be much quicker than taking a bath. Besides, if she took a bath she may fall asleep. The smell of lavender lingered, making her already wanting to climb back in bed. Setting her clothes on the counter she walked over to what looked like a very complicated looking shower. First of all, it was giant. It was the size of a two bathroom stalls put together. On top of that, it was surrounded by glass. Aka see through. Juliette was still getting over the fact she was in her boyfriend's house, let alone using his bathroom. At least with the alcohol last night she felt a bit more relaxed. But here she was naked and standing in the middle of a transparent shower. There were two nozzles. One obviously for cold water and the other for hot. The problem was figuring out what temperature was warm enough, and how fast the water heated. Apprehensively, she reached for one nozzle, turning it halfway and being rewarded with FREEZING water that rushed out of the shower head at ungodly speeds. Immediately she yelped before slapping her hand over her mouth. Oh gosh. What if she woke Mike up? He had been able to hear her singing last night, and her voice wasn't especially quiet. Hopefully he continued sleeping like a baby. After a few moments of hugging herself, drenched and shivering, the water warmed up to a comfortable temperature. The water pressure was rougher than she was use to. Then again, she lived in a standard apartment. What was different was how the sound echoed off of the glass walls of she could, she would perform an entire musical. But out of courtesy for her slumbering boyfriend, and obvious embarrassment if she were to do so, she kept to humming as softly as possible.

[[OOC: I totally meant to elaborate farther than this. But I'm sick (my brain isn't working too well haha) and I figured something comical between the two could be funny. Heck, I wouldn't mind if you even turned it into something steamy. I just wanted to at least get a reply out there. Hope this works! I did the rest of this on my phone, so I'm sorry if it's a jumbled up mess]]

It wasn't the first time Mike slept with someone in his arms but at that night, spooning the girl he loved the most, it was the first night he felt completely at ease. It was a night he knew he didn't have to forget in the morning because let's face it, even Alex refuses to acknowledge the friends-with-benefits kind of relationship they had and between them, when morning comes, it was as if the night full of emotions and vulnerability didn't happen at all.

This time, with Juliette, there was no need to forget.

When Mike felt the empty space beside him the following morning, he felt his heart clench inside instinctively and he almost screamed out her name but as the memories of Christmas Eve came crashing back, he let out a sigh of relief and figured she must have gone to the living room, or made some breakfast, or-- shower. Mike smacked his forehead at the idea that he didn't even hear the flowing water at once upon waking up. He glanced at the closed door of his bathroom and smiled to himself but just as he attempted to pull the covers back to close his eyes again, he heard her screaming inside.

"Juliette!" Mike called out, throwing the heavy covers away to run to the bathroom. He was thankful it wasn't locked but at that very moment, he wondered if it was right to crash in like that. Needless to say she was fine, and perhaps it was only the cold water surprising her, but he just stood there and marveled at her body for a second or two before clearing his throat.

"I uhh..." Another clearing of the throat. "I'm sorry, I thought... you know... something happened to you in there." He looked away, scratched the back of his head, and proceeded to walk to the sink to wash up. He splashed cold water on his face for no other reason than pulling his himself together. Mike also brushed his teeth and rinsed out the remains with mouth wash before facing another dilemma: to go back to the room and give her the privacy she needed or--

One more peek wouldn't hurt.

He glanced sideways and molested every inch of her body with his stare. Mike looked away again and had another internal battle between the decent thing to do and, well, something else entirely.

Screw it.

Mike pretended to do some more morning rituals until he found the perfect timing, specifically when his girlfriend was massaging her hair with shampoo. Mike silently walked towards the shower area of his bathroom and stepped inside, allowing the warm water to drench the only clothing he had on his body: a thin white undershirt and navy blue plaid boxers. He then reached out for the soap, lathed a bit on his the palm of his hands, and started running his soaped hands along her body. Screw her sexiness and man's psychology and urge of always wanting to touch a female's sexy body.

"Don't mind me," He breathed out from behind her, a little too inviting than what he intended to. "I'm just helping out."

His hands traveled from the sides of her hips towards the middle until both hands were dangerously close to her female parts but he smirked and allowed the tips of his fingers to touch the sides of her pussy in such a teasing featherlight manner. Eventually, his hands traveled back to the sides of her body and hovered upwards until he found her breasts which he lightly held with both of his hands, still pretending that his sole purpose was to help her with her morning shower. The temptation of allowing his hands to hover downwards once more urged him almost to do it but he let decency win this time. Without a hint of lust lingering in his mind, Mike smiled as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist and he had his chin rested on her shoulder.

"I could get used to this," He murmured softly. The sweet moment lingered a little while longer until he found himself contented, having the moment end with a sweet kiss on her cheek.

Wordlessly, Mike stepped out of the shower and out of his wet clothes. He used the robe he lent Juliette the night before to keep his body covered, although it amused him to think if she'd prefer having an aproned boyfriend with nothing underneath to cook her breakfast. Mike dismissed the silly thought with a smile.

"I'll meet you here in a while, love! And remember, no makeup!" He called out as soon as he stepped out of the bathroom.

Cooking, or rather how much to cook, had always been a problem for Mike. For so long he had only cooked for himself and there were times he was rarely home so Mike spent a good five minutes figuring what to cook and how much to cook. He took time pacing back and forth along the counter, opening up random cupboards, scouting the refrigerator, and staring blankly into space before settling for common breakfast food. Today's menu included sausages, sunny side up eggs, bacon, and pancakes with butter and syrup. Mike knew no one can say no to breakfast food so he figured she would love what he had prepared. In fact, he was already smiling and setting the table when it dawned on him that perhaps he cooked a little too much. What if she was watching her figure? It was a funny thought for a model to think considering how he should be the one on weight and body watch but it had been a personal tradition for him to spare the Holidays with such necessities. Mike sighed and hoped she wouldn't find it too much.

As soon as both plates containing two pieces of pancakes with bacons, sausages, and eggs on the side were set, Mike took his seat on the table. The excess food were neatly prepared on the counter just in case anyone would want a next round or two.

He turned the television on as he waited and as if fate was mocking him, it was exactly on the showbiz portion of the morning news. He heard Alex's voice and saw her face. The clip must have been taped beforehand because Mike was sure Alex left for Paris to spend it with some guy she was dating. Or fucking.

"And is it alright if ask about Mike? How is he after the accident?" The young female reporter asked.

"Mike is better, and is recovering extremely well. We're just waiting for the holidays to finish before we give our press conference about the matter," Alex professionally responded.

"Will Mike still continue his career? Is he still able to?" Asked the reporter. Mike's finger unconsciously traced the scar slicing his skin from just a few millimeters above his eyebrows down along just the side of his eye stretching towards the middle until his cheekbone. It had healed and dried up will but it is undeniably there.

"Yes, yes he is still able to." He heard Alex say.

"Well I'm sure his fans are going to be very, very happy about that. And where's Mike now?" Mike clenched the remote control in utmost irritation. The reporter was asking too much and it reminded him stupidly about how his life really is. It was an ice cold water washing over the warmth of his happiness. Was he really selfish enough to drag Juliette into this kind of life? If he loved her so much, he should keep a distance. He should keep her in the shadows, and by doing so, he shouldn't shower her with all his love.

But he can't.

"Mike is somewhere in this world now, and I'm pretty sure he's enjoying his break. He--" Mike turned the television off, let out an ang angry scoff, and internalized himself to make the morning good again.