Chapter 32: Going Home

Crossing the expanse of yard between the studio and the cottage, Richie was deep in thought. He’d meant what he’d said to Julianna earlier, that he felt connected to her very deeply. Just the thought that she was going to be spending several months in the city had him feeling antsy. Maybe he’d take a place in the city, or see if he could stay with her. He shook his head. He got protective and obsessed like this when he became serious about someone. He knew that’s what this was all about: the obsessing, the worrying, but he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He’d have to either work it out for himself, or talk to Julianna about it. Tomorrow, he thought. Putting those thoughts out of his mind, he quickened his step. There was no sense in worrying about that now. He had a date with his woman, and he wasn’t going to start obsessing over things that haven’t even come up yet.

Richie could see lights on in the kitchen. Looking in the windows, he could see Julianna on the phone, gesturing wildly, and talking animatedly, smiling at whomever was on the other end of the conversation. He kept going down the length of the deck, until he came to Julianna’s bedroom slider. Fitting the key into the lock, he turned it with a quite “snick”, and slid the door open. He grinned at the sight of the bed – still in the rumpled state they left it in that morning.

Going into the bathroom, he smiled widely at the sight of a new toothbrush on the vanity. The thoughtfulness touched him. He brushed his teeth, and scrubbed at his face, wincing at the two days’ growth of beard. Looking carefully in the mirror, he thought he looked like a wild man. He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. That’s just how I feel, he thought. In the reflection of the mirror, the oversized shower stall beckoned. Grabbing a towel from the rack beside the vanity, he dropped it on the floor outside the shower. He reached in to turn on the faucet, and let the water run until it was good and hot. Stripping off his clothes, he stepped into the steamy glass enclosure, letting the hot water pummel his body and soak his hair. He braced his hands against the wall of the shower, and took a deep breath, relaxing under the spray.

Juliana was on the phone with her mother, telling her about her trip, and setting up lunch with her for the next day. She would tell her mother about Richie tomorrow, but from the questions she was getting, either her mother was very perceptive, or her brothers had been talking. No matter, she thought. It’s not like it’s a secret or anything.

Over her mother’s voice, she heard the faint sound of her bedroom slider opening. She had been half-listening for that sound for hours now. She couldn’t keep the grin off of her face or the smile out of her voice.

“Julianna,” her mother was saying. “You sound so happy, baby. There’s a smile in your voice that I haven’t heard there for a long time.”

“Oh, mama, I’m very happy. I was going to tell you tomorrow, but Rich and I are, well, moving forward together.”

“Cara, that’s wonderful! I’m so glad to hear that,” Teresa exclaimed. “When I heard you two sing together, I knew this would happen. A mother may know things about her daughter, but a diva always knows when the music is right. This music you made together was right. I’m so glad for you!”

Julianna heard the shower running, and couldn’t keep her thoughts from straying. To Richie. Naked. In her shower. All wet and soapy, lifting his face into the spray – Jesus, I need to get off the phone! “Mama, I really need to go unpack from my trip. I promise to tell you everything tomorrow, OK?”

“OK, darling; see you then. Bye! Love you.”

“Love you too, Mama. Bye.” Julianna hung up the phone and had her hair unbound before she was out of the kitchen. Stopping for a moment in her bedroom to strip off her clothes, she took a steadying breath. Padding into the bathroom, she stopped short, just gawking at what she saw.

Praising the “Glass Gods”, she took in the sight before her. Richie was in semi-profile, eyes closed, head tilted back, washing his hair. His broad shoulders tapered down to a trim waist and washboard abs. His thighs and calves were taut, with a fine layer of dark hair. She let her eyes travel back up the length of him, stopping at his cock. Even in its current limp state, it was a sight to behold.

Julianna couldn’t wait another moment. She opened the shower door and stepped inside. “Need a hand?”

Richie smiled, and took Julianna into his arms. “Absolutely,” he said. He kissed her deeply, pressing her into the cool tile of the stall. Julianna let her fingers delve into Richie’s hair, working the shampoo, savoring the feel. She broke the kiss.

“Tip your head back,” she said. Richie complied, and Julianna rinsed the suds from his dark locks. When the water ran clear, Julianna moved in to kiss Richie’s neck, gently biting at his Adam’s apple. Her hands reached behind Richie for the soap, and worked it into a thick lather before running her hands all over his chest and back. Richie groaned softly, his lips parting slightly.

Grinning, Julianna lathered her hands again, and dropped to her knees, soaping his legs. Her grin turned mischievous as she saw the effect her ministrations were having. He was now fully erect. Julianna couldn’t resist, she reached forward to kiss him, then took him fully into her mouth as her soapy hands found his ass.

Richie sucked in a sharp breath. Julianna’s clever mouth was bringing him close to release. He nearly cried when she stopped to lave at his balls. Fisting his hands in her hair, he tried to raise her to her feet. She responded by nipping at him gently.

“Uh-uh,” she said. “I want to taste you.”

“Jesus, Julianna,” Richie rasped, as she once again took him into her mouth. She sucked hard, making Richie gasp. Keeping up the pressure, she could fee him tensing. She scored her teeth up his length, making him lean back against the stall’s wall, and widen his stance. Julianna reached up to trail her fingers down his taut stomach, making his muscles quiver.

“Witch,” Richie growled, trying half-heartedly to escape her sweet torture.

“You keep saying that like it’s a bad thing,” Julianna responded with a sexy chuckle. She dug her fingers into Richie’s ass, and brought him once again fully into her mouth. She moved along his length, slowly, her tongue flicking over his tip when she reached it. Richie’s breathing became very ragged, and his thighs were quaking. He grabbed Julianna’s head, and began a slow rocking motion, to bring himself in and out of her mouth. He groaned her name a second before he exploded in her mouth.

Julianna drank from him greedily, keeping up the gentle suction pressure long after he was spent. He twitched against the wall, trying to break free from her, but not really wanting to. Finally, he whispered, “Please, I want to hold you.” Julianna acquiesced, rising to stand in the circle of his arms.

“Hi, baby,” she said to him.

“I know this isn’t my home,” Richie said, “but I feel as if it is. It’s more comfortable to me than my own place has been for months. You truly are a marvel. How can you make me feel this way in so short a time?”

Smiling, Julianna answered, “Perhaps I really am a witch.”