99 — JULIAN ADAMS (POV)

**Madrid, Spain** — *Four years before.*
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Angelee...
What did she just say?
“Argh, it tastes really awful!” She slams her glass on the table, startling me. I blink a few times, my eyes naturally drawn to her red lips. I swallow, feeling something strange in my chest, a tickle, a chill.
*What’s that?*
“Okay, let’s do it!” Angelee says, suddenly standing up. She throws her hair back, making the brown strands curl down her back and attracting my eyes. I can’t resist the temptation to run my eyes down the curves of her body. I’d never noticed, but she’s really become a beautiful woman...
“Julian?” She looks over her shoulder, making me look up quickly, my heart skipping a beat. “Are you going just to sit there? I want to dance... They say dancing is the best medicine for sadness.”
“Yeah... I’ll stay here. Dancing isn’t... *my thing.”* I look away, a pang of guilt running through my chest...
Am I really checking up on Angelee?
She smiles and leans over to pick up her glass from the table, giving me a glimpse of her cleavage. This innocent movement doesn’t last more than a second, but it’s enough to send a shiver through my body. I try to look away and not notice the way she turns her back on me and walks to the dance floor, her dress clinging to her body, marking her ass...
Stop it, Julian.
She is Angelee, the girl I’m friends with — and Mike’s daughter.
I can’t desire her.
I just *can’t.*
My eager hands reach for more drink while my eyes fight and struggle with the temptation to follow her through the crowd while drinking a whole shot without hesitation. Two. Three. Four. *And one more.* I slam the glass down hard, my mouth feeling bitter and my throat dry, even though I’m watering it with so much alcohol.
I’m already pouring myself a shot of another drink... when I make the mistake of raising my eyes and finding her... And the moment my eyes land on her, my heart stops, and I forget how to blink.
Angelee is dancing to the sensual music in slow motion and alone on the dance floor... at least, that’s how it looks to me. I simply don’t care about anything other than the slow movements she makes. Her hands are moving up her thighs while her waist and hips sway, hair swinging to the side.
I can’t help it.
I can’t take my eyes off her... off those sensual movements that awaken something inside me.
No, really... What the fuck is this feeling?
I close my eyes tightly, lowering my head, forcing myself to break the spell. And clutching my shirt tightly, I dig my fingers into my chest as if this could ease the squeezing of my heart or perhaps ease the pounding that makes me uneasy.
Honestly, I’m so anxious that I break out in a cold sweat, and I have to unbutton the first buttons of my shirt, loosening the collar so that I can breathe.
I’m trying to resist.
I’m really trying hard not to open my eyes and look at her again because I know that the moment I do it, I might not be able to hold on to reason.
But I can’t help it, after all.
I take a deep breath and raise my head, opening my eyes to find her standing in the same place, dancing in the same sensual and enveloping way... However, there’s not just her anymore... Another man is approaching, mimicking her movements.
And that unexpectedly makes me annoyed.
I grit my teeth, my breathing becoming short and harsh. I keep my eyes locked on the dance, seeing the man getting closer, dangerously closer...
So I stand up, walking over to them quickly, with heavy steps... until I finally stop behind her, but not close enough to touch. I give a sharp look to the man who notices my intent, this hostility of mine that even I don’t understand... And finally, he walks away, leaving us almost alone on this crowded dance floor.
As if sensing my approach, Angelee looks over her shoulder, straight into my face, and gives me a soft, mischievous smile that sends shivers down my spine.
Finally, I take a step, closing the distance between us, and her back brushes against my chest. I freeze immediately, but she keeps dancing against my body, tossing her hair over her shoulder, showing me her neck, so irresistible...
I snuggle into her body, putting an end to the distance that assured me a slight sanity... And when she rocks her hips, rubbing her ass against me, I... *I lost everything.*
A grunt escapes from the back of my throat, and I grab her waist, pushing her body slightly against mine while she continues to dance, her ass moving exactly where it shouldn’t. She tilts her head more, and I can’t help the urge to put my lips to her ear, tickling it with my warm breath while my palm trails up her flat belly.
Honestly, when did she get so hot?
How could she grow like this?
She continues to dance, rubbing against my cock, which is reacting. I’m getting hard for my best friend’s daughter... for a girl who’s turning nineteen today. And I’m sure she can feel how much I’m reacting to her, but she doesn’t seem to mind... Actually, she seems to be enjoying rubbing herself like this.
But before the guilt gets the best of me, I turn her abruptly, making her breasts bump against my abs. She looks surprised, her eyes slightly widened, with an innocent expression that certainly doesn’t match her movements.
I run my hands down the curves of her body, feeling her slender waist and widening hips, which makes me swallow hard, alternating between her eyes and her red lips.
*Damn red lips.*
“You’re drunk,” I say in a hoarse voice, and I’m surprised that she can hear it over the music, over the people dancing around, completely oblivious to the tension that has built up between us.
Angelee’s hands dig into my shirt, making me suddenly anxious. I wonder what her soft touch would feel like under my skin, how she would explore my body with those small hands... I wonder if it can fit into them-
“You too.” She says, interrupting my thoughts that were taking dangerous paths.
“Yes, I am.”
*Yes, of course, I am...* How could I feel these things if not drunken?... How else would I give myself over to these fleshy sensations, this intense desire that overwhelms me? But at the same time, it seems just like an excuse, like my reason is getting lost for other reasons.
Angelee smiles, and I find myself smiling as well, tilting my face slightly. She doesn’t pull away; she doesn’t show any sign that she’s bothered by my touch, my closeness, or the way I’m hard for her. In fact, her eyes shine brightly with a youth that makes me hold my breath.
“I thought dancing wasn’t your thing.” She says softly, making my smile widen.
“It’s not.” I moisten my lips, running my hand up her waist, my fingers reaching her lower back. “But you were attracting a lot of attention... and it’s my duty to look after you today.”
“Oh really?” She mimics my movement, sticking out her tongue to moisten her lower lip, and I find myself so caught up in this innocent gesture, so drawn in, pulled in. *I’m crazy.* “But if you get that close, I won’t be able to find a company for the evening.”
Her words cause me sudden discomfort, and I purse my lips, clenching them tightly. She raises her hand to the bulging muscle in my jaw, and the feel of her touch against my beard, so soft and smooth, brings a curious warmth to my chest that contrasts with the chill that runs up my spine.
“So you’re after some company for the evening?” My voice may have sounded petty, but I don’t care. I just relax my grip on my teeth...
“Well, just for the moment.” She continues to stroke my beard, her nails brushing against my cheek, reaching my lip… and she adds, with her eyes locked on mine, “I thought it might be a good opportunity to give myself a present.”
“A present?” I swallow hard. “And what would that be?”
“My first kiss.” She says softly, making me hold my breath...
Wait… she never kissed before?
“But you scared off my suitor.” With a silly laugh, she retracts her finger from my lip, and I take a deep breath, filling my aching lungs.
“You shouldn’t hand over something so important to just anyone,” I say hoarsely. And Angelee’s eyes widen slightly, hands grasping my shirt again, this time at my collar unbuttoned. “Something important must be given to *someone important,* right?”
She nods, looking at my lips...
Damn it, I’m losing my mind.
Her innocent expression, her sparkling eyes, the way she presses her breasts against my chest, decreasing our distance... I can’t help imagining what it must be like to feel her warmth, skin to skin...
I shiver all over, and she seems to notice.
“Did you really never kiss?” I ask softly, my breath getting shorter.
Running my hands slowly up her arm, I finally reach her face, and she snuggles into my touch, closing her eyes.
“Yes. I haven’t kissed anyone before.” She whispers with a sigh, and before I know it, I’ve brought our faces so close that our breaths are mingling.
“And you’re sure you want to do this today?” My voice barely comes out.
The truth is that I’m almost begging her to push me away and tell me I’m an asshole, that she was wrong about me. I’m almost begging her to get away from me, but she doesn’t... She just nods with her eyes closed.
I touch our mouths, my lips fitting her in a simple touch, so light that it doesn’t seem real... and I nibble it, pulling it slightly, sticking my tongue out to lick her lips... But when she squeezes my collar tighter, I slide my tongue into her mouth.
And just like that, *I lost all reason left in me.*
My hand that was on her face goes up to her hair, desperately searching for those brown strands that mesmerize me, intertwining our tongues slowly but intensely, increasing the pace every time she brushes its softness against mine. Her kiss is so sweet, so delicious that I’m shivering; there’s a damn chill in my stomach that makes me want even more.
This intensity is driving me crazy.
Angelee is giving in to my rhythm, imitating my movements, allowing me to guide her head sideways, moving our mouths, and damn... they fit together like they were made for it.
I squeeze her hair in my grip because it’s so damn good that my cock throb. I can’t help but increase the pace, sucking her tongue into my mouth, circling and massaging it, kissing with such desire and hunger that I find myself forgetting everything around us... forgetting that the girl in my arms is Angelee, my best friend’s daughter — she’s one of the most important people to me.
When I retract my tongue and nibble her lower lip, I hear her soft moan that escapes with a gasp, and it sends shivers down my spine... No, it makes me so crazy and horny that I squeeze her hair tighter and tilt her head, lifting her chin to give it a light kiss and bite.
Angelee slides her hands down my chest, finding my fast-beating heart, and even though it’s over my shirt, I can almost feel her touch on my skin…
And she finally looks at me with such intense, lustful, dangerous eyes that I’m sure... *it will stick with me for the rest of my life.*