Why Romeo Hates Juliet (20 page)

On the way home, Sara was driving, but she kept taking her eyes off of the road to throw her sister a series of curious, appraising looks. What had happened between those two the night before when Juliet had gone into his room alone? She watched as Juliet began massaging her temple.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, worry marring her pretty features.

“Just a tension headache. I’ll take a pill when we get home,” Juliet mumbled. She was beginning to feel the effects of everything that had happened over these past couple of days and it was manifesting as a throbbing at her temple.

“I’ll make you some tea and then it’s off to bed for some rest for you, missy. You’ve been through a lot lately and I don’t want you getting sick too.”

“I’ll be fine, Sara, if I take a pill. Besides, we have to go back to see Romeo tonight to make sure he’s alright.”

“No way, Juliet! You need to rest and he’s getting out of the hospital tomorrow anyway. He’ll be fine on his own.”

“I’m not an invalid, so stop treating me like one.”

“I’ll stop treating you like one when you start taking better care of yourself,” Sara lectured. Silence enveloped the close confines of the car as Juliet failed to respond to her sister’s outburst. Sara eyed her sister suspiciously. “Do you have feelings for him, Juliet?” she asked softly. Tonight, she’d not only witnessed the chemistry between them, but she’d felt it and it had been overpowering even for a bystander like herself. She could imagine how strong it must be for Juliet.

“Yes, I do have feelings for him,” Juliet gritted out, angry that she had to defend herself. “I feel sorry for what I did to him and I feel responsible for him nearly dying, okay?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

With a look of guilt mixed in with fake outrage, Juliet gawked at her sister. “Are you asking me if I’m attracted to Romeo Boyd sexually?”

“Yes!”

“Are you crazy? I only feel bad about what I did to him and I want to help him get better, that’s all. How can you even ask me that?” Sara studied her sister’s guarded face. “I was getting some funny vibes when we were in his room earlier, but I guess I was wrong.”

“Yeah, you were. For the record, there’s nothing between him and I - nothing, got it?” Juliet felt relief as their car pulled into their driveway. There was no way she was going to admit to her sister to any kind of sexual attraction she was feeling for Romeo Boyd when she was refusing to admit it even to herself, because if she did that, then it would become real and then she’d have to deal with it - and she felt too fragile and confused right now to deal with anything beyond getting him physically better. She owed him that, at least, for almost killing him.

Sara watched her sister march to the front door of the beach house and disappear inside. “Okay, Juliet, whatever you say, but I don’t believe you,” she mumbled softly to herself.

~ ~ ~

It was after seven later that night and Juliet had supposedly been ‘napping’ in her bedroom for the past hour as she’d told Sara earlier. In actuality, she’d used that time to shower, change her clothes, and throw on some lip gloss and mascara. She’d then scribbled a quick note to her sister, leaving it on her pillow. It read, ‘Gone to the hospital. Be back soon. Sorry… J’.

Grabbing her car keys, purse and sandals, Juliet crept barefoot out into the hall and down the stairs. She could see Sara on the back patio talking on the phone to Rob. As quietly as possible, she snuck into the kitchen and out the front door of the house. Slipping on her sandals, she raced to the car and put the key quickly into the ignition, started it and drove off down their private road to where the paparazzi were stationed.

Looking into her rear view mirror, Juliet saw Sara come running out of the house. She obviously had heard the car drive off because she was angrily raising her fist in the air. Juliet waved back at her. “Sorry, Sara,” she giggled.

She did really feel bad about sneaking out on Sara after everything her sister had done for her, but her headache had vanished after taking a couple of pills and she was determined to see Romeo tonight. She just had to make sure that he was fine and that he didn’t want for anything. After all, Tommy wasn’t here and neither was his trampy girlfriend. He had no one on the island looking after him and that obligation had fall en to her. It was her fault he was in the hospital and therefore it was her duty to make sure that he had someone visit him tonight to see how he was feeling. She would just stay for an hour, see if he needed anything and then she’d leave. But she just couldn’t bear it if he had no one come visit him tonight; it just didn’t seem right.

Not that she cared all that much about him, she confidently thought. Amnesia or not, he was still Romeo Boyd: wild, partying, Holl ywood bad boy, but she was responsible for what she’d done to him and she would help him out over this rough period. As soon as his memory came back, she’d stop speaking to him again.

The funny thing was that she was beginning to actually like Romeo Boyd, the used car salesman. He was nice and decent and charming, and he really cared about his ‘wife’ too. And he was an amazing kisser, no doubt about that. She hated to admit it, but yes - she was beginning to like him - and she wanted to help him recover physically and mentally in any way that she could. The only problem was that when he did eventually recover, he’d become Romeo Boyd, the Holl ywood movie star again.

She did not like Romeo Boyd, the movie star.

~ ~ ~

The paparazzi had followed Juliet all the way to the hospital and had peppered her with the usual smutty, leading questions as she’d walked into the building. Again, she’d ignored them as Romeo had taught her to do and she was proud of herself for acting so calmly in the midst of all the commotion. She hadn’t felt any sort of panic as she’d felt the other times.

She walked to the hospital gift shop in the lobby to buy some flowers for him for his room. Although huge bouquets of flowers had been arriving for the movie star every hour on the hour, his doctor had re-directed them all to the children’s ward. He hadn’t wanted Romeo to ask any questions about why he was getting so many gifts if he was only supposed to be an everyday, used car salesman.

Juliet chose a simple bouquet of daisies and as she was paying, she noticed several gossip magazines on the newsstand with her picture and his splashed across the covers. “Oh no,” she mumbled to herself. Judging from the headlines, they were all full of innuendo and rumor and none of them seemed to know the complete truth. Shielding her eyes away from all that trash, she quickly paid for her purchase and left. She noticed that the girl behind the cash register had given her a smile, obviously having recognized her. Was this ever going to end?

Getting off the elevator on Romeo’s floor, Juliet saw his doctor walk by. “Doctor Clayton?” she called out to him and he turned. “How’s Romeo tonight?”

“His injury is healing nicely, Miss Soma.”

“What about his memory?”

Doctor Clayton shook his head. “Nothing on that front I’m afraid, but give him time. I’m sure it’ll all come back to him.”

“I guess it’s a good thing then that Tommy is bringing back the amnesia psychiatrist from Los Angeles tomorrow.” The doctor’s brow furrowed. “He is? I wasn’t aware of that.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll meet him when he arrives. Hopefully he’ll be able to help Romeo.”

“I’ll be sure to consult with him,” the doctor nodded a good-bye and left.

Juliet approached Romeo’s door and pushed it open. He was lying in bed with his eyes closed. As she walked in, those mesmerizing blue eyes of his flew open and stared at her. He sat up then.

Juliet smiled at him and came forward, “hello, how are you feeling tonight?”

His eyebrows drew together in surprise, obviously not having expected her. “Juliet, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see how you are. Look…” She showed him the bouquet of flowers. “I brought you daisies to brighten up this dreary place.” Her eyes scanned the room looking for something she could use as a vase. Spotting a glass beaker on the counter, she retrieved it and began filling the container with water at the side sink. “Aren’t they pretty?” she commented, as she started arranging them.

“Not as pretty as you,” he whispered softly.

Juliet turned to him then and she saw that he’d been staring at her with a hungry look in his hypnotizing eyes. Her stomach did a flip flop at their intensity. Oh God, she thought, this was becoming all too confusing again because all she wanted to do right now was to rush into his arms and feel those twinkling stars on her lips again. But if she were honest with her herself, she wanted more than that. She wanted to taste his hot, inviting mouth on her breasts and feel his tongue plunge into her as she ran her fingers through his wild hair and she wanted to feel him deep inside her, thrusting and retreating, moving and moaning as she clasped him tighter. The sensual images ran through Juliet’s brain at warp speed and she finally admitted to herself that that was the real reason she’d rushed back here to see him tonight. It wasn’t to check up on him or to see if he wanted anything for the night or to placate her guilt at what she’d done to him. She was here because she wanted him - plain and primitive!

Juliet’s cheeks flushed bright red as she felt a heat rise up her spine. She looked back at him and felt her body being pulled towards him. Oh no

- she should never have come here by herself and she should have taken her earlier advice about using Sara as a buffer. This was dangerous territory she was treading. Romeo Boyd wasn’t who he thought he was and she wasn’t who he thought she was. Everything was an illusion, except for her lust for him. That was starting to feel real to her… and that was scary. But it was only lust, wasn’t it? God - why was everything all so confusing?

Nervous under his intense gaze, she turned away from him and pretended to rearrange the flowers again. “I met Doctor Clayton outside. He said he has every hope that you’ll regain your memory soon.”

“Juliet?” He called her name softly.

“What?” she mumbled, keeping her head bent over the flowers.

“Why is your face turning red? Are you feeling alright?” he asked, concerned.

She silently nodded yes and her hair fell forward, concealing her tell tale cheeks. She kept her focus on the task in front of her.

Romeo studied her beautiful face more closely. Her cheeks were indeed flushed. Was she telling him the truth about feeling okay? He was certainly glad to see her again, though. Damn, he’d been hard for her within seconds of her walking in and all she’d had to say to him was hello. No

- he couldn’t pretend any longer. He wanted her, plain and simple. In fact, he had wanted her from the minute he’d opened his front door to her and he’d thought she was his stripper for the night. Of course, that was before she’d thrown him into his TV set, and before she’d gotten him arrested and before she’d superglued him and before she’d ultimately shot him. Now he was furious at her, livid even, but the raging inferno in his belly couldn’t be ignored any longer. He wanted her to pay for her sins - yeah sure, no shit - but he also simply wanted her too - although there was nothing simple about it.

Romeo’s gaze traveled the length of her long model body, letting his eyes do what his hands wanted to. He ached to feel her soft skin, letting his fingers trail a path from the lips on her mouth down to the creamy lips of her sweet spot and then delving deep inside her wet softness. Would she moan or would she purr or would she stay silent, as she offered herself up to him?

Romeo’s eyes flitted up to her full, soft lips again. Was that delicious kiss they’d shared yesterday a dream or had it been real? Had he really felt that magical connection with her when through their mingled breaths, their souls had touched and joined for an instant in time? When he couldn’t tell anymore where she’d begun and where he’d ended? Had his body actually tingled all over as her lips had taken his? God, he hadn’t slept all night, just replaying that kiss over and over again in his mind. Had it actually happened? Or was it just a hallucination he’d had because of the painkil ers he’d been on? Suddenly, he was desperate to know.

“There,” Juliet said, as she admired her handiwork at arranging the daisies. Picking up the glass container, she moved to Romeo’s bedside table and positioned it in a corner. “That should cheer this place up.”

As she went to move away from his side, Romeo grabbed her arm with his good right hand and using all the strength he had in his body, yanked her to him, clamping his lips to hers. Like a drowning man grasping at life, his mouth crushed hers, silently pleading with her to respond to him. His frantic lips begged, cajoled, teased, all in the span of three seconds, as he desperately tried to get her to give him what he wanted to know; was that kiss they’d shared yesterday real or imagined? He felt her whimper as she tried to pull out of his grasp and his hold slackened. He pulled his lips a fraction of an inch off of hers and he whispered desperately into her mouth,
“Please kiss me, Juliet, please!”
His eyes implored and beseeched hers, as his hungry lips stilled, waiting for her answer.

To Juliet’s ears, the plea sounded as if it had been wrenched out of his soul and she softened towards him. He had initially caught her by surprise when he’d pulled her to him and when her slow brain had finally registered what was happening, she had resisted him because she was scared - scared of her responding to him again not knowing where her passion would take her. A portion of her logical left brain had taken charge then and was instinctively telegraphing that this was a dangerous thing to do and she needed to get away as fast as possible. Run. Run now! But as she heard him pleading with her to kiss him back, her heart had melted and logic had fall en by the wayside.

Not caring about the consequences or that this was all an illusion, a part she was playing and that she wasn’t his wife or that he didn’t know who she really was, she surrendered to her desire and lowered her lips back to his, because there was nothing she wanted more in that moment than to taste his kiss again.

She felt his quick, indrawn breath of surprise before he greedily took what she was offering so freely, and suddenly the world turned on its axis.

As their lips touched, the tiny stars started twinkling again, only this time they shot through her entire body until she felt them down to her toes. She moaned at the sheer pleasure of it and gently she sat down on the bed as her arms wrapped around him.

Worried that she might touch his injured shoulder by accident and inflict pain, she slackened her hold on him and reluctantly dragged her lips off of his. Breathing heavily, she whispered, “I - I don’t want to hurt you.”

He gazed into her concerned eyes and desperately moaned back, “You’ll hurt me more if you stop kissing me.” With her heart pounding in her chest and shards of fire shooting up her spine, Juliet slowly and gently wrapped her arms around his neck again and lowered her insatiable lips back to his.

The second they touched again, Romeo groaned and his lips went wild on hers. Pulling, sucking, biting - he lost all control, all reason, all sanity and his need for her was all powerful. His hot tongue plunged deep into her mouth, demanding, asking, begging; and she instantly met him halfway, tangling her tongue with his. He felt her hands entwine themselves in his hair, stroking him and he heard her moan with pleasure. Her sounds spurred him on and he brought his right hand down and up inside her t-shirt to rest on her soft left breast. He could feel the silky material of her bra and like a madman half out of his mind, he easily pushed it out of the way as his hand spread over the full ness, feeling her nipple harden even more at his touch.

He groaned again and pulled his drugged lips a fraction off of hers. Looking into her eager eyes, he whispered, “You taste like Christmas feels.”

Breathing heavily and long past caring about anything, Juliet smiled coyly at him, “So, unwrap your present, Mr. Boyd,” she challenged back, as she let a fingertip trace a line from his neck down his naked chest to his belly.

Romeo didn’t think he could have gotten any hotter for her than he had been a few seconds ago, but he was wrong. The fire in his loins shot up a thousand degrees to a level he hadn’t ever experienced with anyone before and with a low growl, he took her lips again in a fierce kiss. She matched him, movement for movement, giving him her consent to proceed with every tremor coursing through her body. Dragging his lips off of hers, he let his lips and tongue trail a delicious path down her neck and onto her chest. He felt her arch her back more, allowing her to reposition herself so that his lips could find her breasts more easily. Not needing any encouragement whatsoever Romeo pushed her t-shirt out of the way and unclasping her bra in the back in one fell swoop, he exposed her swol en breasts to his eyes and he drank them in. To Romeo, they looked not big, but pert, full - and beautiful, and her skin felt like satin. “God, you’re beautiful, so beautiful,” he moaned, his burgeoning need for her in every spoken syllable. Crazy insane to kiss every inch of her, he lowered his hot mouth to her hard nipple, where he began to suck and tease and lick and coax before moving to the other one and then back again.

On feeling his tongue swirling over her nipples, one second tender, the next rough and then tender again, Juliet lost what little restraint she had left. Oh god, how she wanted him and she didn’t give a damn about the consequences. Where was this leading? She didn’t know and she didn’t care. All she knew was that his touch, his sounds, his smells had lit a raging fire inside her that only he could put out.

“Oh my God!!! Juliet!!!”

Juliet heard the scream coming from behind her, but it didn’t register at first, her brain too drugged with the intense pleasure he was giving her as his hand and mouth feasted on her engorged breasts.

“Juliet!!!”

The second, higher pitched scream she did hear and she turned her head towards the door and saw Sara standing there with her hands covering her mouth in total and absolute shock.

“Sara!” Juliet screamed back, as a wave of humiliation washed over her. It felt like a bucket of ice water had been thrown on her, immediately extinguishing the raging inferno she had felt only seconds ago.

As she yanked herself out of Romeo’s grasp, she felt him reluctantly giving up her nipple before she sensed that he too had finally come back down to reality with a crash. Beyond ashamed, Juliet quickly snapped her bra back in place and dragged her t-shirt over her chest before turning back to her sister, whose look of horror was still stamped across her stunned features.

“Sara, why-why are you here?”

Standing motionless by the door, Sara looked in shock from her sister’s flushed face to Romeo’s and then back again. “I - I took a cab here because I was worried about you.” Speechless, she let her gaze wander over her sister, silently asking her if she had lost her freaking mind. “Juliet, what’s going on here?”

“I - I - well, we - ahhh,” Juliet was at a loss for words. What could she say? That she, Juliet Soma, was a complete and total slut because she’d just been on the verge of going all the way with player and all-time womanizer Romeo Boyd? And oh my God, what if Sara had come in ten minutes later, what would she have seen them doing then? Embarrassed from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, Juliet blushed five shades of red.

Sara’s eyes studied her sister in disbelief before narrowing into angry slits. She turned to Romeo then, who was now grinning like a cat who’d successfully just swallowed a big, fat pigeon. She lifted a quizzical eyebrow at him, silently demanding an explanation from him too.