Even after Michael was gone, I didn't wrench my hand away. Why should I have? It felt unfair.
She was the one clearly trying to tempt me, so why wasn't I supposed to bite back a little?
I splayed my fingers around her throat and started squeezing slowly, sensually, like I was massaging her, putting and releasing soft pressure on her carotid artery.
I felt her pulse racing.
We stayed there in the cabana for a while, until the light evening breeze turned chilly and the dark sky above was ignited by billions of starry constellations.
After gathering herself, or deciding she had entertained me long enough, Juliana pushed her body off mine.
When she did, she turned and brought her nose dangerously close to mine… close enough for me to count the silver threads of her eyelashes.
For a second that was both terrifying and exhilarating, I thought she was going to bite me. Or kiss me. With her, the margin of error between those two outcomes was razor-thin.
