by Lexi Ostrow
Julian rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, trying to shake the skeeviness he felt. The water in the hall bath was still running. His anger at Serena had dissipated, partially redirected, but the anger itself had shifted into something else as well. He was afraid for her now. She couldn’t fight in this war. She would be one of the first ones killed. His fists clenched at the thought of anything hurting Serena. Then there was overwhelming rush of failure he felt. Had he known how drastic the war was, how much power each leader truly had, he never would’ve read books with less than vicious females in them. He’d been so focused on his desire for someone special and to finally produce a Guardian, he didn’t think. He’d wanted someone he could protect, someone he wouldn’t mind being tied to his whole life and not once did he think that a female like that wouldn’t stand a chance in hell during a war.
“If it breaks out while you’re even alive, Michelson.” He sighed and sat down on his bed. Did he want to win her over? His mind drifted back to how she felt in his arms and he knew his answer. War or no war he wanted her and had a pretty good idea she wanted him. So if she wanted to go home once the guy found an answer he would let her. Until then he needed to impress her with everything his world had to offer, not to mention prove, that he wasn’t an asshole. Which meant beginning with an apology.
* * *
Serena knew there were definitely items from this time frame she could get used too. Warm water beating down on her from whatever this thing was being a wonderful start. She had stayed under its spray for far longer than she truly needed to. But she had heard voices, Julian’s and the man’s who screwed up her world. So she’d stepped out from under the water to listen better. It had been fairly useless, she’d caught words here and there, but nothing in its entirety.
They had spoken about her going home. The thought had both made her smile and frown. All her life she’d been content to sit in the shadows and do as she was told. She had the chance to stand out from her family and learn a whole new world and she was running away. On the other hand, she was running away to fulfill her duty to her family, even if it meant saying goodbye to the first man who had shown her what passion was supposed to be.
Serena did her best to push the thoughts back. All of them. For the time being she was well and truly stuck in this world. She had to give up everything she had ever known and believe that she was essentially not real. She would have to learn to not rile up the incredibly sexy Julian Michelson and learn to push the feelings she had for him aside or she would never be able to leave if the opportunity arose. It was funny. Being a created being and learning that she wasn’t real, well not real in this world, was far less upsetting than accepting how attracted she was to him.
She stared at the handles on the wall and debated which one to twist to make the water stop flowing. She didn't want a repeat of burning herself, once per day really was enough of that. Her right hand wrapped around the nozzle closest to it and twisted to the right. She let out a deep breath when the water trickled and then stopped. “At least you're learning this world, Serena.” She tugged on the curtain and stepped out. A plush beige towel sat on top of the strange bowl she had yet to use and she took the towel. It was so much softer than the ones she had used before and a small sigh of contentment passed out of her lips.
Once she was dried she looked around. She did not wish to put the soiled dress on. Chewing on her lower lip she made certain the towel was adequately wrapped around tight against her body before pushing open the door and stepping into the hallway. “Julian?”
“What now, your majesty?” Annoyance laced his voice and she felt bad, she had lashed out unnecessarily earlier. He had been a gentleman and she had wanted less, she had wanted a lover.
“Please, I am not truly royalty, not here at least, do not address me as such.” She took a few slow steps toward where his voice came from. “I was wondering, might you have clothing I could borrow? I appreciate bathing, but my dress is so soiled.” She pushed open the door to what must be his bed chambers.
When his eyes locked with hers she watched them dilate, saw the dark brown slowly meld with the black of pupils. His lips parted to speak, but nothing came out. The way he stared at her made her body tremble. She had seen men look at women like that before and she wanted to know the promise in his eyes.
“Julian?”
He shook his head when she said his name again and his mouth snapped shut as he pushed off the bed. She watched him and noticed how fine his body truly was. He was tall and his muscles were sculpted to perfection from his back down to his legs. She’d never found a man’s legs attractive before, but they were so strong looking she couldn’t help but think of the power Julian could command. She swallowed hard as he moved across the space in his own chambers. He was a sight that marveled any of her father’s best knights. Once more she wanted to run her hands down his body and feel him pressed against her. The thoughts only grew when he bent to grab items out of a drawer and stretched to grab something out of his wardrobe before turning to her. His backside was firm and round and she chewed her lower lip to stop a moan from passing as she watched him move.
“Sorry. Here. They'll be huge on you so you need to roll them up. It's all I have for a woman.” She wondered if he was giving her clothes meant for a woman in his time or if they were his. Hurt coiled at the thought that he had clothing of another woman's in his home and the question was asked before she could stop the foolishness.
“Are these men's clothes or women's?”
A smile danced on his lips and he let out a laugh. “They're men’s. I would like to take you to buy some of your own tomorrow, if you aren't too afraid to see more of my world. Actually, there's a lot I want to show you, but given your state of clothing I think starting at a store would be the best.”
She bristled that he thought she was afraid of the world. She wasn't, was she? “That would be kind, I have no currency here though.” She blushed. As a princess she’d never paid for anything. People either charged it to her father or simply offered it up to her as a member of the royal family. If this was what it felt like to be like the poor that slept in the streets of her world, in her father’s realm, changes needed to be made. The idea of not being able to afford clothes to keep her modest was nerve wracking and she felt her breathing slip into the hasty patterns when she was nervous and she was embarrassed. She didn’t want him to know she faced such a mental turmoil and closed her eyes and turned to look away while she focused on slowing her breathing.
“Never fear, underdog is here.”
She sucked in a deep breath and looked at him once more, completely confused by his words. “What does that mean?”
He barked out a laugh and really smiled this time. “Never mind, if you stay, perhaps you'll learn all of the quirks of my world. It means I will pay and don't worry about it.” He paused and for a moment the hungry look returned to his eyes before he spoke again. “In the room where you showered—bathed—there’s a white bowl and if you need to, ah, relive yourself that is where. We call it a toilet. You use that and push the silver handle to dispose of it.”
So that was the item’s purpose. Thank heavens there was a new invention to go along with everything else in the world to relive one’s self. She’d had a desire to do such for a time now and had been afraid of where she was supposed to. Knowing was a relief.
He passed her the clothes in his hands and when their hands touched she felt a spark race through her. “Thank you. I fear I am quite tired. Would I be rude to retire to the chambers you are allowing me to use?”
“Not at all.” His arms twitched for a moment and she wondered what he wished to do with them. She wanted them to wrap around her in a tight embrace, but she figured that was out of the question after their earlier interaction.
She closed the space between them and took a risk, something unlike her. Serena placed a kiss on his lips. It was nothing like the one prior. It was quick and gentle, and yet she couldn’t ignore the rush of e
xcitement she felt as their lips touched. As quickly as she had kissed him, she pulled back.
“Goodnight, Julian.” Before he could respond she left the room and closed the door behind her. She heard him say it back and let out a sigh of relief.
She went back into the bathroom to discard the towel and use what he had called a ‘toilet’. While she knew it was most strange, she found herself pushing the silver handle a few times. It was lunacy and magic, but she was fascinated how the water simply disappeared.
The towel dropped to the floor and she felt warm without it. Back home she could catch her death if she stood naked after a bath. Here, she felt fine. “Time to see what strange garments he has selected for you.”
She was shocked when she unrolled the bundle to see a pair of short pants and a white shirt. She smirked thinking about what her parents and sisters would think if they saw her in such attire. The clothing was so much easier to dress in and she rather liked it. She loved the idea of never needing an attendant to dress, it was so much faster.
True to his words the clothing was gigantic on her. The white shirt fell to her knees and no matter how hard she rolled his short pants they kept sliding off her hips and were wrapped under the balls of her feet. She decided against them and let them slide to the floor. She felt bare without a corset and bottoms, yet she could breathe so much easier it was impossible not to enjoy this state of dress.
She flipped the button she had watched Julian touch when they’d entered and the source of light vanished. She made a mental note to ask Julian of this magic in the morning. For now, the strain of the day was slowly sinking into every bone of her body. Her throat still hurt from the smoke and her arm was certainly bruised from being dragged out of the fire.
She shuffled her feet so as not to kick anything as she left the bathroom to go into her chambers. She had a feeling there would be a light giving source in there as well, but she could make out the outline of the rather large bed just fine in the darkness and she lay on top of it, not bothering to pull the linens back.
The bed in the chambers was soft and she as she lay down to think about how her day had taken a turn, sleep overtook her and she thought about nothing.
Chapter Eight
Julian had never been a morning person, but he was so much less so when he hadn’t gotten any rest at all. He hadn't been able to sleep. His mind had been racing from thought to thought the minute the man in the trench coat had left.
Then Serena had come in and tossed in a half dozen inappropriate thoughts. Thoughts of pinning her to the wall or lowering her onto his bed and climbing on top of her. His dick pulsed to life with the thoughts and he growled low and tried to ignore the urges.
The sun was streaming through the tiny gap in the curtains and annoying the ever living shit out of him. With a snarl, Julian threw back the covers. He had a lot to do today if he was going to work on convincing Serena to stay and himself to keep his hands off her. “Like that's ever going to happen, buddy. Either of it,” he grumbled and trudged into the master suite to take his own shower.
The shower proved to be just as damning as laying in bed because his mind kept wandering to Serena over and over again. To how it felt to hold her, to what she would look like naked and wet in the shower next to him, to the sounds of pleasure she would make. The urge to stroke himself was intense, but he wanted the tension to remain. He saw how she responded to him and he had a good idea leaving sexual tension in the mix would help. Even if it was a little underhanded.
Julian stood in the center of the room after his shower debating what to wear like a damn chick. But if he was honest it mattered. He couldn't lose Serena, and not just because he didn't want to fail at being a Word Speaker again. He liked the way she looked at him, liked how feisty and then how utterly sweet she could be. Whether it was too quick or not, Julian wanted to give what was between them a try and he'd bet his left nut she did too.
Finally dressed, he went to go wake her. The door to the bathroom was open and as he passed his eye caught the black workout shorts on the floor and he groaned, his dick tightened a little bit in his jeans and he shifted uncomfortably before knocking on her door.
“Serena?” Silence met his knock and calling out her name. “Serena, I'm going to come in.” The door was closed, but not locked and he gently pushed it open so as not to frighten her. He smiled at what he saw. She was sitting upright in the bed, still tucked under the covers and intently flipping through channels on a muted television. He cleared his throat to get her attention. Blonde waves spilled down her back and he wouldn't deny how much he liked the sight of her in his shirt. She was enraptured with the television so much he figured it's why she didn't hear him. “Serena.”
“Oh! Julian! I'm sorry. I, I didn't meant to.” She pushed the power on the television off dropped the remote. he grabbed the remote off the bed and turned it back on.
“No, leave it on if you want. However, most people watch it with the noise.” He offered her a smile and sat at the edge of the bed, careful not to block the television. “Would you be interested in grabbing some food and then a day out in my world?”
She flushed and tucked some hair behind her ears before chewing her lower lip and looking at the bed. “I was hoping you would not mind this, Julian I cannot cook. Not even bread. I'm lucky to boil water at the castle in the cooking quarters without it bubbling over and scalding the kitchen staff.”
He didn't even try to hold back the eruption of laughter. Tears filled his eyes and his stomach tightened from the intensity of it. A few moments passed and he was still gasping for air. “Sorry. The image of you slaving over a stove never came to my mind based on where you're from.”
“You mean when?”
“Well yeah, that too. But no, I want to take you out to eat. Think of it like going to the local tavern.”
She gasped and smiled before jumping from under the covers to wrap her arms around his neck. He groaned when the shirt lifted to show her creamy stomach and the plain white cotton underwear from her own time, that looked like a diaper, but he really didn't give a shit.
“Oh thank you, Julian! I've never been to such a place. Banquets and balls, but never a tavern!”
She uncoiled from his neck and he missed the warmth but laughed. He saw her dark nipples through the white shirt and cursed.
Point one for my world, one point for her body, he thought. “Alright, I'm going to need you to try and put those shorts in the bathroom on. Even in my timeline it's not ok to go out without bottoms. Go on and get ready and I'll be waiting downstairs.” He would absolutely be passing her a jacket of his from the hall closet. There was no way she would want to be one of those trashy girls in a shirt and no bra. Even if she didn’t know those women were looked down upon, he knew based on her time period she’d freak.
* * *
An hour had passed and she wasn't down. Julian could feel his legs tight with tension from waiting. He figured she would want to shower again and he had showed her a toothbrush before coming down. But an hour was insane. “She's a woman, buddy, think about it.”
The thought didn't make him any less impatient and when she finally tapped him on the shoulder he smiled when he saw her. She wasn't wearing her corset, he’d thought she might put it on, but she didn’t. Her breasts were small, but noticeable under the shirt and he swore his mouth watered, wanting to touch her. Her hair was a puffy mess around her head, he'd forgotten a comb for her, and the clothes were so big on her he wanted to laugh but wouldn't.
“I'm ready to go.” She smiled and he realized she didn't realize how amusing she looked. He stood and turned the TV off before offering her his arm.
“Your carriage awaits, my lady.” He offered her a grin, a jacket, and led her through the house to his pickup. He made certain to open the door and explain a seatbelt to her, as he hadn’t done so the night before. “I have no idea if you'll know what pancakes are, but there's a great little pancake house down the street.” He pulled out and she
all but pressed her face to the window to look out. The image calmed him a little, her curiosity had to be a good thing. She was definitely curious.
“Everything is so much different looking with the sun out.” Her voice held plenty of awe in it and again he calmed wondering if it would be easier than he thought to get her to stay.
“Puts things in perspective doesn't it?” The few mile drive was leisurely as he pointed out things to her and answered questions. Like what were the colored boxes dangling above the roads and why were certain cars using horns. The wonder on her face and in her voice made him happy he had connected with her. She would have a chance at a real life here and it seemed to him that she wasn't entirely upset with the idea any longer.
Breakfast had been just as calm and incident free as the drive over. She had known what pancakes were and had no objection to sharing an endless stack with him. Her life in her world, in the book, was exceedingly boring to listen too. The author had given her such a passive character. She’d lived to serve her father’s kingdom and yet, the female in front of him was part angel, part spitfire. When everything had been explained he’d been told the characters that became Guardians would become so much more than they had been in books. He supposed that was where her extra personality came from and was thankful for it.
They were back in the truck now and she looked as beautiful to him as ever. There was a happy glow about her and he wanted nothing more than to lean across the seat and kiss her, even a chaste one. Just something to remind her they were connected. But he didn't. He had no intentions of making the first move today. That hadn’t ended well last night and he wasn’t eager to push her away again.
While Serena appeared to be more at ease she hadn't mentioned changing her mind about leaving and she hadn't asked if he had tried. In fact, they’d completely avoided the subject. If that was the way things were to progress he was going to be hands off. He wasn't one to jump headlong into a relationship even if things with Serena felt different. He'd never wanted someone so badly and if he slept with her, he didn't think he would be able to let her leave and he didn't want to be a bad guy and keep her here against her will if there really was a way to leave. If she didn't wish to be with him, especially given the doom hanging over their heads, then he wouldn't force her to if she could leave.
