by J. S. Scott
“You’re so beautiful when you’re cranky.” His expression was amused. “I’ll be fine.”
Again, she pushed him down. “Try to move again and I’ll clobber you so you stay still,” she threatened.
She scowled at him, and he did the last thing she expected.
He started to laugh.
CHAPTER 12
Kristin ended up staying for the weekend to watch over Julian, which didn’t exactly make him unhappy. If he had to take a knock on the head to see Kristin in his house, he’d gladly throw himself down the stairs again just to get her to stay longer.
Problem was, he really didn’t want her on those terms.
He wanted her here because there was nowhere else on Earth that she wanted to be, because that’s how he felt.
He wanted it all.
Call him selfish, but he wanted her to want to be with him.
She’d been prickly and professional while she watched him for any signs of concussion, even though his X-rays had been okay. Really, he was feeling better. His bruised ribs were healing, and other than some sutures in his hard head from his tumble down the stairs, and the frustration he was feeling from being an inactive couch potato for two days, he was fine.
“You should be okay,” Kristin informed him coolly. “I have to get going.”
She had her coat on like she was ready to head out the door. “We need to talk,” he told her honestly.
“After you’re totally recovered.”
“I am recovered. Sit,” he demanded, gratified when she flopped into one of the chairs in the family room, but not without a stubborn, mulish expression on her face.
Julian had become familiar with that look, and it generally didn’t bode well for reasonable conversation, but he was damn sick of putting off their discussion.
“We need to bargain.”
She lifted a brow. “Why? We have to get rid of this problem before everybody knows. It was a mistake.”
Ouch! Christ! She knows how to bruise a guy’s ego.
Luckily, since he was usually pretty hardheaded, he didn’t take it personally. “You want a divorce. I don’t. How do we resolve that? There are a million ways I could slow down the process.”
“So now you’re going to bully me and throw your money around?” Kristin asked, sounding more sad than angry.
Shit! He hated that. Having her be disappointed in him was worse than her being pissed off. In fact, he’d prefer she argue with him. “If necessary,” he answered, hating himself for being the tormenter she’d accused him of being. But he was desperate, and he knew she wasn’t about to give in.
“What do you want, Julian?”
I want to pull the ponytail out of your hair and watch it fall everywhere until that beautiful mass of red curls is free. I want you naked, hot, and fucking touching me. I want everything you have to give, and then I’ll want more.
“I want you to stay,” he finally admitted. “Give us a three-month trial. If you still don’t want to live together, then I’ll make sure to get the divorce pushed through quickly.”
“Why? This makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. There’s something about us that works. You can deny it all you want, but you feel it just like I do, Scarlet. I’m sitting here thinking about having you on your knees, naked and at my mercy, and I know you’re thinking the same damn thing.”
She rolled her eyes, but her expression was slightly guilty. “So it’s all about sex?”
Yes. No. Maybe.
He lost his patience. “Fine. Yeah. Maybe we can fuck each other out of our systems. Maybe we’ll both get bored and want to go. All I know right now is if we don’t find out, we’ll probably both regret it. I know I will.”
Hell, he’d known that he wanted Kristin for a long time, and he’d been disturbed about it for longer than he’d admit.
“One of us could get hurt,” she murmured, her expressive green eyes telling him that it might be her who ended up injured.
“It’s possible,” he admitted, knowing damn well he’d never hurt her. He wasn’t capable of it. “That’s always a risk you take. But wouldn’t you rather hang out with the asshole you already know than one you don’t, to explore the possibilities?”
She was biting her lip to keep from laughing, and Julian couldn’t help but grin back at her.
Finally, she snorted and started to laugh. “You are crazy,” she accused when she finally took a breath.
He shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time he doubted his own sanity when it came to Kristin. “Just say you will. Then we can start the more pleasant part of the bargain.”
“I’m not even going to ask what that part might be. You’re still recovering from a head injury, not to mention the bruises and injuries you had from before you came here, from making your last movie. I’m not certain you’re even totally in your right mind at the moment.”
“Baby, I know exactly what I’m saying.” His body might’ve been a little banged up, but he was completely coherent.
She crossed her arms. “I could end up hating you for blackmailing me like this.”
“You won’t,” he promised. He’d treat her so good that she’d forget all about it after a few weeks. He hoped!
“I’ll do everything I can to make you miserable,” she warned.
“And I’ll do everything I can to pleasure you,” he stated bluntly. “We’ll see which one wins.”
“You’ll be begging me to leave by tomorrow,” she predicted, frowning at him menacingly.
“You’ll be begging me to fuck you by tonight,” he retorted with a smug smile on his face. She could say whatever she wanted, but he knew she was attracted to him.
She huffed and stood up, took off her jacket, and hung it in a nearby closet. “Fine. Have it your way.”
I just did get my way.
He’d challenged her, and she couldn’t walk away.
She sat back in the chair and glared at him. “So what happens when you have to leave? Or didn’t you think about that?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he revealed. “I’ll have to make a few trips to California for a few days, but otherwise, I’m home.”
He was amused by the incredulous look on her face. “You can’t stay here in Amesport indefinitely.”
“Of course I can. It’s my house. I live here.” Yeah, he knew it drove her crazy when he acted like a dumbass, but he said it anyway.
“What about your career?”
“I’ve changed,” he confessed earnestly. “Fame isn’t my thing, and I like writing screenplays a hell of a lot better than doing entertaining movies. I’ll leave that for other guys who don’t like to write. I’d rather create the stories than act them out.” He took a deep breath and exhaled before he continued. “Xander is coming back here after rehab, and it’s time for me to pay Micah back for being the adult in the family. My parents are gone. My brothers and cousins are all I have left.”
“You want to be closer to them?” she asked, her expression softening.
“Yeah. Nothing like losing my parents and nearly my youngest brother to make me realize how important family really is. Amesport feels like home. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it’s because my family is here, or maybe it’s that damn stone that Beatrice gave me to clear my pathways, but this is where I want to be. If I’m not here, I miss being here.”
He was fairly certain his emotions had something to do with the fact that one hot, redheaded menace lived here, too. But he didn’t mention that.
“You still have your crystal?” she asked curiously.
He pulled it out of his pocket and held it up. “You don’t?”
“I do,” she admitted with a flushed expression. “It’s in my jacket. Why did we keep them? They’re just rocks.”
“Apache tears,” he corrected. “It worked for me. I think it helped me to see exactly what I wanted. I wouldn’t be here now if I didn’t.”
She nodded. “To help your family, and be closer to them.�
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And to be closer to you. “Why is it so hard to believe that I just want to spend time with you?”
She looked up at him, her expression startled. “Because I don’t understand it. All we’ve ever done is argue.”
“Not always,” he answered in a low, raw voice.
“Okay. We had one good weekend. But other than that, we have nothing in common. I grew up in a world where every penny counted. I’ve never been attractive. In fact, I was bullied in school because I was a nerd—a chubby, redheaded, freckled nerd. Mara was one of my only friends back then.”
Okay. Maybe it happened years ago, but Julian still had to clench his fists to keep from punching something. “What happened?”
“My dad was a boxer in his earlier days. I finally got to the point where I could beat the crap out of anybody who gave me any shit,” she told him proudly.
“That’s why you hate the nickname Red?”
She nodded. “It was never exactly used in a fond way.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
She shrugged him off. “It was a long time ago.”
Julian knew it was an experience that had shaped her perception of herself. “But you know the way you see yourself is messed up, right?”
“I’m realistic,” she argued.
“No, you’re not. That cute redheaded, freckled girl grew into a bombshell redhead who is hot enough to make almost any guy have wet dreams about fucking you.”
“You’re the only person who says that,” she answered, sounding flustered.
“Maybe no guy says it, but they’re thinking about it. Believe me. I’ve seen you in a little black dress that’s a cock teaser.”
“Was it you who went through my underwear?”
“Baby, if I was in your panties, you’d know it.” He gave her a smartass answer.
She scowled and released an exasperated sound. “You know what I mean. Did you buy the dress? The underwear? Everything?”
“One of my assistants in California helped me pick it out. She said it would look great on a redhead. She was right.”
“Where did you get my key?”
Oh, hell, she talked to Mara. She knows Mara wasn’t an accomplice.
“Liam owns the apartment buildings. The rent you pay goes to one of his property corporations.” He saw the outraged look on her face, so he quickly added, “Don’t blame him. I told him we were in a hurry to get out of town and to Vegas. He let me in before he left.”
“That’s still a sneaky damn thing to do. And he lied to me. He told me that you probably got the key from my parents. What if you weren’t being honest? What if somebody else wanted to get into my apartment?”
“He thinks you asked me to get your stuff. He had no reason to doubt me. He isn’t the type to just let anybody into your home. I lied to him, and he was trying to cover for me. He probably didn’t know what the hell to say when he realized you didn’t send me for your stuff. He was pretty damn sure I wasn’t after any money or credit cards, so I’m sure he wants to confront me and get the truth before he fesses up to the fact that he let me in.”
“I don’t want men pawing through my underwear.” She shot him an annoyed look.
Honestly, Julian didn’t want any guy feeling up her underwear but him. “I didn’t paw. I just took some and threw them in the suitcase,” he rumbled.
“And my parents? Who made the deal with them? You or Liam?”
“I sought them out first. I like them both a lot. I wanted to help them.”
He saw her body tense protectively. “You met my mom and dad. And they actually like you.”
“I can be charming,” he protested. “Of course they like me.”
“I haven’t talked to them about this yet,” she confided. “I guess I was hurt because they never told me they were taking on a partner . . . or partners. Maybe I don’t own the bar, but I’ve busted my ass to keep it afloat.”
“I asked them not to say anything until I told you myself.” God, Julian hated himself for not coming clean earlier. He could see that disappointed look on her face again. “It’s not their fault. I know how much work you put into the bar. I shouldn’t have asked them to wait for me to tell you. They wanted to consult you first, I think.”
“I doubt that,” she retorted. “They have too much other stuff going on.”
Julian felt a pain in his chest, an ache that wouldn’t go away. “It must have been difficult growing up with your mom sick.”
“You know she has multiple sclerosis?” she asked inquisitively.
“Yeah. I know. Has she gotten worse?”
She didn’t answer and Julian didn’t know what to say to make her feel better. Her mother was incapacitated, using a walker and sometimes a wheelchair to get around now. The moment he’d met Dale and Cindy Moore, he’d immediately known why Kristin worked so damn hard.
He lost it when he saw the tears start to pour from Kristin’s eyes. “Come here,” he demanded, holding out his arms. “Either come to me or I’ll come get you.”
In an instant, she was throwing herself into his arms.
CHAPTER 13
Once the tears started, Kristin couldn’t stop. It was like water bursting through a dam that had been stressed for a very long time. Once it was broken, everything had to flow out of her.
“Shhh . . . sweetheart. Tell me about it,” Julian said in a low, comforting voice next to her ear.
He was reclined back on the sofa, and holding her body against him. The respite she was getting while she was there felt like heaven. Julian’s strength was a welcome haven. Angrily, she swiped the tears from her cheeks with her fingers. “I was eight when she was diagnosed. Mom was forty-five, and she had the progressive type of MS. Every patient is different, experiences the disease in various ways, so it was hard to tell what would happen from day to day. One of the reasons I didn’t have all that many friends wasn’t just because I was bullied. I could handle the jerks in school. It was because I was home a lot. I always wanted to get there to make sure she was doing okay.”
“So you felt responsible for her when you were a kid?”
Kristin had never really thought about it, but she guessed she had feared that her mom might get sicker if she wasn’t there. “I suppose I did,” she answered, making herself comfortable between Julian’s legs and letting her back rest against his chest. “Back then, I didn’t really understand much except that she didn’t feel good most of the time. She had some occasional good days, but she struggled. She could walk, but she always had balance issues.”
His arms wrapped around her waist. “Then what happened?”
“As I grew up, things got worse and worse. The financial strain of Mom having a chronic illness was always difficult. I pretty much went to school and rushed home afterward. Dad had to get to Shamrock’s. We couldn’t afford much staff at the bar.”
Those years had been hard. No extracurricular activities, and no real involvement in anything outside of home and the classroom. Not that Kristin regretted spending those years with her mother. She loved her. But she had experienced moments over the years where she wished she wasn’t an only child, that she had a sibling or two to talk to about her fears. Her dad had always been so fearful and anxious that she’d never wanted to be anything but positive with him.
“So you were socially isolated?” he asked in a concerned tone.
“Yes. No. Maybe a little, but I probably didn’t have to be.” Kristin’s anxiety was her own. Her mom had been fatigued, and she had been having problems walking. But never did her mother tell her to stay home. Kristin made those decisions on her own.
“You decided you needed to take care of her,” Julian concluded. “Why am I not surprised?”
“She needed help,” Kristin defended.
“Maybe she did, sweetheart. But you didn’t need to take on that role when you were still a kid.”
“There wasn’t anyone else. And it doesn’t matter. I’m not a child anymore. I went to school to
get a technical license and went to work.”
“In health care, of course,” Julian drawled.
“I actually happen to like taking care of people,” she replied indignantly.
“I’m not arguing that you have a kind heart, Scarlet. I’m just saying you haven’t had much of a life. I admire the fact that you’ve always been there for your parents. I wish I could say the same.”
“Your parents weren’t ill,” Kristin retorted.
“Still wish I would have thought about the fact that they weren’t going to be around forever,” he grumbled. “I was selfish. I thought everything was on hold while I was trying to get to the top of my field. My parents were my biggest supporters. I never knew they wouldn’t live to see my success.”
There was remorse in Julian’s voice, a true sadness that made Kristin’s chest ache. “I’m sorry. But there was no way you could have predicted what happened, Julian.” Her mom might use a walker now, and she might not always feel well, but at least her father had never once thought about walking away, and Kristin still had both of her parents. MS itself wasn’t fatal. It was her mother’s quality of life rather than longevity that was affected.
“Maybe not. But I’ll always regret how seldom I went to see my parents in the decade before they were murdered. One thing I’ve learned is to never take anything for granted anymore.” He heaved a masculine sigh, then changed the subject. “So you grew up fast? You were never quite allowed to be a kid? No wonder you feel guilty about having fun.”
“I don’t . . .” Her voice trailed off as she really thought about what Julian had said. There might be just a little truth to his statement. “Fun wasn’t really an option,” she admitted sadly. “I mean, it wasn’t horrible. It’s not like my parents were abusive or neglectful. It wasn’t their fault.”
“I didn’t say they were or that it was directly their doing that you feel that way, but you do feel like your life isn’t supposed to involve time to play,” he mused.
“Maybe I’m just boring,” she snapped, irritated by how close he was to the truth.
