by I. T. Lucas
The other option was that she wasn’t letting herself feel, and since he knew she was adept at keeping up mental barriers, he speculated that it shouldn’t be too difficult for her to block her emotions even from herself.
Surprising him, Ella threaded her arm through his and leaned her head on his bicep. “Don’t mind what Wonder said. She got carried away. It’s perfectly natural for you to want to keep me safe. I get it, because I feel the same about you. Remember our fight from yesterday? I didn’t want you to accompany me to Georgetown because I was afraid for you.”
He arched a brow. “That was a fight? I wasn’t aware of it.”
“You were angry at me, and I didn’t like it. I call it a fight.”
He patted her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“We also promised each other not to apologize so much.”
Damn, she was confusing him. “What should I say then?”
“We need to find code words to replace sorry. I wouldn’t mind you admitting to behaving like an ass.”
He chuckled. “So instead of saying I’m sorry, I should say I’m an ass?”
“Or I was an ass. That works too.”
He leaned and kissed the top of her head. “I was an ass. Happy?”
“Yes, thank you. And I was an ass too. Now we are even, and we can erase that silly spat from our memories.”
As they neared his house, they were greeted by the sounds of piano playing. “Ray is up.”
“He plays so beautifully.” Ella sighed. “But he’s such a different person than what he lets out through his music. Hearing those sounds, I would have expected a shy, gentle, artist type. Instead, he acts like a juvenile delinquent. He reminds me of that guy I dated in high school who offered to buy my panties from me.”
Julian growled. “What sort of perverted game was he playing?”
She laughed. “Despite his panty fetish, he was actually not a bad guy. Jim was harmless, so you can stop making that weird sound in your throat.”
“What sound?”
“You were growling, Julian.”
“Oh, that sound.” He winked and opened the door.
Acknowledging them with a nod, Ray kept on playing.
Ella waved. “Hi, Ray. Don’t mind us. We will be in Julian’s room.”
That hadn’t been Julian’s plan. If he wanted to keep his hands off her, the living room was a better choice.
“That’s where your computer is, right?” She headed down the corridor.
“It’s a laptop. I could’ve brought it out to the living room. The place doesn’t belong to Ray.”
She pushed the door open and got inside. “I don’t want to interrupt his practice.” She sat on his bed and grabbed one of the decorative pillows. “And your room is always so neat. I wanted to see if it was messy at least on the weekends.”
Julian went over to his desk. “My mother programmed me to never leave my room without making the bed first. She says it helps start the day right.”
“There is something to that. Your mom is a smart lady. Bossy as hell, but I like her. She has a spot on my badass girl team.”
He took the laptop and brought it over to the bed. “So now it’s a whole team? Who are the members?”
“Eva, Carol, Tessa, Amanda, Wonder, your mother. I’m sure that when I get to know more people, I will find others to add to my list.”
“What about your mother?”
Ella waved a dismissive hand. “Vivian is a scaredy cat. I love her, but she is not a badass. She is too nice and sweet for that.”
“You are nice too.”
Ella made a face. “I’m working on it.”
“On not being nice?”
Kicking off her boots, she pulled her legs up on top of the bed and lay on her side. “It’s a real handicap. Like when someone is rude to me, and I can’t force myself to say something nasty back. I keep thinking about it later and getting angry at myself for not being assertive enough.”
Trying to ignore the way her sweater was stretched tight over her breasts, Julian opened his laptop and searched for a mock application they could fill in. “Next time someone is rude to you, tell me, and I’ll beat him up.”
She chuckled. “I believe you. After what happened in the halfway house, I know you would. But what if the offender is a girl?”
“Then you’re on your own. I’m not going to beat up a woman.”
“That’s chauvinistic.”
Was she teasing him? It was hard to tell. The imp kept her expression neutral.
He arched a brow. “So, let me get it straight. To prove that I am a feminist I have to beat up a girl? That’s absurd.”
Ella plopped to her back. “If you haven’t noticed, we live in an absurd world.”
He lifted his eyes from the laptop. “What do you mean? Not that I disagree, but I’m curious to hear your observations.”
She waved a hand and closed her eyes. “I’m too tired to think of all the examples. There are just too many, and then people get their panties in a twist if you don’t agree with their opinions even when they don’t make any sense. Democracy and free speech are dying.” She yawned. “Someone needs to tell Brandon to start pushing dystopian movies and stories about the end of democracy as we know it before it’s too late and we turn into Soviet Russia.”
A moment later she was snoring lightly.
Sliding off the bed, Julian pulled out a blanket from the closet and covered Ella’s small sleeping form.
Her hands tucked under her cheek and her pink hair sticking out in all directions, she looked so tiny and so sweet. But Wonder was right. Inside that fragile, small body lived a tremendous spirit.
50
Ella
“Hello, gorgeous.” Blocking the sun, Logan leaned over Ella and planted a soft kiss on her lips.
The dream was so realistic that she could feel the heat coming off his bare chest and smell his enticing male musk. Both were intensely alluring. The guy was made for seduction, with everything about him a feast for the female senses.
Or was he making her think that? Compelling her?
Crap. Dreaming about Logan while sleeping in Julian’s arms was so bad. She needed to make herself wake up pronto.
Except, what if he had new information for her?
Besides, she needed to make her exit elegant so he wouldn’t suspect her reason for escaping the dream. After all, she was supposed to like him.
Ella shielded her eyes with her hand. “I must’ve fallen asleep while filling out applications. I didn’t expect you.”
“I was surprised too.” He sat next to her on her lounger and put his hand on her thigh.
Ella didn’t react, pretending she hadn’t noticed. “Are you sleeping now? Or are you napping too?”
“It’s night time where I am. But before I went to sleep, I called my friend at Georgetown. I have an instruction for you.”
She smiled. “I like a man who takes immediate action. What are the instructions?”
Her answer must have confused him because he just stared at her for a moment. “You are a confusing young lady, Ella. Or is it Kelly?”
She put her hand on his back. “To you, it’s Ella.” Hopefully, she wasn’t laying it on too thick.
He smiled. “I like Ella better. But back to my friend. He said you should go through the motions like every other candidate. Which means filling out the application, sending out all the transcripts, etc. You need to schedule an interview too, but don’t feel discouraged if it’s for months from now. He is going to try and push it through sooner. He also said that your GPA and SAT should be very high for him to be able to do anything at all.”
“Don’t worry. They are.”
He arched a brow. “Ella’s or Kelly’s?”
“Mine. But I can get them under Kelly’s name.”
“How?”
“I can’t tell you, mainly because I don’t know. But it’s going to be done.” She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for helping me. I need to
go now, though. The applications aren’t going to fill out themselves.”
He frowned, his body temperature suddenly dropping. “Are you applying anywhere else?”
“Of course. I heard Columbia has an excellent nursing program, and I’m also checking several other places. But Georgetown is my first choice. I just hope it pans out.”
His smile returned. “It will.”
“Anyway, I have to go. I hear my mom calling me.” She waved at him. “Until the next time.”
Forcing herself to wake up always resulted in a headache, and this time was no different. It would’ve been nice to keep on sleeping a little longer, but Ella didn’t want to spend time with Logan while snoozing on Julian’s bed.
It was just wrong.
Where was he anyway?
“Julian? Are you in the bathroom?”
A moment later, he walked in with a mug of steaming coffee in each hand. “Hello, sleepyhead. Did you have a nice nap?”
Ella pushed up on the pillows and took the mug from him. “Yes and no. Thanks for the coffee.”
Sitting on the bed next to her, he crossed his legs and propped his elbow on his knee. “You’re welcome.”
She took a sip, and then one more. “As soon as I slipped into dreamland, Mr. D was there. He informed me that he’d already spoken to his friend and that even with the inside help, I need an amazing grade point average. I also need to schedule an interview, which the friend is going to try expediting.”
“The Doomer is tightening the noose. He is arranging it so you’ll arrive at Georgetown on his schedule, not yours.”
“Makes sense. He said that it was night time where he was, so I assumed he was on the island. It’s supposed to be somewhere in the Indian Ocean, right?”
Julian nodded.
Ella took another sip of coffee. “He needs time to travel back to the States and organize the trap, so we probably have some time. And if not, I can stall by saying that my transcripts are not ready.”
“Since he’s not aware that you are onto him and that you have help, he doesn’t need to do much preparation. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t know anyone at Georgetown and just arranges for you to get a fake invitation to an interview. Then all he has to do is show up and compel you and your mother to come with him.”
Ella finished the rest of her coffee and put the mug on the nightstand. “That’s true, but as I said, I can stall if needed. But we really need to take care of my nonexistent transcripts.”
Julian reached for his phone. “Let me check if Roni is available to see us. This should be child’s play for him.”
“Wait, what time is it? How long was I asleep?”
By the empty feeling in her tummy, it should be dinner time. And just to prove it, her stomach made a gurgling sound.
“It’s four-thirty. Why?”
“I don’t want to intrude on Roni’s dinner. It’s Saturday, and he is probably having it with his fiancée, or girlfriend, or mate. I never know what to call the significant others.”
Julian waved the hand with the phone. “You’ve just said it. Significant other covers all of the options.”
“Nah, it sounds too formal. But anyway, how about we get something to eat before we invite ourselves to Roni’s house?”
“You are too polite for your own good. What would you rather eat, another sandwich from the vending machine, or something fabulous that Ruth made?”
Ella scrunched her nose. “Isn’t Roni’s girlfriend’s name Sylvia?”
Julian put his empty coffee mug next to hers on the nightstand. “Yeah, but Sylvia doesn’t cook. Her mom does, and her name is Ruth.”
“They live with her mom?”
“No, but they are very close, and Roni adores Ruth. Well, he probably adores her culinary skills, but in any case, she and her boyfriend, Nick, are always welcome at Roni and Sylvia’s house.”
“That’s awesome.” Ella put her hand over her chest. “It warms my heart to hear about a family that’s so close. I hope we will be the same with my mom and Magnus, and Parker as well when he gets older and finds his love. I can imagine us all hanging out together, having Friday dinners and weekend barbecues at each other’s houses.”
Julian smirked. “That sounded like a proposal.”
Embarrassed, she grabbed a pillow and tossed it at him. “I don’t need to propose anything. It’s you who keeps talking about us being fated for each other.”
Naturally, Julian dodged the pillow.
“Do you object?” He lunged forward, trapping Ella under his big body.
She laughed and was about to tell him that his caveman antics were not going to wrestle an admission from her when he cupped the back of her head and smashed his lips over hers.
Holy Thor and all of Asgard, that was hot.
51
Julian
Julian hadn’t meant to attack Ella and do precisely what he’d promised her never to do. It seemed as if a combination of several small triggers had snuck up on him and awakened the beast in him.
When she’d talked about them being a family, his heart soared on the wings of hope, and then when she’d teased him by making their relationship sound one-sided and tossing a pillow at him, his aggression got triggered. He’d felt an overwhelming need to prove to her that they were indeed fated for each other, and that she believed it too despite her protests.
His kiss wasn’t the polite and tentative affair that he usually forced it to be, he was devouring her, and Ella was responding to it very differently than what he'd come to expect from her. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs parted to accommodate him between them, and she was holding him to her and moaning into his mouth.
Ella was aroused, and it wasn’t the anemic, barely-there scent Julian had gotten from her up until now.
For the first time, her aroma held the richness of a woman’s passion, and not that of a young girl who was still fearful and not ready for sex.
Emboldened by her response, he pushed a hand under her sweater and rested it on her soft belly, just below the swell of her breast.
Ella arched up, which he took to mean that she wanted him to touch her, but since it was the first time, he needed more explicit permission. Letting go of her mouth, he lifted his head and looked into her eyes as he inched his hand up in slow motion.
If she wanted to stop him, all she needed to do was to say it, or just put her hand over his to stop its ascent. But Ella did none of those things.
Gazing up at his face with hooded eyes and parted lips, she panted in anticipation.
He held her gaze as his hand cupped her breast gently over her bra, and when she closed her eyes and bit on her lower lip, he thumbed her stiff nipple and retook her mouth.
Her scent was doing all kinds of things to him, none of which encouraged the slow and patient. He wanted to tear her clothes off and sink his shaft into what he knew was wet and welcoming.
If it were up to him, Julian wouldn’t let her out of this bed for days. He’d feed her and wash her and then make love to her over and over again, biting her so many times that her scent would change and every immortal male would know who she belonged to.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew those thoughts were crazy, and that he couldn’t take Ella from five to one hundred in a single swoop. But right now the part of him that thought logically wasn’t working that well, and the primitive part that had overtaken most of his synapses was roaring for him to ignore everything and make her his.
Letting go of Ella’s mouth, he leaned back and pushed her sweater up, exposing her bra-covered breasts.
It was a lacy thing that didn't leave much to the imagination, but it was in the way nonetheless, and he had no patience to fumble with a clasp.
Instead, he pushed the cups up, freeing her breasts.
Sweet merciful Fates, what a sight. His mouth salivated as he swooped down and took one between his lips while lightly pinching the other.
Delicious. He sucked on the
ripe berry, pulling as much of her breast into his mouth as he could, then letting go and flicking it with his tongue. Then he switched, feasting on the other one.
Careful not to scrape her with his fangs, he licked and sucked like a man possessed, the growls coming out of his throat a sound he’d only made once before, and it was when those humans had threatened his mate.
Something wasn’t right, though, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize what it was.
Ella wasn’t moving, and she wasn’t making any sounds either. The scent of her desire still permeated the air, but that could’ve been from before.
Letting go of her nipple, he looked up at her face.
Her eyes were closed tight, and given her expression, he was willing to bet that her hands were balled into fists at her sides.
Ella was enduring, not enjoying.
The realization cooled Julian down faster than if he’d dipped his dick in a bucket of ice.
Moving up, he cupped her cheeks. “What happened?”
“Why did you stop?” she whispered.
“Because you froze up on me.”
“I’m sorry.” A tear slid down her cheek.
“No apologies, remember? I just want to understand.”
She shook her head. “It’s like you said. I froze up. Maybe I’m not ready yet.”
As another tear slid down her cheek, he dipped his head and kissed it away.
“There is no reason to be upset. It’s my fault. I got carried away and broke my promise to you by pushing you into doing more than you were ready for.”
The haunted expression on her face was killing him, and he didn’t know what else to do to make it better.
The soft growl Ella’s belly made, gave him the out he needed. “You’re hungry. Let me text Roni and see if I can get us invited to dinner at his house.”
