by Grady, D. R.
“The most important aspect of my job is my people’s safety. I love each of them. But you have become a wonderful friend, so why should I not make time to assist you?”
“Thank you, Giselle.”
“You are welcome. I should have thought of this. Then you will also have skills of your own. We will start tomorrow.”
She decided starting tomorrow was a very bad idea when Michaela shook her awake at six a.m. Julia squeezed open an eye. How could it possibly be morning? It was still dark outside. She wanted to rebel, but groaned instead. All she had to do was roll out of bed.
It took her some time, but she managed to heave herself onto the floor. That brought Sebastian’s head momentarily off the other pillow before falling back asleep again. She decided if she was up, so was he. A prod woke him. “Come on, if I’m awake, so are you pal.”
He growled, but she still tugged at the comforter. She didn’t stop until she rolled the big cat out of bed. Julia tugged on some shorts and a T-shirt, before pulling a fleece windbreaker over her head and tied on sneakers. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and gestured to Sebastian.
“Come on, we’ve got work to do.” She finished her statement with a yawn, which caused Sebastian to yawn, which caused her to yawn again. They leaned against each other as they made their way into the hall and down to Giselle’s rooms.
Upon arrival, they found the suite a busy place. Giselle was up and dressed but didn’t look any more awake than they. A maid scurried about, trying to straighten the room, and Mallen stumbled out of the bathroom. He was dressed in a pair of long cotton pajama bottoms, low slung, and the effect caused every female hormone in Julia’s body to awaken with gusto. Suddenly not feeling so tired any longer, she ogled her fill. Yum.
His shoulders were massive, with long, heavily muscled arms. Her hormones purred. His chest was hair matted with exactly the perfect amount. It covered gorgeous square pecs she wanted to caress. Mallen’s tanned skin shone in the lamp light and her happy girls growled at the sight of his six-pack stomach muscles.
Of course, the fact that he appeared to be sleepwalking should have caused the picture to suffer, but alas, she didn’t care. Mallen pulled Giselle’s covers back with a happy smile.
“Well, ladies, enjoy your exercise,” he uttered sleepily as he crawled into Giselle’s bed with a contented sigh.
Julia’s lip curled up in disgust. She grabbed Sebastian’s collar when he made to join the bum. “Oh no, just because there’s one lazy male here doesn’t give you the right to join him.”
Mallen sighed in contentment again and she swallowed her jealousy. She glanced at Giselle, who looked resigned.
“Glad I could warm my bed up for you, bro.” The poke she offered him belied her words. But apparently this scenario had played before because he rolled to the middle of the bed, thus avoiding her finger.
“What a bum.” She wasn’t ready to forgive and forget yet. Mallen emitted a soft snore from somewhere around the middle of Giselle’s warm, cozy bed and both women turned on their heels in pure unadulterated envy.
“I’d hate him except that he’s already finished.” Giselle yawned as they traipsed to the palace gym.
“How’s that?”
“Did you notice the wet hair and clean smelling male?”
She tried to remember if she’d noticed these things or not. Her attention had been...mmm...elsewhere. “Uumm,” she finally responded, hoping Giselle didn’t notice her shady answer.
“Old Fergusen wakes him every morning at five to go running. He claims that’s the best time of day to run. Mallen’s still asleep so he’ll do as many laps as Fergusen decides they need. They also lift weights and such. I think Old Fergie finds Mallen’s inability to function at that hour amusing.” Giselle paused to offer the semblance of a grin before she continued. “Then, Mallen uses my bathroom because his water pressure isn’t as good. He wakes me up and doesn’t want me going back to sleep. By the time I get up to start my exercise, he’s finished. We’ve been doing this for years.”
“Ah, and his bed is cold by that time, while yours is still warm.”
“Right. Plus, his using my shower keeps me from falling back to sleep so I have to get up and start my workout.”
“How’s that?”
Giselle arched an exquisite brow. “He sings, very loudly, and very off key, on purpose. There’s no way I’m going back to sleep with all that racket.”
“Why not just wait him out?”
“Because when he gets back into bed, his feet are like ice. Have you ever encountered size fifteen feet that are ice-cold?”
“No.” She shivered in the chilly morning air, and tried not to think about Mallen crawling into her bed, regardless of his cold feet.
“I don’t advise going out of your way to experience that particular phenomenon.” Giselle sounded definite on this.
“Thanks for the advice.” Her response sounded weak to her own ears, but Giselle didn’t seem to notice.
“You’re welcome.”
“You know, that’s the way to do it, run and do weights to get all the benefits of the exercise, and not remember a thing,” Julia mused and tried unsuccessfully to quiet her hormones. Even through her disgust with the miscreant, her girls really, really liked him.
“Yes, that would be ideal. And have my nice warm bed to slide into when you’re finished. Although you need to be awake, because I expect you to remember what I’m about to teach.” Giselle rained on her parade, and she was actually grateful for the interruption.
The time was too soon to be lusting after Mallen Saltaire. Perhaps it would always be too soon. Right now she thought she better concentrate on protecting herself physically and emotionally.
Jumping Mallen Saltaire was not an option. It was a shame, really.
After Giselle worked her for what seemed like hours, a weary Julia trudged back to her room to shower and change. She needed to be in the lab in thirty minutes, so no nap. Thinking of naps brought to mind Mallen in his pajama bottoms. She would have groaned if she had the energy.
Sebastian plodded beside her, yawning at intervals, which didn’t help either.
“Cut that out.”
He sent her a disgusted look and returned to his yawning plodding.
She figured she’d find him curled up on her bed before she even hit the shower. Wonderful Michaela had actually laid out clothes for her and Julia made a mental note to thank her. She scooped them up and headed for the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later found her trying to coax Sebastian off her bed. “Sebastian, I really need to go for breakfast, if you want to come, great, if not I’m leaving without you,” she finally threatened and turned on her heel.
Before she reached the panel, the big black cat lounged in front of it, waiting impatiently for her. Rolling her eyes, she pushed the handle. “Honestly,” she muttered under her breath as she stepped into the hall, directly into a large, moving, warm blockade.
“Having problems?” Mallen’s cheerful voice erupted through her tired brain.
She craned her head so her glare would be more effective. He shook his head at her.
“In a bit of a tiff are we?”
“Go away, bum.” She fought to keep the image of what he looked like under all those clothes out of her head.
“Definitely in a bad mood,” he confirmed. He looked at Sebastian. “What’d you do, beast?”
Sebastian yawned.
Julia upped her glare. Mallen’s grin grew wider.
“He can be a bit annoying. Sleeps about eighteen hours a day.”
“And smirks about it constantly.”
“I won’t argue.” He glanced at his pet with much affection.
They arrived at the breakfast room and Julia disappeared into the kitchen. She missed Mallen’s raised brow when she left, but when she returned, she did catch the gesture.
“Aaahhh,” was all he said upon seeing the large chunk of chocolate and a bottle of chocolate syrup in her hand
. She set her bounty on the table and paced to the buffet where she selected the largest chocolate muffin available. After pouring herself a cup of coffee she returned to the table where she split the muffin and poured chocolate syrup over top.
His skin took on a green cast so she decided to scratch breaking pieces of her chunk onto the muffin. She could eat that as is.
When Giselle entered the room and greeted them, she didn’t take notice of the situation until after she sat down with her plate. Once she did notice Mallen’s expression, followed by Julia’s breakfast, she laughed.
“Whenever I need to wake up, I consume chocolate and coffee, together.” She looked at her watch. “In about an hour, I’ll be bouncing off the walls,” she informed Mallen gleefully, knowing he was helping her in the lab today.
He groaned, Giselle chortled.
True to her word, Julia worried her limbs might jitter off. The walls appeared to move and her brain couldn’t focus on any one subject. She might have overdone it with the chocolate today. Mallen ended up holding onto her shoulders to keep her in one place so he could ask a question.
“Where do I find the gels for the Western Blot?”
“Check·the·refrigerator. Actually,·I·can·get·them·for·you.”
“Do you consume chocolate and coffee together often?” he asked with interest and perhaps a touch of fear as he watched her zoom across the room to locate the gels for him.
“No.”
“Why today?”
“Didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Why?”
“Maybe nightmares or I thought there were monsters under my bed.” She paused to look at her large black shadow. “Of course it could have been because someone hogged the bed all night.”
Sebastian snuffled in his sleep.
“Sebastian hogged the bed?”
“Probably not, I just like to tease him.”
Mallen rolled his eyes. “No more chocolate and coffee for you.”
“Maybe not in the quantities I consumed today, anyway.”
“Not ever,” he volleyed.
Julia turned glazed eyes on him. She couldn’t focus but heard him sigh.
***
The sound that woke him came again, and Mallen realized the noise came from Julia’s room. She screamed another time and he hit the floor with undue speed as he flew to the concealed panel door between their rooms. He burst through, his heart racing and saw Julia, her arms flung over her head as though to ward off a blow, her body curled into the smallest possible position.
He could hear her pleading over and over, “Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me...” and his heart lurched. There was little question as to which experience she relived in her nightmares. His heart ached for what she suffered then and now experienced all over again.
Sebastian nudged Julia and woke her in time for her to see Mallen rushing at her at rapid speed. She sat up, shaking uncontrollably. He hauled her into his arms and rocked her, not surprised when her arms closed around his neck in a death grip. She hid her face in his neck and sobbed.
He wasn’t certain which was worse, her gripping sobs or the incessant shaking. His hand smoothed up and down her spine, while Sebastian bumped against her from behind. He comforted the big cat, too.
Sebastian probably didn’t know why she was upset and scared; he could only tell something was wrong. Eventually her sobs and shivers eased. Mallen was pleased that her wrestling grip around his neck didn’t loosen, except to use the tissues he offered.
His pet nudged her, probably wanting to know if she was okay, and Julia tugged Sebastian into the embrace. Mallen didn’t understand the communication between the two, but apparently they did because Sebastian seemed satisfied and her breathing patterns took on a more normal rhythm.
Feeling the chill of the air, he swung his legs onto her bed and swept the covers over both of them. She moved with him, as though made to do so. He used her assistance to gain a more comfortable spot. His back now against the mattress, with Julia nestled into him, her face still buried in his neck, and her body cradled with his, Mallen hoped he could calm her enough to sleep.
She twisted until her head found a niche on his chest. Sebastian shifted to Julia’s side, his body to her back. Mallen heard her sigh and then her breathing evened out into a normal sleeping pattern.
Situation: taken care of.
The light slashed across her eyes, and Julia turned her head, trying to escape the taunting rays. She didn’t want to wake up yet. Her dreams were too good. She was at the beach, warm sand at her back, nestled against a gorgeous man who looked remarkably like Mallen. The ocean didn’t so much lap as rumble. The sun beat down, warming her and making her mellow. She stretched and connected with flesh.
Masculine flesh. Eyes popping open, she turned her head and braved the sun’s rays to look at whoever shared her bed. Mallen lay fast asleep, with an arm slung around her, the other trailing off behind him. She noticed his incredibly long eyelashes, as only men seem blessed with, almost resting against his cheeks.
His face was softened slightly in sleep and she noticed the crinkle marks at the corners of his eyes, the laugh lines around his mouth. She couldn’t help sneaking a look at that washboard stomach. A man with a six-pack was a man to behold indeed. She lingered over his gorgeous arm draped so comfortingly over her, and realized she could get used to waking up beside this man every morning.
He was in her bed because she had some really bad dreams last night and he came and held her, and comforted her until she fell asleep again. Julia couldn’t explain why he didn’t frighten her, didn’t intimidate her, didn’t alarm her. She could be herself and say or do whatever she needed and he accepted her. She should have been ashamed to wake up next to him, after her awful night, but she was actually pleased to find him beside her.
She had just escaped an abusive relationship with a world-class loser, and now she was contemplating another relationship. Was she nuts? Julia wanted to think so, but staring at the gorgeous man lying so peacefully beside her, she weakened. This man was worth the chance, wasn’t he?
That niggling, guilt-producing voice in the back of her mind offered a snide comment. “What if you’re just using him, and then hurt him after you move on?”
She tried to flick the voice away, but she did understand the consequences. The last time she had ignored the nasty little grumbler, she found herself beaten and abused by a man who’d since killed – twice – with one of his victims being his own mother.
Not liking where her thoughts crept, she instead turned back to the delightful male specimen in her bed. What a glorious display of manhood. Another content sigh escaped and she nearly jumped when it was echoed. She realized the sound came from the other male in her bed. Turning her head, she watched the sleek black cat finish his stretch, twitch, and fall back to sleep. With a smile she turned her attention back to Mallen and encountered amber-green eyes. Alert amber-green eyes. And a sweetly smiling mouth.
“Good morning.”
A shiver spiraled down her spine. “Good morning.”
“So what’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
As usual, he made her laugh, and in retaliation, she located his ticklish spots and set to work.
“Hey,” he yelped, trying to avoid her flying fingers.
“Why do you always have to pick on me?” She kept at her attempts to tickle him.
Laughing, Mallen managed to avoid her punitive fingers. “Because you’re so easy...” he never finished his statement. Another, more knowledgeable set of fingers joined the fray, and Julia cheered on her companion.
“Yay, Giselle. I could use some help.”
“I can see that.” Giselle crowded Mallen as she crawled into the bed on his side.
He somehow managed to grab both women and squeeze them into his sides. He trapped Julia’s wrists in one hand and Giselle’s in the other. “So ladies, what are we going to do now?” he inquired cheerfully.
She squirmed, but the process appeared futile. Time to bring out the big guns. “Giselle, have you ever heard of wet willies?”
Giselle had never heard of them, but he had, apparently, because he moved extra especially fast. Once he positioned Julia’s back to him, her wrists still clamped in one hand, he made an observation in her ear. “As my mother would say, wet willies are not polite.”
“Neither is holding us like this.”
“Right,” Giselle agreed.
“Oh, like tickling a fellow before he even crawls out of bed is any better, then threatening him with wet willies,” he mock huffed. His voice held a bit too much contrived hurt. It set her into a helpless bout of laughter.
Mallen turned to his sister. “See, she just laughs at me.”
Giselle eyed Julia’s quaking frame. “You do seem to have that effect on her.”
Sebastian lifted his head briefly off the comfy bed in a momentary show of support for the good guys before dropping back to sleep.
“Can’t even count on Sebastian.” Mallen shook his head sadly.
Julia shook her head. “What’s this world coming too?”
That earned her a tickling for her efforts. Of course, Mallen had to release Giselle to properly tickle her, which pretty much opened up a free-for-all.
After they finally tired of their games, the three contestants flopped back onto the bed, content with their play.
“Mallen, why are you in Julia’s bed?”
That led to her remembering the reason and instinctively she reached for him. He pulled her close and looked at his sister.
Julia answered for herself. “I had a nightmare last night.” She had a question of her own for him. “How did I wake you?”
“I heard you scream. Sebastian actually woke you up.”
“Thank you for coming. I was really... pathetic, I’m sorry.”
“Julia, you’ve done really well since you’ve come here. I’m surprised you haven’t had more nightmares, actually,” Giselle offered quietly. She reached a hand across her brother’s stomach and grasped Julia’s. Julia accepted the connection gratefully.
