Chapter Thirteen
Even though I had wiped all of the goop off my face, unfortunately, the hideous smell had remained. That was not going to work for me. Not to be ungrateful towards Julian and, not to sound like a bitch, but I hoped I never had to have the stuff on my face again. In fact, I hoped to be able to avoid Julian and his magical talents in general.
Except, I kind of needed him to help me out with my own. But I wasn’t going anywhere near anyone else until I got rid of the smell.
Therefore, I took a long, burning hot shower. Before getting in I didn’t stop to think about where my shampoo and other things would be in the boxes, if they were in there at all. All I could think about was getting the smell off of my skin.
If I had to buy new shampoo, conditioner, body wash and all that good stuff, I would. But I had had a bunch of it in my bathroom at Marcus’s house and I would be upset at the extreme waste if it had been thrown in the garbage. As far as I knew, Marcus had instructed the movers to pack up everything for me so my toiletries were more than likely in one of the boxes.
I didn’t realize I’d forgotten about those things until my hair was already soaking wet and I didn’t want to get out of the shower and drip all over everything while I dug through boxes searching.
I used Dash’s products and ended up smelling like cinnamon when I was all done. It wasn’t a bad smell and I kind of even liked it. I would most assuredly like it more coming off of Dash than myself, but I wasn’t complaining. Beggars couldn’t be choosers and all of that.
I really hoped he didn’t get a whiff of me smelling like his shampoo and body wash and think I was here to mooch off of him and use up all of his things. I really didn’t want that.
Tomorrow I would need to go through my boxes and unpack them. And I needed to keep track of all the things I used that belonged to Dash so I could replace them before he took notice.
I turned off the shower and wrapped a big fluffy black bath towel around my body and climbed out of the shower. I immediately turned around and bent over at the waist. I twisted my hair up in a tight rope and wrung it out over the bathtub. Water poured out and I continued squeezing until no more water hit the bottom of the tub.
I dropped my damp hair and let it hang down my neck, thankfully I had taken the time to wring the water out so it wasn’t dripping down my back.
I hit the switch on the light, flipping it off as I walked out of the bathroom. I clutched the towel tightly to my chest as I practically skipped to my bedroom.
My mood was on the rise and I felt better than I had in days, weeks even.
I tucked the upper corner of the towel firmly in place in order to make sure it wouldn’t slip off my body and moved towards the small pile of boxes.
I knelt down on the hard floor beside a box. I picked at the tape on top with a fingernail until I got the corner peeled back. I pulled on the tape and got it all the way off. I lifted the flaps of the cardboard box and peeked inside. My laptop was in there, sitting on top of a bunch of paperbacks.
I closed the flaps on the top of the box and gave it a big shove towards the bookcase. The box was heavy and didn’t make it very far. A box full of books weighed so much. Oh well. At least it was in the general vicinity of where the objects inside would go. Except for the laptop. The laptop I would sit on top of the dresser; there was really no other place for it unless I wanted to toss it on the loveseat.
I scooted closer to another box and repeated the whole peeling of tape process and lifted the flaps. What little makeup, nail polish and other girly things like headbands and hair ties that I owned was inside this box. I was surprised the movers hadn’t needed to use a smaller box. I liked my nail polish, my black eye liner and all of my bright and funky headbands. I could definitely use some more of these things and penciled in searching for a job into my mental planner for the week even though I knew I’d probably forget by tomorrow.
I shoved the box aside and in the direction of the dresser. It slid further across the floor than the first box had made it. This one hit the dresser and decided to stop moving. Normally, these were things I would put in my bathroom, but no way was I clogging up Dash’s bathroom with my girly things. He was a guy and I didn’t think he would appreciate that.
I was impatient as I moved on to the next box. This one had better have something good and useful for me inside of it because the longer I sat here wrapped up only in a towel with my wet hair hanging down my back, the colder I became. If I sat here like this for much longer my body would start shivering and then my teeth would start to chatter.
I removed the tape again, and once again opened the flaps. I struck gold with this box. It was filled full of fuzzy socks, underwear, bras and pajamas.
It was exactly what I needed.
I pulled out a pair of black, cotton panties and dug around in the box until I found a matching bra. I set those on the floor by my knee and routed around in the box, looking for something to put on over top of the underwear. I found a pair of short, white drawstring sleep shorts. They were covered in open tubes of red lipstick and I thought they were cute. I found a white tank top in the box with an open tube of red lipstick in the center of the chest and pulled it out of the box.
I picked everything up from the floor and stood up. I didn’t bother shoving that box anywhere, it was good where it sat in front of the bed.
I got dressed in a hurry and put the towel away in the hamper in the closet in the bathroom. If it were just me and I had the bathroom all to myself I would have hung the towel up over the shower curtain rod to dry and I would have used it after my next shower. I didn’t know how Dash would feel about drying off with my used towel so in the hamper it went.
I went back to my room and I closed the door behind me this time.
The only thing I was missing was a pair of fuzzy socks on my feet. I moved to the dresser and pulled open the first drawer. There were several pairs of fuzzy socks in there. They were all brand-new with the tags still on. Some kind soul had bought them for me and put them in the dresser. I pulled out a pair covered in leopard print and went to sit on the loveseat to put them on but stopped before I could make that first step.
I had a lovely purple silk robe in the next drawer down that I had never had the opportunity to wear before now. This I knew to be a gift from Dash. Not because I had been told it was from him, but because he had one almost identical to it. Dash’s was black and stopped high up on his thighs. I had a sneaking suspicion it was a woman’s bath robe but would never bring it up to him because it looked good on him. But damn, he sure flashed some seriously pale leg when he wore it. More leg than I would be comfortable showing off.
I looked down at my short-shorts and decided that last part was a lie.
Guess that meant I only thought it was weird because Dash was a guy. Did that make me a sexist A-hole? If so, I could live with that.
Honestly, I shouldn’t even be complaining because Dash had nice, muscular legs that I really didn’t need to be thinking about at the moment. It didn’t seem right or appropriate for me to think of him like that when he was still injured. Not that I thought he would mind. But I knew, and I minded.
I got out the robe anyways.
I shook open the silky number and shrugged my arms through the arm holes. The material fell all the way down to my feet and kissed the floor. The sleeves fell down past my hands which wasn’t actually awkward like you would think. The silky material felt nice against my skin. I pulled out the front and lifted it to my face. I rubbed my non-scarred cheek into the fabric and closed my eyes.
Heaven. It felt like heaven against my face. If only all of my clothes felt this amazing against my skin.
I dropped the front and held my arms out at my sides. The arms were narrow until just after the elbows where it started to flare out wide. It kept getting wider the further along it went.
I didn’t bother to tie it at the waist. I wanted to walk and feel it billowing out behind me, making me feel like I was someone special and about to step on to a music video set.
I didn’t think it was possible, but my stomach growled in hunger as I moved quietly down the hallway and to the stairs. After all the food I had been forced to endure at the Alexander’s I didn’t think I’d ever be hungry again.
I went in search of Julian, hoping his SUV parked out front meant he was still here even though it was late. Well, I assumed it was late, I really had no idea what time it was.
I hit the bottom of the stairs and ghosted through the dining room, heading towards the living room.
I rounded the corner and found him. He lay sprawled on Dash’s black couch, looking adorable and half asleep.
The television played some cooking show I had never seen before.
He looked so alone.
I didn’t like it.
I moved away from the wall and walked into the living room. He didn’t notice me or see me coming. His eyes were at half-mast and glued to the television screen.
He jerked upwards when I placed my knee in the couch between his legs.
“Ariel,” he started.
I shook my head, silencing him.
“I’m not her, Julian,” I whispered as I laid my body down on top of his stiff one.
He was speechless as I molded my body to his. Hip to hip. Chest to chest. I laid my face in his throat and breathed in. His body shuddered beneath me.
“I’m not her, Jules,” I said on a whisper. The nickname felt right to me, it felt perfect. “I’m not Annabell. You can dream again. I’m here now, and I’m not like her. Please, Jules, dream again.”
It felt important for me to tell him these things. He needed to know them. And it was better to do it here like this when there weren’t any of the others around to witness it.
His hands went to my hips as I snuggled into him.
Maybe I was being too forward, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t liked the loneliness he’d been exuding when I’d walked in here and spotted him.
Julian’s hands were inside my robe that had draped around the two of us like a silk blanket. Julian’s palms slid up my hips. They hit the hem of my tank top and continued up on their journey. Only this time they did it going under my tank top, his warm hands gliding against my bare skin.
I shivered at the touch of his hands on my skin (outside of my face and the times he’d worked on making my injuries go away) for the first time and pressed my face further into his throat.
I had completely forgotten my reason for coming down here to find him.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he murmured softly, and I felt the gentle press of his lips into my hair at the back of my head.
His hands had finally stopped moving and they spanned my waist. My tank top had been pushed up with his hands and was bunched up above them.
“It’s okay,” I whispered into his throat. “Really,” I swore. “But I wanted you to know that I’m not like her. I’m not going to play you guys against one another and I’m not going to fuck any of you over.”
His body shook underneath me, and it took me a moment to realize it was shaking with silent laughter.
He was laughing at a time like this?
I didn’t find anything funny in the least.
“What’s funny?” I asked bluntly and immediately cringed, wishing I hadn’t asked. I probably didn’t want to know the answer to this question. I really needed to work on thinking before speaking but knew the success rate on that happening wouldn’t be a very high one.
He stopped laughing but the humor could still be heard in his voice when he said, “You just said fuck. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before. The twins bragged on you being all shy and sweet and never saying a bad word. Then you go and say fuck like it’s the most casual thing in the world. It’s becoming clear that either the twins lied, or they hadn’t seen the real you yet. Which is it? If you’ve got a potty mouth and curse like a sailor, Damien won’t like it. That’ll be great.”
Damien was back to sounding like a serious asshole.
I frowned deeply and felt my brows draw down together. Did I swear a lot? I didn’t think I did. I mean, I did in my head, constantly. But I usually tried to check it before it had the chance to come pouring out of my mouth.
I ignored his original question and asked a question of my own. “Damien doesn’t like it when girls use swear words around him?” I asked him in a quiet, hesitant voice. I hesitated at anything involving Damien.
“Honey,” he said as he let out a long-suffering sigh. “There isn’t much Damien does like.”
Hmmm…
“Except Annabell,” I grumbled, sounding jealous simply because I was. “Everyone had realllyyyy liked her.”
I closed my eyes in embarrassment, hoping to all that was holy that he couldn’t hear the jealousy in my voice. Jealousy didn’t look good on anybody and I knew I would be no different.
His body under mine started shaking again. This time it shook so hard it moved my body on top of his.
He coughed, loud and harsh in an attempt to keep his laughter inside. The cough ended on a wheeze and Julian burst out laughing.
I pushed myself up until my elbows dug into the couch. Our chests no longer touched as I stared down at him. If his eyes weren’t warm and looking into mine, then I would have worried about him taking a look down my tank top. I hadn’t worn a bra and he would have gotten a serious eye full.
I scowled at him, and asked, “Why are you laughing now?”
“I’m not laughing at you,” he said between chuckles. “Honest. I’m laughing because you sound cute when you’re jealous and because you think Damien actually liked Annabell.”
I was frustrated and confused all at once. Tyson, Julian and Damien had been the three to hook up with the bitch. You don’t hook up with someone if you aren’t into them. Right? I know I wouldn’t be hooking up with guys I wasn’t into. What would be the point in that?
I was really tired of hearing people saying this chicks name. I was just plain tired of her. I hoped I never had the misfortune of meeting her.
“Damien is an absolute snob,” Julian told me. “He has really high expectations for girls and I don’t think he’s ever met one that he truly cared about before, and that includes Annabell. They had absolutely nothing in common except for the fact they’re both high maintenance bitches. He didn’t like her, but she was a female with magic and he thought she was going to be our female. And she liked him, honey. Damien is the whole package to a girl like that. It didn’t hurt that he ignored her at first and it just made her try for him harder. He only went for it because she was there and practically throwing herself at him twenty-four seven. But I don’t think he ever liked her.”
I closed my eyes. Nothing he said really made me feel any better. I mean, I liked that Damien hadn’t really liked her, but I didn’t like that he’d hooked up with her anyways. It made Damien sound even more like an asshole.
He was high maintenance? I didn’t do high maintenance, and I sure as heck didn’t want it in a boyf… person. A boy person. Yeah, that was it.
Julian lifted his hands to my face where he cupped my jaw. Both his thumbs moved softly across my cheeks in a soft, sweet gesture.
“What are you doing down here?” he asked in a gentle voice.
With my body pressed into his warm one, his hands cupping my face sweetly and his eyes burning into mine, I had no freaking idea what I was doing down here at the moment.
“Uhh…” I mumbled stupidly. I licked my suddenly dry lips and sucked the lip ring on my bottom lip into my mouth. Playing with my lip ring was a nervous habit I couldn’t always stop myself from doing.
A wide, happy smile stretched across his face. It reached his eyes, making them glow softly.
His eyes lowered to my lips before flickering back up to my eyes.
Shit.
He was thinking about kissing me.
Did I want him to kiss me? I think I did. But not on Dash’s couch with Dash upstairs and he could come down and walk in on us at any second.
Thoughts of Dash made me uncomfortable.
“My dad,” I blurted. And wanted to slap my hand across my mouth. When a guy wants to kiss you, but you aren’t sure it’s a good thing, what do you do? Start talking about your father, that’s what. It’ll certainly put a damper on the mood.
Julian’s smile faded, and he frowned up at me. “Say again,” he demanded in a soft, edgy voice.
I understood his confusion. As far as most of the guys knew, I had no information about my dad at all.
I gave him honesty. “I found a box in Vivian’s closet. It was hidden back behind a bunch of things, like she hadn’t wanted anyone to find it. It’s full of letters and pictures from a man who claims to be my biological father. He also claims to be Vivian’s brother.”
I paused to take a breath and watched in fascination as his eyes squinted dangerously and his lips pinched in an angry line.
“No wonder you didn’t say shit about Dash’s family dynamic when you found out about it earlier,” he growled. His fingers pressed into my waist as his nostrils flared angrily. “Shit, honey. I’m so sorry. I won’t talk shit about your mother anymore. This doesn’t mean I’ll care that she’s dead because I don’t think I ever will, but I won’t talk shit about her in front of you.”
My lips parted in shock and my eyes bugged out when I realized what he thought I was saying.
I shook my head frantically from side to side.
“No. No. No.” I said in a rush. “It’s not like that. They didn’t… They weren’t that.”
“I don’t understand,” he muttered.
That made two of us, but I went for it anyways. I usually did. There was simply no stopping this train wreck once it got started.
“According to the letters, Vivian was never my mother, but my Aunt instead. Her brother is my bio dad and Vivian kidnapped me, she stole me away from him. My bio mother is dead. But my dad never stopped looking for me. I think he’s still looking for me. He was never able to find me because Vivian had some sort of magical block or spell or something placed on the two of us.”
I had to stop to swallow past the lump in my throat at the reminder of Vivian’s treachery.
“She was a witch after all?” Julian whispered in surprise. I watched in fascination as his eyes rounded, filling up with dread. “The Council can never know,” he whispered frantically. “Not ever. You mustn’t ever tell them.”
I sat up further, straddling him, and placed my hands, palms flat onto his chest.
Clearly, I was going about this all wrong.
I splayed my fingers wide on his chest and leaned forward until my face hovered directly above his. My hair hung down around us like a soft curtain.
“She wasn’t a witch,” I assured him in a firm but quiet voice. “Just a bitch. A jealous bitch who couldn’t handle the fact I was born with magic when she wasn’t.”
He blinked slowly, in surprise.
Ha! I’d surprised him. And this would be the beginning because my story just kept getting better and better as it went on. Though, I had a feeling Julian wouldn’t give two shits or blink an eye in surprise at Rain Kimber’s violent, homicidal side.
I wasn’t disappointed.
I sat astride his body with my groin pressed into him just above his pubic bone. My forehead was close to being pressed to his but I had to stay pulled back a bit so I could continue to keep eye contact with him while I talked.
I spilled my guts about everything I read about in the letters. I even went on to tell him about the pictures, going so far as to explain them all in detail to him.
Julian laid under me, all the while running his hands up and down my back in a soothing gesture. He listened to me talk with an open, kind expression on his face and his hands never stopped moving.
By the time I had poured it all out to him, I was emotionally exhausted, so much so, it was starting to drain away my physical energy. And I had had so very much of it to start out with.
I moved my hands to the side in a slow movement and didn’t stop until I could wrap my hands around his biceps and I collapsed against his chest. I held onto his biceps as I shoved my face into his neck.
I let go of the one bicep, the one on the inside of the couch, and scooted around on top of him while moving my legs around.
I ended up half on top of him with my knee in-between his legs and half smooshed in-between Julian and the back of the couch. My right hand was still wrapped firmly around his bicep with my arm across his middle.
Julian wrapped one arm around my shoulders and the other one he placed on my thigh.
My beautiful purple silk robe still covered me like a blanket. An expensive blanket.
Julian squeezed my thigh gently, and asked in a husky voice, “Is that why you came down here? To tell someone about what you found out?”
I sighed and snuggled closer into his side.
“No,” I told him. “I saw your SUV in the driveway and came down to see if you could help me find him using magic. I looked through most of the books on the shelf in my room and came up blank. I don’t know where to start and needed someone’s help with it. I don’t know how to use magic for something like that because I’ve never done anything like that before. I figure if he could use it to try and find me then why couldn’t I do the same to try and locate him.”
Julian let out a slow breath and I felt his body go lax beneath me.
“I can’t help you with that kind of thing,” he murmured. “But Quinton sure can. And, if it’s not something he knows how to do, he won’t stop until he figures it out for you.”
I closed my eyes in relief. Quinton could do anything. With him on the job, I’d find Rain Kimber in no time.
“We’ll call him in the morning,” Julian mumbled sleepily. “Now, sleep, honey. I’m exhausted.”
I could hear the exhaustion in his voice and immediately felt guilty.
Quinton had lectured me enough on the subject to know that magic came at a price and it always took it’s toll out of the practitioner.
I thought about my healed cheek, and it was entirely healed, and what it probably had taken out of Julian to do that for me. He’d used his magic today and bled for me.
He was exhausted, and it was all my fault.
Damn.
I was hungry, but that no longer mattered. I was going to sleep here on Dash’s couch with Julian because that’s what he needed, and I would give it to him.
“Night, Jules,” I whispered. “Sweet dreams and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
He laughed softly and said, “Night, my sweet witch.”
I melted into him.
I let his words and his laughter wash over me and I willed myself to sleep.
With Julian’s heat wrapped around me, it didn’t take long.