Chapter Six – Julius

They’d drunk champagne and explored the old part of the hotel although it blended so well with the new, Cath admitted she could not tell where one part started and another ended. He was pleased she liked it. He was pleased she liked him.

“And this is my favorite room.” Julius held the door open to the penthouse suite. They were on the top floor of the hotel, and he wanted to share the view with her. And the bed…but he’d given his word he was only interested in her company. Julius was a man of his word. Even if he was certain Cath would not deny him a kiss or two. But would that ever be enough?

“Oh my!” Catherine exclaimed as she walked across the room to the large expanse of glass that made up half of the wall in the living area of the most luxurious apartment in the hotel. This was where he called home.

“It’s magnificent, isn’t it?” Julius watched her for a moment, drinking in the sight of his mate framed against the Bluff.

“It’s as if you could reach out and touch it,” Catherine whispered, reaching up as if she were going to test that theory.

“When we rebuilt the hotel, I knew I wanted a room with that exact view.” Julius looked down at Catherine’s excited face. She was half a head shorter than him, but since he stood at six-foot-four, that did not make Catherine small. If he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she would be the perfect height. His arm twitched, wanting to experiment to see if he were correct, but he didn’t want to spook her. The time they’d spent together was too precious to spoil.

“This is where you live?” Cath asked, looking up at him, surprise on her face.

He nodded. “I wanted you to see it.”

“Thank you.” She looked back out toward the mountains. “I’ve explored some of the mountain, but not as much as I want to. Will you show me some of your favorite places?”

“Of course,” he stammered. “Perhaps we can take a picnic? Tomorrow afternoon.” He sounded like an eager young man, desperate for his first date.

“I’d like that.” She turned to face him. “Who was Catherine?”

He melted into her eyes, the power to speak gone as he pictured the chance moment they had brushed against each other so many years ago. “A woman I saw once, standing outside a town hall with a handful of forget-me-nots in her hand and yellow hair like the sun.”

Cath tore her gaze away from his and stared at the mountain. “And what happened to her?”

“She walked out of my life. And I let her go, because I thought she was happy. I didn’t want to hurt her. Part of being a shifter is not wanting to hurt your mate in any way. Even if it means sacrificing a part of yourself.”

“I used to believe in all that.” She sniffed and wiped a tear away. “But Hector, my ex-husband, told me the exact same thing. H promised me forever, he gave me his children, and then he walked away.”

“Catherine, he couldn’t have been your true mate.” Julius reached out to her and touched her arm; a jolt of electricity ran up his arm. Catherine jumped, she felt it too. “You can feel it, the connection between us.”

“I don’t know what I feel,” Catherine admitted. “You want me to believe in a dream. But I’ve already believed in it once, and I got my heart trampled into the ground.”

“I’d never do that to you,” Julius promised.

“How do I believe in more words?” Catherine asked. She turned to face him, her hand reaching out to stroke his cheek. “I don’t know if I have the strength to believe again.”

“Then don’t,” he said simply. “Just believe that we are two mature people, who are mutually attracted to each other. If we date, and you like me, then we date some more.” He took her hand and pressed his lips to it. “I’ve waited so long for my Catherine, I can wait a little longer.”

She nodded. “I can do that. But no more.”

Julius smiled, his gaze resting on her face, so he could memorize every line, every wrinkle. They were a roadmap of her life, and he wished he’d traveled those roads with her. But their journey together was just beginning, they would add more laughter lines, and more silver hairs as they continued along the path of life, wherever it may take them.

“Shall I order lunch?” he asked, breaking the moment. He didn’t want to pressure her. “We can count this as our first date.” He picked up a menu and passed it to her. “Room service, I know the hotel manager, he’ll give us a discount.”

Catherine burst out laughing. “I don’t think I’ve ever ordered room service.”

“Then this is a day of firsts. Order whatever you want.” He went to the small dining table that sat beside the window. He liked to work here, when the hotel was quiet. Just him and the mountain. “Please, sit.”

“Thank you,” Catherine said graciously, and allowed him to push her seat in. “This all looks so expensive. I am used to scraping by.”

“One thing I can assure you is I am a sound investment.” He gave her a wicked grin. “If you want to marry me for my money, I am more than willing.”

Cath set the menu down on the table. “I don’t know if I will ever marry again, Julius.” She shook her head and placed her fingers to her temples. “What am I saying, we’ve only just met.”

He took hold of her hand and kissed her fingers. “No, Catherine, we met thirty years ago. We’re old souls.”

“When we met…when you saw me, I was getting married, Julius. I swore I’d never tie myself to another man.” She let her words sink in before she continued, “The betrayal was almost too much. Only the love of my children pulled me out of the darkness that nearly consumed me. I was so angry. So hurt.”

“I understand.” Julius guessed what she was trying to tell him. “So let’s live in sin.”

“If only I could be that carefree.” She got up and strode to the window, staring out to where the sun kissed the top of the Bluff, giving it a halo. “I’ve forgotten how.” She took a shaky breath, and Julius went to comfort her.

He rested a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. “We can learn together.”

Cath turned to him, tears running down her cheeks, and his heart ached for her. If only he had watched over her, and been there to pick up the pieces of her life when her marriage fell apart. He truly was cursed for not being the man she needed.

“I want to believe there’s a way.” She shook her head and laughed at herself. “Stupid, isn’t it? Scared of taking a chance on happiness. I’m such a coward. Afraid of getting my heart broken again.”

“Oh, Catherine.” Julius wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She rested against his chest, her breathing ragged, until she erupted into heavy sobs that wracked her body. Like the breaking of a dam, her admission had opened up the well of emotion and betrayal she’d kept sealed. He understood perfectly, because a dam broke inside Julius too. A slow trickle was turning to a tumultuous roar as the love and longing he’d shut away flowed out, filling his veins, coursing through his body. Unstoppable, and unimaginably strong.

He placed his hands on Cath’s back, and soothed her, wishing the feelings inside him could flow through his fingertips and fill her with happiness. He wanted to sweep her sadness and loneliness aside, and replace it with joy and hope. “You are one of the bravest women I know. And I’ll work to make you happy. Work to make you mine.”

Cath lifted her head and looked at his face through red-rimmed eyes. Her face was blotchy from crying, and he wanted to kiss every inch of it. “You’re a good man, Julius. And I want to believe you.”

Julius wiped her tears away with his thumb. “I want you to believe it too. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Cath looked out at the view once more, her breaths interrupted by shuddering sobs as she fought to control her emotions. “Maybe it is time to let go. Coming to Bear Creek is a chance to change my life, get out of the rut I’ve lived in for so long.”

Julius took her hand. “Allow me to help you out of that rut.”

She nodded and smiled, turning to face him. “I believe if anyone can, Julius, it’s you.”

Julius held her close and dropped a kiss on top of her head, inhaling her scent. Orange blossom and a scent he could not identify filled his nostrils. A scent that was uniquely Catherine. “Let’s eat, Catherine.”

She blew the air out of her cheeks. “I’ve worked up an appetite with all that crying.”

“I can recommend the Pan-Fried Scallops.” He led her to the dining table and they sat down together.

“Not the anchovies?” Cath asked.

Julius looked up sharply, and a hint of color covered his cheeks. “Those are for my bear. He has a craving for them.”

She laughed, a real belly laugh that chased her tears away. “Now, that I’d like to see.”

“Tomorrow. We can picnic, and you can hand feed my bear his anchovies.”

Her eyes were bright as she smiled at the thought. “I’d like that, Julius.”

“Then it’s a date.” His heart stuttered as he waited for her answer. After all the emotional turmoil of today, would she want to see him again? Would she give him the chance to prove his love for her?

“It’s a date.” She blushed and looked down at the menu. “Pan-Fried Scallops. I think I’ll go with your recommendation.”

Tell her you also recommend a big grizzly bear who will watch over her for the rest of her life, his bear butted in.

Julius chuckled. One thing at a time.

His bear sighed, and settled down to sleep. Both sides of him were content for now. They had taken a huge leap forward. They would stay the course until Catherine was theirs.

And she would be theirs: nothing would stop him this time. Nothing.