With a nod, I reached for his bags and helped him with it. Julian paused and stared at me for a moment and then shook his head again and got out of his seat. He opened the backseat and then carried Violet carefully out of the car with ease. The two of us made our way to the door and I put in the passcode and pointed Julian to where my room was so he could bring in Violet.
“I’ll change her clothes,” I said softly as I watched him climb the stairs with Violet in his arms. There was something about the way Julian cared for his niece that I knew would make his fans fall in love with him even more.
I headed to the kitchen and took two glasses and filled both half with wine. I wasn’t sure why but after the day we had and after the way his friends upset him, I felt like wine would be a good way to cool him down. I heard his footsteps as he descended the stairs and he appeared in the kitchen, looking absolutely worn down and tired and I took his glass and handed it to him.
“There’s a bathroom at the end of the hall on the right. You can change there. I’ll just change Violet and change into something more comfortable and give you your pillows and blanket.”
I left my glass on the kitchen counter and was ready to make my way to the stairs but then felt Julian reach for my hand and then tug me back to him until I landed on his chest. “Oh.”
His arms wrapped around me and I could feel his breath tickling my neck. He tightened his hold on me and I heard him sigh quietly to himself, pulling me even tighter if it was possible. I stood there, in his arms, unsure of what I was meant to do until slowly- almost as if my body knew how it was meant to react- I laid my head against his chest. We stood there in the middle of the kitchen, Julian’s arms wrapped around me, and for some insane reason, it felt right.
As suddenly as he hugged me, Julian let me go and took a step back, as if realizing what he had just done and then grabbed his glass and chugged the wine. “Mind if I drink more of this?”
I was still left in a trance of when his body was against mine so I numbly nodded. “I’m…I’m going to…go change.”
Leaving him alone in my kitchen, I grabbed the bag he brought for Violet to change her into comfier clothes. After I finished changing Violet, I went into my bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes looked bright and I wasn’t sure where that spark came from.
“God, pull yourself together, Audrey!” I whisper-yelled to myself. “So what if he hugged you? He had a long day and he was upset with his friends. That hug must’ve been a spur of the moment thing…”
But god, it felt so incredibly right to be in his arms. Like I was always meant to be in them.
Jesus Christ, pull yourself together, Audrey!
Quickly changing into my pajamas, I grabbed two extra pillows and a blanket from the linen room and then descended down the stairs to find Julian…nowhere in sight. I left the pillows and blanket on the sofa and looked for him in the kitchen to find it empty. The door of the veranda was open and I took a peak to find him staring at the night sky, the glass of wine still in his hands.
“Hey.”
Julian looked up and met my eyes. Under the moon’s silvery glow, his eyes were the same color, more silver than blue or gray. The corners of his lips twitched into a small smile. He held the glass in his hand and his smile turned a little sheepish. “You have good wine here, it’s sort of surprising.”
I let out a low chuckle as I took a step out, hugging myself as the cool night air kissed my skin. My mind flashed back to how Julian pulled me into a hug earlier, wrapping me in his warm embrace. “Thanks. It calms me down after spending a day as your assistant.”
He chuckled and then lowered the glass. “You sure you’re okay with Violet sleeping next to you?”
“Why aren’t you complaining that I’m letting you sleep on the couch rather than the guest room?”
Julian rolled his eyes. “Because this is your revenge since I’ve been making you pick up dog shit.”
He wasn’t wrong about that and I flashed him a wicked grin as I leaned against the railing. “Just knock on my door if you need anything more, okay?”
“What if I need to sleep with you?”
His question caught me off-guard and I sucked in a breath, looking at him in shock. Julian had a sheepish yet innocent look and I knew he was teasing. A part of me wanted to ask him why he had suddenly hugged me but a part of me also didn’t want to ruin that memory with whatever Julian’s reasoning was.
He laughed and then rolled his eyes. “You haven’t been retaliating the way you always do. It’s getting a little boring bantering with you if it’s one-sided, Audrey.”
I let out a shaky breath, not wanting him to notice that he was affecting me in some way. “I’m too tired to think of snarky comebacks, Julian. I thought you were tired.”
He was quiet for a moment and then he shrugged, sipping his wine. “I never really answered your question earlier.”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What question?”
“The one about Violet and women’s worth.”
I suddenly remembered it, about how he wanted his niece to be aware of her worth so she wouldn’t end up having her heart broken but he broke women’s heart without remorse. “I didn’t ask a question though.”
Julian let out a breath and shrugged. “Yes, you didn’t but you didn’t have to. You’re wondering why I break their hearts as easily as I do.”
“Why do you?” I whispered, looking at Julian. His eyes met mine and the left corner of his mouth twitched upward, a smirk grazing his lips. Suddenly, he looked every bit of the Casanova he was five years ago, full of himself and cocky.
“Because I never took into consideration- much less really care- about their feelings and their perspective.”
He said it so casually and easily that the truth of the matter pierced through my heart. No matter how long it had been or how old we were now, Julian would still be a heartbreaker. “That’s kind of insensitive, don’t you think?”
“They always knew what they were getting themselves into every time they pushed themselves to me, begging me for my attention. They attract me physically, that’s true, but I can’t help it if my heart doesn’t feel anything but my dick does,” Julian drawled, smirking fully this time and his eyes shined with desire.
It disgusted me.
“They throw themselves at me knowing how I’ll always treat them, hoping they could change me, and completely disregarding their worth.” His voice had lowered down as he said these and took a step closer to me. I could feel his warmth radiating and enveloping me, “I don’t think it’s my job to tell them how much they’re worth. They should already know that so unless you’re a woman who doesn’t even value herself, I’m sorry because I won’t know how to value you.”
Julian kept stepping closer to me and my heart raced at the sudden close proximity. “So you want a girl who knows her worth and value. What happens when you find her?”
“This.”
Suddenly his hands were on my waist and he pulled me closer to him, his lips crashing against mine in a zealous kiss that left me breathless. His lips moved against mine and I let out a gasp when he suddenly grabbed me and pressed me against the railing of the veranda. His hands were on my neck, partly cupping my face and I could feel his tongue asking for entrance.