Fantasy Lover(50)

"I don't understand."

"Neither do I," he said, his gaze searching hers as if she held the answer. "Just lie with me," he whispered. "Please."

Grace winced at the pain she heard behind that simple request. Her poor Julian. What had they done to him?

How could anyone do such a thing to someone like him?

He picked up the book from the bed and placed it in her hands. "Read to me."

She opened the book while Julian piled the pillows up against me headboard.

He lay back, then leaned her against his side. Without a word, he covered them with a blanket, and cradled her tenderly with his arm.

The smell of sandalwood filled her head as she started reading to him of Wendy and Peter Pan.

They lay like that for over an hour.

"I love the sound of your voice. The way you speak," he said as she paused to turn another page.

Grace smiled. "I have to say the same of you. You have the most killer accent I've ever heard."

He took the book from her hands and placed it on the nightstand. Grace looked up at him. Molten desire filled his eyes as he stared at her face with a hunger that stole her breath.

Then, to her amazement, he kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose.

He reached over and grabbed her remote, then dimmed the lights to their lowest setting. Grace didn't know what to say as he snuggled up against her back and just held her close.

He brushed her hair back from her face and laid his head above hers. "I love the way you smell," he whispered, his arms tightening around her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She wasn't sure, but she thought he might be smiling at her.

Grace snuggled even closer to his warmth, but his jeans rubbed against her bare legs. "Are you comfortable in your clothes? Shouldn't you change?"

"No," he said quietly. "This way I know my spoon will stay away from your-"

"Don't you say it!" she said with a laugh. "No offense, your brother is disgusting."

"I knew I liked you for a reason."

Grace took the remote from his hand. "Good night, Julian."

"Good night, my sweet."

She switched off the light.

Instantly, she felt Julian tense around her, heard his breathing change into short, sharp intakes. He pulled away from her.

"Julian?"

He didn't respond.

Worried, she turned the lights back on to see him, leaning on his arms, braced and locked, to support his upper body. His forehead damp from perspiration, his eyes were wild and panicked as he struggled to breathe.

"Julian?"

He looked around the bedroom as if he had awakened from some terrifying nightmare. She watched as he lifted one hand and placed it against the wall above the headboard as if to assure himself it was real and not a hallucination.

Licking his lips, he rubbed his hand over his chest and swallowed hard.

It was then, she knew.

It was the darkness. That was why he had only dimmed the lights.

"I'm so sorry, Julian. I didn't think."

He didn't speak.

Grace pulled him into her arms, amazed at the way a man as strong as this one held on to her as if he couldn't let go. Julian laid his head against her breasts.

Clenching her teeth, she felt tears sting her eyes. And in that moment, she knew she could never let him go back into that book. Never.

Somehow, they would beat this curse. And when it was over, she hoped Julian got his own revenge against the ones responsible.





Chapter 9




Grace remained still for hours, listening to Julian breathe, calmly, peacefully, as he slept behind her. He had one thigh nestled snugly between her legs and one arm draped over her waist.

The feel of his body around hers made her throb with longing.

And his scent…

It was all she could do not to turn over and bury her nose in the warm, spicy scent of his skin. No one had ever made her feel like this. So wanted, so secure.

So desirable.

And she wondered how that could be, given the fact that they barely knew each other. Julian touched something inside her on a level that went beyond the physical.

He was so strong, so commanding. And funny. He made her laugh and he wrung her heart.

She reached out and ran her fingers lightly over his hand that lay in front of her, just below her chin. He had such beautiful hands. Long and tapered. Even when they were relaxed in sleep, the power of them was undeniable. And the magic they could work on her body…

It was nothing short of miraculous.

She ran her thumb over his general's ring and wondered what Julian had been like back then. Unless the curse had altered his physical age, he didn't appear very old. Certainly, not much more than thirty.

How had he ever led an army at such a young age? But then, Alexander the Great had barely been old enough to shave when he'd started his campaigns.