“And why not now?” he asked with a sparkle of amusement.
She glanced back one more time to where Damon and Serena stood. “Because now I want someone to look at me the way he looks at her.” She looked back at Cole whose wry look told her he understood exactly what she was saying. “You want me. You find me attractive, but you’ll never look at me that way and we both know it.”
“Does it make any difference for me to tell you that if I could look at any woman that way, I’d want it to be you?”
She laid her palm against his cheek. “You’re very sweet, Cole. And you’ll look at her that way. One day.”
He caught her hand when she would have pulled it away and kissed her open palm. “It was truly my pleasure to look after you these two nights, Julie. If there is ever anything you want or need, you have only to contact me. I’ll see to it you get it.”
She rose up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Good night, Cole.”
Not looking back, she hurried toward the stairs, feeling his intense gaze the entire way.
Chapter 20
Julie hugged her arms around her middle as she hurried down the stairs. A chill that had nothing to do with the actual temperature had settled into her bones. After leaving the warmth of the common room, every other place just seemed cold. Amazing how love could make you feel the actual rays of sunshine.
She walked down the hallway with the doorway ahead her only objective. She could hear the buzz of conversation, laughter mingling with the clinking of glasses, but she wasn’t in the mood to be social. She just wanted to go home.
Ahead a door opened, and she prepared herself to be assaulted by a couple in the throes of passion. Instead she found herself nearly run over by Nathan Tucker and Micah Hudson.
She halted, unsure of who was more surprised, her or them. A guilty look flashed across Nathan’s face about the time she caught his scent. Sure she was mistaken, she inhaled sharply. He didn’t smell like Nathan normally did, and she was all but an expert on what the man smelled like. No, he didn’t smell like Nathan. He smelled like her mystery lover. Her gentle lover. Which would explain the guilt flashing in those green eyes.
And that could only mean that Micah was her more impatient lover.
“You disguised your scent. You actually changed your smell!”
She babbled like a fool, but she honestly couldn’t come up with anything else. She was too freaking stunned.
Nathan held out his hands in a placating manner. “Julie, listen to me, please.”
His eyes were soft, his mouth turned down in an expression of regret. Micah wore a grimace that plainly said he’d rather be anywhere but here. Well, join the club. That made two of them.
She laughed. Maybe it wasn’t the most sensible action, but she was too wrung out to be all cool and collected and in control.
“Well done. I mean, wow. Changing your scent. That took a hell of a lot of forethought. I would have never even considered that. That would explain why you never let me touch you. I guess this is where I say touché and that we’re even, right?”
“No, we’re not damn well even,” Nathan growled. “That’s not what this was about. Or at least, it’s not now.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Nathan, be straight with me at least. You can’t tell me you didn’t want a little payback for what I did at my salon.”
He huffed, his face reddening with either embarrassment or anger, she wasn’t sure which.
“Yeah, I did want payback, but more than that, I didn’t want strange men fucking you. Damn it, Julie, what the hell were you thinking? You were just setting yourself up to be hurt or raped or God knows what else.”
“So you fucked me to save me from these men?” she drawled out. “Really, how self-sacrificing of you, Nathan.” She slid her gaze to Micah who leaned against the wall, hands shoved into his pockets. “What’s your excuse, Hudson?”
“Do I need an excuse to fuck a beautiful woman?” he asked lazily.
“No, I guess you don’t,” she said quietly. “If you two will excuse me, it’s been a long day, and I’d really like to get home.”
“Julie, don’t go,” Nathan said as he reached for her hand. “You and I need to talk.”
Fatigue dragged at every muscle. This was just the icing on an already draining evening. The only thing she wanted to talk about was how fast she could get home and into bed. Her bed. Alone.
“We could probably say a lot and not get anywhere. Let’s just chalk it up to experience and call it good, okay? I always knew sex with you would be nothing short of spectacular and you proved me right. I should be thanking you, right? You and your fuck buddy here,” she said with another sideways glance in Micah’s direction.