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TWENTY
REBECCA
I’d heard Julian askfor a room with two beds, but there I was staring at one king-size bed. From the mirror’s reflection, I saw Julian rub his chin and then wince moving his arm.
Right, he was hurt. Because I shot him.
I should feel bad about that. Maybe. Just a little. But I didn’t. I had my own pain to deal with, and Julian was the cause. He willfully kept me from hooking up with Giancarlo, and tried to turn me against my men.
I’d deal with the bed situation later. There was a small sofa in the corner under the window and there was always the floor. Was it wrong to make an injured man sleep on the floor? One I injured myself?
Grabbing the bag with the bandages and stuff to clean up his wound, I took Julian’s hand and led him into the bathroom. “Let’s get this gash cleaned up.”
He slowly stripped out of the suit jacket I’d watched him take out of the trunk. It had hit me then, he’d made a pillow for me out of it. He cared about my comfort. In a trunk!
When the badly stained dress shirt came off, I said, “It stopped bleeding, so that’s good.”
With my nerves frayed, I felt like a live wire ready to spark at anything. Julian’s chest and abs stunned me, igniting dark thoughts I shouldn’t have been entertaining. I soaked up every golden inch of him. The expanse of his broad chest with a light dusting of hair across his pecs tapered to a not-so-narrow waist. The cuts in his hips, those sexy grooves disappeared past the waistband of his slacks.
Injured, he’s injured.
“Have you treated a gunshot wound before?” Julian asked me, untying the bandage we made earlier. And unaware of my eyes glued to his body.
“No, sir.” I leaned into his mouth unable to help myself. “You’re my first.”
“Sebastien and I have something in common after all.”
I froze, wondering if he knew how Sebastien and I used to have sex in his car while Anthony watched us in high school, ten years ago. Looking back, Anthony should have gotten in on our action sooner. Although, I probably wasn’t mature enough to handle that.
“Let me see your arm.” I glanced at it. “I’m gonna clean the blood away first from around the wound. Keep your arm elevated.”
“Yes, doctor.” Julian popped open an extra strength Tylenol bottle with his teeth and let several fall into his mouth. Then swallowed without water. Impressive.
Soaking a washcloth in hot water, I glanced over to see him staring at me. I smiled and he smiled back. I felt so confused. On one hand, I felt utterly safe with him and the other, strung out, knowing my men were worried about me.
Exhaling, I said, “Is there any way I can leave a message at the Warwick?” Gian could then silently whisper to my guys that I was all right. “Their plan was to hide me. You’re doing that. They’ll just want to know I’m safe.”
“Damn right you are. You’re with the FBI now, gorgeous.” Julian’s smile melted into an intense stare. “I’ll call my assistant tomorrow and make sure that line at the Warwick isn’t being monitored. If it is...”
I nodded, wiping away the blood on his arm, careful not to touch the wound. “You don’t have antibiotics on you, do you?”
“No. I didn’t expect you to shoot me.”
“Okay, your arm is clean. Once you put on fresh clothes, you’ll feel better.”
“You too,” Julian said, twisting a lock of my hair around his fingers.
“Here’s the hard part. I’m gonna clean the wound.”
He nodded and planted his feet. “I’m ready.”
With gauze pads soaked in hydrogen peroxide, I applied pressure to the wound, but Julian only grunted and shifted on the toilet seat. Tough guy. “You okay?”
“Perfect.”
“It’s okay,” I whispered. “It’s a gunshot wound. You’re allowed to be in pain.”
“Next time.” He grinned.
“It’s still not bleeding. Good sign, right?”
“Great sign.”
“Okay, now the antibiotic cream.”
“I’ll do it.” He reached for the tube.
“No. I want to. I owe you this.” I smeared a healthy glob from my finger gently into the wound.
“That feels cool. Good,” Julian said, nodding.
“We’re doing good. Now the bandage.” I popped open the box and took out the handprint-sized bandages. “Nice and big. Even if it shifts in your sleep, the adhesive won’t aggravate it.”
The innuendo made both of us look up and I felt myself blushing.
“Speaking of sleeping,” Julian began. “I’m sorry about the one bed.”
My cheek ticked up. “I doubt it. You’re a man, and the way you kissed me in front of that sales clerk at the wireless counter...”
“Yeah?”
“That didn’t feel like pretend.”
“It wasn’t.” His sharp voice cut through me.
I felt breathless all over again. “Julian, you said it yourself, you and I could never...”
He nodded. “I know what I said. The standard off-limits line.” He caressed my cheek. “Doesn’t change how attracted to you I am.”
I scoffed a laugh and looked down at myself. “Even stinking of subway odor and with rat feces stuck to my shoe?”
“Let’s rid of you of all that, shall we?”
*
I SHOWERED, AWARE OFhow my body felt under my own hands. And how for the first time in weeks, I couldn’t stop thinking about a man other than Gian, Anthony, or Bastien.
What was wrong with me?
I’d never dreamed I could love three men at once. But we’d gotten caught up in a firestorm of emotions that went beyond sex.
All while underneath, I’d had mixed feelings for Julian.
As early as the night he came to my townhouse to tell me about Sunrise, Julian and I shared some very heated stares. Then he’d kissed me in my limo. It’d shaken me up, but he’d quickly doused my lust reminding me as a Fed, he and I could never be involved.
That kiss in the store earlier had my body aching for release. A kiss that would lead to more between two people not in a screwed-up mess. His mouth had taken mine with much more fire than before. Our current situation might have changed his mind. I hated that voice in the back of my head, my practical side telling me to give in to Julian. Give the man what he wanted. He in turn would be helpless against my demands.
Beyond letting my men know I was safe, what demands did I have?
I stepped out of the shower and toweled off, the scratchy cheap fabric feeling coarse against my skin. Julian could only afford something cheap since he paid with cash.
With all the droplets gone, I went to work on myself with a large bottle of lotion. Every smooth swipe of my skin, I felt Julian touching me.
Were my demands to include Julian in what I had with my princes?
Did I really want that?
Would he go for that?
Would my princes allow that?
