Freed by You (12 page)

“Emily!” I heard a familiar voice. “Emily! Wake up!”

My eyes flew open as I thrashed my hands out toward the man crouched beside me. I felt my fists make contact with something solid. Maybe a head or a chest. A very solid chest.
Shit,
Julian!

“Emily, stop! It’s me, it’s Julian! I’m not going to hurt you. You’re having a nightmare!” I felt his weight shift on the bed beside me as he pulled me closer to him, his arm wrapping tightly around my waist. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here; I won’t let anybody hurt you.”

As Julian’s soft hand stroked up and down my arm, I calmed. I had awoken fully by this point and had realised my nightmare as a huge wave of relief washed over me. My breathing began to steady as I looked over to Maia. She was still sleeping restfully.

“It’s okay.” Julian still soothed close to my ear.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Julian’s head shot up as he twisted slightly to get a better view of my tear stained face. “You’re sorry? Sorry for what?”

“For everything. For waking you up, for keeping you up in the first place. For lashing out at you. But, mostly for telling you and dragging you into this mess, you didn’t deserve that.”

“Emily, stop. Firstly you didn’t wake me, I was already awake. Secondly, I’m kind of a night owl; I don’t sleep much so you didn’t keep me up. And, thirdly, don’t ever apologise for being truthful with me. I’m not sorry that you told me, I’m glad you did. I want to help you, Emily. And I will!” He pulled me into his chest again, his soft lips brushing my hair. “You can sleep now.” he whispered as his arms loosened and he began to lift himself off the bed.

“Julian?”

He paused and twisted his head back towards me. “Yes?”

“Please don’t go,” I begged. With my nightmare still fresh in my thoughts, I didn’t want to be alone. I had never felt as safe as I did in Julian’s arms.

“I’m here,” he said as he inched closer to me.

He gently coaxed me onto my side so that I was facing away from him, then I felt his warmth against my back, against my legs, as he curled up against my body, his strong arm wrapped tightly around my middle.

I yawned heavily and stretched across the width of the bed. Something felt wrong; the bed was cold beside me. Julian was no longer with me. I lifted my head and glanced over to where Maia had slept. She was no longer there. I leapt out of bed and hurried across the room.

I entered the living area and I was greeted by a very welcoming scene. Julian was sitting on the floor beside the coffee table, his elbows leaning against the polished surface, his fists curled under his chin. A wide smile spread across his face, his eyes glowing – with what exactly I wasn’t sure. Maia was leaning across the opposite side of the table, a joyful smile fixed firmly on her perfect little face.

“This goes here,” she squealed in delight. “I did it, I did it!”

Julian’s gaze left Maia and turned to me. Flashing his most dazzling smile, he placed the piece of jigsaw he was holding and stood.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?” he asked as he crossed the room and entered the kitchen area. He flicked the switch on the kettle and gathered two cups from the cupboard.

“Good, thank you. Well, apart from the obvious, I’m sorry about that.” Julian appeared to frown at my answer although I wasn’t sure why.

I had slept very well once Julian was beside me. I felt safe knowing that he was there and I felt content at the feel of his warm body against mine. Maia bounced over to me and squeezed my leg as she informed me of how clever she was and how she could do her jigsaw all by herself now. Her jigsaw was one of her favourite things to do, which is why it had been the first thing I packed into her bag the night before.

“Would you like tea or coffee?” Julian called from the kitchen area.

“Tea, please.” I approached the kitchen, as Maia returned to her jigsaw, and pulled out one of the leather stools. As I sat down I noticed Julian grinning at me from the opposite side of the breakfast bar.

“What?” I asked. My cheeks warming with their increased blood flow.

“My T-shirt suits you.” His eyes wandered over the large shirt that hung off my left shoulder. I pulled at the material quickly, trying to keep just a little bit of my modesty.

“Thank you,” I replied nervously. I wasn’t sure whether his remark was indeed a compliment or whether he was being sarcastic.

“You’re very welcome.” He smiled warmly at me; his eyes intensely locked with mine.

Handing me a large mug of tea, Julian sat down on the remaining bar stool, twisting it slightly so that he was facing me. “So, what do you want to do today?” he asked before taking a long slurp of his coffee. My eyes involuntarily fixed on his throat and watched the way his prominent Adam’s apple moved sensuously as he swallowed. My cheeks flushed as I tore my gaze away.

“I’m supposed to be going to college but I’m not going to leave Maia. Aren’t you working?”

“No, I’ve had Ryan clear my schedule for the day.”

“I thought Ryan just managed the club? Is there anything he doesn’t do?”

“Ryan is what I’d suppose you’d call my right hand man. He assists me with whatever I ask him to.” he replied with a cocky grin.

He glanced over to where Maia was still piecing together her princess jigsaw and when his eyes returned to mine they were narrowed slightly, as if in concentration.

“I’ll have a member of my security team positioned at the nursery for the day. That way Maia can stick to her usual routine and you can relax in the knowledge that she can’t be harmed,” he stated matter-of-factly with no question.

“Julian, you don’t need to do that. I’d rather she were here with me, if that’s okay with you, I mean. You’ve put yourself out enough for us.”

“There’s no question of whether it’s okay with me, you should know that. I just thought there would be no point in unnecessarily disrupting her routine. Trust me, Emily; I have a very committed workforce. I’ll send Jason, he will not let anyone in or out of that nursery without proving their identity and he sure as hell will not let anyone near Maia.” He placed his hand on my naked thigh and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He frowned as he quickly removed his hand, inhaling deeply as he turned his head away. “You should put some clothes on, you’ll get cold,” he said as he stood and rounded the breakfast bar, a deep frown still contorting his face.

Well, thanks
! I thought. There was absolutely no chance of feeling cold in this apartment with the heating seemingly on full-blast and a roaring fire burning across the room, so, clearly he just didn’t wish to see me walking around half naked. Mind you, I couldn’t blame him. My legs didn’t get to see much sunlight, I had never been confident enough with their appearance to openly walk around in public with them on show. Their very pale and slightly too-slender appearance couldn’t be much of a turn on to this incredible, beautiful-in-every-way, sex god! I stood and returned my mug to the sink.

“If you wish to take a shower you’ll find everything you need in the bathroom off your room.”

“Great, thanks.” My cheeks heated as I passed him, desperately trying to pull the over large T-shirt lower down my bare thighs.

I gathered Maia from her game and made for the bathroom. I had packed spare clothes for both me and Maia the previous evening. As I rummaged through the small case I sincerely wished that I had packed something a little more feminine, or at least some high heels! Oh well, skinny jeans and cowboy boots were my best hope.

I entered the spacious en-suite bathroom and was shocked to see various bottles of women’s toiletries. I was sure these hadn’t been here last night when I used the toilet. On the edge of the bath was a neat line consisting of five assorted bottles. On closer inspection I was sure my heart would have actually melted if it was possible. The first two bottles were of a luxury papaya shampoo and matching conditioner, definitely meant for a female. The next was a large bottle of luxury honeydew shower crème. And the next two were what had melted my heart. One No More Tears shampoo, specially formulated for children, apparently, and one No More Tears top to toe wash and bubble bath in one. So, I was right then, these definitely hadn’t been here last night. I wondered when he had possibly had the time to get these.

I ran a shallow bath first and placed Maia in it, quickly washing her hair and her body, with the help of the small and smooth, natural baby sponge that I had discovered on the far corner of the large bath, along with a new ivory coloured puff. Once Maia was cleaned and wrapped snugly in one of the soft, ivory bath sheets – this towel was far too large to be called a towel – I showered hurriedly, aware that if Maia was in fact to go to nursery I really didn’t have much time to get her there.

As I returned to the living area, Julian gave me a look that chilled my core. It was almost a scolding glare.
Jeez,
what did I do?

“You’re not seriously contemplating leaving this apartment with your hair like that, are you?” His tone perfectly matched the chill of his expression.

I actually couldn’t find any words to reply, my mouth simply hung open as I gawped at him in complete shock. Who does he think he is? Fair enough, I had just climbed out of the shower and screwed it up messily on the top of my head, still wet, but how dare he insult me like that?

“You’ll catch pneumonia for goodness sake, go and dry your hair, Emily. And Maia’s.” He was right, of course, it was cold outside and Maia certainly shouldn’t be out with wet hair, but I honestly didn’t expect Julian to possess a hair dryer!

“Um, I wasn’t sure where you kept a hair dryer,” I replied in a hushed voice.

“Everything you need is in your bathroom, Emily. Try the cabinet under the sink.”

“Sure it is. Thanks.” I didn't bother to ask him when he had managed to add the stock to the bathroom.

Sure enough, in the cabinet under the sink was a brand new, boxed hair dryer, along with a set of new and boxed straighteners. I wouldn’t have time to use those today. Julian really had thought of my every need. Even down to the pack of facial cleansing wipes that sat on the shelf under the mirror, and the two new and boxed toothbrushes, one of course small and pink. He had even got two separate toothpastes, one for me and one suitable for ages 3 and upwards. No one had ever gone to this amount of effort for me, or for Maia. I would thank him when the opportunity arose.

“That’s better.” Julian beamed as both Maia and I re-entered the living area, this time with dry hair. I nodded in response.

“I’ve called Jason, it’s all arranged. He will be there the entire day and he will guard Maia with his own life. You needn’t worry, Emily. He’s the best man I’ve got.”

“Thank you, Julian, I appreciate it.”

Julian accompanied me to Maia’s nursery. I explained a heavily edited version of the situation to the staff, with Julian adding his own comments now and again. Jason was waiting for us when we arrived, I honestly couldn’t see any obvious signs of why he was Julian’s top bodyguard, if you like, but he must have had some secret weapon hiding beneath his slim exterior. I kissed Maia goodbye feeling satisfied that she was completely safe.

“Would you care to join me for breakfast, Miss Braxton?” Julian asked, grinning from ear to ear whilst holding out his elbow for me to take.

“I’d love to, Mr Scott.”

As we waited for our order of times two full English breakfasts - Julian’s insistence - I called college to let them know I was feeling unwell and wouldn’t be attending today. As we ate, I noticed that every person who passed our table looked at me, each with frowned expressions or raised eyebrows. What was that all about? Julian simply gazed at me as he ate; I’m pretty sure his eyes never actually left mine. The waitress brought the bill over and Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a card and then placed it on the table. His eyes still held mine. I pushed his card across the table and back towards him.

“This is on me, you’ve done enough,” I said as his eyebrows creased in confusion. His eyebrows instantly smoothed as a soft laugh escaped him.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Emily.”

“I’m not, I’m serious. I want to buy you breakfast,” I said as I began fishing out the notes from my purse.

“Well that’s sure as hell not going to happen. Now put your money away.”

“Julian, please. I get that you’re trying to be a gent but I’d like to pay, please let me!” I urged, well, begged actually.

“Absolutely not! End of discussion, Emily,” he snapped as he held up his card and impatiently glared at the waitress.

Well, that was a bit harsh. His tone was clipped and short and his laughter had been replaced with that familiar frown that I was beginning to tire of already. The waitress approached a very agitated Julian and, before I had the chance to argue further, he slotted his card into the small, hand-held electronic device.

“Would it have killed you to have let me do this one thing, Julian?”

“Emily, I’m not going to argue with you. You are not buying me breakfast, it’s that simple!”

“Fine, have it your way!” I spat as I stood, the feet of my wooden chair scraping loudly against the polished floor, and walked quickly toward the exit.

“Emily, wait!” I heard Julian’s plea just a second before the door slammed behind me.

My pulse was racing as I stepped out onto the bustling street, my cheeks heated with anger. I was fuming! And not only at his refusal of my offer to pay for breakfast but more at the tone in which he had just spoken to me. How
dare
he? But, most of all, I was angry at
myself
for allowing this to affect me the way it had. It had hurt, badly. His cold, authoritative tone may well work with his staff but it wouldn’t wash with me. I begrudged being spoken to like a child – this being one of my many pet-hates.

“Emily! Please!” he called as he jogged behind me, quickly closing the distance between us. I stopped and turned to face him.

“What, Julian?” I snapped as he stopped in front of me.

“You shouldn’t be wandering the streets on your own. And besides, you didn’t thank me for breakfast.” A slow and deliberate smirk spread across his mouth.