Freed by You (26 page)

Julian let out a loud groan as he moved away from me and raked his hands roughly through his tousled hair.

“Don’t you get it, Emily?” he barked. “It was supposed to me in that car! I sent Jason to get you. I was too wrapped up in my own fucking problems as usual that I sent him instead of coming myself! He should never have been there! Now his wife has lost her husband, his kids have lost their father and that’s down to
me
, Emily! Not you!”

He collapsed onto the bed, his head hung heavily in his palms as his fingers gripped his hair. I rushed to him, crouching down between his knees and trying to encourage his palms away from his eyes.

“Julian, this wasn’t your fault. He worked for you, he drove for you. No one could have predicted this.”

“I’ll kill the bastard who did this,” he murmured.

“What do you mean? It was an accident, Julian.”

Julian inhaled deeply as he raised his head to look at me. His moist eyes were red and swollen from tears.

“Oh come on, Emily. Who has that sort of accident in the middle of London driving at a maximum speed of thirty? He was driving way too fast to cause that sort of damage, but why? Someone caused this.”

“Maybe he was in a hurry to get me?”

“Or maybe it was supposed to me in that car,” he breathed. “Except Jason took the fucking wrath!”

“Why would you think that? Who would want to hurt you?”

“I have my suspicions.”

“The break in at the club?” Suddenly this all seemed to be slotting into place. “It wasn’t an addict, was it? Who was it, Julian?”

“I don’t know, I don’t recognise him.” His eyes lowered to his hands and I knew he wasn’t telling me the truth. If there was one thing that Julian didn’t excel at, it was lying to me.

“But you have your suspicions?”

“Yes. Please, Emily, you don’t need to know all this. Please don’t ask me,” he pleaded.

“That’s why you kept me in France, isn’t it? It was Jay.”

“I told you, I don’t know for sure!”

“Show me the tapes,” I demanded, standing from my crouch and turning towards the door.

“What?”

“I want to see the CCTV footage, Julian. Now.” I marched out of the bedroom and crossed the living area to the office. “I take it it’s on your laptop, that’s why you were hiding it from me earlier,” I called as I sat down at his desk.

“Emily, please. Let me deal with this. I won’t let that man cause you any more harm. I don’t want you to see it!”

“Well, it’s a bit late for that, Julian. You should have been honest with me from the start!” I ignored his pleas and opened his laptop screen. A small, green light flickered before the monitor burst to life.

A wave of gut-wrenching terror filled my body as I saw the face that was staring back at me. His evil, squinted eyes were looking straight into the camera, a twisted smile played across his lips. I swallowed hard against the rising bile and straightened my face, trying to look as normal as possible.

“It’s not Jay,” I lied.

How could I tell him that it was in fact Jay? The one person that he would risk everything to get to. I couldn’t allow him to put himself in danger for me; I wouldn’t let Jay anywhere near him. Jay was looking for me, not Julian. And I couldn’t believe for one second that he would somehow cause a car accident to try to harm Julian, that wasn’t his style. He was a bully, yes. But he wasn’t a killer.

“It’s not?”

“No. I don’t recognise him.”

“Then it must be someone my father has sent.”

“Or, it could be like you said, Julian, just a random addict looking for money or drugs. He certainly looks like an addict!”

“And you don’t think that’s just a little too coincidental?”

“Maybe, but think about it. If your father had sent someone, wouldn’t he come when Natalie was there? Wouldn’t he be a little less stupid than to show his face to the camera?”

“I suppose you’ve got a point.”

“What happened to Jason was a freak accident, Julian. No one is out to get you, you’re over thinking things.”

“How do you do that?” he asked as he looked at me through narrowed wanting eyes. Those very eyes that I had missed so terribly the past few days.

“Do what?”

“You make everything make sense again.”

I smiled widely at his compliment. “Just talented, I guess.” I grinned as I circled his waist with my arms.

“And, you’re right, I do over think things. Just like I’m probably over thinking exactly what I’d like to do to you right now.”

My cheeks heated as I flashed him a lopsided grin. 

“Hmm, maybe you should join me on this desk of yours and share those thoughts,” I teased as I perched myself on the edge of his desk and snapped his laptop screen firmly closed.

His eyes heated and he released an audible groan before his mouth found mine and his hand cleared the desk of its contents.

“I need to be at the club tonight, do you wish to work?” Julian whispered as his head pressed heavily against my naked breasts.

“Yep, count me in.”

Once showered, I called Sam and Adrian and arranged for them both to stay at home with Maia – just in case. I should probably have warned them about Jay’s presence but I didn’t want to drag anyone else into my mess. I wouldn’t try to hide anymore; I would simply hope and pray that Jay would find me. That way he could take what he wanted from me and no one else had to get hurt, I would give myself to him if it meant protecting the people I loved. There was no way any harm would ever come to Maia with Adrian around, he would fight till his death for her. And, as much as I hoped he would never have to fight for her, I still found comfort in that knowledge.

Julian accompanied me to collect Maia and I wasn’t surprised when I saw yet another member of Julian’s security team at the nursery entrance. Julian introduced him to me as Mickey, an ex-pro in boxing, which was clearly evident in his severely misshapen nose.

I turned in the direction of home as we left the nursery but Julian took my hand and led me in the opposite direction.

“Where are you going? I need to get Maia home if you want me to work.”

“Samantha and Adrian will be spending the evening at my place with Maia.”

“Since when? And why?”

“Since I spoke to them both this afternoon. Security is on the door all night so it’ll be safer there. Plus, Adrian is quite impressed by my television and sound system. He wasn’t complaining,” he grinned. “Although I did wonder when he could possibly have seen those?”

My pulse quickened as I realised what he was referring to. Great, Adrian had dropped me right in it!

“Um, he helped me get my things before, you know. You’re lucky you still have the TV!” I mused as I attempted to make light of the slightly awkward situation. “Anyway, thanks for informing me of everyone’s plans,” I huffed.

Samantha and Adrian arrived shortly before dinner was served. Julian had cooked for us all which was very impressive. He made his signature spaghetti bolognaise – at Maia’s request – which was a success, Adrian even returned for seconds.

“Sorry, Em, but it’s got to be said, that was better than your lasagne!” Adrian said as he rubbed at his over-full stomach.

I rolled my eyes at him with a smile and started clearing the plates from the table before Julian’s arm wrapped around my waist from behind.

“I’ll do that, baby. You go get ready.”

“No, you cooked, I’ll clean,” I insisted as I reached for a second plate. His hand shot out and stopped my arm, pulling it back towards me and away from the plate.

“I’ll do it, no arguments. Go!” he ordered as his firm hand slapped my backside gently. I startled at the sudden contact before turning to him and flashing him my rehearsed seductive smile, knowing the effect that it had on him. I saw his broad chest expand slowly as he inhaled deeply in response. I repeated my smile, this time accompanied by a single wink, and spun around to head for the bedroom with a triumphant smile spread widely across my face.

I closed the door behind me and skipped over to the wardrobe whilst pulling my jumper over my head. I opened the wardrobe door and scanned each item of clothing as I kicked my legs out of my jeans. There was gentle knock on the bedroom door. I hid my nearly naked body behind the wardrobe door and peered around it.

“Hello?” I called out, my heart pounding. Please don’t let that be Adrian! I silently begged.

“I’ve got your top out of the drier for you,” Julian’s voice called back before I heard the opening and closing of the heavy door.

Nice excuse, Mr Scott. I placed my hand at my hip and stepped out from where I was shielding myself.

“Really?” I asked, my voice full of sarcasm.

Julian’s chest expanded once more as his intense eyes heated and narrowed.

“No!” He tossed the top he was holding onto the floor and raced across the room, not stopping when his body pushed against mine until my back slammed against the cold surface of the wardrobe.

He kissed me hungrily, his hands searching and clutching at every inch of my body. He grabbed at the back of my knee and yanked it up around his waist as his other hand fumbled at his belt. He roughly pushed at the waist of his trousers until his arousal sprang free then he pulled the lace of my thong aside before slamming his erection into me.

His thrusts came hard and fast, my back slamming into the solid wood with each one. I held on to my lip fiercely with my teeth, desperate to hold back the groans that were threatening to reveal themselves to the people just on the other side of that door. This felt so naughty, so wrong, yet such a thrilling turn on.

Julian glared into my eyes as his panting grew heavier and his brow became slick with sweat. I pressed my mouth to his to smother my moans as my body tensed around him.

“Fuck!” he blurted against my mouth as his body convulsed. And, as if obeying some sort of order, my body followed, my legs collapsing as they shook violently and I relied solely on Julian’s strong arms for support.

“I told you not to look at me like that. You know what it does to me,” he panted, his chest still heaving with every breath.

“I know,” I breathed, “that’s why I do it.”

“Ah,” he groaned, “you’re killing me, Emily.”

I chuckled quietly at his accusation and kissed his hair. “I love you, Mr Scott.”

“And I love you, Mrs Scott.”

I pulled my head back, pushing against his shoulders to get a clear view of his face.

“You see how good that sounds?” he murmured, still breathing heavily as his body slowly recovered. “Who knows, maybe I’ll have the pleasure of calling you that for real one day.”

“It’s a bit soon for all that, Julian,” I laughed, trying to mask my astonishment at his address.

“One day, baby.” He planted a chaste kiss on my lips and straightened himself, placing himself back into the privacy of his underwear. “People will be wondering where I’ve got to,” he grinned as he stroked a hand through his fine hair and headed for the door.

I showered in record time and dressed in my short black skirt and Samantha’s satin black shirt that Julian had retrieved from the drier. Once my hair was tied up in place, high on my head, I joined the others in the living area. Julian was giving Adrian a guided tour of all of his electronics while Samantha watched and listened, her expression one of amusement.

“Seriously guys, a speaker is a speaker, surely? They all do the same job.”

Adrian simply gawped at Samantha in response as Julian shook his head beside him.

“You all done with the tour, boys?” I asked as I slipped my feet into my black stiletto heels.

Julian’s eyes scanned my clothes as he walked toward me and I noticed their slight narrowing. I had to bite my lip to halt
that
smile that was threatening my lips. Julian leaned in closely and pressed his lips lightly against my cheek.

“Is that skirt not a little too short?” he whispered quietly so that only I could hear.

“No, it’s fine. It could go shorter if you’d prefer.” My voice was laced with sarcasm as I hitched the waistband up higher, revealing a further inch of my naked thigh.

“No, before was fine, thank you,” he replied as he tugged at the hem of my skirt, effectively lengthening it once more.

I kissed Maia goodbye and we left Julian’s apartment, leaving the three of them watching a Disney film on the large, welcoming sofa. Julian took my hand in his firm grasp as he led me out of the building to an awaiting car outside. It appeared to be exactly the same as the car he had loaned in France.

“Did you buy this?” I gasped in horror as I recalled our conversation.

“I had to buy something, didn’t I? I don’t think the good old Bentley is quite up for the job anymore.” His eyes lowered to his hand as he opened the back door for me to climb inside.

“Good evening, Miss Braxton,” Ryan greeted from the driver’s seat.

“Hey, Ryan. How are you?” I replied as I tugged the hem of my skirt lower to protect my thighs from the coolness of the leather.

“Very well thank you, Miss. And you?”

“Yes, I’m good, thank you.”

This really was a spectacular car. Its almond-coloured leather interior oozed class and sophistication and its sheer size was breath-taking. I could fully outstretch my legs without meeting the chair in front. Julian’s mouth turned up in amusement as he watched me twirling my ankles and stroking the leather before I proceeded to pushing buttons on the arm rest, causing my dark tinted window to open and close.

“You like it, then?” he mused.

“I love it!”

I struggled to keep my eyes off Julian’s extraordinary physique as he sat opposite Ryan in the booth directly opposite to where I stood behind the bar.

“You really do love him, don’t you?” Natalie asked as she followed my line of sight.

“I do, Natalie. He’s amazing,” I replied with my eyes still fixated on Julian as he shuffled through a pile of papers in front of him.

He picked up a pen and began scribbling something on one of them and something about the way his muscular hands moved as his long fingers gripped the pen was extremely arousing.

“Okay, now you’re totally eye-fucking him. That’s just gross, Emily.”