Jason's Princess: A King Brothers Story (20 page)

She shook her head and tried not to panic. No, it wasn’t like her to sleep around (not like Jason). She immediately dismissed that disturbing thought. No, he had told her that he loved her. He wouldn’t lie about that because he was too honorable. Jason was many things but he would never play with a woman’s feelings. She believed him. But how did she feel in return? Did she even know?

She turned on the hair dryer, flipped her head down and waved the dryer over her wet locks.

She was used to keeping things locked inside, mainly to protect Charlie from her tears after her parents died. Billy had broken her heart at the same time, so maybe she hadn’t just been protecting Charlie but also herself. Knowing what she did now about Billy made her sick. It made her angry that she’d wasted so much time on someone who obviously didn’t love her back, not to mention that this person had psychotic tendencies.

She felt like a fool.

Had it been foolish of her to sleep with Jason last night?

Ugh! She didn’t know but she knew that he made her feel things that she had never felt before; like being cherished.

Like a princess
.

Billy had NEVER made her feel special in any way. He’d always made her feel like she was privileged to be with him. His parents had reminded her at every turn that she was only temporary in his life. She understood everything now and it made her angry to have been so manipulated by immaturity and a desire to be loved.

So much time wasted
.

She finished in the bathroom and made her way back out to Jason’s room. He had brought her bag in from the other bedroom as well. Apparently, he wanted her to stay in his suite. So typical of Jason to take charge of the situation and boss her around. Normally, she would’ve felt like he was railroading her but this gesture made her feel… wanted. It stopped her cold.

Memories of last night flooded to the surface. She had been examining a particularly interesting tattoo on his chest just above his heart….

“What does this one mean?” she’d asked as she leisurely outlined the beautiful, but exotic script above his left pectoral muscle.

He held her hand while she swirled her finger around and around the flowing lines. “My grandma DeeGee is Assyrian.”

“Oh? Which grandma?” King didn’t sound all that foreign to her.

“My mom’s mom. We spent a lot of time with her when we were little. It’s very important to her that she share her family’s culture with us.” He was looking at her while she continued her exploration.

She grinned at him. “So what does it mean, silly?” She was laying on his chest now, her chin on his sternum, her eyes bouncing from his handsome face to his tattoo and back again.

He kept his left hand over hers, still caressing the ink while moving his right hand to her back where he drew soft circles around her spine, giving her goosebumps. After a beat he smoothed his right hand up her spine and under her hair to her scalp. With tenderness he looked into her eyes and said, “
Ga kooli khayee libee eeli it deeyakh
.”

The words were both rough and enchanting. She felt hypnotized by his voice and the foreign sound; by the fact that he was speaking an exotic language to her.

“What does that mean?” she whispered.

Never taking his gaze from hers, he stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. He kissed her lips tenderly before saying against them, “
For all my life my heart belongs to you.”

His eyes welled with tears and it was as if the earth had shifted. Everything became clear to her. He really and truly loved her. She hadn’t felt truly loved by anyone since her parents died. In that moment, she realized that Billy had never loved her and what she had felt for him was not love but something one-sided and juvenile; not real.

She slid up Jason’s body and pressed her lips to his, getting lost in him once more…

She cleared her throat even though there was no one else in the room. She wiped her eyes and cheeks dry and moved to her bag. She was going to put on her clothes and face this new day with a different attitude, a happier one. At least, as happy as she could be with so much going on.

Oh, Julie, you are a silly, silly girl. You are not a princess and you still have a little brother who needs you
.

Thinking of Charlie got her moving and all those unsettling thoughts disappeared as she focused on her brother and what he’d had to endure because of her childish association with a known psychopath. She knew now that she hadn’t protected him when their parents were alive and had only provided for him after their death out of obligation and fear of losing him to the system. She would make sure that he stayed safe now that she was aware of what an idiot she had been.

When it came to her brother, she wasn’t afraid of asking for help, either. Josh had stepped up in the beginning because he was a wonderful friend. With the Kings’ help, she knew Charlie would be ok.

On that note, she left Jason’s suite to find out what everyone was doing.

She entered the smaller family kitchen first and found Camille at the stove stirring something in a big stock pot.

“Good morning, my sweet girl! How was your night?” Camille asked with a sly grin on her face. Julie blushed from hair roots to big toes.

“It was wonderful,” she said with a smile. She didn’t want to embarrass either of them but Camille seemed happy about things, especially as she put the big spoon down and wrapped Julie in a warm embrace.

“Oh, Julie. Don’t be shy with me or embarrassed. I have been secretly rooting for Jason since Josh brought you home to meet us.” Camille gave her another squeeze.

Wait, what?! Camille knew Jason’s feelings?

“Really?” Julie asked, pulling a little away so that she could look Camille in the eyes, the same bright green that graced Jason’s handsome face.

“What I mean, my dear, is that I know and love my boys. Oh, they think I’m just their silly mom but as their mother I know what is good for them. And you, Julie, are definitely good for my Jason.” She smiled a sweet smile and hugged Julie again before returning to the stove. She picked up the spoon and continued.

“Jason was my hellion, a true wild child. He was lovable, don’t get me wrong but he was always strong-willed. Jarod is the oldest but Jason has always been more of the leader. He tended to be more physical than the other two. James made sure to ingrain in all three of our boys the importance of right and wrong and for standing up for those who are too weak to stand on their own. Thank God too, that Jason understood what his father meant because with his size and crazy teen hormones his life could’ve gone in a different direction, especially since he was hanging out with that Billy.” She said Billy’s name as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. Julie understood that perfectly.

“Jason had quite the reputation in school. I was afraid of him at first,” she told his mother.

Nodding her head, Camille said, “Yes. I can see how he would frighten you. However, when they came home that night, Jason acted funny. I couldn’t put my finger on it until Josh came home and told me what had happened.”

“You mean the fight and them getting kicked out of the arcade, right?”

“No. That was so normal I didn’t even bat an eye,” she laughed. “Jason had just met you, Julie. I could see it in his face that he’d been bitten by the love bug. The next morning all he talked about was you. He kept hounding Josh about what you liked, what classes you were taking, your family and did you have a boyfriend. When he found out that Billy had swept you up right in front of his face my strong, confident son was crushed. It broke my heart.”

Julie frowned. She remembered the time that Charlie came home with a broken heart after a girl he had crushed on had gone out with someone else. She had been offended on his behalf and didn’t want to have anything to do with the girl, even though he remained a part of her social group. Didn’t Camille feel the same way about her? She didn’t understand.

“You must’ve not liked me very much after that,” she said.

“On the contrary, Julie. I knew that what you felt for Billy was just a crush. Billy could be very charming. He never fooled me, of course, but because he was involved with Jason and you, I tolerated his presence in my home on the few occasions that he lowered himself to enter. …
the little shit stain
.”

Julie coughed. Surely she had misunderstood that last bit, it was said so low.

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I have known for a very long time that you and Jason were meant for each other. I’m just glad that it’s happened so we can all move on and I can now focus on my other two sons.”

And with that she put the lid on the stock pot and pulled Julie into the den.

CHAPTER 19

DANE

Jason was on the phone with his foreman when Julie and his mother walked into the den. Lord, she was even more beautiful this morning than she had been last night.

She ’s finally mine
.

He smiled at her and was rewarded with one of her shy smiles back.

“The police have taken down the crime scene tape from your office and cleaned up their mess. The security team your father sent over is still here reinstalling the cameras around the area. Will you be heading down to the site today?” his foreman said in his ear.

“No, Dennis. Some things have developed here so I won’t be on site for the rest of the week. You can handle things until I get back. Just keep me posted on progress.” Jason shoved his phone in his pocket and strolled over to Julie.

“Good afternoon, Jujyfruit. How was your shower?” He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. She blushed prettily for him too. This was going to be a great day.

“It was nice, thank you,” she said quietly.

His mother had moved to kiss his father’s cheek. They were speaking quietly to one another at the executive desk near the window. His father’s office was big enough that several conversations could take place without interrupting others. It was a masculine space with mahogany bookshelves, a bank of filing cabinets and a sitting area with a sofa, love seat and coffee table.

He ran his fingers across Julie’s cheek to her forehead and frowned. The damn stitches reminded him that not all was perfect in their world, even though she was a part of his life now. He hoped Jarod or Dane would have news this afternoon. Josh had said Candy was awake. Hopefully, she had the information they needed to get Billy out of their lives for good.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked her.

She smiled that sweet smile of hers and said, “I’m thinking what a difference a day makes.”

“Good or bad?”

“Definitely good.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. He held her tight and kissed the top of her head, relieved that she seemed happy this morning. She hadn’t told him exactly how she felt about him, but he wasn’t going to complain. Later, when they were alone, they would talk things through. He wanted her to stay with him but he was currently homeless and she had a lot on her mind.

“Have you seen Charlie?” she asked. Then she crinkled her brow and said, “And where are Lauren and Josh?”

“Josh and Charlie are in the horse barn. Jarod and Lauren went down to the station,” he said.

“I want them out, they’re driving me crazy!” Charlie yelled as he burst into the house.

“All right, kid, calm down. Let me get the first aid kit.” Josh said, following close behind a raging Charlie.

“Oh my gosh, he’s hurt!” and Julie was out of his arms in a flash, his mom hot on her heels.

“Well, I guess we know where we rate,” his dad chuckled.

“We better go see what’s going on. If I know Charlie, it sounds like he’s still seeing red.”

They followed the women into the utility room where they found Charlie pacing and Josh rummaging through the cabinets.

“Mom! Where’s the…. Oh, there you are. We need the first aid kit.” Josh sounded a bit out of breath.

His mother retrieved the kit from one of the cupboards while Julie went to Charlie and quietly inspected him.

Obviously irritated, Charlie batted her hands away. “I’m fine, Sis. I just want these stupid stitches out. They’re driving me nuts.”

“So… what? You think Josh is going to cut them out of you? I don’t think so. You need to be checked out by the doctor first, Charlie.”

“Aw, come on! It’s just a bunch of thread, in my skin,” he pointed out the obvious, “soaking up sweat and itching me like crazy. The doctor can look at my head later. Besides, Josh said we can’t leave until we’re safe.” Charlie looked ready to take matters into his own hands, so Jason considered how to handle this. He knew removing stitches was no big deal but he didn’t want to cross Julie, either.

“Let me see your melon, kid.” Jason calmly walked over and inspected Charlie’s wound.

“Here’s the nippers, Jason.” He took the scissors from Josh and glanced at Julie. Her forehead was kissably scrunched up again in that adorable way. He fought the urge to take her back into his arms.

“Have you removed stitches before?” she asked.

“Yeah. It’s not a big deal, Jujyfruit, and Charlie will feel better without them. The wound looks healthy and closed so he should be fine.” With that he took the scissors from Josh and a pair of tweezers. He proceeded to cut and then carefully remove each stitch. Charlie didn’t move a muscle trusting Jason to fix him up.

When he was done his mom handed him a cotton ball with antiseptic ointment on it and a couple of butterfly bandages.

“Leave those on until tomorrow, kiddo. Just to be on the safe side.” Jason put the scissors and tweezers back in the kit and looked at Julie. She was inspecting her brother’s forehead, in her typical concerned fashion.

She’ll make a wonderful mother some day
.

She interrupted his uncharacteristically domestic thoughts, asking Charlie, “What have you been doing today?”

“Josh and I went out to the barn and did chores; then we hit the gym.” Charlie turned to look at James. “The new gym is fantastic! Josh and I put on boxing gloves and punched the heavy bag. I think between all the sweat and the hay from the barn, it made my head itch like crazy. I just couldn’t stand it any longer.” Charlie smiled apologetically to everyone.