Julian sucked in his breath when Fleur's fingers accidentally brushed against the side of his cock, and when she finally pulled her phone out—-
Fuck!
She had done it again, and this time his gaze swung sharply towards her face.
Fleur gazed back at him, a picture of innocence, but he wasn't fooled at all.
"Try doing that again," he promised, "and you're sure to pay for the consequences."
The dangerous promise that glittered in Julian's golden gaze told Fleur he meant every word, and while she knew that ought to scare her off, she instead heard herself say, "I'll hold you to that."
And then she quickly answered Willem's call before she ended up saying something even more foolish, and oh my God, what was happening to her? Was the prude inside of her truly dead and gone?
"Fleur?"
Willem's taut voice was like being slapped back into reality, and Fleur hastily pushed all thoughts of Julian away. "I'm safe and unharmed," she said right away, knowing that her oldest brother had likely been made aware of her ordeal before most everyone else. Willem might be overly strict and ruthless at times, but he was extremely good at protecting those under his care, and it was why their grandmother had trusted him to serve as patriarch of their clan.
"Do you require medical attention?"
"I haven't suffered a single scratch." There was a slight pause, and since Fleur knew her brother well, she quickly added, "If I do feel anything, I'll come home first thing, I promise."
Willem grunted, and Fleur smiled. That sound was pretty much Willem's version of whatever.
"One last thing..."
Willem's too-casual tone immediately put Fleur on her guard.
"Do I have it right that you were trapped with Julian Alexeyev?"
"Julian...Alexeyev?" She glanced questioningly at Julian as she repeated the name, and Fleur wasn't sure what to think or feel when Julian actually nodded. "You, um, know him?"
"I know enough to say that I do not see him as husband material—-"
"Oh my God, Willem."
There was another pause, and then—-
"Is he there with you, Fleur?"
"Nope."
"You're lying."
"Nope." Shit, shit, shit.
"May I speak to him?"
Fleur nearly threw the phone away. "No, you may not, and I'm going to end the call now. Please give my love to Serenity. Good night."
Julian raised a brow at the way Fleur practically jabbed the screen of her iPhone just to end the call. "That bad?"
The sound of approaching footsteps kept her from answering, and Fleur bit back a groan when she saw Maarten heading their way. "Willem asked you to check on me, didn't he?"
"What do you take me for?" Maarten asked indignantly. "I would have checked on you either way."
"Ha! I still remember when I fell off a swing when I was seven, and you laughed at me."
"That's different," Maarten dismissed. "Kids need to learn from their mistakes."
"And then there was the time—-"
"Alright, alright, Willem ordered me to get my butt off the bed to check if you're okay."
Fleur flashed the older man a triumphant smile. "Knew it!"
"Are you okay then?" Maarten grumbled.
"Not a scratch," she boasted.
Maarten glanced at the man beside his employer, who had been silent all this time. "How did she cope? Was she scared of the dark? Was she foolish enough to think the elevator would fall?"
"All that and more," Julian averred.
Maarten laughed heartily while Fleur shot Julian a look. Traitor!
"Before I forget, Willem says to call him tomorrow. Or else."
"I'm not going to call him, and when he asks me why, I'll tell him it's because you forgot to tell me!"
But Maarten, after nodding to Julian, had already started to walk away.
Grr!
Fleur turned to Julian, hands on her hips, ready to tell him that it was also time for him to go away—-
"Do I have the job?"
Oh my gosh!
She had actually forgotten all about that damn email because of Willem's call, and oh God—-
Dedicate his time to me for twelve nights...
Responsible for taking my virginity...
Must also possess sufficient sexual expertise to teach me the ropes and turn me into a sex goddess...
Fleur shook her head, slowly at first, and then vigorously, once her mind was done reminding her of all of the horribly embarrassing things she had written. Oh, if only it was possible to undo the past with a head shake!
"Why not?"
Julian moved close, and Fleur once again found her back against the wall, their bodies pressed so closely together it was impossible not to feel the enormously hard...thing that was now pulsing against her belly.
"Look at me."
She didn't want to, but she couldn't help it.
"Why can't I have the job?"
Fleur had no idea why either. All she knew was that it didn't feel...safe. It was not safe to get more involved with Julian, but because she also didn't feel comfortable letting him know that-—
"I...don't even know you?"
Julian snorted. "Try again, milaya. The fact that your brothers know me means that what you can find out about me in a minute should be a hell lotta more than what you can find out in a month about whoever it is that Charlotte will hire for you—-"