How You Touch Me (8 page)

If Julian wasn't holding me tightly, I think my legs
would have given way right there and then. I lean into his embrace,
my mind reeling. He has just broken down all his walls and allowed
me into his heart. The magnitude of what he has just said, what he
has just done, hits me hard and I suddenly bury my face in his solid
chest, stifling a sob.

I'm still falling, Sophia.

I hadn't imagined that. That—wasn't my
imagination.

It's real.

And those three, soft words were real too.

I hadn't imagined him whispering those three precious
words to me. He had spoken them when he thought that I was fast
asleep. I look up at him, and say through my tears, “Tell me.”

“
Tell you what?” he murmurs, kissing my
forehead.

“
Tell me what you told me in my room, when you
tucked me into bed and watched me sleep. Tell me what you said to me
when you thought I was sleeping. Tell me what you could only say
when you thought I couldn't hear you.”

His mouth falls open. His wide-eyed, stunned expression
last only for a second. Bewilderment ripples into amusement, and a
smile creeps across his features. “Oh, Sophia.” He
kisses my hair, and suddenly looks embarrassed. “You heard
everything.”

“
Yes I did.”

“
Okay, so—since you heard everything, tell
me.” He turns the tables on me. “Tell me what I said.”

“
You...” I bite my lip. “You
said...you said that...”

“
I love you,” he finishes.

I jerk my head up.

He looks deep into my eyes and repeats in a whisper, “I
love you, Sophia.”

Tears spring to my eyes. I try to pull away, but Julian
doesn't release me.

“
Sophia,” he says softly, looking
searchingly at me. “Can you...talk to me?”

“
What?”

“
Talk to me, about you.”

I gape at him. “Why?” I manage to breathe
at last.

“
I want to know more about you. I want to know
all about you. I want to know you, Sophia.” He takes my face
tenderly in his hands.

I try to look away, but he won't let me. “Look at
me, Sophia. Look at me. What do you see?” He tilts my chin
up gently.

I gaze for an eternity into his eyes, and I see myself
reflected in his dark, soulful eyes. “I see you, Julian,”
I whisper. “And...I see me.”

He pulls me into his arms and holds me. “Let me
know you, Sophia,” he says, leaning his cheek against my head.
“Let me see you.”

I am about to nod when we hear the loud jangle of the
doorbell.

Julian jerks his head away from me and frowns. “There's
someone at the gate. Who can it be at this hour?”

I step back, pulling the blanket tighter around my naked
body. “Go see who it is, Julian. It must be an emergency.
I'm okay. I'll be in my room.”

At the landing, he lets me go reluctantly and runs down
the stairs. I go to my room but I don't close the door fully.
Instead, I leave the door open a crack and peep out. I can hear the
astonishment in Julian's voice as he answers the intercom.

“
What are you doing here?”

A woman's voice answers. “Hello Julian. Aren't
you going to open the gates for me?”

“
Why are you...”

“
Oh come on, Julian! What choice do I have? Do
you think I like driving all the way out here in the middle of the
night?”

After a long while, I hear him open the front door and
say tersely, “Come in. Let's talk in the office. This way.”

“
I know the way.” The woman's voice rings
through the house, shattering the uneasy silence and my fragile
trust.

Her heels click distinctly across the floor, and I hear
Julian's soft steps following her.

Once I hear Julian's office door close behind them, I
dress quickly and race down the stairs. I cannot bring myself to
just hide in my room while Julian and a woman, who has just
mysteriously appeared at his doorstep in the middle of the night, are
ensconced in his office. I have to know what is going on.

I need to know.

End of Book 2