Julian (Trinity Academy 4)

I wait for him to lie down before I snuggle closer. Once he wraps his arms around me, I let out a contented sigh.

He presses a kiss to my hair, then positions us, so we’re lying face to face. He leans in and presses another kiss to my mouth, then whispers, “You’re so beautiful.”

When he kisses me again, I begin to smile.

“And brave.”

Kiss.

“And intelligent.”

Kiss.

“And everything I ever wanted in the woman I want to spend my life with.”

My smile fades as tears begin to well in my eyes. “You’re going to make me cry,” I try to playfully chastise him, but when he looks at me with so much tenderness and love, I can’t control the overpowering feelings bursting in my heart.

He pulls me to him, and I bury my face in his neck as my shoulders begin to shudder. I let the tears wash all the fear and trauma away, and in its place, hope for a beautiful future with Julian begins to grow.Waking up, I feel Julian’s warm skin beneath my cheek and snuggling closer, a contented smile pulls at my lips.

He tightens his arms around me, and his voice is rough from sleep as he murmurs, “This is the best feeling in the world.”

I press a kiss to his chest. “Can we stay in bed all day?”

“Hmm… tempting, but we have dinner with the group tonight.”

“Oh yeah, it’s Sunday,” I mumble, then let out a happy sigh.

“I think we should swing by Trinity and get the rest of your stuff so you can return to classes tomorrow without having to worry about it.”

I shift my head and glance up at Julian. “Yeah, I suppose I have to get that done sooner or later. Then Preston can move back into his room.”

“You want to shower first while I order us some coffee?”

I push up into a sitting position, and the covers slip back, exposing my body.

Julian’s eyes drop to my breasts, and reaching up, he brushes his knuckle over my nipple.

“Or we can stay in bed the whole day,” I tease.

He sits up and presses a hard kiss to my mouth, then climbs out of bed. “No, I have other plans for you.”When I open the door to the suite I shared with Layla and Kingsley, and I step inside, Kingsley’s head snaps up from where she was concentrating on her laptop screen.

The moment she sees me, she drops her lollipop on the table and jumping up, she shrieks, “Oh my God, you’re here!” She runs over to me and grabbing me into a hug, she shouts, “Layla, Jamie’s back!”

She holds me at arm’s length and lets her eyes scan over me. “Are you okay? We wanted to come visit, but Julian asked us to give you some time.” She shoots him a scowl before a wide smile splits over her face again.

Layla comes out of her room and takes hold of Kingsley’s arm, pulling her back. “Let them at least come inside.”

I shut the door behind us.

“I’ll be in your room,” Julian says and presses a kiss to my temple before he walks away.

Kingsley instantly grins at me.

Layla glances after Julian before she looks at me. “How are you? Have the police said anything?”

Oh crap, they don’t know Henry’s dead.

“They think Henry skipped town,” I say so they won’t worry about me.

“Yuck… just hearing his name.” Kingsley gets the shivers while pulling a disgusted face.

“But you’re okay now?” Layla asks again.

“Yeah, I’m much better. Julian’s been amazing and is taking care of me.”

“So…” Kingsley wiggles her eyebrows, “are you a couple now?”

“Of course, they are,” Layla says. “She’s been living at his place for a while now.”

“Are you coming back to school?” Kingsley asks.

I nod. “I’ll return to classes tomorrow. We actually came to get the rest of my belongings so Preston can have his room back.”

Kingsley’s mouth drops open, and Layla’s eyes widen.

Layla seems to recover first. “You’re moving in with him?”

When I nod, Kingsley lets out an excited shriek, and then she hugs me again. “I’m so happy for you.”

Suddenly Julian says from where he’s standing in my bedroom’s doorway, “Falcon doesn’t know. I’d appreciate it if you let me tell him.”

“Of course,” Layla answers. She glances from Julian to me, then says, “You have no idea how happy I am to know you’re together.”

Walking over to Julian, she gives him a hug and whispers something to him before she lets him go.

“We’ll still have our dinners on Sundays, right?” Kingsley asks.

“Yes, definitely,” I reply, appreciating how supportive the girls are. “I’m going to pack quickly.”

When I walk past Julian, I take hold of his hand and pull him into the room with me.

When we’re alone, I ask, “What did Layla say to you?”

Julian walks to my dresser and opening it, he begins to remove the remainder of my clothes.