There were times when it had convinced me to not leave the house, purely because of the walk up and down the stairs with groceries. That had also gotten me hit a few times by Gerald for being ungrateful and lazy. Usually that meant going to bed hungry as well. Honestly, I still thought it was a bit worth it. Stairs were not my friend.
As the elevator doors closed, my back slumped against the cool metal wall, and Julian stepped into my space. I let out a small sound as his large arms came down on either side of me, caging my frame as I watched him curiously. It should have intimidated me, the way he was so much larger and blocking out the light, but instead I found my fingers twitching to touch him.
Although even I knew that would be a total weirdo thing to do.
“Where did you go just now?” he asked softly.
I answered honestly before overthinking it. “This is all a bit overwhelming, Julian. Far nicer than I’m used to, and it’s not really helping the overall feeling that I don’t belong here.”
My wolf huffed at our thread of insecurity. As if she didn’t feel the same way!
His gaze darkened, flashing black before he smoothed a hand up my neck and cupped my jaw. “This is exactly where you belong, precioso.”
I didn’t believe that, but I nodded anyway, not wanting to dissuade him from thinking so. Also, was it weird that I found myself fighting the urge to ask him to touch my bite mark? I wanted his fingers to run over it, or his lips. My core tightened thinking about his teeth on my neck and how amazing that would feel.
I didn’t know what this man wanted from me, but I wanted to give it to him. Plus, he was far more welcoming than the other man I had met minutes ago. He’d been a bit rude, but Goddess, had he been beautiful. A bit crazy seeming, but objectively gorgeous. Almost model-like.
What was his name again? Caedmon the asshole? I was pretty sure that was how Julian had referred to him. My wolf rolled over onto her back, watching Julian with a forlorn look, upset she’d yet to meet his wolf. I couldn’t lie, I wanted to as well. I also was curious to know what type of wolf Caedmon was, because he didn’t smell or feel like a fenrir wolf. My wolf let out a small whine at the concept of being around him again, making me nearly rear back. That was weird.
Luckily, Julian didn’t seem to notice.
“After you press the fifth floor button, you always have to make sure to rescan your ID to actually open the dorm door because this floor just has the five of us on it,” Julian suddenly explained as my eyes moved to where the elevator was slowing on the dot that had a ‘5.’ He lifted his ID to a black pad, which lit up green and chimed.
When the elevator dinged and opened onto the fifth floor, the doors this time on the opposite wall of the elevator, I was instantly swarmed by several different scents, and all of them had a soft smile crawling onto my face. I could smell Julian’s scent as well as two others that weren’t as familiar, but they had me feeling at ease.
“Wow.”
My eyes went wide at the truly massive room we stepped out into. My gaze was instantly drawn to the massive window wall that overlooked the lake, just like on the bottom floor. Except up here, it was a much more encompassing view, and I found myself walking forward across the dark wood tile floors to see the full extent of the icy shores. My wolf was instantly up and hopping around, excited to see so much snow and ice.
“I take it you like it?” Julian mused. I turned away from the window to find him right behind me.
I looked up and flashed a smile. “How could you tell?”
“I can feel your wolf jumping around.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. My eyes went wide in surprise, not just because of his statement but because of the way his hand smoothed over my waist, slipping beneath the two jackets I was wearing. I leaned into his touch, absolutely loving the way it made my entire body feel.
“You can feel that?” I asked, trying to keep the slight tremble and surprise from his touch out of my voice.
He nodded, and before I could ask about his wolf, he began to point things out about the room we were now facing. The triangular-shaped main space had large, dark furniture that looked quality-made and masculine in style, comfortable rugs layering each area. A large television hung on one of the walls, and the front space overlooking the lake seemed to be used as both a study and living room. The room was separated by the elevator column, and behind it I could see more windows and what I was nearly positive was a kitchenette.
“There are five suites to each floor,” he mentioned finally, showing off two doors to one side and three to the other. I found myself naturally wanting to stay in this small window-filled space, the comfortable chair right behind me perfect for curling up and reading. I had to shake myself and remind myself that this wasn’t really my space. I was just being allowed to stay here. Everything here was so beautiful, and the realization that this looked like a magazine cover had me feeling truly inferior.
“Want to see your room?” he asked curiously, putting my bag down as he gently shrugged off his jacket from my shoulders. His hands on my skin, despite being separated by my own jacket, had me shivering as they moved over my frame. I should have been nervous about being alone with a man I literally didn’t know, but instead I was hating that he was removing his jacket from me. His scent. This was going to be a problem.
I finally processed his words.
“What do you mean my room?”
I suppose I hadn’t considered where I would be sleeping. I mean, I could just sleep on the couch, I’d done so before… I guess it made sense to have a room, though.
“Can’t sleep on the couch,” he mused.
I mean, I literally could, but now I felt silly for thinking that. I was so out of my element. Also, how did he know what I’d been thinking? Was I that obvious?
“Come here.” He gently intertwined our fingers as if understanding I was having issues with all of this, leading me towards a door that was closer to the front of the space, on the side with three suites. My eyes gravitated towards the lake again, my wolf’s excited whining and yelping making me want to tell her to zip it, but I figured that would probably seem weird. Although, I wasn’t just around fenrir wolves anymore, so maybe not? I stepped closer to Julian as he opened up the dark door, flipping on the lights.
“Check it out,” he said, gently ushering me in.
The entire space smelled clean, almost like lemon cleaner, and the dark floors contrasted the tall white walls. To the front of the room was a windowpane that was on a slight diagonal, following the angle of the building, and to the left was a door that I assumed led to a bathroom, maybe? I swallowed nervously, looking around the space that was flooded with light, stepping back slightly into Julian.
Yeah, I couldn’t handle this. It was too much change at once. I didn’t know what to do with so much space all to myself.
How did I convince him the couch was the right option for me?
“It comes with a full-size bed and a dresser and desk,” he pointed out, his fingers smoothing over my shoulders as he stood behind me. “We will need to make sure you have some bedding, but the rest is up to you.”
I was thankful that the furniture was bare despite being modern and high quality. The small aspect made it moderately easier to deal with… barely. I let out a small exhale.