“But I want to help.”
“We’ll cook together tomorrow night.”thought about this for a moment. “I don’t know how you’d feel about it, but I have Grace’s chicken Kiev recipe. We could make it together.”looked up at him uncertainly.
“Scott used to call it squirt chicken.”He smiled sadly and kissed her again. “I haven’t had it in years. I’d be glad for you to teach me.”’s likely the only thing I’ll ever be able to teach you, Gabriel. You are a love god, amongst other things.She brushed his lips with hers and made herself comfortable on the bar stool.
“Tonight’s dinner is brought to you by Scaramouche. Since Mohammed cannot come to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed.”
“Really?”
“Everything is here, including a very fine Grand Marnier chocolate cake from Patisserie La Cigogne. And I have an extraordinary bottle of wine that I’ve been saving, which I will allow to breathe before we get started.”winked at her. “I even have candles for the cake.”
“Thank you for a lovely evening, Gabriel. It was — the nicest birthday I’ve ever had.”
“It’s not over yet,” he rasped slightly, his bright blue eyes sparkling. “I haven’t given you your present.”blushed deeply and looked down at her hands, wondering if he had meant to sound so sensual. I wonder what “present” he wants to give me. I know what present I would like. It’s official. I am now fantasizing about making love with Gabriel…’s erotic imaginings were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She walked to her purse and checked it reluctantly.
“I don’t recognize the number,” she mused. “But it’s a Philadelphia area code.”answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Hello, Jules.”inhaled slowly, making a strained vacuuming sound with her lungs. All the color disappeared from her cheeks, and immediately, Gabriel walked over to her, knowing that something was very, very wrong.
“How did you get this number?” she managed before her legs grew rubbery. She stumbled to a chair and sank down.
“That’s not a very warm welcome, Julia. You’ll have to do better than that.”razored her lower lip with her teeth, not knowing how to respond.caller sighed dramatically. “Your father gave me your number. I always enjoy talking to him. He’s very forthcoming, which is more than I can say for you. You’ve been a spoiled little brat.”closed her eyes and began to breathe in and out very fast. Gabriel took her hand to try to lift her to her feet, but she wouldn’t move. “What do you want?”
“I’ll overlook your bitchiness because I haven’t spoken with you in a while. But don’t push your luck.” He lowered his voice to a near whisper.
“I called you because I wanted to see how you were doing in Toronto. Are you still living on Madison Avenue?”caller laughed, and Julia placed a hand to her throat.
“Stay away from me. I don’t want to talk to you, and I want you to stop calling my dad.”
“I wouldn’t have to call your dad if you’d responded to my e-mails., you deleted your account.”
“What do you want?” she repeated.frowned his concern and gestured for her to give him the phone. She shook her head.
“I had an interesting conversation with Natalie the other day,” the voice said.
“And?”
“She said that you might have a few photographs that belong to me.”
“I don’t have anything of yours. I left everything behind. I think you know that.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I simply wanted to tell you that it would be very unfortunate if those photos ever ended up in the hands of the press.” The voice paused. “I have a video or two of you I could pass around. I wonder what your dad would think if he saw a tape of you on your knees with my — ”his foul description rang in her ears, Julia made a wheezing noise and dropped the phone. It crashed against the hardwood and skidded toward Gabriel’s feet. But by this point, Julia was already running for the guest washroom. The sounds of her dry heaves echoed down the hallway.for the caller, Gabriel had overhead his final threat.picked up the phone and put it to his ear. “Who is this?”
“This is Simon. Who the fuck is this?”hissed involuntarily, and his eyes narrowed into slits.
“This is Julianne’s boyfriend. What do you want?”was silent for a moment.
“Jules doesn’t have a boyfriend, asshole. And no one calls her Julianne.her back on the phone!”growled, the sound rumbling from his chest. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll do what she says and leave her alone.”laughed darkly. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.is unstable. She’s a very troubled girl, and she needs professional help.”
“In that case, it’s a good things she’s dating a professional.”
“A professional what? Asshole? Do you even know who you’re talking to? My father is — ”
“Listen, motherfucker, you’re lucky we aren’t in the same room or you’d be spending the evening in surgery trying to have your head reattached to your body. If I find out that you’ve contacted her again, in any way, I’m going to come after you, and not even your father, whoever he is, will be able to make you sentient again. Do you understand? Never contact her again.” Gabriel snapped the phone shut and hurled it against the wall. The cell phone broke into several pieces that scattered across the floor.closed his eyes and counted to fifty before he allowed himself to go to her. He’d never been so angry. Or had such murderous thoughts. It was a good thing Julia needed him. Otherwise, he was pretty sure he would have hunted that boy down and killed him.poured a glass of water and carried it to her. She was seated on the cold, ceramic edge of the bathtub in the guest washroom. Her head was down, and her arms were wrapped across her chest, her poor corsage shaking with the trembling of her hand.the fuck did he do to her?she reached down to tug the hem of her skirt over her knees, the sight of her instinctive attempt to maintain some semblance of modesty made his heart clench.
“Julia?” He handed her the water.sipped it slowly, but didn’t respond.joined her on the edge of the tub, pulling her into his side.
“He told you about when I was with him, didn’t he?” Her voice was low, dull.hugged her closer. “He demanded to speak to you, but I told him not to call again.”looked up at him as a tear slowly leaked from one eye. “He didn’t — say things about me?”
“He mumbled incoherently until I threatened him.” Gabriel grimaced.
“And I wasn’t kidding.”
“He’s really nasty,” she whispered.
“Let me worry about him. And if that means flying to Philadelphia to speak to him in person, I’ll do it. And he won’t like what happens if I have to make that trip.”was only half-listening. Simon made her feel used. Filthy. Pathetic.she didn’t want Gabriel to look at her like that. She didn’t want him to know what had happened. Ever.
“Sweetheart, what did he want?”
“He thinks I have some pictures of him, and he wants them back.”
“What kind of pictures?”sniffled. “I don’t know. They must be pretty bad if he’s so worried.”
“Do you have anything like that?”
“No! But he says he has videos of me. Personal videos.” She shuddered.
“I don’t think he does, but what if I’m wrong? What if he fabricates something and sends it to my father? Or posts it online?”swallowed his revulsion as he reached over to wipe her tears away. “He won’t do that, unless he’s stupid. As long as he thinks you have something potentially damaging to him, he won’t act preemptively. I could speak with your father and explain that I heard this miscreant threaten you.no matter what he posts online you’ll be able to say it’s a fabrication created by a stalker.”looked up at him wildly. “You can’t. My dad is already upset that I’m traveling to Selinsgrove with you. He can’t know we’re together.”ran his fingers through her hair before he quickly wiped away another tear. “You didn’t tell me that. Not that I blame him. But you need to tell him what happened tonight so that he won’t give Simon any more information.”nodded.
“I can speak to my lawyer tomorrow. You can file a complaint against him, and we can try to get a restraining order. We can also try to figure out if he actually has videos of you or if he’s bluffing.”
“I don’t want to do anything to antagonize him. You don’t understand — he has powerful connections.”pressed his lips together. He wanted to push her to take action, or to take action on her behalf, but it was clear that she was traumatized.he didn’t want to add to her distress.
“If he contacts you again, I’ll speak with my lawyer and that boy will be introduced to an entirely new level of discomfort. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to pick out a new cell phone, and we’ll get you a Toronto number. You should tell your father to keep the new number secret.”lifted her chin so that she would look into his eyes. “He can’t touch you. I promise.” He smiled widely. “Don’t let the glasses and bow ties fool you. I can take care of myself. And I won’t let anyone hurt you.” He kissed her lips chastely and added a small kiss to her forehead. “When we’re home for Thanksgiving, you’ll be with me when you aren’t with your father. And I’ll always be only a phone call away. All right?”murmured just to let him know that she’d heard him.
“Julia?”
“Yes?”pulled her into a closer embrace. “This was my fault.”gave him a questioning look.
“If I hadn’t left you that morning — if I had come back to Selinsgrove to find you…”shook her head. “I was only seventeen, Gabriel. Dad would have pulled a gun on you.”
“I should have waited.”sighed, and her face wore a pained look. “You don’t know how much I regret not waiting for you. He’s why I never celebrate my birthday.he just ruined it again.” She began to cry quietly.kissed away her tears. “Forget about him. It’s just us, now.one else.”wanted to believe him. But unfortunately, she knew that her past was only just now beginning to catch up with her. She trembled in fear when she thought about what the holidays might bring.had very bad luck when it came to Thanksgiving.24Tuesday evening, Julia had a very tense albeit edited conversation with her father about the previous weekend’s events. She called him on her new iPhone, explaining why she had to change her number. He’d been trying in vain to speak to her for three days but had only reached her voice mail. He was annoyed.
“Dad, I had to change my number because Simon called me.”
“Oh, really?” Tom’s voice was hesitant, which made Julia suspicious.
“Yes, really. He said that you gave him my number. Then he called and harassed me!”
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
“I’ll give you my new number, but I don’t want you to share it with anyone, especially Deb. She’ll just turn around and give it to Natalie.”continued talking to himself, as he was wont to do. Until he realized there was a person on the other end of the line. “Don’t worry about Deb.”
“Yes, Dad, I worry about her! Her daughter still talks to Simon. What if she tells him I’m coming home? He could show up at your house!”
“You’re overreacting. He isn’t going to drive all the way out here. We had a nice conversation last week. He was very polite and simply said that you had a few things that belonged to him. He didn’t want to bother you, but I gave him your number and said it would be okay for him to call you.”
“I don’t have anything of his! And even if I did, you know I don’t want to talk to him. He is not a good guy, Dad. He acts one way around you.me…” Julia shook slightly.
“Are you sure it wasn’t a misunderstanding?”
“It’s pretty difficult to misunderstand threats and harassment, Dad. He doesn’t get to talk to me. He doesn’t get to be my friend. And no apology will make up for what he did.”sighed into the phone.
“All right, Jules. I’m sorry. I won’t give anyone your number. But are you sure you don’t want to give him a second chance? He comes from a great family. And everyone makes mistakes.”rolled her eyes so hard they nearly spiraled out of her head and dropped onto the floor. In that instant she wanted to be vindictive. She wanted to ask her father if he would have taken her mother back if he’d seen what she walked in on at age twelve — Sharon bent over the kitchen table by one of the boyfriends. But she was not vindictive, so she didn’t.
“Dad, he might be a senator’s son but he’s a son of a bitch. And what was broken can never be fixed. Trust me.”exhaled loudly. “Okay. When are you coming home?”
“Thursday.”
“And you’re driving with Rachel and Aaron?”
“That’s the plan. Gabriel is coming too.” Julia tried to make her lie convincing.
“See to it that you stick close to Aaron and as far as possible from Gabriel.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s a bad apple. I’m surprised he isn’t in jail right now. All I can say is he’s lucky he moved to Canada.”shook her head. “If he was a felon, the Canadians wouldn’t have granted him a work visa.”
“Canadians let anyone in. Including terrorists.”stuck her tongue out at her father’s anti-Canadian bias and proceeded to plan her visit with him, hoping against hope that he would keep his promises.another Dante seminar in which Christa shamelessly flirted with Gabriel, Julia found herself walking home with Paul, who continued to be charming and friendly. They commiserated over Christa’s new sexier-than-thouwardrobe and please-let-me-seduce-you-before-you-fail-mestiletto boots, before Julia bid him good evening and entered her apartment. She made herself a modest dinner of chicken noodle soup and Lady Grey tea, and admired her birthday presents.Julia’s birthday had been so rudely interrupted by Simon, Gabriel poured her a glass of wine and insisted that she relax by the fire while he prepared dinner. After dinner and a candlelit birthday cake, he presented her with gifts before taking her to bed.’d stayed awake almost all night, caressing her back and her arms, their legs rubbing together. She’d woken up several times in a nightmare-induced haze, but each time he’d comforted her and held her more tightly.felt safe with him but worried about how he would react when he found out the truth. If she was ever able to work up the courage to speak the words.iPhone was a gift — of sorts. On Sunday morning, when Gabriel sheepishly held out the broken pieces of her old phone, she’d laughed, for which he’d been grateful. When he explained that he was so angry that Simon had upset her that he’d smashed her phone, she smiled. She graciously accepted his more sophisticated replacement as well as his patient tutelage in learning how to operate the damn thing.’d uploaded the photos Rachel took at Lobby, which pleased her greatly. And he helped her enter all her contacts and numbers, although he’d arched an eyebrow when she explained that he needed to enter the name “Dante Alighieri” in conjunction with his own number. He’d also stubbornly insisted on choosing his own ring tone.’s primary birthday gift was a series of digital copies of Gabriel’s Botticelli prints. He had them mounted in a special book with her name engraved in gold letters on the cover. Even though they were only copies, the collection was priceless. And he had handwritten a dedication on the flyleaf in his elegant script:my Darling Julianne,Birthday.each year be better than the lastmay you always have happiness.enduring affection,fingered his inscription, tracing the curls of the capital G. The illustrations were, without doubt, the finest gift she had ever received.addition, Gabriel had given her a small photo album of black-and-white pictures. In some of them, her identity was recognizable. In the rest, the subject was only a glimpse of a face, or a lock of hair against a long, white neck or a laughing girl with her eyes closed. She felt beautiful when Gabriel kissed her and when he touched her. But viewing these photographs made her feel as if Gabriel saw her beauty. He saw and captured it, recording it forever.of the pictures were sexy, some were innocent, and some were sweet. None of them were embarrassing or the kind of photo that would humiliate her if they were sent to her father or posted on the internet. Her favorite was one in which she stood in profile while a hand with long white fingers held up her hair, a man’s face in shadow pressing his lips to the nape of her neck. She could have blown that photo up to poster size and tacked it to the wall over her bed, the Holiday painting be damned.that, simple Simon.P
“Why are you calling? Is something wrong? Did you do something to Julia? I swear to God, Gabriel, if you — ”held his iPhone away from his ear as his sister expertly berated him. “I didn’t do anything to Julia,” he interrupted. “Her ex-boyfriend called her on Saturday, and she went to pieces. I’d like some answers.”
“Holy shit. Is she okay?”
“She was very upset. But she won’t tell me much.”
“Of course not. Why would she talk about it with her professor?”bristled. “We were discussing Thanksgiving and making plans for the trip when that motherfucker interrupted us.”
“A bit angry there, Gabriel. Why do you care?”
“Because that bastard, whoever he is, sweet talked her father into di-vulging her unlisted cell phone number so that he could harass her.”
“Shit,” said Rachel.
“Quite,” said Gabriel. “So before I bring her back to Selinsgrove, where he might possibly pay her a visit, I’d like to know who I’m dealing with.”sister was silent.
“Rachel? I’m waiting.”
“I don’t know what you’re expecting me to tell you. This is Julia’s past.need to ask her.”
“I told you, she won’t talk about it.”
“Can you blame her? If you know that he’s a motherfucker, then you know why she doesn’t want to talk about him. She won’t even say his name out loud — she’s that skittish.” Rachel paused for a minute and took a deep breath. “Simon’s father is Senator John Talbot.”blinked in recognition. “And?”
“Julia met Simon when they were freshmen. He swept her off her feet in the beginning, but I got the impression that he could be difficult. She went to Florence her junior year, and when she came back, they broke up.didn’t see her again until I came to visit you. Aaron hated Simon, so I didn’t spend a lot of time around them.”fumed. “You didn’t answer my question. What kind of difficulties are we talking about? Assault? Infidelity? Emotional abuse?”
“Honestly, I don’t know everything. I pieced together a few things from a conversation I had with Natalie, Julia’s old roommate. Simon was an arrogant jerk who liked to have Julia on his arm. It’s obvious he crushed her spirit. I think we can imagine the rest.”
“He said that Julia is disturbed. That she needs professional help.”
“The guy is a lying bastard, Gabriel. What did you expect him to say?”exhaled her frustration. “Julia’s biggest problem is him. If you want to help her, you should try to make her life easier and not harder. I hope you aren’t intimidating her anymore with your pretentious bullshit. She had enough of that with him.”
“Actually, we’re getting along quite well.” He sniffed.
“As well as in the pictures I e-mailed to you?” Rachel giggled wickedly.
“We have a professional relationship.”
“You might be fooling everyone else, but you can’t fool me. Julia broke down and told me she had a date with someone Saturday night, and coincidentally, you’re with her on Saturday when Simon calls. So tell me, Gabriel, did you see Julia after her date or before? And how was it?”
“We’ll arrive in Selinsgrove on Thursday. I’ll bring Julia to the house.”’s voice was cold.
“Good. I think she needs to tell her dad that she wants to stay with us.Simon comes to town, he won’t look for her there. And Gabriel, thanks for what you did about the house. Dad is so relieved. I think we all are, Scott included.”
“It was the least I could do. Bye, Rachel.”
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Now go cheer her up and be gentle. Otherwise you’ll never coax her out of her shell. Love you.”
“I — bye.” Gabriel ended the call somewhat uncomfortably and returned to the task of preparing next week’s Dante seminar.the impending end of term, Julia’s workload increased expo-nentially. In addition to writing her thesis, she needed to complete essays for her seminars, which were due December fourth. On top of everything, she was working on applications to graduate schools for doctoral programs.and Gabriel had a vague conversation late one night about her applications. He knew that she wanted to go to Harvard and that she was focusing a great deal of her attention on that application. What he didn’t know was that the thought of leaving Toronto, of leaving him, was almost unbearable, and so unbeknownst to him, she completed an application to the University of Toronto, as well.Julia was spending most of her days and all of her nights working, Gabriel was wading through a sea of grading and writing his second book.preferred to spend his evenings with Julia, even if they were both busy, and sometimes he was able to persuade her to work at his apartment. He would occupy his study, and she would spread her papers across the dining room table. But she usually didn’t stay at the table very long. Somehow she would always end up in his red velvet chair in front of the fire, chewing the end of a pencil and scribbling something into a notebook.seeing each other rarely, it was with much relief that the couple dragged their luggage from Gabriel’s apartment to a waiting cab on the day they left for Thanksgiving vacation. As they watched the taxi driver place their bags in the trunk, Julia looked up and saw the autumn wind blowing Gabriel’s hair, swirling the strands into his eyes. Without thinking, she reached up and brushed the hair out of his face and pressed her lips to his. She stroked his face tenderly, trying to tell him with her eyes what she was too afraid to say.stared back at her, eyes burning, and grabbed her by the waist.pulled her into his chest, deepening the kiss and exploring her lower back through her peacoat. She pulled away first, giggling like a schoolgirl as he surreptitiously patted her backside with a smug grin.
“Still trying to find the right adjective,” he teased, sneaking in a final tap. “Although pertcomes to mind.”
“Behave,” she warned, toying with his hair again.
“I need to get this out of my system,” he countered, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “I’m going to have to go cold turkey for three days.”at Pearson Airport, Julia was surprised when Gabriel pulled her into the exclusive line for executive and first class passengers at the Air Canada counter.
“What are we doing?” she whispered.
“Checking in,” he whispered back, his lips curling up into a smirk.
“But I only had money for a coach ticket.”caressed her cheek with his thumb. “I want you to be comfortable., the last time I flew coach I ended up sitting in urine, and it cost me a pair of expensive trousers.”arched an eyebrow at him.
“I had enough frequent flyer miles for an upgrade, so I bought coach tickets and upgraded them. Technically, you only owe me for the coach fare.that I want your money.”gazed at him quizzically. “Urine, Gabriel? I didn’t know that Air Canada had a section for the incontinent.”waved a hand. “Don’t ask. But it’s not happening to me again. Besides, they’ll at least provide us with drinks and something more substantial than pretzels.” He kissed her softly, and she smiled.flight to Philadelphia was largely uneventful. After disengaging the phone utility, Gabriel continued his tutoring sessions on iPhone 101, showing Julia various applications on his phone and asking her if she wanted the same ones. As she perused his programs, she found the iPod function and scrolled through his music files — Mozart, Chopin, Berlioz, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Matthew Barber, Sting, Diana Krall, Loreena McKennitt, Coldplay, U2, Miles Davis, Arcade Fire, Nine Inch Nails…hit a button by mistake and found herself looking at Gabriel’s university e-mail account. She glanced at it quickly as she tried to switch to the photo album application, and was stunned to discover that both Professor Singer and a Paulina Grushchevahad e-mailed him in the past week. She resisted the urge to read his e-mails and closed the application.was peering through his glasses at a journal article, oblivious to what had just occurred.are they e-mailing him?The answer was obvious, but it didn’t prevent her from asking herself the question. She nibbled on one of her fingernails distractedly.had uploaded several of the black-and-white photos of her, including some she hadn’t seen before. As she scrolled through them, he somehow became aware of what she was doing. Embarrassed, he tried to wrest his phone out of her hand, but she held it fast and began to laugh.wanting to give their fellow passengers a show, he moved closer and threatened in a whisper to kiss her senseless.gave him back his phone.snuggled up at Gabriel’s side while he put his research away and pulled out a hard-covered volume from his briefcase.
“What’s that?” Her soft voice interrupted his thoughts.showed her the cover. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene.
“Is it good?”
“I just started it. He’s considered to be a very good writer. He wrote the script for The Third Man, which is one of my favorite films.”
“The title is depressing.”
“It’s not what you think.” He shifted in his seat. “Well, it is, but it isn’t.’s about faith and God and lust…I’ll lend it to you when I’m finished.” He smirked at her and leaned closer so that he could brush his lips against her ear. “Perhaps I’ll read it aloud to you when we’re in bed together.”’s cheeks pinked up at that remark, but she smiled. “I’d like that.”pressed a light kiss to her forehead. She snuggled into his side and relaxed. He found himself peering down at her from time to time over the rims of his glasses.found it difficult to put into words how he felt when she was near him. How content he felt whenever she touched him, or when they were enjoying the simple pleasures of music or literature or food and wine. She inspired the strangest emotions and desires, such as wanting to read to her, to chastely share a bed with her, to lavish her with gifts both decadent and plain, to protect her from harm, and to ensure that she smiled daily.this is happiness, he thought. Perhaps this is almost what Richard and Grace had.The thought intrigued him.love her.started suddenly. Where had that voice come from? Had someone said it aloud?He looked around quickly, but the other first class passengers were either napping or otherwise engaged. No one was paying any attention to the nervous professor or the beauty who dozed next to him.’s too soon. It’s just not possible. I can’t love her.Gabriel shook his head at the voice, wherever it came from, and returned to his book more than a little disquieted.arriving in Philadelphia, Gabriel pulled his rented Jeep Grand Cherokee out of the airport’s parking garage.
“Which hotel did you choose?” Julia asked, staring out of the window into the darkness.
“The Four Seasons. Do you know it?”
“I know where it is, but I’ve never stayed there.”
“It’s very nice. You’ll like it.”Gabriel failed to mention was that he had booked a suite that had a panoramic view of Logan Circle. He also neglected to tell Julia that their room had a beautiful marble bathroom with an exquisite bathtub.noticed the bathtub before she noticed the view. Not to mention the complimentary fruit basket the manager always provided for his most important guests.
“Gabriel,” she breathed. “It’s beautiful. I’d love to take a bubble bath but…”smiled at her and gently took her elbow, leading her inside the bathroom.
“You will have complete privacy, and your companion will behave like a gentleman.” He paused and a wicked gleam came into his eyes. “Unless you need me to wash your back. In which case, you’ll have to blindfold me first.”grinned. “We could use one of your bow ties,” she whispered.’s mouth dropped open. Then she started laughing, and he realized that she was only teasing him. Minx.he watched her remove her purple robe and slippers from her suitcase, he quickly realized that there was no way he was going to be able to sit in the living room of the suite while Julianne took a bubble bath. It was a bit too King David for him. So he mumbled an excuse about finding a newspaper and went to the lobby. He decided against sitting at the bar, populated as it was by various hungry-looking women, and instead enjoyed a glass of wine and a sandwich while sitting in an arm chair in a quiet corner.picked up a copy of The Philadelphia Inquirerand spent the next hour dodging the aforementioned women, trying valiantly not to dwell on the beautiful body of the Bathsheba bathing upstairs.the time he returned, the scent of vanilla filled the room, and Julia was curled up like a cat on the bed. Her chest rose and fell in a gentle rhythm, her long dark hair spread out across the sage green duvet. She was still wearing her purple robe and her kitten heeled slippers.watched her sleep for a moment and felt a wave of emotion wash over him. As he tried to sort out his feelings, it occurred to him that the development of their relationship was not being held back solely by the university. It was being held back by him, by his secrets.also by hers.’d determined that he would not make love to her until he revealed everything. Although it pained him to think of it, he knew that it would be best if he waited until she did the same. That meant that Julianne would have to feel comfortable and safe enough to finally tell him what happened with Simon. Otherwise, he would only ever know part of her and not the whole. And they needed to know all of each other.was important to him that they not break the letter of the non-fraternization policy, even though they were breaking it in spirit. On top of that, although he’d fantasized about moving their physical relationship forward, the nature of Simon’s threats had put an end to those fantasies.knew based upon her receptivity that she would be willing to participate in manual or oral contact before the end of the semester. It would certainly stave off his cravings and satisfy some of his desires, temporarily.after hearing that Simon might have videotaped a particularly intimate encounter, there was no possibility of Gabriel persuading her to perform that act. He was determined to treat her gently and respectfully, and not speed things along for his own gratification. Although he would not have used this word, Gabriel craved intimacyalong with sexual contact, and because of what he surmised had happened in Julia’s past, he was unwilling to allow anything other than sexual intercourse to be their first connection.knew that in making this decision, as in deciding not to make love to her without first revealing his secrets, he was making it less and less likely that such intimacy would ever occur. But he wanted more with her and not less, and certainly not just what her ex-boyfriend had taken from her, a fumble in the dark meant to mimic the true connection one found in sex. Fumbles which had always left Gabriel somehow wanting.deserved a man who was willing to give all, in a manner that was tender and patient and focused on union, and not simply to use her to satisfy his physical desires. She deserved to be adored and even worshipped, especially her first time. Gabriel would be damned if he would give her anything less.sighed deeply and looked at his watch. It was almost two o’clock in the morning. They both needed sleep. He gently removed her slippers and, picking her up in his arms, tried to pull back the bed covers. Her robe fell open, exposing her elegant neck, collarbone, and one of her breasts. It was perfect. A rosy nipple budded against creamy white skin. So delicate.round.not what he needed to see at that moment.struggled to place her underneath the sheets while keeping her from being further exposed, then he lightly tugged at her robe until she was covered, completely resisting the urge to take her rosy tip between his fingers. Or his lips. That was one sight he would never forget. Julianne was stunning in clothes, but Julianne without clothes was like Botticelli’s Venus.walked over to the windows that looked out over Logan Circle and began rummaging through the fruit basket. He poured himself a glass of Perrier and ate an apple, and when he was satisfied that he could control himself, he changed into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms and quietly slipped into bed.sighed at the movement and instinctively turned to face him. This one small, simple act made his heart swell. Even in her sleep, she recognized him and wanted him. He pulled her, all covered, into his arms and kissed her goodnight.he fell asleep, he thanked God that the end of the semester was only a week away.they arrived in Selinsgrove the following afternoon, they drove immediately to Richard’s house. Julia called her father as soon as they pulled into the driveway.
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