CHAPTER 29: TURNED ON AND ABANDONED

Catherine’s POV

Gabriel’s voice carried through the door, almost teasing: "I’m coming in. You have a minute to cover up if you’re not."

Every cell in my body froze.

Julian’s head snapped toward the door, his eyes narrowing. He was just standing there like we weren’t about to get caught.

"Oh my God." I hissed, spinning toward him. "What are you doing? Hide. Get in the closet!"

He blinked. "What?"

"Go!" I shoved at his chest, worried about what Gabriel would think if he walked into my room and found Julian. "Just—please—go!"

He looked more amused than alarmed, even as I pushed him toward the small walk-in across the room. "You owe me for this," he muttered under his breath, the corner of his mouth lifting in that maddening, half-annoyed smirk.

"You better stay quiet," I whispered harshly, pushing the door closed on him right as the doorknob to my bedroom turned.

I barely had time to flatten my hair and smooth my face into something resembling calm before Gabriel stepped in.

He looked around first, his eyes flicking to the open balcony curtains, then the desk, then back to me. "Hey," he said with a faint smile. "Sorry, I thought I heard voices. Were you talking to someone?"

My throat went dry. "Uh, no. Not really," I replied quickly. "I was on a call."

That was the fastest, reasonable lie I could come up with.

He tilted his head a little. "Oh?"

"Yeah," I forced a small laugh. "From a friend of mine, we were just catching up."

He nodded slowly, but his eyes lingered a little too long. "Alright."

From behind the closet door, I swore I heard Julian chuckle.

Gabriel’s voice came again. "Actually," he said, stepping further inside, "I wanted to ask if you could help me read through my topic outline. I need to know if it makes sense before I submit."

"Sure," I answered, maybe too quickly.

"You are the best," he replied with a grateful smile and crossed the room to sit on my bed.

I froze, my skin crawling with awareness as he sat down and pulled out his tablet. The faint tap, tap, tap of his fingers on the screen ringing in my head.

Gabriel’s voice faded into a distant blur as he started explaining something about research questions. I nodded when it felt right and smiled when I had to but my entire body was attuned to the space behind that door.

Meanwhile my ears could hear every one of Julian’s movements, the creak of the wooden floor, the way my chest tightened every time he moved.

At one point, Gabriel leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You okay?" he asked, noticing — maybe — how distracted I was.

"Yeah, I just—" I swallowed. "I just feel tired. Remember I told you I was sleepy?"

He nodded sympathetically. "Oh, true. I’m sorry for disturbing you. I just needed to be certain that my work was okay."

I smiled. "No no. You didn’t disturb me. I am glad I could be of help."

His gaze flicked around again briefly but searching, before he finally stood. "Thank you. I’ll let you have your night’s sleep now."

"Sure. Goodnight," I said quickly, maybe too eagerly.

He smiled, oblivious, and walked to the door. "Goodnight, Catherine."

The door clicked shut.

For a moment, I just stood there, motionless, heart pounding in my ears. Then I let out a long, shaky breath and pressed a hand to my chest.

The relief was short-lived.

From the closet came Julian’s low, amused voice.

"I had no idea you were such a good liar and actor."

I turned sharply. "Shut up."

The door creaked open, and he stepped out.

He moved with that calm, almost lazy confidence that always got under my skin, like he was in control of the entire room, even after hiding in a cramped space for five minutes.

He didn’t stop until he was standing right in front of me.

"I didn’t expect you to lie about being on a call," he murmured, a hint of laughter in his voice. "That was fast and creative. I’ll give you that."

"Julian, just—don’t start," I said, rubbing my temple. My nerves were already shot.

He tilted his head, studying me. His eyes were charged. "You sounded so nervous."

"That’s because I was nervous, obviously."

"Right." He stepped closer. "And lying to protect what we have, too. Cute."

I swallowed hard. "You’re welcome."

Something flickered in his expression, something darker. His gaze dropped briefly, then lifted back to my face.

He took another step forward.

The distance between us shrank until I could feel his breath against my skin. The air seemed to thicken again, heavy and restless.

My knees hit the edge of the bed, and I sank without meaning to.

Julian followed, not sitting, but lowering himself slowly until he was kneeling in front of me. His hands came to rest on my thighs, his palms feeling warm, firm, steady.

He didn’t say anything at first. Just stayed there, moving both palms up and down my thighs in a very sensual way that made my breathing hotter and faster.

"Catherine?" He called my name slowly. I looked down at his face. He was looking at me too.

"Yes," I dragged the word out, my voice coming out very low.

"I’m losing it again. Tell me to stop before I do something we will both regret."

I shook my head in opposition.

How could he even tell me that? Wasn’t it obvious to him that I wanted it just as badly as him?

But Julian pulled back immediately, rising to his feet. His expression turned blank and that teasing edge was gone.

What was he doing?

"Next time," his voice came low, "think before you kiss someone you don’t even want."

The words hit like a slap. Before I could even form a reply, he was already walking toward the door.

I stared after him in disbelief, anger, and humiliation. My hands trembled against my knees.

The door clicked shut behind him, and the room went silent.

Only then did I realize how fast I was breathing, how my skin still burned where his hands had been, and worse than that, how much I hated that part of me that didn’t want the feeling to fade.

Yet again, Julian had turned me on, just to abandon me. Was this a game to him? If yes, I needed to find a way to square up and not let him continue to get under my skin.