“Oh,” she said. “Is he here a lot?”
Ethan looked at her carefully, wondering how much he should reveal. “You should probably ask him that.”
She looked ill.
When he saw her expression, he tried to comfort her. “Hey, he’s here with you tonight. That says something, doesn’t it?”
She looked down at her hands and fidgeted with her fingernails. “Um, he isn’t really with me. I’m just an old friend of his sister.”
She looked so sad, with those big brown eyes and that trembling lower lip, Ethan tried to think of something to distract her.
“Julianne, you don’t happen to speak Italian do you?”
She smiled. “Um, it’s Julia, actually. And yes, I do. I’m studying Italian at university.”
Ethan’s expression instantly brightened. “Could you help me text something to my girlfriend? She’s Italian. I’d like to impress her.”
“Gabriel’s Italian is better than mine. You should ask him.”
Ethan shot her a look. “Are you kidding? I don’t want him anywhere near my woman. I see how women react to him here. They’re all over him.”
Julia felt ill once again, but she pushed her revulsion aside. “Sure, I’ll translate whatever you want.”
Ethan handed her his phone, and she began entering his words in Italian. She giggled slightly at some of the more intimate sounding phrases, but on the whole Julia was impressed that Ethan, for all his toughness and rough edges, cared enough about his girlfriend to tell her how much he loved her and to reassure her that he was keeping the women of Lobby at bay. She was just finishing the text when someone came up behind them.
“Ahem.”
Julia looked up into a familiar pair of angry blue eyes.
“Mr. Emerson,” said Ethan.
“Ethan,” Gabriel growled.
Julia wasn’t sure her ears were working. It sounded like Gabriel had rumbled low in his chest like an animal, but that was impossible.
She pressed send on the phone and handed it back to Ethan. “There you are. Now we’re all set.”
“Thanks, Julia. I’ll send a drink over to you.” Ethan nodded at Gabriel and disappeared around a corner.
Julia began to walk toward the restroom.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gabriel followed her.
“To the ladies’ room. What’s it to you?”
He shot out his hand and grasped her wrist, grazing the pad of his thumb across the veins that were pulsating underneath her pale skin. She gasped.
He moved her until they were hidden in a long, dark corridor, pushing her against a wall. He continued to hold her wrist, drinking in the feel of her quickening pulse beneath his fingers and placing his other hand on the wall next to her shoulder. She was trapped.
Gabriel took a moment to inhale her vanilla scent and licked his lips, but his eyes were far from happy. “Why did you give him your number? He lives with a woman, you know. Now he’s buying you drinks and calling you Julia?”
“That’s my name, Professor! You’re the only one who doesn’t use it. And at this point, even if you wanted to use it, I wouldn’t let you. I think you should have to call me Miss Mitchell forever. And I didn’t give him my number.”
“You entered your number into his phone. Do you really put yourself out there with multiple men at the same time?”
Julia shook her head, too angry to respond, and tried to duck under his elbow, but he caught her around the waist.
“Dance with me.”
She snickered. “Not a chance in hell.”
“Don’t be so difficult.”
“I’m just getting started being difficult with you, Professor.”
“Watch it.” He sounded ominous.
Julia waited a moment for the chill his tone gave her to travel up and down her spine. “Why don’t you just stick a knife into my heart and get it over with?” she whispered, looking him straight in the eye. “Haven’t you hurt me enough?”
Gabriel released her immediately and reeled back. “Julianne.” Her name rolled off his tongue as something between a reproach and a question. His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked very upset. Not angry, but upset. Wounded, perhaps.
“Am I so evil?” His voice was low, just above a whisper.
Julia shook her head no, and her shoulders sagged.
“I have no wish to hurt you. Far from it.” He looked down at her intentionally submissive posture, and his eyes quickly sought her mouth. He watched her lower lip push out slightly and tremble. Her eyes darted around anxiously.
She’s frightened, you asshole. Ease up!