Kristin savored the time she and Julian spent watching the puppy frolic in the snow before Haven finally found a spot to go potty. They praised her profusely, then brought her back into the house.
She’d swept up as much of the glass from the floor as possible, then helped Julian cover the windowpanes with cardboard. They’d have it fixed in the morning.
Placing the puppy back into her box after padding it with another fluffy towel, she let Julian take the box because he insisted and rode with him in the elevator upstairs.
He placed the dog on his side of the bed. “Sleep with me? Stay with me?”
Her heart melted at the vulnerable look in Julian’s eyes. She discarded her robe and slid into the cool sheets. He got in beside her and gathered her up until their bodies were flush.
She sighed, her muscles finally relaxing because she was exactly where she wanted to be. As difficult as her choice had been, there was no way she could throw away what they had. If the day ever came when Julian got restless about being married and tied down, she’d deal with it. But regrets about throwing away a man she loved more than anything or anybody in the world would be even worse. “I can’t believe you thought I’d left you.”
“Your car was gone. What else could I think?”
Kristin reached up and turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness.
Wrapping her arms around him, she told him softly, “You could think the truth. The reality is that I love you, Julian. I love you so much it hurts sometimes. I can’t leave the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But I hate it that you hurt yourself.”
She started to weep, the stress of the last few days getting to her. Her fear of losing Julian, and the way he’d hurt himself when he’d thought he’d lost her. All of that and more had been keeping her on edge.
Now that she knew how much he loved her, she was relieved.
“Hey, don’t cry,” Julian pleaded.
“I can’t help it. I love you so much that it scares me. I was worried you’d come back and change your mind. And what if you didn’t want a dog? Or you didn’t want me to officially be a Sinclair?”
“You think I beat up doors every day?” Julian asked lightly.
“All this overwhelms me sometimes. I’ll be honest. I’m married to a superstar billionaire, and I’m just an ordinary woman.”
“I’m fucking in love with you, and I don’t always feel worthy of happiness or you, either. Underneath the superficial bullshit, I’m just a man, and a flawed one at that.”
“We’re all flawed,” she admitted.
“Then I guess our flaws are perfect for each other,” Julian answered with amusement in his voice.
“I love you,” she whispered into the dark.
“Dammit! I hate myself for doing this to my hands. I want to be buried inside you so damn bad right now that I can’t fucking breathe,” he said in a graveled tone.
“Just wait, Hotshot. You’ll make it up to me. Just hold me. Once your hands are better, be prepared to be worn out.”
“I’m already there,” he growled. “At least kiss me,” he demanded.
Reaching out in the darkness, she had no problem with that request.
CHAPTER 25
Despite Julian’s protests that he was fine, Kristin took him to the hospital the next day for X-rays. As she’d suspected, nothing was broken, but she had to know for her peace of mind.
Haven followed Julian everywhere he went, her plump little body struggling to keep up with him, and her tail wagging like she was a normal puppy.
Watching from the kitchen, she saw Julian pass by on his way to let Haven outside for about the fifth time, noticing that he stopped and waited when the female pup got behind.
Kristin felt her heart melt and she smiled at Julian when he came back into the house again, holding the puppy, still praising her for going potty outside.
“She’s a good girl,” Julian pronounced with a grin.
“Then I guess we’re keeping her?” she teased.
“I’d keep her even if she wasn’t good,” Julian said in a serious tone. “She didn’t have a very good start in life. She would have turned around.”
Kristin put the casserole she’d prepared into the oven and washed her hands. “How do you know that?”
He shrugged. “I changed. I just needed you to love me.”
Kristin felt tears spring to her eyes. “You didn’t change,” she told him as he gently put the dog on the ground. “You’ve always been good.”
“My priorities have been fucked up for years. But I think I have them straightened out now.” He lifted a wicked brow as he added, “And I’m not always good.”
No. No, he wasn’t. He’d tried to seduce her at least fifty times since last night, but she was having none of it. Even though she ached to be with him, the situation with his injured hands was enough to keep her from doing anything that would hurt him.
“You don’t need to be using those hands,” she argued, even though she’d do just about anything to feel his touch. “We can wait.”