All the Wrong Places

by Jerilee Kaye

  She remembered what he said to her a while ago.

  Seriously, good luck asking me to stay away.

  I’m in this for you—all of you.

  Could it be?

  Could they have a chance for a future together?

  Not because his body was craving hers, but because he realized that he still had a heart and after all these years, it was still beating for her?

  25.

  Julianne woke up in the middle of the night. She could hear the rain pitter-pattering on the rooftop. It was dark in the room. She could feel Jin’s arms around her, encaging her in his warm embrace.

  She fidgeted slightly and immediately, she felt him move beside her.

  “Are you okay, Arabella?” he asked.

  “You’re a light sleeper.”

  “Now, I am,” he said. “If I slept like this seven years ago, I would have woken up when you were sneaking out of my apartment. And you wouldn’t have gotten away.”

  “And my father would have come for me, making your life a miserable hell.”

  “He wouldn’t do that,”

  “Ha! My father is full of shocking revelations,” she muttered.

  He drew his brows together and then he stared at her for a long moment, studying her face.

  “What?”

  He shook his head. “What does your father do except manufacture cranes?”

  She sighed. “Well, we have a wine glass bottle factory. He also did a whole lot of high profile mergers and deal-brokerages.”

  “And?”

  She shrugged. “That’s it.”

  He gathered her in his arms again. She rested her head on his shoulder. “Go back to sleep, ma belle.”

  She smiled against his skin. The sound of the rain outside, coupled with his gentle caresses were lulling her back to sleep. A gentle kiss on her forehead was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep again.

  When she woke up again, it was already morning. She was still enclosed in Jin’s embrace. As soon as she moved, he woke up. He blinked back at her and then he looked at the window. The sun was already up.

  “Good morning,” she whispered.

  “Good morning, love.” He leaned forward and kissed her lips gently.

  She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. This encouraged him and he deepened the kiss.

  She wouldn’t deny it anymore. She was still in love with him. And she decided she should stop fighting this. She didn’t know what future awaits them, but she didn’t care anymore. What mattered was what she felt. And right now, she felt happy.

  He was on top of her the next moment. She could feel him, hard with desire again. She moaned when he nuzzled her neck and his fingers lightly squeezed her bare breast.

  He nudged her legs apart and she felt his bare length against her naked center.

  He raised a teasing brow at her. “Already ready for me, my love?”

  She pulled him towards her and said, “Oh, shut up and make love to me.”

  He laughed and then positioned himself at her entrance. “My pleasure, love.”

  And in an instant, they were one. He was more gentle today than last night. He was savoring every second, every thrust. Last night, he was sucking and biting at her skin more. Now, he was showering her with kisses.

  After a couple of minutes, she was screaming his name in the throes of pleasure again. And he joined her shortly after.

  They were still both panting when Jin pulled her to him so she could rest her head against his shoulder.

  “What’s the program today?” he asked.

  “I will cook breakfast first,” she replied. “Then I need to get more sheets.”

  He laughed. “I’ll get them for you,” he said. “Since I’m the one messing them up. Then we need to get flowers for your garden. And some more stuff for Jared’s bedroom. I want him to be delighted in his room. All Rubik’s cube-inspired.”

  “I can leave that up to you. You’re the artist,” she agreed.

  “Challenge accepted,” he beamed. Then suddenly, his expression turned serious. “I wish I would see his reaction when he finally comes home to his room.”

  She sighed. “I could take a video and send it to you.”

  She might have mistaken it but she thought she saw sadness in his eyes, even when he nodded.

  “I’ll go cook now,” she said.

  “Okay,” he said. “I’m starving.”

  She leaned forward and kissed his lips one last time and then she put on her robe and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

  She cooked pancakes and ham, then she made hazelnut coffee. Jin helped her with the dishes even though she insisted for him not to.

  While she was dressing up after taking a hot bath, Jin came up behind her, nuzzling her neck and tickling her.

  She giggled. “Jin! We need to go.”

  “This will only take a couple of minutes. I promise,” he whispered against her skin.

  She turned around and faced him. He kissed her lips.

  “Jin, come on. We won’t get anything done today if we keep distracting ourselves.”

  “I’ll make it quick!”

  She laughed. “No. I don’t want quick,” she protested. She looked at him naughtily, “I want it long… and very satisfying.” Then she bit her lower lip.

  “Fuck!” he cursed. “Now, you’ve made me want it even more.” He pulled her to him and she felt his arousal.

  She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the lips. “Trust me, love. It will be worth the wait.”

  He held her towards him and gave him a searing kiss. She felt her knees buckle. When the kiss finished, he leaned his head against hers. “You drive me insane.” He breathed in the scent of her.

  She gave him a gentle push. “I’m a nymph remember?”

  He pulled her back to him again. “You’re my nymph! And I will kill any other man who would even come near you.”

  “Seriously, you’ll resort to violence?”

  “Yes,” he replied without blinking. “You’re worth it.”

  She blinked back at him. She remembered, she once told him that she wasn’t worth the fight with Patrick McAllister. She was a nobody now. She had no property to her name, not even jewelry. All she had was a few thousands of cash and a priceless son. For her, that was more than enough. But she knew, it wouldn’t be enough for a man like Jin Starck.

  “Did I say something wrong, ma belle?” he asked, sensing her change of mood.

  She smiled at him weakly and shook her head.

  This thing that they had, she should just enjoy it while it lasted. She deserved a few stolen moments of happiness. Even if it was with a man she could no longer have because he was destined to marry someone in the same stature as he is, and because she no longer existed in the same plane as he does.

  “Shall we go? We have tons of things to do today,” she said, pulling him towards the door.

  He looked like he wanted to ask her again what was bothering her but she didn’t give him a chance. She walked ahead of him, tried her best to sound chirpy.

  “Do you think we will find Rubik’s cube drawers? And curtains?”

  She turned to him. He nodded, finally deciding to let it go. “Let’s check Decolure. They always have themed pieces of furniture there.”

  “Expensive,” she said. “A little way above my budget.”

  “I’ll get it for Jared,”

  She shook her head and raised a brow at him. “No.” Her voice was firm.

  He held his hands in the air in surrender. “Okay fine. Let’s try Oaks and Pine then.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s good.”

  They drove to Oaks and Pine and looked for bedroom accessories. They were lucky enough to find a Rubik’s cube drawer. For curtains, Julianne just decided to use plain panels in colors of blue, red, yellow and green.

  Then they went to the nursery area to get her pots and flowers for the vertical garden that Jin made.

  While
the staff were loading up their items in Jin’s car, he put his arms around her waist and pulled her to him in a hug.

  “Happy?” he asked.

  “Super,” she replied. “I love decorating spaces.”

  “I could tell. And I know you’d be good at it too. So, what are you doing heading Justin’s corporate strategy team again?”

  She giggled. “Because right now, that job pays well enough for mine and Jared’s needs.”

  “But if you had more than enough what would you be doing?”

  “I’d be a designer and an entrepreneur. I’d put up ‘The House of Arabella’,” she beamed at the reminder of her childhood dreams.

  He smiled at her thoughtfully. “It’s not too late to chase that dream yet, you know.”

  She nodded. “I always keep a positive thought. Maybe someday.”

  The guys finished loading up their stuff and Jin handed them a tip. Then he took her hand and opened the car’s passenger door for her. “Where do you want to eat? I’m craving for more of your cooking but it’s already noon. Let me take you out to lunch and you can cook dinner later?”

  She beamed. “Gladly.”

  After lunch, they went back home. Julianne noticed that there were movers at the house beside hers.

  “Someone’s moving in or out?” she wondered out loud.

  Jin shrugged. Then he started gathering their stuff out of his car.

  “Can I have the house keys?” he asked.

  She took the bunch of keys that Janis gave her. “Here. One of them is for the main door. The landlord gave me six keys and two or three duplicates of each.”

  He nodded. He took the keys from her and went up to her main door.

  Julianne saw Janis coming down the house next door.

  “Janis!” she called.

  Janis beamed at her. She looked really happy. Julianne walked up to her.

  “You look positively beaming,” she said.

  “Yes, of course. I got lucky. I sold off these houses and the lot at the back. Imagine the commission money, dear!”

  “Houses?”

  “Yes. Including yours,” Janis said.

  “But I just moved in!” Julianne said in shock. “And I’m decorating.”

  Janis laughed. “Don’t panic, my dear,” she said. “You don’t need to move. It just means we need to sign a new lease. Everything stays the same but you’ll be leasing from the new owners.”

  “Oh. Sure. And the terms stay the same?”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry about it. Hold on to your papers for now. I’ll come to you when I get the papers here sorted out.”

  “Oh, okay. I thought you were going to take my apartment away! I love it so much already!”

  Janis laughed. “No. I won’t. You’ve made me so lucky. Since you moved in, I’ve more than tripled my commission earnings. You must be my lucky charm!”

  “Well, if I’m your lucky charm, remember not to kick me out.” Julianne laughed.

  Janis stared over at her shoulder. “Oh, dear. I think your man is waiting for you,” she gave her a wink and Julianne blushed.

  “Yeah. I need to go,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

  She went over to Jin.

  “Who’s that?”

  “My broker. She sold the house next door. And this house too.”

  He raised a brow. “And how will that affect your lease?”

  “She said I’ve got nothing to worry about,” Julianne replied. “I’ll just need to sign new lease papers.”

  “If you need a lawyer to help you on that, let me know.”

  “Seriously? Will the lawyers of Starck Corp. be interested to take on smalltime rent contracts?”

  “If I told them to do it, they wouldn’t have a choice,” he said smugly, taking her hand and kissing her fingers before pulling her towards the house.

  “Relax. I’ll be okay.”

  “If not, you promise to call me first?”

  She took a deep breath. Just now, he sounded like the perfect boyfriend already. And again, she wondered how long they could keep up with whatever it is that they have.

  “Arabella?”

  She smiled at him weakly. Then she nodded. “Yes, I will.”

  He pulled her to him and gave her a hug. “I know, you’re Julianne Sanders and your family came with money and power too. But I want you to know that I’m here for you, okay? You can always count on me. It doesn’t matter which continent I am in… you call, I’ll come.”

  She bit her lips and she fought not to cry. She hugged him back and wished again that things were just as easy as he made it sound. That she wasn’t banished. And he wasn’t supposed to be engaged to some other woman.

  Jin worked hard all afternoon on Jared’s room. He told her not to go to his bedroom first until he was completely done.

  As she was finishing up her meat steak pie, she saw him coming out down from the room. His white shirt had splatters of paint as well as his jeans. He was smiling at her brightly.

  “Can I see?” she asked.

  “Let it dry first.”

  He went behind her and gave her a hug from behind. She felt him kiss the base of her neck.

  “That looks yummy,” he said.

  She cut him a small slice and then she forked a piece and put it in his mouth.

  “Damn!” he cursed softly. “I think I’m bound to grow fat with you. I love your cooking.”

  She poured juice for him and he finished his plate.

  She watched him as he ate. He looked boyish and carefree, like a little boy eating his favorite treat.

  “What?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “You look happy.”

  “I am happy,” he said. “I don’t think I have been this happy in years.”

  She sighed. She understood how he felt. She was very happy too. But at the back of her mind, there was a question she dreaded.

  How long will this happiness last?

  He stood up from his seat and then he kissed her cheek. “I’ll take a shower first and then we can come up together.”

  She watched him walk up the stairs. She could make out the muscles of his well-sculpted back through his white shirt. His hair was disheveled. She locked eyes with him, as he caught her staring at him. He gave her a wink before he disappeared to the second floor.

  She finally breathed freely, now that he wasn’t around to steal her breath away.

  Jin Starck will be the death of me!

  He emerged from the bathroom wearing a pair of blue pajamas and a white shirt. His hair looked wet and he smelled of faint aftershave.

  “Wanna see it now?” he asked.

  “I’ve been waiting for ages!”

  He grabbed her hand in his and led her up the stairs towards Jared’s room. He slowly opened the door. She gasped when she saw what he’s done. The room was perfection!

  “Oh my God, Jin!”

  He made square sections on the wall and painted them randomly with different colors of blue, yellow, green, red, orange and white. Each block was separated from the other by a black line. It looked like a big Rubik’s cube. He painted on one side of the wall, a different swirl of colors, and in the middle of it is a big Rubik’s cube tilted and twisted on one side. It was really beautiful.

  “Oh my God, I will not be able explain this to your sister,” Julianne breathed. “She knows I cannot paint this well.”

  He laughed. “Tell them you hired a painter to work on this for you.”

  “A painter by the name of Jin Starck.”

  “Well… you could tell her that if you want,” he said. “I don’t like keeping secrets from Adrienne. It would be nice if at least, she knew.”

  “And if she knew, Justin would kill you, you know that, right?”

  “Why? Am I not the sort of guy Justin would want for you? Don’t I meet his standards?”

  “Only because you didn’t have a heart, remember?”

  He groaned. “Then I’ll prove myself. If they just give me a ch
ance.”

  She bit her lip as she stared back at his beautiful painting.

  He sounded like we have a future together.

  She felt him pull her to him. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “Do you like it, love?” he asked.

  “I love it.”

  “Do you think Jared will like it?”

  “He’ll be over the moon.”

  He kissed the base of her neck, sucking at her skin. She smiled and turned around to give him a kiss on the lips.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t think I would be able to make it as perfect as this without you.”

  “Are you glad I came with you?”

  She smiled. “Very.”

  He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her passionately.

  She sighed when he pulled away. “Why?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Tomorrow, we need to go. This… ends.”

  He shook his head. “It’s never going to end, ma belle,” he said firmly.

  “But our families… I don’t want to hurt them.”

  “Weren’t your family pushing you to River Jefferson?”

  She blinked back at him. “How… how did you know?”

  He shrugged. “I have ears, Arabella. You don’t know how much I wanted to punch Justin in the face for introducing him to you.”

  She laughed. “They meant well. They thought I should start dating.”

  “If they wanted you to start dating, why not me?”

  “Since when do you do dates?”

  “Since seven years ago when I met you,” he replied evenly.

  “They don’t know that,” she said. “They can’t know that.”

  “Why?”

  Because they would know that you’re the father of my son. And I’m not ready for you and the whole world to know that yet! That would start a whole lot of chaos.

  “Jin…” she breathed. “Can we just keep this to ourselves?”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Why, Arabella?”

  “Because it’s still complicated,” she replied.

  “Complications will never finish. But why are we letting that stop us and what we feel for each other?”

  “Jin…”

  “Arabella… please! I want you to remember that I’m not going away,” he said in a firm voice. “I’ve searched for you long and hard. Now, that you’re back in my life, I’m never letting you go.”