Adored: Book 1 (The Beloved Series)

by MJ Masucci

  “Oh God, this isn’t good.”

  “I want you to stay away from him. If you go over there and he’s there, I want you to leave.”

  Nina’s phone started to chime continuously. She glanced at it and he noticed that her eyes got wide.

  “Madison is having a fit. Caden told everyone you attacked him for no reason at all. We need to explain.”

  “No. We can’t explain without you admitting that you two had sex. I can guarantee he’ll call you a liar and say you have a crush on him. Does he know who your father is?”

  “Not really. I don’t tell people about my father. The fewer people that know, the better.”

  “Oh. I said something about him.”

  “What did you say, Julian? You didn’t tell him did you?”

  “I told him if he knew who your father was, he wouldn’t be so disrespectful or maybe he’s just too stupid. Don’t people question why Frankie is around?”

  “No, they just think my father is important and I need security.”

  “Sweet pea, I’m sorry if I caused any trouble for you.”

  “I know you were just protecting me.”

  “You remind me of my sister, Beth. She would’ve been about your age now. I just want to keep you safe.”

  Nina was about to say something when her phone began ringing. He waited for her to answer and didn’t like the sounds of the ensuing conversation with her mother. Julian watched as her face grew red and her voice got louder. They were arguing about him. She ended the call and turned to him.

  “My mother wants me to come home. Mrs. Banner called and told her that you hit Caden. She’s worried you might hurt me.”

  “What? I would never do that. I was protecting you.”

  “Please take me home. I’m going to have to explain, at least to my mother.”

  They were silent as Julian drove through the streets to her home. As he turned into her driveway, they looked up and her mother was waiting at the front door.

  “Do you want me to go in with you?”

  “I think it’s best that you don’t. She isn’t very happy with you.”

  Julian leaned in to kiss her, but stopped when Frankie came around the side of the house.

  “I’ll see you Tuesday. It’s our last class.”

  Nina ran her hand over his before she got out of the truck. He pulled out of the driveway under the steely glare of Frankie. He hoped he didn’t screw things up with her.

  At home, Julian texted NIna and got no response. The next morning and the following two days, the same thing, no response. He was hoping he would see her in the last class, but she didn’t attend. Madison wasn’t there either but he didn’t expect her to be after what he did to Caden.

  By the end of class, he began to worry that he would never see her again. Her mother was plenty pissed and Nina’s lack of response to Julian’s communications told him it might be true. He waited for the last of his students to leave before he left himself. The parking lot was darkened. It looked like the parking lot light near his truck was out. He was several strides from his vehicle when he heard running behind him. Julian was ambushed and knocked to the ground.

  Several men were punching and kicking him. His only defense was to curl up and wait for the blows to stop and when they did; a man grabbed his hair and punched him hard in the face.

  “Fucking low life. Did you think you were going to sucker punch me and not deal with the consequences? You’re nobody in this town, just a fucking orphan that hides in the woods. You did all this for a hot piece of ass.”

  One final blow to his head and Julian went unconscious.

  “Hey, kid, you alright?”

  The voice was muffled.

  “Kid, you okay?”

  He opened his eyes to see Frankie kneeling in front of him.

  “Fr…?” It hurt to talk. His jaw was aching and his vision was blurry so he wasn’t really sure it was Frankie.

  “What the fuck happened to you?”

  “Caden…his friends.”

  “You look bad. I think I should take you to the hospital. Can you get up?”

  Julian tried to stand, but collapsed into the arms of Frankie.

  “Sit here. I’ll bring the car around.”

  Julian waited, the disorientation making it hard for him to focus. Frankie helped him into the car and started to drive to the hospital.

  “Kid, you understand I’m doing my job, right? I like you and I know you were just protecting Nina. She sent me out tonight to give you a note. I’ll let her know you’re in a bad way.”

  “Don’t. I don’t want her to come to me because I’m hurt.”

  “She wanted to come tonight. Mrs. Caro didn’t let her. She thinks you’re dangerous.”

  “Frankie, Caden got what he deserved and I’m paying for it. He said some horrible things about Nina.”

  “You tell me what he said.”

  “I can’t do that without giving away the trust Nina has in me. You’ll need to ask her.”

  Frankie pulled up to the emergency room and helped Julian out of the car. When he was safely in the hands of the hospital staff, Frankie put the note in his jacket pocket.

  “Take care, kid.”

  “Who did this to you?” The doctor attending asked.

  “It’s not important.”

  “It is if you want the police to find the guys.”

  “I don’t. Just patch me up and let me go home.”

  “You got a pretty bad knot on your head. I don’t think your jaw is broken but I’m ordering an X-ray to confirm. You should stay overnight in the hospital.”

  “Fine. I’ll stay only because there’s no one to care for me at home.”

  The doctor finished checking him and completed the information on the chart. Julian changed into a gown and waited. The nurse gave him a sedative after they took him to radiology and he woke up two hours later. There was a figure sitting in the chair in the corner and he tried to focus through his swollen eyes to see who it was. Nina. She had fallen asleep waiting for him.

  “Sweet pea?” His voice sounded hoarse.

  Her eyelids fluttered to the sound of Julian’s voice then fully opened. Her face looked pained as she looked at him.

  “This is my fault,” she whispered.

  “It’s not. I caused this.”

  “But if I hadn’t slept with him then he would’ve never said those things.”

  “You can’t control what other people say. His true nature is to be a jerk.”

  “Did you read the letter I gave to Frankie?”

  “I didn’t have a chance. It’s in my jacket pocket. Lucky he found me after Caden jumped me and brought me here. I’m not sure how long I would have laid there. If you bring it to me, I can read it now.”

  “You don’t need to read it. I can tell you the words I wrote.”

  Nina came to stand near his bed and took his hand, “I love you, Julian.”

  He just looked at her. His heart began to flutter and his stomach tightened. Did she just say she loves me? Julian just stared at her while his emotions roiled around. How was he supposed to respond to her? Did he love her too?

  “Are you going to say something? I just told you I love you.”

  “I’m not sure how to react. Not too many people have told me they love me in the past nine years.”

  “Now you have someone else. It’s been hard being apart from you the last few days. I want to be with you.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea and I told you why. I might break your heart. You deserve better than I can give.”

  “You can’t keep yourself closed off for the rest of your life. People die. That’s just a fact of life. We can’t control it and sometimes it’s unexpected. But if you never open your heart, even a smidgeon, you’ll never know that love was right here trying to get in.”

  Nina’s words warmed him. Julian wanted to know love again and how it felt to be loved by someone who cared. And he wanted to love and care for som
eone.

  “I think I love you, too.”

  “You think?”

  “This is new to me. I’ve kept a wall up for a long time, but with you, I want to break it down.”

  She gently hugged him so as not to hurt his already bruised body.

  “So what are we going to do now?” Nina asked.

  “First, I think your mother needs to realize that I’m not a danger to you. I was just protecting you.”

  “Frankie already had a talk with her. He told her what happened with Caden. And I told her what happened three years ago. That he seduced me.”

  “Oh?”

  “She wants to send Frankie to cut off his balls but I told her no. It’s over and I’m over it. It didn’t damage me. She asked me if we had sex yet.”

  “I hope she appreciates that I’m trying to be a gentleman. To me, you’re precious just like you are to your family. I hope she knows that. I would never hurt someone unless they hurt you or someone else I loved.”

  “She knows. She wouldn’t let me out on the weekend. Not like it matters. Madison is my only friend and she’s angry at me.”

  “Maybe you should tell her what Caden and his asshole friends did to me. That should make her feel better.”

  “I want to tell her what he did to me and see what she says. Her brother is a dick. Don’t think I didn’t see him looking at me on Saturday. I should have told you to take me home before what happened, did.”

  “Like I said, you can’t control others. Does your father know?”

  “Oh, God, no. If he or my brothers knew, Caden would be dead.”

  “I guess that’s a good thing then. So how are we going to work this?”

  “I want to come home with you tomorrow. You need someone to help you until your better.”

  “I can handle it by myself. You keep taking care of me and it makes me look like a wimp.”

  “Julian, when someone loves you, they want to take care of you. You make me smile. Can you tell me what you’re painting for me?”

  “I won’t. It should be done soon.”

  The nurse came in to check on him, interrupting their conversation. After Julian’s vitals were taken and the nurse left, he went back to sleep quickly without saying another word. Nina smoothed his thick hair off his forehead. His handsome face had been marred badly by Caden and his friends. It made her want to call her brothers to get back at him but that would not end well.

  Nina settled to sleep on the chair and finding it uncomfortable, slipped into bed with Julian. He mumbled something about how good she smelled, then he went back to sleep. In the morning, she awoke to him staring at her. She was molded against him in a bed built for one.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “This is the first time we’ve slept so close in bed together.”

  “It’s also the second time I’ve slept with a man and both of those times were you.”

  “I like having you in bed with me. You smell good.”

  “You said that last night when I came up here.”

  “I did? I don’t remember.”

  Julian shifted and winced, biting his lip against the pain.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “My ribs hurt.”

  She moved his gown over and saw that his stomach and side were riddled with bruises. It brought tears to her eyes.

  “Don’t cry. It's only bruised, nothing is broken.”

  “But you’re hurt because of me.”

  “I don’t want to rehash this conversation. It’s over. It’s going to be fun driving up to my place today.”

  “I can drive.”

  “My truck is temperamental. I’m not sure you would like it.”

  “Then let me drive you in my car and Frankie can drive your truck.”

  “I’ll be fine. I can drive myself.”

  “Julian, why are you being so stubborn?”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve gotten used to being self-sufficient. I’ll let Frankie drive my truck.”

  Later that morning, he was discharged from the hospital and Frankie came to take them to the annex parking lot. When they got there, what they saw gave them a shock. All the windows on Julian’s truck were smashed and every tire was flat. He got out of the car clenching and unclenching his fists.

  “I’m going to kill that fucking bastard. Beating the shit out of me wasn’t enough for him. He had to go and destroy my truck.”

  “You can get it fixed.”

  “I only have liability on it because it’s old. It was a good truck, but I’m going to have to get a new one.”

  “Hey, kid, I’ll take care of having it towed for you.”

  “Donate it for parts if anyone wants it.”

  “Frankie, can you take us over to Jensen’s Auto? I can buy a truck right now. I’ll need something to drive. I can’t have you taking me back and forth up the mountain.” he said looking at Nina

  “You’re in no condition to go truck hunting.”

  “I can’t be up there without a vehicle.”

  “Fine.” She sounded annoyed, but he let it go because he knew she was just worried.

  In a matter of twenty minutes, he’d selected a truck, paid for it with a check and was told it would be ready to pick up the next day. Frankie drove them back to Nina’s house so they would have a car for the day. Julian waited in her car so he didn’t have to climb any steps while she went inside to get some clothing.

  He was dozing in the passenger seat when he heard a knock at the window which startled him awake. He winced at the unexpected movement. Mrs. Caro was peering in the window at him. He rolled it down to speak to her.

  “Hello, Mrs. Caro.”

  “Julian. I’m sorry I judged you. I know now that you were only protecting Nina.”

  “I swear I would never hurt her. I…I love her.”

  Mrs. Caro raised her eyebrows, “You love her? So soon?”

  “I do. She has been kind and sweet to me.”

  “I want you to be careful with her. She needs to be treated well. How old are you?”

  “I’m twenty-six. And I promise to treat her well.”

  “Mom, stop interrogating him,” Nina called as she came out the front door.

  “I’m not. I’m apologizing.”

  “Thank you,” Julian said.

  Nina kissed her mother goodbye and got into the driver’s seat. She drove slowly out of town and up the winding road, slower than she had the first time she visited. She was angry that at the time, her rage pushed her to take chances. This time, the man she loved was beside her and in a great deal of pain.

  Julian once again dozed and was groggy when she woke him. He stepped out of the car and his eyes immediately focused on the garage. Something didn’t look right; the doors were slightly ajar. Nina told him it was because he was used to the truck being parked there, but it was something different.

  With great effort, he walked up to the loft and wanted to scream. They had been here; all the paintings he had spent hours creating were now destroyed, even the one he was painting for Nina. Julian lost control and started smashing to the floor whatever he could grab. Nina stood there and watched until he was in serious pain and breathing heavy, then collapsed on the untouched couch as he began to cry. Tears slipped down his cheeks and his shoulders shook. She went to him and he clung to her, placing his head in her lap. It seemed like hours that he stayed that way.

  She stroked his head and tried to soothe him. As if a switch was flicked, Julian rose from her lap and took her face in his hands, pressing his lips hard on hers. His tongue forced her mouth open and he pulled her onto his lap. His hands were all over Nina as if in a frenzy. He tugged at the hem of her shirt whispering for her to take it off which made her pull away.

  “No, Julian, not like this. I want you, but not here and not now.”

  He looked at her confused, “Why not here?”

  “I can think of a ton of reasons. You’re hurt both physically and emotionally. You’re not
thinking straight. Please, let’s go in the house.”

  She led him like a child. On the way, he thought about what he had just done. His actions made him no better than Caden. He didn’t want her to equate their first time with anger and hurt. She was right to tell him no.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. You deserve better. I’m most upset about the painting I was making for you.”

  “What was it?”

  “You, when you were sleeping. You looked so beautiful. It was almost finished and now it’s destroyed.”

  “You’ll make me another one. I’ll pose for you so you won’t have to do it from memory.”

  “You’ll be my muse?”

  “If you want me to be.”

  Nina got Julian settled into his bed. He had expended a lot of energy and was in pain. The doctor had sent him home with a prescription and she made him take a couple of pills. They made him sleepy so she spent the day cleaning the loft throwing away the broken paintings. She tried to piece together the slashed one that had been his work in progress but it was too badly damaged.

  Frankie brought Julian’s truck to his house the next day and Nina closed it in the garage, hoping it would cheer him up when he was able to see it.

  Chapter 7

  “Nina? Sweet pea, where are you?”

  “Out here.”

  She was sitting on the porch steps enjoying the last days of summer. The evenings had started to grow cooler and she was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

  “How are you feeling? You’ve been out of it the last few days.”

  “I know, but I’ve had a sexy nurse taking care of me.”

  He sat down on the stairs and leaned over to kiss her.

  “Why don’t you sleep in bed with me tonight? I can’t imagine the futon is comfortable for you.”

  “It’s fine. I like it very much. Why haven’t you gotten regular living room furniture?”

  “I just never got around to it. The cabin sat for months while I was in college.”

  “But you’ve been living here for what, four years?”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Isn’t it time you got some adult furniture?”