Chapter 30: Overly Caring Big Brother

“Me?” I echoed. Our foreheads being pressed together made me blush and look away again. Even a single glance into his beautiful blue eyes could make my heart flutter. Hell, they already were again.

Fucking hell. Why do I keep feeling this way?? I don’t want this!

“The hell is that supposed to mean? I’m fine. Let me go!” I snapped while still not making contact with my stepbrother.

Julian placed his hands on my slim shoulders and then ran them down my back toward my bikini’s tie. “I’m really sorry about my sister. I don’t know why Grace is so obsessed with you. All she does is complain about you all day long when she’s talking on the phone with her friends.”

Hah. Sounds familiar…

I was about to grumble my thoughts out loud but with how close Julian is to my face, he would definitely overhear it and that’s the last thing I wanted happening in this situation right now. I eventually noticed his hands going down my back. Though it was meant to be a calming gesture, the touch of his fingertips grazing down my wet skin left an electrifying feeling that I didn’t want to end, I could feel them all individually.

“Are you cold?” Julian’s voice broke me out of my trance. My mind was still hazed by the sensations that hypnotized me, making me unable to find the words to respond to him. After a few seconds of silence, Julian just gave me that charming grin of his and wrapped me up in his muscular arms. His body frame wasn’t big and meaty like a wrestler, his muscles were lean and yet held a power that I didn’t come across too often on the west-side.

I felt like the meat in a tortilla by the way he wrapped himself around me and pulled me closer to the wall of the mansion. We were a distance away from the pool and within a blind spot from the mansion’s windows. Nobody would be able to see us. And despite how cozy he made my smaller body feel, my instincts still kept me on edge when I was next to him all alone. He had proven multiple times that I couldn’t completely trust him.

“I can get warmer faster in my room,” I said bluntly as if stating the obvious that didn’t cross his mind. I was honestly looking for an escape route out of his grip and back into the eyes of others. It was a damn shame that I felt safer while in the presence of other people when I was with Julian. It was something I’d never done before. People would do that when I come around and now here I am, doing exactly what my victims would do. But my plan didn’t work, and Julian kept me rooted in place, keeping me against the wall.

“I don’t want you to catch a cold.” He murmured softly in my ear while laying his cheek down on top of my head. I bit my lip in frustration. He countered my escape route so easily that it almost pissed me off. I hated being outsmarted.

“So what? No cold bothers me.” My bluntness now showed the agitation I was beginning to feel. I tilted my head up to finally look him in the eye. “Let go of me, Julian.”

He stared down at me silently for a few seconds before his grin returned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. You’re right, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” He spoke kindly while unlocking his arms.

“Uh-huh.” I grouchily grumbled while walking away from him. Even with my bikini tied on tightly once again, my breasts still bounced with each marched step. Any other time I wouldn’t care if someone stared and I’d just flip them off if they ended up gawking too much. And yet when I’m around Julian, I want to cover them up.

I went inside the mansion and stomped my way upstairs to my room. Several maids looked at me in surprise when they heard my loud footsteps and then quickly looked away and minded their own business as soon as they saw the angry scowl on my face.

As I went into my giant bedroom then in my overly large bathroom, of all things, I saw that I was all out of towels. “The hell? I know I had some…” I mumbled to myself in utter confusion. I was sure that I had a few left. I gave an annoyed sigh as the first assumption came to my mind. “Fucking maids… gonna have to tell Gabriel to keep the fuckers out of my room.”

“Need some of these?” The sudden voice behind me makes me jump and spin around like a startled cat would and hiss angrily at their territorial intruder. My voice was nowhere near a hiss as I shouted angrily at the man who just walked in unannounced.

Julian.

“Goddamn it, you asshole, who the hell gave you the right to walk into my room unannounced?!”

Julian’s dark blonde eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “You’ve always let me do so before… why can’t I now?”

I bit my lip to stop myself from giving another outburst. No good would come from continuing that conversation. “Just give me the fucking towel and leave.”

Unexpectedly, a mischievous grin crossed Julian’s lips. I haven’t seen that grin since the night he talked me into going into his room for ‘medical treatment.’ “I’ll give you the towel if you let me dry you off.”

My jaw dropped as I stared at the man. I couldn’t believe the words I heard coming out of his mouth. I’d rather be in the presence of a drunken, perverted man instead of this guy. “You can’t be fuckin’ serious… what the hell is going on in your head that makes you think I’ll say yes?”

Julian’s grin widened as his gaze slightly narrowed. “Are you scared?”

A vein instantly bulged on my temple as I subconsciously grind my teeth. The man seemed to learn more and more about me, more than I even knew about myself to the point he could predict my reactions and the results. He was getting what he wanted without even begging, using nothing but basic manipulation.

I ended up speaking through my teeth, unable to strip free from his obvious manipulation tactic. “I’m not scared of anything.”

“Then prove it.” He said while gesturing to my counter, giving me the response that I knew he would. I hesitated for a second but even the thought of being considered scared made me move forward and sit on the edge of the counter. Julian then gave a satisfied smile now that he got what he wanted. It was hard to stay mad at him when he had such a handsome yet beautiful face. The fact that his face was a blend of both of those words was staggering enough compared to how he was able to work me like a puppet.

You motherfucker.

I still cursed him in my thoughts as he came towards me with his towel. My body immediately stiffened up with wariness until his gentle touch reached my skin from behind the towel. He was thorough with his rubs and seemed completely focused on what he said he was going to do. I can’t lie about the feeling. It felt surprisingly nice being rubbed off and dried by somebody else.

Do all rich people live like this or is it just me?

I felt more comfortable with his hand behind the thick cloth of the towel as his rubs trailed up my legs, to my thighs, and eventually my abdomen. He grimaced with sadness in his eyes when he saw my scars again. “You poor thing…” He whispered the same words that I’ve heard him say before.

My calmed pleasure is instantly triggered into aggression and I snapped at him. “I’m not a poor thing. Stop calling me that, for fucks sake.”

I could tell that Julian’s smile was forced behind the sorrow when he looked back at my face. “Sorry, Suki. I’m just impressed by how much you’ve endured.” His words were thought up fast just to make the situation better for himself.

Clever, clever, boy.

I smirked. This definitely humored me. My reaction made him blush and he looked away from my face as he did so. He reached around me with the towel to dry my back and eventually rolled the cloth up to my shoulders. He was still standing in front of me the whole time and, once again, our bodies have become close together. His intoxicating scent kept me seated in place as he came to level with my face. As soon as he was done drying my back, his hand and towel came back to the front and began to dry to the chest, the man working rather thoroughly around my breasts, beneath each tit and even attempting to reach into the crevice. I felt the blush on my cheeks join his, even when his eyes went from my breasts up to my eyes.