Page 42 of Taboo

Then, as he watched the sun dip down in the sky, he listened to her talk about her family, her voice a balm to his soul. He could envision spending every night hearing her talk about her day.

He was just going to have to figure out a way to convince her.

chapter thirteen

Friday morning dawned,and Julienne found herself out of sorts. No, that wasn’t the right word for it. She was…god, what was she? She was a bundle of nerves. First, she’d barely slept last night. Her entire body buzzed with excitement. Her sleep was restless because she woke up with the bedsheet tangled in her legs. When she tried to get out of bed, she lost her balance and landed on her face on the floor. Thankfully, there was a thick area rug. Hitting the hard, wooden floor would have probably left more than a few bruises.

What did she expect? The most beautiful man she had ever seen was coming to spend the weekend with her. Worse, he made it no secret he was attracted to her, but she had made him promise to no more sex. Because…rules? Why did she think it was a good idea to deprive herself of a man like Alek? Because she thought the crazy need she had for him would fade. No man had ever taken up this much head space for her. Even Gregor. There were times that she forgot she was engaged during their time together. And…damn, she was a bitch.

No. She refused to think that. In truth, that had been their relationship. Both of them had been so busy, and they understood that their jobs came first. Then…it wasn’t. Oh, Gregor had been happy with the arrangement, but Julienne had looked across the table one morning and realized that if she had to spend the rest of her days with him, she would die of boredom.

She wanted what her parents had. Before her father’s death, her parents had been ridiculously in love. And now Jensen and Nic were that way. But it frightened her, and she had no idea why. What was it about the thought of being in love that freaked her out?

Then she realized she had been sitting on the floor trying to figure out her life. Bloody hell.

After cleaning up and grabbing her robe, Julienne slipped out of her room and padded downstairs. She had taken to watching the sunrises and sunsets on the lanai because, well, it was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. For a week and a half, she’d stayed in the house, but it hadn’t bothered her one bit. In London, she would be climbing up the walls. It wasn’t that her flat wasn’t spacious. It was, ridiculously so. There, the fast-paced life always called to her. In Hawaii, it was different. Here she sipped tea as she watched the sun rise, enjoyed the sound of the surf as she sat on the lanai, and was never in any hurry to get to work.

It was odd. She started behind everyone else in the family these days, the time difference made it that way, and normally she would worry about being up and having online meetings. But that didn’t bother her, not at all. In fact, she tended to wait to work until after nine a.m. For most people that probably seemed normal, but back in London, she would start working the moment her eyes opened.

“Good morning, Jules,” Marta said as she stepped into the kitchen. “Your tea is ready.”

“Brilliant,” she said. The woman could make a mean cuppa. Nic had said she taught Marta how to make real tea, as Americans aren’t that good at it. Jensen could be a little fussy about his tea.

As if conjured up in her thoughts, her mobile buzzed and Jensen’s face appeared. She rolled her eyes and Marta smiled. “Go on out. I’ll bring it to you.”

“Mahalo, Marta.”

Julienne answered the call, which was a video call. Did he not think she might be busy or possibly have company? Probably not. Both of her brothers most likely still thought she was a virgin, or at least that was what they told themselves even after she lived with Gregor for two years.

“What do you want?”

He made a face. “Not very professional. I could have people here listening in on the call.”

“Your fault. The sun is still rising here.”

He blinked as if confused. She got that because she usually got up on London time no matter where she was.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were having a lie in.”

“Give it a rest, Jensen. There’s nothing wrong with Nic, is there?”

His features softened at the mention of his wife. “No. And I could have been calling about that and you were acting like a prat.”

“She always acts like a prat,” she heard her other brother Jakob say in the background. Ugh, Jensen and Jakob were ganging up on her. For what reason?

“Is there something that you two needed? You’re interrupting the sunrise.”

He blinked again, and she could read the confusion on his face. She didn’t take time to watch sunrises or sunsets, and she definitely didn’t sleep in.

“Are you all right?”

“Of course I am.”

Jakob crowded in and both of their stupid faces took up most of the screen. “Yeah, you sound weird.”

“Weird?”

“What is going on with you? Do I need to send Jakob over there?”

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