Page 10 of Origins
After a moment, he regained his composure. “I beg your pardon?”
So, he was going to pretend that there was nothing wrong? I didn’t like that. I couldn’t let our relationship start out this way. I had to make an effort. “I said, I’m sorry. I know it was rude of me to just show up, but Dr. Stephens said that…”
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Damen waved off my concerns as he removed his glasses and leaned back in the chair. “I’m wondering whyFinn, of all people, would keep you secret. He’s plotting something.”
So it wasn’t me?
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, glancing away. Perhaps this was a bad idea. Finn hadn’t even told his family about me—there must have been a reason. Maybe he was ashamed? I wasn’t exactly the most normal person around.
Even so, it still hurt. Beside my parents, Finn had been my whole life. I didn’t even realize how little of an impact I had in his.
I didn’t even question him about never meeting his parents. I knew that he lived with his mother up until we moved to college, and she was always away on business. Outside of that, he said his house wasn’t safe—for some unknown reason. So I had never been there, and I didn’t bring it up with him again. It really didn’t matter, because we always had a place to go - my parents loved Finn.
I had overlooked all of that, because I was just happy to have a friend.
Which meant only this—he had gone out of his way not to mention me. If so, then me being here was even worse than I imagined. He would be beyond furious.
He could never know. No one could suspect him of anything, because Damen would have to pretend that I was never here. It was too late to run away now, so I could only do damage control.
“Finn would never do anything bad,” I told Damen. “I wouldn’t worry.”
Finn had told me that I was a terrible liar, but I had to try. All I had to do was to control my nerves—once shot, the filter between my mouth and brain tended to fade. “But speaking of that, he doesn’t know I’m here. I don’t want to bother him. It might make him angry—”
“What do you mean,angry?” Damen’s gaze narrowed and his voice had turned hard. “Who isheto dictate where you can and cannot go? As far as I am aware, Finn doesn’t own you or anyone else.”
Crap, curse my mouth.
I panicked, waving my hands in front of me in an effort to calm this disaster. “That’s not what I meant,” I said. The last thing that I wanted to do was to cause more conflict between the two of them. “I know that you don’t talk. Finn is just protective. I have issues. Finn cares—he looks out for me.”
There. Now he’d see what a good guy Finn was.
Damen was silent after my statement, but didn’t appear to be convinced. However, as our eyes met, his cynicism returned to intrigue. I never looked at people this intensely. It felt invasive. But something about his gaze wouldn’t allow me to look away.
I should have been nervous, but it wasn’t like that. Instead, a sense of familiarity began to swell inside of me—blossoming the longer our gazes locked. I was probably blushing like an idiot, but I didn’t even know.
There was no way to deny that I was attracted to him. He was staring at me in the same manner. But I had no idea what might be going through his mind. Whatever it was, though, seemed to make him frown even more.
I was a crappy future sister-in-law.
The moment between us was shattered, as Miles popped open the double-doors and entered the room, pushing a silver cart. Another man followed him into the room—probably the person who had been hiding in the library.
The stranger spotted me and his sensual lips quirked up. Something about his expression had me mentally groaning, as I realized that I was faced with another fantastically attractive man. My heart couldn’t take this. My brain couldn’t take this. What were the odds of there being so many good looking men in one place?
What about my eyes? When you had your soulmate, you were supposed to forsake all others. To avoid temptation, I might need to gouge out my eyes. It sounded like a prudent idea.
A moment later—when the new guy spoke—I realized the flaw with my plan. His voice was as beautiful as his face.Heaven help me.
“Bianca,” he elegantly strode toward me and kissed my knuckles. “It is wonderful to meet someone new. And if Dr. Stephens sent you to us, then you must be quite special. My name is Julian Kohler. I’m sorry that it took so long for me to join you. I hope that Damen behaved himself, as he tends to be a flirt.”
Damen made a strange noise, and Miles smirked as he set out a fragile-looking tea set. I hardly noticed either of them, because most of my attention was now focused on Julian.
He was taller than Damen, and leaner. But what was most entrancing was his striking blue eyes. His darker complexion was offset by his baby blue polo shirt, and his exposed skin showcased lean muscle. But his most defining characteristic were his long legs—which seemed to go on forever.
Julian was easily the most beautiful man that I had ever seen in my life. Where the others were rugged or seductive, this man was pure grace.
But did he claim that Damen was a flirt? Because I was sure that they all were.
Suddenly, I realized that I had been staring, and I hadn’t even responded to Julian’s introduction. Not that he had said anything about that, though. Julian just held my hand as if being stared at wordlessly was a normal experience for him.
