Page 53 of Chaos Destiny
He didn’t look away from Tayler. “Yeah.”
“Is it nearby?”
“Yes, same floor.”
“Okay, good.”
Julien kissed the top of my head. “Need Gage close until I get my strength back?”
“No, I just want all my people near. It’s also helpful if, at the last minute, we need him to watch Thandie.”
“Like tonight.”
“No, not like tonight. Look, baby, I’m glad you’re back, but I will not tolerate a poor performance.”
He faked a shocked gasp and then drew me close, tucking his face into the crook of my neck. We stayed that way until sleep knocked,heavily,and went upstairs to get ready for bed.
Julien asked Gage whether he would be willing to keep Thandie for the night, but Gage let us know that he would be walking the perimeter later to check for any storm damage. As dark as the clouds had been, the storm had left us unscathed, bringing only rain and intermittent wind gusts.
While I changed, Julien placed our sleeping daughter in her makeshift crib. Then, he undressed, stepped into a pair of shorts, climbed into bed beside me, and pulled me into his body. Yet, despite falling asleep at the table, he remained wide awake.
“The woman you came with,” I said, easing into something I wanted to ask all night. “The one who was sitting between the twins like a prisoner. Who is she?”
He shifted, one of his telltale signs of discomfort. “Shida?”
“Yeah, who is she?”
“Do you know they offered to sleep with her? Both of them, at the same time.”
“Julien, don’t make me be the reason you go lights out in an apocalypse.”
He sighed, another telltale sign. “She was with me at the CDC,” he said. “We’re the last two remaining from our larger group. Some of them split up, but for the most part, the rest kind of…died off.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s part of life now, I guess.”
“Did she take care of you?”
It was too dark to see his face, but I sensed his hesitance. “We looked out for one another,” he answered. “If you mean something more than that, no.”
“Julien, you can be honest. I mean, you thought I was dead. If she provided you with comfort of an intimate nature?—”
“I neverthoughtyou were dead. I wasafraidyou were, but I refused to accept it if I couldn’t prove it. And no, we didn’t have sex while you and I were split up. I could never do that to you, knowing I’m your dream guy.”
I paid attention to his choice of words and held onto them for another day.
“No, babe.” I shook my head. “Winston Duke’s my dream guy.”
“You’d pick M’Baku over me?”
“And have him blow mym’backout, yes.”
Laughing, he toyed with the coiled strands of my hair. “Hey, Ari?”
“Nope. You’ll come in like six seconds.”
“That’s not what I was about to say,” he said, still laughing. “It’s the doctor. I think I know her. I think that’s the same doctor I worked with at the CDC.”
