Letters to Julian (A Cupid Inc Novella) Read Online Free Page A

brilliant.
    “Julian…”
    Ridley stepped toward him, but Julian backpedaled, nearly tripping over his own feet in his hurry to put distance between them. He’d had about all of the emotional upheaval he could handle for one day, and he still didn’t know what he’d done to cause it. “I have to go.” He’d already caused a rift in their relationship, and he didn’t want to do anything else to further the damage.
    “Easy, Julian.” Hold ing both hands up on a show of surrender, Ridley approached cautiously, pausing after each step as he made his way closer to Julian. “You’ve every right to be angry with me, but I just want to talk. Will you stay and talk with me?”
    “Ridley, what’s going on with you? You’re acting very strange today, and I have to be honest. This hot and cold, back and forth stuff is kind of starting to make my head spin.”
    At first, he’d only been upset that Ridley didn’t trust him to share whatever problem had put him in such a poor mood. Then he’d worried that he’d somehow caused the nasty attitude, and he’d felt completely awful. Now, however, he didn’t know what to think.
    “Can I buy a vowel or phone a friend, because I’m kind of lost. Is this about the kiss? I’m sorry about that, okay? It didn’t mean anything.” Oh, he’d love for it to mean something more, but the quick peck on the cheek had been nothing like that. “I get excited sometimes and forget about personal space.”
    “No, it’s not that.”
    “Then what? I’m feeling a little insecure here, so maybe you can just tell me what I did so I can work on not doing it anymore.”
    Julian didn’t see anything humorous about the situation, but Ridley began to laugh. “I admire that you always say what you think, but truly, you didn’t do anything wrong. I wouldn’t want to change anything about you.”
    “Is this the part where you bite my head off again? Because I’m beginning to detect a pattern.”
    Ridley rocked from his heels to his toes and back as though he couldn’t decide if he wanted to come closer or run in the opposite direction. His blue eyes darkened and glazed over as he stared at a point on the far wall, and he mumbled under his breath, though Julian couldn’t make out the words.
    “Uh, Rid, are you okay?”
    “Sod it.” In two, long strides, Ridley closed the gap between them, cradled Julian’s face in both hands, and slanted their mouths together in a searing kiss. “Okay?” he asked a moment later in a breathless whisper.
    “Yes,” Julian answered just as quietly. “Don’t stop.” He’d wanted this for months but had never imagined it would happen. Gods, but he needed more.
    Groaning, Ridley backed him against a nearby shelf, pinning him there as he attacked his mouth in rough, hungry kis ses that stole Julian’s breath. Dropping his book to the floor, Julian threw his arms around Ridley’s neck, dragging him closer as their tongues tangled in an intimate dance for dominance.
    “Hey, boss, I was…oh.”
    Disengaging from the kiss, Julian dropped his arms and buried his face against Ridley’s chest as he chuckled. “Hello, Bridget.”
    “Hi, Julian,” she responded brightly. “You know, you two should really get a room.”
    “Bridget!” Ridley barked at her, which only made Julian laugh harder.
    “Okay, okay, I’m going. No need to get testy.”
    “She’s a dear, but sometimes I’d like to flog her mercilessly.” With a snort of his own, Ridley tucked Julian’s hair behind his ear and brushed a kiss against his forehead. “Would you like to come upstairs, love?”
    “Yes.” For a heartbeat, Julian worried he was being overeager, but with his dick throbbing behind his zipper, he couldn’t care about things like that. “Are you sure, though?”
    Instead of answering him verbally, Ridley took his hand and led him through the storage room at the back and up a flight of creaking stairs, stopping occasionally to pull him into another mind-bending