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JULIUS
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“Why am I here?” Julius looked at her, incredulous that she could even ask such a thing. “And what do you mean, I find you distasteful, when have I ever said that?”
“You say it all the time,” Zoe defended, “I’m not an idiot.”
“Okay, I never said you were, Zoe.” Julius frowned at her. He had a feeling that whatever Zoe was talking about was important, that it was perhaps the real reason why she left. “You are one of the smartest people I know, and there is no way I have ever said that I find you distasteful.”
“You couldn’t get away from me fast enough,” Zoe hissed, her colour darkening, “all I did was touch you and you all but fled out the door. You were so...firm, so adamant, that you would never touch me again, obviously, it had been a rubbish experience for you, if the thought of it being repeated was so repulsive to you.” Zoe looked like she might cry, her head bowed slightly, her gaze not meeting his.
“Zoe,” he crossed to kneel before her, “no, no, that isn’t what I meant at all. Listen to me sweetheart, please.” Julius begged, using his thumb to raise her head so that she was looking into his eyes.
“You were trying to wash the body paint off, I panicked, I didn’t want you to find out the truth about me, I didn’t want to see fear or repulsion in your eyes. I was scared I would lose you if you knew what I was. So, I left, I thought that it was for the best, but then I felt so ashamed that I couldn’t talk to you, I knew I shouldn’t have left but I couldn’t find a way to apologise, so I said nothing. And then when you told me that you were pregnant, I was horrified.” He saw Zoe flinch beneath his words.
“Not about the pregnancy, but rather about what that would mean, for you, for me, for us. I knew then that I would have to tell you the truth, even if it meant losing you for good. I know I told you this baby was a mistake, and I meant it, but not in the way you think I meant it. I always imagined being married first and then having babies with you, I had it all mapped out, it wasn’t meant to happen this way, not with you angry with me and me holding a secret from you. That was the mistake, not the baby, not the miracle growing inside of you.” He carefully laid a hand over the robe covering Zoe’s flat stomach. “How could you ever think that I found you distasteful? I want you all the time.”
“Really?” Zoe looked sceptical. “Does Natasha know that?”
“Natasha? What does she have to do with anything?” Julius frowned, thinking about the student nurse Zoe was in charge of.
“Just another one-night stand huh?”
“What are you talking about? I never slept with Natasha.”
“I heard you with her, last night,” Zoe ground out, “she has a very distinctive laugh, Julius.” If Zoe hadn’t been so serious, Julius would have laughed at her suggestion. Really, as if he could find anyone else attractive when he had Zoe to look at.
“I did not sleep with Natasha. Or anyone else since you. She stopped by to collect a gift for her boyfriend, I had agreed to hide it for her, that’s all, nothing nefarious about it, you can check with her boyfriend if you like. I do find it interesting, though, that you were jealous.”
“I was not jealous!”
“Really? Why did you leave the hospital today?” Julius leant closer to Zoe.
“I...I...”
“I saw you in the corridor, Natasha was telling me about her boyfriend’s reaction to the gift, and when I looked up again, you had gone. It was mere chance that I was walking past the carpark and saw you get in your car, looking upset. I followed you, I’ve been following you all day as you drove around. Tell me, Zoe, what were you running from?”
“I wasn’t running. I changed my mind, that’s all, I can’t marry you after all.” His eyes bore into hers; he knew she was lying.
“Ten years, four months, three weeks, four days, and about twenty-seven minutes.” Julius laid all of his cards on the table.
“What?” Zoe frowned.
“That is how long I have loved you, Zoe. How long I have wanted to kiss you,” he ghosted his thumb over her lips, “how long I have wanted to touch you, to taste you,” he whispered low in her ear, “to have you wrapped around me.”
“Julius.” Zoe’s voice held a warning he ignored.
“How can you think I find you distasteful?” Julius picked up her hand and guided it to his groin, his erection painfully obvious. He laid her hand on top of his aching length, holding it there. “Zoe, you do this to me, always. For over a decade I have been having cold shower after cold shower, every time I see you, fantasising about you as I touch myself, imagining it is your hand stroking me. Every single day.”
He sighed as he felt her hand wrap around his length through the fabric of his pants, his cock jerking in response. “You are the most exquisite creature I have ever met; you drive me wild. That night at the party, my every fantasy, I wanted you to see me, just for one night, I wanted to feel your touch, even if it meant I was starved of it for the rest of my life. I have only ever wanted you, Zoe, yearned for you, ached for you. I know I hurt you and I am sorry, I never meant to. I want you more than I have ever wanted anything else in my life. You and this baby. I know I told you I wanted you to marry me so that our baby would be legitimate, but I lied. I wanted you to marry me because selfishly I didn’t want to lose you. I want you in my life always, in whatever role you want, that’s why I agreed to your name only rule, Zoe, you must know I would never take a mistress, not when I have all that I ever want right here,” he gestured to her, watching the tears fall down her face. “I love you, Zoe.”
“You’re right, I was jealous,” Zoe admitted, much to Julius’s delight. “I was so sick with the thought of you and her, of you touching her,” Zoe sobbed, “I just couldn’t stand the thought. I’ve spent years on the sidelines, just waiting for you to see me, that darn party was...” she struggled to find the right word.
“Perfect,” Julius supplied for her, “it was perfect, the entire night was pure magic, I wouldn’t change a thing.” He looked down at her. “Would you? I have to know Zoe; is there a chance you can ever forgive me? Can we be friends again?”
“Is that what you want?” She hiccuped.
“No,” Julius admitted, “I want it all. I want a marriage, kids, passion, friendship, and love. I want it all, with you. Only you, Zoe, forever.”
“Say it again,” Zoe asked.
“I want it all. With you,” Julius reiterated, more firmly this time.
“No, the part where you say you love me.” Zoe smiled up at him, stealing his breath.
“I love you, Zoe. I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“I love you too, Julius, I think I always have.”
He cupped her face then, his thumbs brushing away her tears. “I love you, Zoe,” he kissed her gently, “I love you, forever.”
“Julius?” Zoe stood and pulled Julius up to her level.
“Yes.”
“Make love to me?” She tugged his mouth back down to hers, he needed no further encouragement, loosening the sash of her robe and pushing it apart, letting it fall to the floor at her feet.
He knelt to feather kisses across her still flat stomach, lower still, probing his tongue into her very core, teasing, tasting, drinking in her juices, as she bucked her hips beneath him, her breathing growing laboured. He held her close as her body shook with her release, scooping her up into his arms and laying her gently on the bed his gaze raking over her body, drinking her in, committing her to memory.
He stripped away his clothes, his skin reverting back to its true Kizmetian form and joined her on the bed, capturing Zoe’s mouth in a kiss full of love and promise. Julius dipped his head to capture her breast, teasing her nipple until he felt it harden and pebble beneath his tongue, suckling and biting, loving the mewing sounds it elicited from Zoe.
His fingers slipped further down, delving into her silky folds, dipping in and out with a leisurely speed, as Zoe moaned and writhed beneath him. Rising to his knees, Julius spread her knees even further apart, wanting to see all of her, loving the sight of having her open for him, knowing that she was his alone. He lent over her, driving his erection into her, before pulling out fully and driving in again.
Zoe arched her back and bucked her hips to meet his powerful thrusts, screaming in pleasure as he drove in harder and deeper, his thick member filling her to breaking point, his pelvic bone pressing against her sensitive nub. Pulling his length out fully, he gave one final thrust all the way into her core and felt her walls tighten around his stiffened member as he pushed her over the edge, hearing her scream out his name with wild abandon.
With one final thrust he exploded inside her, gripping her hips for support until totally spent, he collapsed beside her. Julius pulled Zoe close and watched her as she traced the patterns on his skin.
“Zoe, my one true love, will you do me the honour of marrying me? Will you let me love and adore you, protect and care for you, provide and nurture you, every day for the rest of my life?”
“Yes, Julius, I would be honoured to marry you.” As his mouth descended to claim hers, he knew that they would live a long and happy life together, after all, humans could only travel to Kismet as the guest of a Kizmetian if they were their true mate, otherwise, they would remain Earth bound.
THE END
