Under His Roof

chapter twelve

"Holy shit this room is nice." Kimberly said, looking around their suite. Their few bags had been sent ahead when they landed and so she hadn't had a chance to actually see the hotel before going to the hospital.

"Well they don't charge this much for nothing." Julian said, locking the door behind them.

"You know you could have just got a regular room at a regular hotel – or even a motel – and I would've been happy, right?" Kimberly asked.

Julian bit his lip and smiled, "Yeah, but you like this much better, don't you?"

Kimberly grinned cheekily, letting out an excited squeal. "Yes, this is so nice!" She walked past the couches and opened the door which Julian assumed was the bedroom. "Holy shit." She said.

Julian came over to where she was standing to see what she was looking at and he saw one large king sized bed in the middle of the room, covered in pillows and satin sheets. "Never shared a bed with a man before?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, with my dad when I was ten." She muttered.

He laughed, her reaction to the situation amusing him, when she saw his face she scowled at him and looked away. "Don't do that." She said.

"Do what?" He asked, his smile growing bigger.

"Don't look at me like that! I can see what's going through your mind."

"Mind telling me what you see?" He asked.

She looked up at him dubiously. "As if you don't already know."

He chuckled, flicking his tongue over his lips. "You know, that's not the only thing on my mind, Kimberly." He said, "I think about other stuff too."

"Oh really? Like what?" She asked, "And you can't say your job because that's a given."

"Okay, well for starters, I think about how cute you are when you're trying to be mad but you actually just wanna smile, or how beautiful your laugh is, even when you snort."

Kimberly gasped. "I don't snort." She said, trying to defend herself even though they both knew it was a lie.

He laughed. "It's okay, it's actually quite charming."

Kimberly looked down as she felt the blood stinging her cheeks. "Oh my gosh, can we just talk about you ravishing me or something? This is so much worse..."

Julian put his finger under her chin and tilted it upwards so she could see the amused expression on his face. "Trust me," He said, "This is not worse."

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. "What's the problem?" He asked, "You've probably heard all of this before anyway."

She shook her head. "Nobody's ever commented on my laugh before, save for Melitta telling me how crazy it is."

"Nobody?"

She shook her head again.

"And nobody's ever told you how attractive it is when you get all sassy?" He asked, "Or how endearing it is when you're really listening to a story and you make those facial expressions along with it?"

By now Kimberly was sure her face was completely red, she could feel how warm her cheeks were, but Julian didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't point it out for which she was grateful. "Nobody actually takes the time to notice things like that Julian." She smiled sadly as she played with the hem of her shirt. "And you shouldn't either," She said, "This is just fun, remember? Your words, not mine."

He sighed, "Kimberly," She loved the way her name sounded on his lips, smooth like honey, and maybe if she leaned forward and licked his lips, she would be able to taste it. But of course, she kept her feet planted to the ground, half-listening to Julian's words and half-admiring his beauty. She could see his biceps through his tee, it did wonders for his body which she already knew didn't need any help enhancing anything.