The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV by Dawn Gray Page B

knock on the door, which made Julian let me go and walk over
to answer it. Quinn stood on the other side, one hand on the wall,
the other on his hip, and he looked up at his older brother. “What
is it?”
    “You should come down stairs.” Quinn replied,
standing up straight. “Michael's going to come up to stay with
Caitlyn, but Nick says that there's something you and I need to
hear.”
    “And who does Nick think he is?” Julian
asked. Quinn sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head, before
looking back up at his brother.
    “You need to put this thing with Nick in the
past, Julian, really. Both of you need to get over it.” Quinn told
him.
    “I can't do that, Quinn.” Julian replied,
quietly. “I can never forget what he did to me.” Julian glanced at
me, then back at his brother and whispered to him. “To her?”
    Quinn looked passed him, at me, as I stood
there, holding on to the foot board of the bed.
    “You need to, Julian.” Quinn whispered, loud
enough for me to hear. “To protect her, you both need to get over
it.” With those words, he turned and he walked away.
    I stepped up behind him, put my hands on his
back, and watched him stiffen. Julian reached behind him, grabbed
my hands and turned to face me. I could see the anger in his eyes
as he quickly pulled me to him, wrapped his arm tightly around me
once again, and leaned down to me. Slowly, he moved closer, as I
pressed my hands against his chest, feeling the heat that came off
from him, as his lips came closer.
    “Julian, I don't think this is a good idea.”
I whispered as I looked from his eyes to his lips. He nodded as his
mouth brushed up against mine.
    “I know.” He said, softly, then our lips
connected and the fire seemed to erupt. His mouth engulf mine, as
the heat spread through my body, then I felt his tongue tickle my
lip, asking for an invitation, and when his kiss became more
passionate, I found myself giving into to him and not wanting him
to let go. That's when the door opened and we heard someone clear
their throat. Julian backed away from me, but his eyes caught mine
in a stare until he turned and looked at Michael, then back at me,
quickly. He wasn't moving to pull away and it was obvious that he
wasn't all that sure about leaving me.
    “I'll be alright.” I watched him nod, but he
still didn't move. “Michael's not going to hurt me.”
    He nodded as his body shivered, and kissed me
again, not letting me move to get away. His hand rested on the back
of my head, holding me against him and against the fire in his
kiss. I heard his shirt rustle as Michael tapped him on the
shoulder and Julian moved, looking at the blond haired man. He
stepped back, one step at a time until only our fingers were
touching, then he let go of my hand and walked quickly out the
door.
    “That looked like the hardest thing he's ever
done.” I whispered and looked up at Michael, who smiled and slowly
closed the door.
    “It probably was.” Michael replied and
gestured to me to have a seat on the bed. “It was very hard on him
to lose you”
     

7
    I looked up at Ashley then over at the
doorway of the den and listened closely at the light knock on my
front door. I stood up, walked slowly to the large door and grabbed
the doorknob, and then I stood there, as I felt that familiar
presence on the other side, and I smiled as I opened the door, to
look at Julian's face.
    He looked up at me, from under the length of
hair that still fell in his face; his green eyes sparkled, and he
smiled, then looked passed me into the house.
    “Is she here?” He asked, softly, which made
me smile.
    “You know she is, Julian.” I replied and
stepped aside. He slipped off the lightweight black leather coat
and draped it over one of the knobs of the coat rack. He leaned
down and kissed me softly on the lips. “What are you doing here
anyway?”
    “When Ashley left Jack with Michael, I
figured that she might be coming here, to get the full story.” He
shrugged,