A few seconds later, I collapsed over him, and his arms came around me.
“I love you, Julian. You’re everything I ever wanted.”
“I would never have known how much I needed this if you hadn’t sauntered into the library with Tony on your shoulder. You didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. You expected to get your way no matter what you did, and it was sexy as fuck.”
“I’ll walk into the library like that every single day if you’d like.”
“I don’t think that would be conducive to me keeping my job.”
“Maybe not, but it would be fun as hell to watch your reaction and to drag you into the—”
I shut him up with a kiss, which was sweet and soft and full of the love that overflowed from my heart.
41
Epilogue
Three Weeks Later
Lance
“Wake up. I’ve got a surprise for you,” I whispered in Julian’s ear.
He mumbled something mostly incoherent, but I caught the words horny bastard.
“It’s not my dick this time.”
“Your mouth?”
I chuckled. “No. You have to come outside to see the surprise.”
He stretched, and I ran a hand along his beautiful body as he rolled to his back and looked up at me. “I’ve already told you I’m not fucking you in the courtyard.”
Was I really that bad? “I swear. This is a real surprise.”
Julian let his gaze slide down to where my cock pressed against my pants. When was I not hard for him? He grinned. “That’s very real too.”
I pushed him, rolling him over. “Get out of bed so I can show you this. You’re going to love it.”
“I need coffee first. And food.”
“Yes, princess. Take a shower, and I’ll have food for you.”
He turned and studied me more closely. “You’ve already showered, and you’re dressed.”
It was rare for me to get up before he did. “I am. Now get moving.”
I had a travel mug of coffee and a breakfast sandwich for him as soon as he was ready. When he’d finished eating, I took his hand and led him downstairs to the parking deck.
He stared at the spot where I usually parked my car. In its place was the car I’d purchased from Beau, the Corvette we’d driven a few weeks ago. It had taken Beau some time to finish the final touches he wanted to put on the car. He didn’t like to sell anything he hadn’t perfected, saying it was bad for his reputation.
Julian looked at the car, looked at me, and then went back and forth again. “That’s… Is that really the car I drove? The one Beau was going to sell? Did you borrow it again?”
I shook my head. “It’s yours. I bought it for you.”
Julian frowned. “You can’t just buy me a car.”
“I assure you I can. I did.”
“But that’s not… I don’t want you paying for things for me. Not things like this. I told you I intend to keep working.”
“You working at the library has absolutely no effect on my ability or desire to buy you cars, houses, or anything else I want to give you.”
“Lance—”
“I have the money, and I want to spend it on the man I love. Think of it as a gift to myself. Watching you drive this car was heavenly.”
“It’s really ours?”
“If it makes you feel better to think of it that way, then, yes, it’s ours.”
“And I can drive it? Now?”
I held out the keys to him. “Be my guest.”
He noticed the envelope on the driver’s seat as soon as he opened the door. “What’s this?”
I shrugged. “Open it and see.”
He gave me a wary look but did as I said. His eyes grew huge as he looked over the document inside. “You… you really gave all this money to the library. Twenty million dollars?”
“My family and I. We all contributed. I told you we’d solve the funding problem.”
Tears gathered in his eyes, and I kissed him softly. “I love you. This is just another way of taking care of you.”
He shook his head. “This is… I can’t…”
I wasn’t about to let this turn into a weep fest. “Get in the car, Julian.”
“I… Okay.” After we settled into the comfortable seats, Julian started the engine and looked around. “Beau did more work on it. The seats. This is new leather.”
His enthusiasm warmed me all over. “It sure is.”
“It’s so soft. It feels delicious.”
“All the better for me to fuck you on, so start driving, or you’ll end up naked before we pull out of this parking spot.”
“If I didn’t want to feel the way this drives again so badly, I wouldn’t mind that at all.”
“We’ll have plenty of chances. Now drive your new car.”
Julian took off. I directed him out of the city, and he was more daring this time, taking curves faster, really letting himself go. I loved the way he was opening up. I love that he trusted me, that he could be like this with me.