Free The Secrets That We Keep by Isabel Lucero Page B

I’d never knowingly put you in danger.” He steps closer to me and pulls my hand in his and uses his other hand to sweep the hair from my face and tucks it behind my ear. I briefly wonder why he said he wouldn’t knowingly put me in danger, instead of just saying, he’d never put me in danger, but I shrug it off for now. “I’ll always protect you, you know that right? I don’t want to see anything happen to you Annabella,” he says and his accent is thick around my name. I’m instantly reminded of Lucas and his promise to always protect me and to always be there for me. He backed out of that promise, who’s to say Julian won’t do the same thing? I hope I’m wrong, but you never really know somebody do you?
    I smile and nod my head in response. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair again. I think he was hoping for a better response from me. “Bella, is there anything you want to talk to me about? Anything besides these guys following you?” he asks gently, probing for information. “I want you to know that you can tell me anything, I want you to trust me. So if you ever need to talk to me…just know you can, okay?”
    I don’t know how to re spond at first. He seems to be asking me to come clean about something he already knows about. But if he knew the secret I was keeping, there would be no way he would be this calm and understanding, so now I’m even more disconcerted. “I know, baby,” I say with a small smile. “You know me better than anybody else,” I continue, which is technically true. “If I need to talk, I know I can talk to you. There just isn’t anything that I need to tell you right now, nothing you don’t already know anyway,” I finish, knowing it’s not a complete lie but also knowing it’s not exactly the truth either. He seems to be satisfied enough with that answer because he pulls me into him and holds me tightly to his body. I love being in his arms like this, so comfortable and warm. He has one hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair and the other hand on my lower back, pressing me closer.
    I start to feel a vibration on my upper thigh and realize it’s Julian’s phone in his pocket. I pull away from him slowly. “You’re phone’s going off…again,” I say, not trying to hide the fact that I’m bothered with his mysterious long conversations every time his phone rings.
    He looks down at me and runs his hands up and down on my arms and gives me a tight smile. “Oh, it’s uh, probably just work again,” he says , ignoring the call altogether.
    “Why do they call you so often?” I ask. “What’s so important?” I’m trying to get him to tell me a little bit about this new case because I can’t seem to shake the feeling that whoever is calling is not actually calling about work.
    Julian looks at me and his lips quirk up on the right side. “I’m kind of a big deal babe,” he says jokingly. “They need me. I’m the best at what I do.”
    I look at him and twist my mouth up and glare at him playfully. “Oh yes, I forgot how big of a deal you are.”
    He leans back in mock indignation with his hand over his heart. “You forgot how big I am?” he gasps. He moves towards me and puts his face right next to mine, his cheek against my cheek and whispers in my ear, “I can definitely remind you how big I am, Annabella.” His voice is heavy with desire. “I can’t have you forgetting something like that.” I bite my lip and give him a side long glance; he turns slightly and gives me a sexy smile that shows off his perfect white teeth.
    He quickly grabs me by my hips and lifts me up and I willingly wrap my legs around his waist. He puts his hands in my hair and tugs it hard enough to give him access to my neck. His lips and tongue move across the side of my neck and I can feel his stubbly hair against my skin. I rub my fingers through his hair and give it a tug as well. Julian lets out a gro wl and claims my lips with his. His tongue penetrates my