After Jin talked things through with the guys, he called Julieta to give her the news. But she didn’t answer her phone. Which was strange. Jin couldn’t explain it, but he had an uneasy feeling in his gut, and he had learned to pursue such an instinct. So he jumped into his car and headed to her house.
It was late afternoon when he knocked on her door. No one answered it. He decided to try the doorknob. It turned. He didn’t even hesitate. Tia was in Paris with Tae, Julieta’s door was unlocked, and she wasn’t answering her phone. Something was wrong. He just knew it.
He stepped into the living room and shut the door behind him, locking it firmly before walking across the room towards the hallway that led to her bedroom. He glanced towards the kitchen and saw her purse and phone on the counter. She was definitely here.
“Julieta!” he called as he headed down the hallway.
He heard her moan, and he took off for her room, running the rest of the way. The door was open, and she was lying in bed. She was curled in a ball. Clearly in pain.
He dropped down on the bed next to her. “Julieta, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” she panted. “My gut hurts so bad.” Face pale, she gazed up at him. “But you,” she gasped, “look fine, so it must not be what we ate for lunch.” Then she grimaced, and her body tensed as another spasm rocked her.
After a few moments, the pain abated. Jin was lying alongside her now.
He spoke in a very quiet voice. “Julieta, can you lie on your back?”
She moved until she was flat against the bed. “It still hurts,” she whimpered.
“I know, sweetheart. Can I put my hand on your abdomen?”
She winced, yet she nodded.
He placed his warm hand on her belly. The heat from his palm invaded her skin even through the fabric of her pants. That warmth began to undo the knots in her tummy. His hand continued to rest lightly there ministering calm to her troubled torso.
He slid over until his body touched hers. Rising above her on his left elbow, he stared down at her now flushed face. He bent over her, and he began to brush his lips across her forehead. He showered her with soft kisses, one after another in quick yet sweet succession. A thousand caresses from his mouth releasing peace into her head.
She began to relax under the tender onslaught of his mouth. Those shimmering lips, releasing sweet vibrations into her cells, moved from one temple across the space just above her eyebrows and onward until they reached the other temple. Then, those same lips brushed her skin softly in the other direction. He must have lavished his love on her forehead for a good twenty minutes. When he finally pulled back, he discovered that she had fallen asleep.
He settled in next to her, his head resting near hers. His hand still on her belly. He lay there peacefully until he finally fell asleep too.
—
A couple hours later, Julieta suddenly awoke. She could feel the weight of a warm body pressing against her right side. Along with the pressure of a heavy hand lying on her belly. She tilted her head until she came face to face with a slumbering Jin. Her lips curved into a sweet smile.
Oh. Jin.
The man was so precious. His presence was a healing balm. Just like his touch. All of a sudden, the memory of his lips showering her forehead with his affection for her rushed back to her. She closed her eyes for a moment as she relived those priceless minutes. He had comforted her, causing her to relax. Then, she must have fallen asleep. And he hadn’t left her. He’d stayed right by her side.
Did he have any idea how healing his presence was in her life? She had been challenged at every turn, yet Jin had remained faithful to her. Nothing dissuaded him from pursuing her. When she’d been cold towards him, he’d become her friend. When she’d fainted, he’d seen her safely home. And taken care of her. Ensuring she ate something. When she’d been attacked by an unknown enemy, he had sought out the perpetrator and was standing solidly next to her in a bid to draw out her foes and reveal their evil plot. When she’d refused to celebrate her life, he had coaxed her into sharing the celebration of his. And now, when her body had come under siege, he had stayed to nurse her back to health.
Had she not already loved him with all her heart, this final truth would have sealed the deal. She was good and truly taken by this man. Undone. Her heart freed from her grasp to lay solely within his own. She smiled as she opened her eyes to trace the features of his face.
Her heart was taken, and she knew there was no going back. Truthfully, she had no desire to go back. She wanted a future with this kind man. She didn’t wish to return to the isolation and loneliness of her early adulthood. It was much better to be held safely in Jin’s cherishing arms. It was a far better fate to fight her foes with him by her side, his love bolstering her. Strengthening her. Revitalizing her. With love, life was worth living.
—
Jin’s arm around her, his breath warm on her face, Julieta lay there quietly for a long time simply relishing the feel of his warmth pressed against her own. She wished they were married. Wished she could indulge in this kind of innocent intimacy with him every single night. Yet, she knew if such a thing were possible, it was years in the future.
So she would lay here absorbing these moments for as long as possible. Memorizing the feel of his breath wafting across her cheek. Committing to her memory the warmth of the length of him soaking into her side. And the weight of his hand on her abdomen. Is this what his hand would feel like when he was searching for the evidence that his child floated within the walls of her body? Would he place his palm there to feel the kick of a tiny foot or the ripple of a minuscule knee sliding across her belly? Her eyes filled with tears as her head filled with dreams of being his wife. And the mother of his children. She hoped one day such sweet dreams would come true.
