Catherine’s POV
The smell of coffee hit me before I even stepped into the dining room. I could still feel Julian’s voice, the heat of his palms on my thighs, and the humiliation that came right after.
Every time I blinked, it replayed in flashes. I’d spent half the night tossing and turning, cursing him, cursing myself, trying to pretend none of it had happened.
"Morning," Gabriel said, with a smile on his face, lifting his coffee cup in greeting. "Hope you got enough sleep?"
"Hey, yes," I murmured, sliding into the seat across from him.
He looked irritatingly fresh, his hair slightly damp from a shower, and his white T-shirt was neatly ironed. Meanwhile, I felt like a walking mess with a forced calm plastered over me.
There was a basket of toast between us and a steaming pot of tea. I reached for the cup, grateful for something to do with my hands.
"Did you finish your project?" I asked, trying to sound normal.
"Yes. I stayed up pretty late working on it." He paused, glancing at me. "I was going to ask Julian for help, but he wasn’t in his room."
I froze mid-sip, the rim of the cup pressed against my lip.
Before I could react, Julian’s low, lazy, and way too confident voice came from the doorway.
"Ask me what?"
I didn’t have to look to know it was him. His voice always carried a certain carelessness that instantly tightened the air.
Gabriel looked up, surprised. "You slept in last night?"
Julian’s brows drew together slightly as he walked in, with his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah. Was I not supposed to?"
"No but I came to your room for help, like around midnight," Gabriel said casually. "You weren’t there."
That was all it took for my heartbeat to trip.
I choked on my tea, coughing violently as hot liquid burned the back of my throat.
Both of them turned toward me.
"You okay?" Gabriel asked, half rising.
I waved a hand, trying to act normal even as my face flushed. "Fine—fine—went down the wrong way."
Julian’s gaze flicked to me before one corner of his mouth tilted into that familiar, infuriating smirk.
"Yeah, someone needed my attention," he said smoothly, and I gave him a hard stare, wanting to throw my teacup at him.
"Huh?" Gabriel didn’t understand that reply.
"My stomach, of course. Got hungry and went down to the kitchen to grab something to eat. You must’ve come right after I left."
Gabriel nodded. "Oh, that explains it." He sat back down, completely unaware of the silent storm brewing between us.
Julian moved around the table and took the seat directly beside me. Not across, beside! I was sure he was trying to piss me off.
I stiffened, every muscle on alert.
For a few minutes, the only sound was the clinking of spoons in our teacups. I tried to focus on my toast, but I could feel Julian’s eyes on me, the smug calm radiating from his side.
And then I felt the brush of his hand on my thigh.
At first, I thought I imagined it but he did it again.
My head snapped toward him. He didn’t even look up from his plate.
I mouthed, What the hell are you doing?
He glanced at me, just briefly, with that same infuriating amusement in his eyes.
I gritted my teeth, shifting away. He shifted too, following.
Then his knee pressed onto mine. The contact was subtle, just a light press, a slow drag but my pulse was everywhere at once. I glared at him, mouthing again, Stop it.
He let out a quiet, low laugh and that was it for me.
"You better stop fucking with me, you moron!"
The words shot out before I could stop them and the room turned awkward.
Gabriel blinked, startled, his fork halfway to his mouth. "What—what’s wrong?"
My stomach dropped.
Julian stopped moving too, though the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth told me he was seconds away from laughing.
I opened my mouth, scrambling for a lifeline. "I—I wasn’t. Uhm... sorry, that was a mistake," I said quickly. "Someone’s been sending me... anonymous messages. I just subconsciously reacted. These things can be hella annoying."
Gabriel’s brow raised. "But you haven’t even touched your phone since you came down here."
That moron, Julian, of course, slipped out a laugh, quiet at first, then louder, and suddenly he was laughing openly, leaning back in his chair like this was the funniest time of his life.
I could feel my face burning.
"I just remembered them," I snapped, glaring at Gabriel as if this was somehow his fault. "It slipped out, okay? God."
Gabriel’s expression softened slightly, though the confusion stayed. "Right. Sure. Just... It was a bit surprising. Didn’t mean to offend you. Do you need help finding this anonymous person?"
I wanted the floor to swallow me. "No-no— no-not at all. I can handle it," I stammered through my reply.
Julian’s laughter didn’t help. His shoulders shook silently, and when I turned to glare at him, he met my eyes with a look that said sorry not sorry.
Gabriel finished his coffee, clearly deciding he didn’t want to be part of whatever weird energy was happening. "Anyway, I should get going. I have to submit the project."
My panic spiked instantly. "You’re leaving now?" I blurted. "But—I’m not done eating."
He shrugged his shoulders. "That’s fine. You can ride with Julian."
My head snapped toward Julian, who was already watching me with a dangerous half-smile tugging at his mouth.
"No," I replied quickly. "I’ll come with you."
Gabriel drew his lips to a thin line, it looked like he wanted to ask if everything was okay but he didn’t push it. "Okay then." He stood, grabbing his jacket.
I pushed back my chair so fast it screeched against the floor. "Wait up."
As I followed him toward the door, I could feel Julian’s gaze following me.
I didn’t look back but just before I stepped out, his hand wrapped around my wrist, the sudden heat of his body brushing against my back.
"Have a nice ride, sweetheart."
I stomped him hard on his foot, before running out and slamming the door behind me harder than I needed to.
Moron!