The Duchess (Outsider #2)

Chapter 89: Lord Jule's Deal

For a few seconds, stunned Dusk sat on the icy floor of the Ice-Scape Hotel, while the stupefied staff tried to collect their wits. Julien leaped out of his chair, lifted her up to her feet and pulled her into his arms.

To the others, it looked like he was very worried about his girlfriend. The teenage visitors had heard of the stories of the Duchess dating the Crown Prince, but she had denied it when speaking to News Media a few times. Now, his action was the confirmation that they must have been dating. But they were surprised at how attentive their Crown Prince was to her.

Julien was holding her tightly in his arms, as if she was a precious crystal doll that someone had dropped! Dawn and Catherine knew of how strong and resilient she was due to the punishing military training she underwent for over 2 years. A fall of half a meter would make no difference to her whatsoever. Even so, he continued holding her tightly.

While the hotel staff, including the manager were waiting apprehensively, knowing the Crown Prince would be angry, the teenage visitors were gawking at them, and Catherine, Dawn and Rhaella were looking on appreciatively. Only Lord Jules had a smirk on his face.

Finally, Julien said, lovingly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Oh Darling! I hope you are not hurt. I got so scared to see you fall to the ground like that. I will call for the doctor to check you immediately!"

Dusk rolled her eyes and was about to retort, when he suddenly captured her lips in a kiss. At first it was light and affectionate. Then Julien tilted his head a little, for better access and it became more heated. In spite of her animosity against him, Dusk found herself reacting again to his kisses. She tilted her head a little more and parted her lips, even as her arms went unconsciously around Julien's shoulders to pull him closer to her.

Her guests made cooing sounds in appreciation of the love between the two. Catherine was particularly pleased. She knew no one could beat her brother and he would win her in the end. Dusk's reaction to his kiss was enough to assure her that ultimately, this girl would be her Sister-In-Law. She felt that perhaps, her dating a few others was not so bad after all. It would give her a different perspective and make her understand how much better Julien was than anyone else!

It took Dusk a few minutes to regain her senses and she tried to push Julien away. After all, Public Display of Affection (or PDA as Dawn called it), was not something she was ever comfortable with. It was frowned on in Longburn, and that was ingrained into her mind. And on top of that, other guests were taking pics and vidoes that would be on Social Media soon.

Julien felt her trying to get away, but he was not going to let her go yet. He had not met her or got a chance to touch her intimately for quite a long time. His lips finally came away from her lips and moved next to her ears and whispered.

"You know why your chair collapsed? Your Body Armour has an automatic temperature control system, and, in the cold, it started heating up so that you don't freeze. Naturally, the heat melted the chair. I can show you how to switch it off, but I need you alone for that. Don't resist!"

Dusk had no choice but to nod imperceptibly.

Julien turned to the Manager. "I believe you have kept a suite for the Duchess. We will use it now. I need to make sure Her Grace is unharmed by her fall.. And please replace the chair with a stronger one. I can't believe your hotel will be so careless!"

He took her to the suite and shut the door. Dusk felt sure that everyone outside knew that Julien was up to some mischief that he needed a room to check her out. Her face went pink with embarrassment, but there was no way out.

On entering the room Julien put his arms around her and pulled her closer again and started kissing her. Dusk tried to push away from his assault on her lips, but he was far stronger than her, so it was ineffective. She strove hard not to kiss him back, but in the end her resolution failed miserably.