Born of Legend by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page B

door. And it sent the blood crashing to his groin.
    Damn. He was so hard, it was painful. Growling at the aggravation, he got out of the shower and pulled on his clothes, then double-checked that his erection wasn’t too obvious before he went to the front door and opened it. Then wished he hadn’t as the sight of her beautiful face in the hallway light only made him even harder and hornier. Something he wouldn’t have thought possible.
    â€œHi.” Holding a large bag in her arms like a small child, she smiled up at him.
    It took a second for enough blood to return to his brain that he could answer such an unexpected, friendly greeting. “Morning.” He frowned at her. “What are you doing here?”
    She held the bag toward him. “I thought you might like some fresh clothes to wear when you start your new job. I guessed your size, but if they don’t fit, the clerk assured me there wouldn’t be any problem exchanging them.”
    Stunned by her gift, Jullien sputtered. He wasn’t used to anyone giving him anything, other than a hard time. “You didn’t have to do that.”
    â€œI know. Brace yourself, Jullien … that’s the whole point of a gift. You don’t do it because you have to. You do it because you want to.”
    Yeah and that was why he couldn’t believe this was happening. No one had ever wanted to do anything for him before. Except kick his ass and insult him.
    Ushara hesitated at the sincerely shocked expression on his handsome face as he continued to stare at her in utter disbelief. Cocking her head, she frowned. “Gracious, you act as if you’ve never been given a present before.”
    â€œI haven’t. At least … not like this.” His hand actually trembled as he took the bag and true appreciation shone in his eyes. “Thank you, Admiral.”
    â€œUshara.”
    Suddenly bashful, he cradled the bag awkwardly to his chest and inclined his head to her.
    She glanced around his cramped quarters. While clean, it was so paltry and meager. And though he was thin from starvation, he was still a large Andarion male. It had to be hard for him to move around in such a small living space.
    Even so, he didn’t say a word of complaint. If anything, he really did appear grateful for it.
    â€œHave you had any breakfast?”
    â€œUm … no. I just got out of the shower.”
    She gestured toward the door. “I was headed that way before my shift. Would you care to join me? I can show you where the dining areas and shops are in the mall district.”
    Suspicion furrowed his brow. “Why are you being nice to me when there’s nothing to gain from it? You’ve more than repaid whatever debt you think you might owe for what I did for your son.”
    Ushara snorted at his tone. “Am I not supposed to like you?”
    Wow, that baffled look on his face was something else. How could anyone be so stunned that someone liked them?
    â€œYou’d be the first in history to do so.”
    She laughed, until she realized he was quite serious. “C’mon, Jullien. You have friends and family who like you … right?”
    He rubbed at his ear in a gesture of discomfort. “Then I must have been taught the wrong definition for that word. ’Cause I always thought it meant that you had a fondness for something.”
    Sobering, she wasn’t sure what to make of that. Surely, he was teasing. “No one has any fondness for you, at all? Seriously?”
    â€œWell, they all liked one thing about me.”
    â€œAnd that is?”
    â€œMy absence.”
    Ushara started to force him to deny it until she remembered that he had no record of any calls on his link.
    None. And that his own family had issued a death warrant on him and abandoned him to it. He truly had no one in the entire universe who cared about him.
    Leaning forward, she whispered in his ear. “I have fondness