Chapter 19
Julian
“Get your filthy mitts off my witch, Gina.” I stomped toward the pair, temperature rising, and not in a good way. “I asked you to keep her safe, not to seduce her.”
Gina pouted, her hands still all over my Lily. “Oh come on, can’t we share? I think she likes me.”
I marched over, a bag of takeout in each hand, and shoved the smaller one at Gina. “Take your food and scram.”
“Aww. You’re no fun.” Gina stood and took her food, but not before trailing a finger across Lily’s collarbone and opening her robe just enough to expose a perky breast. “You know where I am every weekend, you pretty thing. Call me when you bore of this stick in the mud. I’m a lot more fun. ” Then she sashayed out my door.
Lily blinked like she was trying to clear the fog of seduction from her head. “Did your ex-wife just try to seduce me?”
“Yes,” I gritted. I’d known Gina would try it; she always did. In fact, I’d be worried something was wrong if she hadn’t. To her it was all in harmless fun.
And plus, Gina was the only one I trusted to keep Lily safe. Her, and maybe Prax, now that he was mated to Penny. So why was I so unbelievably angry?
Was it because Gina’s seduction had worked? It hadn’t worked completely since she was still dressed and here with me. But Lily was most definitely affected. Her desire was sweet and clear in the room. And she hadn’t told Gina to get lost, and she hadn’t even covered herself back up.
I wasn’t supposed to care. That was the deal. Friends with benefits. Nothing more.
But watching Gina’s fingers trail across Lily’s skin, seeing her robe fall open just enough to reveal the curve of her breast had stirred something in me.
And why couldn’t we share? Gina and I had shared so much throughout the centuries.
But the thought of Lily flushed and breathless and caught in the haze of desire that wasn’t for me made me irrational.
She was mine. Mine.
But this was the type of possessiveness that had no business surfacing.
My little Vixen put out a hand, and the moment she touched me, I felt myself calming. Her sharp gray eyes watched me like she was trying to read my thoughts, and after a moment, her gaze softened.
“I’m not going to lie,” she said, “Gina’s gorgeous. But she isn’t you. I think I can only handle one incubus or succubus at a time.”
With her hands still on me, she looked over at the bag of takeout still in my hands. “Let’s go eat. I’m ravenous.”
Her phone took this moment to let out a chime, and she went to check it as I set our meals down on the table in the kitchen.
“It’s Gigi and Penny,” she said, looking relieved. “They assured me they’re safe and promised to stick to their mates like glue until we get this all figured out.”
Once we started digging in, Lily hit me with the news that not only had she gone to check out The Breach site, she’d done so alone.
I set my tumbler down, the clink of glass against the table sharper than I intended. Whiskey on the rocks wasn’t doing much to dull the edge tonight. Not when she’d just told me what she did today.
“You went to the portal site alone,” I said, keeping my voice low to stop a growl from forming in my throat.
She speared a roasted potato, popped it into her mouth, and chewed slowly, trying to delay her answer.
“Technically, I wasn’t alone,” she finally said. “There were tons of people there.”
Because it was a busy intersection. I did not find that funny.
She sighed. “Nothing happened while I was out there. No shadow creatures. No creepy whispers.”
I leaned back, arms crossed, feeling the tension coil tighter in my chest. “And yet, the shadow creatures showed up when you were home. Alone.”
“Exactly,” she said, pointing her fork at me. “Which means the danger isn’t at the portal site. It’s following me.”
I didn’t like that answer, but I couldn’t argue either.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a broken bracelet, setting it gently on the table. “I found this behind the containment building. It’s a protective charm. Or it was.”
I picked it up, turning it over in my fingers. The metal was cracked, but the energy still hummed faintly. “It’s broken.”
“Yeah, but the magic is still there. I can feel it. Someone used it recently, and whoever charged it is still alive. This kind of spell draws from the caster, and I feel it drawing as we speak. It’s still trying to protect her.”
“It’s not much help if it’s not on her.” I wondered if she’d lost it accidentally or if it was removed on purpose, and by whom. “Do you think it belonged to one of the missing women?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. But I talked to a work-study student named Krista, and I don’t think it belonged to her. She had magic, but it felt different. She seemed nice, but defensive. I had to use my talent to get her talking.”
I looked up, a thought starting to percolate in my head. “Did your talent work without misfiring?”
Her lips twisted, and she leaned back slightly.
“Now that you mention it, yeah. It worked fine. And the other day, I used my magic on Shadow to get her to come in when Penny was over. I think it worked then too, but it could’ve just been the tuna.
Do you think my magic only misfires when I’m casting active spells? ”
“Could be. Then we avoid active spells until we figure this out,” I said, already calculating the risks.
She nodded, then frowned. “I guess the spell Gigi, Penny, and I cast to hide me didn’t work because they already knew where I lived.”
“Or someone or something followed you back.”
“I stopped off at the library in between. And was there for at least a good hour. They didn’t attack me there.”
That had me stumped. My mood darkened even more at the reminder of what she’d gone through today. I reached over and took her hand, squeezing gently. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
After dinner, we moved to the couch. I pulled up Delerium’s security footage, focusing on the nights the two women had gone missing.
Lily sat between my legs as I scrolled through the video from the camera pointed at the bar. At about five minutes past eleven, Marissa sidled up into the frame.
I paused the video and leaned in. “There.”
My little witch squinted at the screen. The resolution was grainy, but clear enough. A gold bracelet jangled from Marissa’s wrist as she ordered a drink.
“That’s the bracelet. No doubt about it.” She shook her head. “So does that mean the researcher has to be involved?”
“Why the hell would the bracelet be there otherwise?” I recalled my own bit of detective work. “Listen, Vixen, I don’t want you anywhere near Nathan.”
“Nathan? You mean your security guy?”
“I went through the security feed again from the nights you were here. There was no way he could’ve missed all the camera glitches when the guy in black showed up.
So I followed him. On the second day, he left his job at the jewelry store early and met with the EA researcher.
But they shook me before I got anything useful.
The guy might not be a wizard, but he has access to some strong magic. ”
“Did they know you were there?”
“I don’t think so. I wasn’t the only one who followed him. I’m pretty sure Marissa’s family has some private investigator tailing him too. In this case, I think he hid my presence. He wasn’t disguised very well. It was kind of obvious.”
“If Nathan is involved, then no wonder the cops think Delerium is part of it. Because it is, and it’s going to put a mark on you too.” She worried at her lower lip, and her aura darkened. “I know you’re not involved, but—”
I pulled her back to lean against my chest, wishing to soothe her with my presence. She was worried about me. My little witch was next on the list, and she was worried about me.
“You’re thinking too much,” I said. “We don’t have enough proof yet of anything. And neither do the cops.”
Shadow interrupted us, pawing my front door.
“I think she wants to go out. She hasn’t used the makeshift kitty litter box I made her.”
Lily was frowning, so I gestured to the cardboard box her cameras had come in and the torn-up newsprint inside it.
“Oh! I hadn’t even noticed. But she’s probably never used a litter box before.” Lily stood and headed toward the door but I stopped her.
“She can use the rooftop. Plenty of empty flower boxes for her there.”
“You have a rooftop patio?”
“I do. The original plan was to extend the club up there, but that never happened. I tried to make it into a garden, but that failed too. I kept forgetting about it.” I approached the curtains and pulled them open to expose the balcony door I rarely used.
“There’s another way up through the stairway.
But we can also go up through the balcony. ”
Lily scooped Shadow up into her arms and followed me onto the balcony and up the stairs to the roof, her eyes just as wide and curious as the cat’s.
I braced myself for the look of disappointment at how neglected it was.
My rooftop terrace was a tangle of forgotten flowerbeds full of weeds.
But instead of wrinkling her nose, a spark lit her gray eyes.
Shadow wriggled free, leaping down to explore the overgrown garden and find a place for her business.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been up here.” I went to sit on the bench I’d installed under the pergola. At least the structure was still standing.
“This place could be magical,” she said, brushing her fingers over a vine that had claimed an old planter.
“Yeah. In my head, it was supposed to be beautiful. I had all these plans for it. But I think I bit off more than I could chew, and tried to fix everything at once. Then gave up.”
She looked pensive. “Yeah, it’s a big space. I was imagining a little section of the rooftop but this is the entire building. And Delerium isn’t small.”
Shadow seemed to like it just the way it was. She crawled out from one of the planters and jumped onto the wall at the edge.
“Be careful,” Lily warned. But the cat just walked along the edge. She knew it was too high to jump.
“The wards on my home technically extend to the rooftop and the balcony. We can leave the balcony door open a crack for her.”
“Are you sure? I feel like you’ve done so much for me already. I feel bad that I set your dining room table on fire. Now I’m bringing an animal into your house full of super-scratchable furniture.”
“It will be fine.” I pulled her down to sit next to me.
She sighed, relaxing. “It is really nice out here.”
We sat as the last hints of twilight faded into night, and the first stars blinked awake overhead. The air was cool and still, and for a moment, it felt like we had not a worry in the world.
But soon Lily grew restless, and she started to fidget, her fingers worrying at the hem of her top.
“What is wrong?”
“What if whatever is trying to get me finds me here?”
“I won’t let it get you.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but I pulled her into my lap before she could.
“Worrying won’t help tonight,” I murmured against her temple. “You need to relax so you can be at your best tomorrow. Let me take care of you.”
She didn’t resist. Her fingers slid under my collar, tracing heat and skin.
The weight of her in my lap told the truth: they hadn’t gotten to Lily. She was here and she was safe. And now it was my job to keep her that way.
“You’re mine tonight,” I said, voice low and rough. “Nothing will harm you. You’re mine to protect. And mine to pleasure. I’m going to make you forget all your worries.”
She looked up at me, eyes dark and full of heat. “Then stop talking and do it.”
I kissed her hard, possessively claiming her. Her hands fisted in my shirt, pulling me closer, and I lifted her easily. I carried her down the stairs, back into my home, and into my bedroom.
I laid her down gently, but there was nothing gentle about the way I followed her onto the bed, covering her body with mine. Her fingers tangled in my hair, her body arching to meet me, and I let go of restraint.
“Julian,” she gasped.
I answered with my mouth, my hands, my body.
She was mine.
And I was going to make damn sure she knew it, all fucking night.
I was done fighting these confusingly protective and possessive feelings for her.
They weren’t going anywhere. I’d tried to ignore them, tried to pretend we were just friends who just so happened to enjoy tearing each other’s clothes off.
But that lie didn’t hold anymore. Not when the thought of her in danger made my vision go red.
Not when her scent calmed the monster inside me.
Was this what mated demons felt for their mates?
Once upon a time, the idea of being mated to anyone had felt like a prison sentence, chains I’d never escape. But now? The thought didn’t repulse me. It thrilled me as long as it was her.
I wanted Lily. All of her. Not just her body, not just her sexual energy. I wanted her messy hair in the morning and sleepy eyes at night. I wanted to wake up to her curled against me, her magic pulsing like a familiar heartbeat.
And the thought of her choosing me? Of her being mine, not just for a night, but for always?
It made me happy.
And heaven help anyone who tried to take her from me now; they’d learn exactly what kind of monster I could be.