Chapter 28
Lily
By the time I stepped through a portal into Julian’s place with Shadow in my arms, I was exhausted. My body ached, my head was spinning, and all I wanted was to collapse into something soft and forget the last few hours. But I couldn’t yet.
Gina was waiting there with a big honking ankle monitor strapped to her leg. “Oh good, you found her. Now get this fucking thing off me!”
The two traded spots and I watched as Gina phased right out of the device as it latched back onto Julian. She turned to me. “I’m glad you’re safe. Now go make my friend deliriously happy.” With a wave, she was gone.
Back in the cave, in the middle of all that chaos, Julian had said I was his. I hadn’t had time to process it then, but now it echoed in my head. Did he mean it? Or had he just blurted it out by accident because of the adrenaline and relief of finding me?
Sure, he’d said it before, but all those other times had been during sex so did they really count?
I sat down on the edge of his couch, trying to formulate how to start the conversation tactfully, but then decided that blunt was the best and only option. “Earlier you said I was yours.”
He froze.
“Did you mean it? Or was it just something that came out in the moment?”
He sat beside me and was silent for a long moment. “Even though I know we were just supposed to be friends,” he finally said, “I can’t stop this feeling that we are more. That you are mine.”
I swallowed hard. “Was that why you were parading me around the club the day you got arrested?”
He seemed to shrink. “Yes. And you were uncomfortable. I felt it. I know I’m just an incubus, not exactly someone anyone would consider a good catch.
I don’t have any prestige or come from a family of strong magic.
Hell, I’m the first one people suspect when witches go missing.
I know I’m unlovable, but that didn’t stop me from falling for you.
I love you, Lily. I don’t know how it happened, but I do.
And I wanted to let everyone know that you were mine, and I was yours.
But all I did was make you uncomfortable. ”
I didn’t know what to react to first, the fact that Julian just told me he loved me or the fact that he thought himself unlovable because of what he was.
Had he thought I was uncomfortable that night because I was too embarrassed to be claimed by him?
I hadn’t known that the proud-seeming, almost outrageous incubus hid this side of himself from the world.
“I was uncomfortable,” I admitted. “But not because of you. It was the way everyone looked at me like I was just your flavor of the week. And it kind of hurt because…” I hesitated.
“Because I was falling for you too, and I didn’t want to admit it.
Like you said, we were just supposed to be friends. ”
He stared at me, almost in a daze. For a second, I wondered if I’d misunderstood and said the wrong thing.
“You were falling for me?” He pulled me close, tucking me under his arms.
I nodded, and he shook his head like he couldn’t believe it.
“But I’m just—”
“You’re a successful businessman who’s done more for your community than anyone ever could.
So what if a few idiots are still prejudiced because outdated morality police still claim that sex is inherently bad and that you are monsters for needing it to literally survive.
I see you, Julian, not just ‘some incubus,’ and I love what I see.
You are more than enough.” But now the insecurity ball was in my court.
“But I’m worried you’ll get sick of me when you have the entire world to choose from. I know you need variety, and—”
He cut me off. “I don’t need variety. I need you. I’d never get bored of you.”
His words made me feel giddy. But I was almost afraid to believe them. Julian must have felt my doubt because he forced me to look at him.
“Prax is happy with just Penny,” he said.
“I used to think that was strange. Why would anyone tie themselves down? But I understand now. Did you know I haven’t touched anyone since that first time we danced weeks ago?
I went Upstairs to get into things but couldn’t.
No one there could hold a candle to you.
I’ve never had a mate, so I’ve never known what that felt like.
But now I do. You’re my mate. I love you, Lily. Please stay with me.”
My chest was so full of hope and happiness I could hardly breathe.
Then, since words seemed to have left me for the time being, I threw my arms around him, grinning through the happy tears that were already spilling down my cheeks.
I was smiling so hard my face hurt. “Yes,” I finally managed to squeak.
“I’ll stay. And Julian, I love you too.”
“You do?”
“I do,” I said, barely able to get the words out through the rush of emotion.
His lips crashed into mine, and I met him halfway, hunger and desperation evident in the kiss.
His hands slid up my back, anchoring me to him, and I felt the tension melt away as we lost ourselves in the deep, messy kiss, so full of everything we hadn’t said until now.
The world around us blurred. All I could feel was him and the way he kissed me, like I was the only thing that mattered.
When he finally pulled back, he was grinning. “So now that we’ve confirmed we are both madly in love, it’s time to get naked, right?”
I laughed. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m covered in dirt. I don’t exactly feel sexy.”
He stood, sweeping me into his arms. “Then let’s get you cleaned up.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “You just want an excuse for shower sex.”
“Obviously,” he said. “That’s why my shower is that big. So we have plenty of space for fun. And just so you know, I’m very thorough when it comes to back scrubbing. And front scrubbing. And everywhere in between.”
I stretched lazily on the bed, rubbing myself against Julian’s super silky sheets. He wasn’t in bed, but the smell of bacon and eggs told me exactly where he was.
But it wasn’t the promise of breakfast that woke me up fully, it was the sound of a doorbell. Oh right! Officer Cooley and Hayes!
I quickly got up and did a quick morning prep in the ensuite. I stepped out of the room just as the officers were stepping in. Gina was already sitting at the kitchen table, looking luscious as always.
The two officers took our statements, and it seemed that Julian had already told Gina exactly what to say. As we spoke, Julian kept bringing up plates after plates of bacon, which Officer Hayes helped himself to with a casual, “Don’t mind if I do.”
How the man could be so relaxed and carefree all the time considering his stressful job was a mystery. I was just glad that we were dealing with these two and not those judgmental asshats from before.
Since the case was technically solved and the women were safe at home, Julian was no longer a suspect, and they removed his ankle monitor.
“Does this mean this block is back in your patrol?” Julian asked once the notebooks and recorders were put away.
“Actually no, Delerium is still technically out of our beat. We were responding to a kidnapping at the cemetery, remember? It just happened to be linked.” Hazel turned sly. “Which means we can visit all we want when we’re off duty.”
I made sure to try to convince Liam to bring her out sometime.
When they all left, I quickly texted Penny and Gigi to let them know I was okay and thank them for everything. Then Julian brought out an entire heart attack breakfast, complete with eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, pancakes, and enough syrup to drown everything in.
That was when I noticed the envelope left on the table addressed to me.
“What’s that?” Julian asked, sliding a plate over.
“I think Officer Cooley left it for me.” I opened it and read it.
“They’re going to secretly close The Breach. Alfonzo says it should be easy now that the portal is weak. They’re asking me for my help.”
“Secretly?”
“EA headquarters can’t know. But it seems Alfonzo has been convinced that the thing is better closed than open.”
“I see. I never did meet the guy.”
“He’s not bad. He’s hyper-focused on whatever he’s researching and a bit weird, but who isn’t.”
“And who’s they? I mean the people asking you to help.”
“Chief Henderson and Desmon.”
He frowned. “Can’t say no to Desmon.”
“That’s what I thought.”
We dug into our breakfast and the conversation slowed until it was clear that there was no way I could finish what was on my plate.
“What’s the plan now, Vixen?” Julian leaned back in his seat, his plate empty. “Are you going to let Mr. Kim know you’re moving? There’s plenty of space for you and Shadow here.”
“I still have several months left on my lease. I’ll let him know I won’t be renewing, but I don’t want to get out of it because he and Mrs. Kim have been nothing but wonderful.
Did you know they put in extra wards to try to keep me safe?
Landlords like them are rare. But that reminds me,” I said, my mood dropping, “I still need to find a source of income.”
“That’s easy,” Julian said, waving a hand.
“You better not tell me to sell feet pics on the internet.”
He laughed. “No. You know how you got my cameras to detect certain magical signatures and follow them around? Or alert me when magic is being used or if certain magical auras come close? I know quite a few businesses that would benefit from that, and they’d pay handsomely too.”
That had been something Penny and I had talked about that day in my home. “I am comfortable with the tech part of it and the linking of the systems, but my magic’s not good enough to set wards for anyone other than myself.”
“It doesn’t have to be. You can work with another practitioner to do that part. A woman named Sybil does mine.”
“Oh, from Auntie Syl’s Wards his gig is up. And you should be getting that approval email anytime now.”
And right on cue, the phone in my hand buzzed, and a notification popped up.
“Congratulations! The Basic Witches are officially in business.”
“Thank you, Simone.”
“No problem. Just doing my job.”
“So Steven again, huh?” Julian said ominously from across the table when I hung up.
“Yeah, but he’s getting his just desserts. Let’s not give him any more of our time.”
Julian looked like he wasn’t ready to let it go but thought better of it.
He leaned back in his chair. “You know what we should do now that the dreaded thing is finally off my ankle?” he asked.
“We should take a drive. The leaves are changing, and the roads out by the lake are probably glowing with color right now.”
“Are you saying our visit to the forest cave wasn’t scenic enough for you?”
“It’s not the same. Just imagine the pretty colors and the lake breeze coming into the window, maybe with your feet on the dash and your pretty pink hair catching the sunlight.”
I laughed. “You’re awfully romantic for an incubus.”
“Only with you.” He stood, coming around the table and offering his elbow.
I slipped my arm into his. “Let’s go. But first, coffee! Let’s stop by the Witch’s Brew for a latte and say hi to Gigi. I think today is her first pumpkin spice day of the year.”
“Anything you say, Vixen.” He tucked me under his arms. “Anything you say.”