His response seemed truthful, and she didn’t pull away when he bent his lips to hers. Nor did she stop him when the whisper of a kiss turned into something more. He parted her lips, deepening the kiss.
Julian’s hands slipped under the hem of her skirt, teasing and daring. He lifted his mouth just an inch. “Do you know how badly I’ve missed you this week?”
Her fingers curled against his chest as she stared up at him.
A small lifting of his lips softened his harsh beauty. “That Nephilim has been everywhere you’ve been. I don’t like it.”
She slid her hand along the collar of his shirt. “Luke worries about me.”
He brushed his cheek against hers. “It’s the only reason I tolerate his presence.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but he took advantage of the moment, delving his tongue deep into her mouth. When he broke the kiss and stepped back to capture just her hand again, Lily frowned.
He flashed a knowing grin and started walking. “Ask me anything.”
“Um,” she said, running a shaky hand through her hair. “Okay…what do you do in your spare time?”
“Besides follow you?”
Well, he got points for honesty. “Yeah, besides follow me.”
“Well, I don’t sleep all day in my lair if that is what you think.” He led her around a small creek fed by the Potomac. “I actually own a couple of businesses in Maryland and a few in the city—clubs and bars.”
That was not what she expected. The shock must have been transparent, because Julian laughed. “I’m easily bored, especially after centuries. It’s not uncommon for us to acquire certain things. You’d be surprised.”
Lily really needed to share that with the circle. “What kind of clubs?”
“The kind you’d get into,” he said with a grin. “The clubs are all the rage among the rich Georgetown students and yuppies looking for a good time.”
“So is this an illegal thing or a way to…reach more humans?” Meaning corrupt more humans through exploiting their vices. It was something the Fallen were very good at.
Julian glanced down at her questioning face. “At times, yes. For the most part, it’s just a trendy club people go to when they want to enjoy themselves. I don’t prey on everyone who walks through the doors of my establishments. Though some of my clubs are private. Places for people who’ll pay good money to relax and not be seen.”
Politicians and celebrities? It appeared Julian was ever the opportunist.
“You?” he prodded after a moment.
“I don’t really do anything exciting,” she said drily. “No secretive businesses or intrigue.” She paused. “I did go to American University.”
“College grad?” he asked. “Hot.”
Lily laughed softly. “I didn’t graduate. The job kind of got in the way.”
He seemed to digest that tidbit of information. “Your job is everything. It’s all you have.”
When it was put that way it sounded sort of depressing. But she loved her job. Hell, it was more than a job. It was a duty to a higher calling. She was lucky to have such an important role in life.
It sounded like a pep talk even to her.
When she didn’t answer, Julian peppered her with questions and eventually drew more information out of her. There really wasn’t much for her to tell him. Other than being a Nephilim, she lived a boring life. He didn’t seem to think so. Not by the rapt attention he was paying her.
A few minutes passed and the beauty of the park settled around them. That was when Lily came up with the most inappropriate question she could ask. “How many Nephilim have you fathered?”
“Children?” He tilted his head to the side, and a lock of hair fell across his broad cheek. “None.”
Chapter Sixteen
Lily busted out laughing. “Whatever. You tell me to ask you anything and then you lie.”
The skin between Julian’s brows puckered. “I’m not lying.”
Her smile faded. Either he had an awesome poker face or he was telling the truth. But there was no way he had not fathered a Nephilim. It was just…what they did. Like over and over again. But he stared at her with this serious and somewhat offended expression on his face.
“You can’t be serious,” hissed Lily.
“Why would I lie about that?”
They had stopped walking. Underneath an old stone bridge that was no longer in use, she withdrew her hand from his. “Not a single Nephilim?”
He sighed. “If I had known you would’ve been disappointed by that, I would’ve lied to you.”
“No.” She bit her lip. “I’m not disappointed. I’m just surprised. I mean, what Fallen doesn’t produce a Nephilim? We’re like your first ‘in your face’ to God.”
Julian actually laughed. “I guess I’m a very poor Fallen.”
“Wow,” she murmured. He was full of surprises, and this latest one was rather telling. She had thought his inexplicable fondness for her and flippant manner of destroying the creatures his kind created was strange, but this was beyond that. “Are there others like you?”
He reached down, unfolding her arms. “I imagine there are some who’ve grown tired of this path we have chosen. Who have carved out a different life, leaving what made them fall behind.”
That didn’t sit well with Lily. All the years of training and education on the Fallen started to unravel. The lines between them were always an issue of black and white. Yet Julian was proof that wasn’t always the truth. And there could be more like him? Out there? Fallen but not completely evil? And her kind was killing them?
She needed to get away, to think. All of this confused her.
Julian rubbed his hands over her arms. “It bothers you, doesn’t it?”
“What does?”
He smiled slightly. “Knowing everything you’ve been taught isn’t always the right thing. That no amount of training could prepare you for the knowledge that there are a lot of gray areas.”
Damn, he was good. It didn’t mean she would admit to it, no matter how right he was. “Why aren’t you like them?”
A dark look flickered across his face as he stared up at the sky. “Who says I’m not?”
Okay then. Deciding it was well past time for her to get back into the city and hunt, she pulled herself away. “Julian, I have to get back—”
Her words were cut off by the sheer intensity in the way he claimed her lips with his. Sliding his arms around her waist, he lifted her against him. Damn, it was so incredibly hot when he did that.
He raised his head. “I know. Just give me a few minutes.”
“A few minutes?” she murmured, dazed by his passion. She had a few minutes. A few minutes wouldn’t hurt anything.
Then he started kissing her again.
He turned and pressed her against the rough stone blocks. Not the most comfortable position, but there was something about the cold bricks at her back and the warmth of Julian at her front. Fire and ice—that was what he was.
One arm tightened around her as he slipped a hand under the hem of her skirt. Up and up it went until his fingers skimmed the curve of her buttocks. She moaned into his mouth, the need his touch brought on was sudden and powerful, but when he slipped his fingers under her panties, her eyes flew open.
“Julian!” she hissed. “Someone will freaking see us!” She wasn’t a prude, but she didn’t feel like giving the homeless people and the park rangers a free show.
He chuckled deeply, pressing her further against the wall. “No one will see us.” He worked his fingers back to where they had been.
