Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Every time he looked at Lilith across the table from him, Julian had to control the urge to grab her hand and take her back home. The moment she’d walked out of her bedroom wearing the dark green sheath dress, he’d been captivated by her beauty. The dress was simple and elegant. He didn’t know why she thought she had nothing appropriate to wear, but he would not call her out on it. He also would not invalidate her feelings. She was entitled to feel what she wanted, and he would do whatever he needed to do to support her. Help her if she had another panic attack like she had earlier.

Not once had it crossed his mind that taking her out would cause her to think that he would hurt her if she embarrassed him. Then again, it shouldn’t really, considering the environments she’d been living in.

“How’s your chocolate mousse?” he asked, trying not to get turned on by the way her eyes closed, a soft moan of pleasure erupting from her with every bite. He’d need to sit at the table for a while after their plates were cleared away.

“Amazing. I’ve never had anything like this. It’s so light and fluffy and creamy. I could eat this all the time.”

He loved introducing her to the pleasures of life. Something that many would take for granted—like nice food and sweet desserts—were all new for Lilith. There was no way she would have had something as decadent as the rich chocolate mousse she was currently spooning into her mouth at the compound. “I’m sure it’s not that difficult to make.”

Of course, he had no idea, but he would find a recipe and make it for her for the rest of her life if she would let him.

Rest of her life.

The thought didn’t scare him, instead he wanted to embrace it and make it come true. The short time they’d been living together had been the best time of his life. And the kisses they’d shared that afternoon—again, the best ever.

The feelings that she’d elicited in him when he saw her for the very first time had only increased until they consumed him.

Lilith’s gasp and the clatter of a spoon drew him back from the past. The color had leeched from her face, and the panicked look from earlier was back in her eyes. Julian reached across the table and grabbed her hand, hoping that the touch would bring her back from the edge. “Lil, what’s wrong?”

“It can’t be,” she whispered, her eyes trained on something over his shoulder. “What is he doing here?”

Julian turned, but he couldn’t see anyone behind him. The other patrons of the restaurant weren’t paying attention to them, which he was grateful for. That would’ve been the last thing Lilith needed—being the focus of everyone. “Who is it? Who did you see?”

The fact that he couldn’t see anybody didn’t negate the fact that Lilith clearly had. Or thought she had. Because of her earlier panic attack had she imagined seeing someone when they hadn’t been there. Could someone’s subconscious be that clever?

The mind was an unknown source and anything was possible, and if that were the case, he wouldn’t degrade Lilith by dismissing it. He would help her understand she was safe, no matter what her mind might tell her.

“M-Micah. I saw Micah.”

Julian wracked his brain, trying to work out why that name seemed familiar to him. He thought over the people involved with The Hopeful Sunshine. The main players. The ones who were considered part of the elder group.

Micah Livingstone, forty. Part of The Hopeful Sunshine from the beginning. Part of the leader group.

If this was the Micah that Lilith had seen, what was he doing out? He should’ve still been locked up with the rest of the cult leaders. They were always the ones that were held and questioned the longest. The majority were even charged with various crimes for their part in luring people into a cult. Most were always singled out by the members as the ones who harmed people.

Unless he was pressured by the agents and turned on Staunton and threw him under the bus, then a deal would’ve been made and he could, in fact, be walking free.

But first he needed to make sure that the Micah he was recalling was the same one that Lilith had seen.

“Are you talking about Micah Livingstone?” he asked, pleased to see some of the color had returned to Lilith’s face. Her fingers gripped his tightly, and if she needed to hold on to him for forever, then he would let her.

“I don’t know his last name. I only knew him as Sir Micah. He . . .” She swallowed. “He dragged me into Staunton’s office the day of the raid. One of the other women accused me of harming the plants, and Micah heard. When I wouldn’t answer his questions, he told me that Staunton would make me talk.”

Anger rippled through Julian with every word that Lilith said, but while there was a hint of fear in her voice, there was also a smattering of defiance. “Was this the first time you’d had any interactions with him?”

Lilith shook her head. “No, he was always lurking. Always berating the other women. I tried to stay out of his line of sight, but he always seemed to be around where I was working.”

The more she talked about his Micah person, the more a bad feeling about him mingled with his anger. If Micah was free and walking around, how had he found Lilith? Or was it really just a coincidence that the man happened to be at the same restaurant as they were?

If they lived in a small town, Julian would believe that it was a coincidence, but this was LA, with a population of tens of millions of people. The chances of randomly running into someone were as likely as winning the lottery for two weeks in a row.

Until he confirmed Micah was free, he wouldn’t say anything to Lilith. He didn’t want to cause her anymore stress, not when she really was making progress in reclaiming her life and finding her feet back in society.

“I don’t know what he looks like, but I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You’re safe with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know, but . . .” Her eyes blazed with a combination of anger and fear. “Don’t say something that I know is impossible to keep. You can’t keep me locked away so nothing happens to me. Then you’d be no better than Ralph or Staunton.”

Julian tried not to let her comparison wound him, but the arrows hit the center of his chest. No way did he want to be either Ralph or Staunton, and just because her safety was a top priority for him, he wouldn’t chain her to the house. “I would never keep you locked away, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to keep you safe.”

He was thinking of the trackers that Alliez used when the guys were on a mission and that the women all freely wore, especially after the bad things that had happened to them. Again, something he would broach when the emotions between the two of them weren’t as high as they currently were.

“I want to go home,” Lilith announced, pulling her hand out of his hold. Clearly deciding the conversation between them was done. He wanted to snatch her hand back, but he wouldn’t do that to her.

“We can do that.” He signaled their server, who came over quickly.

“Is everything okay, sir?”

“Yes, I’d like the check, please.”

“Certainly, sir.” The server smiled and walked away.

Once they were alone again, Julian didn’t know what to say. He wanted to question Lilith more about Micah. And where she’d seen him. What part of the restaurant had he been in? Which direction had he gone after she’d seen him? And more importantly, had Micah seen her? If he had, then the conversation about a tracker would definitely happen. Although convincing her to wear one was going to be a monumental task, especially after how she’d been treated her whole life.

He had reached no answers when the waiter returned. Julian quickly dealt with the payment and pushed back from the table. If he tried to claim her hand, she would likely shake him off. “You good?” he asked as he waited for her to stand.

Lilith nodded as she collected her small purse and her jacket. The gentleman in him, something that had been fostered over the last few years, reached out and took the jacket from her, holding it out for her to slip her arms into it. Believing that she wouldn’t want him close, he made to move, but a hand on his arm stopped him. “Thank you,” Lilith said quietly and slipped her palm against his. Instinctively, his fingers entwined with hers, and when she gave a small squeeze, joy swept through him.

As they walked through the restaurant, he searched to see if anyone watched them closely, but all the diners were wrapped up in their own conversations. The patrons at the bar, as they passed, didn’t pay them any attention either.

Julian kept Lilith close as they waited for the valet to bring his car around. They said nothing, but the silence wasn’t awkward. It was as peaceful as if they were a couple who’d been together for years and not out on their first date.

As he climbed into the car, he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A fleeting flash of fabric, but when he looked around, there was nothing there. Yet the hair on the back of his neck stood to attention, and the sensation that they were being observed accompanied it.

Julian took a few seconds longer to really scan the area, attempting to see through the bushes surrounding the restaurant’s driveway, but there was nothing to suggest anyone was there.

“Is everything okay?” Lilith asked once he’d seated himself down and put his safety belt on.

“Everything is perfect.” He wasn’t about to tell her he thought someone had been watching them. She was calm now, and that would only upset her. As it was, he couldn’t be too sure that they were being observed.

He put the car into gear and headed home. The evening had been a rush of mixed emotions, but he was glad he’d taken Lilith out. This was a good step in their relationship.

Micah was pleased Stella’s information had been correct. How she’d got it he didn’t know, and he didn’t care. She was being useful both in and out of the bedroom. The only purpose he had for her. He was well aware that Stella thought differently. That she thought she would be his number one, but she was merely a chattel to him. Something that he could own and use when he wanted it.

Lilith, though, was his number one. She’d be the one he expected to service him the most. While she wouldn’t be given the same privileges as the men in the new group he was forming, she would have some. All the men would know that Lilith wasn’t to be touched, and the women, well, they’d probably want to take her position, but they wouldn’t succeed. He would get them to service him, but they would never be totally his, like Lilith would be.

Now all he had to do was get her away from that man who believed he could touch his woman .

Richard arrived, and Micah stepped out of the bushes he’d been in while watching Lilith and that usurper wait for their own car to arrive.

“Where to, Master Micah?” Richard asked.

Master Micah .

He liked the sound of that, but it was missing the true ring of authority. It wasn’t something that needed to be attended to right now. He would come up with a title that befitted his stature.

“Follow that car. But make sure we’re not detected.” He pointed to the dimming taillights of the car that contained his woman. “Soon, my Lilith. Soon,” he muttered.