Page 37 of Keeping Lilith

Lilith took a few seconds to take stock of what was happening with her body. The panic from not long ago was being replaced with fissures of happiness and excitement at the prospect of having dinner with Julian. The change in her feelings surprised her, but she was getting used to the way Julian could make her feel better with a quick smile and some light touches. “Yes, I will be.” She closed the gap between them and pressed her lips against his in a quick kiss. “Thank you for helping me through that.”

“Always, Lil. I’ll always help you. No matter what you need.”

Chapter Eighteen

Every timehe 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 Lilithby 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 wasalso 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.