Love Immortal

Chapter Eight

Chapter 8

Julian stopped on a rooftop a short distance from the Ghost safe house. He looked back towards it, a part of him hoping to catch a glimpse of Lauren still standing there watching for him. She was beautiful tonight. He had noticed her the moment she had walked in and looked at him, had felt her gaze burning into him and had felt her turn away to speak with Duke. When Duke had touched her, Julian had wanted to go to Lauren and take hold of her. Instinct had told him to stake his territory. A ridiculous idea. Lauren wasn’t his. She was free to talk to whoever she wanted.

But it hurt to see her talking to Duke and ignoring him, until he had sensed the change in her feelings. It had been a hint of sadness or pain. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the emotion but she had felt something, and then she had left the room. Why? He had considered it while trying to end his conversation with Astra and the only conclusion he could find was a ridiculous one. Lauren hadn’t liked him speaking with Astra and she had left to get his attention. He couldn’t bring himself to believe something so fantastical. He was reading into it. But if she was jealous, it would explain the way she acted around Astra, and the feelings he saw in her eyes sometimes. He wished that he had gone to her straight away, as he’d wanted to, but Astra had stopped him from following Lauren, hindering him long enough that Duke had gone instead.

Julian’s fingers curled into tight fists, the darkness he’d felt in that moment reclaiming him with a vengeance. Lauren didn’t realise just how beautiful she was, how the clothes she wore tonight emphasised her delicate figure and made him burn for her. It had been a struggle to keep his eyes off her, to resist the temptation she placed in his path. And it had made him think, so much so that he hadn’t heard a word that Astra had said to him. His focus had been wholly on Lauren and his thoughts, on trying to figure out just what it was about her that felt different. In the end, he had found no satisfying conclusion, only a sense that there was something new about her, something that distinguished her from the rest.

When he had gone to her, found Duke with his hands on her, a rage blacker than any he’d felt before had consumed him.

He’d been ready to fight Duke for her.

But then Duke had left and Lauren had looked at him with such tenderness that he had found himself believing that she did want his attention and that she had been jealous. His heart had been pounding by the time she’d approached him, stepping so close that he could clearly smell her sweet scent and feel her warmth. He’d thought she would change her mind again and wouldn’t go through with unmasking him but this time she hadn’t backed down. There had been such determination in her eyes, not just about overcoming her fear of what she would become but also about seeing him. He’d caught her glancing his way, seen how she’d stared at the collar of his coat with her fists clenched in restraint. He’d watched her when she thought no one was.

He was always watching her.

She entranced him.

He stared back towards the Ghost building, replaying every moment. From the instant she had walked into the room, he had been aware of her. Her beauty and warmth captivated him. When he looked at her, he was looking at a different person. Not Illia or the incarnations that had followed. He was looking at Lauren, a woman nothing like her predecessors. A woman who stirred feelings in him, desires and needs long forgotten or ignored. His canines sharpened at the memory of her standing before him on the rooftop, her neck bared and the smell of arousal lacing her scent.

Without thinking, Julian touched his face, his fingers following the same course that hers had taken. His thumb brushed over his lower lip. Hers had trembled against it, hot and sweet, gentle but strong at the same time. Her touch had been so light and the feel of her hands on him divine. It had been beyond anything he’d imagined possible, stirring his hunger until he had bordered on losing control.