Lily jogged up the ramp to Beach Drive. Once inside the nearly two-thousand-acre national park, she was surrounded by nature smack-dab in the middle of DC. It was like being in a different world. Sticking to the thick tree line, she let her senses carry her through. She rounded a bend and spotted the deadhead.
Damn. It was a park ranger. She liked park rangers and their hats. This one was missing his hat. He was young, and she kind of felt bad about having to kill him. She winced as he stumbled out onto the bike path, lifting his face to the sky. His mouth hung open at an odd angle. It was a silent scream. The kind of scream before they really started screaming and annoying the crap out of her.
She started forward but halted, watching, stunned, as three more deadheads scrambled out onto the path to stand beside the park ranger. One looked homeless, another was a jogger, and the third was…really gross.
It was once a person. Though, she couldn’t be sure. The hair had fallen out, the skin had turned brown, crusted over in decay, and the ears had sharpened to points. This one was not fresh. Oh no, it had been riding out the human body until it turned into what people would call a monster. Actually, it reminded Lily of primitive drawings humans did of minions. They had no clue minions were actually rather attractive. What they had drawn was a deadhead past its expiration date.
They were a whole different type of problem. At some point, the body hardened, and the evil in them became darker. They were fierce—almost as bad as a minion.
And, God, did they smell horrible.
She rolled her eyes. Of course, it had to be her to hear the call. She shouldn’t be so bitchy about it, but these kinds of deadheads sucked. Starting forward once more, she didn’t make it very far. Cocking her head to the side, she felt a shiver go down her spine.
Before she could say Mississippi, the head of the jogger snapped to the side. She went down like a bag of rocks, twitching and moaning. Then the park ranger flew up in the air and, after several hard bounces, fell in a heap to the left of the path. He made a sickening crunch when he landed. He twitched, too.
Julian appeared in front of the deadhead, wrinkling his nose. “You want to handle this one?”
She stepped out of the bushes, ignoring the sudden warm feeling that coursed through her. This was so not the time for that. “Oh no, you’re doing so well. Go ahead. Don’t let me stop your fun.”
The deadhead tipped back its head and wailed. The sound, a cross between a coyote and a bobcat, was enough to make Lily’s ears bleed. Julian regarded it with annoyance. “Oh shut up.” He twisted the head right off the thing.
“Holy smokes.” Lily plunged her blade into the jogger’s heart. The twitching stopped. “That was…wow.”
Julian glanced down at his hands in disgust. “I’ll be right back.”
Lily made her way over to the park ranger. Goodness, he was young. His name tag said Officer Joel Curry. “Sorry, Joel,” she whispered.
The deadhead that was once Joel looked up at her through blank brown eyes. She sank the blade into his chest.
By the time Julian had returned, all the bodies had faded. She noticed wet spots on his black trousers. Apparently he was disgusted enough to wash his hands. He stood a few feet down the path, stunning in the pale light of the moon. Tonight he wore a very expensive-looking suit. The shirt underneath was unbuttoned, exposing his perfectly chiseled stomach. She sighed.
“I missed you, Lily.” His voice dropped low and sensual.
Oh, it curled deep inside her. Reminded her of what had passed between them in her apartment a week ago, but she needed to play this cool. “I doubt that. I’m sure you had a bevy of women to occupy your time.”
He smiled and stepped forward. “You know that’s not true.”
She stepped back, deciding to change the topic. “You know, I had that handled. You didn’t have to butt in.”
He shrugged. “They were going to take up too much of your time. Now, I have you to myself.”
For the past week she had done her best not to think about him, not to lie in her tiny bed at the Sanctuary and remember what his lips felt like against her mouth, against her flesh. She had made a promise to Luke. “Julian, we can’t.”
He came to her side. “We can’t do what?” He reached down, catching her hair around his finger.
His heat swamped her, and when he drew the strand of hair out in front of her, she stared at his fingers. That wasn’t a good idea. She snatched her hair back. “Why aren’t you off doing…Fallen…stuff?”
“Fallen stuff?” he repeated with a chuckle. “What silly notions you have.”
She made a face and started walking toward the entrance. “I have a lot of hunting to do,” she told him. “It’s early.”
He fell into step beside her. “Then I’ll come with you.”
Lily stopped. “You can’t come with me.”
“Why not?”
“You can’t help me hunt, Julian. I appreciate it, but no. You can’t.”
He frowned. It didn’t take away from his beauty at all. “Then we are at a standstill.”
Crossing her arms, she stared up at him. “How so?” she demanded.
“I wish to spend time with you,” he explained quite seriously. “If you cannot hunt with me, then I fear I cannot allow you to hunt.”
“Julian…”
“I like your skirt, by the way. What is it the humans say? Easy access or something?” he said with a flirtatious wink. “Anyway, I have nothing to do other than torment you.”
Flushing, she glanced down at the black pleats. She liked it, too. “Um thanks. I think.” She cleared her throat. “Seriously, Julian, I’ve got work to do.”
He smiled rather angelically, which was totally wrong. “I said I would work with you. I find your fighting incredibly sexy. Alluring really—the way you move?” He trailed off. The angelic look faded into something akin to sinful. “I’m fixated. Show me your nightlife, baby.”
Fighting a stupid grin, she knew she shouldn’t be enjoying any of this. There was stuff to do—things to kill. Things like him. Yet, here she was, bantering back and forth with him. And she was having fun. Stupid Lily…and stupid hormones…
She was so doomed.
Lily sighed. She had to hunt, but no matter where she was in the city she would hear a minion if one got frisky, and there were other Nephilim out there. So what if she spent some time in the park with Julian? She bit down on her lip. I’m selfish, totally selfish.
“All right,” she agreed. “But if I hear a minion, I have to go, and you can’t follow me. No questions asked. That is the only deal I am making.”
“No deal.”
Her eyes narrowed upon him. “What?”
“Give me your hand. We shall do this like normal people.”
She looked at him curiously. “Do what exactly?”
“A date,” he said. “A walk in the park is considered a date by human standards. It’s a rather lame date, but it’s not like I can take you out to dinner without having the entire Sanctuary descending on us.”
“A date?” she repeated dumbly.
“Yes.”
“Haven’t we kind of skipped right past that?” she asked.
Julian bent down, brushing his lips over hers. “We can skip right to that again, but I am trying to be a gentleman.”
What was funnier? The idea of going on a date with him or him trying to be a gentleman, she couldn’t tell. “We don’t date. Our two kinds? No way, buddy.” She gave him her hand anyway. “Here, if this will make you happy.”
Julian smiled widely. He grasped her hand in his warm one. “We don’t date? There goes my movie idea.”