“She’s so talented,” Aida said as she pulled her hand away from Julian’s.
“That she is,” Julian agreed.
“Do you want a drink?” Kyle asked as he appeared in front of Julian.
“I’ll have a beer.”
“We have many beers; you’re going to have to narrow it down some,” Kyle said as he waved at the row of at least twenty taps. “Plus, we have bottles.”
Julian studied the taps. “Give me your favorite.”
“You got it.”
The brief exchange between the brothers drew the attention of a few of Kyle’s hunters. Aida’s hackles rose when some of the women’s gazes ran ravenously over Julian. She almost snapped at them to back off, but she bit back the words. He wasn’t hers to defend. He could do whatever he wanted with anyone he wanted.
He’d been traipsing around the world, probably going from one woman to another as easily as he traveled from one country to another. And she’d been… well, she hated to admit it, but she’d been trying to get over a kiss.
She’d dated plenty of guys, kissed them, and made out with them, but she’d never dated anyone long enough in high school to have sex with them. After the island, she’d been trying to get her shit together to date again, and once she finally felt stable enough to date, she found herself comparing every guy to Julian. They all failed.
She couldn’t count the number of times she cursed his name while she stomped back to her apartment after another failed attempt at a relationship and sex. Often, she would imagine him as she slid her hand between her legs to ease herself.
Afterward, she would sometimes feel so lonely she would cry herself to sleep. Other times, she cursed him for putting her into this miserable position.
Every time she told herself it was time to forget him and move on, but that was easier said than done. Then, before she could get herself together enough to find a guy she could love, Julian strolled back into her life and turned it upside down.
The thought soured her mood as Kyle set a foaming mug before Julian.
“One of my favorites,” Kyle said.
“Thanks,” Julian said as he pulled the chilled mug closer. Kyle nodded and walked away.
“So, how did your travels around the world go?” Aida asked.
Julian sipped his beer as he recalled his time away. He’d enjoyed traveling. In the beginning, even though it was difficult to be around people so much and was a big adjustment for him, he also enjoyed meeting new people. But he still thought about her all the time and would often wonder how she would react to every new thing he saw.
“It was interesting,” he said. “There are a lot of beautiful places in this world. I want to show them to you one day.”
Unsure of how to take it, Aida ignored his last comment. “What was your favorite place?”
“I loved Antarctica. I know it sounds crazy, but it was so stark and barren and—” and he went there right after reaching maturity, so the lack of humans was perfect, but he didn’t reveal that— “it had penguins.”
She couldn’t help smiling as she imagined him bundled into a puffy snowsuit and hanging out with penguins. “I bet those penguins melted your heart.”
“They did.”
“You’re such a horrible vampire.”
He chuckled as the teasing glint returned to her eyes. “I’m the worst.”
He’d meant it to sound teasing too, but somehow, it came out flat. The malicious evil residing inside him was the worst in many ways. When his thoughts weren’t consumed by her, they were filled with killing. That didn’t make him a good man, and she definitely deserved better, but if she would have him, he’d spend every day of his life striving to be a man who was worthy of her.
Aida frowned when the amusement vanished from Julian’s face. “Was there anywhere else you liked?” she asked to distract him from whatever upset him.
“There were many places. The Great Barrier Reef was amazing, as was the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. I spent a lot of time exploring the Serengeti and watching the animals.”
“That sounds amazing,” she breathed.
“It was. You could take some beautiful pictures there.”
“I could.”
She turned her bottle in her hands as she tried to think of something more to say. She couldn’t bring herself to ask the question on the tip of her tongue—did you meet any women along the way?
But of course, he had. It would have been impossible not to encounter women, and with his looks and vampire ability to attract them, they would have flocked like flies to him. Had he met someone who mattered? She didn’t think so, he would have brought them back if he had, but maybe the other person or vamp had decided they didn’t want him.
Always a glutton for punishment, she found herself asking, “Did you meet any interesting people?”
“Lots of them. There are so many different and fascinating cultures, and most welcomed me and were eager to show me their ways.”
“That’s awesome,” she said as she finished her beer.
He still hadn’t given her the answer she wanted, but she couldn’t bring herself to push it any further. When she set her bottle on the edge of the bar, Kyle set a new one in front of her. She dragged it toward her but didn’t take another sip.
Glancing around, she made sure no one was close enough to hear them before whispering. “Did you meet any other vampires?”
“Some. Most of the ones I encountered were like me and didn’t want to be bothered. I did run into some trouble with three Savages in Greece a couple of months ago. They were trying to kill a woman when I came across them. They were not happy when I interfered.”
Aida sucked in a breath. “You could have been killed.”
Julian leaned so close his chest brushed her arm. “I’m a purebred; that gave me an advantage.”
“That makes you stronger, but it doesn’t make you invincible, and how did you know they weren’t purebreds too?”
“Considering there aren’t many of us in the world, I figured the odds were in my favor they were turned vamps. But it didn’t matter; I couldn’t let them kill her.” He had to restrain himself from killing humans, but as long as he could control that part of himself, he wouldn’t allow others to kill them either.
“I understand, but three on one isn’t the best of odds.”
“I’m still here, and she’s still alive.”
Aida’s hand shook when she sipped her beer. She worried about him every day he was gone, and hearing this story made all those fears race to the forefront. Those vamps could have killed him and dragged his body away to dump it somewhere. She never would have known what happened to him. She couldn’t imagine going through the rest of her life never knowing what became of him.
She swallowed the lump in her throat to speak. “And what happened to the vampires?”
“I killed two, but the third ran away.”
“When you leave again—”
“I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to,” he interrupted.
Aida couldn’t look at him anymore; she felt too raw and exposed. Coming here in the hopes of seeing him had been a bad idea. She should have gone home and slept. “Well, if you do leave again, make sure you stay safe.”
Julian studied her profile as she stared at her beer. He almost rested his hand on her shoulder, but the rigid set of her shoulders said she wouldn’t welcome it.
“Always,” he told her.
She gave a small nod as she turned the beer in her hands.
“How did the rest of your night go?” Julian asked when she didn’t speak again.
“Really well. More than half of Owen’s paintings sold. There’s another showing tomorrow night; I think we might end up selling them all.”
“Your boss must be happy.”
Aida wasn’t sure Nicolette was ever happy, but money sure did make her smile. “If you come by the gallery again, she’ll be more than happy to sell you another painting.”
“I’m sure she would, but my bank account couldn’t handle it.”
Aida chuckled as she stopped turning her beer.
“Do you have to be at work early again tomorrow?” he asked.
“No, I get to sleep in tomorrow.”
Julian left his mug and clinked it against her bottle. “To sleeping in.”
“It’s a beautiful thing.”
Aida leaned against the wall again and closed her eyes as Cassidy started a new song. Most of the conversations ceased when the hunting words of “Hallelujah” filled the air. There weren’t many who could pull off the song, but not only did Cassidy make it magical, she also brought tears to the eyes of some of those listening, including Aida.
Julian rested his hand on hers, and without thinking, Aida turned it over to clasp his fingers. Touching him helped to ease some of her unexpected sorrow. She opened her eyes to discover him staring at her with a look of longing so raw, she couldn’t help but lean closer to him.