Reawakening (19 page)

“Rom, I—”

“
Shhh
. Tonight I just want to hold you in my arms, my beauty.”

She could only nod. Overwhelming emotions constricted her throat so tight words couldn’t possibly pass. A lone tear escaped, quickly absorbed by his shirt, and that glimmer of happiness she’d seen dancing before her since she’d met Rom suddenly didn’t seem so unattainable after all.

Chapter 26

Rom

He’d held her in his arms until she fell asleep, then extricated himself to get some work done, which he’d long been neglecting over the past week. If she stirred, he’d hear and be immediately by her side.

He couldn’t hear her every thought, but he’d heard enough that he was in utter emotional turmoil. If every one of those fuckers was not dead, he’d be out for blood, damn any consequences. And the fact that she thought she didn’t deserve happiness because she’d fared better than the other women was simply ludicrous. He’d just have to convince her of that tomorrow, because he still planned to end the day by making her his.

He had a meeting with Geoffrey in five days’ time to get an update. And he’d better come through with some very comprehensive intel on Xavier’s operation, because Rom’s infamous patience was wearing very thin. The fact that all of the lords’ mates were in danger because of that psychotic son-of-a-bitch was simply unacceptable. But the fact that Xavier had actually been the one to create each of their mates … well … that was something he couldn’t get out of his mind and he didn’t know what to make of it.

Was it some cosmic fuck-you? He didn’t know. But now that he’d found his Moira, and she was in danger from him, he’d done a complete about-face. Once a proponent of imprisoning Xavier, he was now aligned with Dev and Damian to mow that fucker down once and for all. He’d never heard of a vampire being able to sire females only and it was most certainly not a coincidence that every one of the living females he had sired were dreamwalkers. Not all three of their Moiras’ mothers could have been dreamwalkers, for that was far too rare.

He didn’t know if anyone else had caught onto that little factoid yet, but again, it was irrelevant. Xavier’s life must end. And he didn’t give a flying fuck if Xavier sired both Moiras and dreamwalkers … his life would end. They didn’t need him alive to determine what made his DNA so special … they just needed his blood. Which he’d gladly be on point to retrieve. After he cut off the fucker’s head.

After two hours spent replying to emails and setting up several meetings for the following week, he reached for his cell; powering it up to check for missed calls. Rom hated cell phones. They were a necessary evil, given his responsibilities and he reluctantly admitted they made doing business much easier, but he detested being able to be reached twenty-four seven.

Checking his messages, he had a dozen, but several more missed calls. Dev had tried reaching him three times throughout the last two days, but there was only one voice message from him earlier today. That’s the one he clicked on first.

“Rom, call me when you get this message. It’s urgent.”

Now what?

Forgoing the rest of his messages, which were also probably considered urgent by the sender, he dialed Dev instead. On the second ring, he answered.

“Rom. How’s Sarah?”

“My Moira is fine. Is that what was
so
urgent?” Rom didn’t need Dev or Damian shadowing him around like some prepubescent teenage nerd who needed advice every five seconds while trying to get into some female’s pants. Jesus, he
did
have more moves than that.

Dev just chuckled on the other end. “No. Ronson called. Apparently Geoffrey came into Dragonfly the other night trying to get you a message since he has no other way to reach you. He asked you to meet him at Dragonfly. He’ll be there at midnight each evening until you arrive. He said it’s life or death.”

Rom laughed. “Whose death? Because it will be his if he’s not careful.”

Dev was silent for several beats and a bad feeling began stirring in Rom’s gut. “He asked me to mention the name Ainsley. I thought it best not to give him your number since I don’t trust the fucker.”

His blood froze.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Everything okay?”

“Sarah and I will be back tomorrow evening. I hope I can leave her under your care while I meet with Geoffrey.”

“Of course. Kate will be happy.”

He disconnected the call, fear freezing him in place. Ainsley was a childhood friend of Rom’s. His best friend, until he chose to leave his homeland so long ago. He’d tried convincing her to come with him, but she’d refused, claiming she couldn’t leave her family behind. It was really because her family was in bed deep with his father and if she’d left, they would have suffered the price.

He’d seen her twice in the last six hundred years, both times she’d sought him out, trying to convince him to return and unseat his father. Both times, he’d adamantly refused.

The fact that Ainsley was here now, just days after he’d returned to Romania was
not
a coincidence. By not listening to his gut all along, he’d put not only
his
life in danger, but that of his Moira. Now not only did they have Xavier to contend with, but he had his mentally deranged, narcissist of a father as well.

Fuck!
What had he done?

Chapter 27

Sarah

“Sarah, you must complete the bonding. Time is running out.”

“Time’s running out? What does that mean? Who are you? How do you know him?”

“That is not important now. What’s important is completing the bonding. You are the only one that can save him.”

“Save him? Is he in danger?” She didn’t know much about Rom’s skills, but she’d heard he was very powerful. The most powerful of all the lords. She doubted he could be in danger from anyone or anything.

“Yes, Sarah. Romaric is in grave danger. Your special abilities will be the key to saving him. But only if the bonding is complete.”

Mystery girl started fading away. “No. No, don’t go. Tell me who you are. Tell me how Romaric’s in danger. Please!”

Mystery girl faded to black and Sarah bolted up in bed, a thin layer of sweat coating her skin.

“What the hell?” she whispered. She must bond with Romaric because he was in danger and she’s the only one that can save him? Who the hell was this damn girl and why wouldn’t she just tell Sarah? Why did she feel like every dream about her was a puzzle she was supposed to solve? And why did Sarah feel like she’d spoken the truth? Mystery girl’s words sat like a boulder in the pit of her stomach.

She just noticed Rom wasn’t in bed with her. Looking at the digital clock on the nightstand, it read 5:02 a.m. Throwing back the covers, she padded quietly out of the room, down the hall and descended the stairs to the second level. To her right, she noticed a light shining from Rom’s office. He was probably working and she should leave him alone, but she had this visceral need to be with him. To make sure he was all right. Which was crazy stupid, but she couldn’t ignore it.

Making her way to his office, she stood quietly in the doorway, watching. Sitting in a large black leather office chair, his back was to her and it appeared he was staring out into the darkness. She listened for a few moments to be sure he wasn’t on the phone and when she heard nothing, she entered.

Not waiting for an invitation, she walked in and around his desk. His eyes raised to hers and her breath caught at the fury—and
fear
—emanating from them. He silently held out his hand and not wasting a second, she grabbed on like it was her only lifeline in a choppy, unforgiving ocean. She climbed silently into his lap and curled up into his strong arms, which he’d wrapped around her.

“What happened?” Mystery girl was right. Something was terribly wrong and suddenly she was very afraid. He remained silent and she didn’t think he would answer. Typical male … trying to protect his woman.

“We need to return to Milwaukee tomorrow evening. I have an impromptu business meeting that I must attend.”

“Is everything okay?”

He squeezed her tightly, stroking her bed-ravaged hair.
Lovely.
In her haste to get to him, she probably should have walked by a mirror first.

“Yes,” he murmured. “Come. Let’s get you back to bed.”

“Will you stay with me?” She could hear the pleading in her voice, but didn’t care. She’d beg him if that’s what it took. She needed to be in the safety of his arms.

“Of course.” Soft lips pressed gently against her temple.

Minutes later they were snuggled back in his bed, her body wrapped around his.

“Sleep, my beauty. I’ll be here when you wake.”

As her eyes drifted shut again, Sarah couldn’t shove down the feeling that a series of events had been set into motion the second their eyes met that neither could prevent from coming to fruition.

But how would it end and what would
her
role be?

Chapter 28

Sarah

Consciousness slowly claimed her, but it took several moments to remember where she was. In Rom’s bed.
With
Rom. She’d rolled away from his hard body in sleep, now facing the wall. Eyes glancing up, she noticed it was now just after 8:00 a.m. And unfortunately she’d remained dreamless. Mystery girl hadn’t returned.

Dammit!

She needed more answers on this danger that awaited Rom so she could warn him. Maybe she should try anyway. That bitch, Nancy, reared her ugly head again.
“Right, Sarah. And what will you say? Some mystery girl who looks exactly like me, told me I had to bond with you to save your all-powerful ass? Oh…and tick-tock, time’s a wastin’.”

Why didn’t Rosie choose to appear at these times instead of that ho? Probably because that beotch usually made more sense.
Ugh
. Of course she couldn’t say anything about that dream, because just like the other two, neither made a lick of sense.

Sarah thought back to Rom’s tenderness last night, both on the balcony and again in his office. Did he know that those actions were the ones that endeared her to him? That each time he uttered a compassionate word, or touched her with such reverence and genuine caring, it became almost impossible to deny what her heart wanted, but what her mind fought. Her body knew, and had since day one. But her mind … her stubborn mind had been fighting it every blessed step of the way.

She knew very few people, if any, had really seen the true Rom underneath all of his multi-faceted, complex layers. It hadn’t taken her but minutes. She’d immediately seen his depth, his compassion, his sensitivity. It was there. It was just buried underneath heartache and loss and pain. And she knew
that
had everything to do with mystery girl. She just didn’t understand why.

Was she falling for Rom, despite the fact her common sense urged her to slow down?
Yes
. Could she envision her life without him?
No
. Did she want to?
Hell
no. Was she ready to make a lifelong commitment when there was still so much she didn’t know about him? After last night, she was much closer to the
yes
line than she had been just yesterday. And if mystery girl was right? If Sarah’s stubbornness in bonding until she knew every nit and nat about him caused her to lose the one person she knew was meant for her … would
that
push her over the yes line? Unequivocally yes.

No, she may not know every single thing about him, like his shoe size or his favorite toothpaste or whether he liked pepperoni or ham pizza best, but she knew what kind of male he was. And she knew she wanted to wake up next to him every single day she lived.

Turning over, she noticed Rom gazing at her, a pensive look creasing his oh-so-handsome features. He reached a hand out, slowly running the back of his fingers down her cheek.

“I can hardly breathe when you look at me,” he rasped. “I feel like you’re a figment of my imagination and if I blink you’ll be gone.”

Her breath caught and a sudden, ravenous hunger assailed her.

Hunger for his body.

Hunger for his blood.

Hunger to be
his
.

Not because of mystery girl. Because of Rom. Because, notwithstanding the fact that normal people didn’t fall in love in less than two weeks, they weren’t normal. They never were and never would be. And despite what Rom had said the other day about this being simple biologics … he couldn’t be more wrong. This was so much more than physical. This was
soooo
much more than girl meets boy, kisses in a tree, falls in love, marries and lives happily ever after.

This was raw, visceral and irrefutable. They belonged together. They belonged to each other.

Not caring that she hadn’t brushed her teeth or how her hair looked or even if the makeup she wore to bed was smudged, she rolled onto all fours and closed the short distance between them.

Rom’s pensiveness turned to raging desire. His glacial blues dilated and began to glow. His shirt was off and her breath stopped. Her mouth went bone-dry. Holy mother … he was sin personified and sex incarnate. Imagine your masturbation fantasy came to life … and it would be him.

God, she loved ink on a man. Thick, sexy tats swirled over his right pec, down his bicep, but other than that he was free of ink, free of scars, free of a single imperfection. There was not one hidden ounce of fat on his muscular, sinewy body. The sheet he’d draped over his lower half couldn’t hide the chiseled V, which led to the most perfect cock she’d ever seen … or tasted. And it couldn’t hide the fact that he was, indeed, aroused.

He watched her, watching him. She didn’t miss his intake of breath when her hands traced his six-pack abs. She didn’t miss his moan when her lips sucked a hard flat nipple into her mouth. And she didn’t miss the hiss that escaped his lips when she told him she wanted him to fuck her.