Black Magic Rose (22 page)

She felt him writhe against her. He released her hand and both arms encircled her, holding her to him, squeezing her body to his. His cock throbbed against her so hard it hurt her abdomen. He moaned and then yelled her name.

She suckled the wound, transfixed on the idea that her lips and tongue were bringing him such pleasure. Her hands slid around him, her fingers digging into his back, her mouth working his chest. She held on, never wanting to let go, wishing his pleasure would last forever.

The wound sealed and she rested her forehead on his chest. Dragomir curled forward, cradling Sofia on his lap, his head resting against hers.
 

Their breathing rasped, uneven breaths announcing their completed bond.

Dr. MacDuff stood behind Dragomir and replaced his hands on their heads. “What bond has formed tonight no entity may destroy. Eternal happiness be yours.”
 

Sofia heard the door open and footsteps exit the room but she was too comfortable in Dragomir’s arms to care what was happening.
 

Chapter Nineteen

It was several minutes before either Dragomir or Sofia moved. And when finally he shifted, he scooped her against him, stood, and carried her to the desk where he gently placed her on the edge. He stood silently in front of her, his legs brushing the insides of her knees.
 

Sofia reluctantly let her arms drop from around him. Her skirt had crawled all the way up around her waist and her plum-colored stockings now sported holes in both knees with runs shooting up to her hips and down to her toes. She straightened her skirt, wiggling it down to her thighs and fussed with her shirt, the collar of which hung open to her waist, exposing lots of cleavage and a bright pink bra. She tucked the collar back up and tried to button her jacket, but the buttons were no longer attached. She wrapped the blazer one side over the other and folded her arms across her abdomen.
 

“Thank you for doing this.” Dragomir’s hand touched her thigh.
 

She nodded.
 

“Sofia, I—”

“Don’t.” She put her hand up to stop him from saying anything else.
 

She couldn’t look up. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. She’d done it again. Only this time with an audience. She stared at a file on her desk.
Personal and Professional Conduct.
The lump in her throat literally hurt to swallow. Was she truly fit to be the Employee Relations Manager? She’d just dry humped Dragomir in her office in front of the Chief Medical Officer and the CEO. Was it even possible to step any further over the line of professionalism?
 

She sighed and tears pooled in her eyes.
 

She hardly knew Dragomir. All she really knew was he was handsome. Beyond handsome. Gorgeous. Oh, and dead. Of that she was also absolutely certain. She’d done the deed with the dead guy again. Her mother would be so proud.
 

A tear ran down her nose and hung on the very tip, dangling like a single raindrop poised to fall into the torrents of a whirlpool, to forever be lost, void of its own being. She wiped the back of her hand over her nose and sucked in a shaky breath.
 

She’d done more than just fool around with him. She’d vampire-married him, an eternal commitment. She’d tied herself to a stranger for all eternity. And for what reason? Because he’d broken some vampire law?

“Is it true?” she whispered. “Did I drink vampire blood? Before tonight, did I do it before tonight?”

“Yes.”

He needed to leave, to just exit the room, turn off the light and get out. Then she could slink to her car, which she’d probably drive off the nearest bridge.
 

What have I done?
 

“Why?” She tried to inhale, tried to pull some clean, non-Dragomir-smelling air into her lungs. It was a pointless endeavor.
 

He didn’t answer.
 

She gasped and more tears ran down her cheeks. She tried to cover her sob with a cough. “You should probably go.”

He didn’t.
 

Instead, he stepped closer and tilted her head toward his.
 

Sofia wanted to push him away, slide off the desk and curl into a ball on the floor. Staring up into his dark eyes was not what she needed. Watching him study her face, feeling his thumbs tenderly wipe tears from her cheeks, letting his warm skin touch hers—none of it was what she needed. But it was everything she wanted. None of this made sense.
 

“I am sorry for all that’s happened.”

She blinked and tears poured down her cheeks. “I just married you.” She pressed her face to his chest and sobbed. She’d always imagined marrying a man she loved, one she’d dated for a while, one who loved her, too. She never in a million years expected to marry a man eight hundred years older than her. A cold-blooded killer. A criminal vampire.

He stepped forward until his legs were flush with the desk. His arms wrapped tight around her and he held her to him. He stood there silently, just holding her.
 

And she cried.
 

And cried.
 

Between sobs she mumbled, “Married.” She cried some more. “Vampire.” What was left of his t-shirt was soaked to his skin. “Eternal.” She wiped her nose on his sleeve. “Blood.” She coughed and choked, and he finally reacted.
 

“Calm down.”
 

The two words did not have the effect of calming her down. She shoved out of his arms. “Don’t tell me what to do. You’re not the boss of me. I’m the boss of me.” She wiped snot on her sleeve. “I’m going home. And you’re not welcome in my house.”

She jumped off the desk and toppled to her right. Dragomir caught her. “Damn shoes. Let go of me. I don’t need your help.” She jerked her arm and teetered on her high heel.

He propped her back onto her feet and released her.
 

She grabbed her handbag and lunch bag. “I don’t drink blood. How dare you?” She marched toward the door. “Get out of my office.” She held the door open and glared into the hallway.
 

Dragomir gathered his knife from the floor and stepped past her, keeping one eye on her.
 

She flicked off the light and slammed the door behind her, then walked to the elevator. “I ride alone.” She pushed the button and watched the doors close between them.
 

When she stepped from the elevator on the ground floor, Dragomir was already waiting at the entrance. Sofia walked past him refusing to make eye contact with him or anyone else. She noted Jamieson at the desk, flanked by Fergus, Osgar, and Meg. No one looked happy.
 

Fergus cleared his throat and Sofia couldn’t help but look at him. His eyes narrowed and she thought his lips curled back. It was hard to tell with the mustache and beard. “She’s expected back in the morn. And in the same condition.” Fergus looked Sofia up and down. “Human.” His attention fell to Dragomir. “Do what you will, but keep her as she is.”
 

He saw me with him.
She whimpered and rushed to the door trying to make it out of the building before the blubbering started again.
 

“Nice. Real nice,” Osgar said. “The least you could do, Dragomir, is not make her cry.” He stepped around the desk. “Sofia, wait.”
 

“Leave me alone.” The cool night air hit her cheeks making her skin sting below the tears. She didn’t bother to wipe them away. More kept coming, so what was the point? Osgar’s truck was no longer parked behind her Camry. She climbed into the car, jammed the gear into reverse, and hit the gas.
 

A horn blared behind her and she swerved to avoid an oncoming car.
 

The Camry spun out and landed in a ditch, where it stalled. She put her head on the steering wheel and cried some more while she fumbled in her handbag for her phone.
 

Before she could call for roadside assistance, Dragomir had pulled the car from the ditch and opened her door. “I will drive.”

She’d have argued, but the truth was she didn’t want to drive. She just wanted to go home. She climbed out and he walked her to the passenger side, opened the door, and waited for her to get in before closing it.
 

They rode the remainder of the twenty-minute ride in silence. At least Dragomir was silent. Sofia whimpered and hiccupped and sniffled and then sobbed again. “Forever,” she blubbered. “That’s a long time.” He’d trapped her. He’d done something heinous to capture her. “Vampire tricks.”

“It doesn’t have to be, if that’s what you’d prefer.”
 

“It what?” She rummaged in the glove box for a napkin or paper towel, but came up empty. She leaned into the backseat and found a file full of drafted policies. She grabbed one titled
Personal Appearance
and blew her nose.
 

“If you would prefer we die sooner, it can be arranged.” He didn’t take his eyes off the road. “We do not have to live long lives together.” It was a statement, not a threat or promise. “We can die.” His unemotional comment simply hung in the space between them, sort of like an annoying dog who’s supposed to sit in the backseat but keeps sticking his head between the front seats.
 

She looked out the window and gulped. Then she rolled it down so the wind blew a chilled blast into the cabin. He’d rather die than live with her. He’d rather die now than live forever
with her
. After all this he wanted his freedom.

“Until you decide how long we shall exist together you must train. You must learn to defend yourself.” Dragomir parked the car in its spot across from the porch. “With Bas Dubh’s open attacks and your refusal to stay at Cader, we can spare only one night. Tomorrow you will train.”

The crying started again. “I never wanted you, either.” Sofia yanked open the door, jerked off her high heel, and ran for the house. “Stay out. Just stay out.” She slammed the door and the deadbolt clicked shut.
 

Chapter Twenty

Dragomir stared after Sofia, more confused now than he was when she threw herself between his heart and the stake.
 

The woman kept him dumbfounded. Even when he thought he understood her motives, she fooled him.

He’d been fairly certain she’d interrupted his execution out of her nonviolent workplace philosophy. She so firmly believed Cader should become a gentler place to work. It only made sense to believe an execution would not align with her goals.
 

He’d have gone to his death willingly to keep The Alliance strong. No one could ever know about Jankin’s deed. That information must be kept hidden. Dragomir’s false confession guaranteed Jankin’s safety. Even if Noelle ever admitted to knowing the truth, no one would believe her. They would question why Dragomir would have admitted to something so egregious if he hadn’t committed the crime.
 

Dragomir glanced at the passenger seat. Sofia had forgotten her bags, left them in disarray among a dozen tissues and crumpled papers on the floor. Lipstick, a wallet, and some sort of hair clip had fallen out. He tucked them back in and set the bag on the seat.
 

His new wife didn’t understand the danger surrounding her. Each time Sofia let loose a new ability she announced that something unnatural had occurred. Either someone had done something or she wasn’t entirely human. She had no idea how to control herself or how much danger she posed to herself or Jankin and in turn, The Alliance.
 

Dragomir watched the house. Not a light lit anywhere. Sofia moved about in the dark, sobbing. “What have I done?” he heard her ask the question over and over, never once stopping for an answer.

He leaned his head on the headrest.
 

Squeaky pipes rattled inside the house and water began running, then splashing. She showered. To wash his scent away, he was sure.
 

He closed his eyes and slouched down in the seat. He’d never planned to marry again. Not after losing his Elena. First their babies, then his wife. He’d never felt such pain. The losses of the children devastated them both, but then to have her taken, too, drove him to near madness.
 

The shower stopped. The rings holding the shower curtain slid along the metal pole and then slid back.
 

The taste of Sofia laced his tongue. His mouth held the sweet flavor of her blood. He hadn’t tasted another like her, not ever. Sweet, yet smoky as though fire stoked in the depths of her soul.
 

Sofia had reacted so passionately to him during the mating ritual he believed she’d agreed to marry him because she cared for him. The way her body moved with his, the way her energy flowed to him, the way she looked at him—he believed she wanted him, maybe loved him.
 

He’d allowed himself to forget what he was and to succumb to her wiles.

He hadn’t seen that look in a woman’s eyes since…since his first wedding night.
 

Women looked at him. They always looked. But they never saw. Their libidos responded to someone who could bring them pleasure they’d never experienced. And for them that was enough. Never mind the rest. Ignore the monster who lay in wait. The vampire who’d feed on their flesh, on their blood.