15
Romy
Nerves fire all over my body as I pace the space in front of the armoire and wait for Cal to fulfill his promise.
I considered moving it out of the way ahead of time, but the fear of an unexpected visit from my guard or the light from my room out onto the lawn stopped me.
I don’t want to put either of us at risk of discovery, and from what Cal said about his uncle tonight—and the way he kept glancing over for Cal’s reaction as he ushered me around the room—I have a feeling we’re at even higher risk than I want to know.
As such, I’ll be completely ignoring that for now.
When I returned from the mixer in the ballroom tonight, the lingerie I picked yesterday was hung with care from the closet door, and a note was pinned to the front in fancy calligraphy.
We invite you to the most unique day of your life tomorrow. Prepare to be adored. Prepare to be pampered.
Prepare for the bond .
I assume it was meant to calm nerves and build excitement, but for me, it did the opposite. Tomorrow is the day of reckoning. The day when my life is over.
Unless Cal figures out some way to kidnap me or something, but oh my God, I’m getting a little worried that’s not going to happen.
Pace turning more frantic, I put my ear to the wall next to the armoire and try to peek through the window. It’s impossible, of course, and all I gain is a shooting pain in my shoulder from the strain.
Heaving a deep breath, I force myself across the room and into the armchair to wait. I think of the pull I felt to Cal all night in that room and wonder about what it might feel like for him. If it’s stronger or the same or if he feels it in his chest like I do.
I could barely concentrate on the other vampires Lucian introduced me to—so much so, I don’t even remember any of their names.
And it wasn’t even that they all seemed terrible—some were kind. It was the feeling of indescribable pain at betraying Cal.
As insane as it sounds, I don’t have to work to trust him; my body does it all on its own.
The sound of a tap-tap-tap on glass startles me from my manic thoughts and sends me careening across the room toward the armoire. This time, it moves easily, and I’m ninety percent sure it’s because I’m chock-full of adrenaline.
I unlock and shove open the window to let Cal in and then close it and the shade behind him to conceal the light of the room from pouring out as soon as he clears it.
“Thank God you’re here. I’ve been going just a little bit crazy.”
He winces and smiles at the same time. It’s an amazing expression—one I’ve never seen before but imagine I’ll be seeking from here on out. It’s uniquely beautiful on his features and makes a tiny dimple divot his cheek.
“I’m sorry. I had to wait for all the other activity to die down before I made the trek. Lucian, especially, is undoubtedly paying attention.”
I nod. “Oh yeah. I don’t think he knows I noticed, but he was looking at you all night. Everywhere he took me, he looked for your reaction.”
“He knows you mean something to me. I just don’t know to what extent. If he realizes you’re my mate or not.”
“Your mate,” I repeat.
“Yes. My fated mate.”
I giggle nervously. “Right. I mean, I know you said that last night, and it’s not that I didn’t believe you, but it’s…
wild. Surreal, honestly. I guess I didn’t realize that was a possibility with the way my mom and dad always talked about this whole thing.
I thought you—well, we…the women—were bought, and that was that. ”
He frowns “They keep the information that way on purpose. It wouldn’t do to have all these women believing they had fated mates out there. That would make this seem all the more unromantic.”
“Yeah. Hillary—one of the girls I’m friends with—she’s already teetering on the edge. One real sign that there’s a vampire destined for her somewhere out in the wild and she’d be jimmying the window with me.”
He smiles, but it’s not happy. Not at all. “I spoke with her tonight. When I think about women like her being sold to someone like Nathanial or Lucian, I nearly lose my mind.”
Nerves overrun me. I mean, I love to make jokes and light and laugh about the situation for the sake of my own comfort and shitty coping mechanisms, but this is unhinged. “Cal…I’m scared. About…everything. I mean, they left this damn lingerie hanging in the room tonight for tomorrow, and—”
He moves quickly, invading my space in less than a second. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. I’m going to take care of everything. I promise.”
“But how? I mean, you said yourself your uncle is watching your every move. Unless. Maybe you can sneak me out tonight? Just…take off. The two of us.”
He cups my cheek tenderly. “I wish I could. You have no idea. But nothing would change that way. All of these women—Hillary included—they’d still be sold. And after that? There’d only be more. Every time an auction came around, I’d have to deal with the guilt of leaving.”
I nod. I hate it, but at the same time, I’m proud. Proud to be fated to a man with this level of integrity. This level of care. This level of willingness to put himself in danger for the sake of others.
“I’m glad it’s you, Cal,” I whisper and mean it with every ounce of my being.
“That what’s me?”
“That you’re the one who’s destined for me. And honestly, in a weird way, it makes sense. Why I was so drawn to you when we were kids. Why I’m still so drawn to you now.” I swallow hard, admitting, “Even standing this close, I feel like I’ll burn straight to the ground if I don’t get closer.”
“I feel the same,” he whispers, his voice rough around the edges. “Like it’ll kill me if we don’t come together.”
“Maybe…” I start, pausing when the insanity of what I’m saying hits me. I mean, I’ve only just seen this man for the first time in over a decade in the last forty-eight hours. I hardly know anything about who he is or what he’s capable of at all.
“Maybe what?” he pushes gently, his fingertips glossing through the fringe of my hair and tucking it behind my ear and lingering right there.
Still, I can’t help myself or the things I’m feeling deep inside. The need . The want. The burn. I’m consumed by him. And Lord Almighty, I want him more than I’ve ever wanted anything.
“Maybe…maybe we should give in right now. Maybe we should…get as close as we possibly can.”
His smile is slow and deliciously dangerous and controlled in a way that makes it feel anything but. “Romy,” he murmurs. “Are you asking me to lose control with you?”
His gaze drops to my mouth, then back to my eyes, like he’s already imagining it. “To show you exactly what this pull between us means?” His voice lowers. “To take you to that bed…and not stop?”
The nervous giggle is back, but this time, it’s akin to something you’d hear from a hyena. I’m so freaking thrown off by my own audaciousness, I could throw up.
And yet?
I need him to take me up on the offer.
“I think…I think yes.”
His chest vibrates with an unreleased growl as his hand tightens ever so slightly in my hair. When he leans forward to take my lips with his, I meet him halfway.
The truth is, it isn’t even a question whether this is a good idea or not anymore; it’s the only idea.
The only want. The only need.
And fate is behind the wheel.
Curling up onto my toes, I push my chest into his and wrap my arms around his shoulders. His fingertips find my hips and squeeze, and I jump into his arms without prompting.
Locking my ankles around his waist, I hold on for the ride as he moves to the bed so quickly the room blurs.
As my back meets the comforter and his hips fall into mine, I gulp for all the air that’s escaped me and glance toward the door. “The guard out there. Do you think he’ll hear us?”
Cal shakes his head. “I’ll hear him first if he does.”
“Do you all…can you all hear at, like, dog-whistle volume?”
“No.” He smiles. “Just me. And you…apparently, when I’m talking to you.”
“How is that possible?”
He traces my lips with his finger, studying the motion as he replies. “The bond. After we make love, it’ll only get stronger. A lot of things will change after we seal it.”
“Stronger?” I ask, mystified. “And a lot of things?”
“Mmhmm.” He pauses for a long moment. “Not only will our connection intensify but we will be sealed together in every way we possibly can. Forever. And more than that, our bond will not only make us both stronger in a lot of ways, but it will make you live longer too.”
I swallow, my mind trying to catch up with everything he’s saying.
When I don’t respond, he quietly asks, “Are you sure about this?” He touches my face with a gentle hand.
“You seem nervous. And Romy, I do not want to do anything you’re not comfortable with.
It doesn’t matter how badly I want you or how deeply the bond burns.
I would never, ever betray your trust in that way. ”
I shake my head. “No, I do. I want it. I want and need you. Honestly, I feel like I’ll go crazy if we don’t. I just…I’ve never done this before. Sex, I mean.”
“I know,” he says gently. “None of the women here have. They wouldn’t be eligible if they had.”
“So, if we do…I’m not eligible?”
He smiles. “Another perk, for sure. But I have no intentions of letting it go that far, I assure you.”
“Okay,” I whisper, surprised and intrigued by this version of myself.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a fighter. A contrarian and an obstinate voice in my otherwise docile home and a driven woman forced to live in a subservient body.
I never held a job after graduating college, though I wanted to badly, because my parents didn’t see the point. I never played on a team or participated in a club or slept over at friends’ houses.
But I did sneak out and break rules, and I most definitely fought verbally every chance I got. It was me against everyone else—always.