Chapter Twenty-Six
Oakley
Iheld the bracelet up to the reader on the wall, and it opened. But instead of asking Roman to come out, I walked in and sat down on the bed beside him.
“Talk to me, Rome.”
With a sigh, he looked up at me, not sitting up yet. “I could just walk out of the cell since you opened the door.”
“You could, but then you’d have to deal with me jumping on your back and repeating tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me into your ear over and over and over again until you cave.”
He snorted at that, then rubbed his eyes again before sitting up.
Roman surprised me by facing me and taking my hands in his, making my skin feel like small sparks were shooting between us.
My stomach fluttered with nerves—and perhaps a little pleasure from the simple touch—as I waited with bated breath for him to tell me the secret he’d obviously been carrying around for weeks.
I’d known something was up, but he clearly hadn’t wanted to talk about it. I’d thought giving him space would help, but perhaps I should’ve pushed sooner.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?”
I nodded. “You can tell me anything, Rome.”
He sent me a soft smile, released one of my hands, and ran a finger down my cheek, making me suck in a gasp. “Okay.” He regrabbed my hand and took a breath. “Oakley, you’re… you’re…” He bit his lip, staring me straight in the eye. “You’re my viramore.”
I blinked at him. Then blinked some more, staring into his blue eyes, trying to gauge whether he was telling the truth or just messing with me—which would’ve been super cruel and totally unlike him.
But everything about his face, his eyes, the flat line of his mouth, the way he was sweating with nerves, the way he smelled of nervousness, anxiety, and…
a little dash of hope, all of it told me he was telling the truth.
Or at least telling me what he believed was the truth.
His viramore?
Roman thought I was his viramore?
I swallowed thickly as I thought about all the things I’d been pushing off as indigestion, coincidence, or the result of my little crush. All the fluttering belly swoops, the tingles every time he touched me, and the ache I felt when he left. I thought about all of it with new eyes.
Were all of those things more than I’d thought they were?
Could it be true?
Could Roman be my viramore?
Holy crapola. My viramore?
Roman thought he was my viramore?
Holy shitballs.
Roman thought I was his viramore.
Was I?
Could I be?
I stared into his blue eyes that were filled with so much knowledge—Mother of Scales, he was old—and I got lost in them for a few seconds. They were just so… pretty, and they came in a super handsome face. A kind face. A face that cared a lot about me.
A face that was all I could think about when we were apart.
The one I dreamed about every night.
The one I thought about kissing—and licking—every time my mind wandered.
The face of the man I’d begun to trust more than anyone else.
I sucked in a breath. “You’re my viramore?”
He sat up straighter and nodded. “Yes.”
“Are… are…” I cleared my throat. “Are you sure?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not just… I dunno, playing a prank on me?” I didn’t think he would do that, but if he’d realized I had a crush, maybe he… no. No, he wouldn’t do that to me. Not to anyone.
He gripped my hands tighter and leaned in. “I know we argue sometimes, but do you really think this is something I would ever joke about?”
“No. Of course not.”
“You’re my viramore, Oak. I… I realized it a few months ago, and I just… I didn’t know how to bring it up. Are you… have you… felt anything?”
I nodded. “I… yeah… yeah, I have.”
That made him smile, and his shoulders sagged in relief. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, thank the Mother.”
“I thought I was just developing a tiny crush on you.”
“Tiny, huh?”
I snorted. “Fine. A massive one. Like bigger than you could possibly imagine.” His smile grew at that. “But… really? Viramores?”
He nodded. “I was worried you weren’t feeling it, although they say the pull doesn’t show up until everyone’s ready—”
“Everyone?” My eyes widened. “It’s just you and me, though, right?
” Scales, I didn’t think I could handle another person—or multiple other people—in a relationship with us.
I had enough trouble learning to trust Roman over the years.
I couldn’t imagine doing that again with another person.
More power to the poly peeps, honestly, but I seriously wanted Roman to myself.
His smile gentled. “Yes. Just the two of us. I was only saying it that way because it’s sometimes more than two people.” He shrugged.
I waved that off with a shoulder shrug since he still had hold of my hands. “Anyway, isn’t it weird that we didn’t notice this before? I mean, I’ve been here with you for years.”
“I don’t think you—or either of us, really—were ready yet. You, um, had a lot to deal with when you were first here, so…”
I nodded, glancing off to the side. He was right, of course.
Escaping from a cult, relearning everything through a different lens—a sane one instead of the insanity I’d been taught growing up—and then recovering from the trauma they’d put me through, the trauma my own mother had caused, had been a lot to handle.
There was no way I would’ve been able to deal with a relationship on top of that.
Shaking myself away from those thoughts, I met Roman’s eyes with a furrowed brow. “Um, so my dad locked you up because…?”
“Because I told him you’re my viramore, and he freaked out.”
I sighed and let my head fall back. “Oh my Mother, he is so fucking ridiculous.”
“He’s protective because he loves you.”
I lifted a brow, looking at him. “Locking his best friend up for being my viramore is absolutely ridiculous. Although, it’s totally on brand for him. I thought for sure that he’d murder you if he found out I had a crush on you.”
He snorted. “Fair assumption. I thought he’d murder me when I told him we’re viramores.”
I sighed. “He should be happy for us.”
“True. But he kept… he kept saying he wasn’t going to let me take you away from him, so… I think that maybe he’s… well… you were taken from him when you were a baby, so…”
With a frown, I nodded at him in understanding, but then I shook my head. “Wait. Why would he think you’re taking me from him? We both literally live in the tower with my dad. If—when, I guess—we decide to move in together, we’ll just be moving condos, not… leaving. Right?”
He smiled, and something about him seemed lighter than it had a few minutes ago. “My apartment’s bigger, so you should move in there.”
“Fine, whatever. You know what I mean.”
“Does that mean you’ll move in with me?”
I gave him a look. “Seriously? You haven’t even kissed me yet, and you want me to move in—mmm.”
A muffled groan came out of me as Roman pressed his lips to mine for the first time.
Those butterflies in my belly started flying around at a reckless speed, and tingles sparked all over my body, dancing along my skin, flying through my veins.
Warmth gathered in my chest, and it kept building and building the longer we stayed connected.
He wasn’t even using his tongue, and my body was lighting up like I was a firework.
And then my dragon practically jumped to its feet and growled out, “Mine!” in my head.
Holy shit. Roman was right.
He was mine.
I was his.
We were viramores.
Holy crap on a cracker.
My viramore.
Mine.
My eyes widened, and I forced Roman to release my hands. He pulled his mouth away, clearly misinterpreting my movements. Before he could get too far or become too worried, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, recapturing his lips and humming against them.
I murmured, “Mine,” against his lips, and he moaned in response.
His tongue swiped along my lips, and I opened and sucked it into my mouth, letting out my own moan of pleasure.
He tasted so damn good. Felt so fucking good in my arms.
But I wasn’t close enough.
So I scooted onto my knees without releasing his mouth, grabbed onto his shoulders, and threw one leg over his thighs. He didn’t hesitate to pull me closer so my chest was flat against his. It made me moan again, and I couldn’t help but grind against him.
He let out a low, growling groan that made my cock jump, and my own dragon responded to hearing his. A possessive growl came out of my throat, startling us both into breaking the kiss. We laughed, and I kissed him lightly, quickly, happiness making me feel like I was floating.
We both panted as we stared into each other’s eyes, and even though my body was on board with continuing this, I wasn’t so sure my head was. I wanted him, that much was clear, but…
I’d only found out, or rather, realized that Rome was my viramore less than five minutes ago. I needed time to let this settle in my head… and in my heart before we did anything more than this.
I… I wasn’t used to… jumping into bed with people, despite what everyone thought since I loved going out and everything. But I was always one who wanted to get to know their lover before we moved forward.
And sure, I obviously knew Rome, better than anyone, but this was a hell of a lot more than just taking someone to bed.
A fuck-ton more than that.
So I sucked in a deep breath and leaned forward to rest my forehead against his, closing my eyes and inhaling the scent of him, of his arousal, of our mixed scents, letting them settle me.
“You okay?” he asked in a whisper.
I opened my eyes, meeting his gaze, and offered a smile. “Yeah, I’m good. I’m really good.”
He smiled that gentle, sweet smile reserved only for me. “Me too, sweetheart.”
I couldn’t help but give him a peck, then I sat up, still on his lap with my arms around his neck, and said, “Don’t think you’re getting away with telling my dad before me, by the way. The only reason I’m not yelling at you is because I feel sorry for you getting thrown in a dungeon right now.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”