Chapter Twenty-Seven
Roman
The last thing I expected when I woke up in that cell was for Oakley to come get me out.
No. Actually, the last thing I expected was to be cracking up laughing with Oakley as we ran full speed to my car.
I knew for a fact that Oak’s car had a tracker on it that Garrick had access to, so we had to take mine. As far as I knew, there was no tracker, although I’d have to do a search when we made it to whatever restaurant Oak wanted food from.
We both jumped into the car, slammed the doors, looked at each other, and cracked up again.
“Fucking hell,” I murmured. “I thought for sure the guards were gonna come after us.”
“I thought so too. But we’re not out of the woods yet.”
“Yeah, let’s get out of here.” I turned on the car, put it in drive, and pulled out of the parking spot. “Why don’t you pick a restaurant and put an order in? We can pick it up on the way.”
Oakley glanced behind us, probably looking for a tail. “Um… why don’t we just order delivery when we get there? I don’t want to risk getting caught because I couldn’t wait an extra twenty minutes for food.”
“You sure?”
“The last thing I want to do is to have to break you out of a cell again, so yes. I’m sure.”
“Fair enough.” I shot them a smile and headed toward Anton and Keryth’s house.
I couldn’t believe how this day had gone. From telling Garrick, to his reaction, to waking up in a damn cell.
But most of all, I couldn’t believe I’d finally talked to Oakley, and that they didn’t reject me. They fucking kissed me back and climbed on my lap, and holy shit, I needed to stop thinking about that before I embarrassed myself or made them uncomfortable.
I really wanted to take them to bed, but I also didn’t want to rush them. I didn’t want them to feel like I was pressuring them either. I could wait.
I’d already waited more lifetimes than I could even count to find them in the first place. As eager as I was to move forward, to have them move in with me and start our life together, I could wait for them to be more comfortable.
The only thing that truly mattered here was making sure they were secure, happy, healthy, and knew they were loved.
They were quiet on the short drive, but I let them be since I knew they had a lot to think about.
Plus, it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, it never was with us.
Whether we were talking, laughing, or sitting in silence, it was always pleasant with them.
It always had been. Even when Oak had been pissed that I’d been assigned to them as a personal guard, it had always been comfortable being around them.
That probably should’ve been my first clue of what they were to me considering I didn’t feel that way with many people. But I’d chalked it up to them being Garrick’s kid and a good person.
And while that was true, I was coming to think that part of it was because they were my viramore.
“Hey, Rome?”
I glanced at them for a split second before refocusing on the road. “What’s up?”
“I… I don’t really want to talk about it—uh, us being you know—with anyone else yet. I think I need time to sit on it before everyone else starts… chiming in. Is that… is that okay?”
Reaching over, I gave their forearm a squeeze. “Of course that’s okay.”
As I started to pull away, they reached out with their other hand to stop me, grabbing onto me with a tight grip. “Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
“I didn’t, um… hurt your feelings, did I?”
I couldn’t help the huge smile that blossomed on my face. “No, Oak, of course not.”
“Good, ‘cause I’m not saying I want to keep it a secret. I’m pretty sure everyone knows already anyway, and I don’t mind confirming it. It’s just… I don’t want to talk about it with them right this second.”
“That’s perfectly fine with me. I’d rather speak to you about it than anyone else. Hopefully they’ll all give us enough space to figure things out.”
They blew out a loud breath. “I think they will.”
“Me too. They’re all good people, even when they’re being nosey asses.”
That made them snort out a laugh, which made me grin. I loved their laugh, even the small ones like that.
I moved my hand around until I was able to grab theirs, and then I brought it up to my lips and pressed a kiss to their soft skin. “You’re being entirely too sweet right now. I’m going to start to worry that you’re coming down with something.”
They snorted and leaned across themself with their free hand just to flick me on the ear.
“Hey!” I laughed, trying to dodge another ear attack without making the car swerve. “I’m driving!”
“That’s the only reason I didn’t pull out the big guns.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask what that means.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw them make pinching motions with their free hand—since they hadn’t released my hand yet. “Pinching you, obviously.”
I snorted and deadpanned, “I’m terrified.”
“You should be. Just wait until we’re out of this car. Actually, nope. You won’t even see it coming, but it is coming when you least expect it.”
“Oh hell, I’m in for it now.”
They cracked up. “Yep. For sure.”
Their giggles made me smile, and as we pulled into Anton and Keryth’s driveway, I found myself laughing too.
Regret ran strong through me when I had to let go of their hand to get out of the car. But to my surprise, Oakley walked around the car and grabbed my hand again, tugging me along.
“Uh, the door’s that way.” I pointed with my free hand.
They rolled their eyes. “We don’t have any clothes or anything, so we’re checking your trunk for our emergency bags.”
“Ah. Makes sense.”
They released me to open the trunk, and I was happy to see the bags there.
Months ago, Oakley and I had put bags in each of our cars with some emergency supplies, including some spare clothes.
It was something I’d been doing forever because there were times when I’d had to leave at a moment’s notice to go on a mission.
“Good thinking, sweetheart.”
They paused and stared at me. “You’ve been calling me that, and like, a few other endearments, a lot lately. Guess I know why now.” Their voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
“Does it bother you?”
They shook their head and muttered something I didn’t catch.
“What?”
They sighed. “I like it.”
That made me grin widely. “Oh really, baby?”
They rolled their eyes, but I could tell they were holding back a smile.
“Come on, darling, let’s go inside.”
“You are ridiculous.”
“Hand me that bag, sweetness.”
“Oh Mother of Scales, I’ve created a monster.”
I laughed. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, sugar.”
They snorted at that one. “Most ridiculous dragon I’ve ever met.” They paused. “Actually, that title goes to my dad after today, but you’re a very close second.”
With a chuckle, I shut the trunk and nudged them in the direction of the porch. Before we made it up the steps, the door swung open, and Anton walked out, saying, “Are you two alright?”
Oak waved him off. “We’re fine.”
“Were you followed?”
“Not that I saw.”
“Oh shit,” I said, turning around to head back to the car.
“I want to make sure there isn’t a tracker on my car.
We couldn’t check before we left because we were in a hurry.
I thought we were going to make a stop, but then we came straight here, and I forgot.
” Normally, I’d chide myself for getting distracted, but considering my best friend magic-KO’d me, threw me in a dungeon, and then I told my viramore the truth, I was giving myself a pass.
Anton called out behind me, “I’ll help.” To Oakley, he said, “Go on inside. My children are in the family room. One of them can show you to your room.”
“Um…”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Oakley staring at me, looking unsure of what to do. I sent them a smile. “Go on. I’ll only be a minute.”
They nodded and turned to the door, then paused for a beat before looking at me again. “Will you meet me in the family room? I’ll, um, wait for you before going to, uh, my room.”
I nodded, offering a smile. “Of course. Be in in a minute, babydoll.”
They snorted, rolled their eyes, and walked inside.
Anton came over, looking super serious, although the ancient vampire usually looked that way unless his viramore was around.
Anton stepped in front of me, and for a moment, I thought he was angry at me for coming here, but then he smiled and surprised the hell out of me by pulling me into a hug.
“Congratulations, my friend. I’m so happy for you. ”
For some reason, my eyes wanted to water as I hugged him back and whispered, “Thank you.”
Maybe it was because this was the reaction I should’ve received from Garrick, or maybe it was because I’d known Anton for such a long time, and I knew he understood how difficult it was to wait and how amazing and wonderful it was to find our mates.
He said, “You’ve waited such a long time, and Oakley is perfect for you. I know the two of you will make each other very happy.”
I stepped back, laughing a little. “Yeah, I hope so.”
“I know so.” He smiled, then moved closer to my car, knelt down, and ran his fingers over the undercarriage, searching for tracking devices. “I’m sorry Garrick can’t see that right now, but he will in time.”
“I don’t know about that. He’s one of the most stubborn people I know.”
“True, but we both know that Tan won’t let him get away with acting this way for long.”
That made me smile. “Fair.”
Anton winked at me, then ducked down to look under the car.
For a moment, all I could do was stare. I never thought I’d see the day when dignified Anton crawled around on the ground, getting grease and who knew what else all over himself. It was kind of surreal.
Shaking my head, I joined him.
Luckily, neither of us found anything, and when we walked into the house, Anton led me straight to the kitchen to wash the grime off, and then we headed into the family room.
Oakley was sitting in the corner of the ginormous sectional sofa with Jed beside them, both of them laughing at something or another. As grateful as I was to the vampire for making my Oakley laugh, I didn’t like how close he was sitting to them.
A low growl came out of my throat before I could stop it, and everyone froze. Trayben, the youngest vampire in the house, was sitting on the other corner of the couch, and he slowly scooted farther away from me, looking surprised and maybe a little fearful.
Beshiro and Phaeron looked resigned, and neither of them moved, but they did keep their eyes on me.
Kat was sitting on an armchair with her own viramore in her lap, neither of them paying one bit of attention to anyone else.
But Jed just rolled his eyes, looking seriously unimpressed. “Dude, I’m not even touching them, for crap’s sake.”
Another growl came out, and even though some part of me was telling my brain—my dragon—to calm the hell down, most of me was simply thinking Mine! I protect what’s mine!
Oakley sighed. “Rome, we’re gonna have a major problem if you can’t act civilized toward my friends. I like hugs, so I hug everyone. What are you gonna do when Ker gets home, and I want to give him a hug, huh? Stop being a dick.”
Instead of listening to anything they said, I walked across the room, growled at Jed until he rolled his eyes and scooted over, then climbed onto the couch beside Oakley, in between the two of them.
I wrapped my arms around their waist and buried my face against their neck, breathing them in as they sighed in annoyed resignation.
“Wow. I’m so glad you were listening when I talked.”
I huffed out a small laugh and kissed their soft skin, not missing the shiver that swept through them. “I was listening.”
“You might’ve heard me, but I don’t think you were actually listening.”
“You said you like hugs, so…” I squeezed them.
They snorted. “Wow, so not what I meant.”
“So you don’t want my hugs?”
“Not what I said either. Ugh. Just… chill out. What do you want to eat?”
I almost said you, but managed to stop myself this time. Thank the Mother of Scales. “I don’t care.”
“Ugh. You’re no help.”
I hugged them tighter and moved my lips to their ear so only they could hear my words. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Actually, that’s not true. My dragon got all mine, mine, mine, and I couldn’t stop myself.”
“It’s fine,” they said with an exasperated sigh, but I could tell they were amused too.
“I’m really sorry. I know you said you wanted to wait to tell anyone, and I just totally ruined that. Shit. I’m sor—”
“They already knew. They all congratulated me as soon as I walked in.”
I frowned at that, wondering how the hell they could possibly know that we'd finally talked—since Jed clearly already knew—before I sighed. Oh. They must’ve heard me confirm it with Anton outside. Damn vampire hearing. “I’m still sorry.”
“Seriously, it’s fine. I told you I don’t care who knows. I just don’t want to discuss it with anyone but you.”
“Fair enough.”
They gave the top of my head a kiss, and it instantly relaxed me.
“I can move if you want me to.” I really didn’t want to, but I would. For Oakley.
They wrapped their arm around my back and held me tightly against them. “You’re fine. Let’s order some pizza. That’s easier than calling Ker and trying to figure out what the girls want. I know what toppings they like, plus I can order it from my phone.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Everyone else started chatting while Oak played around on their phone, and I just sat there, pressed against my viramore, hoping I never had to move, especially when the fingers of one of their hands made it into my hair and started scratching my scalp absently. Mm, paradise.
Today had been pretty hellish for a while there, but I’d go through all of it again just to end up here with my Oakley.