by K. L. Kreig
“Do you own anything but stuffy dress clothes?”
“You don’t like the way I dress?” Surprise laced his voice.
Turning around, she quickly added, “Oh no. I mean, yes. Yes, I love the way you dress, but I just didn’t know if you ever did casual, you know? Jeans, tight, stretchy t-shirts, gym shorts?”
“No. I’m in a position of power, Sarah. I must dress the part.”
She couldn’t help the laughter that escaped.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” she giggled. “Okay, that’s not true. Do you really think a pair of denims and a t-shirt will diminish the power and danger and control that rolls off you in terrifying, almost paralyzing, waves?”
Confusion drew his brows together.
“The answer is no.” She winked. Turning, she walked further into the spacious area and was surprised when there was a left turn. What she saw pulled her up short. There were hundreds of shoes lining the lengthy wall from top to bottom. And not just men’s shoes. There were women’s shoes as well. She turned back toward Rom, knowing she looked perplexed.
“They are yours.”
“Mine?” Tears gathered in her eyes at his completely over-the-top gesture.
“Yes. I told you that you’d have everything you need here.”
He grabbed her hand and led her through the second part of the walk-in, reserved just for her. She even had her own entrance. The entire space was filled with more shirts, pants, jeans, dresses, skirts and lingerie than she could ever wear.
“Rom, this is too much. I don’t need all this,” she rasped through the thick lump now residing smack in the middle of her throat.
“It’s non-refundable. You must keep it.” He pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head.
“Thank you.” It didn’t seem like nearly the right thing to say, but she had no words.
“Come. We’re not done with the tour.”
Pulling her out of the closet, he showed her the bathroom, which was also ridiculously big. He could throw a huge party in this bathroom alone. A large black tiled walk-in shower was to her left and a long black marble counter with a double sink was to her right. And at the far end of the room was a large white sunken tub with four black pillars that ran to the ceiling. You had to walk up three steps to get into the monstrosity. She could imagine sitting in that tub with a glass of champagne, leaning naked against Rom in the warm bubbly water after they’d made love in it, gazing out the grand glass lined wall into the black inky, star-lit night.
“Sarah, stop,” he growled, sounding as if he was in pain.
She turned. “Stop what?”
“Stop your lurid thoughts. You’re making this very difficult for me to follow your pacing when you think such things.”
“You can hear what I’m thinking? Every thought?” she asked incredulously. He was shitting her.
A low rumble sounded in his back of his throat. “Many. From the moment we met.”
“How?” This was so bad.
He cupped her cheek. “Because you are my Moira and our bodies and souls are bound tightly.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “What if I don’t want you to hear me?”
“I’d like to say when we bond that you’ll get stronger and may be able to shield your thoughts, but I don’t know if that’s the case. I’m very old and very powerful.”
She took a few steps back, out of his reach. “Well, that’s not fair. I want to hear your thoughts too then.” That’s not fair? What was she, a whiny little sissy girl?
A dark, lascivious, wicked grin turned his beautifully sharp features even more so. “Are you sure you want to hear my thoughts, beauty. Because they are not clean. They are not flowery. And they are definitely not G-fucking-rated.”
He stalked toward her and she moved back until her butt hit the cold countertop. She could hardly breathe. Standing so close she had to crane her neck to maintain eye contact, he ran a single finger down her cheek, her skin tingling in its wake.
“You want to know what I’m thinking, Sarah? Hmmm?”
Hmm … it was a coin flip, really.
He smirked, leaning down so he was inches from her now flaming face. “I’m thinking so many lewd and lascivious things.”
Their bodies were but a hair’s breadth from each other, yet all that touched were his lips to the shell of her ear as he spoke. Every wicked word made her panties drip more and they were already pretty uncomfortable from earlier in the day.
“I want to fuck you stupid while I take my fill of your sweet, honeyed blood that’s driving me absolutely mad. I want to take you in every single way a male can, Sarah. I want to bury my fingers in your soaking pussy, which is intoxicating me even now, and have you ride them until you come harder than you ever have in your life.”
His tongue snaked out, startling like a bite.
“I want you sobbing and begging to be mine when I’m fucking you on this cold marble counter, taking my essence into your body so you’re tied to me for all of eternity. And I want all of that Right. Fucking. Now.”
Oh. My. God. Yeeees.
Every word he uttered caused the flutters in her stomach and pussy to go wild with want. Grabbing her hips firmly, he slowly ground his hardened erection into her midsection.
“But I won’t do any of that until you are sure. Until you are ready. You will not get my impressive cock inside your sweet, tight body until you agree to be mine, my beauty.”
Throwing her words back at her? So not cool.
His restraint must be ironclad, because after that over-sharing he simply nipped her earlobe—hard—and took a step back. A smug, knowing smirk turned up his dirty-talking lips as they stared at each other.
Clearing her throat, she asked, “So, um … where’s my room?”
Really Sarah? Really?
His eyebrows arched and she knew. This was her room. The room she was sharing with Rom.
Oh boy.
Chapter 24
Rom
Lying beside her all night had been excruciating. His dick was so hard it throbbed in angry retribution. She’d protested the fact that they were sleeping in the same bed, but he promised to “be a good boy, leaving her virtue intact until she was ready to gift it to him.” That earned him a slug to the arm. Although it hadn’t hurt, she had a pretty damn good right hook. He even went to bed fully clothed, for fuck’s sake. He’d eventually convinced her to just lay with him and after she relaxed, she quickly fell asleep in his arms. It was both sublime heaven and torturous hell and he’d had to force himself not to reach for his cock many times throughout the night.
He should have gotten up to work, as he was sorely behind, but he couldn’t bear to leave her side. Jaz had purchased Sarah several little sleep sets that were far too conservative for his liking. He’d have to scold her later. If he had it his way, she would have been naked. If he had it his way, she’d be naked all the time when they were in their home.
He was so close to the prize he could taste it. He’d already worked out his plans for today. Horseback riding. He wanted her to envision this as her home. What was his was now hers.
He’d give her two days, tops.
Then she would be his. Until death parted them.
“Is the security detail in place?”
“Yes, my lord,” Circo replied. “Exactly as ordered.”
He’d gotten up early to meet with Circo, leaving Sarah to sleep. He should have checked his voice mails, but he’d leave that until this evening. If anything urgent had arisen, Circo would know.
“Anytime I cannot be with Sarah, then Jareth and Elliot are not to leave her side.”
“Yes, my lord,” Circo replied. “I have a couple of updates that I’ve been managing since you’ve been … otherwise detained.” Otherwise detained … interesting choice of words. Circo was always very politically correct. One of the many reasons he was Rom’s second for so long. Rom simply didn’t have either the patience or inclination to be PC.
“The San Francisco Bay location has a two-week delay on construction. There was an issue with the granite order. The Las Cruces build is running a bit ahead of schedule. Opening is still on track for November first and I’ve selected several resumes for management that look promising. Those are on your desk for review. There was also a security issue at the local Seattle club last week, but the offender had been taken care of and banned from that premises, as well as all others.”
Christ. Generally he spent several hours a day in his office and visited each of his clubs at least once per week. Showing your face in your own establishments was not only good business, but kept those in his employ in line. All of whom had to be wondering what the fuck was going on with him, but clearly Circo had been taking care of things in his stead. And he was grateful.
“Anything else?”
“No, my lord.”
Rom nodded and Circo wordlessly departed.
He was at the kitchen counter with his laptop, responding to his many overdue work emails when Sarah walked in about an hour later.
“Good morning,” he said, closing his computer. Now that she was awake, she would receive his full attention.
“Good morning.”
She wore a robe over her pajamas. Damn Jaz. Why would she buy garments that cover up Sarah’s beauty? He would find and burn them all.
“How did you sleep?” He held out a hand and was happy when she walked around the island, letting him draw her into his arms.
“Better than I have in a long time.”
He smiled inwardly. “I’m glad,” he said, kissing her temple. “I have something I’d like to show you after breakfast.”
“What?” She pulled back and he could sense her trepidation.
“It’s a surprise. Go shower and then we’ll eat.” He swatted her fine, pert ass and she squealed, heading back toward the stairs. He loved this Sarah. She was sweet and compliant. Why couldn’t she be like that all the time?
An hour later they were at the stables and Sarah’s mouth wouldn’t close.
“You have horses. A lot of horses,” she mumbled.
“Yes.”
“I love horses.”
“I know.”
She smiled brightly and it filled his heart with light and goodness and joy. Jesus, she was perfect for him and he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
They walked from stall to stall where the horses were kept. As soon as they were done here, he’d have them taken to the pasture. She stopped to feed, pet and talk softly to each one, getting to know them individually. His Moira was simply the most magnificent creature he’d ever encountered.
When they reached the last stall, to his most prized possession, his nerves tingled. Vampires didn’t have traditional wedding bands, like humans. They used their mating marks to identify ownership, and when he’d told her parents he’d commissioned a piece for her, it got him thinking. He didn’t want to give her meaningless jewelry, and he didn’t think Sarah was the blood diamond type anyway. He wanted to give her something of meaning. Something that was dear to him. And there was nothing better than his favorite pure black Arabian, Frumuseţe.
After but minutes, Frumuseţe was as in love with Sarah as she was with him. And he understood why. Sarah had an undeniable magnetism that simply drew in any creature in that came in contact with her. In her presence, they basked in light and warmth and kindness. They pulled their strength from hers.
“He’s magnificent,” she gushed.
“He’s yours.”
“What? Rom, no. He’s too much.”
“Sarah. No arguments. He’s yours.” When it looked like she would continue her fruitless efforts, he put a finger to her lips. “I want to do this. Let me do this. Please.”
Delight emanated from her face. “Okay. Thank you. What’s his name?”
“Frumuseţe.”
“Wow. That’s beautiful. What does it mean?” She couldn’t look away from the magnificent animal in front of her and he couldn’t tear his eyes from her.
“It means beauty.”
At that, he heard her sharp intake of breath. She slowly tilted her head to him. “He’s yours, isn’t he?”
“They are all mine, Sarah.”
Turning fully toward him now, she’d completely forgotten about the horse. “No. I mean he’s your favorite.”
He nodded slightly.
“Why would you give me your favorite horse?”
He backed her against the rustic wood planks of the empty stall next to Frumuseţe and held her face in his hands. As her breaths became ragged, he let his thumb brush her parted, full bottom lip.
“The better question is what wouldn’t I give you, my beauty?”
He leaned down, skimming his nose along her jawline, inhaling her heady scent, which went straight to his pounding cock. After their little encounter in the bathroom yesterday, he was ready to explode. He’d never wanted to bed a female more than Sarah.
“Rom … you’re making this very hard,” she said breathlessly.
Grabbing her hand, he entwined their fingers and placed them together on his steely shaft, rubbing firmly down his length. “I would concur.” Nipping the sensitive flesh beneath her ear, her breathy moan sounded an awful lot like yes.
Christ, he’d never felt pleasure like he had at her hands and mouth yesterday in the car. He longed to rip her clothes off and take her right here, right now.
Never stopping the up and down movement with their locked hands, he whispered, “I told you I would do everything in my power to make you mine. And I intend to keep my word.”
He slowly traced her lobe with his tongue before pulling back and removing their hands from his cock. It was cruel to them both, but he needed to leave her wanting, aching, unfulfilled. Like him. When he finally took her body, he would take all of her. He wouldn’t be able to hold back from bonding and in the heat of passion she would agree, only later to regret it. The need was that fierce, that strong, that overpowering that once he slid home, he wouldn’t be able to control his animal nature that had been clawing to break free since the moment he laid eyes on her.
Mine, mine, mine, it clamored, louder with each passing second he was denied his mate. Sarah had no fucking idea how violently he’d been battling his beast. He swore he wouldn’t lock her up again, but that’s all he could think about. He wanted to lock her up and take her repeatedly until she acquiesced to bond with him. But the man in him, the one that’d listened to Dev and Damian, knew doing so would be a fatal blow to their future, so he would bide his time and battle his demon. For her.
And as much torture as it may be for Sarah, it was a hundredfold for him. Tonight, he would, once again, lie in bed beside her sweet, sexy sleeping form and have to keep his hands and cock to himself. He ought to win some fucking prize for his restraint. Like a Pulitzer.
She’s your prize, his beast roared. How right he was. A throat cleared and he turned his head.
“My apologies, my lord,” Cyri said, head slightly lowered. He’d asked him to meet them in the stables, but damn if he just didn’t want to send him away instead. He wasn’t ready to share Sarah with anyone.
“Cyri. This is Sarah. Sarah, Cyri. He works for me, mostly keeping these fine animals in tip top shape.”
Sarah moved around him, extending her hand. “Nice to meet you Cyri.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Oh God, please do not call me that. Sarah is just fine.”
Cyri shifted his eyes to Rom, waiting for his approval. He shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t really matter what Sarah requested. She was his intended mate and Cyri was very old school. He would never refer to Sarah by name. It would always be ma’am or my lady. It almost made him laugh, because he could envision Sarah getting very bent out of shape about something so inconsequential.
“Yes ma’am.”
Sarah opened her mouth, but Rom intervened. “Cyri, we’d like to go riding. Saddle Zephyr for me and Frumuseţe for Sarah. He is hers now.
”
Cyri’s eyes widened slightly, but quickly recovered, slightly smiling. “Yes, my lord. Right away.”
Rom had pulled his entire staff together early this morning when he woke and made sure they were all aware he’d found his Moira and she was to be treated with the respect and reverence she deserved. She was to be given anything she desired and above anything else, she was to be protected with their lives, as they would give for his. Cyri was particularly happy for him, having been with Rom nearly as long as Circo, over three hundred years. And he knew how much Rom treasured Frumuseţe, so he understood how much his gift really meant.
Today, Rom would spend the day showing Sarah his life here in Washington. What her life would be like when she agreed to bond. They’d talk, they’d ride and they’d learn more about each other.
But tomorrow all bets were off, because by tomorrow at nightfall … he wouldn’t take no for an answer any longer.
Chapter 25
Sarah
They’d spent several hours riding and her ass and thighs were protesting. It had been many years since she’d ridden and she hadn’t realized how much she really missed it. When she was a teenager, she’d begged her parents for a horse, but horses were expensive, as were stabling them. So she did the next best thing, volunteered at a horse ranch just outside of town.
She’d spend hours there every Saturday and Sunday, grooming, brushing and exercising them. She loved it. Then Jack became sick and both money and time were scarce. And after he died, it suddenly didn’t seem so important any more. Once she headed off to college, she became entrenched in college life, her love of horses all but forgotten.
When they’d returned from riding, Rom insisted they watch a movie.
“What do you like?” she’d asked.
“I don’t watch movies. You pick.” He played with her hair, tickling her shoulders as he watched her.
“Help me out a little. You at least have to know the genre of movie you like. Horror? Mystery? Shoot’em-up? Fantasy?”
“Hmm … definitely fantasy,” he replied in a low murmur before her back was on the couch and his mouth was on hers.
