Reawakening

by K. L. Kreig

  She looked down at the white polyester fabric covered with tiny yellow birds. “Clearly it’s pajamas.”

  “And why, pray tell, are you wearing them? You should be in your birthday suit, beauty, not covered in some dreadful garb like that.”

  Crossing her arms with a frown on her face, she said, “I used to wear a nightgown like this when I was little and it reminded me of home.”

  Well shit.

  Sitting up against the headboard, he replied contritely, “I’m sorry, Sarah. I didn’t know.”

  For several seconds, he couldn’t decipher the stoic look on her face. Then she burst out laughing, falling onto her side and cackling so hard tears leaked out of her closed eyes.

  He’d been punked.

  “Why you little brat.”

  Seconds later she was under him, his mouth greedily upon hers. Her laughter quickly softened to moans as their lips and tongues and hands were all over every square inch of each other. The hideous nightgown was quickly torn clean down the middle and discarded.

  Her moans changed to pants when he ripped off her lace panties and plunged deeply into her wet pussy. Intertwining their hands, he raised them above their heads and looked upon the delicate, beautiful face he’d missed so much. He was so whipped for this woman, he could hardly think straight.

  “Look at me.” His body had a mind of its own, hips thrusting of their own accord. Her lids cracked, but he could tell it was difficult for her to keep them open and his ego swelled at the hazy pleasure he saw swirling in their depths. “You’re a very bad girl,” he punctuated between rough prods.

  Her lips turned up slightly. “I guess I need punished then,” she uttered with a breathy sigh.

  “No, my beauty. You clearly need to be pleasured.” Her blood called his name loudly, begging to be taken by its mate. Not able to wait a second longer, he slowly sunk his incisors into her supple flesh, drawing her essence into his body, which set off her climax and subsequently his. Their joining had been hurried and rough and exactly what they’d both needed.

  Christ, he’d missed her.

  Several minutes later, still naked, inside her and ready for round two, she asked, “How did the meeting with your brother go?”

  The meeting with his brother had been … interesting and he daresay they’d even formed a loose alliance. At minimum, they had the same objective. But what he was more interested in right now was Taiven’s comment alluding to his familiarity with Sarah beyond her one dream. He was not used to such feelings of jealousy. And he never did get a straight answer on why Taiven had been able to talk to Sarah in her dreams either, which still bothered him, more than he wanted to admit. It was an unheard of skill and his brother did a very good job on hedging.

  Rolling over and never separating their bodies, he pulled her astride him. “It went well.”

  A broad smile spread across her face, reaching her brilliant eyes. “I’m glad.”

  “Tell me about your dreams of Taiven.”

  Her smile fell quickly, brows drawing in feigned confusion. “I don’t know what you mean. I already told you about it.”

  His jaw ticked, that knot of jealousy growing bigger by the minute. “I mean the others.”

  She tried moving, but he grabbed her hips, holding her firmly in place.

  “Did I happen to mention that one of my skills is the ability to detect a lie, Sarah?”

  Lips pursed, she asked, “What did Taiven tell you?”

  “Not a fucking thing. So you can imagine the shit I’m conjuring up about now. Next time I see the fucker, I may just kill him on principal alone.”

  She looked away and the pain in his heart couldn’t have been any greater than if she’d stabbed him with his own Kilij. Looking back, instead of answering his question, she asked one of her own that took his breath away.

  “Who is Seraphina?”

  “What?” he muttered softly.

  “Seraphina? Who is she? Or was she?”

  Picking her up, he set her down on the bed and strode into the bathroom. Of course, her stubborn ass was right on his heels.

  “I don’t know a Seraphina.”

  She barked a laugh. “Did I tell you that one of my newly acquired skills is detecting a lie, mate?”

  Touché.

  “I can’t talk about it, Sarah.” Walking to the shower, he turned on the water and stepped under, not waiting for it to warm. Right now he needed the shock of the freezing cold water to clear his clouded mind. How the fuck did Sarah know about Seraphina? No one, outside of himself, knew of her. Not one single human or vampire alive.

  And why wouldn’t she tell him about what happened with Taiven? Could it have been that bad? Or that good? The thought literally made him fucking murderous and truce or not, if Taiven laid a finger on her, even in a dream, he was as good as fucking dead.

  “Can’t or won’t?” she asked, standing in all her naked glory outside the black marble walls of the shower.

  How dare she give him the third degree when she wouldn’t answer his goddamned questions? Grabbing the soap, he scrubbed his body in short, angry motions.

  “Won’t,” he bit out, daring her to challenge him.

  Pain stabbed his soul. It was hers. Why was he so loath to talk about Seraphina when she was his past? Everyone had a past, including Sarah. Would she understand? Or would it just unnecessarily hurt her? No. The past was the past for a reason. And that’s exactly where it should remain. It was done and over with and couldn’t be changed.

  Turning on her heels, she retreated to the bedroom. Shutting off the water before he’d even rinsed, and not bothering with a towel, he chased after her. “Tell me about Taiven. Now.”

  “Wow.” She laughed sardonically. “You must be delusional. Tit for tat, vampire.” She hastily dressed, minus her shredded panties, and sat on a chair to buckle her sandals.

  “That’s not the way this works, Sarah,” he gritted.

  She stopped to pin him with a hard glare, but softened as she began speaking, the hurt clearly reflected in her teary eyes and her broken voice. “It is the way it works, Rom. We are a team, you and I, and now we’re tied together for all of eternity, however long that may be. We’ll never make it if we don’t trust each other. And once again we are back to you not trusting me, and it’s beyond devastating.” Her strained voice cracked on the last few words and he’d never felt more like shit than he did at this moment.

  Finishing her task, she stood and walked to the bedroom door, pausing before she opened it, but not turning back. “In my dreams, Taiven watched over me, protected me, my whole life. I don’t know why and I didn’t know it was him until after we’d bonded and he appeared to me in that last dream.”

  “Did you fuck him?” He didn’t miss the tensing of her shoulders at his crass and, frankly, uncalled for words. But they were out of his mouth before he could pull them back, his calm demeanor completely and totally blown to smithereens.

  “No.”

  “Did he want to?” Sarah was a beautiful, desirable and irresistible female and Taiven was simply a male. Of course he’d want her. He didn’t know why or how Taiven had been tied to Sarah and jealousy burned hot like acid through his veins at the thought of him watching her grow, of him protecting her when it should have been Rom and especially of him putting his hands anywhere near what was his.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. Since the morning you returned for me he’s been absent, except for this last dream.” He could feel how difficult it was to speak the truth because she knew it would hurt and anger him.

  “Did he kiss you?”

  Please, for the love of Christ, say no. Taiven was so dead if his lips had touched hers.

  “No.”

  She cocked her head slightly. “I always thought it was you,” she whispered. He and Taiven could pass as twins, so it’s understandable how she could think that, but he wasn’t sure if that made him feel better or worse.

  Worse, definitely.

  She opened the door,
taking two steps before swinging back around, eyes locked with his. The water streaming down her face gutted him, but he couldn’t make himself go to her and provide the comfort she both craved and deserved. She hadn’t invited Taiven into her dreams. None of this was her fault, her doing, but it didn’t make the sting of the situation lessen any.

  “She told me to tell you she’s sorry. That it was always meant to be me. And even if I’m in the dark, I’m sure you’ll know what that message means.”

  Seraphina came to Sarah in a dream? Why?

  She said the next part so softly, and with such hurt, it stripped him raw. “You may not have locked me in a room this time, Rom, but this is so much worse. You’ve locked me out of you. And that … that is completely soul-shattering.”

  The soft click of the door shutting was the last sound he heard as he stood frozen in shock and agony. His past and future had collided. And he’d just let his future walk out the door, leaving behind a visible, tangible trail of hurt and betrayal.

  God, he was a bastard.

  His heart wept. He wanted to move beyond this. He wanted to share every last shred about himself with Sarah, good and bad.

  He just didn’t know how.

  Chapter 53

  Sarah

  Lost. That’s how she felt. She should be happy. In a fricken wedded state of bliss. But all she felt right now was numb … and incredibly sad.

  She’d missed her mate terribly these past two days and within minutes of seeing each other, they were already in an argument, because, once again, he refused to share something with her. Would it always be like this? Would he always shut her out? Would she ever be allowed into the deep recesses of his mind and soul?

  Wandering around the large estate, she didn’t dare go outside, but it was almost unbearable to be in the same vicinity as Rom. She should flash home, but she also didn’t want to be too far away from him either. It was a conundrum that confused the hell out of her.

  The minute she’d stepped foot downstairs, Jareth and Elliott had followed her around like the good little guard dogs they were. That was mean and, yes, she was being a royal bitch. They were just doing what their Commander in Chief had demanded. What she wouldn’t give to run into Giselle right now so she could go a couple of rounds with someone who could take it. God knows she wouldn’t be good company to anyone else less snarly than her.

  As usual, she found herself in the library. This felt like a sanctuary to her. She’d spent an untold amount of time here over the last several months.

  Walking along the expansive shelves chucked full of books, she ran her fingers along their spines, both old and new. It never failed to marvel her at how many books Devon had acquired over the course of his lifetime. And this wasn’t even all of them. His office was also stuffed to the brim.

  Unable to focus on reading, she flopped on the couch, gazing out the large window. The view wasn’t much, since they were in the middle of nowhere, but it was peaceful. It was still early and birds chirped, unencumbered by anything other than finding food for the day or building their nests in anticipation of their new arrivals. She found herself slightly jealous of their easy-going and carefree existences.

  Jealous of birds now? She’d sunk to a new low.

  Was 7:00 a.m. too early for a glass of wine? It was five o’clock somewhere, right?

  So many things had happened over the last couple of weeks. Things that she wanted to share with Rom, but for one reason or another, never seemed to get a chance. They were either fighting or fucking.

  Sigh.

  She wanted to tell him about Jack and how they’d played. She wanted to talk about her biological mom and share that she had an aunt and grandfather that she’d love to meet. She had a gut-wrenching need to understand who Seraphina was and how she connected with them both. She’d tried, but she just couldn’t let that go. And she wasn’t sure she’d be able to until she knew the truth.

  As if on cue, Giselle suddenly appeared with a folder in her hand. And she looked … excited. And dare she say … happy?

  “Trouble in paradise?”

  Or not.

  Well … bring it bitch because Sarah was not in the mood to be fucked with.

  “Nope. Just taking a break. My pussy’s sore.”

  Giselle howled with laughter. “Oh my God, Sarah,” she wailed. “Who knew you were a mini me?”

  Uh … what? Sarah was nothing like Giselle. Oh God … was she? Right now she felt like it.

  “That’s just plain offensive, Giselle.”

  “Wow … that bad, huh?” Giselle threw the folder she held on the table between them before taking a seat opposite her.

  “You do listen to the words that come out of your own mouth, right?”

  Giselle shrugged. “I suppose I could try a tiny bit harder to be less bitchy.”

  Her brows drew together in confusion. “Are you getting laid?” That’s the only thing that made sense. Sarah had long thought Giselle needed her lady bits oiled a little, or a lot, and perhaps that would help her sour demeanor.

  Giselle didn’t respond, but a slight smile curved her lips.

  “Oh my God! You are!” Sarah leaned forward, arms on her knees, her own troubles all but forgotten. “Who?”

  This was surreal. She was sitting here, practically gossiping with Giselle. Giselle. The hardest, most jaded, frigid woman she’d ever met.

  “Let’s not push it. I’m new at this … shit.”

  “Okay. Fair enough.” Leaning back, she couldn’t help but say, “You look happy.”

  A genuine smile graced Giselle’s face and the only word that came to mind was wow. She’d thought Giselle beautiful before, but when she really smiled, she was simply breathtakingly stunning. “I am,” she said finally.

  “Did you just come by to chitchat and bond or was there another reason you stopped by?”

  “I like the cheeky side of you better. I have a meeting with the lords in a few minutes, but I have something for you.” Picking up the folder, Giselle pulled out several papers, spreading them on the coffee table in front of them. “We have a pretty good family tree put together that I wanted to give you.”

  “You what?” Shock almost stunned her speechless. “How?” Sarah hadn’t missed the use of the word “we” but was too dumbfounded to care.

  “Well, turns out your grandmother was quite the genealogist herself and had done a lot of research already. My … source managed to take photos of the information when your grandfather spent twenty minutes taking a bathroom break.”

  Oohh. She probably could have gone without knowing that little tidbit.

  “There are pictures in there too. Some pretty old. The quality isn’t perfect and a few are grainy because they were printed from a camera phone, but I put everything in here we had.”

  Sarah could hardly believe her ears. Or her eyes. Which were now blurry. Swallowing hard, she tried twice before she could speak. “Thank you,” she finally managed to utter.

  Giselle clasped her hand over Sarah’s. “You’re welcome.”

  Giselle was leaving the room when she called back, “And Sarah … just lock him out of heaven for a while. Whatever he’s done, he’ll be begging for forgiveness soon enough.”

  Sarah sat there, stunned. Not only did she have her maternal family lifespread in front of her, but she may have just made a new friend. With Giselle.

  Huh? Who would have thunk it?

  Chapter 54

  Rom

  It was another day spent filled with regret. After Sarah had walked out on him, he’d finished getting ready and found her in the library looking at pictures and papers. She’d quickly hidden them, but not before he’d gotten a good look. A family tree? Where on Earth did she get that?

  “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing,” she replied curtly.

  Apparently she was neither in the mood to share nor forgive. And he still couldn’t bring himself to discuss the elephant in the room … Seraphina. The words sat on the tip
of his tongue, like poison he needed to expel in order to prevent it from spreading and rotting and ruining his relationship with the one woman he cared about above all others.

  But he just couldn’t do it. So instead he’d told her he’d be in meetings all day and he’d find her later.

  He was a goddamned coward.

  And he hated himself for it.

  So now, hours later, he sat once again around Dev’s conference table, unable to fully engage in their final strategy session because he couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah and Taiven and Seraphina. And what it all meant because there was no way in hell this was all coincidence. He was royally fucked if he went into the field without his head in the game and by the sounds of it they needed to make the hit on Xavier tonight because Geoffrey had a planned meeting with him. Who knew when they’d get another opportunity if they didn’t take this one?

  “Rom, you with us?” Damian asked.

  It was painfully obvious to everyone in the room his body was present, but his mind was absent. “You’re looking at me, aren’t you?”

  Damian smirked but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut for once.

  “Geoffrey, have you uncovered anything new in the last couple of days?” Dev asked, diverting their attention back to the issue at hand.

  The blond vampire looked grim. Shit … this was going to be bad.

  “Unfortunately yes. There is a very small compound that I happened to discover in the foothills of Nebraska, and only one vampire that I’ve run across is aware of this location. If the situation weren’t so dire, it would be incredible, really. I don’t know how or when he did it, but Xavier has managed to whisk away a very specialized group of biological scientists who have not only been able to successfully enhance existing vampiric skills, but they’ve also developed new vampiric powers that we’ve never seen. Invisibility, time travel, merging completely with another being to create a completely new one.”

  Geoffrey looked gravely around the room. “And even dreamwalking.”

  Holy fuck. This was so much worse than he could have imagined.