Fallen: A Paranormal Romance Novel (Shadows Of Regia Book 1)

by Tenaya Jayne

  He snickered and backed out of the room. He leaned against the wall for a moment, listening to the sounds of the kids coming through the door. Erin stuck her head out a minute later. She came out and stood beside him.

  “Slick, getting Alora to talk to me,” she chuckled.

  “I did not orchestrate that,” he said emphatically. “Don’t tell me what she said. I’m embarrassed enough.”

  “I’ve got something I need to look at here. It might take me a few hours. Why don’t you take off, and I’ll meet you later? I know I’ll be safe here.”

  “Okay. Message me when you’re done?”

  “I will. Sorry. I just need to do this.”

  He shook his head. “That’s fine. Thanks for showing me a little of what you do. I hope you’ll tell me more about it later.”

  He took her hand and raised it to his lips. Her expression sobered. It jerked him up short.

  “What?”

  She shook herself. “No, it’s nothing. I’ll see you later.” She pulled the door open again and was swallowed back into the mayhem of the kids.

  Why had she looked at him like that? His heart flinched. Was he going to lose her after all? He rubbed his hand over his heart. What had he done wrong? He hung his head and stalked off down the hall.

  “Maddox!”

  Her voice stopped him. He turned to see her jogging down the hall toward him.

  Before he could ask her anything she plowed into him, fusing her mouth to his. She pulled back pressing her hand to his chest. “Don’t’ feel like that. Okay?”

  “Whatever you say.”

  She kissed him again and headed back the way she came. “I’ll see you later.”

  He stared after her. She was paying attention to his feelings. Only he didn’t feel better. He hadn’t realized how uneven they were until then. She took care of orphans, giving them love and finding them homes. She really was too good for him. He couldn’t be enough for her… This was taking too long for him. He needed to know more about her. There was only one place he knew he could get the information he was after.

  Maddox opened a portal back to her house. It was time he really got to know her father.

  Erin finished the paperwork. She’d done it. The twins’ adoption would be finalized tomorrow. They would have a home and parents. They would be loved again. Journey came up behind her and placed a hand on her back.

  “Here,” Erin handed the file to her. “All that’s left is your signature and seal, and it’s official.”

  “Good work. I’m proud of you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Get out of here, Erin. I can tell there’s somewhere else you need to be.”

  “Normally, I’d argue with you, but you’re right.”

  She left the castle and sat down on the front steps and closed her eyes in the afternoon light. Her mind wandered. She needed to get home, but she needed to stay safe, too. Walking to the hub was too risky, and she’d promised she wouldn’t be that girl. She went back into the castle to find an obliging ogre to open a portal for her.

  She landed back home in the living room, unprepared for what she saw. Maddox was on his back, his head and torso under the kitchen sink. Her dad sat on the floor next to him and handed him a wrench.

  “I need the bigger one,” Maddox said.

  Her dad handed him a different tool.

  “I think I’ve got it…no, it’s still dripping.”

  Erin came into the kitchen. Her dad smiled up at her.

  “What’s all this, then?” she asked.

  “Well, Maddox came to visit me while you were at work, and the pipe sorta exploded. So we’ve been trying to get it fixed.”

  “I see. How’s it going down there?” she asked Maddox.

  “Fairly uncomfortable,” he said wiping his hand on his shirt. “And dirty.”

  Erin felt like her smile would crack her face just as she felt the onset of tears. “Hey, Dad, you want to hear something cool?”

  “What’s that, sweetheart?”

  “Maddox is my destined life mate.”

  When his head came up swiftly and connected with the pipe with a resounding crack, she tried to cover her laugh. He scrambled out from under the sink and got to his feet, staring at her and rubbing the top of his head.

  Her dad chuckled. “I know honey.”

  “You know? How do you…Did you tell him?”

  “No one told me anything,” Nathan said. “I could see it, although why you kept it a secret is a mystery to me.”

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”

  Maddox looked at her dad. “Sir, would you excuse us. Erin and I really need to talk.”

  Her father chuckled. “Oh sure. Go talk and don’t come back for a long time.”

  They headed to her room and straight through the portal in the wall. They landed in his room, and she faced him as he took her in his arms.

  “Why?” he breathed. “What made you change your mind?”

  “I changed my mind a while ago, but I didn’t fully realize it until I saw you with your head under the sink.”

  “Seriously?”

  “There was a problem, and you did something with your own hands. You didn’t just throw money at it…I dunno, it made me hot." His eyes layered with tears as she put her hands on his face. "I see you now. I know what I’m looking at when I look at you.”

  She moved closer, grabbed the hem of his shirt, and lifted it up and over his head. He closed his eyes as she kissed his collarbone and ran her hands over his back. He put his hands on the sides of her neck and tilted her face up.

  “Say it."

  “I’m yours,” she whispered. “Now treat me like it.”

  “You’re in trouble. I just wish it was raining.”

  “Hmm…Shower?”

  His mouth fell open, then he smiled wickedly. “Oh, that works.” He scooped her up and carried her to the bathroom.

  They wrecked each other over and over all through the afternoon and into the evening until they were both starving. Erin didn’t even taste the food or care. It was fuel, and she needed to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. They ate dinner, went to bed, and had each other some more before finally crashing into sleep.

  She woke in the middle of the night, tucked into his side. She looked at him, while he slept. He breathed easily, his face perfectly relaxed. Hmm…he was hers. Odd. She’d claimed him in every way. There was no going back. Not that she wanted to…but life was going to be very different now.

  Making love with him was almost scary, it was so good. Her body still felt all warm and shimmery. But then, all of her beautiful feelings shut off hard and fast, and she was suddenly choked with tears. Had it been special for him? Or just typical? Was he with her in his mind when he was inside her? She’d seen his eyes. They were with her. On her. Burning in hers. His heart, too. She knew it, so why did she doubt what she knew?

  Stop it! She ordered herself. His memories had to compete with her not the other way around. Her tears came harder. She slid out of bed, pulled one of his shirts on, and sat on the floor across the room, her knees pulled up into her chest.

  Her shoulders shook, but she remained silent. How could she doubt what they’d shared? But still, the things he’d done to her. How many others had he touched like that? Was any of it new for him? Did he love her? She was angry and jealous.

  He sat up. “Erin!”

  She felt his fear. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

  She could see his frown in the dark. “What are you doing?”

  She wiped her eyes. “Sorry. Just being stupid.”

  “Come here.”

  “Maybe I should just go home.”

  “Erin, please.”

  She caved and came back to him. He pulled her under the blanket next to him and held her against his chest.

  “Why do you feel like this? What did I do wrong?”

  She shook her head, but her tears continued to fall.

  “Was I too rou
gh? Did I hurt you?”

  “No.”

  “Then what? I thought everything was perfect. Beyond perfect.”

  “It’s just,” her voice broke. “Was there anything we did that was new for you?”

  He ground his teeth together and swore under his breath. “I wish I could change the past, but I can’t. I really don’t want to talk about this…” he sighed. “There’s a lot we did that I’ve never done before.”

  “Like what?”

  He grimaced. “Do I have to?”

  “It would make me feel better.”

  “Everything we did in the shower. Never done that before. When you took control, never had that before. It was awesome, by the way. I want more of that. When we connected, I’ve never been with someone outside, let alone in the rain, in the middle of the day. Being with you is not even the same thing as what I did with anyone else, even if some of the mechanics are the same. All that was about it being fast and over and cheap. Not. The. Same. Thing. You are my soul. You own me.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve ruined our time together. I just didn’t know…”

  He sat up again and pulled her up, too. He slid his hands up the shirt she wore. “Take this off,” he said lifting it over her head, careful not to pull her hair in the process. The moonlight highlighted them in the dark. She shivered as he touched her.

  “Why don’t you know how beautiful you are?” he whispered. “Haven’t I told you? Don’t you understand that I’ve never seen anyone as exquisite as you? And you’re so warm. You burn me up inside. Intoxicate me more than any drug I’ve ever had. Stop doubting.”

  His hands continued to skim over her skin. Her eyelids fluttered, her breathing uneven. He pulled her against him and brushed his lips across hers. “You said you were mine.”

  “I am.”

  He moved his mouth to her ear. “Surrender,” he breathed.

  She licked her lips and pinched her eyes shut. She hadn’t. Not really. She clung to him and nodded. “Okay.”

  His teeth broke through her skin for the first time and he drank from her, as he loved her again, very slowly. She fell through herself. Through her defenses, and found trust.

  To say he was reluctant to let her go in the morning was an understatement. Every time she almost wiggled free, he caught her and brought her back.

  “You’re going nowhere, babe.”

  “I have to. I need to get to work. How do you even have the energy for this again?” she asked as he rolled her under him.

  He shrugged and went to work on her. She could have protested, but it would have been false, so she let him have her again and enjoyed it all.

  A while later, she headed to the shower and made sure to lock the door, otherwise, she knew he would join her, and she’d never get to work. She couldn’t quit smiling. She didn’t even realize she was smiling until her face started to ache with it.

  She wrapped herself in a towel and thought about not going to work. He’d asked her to stay more than a few times. But she wanted to make sure that everything was going to go through with the adoption for the twins. Since it was her first completed process, she was nervous that she’d missed something or done something wrong, and she didn’t want the kids to have to wait any longer. She didn’t have to stay long at work. She could just go and come back.

  Maddox was cooking again when she came out. She snuck past the kitchen so he didn’t catch her and delay her anymore. Her clothes were here and there on his floor. She’d put them on, go home, change, and then go to work. Her stomach growled as she smelled whatever that was he was making. He could cook. She was a lucky girl.

  “I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I made you an omelet,” he said as she came out.

  “Thank you. It smells perfect.”

  She sat down and began to eat. “It’s already noon. I won’t be gone long. I’ll be back in time for dinner. Do you want to go out?”

  “No. I want you all to myself. And I want to throw you on the bed at the slightest provocation. Can’t do that in public.”

  She giggled and finished eating. “I promise to be careful.”

  He kissed her hand. “Thank you.”

  She started to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Wha—”

  “Shh…” he said quietly.

  He held her like she might break any moment. She was confused for a second, then she exhaled and relaxed against him. His heart spoke to hers. There was a desperation and disbelief in him, and for the first time, she felt the weight of his insecurity. He had it worse than she did. And for a moment, he just needed to hold her.

  She kissed his cheek and ran her hands through the back of his hair. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

  “I miss you already.”

  “Hey,” she pulled back so she could look in his eyes. “I’m yours.”

  He kissed her lips. “And I’m yours.”

  “Can I go now?”

  “Fine. Leave me all alone to pine and obsess over you till you get back.”

  She yelped as he slapped her ass as she went through the portal.

  Checking in at work took only a few minutes, and then Journey booted her out, seeing whatever it was she could see in Erin’s heart with her canny storyteller eyes. She didn’t go straight back to him though. She sat in the hall at the castle and scrolled through the news.

  Opinions flew around about Maddox. She stopped looking after a few minutes. It didn’t matter, she told herself. People could say and think what they liked. It didn’t change the fact that he was innocent. She wondered if he was looking, too. Closing her eyes, Erin leaned her head back against the wall and thought about their night together.

  Surrender…she had, but had he? She thought about her tears in the middle of the night and the source of them. There would be times she felt insecure. Every time that happened, would she think about all the lovers before her? Would she always wonder about what he remembered and how she measured up? And would she get angry at him every time, that he’d given himself so freely over and over? It wasn’t so easy to let go of…at least not for her.

  A crazy idea zipped through her head. She laughed and dismissed it. Then it came back and rooted firmly in her mind. Hmm… she was going through with it she decided. She got up and headed to the castle library, hoping no one was in there, so they wouldn’t see what she was looking at.

  An hour later, with her head full of new and fascinating adult possibilities, she found an empty room and called Melina.

  “It’s Erin.”

  “Hey, you. What’s up?”

  “I need a little help. Could you meet me in the Onyx Castle? I promised Maddox I’d be safe, so I don’t want to go anywhere on my own, and I don’t know where I’d find what I’m looking for anyway.”

  “What are you looking for?” Mel asked.

  Erin sent her a picture. There was a brief silence then Mel chuckled. “So you quit fighting your fate, eh? You’re a bad girl. M doesn’t deserve you. I’ll help. I know just where to buy such an outfit.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I’ll meet you in five.”

  Maddox cleaned the house to stay busy and to keep from looking at the news. His mind stayed on Erin. He needed her to come back. He hardly believed she’d actually said it, that she’d really committed to him. It didn’t seem possible. Time moved so slowly as he waited for her. Yesterday had caught him off guard. But tonight he could plan everything for her. He’d do what he could so she wouldn’t be able to have second thoughts about them.

  He thought about what he could make her for dinner, seeing as that was a skill of his she didn’t hold against him. It took him a while, digging around the kitchen, to find his mom’s nice place settings. He set the table, but he had to keep retelling himself not to be too smooth. She didn’t like that, and it would remind her of the past.

  He cringed, thinking about her crying last night. That was horrible. Horrible that she could think what she had. It wasn’t anywhere near the truth.
There was no one in his head or heart except her. She was everything. There was not one corner or shadow in him that she hadn’t filled with her light. His heart groaned for her. He needed her back. How much longer would she be?

  His watch pinged. He frowned at it and answered the call.

  “What’s up, brother?” Kendrick asked.

  “Not much.”