Fateful Reunion (A Scanguards Novella) (Scanguards Vampires)

by Tina Folsom

  Charles ran a hand through his dark hair before continuing. “We were ambushed that night. Several witches had trailed Melissa to my house. We fought them off as best we could, but we knew we were losing the battle. When my sister handed me her daughter and begged me to protect her with my life, I knew what she was about to do. I couldn’t say no.”

  Curiosity made her ask. “What did she do?”

  “She went outside and fought against them with everything she had, giving me just enough time to escape out the back. She died that night protecting her child. And I’d made a promise to her. A promise I couldn’t break. Ilaria needed me. She was helpless.”

  I needed you, too! Roxanne wanted to scream, but clamped her mouth shut.

  “I went on the run with her. I never looked back. But I knew they’d never give up until they found her and killed her. I had to keep running.”

  “I could have helped you!” she ground out, pushing back the disappointment. He’d chosen a child over her. “We could have defeated the witches together.”

  Charles smiled a sad smile and shook his head. “No. I had to enlist help from other witches I trusted, and had I shown up there with a vampire in tow, they would have killed you before I’d even had a chance to explain. I did it to protect you.”

  “Bullshit!” she cried out. “You didn’t want me anymore. And your niece was just a convenient excuse to rid yourself of me.”

  He didn’t lose his cool. “That’s not true, and you know it. Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve regretted it a million times since.”

  Tears tried to push to the surface, but she forced them down. “Damn it! Damn you! You didn’t even call me. You made no attempt to contact me. That’s how much you loved me?”

  “Yes, that’s how much I loved you! Because had I contacted you, you would have been in danger, too. They would have tortured you to find out where I was. I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let them hurt you, so I made sure nobody knew about you.”

  Roxanne swallowed back a rising sob, preventing it from bursting from her lips.

  “I deleted all evidence about you from my cell phone before I tossed it for them to find. When I erased our call history, my heart broke, and when I deleted the last photo of you, I thought my life was over. But I had a responsibility, a duty I couldn’t shirk.”

  Roxanne turned away, unable to listen any longer. “You could have at least sent me a message.”

  “You faked your death that night. I had no way of contacting you. And sending somebody with a note to our meeting place would have been too risky. Besides, if I had, you would have tried to find me.” He sighed. “It was better that you hated me. At least then you wouldn’t try to find me and land in the witches’ crosshairs. You’d be safe.”

  “Safe?” she choked out. “Yeah, maybe from the witches. But Silas didn’t buy my staged death. He came after me.”

  “Oh my God, baby, I’m so sorry.”

  He cupped her shoulders, turning her back to him, but she shook him off. His touch brought back too many memories and with it a yearning to turn back time.

  “I don’t need your pity. I killed him.” And it had felt good to stake the sadistic son of a bitch. The world was better off without him.

  “How?” Charles’s one-word question was a mere echo.

  “He’d sent his men away to deliver the appropriate punishment for my escape in private. He thought he could control me like he always did. But I had nothing to lose anymore. It gave me the strength I needed. I staked him, not expecting to succeed, thinking, hoping I would die instead. But I survived. Somehow. Silas was dead. I ran until I couldn’t run any longer. His men never found me.”

  Charles nodded, his expression solemn. His gaze locked on her eyes, and his hand came up. “So strong, yet so vulnerable.” He touched her jaw.

  “Don’t! You forfeited the right to touch me when you left me that night.” She averted her eyes, turning her head to the side.

  “Look at me, Roxanne, and tell me you hate me, and I’ll never touch you again.”

  If that’s all it took, she could do that. Slowly, collecting all her strength, she turned her head back to face his scrutinizing look.

  “I hate you.” Her voice cracked on the last syllable.

  His fingers brushed over her cheek. “Say it again,” he murmured, dipping his head toward her face, his gaze drifting to her lips.

  “I hate you.” But the words were even weaker than before.

  “I never touched another woman after you.”

  Tears shot to her eyes. He wasn’t playing fair. “No… no…”

  “I only dream of you. Of holding you. Of loving you.”

  “I hate you.” She repeated it like a mantra, but it didn’t make it true. Yet it was all she could do to keep from breaking down.

  “Maybe you do now, but if you gave us another chance…”

  “It wouldn’t change anything. I can’t make twenty-three years undone.”

  “But you believe me, don’t you?”

  Did she? The story was fantastical, but so was their world. “It doesn’t matter anymore whether I believe you.” Two decades ago it would have mattered. But today it didn’t make a difference. Too much pain had filled her heart. There was no place for love anymore.

  “It matters to me. I need you to forgive me.”

  Roxanne swallowed. “There’s nothing you can do or say…”

  “There is something I can do,” he murmured and sank his lips onto hers.

  He took her completely by surprise. Maybe that was the reason she didn’t immediately push him away and toss him across the room. Or maybe it was the way his lips pressed against hers, urging her to part them. Or the memories of their lovemaking that resurfaced with his sinful touch.

  It could have been any number of things, but deep down she knew that she allowed it to happen because she wasn’t done with him. She didn’t hate Charles. But she couldn’t trust him either.

  5

  Charles dipped his tongue between Roxanne’s lips She tasted as irresistible as she’d been back then. No wonder he was already hard. In fact, it was a wonder that he’d been able to prevent his cock from bursting from his pants as long as he had. Or that he hadn’t kissed her any earlier. Because he’d been craving it since the moment he’d discovered where she’d been all these years.

  He released her lips for a moment so he could pull her top over her head. “Roxanne, I need you.”

  Then he captured her lips again, kissing her deep and hard, while he pressed her to him, his hands roaming her skin, searching and finding the clasp of her bra. When he snapped it open, Roxanne gasped into his mouth.

  Freeing her from the garment, he could finally touch her voluptuous breasts. He’d always loved kneading the responsive flesh, teasing her pert nipples, licking her silken skin. Not only because Roxanne represented everything a man could ever want, but also because of her reaction. Her moans and sighs were uncontrolled, and the way she pressed her body to his, asking for more, made hope bloom in his heart. She wasn’t over him. Not by a long shot.

  He ripped his lips from hers and dipped his head to her breasts, capturing one nipple in his mouth and sucking on it.

  She breathed heavily. “This won’t change anything between us.”

  He knew better. It would change everything between them. He still had power over her, just as she did over him. To show her just how much, Charles scraped his teeth along her skin and felt her shudder violently.

  “You’re still mine,” he ground out and reached down to open the button of her pants. “And I’m still yours.” He lowered the zipper and pushed down her pants.

  Roxanne didn’t stop him. Instead, she ripped his shirt open and pulled it off him. “Just because I’ll let you fuck me, doesn’t mean I’m gonna trust you again.”

  She opened his pants and shoved them halfway down his thighs.

  “I’m not gonna fuck you, Roxanne.” He gripped her hips with both hands
and dragged her against his hard-on, letting her feel what she did to him. “I’m gonna make love to you.”

  “Oh no, you’re not!”

  She shoved him back until the back of his knees hit the couch. He lost his balance and fell backward. A moment later, she’d freed herself of her pants and sandals and was yanking his shoes and jeans off.

  “We’re gonna fuck,” she said through clenched teeth and pulled off his boxer briefs, stripping him bare. “That’s all you’re gonna get.”

  “Fine. You wanna fuck? Let’s fuck and see how long you can keep this up.” He jumped up and grabbed her, lifting her off her feet and tossing her face down on the sofa. “That’s what you want?”

  “You have no idea what I want!”

  He snatched her G-string and held it aside. Then he positioned himself between her legs and lifted her ass up. “I know exactly what you want.”

  He plunged inside her, seating himself balls-deep in her drenched pussy.

  Fuck!

  She was even tighter than he remembered. Or perhaps it only felt that way because he hadn’t been with a woman since he’d left that night. He’d only known the comfort of his own hand in those dark, lonely nights. Dreaming of Roxanne. But no dream came close to reality. And this was reality. Roxanne beneath him, her hips rocking back to take him deeper.

  He knew that she was trying to prove that this was just sex. That it meant nothing to her other than some momentary physical pleasure, something any man could give her. But she was wrong if she thought she could fool him.

  “Goddamn it, baby,” he cursed. If he didn’t slow down soon, he would come and lose this battle. Reluctantly, he pulled himself out of her.

  “This isn’t how this is gonna go down,” he promised her and himself.

  “I told you—”

  He flipped her onto her back and yanked the G-string off her, before he spread her legs apart and sank his face onto her pussy.

  Roxanne made a halfhearted attempt to pull away, which he couldn’t take seriously. Instead, he lapped over her wet flesh and tasted her arousal, while he reached up with both hands to caress her breasts. Her protest died a silent death.

  With every second he licked her, she turned back into the woman he knew. The woman who’d surrendered to him in bed, even though she was stronger than him. The woman who now writhed beneath his lips, undulating her hips for a deeper connection, for more friction. The woman who now angled her legs, placing one foot flat on the floor so she could lift herself closer to him.

  “Yes,” he murmured into her warmth and captured her clit between his lips, licking the swollen bundle of nerves harder and faster now.

  He could feel how close she was, and he wouldn’t let her come alone. No, he would surrender to her, too. To show her that he trusted her.

  Giving her clit another tug, he let go of it and sat up. Before she could protest at the interruption, he’d already positioned himself again and nudged his cock at her wet folds. Slowly, he edged forward, parting her nether lips with the tip and sliding into her. He noticed her lids flutter and the air rush from her lungs, while she arched her back off the cushions, thrusting her breasts and those hard nipples in his direction. Impossible to resist.

  Only when his erection was fully submerged in her tight channel did he breathe again. A moan escaped him. This was what he’d dreamed of all those years. To feel her muscles tighten around him and imprison him.

  He lowered himself over her and began to thrust, not wild and hard like he’d done before, but slowly and gently. Roxanne followed his rhythm, or maybe he followed hers. It didn’t matter.

  She would be his again.

  He captured her lips, kissing her passionately, until they were both breathless. But there was something else he needed. Something only she could give him. He started to thrust faster, increasing his tempo to bring them both closer to their climax, before he released her lips and tilted his head to the side, offering his neck to her.

  “Sink your fangs into me, Roxanne. Drink my blood.”

  Roxanne’s body suddenly went rigid. A second later, he found himself on the floor halfway across the room.

  “How dare you?!” Fury spewed from her eyes. Her lips quivered. “You have no right to demand this from me.” She jumped up and collected her clothes, pulling them on faster than his eyes could follow. “You couldn’t just fuck me, could you?”

  Charles rose slowly. “I could never just fuck you, Roxanne. I always wanted more. I still do. And I won’t give up until you’ve forgiven me, and are ready to sink your fangs into me again when we make love.”

  “Don’t hold your breath.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Damn it!

  Roxanne cursed silently as she opened the car door and slumped onto the driver’s seat while Charles did the same on the passenger side.

  She’d nearly made the biggest mistake of her life: allowing Charles to get close again. Bad enough that she’d allowed him to touch her, that she’d enjoyed his touch, but to bite him again? Thank God she’d come to her senses at the last minute, because the intimacy of a bite during sex was more than she could handle. It would make her just as vulnerable as she’d been the night he’d left her. And it would make her heart ache just as much when he did it again. When he left her again.

  “Roxanne, please…”

  She rammed the gas pedal down.

  She’d accepted his explanation of why he’d had to leave her, but that didn’t mean she could forgive him. If he’d at least left her a message back then, she would have understood and not wallowed in self-doubt all these years, wondering why he’d left her. Why he’d deserted her the night she’d needed him most. It had shaken her trust in men to such an extent that she’d never been able to form relationships. She’d guarded her heart all these years, not wanting anybody to hurt what was left of it.

  “You should have never come back,” she spat, gripping the steering wheel tighter.

  “I couldn’t stay away any longer.”

  She shot him a sideways glance. “Oh, please don’t tell me you came back because you finally found me.”

  He shook his head, then stared out the window. “I’ve known for a while now where you were. It’s how I found out about Scanguards. I was waiting for the right time to come. It wasn’t supposed to be now. But things have started happening…” He sighed. “As fate would have it, Ilaria and I had to come to San Francisco. Ilaria’s future is here. And by the looks of it, mine as well, though it will be separate from hers.”

  She tried to ignore his last words and instead asked, “What about her future?”

  “It’s time for her to be with her own kind.”

  “I thought you were her kind.”

  “I’m her kin, yes, but I’m not like her. She needs to be with witches who’re like her, now that she’s coming into her powers.”

  Roxanne recalled how Ilaria had transformed her room with her powers. She’d seen witchcraft exercised quite often. Certainly Wesley, Scanguards’ resident witch, was never shy about showing off his skills, but Ilaria’s powers were something on a whole different level.

  “I’ve guided her this far. My duty is nearly fulfilled. Soon…” He didn’t finish his sentence.

  There was something he wasn’t telling her. “Why do you need protection for her now? She seems powerful enough to protect herself, if her little performance from earlier is anything to go by.”

  He blew out a breath through his nostrils. “Hmm. It’s just a feeling. I want to make sure that nothing bad happens so close to the finish line.”

  “And the finish line is?” Charles hadn’t given her any information that she could work with, nothing she could give to Gabriel other than the fact that Ilaria was born with the mark, whatever that meant.

  “To unite Ilaria with her kind.”

  “Yeah, you said that. How exactly is that gonna happen?”

  “I’m still working that out.”

  “This is not how Scanguards works. We need to
know what’s going on, and where we might encounter problems. Otherwise, how are we supposed to protect you?”

  “I’m not the one who needs protection. Ilaria does. That’s why I hired your team. I can take care of myself.”

  “Yeah, right!” she murmured under her breath.

  “Trust me on this. Just protect Ilaria. Don’t worry about me.”

  She scoffed.

  “Not that you would, of course,” he added. “Given the fact that you’ve tossed me across the room twice since I’ve returned. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted to seriously hurt me.”

  She snapped her head in his direction. “Why don’t you keep your smartass remarks to yourself?”

  Unexpectedly, Charles smiled. “Because it seems to be the only thing that pushes you to communicate with me. And frankly, at the moment I’d even welcome you screaming at me if it means you’d acknowledge me.”

  She grunted to herself. She hated it when people pushed her buttons. She was glad that ten minutes later they arrived at the safe house. Roxanne drove the car into the garage and killed the engine. Without a word, she got out and marched toward the door leading into the two-story house.

  The hallway led to an open-plan living room and through to the kitchen. To her right was the front door and the stairs leading up to the second floor and to her left she saw doors to a laundry room and a guest bathroom.

  Charles was just closing the door to the garage behind him when Zane came out of the living room, glaring at her. “You should have been here half an hour ago. What took you so long?”

  She glowered back at him. “None of your fucking—”

  “My fault,” Charles interrupted. “I thought I sensed somebody following us, so I asked Roxanne to take a different route.”