by Tamsin Baker
Rafe is standing by the kitchen, hands clenched into tight fists, brows drawn down into a frown.
“Honey, can you take me to bed? I missed you.” Chrissy pouts, tugging at Roman to get him into their bedroom.
Roman resists for a moment, then looks between me and Rafe and nods. He picks Chrissy up, and she squeals with delight as they walk into his room and shut the door.
I turn my gaze towards Rafe, who is side on, the unharmed side of his face available for my viewing.
Perversely, that stirs anger in my gut, and I speak without thinking.
“You know I don’t care about your face? I think you’re pretty bloody attractive.”
He turns slowly towards me, like a slow-motion accident happening in front of me. I am unable to look away from it as it happens.
“Pardon me?”
“You’re always turning away, not wanting me to look at you. Asking me to turn the lights off. I like looking at you. You’re very handsome. And even if you weren’t, it’s what’s inside that counts.”
He laughs harshly, his sharp teeth glinting in the dimmed light. Whoa. Don’t remember seeing those before. Is there a reason they’re so sharp?
“What’s inside is a broken, angry monster… Beautiful. You’ll never understand that.”
Why, because I’m so shallow? Ha! Got the wrong girl there.
“I don’t have to understand what you’ve been through Rafe, I need to empathize, care. And if you would talk to me for more than a few minutes before running off, maybe I could understand!”
Chapter Four
Rafael
“You know nothing about me, Bella,” I say, so low, I can barely hear my own words.
“That’s because you won’t talk to me,” she practically shouts.
Her feelings are like a big, brilliant cloud, all-consuming and confusing to my shut down nerves. I don’t want to do this.
“This is ridiculous! Stop. I’m going out.”
I don’t want to deal with her, or whatever this is, anymore. I stalk to the balcony entrance and yank open the glass door.
“I know I’m your Beloved.”
Oh damn.
That stops me in my tracks. She couldn’t have said anything worse if she’d tried.
I force myself to turn around, anger seething in my teeth. I clench my jaw, hard.
“Who told you?”
“Chrissy. Of course. Who else?”
Who else was right. Next time I see my little sister-in-law, I am going to wring her tiny neck.
“Then you know about the curse that comes with such a bonding. You’ll live forever, just like me. Destined to live a half-life with a man who is a monster by day, and a bitter prick at night. If I was you, I would run as far and as fast as I could.”
The pain in my chest is burning through my ribs, and I’m struggling to breathe now.
I stay focused on Bella. I can’t let her see me like this. I’m saving her. She’ll see it eventually. This life isn’t for anyone with any sort of heart, and mine shriveled up and died a month ago.
“Rafe…” She steps forward, her hand extended, and the pain in my heart increases ten-fold.
I hit the deck, my knees collapsing beneath me. My hands go to the carpet, my breathing as ragged as any anxiety attack I’ve ever had.
“Roman! Help!” Bella calls out, rushing over to me and running her hands over my back.
I try to push her away, but my strength is zero. I don’t want their help.
I can’t breathe. I don’t want anyone to see me like this.
“What the hell happened?” Roman comes running over, completely naked.
Yeah, like I wanted Bella to see him like that.
“Fuck off!” I grunt at him, trying to swing an arm out at him, but more pain collapses any chance of that.
“I don’t know. One minute he was telling me he didn’t want me … pretty much. Then the next minute he was like this.”
Roman moves away, and I manage to lift my head enough so that I can glance up. Chrissy has brought him a bathrobe and I’m relieved, though sweat gathers on my forehead like I’ve run the world ten times over.
“Same thing happened to me when I tried to leave Roman,” Chrissy is saying, though her voice is strained.
“Tell him you’re not leaving him no matter what, and drag him to bed, Bella. Only way to fix it.”
No! I don’t want this! I don’t want her. I can’t do it…
“Rafe.” Bella’s beautiful voice slides into my ear as she cups my face with her hands and pulls my face up to look at her.
“I want to be here, with you. Please don’t give up on me, already.”
Cold tears slide down my face, and some of the tension over my spine eases. I take a solid breath, and the pain in my shoulders releases.
I lift my gaze, and our eyes connect.
Heated love floods my body, and I lose all strength, dropping to the floor.
“Come on, Rafe.”
I’m pulled to my feet by Roman, who stares me straight in the eye.
“You know you can die if you refuse this bond. And she will, too. So, pull yourself together. For both of your sakes.”
He lets go of me, and I lock my knees so they don’t collapse again. The room is spinning, and I gulp in massive doses of air.
Bella grabs my arm and pulls me towards my bedroom.
“What. Are you. Doing?” I manage to ask her, though it’s pretty obvious what she wants to do.
“What Chrissy told me to,” she says gently, smiling at Nate and Gabe as they come out of their bedrooms dressed like peacocks.
I glare at them as we pass, but they continue to smirk. Then we are inside my room, and she shuts the door, effectively shutting the whole world out.
More of the tension eases, and I’ve barely got a headache now.
“Come on. Lie down.”
I stagger to the bed and swivel so that I land on my ass, watching as she begins to undress.
First the jeans come off, then her singlet. Clad in only a lacy white bra and bright pink knickers, she stands in front of me.
As beautiful as dusk, as heartbreaking as dawn.
“I had an incredible dream when I was sleeping in your bed today.”
Her tone makes my cock begin to tingle, hardening inside my pants.
I swallow down the lump that rises, blood pumping faster around my body. I haven’t wanted anyone since the accident. I didn’t realize how much my body craved this feeling.
“What sort of dream?” I ask, though her sultry face and heated gaze tell me a lot.
“You were making love to me. Here.”
My gut tightens as my balls begin to ache.
She is so beautiful. Her long dark hair cascading around her shoulders. Her full lips pouting, ready for my touch.
“And you liked it?” I ask, part of me so terrified of what this next step will mean for me.
But at the same time knowing, I would be dead soon if I didn’t find one thing to live for.
“Yes,” she whispers, stepping so close that she is within touching distance.
I spread my legs and reach for her, pulling her between my open thighs, and I lift my chin to stare up into her face.
She gazes down, her hands coming up to cup my jaw. I flinch from the contact with my scars, but she bends her head, pressing her lips to the curve of my cheek, where the damage is most prevalent.
I still, frozen in the spot as her kindness leaks all over me.
She kisses my scars over and over again, from my jawline to my forehead and back again.
A deep growl rises in my throat as her lips touch the corner of my mouth.
I grab her ass, lift her up, and encourage her to wrap her legs around me on the bed.
She does as I want, and I stare into her eyes as I press my lips to hers for the first time.
Light sparkles inside my chest, crackling like fireworks on the Fourth of July. I slide my tongue into her mouth, tasting the sweet
ness of her lips, the honeyed warmth of her body.
She moans, deep in her throat, and my body bursts into flames. I stand up with her, flip her around and set her down on the bed.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, her face showing flashes of hurt, as though I have rejected her.
I grin. “I need to get naked. I want to feel your perfect body against mine.”
Her whole face lights up as she arches her back, undoes her bra and throws it to the floor.
Her abundant breasts spill out, gloriously tipped with pink nipples.
“Oh, Beautiful, I am unworthy of you.”
She giggles, cupping her breasts with her hands. “Not according to Fate, and I’ve been told I’m meant to trust them.”
That sobers me for a moment, and I nod. The doubts come flooding in, but I mentally put up a hand and thrust them away. Now is not the time for insecurities.
My Beloved is here. And she wants me.
I set to work on my own clothes, tearing at the barriers until they all fall away.
I dive back on top of her, a loud gasp leaving my mouth as I make first contact. I love the warm feel of her body against mine, the soft press of her breasts against my chest, her lips stealing my breath.
She wraps her legs around me and clings to my shoulders with her fingers. She moans and arches, a writhing mass of femininity.
I’d never known a woman could be so beautiful.
I pull away and move down the bed, grabbing hold of her knickers and drawing them down her smooth legs.
She pants softly as I open her thighs and settle between them, staring down at the bounty before me.
She tries to close her legs on me, and I look up with a question on my lips.
“What’s wrong?”
She flaps her hands at me as her cheeks grow crimson with blood. “Oh, ah. No one’s ever done that to me. You really don’t have to.”
Even more reason to do it.
“You’re mine. Aren’t you?” The question alone causes a panic in my heart. What would happen to her if I died tomorrow?
Can I handle the responsibility of a Beloved when my future is so uncertain?
She bites her swollen bottom lip as though she, too, is fearful.
“Yes, Rafael.”
I could practically feel how much effort it took for her to say those words. As though she has been disappointed and hurt in the past.
I don’t know what sort of declarations I can make at this moment, so I don’t say anything else. But we have this night, and I am determined to make sure that we both never forget it.
I drop my head and run my tongue around the pink little bud at the top of her hidden treasure.
She moans sweetly, and I circle it again, taking the nub between my lips and suckling lightly.
“Oh, my God!” She squeals, grabbing for my head.
Pleasure and pride ripple along my chest, and I move lower to taste her essence, thrusting my tongue inside her in a prelude of what I would soon be doing with my cock.
She bucks against my mouth, and I hold her hips tightly, loving the sweetness on my tongue, her pink, juicy flesh there for my feasting.
I kiss and lick her, suckle and nibble until she is crying out to me.
“Please, Rafe. Come up to me. Please.”
I love the sound of that. Her tones are so sexy, her need so honest and primitive.
I crawl up her body, kissing her belly, suckling on one perfect, plump nipple and then the other.
She is gorgeous, grabbing for my shoulders, my hair, wiggling and groaning in the hottest of ways.
I’m ready for her, too ready. And as I lay my hot, hard cock against her belly, she bucks up, wrapping her legs around my waist and tilting up her pelvis in invitation.
“You want my cock inside you?” I ask, thrusting my hips against her.
“Hm. Hm.” She moans, turning her head to the side, her eyes shut.
“I want you to say it, beautiful.”
She opens her eyes and looks up at me, the wildness in them so wondrous I’m determined to make sure she finds her true bliss tonight.
“I want … your cock inside me. Please.”
I slide down, line my stiff cock up with her slick, pink entrance, and thrust inside her.
She screams out, and I cover her mouth with mine, absorbing her moans and mine that rise.
Fuck, she’s perfect!
Her pussy is so sweet, so tight. It wraps around my cock like the sheath to my sword, a perfect fit.
I draw back and thrust forward again, sparkles of heat going off between us.
She breaks away from my lips and sinks her teeth into my shoulder.
I grip the wooden headboard with one hand and slide into her again, riding her slowly at first, then getting faster and harder as her moans become louder and louder.
She is gasping, panting, sultry music to my ears. But I need to hear it. The keening cry that will tell me she is almost there.
Because I am.
My balls are tight under me, and heat tingles in my lower spine, heralding the end to this incredible journey.
I clench down on my control and roll my hips to stimulate her clit. I ride harder until she goes taut like a bow, her cry catching in a gasp just as she begins to come.
“Rafael!” She cries out as she shudders and shakes, her pussy clenching tight to me and milking my shaft.
I give in to her plea, letting my body go. I squirt my heat deep inside her in rolling waves, which seems to trigger another round of orgasms within her.
She screams in my ear and grips me hard, the atmosphere around us turning to a heated fog of delight.
We strain together, milking the very last drop of energy from each other’s bodies, then collapse together into the mattress.
“Oh fuck.” She moans beneath me, and I roll away, or try to.
She clings tight to me and rolls with me so that we are lying on our sides facing one another.
My scars are pressed into the mattress, so I am grateful for the cover at this moment of vulnerability.
“Do you really want me to leave, Rafe?”
I sighed. “Of course I don’t. But … I’m a mess, Bella. You don’t want me. My future is totally uncertain, and the last thing you need in your life is the sort of stress that I would bring.”
She smiles a beautiful, genuine smile, happiness radiating from her face in that special way I’ve only ever seen on Chrissy.
“I’m not exactly little Miss Perfect either. I worked hard to become this super executive, then failed in the corporate world. I’ve been hiding in the library, hoping no one would see me.”
I reach up and stroke a hand down her warm cheek.
“You didn’t fail. You walked away from a toxic world where the only way you get ahead is by stabbing the person in front of you in the back.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “How do you know that?”
I shrug. “I’m one hundred and twenty-five years old. I know people. And you, my dear, are a good person.”
“Well, obviously.” She jokes, “I was made for you, wasn’t I?”
I sober instantly. “I’m serious about being shit scared about the future, Bella. I don’t know what I can offer you.”
She presses both hands to my chest, one over my heart.
“I don’t care at the moment. Just please don’t push me away. I’m not sure I could bear it. Despite everything I know about myself. I’m … so different than I thought. I thought I was happy being alone, that love and happily-ever-afters were for books, but from the moment I met you—I just can’t imagine my life without you now.” She shakes her head. “God, I sound weak.”
“That’s the Beloved curse. I am so sorry you don’t get to choose your life now. I am so very sorry.”
I go to pull away, sadness dragging at me. But she grabs tighter.
“What if it isn’t a curse? What if it’s a gift of foresight? Because without it, you know you could walk away and so would I. We’d b
oth move back into our lonely corners and hide from the world. But this … feeling makes sure we don’t. We won’t miss out on this gift because it won’t let us.”
Optimism is something that has been missing from my world for a long time. Not just in the past month. And faced with it now, it looks like a creature I have never before beheld. “You really think that is possible?”
“Well, why not? If men can turn into Gargoyle statues, and fated lovers really exist, why can’t we be together?”
I have to laugh at that one. For a human, our existence really is magical.
“All right. But I can’t promise anything. Do you want to go out into the lounge room and talk to any of the others?”
She covers her mouth with a hand and yawns loudly.
“Not at all. I want to snuggle and sleep. Is that okay?”
I nod, my heart in my throat. Cuddle her while she sleeps? That would be a first.
“Sure. Let me just clean up.”
I disengage our bodies, a strange moan of pain coming from her as I move away. I move to the bathroom, have a quick shower and take a moment to calm myself down.
If Roman is okay with having Chrissy in our lives despite the imminent danger, why not have Bella, too? The women can keep each other company, and I can invest more in our daylight safety, too. I’ve left it all to Roman, but he shouldn’t have to shoulder the entire burden of our safety.
“I think I need to look into more safety precautions at the library,” I say as I walk back into the bedroom and slip under the covers with Bella once again.
“Whatever you need to do to feel secure is fine by me,” she replies, cuddling into me so that her arms are around my body and her head is on my chest.
I stroke her hair and listen to her breathing fall into a steady, relaxed rhythm. And for the first time in my existence, I spend the night with a woman on my heart, planning for the future.
Chapter Five
Isabella
I wake up, and he’s gone. Sunlight streams in the windows, and a new day has begun.
Damn it.
I throw back the covers and grab one of Rafe’s shirts from the cupboard. I open the door to the bedroom and creep out into the living room.
The whole apartment is quiet, and the clock tells me it isn’t long past seven AM.