I went to sit beside Theo’s prone form. “Where is he now?” I said, glancing at Titus. “Waiting in the dream?”
“No. He’s sleeping deeply, a sleep he can’t wake from unless you join him in the dream.”
“Why?” I asked slowly. “Is that a side effect of being released from the love spell?”
Titus shook his head. “No. That I did to give you time.”
“Time for what?”
“Time for me,” Devlin said, encircling me in his arms. “Titus, you need to return me to Hayden before you take Theo and Sar. I need every bit of night that is left. Afterwards, I need you to get back to Canada and finish up what you were doing.”
“Very well,” Titus said, turning to Devlin. “We should go now, then.”
Devlin cupped my face in his hands. “Tell me you love me, Sar.”
The touch of his cool hands on my face startled me. I blinked, then leaned into them contentedly. “You first,” I teased.
“I love you,” he said simply, his golden eyes searching mine.
I hugged him tight. “I do love you,” I said softly. “And I thank you for this.”
“Remember your promise,” he said, his eyes tinged red. “For I will remember it.”
I pulled back from him and nodded.
Dev kissed me again with everything he had. When he felt me melt into his embrace, he pulled back and sank his fangs into the side of my neck. I let out a gasp, trying to pull back from him. There was pain now, though pleasure was still there faintly.
I forced myself to be calm, to relax as he sucked persistently. Abruptly Dev stopped, withdrawing his fangs from me, his eyes melting fire. He kissed my neck gently, then kissed my cheek. “Remember you are mine, Sar. I’ll come to you soon.”
I nodded uneasily. Devlin went to Titus, and they disappeared together.
“I’ll teleport Tasha to the werecompound for now, and make sure she stays sleeping,” Terian said, picking up her limp form. “I can contact her father in the morning by reading her memories, then we’ll get her back home.”
“Go, please,” Danial said, coming over to me. “I need a moment with Sar.”
Terian disappeared.
“Sar, what he did hurt, didn’t it?”
“Yes, a little. It’s healed, isn’t it?”
“For the most part,” Danial said, putting his lips to mine. “Hold still.”
I kissed him gently, then drew back and guided his head down on my neck. Unexpectedly, instead of healing me, he sank his own fangs in. I let out another gasp of surprise, shifting uneasily. Danial drank a few long pulls, then withdrew, healing me.
“Why did you bite, when you know it hurts?” I said warily, stepping away from him.
“If your pain is returning, this may be the last time I can casually,” Danial said, grabbing my arm. He embraced me again. “I wanted to take advantage. I’m worried that once you dream of Theo, you’ll decide to leave again.”
He’d done it because Devlin had, no matter what he said. “I promised not to,” I replied. “I didn’t want to do this.”
“You seemed besotted enough just now,” Danial said, his tone despondent.
I had been, until Devlin touched me. “Titus said there wasn’t another way.”
“Maybe not,” Danial sighed. “In any case, it’s done. Please, whatever happens, do not cease your weekly visits to me. I don’t want to lose you again, even if the price is separate beds. Let us remain Oathed, even if it’s only in name.”
I stared at him. “I took a vow. I’m not breaking it.”
Danial looked back, unflinching. “Even if Theo asks you to?”
I clung to him, wanting to assuage his despair. “I don’t want that, either. I was and am happy being Oathed. What I really want is to stay here and not leave,” I admitted, looking over at Theo’s sleeping form. “This was starting to work with you, me, and Dev.”
“It still can,” Danial said stubbornly. “If everyone is respectful of everyone else. When you wake, talk it over with Theo, and try to convince him of that.” He kissed my forehead. “For both our sakes.”
“I will,” I said, hugging him. “But I’m afraid. You’re right about me being affected. I felt like a different person, those few moments in the great room.”
“Remember who you are, Oathed One, and be strong: the fearless woman I fell in love with. Remember that I love you—”
Titus and Terian reappeared. “It’s time, Sar,” Titus rumbled.
I hugged Danial again. “Can you please explain what’s happened with Theo to Elle? She’ll accept it easiest coming from you.”
Danial nodded. “Of course. Go, Love. Call me when you can.”
Titus picked up Theo’s prone form, and Terian grabbed my hand. In an instant, we were inside my house. Ghost and Darkness went crazy yelping, snapping and snarling at Titus. I grabbed both of them, and hauled them by their collars out into the backyard.
“Where do you want him?” Titus said from the door.
I came back inside, as the dogs began to howl. “In the bedroom, quickly.”
Terian squeezed my hand, then disappeared. Leaving the dogs outside, I followed after Titus into the bedroom.
Leaving Theo sprawled on the bed, Titus turned to me. “Good Luck.”
“Will he be safe, when we wake up tomorrow? Could this happen again to him or to me, that a love spell might ensnare us?”
“No, not to either of you,” Titus said seriously. “What I told everyone was true. You are going to be bound to each other. Whatever you feel for Danial or Devlin is going to be weakened and not by a little.”
“Then why are you doing this?” I asked him. “This goes beyond you freeing him from a love spell, Titus. As far as I know, you and Theo aren’t friends and from his tone, you two don’t get along at all. You barely know me. Isn’t Devlin your master? Shouldn’t you be looking out for his interests?”
“I owe you for my son,” he rumbled, his red eyes on mine. “You helped him, were a friend to him when no one else was. You helped him become what he is.” He hugged me again, his heat almost suffocating. “You have his blood in you, Sarelle. My blood. We are kin now, according to demon custom. I am looking out for your interests, but I suggest you keep that to yourself.”
Titus let me go. I stepped back, sweating. “Go,” he rumbled gently. “Theo is waiting for you.” Then he was gone, the blackness ebbing as if it had never been.
I took a deep breath, brought the dogs in, and then walked out onto the deck with them. It was dawn now, the edge of the sun peeking out from the horizon.
I watched the sunrise, my belly rumbling. When had I eaten last? Davy’s? No, that couldn’t be right. What day was it? Monday? No, it was Tuesday now.
My last meal had been the Chinese food yesterday at lunch. That had been less than twenty-four hours ago. God, it felt like weeks...
Ghost barked insistently, pawing at me.
“Yes,” I said fondly. “Let’s go have breakfast. Then we’ll decide what to do.”
* * * *
After breakfast, and building up the fire, I took another shower. I had blood, demon residue and dirt on me, and getting in a clean bed like that wasn’t good. Afterwards, I dried off, conditioned my hair, and slipped into my blue velvet robe. Fastening my hair up with a clip, I went into the bedroom. Theo lay there, still dead to the world.
I didn’t want to do this. The danger sense I’d always had was telling me not to, that dreaming again with him was just going to bring me more grief. There had to be another choice besides leaving Theo sleeping forever while I wiled away the hours with Devlin and Danial, or forgetting everything I’d promised them in favor of my “true love.” I had to find a way to dream with Theo and remember who I was, no matter how the spell affected me. I pondered the problem for a while, then reluctantly took the only precaution I could.
Taking some paper and a pen, I wrote out five sheets of paper, detailing the day’s events, my fears of forgetting my Oath,
my blissful (and fearful) memories of Devlin this past weekend, and Danial’s devotion and despair at possibly losing me again. I tucked them into my magical box with Devlin’s poetry, and replaced it in my drawer, putting Danial’s choker inside, also. It quickly winked out of sight.
Resigned, I went into the bedroom, and lay down near Theo. Sleep didn’t come even though I was exhausted. Near ten, I finally took a sleeping pill, praying it would ward off any dreams.
Chapter Seven
I expected the same scene from my previous dream of our encounter on New Year’s Eve long ago. Instead, I dreamed again of Theo being hit by a car, of screaming as he died in my arms. But this time I awoke within the dream, Theo holding me. Our eyes met, and then he was kissing me, tears running freely from his eyes. “I’m here,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’m here, Sar. I’m so sorry for everything—”
I cried out wordlessly, and pulled him down on top of me. He was kissing me, we were both crying, and I was trying to get his clothes off. He was trying to help me, but we were both too upset, and it took much longer than it should’ve. Finally, he was naked, his body against mine, and I cried out in pleasure just feeling him touch me.
“Sar,” he said raggedly, yearning. “Sar, please, Sar, please let me—”
I spread my legs and he thrust inside eagerly, both of us letting out a cry. There was nothing but him, being with him in this moment, a moment I’d thought would never come again. We came together, screaming out utter release of finally being together once more.
He pulled back from me. “Forgive me, please,” he asked, tears in his eyes. “The things I said to you, the things I did, the way I acted—”
“I forgive you it all,” I said, kissing his cheeks, his eyes. “You were under Tasha’s spell. You had no choice—”
“I couldn’t stop myself,” he said bitterly. “I never loved her, never, Sar. After we slept together that first night, she told me she loved me. Told me I was her first, though by then I’d guessed that. I told her I was sorry, that I hadn’t meant to hurt her, but I couldn’t stay with her, that I had to get back to Elle and you. She cried for a long time, and I felt terrible, even as I made preparations to leave the next evening.”
“Tasha came to me that afternoon, told me she wanted one last time before I left. I should’ve known something was off. Women never switch from tears to horniness that fast—”
“Hey,” I said, irritated. “Sometimes a woman has to take what she can get when she can get it.”
My words didn’t stop the onslaught of his confession. “That afternoon we drank a bottle of wine together. By the next morning, I was head over heels for her. God, I was so fucking stupid—!”
“What about Aspen?”
“When she showed up that night at my door, I thought she was Tasha. I couldn’t stay away from her, not that I tried.” He took my hand. “You were right about what you said all those times: I used her for sex. I’m ashamed of how I treated her, and you.”
“There wasn’t anything you could’ve done,” I said, hugging him. “But I appreciate the apology.”
“Did you really Oath to Devlin?” Theo asked. “You’re still wearing his choker. It was a farce somehow, wasn’t it?”
“No,” I said regretfully. “It wasn’t. Devlin included you, Theo.”
“Not what I expected,” Theo said after a moment. “He’s never liked me.”
“He still doesn’t. He just didn’t want the Oath broken under any circumstances. He still wants his child, no matter what.”
Theo gaped at me, floored. “Are you pregnant?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shrugging. “I could be. He’s on the potion.”
“I thought he felt warm when he was holding me,” Theo sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I’d hoped I’d imagined it.” He looked over at me. “How did you and he get together, anyway? I thought you were scared of him. Was it when you were in the hotel together, after he saved you from Al?”
I nodded. “He was the man I described to Carol. He saved me for himself, Theo. I was afraid to tell you, and have you kill him.”
He said nothing for some moments. “Tell me everything, Sar,” he said finally. “Start from when you were abducted. Don’t leave anything out.”
I told him everything, starting with what had really happened that day in the hotel to when Devlin had left me last night, after making me repeat my promise. The longer I went on, the angrier Theo became. When I finished, Theo pulled me into his arms, and hugged me.
“I’m going to kill that fucking bastard if it’s the last thing I do.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Theo.”
“It wasn’t your fault, none of it,” Theo growled softly, his arms tight around me. “Just because you find someone sexy and fantasize doesn’t make it okay for them to take away your choices. He came to you under the guise of a friend, then betrayed you. Then he used the Vampire Gathering to put him in a position to get what he’s wanted all along.”
I eased out of his arms, irked. “Without his help a few days ago, I wouldn’t be with you now. I’d be somewhere with Perseus or perhaps Samuel, waiting to be their... um, brood mare. And you’d be dead. That could still happen, if Dev broke our Oathing.”
Theo swore and closed his eyes. “There has to be a way out. We just have to find it.”
“There isn’t.”
“Tell me something,” he said hoarsely. “Did you go to him again, after that day in the hotel? Did you continue seeing him during the Fall?”
“He was in Rio—”
“And Titus can teleport him anywhere in a second. Answer me.”
“No,” I admitted. “I told him that I loved you, that he should forget me.”
“But he didn’t give up,” Theo said hatefully. “The bastard.”
“He’ll never give up,” I said tiredly. “I’m his.”
“You aren’t, you’re mine.”
“I’ve got his marks on my throat, his choker on my neck, and his symbol under my skin—”
“Where?” Theo roared, throwing back the covers.
I cringed back, tears escaping my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “But I didn’t see any tattoos. Is it on your back?”
“No.” I rolled over, and showed him the bear on my hip.
He looked at it, then shut his eyes as if in pain.
I sat up and took his hand. “I’m sorry.”
Theo hugged me. “I’m not angry at you, I’m pissed at him. You just did what you had to, Sar. God, I am going to beat Devlin into a pulp at the first opportunity.”
“You’ll do nothing of the kind,” I said sharply. “He’s looking for an excuse to kill you. He wanted to kill you last night. So does Lash.”
“What do you expect me to do?” Theo said, exasperated. “I’m a man. I’m angry, and I’ve got to hit something. I’d prefer it was Devlin.”
I didn’t reply, my thoughts centered on my emotions. I’d expected to dream with Theo, and wake up entranced with love. Instead, I felt like my normal self, my desire for Devlin emerging the instant I heard his name spoken. How could that be?
“They can take your blood, and give you theirs, when you need it,” Theo said grudgingly. “But that’s all of you I’m sharing with them, Sar.”
Try to be calm and rational. “I made a vow, Theo. I have to honor it.”
“Your vow was to me,” Theo said flatly. “You’re my wife.”
“We’re separated,” I shot back. “I’m not your wife anymore. What I am is Devlin’s and Danial’s Oathed One. You can either be a part of that, or not.”
Theo didn’t reply.
“I’m sorry to be so harsh,” I said quietly. “But those are the facts. I can’t promise to be your one and only, Theo. You were always honest with me. I’m being honest with you.”
“I’ll work something out with Devlin,” Theo said finally. “There has to be something else he wants more than you. He’s a playboy, Sar, women are objec
ts to him. Now that he’s bedded you a few times already, he’ll lose interest, if I can make the deal sweet enough—”
“He won’t,” I interrupted. “He wants—”
“Danial, I can talk to,” Theo continued, talking over me. “He’ll understand about the love spell’s effects. And as for being separated, we’ll call the lawyers and cancel it.” He began kissing me.
“He won’t, either—”
Theo silenced me with a kiss. “Shh,” he said tenderly. “I have something to tell you that’s way overdue.” He paused, then said:
“The strength of the oak makes the tempest a mock,
The anchor holds firm in the hurricane’s shock,
Our love is the anchor, the oak, and the rock.
I love you.”
I stared at him, touched but also unnerved. His poem was so out of character for him that it brought thoughts of Devlin. “What?”
“It’s from a poem, called Husband and Wife,” Theo said a little shyly. “I’d planned to say that when I got down on my knees to propose, years ago. With me being taken and all that happened, I never said it.” He clasped my hand in his and kissed it. “It means more saying it to you now after all we’ve gone through.”
I fell apart and began weeping. “I love you so much—”
“Then it’s probably a good idea if we stay married,” he said, smiling down at me. “Now come here. We’ve wasted enough of this dream talking.”
I kissed him hard, reaching down to grasp his stiff penis in my hand. He arched his back, groaning as he thrust up, then quickly sat my hips on his, pushing up into me.
Theo rocked me on him, groaning rhythmically, his hands sliding up my skin. Suddenly, he pulled me down on him, kissing my breasts, licking my taut nipples before taking them in his mouth to suckle eagerly. I moaned louder and louder, clasping his head in my hands, my climax building steadily.
Theo pushed back slightly without missing a beat. “Open your eyes,” he grunted. “Look at me, Wife. Look down at me.”
The need built, then burst. With a shout, my eyes opened, taking in Theo, his eyes midnight blue with desire. He roared, our bodies meshing in slippery sweat as we came together.
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