Embrace the Power: A Paranormal Romance (The Blood Rose Series Book 9) (16 page)

Aralynn, hey. You still there?

I am. Sorry. Vojalie was here and I had to finish our conversation. She just left.

Understood. But I’ve had an idea. We’ve got a couple of hours before dawn and I don’t know about you, but I’m starved. A friend of mine owns a wonderful restaurant in Sandismare and she’s holding a booth for us. That is, if you’d like to join me for a late supper.

Rosamunde pressed both hands to her cheeks. They were burning with so much pleasure tears started to her eyes.
I’d love to.
She didn’t dare say anything else for fear she would betray just how much a simple dinner invitation meant to her. It was thoughtful and even romantic and just what she needed given Vojalie’s horrendous vision.

But there’s more,
Stone pathed
. Will you join me at my lake house afterward? I’d like to be with you for the day. And yes, that means I’m asking if I can take you to bed.

Rosamunde gasped. The invitation was bold, to the point, and very much Stone.

She put her hand to her chest again. Being with him would at least take care of her too-much-blood problem.

For a moment, she forgot all about Vojalie as well as Margetta’s intention to subjugate the Nine Realms to her bidding. She set aside her need to tell him the truth about her identity and her fear that one day he would discover that she’d had foreknowledge about the deaths of his parents.

Instead, she chose for herself. No matter what happened in the future, she would have this date with Stone and a day spent in bed with him. Maybe somewhere in all of the intimacy, she’d be able to tell him the truth about herself in a way he could accept.

I’m with you, Stone. All the way.

Good.
He gave her the address and they settled on forty-five minutes, which provided enough time for a shower.

When he disconnected his telepathy, she headed for the bathroom. At some point during the next few hours she would have to reveal the truth to Stone about who she really was even though she felt sure Stone would never forgive her for the deception.

Despite it all, she was going to have dinner with him and spend the day at his private lake house.

The chips could just fall wherever the hell they wanted to.

~ ~ ~

Stone stood beside the booth, waiting. He’d made arrangements with the club’s owner, Marny, a fae woman whose troll husband kept her very pregnant. They had a brood like none he’d ever seen, but he wasn’t sure he knew of a happier couple.

Marny had set him up in a private corner, slightly apart from the rest of the club so that he’d be able to talk with Aralynn while enjoying the live jazz music at a quiet distance.

Marny returned with a candle in a crystal bowl. “She still coming?”

“I hope so. We’ve only got an hour before dawn and it’s been a long night.”

Marny put her hand to the small of her back. “I hear that.” Her belly looked exactly like she’d taped a basketball to her stomach. “I know I look ridiculous.”

“Have you picked out a name yet?”

She grinned. “If it’s a boy, we’re thinking ‘Stone’.”

“You’re not serious?”

“I am. Can’t quite persuade Bertie. He thinks I’ve got a crush on you.”

At that, Stone glanced at the fae woman. Did she?

She fluttered her eyelashes up at him and rocked her head back and forth a few times, playing it up absurdly.

He rolled his eyes.

“Don’t mean anything against you, Mastyr, but Bertie’s got a kind of charisma that will have me dancing around his feet forever.” Her face took on a faraway expression that confirmed what she was saying. When she came back to herself, she said, “All right. I’ll keep an eye on you myself. Hope your girl makes it.”

He’d already had Marny pour two dark beers into tall glasses. Aralynn preferred beer to wine and he wanted her to know that he was thinking of her. Marny, aware he was on a romantic hunt, had also provided him with a red rose in a small vase.

He had his hand on the back of the booth, gripping it tighter than he should. He even released a series of deep breaths to try to calm himself the hell down.

He shouldn’t be this jumpy, but after he’d arrived at his private lake house, a place he wanted to share with Aralynn, he remembered her restraint. He’d jumped the gun, as he so often did, leaping in with his proverbial impulsive feet and hadn’t considered what this must be like from her point-of-view.

He was a strong man and he’d been told he had a booming voice. When he’d been with Aralynn earlier and had
suggested
they bond, he now realized it had probably sounded more like a command than anything else.

For himself, he had no doubts that completing the blood rose bond was the route to take. But how to persuade a reluctant wolf?

Movement near the entrance shifted his gaze to the new arrivals. He was absurdly disappointed that a fae couple walked in, until he caught sight of dark red hair and creamy white skin just beyond them.

Aralynn.

He was heading in her direction before he’d ordered his feet to move.

As he drew close, her eyes widened. She looked him up and down. “You’re wearing a suit. Is that silk?”

She’d asked a question, but he hadn’t heard her. “You look beautiful.” Understatement. She’d somehow tamed her hair into a braid she’d twisted and pinned to the back of her head, showing off her strong cheekbones. She’d added some make-up as well that enhanced her brown eyes.

He leaned close and could smell the rich scent of her blood. He kissed her cheek.
Aralynn,
slipped from his mind to hers.

She caught his arm. “We have to talk.”

“We will. Whatever you want.” He meant it, too.

But right now all he could think about was how beautiful her throat was. She wore a black dress with a neckline that plunged to a deep ‘
V
’ and really showed off her breasts. As he guided her to their booth, his gaze kept returning to the sight of her cleavage. His tongue vibrated with need. What they’d done earlier in Joseph’s lair had been wild, incredible and very fast. This time, he wanted to slow things down.

She scooted into the booth and he joined her on the opposite side. “You ordered a beer for me. Thank you.” Her wolf voice called to him. “But I think maybe you’d better kiss me before you explode.”

His arm was already settled along the back of the booth, close to her shoulders. “Does it show?”

“Not ‘show’. But your mating energy is pounding against mine so hard, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep my hands off you.”

His gaze fell to half-mast. He leaned in and as she turned her head in his direction, he caught her lips with his own. He hadn’t even noticed his mating drive, but she was right. He was already begging admittance.

He deepened the kiss and when she parted her lips he moved inside, plumbing the depths of her mouth with his tongue. She moaned softly and pressed herself against him.

He only stopped when he heard Marny clear her throat. He drew back. “Sorry to disturb, but here are the grilled artichokes you ordered.” Though she spoke respectfully, her eyes were dancing.

He picked up his beer and let a few gulps slide down his throat. He needed to calm down, but he wasn’t sure how.

Aralynn sipped her beer as well, her complexion high. “I’m so embarrassed,” she whispered, once Marny left. But she was laughing.

“Why embarrassed? Don’t worry about Marny. She’s discreet.”

“That’s not it.” She met his gaze. “Because kissing you isn’t exactly a simple business.” She switched to telepathy.
The whole time you were working your tongue in my mouth, I was thinking about your cock and having you inside me again.

He sat back in his seat and gasped for air. Her words had stiffened him so fast, he was bent sideways at an uncomfortable angle. He had to move to adjust himself.

“This artichoke smells wonderful.” She smiled at him as she drew the small white platter closer and began serving up portions.

He took a moment to look away from her and to focus on anything but his desire for her, like the new accounting staff he’d hired to maintain the business end of the Com Center. One of the recent invoices was at least five pages long. He’d been right to hire some accountants.

Okay.

Better.

For the next few minutes, he focused on his beer and the artichokes. He let her know he’d ordered filets, rare. Her eyes lit up. “I’m always surprised how hungry I am after a night of battling. Steak sounds perfect.”

Pleasure filled his chest at knowing that he was taking care of something as basic as what she needed to eat. He was providing for his woman and he loved it. He hadn’t expected to feel this way ever, but in the time they’d been together, and maybe especially since he’d made love to her on the marble slab, he’d come to really care about her.

When she picked up her beer, she put a hand to her chest and rubbed. “I keep forgetting that I’m a blood rose now and you’re a mastyr vampire. I’m feeling very full here, having created a fresh supply for you.”

He pressed his hand over hers. “What does it feel like?”

“A heaviness, as though my heart is pumping harder than normal.”

“Are you in pain?”

Her brows rose. “No, not at all. It’s not a discomfort. In fact it’s pleasurable, even sensual.”

Sometimes Aralynn surprised him as she did right now. She spoke straight and true. Not unlike Queen Rosamunde. Odd that he would think of the queen right now. But if he’d understood Aralynn, the queen had trained her from the time she was a child so of course there would be similarities.

She bit the end of the artichoke leaf. He followed suit. Food was a good thing for warrior-types who battled all night.

The steaks arrived soon after and he ordered a couple more beers, this time with a shot of whisky.

She grinned and tipped the shot glass back eagerly. She came up sputtering. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Really?”

“The, er, Castle Guard post is a pretty tight leash. You have no idea.”

“Drink your beer, then. Time to let go.”

“I think you may be right.”

~ ~ ~

Rosamunde leaned back in the booth and closed her eyes. The steaks had been heaven, very rare which her wolf loved. And the whisky had set her mind to spinning slowly. She was behaving badly and she knew it. She’d had two beers and a shot of whisky and she wanted more.

She didn’t want to think about
that other thing
. She wanted to forget that she was the Queen of Ferrenden Peace and for just this moment in time pretend she was a simple realm-woman, a shifter wolf on a date with a handsome man for whom she felt a mountain of admiration and yes, affection. Hell, maybe she even loved the vampire.

“You okay?”

“Unh-huh. Sort of. Really good and yet, Stone there’s something I’ve got to tell you. It’s important.”

He drew close and cupped her face, then kissed her.
You sure it can’t wait?

No, it can’t.

He drew back. “All right. Let’s have it.”

But Marny returned at exactly that moment with two snifters of brandy. “I saved this for you guys. It’s from my best stock.”

Stone took one of the goblets and dipped his nose close. “Nice.”

“From France,” she added. “Extra-aged.” She then got a very serious look on her face. “And it’s on the house, the whole dinner. My treat, for everything you do for our world.”

Rosamunde watched tears fill the woman’s eyes. Stone grabbed Marny’s hand and squeezed. “I say this with my whole heart: It’s my pleasure. What I do, how I serve Tannisford, it’s my pleasure.”

“You’re a good man, Stone.”

She pulled her hand away and drew upright. She wiped her tears then patted her belly. “Sorry, I’ve been very emotional lately.”

When she moved away, Stone handed Rosamunde the snifter then picked the other one up for himself. “To Tannisford.” He held his goblet close to hers.

“To the Nine Realms.”

When he nodded, she tapped the glass gently against his. She took a sip and saw that Stone’s eyes were wet as he tilted his head back and took a drink.

Rosamunde didn’t really taste the brandy even though she suspected the bottle cost a small fortune. Instead, all she could do was look at Stone and marvel at the man he was, at his goodness and the way he viewed centuries of sacrifice as
his pleasure.

She made a decision then and there that she was done talking. She’d tried several times to bring up the difficult issue, and she would have seen it through if she hadn’t witnessed the tender, powerful exchange between the restaurant owner and Stone.

She knew she was being selfish, but she wanted this time with him, to open her vein for him, to make love with him and to share his bed through the day. She knew something else as well, he’d have a hard time forgiving her once he learned the truth. But she couldn’t help that and right now, after her own thousand years of sacrifice, she would have this one moment with the man she loved.

Yes. That was it. The man she loved.

She loved Stone.

She had since he’d first come to the castle to meet her as the queen.

“Stone?”

“Yes?” He settled his snifter on the table. “Right. You had something you wanted to discuss.”

“I’ve kind of let that go for now. I have something else on my mind. You have a home here in the city, don’t you?”

“I do.” His lips curved. “You’d rather go there than my lake house?”

“I would. It’s closer, right?”

His lips curved. “Hell, yeah, it is.”

“Then I want you to take me there,” she paused for effect. “Then I want you to take me to bed.”

As he rose to his feet, he leaned close to her and growled softly at her words. “Let’s go.”

~ ~ ~

Stone thanked Marny for their meal, bid her a goodnight, then led Aralynn out onto the sidewalk. He held his arm out to her. “It’s only a few miles from here.”

He hadn’t flown Aralynn often. He hadn’t needed to. She usually either levitated by herself or if she knew the destination well enough, she teleported.

He lived in the hills northeast of the city in a house he’d built twenty years ago out of a lot of stone and wood. It was a sprawling modern home, single story with terraced landscaping front and back and lots of concrete.