Belonging (39 page)

How did she sleep?

Nancy: because he was with another ho…I thought I already went over this with you, Sarah.

She turned in her chair to face him, tucking her right leg beneath her left.

“What are you doing?”

“Having breakfast,” he replied flatly. All traces of humor had vanished and the insanely intense Romaric had resurfaced.

Kate and Analise had warned her against Romaric. Analise thought he was ‘scary as fuck’. Kate just thought he was lonely. Both agreed he was stoic, calm and calculating. Almost unfeeling, like an emotional lever had simply been flipped off.

She observed him for a few moments. As much as she wanted to have sex with the sex god himself—and she
really, really
did—she suddenly didn’t want to be added to a very long list of women that came before her. And if she stayed here, she’d have to see him occasionally, and wouldn’t that just be awkward. She could just imagine that conversation.

Hello Sarah, how are you today?

Great, are you in town long?

Just tonight I’m afraid.

Oh…are you interested in maybe…coming back to my room?

Thank you for the offer, Sarah. I have someone else lined up this evening.

Yah…that would
so
not work for her. She would get insanely jealous and lash out and probably be asked to immediately leave the premises. Can’t have a psycho ex living here, verbally threatening a Vampire Lord.

“I’m not talking about food. I’m talking about what are you doing with
me
?”

“I thought I made that clear.”

Uh…what?

“Breakfast?” she asked.

“No, Sarah. You.”

He was so serious she almost laughed. Maybe Giselle learned her tail chasing from Romaric, because he was making no fucking sense whatsoever.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I want you, Sarah. I’m not sure how much clearer I need to make it.”

His intensity suddenly increased tenfold. His cheekbones became more defined, sharper; his eyes glowed, making them appear almost crystalized; his sinewy body went completely taut and she could see the flex of his muscles underneath the tightness of his stuffy button down shirt.

“But if you need me to spell it out for you, I will.”

He pushed his chair back and stood. He was already a good foot taller than her short five foot six frame, but with him looming large over her sitting form, he almost seemed like a daunting mythical warrior that had risen from the ashes. If he suddenly brandished a medieval longsword it wouldn’t surprise her in the least.

He gently took her hand in his and pulled her to her feet. His piercing stare was so ripe with longing she almost couldn’t catch her breath and the reasons she shouldn’t have sex with him vanished like they’d never existed at all. He walked her backward until her back was flush to the dark blue painted wall.

She swallowed hard, not knowing what to expect next, but waiting for it on pins and needles all the same. Romaric’s eyes never left hers as his hands came to the wall on either side of her head, caging her in. His feet came on either side of hers and his inner thighs pressed against her outer ones, which allowed him to unashamedly push his rock hard erection into her stomach. She was well and truly trapped and
so
incredibly turned on by his blatant display of ownership over her body, that she thought she could possibly climax from this physical contact alone.

“What I want, Sarah—no, what I
crave
more than my next breath—is to bury my aching cock deep inside your hot, tight, soaked pussy and fuck you until your throat is raw from screaming my name. I’m going to fuck you until you’ve come so many times you think you can’t come again, but you will because I will demand it. I’m going to fuck you every way I can until you crave me on a subconscious level and can’t live without my cock. Then I’m going to make love to you until you agree to be mine.”

Fucking. A. Well…let’s get right
to
that, then.

“Is that clear enough for you now, my beauty?”

Yes.
Yes, that was as clear as the Caribbean Sea. But his words had robbed her lungs of air and apparently severed the connection between her brain and mouth, so she could only nod her understanding.

“Good.”

She expected him to kiss her next. Christ, she
wanted
him to kiss her next. One would think after a guy verbally fucked you like that, they’d follow it up with a soul-sucking kiss to prove they weren’t all talk.

But not Romaric.

He pushed away from the wall, which also pushed him away from her body, and she swore every single nerve ending he’d touched while leaning against her was burning out of control.

Once again, his stony mask snapped into place. He held out his hand to hers, escorting her back to the table, resuming the same positions they’d had before. She was stunned speechless and pinched herself to wake up from this most bizarre dream, but the sting proved she wasn’t sleeping. She dared a sideways glance at Romaric, who was staring at her with open interest.

She felt like a science experiment and she opened her mouth to demand he stop it, when Hooker entered, rolling an entire cart full of food. He always, always went overboard and she felt bad for all the food that went to waste.

“That will be all,” Romaric rudely replied when Hooker placed all the items on the table.

Hooker started to leave when Sarah called, “Thank you, Hooker.”

His lips turned up and he inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. He would never say, but she knew he appreciated the kindness. Just because these vampires were Lords and all powerful, didn’t mean they needed to be assholes. A nice ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ went a long way, as far as she was concerned. Maybe that was the Midwest girl in her.

After he was gone, Sarah turned to Romaric, “You didn’t need to be so rude, you know.”

He set his fork down on his plate, which had been halfway to his mouth filled to the brim with scrambled eggs.

“Rude?” He seemed genuinely confused at her accusation.

“Yes, rude. He works hard cooking and cleaning and doing whatever else it is that Dev demands of him. It’s not too much to ask to say thank you for all the work he went to making breakfast.”

She turned back to her plate, but her appetite had vanished. Both her physical and sexual one. Romaric may be a hottie but who was she kidding? He was
waaay
out of her league and she was still very much intimidated by him. He may think he wants her now but he would quickly tire of her. She would never fit into his world. Into
this
world. And she’d been naïve to think otherwise.

They were complete opposites.

She had manners. He clearly didn’t.

She wanted happily ever after. He just wanted to fuck her brains out.

She was sympathetic and empathetic. He was emotionally closed off.

She had a hair-trigger temper
.
He was calm, cool and collected.

He intrigued her on so many levels and what she wouldn’t give to be able to peel away his protective layers one by one. To
really
get to know the untainted soul she saw hiding underneath his gruff exterior. He put on a very good front to everyone else, but the second she’d looked into his eyes, she knew there was so much more to Romaric Dietrich than he would ever let on to the outside world. She’d seen a deep wound that she’d foolishly wanted to uncover and heal.

But it would never work between them. She was far better off keeping him in her dreams, where he belonged. Where he’d always been.

“I’m not hungry after all.”

Placing her napkin on top of her untouched food, she stood and walked toward the door. She didn’t make it five steps before running smack into a solid, immovable object, which threw her off balance and she began to fall backward. Strong arms reached out and swept her off her feet before she could hit the ground.

“Where do you think you’re going, Sarah?” Romaric said, holding her tightly in his oh so strong arms. She had no choice but to put her own arms around his neck for support.

Okay, so she did, but her momma didn’t raise no fool.

“I’m going back to my room,” she retorted. She didn’t owe him anything, certainly not an explanation. And she’d be damned if he she would give him one.

“I don’t think so.”

He didn’t think so?
What?

Me Tarzan.

You Jane.

If his hands were free, he’d probably be pounding his chest with his melon-sized fists trying to convince her of his male worthiness.

“Um, I
think
so, buddy. Let me go.” She now used her arms to try fruitlessly pushing out his iron grip hold.

“We’ve already been through this. You’re mine, Sarah. You’re not going anywhere.”

She stopped her futile efforts and gawked at him in disbelief.
Wow
. He needed a lesson in twenty first century courting, because he was
soooorely
behind the times.

“I’m
yours
?” She couldn’t have kept the biting sarcasm out of her voice if she’d tried. Which she didn’t.

“Yes.” The very matter-of-fact way he said that word got under her skin.

She laughed.
Really
laughed. She couldn’t help it. This entire thing was so unbelievably ridiculous and she couldn’t wait to gossip to Kate and Analise about how downright preposterous her morning had been.

Me Tarzan, You Jane
.

“You’re mine, you’re not going anywhere.”

They’d laugh about it for months and months. She’d just keep his impassioned ‘fucking’ speech out of the story, however. That was for her ears alone and god knows she’d be replaying that twenty times a day like the crushing fool she was.

Romaric was gawking at her like she’d gone to crazy town and maybe she had. She finally got control of her laughter enough to speak.

“I’m not a piece of property that you can just claim, Romaric. And I’m not
yours
. I belong to no one except for myself. Now, kindly put me down. This has been…interesting, but I have a very busy day.”

She didn’t.

At her tirade, a devilish grin ate up his entire face and a terrible sense of foreboding wormed its way into the pit of her stomach.

“Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, my beauty. You
are
mine and I’ve come to do exactly that. Claim you. For you see, Sarah,
you
are my Destiny. My Fate.
You
, my insolent beauty, are my Moira, which makes
you
One. Hundred. Percent.
Mine.”

Oh.

My.

Holy.

God.

A
cknowledgements and
T
hanks!

Wow, I’m writing my acknowledgements for my second novel and it’s beyond surreal. Again, how can
thanks
ever adequately express the gratitude I feel for all the help that I’ve received getting here? It seems inadequate and it really is, but I don’t know a better way to express how I feel!

To my readers and fans (Ah! I have FANS?!!!??):
Thank you
for purchasing my book!! I am in love with these characters and I hope you are too! If you like my books, please spread the word! Please leave reviews! Please follow me on social media! The best thing you can do to support an author you love is word of mouth.

To my
girls
: Tara, Kaitlyn, Beth, Sherri, Teresa, Emma, Diane and Amanda…once again a million thanks will never be enough for your honesty, your valued opinions and for helping me through this process. I’m so blessed to have each and every one of you in my life! (Sniffle, sniffle, get the tissue…)

To the bloggers and reviewers who have graciously agreed to both read and plug my book…wow. I never really fully understood the power of social media until I went through this process, so thanks very much for supporting me!

To my husband: Babe, you are my everything, my inspiration, my very heart. I can write about romance because I live it every day with you. Thanks for your undying support when I am literally consumed with my writing. You are turning into quite the chef! Who knew it would just take writing books to get you in the kitchen. (wink). You are my rock and I’m so very glad that you’re proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish, because none of it would have been possible without you.

Thanks to my editor, Alicia, for all of your great comments and suggestions. I have a better story because of your feedback. And finally a special thanks to Yocla Designs for the absolutely
A M A Z I N G
job you did on the book cover art…again! You brought my vision of the story to life and a picture really does say a thousand words through your work.

Finally, I want to shout out to all of the amazing romance authors that gave me the inspiration to try penning my own book and those that have helped support me through this very confusing, very overwhelming process. Some days it felt like too much, and you were always there to answer my stupid questions. Emma and Amanda, I especially thank you for your guidance and patience and our new friendships!

A
bout the
A
uthor

Most authors will tell you that writing is all they’ve ever wanted to do. I guess I’m one of the few that don’t fit in that bucket. Writing a book was never on my bucket list until three years ago. On my list was: Climb the Corporate ladder.
Check
. Go to Europe.
Check
. Complete a half marathon.
Check
. Eat chocolate daily.
Double check
.
Isn’t this on everyone’s bucket list?
Catch up on two seasons of Games of Thrones in one day.
Painful, but check.
Lose five pounds.
This will never be checked
. And finally, devouring romance books at an alarming pace like the unashamed book addict I am…
Over a thousand checks!