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"Grace is making a mistake by snuggling up to your brother. We both know it."
Michael's words hit me wrong and I tugged away from him. Had we just discussed this? Or maybe I had. An agitated sigh left Michael and I stopped at the edge of the parking lot and turned to face him. "And why is caring about Rob a mistake? Because he's a Grollic?"
"No!" Michael's brow tightened. "But whether anyone wants to talk about it or not, once Bentos is taken out, his kind dies with him. We all know that. It's going to be hard enough trying to help you grieve your brother's passing, but to have Grace falling apart too?" He huffed. “I can’t keep dealing with all this shit!”
"So sorry we're going to inconvenience you." I turned and stomped toward the darkness of the forest up ahead. Anger burned in my belly and I ignored Michael calling to me from behind. He could give me a minute to burn off a little bit of steam before I let hell loose on him. He was being pissy—again.
"Rouge. Stop walking so fast. You know it's true and if you'll just stop and think..."
I spun around and moved toward him so fast he didn't have time to realize I was standing in front of him. He stumbled backward as a fist I didn’t know I’d made punched his chest. "I know it's true, but you can't help who you fall in love with. Obviously." I was being a jerk and I knew it, but with all the tension building up around us, mine was soon to explode on someone. Might as well be Michael.
"What's that supposed to mean? If you had a choice, what? You'd be with Joshua?" He crossed his arms over his chest and peered down at me like he had uncovered some great secret.
"What? No. Why would you..." I threw my hands in the air and let out a growl. "Let it out, Michael. All of a sudden something’s bothering you and I don't think it’s Grace and Rob. Let it out, because things are going to get even more complicated after tonight."
"Fine. It’s you who’s asking for it." His words were biting and his expression impossibly tight. "Have you slept with anyone besides me?"
His words hit me like a ten-ton pile of bricks. I couldn't even respond for a minute, which seemed to answer the question incorrectly for me.
"I see," he mumbled, his face falling and eyes dimming.
"You see? What? No! Of course I didn't! I've only been with you that one night we shared together." I hugged myself, though the logical thing would have been to comfort him. Except I’d been through too much to now have to deal with Michael's insecurities.
He jerked his head up and took a step closer. "You didn't sleep with Joshua?"
"No! Of course not. I had just told you that I loved you. Why would I share myself with someone I didn't love?" I shook my head, trying hard not to let the disgust over his question change my desire to snuggle up to him for the night. I was beyond tired and after all we'd once again been through, I wanted to feel loved and safe, not attacked for being a whore of sorts.
"So the baby is mine?" He lifted an eyebrow, obviously not having heard me.
I reached out to slap him hard across his cheek as anger burned the inside of my chest. I went to slap him again, the heat on my hand offering a minute amount of satisfaction.
He caught my hand and pulled me close, wrapping me in a tight hug and pinning my arms by my side. Soft kisses covered my chin and cheeks before a longer one rested on my lips.
I wanted to be angry, to jerk away, but the comfort of being in his arms melted me. I lifted to my toes and pressed against his mouth, giving into the warmth he offered.
Once he released my arms, I slid them around his neck and held him tightly to me, extending the kiss and taking my time to reassure him that I only belonged to him. I couldn't even fathom kissing another man, much less sleeping with one.
"I'm sorry," he whispered as he pressed his forehead to mine. "Forgive me. I just couldn't get past the fact that Joshua was supposed to be your mate. I figured that meant..."
He couldn't seem to say it, and I didn't want him to anyway.
"Well, it didn't." I brushed another soft kiss by his lips.
He let out a shaky sigh and moved back, taking my hand into his and walking us farther into the forest. "I feel so much better."
"Good. The baby’s yours, I'm yours and we have one hell of a fight ahead of us." I glanced over at him and tugged on his hand. "I'm not killing Bentos until I understand how to save Rob."
"This can't be about one person." He stopped and pinned me with a staunch look.
"And if it were Grace's life? You would sacrifice it?" I forced myself to keep holding his hand though everything inside of me screamed to pull from him once again.
"Point taken." He ran his free hand through his hair and let out a frustrated groan. "Why does this have to be so damn complicated?"
"Because everything is." I moved to a stone bench that rested under a large oak tree and sat down. The moon sat high in the sky, illuminating the area around us where there was a break in the cluster of branches from the trees. "Come sit down and rest for a minute with me."
"I'm so tired of nothing working out. I keep thinking eventually we'll get a break or something will tilt in our favor, but it just hasn't." He sat down next to me and wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders. "Nothing in my life has worked like it should and I just keep waiting for something to happen to us. I know it's stupid, but fear won't allow me to just rest in the fact that we're forever. The night Bentos took your life in the forest..."
He paused and I nestled against him, tucking my face into his neck and trying to keep my own emotions at bay. Michael rarely opened up. This was a golden opportunity to see him raw and unprotected. I wanted it. Needed it.
"I thought I was going to die too," he whispered and kissed the side of my face.
"But I didn't die and neither did you. We're going to get through this together and when we do, we're going to find an island far from everyone and just spend a few years raising our child and loving on each other. Deal?" I glanced up and smiled.
"I'd like that a lot." He smiled tightly. "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?"
His fingers brushed over my stomach a few times before stopping and cupping the small swell where the child lay.
"I don't know, but I need to get to a doctor soon to have a checkup." I glanced up at the sound of an owl calling out above us. My eyes were capable of locating the animal and focusing on the curve of its small feathers, though it was far too dark around us for that to make sense.
"I'm not sure your hunter status would allow for that. You don't have a human physiology anymore. It would probably cause more problems than we know what to do with." He kissed my shoulder and rested his cheek against me. "This is new water we’re treading on.” He sighed and rubbed his eye with his free hand. “I'm so tired."
"Me too." I brushed my fingers through his hair and let out a long breath. It felt good to sit in the silence with the one person I knew would always be beside me. We'd had a rough start and it just seems to continue to get harder and harder to remain together, but we were doing it. The end was in sight. I just needed to figure out how to take out my father while protecting my brother and saving my baby. Not complicated at all. Ha!
"It's cold out here. Let's get you inside and try to have a good night's sleep. Something tells me it's going to be a rare occasion from here on out." Michael stood and extended his hand to me.
I took it and bit at my lip for a minute, trying to think through all that had happened. If I were able to project the darkness onto certain people in a crowd, then maybe I could attack Bentos, but not anyone else. That was possible, but attacking him wasn't the issue. Killing him was.
"What’re you thinking about?" Michael squeezed my fingers.
"I have to find a way to save my brother, and not only him, but the other Grollics who are truly innocent. Bentos uses them for evil, but I figure almost eighty percent of them are just trying to live the life they've been given." I expected a fight from the handsome hunter beside me, but didn't get one.
"Look in your journal and see if there is a way to link the Grollics to you." He lifted his hand and coughed. "I don't like the idea of leaving any Grollics alive, but I understand your point. Your brother isn't evil, a huge pain in the ass, but not evil."
I popped his chest playfully as we reached the door to their hotel room. "Do we dare go in?"
"You do it. If I see something I shouldn't, I'm liable to tear the room apart in order to get my hands around his throat." Michael backed up and lifted his hands, clasping them behind his head and walking toward the other room he'd rented for the night.
I opened the door, only to slam it shut quickly. Grace was sitting on top of my brother, clothed from what I could tell, but something told me that was soon to change.
"Yep. They're sound asleep. Let's go to our room." I walked quickly toward our room as Michael growled. He knew me far too well to get away with lying.
"I don't want to know anything about it." He moved to the door and worked to get it opened before pushing it open for me. "Not a word."
"I'm not saying anything." I let out a nervous laugh and walked into the chilled hotel room. After kicking off my shoes, I dropped down on the bed and let out a sigh of relief. "Can we just stay here forever?"
"It'd be expensive, and knowing you, you'd get bored, but sure. If it would make you happy." He crawled up to hover on top of me, his body draped across me from the chest up. He seemed to be protecting my tummy by not laying completely on top of me.
"I love you so much," I murmured and lifted my head while pulling him down for a long kiss.
He turned us on our sides and pulled me in tightly before picking up where we left off on our make-out session. The smell of his soap mixed with the lingering hint of his cologne made the world melt around me.
I let go of the worries I had sitting so heavily on me and focused on my future.
"We need to get married before the baby comes. I want that union between us if you'll have me as your husband." He kissed my lips again before moving to my neck.
"Are you asking me to marry you?" I chuckled as he jerked his head up.
"No. I mean, yes. Well... no. I want to do it with a ring and in the right way, but I assumed it was the next step for us." He lifted his eyebrow, obviously knowing how badly he'd butchered the moment.
"A ring sounds good for some time in the near future." I brushed my hand down the side of his face. "I’d marry you for a hot bath right now though."
He smiled and shook his head before crawling off the bed backwards. "I'll run you some water."
"Thank you." I sat up and tugged Michael's Sioghra from under my t-shirt. The dark blood moved around as if it had a life of its own. I ran my thumb over the ornate heart and brought it to my lips, kissing it once and tucking it back into my shirt.
"Come test the temperature," Michael called to me from the bathroom.
"Do you think the baby will be born human, Grollic or already be a hunter?" I moved into the bathroom and pulled my shirt over my head.
Michael stood and moved toward me, his eyes running down the length of my body and giving me chill-bumps. He reached behind me and unclasped my bra while leaning in and kissing softly at the skin just below my ear. More chill-bumps, followed by a shiver.
"I'm not sure I want to know. I guess we'll have to wait and see." He moved back and sat on the toilet, not at all shy about watching me while I finished undressing and got in the tub. "Scoot up and I'll wash your back for you."
I sunk into the hot suds and turned carefully to give him my back. He worked slowly to rub a soft hand-towel over the sore muscles of my shoulders and back while leaning over the top of me. His fingers traced my Grollic birthmark and even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew he was studying it intently. It didn’t bother me, nor give me the urge to shy away or hide it. He knew it was part of who I was and I wasn’t ashamed of it anymore.
"That feels good." I pressed my head to my knees and let out a long exhale, finally starting to relax. We had so many things to discuss, namely how the darkness came out of me and why it had happened back at the facility, but now wasn't the time. I was given a precious opportunity to relax into the capable hands of my boyfriend, my hunter.
"You're so beautiful, Rouge. I'm not sure I tell you that enough." He brushed his hand over my hair and leaned down, kissing me once more. "Enjoy your bath. I'll wait for you in the bed."
I nodded as nervousness rose up inside of me. Did he expect something of me in terms of sex? I wasn't sure, but I let the thought go. He was mine forever and we would work all things out as we came upon them.
I finished up and dried off as my breathing got off kilter. Wrapping the towel around me, I walked out to find Michael in the bed, his waist covered with the sheets, but his chest bare and expression relaxed. He turned from blankly watching the TV and smiled.
"Feel better?"
"Much." I moved to the sink and finished getting ready for bed before picking up my dirty t-shirt.
"Don't put that on. It's just me. Come here and let me hold you and we'll get you something new to wear in the morning." He patted the bed next to him and I nodded, walking over and letting the towel drop before joining him.
The click of the remote had the TV going off and the world around us plunged into darkness. Michael reached for me, pulling me in tightly and wrapping his arms around me.
"I love you so much, baby. I thought I'd lost you again when we were at Caleb's. You trusted me and I failed you. Forgive me?"
I snuggled up against him, enjoying the feeling of his body against mine more than I remembered doing last time. "You were betrayed, Michael. There's nothing to forgive." I pulled him down and captured his lips, not willing to talk about all we'd done right and wrong over the last few years. I was tired and wanted the moment to be about us. Nothing else.
