Choices (3 page)

Chapter Four

“How long are you going to torture the poor man?” Rachel’s mother, Mariam, eyed the long stemmed white rose in her hand. Rachel turned away to fill a crystal bud vase and placed the bloom in it before setting it on the counter. 

That her mom accepted the news of her newly prolonged life and being mated forever to an immortal demon slayer so well still amazed her.  Perhaps her mother’s addiction to paranormal romance finally came in handy.  Over time, they’d figure out how to break the news to her father, but for now, they kept the secret between them.

“For two weeks you’ve kept him at arms length knowing darn well you’re in love with him.” Her mom arched a knowing brow.  “Deny it.”

After much cajoling, Rachel had convinced Roderick her mother would have to know by telling him that she could never keep the secret from who she considered her best friend.  Besides, there was no way in hell she was going through it alone.  She observed her mother glance at the rose, her lips pursed. Maybe this had been a mistake.

A snappy retort in check, she replied. “I don’t like that Roderick didn’t give me a choice in this.” Her chin jutted out at the hollow words. “He took the choice of who I would spend my life with away from me.”

“Roderick sleeps here often.” With a sparkle in her eye, Mariam picked up her cup of tea and sipped, her soft blue eyes watching her over the rim. “You’re obviously enjoying the relationship.”

“Mom! I told you, we have to. As bonded mates it’s physically painful not to er…touch regularly.” A tingle swept through her as the picture of Roderick under her, his handsome face thrown back while she rode him, earlier that morning flashed into her mind. Her gaze slid toward her bedroom where he presently slept.

Every day Roderick brought a token, whether a rose like today, some chocolate or her favorite cappuccino from the nearby café. Not only that, but their chemistry was off the charts. She couldn’t deny that the handsome man fulfilled her every dream in a partner.

“All right I admit that the basis of my reluctance to accept him fully, and to move in together is fear.” Rachel flipped absently through a Southern Lady magazine on the kitchen table. “I’m not ready to lose the little bit of control I have left.  Mom, you know I'm not a control freak by nature or even close, but it’s just that this entire scenario takes time to get used to.”

Her mother’s hand covered hers in understanding.

Roderick proved to be a patient man, other than coming to her bed every morning, he never pressured her to make the decision to live together.  She’d never deny him her body. Nor would she chance being the cause of him being hurt or worse. If he fought with the distraction of their bond calling, he could be killed. 

Not that she could resist Roderick anyway. By the time he arrived at her home at dawn, her desire for him was so overwhelming she practically took the man in the doorway. 

Then there was a new matter she’d not expected, another blow to her already fragile hold on sanity.  She suspected she was expecting. How would Roderick react if her suspicions that she was pregnant were true?

“Well he’s not going to wait for ever, honey.” Her mother jutted her back to the conversation. “If I were you, I’d make up my mind one way or another. It’s not fair to either one of you if there’s no choice anyway is there?” Her mom stood to go.  “I better go, I have a tennis match with your dad in half an hour.” She paused and smiled at Rachel.  “Just think about it. Drag the situation out too long and he’ll figure out a way to break this bond thing.”

Would he?
Her stomach flipped.

# # #

Finding four demons in the midst of a blood bath after they attacked a group of young women out clubbing, changed the direction of their otherwise quiet night on patrol.

Roderick rushed toward the melee his sword in hand. Just as he rounded into the empty lot, Cyn came into view from the opposite direction.  One of the women still conscious screamed and fainted. It was for the best, what was about to happen was not meant for human eyes.

Prepared to defend itself, a high-level demon pulled his sword and lunged at him, the blade slicing barely an inch from his throat. While shifting to avoid the sharp edge ascending past his neck once again, Roderick flung a dagger at another demon.  The dagger hit its mark and the attacking demon stopped mid-stride and evaporated. 

At the next swipe of the persistent demon’s sword, Roderick dove to the ground, rolled and flipped back to his feet.  The momentum gave him the benefit of surprise, his size and reach adding to the advantage. He cut clean across the shocked demon’s neckline.  The head landed with a solid thud onto the pavement rolling only a few inches before both it and the body vaporized.

It was his turn to be caught off-guard when a swooshing sound accompanied with a sting cut to his left shoulder.  He slammed his fist into a demon’s stomach and cut the low-level down across the chest. The demon fell and faded, the blue mist mixing with the others’.  He grabbed at his shoulder to stifle the bleeding.

Damn, he was getting sloppy.

Blades clashed. Roderick swung around to check for other threats, only to find that Cyn just finished another demon, the navy haze snaking around the male’s Doc Martens.  The Protector’s luminescent gaze scanned the area and Cyn held up a peace sign, letting him know it was clear.

They checked the vitals on the victims. One was dead, but the other two would survive. Cyn called the local authorities after they erased the women’s memories of the occurrence and gathered up the demons weapons.

Roderick stalked away from the scene ignoring his partner’s slanted look.  As expected, he stepped alongside and grabbed his arm swinging him around to face him. 

“You almost got waxed.  Twice.” Cyn didn’t release the hold.  “What the hell is wrong with you Roderick? This is the first time I’ve ever seen a suck-head barely miss cutting your head off-- even worse, one of them actually cut you,” he continued with a pointed look to the bloodstain that seeped through the shirt on his shoulder. The wound was already healing. 

Cyn lifted an eyebrow. “It looks like a deep cut. Good thing we heal fast. You okay?”

“I’m good.” He shrugged the hand off and took a breath. To make things worse, he was winded. It hadn’t even been a real fight.

  They’d reached the motorcycles, and Roderick turned to look at his partner.  “All right, I’ll admit it, maybe I’m a bit distracted.  It’s this whole mate thing.”  With hesitation, he met his friend’s gaze. “I don’t want to be mated. I’m over 1600 years old.  If anything I was looking more forward to dying than starting a new life. And that stubborn woman refuses to move in with me, which makes it harder to concentrate.  This…” He slammed his hand against his skull.  “This need to be with her, to see her is almost crippling.  I can’t stop thinking about Rachel and I don’t like it.”  

“Yeah, I don’t envy you.” Cyn shook his head.  “And Julian doesn’t even know yet.”

Yeah, he wasn’t looking forward to their leader’s take on the matter.

His partner lifted both brows. “The Roman must not have found out yet, else he’d be here, bashing your head through a wall for breaking several of the Protector’s basic rules.”

“He’s the least of my worries right now.  Rachel is going to have to make a decision and soon. I don’t blame her for what she’s feeling, but it’s not like it can be changed now.”

Sirens wailed in the distance. They turned the corner and made their way to their bikes in silence, the sound of their boots crunching on the graveled ground filled the space.  “Maybe you need to take a couple days off and spend time with her.  Let her know you can’t continue like this….

The ground under him swayed, everything tilted, something hit him in the face.

Hard.

“Hey Roderick?” Cyn was shaking him.

What the hell?
He’d just face-planted onto the black top.  Roderick rolled onto his back. Swirls of light swam before him.  “What just happened?”

“I think you’re going to have to tell Julian.  Something is definitely wrong.”  Cyn helped him get to his feet.  “You’re damn lucky it didn’t happen while we fought.

“You think?”

Chapter Five

Rachel paced in her living room and once again glanced at the wall clock.  Roderick was extremely late-- which meant she’d be late for work.  Good thing the need did not appear to be as strong today. Maybe it was beginning to wane.  Picking up the cell phone, she considered that maybe the urgency of the bonding was ebbing. He’d explained to her that it would become bearable over time, and they wouldn’t need to be together daily.  But just thinking about their lovemaking brought the familiar rush of heat, which pooled in all the wrong places. 

With the phone cradled against her ear, she headed to her bedroom to get dressed.  She wasn’t sure what kind of day she’d have at the library today.  If Roderick didn’t appear, it would be the first day since they’d mated that she’d face without first seeing him.  Panic clenched her midsection at hearing his deep voice, the message short.  “
Rod’s phone —leave a message.” 

“Hi, just wondering if you are all right. Please call me.”
I miss you
.  She wasn’t ready to let him know how strong her feelings for him had become.  What if something happened to him?  Was he lying in some dark alley dying?  And what if it was all because of her not moving in with him? 

“Oh God.”  With trembling fingers, she scanned her contacts for Cyn’s number. 

“Hello?” The Scot’s deep timbre did little to settle her nerves. 

“I haven’t seen Roderick today, he hasn’t shown up…” Rachel felt like an overbearing housewife at the words, but she plugged on.  “Do you know where he is?  Is he all right?”

“Uh, yeah,” he hesitated. The cryptic reply made her want to reach through the phone and crush his windpipe. “He’s asleep.”

“Oh.” Rachel wasn’t sure what else to say.  “Okay. Well I left him a message. Thanks. Bye.”

“Hey Rachel.” Cyn stopped her from hanging up. “You need to talk to him. He’s probably going to punch my face in for telling you this, but he’s having a hard time with, err... never mind. You just need to talk to him. The sooner the better.”

After calling the library to let them know she was taking a vacation day, Rachel jumped in her blue Honda Civic hatchback and headed to Roderick’s house.  With Christmas coming up, things were slow at the library.  However they were planning several events the following week, so she'd have to work extra hours to make sure all went well.

The hour-long drive to Roderick's apartment gave her time to think and practice her words.  She’d made a decision, she would ask him if he’d rather move into her townhouse, or else she’d move in with him. At the same time Rachel planned to inform him that she wanted to get married.  Not that she was old fashioned, but if she was tied to a man for life and possibly having his child, then she wanted a marriage certificate.

The Protectors lived in an oversized log cabin with architectural lines that could easily grace a magazine cover. The imposing well-built structure gave the impression of easy access, but she knew a complex security system kept track of anyone that neared the home.  She pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the car after palming a remote that allowed her entry onto the house without setting off the alarms.

The interior of the house was silent when Rachel let herself in with the key that hung on the same ring as the remote.

The muted sound of rock music came from the direction of Cyn’s bedroom and she smiled shaking her head. How could the man sleep with music constantly blaring?

Padding to Roderick’s bedroom, apprehension swirled around her like a thick fog. He’d not come to her today, had not even called. And here she was checking in on him. When she reached for the doorknob, Rachel couldn’t make herself open the door. 

Maybe her mother was right. Not making up her mind to move in together had finally put him off and he was looking for a way to break it off.  Was it possible?

Rachel swung around, stalked back to the front room and she screamed. 

What could only be described as a god stood in the middle of the space.  An arched eyebrow was his only response to her shriek. Olive skinned with a muscular yet lean physique, the man had almost blue-black hair that was combed away from an indescribably handsome face. 

“Who are you?” Rachel asked nearing him instead of the smarter move, which would be to get away.  “You’re one of them aren’t you?”

Before he could answer Roderick and Cyn burst into the room from opposite directions, both holding swords and neither fully dressed.  In fact, Roderick wore only boxers and Cyn was completely nude.  The men froze at spotting the newcomer. Roderick’s eyes widened when noting her presence.

Both men dropped their swords to their sides simultaneously.

“Hello Julian.” Cyn was the first to find his voice.  The man then had the nerve to cross his arms over his chest and lean on the doorjamb, his eyes darting between the other three people in the room.  Rachel tried hard not to stare at his nude physique. 

Roderick cleared his throat and dropped his gaze to Cyn’s private area.  “Do you mind covering your naked ass?”

“And miss what’s about to go down?  I don’t think so.”  His Scottish accent seemed heavier in his amusement.

“Cyn.” Roderick motioned toward Rachel.

The Scot returned a bland stare, but at least he was decent enough to grab a throw and wrap it around his waist before dropping into the nearest couch.

This was Julian?  Their leader?  He didn’t seem old enough, perhaps twenty-three, twenty-four at the most.  Yet when she studied him closer, he seemed more ageless than young.

Julian remained quiet, an aura like that of a panther about to pounce on his prey exuded from him.  He didn’t look directly at anyone in particular yet seemed to take it all in. 

Roderick moved to Rachel’s side and placed a protective arm around her waist pulling her not just to him, but also slightly behind his side. “I can explain…”

A muscled twitched on Julian’s jawline and his furious gaze slammed into them.  In the next instant Roderick flew across the room, and crashed into the opposite wall. 

Rachel shrieked.

Before he could fall to the floor, he was thrown again, this time bouncing off the fireplace wall before crumpling onto the hearth.  Bricks from the hearth surrounded him as he struggled to his feet only to be flung back against the first wall and held there by some invisible force.  Roderick seemed to struggle to breath and Rachel rushed at Julian.

“Stop it!” She hit the Roman in the chest.  “Leave him alone.” 

Julian didn’t even flinch.  Roderick continued to flail and struggle when Julian’s black gaze jerked to her.  “This is Protector business, go wait in another room.”

“Like hell!” Rachel kneed him in the groin, satisfied when he grunted and doubled over.  At the same time Roderick collapsed to the floor and she raced to him.  His glazed eyes met hers for only a moment before he grabbed her and threw her behind him, his trembling body blocking her view of the asshole Julian.

“Get her out of the room Cynden.” Julian’s soft Italian-accented command laced with rage gave Rachel goose bumps.

“I’m not leaving.” She peeked over Roderick’s prone form to glare at the man.  “You are crazy if you think I'm going to wait in the next room while you kill him.” She swung toward Cyn.  “And you, why don’t you do something?”

Julian didn’t speak instead his gaze met Roderick’s.  They were communicating telepathically, she didn’t know how she knew this, but her suspicions were confirmed when Roderick grunted in response.

“He’s not going to kill me Rachel.  Go on, wait in the bedroom. I need to talk to him.” 

Rachel didn’t budge until Roderick stood and pulled her to her feet.  His hand on her elbow, he walked her towards the doorway.  His beautiful silver eyes were clear again when they met hers.  “You’ll only make things worse for me by not doing what he asks.  Please just go and wait.  I’ll be all right, he won’t kill me.”

“Without even touching you, he just beat the crap out of you!” Her voice rose as she dared another glare at Julian.  “How can you be sure he won’t murder you?”

Roderick had the nerve to smile.  “I’ve known Julian for decades.  He’s just angry.”

Pushing Roderick’s arm aside, she peered at Julian one last time.  “You need anger management classes.”  She huffed and stomped to his bedroom.

The soft click assured him that Rachel was out of earshot.  Roderick swung back to Julian purposely ignoring the throbs of protest from his bruised body.  “You didn’t have to do that. I was prepared to speak to you.”

“Is that so?” Julian sneered, his piercing gaze searing.  “I seriously doubt you were in a hurry to travel to Rome and inform me of your blatant disregard for our laws.”

“He didn’t plan for this to ha--” Cyn stopped talking when Julian snarled. 

“How long?”

The abstract question took Roderick by surprise.  Mentally, he scrambled to figure out the exact timetable since he and Rachel bonded. “Sixteen days give or take a day.” 

Julian paced, his hands gripped behind his back.  In all the decades he’d known Julian, this was the first time his leader had disciplined him.  What could be so bad that Julian seemed at a loss for words?  When the Roman finally turned to him, Roderick held his breath.

“A blood-bond is normally unbreakable.” He stated the obvious.  “Fortunately, you did not bond correctly.  Our rules are there for a purpose Roderick.  There’s a reason why you are not allowed to mate unless the woman is the right one.  It has to be a life mate or it will drain you of your powers, your immortality.”  Julian turned, his eyes locked on his.  “You must give her up. And you will leave the Protectors.”

Roderick mouth fell open.  “Are you saying our bonding can be broken? Why do I have to resign as a Protector?”  The thumping of his heartbeat thundered in his ears.  The only life he’d ever known was slipping from his fingers and he’d yet to understand what Julian expected.

“When a Protector bonds with someone that is not a life mate, his powers can diminish. You were not just asleep when I arrived, but passed out.  The combination of fighting and having to be with her daily is taking its toll on you.” 

“That sucks,” Cyn mumbled under his breath.

The chair Roderick slumped into groaned under his weight.  Julian was right. He was fatigued, barely able to get home every day after leaving Rachel’s house.  Today he’d not even had the energy to ride to her place. After passing out in the street, he’d never felt so drained and it had frightened him. Once home, his weighty limbs had barely allowed him to make it from the shower to the bed before he collapsed onto it.  “What’s happening to me?”

Julian’s gaze softened. He neared and placed a hand on Roderick’s shoulder.  Energy surged through him, electric tingles raced up his legs through his chest.  When Julian pulled his hand away, Roderick jumped to his feet.  Every ache and pain was gone, his entire body restored.

“It’s temporary, perhaps a week or two before your energy will begin to wane again.  I would suggest you maintain your distance from her, but the need will become impossible to resist.” 

“Can the bond be broken?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Does this mean I can remain a Protector?”

“No.” The reply was clear. 

“Damn it Julian, help me out here. What am I supposed to do?  If I can’t break the bond, how the hell am I supposed to get rid of her? I don’t want to quit.  Being a Protector is my life.”

A gasp made them all turn to the doorway.  Rachel stood with her hand to her throat. By the stricken expression, she’d overheard his ranting.  Without a word, she turned on her heel and raced from the room. 

Recovering late, Roderick ran after her, catching up just as she reached her car.  He grabbed her arm.  An ache tore through his chest at seeing tears pouring down her face.

She tried to yank her arm from his grip. “Let me go.  I don’t want to be here, I have to get away from you and him.”  She motioned toward the house with her other hand.  “I didn’t ask for any of this.  I thought…I am stupid enough to care for you. All these days of trying to convince me that it was more than just a physical thing, you’re yelling at the top of your lungs how you want to get rid of me.”  Rachel gulped for air and tried to jerk her arm free again.  “Let me go Rod, please.”

“I can’t let you drive like this.  You’re too upset.”  He reached for her but she inched away.  “Look I'm upset too, I didn’t expect Julian.  I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Hell, I’m confused by all this and not sure what to do.”  He attempted to pull her toward the house. “Please come back inside.  Let’s decide together what we need to do.”

“No.”  Rachel shook her head and placed her hand over her mouth, fresh tears springing to her eyes.  “I don’t want to face him again, not right now.  Go back inside Rod, talk it out, figure out how to
get rid of me
so we can break this bond and I can go on with my life,” she said emphasizing the words he’d said earlier.

Hands on his chest, she pushed him away.  “I’m fine to drive, I really need to get away from you.  I’m going home.”

Reluctantly, he released her arm.  “I will come to your house later.”

Her shiny tear-filled gaze met his and they maintained the contact for a beat before Rachel turned away and slid into the car.