Page 15 of Wine & Warlocks

An urge to cry caused tears to burn the back of her lids, and she ran her knuckles across her eyes.“Stop being so bleeding nice to me. I don’t know how to feel about it.”

A knock on her door caught her attention, and already guessing who was on the other side, she swung back the comforter and padded across the room to answer.

In the opening, Ronan had his arms spread wide, fingers gripping the wood molding on either side of the frame, and he leaned in just enough to breathe the same air as her. “It hurts my heart when you cry, love.” His voice was raspy and raw, testifying to his honesty.

“How did you know I was crying?”

“Same way you knew I was awake.” His concerned gaze swept her face, then he met her eyes. “Want to talk about it?”

Did she? Their past should be discussed, and she needed to know what she was in for should she decide to become a Guardian.

“Yes.”

Although his brows shot up as if surprised, he didn’t comment other than to ask, “Here or downstairs?”

As an answer, she stepped back and swung the door wider.

CHAPTER7

Ronan paused a few feet inside the entrance and scanned the room, his attention locked on the bed with its rumpled comforter, and Dubheasa literally felt his blood heat and his amorous thoughts crowd her head. It suddenly occurred to her that was why he’d given her the option of downstairs, so perhaps he wouldn’t be tempted to seduce her.

And she wouldn’t be tempted to give in.

After a small shake of his head, he settled himself on the chaise in the corner of the room farthest from the bed and linked his fingers behind his neck, crossing his ankles. “Let’s start with what you want to know about being a Guardian.”

She perched at the foot of the chaise, half turned toward him. “Is it a forever commitment? Are we allowed to go about our everyday lives, or is it like being in the military and serving the Goddess whenever she commands?”

“My main commitment is to protect Sabrina until she’s an adult, and initially, I was no more happy about the job than you are now, Dove. But I’ve come around.” He paused for a long moment, then said, “It’s like being a security guard, but only when Damian isn’t around.”

“How do you know when that is? Does he call you to come babysit, then?” Why she’d given in to the urge to verbally poke him, she couldn’t say. Perhaps with her nerves jumping as they did whenever he was near, she needed an equalizer.

Ronan grinned at her sarcasm, not fazed in the least. “Sometimes. But I’ve a new built-in alarm that tells me when Sabrina needs me, and I can locate her in an instant.” With a shrug, he said, “It must’ve been something Damian added when he supercharged me to start with. And as for serving Anu or Isis, they reward me for every job I take outside of watching our young Oracle, but the option is always mine.”

“Reward in what way?”

“With favors, financial compensation, abilities. It’s whatever they feel the mission warrants.”

His expression remained neutral as he relayed the facts for each and every one of her follow-up questions. Regarding his thoughts or feelings on the matter, he gave nothing away, allowing Dubheasa to process the information she’d gathered and to make her own informed decision.

“Why are we to be paired, Ronan? Whyme?”

“Maybe because I was destined to love you, but I don’t know.” He uncrossed his ankles, straddled the chaise, and leaned forward with an earnest expression on his face. “Dove, you have to make a decision soon. I’ll buy you as much time as I can, but the magical world as we know it is shifting. If Loman has created an escape hatch, he’s left the door open for others to follow.”

“And we need to police all those potential escaped convicts?” The incredulity in her tone caused her voice to rise a few octaves, and they both winced. She cleared her throat and strove for a calmer note. “Ach. Sorry. But I know nothing about hunting down people, and I don’t know that I care to.”

“I get that, I do. But you wouldn’t have been Anu’s first choice if you didn’t possess cunning and if she didn’t see something in you.”

“But why do we have to be mated?” Even knowing she sounded like a petulant child, she couldn’t help it. Her life had been turned on its ear, and now she was expected to partner with a man she wasn’t sure she could trust—for life or beyond.

“You can always say no,” he said quietly, his disappointment keen in his darkening gray eyes. A witch’s irises were the window to their soul, a barometer for their emotional well-being. Ronan’s told her he wasn’t happy in the least. “I’ll not blame you.”

“Won’t you?” she asked skeptically.

And why was it that she didn’t want him to hate her for not choosing him?

“I could never hate ya, Dove,” he replied to her unspoken question. “And you wouldn’t be the first to not choose me, all the same. Yeah, and I’ve had a long lifetime of…” Ronan shook his head, a self-deprecating smile on his face. “It’s sorry I am for sounding like a whinging killjoy.”

In a fluid movement, he rose from the chaise and towered over her, where she sat on its edge.

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