Page 24 of Roman

He spotted a coffee shop across the street from the bar, one that apparently stayed open late. Perfect.

He ordered himself a coffee from the bored-looking barista at the counter and grabbed a table by the window, one where he could easily spot Danny if he left the bar.

Roman had been sitting there over an hour, staring out the window as if the force of his gaze would cause his boy to appear, when someone slipped into the seat across from him. He was about to tell them, without so much as looking over, to find a table elsewhere, when he smelled a familiar scent—cold ocean air and frozen pine.

Soren.

Roman immediately broke his gaze from the window and ran his eyes over his longtime friend, suddenly here in Colorado. Svelte and graceful as a cat, with a head of golden hair he always kept artfully tousled, he looked incongruous at this casual coffee shop, wearing a fucking brown fur coat over his cream sweater, because of course he was.

He was also looking ridiculously pleased with himself.

“Hello, Roman, dearest,” he said, pale eyes glinting. “Surprised to see me?”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be.” Soren loved to show up without warning. And it wasn’t any use asking how he had found Roman—the older vampire had always had a knack for tracking people. It was the reason Roman had asked Soren to keep an eye on Luc’s whereabouts to begin with.

His blond friend gave him a positively evil grin. “How’s thesomethingthat’s been keeping you in this boring-ass town, Rome?”

Roman sighed. “Is there any use lying to you about it?”

Soren’s grin only grew. “Nope,” he replied, popping thepdramatically. “I’m afraid I’ve already been following you while you’ve been followinghim. A real cutie-pie you found there. You should really watch your back though. I was getting really sloppy there, and you didn’t even notice me.”

Roman grew defensive at the truth in those words. He hadn’t had his guard up like he should have, too focused on his fascination with his newfound mate. “It wasn’tmeyou were supposed to be keeping an eye on,” he groused.

Soren’s grin dropped in an instant, his expression turning serious. “I know. But I lost Luc’s trail a few days north of here. I’m thinking he either noticed me following him or he foundyouand realized he needed to lay low. He could be on his way. Or here already.”

Fuck.

Roman’s demon took notice, all coiled tension now. It was just as wary of Luc as Roman was, and with their mate in the vicinity…

His demon leaped to the forefront before Roman could stop it. He let out a low growl, one soft enough that hopefully the surrounding tables couldn’t hear it. Soren took notice of his black eyes and leaned back slightly, his own eyes wide. “Holy shit, Rome. You must really like this human.”

Roman didn’t reply, too focused on pushing his demon back before he flipped the table, busted into the bar, and threw Danny over his shoulder like some sort of ogre.

“Never thought I’d see the day,” Soren mused. “Figured you were eternal-loner material since the Luc thing.”

“Danny’s different.” Roman hated how pathetic that sounded.

“And clearly your demon thinks so too.” Soren leaned in, narrowing his eyes. “Why, Roman, have you stumbled upon your mate?”

Roman shrugged, wary in verbalizing to another vampire what he’d only just confirmed himself.

“I didn’t think you believed in them.” Soren was tapping his finger against his lips, trying to hide a bratty smile.

Roman shrugged again, still defensive. “I might have changed my mind.”

For the briefest blink of an eye, Roman thought he saw a look of sadness pass through Soren’s eyes, but before he could fully register it, it was gone, and the bratty grin was back in place. “Well, congrats, then.” Soren pressed a hand to his chest, giving a dramatic sigh. “My little baby’s all grown up.”

His friend loved nothing more than to point out Roman’s relative youth. Despite Soren’s own youthful appearance (he couldn’t have been older than his early twenties when he’d been turned), he’d become a vampire in his homeland of Denmark sometime in the seventeenth century, making him almost a full century older than Roman.

Roman wasn’t entirely sure how Soren had avoided going feral all this time. He thought it might have something to do with his friend’s love of excess—be it fashion, clubs, parties—that kept him so immersed in the human world. He didn’t skirt around on the edges of humanity like Roman did—he embraced all it had to offer.

And, of the other few vampires Roman had known, Soren seemed to fight with his demon the least. Roman sometimes wondered if that acceptance of his nature was its own defense against losing his control.

Soren leaned forward again, interrupting his reflections. “We should really go get your human, Rome. Luc’s good at not being found when he doesn’t want to be. Just because I haven’t seen him here doesn’t mean he’s not nearby.”

Roman had a moment of hesitation. He knew there was strength in numbers, but both he and his demon balked for an instant at the thought of letting another vampire near Danny, even a friend.

Soren’s eyes softened the slightest bit. He placed his slender hand on Roman’s arm. “Hey. I promise I’m not going to touch what’s yours. You can trust me, Rome. Just let me help while I’m here.”

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