Page 104 of Shadows of Eternity

“We’ll call you and Janae when we set a real date,” Leia promised.

“Do that,” Trent said as he unlocked his car. “It’s been … interesting.”

“Interesting,” Rohan muttered. “Right.”

“You look like one of the walking dead,” Leia remarked. He was covered with blood, his shirt and jacket were shredded, there was a long rip down one pantleg. “You can’t go inside looking like that. You’ll give my mom a heart attack.”

“Yeah. Come on,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist. “Let’s go to my place. I can get cleaned up there.”

Leia wandered around Rohan’s apartment while he showered. She hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings the first time she’d been here. Now, she noted that the furnishings all looked expensive. The gray walls were bare save for one large painting over the sofa, and what looked like an Indian war shield and lance over the fireplace. The real deal? she wondered. Or replicas?

Standing in the bedroom doorway, she listened to the water run in the shower while an image of Rohan naked and covered in soapsuds played across the screen in her mind. Feeling suddenly bold, she undressed and opened the shower door.

A slow grin spread over Rohan’s face as she stepped inside and closed the door.

“I have some blood on my face,” Leia said, with a shrug.

“Uh-huh.”

“I wondered if you’d wash it off for me.”

“It looks like war paint,” he said, with a grin. “Seems a shame to remove it.”

When she scowled at him, he grabbed a washcloth and scrubbed the dried blood from her cheek. “As long as you’re in here,” he drawled, and proceeded to wash her from head to foot. And then he handed her the cloth.

Washing Rohan was an amazingly erotic sensation. She started at his shoulders and was nearing his waist when he turned the water off, lifted her into his arms, and carried her into the bedroom.

They didn’t make it as far as the bed.

It was late when they finally made it back to her parents’ home. Leia ducked into the garage to retrieve the clothes she’d left the house in. The interior of the house was dark, save for one lamp burning in the living room. Feeling well-loved and drowsy, Leia sank down on the sofa and closed her eyes.

Sitting beside her, Rohan draped his arm around her shoulders. “You okay, love?”

“Better than okay,” she said, snuggling against him. “You’re alive, Josiah is gone.” She grinned at him. “All my hungers have been fed.”

Rohan chuckled. “It’s been one hell of a night. Worst wedding I’ve ever been to.”

“The next one will be better,” she murmured, sleepily.

“I sure hope so.”

“Let’s find a different church.” She was going to need a different dress, too. The one she had worn tonight was ruined and had too many bad memories attached to it. She wasn’t sure how she’d explain it to her mother. “Why am I so tired? It’s hours until sunrise.”

“You’re a fledgling. You’ve had a busy night, lots of stress, not to mention some rather, ah, acrobatic sex.”

She laughed softly. They had made love three times. Rohan was an energetic and imaginative lover, to say the least. She sighed with the memory. He had taken her to places she’d never dreamed existed, but hoped to visit again, soon.

Rohan brushed a kiss across the top of her head as the dark sleep claimed her. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her up to her room, undressed her, and tucked her into bed. “I love you, darlin’,” he murmured.

He stood there a moment, debating where to spend the night. They had better get married soon, he thought, as he left the house, because he was getting almighty tired of sleeping alone.

Chapter Forty-Two

“Anew wedding dress?” Cynthia asked with a frown. “What’s wrong with the one you already bought?”

Leia glanced at Rohan, who was lounging against the door jamb in the kitchen. She could hardly tell her mother the truth, that it had been ruined fighting off a bunch of vampire hunters.

With a grin, Rohan spoke to her mother’s mind, erasing the memory of their previous shopping trip. For good measure, he wiped any memory of it from her father’s mind while he was at it.

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