Page 126 of The Delta's Rogue
Dominic waits for usbeside a black SUV with tinted windows. His arms are crossed, and his fingers tap his elbow. If it wasn’t for the show we’re still putting on, I think he’d be pacing the curb.
The damp cement splashes beneath my shoes. The rain has stopped, but the scent of the storm lingers, permeating through the ground and swirling within the heavy clouds above us.
Dominic straightens as we approach, opening the back door and wisely keeping his eyes ahead, focused on something in the distance.
“Nolan and Cassandra are already back at our rental house,”he mindlinks me, his body tense and his jaw tight as he stares towards the auction building.“I figured you’d want as much privacy as possible once you got Sarina out.”
I don’t respond to him. Instead, I point at the backseat. “Sit.”
Sarina hurries in, perching on the edge of the seat, and holds as still as her shivering body will allow while she waits for me.
I slide in after her, and Dominic slams the door shut. As he gets into the driver’s seat and starts the engine, I’m already reaching into my pocket for the key Amara gave me.
“This better fucking work,” I mutter.
Sarina holds her quivering arms out, and I tap the key on the chains connected to her wrist shackles, holding my breath. For half a second, nothing happens, and I fear Amara tricked us, but I’m filled with relief as they fall to the floor of the backseat in a rattling heap.
Sarina launches herself into my arms. Her muscles tremble, and she inhales—a shuddering, sniffling breath—as she buries her face into my chest and presses her body as close to mine as she can.
“I’ve got you, Sarina,” I whisper into her ear as I tear my gloves off. “I’ve got you, and I’m never letting you go again.”
I soothe her with my words and my touch, wrapping one arm around her waist and cupping the back of her head with my other hand. She clings to me, fingers curling into the lapels of my suit jacket. Her tears soak my clothing straight through to my skin. I sway us side to side, repeating “I’ve got you” to her in hushed tones.
It isn’t the reunion I imagined over our years apart. The circumstances surrounding it are horrific and heartbreaking. With everything in me, I wish they were different. Better. Happy. That this night never happened. That they had never taken her. That we’d never parted.
But no matter the circumstances, we are together again. Forever this time.
The vehicle turns left, out of the driveway and onto the main road, leaving the property behind.
I meet Dominic’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “Drive to our rental as fast as you can without it looking suspicious.”
He hums in affirmation, clenching his jaw. His teeth grind together as he presses his foot down harder on the gas.
“There’s a T-shirt back there for her,” he says as we wind around the lake, taking the curves at breakneck speed. “I grabbed it from your room when I dropped Nolan and Cassandra off.”
Gratitude rushes through me, along with another wave of relief.
My control over my lycan is hanging by a fraying thread. My shirt covering Sarina’s scantily clad body will help ease his tension, and mine. It’s the closest thing to a mate mark that we can give her right now.
“Do you want to wear my shirt?” I ask Sarina.
She nods and sits up so I can grab the olive-green shirt from the seat. Her tremors have slowed. Occasional shivers ripple through her body, but the constant trembling of her muscles and the chattering of her teeth are gone.
I bunch the fabric up to the neck and slip it over her head. It falls down her body and hides it from my view. She slides her arms through the sleeves and smooths the shirt over her stomach, staring down at it.
“It’s soft.” She lifts the shirt’s collar to her nose, breathing in deeply. A frown wrinkles her forehead as she exhales. She inhales again, taking in more air this time and holding the breath in her lungs for longer before releasing it. Her gaze, glassy and pained, lifts to mine. “I can’t smell it. I can’t smell your scent.”
My throat tightens at the sorrow in her voice. I cup her cheek, glancing at her neck. “It’s because of the silver,cariño.”
She blinks at me then lifts her hands, turning them front and back to examine the cuffs on her wrists.
“Do you want me to take them off?”
“I still won’t be able to feel the bond.” Her brow furrows. “They gave us wolfsbane too.”
My nostrils flare, but I bite back a growl, blocking out the noise in my mind from my raging lycan. “If you let me remove the shackles, your body can push the wolfsbane from your system faster.” I tuck her hair behind her ear and hover my fingertips above the silver circling her neck. “But I won’t take them off if you’re not ready for that.”
She leans forward so our heads press together, and her nose brushes mine. “I want them off. I want tofeelagain.”
