Page 21 of Oh, Sacred Dark
He made his way to the stalls from an angle so he would see Roman before Roman saw him. He slowed his steps as he neared, taking the scene in—Roman with his forehead pressed against Seashell’s neck, one of his hands stroking her face slowly as the horse curled around him protectively.
Tyler was arrested by the sight—by the way Roman’s jaw was clenched, brows furrowed as if he were in pain. It made something lurch in Tyler’s stomach, a sudden impulse to check if Roman was okay, if he was hurt, if he was wanting.
Shame flickered inside him at having manipulated the situation so he could spy on that private moment. He walked back carefully and then approached with heavy feet, making sure to make as much noise as possible.
Roman had stepped away from Seashell, expression schooled into what Tyler now knew had to be a mask.
“Hey,” Tyler said, voice quiet, gentle. “We’re ready to go. You want a tour or something before we leave?”
“No, that’s okay.” He put the brush where it belonged and didn’t even glance at Seashell again, an air of indifference to him. If Tyler hadn’t witnessed the previous moment, he would have believed Roman barely tolerated the creature’s presence.
It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, realising that Tyler had been right—Roman was a liar. What he was lyingabout, though, remained a complete mystery to him.
CHAPTER FIVE
TYLER
Tyler could barely sleep that night, dreams dissolving into troubled thoughts as the image of Roman on his knees, of him pleading and scared, crept over him every time he tried to still his mind enough to drift away.
He’d gone to Archie when they’d returned from the farm and told him about the incident. Archie had immediately been concerned, had wondered if he should check in on Roman, but something told Tyler that would be a bad idea. Roman was hidingsomething, and Tyler doubted he’d react well to being questioned by the leader of the coven, no matter how gently.
Instead, he’d promised Archie he’d keep a closer eye on Roman and decided a good place to start was to take him out to lunch, away from the chaos of the Main House dining room.
Roman barely reacted when Tyler asked him to accompany him, but Tyler was watching closely enough to see the way the skin around his eyes tightened, gaze briefly flickering sideways, shoulders straightening out even more.
Worry.
Still, Roman accepted, and Tyler took him to Milly’s Bakery, ordering each of them a sandwich and a salad after Roman said he wanted the same as Tyler.
To Tyler’s surprise, Roman spoke first after they sat down with their food. “I wanted to apologise again. About yesterday.”
Tyler blinked at him. “Oh. I don’t think you have anything to apologise for. I mean, I’m the one who should be saying sorry for giving you the wrong impression. The, uh…the whole kneeling thing. That’s not how we do things here.”
Roman nodded. “Of course. I misunderstood. I completely understand. Do you have any corrections?”
“Corrections?” Tyler repeated, baffled.
“Yes.”
Well, that cleared things up. “Uh, I’m not sure what you mean, but no. Not really.”
Another nod. “I’ll do better,” Roman promised seriously.
Tyler fought not to sigh. Roman hadn’t done anythingwrong. “Not better, just…different.”
Something strange crossed Roman’s face. “Of course.”
Silence fell on their little table—awkward on Tyler’s side, although Roman didn’t seem to be affected. “So, any reason you chose this coven?”
“I didn’t. It was chosen for me,” Roman said and, okay. Fair enough.
“Right. Sorry I haven’t introduced you to a lot of stuff. Don’t know if you’ve seen anything that interests you. What’d you do before? Like, for work?”
Roman paused. “I didn’t work.”
“Oh. I mean, that’s fine.” Romanwasthe son of the old coven’s high witch. Maybe he’d lived in the lap of luxury without having to lift a finger.
Tyler caught the judgmental thought as it formed and discarded it.Stop assuming, he ordered himself.
