Page 147 of Blood Stone
“Interesting choice of words,” Garrett replied.
She rolled her eyes at him.
“We didn’t sit down and hash it out,” Roman assured her. His fingers were back to stroking the inside of her knee. “But we’ve known each other a long time, Kate. We can guess what each other is thinking, pretty well.”
“So you’re typical guys. Even after six freaking centuries, you still can’t talk about yucky stuff.” She shook her head. “Men……”
Roman grinned. “It saves time,” he pointed out. He nodded toward Garrett. “But if you want sentimental pap, consult the poet there. He’ll talk your head off.”
“Do you believe him, Kate?” Garrett asked.
“Not for a second.” She considered Roman more carefully. “You’rethe one that screwed it up, aren’t you? You’re the one that pushed Garrett away because you couldn’t handle your feelings.”
Roman straightened up. His hand was removed from her knee and the absorbed, happy expression fled from his face. He started to move away from her and Kate realized he was leaving. Just like that.
She drew in a breath that hitched in fright. The sudden sharp turn in mood and events was terrifying. Roman had shifted to angrythatfast.
Garrett was faster. His big hand slapped down on Roman’s arm and anchored it on the table, keeping Roman on the seat next to Kate.
“Don’t youdare,”Garrett breathed. “Don’t you fucking dare walk out on her.”
Roman froze halfway on the seat, a furious mass of muscle and sinews. He looked ready to lash out at anything. His gaze darted everywhere and his chest rose and fell rapidly. His hand under Garrett’s grip was tightly fisted. There was a deep furrow etched between his brows.
“Lookat her,” Garrett commanded. His voice was low. “Talk to her, or ye stand to lose everything ye ever wanted.” He leaned forward, across the table and his jaw rippled. “Doit, Roman, or by christ I’ll cut ye loose meself and call ye a sack well lost. I’m sick of crying over the hurts ye hand out. Do ye hear me?” His brogue was mild, but the idiom was rich and Garrett’s anger undeniable.
Roman closed his eyes. For long seconds he hesitated and Kate could see him struggling to speak. Finally, he gasped, “Mary was my fault.”
Garrett fell back, and even Kate drew in a shocked breath.
Roman surged forward and grabbed Garrett’s shirt front and pulled him close. Kate was wedged between them, a witness to every word. “Mary wanted to talk to me the day before we rode to London, but I put her off. I didn’t want to deal with her. She was so radiantly in love I knew all she would want to talk about was you. She was fretting with the need to tellsomeoneand I was safe. But I told her I was too busy.” He let Garrett go and sat back. “If I had justlistened. That’s all she needed. Then she wouldn’t have told her bloody sister….” He hung his head.
“You’ve held onto that for four hundred and fifty years?” Kate asked, appalled.
“He did more than that,” Garrett said.
Roman lifted his head to look at Garrett, surprised into it.
“He started marrying human women, over and over and over,” Garrett continued. “Yet he hid his real nature from them, thinking he was protecting them. But he was just making himself more and more unhappy until he tried to dive down a rabbit hole and not come out again.”
Roman sighed and sat back against the buffet and let his head roll back. “Some seduction this turned into. Thanks, Garrett. Now I feel like the world’s biggest loser.Fuck,I hate this sort of crap. It makes me want to pluck my eyes out or something.” He turned his head to look at Kate. “And he wonders why I only showed up every fifty years or so. I couldn’t take him in bigger doses.”
“Micheil told me you aren’t supposed to congregate. That you two are breaking the rules meeting as often as you do,” Kate said. “So you showing up at all means you couldn’t stay away.”
She cupped his cheek as Garrett chuckled at her comeback. Roman just looked into her eyes. He seemed tired, except she knew he couldn’t get tired. Defeated?
“I like that you couldn’t stay away,” she murmured.
Roman gave a tiny smile. “He’s in my blood, Kate. I have to warn you.”
“Warnme? Why a warning?”
His smile faded. “Because you’re in my blood, too.”
“Roman,” Garrett murmured. “Not here.”
Roman shook his head. “Why not here? Kate looks like royalty, she stood up tonight in front of millions of people and said we were hers in all but practice and now I’ve found my tongue. It’s time, Calum. It’s waypasttime. I’m done dodging this.”
Kate began to tremble. She held on to the edge of the table for support until she felt Garrett press up against her shoulder, giving her the steadiness she needed. His arm came around her waist, merely as a comforting weight.
