Page 72 of The Rogue's Curse

He felt as if he was going to burst. Finally, he reached across the narrow bed and took Rachel’s hand. He thought she might recoil, but instead, she clasped his hand tightly and met his gaze. Giving her a little nod, he said, “We are bringing him home.”

She began to speak, but she managed only I hope before her voice cracked and tears spilled onto the sheets. Then she nodded and extricated her hands to wipe her eyes.

After several minutes, Misha helped Danielle to her feet and guided her to sit at the edge of Dominic’s bed. “He won’t be able to bite, so I’m going to get it started,” he said. “Would that be all right, or would you rather someone else did it?”

“You can do it,” she said, her voice shaking as Misha brought her wrist to his mouth and gently bit. She winced, but her face relaxed as the euphoric effects of the vampire venom seeped into her veins. He withdrew, then guided her hand to Dominic, holding the oozing bites over his lips.

For several heartbreaking moments, nothing happened. Rachel bent to kiss his cheek. She rubbed his chest gently and whispered in his ear that he had to drink, he had to come back and be with her and Emily.And to his surprise, she lifted her gaze, then added, “Paris is here. We need you.”

His lips parted, and Paris dared not to hope. It was probably primitive instinct. But then there was a slow, deliberate shift in his throat as he swallowed. It was not the desperate gulping of a starved vampire, but he was moving.

Now that they were finally taking action, his fear grew even greater, more real than it had been since Dominic first fell. Paris felt as if he was standing on a tightrope with both ends on fire. One of his oldest friends was entirely in the hands of others—others he hoped could do better than he had. What if all this hope was for nothing? What if their last-ditch effort failed? There would not be another miracle like Misha Volkov.

Dani leaned against Misha, who held her wrist gently to Dominic’s lips. His other hand rested on her chest, fingers pressed to her throat to check her pulse. His expression was calm, as if he had not an ounce of fear.

And Paris dared to hope. Lately, he didn’t trust himself. He sure as hell couldn’t trust in the universe to make sense.

But he could trust Misha Volkov, who was so confident that it was contagious.

Paris watched intently, from the slow shift of Dominic’s throat to Danielle’s gradually whitening skin. Just as Dani’s heart skittered into a dangerous rhythm, Misha gently pulled her arm back and scraped his thumb to close the punctures.She slumped against him, though her eyes were still half open.

“Paris,” he whispered.

Paris lifted her easily and cradled her to his chest. Her brown eyes lifted to him, and a hazy smile pulled at her lips. “Is he okay?”

Under Danielle’s sassy edge lived a deep warmth and steely strength that she often hid. “He’s going to be okay,” he said, hoping he wasn’t a liar. “You did so well, but you need to rest now. Come on, cherie.”

Rhys had already prepared a room for her just down the hall. Paris laid her gently on the neatly made bed, where she sank back into the pillows with a happy sigh. He retrieved a tall glass of orange juice from the kitchenette, which they kept stocked for their human guests.

He sat next to her and offered the glass. “Drink up.”

“Is there tequila in it?”

“That’s my girl,” he said with a laugh, holding the glass while she gulped down the juice. “Tequila tomorrow. Right now, the mere scent of tequila would give you alcohol poisoning.”

After draining the glass, she leaned against him and laid her head on his shoulder. “Are you and Misha going to bang?”

He spluttered. “What?”

“Olivia thinks Misha’s into you,” she said. “Obviously he’s really hot. And so are you.”

“Both true statements,” he said.

“I would be so happy,” she said drunkenly. “I want you to be happy. If he made you happy, maybe you could get some rest.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple,” he said.

Her wide, glassy eyes met his. “Why not? If it could happen for Nikko, why not you? You deserve that kind of love.” Then she grinned, planted a wet, orange-scented kiss on hischeek and lay back on the pillows, apparently unaware that she’d just taken a metaphorical baseball bat to his skull.Soon, she fell into a deep sleep. He lingered for an hour, then headed back to check on Dominic, who hadn’t yet moved.

It was all so damned slow. Rhys was patient as ever, saying to give it time to work. But after weeks of horrible limbo, Paris wanted something dramatic. Eventually, he left Dani in Rhys’s care and went back to his office to keep working. Pacing in the hall would drive him insane, so he worked on their list of new veravin candidates by ordering background checks and scheduling a few meetings offsite.

Shortly after four in the morning, he received a text that made his entire body jolt with adrenaline.

Rhys

Good news — come see!

He practically tripped over his feet in his rush to get back to the infirmary. When he skidded to a halt at Dominic’s door, Rachel stepped outside and smiled at him. Her eye makeup was streaked in telltale tear patterns, but she didn’t look distraught. “I thought you might want to see him before sunrise,” she said quietly.

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