Page 22 of Roman

“Dream?”he quietly asked, letting go of her arm and kneeling so he could get a better look at the back of her leg.

The heat of his touch fading from her arm reminded her how cold it was in this damp, dark cell.She shivered, unsure if it was because of the cold or the fact that she had been attacked and kidnapped twice in the last twenty-four hours.

“The nightmare you woke me from.Fire surrounded me; it was so real I could feel the heat warming my skin,” she told Roman as he slowly stood, his eyes lingering on her marked arm.“The smoke was so thick it was suffocating me.Monsters surrounded me.They were chasing me, and one grabbed me by the arm and my leg, but it was just a bad dream… How can there be claw marks on me when it’s not real?”she asked him, hopeful he would have answers for her.

What about the big guy?Armaros?If it’s not real, how is it he’s in my dreams as well as in the real world?Charlotte had no answers about how Armaros was a real person.She hadn’t even known his name until Roman had spoken it back in the cell.She’d always just called himthe big guyorher guardian angel.Everything was overwhelming her; the weight of all the things she had seen, learned, and gone through was exhausting.

Roman stood silent for a moment as if deciding what to say.“Charlotte, I don’t think it was a nightmare.I think you better come with me.I want to know every detail about this so-called dream you had.”He walked out of the cell and then stopped under the fluorescent light in the corridor.

She couldn’t help but be drawn to the giant tattoo of wings on his back.It flowed from the top of his shoulders down his back, disappearing under his jeans.She couldn’t take her eyes off it.The detail of each feather mesmerized her.It looked real.If she reached out and ran her fingers along it, she thought she might feel soft feathers underneath her touch.

He stopped, turning to face her, robbing her of the beautiful image.

Charlotte could finally get a good look at him as she hesitated at the cell door.His messy blond hair looked like he’d tossed and turned in bed, and his tanned body rippled with muscle.His six-pack led down to his unbuttoned black jeans, making her want to explore his body further.

“When was the last time you ate something?”he asked, his head tilting slightly to the side, slowly looking her up and down.

“I don’t know.”She frowned, hunger and thirst hitting her like a freight train.

She was exhausted, hungry, and dying of thirst.Gazing down at her filthy, bloodied clothes, she saw that her favoriteStranger Thingssweater and pants were completely ruined.She’d kill for a shower, imagining how amazing it would feel to stand under the stream of hot water after everything that had happened.

“I could really do with some water.I’m so thirsty,” she answered, slowly stepping out of the cell.

He nodded, running his hand through his hair.“Well, let’s go sort that out, shall we?And, Charlotte, don’t even think of trying to run from me.”He stared at her, his face becoming hard.“You will only anger me, and that is something you do not want to see.”He turned, walking down the corridor.

Charlotte was cold,hungry, and thirsty as she sat at one of the most beautiful tables she’d ever seen.It was vast, round, and seemed to be made from stunning black marble.She could almost see her reflection in it as she gazed at the hypnotizing gold veins that weaved through the bottomless black like tiny little streams of water.

She grazed a finger against the nearest glittering vein, feeling the coldness of the marble seep into her already frozen skin, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine.She lazily traced the gold lines, trying not to think of everything that had happened to her.

Charlotte thought she was losing her mind.As Roman had led her down the long corridor, she walked past many cells just like the one she had awoken in.All were empty except for the first two cells that were at the foot of a staircase.

She’d recognized one of her kidnappers, the dark-haired creep from the diner, in one of the cells.She’d felt no remorse when she’d seen him beaten to a pulp as he lay groaning on the bed in his cell.The other prisoner had given her the creeps.It was the way he’d looked at her, grinning as he whispered in a low, frightening voice, “He’s coming for you.”

That had sent a shiver down her spine.

Charlotte shuddered at the memory of it, picturing the blond man from her dreams walking out of the fire.Now, here she sat, filthy from head to toe, clothes ruined, hair all over the place, in one of the most extravagant houses she’d ever seen.She let out a half-hysterical laugh.

What a sight I must be,she thought, wishing she could have a hot shower and change into some clean clothes.

“Water.”

Charlotte jumped as Roman placed a glass of water down in front of her.

“I meant it when I said I wouldn’t hurt you.”

Charlotte ignored him, snatching up the glass and gulping it down.She was so thirsty she couldn’t bring herself to care when the water ran down her chin, neck, and chest as she drank greedily, groaning in satisfaction as the coolness flowed down her throat.

Charlotte finally put down the empty glass, craving more, her thirst not yet quenched.“Can I please have another…” She turned her head, her words trailing off into a whisper as Roman stood gazing down at her.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes slowly following a drop of water.She could feel the coldness of the drop running down her neck.But it was his eyes that caught her attention, no longer crystal blue but slowly changing to a crimson red.

“A… a-are you alright?”she whispered, breathing heavily herself.She should have been terrified, but the muscled, messy-haired man before her with his glowing eyes had her body coming alive, desire flowing through it.

At this very moment, Charlotte didn’t think she’d ever been so attracted to anyone in her whole life.She wanted him, and she wanted him right now.

7

Roman was losing control.He could feel it.What surprised him even more was the fact that he didn’t give a flying fuck, either.He knew his eyes were glowing, but he couldn’t help it.This mortal sitting before him was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and he wasn’t ashamed to say that, at this very moment, she was quite capable of bringing him to his knees.

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