“Just be glad we’re ahead of the game. Balthazar is on babysitting duty. And he can’t exactly travel in time now, can he?” His satisfaction was unmistakable—like a cat smugly licking its lips after stealing a meal meant for someone else.
I twisted the brush in my hands. “I suppose.” But anxiety plagued me. Balthazar was a demon. And demons didn’t follow the rules.
Turning away, I crossed the room to my armoire, kneeling to retrieve the Sun Dagger from its resting place at the bottom. The moment I held it, a frown tugged at my lips.
I turned, lifting the blade for Malik to see. “Doesn’t this knife seem dull and lifeless? It’s hard to believe this blade can destroy all darkness. It looks… powerless.”
The dagger caught the dim candlelight, but there was no glow, no spark of the ancient magic it was rumored to hold—just cold steel, unmoving.
Malik waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry, Olivia. Everything will work according to plan. Just get a good night’s rest.”
I mustered a weak smile and placed the dagger back in the armoire. When I turned, I leaned against the solid wood, exhaling loudly. “It’s going to be impossible to sleep tonight. I’m already so anxious. Traveling with a pregnant woman and a five-year-old is only going to make things harder.”
Malik smirked. “Relax. Marcellious, Roman, and I take our duty as protectors seriously. You have nothing to worry about.”
With that, he pivoted on his heel and left, vanishing into the corridor, leaving me in a frothy wake of fretfulness.
I wandered to the dark wood vanity, sank onto the cushioned stool, and resumed brushing my hair, each stroke doing little to ease my nerves.
The door creaked open.
Roman stepped inside, his smoldering gaze meeting mine in the mirror. His expression softened as he took in my restless movements.
“What’s wrong?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Everything.” I set the brush down with a thud. “I feel like an idiot for losing my dagger. What kind of time traveler does that? It’s the most precious thing I own—the only thing that lets me move through time. And I forgot about it? You knocked it out of my hand, and I got so flustered I just left it there?”
Roman took off his boots and began unbuttoning his shirt. “We’ve dealt with worse, Olivia. Don’t dwell on it. We’ll get it back.”
I picked up the brush again, yanking angrily at a knot. “I guess. But I still feel like an idiot.”
Roman shrugged off another layer of clothing, his voice teasing. “What got you so distracted that you forgot your knife?”
I scowled at him in the mirror. “You.”
His brows lifted, amused.
I sighed dramatically, tossing the brush onto the vanity. “You got to me. Seeing you for the first time in forever—I forgot everything else.”
Roman’s smirk was predatory. “My point exactly. You need a moment of respite. You need to forget the world.”
He rose to his feet, stepping fully into view—gloriously naked.
My breath hitched, heat pooling between my thighs. My gaze was helplessly drawn downward—to the thick, rigid length of him standing proud between his legs, his cock hard, heavy, and ready.
A delicious ache pulsed inside me.
He stalked forward, every movement unhurried, controlled. His gaze—dark, hooded, hungry—locked onto mine through the mirror.
I licked my lips, desire spiraling through me, molten and demanding. God, I was already soaked. I set down the silver brush, pressing my palms to the vanity’s cool surface to ground myself.
Roman’s reflection shimmered in the gold-leaf-backed mirror as he came behind me, his warmth an intoxicating contrast to the cool air. His presence alone was enough to undo me.
His strong hands settled on my shoulders, kneading firmly and possessively. A shiver rolled through me at the sheer dominance of his touch.
His sea-blue eyes burned into mine in the mirror, scorching, intense.
I let my head fall against the wall of his abs, sighing as his fingers worked lazy circles over my skin. “That feels good.”
