Chapter 43

That first day Olivia watched over me like a mother hawk, urging me to eat and drink, monitoring my vital signs and those of the baby.

She encouraged me to rest but I woke as soon as Talon left the bed. When I finally dropped off again, I landed back in that damn cellar. I jerked awake, heart pounding.

In the vault off the bedroom, I could swear Talon turned over, restless because I was. He must've sensed it through our mate bond.

Talon loves you. He claimed you as his mate.

A wave of happiness hit me, washing away the unpleasant, scratchy residue of the nightmare. I curled up again, and this time, when my eyes drifted shut, my dreams were nightmare-free.

I woke up a few hours later, ready to eat. I ate a good meal and called my mom and dad with the new phone Rio had arranged for me, then flipped through copies of Vogue and Elle.

Olivia had said no visitors for now, but Rio must've made a pest of himself because she let him in around noon. He stomped into the bedroom, skinny body tense, dark eyes wild. "What the hell's wrong with this place?"

"Oh, Rio." I held out my arms.

He looked at Olivia. "Is it okay to hug her?"

"Gently," she replied, adding with a maternal look that encompassed both of us, "Thirty minutes, that's all," before returning to the living room.

Rio pulled the leather chair closer to the bed. "Jesus Murphy," he said, making me smile because I knew he'd picked that up from me. "I can't leave you for more than a couple of hours without you getting yourself attacked. Again."

"It's not me, it's them."

He rolled his eyes, fighting a grin.

"I owe you," I said. "If it hadn't been for that switchblade you gave me, that guy might've gotten away with it."

"Yeah?" He sat taller. "Well, what about you? Mrs. Park says you stabbed the guy, that the asshole had a knife to Twilight's throat."

"He did." I shuddered, recalling how Smythe had kept pricking Twilight with it, trying to poison her, to weaken her enough for him to kill. "Although I think she might've fought back harder if I hadn't been there. She was trying to protect me. She wanted me to lock myself in the bedroom, but I couldn't."

"There you go," Rio said. "You know, Twilight says the first time she saw you she thought you were a Valkyrie. You have that whole tall, curvy blonde thing going on."

"Yeah?" I kind of liked the sound of that. "Wait, do Valkyries save people or kill them?"

"Hell if I know. But you saved me."

I shrugged. "All I did was give you a place to stay."

"Eden." He scraped a hand over his multi-colored hair. "I was barely surviving. I was even thinking of selling myself to one of the pervs who were always coming around the subway tunnels."

My heart dropped into my stomach. "I didn't know."

"No judgment on the guys who do, but—" He closed his eyes, shook his head. "Anyway, I just needed to know someone cared whether I lived or died. And you did. You saved my goddamned life. Don't you know that?"

I rolled my lips into my mouth. "Rio…"

He jabbed a finger at me. "Don't cry."

"I'm not." I swiped at my eyes before the tears spilled over.

His brown eyes were suspiciously wet. He pointed at them. "See what you did?"

"C'mere." I held out my arms again and he lunged. We enfolded each other in a tight hug, both of us sniffing. "I love you, you know."

His arms tightened on me. "Love you back."

We stayed that way for a beat, then he sat back with a lopsided smile. "Anyway."

I grinned back. "Anyway." I reached for my water and he handed it to me.

I drank and he put it back on the nightstand for me. "Something I've been wondering," I said. "Why did Mrs. Park want me to have a switchblade in the first place?"

"She said that you should have a weapon, that she had a bad feeling about some of the people in this castle. Her nape was prickling, and that's always a sign something was off."

"Why didn't she tell Twilight, then?"

"I think she did. Twilight was keeping an eye on you, wasn't she?"

"I suppose so."

"In the end, you helped each other, didn't you?"

"Yeah." My smile spread across my face.

"And guess what? Mrs. Park's going to teach me some basic self-defense, including how to use a switchblade. I want to be able to defend you."

"That's nice," I said, touched. "But I don't want you to get hurt because of me. And you don't have to defend me. Twilight's going to teach me some moves, too."

"That's good, but it's not up to you. And you're not going to send me home, either. I have a contract, and I like it here. For now, I'm staying."

I nodded slowly. Rio was an adult, and to be honest, in New York, he'd been the streetwise one, not me. Still, up until now, I'd thought of myself as his defender, not the other way around. Maybe not his savior like he seemed to think, but I'd definitely been taking care of him.

Still, it was odd, having him take charge like this. Like déjà vu, only in reverse. This was what it would feel like when my baby grew up.

I quirked a brow. "You think they'll let Mrs. Park give you a switchblade?"

"Are you kidding?" He chuckled and sat back. "No one tells that woman what to do."

After that, Olivia and I played cards, then I took another nap and went for a short walk, Jasper accompanying me around the castle courtyard. I was back in bed, reading, when Talon finally emerged from his vault.

"Olivia says you're having nightmares." He sat on the edge of the mattress, brows drawn together.

I wrinkled my nose. "I keep dreaming I'm back in that cellar."

"Oh, baby." He pulled me onto his lap, and I leaned my head against his chest.

"Actually," I admitted, "in the dream I was giving birth with no one to help me."

On the dirt floor in that cold, dank cellar.

Talon's throat worked. "You know you're safe now."

"Yeah. But…" I shrugged.

"Hey." He ran his fingers through my short locks. "You survived because you kept your head, did what you had to. You're okay, and the baby's doing fine. I'm fucking impressed. We all are."

"Yeah?" That made me smile. "Mrs. Park did say I have lady balls."

Talon chuckled. "You do. I'm so sorry you got sucked into this. So goddamned sorry. Lemaire had it out for Brien and Twilight—you were just the easiest way in. Because of Esposito and what he is to me." His voice iced.

"Your father." I swallowed queasily, flashing on how the poor man had hung in Lemaire's grip as the vampire drained him of blood. "I saw him die. Lemaire…he was so fast and I couldn't have stopped him even if I tried. It was awful—"

"Shh. If you'd tried to interfere, Lemaire probably would've drained you as well. As for Esposito, he brought it on himself."

"I'm still sorry. He didn't deserve that."

"No?" Talon's tone was hard. "Then he shouldn't have helped kidnap you in the first place."

I pulled back, frowning. "He tried to save me—you know that, don't you? That's why we were in the hall. Lemaire attacked him because he was helping me escape. And even before that, he did his best to protect me."

"He shouldn't have taken you in the first place," Talon asserted. "The worst part is he was only in it for the money. He got in too deep at a Quebec City casino. My guess is, Lemaire lured him in, then lent him the money to gamble. He would've known Esposito was my father—it's not a secret, not if you dig a little. And now that I'm a lieutenant, that made Esposito valuable. And I knew that. I had him under surveillance, but I never thought he'd sink this low."

I relaxed against Talon again, stroking his chest. I could feel his emotions through the bond now, and I knew he needed soothing, even if he pretended like he didn't give a damn about his father.

"I suppose. But I think he was sorry, that he hated himself for it. I heard him arguing with Lemaire, saying he'd promised that me and the baby wouldn't be hurt."

"Yeah? Well, he didn't have to do it. He could've come to me as soon as he realized what they wanted him to do. But if it makes you feel better to think of him as the good guy here…"

"He was," I said. "In the end, he was."

Talon made a noncommittal grunt.

"Have you told your mom?" I asked.

"No. There wasn't time. I'll tell her tonight." His chest heaved beneath my hand. "I don't know what to say. There isn't even a body to bury."

I kissed his jaw, running my lips over the faint, dark bristles. "Tell her he did his best, okay? That he took care of me and the baby. She doesn't need to know the rest."

"You want me to lie?"

"You don't have to lie. Just…don't tell her the whole story, okay?"

"I'll think about it." Tucking me back into bed, he stood up and stretched.

Muscles rippled and his shirt inched up, revealing a slice of washboard abs. I guess I was feeling better because my insides tingled.

This man was my mate.

He'd claimed me.

Damn, I was lucky. And not just because he was hot as hell. He was the whole package, as far as I was concerned, the perfect blend of tough and caring.

"I'm going to shower," he said, "then I'll be back."

"Okay," I said absently, my gaze still on those tasty abs.

Bringing his arms down, he eyed me back, his expression taut. "Hold that thought, all right? Or I'm going to fuck you, and Olivia will chop off my balls."

I blinked, then smiled. I had power over this man, and I liked it.

"Don't give me that look," he warned.

I widened my eyes, messing with him. "What look?"

"That cat-who-swallowed-the-canary look." He put a hand next to my head, sliding the other beneath the sheet to cup me between my thighs over my panties.

"I can't do anything right now, but as soon as you're cleared…" He lightly spanked my mound.

I mock-pouted. "Now you're just being mean."

"That's right." He stroked me over my panties. "Tell me you love me."

My eyelids lowered. I arched my back, pressing myself against his teasing fingers. "I love you."

"Again." His middle finger toyed with my clit.

I exhaled noisily. "I love you. I love you."

He swallowed my words with a deep kiss, then lifted his head. "I love you, too. And I promise I'll be right here the rest of the night, okay?" He nodded at the leather chair. "Working."

"Mm."

When he came out of the shower, I curled up facing him so I could watch him work, enjoying how his dark brows drew together or lifted; how his sexy mouth flattened or pulled sideways; and how at times he sat back, obviously reading, while other times he hunched over the keyboard, typing rapidly.

This man is yours.

So much had happened. I was probably going to have nightmares for a while, but this right here was special and I let the awesomeness of it seep into me.

When I finally closed my eyes, I slid into a deep, nightmare-free sleep that lasted for hours.

Later that day, Olivia pronounced me fit for regular activities, but Talon waited another night, waking me up an hour before dawn the following morning. Drawing off the camisole and panties I'd worn to bed, he licked and sucked and fingered me until I came, then arranged me on his lap, my thighs spread on his.

His eyes caught mine, his amber irises outlined in hot blue. He entered me slowly, holding my gaze the entire time.

When he was seated deep inside me, we both expelled a breath. He gripped my bottom. "This is me loving you, Eden."

Hands on his chest, I lifted up and sank back down on him again. I teased his flat nipples with my thumbs, and he groaned.

"And this is me loving you, Talon."

We made love like that, slow and easy until we were both shaking with the need to climax. I slid a hand down between myself, rubbing my clit, as he sped up his thrusts, lifting me and bringing me back down. Firm but also careful.

That carefulness drove me crazy. The best kind of agony.

He kept it up until I begged him to take me harder. "I need…"

"Touch your tits," he gritted, and when I did, his eyes flashed blue.

I pinched my nipples, so primed. That was all it took. A lick of white lightning flashed up my spine, blanking my mind, sending me over the edge. I kept riding him, my inner walls convulsing around him.

"Fuck, Eden." He gave a last, hard stroke and spilled hotly into me.

After, he curled around me on the bed, pressing kisses to my cheek, my temple, my nape. I expected him to leave and lock himself into his vault, but he stayed until his breath slowed to almost nothing, his body cooling. Deep in his day sleep, a wordless expression of trust.

I stayed another few minutes, so happy my heart felt too big for my chest. Then I kissed him and left the bed to shower and dress.