Chapter 26

Nearly eight hours later,when it's all over, Wyn takes me home and vows to check on me later. I wave her off, though. She's already done so much for me, and I don't want to put her out any more than I already have.

Besides, I'm so exhausted, and all I want to do is sleep, anyway.

The second I walk through my dorm room door, I crawl into bed and pull the blankets over my head. I'm bone-tired, and I feel like I could sleep for weeks. The second my head hits the pillow, and my eyelids flutter closed, I'm out.

I'm not sure how long I'm asleep, but when I wake up, there's someone in my room with me. Their presence is like a weight on my subconscious, and as confirmation, I hear something before I even open my eyes. It's a faint sound, just the slight rustle of clothing, but it's unmistakable in the near-silence of my room, and it sets my pulse racing.

Tyler is dead,I tell myself. Nathan is dead. James is dead.

Could it be a Burning Crown member who"s pissed about what happened to James? No. I instantly dismiss that. After Nathan's body was found, the police investigated him and discovered he and Tyler were the only ones behind the threats toward me. They'd bonded over their mutual hate for me, I guess.

There's no one left to hurt me. Roman made sure of that.

Clenching my jaw, I find the courage to open my eyes. The room is dim, and it's cast in shadows from the moonlight that's pouring in from my single window. On the far side of my microscopic room, there's a desk and a chair. Someone is sitting in that chair. He's leaning back, legs spread, one finger touching his lips casually like he owns the world and everything in it. Including me.

Some might say he does.

Roman Rush.

I sit up, still groggy and sleep-drenched, and he doesn't say a word. It's almost like he doesn't want to be the first one to speak. But I definitely won't be the one to break the silence. I don't even know what to say.

"You didn't call me," he says finally, that deep timbre skipping down my spine. It's been too long since I've heard it.

"I know," I reply. Wyn must have told either him or one of the guys that I was in the hospital. It's the only reason he's here, and that sends a shard of sadness straight through me. "But I'm fine. So you really didn't need to come."

If he just came out of a sense of duty, then I've just given him an out—and I hold my breath, my heart pounding, waiting to see if he'll take it.

"And the baby?" he asks, his voice emotionless.

I should have seen that question coming, but it still takes me by surprise, and I have to swallow back the emotion that rises up in my throat. "I, um…" Whew, God. This is harder than I thought it would be. "...I lost the baby."

I know he hears the wobble in my voice—there's no way he could miss it—but he remains perfectly still, his pale gaze fixed on me. Finally, he says, "You're sure?"

Like I'd be unsure about something like that.

Pulling the covers back, I rise up out of the bed, wincing at the sudden movement. They gave me pretty heavy pain meds in the hospital, but those are just starting to wear off.

I'm in gray sweatpants and a white tank top, and I walk up to the door, pulling it open. "Yes, I'm sure," I say, remembering as the ultrasound tech searched in vain for a heartbeat. "We're free of each other now."

Even as I say those words, though, I feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. I can't breathe, and I'm desperately trying to hold my shit together. But losing yet another person I love is destroying me, and I wonder just how much more pain I can take. When will it end?

He stands up slowly and walks over to me. I'm holding onto the edge of the door with white knuckles, my eyes cast downward. I can't look into that beautiful face, and watch him walk away from me again. I just can't. Everyone has their limits, and this is mine.

He stops in front of me and uses the crook of his finger to tilt my chin up, so I'm looking into his eyes. "I don't want to be free of you, Little Rabbit," he whispers, emotion tinging his words. "Please don't tell me to walk away from us again."

The pain in his eyes is so unbearably intense that I crumble under the weight of it. The tears come, and I don't even try to stop them now. "I thought you wanted to walk away," I say, my voice trembling. "I texted you, and you never replied. You never even checked on me. For two weeks, nothing."

"The last couple weeks have been hell, Lux. Every day, every minute, was a struggle not to call you. I can't tell you how many times I almost gave in."

I half-shrug. "So, what stopped you?"

Over these last couple of weeks, I've wondered, more than once, if he blames me for what happened with James, and maybe that's why he stayed away. I wanted to know. But now, with the words about to emerge, I don't know if I'm actually ready to hear them.

He drops his hand and glances away like he's trying to find the words to explain. "Keeping my distance was the only way I could give you peace, which is what you deserve and more after everything I've put you through."

I lick my bottom lip, and it's salty from my tears. "Is that why you were moving?"

He looks at me again, his gaze wandering over my face like he's trying to commit every detail to memory. "Yes," he says quietly. "I knew moving across the country was the only way I could stay away, and even then, I doubt it would have worked. I'll always be pulled to you, Lux. Always. There's nothing you or I can do about that."

Yeah, I feel that, too. The gravity of Roman Rush is constantly tugging at me, drawing me in. He's like a force of nature, and maybe it's time to stop fighting this thing between us.

I pull in a long, full breath as relief washes over me. "Then I guess we shouldn"t be apart," I say, smiling up at him, my face still wet from the tears. "Life kinda sucked without you anyway."

He returns my smile, but it's sad. "I've already withdrawn from ExU, and I've formally resigned from the Burning Crown."

I blink at him, shocked by that. ExU and The Burning Crown are everything to him. He's a god here. And he just…gave all that up, so I could stay? Is there anything this guy won't do for me?

"You didn't have to do that," I say. "We could have just avoided each other like every other ex-couple out there."

He reaches up, and brushes the pad of his thumb over my cheek, wiping away the wetness from my tears. "Yes, I did. Letting you live your life free of my shadow was the least I owed you."

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and gaze up at him. "So what now?"

He shrugs one shoulder. "What do you want, Lux?"

I look up at his face, his fresh, soapy scent surrounding me, and I say the first thing that comes to mind. "I want Roman Rush in my bed. Forever." I shrug. "Unless, of course, you're busy."

The corners of his mouth lift into something that resembles a smile, and he scoops me up into his arms, walking me over to the narrow bed. He places me down gently, then crawls in beside me. We're facing each other, and the bed is so small, he has to drape his long, muscular leg over mine.

"Anything else?" he asks, his warm breath brushing over my face. It smells like mint.

I purse my lips like I'm pretending to think. "How about…" I shrug. "...undying love?"

He reaches up and brushes a strand of hair away from my face. "I love you more than anything, Lux Anderson. Your happiness is everything to me."

I know what he's saying is true because he's proven it in a million different ways over the last few weeks.

Tracing his bottom lip with the tip of my finger, my gaze flicks up to meet his. "I love you, too, Roman."

With a smile, his lips touch mine, and his tongue sweeps into my mouth. He pours everything into this kiss—his pain, his happiness, his love. His emotions flow into me as his arms come around my back, tugging me gently into him.

It's not a sexual kiss, though. It's his spirit bonding to mine, entwining, so we're one soul, our hearts beating in rhythm. I never thought I could feel this way—especially with the asshole campus king—but somehow Roman Rush managed to slip past my barriers, and take hold of my heart. And once he had it, there was no letting go.