Chapter 27

27

ROMAN

I spotted him beside a golden puddle, his head thrown back, Teen Me gesticulating at him.

"Xavier!"

The kid faced me, jumping up and down. "Over here!"

No shit, Miss Marple.

Xavier looked at me, his body in his part-shifted form.

I ran over, doing that recent thing of mine to try touching my demon lover.

Damn my ghostliness.

"What happened?" I asked. "And what the hell is that gold shit on the floor?"

"Another time thingy," Teen Me answered.

The dagger went wild, my chest suddenly on fire. "Fuck!"

Teen Me jumped back with a yelp. "I'm sorry!"

God, my insides were in agony. "It's…okay." It really wasn't, though. It hurt like crazy.

"Roman! Come to me!" Grandma called. "Come!"

He hurried away, the dagger going still, the pain gone just like that.

"Holy shit," I breathed. "I can't take any more of this."

"Roman. It's me."

Everything took a pause, Xavier's voice echoing in my ears.

I looked up at him. "Huh?"

"It's me. All of me."

Tremors rocked my body, a breathlessness taking over. "All of you?"

He nodded, offering up his incredible smile. He shifted into his human form, those icy blue eyes back as two precious gems in his stunning face. Enough to bring a man like me to his knees and thank whatever gods of beauty and lust had crafted him.

"Xavier… You're…" My eyes watered yet again. "You're back? You're not dead?"

"No. I'm here, Roman."

"Oh my God… I'm… I'm so sorry. For everything." My heart, even if it was a device, got ready to burst.

"Don't be, Roman. Don't ever be sorry."

I reached up, hands hovering inches away from his face. "I… I'm so happy to see you again. The real you." Going onto tiptoes, I brought my lips closer, knowing full well they wouldn't make contact, but gave zero fucks. As long as I was close to him, nothing else mattered for these next few moments.

"Roman…" He breathed against me. His cinnamon and violet scent enraptured my senses, sending me to giddy heights. "I really want to touch you."

"Same." Man, this cut deep. "So badly."

I lowered myself back down, my skin cells depressed at the lack of touching. But hope came back to wave its flag. Hard. This was the big tease, the preview of what we could have if we ended this shit once and for all. Get that jar, get to kiss for real. Along with everything else.

The sooner the better. There was a tentpole in my jeans.

I smiled up at him. "Who'd have thought we'd end up here?"

"Life has never been dull around you, Roman Gold."

"Sorry about that. I'll tone it down from now on." I winked at him.

He showed me his pearly whites. "Why do I doubt that?"

I shrugged. "Beats me."

"You'll never be dull to me."

"Thanks. That's kind of you." We hurried back to the house.

"However, I would like to experience quieter times with you. Such as summer nights in the garden with a glass of wine. Lazy days on a beach, wonderful Sunday mornings holding you in bed until noon. Things like that."

"Man, you know how to tease a witch."

"Soon, Roman. Soon."

His purr sent shockwaves to my cock. It throbbed harder than it already was, ready for action.

This is so unfair, I whined on the inside.

"I met the button-eyed demon."

Okay. That killed my boner. "Huh?"

"I think we went forward in time."

I shuddered, thankful I never had to encounter him . "What happened?"

He told me.

"She's gone?" I responded to the Tanith revelation.

"For now."

Darcy waited by the back door. "Come in. Quickly."

Xavier gestured for me to go first.

"What a gentleman," I said.

"Always," he answered with a hint of cheeky and a dash of sexy.

Yum.

Tell him, my inner voice spoke. While you have the chance.

Meaning what? This might be the last time I got to tell him? Shit! Why was I even thinking like that?

Because he needs to know. Because you need him to know.

Fuck.

Darcy closed the boarded door, leaving us in candlelight. "Now we plot our next move."

We gathered around a central electric candle, still soggy from the rain. Liza stayed on the sofa, Xavier, Darcy, and me on the floor. Margarite and Lizard Guy stood over in the corner, while Grandma and Teen Me waited upstairs to keep the two parts of me apart.

The dagger buzzed a little, but no pain floored me at this distance.

Darcy held the talking stick. "With this latest development, we can now see time is super unstable. We must play this carefully. Removing the dagger now is unsafe due to the wishing problem."

I cleared my throat, putting a plan forward. "Okay. After I let Teen Me take the dagger out, I'll head back to Grandma's house. Get through the time door, alone, and wish for the time jar." I scratched at my cheek. "None of you will be there with me, so you'll be safe. Then I open it. Or I try one big wish to make everything right. Either way, I've got to be quick."

Darcy blinked at me. "Good plan. I think it can work."

"I'll take you to the door on my back," Xavier chimed in next.

"Bingo!" I declared. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

We kept putting our hopes in the piece of time like it would wipe the slate clean for a big reset. The more I thought about it, the more doubt crept in, wriggling in my belly like a ball of worms.

"What if it doesn't work?" I came in with the negativity. "What if nothing happens?"

Shit. Negativity really sucked the energy out of the room.

"There isn't really a choice, sweetheart." My grandma stood in the doorway, her face painted by candlelight. "By the sounds of things, this is the only choice you have."

Slowly, I got to my feet. "Grandma…" Now I knew how Xavier felt after seeing Ismael, but in a different way. With her alive and in the same room, my most selfish side wanted to stay here and throw caution to the wind. At least here she was alive. At least here she wasn't ashes and memories.

My shoulders sagged under the weight of my grief. "Shit…"

"Let's give them a moment," Darcy said

Everyone left the room.

Any moment now, I'd be crying again. "I can't take this."

"I'm sorry I'm causing you so much pain."

I shook my head vehemently, approaching her. "It's not like that…"

"It is like that, sweetheart. We shouldn't be seeing each other like this. I'm not of your time. None of this is real, as I understand it. You've already been that boy upstairs. You're a grown man now, and my time is over. I wish it wasn't, but it is."

Fuck. Hearing that was like taking another bullet to the chest. "Grandma…"

"How can something have happened yet still exist?" She sighed. "This is magical interference. You have to do whatever you can to make this right. Whatever suffering has taken place and will take place, it must be stopped. The world can't be like this."

Man, she deserved the biggest of hugs. "I…I really miss you."

Her smile could chase every shadow away. "What I need you to know is I love you. I know we're apart in your time, but only physically. I'm always here." She pointed at my chest. "Never forget that."

"Grandma…"

"There is nothing I can do to stop it. Death is inevitable. Time never stops. Even though things are in this pickle, time still marches onward. I understand that all too well. I lost your grandpa too early, along with your mum and dad."

She'd lost her husband the year before her daughter. My dad died from cancer, my mum stepping in front of train a week after, unable to handle his passing.

I was three at the time. I didn't remember them, only saw their faces in photos, heard the stories Grandma told me.

"My dear Rina," she said. That was my mum's name.

God. How I wasn't sobbing my guts up, I didn't know. "I wish I knew what to say. I love you so much."

"I love you, too. Now, make sure you win."

"If only we could hug."

"I know."

Maybe before I left when the dagger was out of me, I'd get one in. Although, if I did that, I might start asking for things and popping heads.

Holding it together, I went to join Xavier in the kitchen, Grandma returning to Teen Me.

"Are you okay?" Xavier asked.

What she'd said made total sense. Our time as grandma and grandson had ended. It was time for me to accept that, no matter how much it fucking hurt. And the more I chewed on it, the more I realized how unhealthy it would be to hug her, to do anything else other than fight on.

"I'm…" God, I seriously needed water. "I'm okay."

"Listen to me, Roman. I understand how much it hurts to see the past come alive. Rest assured, I'm in this with you."

Whoa. Too much emotion, too many tears already shed. Somewhere inside me, a real heart raced. No matter the pain, the struggle, the sorrow, I'd got myself to this point with Xavier. I'd started to evolve into someone new. That's what it all boiled down to—the future where love would flourish.

Holy shit. The words bubbled up my throat with nothing to block them.

Here. We. Go.

"I love you," I blurted. "I love you, Xavier. You've… You've… Fuck me hard. I just really love you and I want to be your boyfriend, your partner, your everything."

Butterflies went wild in my belly, my legs jelly.

I'd said it. I'd really said those words.

A blanket of silence fell over everything, the eyes of my bestie and boyfriend drilling into me at the same time.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Heat rushed up neck, setting my face on fire. I dipped my head, going to turn away.

And go where?!

"I love you, Roman Gold."

My head shot back up, our eyes connecting. Starlight seemed to explode around me, our bodies carried into the firmament. We floated, a bazillion more butterflies tapdancing happiness across my entire being.

"Xavier…"

"I want all of those things too, boyfriend." He smiled and sent me into a starry spin.

God. God. God. I was totally smitten with this demon.

"Boyfriend?" I said.

"Boyfriend."

"I love it."

"I love you."

I went to kiss him, slamming on the brakes. "Shit. Stupid incorporeal crap."

Darcy beamed from ear to ear.

Xavier folded his arms. "Frustrating, yes. But soon we will get to consummate this declaration for hours and hours and hours."

Darcy's grin dropped. "I don't need to hear this."

"You were smiling a minute ago," I countered.

"Until you dragged a perfectly cute situation through the mud."

I groaned at him. "The times I've had to listen to your Angelina Jolie and Hugh Jackman threesome fantasies."

He licked his lips. "Delicious."

"This is Pride and Prejudice levels of tame compared to your dirty talk."

He offered me a deep frown. "Don't sully Jane Austen's work like that. And Mr. Darcy is a dreamboat."

"Biased much?"

"Can't help the link, Roman." He chuckled. "Ah, Mr. Darcy. I so, so would, right beside that pond."

"Or are you just thinking about Colin Firth?"

"Who cares?" He drifted into a happy trace. I was surprised he didn't drool all over the kitchen floor.

"Is he okay?" Xavier asked.

"He's horny."

Darcy blinked, then cleared his throat loudly. "Enough of this. Stop distracting me with hotties."

I laughed at how posh he sounded. "You went down that path alone, little buddy."

His grin returned. "Indeed. Anyway, let's get down to business. We have lives to save."