Katherine’s hands shook as she removed the prosthetic and wig. She was about to make a life-altering commitment to a man she’d known less than a week. Granted, she had met him before, but as for actually knowing Julian, she didn’t. Not really. She had the rest of her life to remedy that, and the prospect at spending more time with him quelled her nerves. She felt his presence before she saw him when Julian stopped at the door to the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his glorious chest. At some point he’d removed his shirt. His pants were undone, but still hanging loose around his hips. Her eyes were drawn to the head of his cock peeking out from the opening.

With her mouth watering, Kat removed her bra and panties, keeping her eyes on Julian’s in the mirror. He had already seen her naked, but this time was different. This time when they had sex, he was going to bite her. Julian stepped behind her, pressing his erection into her back while his hands started at her shoulders, making their way down her arms. When he got to her fingertips, Julian lifted her hands and placed them on the counter. “Don’t move,” he husked. Moving her hair off her shoulder, Julian placed an openmouthed kiss on her skin, keeping his eyes on hers in the mirror. As his mouth found its way up to her ear, his hands traced paths over her skin. She was torn between watching his mouth and his hands.

Julian wrapped one hand around her throat as the other cupped a breast. Kat tilted her head to the side, giving Julian better access. For several long minutes, he sensuously taunted her with nothing but his mouth on her skin, moving up her neck, over her nape, and down the other side. He kept his thumb on her pulse, and his other hand alternated between breasts. Never once did he delve lower. He didn’t have to. Kat couldn’t stop the moans as he continued his slow torment.

His fangs dropped, and he skimmed them along the curve of her neck down to the edge of her shoulder. Kat reached behind her, pushing at Julian’s pants. The grip he had on her neck tightened as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger, pinching hard enough to garner a whimper. Kat squeezed her thighs together to keep the wetness from running down her legs. He wasn’t touching anywhere close to her apex, and she was still ready to explode. “Julian,” she begged on a whisper. Quicker than her brain could register, Julian picked her up, carried her to the bed, and laid her down. His pants were gone and he was pushing his erection inside her all within the span of a few seconds.

“Are you sure, Sweetheart?” he asked, his fangs pressing against his lower lip. He was cradling her head in his hands, so she knew he was keeping his claws from coming out.

“Yes. I choose you, Julian,” she repeated her words from earlier.

His eyes darkened to the point they were no longer green, and Julian’s wings spread out behind him as he eased in and out of her heat. Kat wrapped her legs around his hips, rubbing one foot over the skin of his thigh. Her hands itched to grab hold of his wings, but she didn’t know if she was allowed. “Can I touch them?” she asked, praying he told her yes this time.

“Only if you are ready for us,” he warned. She knew by us Julian meant him and the beast. That should probably scare her, but it only fueled the need to be fucked harder. Katherine wanted to rut against Julian’s cock. She needed him to go as deep as possible, as hard as possible. She wasn’t afraid of being ripped in two, because it would be worth it if he could crawl all the way inside her body so they truly were one being.

“I’m ready,” Kat said. Julian nodded, and instead of grabbing them like she wanted, she skimmed her fingertips along the edge of one. That was all it took before Julian threw his head back and roared, quickening the pace and intensity of his thrusts. As much as she wanted to caress that part of him that wasn’t human, she had to grab hold of his biceps. She had wanted to know what it was like to have him let go, and she was now finding out. When his dark eyes bore into hers, Katherine knew she was seeing the beast within. That realization was her undoing as her orgasm tore through her, and her pussy clamped down on his cock.

With no warning, Julian sank his teeth into the skin of her shoulder as he found his own release. His cock pulsed his semen into her core, and Kat’s body caught on fire. Instead of slowing down, Julian fucked her longer and harder. She fully expected her body to spontaneously combust from the inside out. Not wanting the blissful pain to end, she held his head to her shoulder, keeping his fangs buried in her skin. She was floating and never wanted to touch ground again. Kat wanted to ride the high for as long as they lived.

Julian’s mouth on hers began bringing her back to reality. No longer were his fangs bared or attached to her shoulder. No longer was he thrusting in and out. Instead, they both were lying on their sides while he made love to her with his tongue. His hand was gliding along her hip, and his eyes were back to their vibrant green. This she knew because he was watching her. She’d never kissed with her eyes open, but with Julian, she liked it. Liked the connection.

“How do you feel?” he asked when he broke the kiss.

“Like I dropped acid while on my favorite roller coaster. Not that I’ve ever dropped acid, but if I could imagine what it would be like, I would say what I just experienced would be the closest thing to it. Will it be like that every time?” Kat asked.

“I don’t know, but if I had to venture a guess, I would say no. It will only get better.” Julian kissed Kat’s nose before rolling to his back, pulling her with him so she was mostly on top of his body. Kat had so many questions but couldn’t find the strength to voice them. She was content to lie still and quiet. Julian’s hand loving her skin lulled Kat into sleep.

With her knees hugged tight to her chest, Katie made herself as small as possible, praying the big man wouldn’t find her hiding spot. Her momma told her to run, so she did. As fast as her legs would take her, she ran down to the dark basement with her momma right behind her. A sliver of light seeped through the small rectangular window on the opposite wall from where she was hidden behind the water heater. Her eyes were hurting from having them closed tightly, waiting for the big man to come after her. When she didn’t hear any more footsteps, Katie opened her eyes and peeked around the water heater. Instead of coming after Katie, his attention was on her momma. He yelled at her momma. He yelled at her then he hit her.

“You knew she wasn’t yours.” The man’s fist connected with her momma’s face, and she screamed out from the pain.

“You took her away from her home.” This time, he hit her in the stomach, and her momma hollered and begged him to stop.

“She doesn’t belong to you. Or him!” Another fist to her face and blood spurting everywhere. Another scream that had Katie plugging her ears. The next hit caused her momma to slump to the floor, only this time, there was no scream.

Katie pulled her shirt up into her mouth to keep from crying out, but she couldn’t keep the sobs quiet any more than she could keep from peeing on herself. When her momma didn’t scream anymore, the man stopped yelling at her. Instead, he let out some words Katie had heard her papa use, but her momma told her they were bad. Katie knew she was next, but when the man walked over to where she was hiding, he squatted down in front of her, a sad smile on his face. “I am sorry, my sweet angel, but I made a promise. It is better this way.”

Reaching out, he trailed a finger down Katie’s face, wiping at the tears, before he stood and thumped heavily back up the steps. When there were no more sounds from overhead, Katie crept over to where her momma’s body lay unmoving. She shook her still body, trying to get her to wake up. “Momma, wake up. Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.”

“Don’t leave me!” Katherine sat up in the bed, her chest heaving, and tears coursing down her face.

“Katherine, Sweetheart…” Julian brushed her hair off her face and swiped at the tears with his knuckle. “It was just a dream.”

Kat could tell by the frown he was wearing Julian knew it was more than just a dream. He didn’t move to hold her, but she needed the comfort of his strong arms to ward off the chill from the memory. Leaning into him, Kat was pulled down onto his chest as Julian gave her what she needed without her having to ask. Shivering, she curled farther into the warmth of his side. The dream had been mostly the same as her memory during hypnosis, only this time she saw the man’s face and heard his voice. Did her parents’ killer really know her, or was that her psyche playing tricks on her?

“Do you want to talk about it?” Julian asked, stroking a hand up and down her arm, warming her.

“It was the memory I had of my mother’s death while I was under hypnosis, only this time, the killer talked to me. He knew me. Said he had made a promise.”

“Did you recognize him?”

“His voice was familiar, but… I’m not sure.”

“I want to show you something,” Julian said. “I’ll be right back.” Julian rolled away from Kat and off the bed, strolling naked out the door. She would never get tired of seeing his bare body, even if they weren’t having sex. When Julian walked back into the room, he returned to where he’d been in the bed, only this time he pushed the pillows behind his back and leaned against the headboard. “Come up here, Sweetheart.” Kat pushed herself up so she was sitting next to him. Julian pulled the covers up around her waist and wrapped one arm around her. “Do you recognize this man?” he asked, holding out his phone to her.

Kat gasped. “Holy shit, Julian. That’s him. The man from my dream. How… Who is he?” Katherine was staring at a drawing of herself with the man who killed her mother.

“Connor had a vision. He assured Dante he felt no malice coming from the man. It is possible you have repressed the memory of what happened that day, and in the future you will meet up with him at some point. I don’t want you to worry. I will not let any harm come to you.”

Kat continued to study the man’s features, trying to remember something other than the bad stuff that happened. “In my dream, he called me his angel. He acted like he knew who I was, and even though he killed my mother in front of me, I didn’t feel threatened.”

“As soon as we get cleaned up, I am going to find a therapist. I think it will help if you talk this out with someone.”

“I’m talking it out with you.”

“I am not qualified to help make sense of what you have been through, Sweetheart.” Julian pulled her closer and kissed her on the temple. It was one of the sweet gestures he did that warmed her heart. Kat felt a flicker of emotion for Julian that she couldn’t put a name to. She knew it was too early to love him, but she also knew it wouldn’t take much to fall in love with him if he continued being the way he was with her.

Leaning away from Julian, she turned to face him. “I think you are qualified. I trusted you enough to become your mate, so I feel like I can talk to you about anything. It’s bad enough I can’t remember my past, but on top of that I find out I’m a clone. I don’t want to hash out my problems with a stranger. Can we please try doing without a therapist first? I know I said I wanted to talk to one, but the more I think about it, the less I want to rehash what I was put through by the prison guard.” Julian ground his teeth together, so maybe she couldn’t talk to him about her torture. If her mentioning it had him so upset, she couldn’t imagine what he would do if he knew the details of what she endured. 

“I would feel better if you spoke with a professional, but we will try it your way first. If you continue to have nightmares, I want you to reconsider. I will not push you to do something you don’t want to.”

“Deal. As much as it pains me to think about it, I want to find out more about my past. You’re a super Gargoyle, so you can help me there, right?”

“I can do my best. I might need to get Landon involved, though. He is better at finding things which are meant to stay buried than I am.”

“I would love to see the lab and meet the man smarter than you.”

“I never said he was smarter than I.”

“I didn’t… oh hell. I’m just going to go pull my foot out of my mouth now.” Katherine covered her face so he couldn’t see her embarrassment.

Julian laughed and pulled her hands away, kissing her knuckles. “I would love to show you the lab, and you can meet Landon then. We can ask him to help research your past while we are there. Speaking of your past, Trevor has been wearing out my phone.”

“Why? What does he want?”

“He wants to apologize. He feels bad for dropping the clone bomb on you, and he wants to talk to you about it.”

“I might not have handled the situation very well since I was drinking. Then again, I might not have handled it as well as I did if I hadn’t been. It’s a tough pill to swallow finding out you aren’t real.”

“Sweetheart–”

“Tell Trevor I’ll be glad to meet with him. He’s probably as qualified as a therapist on helping me deal with being a clone since he is one,” she said, cutting him off. Deep down Kat knew she could never make Julian understand the way she felt about being a clone. It wasn’t worth arguing over.

“What do you say we get cleaned up and go visit the lab. There are a couple of things I want to check on, and I need to be there physically to do so.”

“Sounds good. Then do you want to take me to see Trevor? Or maybe since I screwed up his visit last night, we can ask him and Jasper to come back for supper.”

“Do you really want company tonight? We have only just completed the mate bond.”

Katherine couldn’t help but laugh. Julian had tried his best to hide his erection with the extra pillow, and she had been trying her best to ignore it because they’d been having a serious discussion. “I guess you have a point. This is like our honeymoon, right?”

Julian grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him so she was straddling his lap with the pillow caught between their bodies. Kat leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“This most definitely is not our honeymoon. That will consist of two weeks on a beach beside crystal blue waters with you naked.”

“I like the sound of that, as long as you’re naked with me. Then again, anywhere, anytime you’re naked is good with me.” Julian pulled the pillow out from between them, tossed it on the floor, and proceeded to get naked with her. It was definitely a good time.

 

 

As much as he was unsure about his future in the lab, or even New Atlanta, Julian had never felt lighter in his life. He had only thought he was happy before he met Katherine. Now that they were mated, he was floating. He worried about her state of mind and all she had endured, but she promised she would tell him if talking to him wasn’t enough. He was going to monitor her mood constantly to ensure she was as happy as he was. He was also going to figure out a way to prove her innocence so she didn’t have to hide her true identity. She was still his Katherine underneath the disguise, but it wasn’t the same as showing the world Katherine Annalise Stone belonged to him. He wanted to take her out to nice dinners, eat popcorn while watching a movie at the theater, or stroll hand-in-hand down the sidewalk.

The ride to the lab had been filled with Katherine singing every song on the satellite radio. Granted, she changed the station to find one she liked as soon as the previous one ended. While he normally listened to classical, he didn’t mind the songs she chose, mainly because he loved the sound of her voice as she softly sang along. After they bathed and made love in the large, jetted tub, Katherine once again donned a dress and heels. Instead of wearing jeans as he had been, Julian put on dress slacks and a button-up shirt. He liked the fact his mate’s attire matched his – more evidence they fit perfectly together.

When they arrived, Kat waited until he came around and helped her out of the Corvette. Julian held the door open for her as they entered the lab and held her hand while they walked. Instead of finding Landon there, Lorenzo was sitting at the bank of computers typing. He looked up as they approached. “Julian. Welcome home.” Lorenzo stood and embraced Julian briefly.

“Thank you, Brother. Katherine, this is Lorenzo Campanelli. Lor, my mate, Katherine Stone.”

“On my honor.” Lorenzo fisted his heart and bowed to Katherine, pledging his loyalty. Katherine frowned, and Julian realized she hadn’t been told about all the ways of the Gargoyles. He would explain it later when they were alone.

“Where is Landon?”

“He called me last night asking if I minded taking the shift today. He didn’t say why.”

Julian didn’t think it odd that the Goyle asked for a day off. He had been manning the computers almost seven days a week for a while. “Everyone needs a day off now and then. If you would like a break, I have some things I need to take care of while I’m here.”

“I’d love to go spar for a couple of hours if Urijah is available.”

“Go ahead. We will be fine until you return.”

“Thanks, Julian. Katherine, it really is wonderful that you’re home.”

“Thank you.”

Lorenzo left them alone, and Julian said, “Welcome to my laboratory,” in his cheesiest mad scientist voice. Katherine laughed, and the smile remained on her face. “This is where the magic happens,” he added with a wave of his arm.

“I thought that was our bedroom,” she deadpanned.

“Oh, now she is a comedienne.” Julian pulled her into his arms, kissing her nose.

“Seriously, though, this place is amazing. I would love to have had all this at my disposal when I was doing research.” Katherine glanced at each monitor, but Julian was pretty sure she had no idea what a lot of it was. Lorenzo didn’t, either, but he wasn’t there to be a hacker. His job was to monitor the security systems and do basic troubleshooting should the need arise.

“Feel free to walk around. There is a kitchen, a restroom, and a bedroom for emergencies.”

“What kind of emergencies?” Kat asked.

“Like the time Jasper was poisoned by an ex-lover and left for dead. We needed to keep him somewhere he could be monitored without humans finding him and where Trevor could stay with him.”

“I seriously need to talk to Trevor, don’t I?”

“Yes, I believe you do, Sweetheart. He went through his own ordeal, but I will let him tell you that story.”

“I’m going to have a look around so you can get to work,” Kat said with a smile. Julian kept his eyes on her legs as she skillfully walked away in her high heels.

Linking his fingers together, Julian cracked his knuckles and sat in the same chair he had used for more hours than he could remember. As soon as he logged onto the system, a folder appeared with his name on it. “What the fuck?” he muttered, clicking it open. When the contents appeared, Julian sat back, his mouth open.