How long did it take to save one life?

After hours of pacing the hallway before Mr. Williams’ room, Leo suggested they go back home. Since they were both pretty exhausted from the night’s events, Roman agreed.

Now they simply waited on the call from the doctor. Robert had begged for them all to eat dinner, but nobody could manage to take a bite while they awaited news.

It seemed childish that she expected everything to immediately be fine, but now they had to wait until the doctor gave them the results. Magic was difficult and often slow when it came to healing.

Josephine escaped to the library and began her research on how to keep Mr. Williams’ bear shifter genes alive. She knew she had time to figure things out, but she had nothing else to do besides wait. She refused to think about what would happen should he not make it.

Roman found her, hours later, buried beneath a mountain of books and various documents. She raised dry, bloodshot eyes to his and couldn’t stop the flood of tears as they rained down her cheek.

“I can’t focus,” she admitted shamefully. “I’ve always found peace and comfort in my work, but now, I just can’t concentrate.”

Roman clucked his tongue and gathered her into his arms where he began murmuring words in some other language. A large part of her wanted to dissect the language, identify it and then analyze it, but her brain was too tired to do much more than allow herself to be coddled.

“Everyone is gathered in the parlor,” Roman murmured against her temple. “Why don’t we join them? Robert has a fire going and he and Leo are playing chess. I can have him fix you something to eat,” he offered.

“No,” she refused softly. “Let’s just go and be with them. I’m too tired to do much more than breathe.”

“As you wish,” Roman agreed, lifting her into his arms, he carried her down the hallway and into the parlor. Neither Robert nor Leo glanced up as they entered, their minds too occupied with the game of strategy and wits.

Roman gently lay her on the lounge chair seated before the fireplace and then lowered himself to sit on the floor at her side. He laid his head back against the velvety material and Josephine couldn’t help but run her fingers through his hair.

Finally, the phone rang.

Roman jumped and raced across the room, snatching it from the receiver.

“Hello?” he barked.

She, Robert, and Leo all waited with baited breath as Roman remained silent as he listened to the voice on the other end. He nearly dropped the phone when he whirled around towards them.

“He’s going to live!” he exclaimed with a relieved laugh. “I can’t believe it. He’s going to live,” he breathed and nearly collapsed against the table. “My father is going to live.”

“Roman,” Josephine cried as she went to embrace him. He hugged her tightly against him. They’d spent all day waiting for news and the sun was now dropping past the horizon outside. In the last hours of the day, Roman’s father had been saved. Even though they now faced a new dilemma and possibly a difficult quest, the William’s family would continue and The Midnight Den would survive.

“Let’s give them some privacy,” Robert whispered to Leo as the men ducked out of the room with knowing smiles.

Roman’s warmth felt comforting against her. Soon, the room was cloaked in darkness. She approached a lamp to turn it on, but he pulled her back against him.

“We can find a way to reverse this,” he told her, touching the bite. His desperate eyes searched her face. “You don’t have to be connected to me if you don’t want to.”

She took a deep breathe, the tense air of the room nearly suffocating her. “Roman, I’m not sure that we need to do that…”

The seconds passed between them like hours as she saw him processing her answer. Even in the darkness, she felt like her face was flustered before him.

“I mean, what I’m saying is...Would it be alright if we stay like this for a while?” she asked softly as her hand went to cover the bite. His breath tickled her ear as he leaned towards her.

“You’ve helped me save my father,” he reminded her. “You can have whatever you want.” Her heart jumped nervously.

“Does that include you?” The question was out of her mouth before she could help it. Heat swirled around them. He let out a rumbling laugh as he leaned into her.

“Only if I can have you,” he countered in a hoarse voice. “All of you.”

She squeaked in pleasant surprise when he pounced. His rough hands moved against her body as if they were making music on her. She moaned and pressed her lips against his. He pressed her against the table behind them with a primal growl, a delicious sound that made her blood heat.

When he rubbed himself against her, she captured his bottom lip to nibble it. His tongue pressed against her attack and he ravaged her mouth. They broke apart, panting. Her chest rose up and down, the hardened nipples peaking beneath the thin fabric of her shirt. His fingertips found them and she threw her head back to moan as he caressed her breasts.

“Josephine!” His growl made her tremble as his hands made quick work of her clothes. Her fingers desperately tugged away his own clothing. She moaned in sweet agony as his hardness brushed up against her slick entrance. He pulled her into a hard kiss. She arched her back and pressed up against him with a satisfied groan.

“I can’t wait any longer,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. The outline of his member against her spiked every lustful nerve within her. She wanted him. She needed him. To feel his love as he thrusted into her.

They pressed together. Savagely, a primal urge thundering between them to touch skin against skin. Even in the dim light, she felt his hesitance. She grabbed his hand with a firm reassuring squeeze. He nodded against her, his tongue playing with the bite, earning a gasp of pleasure from her.

He grasped one of her legs to hook behind him. Her skin was melting in bliss while he positioned himself at her entrance, yearning for him to fill her. With a light touch, he barely pushed himself into her while his fingers began to work magic just above her entrance. She gasped with pleasure and whined, writhing beneath him.

“Please!”

“I love you,” he said. Slow and soft, before he thrust inside of her with a husky groan.

“Again,” she begged him. He was quick to follow her lead, thrusting in and out of her. She felt the pressure building in her as she began to respond to his movements with her own rhythm. Their breaths became quicker together as the starlight began to cloak them in a dreamy haze.

“Fuck,” he groaned. His pace quickened. She felt a sudden rocketing in pressure as her muscles squeezed around him, a sensation that brought her to her peak.

“Roman!” She cried out for him and threw her arms around his neck. She needed to feel the deep rumbling of his chest as he growled against her. He threw his head back with a deafening roar as their pleasure peaked together.

“Josephine!” he screamed her name as they rocked against each other into blissful ecstasy. They collapsed against one another, the desk cold beneath them.

“Bed?” she suggested weakly. He nodded, sweaty forehead slick against her naked chest. He grabbed her in his arms and carried her down the hall to his room. He dropped her gently with a grin on the soft bed. She moaned gratefully as she buried her face in the fabric and felt him lay down beside her. His hands trailed her sides.

“You can continue to research the Midnight Den,” he said. “I can help you prepare documents. We just need to leave out certain parts.”

“I wasn’t planning on revealing the bear magic,” she teased with a smile. His dazzling eyes seemed to glow in the faint moonlight.

He smirked. “Do you remember what I told you in the beginning?”

She furrowed her brow. “What?”

“Not to fall in love with me,” he said slyly as his hand want to cup her face. “Here you are, though.”

“I don’t see you complaining,” she pointed out as she propped herself up on her elbow. His wicked grin fell to her naked breasts, exposed as they slipped from beneath the sheet.

“No, I can’t complain. Not even about my mother’s trickiness.”

“What do you mean?” she asked with a frown.

He pulled her into his arms as they rested against the pillows together. She listened to the steady beat of his heart as he played with her hair.

“Her craftiness caused some stress,” he admitted. “But, it did lead to some valuable discoveries.” When his handsome eyes rested on her face, she blushed.

She’d discovered more than she thought possible too. The journey to discover the secrets behind the Midnight Den had led her to love. Strange, unpredictable love that was worth discovering for years to come.

* * *