Queen of Ruin(Book three of the Immortals Series)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN DENIAL

When the final clap of thunder reached her ears, Tessa opened her eyes and remembered she was far from the warm bed she shared with Rafik in England. She slid her hand across the cool sheets beside her and realized he hadn't been there for some time. As the crisp, thin mountain air hit her, she took a deep breath of it, then pushed herself from the bed and stretched her arms over her head as a gentle moan fell from her mouth.

She pulled on a new black dress with silver buttons down the front as an aching sadness started to well up in her throat. A master of denial, she could lie her way out of any situation and had hustled thousands of dollars from manipulating people with her deception.

Standing in front of the full-length mirror, she shook out her hands and blew out through pursed lips. She locked away the truth deep inside the backroom in her mind and pretended not to recognize the reality of her life as she put on her toothiest smile. "Everything's alright. We've been through worse."

If anyone needed convincing, it was her mate. The twins had traveled the world with Haldir and were more or less mobile already, but Rafik was locked away in the security of his basement lair for ten years. The circus life wasn't for him, and she could see it on his face.

As she passed by Teddy in the kitchen, he motioned towards the door. "He's on the porch. You need to get his mind right, Tess."

A shiver raced through her body as she saw him staring out across the landscape. "Promise me if we get caught up, you'll get him the hell out. I can handle my shit, but I can't lose him. I'll die without him. Swear to me."

He narrowed his eyes and shot her a scowl. "Come on, Tess, you know I will. Nothing's going to happen to lover boy. Let's just stick to the plan."

When he caught the scent of strawberries as she quietly crept through the doorway, Rafik held out his hand without looking back.

"Did you sleep well, my darling one?" He pulled her into his side and slung his arm around her shoulder. Her soft curly hair blew in the late afternoon breeze while she joined him on the porch that overlooked the lake. Pushing her locks off her face, she pulled the knit throw from the bed about her and gave him a tight-lipped smile. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder and shook her head. "Not without you beside me."

She learned well from her teacher; his wounds were gone now, and only his handsome face remained. Looking out over the beauty before him, he took a deep breath and glanced to the ground before he faced her. "How long do you think we can live this way?"

Kicking at the boards beneath her feet, Tessa chuckled to herself as she tried to make light of their terrible situation. "We did it for ten years. I don't expect another ten years will be too much of a hardship."

A disgusted breath huffed from his chest, and he tried to turn away just to have her grab his shirt up in her fists. "Don't you start giving up already! I need you. This is only until Haldir comes back. He said two months; we can do that standing on our heads."

He rolled his teary eyes away and shook his head. His guilt for dragging her back into the danger and shadows was overwhelming. "This is not the life I wished for you." Putting his hands over hers, Rafik pressed his forehead to Tessa's. "I waited so long to reach out to you thinking it would be safe. I should have taken you to the Realm straight away."

Sliding her hands to his cheeks, she did her best to ease his worried mind. "It won't be long, baby. We're almost there. Rafik, being with you is everything. I can't go back to living without you, so you just hold on. Do you hear me?" He tucked her into his arms and placed a kiss on her forehead as he rocked her gently. "I hear you, Rohi. I love you so much."

Little goosebumps spread over his arms as she rubbed her fingertips up and down his neck. "I love you too."

Glancing back over his shoulder, Rafik sighed as he heard Teddy having a heated discussion with himself in the kitchen. "Your brother must hate me for this. Listen to him go on."

As she peeked around his arm at the glass doors, she chuckled. "Are you kidding? He's in his glory. He might bitch and complain like we're ruining his life, but he lives for having people to take care of and nit-pick. All that time I was gone was torture for him. Trust me; he's alright."

Caressing her hair with his fingers as he witnessed the sun drive away the rest of the rain clouds, Rafik's mind wandered. "So, where are we going next?"

Her eyes rolled around as she trilled her lips and shrugged her shoulders as she laid out the map before her mind's eye. "Russia, I believe."

An amused grin came to Rafik's lips as he peered out across the lake. "I wanted to see all these places with you." Pushing his lips out, he bounced his head from side to side. "Perhaps, not like this." He glanced down at her and pushed her hair away from her face. "In the next world, we will see it all together. Every corner."

Perching at his lips, Tessa grabbed his collar in her hands and pulled him closer. "That sounds good to me." The soft hum of her lips pressed against his sent a shiver down his spine. The intimate moments they'd shared since they found each other again had come to a halt since arriving in Romania, and they both longed for a little privacy.

Like Fate heard the two young lovers' secret desires, Teddy opened the door and leaned outside. "Are you two alright if I go down to the market? There's not a damn thing left to eat in the kitchen."

After giving Rafik a sneaky grin, Tessa stood on her tiptoes and peeked over his shoulder. "Yeah, we'll be fine. Take your time."

Understanding the insinuation, he rolled his eyes and tapped the door frame. "Okay then, I'll see you in like an hour."

As soon as he closed the door behind him, Tessa pulled Rafik to her lips, and her breathy voice begged him to say yes. "We can go a few rounds in an hour, can't we?"

His fingers swept against her cheek, and he nodded yes. He'd gone twenty-five years of his life without ever knowing the softness of a woman's body under his, but now that he'd had a taste of it, it consumed nearly every thought. They barely even made it to the bed before she slid her hand down the front of his pants. As she wrapped her hot hand around his length, he closed his eyes and sucked a breath back through his teeth. Her touch was like the finest silk against his skin as she worked him with her hand.

Pushing his pants down with her feet, she pulled the skirt of her dress up as he unbuttoned her top. Kissing his way up her chest, he slid inside her. The fires inside his rare wonder bathed him in a moist, warm heat that made him feel like he was plunging into the warm waters of their Mediterranean hideaway once again.

He could almost smell her tanning oil, and the part of his mind that understood there would be no happy ending recalled every memory as his hands and lips found every nook and cranny that made up Tessa.

Her faint moans and cries and gasps for more fueled the healer's urge to cure her of every need she had.

As he raised himself to hover over her, he took in how her breast's soft roundness escaped her bra and bounced upwards with each thrust. When she opened her eyes from the dream-like world of her ecstasy, she traced the long muscles of his arms until they met at the back of his head.

While she fisted his curly hair in both hands like the reins of a horse, she commanded him silently to ride her hard.

Each quick, brutal snap of his hips against hers sent her upwards against the rough quilt below her. It was funny how a man with such loving hands could deliver such a beautiful pain to her so easily, but he was Tessa's soul mate, and pain was her specialty.

Pounding her into the bed with every bit of energy he had left, she tugged at his hair, and he happily suffered all she dealt out while her thirsty body swallowed him in its throbbing embrace.

As he collapsed to her once again, Rafik kissed up her jawline and rubbed his lips in her tears. When they lay together in the raw, nakedness of their love, it was difficult to be anything more than honest. From the essence of her tears on his tongue, he knew that she understood completely, despite how much she may protest later.

Resting on his elbow, he wiped her tears from her eyes with his fingertips and spoke softly because he knew her heart was breaking. "When they come for me, Rohi..." Tessa's eyes clenched together, and her lips pulled into an ugly frown as the soft alarm of grief began to rise in her throat. "Shh! When I am gone, you kill them all. Show them the miracle that you are, my love. Do not stop until you erase this curse of a feud from the Earth."

Her body jerked underneath him as her sobs escaped from the very pit of her belly. "Don't leave me all alone!"

Pressing his fingertips to her lips, he shook his head. "You are never alone. Even from the other side of all things, I will carry you with me."

As he withdrew from the warmth of her body, he placed his cheek against her heart and interlaced his fingers with hers, then brought them to his lips. "Do you remember what I told you the night we danced?"

She whimpered through her attempts to be quiet and nodded. "Yes, I remember everything."

"What did I tell you?" Rafik lifted his dark eyes to meet hers. "What did I say, my wife?"

A sweet smile came to her lips like she heard the words for the first time all those years ago. "You told me that every time I heard our song, that you were thinking of me."

Closing his eyes as he listened to her heartbeat, he ran his fingers back and forth against her opposite breast. "Yes, that is our song. When you hear it in your ears or your heart, I am there with you."