“Come with me to the ball. Leave the baby with a babysitter, a maid, whatever. It’s time you got out from under this whole baby obsession, went to parties again. You can’t hide in this house forever.”
“I’m not hiding, you asshole. I’m not interested.” I turned the handle and pulled the door open. “G
et out. And please don’t come back this time.”
Curtis’s whining had worn down my last nerve. How had I spent so much time with this man?
He walked toward me slowly, looking at Noah with a gleam in his eyes that frightened me. “If it weren’t for that alien brat, you wouldn’t be acting like such a bitch, Natalie.”
Now I was pissed. “Get the fuck out of my house. Now.”
“I don’t think so. Everything was fine until you came home pregnant. Get rid of him and we’ll go back to the way things were.”
Get rid of him? “Have you lost your mind? You’re talking about killing an innocent child.”
“An alien.” Curtis stepped closer and I swung the door even wider, stepping out into the cold in my bare feet, into view of the surveillance camera outside my front door. I tucked Noah’s legs under my arms the best I could, shielding him from the cold.
“We’re on camera, Curtis. Get off my property. If I ever see you again, I’m calling the cops.”
Curtis looked like he would argue further, but his eyes darted past me, a look of near panic taking over his features.
“Get away from my mate before I kill you.”
I knew that voice. Heard that voice in my dreams. I gasped, felt every hair on my body stand on end. Slowly, I turned.
Roark. I couldn’t speak, not even to whisper his name. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He was here.
He was here.
He was alive!
“Who the hell are you?” Curtis asked, hands on his hips, as if this were his house.
Roark moved in front of me, blocking Curtis’s view of my body. “I’m Councilor Roark of Trion, Natalie’s mate. And if you don’t get the fuck away from her, right now, I will kill you.”
“You can’t. You’ll go to prison. I’m Natalie’s friend. She invited me here.”
“You’re a liar, Curtis. Just go,” I snapped. I wasn’t even looking at him, but at Roark.
Roark shifted, pushing me toward the entrance, back to the warmth and safety of the house. “I believe my mate ordered you to leave and never come back.”
The word “ordered” was said with emphasis and I could just imagine Curtis’s face turning red, his eyes bulging. I couldn’t see him, not over the hulking mass of muscle blocking my view. Roark was so big, so handsome, so… everything. I’d forgotten how much larger than life he was. My heart pounded in my ears and I began to shake. My feet were going numb from the cold, but I didn’t care. Noah, however, started to fuss, and I knew he must be getting cold. With Roark here, I didn’t need to stand outside anymore. I didn’t need to worry about Curtis or his slimy intentions.
“Go inside, gara. I will take care of this fool.”
Nodding, I rushed into my house and headed for the study just inside the door. Inside, a cozy gas fireplace heated the room to toasty perfection and Noah’s playpen and toys were already set out on the floor. Two short sofas made an L shape opposite the playpen, the soft navy suede a recent purchase I’d quickly grown to love. The cold leather I remembered from my childhood had been replaced with soft, squishy warmth. The room was cozy now, and mine.
Mine and Noah’s.
I placed my son in his playpen and stood watching over him, my hands shaking. I ignored the sounds of confrontation outside. Ignored Curtis’s shout of pain, his ranting and cursing as he walked to his car and sped out of the driveway. I felt like I was in a dream, a fuzzy dream. When my mate stood in the doorway, looking down on me like a conquering god, the dream faded and he was all too real.
“Roark,” I whispered. I couldn’t make it any louder than that and I couldn’t move.
“Do I need to be concerned about that Earth male?”
Roark’s voice was all dark and possessive and I had to laugh. “Curtis? No. He’s not a problem.”
He wasn’t. Never had been. And with Roark here, Curtis who?