Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (26 page)

“Rome?”
Aria called out softly. “Where are you?”

“Please,”
he choked out, “just go away.”

Ariahna lifted up the edge of her dress so it wouldn’t
scrape
along the
ground, shoes clicking softly against the cement. She crouched down beside him,
balancing on the balls of her feet. Rome wouldn’t look at her. She touched his
hand softly, staring at his calloused fingers.

“I’m
sorry,” she whispered. “I should have done something.”

He
shook his head silently no.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, touching his shoulder. She
frowned at the feeling of his skin beneath her fingers. It was raised in some
areas, and
dipped in
others. She found herself pulling back the fabric of his tank top, revealing a
small part of his back. “Oh my god… did he do this to you?”

“You’re
going to ruin your dress,” he breathed. He wasn’t fighting against her as Aria
pulled him forward, getting a better look at his scars.

“How
long?” she asked in a broken voice, falling onto her knees in
front of him. Her green eyes were bright with
unshed tears. “Have you—have you ever told anyone?”

Rome
shook his head slowly.
Aria wrapped her arms
around him, hugging him fiercely.
He
clutched
tightly at the fabric of her dress in return.

“…I’ve
never told anyone, either,” she whispered.

Rome
had buried his face in her neck, seeking the comfort of somewhere to hide – somewhere
safe away from everything, and everyone. Her words hit him like a punch to the
gut, expelling a quivering breath from his lungs. He pulled back, cradling her
face in his hands and wiping away her falling tears with a gentle touch. He was
left staring searchingly into her eyes.

“Is
someone hurting you?” he asked. “Tell me. Who is it?”

Aria
swallowed thickly. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she breathed.

Rome
knew she hadn’t meant to say that to him. He could tell by the frantic,
unsteady rhythm of her heart that she was scared, and more than that, that she
was now lying. “What did you mean it like?” he asked, touching a strand of her
curls. She didn’t seem intent to answer him. Rome’s fingers tingled at the touch,
and the beautiful red of her hair started to spread out over her loose curls,
revealing the natural color beneath
. That was
the first
time he’d ever done anything magical that wasn’t an accident. He
pulled her slowly to her feet. Ariahna didn’t belong back here with him. Not
next to a pile of trash in a dark alleyway. She was ruining her beautiful dress
and smearing her makeup. And for what, him? Rome didn’t want that.

“You
should go back to your date,” he whispered. He was
caressing
the side of her face and pulling her close even as his
words tried to push her away. They were inches away from kissing when the back
door to the kitchen swung abruptly open. Autumn was standing on the stoop, her
face pale and full of concern. Aria tensed at the sound of her voice.

“Rome,
are you alright? I was just talking to the manager. He wasn’t going to fire you;
he was just going to ask you to leave for the night. I think that’s a good
idea. You could probably use some rest.”

“Thanks,” he said, restraining his frustration. When he
looked
back at Aria,
her irises were shimmering yellow. Alluring flecks of gold had overtaken her
normally green eyes as she stared at the brick wall beside them. He almost
couldn’t believe it. Christian was right.

“I’m
sure they could use your help in there,” Aria said, not turning to look at her.
“Thanks for your concern. I’ll make sure he gets back okay.”

“Okay,”
Autumn said, dragging out the word. Her eyes drifted away from the head of red
hair up to Rome’s stunned looking face. “Are you sure you don’t need anything?”
she asked. The girl in Rome’s arms spun to face her, advancing so quickly that
Autumn stumbled backwards in surprise.

“I
said I’ve got it,” she said tightly.  “Why don’t you go inside?” Rome’s hands
curled slowly around her arms, and she let him pull her back against his chest.
Aria wasn’t sure where this aggressiveness was coming from. She couldn’t be
certain if she was being possessive, or just protective of Rome, but she didn’t
want this girl anywhere near him. He didn’t need a bunch of people hovering
over him and making him feel claustrophobic.

“It’s okay,” Rome said. He was looking at Autumn, but the
words
had been meant
for Aria. “Tell the manager I’ll talk to him later.” Autumn nodded and ducked
back into the kitchen. The moment she left, all the rigidness flooded out of
Ariahna’s body and she exhaled her unease. Rome twisted her around to face him.
“I thought you just wanted to be friends? If you’re so jealous, maybe you
shouldn’t be out on a date with Christian.”

“I
wasn’t jealous. I’m
not
jealous. I was just looking out for you.”

“Trying
to protect me from the big bad blonde?” he smirked.

“Well…
didn’t you think all her questions were annoying?”

“She
seems nice,” Rome said innocently. “She sent me flowers.” He
was testing to see if he could get a rise out of
her. He wanted her to
admit that
she was actually jealous, that she liked him. Quicker than she could look
away
or blink, her eyes flared gold. The
jealousy was bubbling between them like a wave of heat, coursing with the added
power of her wolf.

“Are
you an alpha?” he whispered.

Aria
blinked, her forehead creased in apparent confusion. “What?”

“Come
on,” he grinned. “Don’t play games. I know what you are.”

Her
face was turning red with embarrassment and a nervous kind of fear. “Rome, I
think you’re a little disoriented after what happened. We should get back to
school. Christian can drive us, okay?”

Rome
felt a smirk playing at the corner of his parted lips. His wolf wanted to
assert its dominance, its strength. In other words, he was trying to
show off. A dangerous look reflected in his eyes,
erupting in gold
as he growled
and
backed her up against the building.
“I’m stronger than him,” he purred.
“I know you can feel it.” He curled his fingers around her waist, lifting her
up to meet his eyes. “…You should be with me.”

Aria pressed her hands against his forearms, clinging
to him with her legs as he
dangled her in the air. “Rome,” she whispered. “Are you—?” She couldn’t bring
herself to say the word aloud, couldn’t bring herself to believe it was true.
It was a rare gift. She’d never met anyone else who possessed it. It just
wasn’t possible. She was shaking her head softly. “What are you?”

“Dangerous,”
he grinned. “Dominant.”
He leaned in,
dragging his lips
over her neck and nipping gently. He wanted to possess
her, to claim her as his. “I want you,” he breathed. “I want you to be mine.”

Aria
shuddered softly against him. Everything was finally starting to click. She’d
thrown back that rather strong glass of wine before coming to find him, and it
was definitely impairing her reasoning abilities. Rome wasn’t what she’d
thought, he wasn’t like her. He’d asked if she was an alpha. That could only
mean—

“You’re
a werewolf,” she breathed. His firm body was flush against hers, his hands
strong and wild as he gripped at her sides. It was stirring something in her
that she didn’t know how to settle. “I don’t belong to anyone,” she said
bitingly. “I’m not going to submit to you.”

Rome
liked her fire. The strength she had hidden in her was driving him wild. “I
wouldn’t expect you to,” he whispered. “I want to be yours, just as much as I
want you to be mine.” Rome was getting excited, practically vibrating with
energy. His wolf wanted out, it wanted to run. It wanted the soft ground
beneath its feet, the freedom of nature and the wind at its back.

“Run
with me,” he said.

Aria
tore her eyes away from his mesmerizing gaze.

“I
can’t.”

“Then
meet me on the full moon,” he said, kissing at her neck.

Rome’s
lips were hot against her skin, making her quiver.

“Meet
me and we can run together. It’ll be just the two of us. Aria, you belong with
me. We belong with each other. I want to protect you, care for you… I want to keep
you safe. I—” Rome was pressing his forehead against hers, his lips trembling.
He wanted to kiss her, and more than anything, he wanted to tell her that he
was in love with her. He had been from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. His
hands slipped under the loose fabric of her dress, fingers gliding up the
smooth expanse of her legs.

“My
feelings for you are real. I can’t stay away from you. I don’t want to be just friends,
and I don’t want anyone else. I want
you
.”

Aria
was trapped in the sensation of his palms sliding over her skin. Her head was
spinning as she listened to his words, letting herself fall prey to their
seduction. “I can’t,” she repeated, trying to make herself believe it. Her eyes
darted up to meet his, and her throat had never felt as hoarse as it did in
this moment. “I’m not… like you,” she said. “I don’t want to lead you into a
lie. I’m not what you think I am. I’m not what you want. I’m sorry.”

Rome
halted his movements, staring deeply into her eyes. “You are everything I have
always wanted. Ariahna, I’m in l—”

“Aria?”
Christian shouted, walking around the side of the building.
He hadn’t reached the back alley yet, and he
couldn’t see them. “Is he alright?” Silence rung out as his answer. “Are
you
alright?” he said uncertainly. “…Aria?”

Rome
exhaled, and just as Christian rounded the corner, he surprised her with a hot,
passionate kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth, dancing wetly with her own
as he pressed their bodies together, keeping her pinned to the wall.

“What
the
fuck
?” Christian growled.

She turned away from Rome’s mouth, pressing her
cheek against the brick. Christian was storming towards them in a spiraling
fury, and Rome’s
lips were latched around
her neck. He was doing this on purpose
, she realized. She pushed against
his chest, letting her legs slip back down to the
ground and
losing a shoe in the process. Rome’s hands threaded up
into her hair, and then he was being ripped away by her very angry date.

“Christian, don’t do anything,” she pleaded.
“He’s upset.”

Rome growled at him, elbowing him in the gut as
he tried locking his arms around his back. “I’m so fucking tired of your shit,”
he bit out. He spun around and slammed Christian back against the wall. He was
still huddled over, holding his stomach, when suddenly his arms wrapped around his
legs. Christian lifted him up, tackling him to the ground. Rome landed in a
large, murky puddle of water. The pavement was biting into his skin and
Christian was winding back to take a swing at him.

“Fuck!” Christian exclaimed. Rome had moved his
head at the last second, leaving his fist to crash full force into the
concrete. Pain shot out
through his hand and
halfway up his arm. In his stupor, Rome had
flipped him onto his back,
and he could hear Aria screaming at them to stop.

“You are such a fucking asshole!” Christian
yelled.

Rome’s eyes were blazing gold, and he was
growling so deeply he didn’t even sound like a man anymore. His fist collided
with Christian’s jaw despite his attempt to block the hit.

“Stop!” Ariahna pleaded.

Rome hooked his fingers
around the collar of Christian’s fancy
jacket, shoving him challengingly into the
pavement. “I hate you,” he breathed, pushing up from the ground and staring
down at him. Aria fell to her knees at Christian’s side, touching his face
gently. And for a second, it was like he was looking at a scene from someone
else’s screwed up life. Henry may not have been his father, but in this moment,
Rome knew he wasn’t any better than him. “I’m sorry,” he said, taking several
slow steps backwards. Aria wasn’t meeting his eyes, and he decided that
whatever he’d see when she did wasn’t something he could handle right now.

He ran all the way to the parking lot.

Rome jumped behind the wheel of his car,
peeling away in a mess of squealing tires. When he reached the junction to the
highway, he found himself at an impasse. He couldn’t figure out if he was going
back to Vardel, or if he was going to turn tail and run. Henry was no longer
his responsibility. He could go anywhere; maybe south, towards Florida, or west
towards Hollywood. Redwood Bay would be only too happy to see him go. He had
enough money saved up to get him far enough away that no one would even know
his name. He sat there as the engine rumbled, his foot pressed against the
brake. He was thinking about Ariahna, and Kaleb, and even Christian. In less
than a week, they had wiggled their way into his life.

“Damn it,” he muttered, flipping off the person
honking angrily behind him. He whipped his car towards the school, still unsure
what he was doing. He argued to himself that even if he was going to leave, he
needed to get his stuff. By the time Rome got back, the video of his father at
the restaurant had all but gone viral. People were staring at him as he walked
up and ripped the doors open, and he could hear his own voice filtering through
grainy cellphone speakers.