Knight-in-Arms - Demons: (BWWM Interracial Paranormal Billionaire Shifter Romance Part Three) Read Free Page A

Even so, she was worried. The last time, when she’d said she wanted to get to know him better, he turned out to be not quite human. Now, she told him she wasn’t going anywhere. She knew he had a past but what if he revealed something about himself that was just as big and terrifying?
     
    He closed his eyes, collecting his thoughts. Perhaps he was hesitating because he was afraid he might lose her… Either way, she felt uneasy.
     
    “University…”, he began, “You know what it’s like – the partying and the drinking”.
     
    Rochelle nodded.
     
    “Well, I didn’t know my limitations”, he continued, “I had a girlfriend at the time and we ended up sleeping together but I was drunk and I turned and slashed her to within an inch of her life”.
     
    He sighed. Rochelle noticed his hands were trembling. It seemed remembering still caused him some distress. But this explained was why he’d been so reluctant yesterday…
     
    “I was so ashamed and… and scared that I didn’t tell anyone, not even Sebastian”.
     
    She patted his arm.
     
    “You don’t have to tell me this” she said.
     
    “No, I do” he said adamantly.
     
    He took a deep breath.
     
    “When I found out what I was capable of, I was distraught”, he continued, “I was a monster. I even contemplated suicide. But then, an organisation reached out to me – The Order of Jessick. I gave them a fake identity so my family wouldn’t find out. They helped me sort out my life and I was grateful. But then, they started trying to get me to do things I didn’t want to do and so I… so I left”.
     
    “About a year ago, they found out my true identity. And they’ve been blackmailing me, threatening to out my secret about what I am, what I did, if I don’t join them and provide financial assistance for their cause”.
     
    That’s awful”, said Rochelle, “Can’t you stop them?”
     
    “I managed to have some of them sent to prison and of course, I moved to Lower Ferton to lie low for a while. But it’s only made them change their strategy.
     
    “How?”
     
    “I found out they were responsible for Roseford”.
     
    “What?”
     
    Rochelle somehow felt it as a personal attack, perhaps because she had been there at the time.
     
    “Yes”, said Xavier, “but that’s not all. They’re targeting you now”.
     
    “Me?”
     
    Rochelle’s blood ran cold. People who’d be ruthless enough to blow up Roseford were after her…?
     
    “Yes”, said Xavier, “I was suspicious when you were in hospital, which is why we moved you to Roseford in the first place.
     
    “And then, yesterday in the Piazza del Duomo, I saw some of them. I think they’re following us”.
     
    Xavier looked at her. It was a piercing look.
     
    “But it’s the wrong strategy” he said, vehemence creeping into his eyes, “because the thought of anyone harming you makes me so angry”.
     
    Rochelle took his hand. She was worried. Bad things happened when people were angry – violence, misunderstandings, errors in judgement…
     
    *              *              *
     
    That afternoon, after Xavier had calmed down, she managed to persuade him to go to the Boboli gardens for a walk. He kept looking over his shoulder even though very often, they were the only people on the path. The bushes rose up high on either side of them, making it feel very private.
     
    “You know, I’m so glad it was you who brought the parcel to my house. It could have been anyone. If it had been anyone else on the road, or even anyone else in your family, like Nico…”
     
    “You would have fallen in love with him instead?”
     
    Xavier laughed.
     
    “No, not quite”, he said, “but I would never have met you. You would have been right down the road from me and I would never have known you were there. How could I have endured the rest of my life not knowing you, Rochelle?”
     
    The warm breeze rustled through the bushes around them. He