"where's taber?" she looked around the room to be certain he wasn't there.

"he's with callan at the moment. he's head of security here at the estate, and some of the new measures they were putting in place required his attention." merinus stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and padded over to the bed.

"i have some clothes that should fit you laid out in the bathroom if you would like to wash up and get dressed. i'd suggest a bath for now. it seems to ease the worst of the mating effects for a short time."

roni felt heat rise in her face as the other woman mentioned the insane desire that had held her in its grip earlier. she could handle wanting the man until she ached, but this was ridiculous.

"for a short while?" she asked her fiercely, frowning. "no." she shook her head at that one. "something has to stop this. now." she couldn't accept anything else.

she could feel the heat rising in her body once again. her skin felt irritated, sensitive, her breasts swollen, her clit throbbing in demand. she couldn't handle this. it had been bad before, but this was worse than she could have imagined.

she wondered if taber was even suffering from it. more than likely not. and if any man deserved to, it was he.

merinus sighed. "the effects are temporary, roni, but not without a certain price. take your bath while i call down and have your dinner brought up. we'll talk when you're done."

she turned to leave the room, leaving roni with too many damned questions and no answers.

"wait." roni wrapped the comforter around her as she slid from the high bed. dammit, did taber think everyone was as damned tall as he was? "tell me how to stop this now."

the look on merinus' face when she turned back was somber.

"you can't stop it now. it has to run its course. now go bathe. the time you can stand to wait for taber is limited. i know you have questions, and some of them i can answer. but not until you're more comfortable."

roni drew in a rough breath, staring at the other woman's implacable expression. she looked more than determined, and roni had a feeling she was used to getting her own way.

"this bites," she snapped, turning away from merinus. "if i wanted to bathe first i would have asked."

but she stomped to the bathroom anyway, determined to get it over with and get her questions answered as soon as possible.

merinus had been right, though. the bath did seem to ease the building heat that had already begun tormenting her. of course, roni opted for a cold bath, shivering in the coolest water she could stand on her skin and gradually adding more until it became tolerable. the bathroom was a dream. italian marble floors, a porcelain sink set in a cherry cabinet. in the center of the room was a large sunken tub big enough for three grown people. a shower was set in a far corner. against the wall opposite the door was a sky-blue print queen anne chair, and beside it, an antique cherry table. cabinets were set within the walls, and decorative nooks held a variety of expensive knick-knacks. it was opulent and comfortable at the same time. and unlike anything roni had ever experienced.

when she felt as though she could stand to walk without being fucked first, she got out of the large tub, dried her hair and hurriedly dressed in the long gown and robe the other woman had provided. there were no panties, but she didn't want to tempt her luck at this point by allowing anything to touch her overly sensitive cunt.

dinner came next. it was waiting on her in the sitting room, on the small glass table positioned beside the sliding balcony doors. it was a light meal and merinus stood guard over her every second, making certain she finished it before covering the tray and then sitting back in the chair and watching her silently.

"okay, answers," roni reminded her. "what did he do to me and how do i get rid of it?"

the answers better come fast too, she thought, because the small contractions in her womb were about to drive her crazy.

"conception." roni froze at the other woman's words. "it's the only thing that stills the heat. but you won't be free of taber, even then. nature is a little smarter than we've given her credit for here. you and taber will never be able to separate. you'll always be a part of him, through the child you conceive as well as the hormone that will never completely leave your body. you're his mate. forever."

roni stared at the other woman for a long, silent minute. if merinus didn't look so serious, roni would have laughed in her face. unfortunately, this just didn't feel like a good time to find amusement in a situation rapidly bordering nightmare quality.

"like hell i am." roni jumped to her feet, paying little attention to the chair that flew out behind her, turning over on the carpeted floor.

this was not good. she stared at merinus' calm expression, feeling panic well inside her as the other woman watched her almost pityingly.

"roni, you need to understand..."

"no, you need to understand," she retorted furiously as she pushed her fingers desperately though her hair. "i did not ask for this. i didn't ask him to leave this stupid mark on me and i sure as hell didn't ask him to kiss me. i won't accept this."

a child? she had to get pregnant first? bring a baby into the world that would have every mercenary and low life criminal looking to steal it. to take it from her arms and turn it over to a group of monsters who would do only god knew what to it.

horror welled up within her as her hands pressed against her stomach and her mind fought to reject any such conclusion. she couldn't do it. god help her, she wouldn't survive it.

"roni, denying it won't help." merinus came slowly to her feet. "i've been where you are. i know how confused you are and how pissed you are. but they didn't ask for this, either. not in any way. you can work this out with taber."

roni stared up at her unblinking. she could feel hysteria building inside her mind as she fought to accept what she considered the unacceptable.

"workwhat out with him?" she finally snarled furiously. "spread my legs so he can knock me up and leave again? oh yeah, let's talk about that one. his track record sucks, merinus, and i'm not willing to face the consequences of this alone. and sure as hell not with a child whose very existence will be in danger from the moment it's conceived."

merinus frowned. "taber would never leave you, roni."

she laughed. she couldn't help it. merinus looked so sincere, so very certain of taber's honor, that it was all she could do. "so tell me, merinus, how did i get this mark? where the hell has he been the last year or so?"

"taber didn't know about the mark..."

"so they can mark whoever they want to and then like any old tomcat just jump and run to the next."

roni clenched her fists as her fury nearly overwhelmed her.

"roni, you have to understand..." merinus tried again.

"wrong." roni's hand slashed through the air as she rejected merinus' plea. "i don't have to understand shit, merinus. this is my life. any child conceived will be mine. i won't let him do this to me. and i sure as hell won't let him get me pregnant and then decide he needs someone who is more woman than i am again."

the thought of taber touching another woman made her insane with grief.

"roni, taber wouldn't do that," merinus protested. "you will be protected and your child even more so."

roni snorted in disbelief.

"callan might be more of a man than that, merinus, but i've seen taber's work first hand. no thanks. no babies. no taber. where the hell am i and how do i get home?"

"what home?" taber's voice, pitched low and furious, growled from the doorway. "it was burned to the ground before we ever landed here at the estate. looks like you're stuck with the tomcat, baby."

chapter twelve

"taber!" merinus' voice was distant, though the thread of shock was readily apparent. "that was uncalled for."

roni didn't give him time to apologize, though. she stomped over to him, fury and rage blending with a pain so resounding she felt as though it would destroy her.

"did i ask you to bring me here?" she screamed at him furiously as she shoved at his broad, immoveable shoulders. "look what you've done, taber. you made my own body turn against me. now some bastard has burned my house down because i wasn't there. you let them burn my house down." she couldn't believe it, couldn't process the fact that she would never see her home again. conception was something she couldn't consider. her home was real. her home was all she had left when taber decided he no longer wanted her. that he needed someone older, or more experienced, or whatever else she wasn't that someone else would be.

the pain building inside her would kill her. not just the physical, womb-ripping pain of the agonizing arousal tearing through her, but the soul deep pain of losing her last link to her own peace of mind.

"look what you've done," she screamed again, her fist flying for his face, violence surging inside her like a tidal wave of overwhelming emotion.

"god, roni..." he jerked her into his arms, tightening them around her, holding her still as she struggled against him, fighting him, because god help her, there was nothing or no one left to fight. "i'm sorry, baby. i'm so sorry."

silence filled the room. roni fought to stay on her feet. he held her against his body, a steady weight, as he had always been. a comfort she knew could be taken away from her all too soon.

"let me go." but she didn't fight for release.

one hand held her head to his chest, the other wrapped around her waist, cushioning her from the violence raging through her system.

"i just bought a new chair," she whispered. she trembled and fought the reaction. god, it was all gone?

"roni, i'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "i shouldn't have told you like that, baby. i'm sorry."

she flinched as she pushed back, moving away from him, desperate to escape the pain echoing through

her soul. there was nothing else they could destroy now, nothing left for anyone to take away from her. nothing except the child, if she allowed its conception.

"well," she breathed out roughly. "hell." she didn't know what to say, what to do. she felt fragmented, dazed by the events that were happening too fast to allow her to catch her breath, to make sense of what was happening.

she breathed in roughly, pushing her fingers into the pockets of her robe, fighting the panic blooming inside her. okay, she couldn't kill him. she was sure the others in his family would consider that a no-no. no matter how damned bad she needed to shed his blood now. she was okay. it was just a house. she was going to have to leave it behind anyway. she should have expected this. the little pep talk wasn't helping. she could feel something inside her chest thickening with pain at the thought of the home she had slowly been creating. with her own hands, blisters and blood she had made it worth living in, made it something worth having rather than the eyesore it had been when she was younger.

"roni, you have a home here now..." taber's voice only fed her fury. it was soft, remorseful. as though her pain was breaking something inside him. the loss of her home had been nothing compared to the agony she had faced when she had lost him before.

"do i?" she fought the surge of adrenaline that cried out for a fight as she turned back to him, watching him with brooding fury. "with you, i presume?"

"with me." his expression hardened as he said the words.

"poor taber." she sneered. "stuck with me after all. not exactly what you envisioned for a future mate, am i?"