Chapter 30 30
Maisie's Pov
Roman walked me to the living room where he disappeared shortly with a “Don't move” and “I'll be right back.”
His command annoyed me but what annoyed me the most was the fact that I actually listened to him. I stayed right where he put me.
Microphone feedback rippled through the air, and the crowd quieted.
Xavier walked on stage and thanked everyone for attending, hoping they had a good time, blah blah blah. I turned him out, too intent on my desire to leave to pay attention.
I'd mute everything out until I heard Xavier call Roman up stage. My head snapped up, and my stomach tumbled into freefall. I'd looked at him all evening but at that moment, it felt different. Like I was seeing him for the very first time.
Black tuxedo, unreadable expression, his hair gleaming black beneath the lights. There were almost two hundred people in the room, but his eyes found mine immediately. My pulse thumped with anticipation as he began his inaugural speech.
He made a joke about Xavier and soft laughter rippled through the crowd. Roman waited for the chuckles to die down before he continued, his gaze burning into mine.
“From now on, my life isn't my own. It belongs to this pack, to our people, and to the Alpha I serve. I will place his safety before mine, his life before my own and this pack before everything I am.” He paused, then looked around the room. “If the cost of peace and prosperity in this pack is my life then let it be taken without regret. As your Beta, I do not seek glory. I only seek the safety and prosperity and longevity of our pack. Long live BlackRock Pack!”
The room rang with breathless silence at the end of Roman’s speech. My heart was pounding, pounding so hard I felt it in my throat. His speech was beautiful.
It started with one applause, then two, then three till it filled the entire room.
“Long live BlackRock!”
I was still recovering from his speech when I felt a light nudge in my rib.
I turned to see Lydia smiling at me. “That was quite a speech, huh? Jason is indeed an extraordinary wolf. If only I were a few years younger…”
I forced a weak laugh.
She continued. “Not that it would do me much good. Jason seems to only have eyes for you.”
She winked at me and heat rose on my face. I mumbled an incoherent response as she led me to where her husband was with Xavier. Roman was already making his way towards me.
“I must say that was a lovely speech, Beta Jason,” Lydia said as she air-kissed him. “Chloe couldn't take her eyes off you while you spoke. You enchanted everyone including her.”
“He’s always such a charmer.” Xavier added with a laugh.
We chatted for another fifteen minutes, during which Lydia excused herself to speak with another Luna she recognized.
Roman and I said our goodbyes to Xavier and we're about to leave when we were interrupted by a group of Betas and their mates. They'd heard about how Roman (Jason) saved Dominion Industries and exposed Gavin and wanted to congratulate him. That kept happening the entire evening. We’d end one conversation only to get drawn into another. I was grateful for all the people who wanted to congratulate Roman, but dammit, I wanted to go home. By the end of the night, my feet hurt, my cheeks ached from constant smiling, and my stomach growled from the lack of food.
It wasn't until a few minutes later that Roman placed a gentle hand on the small of my back and told me it was time to leave.
“Finally.” I exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Tonight was amazing. You are incredible, Jason.” Xavier said out of nowhere, stopping us in our tracks. I nearly punched the bastard.
Kylie joined him. “Yes, he is.”
“Your quarters have already been prepared to your tastes. I'm sure when you move in, you'll find it to your liking.” Xavier added.
I swallowed hard. I'd almost forgotten we'd be living here in the pack house.
“I'm sure we will.” Roman pressed me closer to his side.
“And when will it be?” Kylie piped up. “Your move-in date. That is.”
She's still the same shameless woman she is.
Roman was kind enough to grace her with a reply. “A couple days from now.”
“How delightful.” She turned to me and smiled but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
“Great.” Xavier cut in. “We don't want to know you two. Have a good one.”
“Goodnight.” Roman said and we left.
I didn't say a word to Roman as he navigated the twists and curves of the slick roads leading back to our apartment. All I wanted to do was to shower and sleep.
He stopped at a red light and slid a glance at me. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I replied, still looking out the window.
He grabbed my jaw softly, forcing me to look at him. “Let me rephrase my question: Are you okay?”
Frankly, I was even with Kylie's threats and Xavier's stares, I was fine. But right now, I wasn't so sure anymore.
I felt his hand cup my jaw and froze. His touch was warm. Too warm.
“I'm fine, Roman.” I hated myself for it but I pulled away and leaned back in my seat.
The light turned green but his eyes lingered on me for an extra second before he faced forward and stepped on the gas.
We didn’t speak again during the ride, but at the next red light, Roman surprised me by curling his hand over mine on the center console and kept it there until we arrived home.
“From now on, I need you to tell me when you're comfortable and when you're not.” He told me through our mind-link. “We're going into Phase 2 of our plan and it's going to be a bumpy ride so I need you to be square with me at all times, okay?”
“Okay.” I replied the same way.
My traitorous finger tightened around his and my traitorous heart leaped into my throat.
This is just business, I reminded myself.
If I said it enough times, maybe I’d believe it.