But then, he'd always been alone. Even when Agrippina had lived within his household, he had kept to himself. He'd watched her from afar. Lusted for her every night and yet he'd never touched her.
It wasn't his place. He'd been a nobleman and she nothing more than a low-born slave who served in his household. Had he been one of his brothers, he would have taken her without question. But it hadn't been in him to take advantage of her. To force her to his bed.
She wouldn't have dared deny him. Slaves had no control whatsoever over their lives, especially not when it involved their masters.
Every time he had seen her, it had been on the tip of his tongue to ask her to sleep with him.
And every time he had opened his mouth, he had quickly clamped it shut and refused to ask her something she had no say about. So, he had brought her into his household to save her from what the other members of his family would have done to her.
Valerius winced as he remembered the night his brothers had come for him. The night they had found her statue and realized who it was.
Cursing, he turned away from the window and forced all those thoughts out of his mind.
It had never been his destiny to help anyone.
He had been born to be alone. To know no friends or confidants. To never laugh or play.
There was no fighting destiny. No hope for anything more. He was born to this life just as he had been born to his previous one.
Tabitha was gone.
And it was for the best.
His chest tight, he made his way up the mahogany stairs toward his room. He would shower, re-dress, and then do the job he had sworn himself to.
Tabitha drove her car back to Tia's, where she saw Amanda's Toyota on the street. She pulled in and was getting out as Amanda and Tia came out the back door.
"Hey, Mandy," Tabitha said, closing the distance so she could hug her twin.
"So who was the gorgeous man you were with? Tia said you didn't tell her his name."
Tabitha forced herself not to send any unconscious thought or emotion out to her twin sister. "He's just a friend."
Amanda shook her head. "Tabby," she chided. "You need to stop hanging out with your gay friends and find a boyfriend."
"He didn't seem gay to me," Tia said. "But he was well dressed."
"So where's baby M?" Tabitha asked, trying to get both of them off the topic.
"At the house. You know how Ash is. He refuses to let her leave the premises once the sun goes down."
Tabitha nodded. "Yeah, I agree with him. She's a very special little girl in need of protection."
"I agree too, but I hate leaving my baby behind. I feel like I'm missing a vital organ." Amanda held up her silver talisman. "Tia made me promise to hang it in Marissa's room."
"Good advice."
Amanda frowned at her. "Are you sure you're okay? There's something very odd about you tonight."
"There's always something odd about me."
Amanda and Tia laughed. "True," Amanda agreed. "All right, I'll quit worrying then."
"Please. One mother is quite enough."
Amanda kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you guys later."
Neither Tabitha nor Tia spoke until after Amanda had gotten into her car and left. Tabitha put her hands in her pockets and turned to face her sister's scowl.