“She thought I was through with you. I made sure everyone did.”
She sucked in a breath, her heart twisting with those words. “Right. So did I.”
“Aylia.” He pulled her into his lap. “Sweetheart, you know why I did what I did.”
“I do. I’m okay. Really. I’ll deal with this. It’s just it seemed like it was so easy for you to send me away. It made me feel like I didn’t belong here. And it makes me worry about the day some female wolf shows up and just happens to be your real mate. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to come back, Nico. Maybe I can’t stay, or shouldn’t stay, no matter how much I want to.”
Chapter Seven
Morning ever after…
Nico heard Aylia’s words and rejected them instantly. She was meant to be here. She was meant to be with him. There was no other mate for him but Aylia and he was going to prove that to her once and for all.
Nico picked her up and exited the dining area, carrying her to the black leather living room couch where he set her down. He dropped to his knee in front of her. “I was going to save this for a perfect, planned moment, but I think right now it’s pretty important I tell you now. I’ve petitioned the King to name you as my official mate, and to have you recognized as that in the Society.”
“No,” she said instantly, shaking her head. “No, Nico. I’m not your mate. It doesn’t matter how much I want to be or how much you think you want me to be. I’m a witch, not a wolf. I can’t be your mate.”
“How much I think I want you to be?” he challenged. “Aylia, sweetheart. I don’t think. I know. You are my mate. You’re the only woman I have ever called ‘mate’ in two hundred years. If that doesn’t say everything, I don’t know what does.”
“You think I’m the one, until you find the right woman, the right wolf. And, Nico, that will kill me. It will absolutely devastate me. I don’t know if I can live with that hanging over my head.”
“I don’t want a wolf, Aylia. I want my little witch.” He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a velvet sack. “I’ve had this since two weeks before you left. I promised myself I’d give it to you soon and soon turned into more than a year.” He dumped the contents into his palm.
Aylia sucked in a breath at the sight of the diamond and ruby ring he’d picked out for her, before her gaze lifted to his and he explained his choice. “We were both born in July so I thought our birthstone made a perfect engagement ring. Marry me, Aylia. Be my wife and my mate. You’re already my heart and soul. I was miserable without you and desperate to protect you. I regret ever sending you away. I just hope you can forgive me. But whether you do or you don’t, I swear to you that I’ll spend a lifetime making it up to you.”
Tears streamed down her face. “No. No, I can’t take that. I love you, Nico, but...I–”
He kissed her, a deep passionate, salt-tinged kiss. “Marry me, Aylia.”
“I can’t.”
“He kissed her again, taking his time, making love to her with his mouth, his tongue, before again saying, “Marry me.”
“Nico,” she whispered huskily. “Damn it, you don’t understand.”
“Aylia,” he countered. “Damn it. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered. “I love you so very much, Nico.”
“Then just say ‘yes’ woman. There is nothing but you between us. My King has approved our marriage wholeheartedly and I’ll go ask for your hand with your mother and try to get her over being so pissed off at me. I know she’s very traditional, and I’m not above kissing her ass to win your hand. We’ll have a huge ceremony or a small one. Or we’ll run off to the real Italy, rather than our little hotel world. You’ve always wanted to travel. Whatever you want, baby, that’s what we will do.”
“What if-”
“Aylia,” he said, cutting off what was certain to be an objection. “There is no ‘what if’. I knew the instant I first saw you that you were my mate. Every instinct in me screamed ‘mine.’ I’ve never experienced that with anyone.” He pulled the tie on her robe and slid it away from her body. His fingers ran down the center of her breasts before he flattened his hand over her heart. “Mine.”
Her eyes softened instantly and she breathed out his name. “Nico.”
He tossed his shirt off, then drew her hand to his chest. “Your turn.”
She stared at him and then slowly smiled. “Mine.”
Relief washed over him and was quickly replaced by possessiveness. His woman. His wife. His mate. He took her hand and slid the ring on her finger.”
She stared down at it. “It’s perfect. I love it.” Her big green eyes lifted to his. “And I love you. I do. I really, really do.”
“And you’ll marry me.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He smiled and stood up, quickly undressing, and then snatching a small knife from his pocket. She arched a brow. “What is that for?”
“You know what it’s for,” he said, sitting down and reaching for her.
“We can’t mate,” she said. “Don’t torture me with proving that.”
He pulled her across his lap, the V of her body settling on top of his cock. “It’s a ritual of love. It doesn’t have to bond us physically to mean something. And maybe the fates will have pity on us, and it will.”
“Nico–”
He kissed her. “I love you.” He lifted her, and wrapped his hand around his cock to guide it inside her, until she’d taken all of him. Until she had all of him. His body, his soul, and his heart.
He took her hand. “It’ll hurt.”
“I know.”
“If it works...the crescent moon would appear on my palm right away? And we’ll have a bond that–”
“We already have a bond,” he said, brushing hair from her face. “There is no way that this can be anything but right, Aylia. This is just for us, okay?”
She hesitated and then, “Yes. Okay.”
He sliced his palm and then took her hand and sliced it. She gasped and he swallowed the sound, dropping the knife before pressing their palms together. Slowly, he began to move inside her, trying to make her forget the pain, to replace it with pleasure. For several seconds she was stiff, the pain of the cut controlling her. Finally though, she started to kiss him back, to move with him, to moan with the pleasure.
“You okay?” he asked against her mouth.
“I’m with you, aren’t I?”
“Yes. You’re with me.” And then he leaned forward and whispered in his ancient tongue the bonding rights before saying, “And from this point on, my little witch, you belong to me and I belong to you.” He leaned back to look at her. “And you must obey me.”
She laughed. “Good luck on that one.”
“I’ll have to teach you how to obey.” He drew her mouth close to his.
“I’ll have to teach you manners.”
“I can’t wait,” he said, closing his mouth over hers. Kissing her deeply, hungrily, while the wolf in him willed the bonding process into place. And with every stroke of his cock, every shared touch and kiss, he silently proclaimed her his, until they shattered together and she collapsed on top of him.
For a long while they rested there, their palms still pressed together, and he knew, like him, she was afraid to have him look for the mark.
“Aylia,” he said finally, unable to wait any long. “Let me see.”
She pressed away from his shoulder and wrapped her hand around her necklace. “I need to cast the spell we talked about first, so that you can put your mind at ease about Kole.”
She was stalling, but he nodded in agreement. Aylia closed her eyes and began to chant a spell. The necklace glowed in response until she released it and opened her eyes. “It’s done. We can go to Amsterdam and you can find out tonight about Kole.”
He could see the fear in her, the avoidance. “Let me look.”
“No. It’s not there. We know it’s not there.”
“Aylia. I have to look.”
She clos
ed her eyes and they’re hands separated. His stomach knotted at the absence of the crescent moon.
“It’s not there,” she whispered.
He twined his fingers into her hair and pulled her mouth to his. “It doesn’t matter. We love each other. We’re going to be married and live happily ever after. Nothing is going to change what I feel for you. Okay?”
“Yes,” she whispered, but he knew she didn’t believe him. He knew he was going to lose her, and it was killing him, because he didn’t know how to stop it from happening.
Chapter Eight
Magic revealed…
Aylia had needed out of the room and Nico agreed that there was no time like the present to find out if Kole was the friend he believed him to be. So after she’d dressed in a white mini dress that Nico had picked out for her and fixed her makeup, they headed to the public section of the hotel, to the Amsterdam Nightclub where Kole had declared he’d be.
Aylia followed Nico inside, her hand in his, the loud alternative music thrumming against the walls and fading into an open ceiling with more levels for patrons. It was a typical Vegas nightclub, with a packed dance floor, plenty of booze, and half naked women dancing on top of pedestals and in hanging cages.
They found Kole at one of the tall ice sculpture-like tables, with a female on either side of him. He saluted them with a beer. “Just like the old days,” he said and flagged a waitress. “The three of us back together.” He whispered to each of the women who then pouted and sashayed away.
“Rum and coke,” Nico told a waitress, “and a White Russian for the lady.”
“No,” Aylia said. “Sprite, please.”
The waitress shrugged and walked away.
“Sprite?” Kole asked.
Nico studied her a moment and asked the same. “Sprite?”
“My stomach feels a little funky.” Nico looked worried and she knew he was about to do the overprotective wolf routine she both dreaded and loved. She kissed his cheek. “I’m fine.” It was just nerves over the whole mate thing. She knew it was. She’d be better tomorrow.
“Aylia!” came a male shout, as a tall wolf, with long dark hair tied at the back of his neck, rushed towards their table.
“Hey, Jackson,” Aylia said, to Nico’s third in charge.
“So damn good to have you back,” he said.
“Is it?” she asked, leading him to answer, to let Nico scent a lie.
“Hell yeah,” he said, scrubbing his stubbled jaw. “You have no idea how glad. Nico was a cranky bastard while you were gone.”
Nico relaxed beside her, telling Aylia that he believed Jackson was telling the truth. “Fuck you, Jackson,” he spat jokingly.
“See,” Jackson grinned. “He’s in a better mood already. And I’m not kidding about that. This mood he’s in is a big improvement.”
Aylia laughed and hugged Nico, whispering in his ear. “Well? Were you?”
He turned and kissed. “He’s right. I was a cranky bastard without you.”
“Jackson!”
Jackson turned and waved at another wolf she knew to be a member of the Guard. “I’ll be back,” Jackson said and disappeared into the crowd.
Kole eyed Aylia’s necklace. “I see you won the battle.”
“For now,” Nico said.
“Forever,” Aylia corrected.
“When she’s with me,” Nico rebutted.
She gave him a sideways look. “Forever.”
“Wait a flipping minute,” Kole said suddenly, grabbing Aylia’s hand and whistling. “What a rock.”
Aylia smiled. “Yeah. It is.”
“I guess this means there’s no hope you’ll get smart and leave him for me.”
“If you keep holding her hand like that, Kole” Nico said. “I’ll rip yours off.”
Kole laughed and released her. “Touchy, touchy. Still a cranky bastard from what I can tell.”
The waitress appeared and once Aylia had her soda, she took a long drag off of the straw. Her stomach immediately churned. Not good. “I need to sit.”
Nico pulled a stool closer and helped her climb on top. Her skirt rode way too high up her legs and Nico arched a brow.
“You picked this dress,” she reminded him.
“For me, not everyone else.”
“That’s why I’ll need to go shopping tomorrow. Everything you picked out is just like this or shorter.” Aylia’s gaze lifted, and suddenly she realized that her new position put one of the cages in direct view. Inside was Serena, wearing thigh highs, and a red bra and panty set and that was it. Not a stich of anything else.
Nico’s hand settled on Aylia’s leg, silently telling her Serena meant nothing to him. She knew. She did. And she also knew that she was just a little overly sensitive about a beautiful wolf who wanted her wolf right about now. Something she would have to let go of if she and Nico were really going to spend forever together.
“What do you think of Serena, Kole?” Aylia asked, trying to focus on the goal of finding the traitor, rather than Serena’s almost naked ass bouncing around in the cage.
“I don’t trust her,” he said, finishing off a beer. “I fucked the bitch to try and figure her out, and I still don’t get her.”
Aylia almost choked on the swallow of soda she had in her mouth. “I forgot how direct you wolves are.” She glanced at Nico. “And how honest Kole is no matter what the subject.”
His lips lifted slightly. “I just remembered that myself.”
She smiled. “Good.”
“Why do I think you two are talking in code?” Kole asked.
“We are,” Nico said. “And I’ll explain later.”
Aylia was suddenly very hot, too hot, and just plain not feeling well. She was starting to think this was more than nerves. She grabbed Nico’s arm. “Help me down please so my skirt doesn’t go to my waist. I need to go to the bathroom.”
Nico lifted her and set her down, touching her cheek. “You’re clammy, Alyia. Let’s go back to the room.”
“No. You need to explain what’s going on to Kole. I’m fine. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Nico,” she said, leaning into him. “You can’t come into the bathroom with me anyway, and you can’t follow me everywhere for the rest of my life. And in case you forgot, that’s how long I’ll be wearing this necklace.”
He inhaled and let it out. “If you’re gone too long–”
She smiled. “My big bad wolf will come after me. I know.” She pressed to her toes and kissed him. ”It feels good to be back here with you. And yes. I’ll hurry back.” She turned away, but not without seeing his smile, and quickly headed through the crowd. Unfortunately, considering the churn of her stomach, she found the main bathroom overflowing with women. Unless she was going to throw up in the sink, she was out of luck.
Aylia headed around a corner to a long set of steps and managed to climb them to the third level, where a small bathroom was hidden behind a bar. She entered through the open archway and sighed in relief. It was empty. She immediately collapsed against the wall and wiped the sweat that had gathered on her forehead. Oh yeah. She was sick. Really sick. Maybe if she just stayed right there and didn’t move, it would pass. Her stomach made a horrible groaning sound. Maybe not. She reached for her purse where it hung across her shoulder. She needed to call Nico to come and get her. Another wave of sickness hit her and she tossed that idea out, rushing towards the single bathroom stall, certain she was going to be sick.
She was about to shove open the door to enter, when some instinct or sound, or maybe both, rushed over her. Maybe she was too sick to be afraid, but she didn’t freeze. Aylia grabbed her necklace and whirled around, throwing a ball of energy at the unknown threat. Serena crashed against the wall with a knife in her hand.
The magic was too much for her when she was so sick. Aylia threw another energy ball on her way to the toilet and threw up. Serena was already on her feet and coming at Aylia again, muttering somet
hing about the necklace. Aylia told herself to do something, and what she did was throw up again. Not a very effective method of protecting herself. Serena took the opportunity to lunge at Aylia. Kole rushed through the doors a moment before Aylia found herself hugging the toilet again. She didn’t have time to doubt Kole, to fear that she’d misjudged him.
Serena ran at Kole with her knife and they struggled. Kole was clearly trying to spare her life but the blade somehow landed in Serena’s stomach. Serena gasped and slid to the floor.
Kole didn’t give her a second look, heading for Aylia. “Nico’s flipping out trying to find you.” He reached for his cell, clearly about to call him. ”Are you okay?”
Nico blasted through the door. “Aylia!” he shouted, quickly assessing her on the ground then slamming Kole against the wall.
“No, Nico,” Aylia shouted with her last bit of energy. “He saved me. Kole saved me.”
“Yeah man,” Kole grumbled. “Relax. I saved her.”
Nico let go of Kole and rushed to Aylia, picking her up. “I’ve got you,” he said, just as he had when Andres had grabbed her.
She curled into him. “I can’t stop throwing up.”
“We’ll get you help,” he promised, and then to Kole, “Get me a doctor and her mother in case this is magic.”
Chapter Nine
Cursed…
Nico shoved open the door to their suite and headed to the bedroom. Aylia stirred. “Bathroom. I need a bathroom.”
Relief that she was conscious rushed over him and he bypassed the bed. The instant they were in the bathroom, she shoved away from him. “Put me down. Quickly. Put me down.”
He set her on her feet and she scrambled for the toilet, falling down on her knees and heaving. “Water. I need some water.”
Nico rushed to the kitchen, when his phone rang. He grabbed it and answered even as he retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge and headed back to the bathroom. “Doc’s offsite,” Kole said. “He’s on his way back though and yes, I told him to hurry the fuck up.”