Taking Nicole (Vegas Mates Series)(#4) (6 page)

Tempe shrieked and Nicole woofed at her playfully, leaping onto the couch and then off again. The door opened and Aaron rushed in, slamming the door in his rush, no doubt worried his charge was doing something rash. Nicole dashed around the room, leaping from one chair to another. She rolled to her back and rubbed her shoulders on the carpet. Her tongue lolled out one side of her mouth and she turned to face Aaron, meeting his gaze. He grinned.

“Make her shift back. We have too much to do,” Tempe whined, throwing up her hands and sinking onto the couch.

Nicole rolled to her feet and trotted over to Tempe.
 

The little redhead shook her head, exasperation quite evident on her face, but she still reached out and rubbed behind Nicole’s ears. “You are terrible. You know that, don’t you?”

Nicole woofed again and nodded her head. She moved away from Tempe and trotted toward Aaron, taking a seat a few feet from where he stood.

Nicole looked up at him and shifted, rising to her feet in front of him.
 

He swallowed audibly, but didn’t speak. His eyes devoured her like the hungry predator she knew he kept hidden deep within.

She turned to face Tempe. “Give me a minute. I’ll take a quick shower. Then you can primp and preen me as much as you like.”

Waltzing into the en suite bathroom, she closed the double doors behind her. The look of pure hunger on Aaron’s face when she’d shifted and stood in front of him had been priceless. She was wearing him down.
Soon.

The bond between them had flared with his spike of arousal. Even without a touch, the emotions would build. Each rise she could get from him brought them closer together ... even if he didn’t realize what was happening. He wasn’t an unwilling participant. It wouldn’t be working unless he wanted her as much as she wanted him. He was just older and better at putting up walls against the bond.

***

Aaron was gone from the bedroom when she returned from showering. Tempe waved her over to the vanity and she sat obediently on the small stool in front of the mirror.

The energy-filled woman chatted about the party and what would be expected of her. How she should respond to people’s questions. What was polite. What wasn’t polite. On and on she talked, all the while blow-drying and twisting Nicole’s hair into a multitude of curls and braids. When she looked in the mirror again, the woman looking back was almost unrecognizable.

Dark eyeliner made her blue eyes stand out like sapphires on white satin. Her pale skin was highlighted with just a touch of bronzer, making her look like she was glowing. Her lips were stained a deep burgundy and her hair tumbled in wavy tresses from a skillfully pinned nest of curls on top of her head. Pearls wound through her hair, adding another dimension of grandeur to her already unsteady grip on reality.

This wasn’t her. She couldn’t do this. There was no way they’d believe she was this person. Her sarcastic mouth would get the better of her and she would cause some poor soul a painful punishment. If not that, someone would catch her staring longingly at Aaron and guess their secret.

It’s too much.

“You can do this,”
her wolf assured her.

No, I can’t. They will see right through me. What if they hurt Aaron?

The bedroom door opened and Aaron stepped in. “Tempe, will you give us a minute?”

“Sure. I need to go get her dress from the closet anyway.”

Her breath caught in her throat. He moved to stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing ever so gently. Their magick flared at the touch and she bit back a moan.

He slipped one of his hands beneath the lip of her robe and cupped a breast. Her heart raced and she shivered. His hand kneaded and pinched and then he rolled her erect nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “I can’t go out there and pretend to be okay with all of this.”

“You have to,” he growled. “You have to sell it hook, line, and sinker. They must suspect nothing. If you don’t, there’s no point in me risking my neck to help you.”

“You’re going to help me?”
How?

 
He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “I want you for myself, but I won’t risk my sister’s life. If you can’t play their game better than they can, there’s no point. I saw you judging me for my behavior earlier today. I play the part of a groveling servant for a reason. It allows me certain freedoms. Now you have to play your part. Do you understand?” He nipped her ear and she swallowed.
 

“Yes. I do. But, what are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure yet, but don’t look at me tonight. Not even once.”

She nodded.

He stepped away and slipped quietly through her bedroom door.

“Is he gone?” Tempe called from inside the bathroom.

“Yes,” Nicole answered. “You can come out now.”

The redhead emerged carrying a white pleated floor-length tunic.
 

Nicole scrunched her eyebrows together. “That doesn’t look like a party dress.”

“No, but traditional, ancient robes are the standard for most ceremonial events.” Tempe slipped the garment over Nicole’s head and wrapped the belts in place below the bust line.

She stood in front of the vanity mirror. The silky fabric clung to every curve and her wicked body demonstrated her arousal for all to see. Her nipples puckered through the thin dress, taunting her.

“I guess I can just say I’m cold.”

Tempe grinned. “You’re a shifter. That excuse doesn’t work.”

“Damn it.”

“They won’t think anything of it. They’ll just think you are excited from the party. Like Aaron warned,” Tempe paused. “Don’t. Look. At. Him.” She pinned back a couple more curls and smiled with satisfaction. “If you do, you’ll sign his death warrant.”

Nicole nodded. “You won’t say anything?”

“I don’t want to see Aaron suffer.” Tempe met her gaze. “They have my husband locked up. It’s been ten years since I’ve seen his human face.”

“Tempe, why?”

“They think it buys our undying loyalty. In a way, I suppose it does. But it also buys our undying hatred. Now let’s go show those pretentious assholes how fabulous you are.”

Nicole laughed, tension flowing from her aching muscles. “Thank you, Tempe. I will protect you, I promise. We are all going to get out of this together.”

“I hope so.”

***

Strengthened by the newly formed alliance with Tempe, Nicole lifted her head and walked with purpose. She could do this.
 

Tempe led her down the hallway to the elevator, where they traveled to the main floor. They exited the elevator and moved into a foyer on the main level of the palace. Her grandmother and grandfather entered only moments after they did. Carlotta clapped her hands and motioned for her to spin. She complied and pasted on a happy smile.

“Oh, Nicole, you look simply divine. I knew Temperance would be the perfect assistant for you.”

“She is. Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Carlotta replied, a smile spreading across her face.

“You look very nice,” her grandfather said slowly. “I expect you to captivate those men completely. We should have a spectacular fight on Thursday night.” He turned to Tempe. “Good job, Temperance.”

“Thank you, Master Antipas,” Tempe answered quickly, curtsying to the floor and staying down. Nicole stared for a moment, swearing she saw something pass between her grandfather and Tempe. Maybe not. Maybe it was just her paranoia about this place.

The doors opened and Nicole was ushered into a room full of people with her grandfather on one arm and her grandmother on the other. Everyone froze and stared.

Her stomach rose to her throat and she felt a wave a nausea come over her. If not for her grandparents’ firm grip on either arm, she would have collapsed for sure.

“Breathe,”
her wolf encouraged.
“You can do this. You are Nicole Antipas Demakis, ass-kicking tough girl.”

She took a deep breath and relaxed. Her wolf was right. She had been through too much in her short life to let this spectacle intimidate her so much.

Carlotta and Reginald strolled her through the crowds, introducing her to everyone. They announced how pleased they were that she had joined them in Greece to accept her rightful place, and how proud they were she was accepting the birthright Samantha had shirked.
Gag.

“Nicole,” Carlotta started. “This is Renaldo and his parents, Julia and Juan Pallagras. They’ve come all the way from Florence to be here.”

“Signorina, it is a pleasure.” The young Italian smiled stiffly, reinforcing Nicole’s gut feeling that these men didn’t really want to be here either. At least at Sam’s hunt, death wasn’t a necessary outcome for most of the participants. Well, except the fact that Scott killed all but one of them.

“It’s nice to make your acquaintance,” Nicole answered, totally blanking on what Tempe had instructed her was proper etiquette. No one seemed offended, so she breathed a small sigh of relief.

“We’ll leave the two young people to talk,” her grandfather piped up and ushered away the Pallagras couple as well as his own wife, leaving Nicole standing alone with Renaldo.

“So, have you ever been to one of these ceremonies before?”

“Are you crazy?” her wolf hissed. “What kind of question is that?”

Shut up! I don’t know what to say to a man who’s either going to die in two days or fucking rape me publicly in front of my grandparents. So I’ll say yes, I’m probably going a little crazy.

Renaldo Pallagras rolled his shoulders and glanced at the floor before looking back up and meeting her gaze. “Once. My brother sought to marry into the Masterson family.”

“And did he?”

He shook his head and glanced away again. “We should not be speaking of this, Signorina. It is your party.”

“Do you want to be here?”

“Signorina Demakis, please.” His Italian accent made the words thick and her name rolled pleasantly off his tongue, but the underlying tone in every syllable was fear.

“He’ll die because of it.”

What do you mean?

“He doesn’t want it badly enough. He’s not a killer, therefore he will be killed.”

“I need a drink,” she said aloud.

“Allow me, Miss Demakis,” a male voice with a thick English accent spoke at her right.

“The lady was talking to me,” Renaldo growled low in his chest.

“You boys just stand here and measure each other while I go get my own drink, thanks.” She twirled on her heel and caught a dark look from her grandmother across the ballroom.
Shit. Guess she heard that.

It didn’t matter. She couldn’t stop what was already in motion and the only one who could was on the other side of the globe. Even if Kate could get here in time, what could she do? Yes, she was a creator, but what did that really mean? They’d seen her cast spells and she had helped heal Chris after Aaron stabbed him, but what could one witch do against an arena full of cutthroat royal wolves.

A waiter carrying a tray of bubbling champagne flutes paused in front of her. She took one and downed it in one gulp, handing it back and taking a second to sip on. The alcohol hit her stomach like a warm friend, but it wasn’t enough. The champagne was good, but she really wanted something stronger, something to dull the horrible feeling of guilt growing in her like a cancer. People were going to die because of her. More people. Aaron and Tempe and their loved ones’ lives were on the line. These four suitors’ lives were on the line.
 

Gods, just hear my plea. This isn’t right.
 

No one else should die. Her father had been right to break the pack away from such evil. The ancient traditions were barbaric and cruel. It needed to be stopped—permanently.

Three hours later, she was returned to Tempe’s and Aaron’s custody. She was glad to be heading back to her room, if for no other reason than she was sick of smiling at people who were looking forward to seeing four men fight to the death. Three would die on Thursday night if she couldn’t figure out a way to stop it.

None of the suitors seemed evil. In fact, they’d all been quite polite, making small talk to hide their nervousness. Renaldo was the only one who’d shown fear. The others masked their discomfort with the situation by flirting with her and offering to get her more to eat or drink. They regaled her with compliments on her beauty and charm.
 

Bullshit.
 

She knew she was pretty, but charming? Those who knew her best could hardly call her charming. She was straightforward and honest, and always got straight to the point. Some called it being a bitch, but her intentions were never mean or cruel. Her brain just lacked the filter to temper her words.

The three of them entered her room, but no one turned on a light. The moonlight coming through the windows was enough. Nicole turned to face Tempe and Aaron once her bedroom door closed. “I need a phone or email access. Something.”

“No,” Tempe gasped. “They’ll just kill us all. Nicole, please.”

Aaron growled low in his throat and she quieted instantly. “Leave us.”

The little redhead nodded and hurried to the door. “You two better not do anything to get my head chopped off.”

“Everything will be fine, Tempe. Go to bed,” Nicole urged.

Her assistant mumbled under her breath and closed the large bedroom door with a thud.

“Aaron, please.” Nicole turned. His eyes were glowing bright yellow in the soft moonlight. Desire burned hot and their bond flared as they both moved toward each other.

She cupped his face in both hands and pulled his mouth down to hers. His body stiffened for only a second before giving in to the desire she could feel raging through his body. His arms encircled her waist, pressing her hips flat to the hard bulge in his pants.

“Yes,” she murmured into his mouth.

His tongue plunged between her lips, mimicking what she wanted him to do with a different part of his body. He grappled with the belts around her torso and pulled them loose. Pushing the straps of her dress off her shoulders, he stepped back as the dress pooled on the floor around her ankles.