Authors: Melissa Schroeder
And now she had the embarrassing situation of needing Nico.
It had taken her a good hour of thinking to realize the reason she was feeling
out of sorts was because Nico was not there. He drove her insane with his
attitude and his kisses, but there was something in her that resonated with him
when he was near. It was as if he soothed her in a way no one else could.
And that thought had scared her. Needing a man was not a
position she ever wanted to be in. She had seen what it had done to her
sisters.
"Cordelia?" her sister asked weakly.
She rushed to her side and was happy to see that while her
sister looked confused, she no longer looked to be in pain.
She hesitated when she reached the bedside then threw
caution to the wind and sat on the mattress.
"How are you feeling?"
She sighed and leaned back against the pillows.
"Better, though I feel as if I am walking through a fog."
Cordelia nodded, remembering that after an attack, her
sister usually spent the day that followed in bed.
"You needed rest from your trip."
Diana glanced at the window.
"Do you mind pulling the curtains shut? My eyes are
still sensitive to light."
Cordelia nodded and did as she was bid.
"Did you wait all night here?"
Cordelia shrugged. "I could not sleep."
"Thank you."
She glanced back over her shoulder at her sister. "I
thought you did not have spells anymore?"
"Not often. I fear you are correct about the traveling,
though."
"You never did learn to slow down when you started
feeling bad."
They looked at each other, the room filled with unspoken
memories. It was hard to be so formal with her sister now. When she had been
growing up, Diana was the one person she shared everything with. Until she
left.
"Yes, but you need your sleep. Whatever Mrs. Blackburn
gave me last night worked apparently. I do not remember anything after she gave
me the concoction to drink. You did not need to watch over me."
The admonition had Cordelia straightening her back. "I
apologize. I will leave you alone."
She was almost to the door when Diana stopped her.
"Cordelia."
She turned and faced her sister.
Diana gave her a weak smile. "Thank you."
Cordelia nodded and slipped out the door. One of the maids
was waiting in the hallway. "I think you need to get my sister some tea
and just a bit of bread this morning."
She curtseyed and ran to do Cordelia's bidding. Cordelia
made her way to her room. If she had hoped that Diana and she would forge a new
relationship, she would have been disappointed. But for the most part, she had
not expected it. If anything, she had expected her sister to notify her brother
of her situation. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it for a
moment.
Cordelia stood there trying to understand her problem with
sleeping. She had not had a good night’s rest in two nights. First, the worry
of being compromised. Then, last night. It could have been the surroundings
that kept her awake. Cordelia did not do well in new surroundings. Before
leaving her family's estate to come to London, she’d only left there on
occasion during her childhood. She was truly a country mouse, one who could
care less about the city. But it had been a necessity. Her brother's drinking
was getting out of hand. Not to mention the parties he was throwing. The earl
had been bad, but nothing like the debauchery her brother was now hosting on
the estate. There was a time or two she had worried not only about her virtue,
but sometimes her life.
She brushed the unpleasant memories away and walked to her
bed. She would try to sleep, but she was not sure it would come. The moment she
slipped into bed, her muscles relaxed, her mind easing. She was almost asleep
when she thought she felt arms wrap around her. The warmth surrounded her, and
her body drifted off to sleep...but not before she registered the scent of bay
rum.
*
*
*
*
Nico settled on the bed next to Cordelia. He knew he was
breaking rules. As usual, he didn't care. Truthfully, he wasn't quite sure what
he thought he was going to do when he snuck into the house. It had been
embarrassingly easy, but it usually was for him. Humans saw only what they
wanted.
All he knew is he needed to be there. Even as his body
yearned for release he knew would not come, he felt a strange comfort move
through him.
He had spent the night talking to Malik, then pacing his own
room. Then, at dawn, he had given up. He'd walked to her sister's townhouse.
"Nico?" she asked sleepily.
He froze. "Yes, love."
"Oh, good."
Then she relaxed completely into sleep with a small smile on
her face. He glanced at the door, noting that she had locked it when she came
in. Something most women of her station would never do, but he had a feeling he
knew why.
He wanted to beat the bloody hell out of everyone in her
family, but he let it go. Instead he settled his head back down on the pillow,
sighed with contentment, and drifted into sleep with her.
*
*
*
*
Cordelia came awake slowly. She stretched her arms over her
head. She could not believe how fast she had fallen asleep after going to bed.
Two sleepless nights had apparently caught up to her. She shifted her leg and
hit something…another leg. A scream vibrated in her throat when a hand slipped
over her mouth. She noted the scent of bay rum, and she knew then it was Nico
in her bed.
“I would suggest you do not alert the entire household,” he
said, his mouth pressing against her ear. “Our announcement just hit the
papers. More gossip would be very trying.”
She nodded, and he released her. She slipped out of bed and
frowned at him. His hair was a mess, and he had a day’s growth of beard.
“What in heaven’s name are you doing here?”
His gaze slid over her, slowly working its way down her body
then back again. She realized she was wearing her plain nightdress, but it was
definitely easy to see through. Heat filled her face as she grabbed her robe.
After slipping it on, she felt better. The smirk he gave her told her it didn’t
matter.
“Are you going to answer me?”
He sat up, and she realized then he was bare chested. She
was mesmerized. She had never seen a man up close and almost naked. His chest
was broad and muscled, with a spattering of hair over his golden flesh. The
hair trailed down his stomach. When she found herself wondering just how far
the trail went, she blushed and glanced up at his face. He was smiling.
“If you are going to look at me like that, you better get
back in the bed.”
Her face got even hotter.
“I will repeat. What are you doing here?”
He sighed then mumbled something.
“What?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
She blinked at the anger she heard simmering in his voice.
“You couldn’t sleep, so you broke into my sister’s
townhouse? You are not making any sense.”
He looked as if he wanted her to shut up. When he stood, she
covered her eyes.
He chuckled. “I’m wearing trousers.”
She peeked through her fingers and dropped her hands as soon
as she realized he was telling the truth.
“So, you broke in here to sleep with me? Wearing your
trousers?”
He said nothing as he slipped on his shirt.
“Nico.”
He glanced at her. “First, I told you. I could not sleep. I
went out for a walk and found myself at your sister’s door. Secondly, I was
wearing my trousers because if I had been naked, you would not be standing
there complaining to me.”
Irritation slapped her hard. He was in her room, without
invitation, and he had the nerve to sound aggravated with the conversation?
She settled her hands on her waist. “And just what do you
think would happen?”
“You would be beneath me moaning my name,” he said in a near
shout.
For a moment, she could not think. His shirt was still
gaping open, and he had started to stalk her. She felt her eyes widen as she
stepped back.
“I-I think you should leave now.” Even as she said it, her
stomach threatened to revolt.
“Do you?” he asked as she came up against the wall.
“Y-yes.”
He slapped his palms against the wall on either side of her
head.
“I think you don’t. In fact, I can hear your heart beat. I
know that right now, heat is rushing through your blood.”
He nuzzled her neck much as he had the night before in the
carriage. She thought she felt a scrape of his teeth, and she shuddered.
“Good God, woman, you have no idea what you are doing to me.
I cannot sleep, I cannot feed…I need you so badly.”
She barely heard the words. His voice had dipped lower, and
his breath heated her flesh. Never in her life had she felt this from anyone. A
completely delectable man wanted her, needed her, he said. Something unfurled
in her belly as heat shot through her blood just as he said.
She turned her head and met his lips. It was so delicious,
kissing, feeling the way his tongue darted into her mouth. He kissed her as if
she were the only nourishment he needed. Slowly, she lifted her hands to his
shoulders. She slipped her fingers beneath his shirt and laid her palms on his
skin. He was hot, as if he were burning with fever.
He muttered against her mouth and deepened the kiss. Over
and over he thrust his tongue into her mouth. She wanted this, needed to feel
his skin next to hers. Something in her seemed to rejoice the moment she felt
the bit of teeth against her tongue. Her mouth still hurt from where he had bit
it the night before, but she didn’t care.
It was primal, she knew that. Any other time she would be
embarrassed or ashamed, but with Nico, she seemed not to care. Instead, she
felt her body urging her to take, to be taken. She pressed against him.
Then, just as she was about to demand satisfaction—although
she had no idea what that meant—there was a knock at her door.
“Lady Cordelia?”
She recognized the butler’s voice.
Nico growled as he pulled himself back from her.
“Yes?”
“There is a Mrs. Blackburn downstairs. She said she is your
intended’s mother and that she wants to talk with you.”
Nico had rested his forehead against her shoulder, and he
cursed under his breath but she could make out the words.
“Tell her I will be down shortly.”
“I think you should tell her to go away,” Nico whispered,
his mouth against her ear.
“Lady Cordelia?” the butler said.
“I will be ready in a few moments.”
She could sense he hesitated, but he finally left. When she
heard his retreating footsteps, she let out a sigh.
“Why did you say you would be downstairs?”
She looked at Nico, who was now staring at her. His gaze was
hot. Her body responded to what she saw there. She wanted him, needed him, just
as he apparently needed her.
“I cannot tell your mother to go away.”
“Then I will,” he said and spun away from her.
“Nico!” she grabbed his shirttails. “You cannot go down
there and tell your mother to leave. This isn’t your house.”
He leaned his head against the door and took two long
breaths.
“All right. I will accept that.” He turned to face her. “I
will wait one more day. That is it, Cordelia.”
He stuffed his shirt into his trousers, slipped his boots
on, then his jacket.
“How do you plan on escaping unnoticed?”
He said nothing for a moment, then he stepped forward and
kissed her. It was long, wet, and she sagged against him when he was done. Then
he stepped back and grabbed his walking stick.
“One more night.” He opened the French doors to her terrace.
“What are you doing?”
“I am going out the way I came in.” He climbed up onto the
stone railing. “Tonight is the last night I sleep alone. You make the choice.
You can do it as my fiancée or my wife.”
Then he stepped back off the railing. A scream strangled her
as she rushed forward. When she reached the edge, she saw him below in her
sister’s garden. He gave her a cocky salute, and then turned to walk away.
Her heart was still beating hard against her breast, and she
felt a little lightheaded. Cordelia watched him until he turned the corner,
then she sagged against the railing.
“Bloody hell,” she whispered as she closed her eyes. “What
have I gotten myself into?”
Nico stepped into the foyer of his townhouse, somewhat
energized from his walk and the time spent with Cordelia. Even though they had
not mated, their bodies were already in tune with each other. It was normal
since he had chosen her to be his mate, but he didn’t think it would happen so
quickly. He was thinking about his wedding night as he turned the corner. He
came to an abrupt halt. His father and Malik stood as if waiting for him. The
expressions on their faces told him they knew where he had been.
“Nico, I believe your mother told you to stay away from your
bride.”
Malik chuckled. “Your son has had a problem with her from
the first.”
“Just what do you mean by that?” Nico asked.
“I have a feeling our friend means that if you could have
controlled yourself to begin with, you would not be planning a wedding,” his
father said.
“And I thought both you and mother were happy with that
particular development.”
“Yes, but you have usually had better control of your needs
than you have with your bride-to-be. It might be a good sign. I hope that your
mother was able to take her out shopping today. The first feeding with a
Carrier can be quiet tiring.”