Authors: Sarah Brocious
Thanatos had told him he was whipped and wanted to steal back the words when Raina informed him he would need help and batted her blue eyes. Yeah, he’d be out in the cold with the strands come the morning.
Jonathan and Joseph were dutifuly drinking their wine and sitting on the couch as Raina had insisted. They were most definitely her guests…especially Joseph! Turk and Percy were keeping them company and enjoying the attention.
Even Donna was here! Donna….poor Donna who always seemed forgotten was finding hooks for the ornaments that were without. She looked forlorn. Her husband had been back long enough to visit and was again away on duty. He had left behind his own gift. She was due in July. Raina made a mental note to have her around a lot more!
She now glanced back at her Nolan who was struggling with a knot. He was biting his lip in concentration. She wondered if they would ever have that chance to have one of their own? Her stomach fluttered at the thought of carrying Nolan’s baby. It was almost as exciting as the thought of making the baby.
He looked up at her now as though sensing her gaze. He gave her that sexy as hell grin and then turned back to his work.
“More wine?” Melinda was at her elbow with the bottle.
Raina shook her head and smiled. “We have work in the morning. I better not.”
Melinda lifted her eyebrows. “You seem distracted tonight. Aren’t you having fun?”
“Oh yes! Yes of course I am,” she laughed. “I just have a lot on my mind right now.” She hung the ornament she had been fiddling with and turned back to her friend. “Are you having fun?”
Melinda hooked her arm around Raina’s. “Yes.” She still studied her curiously. “Is it the whole…mortal thing?” She lowered her voice so that neither Bradley nor Donna heard her. “I know I would be wigging out right now if it were Michael considering it.”
Raina shook her head but then leaned in. “Do you think he would ever? Consider it?”
Melinda shrugged. “We never talked about it. At least…we don’t bring it up. It’s not like we don’t think about it. I really don’t know.”
Raina bit her lip and studied Nolan. She was sure he heard them. Each immortal could if they wanted to; if they hadn’t dimmed their hearing. “I’m scared for him,” she whispered. “But I trust him.”
Melinda tilted her head against Raina’s head. “It’s going to be all right for you two. God wouldn’t allow you to overcome so much just for you to fail.” She leaned in and kissed the fair cheek of her friend and returned to her husband.
“Last one,” Donna announced, handing Arabella the final ornament.
Raina nearly clapped her hands. All that was left was the angel on top and then they could light the tree! “I need the step stool,” she announced, rushing to grab the pretty angel.
Nolan gave a snort and tossed aside the lights. He strode toward her with purpose. “Step stool,” he muttered, shaking his head.
Raina felt a warm flush run through her system when he stood before her, Her only protection was the porcelain and silk angel between them. “So I can reach the top,” she said meekly.
“Turn about Aelan. I’ll get you up there,” he promised. He smiled as she obeyed. He bent down, wrapping one powerful arm around her thighs. The other around her hips and lifted her as if she weighed nothing.
Raina blushed and secretly thought to herself that his chest made a mighty fine seat! She didn’t have to reach very far to secure the angel. She had just got it at the right angle when a scream rent the house.
Everyone in the room paled and swung to the screamer. Emily. She was jumping up and down. Her mouth was open and no sound was coming out.
“Emily?” Raina wiggled, and Nolan let her slide easily to the ground. “Emily what’s wrong?”
Emily tackled Raina and finally sound came from her throat in the form of a sob. “You’re wearing a ring!”
Raina laughed and her eyes turned to Nolan as she hugged her friend close. “Someone finally noticed!”
Nolan grinned and was bombarded by his own slaps on the back.
“Make it official. Say something,” Bradley growled.
Nolan grinned wider. “Raina and I are getting married!”
“Oh we are so calling off tomorrow.” Melinda squealed, filling Raina’s glass.
Thanatos was still leaning in the corner with a small smile playing at his lips. He had known all along. He felt privileged that he had been the only one to know other than Nolan…and then of course Raina! He moved slowly to his friend and clapped him on the shoulder. “Good job on not choking!” His green eyes found Raina’s “And good luck with this one.”
“I have cigars,” Michael announced, getting a dirty look from Melinda. “Special occasion my love,” he protested.
There was a murmur of approval from the males.
“Cigars?” Raina made a face.
Nolan tugged her into his arms. “Special occasion,” he mimicked Michael, brushing his nose against hers. “Besides, we have to fill Bradley in on something.” He gave her a knowing glance.
“Tonight?”
He nodded. “Over cigars.” He leaned down as if to kiss her cheek. “Emily is very anxious,” he whispered. His lips brushed her ear in a teasing kiss.
“Out on the deck,” Raina sighed in surrender. She held fast as he moved to leave her. “Be gentle.”
Frowny face made an appearance. “Aelan you wound me.” He gave her a wink and turned to go, earning a swat on the backside. Nolan chuckled and clicked to Turk for an outside romp.
Raina grabbed Thanatos as the other men left. “I don’t want my fiancé wounded tonight to prove a point,” she said softly so that Donna did not over hear.
Thanatos gave her a salute. “I will keep him safe…promise.”
“Pretend he’s me,” she insisted.
He gave her a look. “Kind of a stretch there, beautiful. I will watch out for him.” He left with a wink.
A half hour later, the men returned from their talk a little colder and some a little wiser.
Bradley was positively pale. He looked from each face with questions. Luckily, Donna had left a bit earlier. Pregnant women needed their rest, so he was capable of speaking freely. The questions flowed from him. He never quite lost the white paler to his skin.
“What did you do to him?” Raina whispered to Nolan, snuggling in his arms and listening to their friends chatter.
“It’s a guy thing.”
She peered up at him. “A man thing?”
“Raina we can’t reveal all our secrets!” He brushed a curl from her forehead tenderly. “A guys gotta have a thing or two that’s all his own.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “We wanted to make sure he understood.”
“What did you do?” She felt sleepy from the wine, but her eyes held his.
He grinned and shook his head. “He’ll have to tell you one day if he so decides.”
She frowned.
“Aelan,” he chastised.
She pouted and gasped when he nipped at her protruding lip.
“Hey…are we over staying our welcome?” Jonathan teased from his perch on the couch. “We should leave you two to celebrate your engagement!”
Raina shook her head. “Don’t leave us alone!”
Each set of eyes turned to them.
Nolan blushed. “We…well, we have a long wait…and it’s easier with witnesses around.”
Their friends did not shield them from the laughter. In fact, each one of them burst into belly laughs. But they stayed. They allowed the goodbye kiss. The men even escorted Nolan out at the end and Thanatos and Maxim made themselves comfortable on the recliner and couch to stand guard over the mortal. It was clear they would play the role of chaperones very well!
Raina went to bed very much wishing tomorrow was Christmas!
Nolan did much the same.
Chapter 21 Afternoon of Events
“Raina you are not buying off the rack,” Emily wailed. “Don’t do this to me!”
Raina glanced up from her perusal of the gowns, which were indeed on the rack. “Don’t do this to you? I would like to throw the same plea back to you!”
Emily smirked. “Keeping you and Nolan apart has been our duty and it’s been good for you! As it would be good for you to get a dress made just for you!” She stamped her foot in agitation.
“Emily! I have a little over two weeks! There is no way I am getting a dress made in that short of time!”
Emily rolled her eyes and tugged Melinda into the conversation quite literally by grabbing her elbow. “Tell her she can’t Mindy!”
Raina smirked at the nickname that Melinda hated but didn’t have the heart to tell Emily.
“Her future husband is loaded! I am sure he could pay someone to get the dress done by then! It will be more special to have one made for your special day! Just for Nolan!” Emily’s expression was pleading.
Melinda shrugged. “Em does have a point. If you wanted a special dress I am sure it could be rushed specially for you for a price.”
Raina bit her lip. “I’d be happy in jeans.” She shrugged. “But if it means that much…”
“It does!” Emily exclaimed and grabbed her friend’s hand. “Let me call…I know the perfect designer! They aren’t a big name but up and coming! Oh Rain you are going to be so beautiful!” She did a little jig.
Melinda smiled and shook her head. “Well, we should look for our dresses then Em, since Raina is already cared for!”
Raina shook her head. “Oh no…if I am getting my dress especially made, you are too! Only…” she bit her lip. “Should I be asking Nolan first on all of this?”
Both friends shook their heads.
“Girl he’d do anything for you. He’s expecting you to want this to be special! Emily is right…Nolan has the money and there’s no one he’d rather spend it on!”
Raina hesitated and got Emily’s eye roll.
Emily sighed and brought her eyes back down to Earth. “Go call him before we leave,” she said softly. “And then after he says yes I will call the designer and we will go to Bitter Sweet for lunch!”
Melinda hooked arms with Emily. “I will call Rachel to get our usual ready!”
Raina gave them a small smile and dug in her purse for her phone. She made her way around a rack for privacy and held her breath as her call rang through.
“Hey baby, how’s the dress shopping going?” His voice was warm and gentle.
Raina felt calmed almost immediately. “Good.”
His chuckle was husky. “Just good?”
She cleared her throat. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Would it be okay if I got my dress made for me?”
“Anything you want Aelan.”
“On your dime?”
He laughed. “I don’t want you taking money from strangers! Of course on my dime!”
“Are you sure?”
“No worries,” he chuckled.
“And the girls bridesmaid dresses?”
“Absolutely!”
“It’s going to cost a bit because of short timing and I know I could buy off the rack but Em says it won’t be as memorable and I just want to be beautiful for you and I think if I get my own dress made that….”
“Yes,” he whispered gently, stopping her run on sentence. “I want you to have what you want…everything you want on that day.”
“You’d be enough,” she said softly.
“Same here,” he agreed.
Her heart melted a bit. “Miss me much?”
“Always! Our chaperones enjoy taking our request quite literally don’t they?” He cleared his throat. “Not a moment alone with you since the day of our engagement!”
“I know,” she sighed. “Might be for the best though you and I alone now a days …only leads to trouble.”
He groaned on the other side of the phone.
She giggled.
“That’s right, laugh at the suffering man,” he teased.
She heard shuffling of paper in the background. “Are you working with Bradley today?”
Nolan had been helping his friend out the last few days. Partly he felt bad about leaving him like he did and not finishing up some business and partly he wanted to make sure he wasn’t still in shock over the reveal.
“Yes, he has a big client coming in and needed some clean up done. I think Thanatos is presenting. Good thing he’s been here to keep it all together and bring me up to date. I’ll need some normal job time when…well…when my time comes.”