"To answer your question, Mrs. Carter and I know each other through Immy."
Relief rushed through my bones, and I sagged back into Nicco. His grip tightened around me as he pulled me closer. I nestled into his side, feeling the comfort he so readily offered.
"Through Immy? How?"
Well, I guess Nicco wasn't going to leave it. He was a bloodhound on the trail, and he smelt blood.
"Mrs. Carter here, well, she's mentoring a new friend of Immy's."
What the fuck? Okay, so I didn't think he would ignore the reason altogether and use Jude! I wanted to rant at him, but the damn confidentiality clause meant I couldn't do shit. That whole speech I gave Sax weeks ago suddenly reared its ugly head, and I wanted to shout. I hated keeping something from Nicco, especially if he was Imogen's cousin or second cousin, but I'd taken an oath and would never break it, even if, for once, I had a reason to.
"Oh, Jude, this is the teen from Ignite you were talking about mentoring?"
Nicco turned to me, a curious look on his face at the question. Selecting my words carefully, I made sure to be as honest as I could, "Uh, yeah. We made it official today and went out to lunch to celebrate, and it's where we ran into the three of them," I gestured.
"I'm going to have to get after Ims for not telling me about this," Nicco teased, causing the three of us to awkwardly join in. A waitress brought over more drinks right as an announcer came over the loudspeaker, startling me. The distractions were a nice break from the suffocating tension in our four-person booth.
"Well, I guess that's my cue to head to my booth. Nicco, I'll need to get numbers from you later, when you're not otherwise preoccupied."
Atticus rose from the bench and buttoned his suit jacket, straightening it before walking off, not even looking back as he did. His stride was sure, and I wondered what it was like to be that confident your whole life. It helped me not focus on the insult I assumed he'd just lobbed at me.
"It seems we have a lot of similar contacts, beautiful," Nicco touted, but for once, I wasn't sure of his intention and felt an underlying suspicion.
Fucking hell.
Figures when I met someone I liked, it would come with a whole list of complications. Nothing in my life was ever simple anymore. That fantasy cracked open five years ago when I first faced tragedy. The raw, gurgling, vitriol of life spilled out, spreading its tainted touch in every aspect it could.
Some days, I could visibly see the darkness coating me like a liquid, dripping with death and hate, sliding over my skin and trapping me in a world filled with corrupted gloom. It stuck to everything, leaving its murky mark. It would be easier if we could visibly see this darkness, the shadows of our souls where we hid our deepest fears and hurts. Yet, we huddled them together out of sight, simply fortifying them until we could no longer see the light.
Nicco had been a light in my life. I didn't need him to save me because I had to do that myself. But Nicco had reminded me what the light felt like. He provided me shelter from the storm and showed me all the things I'd forgotten, all the lies the darkness whispered to me that I'd started to believe. Nicco was my night light, and I needed him to stave off the monsters. If I lost him now…
I didn't want to think about it because I wasn't sure my answer would be comforting.
"It oddly does seem that way." I smiled, but it wobbled. The emotion was thick in my throat, and I tried to swallow it down. Turning my head, I watched the figures below and the crowd who were lost in a mass of adrenaline and aggression. Their voices diminished my fear, and I floated amid them as they shouted for their fighter to win.
A growl brought me back to the booth, and I realized it had come from Sax. Staring, I pondered what was going on. He had a fierce look on his face, his beard accentuating his scowl, making him look menacing. Sax's bulging biceps sat on the table, his tattoos peeking out of his tight black shirt. It was then I realized he wasn't in a suit like normal. Something about a relaxed-looking Sax had my mouth-watering, and I wondered if he was wearing jeans and how his ass looked in them.
Despite his growl, he didn't say anything. Sax glared daggers at Nicco as he leaned against the table. Observing the man next to me, I could tell something was passing between them, but I couldn't figure it out. Nicco had a stubborn glint in his eyes, and I wondered what he was refusing to do. That part was at least clear to me. Sax wanted Nicco to do something, and he was refusing. I had a feeling it involved me.
I didn't think their current animosity had anything to do with the eye fucking Sax and I had earlier. In fact, neither had seemed to care about it. No, this was something different. Focusing back on the brooding defender, I tried to break up some of the tension. "Did Nicco do your tattoos?"
They broke their battle and looked over to me, not realizing, I guess, I'd been aware of their staring contest.
"Yes, spitfire. The kid did my tats. He's quite good at them."
Nicco glared at Sax when he referred to him as "kid," and I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not sure what's going on. I've felt out of place most of the night, and the fact all my worlds seem to be colliding has my mind a little boggled, to be honest. So, I hope whatever this current tension is about has nothing to do with me." Turning to my date, I took his hand in mine. "Nicco, this has been one of the best dates of my life, and you've surpassed anything I've been on before. Thank you."
Leaning up, I cupped his cheek with my palm and kissed the other one. I felt his eyes flutter at the contact, and his body relaxed at the gesture. Pulling away, I tried to communicate how much I wanted him and the experience this night had been, even if it had been derailed. Nicco searched my eyes and finally nodded, finding an answer he could accept.
Turning to Sax next, I smiled at the burly neanderthal that was fastly becoming someone I couldn't ignore. "Sax, it was a surprise to find you here, but I can't say I'm disappointed. I know we don't know each other very well yet, but I can't deny the physical connection. I'm just not sure what I'm ready for. Nicco can explain more if he wants. He is, after all, my tour guide." I grinned back at the man in question.
Something about my statement had him looking guilty, but that hadn't been my intention. Nothing to be done about it now, though, so I let it be. Gathering my courage for the last part, I inhaled a big breath before beginning.
"This night has been amazing, but I think it's time I call it. I know I was supposed to stay over Nicco, but I was hoping I could get a rain check?"
He looked disappointed initially, but I didn't see how I could get back into the sexy Loren from earlier. Too much darkness had seeped into me and not the reckless kind. Thankfully, at the rain check part, he smiled softly.
"Yes, beautiful. I would like that very much. I'm not sure where things went off course tonight, so I apologize for any part—"