“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”
His voice trailed off, and his mouth dropped open when he glimpsed Peachy first with her hair a mess, her clothes rumpled, and her lips swollen—as if she had been up to no good. Then his gaze landed on Michael, and the scene from earlier came back, clicking into place. Something warmed his heart at the knowledge that Peachy had been thoroughly ravished, but it was Michael’s protective stance that cemented how this wasn’t a mere fling.
“Nico!” Peachy exclaimed, nerves buzzing in her tone. “We were just discussing some things and needed privacy. This was the nearest place we could find.”
“I see.” Nico bit back his chuckle and nodded. “It must have been a very important discussion.”
“It was,” Michael shot back, a hint of warning in his words. “Very important.”
The fiend. Nico narrowed his gaze, returning the warning: to treat Peachy right or else. Whether Michael got the message or not was up to him.
“I see. Well, I shall leave you to your discussion, then.” He paused, then, “The mansion would be a better discussion area. Empty and secluded now. Lots of wiggle space. Some soundproofed rooms, too.”
“Nico—” Michael growled.
“Goodnight,” Nico chirped, getting out of their hair before he could burst into laughter. He heard their low voices before the two walked off, and he bit back a grin when he peeked and saw his brother leading her to the suggested place. “Don’t hurt her, you asshole.”
He surveyed the barrier points and found Billy lounging in one with his mate, the vampire named Isabella. Iz leaned against him as they talked in low voices, too, an intimacy that felt private. He backed away and returned to the celebration in no time, accepting the goblet of spirits offered to him. It didn’t take him long to find Anne standing in another corner while a man chatted her up: Paul Bennett, a decent shifter who worked for Angelo’s brewery and spearheaded most emergency protocols in the clan.
“Hey, Nico. I thought you would be on duty now, but I’m glad you are here. I don’t think I ever see you doing anything except guarding the territory and being all sexy.”
Recognizing the jesting voice, he smiled and nodded in greeting. Bethany Jones-Bennett took that as an invite and squeezed his arm, something she had always done since they were kids. The widowed woman gleamed with appreciation, something she had been more open with since Nico’s cousin Ian had died about a decade ago.
“I do stuff outside the territory,” he said.
“Oh, yeah? When was your last date?” she teased.
“A few weeks…no, about two months ago with the ex.”
Had it been that long? It felt like time had flown so quickly. At the same time, Daniella felt like a lifetime ago. His gaze fell on Anne once more, watching as she smiled over something that Paul said. The slight jealousy was smothered with the pride of watching her get along with his clan and blossom before his eyes.
“Your ex was stupid for letting you go so easily.”
“Apparently, I’m boring.”
Bethany shook her head. “See, I can never figure that out. Just because you are a steady, loyal man, you are boring? Who makes up that shit?” She smirked. She rubbed his shoulder suggestively. “Besides, none of that cancels out everything else.”
“Everything else?”
“A man can look boring but can still be a beast in bed. A man can be as steady as they come and still be the wildest, most unpredictable lover. It doesn’t have to be one-dimensional.Youdon’t strike me as one-dimensional, Nico.”
While the slightly older woman had always flirted before, this was laid on thicker than most. He perused her, the fluttering lashes and lip-biting cementing that she was here on a mission. But the continuous caress did nothing to his senses, not even a spark.
“I…thanks, I guess.”
He looked away and ended up looking at Anne again. Laughter brightened her face. Then green irises glanced at him and stayed, noting that he was watching her. Pink flourished on her cheeks. Her gaze skimmed down where Bethany’s hand was stroking, narrowing. He sensed the jealousy, but she let go of it promptly when he looked back up and met his gaze. The unwavering stare couldn’t be helped. Neither could the emotions roiling in him as he noted her flushed state, just that slight buzz of alcohol that loosened her muscles.
Paul continued engaging her in conversation, and Bethany continued flirting with him. They responded respectively, but the glances between them became frequent, less furtive…heated. He felt a charge in the atmosphere, something so private that it felt delicious. He felt it turn sexual the moment she sipped on her goblet, and all he wished for was that he was the goblet.
“I haven’t hung out with you in so long, you know. Perhaps we can hang out sometime outside our territory. Just get a cup of coffee…get away from all the restrictions…do…”
Anne watched on, gripping her cup tighter. Horny was not enough to describe how he felt then and there, struggling with the way his body reacted to her. Perhaps Bethany noticed it, too, and attributed it to her moves working, but he barely heard a word the woman said.
He sipped on his drink, too, and found Anne’s focus latching onto his mouth. Her lips parted. Her tongue peeked out, perhaps unconsciously—and that was enough to have his cock raging hard against his pants and leaving no breathing room. It made things uncomfortable, an itch building into a mass in his stomach.
“What do you say, Nico?”
Bethany’s hand traveled up his chest, resting meaningfully. He stepped back, more instinctive than anything, and shook his head.