“It’s not going to work,” I hear the bride, Bella, say to Serena. “That’s mate fire. I had the same problem. Until she fu—" She stops abruptly, looking at the girls. “—seals her bond, she’ll keep bursting into flames, and her energy will be practically nonexistent. When I met Felix, every tiny little thing set off my anger. I almost burnt the house down. And even though I own a call center, continuously bombarded by people’s wrath, I was starving.”
“That’s what that is?” Serena looks incredulously between Bella and me. “I don’t think Mom has ever mentioned it before.”
Bella shakes her head. “It’s rare, not all demons experience it. Her mate should be able to calm her down with his touch.”
Serena looks back at me again. Although on fire, a tear drips down my face, impervious to the flames. “Oh, honey, what’s wrong?” she asks. “You should be over the moon. Who is it?”
Bella and I both turn to look at her brother. Serena looks between Bella’s brother and me and then to the children behind him. I see the exact moment when she realizes what's happened. She turns back to me.
“Baby girl. I’m sorry.” Serena instinctively knows how I’m feeling; it’s a twin thing. The joy replaced with the heartbreak when I realize he must already have a partner and that he has children from another woman.
A shrieking sound pierces our little bubble, and we watch as Nicole dances around, trying to put out her smoking hair. Skinny bitch number one has joined us, and she runs to a nearby table and grabs a pitcher of water and flings it at Nicole. Water and ice fly through the air. Another shriek sounds out, and although her hair is out, she is now dripping wet, mascara running down her face.
“Fuck, I hope you had all your photos done,” I mutter, making the off-handed comment to Bella. I think for a moment she’s going to blow her top, but she bursts out laughing instead.
“Oh my god, that is awesome. I can’t stand those women! They are only in the party because they were dating Felix’s best friend and brother. Unfortunately, when they broke up with them, it was too late to change.”
“Stop laughing, just stop it. Mate fire? What poor person is mated to this fat cow?” Nicole spits out. Her mouth drops open as Bella’s brother takes a step towards me.
“Nolan, you cannot seriously be mated to this fatty-bom-bah,” the other skinny bitch chimes in.
My flames flicker like a wildfire out of control. He steps closer, and I take another step back. Bella is watching us shrewdly as my eyes dart between Nolan and the girls. Bella steps in.
“Glory?” She shoots me a sad smile as I nod my head. “Just let him stop the fire for you. Then we can all sit down and talk about everything. It will all work itself out. We can get you some more food. Having him just sit next to you will go a long way in helping you even-out your emotions.”
Serena is nodding her head in encouragement, and while they both have me distracted, Nolan has snuck up, reaching through my fire and grabbing my hands. I look down in amazement as he gently squeezes my fingers, and then back up into those piercing green eyes. He’s smiling.
“Tickles. It feels good,” he says, the stress lines easing from his face. We both stand there staring at each other. My flames bathing us in warmth before slowly dying down and then burning out completely.
I quickly drop his hands, and Serena throws her arms around me, pushing him out of the way.
“Your mate is hot,” she whispers in my ear. I look over her shoulder and give him a good once-over. Broad shoulders, tapering down into a slender waist. His white button-up shirt is sinfully tight, showcasing his amazing body to the fullest. Tousled black hair in that sexy style that looks like it needs a cut but is actually styled to perfection. It has a bit of gray scattered at the temples. Plump lips covered by well-groomed facial hair, waiting for me to take a bite. The man is fine.
He looks down, and I follow his gaze. His little girls have wrapped their arms around his legs and are watching everything intensely. The older one is giving me a fierce look. The younger one has her thumb in her mouth.
Serena lets go of me and turns back around to Bella and Nolan. She can tell that I'm still in shock and takes over.
“I’m Serena, and this is my sister, Glory. I’m sorry we were crashing your wedding. It’s what we do.” She shrugs her shoulders unapologetically. “But usually, no one even notices.”
I snort in disgust. “Yet this one has been one cluster fu...fudge after another.”
Bella insists on hearing the tale. So instead of making our escape, we find ourselves once again seated at a table, this time surrounded by people intent on the story.
Nolan tells the girls to go and feed the koi in the front pond, so they ran off to find their friend Ella. Good thing, because this story isn’t for little ears.
Bella’s new husband, Felix, has also joined us. B1 and B2, aka Nicole and Jenny, also demand to hear the story. They have smug looks on their faces, probably hoping Bella’s wrath demon is going to come out to play, but by now, I just don’t care. We are also joined by Bella’s best friend Lizzie, mother of the young Ella.
Bella has some food brought over while Serena starts the story. Before the story begins, though, two gentlemen join us at the table. Bella refers to them as Felix’s brother and best friend. The thunk of my head hitting the table is loud enough to make people jump. Luckily, I miss my plate of food.
Seriously, what is bigger than a clusterfuck? Because that’s what this is. The first gentleman is the beautiful man from the restaurant yesterday, and the second, from the look on Serena’s face, is her big cocked client.
I start to laugh hysterically, tears streaming down my face. Serena’s mouth is open in shock. She looks at me, and then she joins in. We are both in tears, clutching each other, the table looking at us like we have lost our minds.
We calm down, and I wipe my eyes on a napkin. Serena takes a sip of water from a glass and sets it back on the table before beginning the story.
“Glory had a bad day yesterday. It seems that the restaurant she was reviewing for her blog needs to reassess its management and wait staff.”
“You were the blogger at Tasty Treats yesterday?” Nolan asks abruptly. I nod my head in surprise.
“I am so sorry for your treatment.” He grovels slightly. “We had no idea they spoke to the customers like that. Apparently, you're not the first. The other staff informed us. That problem has been rectified.”
I raise my eyebrows and turn to look at B1 and B2. They are rolling their eyes.
Jenny shoots me a hateful look. “You got us fired, bitch.”
Serena’s client shakes his head.
“No, you did that to yourselves, you vapid cow. I heard about your treatment of the paying customers. Why are they even here?” he asks Bella and Felix with an exasperated look. “We broke up with them for a reason.”
Bella growls, and her eyes flash red. “They’re only here because you and Louis have shit taste. And when you broke up with them, it was too late to change the wedding plans.” Felix rubs her back and whispers in her ear. The red fades from her eyes, and she takes a deep breath.
“What’s that got to do with either of you?” Serena asks, gesturing to Nolan and her client, whose real name I still don’t know.
Don’t suppose I can call him Mr. Big Cock and Knows How to Use it, huh?
Mr. Beautiful, who I now know is Louis, steps up. “Nolan and Carter are the other owners of Tasty Treats,” he informs me. His French accent sends tingles across my skin. “I tried to get you to stop you yesterday, but I don’t think you heard me.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, I could hear you, I just didn’t care,” I sneer back at him, not ready to forgive my treatment at the hands of those petty bitches.
“Anyway,” interrupts Bella, gesturing toward Serena. “Go on with the story.”
“Saturdays are our wedding crashing days,” Serena continued. “I was feeling full of energy after a very satisfying romp yesterday.” She shoots her cli
ent, who I now know is Carter, a wink. “I hated seeing her so low, so I planned this wedding crash. We do it regularly to scope out easy singles for me and fabulous food for her. It satisfies both our demons,” she explains unapologetically.
Bella nods understandingly. “I go to underground fight nights. My demon revels in it.”
“Anyway, so long story short, we crashed this wedding, but within minutes we saw the women who made her day miserable yesterday, and then the one who made mine memorable.” She laughs when Carter fidgets uncomfortably. “Glory wanted to bail, but I wouldn’t let her. In the process of trying to avoid bitch face there,” she nods at Nicole, “she ended up mated to him.” She points to Nolan. “But it looks like Nolan is already mated and well, it was just too much. Hence the mental breakdown you witnessed.” Serena waves down a passing waiter and grabs two glasses of fruity cocktails. Handing one to me, she takes a sip. “And that is how we all come to be sitting here.”
“Wait!” Louis exclaims. “Mated to Nolan?”
Nolan nods, still looking a bit shell-shocked.
“Congratulations man.” Louis and Carter both shake Nolan’s hand, but their reactions seem a little off.
“Of course,” I scoff. “He’s the man, a second mate. Woohoo.” I toss back my cocktail. This is not the time for dainty drinking. In fact, I signal to one of the waiters. “Tequila! Bring the bottle, lemons, and salt.” He scurries away.
The guys all eye me warily, but Bella sighs deeply.
"Glory, Nolan isn’t already mated. He was trapped in a relationship with the girl’s human mother. She’s gone now.”
I look at him. “Trapped, okay... I’d accept that the first time. What happened the second? He tripped and fell into her vagina?”
He shakes his head at me, a look of utter sadness on his face. He takes a deep breath. “I tried to make the best of a bad situation. I wanted to make things work, they didn’t. When I tried to leave, she threatened to take Aria and not let me see her. I gave in. We were basically living separate lives in the same house. She was neglectful, she had a vicious drug and alcohol problem, and after a while, I finally had enough proof that she was an unfit mother. I told her I was leaving, taking Aria with me, when she drugged me. One night I had a few too many drinks after work, and she slipped a cocktail of drugs in my meal and basically raped me. I wasn’t in my right mind to consent, that’s for sure.”
He shudders and Bella grabs his hand, giving it a squeeze as he continues. “Zoe was the result of that. I went to the police, but it was so hard to prove. And the case was dropped. I’m not proud of what I did, but in the end, I paid her to go away. It's the only reason she was with me in the first place. I never planned to marry her or have children. I knew I had a mate out there, but I’m a wealthy man, and she manipulated the situation to her advantage. I made sure she couldn't touch them again. I love my girls; I don't regret them one bit.” He ends the story defensively.
“Are you saying there is no other woman in this relationship?” I ask, gesturing between the both of us. He shakes his head. “I get to have you all to myself?”
This time he nods laughing. “Well, you have to share me with my girls. That’s non-negotiable.”
With that, I launch myself out of my chair and into his lap, plastering little kisses all over his face before licking the bottom of his cheek to his temple. His facial hair is rough against my tongue as I drag it across his face.
Nolan screws up his nose. “What was that for?” he asks, wiping at where I licked him.
Serena is just about falling off her chair with laughter. “She licked it. It belongs to her now.”
And everyone else at the table dissolves into laughter, except B1 and B2, who turn up their noses and huff.
Chapter Six
SOMETIME LATER, BELLA and Felix returned to their guests, and Serena disappeared to find a willing sexual victim. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bella introducing her to someone, so I think she’s going to be okay. The rest have given us a little bit of privacy, with Carter and Louis physically man-handling Nicole and Jenny when they wouldn’t leave.
Nolan and I have been getting to know each other. He's a greed demon who is independently wealthy, but he invests in promising startup companies like Tasty Treats, though that one was a bonus because it was with his best friends.
His little girls keep returning to the table from where they have been playing. They obviously don’t like to let their daddy out of their sight for too long. It's adorable how close the three of them seem. Hopefully, having me around won’t mess with that dynamic too much. I can’t wait to do stuff with them.
“Glory, are you going to come and live with us now? Are you going to be my mommy?” the little one, Zoe, asks.
Looking at Nolan for inspiration, he just shrugs.
“They know about demons. We’ve never hidden anything. They also know that one day, Daddy will find his soulmate and fall instantly in love.” My heart skips a beat, and my eyes mist over slightly. “Aria understands more than Zoe, but Zoe has always asked when her mommy was going to be coming.”
Turning to the sweet girl standing in front of me, I answer her cautiously. “Is that okay with you?”
A huge grin spreads across her face, and she jumps up and down on the spot before climbing up onto my lap, wrapping her small arms around me. “Yes, yes, a gazillion times, yes.”
My arms come up automatically, and I hug her back. I inhale her little kid scent. Her hair smells like apples, and her face is sticky where her cheek presses against mine. An instant feeling of love for this little cherub who’s never known a mother’s love flows through me. I will have to be very careful how I tread with these two and make sure they know I will love them as much as I love their father.
Aria tugs on her dad's hand. “Come dance with me, please.”
At her plea, he looks at me.
I smile. “Nolan, you never have to ask my permission to spend time with your daughters.”
He winks at me and stands up. “Let’s go then, chipmunk.” They head to the dance floor together. When she climbs onto his shoes, and they slow dance together, I lose my heart a little bit more. Zoe has made herself comfortable on my lap and now turns to me, placing her hand on my cheek.
“You’ll like living with us, Glory. We have a big house with a heated pool and a slide. We have lots of rooms. Aria and I each have a bedroom, Carter has a bedroom and Louis had a bedroom, and daddy has a bedroom, and he has a humongous bed! He and Carter and Louis can all fit in it together!” She waves her arms around enthusiastically.
Wow. I’m speechless. There are so many things I have questions about. But I’m not going to pump a three-year-old for more information. Well, not much, anyway.
Before I can ask any questions, though, the two men I’m curious about return to the table.
“Wow, Nolan left you all alone already?” Carter asks me. “I’d have thought he would be all over you. He’s always talking about what his mate would be like. I guess you don’t live up to the dream?”
Carter’s hostile words surprise me, not quite sure what the fuck I did to cause him to be so aggressive. Louis shoots him a look that clearly says shut up, but Carter doesn’t take the hint. He starts to spew what I’m sure is more nastiness, but Zoe distracts him by jumping down off my lap and grabbing his hand.
“Uncle Carter, come and dance with me, please? Like Aria and daddy.”
The scowl on his face melts off, and he dissolves into a puddle of mush. “Of course I can, my little cupcake,” he says, picking her up and swinging her around. When they get to the dance floor, he just keeps her in his arms and sways back and forth. She nestles her head into his shoulder and sticks her thumb in her mouth. This brings a smile to my face, but I turn so he can’t see it.
Louis is looking at me with a small smile of his own. “He’s right, you know. Nolan has looked forward to finding his mate for so long. He always wanted a huge family. It was the only reason he didn’t tel
l his ex to take a hike. She knew pregnancy was the only thing that would trap him.” He takes a seat in the vacant chair next to me. His cologne, some spicy, exotic thing, drifts past my nose, messing with my mind slightly. I shake my head to clear it. “And don’t mind Carter; he’s jealous, but he’ll come around.”
I watch the four of them on the dance floor, the two men protective of the little girls they are dancing with.
“Zoe said some interesting things to me,” I say to Louis.
He crosses one leg over the other and raises an eyebrow. “Did she now? Mon petit is subject to frequent exaggeration, but tell me, and I will tell you whether her tale is tall or not.” His accent thickens on the French words.
“She said you guys have bedrooms at her house. Do you all live together?”
“Yes, we do. I guess Carter and I should look at getting our own place now if you are moving in.”
I look at him shrewdly. “She also said that her daddy's bed was so big ‘Daddy and Louis and Carter all fit in it together.’ How would she know that?”
He looks me in the eye, his own flaring with the orange of a fellow gluttony demon.
“Unfortunately, Zoe is not only an exaggerator; she is also a sleepwalker. Sneaky girl woke one night and entered her father's bedroom. Luckily, she was asleep and didn't see anything too bad, but she does remember all three of us in the bed. She thinks that we were having a slumber party.” He gives me a slight frown. “Does it matter to you that your mate is bisexual? Well, guess now that you are together, he will leave us behind, so you don’t have to worry about us,” he says sadly.
I think about what he just told me. Holy hotcakes, that visual just lit my undies on fire. I feel a little guilty thinking about men other than my mate, but whoa. I fan my face with a napkin from the table. As the evening has settled in, the weather has cooled off, but I can feel my face flaming. I wiggle in my seat.
“He’s a very lucky man.” He lifts his hand to push back a tendril of hair that has fallen across my face. As he does, his palm brushes across my cheek. Again, a sharp stabbing pain in my hand has me gasping and looking down for an injury.
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