by Alexis Davie
Starting a rhythm which was slow and steady, perfect to start off with according to Romi, she grabbed his shoulders and stared into his eyes. The gray colors swirled around like smoke, hypnotizing her. Her senses intensified even more as she was drawn into him suddenly, feeling everything he felt, and more. It was overwhelming at first, but for once in her life she knew what it felt like to love someone and have them love her exactly the same way in return, if not more. The emotions inside her, connected to him, allowed her life to now make sense to her. She now had a purpose, a dream, a mission, a reason to live!
It was him, and without overthinking it, she knew that it had always been him, even though she wasn't already aware of it. Romi knew what Rhaena had planned for each of the four Dragon Princes, and that each one of them would face even worse challenges when they finally met their True Mates. Nothing would come easily to the princes, and Rhaena had made sure of that.
Romi cleared her mind of all that clutter which seemed to invade her mind so suddenly and she focused on her and Nyx. That was all that mattered at that point.
His rhythm sped up, the desire building up inside both of them at a rapid pace. She held onto him as if her life depended on it and dug her fingernails into his back as she was finally pushed over the edge of her climax.
“Oh my god,” she panted as a powerful orgasm ripped through her, with Nyx following shortly after.
His body jolted against hers, soft groans escaping his lips. When his body grew still, she noticed the drops of perspiration which formed on his forehead. She reached up and ran her fingers through his thick hair and smiled at him.
“Are you okay there, Your Highness?” she asked cockily.
Nyx cringed playfully and shook his head. “Please don’t call me that.”
“You don’t like it?” Her tone was playful.
“I don’t. It makes me feel like an imposter.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I am nothing like my brothers, or my father, and being associated with them, with the family name and the history of everything, it’s just a heavy burden, and in a way, a curse as well. It just makes me feel like shit for no reason.”
“Well, that won’t do,” she whispered and kissed him on the lips. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he whispered in return.
In one swift motion, Nyx positioned himself beside her and wrapped his arms around her. Without saying a word, Romi placed her hand against his heart and felt it pounding rapidly in his chest.
Beating for her, and only her.
5
Nyx had to admit that playing guitar in the nude wasn't something he had ever done, but it felt freeing. Not that he would do it all the time, but there was something sensual and also relaxing about having his guitar against his skin, without a shred of clothes on.
He and Romi were still in bed, in a cloud of soft sheets, fluffy pillows, and overwhelming emotions. Romi had brought his guitar for him a short while ago and requested that he play something for her she had never heard before. Nyx protested, of course, but he finally gave in.
The notes of the guitar filled the air around them and left Romi in awe as she watched him, although Nyx was convinced she was still euphoric from the orgasmic state she was in. It had been so easy and simple with her. Not only the sex—which was mind-blowing—but everything with Romi was just on a whole other level. Everything about being with her, beside her, was easy, and it gave a much deeper and more profound meaning to the idea of being someone’s perfect person.
Romi lay beside him, covered in a light sheet, her pale skin glowing in the moonlight. Her red hair created a fiery halo around her face, and her sapphire blue eyes bore into his soul in ways he would never be able to explain or understand.
She was everything he had ever wanted.
He did not sing a single word, as words weren’t needed at that point, and the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile.
“That was beautiful,” she whispered as the last notes faded into the silence.
Nyx smiled shyly and rested his hand on the curve of the guitar. “You’re beautiful.”
“Have you always loved music?” she asked.
“Ever since I could remember. My mother encouraged me, but my father thought it was a useless thing to spend my time on. He wanted me to be a warrior, like Oryn and Pyre. Then he realized that I wasn’t as strong as them, physically or mentally, and my thinking was different. I wasn’t cold and calculated like he was. Then I found that I had a gift for pretending to be someone I’m not. Of course, he saw right through that. He never asked me to go on a ‘hunting trip’ as he liked to call it. I stayed with my mom a lot. I never got to watch a massacre, not that I wanted to. When Pyre and Oryn would come back afterwards, they’d share stories and I’d feel sick to my soul.”
“You did not belong in that family,” she pointed out.
“Neither does my mother. I’m a lot like her.”
“I know.”
“I thought that you knowing so much about me would be disturbing as hell, but I’m not,” he admitted. “I finally feel like I don’t need to pretend anymore, and it feels so good to just be myself.”
“I can imagine.”
“Best of all is that you know everything about me, my family and what they did, and you’re still here.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Nyx. I promise you that,” she said as she reached for his hand and held it tight for a moment.
Nyx squeezed her hand. “And I promise to never let anything happen to you, and that I will never pretend, ever again. You have me forever.”
“Lucky me,” she giggled and sat upright.
Nyx let go of her hand and studied her for a second.
“You said you’d write me a song,” she said suddenly.
“I never said that. I distinctly remember that I said I wrote a song about you,” Nyx corrected.
“Isn’t that the same thing?” she asked.
“No. It’s not for you, it’s about you.”
Romi pouted and crossed her arms. “Do I at least get to hear it?”
“It’s not even done yet. Far from it, actually.”
“Oh, come on. You can’t tell me that you wrote a song about me and not play me a little bit of it.”
“Actually, I can.”
“Nyx,” Romi whined.
Nyx glanced at her and shook his head. She was sulking like a child, but he adored her playful innocence. He had never intended to play her the song he had written about her, and he never even thought she would want to hear it.
“Please?” she begged.
“Fine,” he finally sighed and strummed a few notes on his guitar.
“Hooray,” Romi giggled excitedly and lay back down against the pillows.
The melody automatically came to Nyx, and it exploded out of the guitar. He already knew the lyrics of the first verse and the chorus by heart, and soon his voice filled the bedroom, accompanied by the melody he had composed a few hours ago.
As he watched Romi, he noticed the amazement and the emotions radiating from her. He could almost make out a pinkish-purple glow around her which calmed him down more than he ever thought it could. He had never thought of witches as being good people, but now he knew that he was so wrong about them. Looking at Romi on the bed next to him, he couldn't imagine his life without her.
She stared at him, and more than anything, he wanted to know what was going through her mind. Did she like it? Was she disappointed? All his insecurities vanished as soon as he thought them, and he knew better. He knew he would never be able to disappoint her or drive her away. He knew that he would always be good enough for her, and that he would give everything he had for her. She was his home, and he would always love her.
Just as his lyrics said.
He stopped suddenly, as the second verse seemed to muddle in his mind, not sure whether he had the tempo right.
“That’s all I have so far. The rest is just a bunch of muddle,” Nyx sa
id, and he placed his guitar on the ground next to the bed. “I’m not sure if the melody is missing something—”
“It’s beautiful,” she croaked, her voice breaking.
Nyx cringed and reached out his hand to her, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to make you cry.”
“Of course you did. You wrote all that stuff about me. No one has ever done that before, and you will never know how much that means to me,” she whispered.
She sat upright and climbed onto his lap, and he put his arms around her, holding her tightly.
He rocked slowly with her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “I meant every word.”
She raised her head and gazed up at him. He leaned in and kissed her, tasting the saltiness of her tears, as well as the sweetness of her lips. She moved away and sighed softly.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” she answered and brushed another lock of hair off her face.
“You know everything about me, and my family, and it doesn’t bother you.”
“You did not do anything to me, Nyx. Your dad and brothers may have played a part in slaughtering my family and my father’s coven, but you shouldn’t think that you were a part of it. You did not know that it was my family. I will never hold it against you, ever. And even though you had no control over who your True Mate is, I’m glad that it’s me. I’m glad that I get to share this with you, be with you, and be a part of you now. I don’t care about what your father did, or any of that. I’m here with you, and I am nobody’s but yours. I am not going anywhere.”
Feeling reassured, especially by Romi’s soft and gentle tone, he smiled slightly. “Thank you for being here.”
“There’s nowhere else I would rather be than here with you.”
“Can I ask you another question?” he asked her.
“Anything.”
“What would your father do if he knew you were here, with me?” Nyx asked.
“He’d probably have a heart attack, drag me out of the house with his good arm, and lock me in the attic of his home,” Romi answered honestly. “Then he’d probably kill you.”
“That’s not reassuring,” Nyx answered.
“You can always go talk to him,” she suggested.
“Then I’d get killed for sure.”
“Possibly,” Romi smirked. “I’m sorry that things have to be so complicated.”
“It’s not your fault. Rhaena’s the one who made it complicated. She was such a bitch,” Nyx muttered. “She knew exactly what she was planning for my brothers and me. She purposely made it as difficult as possible for us. For everyone.”
“She was friends with your mother, right?”
Nyx frowned. “Yeah. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you know that. It wasn’t a true friendship though. Rhaena used my mother to get what she wanted.”
“I’m sorry. I know how you feel about the curse and your mom. I wish that there was something I could do to make it all go away,” Romi said to him, and ran her fingers through his hair.
“Me too,” he sighed. “But yes, she was. I don’t think Rhaena was always bad. Or so my mother said. My mother always sees the best in people.”
“So, she won’t have a problem with me, then?” Romi asked.
He looked at her with tenderness and a warm feeling embraced his heart. “She’s going to love you.”
Romi smiled at him, leaned forward, and kissed him. “I have an idea, which is completely unrelated to what we were just talking about.”
“And what’s that?”
“Why don’t we go to dinner tomorrow night, just you and me?” she suggested.
“Like a date?” he asked.
“Yes, a date.”
Nyx exhaled and shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t been on one of those for so long. I might not know how to behave.”
Romi chuckled and Nyx joined in her amused laughter.
“I would love to go on a date with you,” he answered.
Romi smiled happily, but her smile faded slightly after a few seconds, and Nyx got the distinct feeling that she wanted to ask him something important, but was hesitant to.
“What is it?” he asked.
“There’s something I want to know from you.”
“Is there something you still don’t know about me?” he asked in mock surprise.
“Well, this is kind of serious, and personal,” she replied slowly, almost carefully.
“What is it?”
“What’s with the water?” she asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“You drank water at the bar. Don’t you drink?” she asked.
“I used to drink, a lot. I had a problem, which I only realized about three months ago. I almost killed someone, someone innocent, and I vowed to never drink again.”
“Oh my god…” she gasped. “When did it start?”
“I guess about eight years ago,” he explained. “I had been getting pretty horrible nightmares from the past, aggravated by the amounts of alcohol I consumed on a daily basis. I was messed up, I was broken, and I was worthless to myself.”
Nyx was too ashamed to look Romi in the eyes and took a breath. “I came out of Echoes one night after some heavy drinking and I insisted on driving, even though Josh told me he’d give me a ride. I refused and called him a bunch of names. I climbed in my car and drove off, barely being able to see the road in front of me. A poor judgment call on my part, I know that now. I ran a red light, because I thought I could. A car came from the side, I swerved to not hit it, and crashed into a bus stop. There was a group of young people there, and I hit one of them. She was rushed to hospital, and I rode in the back of a police car in handcuffs. I slept in a cell for an entire weekend, stubbornly refusing help from my father, or money.”
Romi’s hand lightly touched his and he closed his eyes for a second, still hearing the sound of his car slamming into the bus stop, and the screams. His eyes reopened and he looked at her. “My mom managed to convince me to let my father sort everything out. The young woman wasn’t killed, luckily, she only broke her leg, and there was no permanent damage. I was the only one left with scars which did not want to heal. I was in a low place, a dark place, and I wanted to end it all.
“Josh found me sitting on the railing of the Blackfriars Bridge and convinced me to rethink my life, and my future. He got me a permanent gig at Echoes, so that I could channel my sadness and pain into something positive. It also happened to be that I was good at it. I haven’t had a drink in over three months. Sometimes I miss it, the feeling of being completely out of control, but for the most part I am doing okay,” Nyx told her and paused for a moment. “If it wasn’t for Josh, I would not be here, I would not be where I am. He saved my life.”
Nyx had not spoken about his drinking problem, or that he had almost caused the death of an innocent person while under the influence of alcohol, to anyone except Josh. Somehow he felt comfortable enough to share it with Romi, without fear of being judged. He knew she would not think any differently of him, and he hoped she knew how much it meant to him.
“I should thank Josh for being such a good friend and kind person to you. Not a lot of people would do something like that,” Romi pointed out, her voice soft, but there was a certain underlying rawness to it, as if she felt his pain as well. Nyx had no doubt that Romi had the ability to do so, as he felt her emotions as clearly as if they were his own, and even though it was a strange sensation sharing his emotions with someone else—or just someone other than himself—it was welcoming. Romi’s presence was amazing, comforting, and he felt safe.
Safe to say anything without prejudice.
Safe to show emotions and be vulnerable.
Safe to be himself.
The latter was the most important thing of all, especially since he had no experience being himself with other people.
Her warm hand over his was all he ever needed, and without any hesitation, he fell
even more in love with her, even though he never thought it was possible.
The faint buzzing sound of Romi’s phone appeared again, which up until now Romi had refused to answer. She had no desire to speak to her father while she was with Nyx, as she had told him numerous times when he insisted he did not mind.
Nyx heard a soft gasp coming from Romi as she glanced at the wooden clock on the wall. “Oh my god, is that the time?”
“Whoa, who knew?” Nyx replied with widened eyes as he also glanced at the clock. She had spent the entire night with him, and Nyx realized that behind the curtains, the sun was already out, lighting up the entire city. Inside his apartment, his room was still dark, the light blocked out, allowing them to live in their own little bubble.
But it was time to pop that bubble, even if it was for a while.
“Back to reality, I suppose,” he muttered.
Romi leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips, her hand caressing his stubbled cheek. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”
“For our date, absolutely.”
“You like that word, don’t you?” she asked.
“Well,” he smiled at her, “it’s been a while since I went on one.”
“How long?”
Nyx blew air from between his lips as he attempted to put a number on the amount of years since he’d gone on a date, but he couldn’t. It was definitely more than ten years. “More than a decade.”
“What?” she asked and shook her head. “No, that can’t be. You’re such a charming and brooding guy.”
“It wasn’t about women not finding me appealing,” he pointed out, which made Romi smile, “it was about me. I tried to be what they wanted me to be, but it got exhausting. I’ve been out with quite a few women since then, but never a real date. My relationships in the past had never amounted to such formality, or importance.”
“I feel flattered,” she whispered, her long, red hair hanging down her shoulders, framing her face perfectly. “Pick me up at seven?”