The Devil's Masquerade: The Remedy

by Jennifer Loren

  The Council doesn’t give me much of a chance to say anything before they grant me the position of Lord of the Ninth and full power over all of my grandfather’s territory. Rein and Marius are infuriated, and from the look in their eyes, they are ready to make trouble for us. No words are spoken, but the defiance is clear. We leave the Council’s chambers and don’t bother to speak a word to Rein or Marius but understand we will be dealing with them again, someday. Until then, we return home and to our normal lives, as much as we can.

  Chapter 35

  Nick

  It’s great to be home again and have things back the way they were, back to the simple craziness that is ours. I own a good portion of the city now with my grandfather’s territories, properties, and fortune added in to my own. I have little desire for much more, but some still think they should challenge me in some way. It doesn’t happen often, and the attempts are typically thwarted before they can get far. I usually have to do nothing more than show up at my enemies’ door and express my unhappiness with the situation they are causing.

  Normalcy is something I relish these days, after such a long time apart from my family which has grown recently. Kayla gave birth to our first daughter during a blizzard. Just like her mother, she has the worst timing, and just like her mother, she is strong, stubborn, beautiful, and she calms me instantly anytime I come near her. Jael, my beautiful girl, has me completely rapt.

  If not for the chair strengthening my heart and making it strong enough to fight the attack of the poison and Savage’s attack on me, I might not have made it for my family to save me. All that time, I thought the chair’s purpose was just to fight Savage when, in reality, it was to fight the poison that he inflicts. Savage could never understand why the poison hadn’t taken me over. Enough time had passed that Kayla should have had no effect on me. Nicky, Brayden or Jael should have had no effect on me by the time they did, but my heart was strong, and it refused to stop loving them.

  Power, my children and wife attempt to control me constantly with it, but I am still the head of this household, even though I allow them their moments. Jael, the spitting image of her mother, smiles at me once, and I am ready to give her whatever she desires. I paid to have her room done up perfectly, and she loves to watch the jewel adorned horses trot around and around on her carousel. I got the idea when I passed a carnival and saw a little girl laughing as her father helped hold her on the horse. They both looked so amazingly happy. So, Jael’s room contains everything I could think of that would make her smile every day just like a father should do for his little girl. Kayla thought it to be too much, but I know she loves it too, and that makes me even happier. Nicky watches out for her as much as he looks out for Brayden. My little man in charge thinks he has to look out for everyone. I have to remind him to be a kid for a little longer and let me worry about everyone for now. He always sighs as if he is not sure I can handle the responsibility but does eventually agree to play more and worry less if it will make me happy. Brayden is talking more and hasn’t been sick in some time, and lately, he has been getting into more and more trouble.

  When a loud crash echoes into my office from the adjoining room, I run in to find Brayden nearby with his hands in his lap. “What did you do? I heard something, and I know you did it.” He immediately looks up at me with that innocent look of his and instantly tries to render me powerless. “Stop that.” I search around him and find, behind the sofa, the lamp, that Kayla just bought, broken. I look at him, realizing she is going to be mad at me more for this than him. What were you doing Nick? Why weren’t you watching him? You know you have to watch him closely!

  I look down at him, as he looks up at me with his big doe eyes. “I love you, Daddy.” Oh fuck, that is so not fair.

  “We will tell Mommy that the dog did it, okay?” Brayden nods, and I pick him up and walk away, leaving Eey, or rather my Dad, sound asleep in a chair. He will never know what happened.

  Dante was briefly allowed his body back to help save me but then pushed back into his dog state a few days later. It was odd to bring him home as our household pet, but at least now, I know for sure not to allow him in our room while Kayla is changing or showering, as much as he still likes to try. He was always a dog, but now he just looks like one, too. I talk to him all the time, but sometimes, he acts more like a dog than I know how to deal with. The night he came home with another dog was one of those times I didn’t know how to react.

  “Daddy, look, we got another dog!’ Nicky yells as he comes into the house with Dante and another dog. “I think she’s a girl, too, cause look,” he says, pointing.

  “No. No, she has to go. She must belong to someone,” I say. I didn’t even want the first dog, I certainly don’t want two.

  “I don’t think she does, Nick.” Kayla says with a smile. “I think that was Dante’s other request.” What? I look at both dogs in confusion. “I think this is Sophia,” she says as I shake my head at her. “Well, if not, it looks as if he likes her. We should …”

  “No. I don’t care if he likes her or not. I don’t care who she is. She doesn’t belong here.” I stand, shaking my head at all of them as they ignore me.

  “Nick,” Kayla says, eyeing me pitifully.

  “No, don’t give me Brayden’s look. She is not staying here,” I say to her.

  “Well, I don’t think you have a choice. It looks as if she is in no condition to go anywhere for a while. She’s pregnant, Nick,” Kayla says, cradling the dog’s head against her.

  “What! No! No, no. Nooo. No. Damn it!” I look at my father and his wagging tail. “You! I swear! You are unbelievable. I cannot believe that, even as a dog, you cannot restrain yourself. She’s not staying here. You take her back where you found her. You know I can have your balls cut off.” He cocks his head. “Yeah, I am in charge here, so you take her back,” I say, watching him lead her into my office, and then, the fuck shuts the door. “Oh, he did not just do that.”

  Sure enough, less than two months later, we have five new puppies in our house, something I am not at all happy about. I came home to an ecstatic house of children. Even my sister brought her son over with smartass Brady to enjoy the new additions. Kayla smiles and cuddles one of them, despite me saying don’t get too close because they are not staying here. “No one listens to me here.” I seem to mumble a lot lately. I tense, fisting my hands and trying to figure out how to get rid of the mess.

  “Oh baby, I listen. I do, but do you really want to break your children’s hearts. You will learn to love them, I am sure of it,” Kayla says, handing me Jael so she can pick up another puppy.

  I look down at my daughter. “You’ll listen to me right? Whenever I tell you to do something, you’ll do it right?” I say to her.

  She laughs and pats my cheek as if to say, “Oh Daddy, the funny things you say. Of course, I’m not going to listen to you. That would make your life too easy and I can’t possibly do that to you.”

  I look up at my family and watch them as they laugh and enjoy themselves. They are all happy and safe.

  Kayla leans over to me and whispers in my ear, “Oh, stop sulking Nick. You know we love you and respect every word you say. I know I do. In fact, I will do whatever you ask me to do tonight just to prove it to you.” I turn towards her to verify what she is saying, and she bites her lip and nods. “Whatever you ask me to do.” She leans into me, kisses me, and instantly, my stress is gone. I am completely at peace and forever in love.

  I have known that Kayla was meant for me since that first day she caused my hands to tremble, my heart to beat rapidly, and my head to spin into confusion. I didn’t believe I was deserving of her then, and I am not now, but I will never doubt my love for her or her love for me, and for that reason alone, I will stand tall and strong at her side until my last breath. They will have to rip my body apart to harm her or my children. I am in a position of power that I never wanted, and with that power, I have been blessed with a life that I would have never thought to drea
m of as a child.

  As our day comes to an end, I put Jael, sound asleep, in her bed after she gives me a whimpering protest to stay in my arms, of course. My daughter loves to be held, and as I am constantly reminded by my wife, she especially loves to be held by her adoring father. Brayden falls asleep in my lap a couple of hours later and forces me to carry him to his bed after I read him and his brother a new book. Nicky follows but guarantees he is quite old enough to go to bed on his own now. He is kind enough, however, to allow his mother to come with him, since it will make her feel better. After I give him a hug and the two leave me, I take a quick look in on Dante and Sophia as they settle in for the night. I spend a minute too long looking in on them though and receive a huff from Dante. I roll my eyes as I leave them to their privacy. Ridiculous. This is my house, not his.

  By the time I open the door to our bedroom, candles are lighting up the room and soft music flows throughout. My wife never allows me to feel unloved, and just as promised, she awaits me at the end of the night, dressed simply in heels and her beautiful womanly figure adorned only with a smile. “Are you ready for bed, Nick?”

  “Not yet, Princess.” I shut the door behind me and begin removing my clothes. Kayla hums as each piece of clothing falls from my body. She approaches and rubs her hands over my bare skin, gazing over me with a desire that stirs my cock to attention. I take her hand and lead her to bed, watching as she leans back into the pillows and allows me to slip her shoes off her feet and kiss down her gorgeous legs. My hands wander and feel over every part of her naked body, with my mouth trailing after them. With each kiss, I groan my praises to her, “There is so much I want to do to you tonight.”

  I lie down at her back and kiss over her body while she seductively looks over her shoulder at me. “Do what you will with me. Tell me every place you want me to touch you, to kiss you, and take over my body however you want … Nick. I’m yours,” Kayla softly breathes out to me.

  With that, I rub my hand down her back and over her ass, squeezing and toying before taking hold of her upper thigh and pulling her leg up high in front of her. My erection sits vibrating with want against her ass waiting for me to give it permission to take what it wants. Kissing her neck, “Do you want me?” Kayla grips my cock, rubbing it harder and raising her ass up for me.

  My cock starts with the tip and slides just inside with a kiss, and she says, “Please.”

  I go in a little further and feel her throbbing pussy instantly take hold of my erection forcing it deep inside her. Her nipples harden, her ass bounces against my balls and I play with her wetness until I feel that twinge, that spot that makes her go weak. The moment I find it, Kayla grips my hand holding her leg and whimpers with pleasure as my pulsating cock increases her blissful enjoyment. I gaze over my wife’s nude body as she reaches behind her head and caresses my face. Her breasts heave out in front of me, and my desire to kiss them becomes too much. I turn her over and hover my body over hers as I lean down and lick her nipples, massage her full breasts against my lips, sucking and kissing and groaning with every touch of her hands on my body. Kayla leans back and forces her hips up into mine, smiling at me wickedly as she finds my erection and embraces it inside her. “You never have any patience,” I laugh with a shake of my head.

  “Now, Nick, how can I simply lay here as you kiss my breasts, rub my thighs, and watch your cock become harder and more desirable with every second? I want you near me, inside me, and feeling me quiver with every motion you make against me.”

  “I thought I was in charge and you were going to do as I say tonight?” I say, thrusting deep inside her and enjoying her screams of delight. She runs her fingers through my hair, takes in my lips, and smiles as I sigh. I give in and give her exactly what she wants. I wrap my arms around her and whisper, “You know I will do for you whatever you ask of me, Kayla.” Our bodies intertwine like they were made for each other. With every touch, there is a vibration, a moan and with every kiss there is a hardening pressure against her soft, pink, and increasingly wet pussy. My cock begins to swell tight readying itself for its release. Kayla feels down my ass and squeezes pushing me into her more. I take hold of her and thrust hard, and powerful, working her into an orgasmic frenzy.

  Kayla’s orgasm causes her entire body to shudder and tense before she collapses into a sweet gasping breath. “I love you, Nick.”

  My body locks around hers while my cock explodes and sends my own body into a climaxing breathlessness, but with my first able breath, I manage, “Forever and always, Princess, I will love you.” I look into her smiling eyes and I … tremble in love.

  Epilogue

  The End and the Beginning

  Marius is going out of his ways to cause me problems these days. With Savage gone, he and Rein feel there are no repercussions for what they do anymore. They follow the Council’s rules but purposely go against mine. I get word from Gideon that they are trying to align themselves with one of the other Lords so they can battle me and take over the 9th. They are trying to force my hand and provoke me to attack them. I have no other choice but to handle them before they go too far. Rein has sent Marius back to his home city to build up an army against me. I had an idea where he might be, so I sent out Bo to track him down, and sure enough, he finds him on the opposite coast. Now, I need to send someone to keep an eye on him and disrupt his attempts to build up an army. There is only one person that knows Marius well enough to predict his moves before he makes a move, and that is Catriona. She has happily agreed to do this for me if I help her father maintain his realm. It is not something I would like to do, but in an effort to make peace among the Lords, I think it might be best for now. I believe everything is settled until Ryan requests to go and deal with Marius himself. I try to fight him on it, but he is determined to find a new life away from here. With Kayla at my back, Brayden sitting on my desk, Jael in her mother’s arms and Nicky at my side learning everything he can from me, I try to talk my brother out of leaving us.

  “Nicky!’ Elijah yells before storming into my office. “What is this I hear about you sending Cat to go hunt down Marius?”

  “What better person to bring him in? Ria used to tell Cat everything about Marius. She knows more about him than any of us, not to mention she does possess something that he is attracted to if we need to lure him in for any reason,” I say to him, confused as to why he is so concerned.

  “Well, I don’t like it, and there will be no luring of anyone by her,” Elijah says, pointing his finger in my face.

  “No need to worry, Eli. I am volunteering to go instead,” Ryan says.

  “No, I agreed to go,” Catriona says, stepping in from out of nowhere with Amery following behind her for some reason. “Nick, Amery has agreed to help me deal with Marius and make sure he stays in line.”

  “The hell he is!” Elijah yells. “No, you’re not going. Besides, Ryan here has already agreed to go.” Amery laughs.

  “What is so funny?” Ryan asks, standing up to him.

  “Nothing, except you have no idea what you are doing. And you have to agree that the very idea that you can do it by yourself is quite funny.” Amery shakes his head at Ryan.

  “No, I don’t agree at all,” Ryan says.

  “Well, no need to worry your pretty little head about it. Cat and I will take as much time together as needed to keep him in line, or until we find a reason to strip him of his title and realm,” Amery says with his usual overconfidence.

  “If they’re going, I am going too,” Elijah says.

  “No need to get your panties all bunched up. I will take good care of her. I have, after all, known her a lot longer than you, Elijah.” Amery emphasizes his name as if it hurts him to say it. “Besides, I know how Marius works, too. I can actually be a benefit to this mission.”

  “I don’t care how long you have known her or Marius. I need to go to protect Nicky’s interests. Someone needs to keep an eye on this messed up crew,” Elijah says, causing Catriona to huff.


  “I’m going. I will keep an eye on them,” Ryan yells. “Besides, if anyone should lookout for Nick’s interest, it should be me. I am his brother.”

  “By blood, but Nicky and I are brothers by choice, which means a lot more. So, I should be in charge,” Elijah states.

  “If anyone should be in charge, it should be me. I have more experience in these matters. And I am a Lord.” Amery cuts in. I have no idea what is going on, but they are all starting to get on my last nerve. Kayla rubs her hand over my shoulder and down my chest trying to ease my temper, she knows me well. I look over at Nicky as he huffs and shakes his head, “What should I do son?” I ask him.

  “Tell them to be quiet, I am getting a headache.” He says holding his head.

  I nod and after a few seconds more of the three arguing in front of us, I jump up with my eyes swirling.

  “Shut up!” I yell. “And sit down, all of you.” They all jump back and instantly sit. I rub my temples, trying to decide what to do. “Ryan why would you want to go?”

  “You don’t need me here. I can better serve you if I am out there.” I watch him carefully as he avoids making eye contact with me. “I need a change, Nick. I have been in this city most of my life, and maybe I can help you branch out, or maybe I can build something of my own.”

  “Why do you need a new city? You can build something of your own here,” I say to him.

  “Damn it, Nick. After all that has happened, you have to ask me that? I lost my mother here. I lost my fiancé here. My house burned down and … hell, I found out my Dad’s a dog,” he says, motioning towards Dante as he cocks his head at him. “I need a change; I need to get away from this place for a while. Maybe a new city will give me something new to get excited about.” His plea is understandable, but I hate the idea of not seeing him every day. We have grown up together and haven’t truly been apart since we knew of each other. I hate him not being here and being out of my protective watch; however, it is my own selfishness that wants him to stay.