And she might not have gotten a bit of it if it wasn’t for Nax. Because, boy, these guys moved fast when food was in front of them. As soon as they’d all sat down, food had gone flying around the table. She’d sat there, a bit dumbstruck as they’d argued over who had gotten the best piece of steak and who had the biggest serving of potato salad. At one stage, she saw Brogan sneak half of Tecan’s potato salad off his plate and onto his. He’d caught her watching and sent her a little wink.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t as serious as she’d first thought.
It was only once things calmed down, that she looked at her own plate and saw it was laden high with food. She glanced around Nax, who was sitting next to her, to where her mom sat and saw her plate was the same.
“You filled my plate up?”
“You’ve got to be quick around here, Crista,” Frankie told her. “My brothers taught them some bad manners, I’m afraid.”
“We taught them bad manners,” Sacaren corrected.
Frankie rolled her eyes. “It’s not a badge of honor. You don’t get a prize for having no table manners.”
“I am surprised there is no reality TV show made about it,” Nax commented.
Everyone stared at him. Then Frankie grinned. “Why, Nax, I do believe you just made a joke.”
“Don’t joke.”
Crista grinned up at him. “Do you like watching reality TV?”
“No.”
“He’s lying,” Eden said in a mock-whisper. “His favorite show is the one with the alligator hunters.”
“And the one where people go shopping for wedding dresses,” Frankie added.
Both girls giggled.
“This is fun, we never get to tease Nax,” Frankie told her. “He’s always so serious.”
He was serious. And right now he didn’t look all that amused. But rather than snapping or getting in a huff, he just rolled his eyes and chewed his food.
She looked over to see how her mom was handling this, only to see her digging into her food enthusiastically.
Nax leaned toward her. “You are not supposed to just look at it. Eat.”
Crista looked down at her plate, her mouthwatering. “Thanks, but I hope you know I won’t be able to eat all this.” And she would feel terrible wasting such beautiful food.
“I will eat what you do not,” Tecan told her.
“No way,” Brogan told him. “I will.”
They started arguing. Her eyes widened at how loud they were.
“Quiet,” Ioin said. He didn’t raise his voice, but he didn’t have to. They both immediately quieted.
Everyone started eating. Nax leaned down. “Eat what you can. But I want to see most of that steak gone.”
She sighed. “Is there anything you’re not bossy about?”
He just shrugged.
Damn male. She cut into the steak, determined that she wasn’t going to eat it all just to make the point that she didn’t have to do what he told her to. But when she ate that first forkful she knew there was no way she was going to leave even one scrap of it on her plate. It was quite possibly the most delicious thing she’d ever eaten.
By the time everyone had eaten, Crista was feeling sated and sleepy. She looked over to see her mom yawning.
“Mom’s tired,” she said to Nax. “After I help with the dishes, I’ll need to get her home.”
“Stay.”
She shook her head as Brogan and Tecan rose and started to clear the table. She was a little surprised that they were the one’s tidying up. These guys all seemed so alpha, they didn’t seem the type to help with the chores. But Frankie and Eden didn’t look at all surprised, making her think it was a normal thing.
“I have work tomorrow. And it is better for Mom to sleep in her own bed. This house is so big, if she went wandering at night I wouldn’t even know.”
“The house has an alarm system. If she tried to leave, everyone here would know. And I have a system set up in the spare room that I have been working on. As soon as the door is opened, an alarm goes off on my comm—uh, watch.”
She wondered what he’d been about to say. “Really? Why do you have that set up in your spare room?”
“For your mother, of course.” He rose and picked up her plate then her mom’s.
“That was lovely, thank you,” her mother said. “I might go to bed now.”
“Of course, Abby,” he said gently. “Eden will show you to your room.”
Now wait a minute, she’d just said they weren’t going to stay. But the happy look on her mom’s face made her stop. What if she made her go home? What was she really achieving? It would take her fifteen minutes to drive there. Then she’d need to find a park. They’d have to walk in the dark to their apartment. And by the time they both got there, her mom would be totally exhausted.
Before she could think it all through, Eden and her mom had disappeared. Well, shit.
Nax returned to grab his own plate. “I need to talk to you.”
He glanced down at her with a nod. “You are finally ready to discuss what has you worried?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes. I am.”
“Good.” He set the plate back down and held out his hand. “Come.”
“Yes. Okay. Good.” Nerves made her feel jittery as she placed her hand in his and let him lead her to the living room. She didn’t know why she felt so nervous. He was the one with things to explain. When they reached the living room, he immediately shut the door. Then he started to advance on her. She could read the intent in his eyes, the heat that practically seared her skin, even from where she stood.
“Wait. Wait.” She held her hand up, backing away from him.
He froze, his eyes growing wide. “You are frightened of me?”
“What? No. Not really.”
“Not really?”
“I, um, I need my purse.”
“No, you do not.”
“I do. I need to show you something.”
“What I wish to see is not in your purse.” He advanced forward and she moved back again. She knew if he got his hands on her, she wouldn’t be doing much more thinking. Unfortunately, she wasn’t looking where she was going and she ended up falling backwards. Luckily, a plush armchair caught her fall.
Nax smiled. “This is good.” He crouched in front of her and grabbing her legs, placed them on each arm of the chair. “I have been wishing to taste you all day.”
“What? Oh God,” she cried out as he ran his fingers up her thighs. She hadn’t changed out of the clothes she’d worn to the viewing, so she was still dressed in a pencil skirt that usually rested just above her knees.
Right now it was practically up around her ass, giving him a good view of all she had to offer.
“I do not like these.” He ran his finger down her panties. “Do not wear them next time you have a skirt on. They get in the way.”
Was he for real? She looked into his face. Yep, he was totally serious.
Holy shit.
In her reality people like Nax Clacka didn’t warn her not to wear underwear because they got in his way. Men like Nax Clacka didn’t even see her, let alone want to…to…
He pushed her panties to one side, completely stealing her train of thought as he spread her lower lips.
“Wet.”
He leaned in and sniffed. That should not be sexy. Nope, it wasn’t a turn-on at all.
Oh yeah? Then how come your whole body gave one giant shiver?
He nudged his nose against her clit and she gasped as her pussy clenched down. She swore she just came a little.
Then he took one long, slow lick from bottom to top, ending with him flicking his tongue against her swollen nub.
Wow.
Hunger erupted inside her. She wanted more.
“Delicious.”
His voice was a rough grumble, his breath blew air against her sensitive clit and she moaned. Just a little.
“One day we will be somewhere where I can hear all those delicious
sounds you make,” he told her.
Fuck me.
Yeah. She wanted to say that out loud. She wanted him desperately. Who knew behind that gruff, often cold exterior was a man who seemed to really enjoy having his mouth between her legs?
That was, if he was a man.
“You are thinking too much. Got to remedy that.” He grabbed her hips, pulled her ass to the edge of the seat. She fell back against the seat and didn’t have time to catch her breath before he had his mouth there.
And, oh Lord, the man knew exactly what to do. Didn’t take long before that talented tongue had her hovering on the edge. His fingers slid deep inside her easily. She was so ready. He sucked, nibbled, tongued her until she crashed over the edge with a scream that she quickly muffled with her hand, at the last moment realizing where she was.
“Now that was nice.”
Nice? That wasn’t nice! That was amazing. Stupendous. Out of this world.
She glared down at him. Saw a grin tug at the ends of his mouth. Oh dear Lord, was he making a joke? Okay, so his arrogant, bossy side made her hot, and sometimes pissed her off. His protective side made her melt. And when he was caring, she wanted to fall at his feet. But when he showed her that he had a playful side? A sense of humor?
She never wanted to let him go.
And she just knew that he hadn’t shown this to anyone else. She’d seen that by the shock when he’d made a joke earlier in the dining room. And that made her feel special. Made her feel loved.
Shit. She loved him. How had that happened? She couldn’t love him. She didn’t know him.
“Nax, we need to talk.” She reached down and slid her panties into place. She really needed to clean up but she didn’t want to put this off any longer. She lowered her legs as he stood.
“I would rather do other things.”
Her too.
“Yeah, well, we need to talk about something before we go onto other things.”
If there would be other things. Ah, who was she kidding, she was so ready for other things. Maybe they shouldn’t talk first. Maybe she didn’t want the truth.
“Perhaps I should check on Mom.”
“Eden will come find you if there is a problem.”
“It’s not fair of me to leave it to her—”
“Crista. She offered. Accept the help.”
“That’s not easy for me. I’m not used to help.”
“I know.”
But he was right, Eden would come get her if there was a problem, and right now, she was using Mom as an excuse for chickening out.
“I went back to the alley,” she blurted out.
His gaze narrowed. “What?”
“Today, on my way back to my apartment before I came here. I stopped at the alley where Killer had Mom.” And attacked me. But she thought it wasn’t wise to say that right now because Nax looked like he was about to blow a gasket.
“Why would you do that?” His voice was low, controlled and still she shivered slightly.
“I needed to look for something…”
“You left something behind?”
“No, you did,” she whispered.
“I did? What?”
“A feather.”
He made no reaction, and for a moment she thought she was wrong. That feather belonged to some giant goose…who just happened to be wandering the streets of Brooklyn. Right.
“A feather?”
“Yes, but not just any feather. I brought it with me, it’s in my bag. I’ll just go get it—”
“Freeze,” he commanded as she attempted to walk out of the room. “Come here.”
She turned back around. But she didn’t move to him. She couldn’t. Because if he touched her, she wasn’t going to be able to think, to talk, and she needed to ask him now. Because it sounded so freaking crazy that she wouldn’t work up the courage to do it again.
“Last night, I thought…I imagined you had wings. I thought I’d hit my head, was just seeing things, whatever, but then this morning, Mom…”
“Yes?”
“Mom said an angel rescued her. With big, black wings. So I went back to the alley to see if I could find something. I don’t know, some evidence that we had seen something.”
“And you found a feather?”
“Yes.”
And now she was feeling pretty ridiculous. Maybe the shadows had made it seem like he did have wings. Maybe the feather just belonged to some really big bird and…
She froze. Her lungs stopped moving. Her face grew numb.
And she just stared.
“A feather like this?” he asked, pointing behind him to where his wings protruded from his back.
Not happening. Not happening.
No air. Need air.
Black spots danced in front of her eyes, her body grew hot then cold.
And then black.
Stars.
Nax leapt forward to catch Crista before her head slammed against the floor. It was thickly carpeted, but she had enough bruises. He laid her gently on the ground, checked she was still breathing before he jumped to his feet, opened the door, and roared for Brogan, who had the most medical experience of all of them.
Footsteps raced towards him, and he moved back to Crista, hovering over her.
“Nax! What happened?” Brogan knelt beside him.
“Is she okay?” Eden asked.
He didn’t glance up, even as he felt everyone press close.
“Nax, your wings are out,” Ioin said.
He nodded sharply. “She saw them last night. Thought she had hit her head. Until her mother mentioned them. Went back to alley, found a feather. So I thought I would show her. Then she crashed over.”
“What? You didn’t tell her first?” Frankie snapped. “You just flopped them on out? Typical damn man, no wonder she fainted.”
“Quiet,” Brogan snapped. He had his fingers on her wrist. “Fast, but steady. Frankie, cold cloth. Nax, raise her legs. Marcun, get a cushion for her head.”
They all moved into action, and by the time Frankie bought back the cloth, Crista was coming around.
Her eyes fluttered open, she looked around silently for a moment then her eyes widened.
“Shit. What happened?”
“You fainted,” Nax accused. He could still feel his heart racing in fear. “Why?”
“Why?” Frankie replied. “Probably because you just sprung the whole, ‘I have wings’ thing on her so suddenly.”
Crista stared at him, her face pale, her eyes wide.
“She had already guessed.” He thought it would not be a surprise.
“She might have guessed, but she probably didn’t believe it,” Eden replied gently. “She has no idea who you are. Or what. She’s probably terrified.”
“She is very pale,” Brogan commented.
“She should rest,” Tecan added.
“She is right here,” Crista told him. “And she can hear every word you are saying. And I don’t need to rest.”
“You fainted,” he told her.
“Yes, I guessed that.” Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him.
“You fainted because of these?” He pointed at his wings.
“I need to sit up.”
He frowned then looked at Brogan. “Is it all right for her to sit?”
Brogan stared at her. “If she takes it slowly and does not try to stand.”
He reached out a hand to her. She stared at him, then his wings again.
“You do not like them. They disgust you.”
Around them everyone stilled. It was silent. She frowned. “Hey, don’t make me out to be the bad guy here. You’re the one who has been keeping a damn big secret from me. I don’t get to take a minute to adjust? I can’t freak out a little over the fact you have fucking wings?” Her voice rose until she was basically shouting. “Why do you have fucking wings?”
He stared at her for a moment.
“Dear God. Seriously. Did you think you’d just show them to me and I�
��d be like, ‘oh that’s cool’ and go on as normal? I think I’m entitled to know what the hell is going on.” Then she grabbed his hand. “Help me sit up.”
He slowly pulled her up, watching for any sign she was going to faint again.
“Do you feel dizzy?” Brogan asked.
She reached up and pulled the washcloth off her forehead. “I’m fine.” She looked around at everyone, who were still standing in a circle around her. “Great, an audience.” She tugged her skirt down. “Hope I didn’t flash anyone.”
“You didn’t,” Eden reassured her gently. “Can I get you anything? A drink?”
“You got something stronger than wine?”
“We have to live with these guys, of course we do,” Frankie replied. She moved over to a built-in cupboard and opened the door. “What’ll be? Vodka? Bourbon? Ouzo?”
“Bourbon,” she replied.
“My kinda girl.”
She stared around at them all. “Are you…can you all?” She gestured to Nax.
Her voice trembled as she took the glass Frankie held out to her and she swallowed the whole drink in one gulp, gasping afterward.
“Another one?” Frankie asked.
Crista nodded, her eyes watering.
“Should you drink after fainting?” Nax asked in concern.
“Well, I fainted because I just learned that my, ah, the guy I’ve been, oh God, I don’t even know how to describe what you are. But you have wings!”
“I know it’s a shock,” Eden said. “But you’re not in any danger. And they are the same guys they were, it’s just…”
“They come from a different place,” Frankie told her.
“So they all have wings?” Crista asked.
“We do,” Ioin replied.
“And silver skin,” Eden told her. “They just get spray tans to hide it.”
“Who. Are you?” She finally looked at him. He was starting to think she never would again. He stiffened, worried he would see disgust or fear in her gaze. She slammed back another drink and coughed.
“Enough,” he told Frankie. He knew what that alcohol did and he did not want her mind muddled for this explanation.
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