Page 37 of Depths of Desire
Nico cocks an eyebrow. “I guess we all have our secrets. like how exactly do you know about vampires and magickalcreatures? Because you are way too calm not to have known about us before this.”
I lick my lips but refuse to speak.
He leans down. His scent engulfs me, and my heart starts to race. How can I want a vampire to kiss me? I should be running away screaming and yelling, instead I’m standing here in a towel, wishing he would wrap his arms around me, promise to keep me safe, and then make me his. That thought rocks me and sends my heart rate stratospheric. I take a step back. I need to get my head on straight if I’m going to survive this. I need to be able to think, and having Nico that close makes thinking clearly impossible. Desire for him rocks me.
“I—”
“Sir,” Carson says as he appears over Nico’s shoulder.
“What is it?” Nico growls, his gaze never leaving my face.
“There is a slight…issue that needs your attention.”
Nico continues to stare at me for another beat. His nostrils flare, and I know he can smell my fear and maybe even my desire. That thought brings heat to my cheek.
“Downstairs in my office in five minutes or I will be back up here and it won’t be pretty.” He turns and sails out of my bathroom, Carson following in his wake.
I sag against the counter. Now what the hell am I going to do? I briefly contemplate making another run for it, but I know I won’t even get to the bottom of the driveway this time. Nico was already calling for reinforcements when he was taking me back up to the house after the—Blood Orc debacle.
I stare at my reflection. My brown eyes are wide, heightening the pallor of my skin. Worry lines around my mouth accentuate the dark circles under my eyes. I look terrified, probably because I am.
I take a deep breath and then finish drying myself off. I pull on a pair of jeans and a sweater. The temperature is moderate,but I can’t seem to get warm. I brush out my hair and put it up into a messy bun.
I try to calm myself down. I know I’ve taken longer than five minutes, but I need a few moments to myself. I was just covered in blood from magickal creatures and found out that Nico is a vampire. I’m sure that means his brothers are vampires as well, which means my best friends never bothered to mention they are married to vampires. What else haven’t they told me?
Yelling in the distance startles me, but not as much as the sudden silence which follows. My stomach rolls. Good thing I didn’t eat much dinner. I’m sure I would’ve puked it all up by now. I take one last long breath and then head down to Nico’s office.
Time to face my fate.
I hit the bottom of the stairs and find Carson waiting for me. “Come with me, Miss.”
I hesitate.
“It’s okay,” he says with another of his reassuring smiles and a pat on my arm. “Mr. Valdici is having a meeting with his security in his office. He’ll be a few more minutes.”
I am thrilled with the reprieve. I follow Carson to the kitchen, where he sits me down at the counter and puts a large bowl of pasta in front of me.
I offer him a quick smile. “I’m not hungry but thank you anyway.”
“You need to eat,” he says as he sets the bread he’s just pulled out of the oven in front of me. “It will make you feel better, I promise.”
I look down at the plate. The homemade pasta has vegetables coated in a cream sauce. The smell of the bread mixed with the pasta wraps around me, and suddenly I am starving. My stomach rumbles. “I guess I could eat a bit.” I pick up the fork.“But, Carson, if you keep feeding me like this, I will be the size of this house.”
“I doubt it, Miss. You need a solid meal before going in there.” He gestures toward Nico’s office with his chin.
“I’m not sure that it will help. In fact, the meal might come back up.” I give a small shrug and fork up a bite of the pasta. Divine. The dish is perfection.
“It would not be the first time, Miss, but I think you will be okay. Mr. Valdici’s bark is far worse than his…
“Bite? Yeah, we both know that’s not true.” I grin at Carson, and he smiles back. Suddenly, the two of us are belly laughing, and it feels so good. I finally stop laughing with a hiccup. “Thank you for the laugh. They have been few and far between of late.”
Carson nods and nudges the bread a little bit closer to me. I take a slice and slather it with garlic butter. In for a penny, in for the five pounds this meal is sure to add to my waistline. I might be dead in the next little while, so I guess that doesn’t matter.
I finish the plate and another piece of bread. Carson offers dessert, but I’m stuffed beyond capacity. The sound of footsteps in the hallway reaches us, and my stomach churns. Maybe food wasn’t such a good idea.
Carson glides out of the room, and I follow much more slowly. By the time I get to the front, the hallway is empty and Carson leads me to Nico’s office. He offers me an encouraging smile as I enter. My feet don’t want to work, my breathing is labored, and I can’t help the feeling of doom that settles over me. Time to face the music. I only hope it’s a tune I can dance to.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
