Page 71 of Bearing Secrets
Kirell didn’t want her to go. Not yet at least.
Is the sex that good?
She knew it was more than that, but Natalia forced herself to remain strong, to not dwell on it any deeper. That would only lead to confusion and trouble.
“I’m going to head down to the car,” she said lamely, zipping up her bag and tossing it over a shoulder.
“Yeah, probably a good idea.” Kirell stepped away, trying to resurrect his non-caring attitude with little success. “I’ll grab the rest of it and meet you down there shortly.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
Natalia hadn’t intended on taking any of the gifts given to her by others in the House to celebrate their mating, but it seemed that Kirell wasn’t going to let her go without them. From the formal gown she’d worn to the ceremony, to several pictures and a beautiful hand-carved jewelry box that had to be worth a fortune, they were all wonderful—well perhaps not the dress—but she felt wrong taking them. She didn’t truly deserve them.
The journey down to the massive underground garage didn’t take too long. By now, she knew much of the layout of the house, having spent numerous hours wandering it alone or with Kirell when he was available. There was so much history in the structure, both in its actual construction and the numerous paintings and displays depicting scenes from the history of House Ursa.
She found it fascinating, and although books had never held a particularly strong place in her heart, she found herself spending a lot of time in the library learning all about the real history of certain major events in humanity’s past.
Patting her pockets, she cursed in irritation. She’d forgotten to take the keys from Kirell. Dropping her luggage, she sighed. Now what was she supposed to do? Her eyes ranged over the multi-million-dollar supercar. Then to the one next to it.
Oh. That’ll do for a way to kill some time.
Her mood immediately improved as she wandered the rest of the garage, admiring the smooth lines of the McLarens, Ferraris, and more esoteric brands such as Koenigsegg and Lotus, European imports rarely seen on the streets of the U.S.
Fifteen minutes later, despite her love for combustion-fueled speedsters, she was starting to get irritated again and made her way back to his area. There was still no sign of him.
If this is some sort of plan of yours to get me to come back to you, it isn’t going to work.
She was just about to pull out her phone and send him a snippy text when she heard footsteps pounding into the concrete as someone came out of the elevator.
They’re moving awfully fast, she thought, the footfalls coming one after another in rapid succession. Glancing over at the entryway she saw someone running. Right toward her.
Immediately she knew something was wrong.
33
Whistling to himself, he made his way through the storage areas. Buried on the same lower level as the garage but separated entirely, he headed past room after room. Every resident of the House was given a room down there where they could store all manner of things. From furniture they didn’t want to use, to treasures, paintings, statues, important documents, it was all kept in climate-controlled zones.
He was headed to his to get something for Natalia, a present that he hadn’t told her about, because he wasn’t sure how she would react.
And because you have no idea why you’re giving it to her.
“Not true. We said we were getting married. She’ll need some proof of that, won’t she?”
He was arguing with himself, which wasn’t a good sign, he was sure. If anyone knew the truth between the two of them, they would call him insane. He was about to give away a bloodline heirloom to a woman he was never going to see again after a few months’ time. There was no rhyme or reason to it.
But it felt right. She would need a ring to make their civil marriage believable. Sure, he could go out and just buy one, but he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would likethis one. He wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. There was no doubt in his mind.
He didn’t get a chance to ponder why he was giving someone who wasn’t his mate such a precious item. Before he could do that, one of his guards came racing down the hallway toward him. It was one of Klaue’s, assigned to the inside of the House itself.
“Report,” he snapped, knowing there was no reason for the rush if something wasn’t up.
“This way,” the guard said. “Hurry! No time to explain.”
“Let’s go.” Kirell carefully put Natalia’s stuff down, but as soon as it was on the ground he was chasing after the guard who hadn’t waited around.
He hated to make Natalia wait, but she would understand. She would have to. After all, what was she going to do if she didn’t? Leave him?
“Where are we going?” he asked.
