Page 31 of Their Domme

“Or the fact that Nic decided that telling us she kissed Maeve was a good way to avoid talking about kissingyou,” Vas growled, his flushed face and clenched jaw showing just how jealous he was.

“Maeve? After everything?” Maksim sounded more curious than anything.

“Yes,” Nicholette answered hoarsely. “But that doesn’t matter.”

“The hell it doesn’t—” Vas started, but his brother reached out, physically stopping him.

“Why not?” Sacha asked. “What are you up to, Nic?”

I had no idea what Nicholette was thinking as she slowly shook her head and stood up. Instantly realizing what was about to happen, I moved aside so she could rush past me, getting to a bathroom just in time to puke. The sound of her heaving filled the living room until she managed to shut the door behind her.

“Fuck,” Maksim groaned as Alexei ran a hand through his hair. The latter sat there without saying a word, the strain of this reunion showing in the lines of his face.

“While she gets herself together…” Emmerich said, shifting in his seat. “You never shared your information with us, so start there.”

“Why should we share with you?” Sacha asked coolly, assessing Emmerich with a hard gaze. “You might be the new head of the F?rstner Family, but we don’t answer to you.”

“Unless it’s for the right price,” Blake countered from where they were standing, Wulfric and Robin on either side of them. “Nicholette has our assistance in dealing with this problem of hers, which means we all share information.”

“And resources?” Rhodes asked, glancing at me. I inclined my head, though I couldn’t stop the narrowing of my eyes. It wasn’t like they’d presented themselves as willing to be reasonable so far.

“Good, because we have a lot of dead bodies made to look like our little psychopath, and we need to figure out who is doing it before they take her. Nic is all caught up in finding her brother, so we need to make sure that the asshole doesn’t take her in the process,” Rhodes grumbled, his defenses falling. He ran a hand over his beard then sighed, his shoulders dropping with the exhalation.

“Are there more that I don’t know about?” Nicholette asked as she walked back in, exhaustion making her move slower than normal. She didn’t look good, and the others must have thought the same because Alexei started to move toward her. Unfortunately for him, I got there first, wrapping an arm around her waist right before she passed out. I was instantly surrounded by people asking questions left and right.

“She’s going to need water,” I said, and someone stepped away while Blake cleared the couch for her. Not caring about what anyone else wanted, I pushed through the men around me, carrying Nicholette to the couch to lay her down. She didn’t stir, and her face remained pale. When I brushed a few strands of hair off her face, her skin was clammy. The fact that she wasn’t immediately coming around was concerning, but I wasn’t going to let anyone else, especially Rhodes, see that. Alexei, Vas, and I stayed close to her, though I remained standing, whereas the other two men knelt beside the couch to be close to her.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Knowing my girl,” Rhodes replied dryly, “she probably hasn’t eaten. That could be part of it.”

Sacha started cursing, but he switched to rambling Russian as he stalked out of the living room. A few minutes later, I heard cupboards opening and closing with more force than was necessary.

“I’ll call the doc just in case,” Emmerich said as he put his cell phone up to his ear and stepped out of the room.

“Help Sacha, Blake, before he tears apart the kitchen,” I said dryly, stepping back to let Vas, Rhodes, and Alexei settle near her. Maksim kept his distance, though I knew his attention was completely focused on Nic. Blake followed my order without complaint.

“Long time no see, Wulfric,” Rhodes said to one of Blake’s men.

The older man gave him a small smile. “Rhodes. It seems you have your hands full.”

“So do you.” Rhodes chuckled, earning a half-grin from Wulfric as he looked toward the kitchen where Blake was talking to Sacha.

“Someone should check on Oliver and Bodhi,” Maksim noted.

Nicholette started coming around then, groaning, and when Alexei reached for her, she flinched back, making the man still instantly. She turned away from him, curling around her stomach as if to protect herself and the babies. Alexei’s face crumbled before he stood up, his hands trembling as he combed through his curly hair, trying to calm down.

“I’ll go. I need some air.” He stalked outside without looking back.

Vas didn’t let her retreat from him like she did the other man. He scooped her up and sat back down with her on his lap, holding her despite her rigid posture. Nicholette didn’t look at anyone, staying curled in on herself. The question was why.

Fainting could be disorienting, but the color returned to her face as she slowly relaxed into Vas’ arms. Before long, I heard soft cries as she finally broke down, wrapping her arms around the man holding her. Vas squeezed his eyes shut, pulling her even tighter against his chest, giving her permission to let loose. Maybe it was pregnancy nerves, or fear, or just the weight of everything hitting the fan right now… probably all of the above. To be honest, if it were anyone else, they would have broken already.

“The doc will be here in twenty to look you over, Nic. And that wasn’t a suggestion,” Emmerich stated firmly as he walked back into the room. “And for the love of everything, just don’t call Ansel Daddy or some shit when I’m around. I don’t have enough bleach to erase that from my mind.”

I rolled my eyes because of course he would say that, but Nicholette wasn’t about to be outdone. She shifted in Vas’ hold enough to peek out at Emmerich, her blue-green eyes showing the toll today had taken on her. Thankfully, a sparkle of mischief was still alive.

“No can do, that nickname is already claimed.”

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