Beauty Awakened

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“—CAN’T FLASH,” Nicola heard Koldo say, his voice dripping with all kinds of rage. “You have to continue the hunt on your own.”

He couldn’t flash? She’d just turned the corner into the kitchen, where the men were located, but hearing him say that, she froze in the doorway.

“I don’t mind doing that,” Axel replied. “But I gotta tell you. I’m getting nowhere. Your father leaves zero tracks.”

“He’s been planning this a long time. Before approaching us, he would have come up with a way to avoid detection.”

Neither man noticed her. They sat at the table. And how odd they looked. Two primal warriors, seated so domestically at a hand-carved table, white-and-black-checkered curtains covering the bay window behind them.

“But he’s not smarter than me,” Axel said. “Or is it ‘than I’? I always forget. Anyway. I’ll find a way to draw him out.”

“Hungry?” she asked, finally earning their notice.

Axel squared his shoulders, at attention. Koldo raked a hand over his scalp, as if he were embarrassed. How adorable.

They were wearing identical white tops and pants, the material loose, and they both looked adorable. Like best friends who had made a pact to always do everything together—even dress.

Say that aloud. I dare you. “Well?” she prompted.

“We can feed ourselves,” Koldo said at the same time Axel said, “I’m ravenous.”

“Well, my answer matches Axel’s,” she said. “Therefore, I’ll make something.” These past few days she’d spent a lot of time puttering around in the kitchen, trying new recipes brought to her by Koldo’s friends, and it had been wonderful. She’d discovered a blooming talent she hadn’t expected. Lack of time and money had never allowed her the luxury of even trying.

Axel smirked. Koldo scowled. She gathered dishes and cutlery and the appropriate ingredients for an avocado-and-strawberry salad, and all the while she could feel Koldo’s gaze on her, two white-hot pings drilling into her back.

Was he thinking about last night?

She was. With every glance, every touch, she’d felt the depths of their connection. Something deep, inexorable.

“I’d like to hire you at my place, Miz Nicola,” Axel said. “I have a benefits package I know you’ll love.”

A shuffle of clothing, the squeak of a chair. The pound of bone against bone.

Nicola turned and watched as the two men slammed together and propelled to the ground.

A growl from Koldo. “She’s mine!”

A laugh from Axel. “And I can’t tease you about her?”

“No.”

“Children! Enough,” Nicola said, clapping to claim their attention.

They broke apart, Koldo huffing and puffing, Axel grinning.

“Your jealousy is so cute,” Axel said.

“Just try to leave me,” Koldo threw at Nicola.

I won’t roll my eyes. “Sit.”

Instantly the men obeyed, reclaiming their chairs at the table.

She tossed all of the ingredients in a large bowl, then set smaller bowls in front of the guys. When she attempted to ease into the seat between them, Koldo took her by the arm and tugged her onto his lap. The warmth of his body and the sunshine scent of his skin instantly enveloped her, holding her captive.

He glared at Axel.

Axel grinned.

“So...you can’t flash,” she said to Koldo.

He stiffened. “No. I tried again this morning. I failed.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Something was done to me during that last fight.” Koldo finished his meal in a hurry, stood, moved aside and urged her back into the chair. “Stay here. Eat.” He gave her a swift, hard kiss and tugged Axel from the room.

“But I’m not done with my food,” she heard the black-haired warrior whine.

“You are now.”

The back door slammed behind them, cutting off any reply.

What am I going to do with that man?

She padded to the window and watched as he led Axel inside the small building they’d erected last week. Was Koldo’s dirty little secret in there? If so...what could it be? Another woman?

No, he wasn’t the type to cheat. He had far too much honor.

Refusing to dwell, she fixed Laila a bowl, rinsed the rest of the dishes and placed them in the washer, then strode to her sister’s bedroom. Her twin was pacing in front of the bed, her hands wringing together.

“I made brunch,” Nicola told her.

“I’m not hungry.” Laila’s skin was pale, her motions stiff.

“Well, you need to eat.”

There was a tinge of desperation to her sister’s tone as she said, “We were almost killed, Co Co.”

“But we weren’t. We survived.”

“What if we’re attacked again?”

“What if we’re not? You shouldn’t worry about what’s going to happen, La La, but you should expect to be protected when something does.” So far, her sister had wanted nothing to do with Koldo, the tattoos or anything he’d said—despite knowing he was right!

“You really believe that?”

“I do.”

“And I want to be like you. I do. I just... I have trouble trusting it all. I mean, staring at a bunch of number tattoos is going to help me? Please!”

“Trust is a decision, not a feeling.” Just like forgiveness. “Give it a shot.”

“I just... I’m sorry. No. I can’t.”

Nicola could have curled into a ball and cried. But instead, she rallied, determined. “You’ll continue to worry and that worry will kill you. Is that what you want?”

“No.” Her sister’s shoulders drooped.

Nicola reached out, squeezed her hand. “Let’s do something to distract you.” Something to improve her frame of mind. Books wouldn’t cut it, and TV might exacerbate the problem. All that left was... Ugh. Something that sounded like torture. “We can, I don’t know, work out or something. Get our bodies in shape.”

“I don’t know. I—”

“Please. For me.”

Laila massaged the back of her neck. “I’m not in the mood.”

“Neither am I, but we could both use the exercise.” Before her sister could issue another refusal, she added, “I’ll be in the workout room. Join me, okay?”

A pause, a sigh, then, “Okay. Maybe.”

“Definitely.” Nicola clomped into her bedroom and changed into a sports bra, tiny skintight shorts and running shoes. Her first pair. Well, the first pair she would actually put to use.

She entered the workout room and looked around. Machine after machine greeted her. All large. All intimidating. The only piece of equipment she recognized was the treadmill.

That would have to do.

Nicola set a slow pace—at first. But the sweat began to roll, and her heart began to pound, her muscles to burn, and she liked it, so she raised the incline and kicked up the speed. Soon she was jogging. And jogging and jogging! Shock filled her, but the exercise felt so good, too good to stop, invigorating her, and she thought she could go on forever, and that if she were outside, she could run across the entire world. There was so much oxygen in her brain, her thoughts were actually fizzing, her blood popping and crackling and her ponytail swinging back and forth, slapping her in the face, and oh, even that felt good, because she was free and she was healthy and nothing could stop her, and—

“I’m pleased.”

Her attention jerked to the left. Koldo stood in the doorway, his expression satisfied, his hands fisted on his hips. The action jolted her, and she missed her next step. The treadmill was unforgiving, and she stumbled, flying backward and slamming—

Into Koldo.

His body was big and hard, and she lost her breath—breath that had already gone thin and raspy. Suddenly light-headed, she hunched over. Or would have. Koldo’s arms banded around her, holding her upright.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she wheezed. And okay, wow, the workout had affected her more than she’d realized. “You should probably let me go. I’m sweaty.”

His pupils expanded, gobbling up the golden color of his irises. “I like you that way.”

The huskiness of his tone... “Are you flirting with me?”

He blinked with surprise. “I think that I am.”

The world spun—but not because she was feeling faint. Koldo had taken her by the waist and maneuvered her around to face him. She teetered forward, and had to balance her palms on his chest. His heart beat as hard and fast as hers.

“Is it working?”

“It is.”

“Prove it.”

He hoisted her up. Her legs wrapped around him as he lowered his head. Their mouths met in an explosive kiss that offered no preliminary exploration, only passion.

Just like that, she was a study of movement, her hands on his face, no, on his neck, no, kneading his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. It was such a beautiful moment, so charged, two pieces of a puzzle being fit together.

Desire burned through her, and need, so much need. Want, so much want. As if she hadn’t found satisfaction last night. The two drives were intertwined, indistinguishable, as tangible as Koldo’s body.

“I have to have you,” he said. “All of you. If you’re well enough to run the treadmill, you’re well enough to be with me.”

“Yes.”

“Here. Now.”

“Yessss.” This was happening. Finally. They would be together, and they would belong to each other, and they would stop worrying about what could go wrong—even though they weren’t supposed to be worrying about anything.

“Uh, that’s going to be a bit of a problem,” another male said.

Growling, Koldo swung his head toward the door. Nicola followed his lead. A grinning Axel stood next to another male of equal strength. This one had black hair and blazing green eyes that utterly contrasted with his lips, which were set in an ice-cold line.

“Zacharel,” Koldo said, nodding his head in stiff deference. To Nicola, he added quietly, “He always looks that way. Fear not.”

Nicola’s legs dropped to the floor. Her heart was hammering, but the beat was now steady, strong. Her clothes were in place, nothing disheveled, and yet she felt as though she were a teenager caught with her pants down.

The new guy looked her over. “You’re thriving. That’s good.”

“You know me?” she asked, surprised and confused. She’d never met this man. He wasn’t the type of guy a girl would ever forget. No, he was the type of guy a girl dreamed about for the rest of her life—either sighing dreamily or sobbing with fear.

“I noticed a certain warrior’s interest in you, and made it my business to learn everything possible.” That glorious jade gaze slid to Koldo before she could comment. Not that she knew what to say. “Your presence has been requested in the heavens.”

A tense pause slid into a long, uncomfortable silence before Koldo gave another nod.

Axel and Zacharel walked away, leaving her alone with her warrior.

“I must go,” he said.

She reached up and cupped his cheeks, the soft hair on his jaw tickling her skin. “I understand. Just make sure you hurry home. I’ll still be here, and we can pick up where we left off.”

He leaned down, placed a soft kiss against her lips. “You’ve just guaranteed I’ll return at the soonest possible moment. And don’t worry about evil invaders. Axel ensured other Sent Ones can come and go, but no one else can get through my cloud.”

A second later, he vanished, startling Nicola. Then he reappeared, a look of wonder on his face.

“I flashed,” he said.

“I know. I just watched you.” He hadn’t lost the ability, after all.

“But I did it twice. Not just now, but before, to catch you when you fell off the treadmill. I was too consumed with what we were doing to realize I had done it until I appeared in the heavens.”

His lips lifted in a slow, sensual smile, revealing perfect white teeth, lighting his entire face. She could only stare in amazement, her head practically spinning, her limbs definitely shaking.

“I can protect you,” he said.

“I knew that, too.”

“I’m not helpless.”

Hoping to tease him, she said, “Are we playing the Obvious Game? If so, guess what. I can run on a treadmill. I can wear my hair in a ponytail. I’m a girl.”

Laughing, he placed another kiss on her mouth. And then, for the second time that day, he flashed away. This time, she reeled. That laugh...it had been rusty, but hearty. Ragged, but gorgeous.

Would she ever get used to his magnetism?

Nicola snagged a glass of water before heading into her sister’s bedroom, where she found Laila pacing. Still.

“You didn’t come to the workout room,” she said.

“Sorry, sorry,” Laila replied. “I lost track of time.”

Nicola opened her mouth to respond—but caught sight of two little monkey faces peeking over Laila’s shoulders. They spotted Nicola and grinned smugly.

She strode forward, but they ducked down. Laila seemed to have no idea. Nicola walked a circle around her, searching, but there was no longer any sign of the creatures.

A sense of urgency hit her. “Pick something to do, La La. Anything at all. I’ll do it with you. The constant anxiety has to end now.”

“I just... I need to think.”

“About what?”

“Everything! We’re so weak, Nicola. Both of us.”

“I’m stronger every day, and you could be, too. I mean, we’re on the winning team. We have warriors fighting for us. We have the power and protection of the Most High.”

“You say that, but....” Laila scrubbed at her face. “What if He doesn’t respond next time?”

“He will.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I just know it, deep inside.” Somehow, Nicola maneuvered her sister into the bed and tucked the covers around her. “If you won’t do something with me, I want you to rest and give your mind a break. And if you insist on thinking about anything, think about everything I’ve said. It’s the truth.”

“All right.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Laila closed her eyes, and Nicola stroked her face the way their mother used to do to them. At first, her sister’s expression was pinched, her body restless, unable to settle. But as one minute drifted into another, she settled down. When her breathing finally evened out, Nicola stood and strode to her own room.

She showered and dressed in a pink tee and jeans, wanting to look her best when Koldo returned—and give him a few new pieces of clothing to rip off her. But she waited...and waited...and he never showed up.

After a while, the rays of sunlight seeping from the windows lulled her into the backyard. The air was warm, perfect and scented with wildflowers, citrus and pine. She breathed deeply, savoring.

Bang. Bang.

A muffled female voice rang out. Frowning, Nicola hurried to the little shack Koldo and Axel had built. There were no windows, and seemed to be no doorway.

“Help me. Please.”

There was the voice again, clearer this time—coming from inside the shack. Her tone was...pure. Strong. Enough to give Nicola chills. It was a purity she recognized, since both Axel and the one named Zacharel possessed it.

Was this female a Sent One? The lover Nicola had been so certain Koldo didn’t have?

“Who are you?” she called, palpating the walls for any kind of seam.

“Help me. Please! Let me out.”

Why had Koldo placed the woman in the shack? He wasn’t a cruel man. Was he?

Nicola stilled, her mind whirling. He was a man who had never hurt her—had even beat the man who had. He was a man who had despaired over the fact that he might not be able to protect her. He was a man who made her feel safe in his arms.

He was a man she trusted.

But she didn’t know or trust the woman.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

Once again the woman ignored her question, saying, “Just let me out. All right? Yes?”

The desperation was warranted. The evasion was not. Could she be a serial killer? Or working with the demons?

“Let me out!” Fists banged into the wall. “Now!”

Nicola nibbled on her bottom lip...and backed away.