Beauty Awakened

CHAPTER THIRTY

THE CHANGE IN KOLDO confused, delighted and electrified Nicola.

Only half an hour ago, he’d arrived at Annabelle’s to pick up Nicola for “a date.” He’d given her a pink angel robe and waited for her to change.

Before they left, Nicola had gone to check on Laila, who had awoken from her faint, thrown herself at Nicola and sobbed. Eventually she’d calmed and promised to listen to everything Nicola had to say about good and evil, joy and fear—in the morning. She’d wanted a night to herself, to relax. To forget, if only for a little while.

Grateful for the change, Nicola had agreed and allowed Koldo to gather her in his arms and take her away.

And so here she was, out on her date. Part one? Flying. Koldo held her as they soared through the sky, the wind in her hair, caressing her skin. The scent of the clouds, morning dew and sunshine inundated her very being.

He was behind her, holding her tightly. The air pressure kept her legs glued to his, rather than dangling below. And the world... The world was lush and alive and glorious. Vibrant greens and blues melded earth and sea. Mountains rose, and valleys dipped. Winter here, summer there. A veritable feast for her senses.

“Everything is so beautiful,” she said.

“There was a time I saw only the ugliness.” He kissed the back of her neck, and she shivered. “But not today. Today is a new day, a fresh start. I...I freed my mother.”

She tried to twist around and look at him, but couldn’t quite manage it. “Oh, Koldo.”

“You were right. I could keep her and worsen, or let her go and heal.”

She wished she could hug him. “It was difficult, wasn’t it?”

“The most difficult thing I’ve ever done, and yet, somehow the easiest.”

She patted his hands, joined as they were over her middle. “I’m pleased,” she said, as he’d often said to her.

“You’re about to be more so.” He angled their bodies, and began to descend.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked, breathless.

“You’ll see.”

Already she could make out...a jungle safari? A river wound through lush trees and patches of dirt. A lioness chased a pack of gazelles. Birds of every color scattered in the wind. Elephants drank at a pond.

He straightened just before landing and placed her feet gently on the ground. Familiar scents layered the air. Scents she’d encountered at the zoo, the few times her parents had taken her, but also things she hadn’t encountered. Exotic flowers and flourishing ivy. Damp vegetation, and a startling purity.

“You’re in the spirit realm with me. They can’t see you,” Koldo said. “Go on. Get close.”

“Really?”

In answer, he gave her the gentlest of pushes.

Nicola moved forward hesitantly. Despite what Koldo had said, she expected the magnificent creatures to bolt. Instead, they continued to suck water through their trunks and spray drops into their mouths. They even bathed themselves and splashed each other.

A laugh bubbled from her, but still the elephants remained in place.

Koldo stood off on the side, watching.

Finally she moved beside one of the few babies, an adorable thing that weighed more than she and Laila combined. His gaze lifted, seemed to lock on her. But...he couldn’t see her. Could he?

“Touch him,” Koldo said. “He won’t hurt you.”

“Will he feel me?”

“His spirit will, yes.”

So...some animals could sense what happened in the spirit realm just as some humans could. She reached out. Her hand met warm, soft flesh, and ghosted through. From behind, a trunk brushed over her arm. Startled, she turned. And found herself face-to-face with the momma.

Apparently, Nicola’s spirit could feel things, too!

The female wasn’t scared of her, but intrigued. Momma touched her and sniffed her, and then attempted to play with her hair. Nicola laughed, carefree and overjoyed.

After a while, the creatures wandered off, bored with her.

Koldo approached and gathered her in his arms, tension and warmth radiating from him.

“Wait. I’m dirty. You don’t want to—”

“You’re not dirty.”

She looked down. Of course she was—not. The dirt and stains the elephants had left behind had completely faded.

“Wearing the robe is like walking around in a shower.”

“In that case, I might never take it off.”

“Let’s see if I can change your mind about that,” he said huskily.

Her blood began to fizz with the same charged need this man always ignited.

He flashed her to the top of a building. A reeeally tall building, with a flat roof. The sun had set, and the moon was high. The wind offered a gentle caress. There was a patch of grass, with jewel-toned flowers planted all around. In the distance, she could see multicolored, twinkling lights. Soft music played in the background.

Koldo turned her around, only to tug her closer to him. “Now we dance.”

“Why would you—” He was giving her all the things she’d said she wanted, she realized suddenly. To travel the world, to pet an elephant. To dance on a skyscraper. What a sweet, sweet man. Tears burned the backs of her eyes and she rested her forehead against his chest. His heart hammered against her temple.

They swayed together, and though it was obvious neither of them knew what they were doing, the moment was perfect. His hands roved over her back, caressing. He played with the fabric of her robe. He combed his fingers through her hair. Every action seduced her, intoxicated her, leaving her trembling, aching.

“Koldo,” she said.

“Nicola,” he said, the sweetness of his breath fanning over her cheek. “I want you to know...have to tell you...I...love you.”

She stopped, certain she’d misheard, and looked up at him. He peered down at her with hope and need and fierce possessiveness in his eyes.

“I want to marry you in the way of my people.” He dropped to one knee, in the way of her people. “I want to protect you with my name, my status, my fortune and my future.”

He...really did. He loved her. Her. Plain Nicola Lane, who’d spent her life in one hospital or another and endured one tragedy after another. And he wanted to marry her. By the world’s standards, she was unexciting, not worth a second glance. And yet, this man loved her enough to give her the desires of her heart. He loved her enough to let go of his past. To want to build a future with her.

“But I’ll age,” she said, wanting to save him heartache later. “You won’t. And—”

“No. Your life will be bound to mine, and as long as I live, you will live. As long as you live, I will live.”

How...how...perfect. He was offering her a life she’d only begun to dream about.

“I love you, too, Koldo,” she said, voice trembling. She did. She loved him. Loved the man he was, the man he was becoming. The man he would one day be. She loved his strengths and recognized his weaknesses. He was good for her, and she was good for him. “And yes. Yes, I will marry you.”

His lips lifted in a slow grin. “You will?”

“I will.” He was the other part of her, a necessary part.

He was on his feet a second later, flashing her to a bedroom she’d never before seen. He flashed her again, and this time she landed on the large bed, Koldo poised over her, a lacy canopy over him.

“So confident I would say yes?” she asked with a chuckle, sliding her hands up his chest.

“So hopeful.”

Her gaze moved over the room. She saw dark velvets and light silks, Victorian furniture and an old-world aura. The scent of roses drifted on a soft breeze. “Where are we?”

“One of my favorite homes.”

“How many do you have?”

“We have sixteen. I’ll give you a tour of each one. Later.”

He lowered his head, pressed their lips together, and...sweet heaven. The need they had for each other once again exploded. They were frenzied, eager for more. For all.

“We won’t stop this time,” he said.

“Not for a second.”

“Not for any reason.”

If they did, her heart would finally give out. Not from sickness but from frustration. They’d just admitted their love for each other. Now she wanted to show him.

She tugged at the collar of his shirt, saying, “I want your skin against mine.” Need it.

He helped her out, jerking the material over his head. Her robe was the next to go, leaving her in a bra and panties. A growl rose from him.

“You are more dazzling every time I see you.”

He made her feel that way. As if it didn’t matter how she fixed her hair or whether or not she wore makeup. As if he would like her no matter how much she weighed. “I feel the same about you.”

He lifted to his knees, hastily worked at the waist of his pants. But he had trouble and ended up yanking hard enough to send the fabric flying to the floor in pieces. Any other time, that would have made her laugh. Whenever they were in bed, clothes were destroyed. But one look at him, and she lost her breath. He was intense, determined.

“You make me happy, Koldo,” she said truthfully.

His weight returned to her, pressing into her, thrilling her. “Hopefully as happy as you make me.”

“Let’s see if I can make you happier. Stay just as you are. Don’t move.”

“Why?” he asked, even as he obeyed.

“I want to learn everything I can about the man I love. Everything you like. Everything you want.” They’d done things before, but this was different. This was a commitment, body and soul. She would give him all that she was, and he would know a satisfaction like no other. She would make sure of it.

Her hands roved over the muscles of his chest, even tunneled underneath his arms to the tattoos and the softness of his wings. Then she brought them to the front again, moved lower...lower still. The ripples of his stomach. The hairless calves. The smooth bottoms of his feet. Other than the feathers, there wasn’t a yielding spot on him. He was rock solid, the strength she’d always craved for herself.

And he was silken heat, a smooth whiskey that intoxicated, melting away inhibitions. He was everything. He was light in the darkness. He was...hope.

“Nicola,” he gritted out. “I don’t want to stay just as I am. I want to move.”

The jaggedness of his tone caused her to shiver. “So you like what I’m doing?”

“I love.” A trickle of sweat slid down his temple. “I hate.”

A breathless chuckle left her. “Then I’m doing something right.”

“Very right,” he said on a groan. “And very wrong.” His features were strained, his lips compressed. His desperation was growing, just like her own.

How could she not love this man? He never tried to play it cool, never tried to hide the depths of his feelings or his pleasure or his need. And oh, the smell of sunshine he emitted, a smell her body had begun to associate with pleasure. Now was no different, and stunning need became incomparable hunger.

“Nicola. I can’t... I must...” One second she was poised over him, the next he was poised over her. “This is all right, yes?”

With his weight pressing into her, forcing her to revel in her own vulnerability? “Yesss.”

He was a flurry of movement, smoothing his hands over her, preparing her for what came next, singeing her with the intensity of his heat, wringing gasp after gasp out of her as he gave her what her body so desperately wanted.

“There won’t be anyone else for you,” he said.

“Nor you.”

“Never. I’m so glad I found you, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart. An endearment sweeter even than his touch. “Me, too.”

A masculine purr of satisfaction. “You’re so soft. So warm. So mine.”

“So desperate for you.” For all that he was. Rough or gentle, rushed or slow.

But he stilled and peered down at her, intense and determined. “I want to be man and wife before we come together.”

“Here?” she squeaked. “Now?”

“This very second.”

Melting all over again.... He was so eager to claim her legally, he was willing to put sex on hold. How many men would do that? “Okay,” she breathed. “All right. But hurrrry. Please.”

He kissed her before saying, “I belong to you, Nicola. I pledge my life to yours.”

“I’m glad. Now, if you would just—”

“Say the words back to me.”

Oh. “I belong to you, Koldo.” She rubbed her knees against his waist, squeezing. “I pledge my life to yours. Now, do you need me to tell you what to do next or—”

“Now and forever.”

“Now and forever. So can we just—”

Suddenly, though Koldo hadn’t moved, she felt split in two, her back bowing off the bed. She hurt. She burned. And the terrible heat spread like wildfire, liquefying her bones, torching her organs. She was no longer one being, but two, and both parts of her were agonized. But as quickly as the sensations had arrived, they were gone, and she sagged on the mattress, panting.

“What was that?” she gasped out.

Koldo braced himself on his elbows. “We are wed now.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like.”

“How?”

“Our souls bonded.”

“You mean we’re...one?” Even saying the words filled her with a wild, bone-deep satisfaction.

“In that way, yes. Now, for the other way.” He kissed her again—a kiss that affected every inch of her, making her forget the pain of before and remember the pleasure to come. “I’m glad we waited for this moment. Now you’ll be mine in every way that matters.”

“And you’ll be mine.”

“Nicola,” he said and finally—finally—claimed her.

She screamed. He stopped, staring down at her. Concern and horror radiated from him.

“I’m okay,” she panted. “I am. I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to expect, and then it was happening, and now I’m babbling, and you’re not moving, and I’m really sorry. Please continue.”

“How badly did I hurt you?” he asked, the strain of holding back evident.

“You didn’t. Promise. Well, not much.”

He wasn’t convinced. “You’ll tell me if I do?”

“I will.”

Hesitantly, he leaned down and kissed her again. Softly, gently. It didn’t take long to renew their passions, and then, oh, then, they wed in body, as well. She yielded to him without reservation, accepting him, burning for him, loving him, enfolding him in her arms, crying his name, begging for more, nipping at his lips.

“Never get enough,” he rasped.

“Glad.” It was the only word she could manage.

He kept a slow pace. Her gaze found his, and locked on. He could have looked away, but he didn’t. He peered down at her as if there was no one else he’d rather see, as if he were utterly mesmerized by her.

No one had ever looked at her that way before.

And I get to keep him. Forever.

In that moment, something profound happened. The connection between them deepened, and her soul sang the most beautiful song.

He’s mine. He’ll always be mine.

Thank you. Oh, thank you.

This love will never die.

Her heart actually felt like it expanded, welcoming even more love for him. Love and joy and peace—everything he’d ever wanted her to feel, in the sweetest degree.

She gave him all that she was, all that she would ever be, her breath emerging choppily. He gave her all that he was, all that he would ever be, his muscles knotting underneath her hands.

“Love you, Nicola.”

He felt the intensity, too, she thought. He must. “Love. Yes.” Oh, sweet heat... More, more, please more... Her heart was pounding...her body seeming to expand, just like her heart, unable to contain her innermost being. “Faster,” she begged.

He obeyed, his motions sharp and sure.

“Yes. Yes! Koldo, I’m going to...” Burst apart at the seams and fly away.

And that’s exactly what happened.

She burst. She flew. And wherever she ended up, utter satisfaction slammed through her, at last assuaging the ache that had plagued her since their first kiss. She was suddenly complete, a woman who had survived the worst and found the best.

In the distance, she heard Koldo’s loud roar echo, masculine contentment at its finest, drawing her back.

He collapsed on top of her, his heavy weight nearly smashing her lungs. But it was far more glorious than before. She was shaking and clutching at him, this man, her husband.

“How are you... You feel...” he said.

“Amazing,” she sighed.

“Yes. That was... That was... I don’t have words.”

“I do.” She kissed his neck, his hammering pulse. “That was worth doing again.”