by K. C. Hamby
My smile falls and I open my mouth to tell her I am, but she shakes her head and presses a finger to my lips.
“I want you to be mine in every way possible. Lupi and human.” Her hand falls and slides into her pocket in one smooth motion.
“What are you…”
She drops down on a knee and I choke on shocked air, my hand pressed to my chest. She pulls out a box with a beautiful and simple gold ring, diamond leaves sticking out in places like a vine that would wrap around my finger.
“Nina Ruth Crawford, will you marry me?”
I croak before my legs give out from under me. Fal catches my elbow, keeping me steady until my knees touch the sand. Tears burn in my eyes as I blink up at her, worry and nerves covering her face.
“Yes. Of course, I will,” I whisper.
Her lips part with a small gasp like she had doubted my answer.
“But will you marry me?” I ask and pull the box from my dress pocket, opening it for her wide eyes.
“Nina...”
It’s a black two-toned tungsten band. Functional and durable, but still classy. Like Fal. She chuckles when I look back up and her cheeks are a little pink.
“Yes, I will. You know I will.”
She pulls the small ring from her box and slips it on my left ring finger, her touch lingering for a moment, eyes gazing into mine with such intensity, I get chills. The ring hugs my skin like it was made just for me. I do the same with her ring and...it fits perfectly.
Meant to be, indeed.
When I am finally able to make myself look away from her eyes, mine travel down the length of her, admiring the outfit.
“Fal, you look…”
“Ridiculous?”
“Amazing.”
She raises a brow, but I do nothing but give her a onceover while biting my lip. She peers down at herself with a red face and glances back up at me. “You like it?”
“You look so hot, Fal.”
“Should I dress like this more?”
A grin touches my lips as I stare into her wary eyes. “I love you no matter what you wear. Or don’t wear.” I wink and it makes her give a full belly laugh. “Where did you get the idea for the outfit?”
She stares down at the sand like it will hide the ever-growing bashful color of her skin. “Eddie.”
“Oh, so she knew then?” Little sneak.
“Don’t go sticking your finger in her face and scold her, babe.” She grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. “I asked for her help because I literally have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to this stuff. You know that.”
I nod.
“I figured she would know how to help since she wears…like…girly clothes and boyish clothes.”
“Okay, fine. I forgive both of you. I guess I can’t say anything because Ash helped me with your ring.” I show my teeth in a wide grin like I’ve just pulled off the biggest heist in the history of the universe.
“Is that why you two were running errands?” she asks and glares steadily at my heating face.
I press my lips into a thin line and duck my head.
“I knew you were lying, but I didn’t want to press you. I just figured you two were being sneaky and doing something for Eddie. I guess I got the sneaky part right.”
My frown strains all the muscles in my face. “Yeah. I don’t know why I even try lying. Especially to you. It makes it hard to surprise you, that’s for sure.”
She laughs again and kisses my lips before standing and tugging me with her.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” she mutters and reaches down beneath her pant leg.
“I think the garter thing is for the actual wedding…” I start but snap my lips closed when she pulls out a small knife and angles a brow up at me.
“I got this made for you.” She places the sheathed knife into my hand. “Now you can give Eddie’s back to her.”
I twirl the knife around in my hands, gazing at the beautiful craftsmanship. The handle has little stars etched into the metal and the sheath is branded with the goddess triple moon. It gives with slight hesitation when I pull the blade from the sheath. It’s shiny and…I look closer…has little stars engraved close to the handle.
“This is beautiful,” I whisper. “Why the stars?”
“‘I see you everywhere,
In the stars, in the river,
To me you’re everything that exists,
The reality of everything.’”
My eyes widen as she closes her mouth and smiles softly. “You…you know Night and Day by Virginia Woolf?”
“I saw you reading it for the fifth time and decided to read it too. You know, to see what it was about and why you are so obsessed with it. It wasn’t my shot of whiskey, but that quote summed up how I feel about you every single day. You are my everything, Nina. And I love you.”
A breath leaves me as tears slip down my cheeks again.
“I could live more than an eternity and I will never be able to accurately describe to you how much you mean to me,” she whispers and places her lips softly on mine.
It’s probably the best kiss I’ve had in my entire life. Nothing extra, just her lips on mine and everything in between. It’s the type of kiss that ruptures your soul and puts the pieces carefully back together, somehow making it more whole than it was before.
I lean in completely to her, legs shaking at the intensity of the emotions raging through me as her thumb brushes across my cheek and her other hand pulls me closer at the small of my back. My entire body flushes, heat crawling up my skin and warming every inch.
She pulls back to look at me, and I know I am a red-faced hot mess. But she just smiles, crooked and gorgeous, as her thumb moves to brush over my lips.
“I love you,” is all I can manage to breathe out. It’s not enough. Nowhere near enough to explain how I feel, so I send it through the bond to show her.
Her eyes glaze for a moment before she blinks and focuses on me again.
“Wow, babe. That was intense,” she jokes and gathers me into her arms, squeezing me tightly and I never want her to let go.
“Well, you should stop making me feel so many things,” I reply, a bit muffled against her chest.
She chuckles, pulling back, and taps my nose with her finger once before we start down the beach, knife securely in my hand.
Now that we got the whole popping the question thing out of the way, I should tell Fal Ash’s plan. Maybe she’ll be able to stop him.
“Oh, you should know…”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” she grumbles and pauses her movements, watching me curiously.
“Ash is wanting to plan your bachelorette party. He said the S-word.”
Her brows furrow and I can tell she’s running through all the bad s-words she knows in her head. Her eyes move quickly from side to side as she stares behind me. “The S-word? Shit?”
I snort. Knew it. “No. Worse.” I pause when her eyes widen.
“What could be worse than shit?”
“Strippers.”
She freezes as her skin burns a bright red and she sputters out gibberish. “I…Why would he…How…I don’t..” She blinks rapidly and glares at the ground as if it’s the one who wanted to order naked, dancing women. “Wha…He knows I would never…that bastard.” Her fingers yank through her hair. A few of her hairs fall from her head as she begins pacing and I cringe. Ouch.
“I think you being flustered and embarrassed is his main goal. It seems like he is succeeding, and he hasn’t even done anything yet.” My head shakes from side to side. “I told him it wasn’t a good idea, but now I don’t know how to convince him otherwise.”
She stops pacing, her eyes wild and a little scary. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Well, that’s definitely one way to stop him. I think he knows it will lead to his sudden death, but I’m not so sure he cares.”
She sighs and takes my hand, pulling me gently down the beach. “Oh, he’ll care once I start pulling o
ff his fingernails one by one…”
Chapter 23
Falen
Strippers. I can’t believe that giant asshole.
Well, I guess I can. Sometimes I think his main goal in life is to piss me off. Either that or annoy the shit out of me.
Later. Deal with him later.
My lips curve up a little as I look at my left hand, pulling myself from thoughts of fratricide. The black ring is warm around my finger and already comfortable against my skin. Simple and durable. It’s perfect.
When I turn to Nina, she is staring down at the ring on her finger. Her eyes are wide, and the small diamonds shine in the reflection of her icy irises.
“Do you like it?” I ask as we walk along the beach.
“I love it,” she whispers and looks up. Her smile is close-mouthed and adorable.
Nina’s wavy hair blows across her tan face. She’s gotten a lot of sun since we’ve been living here. She has even more freckles now. I poke at the freckled dimples in her cheeks framing her gentle smile. She’s so beautiful when she’s happy. She laughs at me and swats my hand away, but quickly grabs it and intertwines our fingers. We walk in silence, just soaking up the moment.
Fiancée. Nina is my fiancée.
I can only imagine how beautiful Nina will look walking toward me, smiling beautifully, and ready to be my wife.
Nina will be my wife.
The thought has a whole cluster of emotions bombarding my mind. Happiness, of course. But I’m also nervous. I hope I can be the wife she deserves.
My foot sinks a little too far into the grainy shit under these fancy shoes and I grunt a little at the unexpected force needed to take another step.
I should have thought about dress shoes in the sand, but it’s not like I’ve ever worn them before. Having to think about functionality of shoes is kind of bullshit. This is why I don’t do this dress up thing. Too inconvenient.
But the way Nina was watching me like a lioness locking eyes on her prey makes me rethink. I could practically see her undressing me with her wide stare and bitten lip.
I mean, I can dress this way sometimes.
“Oi!” is yelled from down the beach, yanking me from my thoughts surely in the direction of taking Nina back to the apartment to…uh, consummate the engagement.
That’s a thing, right?
Eddie and Ash stroll toward us, hand in hand, smiles wide and sneaky.
Oh, they just happened to be on the beach right now. Sure.
Ash yells something sounding like a greeting, but my mind is still on him and his idea of a good time.
So much for silence.
“Damn, okay Fal Pal,” Ash says, giving a low whistle looking over my clothes. “You should let me borrow that suit sometime.”
“I would, but your big ass wouldn’t fit.”
He mimics my words with an odd lilt to his voice and it makes me want to punch him.
I love my asshole of a brother, I swear.
“A’rite, you dobbers. None of your squabblin’. What’s goin’ on, hmm?” Eddie raises her brows, looking between me and Nina, waiting for an explanation.
I place my hands on my hips and open my mouth to tell her she knows damn well what’s going on, but Nina flings her hand toward Eddie and wiggles her ring finger.
“Looks like we are getting married,” Nina squeals and hops up and down on the tips of her toes.
“Hell yeah!” Ash yells, pumping his fist before yanking me into a hug.
His excitement is enough to break my fucking ribs.
“Ash, goddess. I can’t breathe,” I muffle out as best as I can with my face pressed against his chest.
“Congrats!” he yells, releasing me from his death grip. He slaps me on the back, nearly knocking me over.
“Aye, congrats indeed,” Eddie agrees and gives me and Nina a giant smile, cheeks a little pink.
Ash wiggles his eyebrows, mischief evident in his scent. It smells like hidden motives in wet grass and inevitable regrets. “Now, to order the strip..”
“If you finish that sentence, Ash-hole, I’m going to rip your goddamn tongue from your mouth and shove it up your ass.” I growl, stepping up in a threat. “Then, I’ll pull off each of your toes one by one and shove them up your ass to keep your tongue company.”
Ash snaps his mouth closed and frowns, poking out his lip like a child who was told he can’t get a toy with his Happy Meal.
“Told you,” Nina mumbles and raises a pretty brow at my brother.
“Now, Ashy,” Eddie butts in, getting up close and personal with my brother. “I ken you’re nae wantin’ to get strippers, are you?” She squints up at him and crosses her arms over her chest, purposefully trying to intimidate him by flexing her arm muscles.
Ha. He’s in trouble.
“Nah, babe,” he chokes, rubbing his hand on the back of his head and kicking at the sand. “I was just joking with Fal Pal.”
“A joke I’m not getting, obviously,” I add and purse my lips.
“Ach, you best be jokin’.” She grabs the front of his shirt and tugs, making him lean in closer. “‘Cause I’m the only one you’ll be watchin’ strip, you ken? Or I’ll strip your fur right off your hide.”
His face burns bright crimson, and I can’t help but be smug. Nina giggles beside me and I pull her to my side, kissing the top of her head to hide my victorious smirk. It’s nice I’m not the only one embarrassing Ash now. And Eddie does it so well.
“Oh, Eddie. Here,” Nina says and hands Eddie her sgian dubh. “I don’t need this anymore. I have my own.”
She shows both Ash and Eddie the knife and they whistle some more.
“Damn, Fal. You are on it lately,” Ash comments.
“Oh, I’m always on it, brother. It’s not my fault you fail to notice,” I shrug and roll my eyes when he sticks out his tongue.
“Hey!”
I turn around and Lilith and Corin are walking up to us.
Goddamn. Why is everyone here right now? It’s like I lit a fucking flare that wrote ‘I’m right here if anyone wants to get into my fucking business’ into the sky.
“What the hell are you four up to?” Lilith asks and puts her hands on her hips. I think I see a flash of loneliness in her eyes.
She thinks we left her out.
“Lil, why you gotta be so nosy?” Corin asks and massages his temples with his fingers.
“Oh, hush. I’m just curious,” she purrs back, putting the usual craziness back into her eyes.
“Nosy,” he whispers to me and earns a dramatic glare from the ginger.
“Nina and I are engaged,” I tell them, surprised my voice doesn’t break into a nervous million pieces.
“What!” Lilith squeals uncharacteristically and yanks my hand to her face. “Oh, my fucking goddess, that’s so you. Nina, let me see yours.” She shoves my hand away and grabs Nina’s. She whistles. “Damn, okay, Fal. You have good taste after all.”
“Hey!” I protest. Surely, I’m not as terrible as everyone seems to think I am.
Lil winks and smacks her tongue against her teeth, and I sigh in return, a small smile spiting me on my lips.
“Congrats Fally Fal!” Corin yells and slaps his big ass hand on my shoulder, nearly burying me in the sand with the force. “You’ll make a great husband.”
“Excuse me?” Nina asks, slightly offended.
Everyone becomes deathly silent and Corin’s eyes widen, glancing at me, seeming to ask, ‘did I just majorly fuck up?’
Nina’s mind is quiet, so I have no idea if he did just majorly fuck up.
I shuffle, shoving my hands in my pants pockets, begging the heat crawling up my throat not to reach my face.
“What if I want to be the husband?” Nina finally asks, her cute pout almost serious.
Corin snorts and shakes away his mini panic attack with a huge grin. “I could see that.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be so traditional. They can both be the husband, Corin,” Ash adds and slaps
his forehead like it should have been obvious. “You need to get out of the fifties.”
“Ach, you bampots. There is no husband in the equation. That’s the whole point. Now, shut your traps before I take the sand and do it for you,” Eddie snaps. After a second of silence, she smirks. “Besides, Nina would be the husband. She wears the pants.”
I glance down to a giggling Nina and she wiggles her brows.
What if we both wear the pants? That way both of us can control each other’s zippers, she whispers across my mind.
I swallow hard and try to convince my cheeks not to burn and eyes not to widen. Nina, you’re being bad.
Last I recall, you love it.
“So, when are we going to party?” Lilith asks, emerald eyes wide and I clear my throat, giving Nina a pointed glare.
She just winks and bites her lip.
“Party?” I ask, pulling my mind away from how that made me feel, and turn my attention to Lilith.
“Goddess, Fal. Get out more. An engagement party. To celebrate, you know, the engagement? Don’t be so dense,” Lil chides, gesturing to her own head with wiggling fingers.
“Lil, do you really think Fally Fal knows about engagement parties?” Corin asks, grinning at me with a wicked gleam in his dark eyes.
“You make an excellent point, Cori. Why would Fal know anything about popular traditions or about hanging out and being social. In fact,” Lil holds her hand over her mouth and looks to Corin. “I heard she was born in a cave.”
“Come on, Lil,” Corin scolds, shoving her with his elbow, and I smirk at her, glad someone is standing up for me. “You know she was born under a rock.”
My smirk quickly drops to a deep frown. Corin loves to poke fun at me. Now that Lil hangs out with us more—because of their bond—she’s picked up the habit and I get teamed up on at least once a day.
“You’re both supposed to be my friends,” I growl, only halfway in a threat toward them.
He gives me that big smile and it’s hard to even pretend to be mad at him. “We are, Fally Fal. Friends tell the truth.”
