"Of course," he laughs, walking past us into the dining room. "Ten minutes are up by the way!"
"Bit late with that!" Willa calls back before closing the bathroom door. She sits me down on the closed lid of the toilet and unwraps my strand of hair out of the foil. "Oh my God."
"What?" I gasp. "Is it falling out? Did we leave it in for too long?"
"No," Willa grins. "It's white. It looks perfect!"
I turn around to look at myself in the mirror. My hair is chocolate brown, but now I have a white streak in the front. Willa thought it would look silly at first, but she tells me now how badass it is and that I look really cool.
"Do you like it?" she asks nervously.
"Yeah," I nod slowly. "I just hope Nox does too."
"Like what?" He squeezes into the bathroom making Willa groan as he kisses me deeply.
"Would you two get a room?" she begs.
"Not when we can embarrass you instead," Nox teases her, making her roll her eyes. But she still grinning as she goes in search of her brothers.
We've never broached the subject of Willa calling me Mom, or Nox Dad. But there's no question about one thing – Zane and Kellan are her family, her little siblings, and she treats them that way as do they her.
Finally, Nox and I are alone, and I melt into his embrace as he holds me close, kissing me deeply and making me submit to him in seconds yet again. I never could resist him, my soulmate, the man who both doomed and saved me.
We disappear into the bedroom while the boys nap and Willa gets ready for her party at her best friend, Mercy's house. We recently found out that Mercy is Sam's granddaughter, and we always encourage having her around. Even though her mother is a kickass lady and takes great care of her, we want to be there for Mercy, too. We've told her all our best Sam stories, and sometimes, even his daughter, Mercy's mom, listens in with a faint smile on her face.
While Nox explores my body, I close my eyes. I'm so grateful for how my life has worked out, what my family has given me. A place where I belong... And even my relationship with my mother has gotten a little less frosty. She adores the kids and has even been here to visit twice. She doesn't know who Nox is, and I doubt she ever will. There are some lines even I won't cross.
Robin lives in my heart, and in the rich tapestry of memories I share with the kids and Nox. I make sure Robin's a part of conversations, bringing up little stories and anecdotes about him, with Nox joining in. I don't know whether I'll ever be able to tell them the truth... but I can only pray that they'll understand, should they ever find out.
When it's time for us to get up, the house is bursting with activity for the night. A nanny is taking the boys and there will be a party and big sleepover at our house for the kids. We're actually letting them stay the night while we sleep in the new house – we trust Willa enough for that.
The caterers get everything ready and we wait for the girls to get there so we can give Willa her last present. The festivities are in full force an hour later and Nox wants me to himself, so we tear away the birthday girl and lead her outside with a blindfold on.
"Ta-da!" I say, slipping it off her eyes.
"Oh. My. Freaking. God." Willa covers her mouth before squealing. "Are you serious?"
"Of course," I nod. "We trust you, darling."
"You won't regret this!" she squeaks as she jumps up and down in front of the cherry red Mustang. "Can I take it for a spin?"
"You can go around the block now, but don't drive without us tonight," I nod while Nox kisses Willa's cheek.
She's not even listening anymore, begging Nox to come with her. He gets in the car along with Mercy and they drive off around the neighborhood, shrieking with excitement. I'm already worried, but I force myself to stop doing that to myself and make sure the girls are set up for the night. One of the girls' older sisters, who seems a bit more bookish, will be with them, and we'll only be a call away.
I tell myself Willa deserves this trust we're putting on her shoulders. She's a good kid and she'd never dream of letting us down.
Getting everything ready, I have a car waiting for us by the time they come back.
Willa is beaming from ear to ear and gives me the biggest hug. I tell her she deserves it and not to let us down. She just passed her driver's exam, so we figured we'd give her my old car as a memento and a way to get around. We've upgraded to a larger car that can safely transport us all.
As we're standing in front of our old house, the girls all head inside while Willa says goodbye to us. Just as we're giving her the instructions in case she needs us, a butterfly floats around us, landing on Willa's jacket.
"That's beautiful!" I gush, quickly snapping a photo. "So beautiful, Willa."
"You know, we have a saying about butterflies," Nox joins in, putting a hand around my shoulders.
"One you're about to make up now?" I tease him.
"Maybe." His eyes glitter darkly. "But they say the person the butterfly lands on gets their happily ever after next."
"Oh God, you're so cheesy," Willa whines. "I'm sixteen, not sixty!"
"Yeah, you're too young," Nox laughs, but I can see the lines in his face grow just a little deeper.
As the butterfly floats on its way, we kiss Willa goodbye and get into our ride. I don't know whether Nox's heart is as heavy as my own, but I end up wiping away tears from my eyes.
"Why so emotional, little bird?" Nox whispers in my ear. "Something wrong?"
"She's just so grown up," I whisper.
"I know. And the boys, too." He tugs on my new white strand of hair. "I like this, by the way."
"Thanks," I grimace. "Thought I should start getting ahead of my age. You won't trade me in for a newer model, will you?"
"Don't be fucking ridiculous," he smirks. "Never in a million years."
"You excited to spend the first night in our house, all by ourselves?"
"Beyond." Nox nuzzles my neck. "What is this, one of our first nights alone in years?"
"Definitely." I grimace. It's been tough getting away from the family lately, not that I mind. But Nox and I aren't as carefree. I'm forever worried about the boys and Willa, and Nox sometimes still seems like he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Do you think the kids will be okay?"
"Of course." Nox nudges me. "Stop freaking stressing, little bird."
"I just worry." I fiddle with my dress and Nox pulls my hands away, kissing my knuckles.
"Tonight, you're all mine. The only thing you need to worry about is saying I do."
"I do?" I raise my brows questioningly. "What on earth do you mean?"
He just winks and stares ahead.
"Nox!" I squeeze his hand.
"I already said too much. You'll have to trust me with the rest of it and be a good girl." He smirks at me, the puckered scar marring his cheek making him just like me.
"Are you asking me..."
"Officially, I asked you two years ago." He points to the rock on my finger. "But you kept putting it off and off, so now I've taken matters into my own hands."
"Oh my God, Nox." My eyes are watering again, my knees getting weak. "Are we really getting married tonight?"
"It's just a small ceremony, just us and the priest."
"But what about our family..."
"If you want something else later, we'll do that too. But tonight, I want you all to myself. And I want to make our first night as a married couple in our new house beyond special."
"You already have," I admit in a low whisper. "You make me so happy, Nox. You've given me everything I've ever wanted. This is... this is a lifetime of happiness."
"For me too," he says simply, pulling me in for a deep kiss. And while his lips are on mine, I remember all the reasons I love him and why he owns me.
What he's been through because of me, for me. All the things he does for me, big and small, just to bring the hint of a smile to my lips.
Parker was a monster, but Nox isn't.
Nox is my soulma
te, my heart's partner and the man who makes me whole. And after tonight, I suppose he'll be my other half, too.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I whisper in his ear as we come to a stop in front of the new house. The dying rays of sunlight illuminate the gorgeous property. I feel tears in my eyes again.
"Of course I'm sure," he answers, getting on one knee. I gasp, covering my mouth with my hands.
"You already p-proposed," I stutter, making him smirk.
"This is for something else." He kisses my hand and presents me with a long velvet box. When he opens it, an infinity metal collar is inside.
"You want it all, don't you, Nox?"
"I do," he nods solemnly. "And you'll give it to me all, won't you, little bird?"
"Yes," I whisper, slowly nodding my approval.
Nox gets up and clasps the collar around my throat. It feels heavy and right against the hollow in my neck.
Before I can react, Nox gathers me in his arms and I giggle as he carries me over the threshold of our new home.
"Put me down, I'm too heavy!" I insist, and he finally gives up, laughing. When I turn to face him, his eyes burn with a dark passion. One that scares me... in such a delicious, panty-melting way. "Nox..."
"Hide from me, Dove," he smirks.
"This again?" I flush. It's his favorite game.
"I want to find you. Follow you." He smirks against my skin, leaving the ghost of a kiss against my scarred cheek. "Stalk you."
I pull myself away from him, but my eyes linger as I look over my shoulder. I smile, and Nox smiles back.
And then I hide from my tyrant stalker, and keep my fingers crossed that he'll find me again... And that he'll never stop following, hidden in the shadows.
THE END
***
Thank you so much for reading Dove and Nox’s book! I hope you loved this dark, forbidden story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Are you ready for more? Guess who’s coming next!
What did you think?
Dove and Nox are the second couple featured in the Tyrant Dynasty series, but there is so much more yet to come. Before I tell you about that, I was wondering if you could review this book on Amazon, Goodreads or maybe even your bookish blog?
I love reading reviews for my books and discovering what readers enjoyed about my couples. It makes me so happy to read your thoughts on the characters I spend so much time with!
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Tyrant Stalker: A Dark Forbidden Romance (Tyrant Dynasty Book 2) Page 30
