by Ophelia Bell
“You’re looking unusually broody tonight, Nessa,” Ig said, pulling her out of her reverie. “Is the kitchen not coming out the way you’d hoped?”
“What? Oh, no. The kitchen’s fine. Gaius is . . .” She sighed. “He’s fine.”
Ig and Bry exchanged a glance, then Ig said. “I didn’t actually ask about Gaius, but that’s good to hear. He seemed more energized than usual this morning when he started. Guess retirement’s starting to agree with him.”
Bryer chuckled and took a swallow of his wine. “That’s good. Maybe the old grouch will finally finish that house of his. He ought to get it done if he’s hoping to bring a mate home soon.”
Nessa frowned and shook her head. “No. I think he’s right to wait. I mean, he should want to build a place his mate would want to live in, right? How’s he going to know what that is without knowing who she is first?”
Ig sat back with an indulgent smile. “You don’t think I plan on remodeling this place whenever I find a mate, do you?”
Nessa scoffed. “You two aren’t even close to retiring. By the time you do, the place will probably be due for a remodel. Which is fine, as long as you keep the kitchen, because I plan on using it for a long, long time.”
“Or he finds the perfect mate-slash-chef by then,” Bryer said. “Besides, doesn’t your mom have the matchmaker hooking you up with a clan leader the very second there’s one worth snagging? I swear, every time I see Mrs. Baxter, she goes on about something Gerri Wilder told her. It all sounds like mystical bullshit to me. After all the females we’ve been with, you’ve got to think our odds of finding our mates are getting bigger—the pool to choose from definitely isn’t growing. I don’t think that matchmaker has anything special going on that we can’t tap into ourselves.”
“I’m with you,” Nessa said. “If I was meant to be with any of the eligible heirs out there, she’d have hooked us up by now. Maybe we are all lost causes.”
Ig and Bry laughed and toasted to being lost causes. Nessa went along with it, but her chest hurt at the reminder of her conversation with Gaius that weekend. He was an amazing, talented, caring man. There was no way in hell there couldn’t be a mate out there for him. No doubt the matchmaker would call soon, and Nessa wanted to make sure she was well out of the picture by then, because she didn’t think she could handle it when it happened.
She let Ig’s housekeeper, Ren, finish cleaning up after supper and said goodbye to her friends. Out of habit, she wandered up the interior staircase from the kitchen to the first floor, still buzzed from the wine and itching to see today’s progress on the kitchen.
The scent of fresh paint hit her nostrils as she exited the stairwell, and she stopped short when she encountered a wall that hadn’t existed that morning. The kitchen was now blocked off from the rest of the house, the wall and swinging doors in place, and the wiring for light fixtures in what would become the dining room dangling from the high ceiling.
She pushed through the doors and was instantly awash in a cascade of comforting colored lights. It was sunset, and though the kitchen faced east, the lights were designed to mimic the changing tones of the sky at the different times of day.
She marveled at the interior. The counters and cabinets were finished and painted, the tile floors installed and cleaned. Gaius’ tools were still strewn about, and there were a few obvious areas that weren’t finished yet, the dumbwaiter being one of them. It still sat mockingly in the wall, clearly untouched and waiting for her to give Gaius the go-ahead. For whatever reason, he’d neglected to cover it back up, and she guiltily recalled her insistence that he allow her to cook for him as a remedy for his old arena injuries.
She should just get over her reticence to see him. They’d had one fun weekend. And what of it? They were adults, and should be able to behave like adults around each other despite that past, because it was exactly that: past. She’d probably never forget it, but it was ridiculous to dwell on it.
She trailed her hand across the smooth, marble countertop that stretched along one wall. The choice of materials was deliberate, and exactly to her specifications. She had solid wood chopping block counters in one area, stainless steel in another, and marble here, all to serve different culinary purposes.
Wandering around the corner, Nessa found the door to what she knew was the new pantry and opened it. She let out a gasp when she found the interior completely finished with rows upon rows of shelves outfitted with rolling rails.
The door to the cooler was set into one wall. The cooler hadn’t even been there that morning—how the hell had she missed the big contraption being delivered?
The rest of the equipment had yet to arrive, but with this installed, she could start planning more long-term meals and canning summer fruits and vegetables.
She stepped back out of the cooler and shut it behind her, beyond thrilled at the amount of work that had been completed in a single day.
“You like?” a deep voice said, making her jump.
Gaius stood in the pantry doorway, leaning against the frame. He looked like he’d just showered, and even smelled like the woody-scented soap he kept on a little stone ledge by his waterfall.
“Hi . . . I thought you’d gone home for the day.”
“I did, but there was something I forgot to finish.”
Nessa laughed. “Are you kidding? You did so much, all in one day! You’ve more than earned a break.”
“That may be,” Gaius said. “But this is something that would keep me up if I didn’t come back down here and take care of it.”
His gaze raked over her with a lazy heat that left her entire body warm in its wake. Her breath caught in her throat when he took a step toward her, and she instinctively backed up, only to find her backside flush against the inset counter along the pantry’s back wall.
“Oh? W-What is it? You need my help?”
“I do.” With a slow nod, he closed in on her in a few more steps, crowding into her space, his sweet, clean aroma inundating her senses and sending a flood of warmth into her core. He braced both hands against the edge of the counter behind her, caging her in. “This is something that absolutely cannot be done without you, in fact.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips along her temple, breathing in deeply as though inhaling her scent into his lungs. Nessa let out a shuddering sigh at that brief contact and reflexively pressed her hands to his chest, though she wasn’t sure if she wanted to push him away or drag him close.
“You smell so damn delicious. I can’t help but remember a little promise you made me the other night . . .”
“I know. I’ll have a menu prepped for you tomorrow. You’ll love it, I promise.”
He let out a growl that came from deep in his chest as his lips trailed down her cheek and settled against her jaw just beneath her ear. “The thing is, I think you’re my cure, Ness. I felt no pain today, and the only thing that changed was having you in my bed for two nights in a row.”
She shook her head and pushed back against him. “It was the liniment, that’s all,” she breathed, finding it hard to fill her lungs with his big body monopolizing all the air in the room. She needed room to breathe, to think . . . because this want he filled her with was only a recipe for heartbreak when the matchmaker found him a real mate.
“I’d rather not chance it.” His lips grazed the side of her throat as he dropped one hand to her hip and squeezed, pulling her tight against him. The air left Nessa’s lungs in a sharp exhale at the rigid length of him that pressed against her lower abdomen. Every single memory of everything he’d made her feel over the weekend rushed back, as though she hadn’t already been dwelling on it all day long.
“No, you better not chance it,” she said.
His lips traced the line of her jaw and paused at the corner of her mouth. “So, you’re the boss here, Ness. What’s your recipe to keep the pain away?”
Her need for caution and distance disappeared with his subtle taunt. He wanted to tease her, but she
would have none of it.
“Just kiss me, damnit.”
Gaius pulled back and laughed. “There she is,” he said, looking down at her with a wicked glint in his eyes. “Missed you, bossy girl . . .”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake . . .” She hooked her hand at the back of his neck and yanked him down, their mouths crashing together in a sweet, rough tangle of lips and tongues. Gaius’ low chuckle transformed into a groan that resonated deep in her belly. Her entire body felt heavy and swollen with need to have his hands on her, his cock inside her. She broke away from the kiss long enough to tell him as much.
“I need you inside me now,” she commanded, tearing his shirt off over his head. She raked her nails down through the dark curls that covered his tattooed chest and was gratified when he tore at the opening of her wraparound dress until her breasts sprang free. His mouth went to her nipples as he hoisted her up with both hands and set her on the countertop behind her. They tore at each other’s clothes, his hands up her skirt, yanking down her panties, her hands at his belt, tugging it free and unfastening his pants.
Mere seconds after she had his cock free, he’d hauled her to the edge of the counter and buried himself inside her. They let out synchronous moans of pleasure, and Nessa’s entire body from the tips of her toes all the way into the depths of her connection with her bear rejoiced at the fullness of their joining. This was what she needed. Oh god, how could she ever stop wanting this?
Gaius was more intense and single-minded than the first time they’d made love, driving into her with a kind of fury Nessa had never witnessed before. It was as though he were claiming her body, and her bear responded with a roar of acceptance. She surrendered to his touch because it felt too good not to, yet when he grazed his teeth over her shoulder, she pulled away, digging her heels into his ass and her nails into his back. The distraction worked—his head flew back and he let out a roar as he climaxed.
Nessa’s chest heaved, her body still alight from the pleasure left unspent. But Gaius only paused for a second before slipping out of her and falling to his knees, his jeans still bunched around his hips. He pushed her thighs wide, holding them up while he buried his mouth against her soaked folds.
“Gaius! Oh god, yes!” She tangled the fingers of one hand into his hair and braced herself on her other hand as he tongued her to oblivion. She’d been close already, but the intense flicks of his tongue against her needy clit sent her hurtling over the edge almost instantaneously.
She sat gasping for breath as he rose and swiped a hand over his beard. “Come home with me, Ness. We can do this all night.”
Her bear let out an interested little rumble, but Nessa nixed it. “We have an early start. We should get some rest,” she said, even though nothing sounded more divine than falling asleep to the moonrise, wrapped up in Gaius’ big arms.
Gaius regarded her in silence for a moment, his expression still filled with hunger, though she sensed it was for something more than her body . . . definitely more than she was willing to give. Finally he stepped close again and cradled her head in his hand. He leaned down to eye-level, his face close to hers.
“I will have you in my bed again, Ness. That’s a promise. It doesn’t have to be tonight, but it’s happening.”
Nessa swallowed and gave him what she hoped passed for a flirty smile, though it belied the tangled knots in her belly. “We’ll see,” she said, then she kissed him to break the intensity of the look he gave her.
After he left, she let out a long breath and readjusted her dress. She retreated to her cottage and climbed into bed, curling into a ball to try to banish the ache in her belly. She wanted so much to give in to his request, but she couldn’t go back there. The two nights she’d spent had been two nights too many.
It was crazy; the house was nothing more than an empty shell. There wasn’t much to be excited about. But she wanted the life it represented so badly she could taste it.
She wanted him, but he wasn’t meant to be hers. If he was, Gerri Wilder would have told her so already.
15
Gaius climbed the stairs to the second floor of his house and stood in the center of the room, remembering that first sight of Nessa in his old shirt with the backdrop of the sunset behind her. He’d probably done this all wrong, not finishing the house before having a woman here, but Nessa hadn’t exactly given him a choice. She had just blown in like a force of nature, insinuating herself in his life to such a degree he could no longer picture anything but her vision of this house, right along with her curvy body living here with him.
He watched the vista beyond the railing for several minutes, trying to work out some kind of strategy for convincing her to return—and making her stay. Something had obviously spooked her, though he couldn’t imagine what. She had clearly loved this place, so much so that she’d reminded him of all the reasons he loved it. And that had inspired him to finish it.
He’d begun yesterday afternoon, immediately after she left, and the product of his work rested in the center of the room now. The bed he’d built lacked only a finish, but the naked wood had its own stark beauty. It was enough to sleep on for now.
Gaius ran his hand over the smoothly sanded footboard and up the hand-carved post. He should sleep. He was exhausted after spending half the night building the thing. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to climb in it alone, and he was at a loss as to how to entice her to join him again.
Instead he left the big bed behind, returning to his hammock out on the back deck near the waterfall.
He would get her to come back one way or the other, even if he had to finish the whole damn house before it happened.
16
Early the next morning, Gaius eyeballed the renovation plans with Ignazio, working out a schedule for demolition of the old kitchen that would avoid upsetting Nessa’s schedule. The dumbwaiter cranked into gear with a low hum, and Ignazio glanced at the door to the contraption and back to Gaius.
“You expecting something?” Ignazio asked.
“Could be . . . Nessa insisted on feeding me to see if it’d help with the pain in my knees. I guess she’s following through.”
When the dumbwaiter motor stopped, he ambled over and slid the door open. Inside rested a huge tray with several covered dishes. A little note read, “This is half the remedy. See me for the other half.”
He smiled to himself as he carried the tray over to the kitchen island and pulled up a stool. Ig leaned across the island, inhaling deeply. “Damn, that smells even better than what she usually serves us for breakfast. I hope this means we’re getting something special today.”
As Gaius started lifting lids, his belly rumbled, and his bear emitted a hungry growl in harmony. Nessa had sent up a plate filled with an omelet overloaded with vegetables, a side of smoked fish, and a bowl of hot cereal with fresh berries. Accompanying it was a carafe of freshly squeezed juice.
“The other half . . . What’s this?” Ig asked, holding up the note.
Gaius popped a piece of the fish into his mouth and savored it, answering Ig with a noncommittal grunt. “More herbal remedy shit, I guess,” he said, shifting his focus back to the food as he dug in, the demolition plans entirely forgotten.
Ig set the note down and leaned his elbows on the kitchen island across from Gaius. “Really?” he said with a skeptical note. “You sure she’s not offering something more . . . hands-on?”
Gaius ignored the warmth creeping up his neck. He was positive what Nessa offered was precisely what Ig insinuated, but hell if he was going to share that with the other man. They’d been friends since Ig and Bry joined the League together, but he didn’t pry into the boys’ dumb bet, and he wasn’t about to share intimate details of his own life with them.
Ignazio clenched his hands into fists, his knuckles cracking as he lifted a finger and pointed it in Gaius’ face. “Blackpaw, whatever the fuck you’re doing with my chef, she had better not get hurt, you got it? I will burn your shit down if I catch wind that she�
��s been damaged in any way. And that isn’t just my stomach talking.”
Gaius set down his fork and finished chewing his food. He slowly lifted his gaze to Ignazio and looked the dragon squarely in his red eyes. “Not that it’s any of your business, but Nessa’s more than just some diversion to while away a summer between seasons. She is sustenance. The main fucking course, as opposed to dessert. The kind of woman who won’t leave you craving anything once she’s done with you.”
Ignazio stood up straighter, looking a little abashed at the subtle dig, but the man had it coming. The Hot Wings bet had never been a secret and had earned them a reputation as players, but Gaius could see the dragon was maybe a little ashamed of it now.
Ignazio cleared his throat. “That’s good to hear, as long as she feels the same way.”
Gaius nodded. “She’s being a little hardheaded about it, but I think she’ll come around. Trust me . . . if she doesn’t want what I have to offer, she’ll say so.”
A sharp laugh escaped Ig’s mouth and he relaxed. “Yeah, Nessa’s never been one to mince words. That’s one thing I love about her—you always know right where you stand. Hopefully when Bry and I retire, we’ll be able to find a woman half as together as she is. If she were the one, you can be damn sure I’d throw away the rules and mate her now.”
“Good thing she’s mine and not yours, you crazy bastard.”
Ignazio sobered, his brows pulling together. “Shit, you really mean that, don’t you? You two have known each other how long? A week?”
“Long enough for my bear to know. Just don’t fucking say anything to her. It’s between me and her, got it?”
“No worries, man. But didn’t you meet with the matchmaker when you first retired?”
Gaius winced. It had been so long he’d almost forgotten. “Yeah, I need to get in touch with Mrs. Wilder. Have her call off the search. I just want to be sure it’s mutual.”
