A Conquest Like No Other (7 page)

Chapter
Nine

Nikki woke up the next morning
well rested and alone. Looking around the room, she took it in. It was only the
second time she had been there. The first time was controlled by her need to
escape the hunky man who had saved her. Now she took her time to appreciate
everything there was about the room. Every bit of furniture screamed
masculinity, with the large wooden bed, black leather high back reading chairs
and big screen television, but still it wasn’t overpowering. The earth tones
seemed to mute the testosterone-fueled homeware.

Once her curiosity was fed, other
requirements made themselves known. Heading toward the toilet, she also decided
a shower was called for. With none of her own clothes to wear, she grabbed one
of Viper’s shirts out of the huge walk-in wardrobe on the way to the bathroom.
Thankfully the huge frame that was usually housed within the shirt guaranteed
it would act more like a dress for her tiny body.

Viper must have heard her
movements because after her shower she found him standing in the kitchen,
wearing dark work pants and a shirt similar to the one she now wore. He was
cooking. It smelled like bacon and eggs were on the menu for breakfast. Her
stomach chose that moment to verbalize its approval of the smells greeting her
nose.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Viper said
as he looked over his shoulder. “How did you sleep?”

“Much better, thanks to you,” she
replied shyly.

“Damn, sweetheart, that shirt
looks way better on you than it ever did on me.”

If any other man had said that to
her, Nikki would be running scared. But not with Viper. Hell, she’d even slept
in the same bed as him last night and allowed him to comfort her. No other man
had been able to touch her since her attack without her flinching away from
them. Even her doctors during her recovery had to be women, once she was
conscious. Her connection to this man didn’t make sense, but it was one she
craved.

Maybe her lack of fear was due to
the fact that he had positioned himself in the role of family member rather
than a man looking for something from her. Her fear of intimacy was not needed
in this relationship because it wasn’t on the cards with Viper. If only her
body would listen to that reasoning.

Even though she had reasoned this
out in her head, she still found herself asking the one thing that she had been
wondering since meeting him. “Why aren’t I scared of you?”

“You really haven’t worked it out
yet?”

“No, should I have?” she replied,
crossing her arms across her chest. She really didn’t like being confused.

“I would have thought that with
Gabby as your best friend, she would have helped you reason out your attraction
toward me.”

“Wow, Tatts, you’re an arrogant
one, aren’t you?”

“It’s not arrogance if it is
true,” came his reply. “Are you now going to try to deny your desire for me?”

Nikki felt like this was the
pivotal point in their relationship. Though she had no idea why. It wasn’t like
she could act on her feelings for this man. He was family. And even if that
weren’t true, she doubted her fear and body would allow her to become intimate
with him so easily.

“It doesn’t matter what I’m
feeling, Tatts. Nothing can come of it.”

“You are wrong on both counts,
sweetheart,” he said, moving in front of her. “What you are feeling matters a
great deal to me. And as for nothing coming of these feelings we have for one
another, it’s out of our hands.”

“Why’s it out of our hands?” she
asked, both eager and terrified to hear the answer.

Placing his hands on her upper
arms, he gave them a gentle squeeze. With pride in his gaze, he replied,
“You’re my mate.”

 
“No! No! No!” she said, stepping away from
Viper. She didn’t get too far, though. He reached out again and grabbed both of
her arms. She struggled to escape his grasp. Didn’t he understand that she was
no good for him? She was broken.

“Yes, sweetheart,” he cajoled.
“This wasn’t how I wanted you to find out, but I couldn’t allow your confusion
to continue, either. Had I known of it sooner, I would have eased it then and
there. But the only emotions I have sensed from you when we were together were
your desire, which I might add is reciprocated, and your anxiety.”

“How do you know?” she asked,
though deep down she knew what he was saying to be true. She had not long ago
witnessed Gabby go through exactly what she was currently. She couldn’t believe
it had taken Viper telling her for her to put two and two together.

“I have known since the
warehouse. As a
fae
, I see auras. They speak to me of
people’s emotions. Yours also shone pure white like only a mate would,” he
explained.

“Wait
fae
!” she queried, eager to gain
some more information about this man. Her brain began filtering through what
she supposedly knew of these creatures and soon realized how misinformed she
was. “Like fairies, elves and sprites? Because let me tell you, Tatts, the cute
little creatures described in stories have nothing on you with your bad boy
looks.”

“Thank you, I think,” Viper
replied, making no attempt to cover his laughter. It soon disappeared, replaced
by seriousness as he continued. “My people are nothing like those depicted in
stories. We are neither tiny nor do we have wings. We simply inhabit this world
in a different realm. We gain our power from Mother Earth, much like humans
once did before technology muffled their abilities, who gave us skin markings
to help us find our fated mate.”

“You mean your tattoos?”

“Yes, but mine are a part of me.
I was born with them, though they only became apparent when I hit puberty. Only
a mate can see them.”

“But you weren’t happy about that
at first, were you?” she asked, remembering his reaction to her mentioning his
tattoos when they had first met.

 
“No, and I’m ashamed to say that I tried
everything within my power to ignore the mating bond at first.” His hand ran
over his stubble, while his gaze seemed to be begging for forgiveness.

“Were you ever planning on
telling me?” Her emotions were equally split between the need for answers,
excitement that this gorgeous man had feelings for her, and panic at the
thought of a relationship with him. His rejection, while it stung a little,
only matched her own desire to deny her need for him.

“Once I came to my senses, I had
every intention of telling you. But I also knew a little of your past, and I
wanted you to feel at ease with my presence before I hit you with our
intertwined futures,” Viper explained, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.
“To be mated to me means giving yourself to me wholly. Our joining won’t be in
just our living arrangements, but in our body, mind and soul. We will know each
other’s innermost thoughts, emotions and whereabouts. But to have that we must
trust each other immensely. That shield you surround your heart with,
protecting it from any further pain, is also protecting you from me. And
sweetheart, I need all of you. I won’t accept anything less.”

“I’m scared, Tatts,” she said
honestly. Now that she had some answers, her fear had taken over her emotions.

“I know,” he said, dropping his
hands. “But you need to work out exactly what you fear. Is it Watson? The idea
of being intimate with me? Or trusting again?”

“All of them,” she admitted.

“Thank you for being honest with
me, sweetheart,” he said, sending her one of his killer smiles. “Together we
can face your fears.”

“How?”

“Well since you are now living
with me, we’ll have more time to get to know one another. Together we will work
on your trust, and eventually your intimacy fears.”

“Living together?” she stuttered.
“For how long?”

“How about we agree to stick with
the living arrangements until Watson is caught,” Viper replied, pulling her
into his chest. “And I’ll work on extending it to forever.”

How could this beautiful man want
to pursue a relationship with her? No man wanted a woman with trust and fear
issues, yet here he was asking for exactly that, a relationship. She had never
lived with a man. Sure Paul had stayed over at her place a couple of times a
week, but even when she had no reason to doubt the man, she never saw herself
living with him. Yet still he had managed to change her for all men, and not in
a good way.

“Where am I sleeping?” she asked,
looking up to meet his gaze.

“Why don’t we just take each day
as it comes and see where that leads us? But I will admit that I was hoping you
might want to remain in my bed. I promise nothing will happen until you ask it
to. I would never allow any harm to come to you, and that includes from me,” he
promised vehemently. “And that goes double for Watson. I won’t allow that sick
bastard anywhere near you. My only wish is that Detectives Morris and
Redburn
don’t find him first. I have my own form of
punishment in mind that won’t have him harming another being.”

As tears rolled down her cheeks
at his earnest words, she conceded that his plan made sense. The truth was, it
was the only plan that would guarantee her safety. She had the next few days
off, which would allow her to stay at the hotel and spend some time with Gabby.
Hopefully by next week Paul would be back in custody and out of her life once
more.

That last thought reminded her of
something else Viper had said. Wiping away her tears, she said, “Wait, the two
detectives from Gabby’s brother’s case were there!”

“Yes.”

“But why?” Her voice full of
panic. Why would they be involved unless they suspected that she or Gabby had a
hand in his murderer’s death. When Viper shared the words the two men had
spoken, it only brought up more questions. “But I thought they were dirty.”

Viper shrugged. “We have our
suspicions. Judge has been keeping a close eye on them, waiting for them to
screw up. They haven’t. Since their boss turned up dead they have been clean.
If I had to guess, they were caught up in something they had no control over.
It happens sometimes. When they mentioned the man’s death, I only read relief
from them both.”

“Do you think they suspect one of
us as being involved in the asshole’s death?”

“Saul
Biesterman
was evil. He had many enemies in this state alone. Any one of them would be
higher on the suspect list than us,” he explained. “Chaos would have ensured
there was no evidence left behind that would have indicated any of us were in
that warehouse. And if what I read from them was correct, I suspect the man’s
death isn’t high on their priority of solving.”

Nikki couldn’t find it in herself
to feel any guilt over Saul
Biesterman’s
death. He’d
kidnapped both her and Gabby, nearly killing them both, as well as Gabby’s
unborn twins. He was an evil man who had no place on this earth, let alone in
her thoughts.

Forcing her mind on to something
more pleasant, away from the evils of this world, she asked, “So what are your
plans for the day?”

Looking at the clock on the oven,
Viper moved back to the kitchen and pulled two plates down from the cupboard
before answering. Regret flashed in his eyes. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able
to enjoy a long breakfast with you because I have a meeting in about half an
hour. It’s one that I suspect will take the best part of a couple of hours.”

“Oh,” she said, surprisingly
disappointed at the thought of him leaving her sight. She suddenly wanted what
he had promised—time for them to get to know one another. Moving over to the
breakfast bar where he was dishing up the food he had cooked, she asked, “Can I
do anything for you?”

“Actually it’s me who can do
something for you,” he replied, pushing a filled plate toward her. “I might
have a suggestion for what you can do today.”

“What?”

“While you were sleeping, Devil
called. Judge told both Devil and Gabby about Paul’s release from jail when
they arrived back early this morning. Gabby’s worried about you and wants to
see you as soon as you awake. Devil suggested that you might want to go up onto
the roof with Gabby and sit beside the pool. It’s our private pool, so no one
but our family has access.”

“It sounds perfect,” she said,
loving the sound of some girl time with Gabby. “Do you think Jewel might want
to join us?”

Viper smiled. “I think she would
love that. Thank you for thinking about her, sweetheart. She could use some
female friends. She really only has us. Now, I have a key for you. It will
allow you access to anywhere, including my office. If you need anything,
anything at all, you come find me, okay?”

“Okay, Tatts,” she promised.

“Good, after breakfast why don’t
you go and put on the swimsuit I brought from your room. I’ll ring Devil to
organize you meeting Gabby upstairs in an hour, as well as Jewel,” Viper
suggested. “Then tonight we can order in dinner and get to know some more about
one another.”