Chapter 132

Kayla

“Alpha Nicholas… Welcome to the guild.”

No sooner had those words left the chairman’s mouth than Nicholas was suddenly whirling around, sweeping me off my feet and spinning me in a circle. The sounds of his raucous cheers blotted out everything else—the applause, the murmurs, even my own laughter.

When he set me down, I was dizzy and breathless, but smiling just as widely as he was. “Congratulations,” I said, pushing a lock of disheveled hair out of my eyes. “You worked hard for this. I’m proud of you.”

Nicholas grinned down at me, but before either of us could say anything else, he was being called away to be sworn in and sign his paperwork.

Over the course of the next hour or so, Nicholas went through all the rigamarole of being inducted into the guild. I watched with bated breath as he was sworn in, making his vow in front of everyone.

“I, Nicholas Reynolds, humbly swear to serve, protect, and honor my fellow men and women,” he said, holding his right hand over his heart. “I promise to do everything within my power to pave the way for a brighter future…”

Once Nicholas was finished being sworn in, the guild called us to a private room. Both of us.

“Alpha Nicholas,” one of the guildsmen said, then turned to me. “Luna Kayla. We have some news we’d like to share.”

I stiffened slightly, glancing up at Nicholas. “What is it?” he asked.

“You have been under investigation for the past three months, which is far longer than we initially anticipated,” Kieran said. “Our associate, Mr. Gray, repeatedly urged us to extend your investigation beyond its original scope. But we now believe it has gone on long enough.”

My shoulders straightened. “Are you saying you’re ending the investigation?”

Kieran looked at me. “Yes.”

I couldn’t help but let out an incredulous laugh. To say that it was a relief would have been an understatement. But Kieran went on, “For now, we have decided that your relationship is sound. Unless we find further reason to believe your marriage may be a fabrication, we are prepared to cease all current and further investigations. We only ask one thing.”

Nicholas nodded. “Of course. Ask away.”

Kieran’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you love each other? Truly?”

Without meaning to, my breath caught slightly. I glanced at Nicholas again, my heart fluttering involuntarily in my chest. When his amber eyes met mine, holding my gaze steadily for a beat, I thought my heart might fly away entirely.

Love…

What we’d been doing lately was welcome. It was comforting and exciting at the same time. It was… nice.

But love… I hadn’t thought of that yet.

I knew Kieran was just asking to test us. I knew I should have said yes right away, and with enthusiasm, just to satisfy the guild. It didn’t mean anything, after all. And yet, the idea of ‘love’ set my knees trembling, my palms itching nervously.

Love.

Did I love Nicholas? Did I love his stupid, infuriating laugh? The way his dark hair always looked like hell first thing in the morning? The way his cheek dimpled on one side when he smiled? Did I love the way he always placed his hand on the small of my back, as if on instinct, whenever we entered a room together?

Did I love the way he held me at night? The way his lips tasted on mine?

Did I…

“Well?” Kieran asked, pulling me back to the present.

Nicholas nodded firmly, snaking his arm around my waist and tugging me close. “Yes,” he said, that easy smile stretched across his lips. “I love Kayla.”

Kieran looked at me, waiting.

“Y-Yes,” I managed, although it came out choked and hoarse. “I love Nicholas.”

The guild seemed satisfied after that, and we were finally dismissed. Nicholas didn’t mention it again, although I couldn’t stop my heart from throbbing every time I looked at him. Did he mean it when he said he loved me? Did I mean it?

Later that night, we all gathered in the living room to celebrate. Nicholas popped a bottle of champagne, the fizzy bubbles spilling over the top as he poured our glasses. We each took one and settled in around the fire, some of us cross-legged on the floor while others sprawled across the furniture.

“To the guildsman,” Noah said, holding up his glass. “Just promise us you won’t go corrupt like the rest of them.”

Nicholas chuckled and shook his head. “Not planning on it. Not unless they offer me a raise, of course.”

We all laughed, clinking glasses, and the room was silent for a moment as everyone sipped their champagne. Emma broke the quiet first when she turned to Nicholas and said, “So, what’s your next plan?”

“Become a chairman, of course,” Nicholas said without missing a beat. “And after that…” His eyes darkened, and he muttered, “Figure out what the fuck happened to my mother.”

“It’s not going to be easy,” Marcus offered.

Nicholas shrugged, his eyes flicking to me as he sipped his champagne. “Lucky for me, I’ve got a good team.”

I blushed without meaning to, averting my gaze. Truthfully, though, I knew it was going to be a tough journey for him to become chairman, with or without us. It was a highly esteemed position, of which there were only two.

But I also knew that Nicholas could have plucked the moon out of the sky if he really wanted—he was just ambitious like that. And as for me, I could rest easy knowing that the investigation into our relationship had finally come to an end.

But what to do now about that one little word—love—?

After we’d all partied ourselves into exhaustion and retired for the night, I stood in front of my bathroom mirror, my heart pounding. I smoothed my hands over the lace and silk, then combed my fingers through my hair and met my gaze in my reflection.

I felt a little silly, going to such lengths for a man who still confused me on such a deep level. But I couldn’t help myself. When I had seen the little lace set in the shop window the other day, I couldn’t resist picking it up.

“Kayla?” The sound of Nicholas’s voice made my heart race even faster. “Are you in here?”

I swallowed hard and opened the bathroom door before I could think twice, exposing myself. Nicholas, standing in the middle of my room with a confused look on his face, suddenly went pale.

“Kayla…”

“Do you like it?” I muttered, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

Nicholas’s mouth worked uselessly for a moment, his eyes scanning me from head to toe—the black lace panties, the little satin top that hit me just above the belly button, my hair in gentle waves—before he managed, “Like it? I love it.”

I took a few steps toward him, each slow and deliberate. His eyes followed the swing of my hips—left, right, left again.

“I thought we could finally decide which of our scenes to recreate, Mr. Guildsman,” I said softly. I placed my hand in the center of his chest, my fingers splaying outwards, and felt his warmth beneath my palm for a moment before my hand trailed down, down, down toward his waistband.

His throat bobbed as I began to kneel in front of him. I didn’t once release his gaze as I began to unbuckle his belt.

“Truth be told,” he said, his jaw feathering as I unzipped his pants, “I can’t decide which one is better.”

“Then we’ll do both,” I replied with a wry smirk. “It’s a night to celebrate, after all.”

Nicholas stared, wide-eyed, as I slipped his cock out. Dammit, it was already warm and thick, practically throbbing in anticipation.

He made a low, incoherent sound as I began to flick my tongue back and forth across the tip. I slowly twirled my tongue around in a circle, tasting the soft edge of his member, then slipped it down the length. I lingered at the base for a moment, holding his gaze, and then kissed all the way back up.

When I slipped him into my mouth, he groaned, reaching out to grab the bedpost behind me. His hips ground back and forth on instinct as I began slowly working him deeper, inch by inch until he reached the back of my throat.

He was big. Too big to fit all the way down, but I was hungry, craving to taste him in his entirety. I pulled back all the way to the tip, relishing his low huffs and curses as I swooped my tongue around clockwise.

Then, taking a deep breath, I pushed down further onto him.

“Fuck… Kayla,” Nicholas sighed, leaning back on the bed. I worked him deeper and deeper with each stroke, deeper until all of me was filled with him. My eyes watered, my own soft moans mingling with his after each pump. When he tangled his fingers in my hair and pulled me further onto him, I rubbed my thighs together and squirmed, already wet just from using my mouth.

Finally, Nicholas pulled out and panted, reaching for my waist. He lifted me like I was nothing, practically throwing me on the bed beneath him. And yet, with almost heartbreaking care, he gently pushed himself into me, giving me time to adjust before he gathered me into his arms and began to twist his hips against mine.

We must have made love all night, and it was unlike all of the other times we had so far. Nicholas took his time with me, first making me giggle as he acted out the lines from our stories and then turning those giggles into moans as he made me reach my peak over and over again.

And love…

I wasn’t so sure about that just yet. But as we moved together in that room, playful and intimate and everything in between, it started to feel like a word that wasn’t so far from my vocabulary after all.