Chapter 14

Kayla

The table was silent. All eyes turned to Nicholas, waiting for him to confirm my little story. I sipped my wine and eyed him mischievously over the rim of my glass, thoroughly enjoying his tension.

Serves him right, I thought wryly, trying not to laugh out loud. That’s what he gets for… well, everything.

Finally, he nodded and said, “That’s right. I’m… quite taken with Kayla. Always have been.”

Liam huffed and shook his head, forcefully cutting his meat. Isabella merely scoffed.

“How charming,” she said flatly.

Beaming, I handed Nicholas a plate of asparagus, watching him intently as he accepted it.

He glanced down at the green vegetables as he took the plate. His jaw tightened, and I could see the faintest flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

From across the table, Isabella’s sharp voice cut through the air. “Wait, don’t you know that Nicholas never eats asparagus, Kayla?”

I stiffened as I turned to her. She arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me, a smug expression spreading across her face. “If you two have been together as you claim, you’d know he despises asparagus,” she said, gesturing with her wine glass.

My heart stuttered, and I flicked my gaze to Nicholas, who looked a little pale as he stared at the asparagus. But somehow, I managed to meet her gaze calmly. “Oh? Perhaps you’re the one who is mistaken. Nicholas has always enjoyed asparagus as long as I’ve known him.”

Nicholas shot me a sideways glance, a mixture of surprise and irritation flickering in his eyes.

Isabella leaned forward, clearly not buying it. “You’re not just pretending to be Alpha and Luna for appearances, are you?”

Dammit, I thought. She was too damn smart for her own good—she’d always been much smarter and more cunning than her son.

I maintained my composure, thanks to years of etiquette training. “Of course not. Maybe it’s you who doesn’t know him as well as you think.”

She huffed, clearly annoyed that her attempt to unsettle me hadn’t worked.

I turned back to Nicholas, lifting a forkful of asparagus toward him. “Here, darling. Have a taste.”

He hesitated ever so slightly before opening his mouth. I gently fed him the bite, watching as he chewed with a stoic expression on his face.

Only I noticed the subtle twitch at the corner of his mouth, the slight flaring of his nostrils. He was struggling not to grimace.

“Delicious, isn’t it?” I asked sweetly.

He swallowed, then reached over to squeeze my hand lightly. His eyes locked onto mine, a silent challenge within them. “Absolutely,” he replied, his voice a bit rough. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

I had to suppress a wicked little grin. Making him endure something he hated was a small victory, and I relished every second of it.

Liam, sitting beside Isabella, glared daggers at both of us. “Funny,” he muttered. “Nicholas used to avoid asparagus like the plague. At family dinners, he’d always throw a fit and spit it back out.”

I tilted my head innocently. “Perhaps it was just the company that set him off.”

Isabella bit her lip, clearly frustrated that she hadn’t caught me in a lie.

Thankfully, dinner passed without much of a hitch after that. We made tense small talk, but the table was mostly silent. I kept my gaze down and enjoyed my meat and vegetables, honestly ravenous after such a long day.

After dinner, Nicholas wrapped his arm around my waist as we headed upstairs—another gesture to show Isabella and Liam that we were really ‘together’. But once we were out of earshot, he quickly released his grip.

He glanced at me, noticing the smug smile on my face.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” he remarked.

I shrugged nonchalantly and gripped the banister as I put my foot on the first step. “Well, I did make you eat something you despise. I’m sorry.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t look sorry at all.”

“Really? Perhaps I need to work on my acting skills.”

He chuckled softly. “Kayla, you’re more interesting than I thought, you know that?”

I huffed, tossing my hair over my shoulder. I sauntered up the stairs and wiggled my fingers at him without looking back. “You have no idea.”

Once I was back in my room, I stretched and felt some of my negative mood dissipate. I changed into comfortable sleepwear, the silky fabric cool against my skin. It had been a long and tiring day, but at least I had managed to get a little revenge against two men who drove me utterly insane.

Not to mention beating up that bastard who tried to overthrow me in the parking lot.

The thought made me shudder. But right now, in the Alpha Manor of Nightshade with its tall, wrought iron fences and Nicholas’s bedroom just down the hall, I felt safe enough to put the incident behind me.

When I woke, the early morning light was just beginning to filter through the curtains. It took a moment for me to remember that I wasn’t in my own bedroom, but I had slept well in the plush bed.

Today would be just as exhausting as the last, though.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and decided that a cup of coffee was exactly what I needed to get started.

Pulling on a robe over my pajamas, I quietly slipped out of my room and headed down the hall. The manor was quiet at this hour, the usual hustle and bustle yet to begin.

As I wandered down the hallway, a partially open door caught my attention. Curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked inside.

It was an enormous bathroom, more luxurious than any I had ever seen. Marble floors, gilded fixtures, and a chandelier hanging above a massive clawfoot tub. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

I mean, really; who needs a solid gold towel rack?

Just as I was about to turn away, the door swung open fully.

Nicholas stood there, droplets of water glistening on his bare chest. Rivulets ran down his chiseled muscles, tanned skin almost gleaming in the low light. His dark hair was damp, tousled from the shower.

My gaze wandered further down. A white towel hung low on his hips, leaving… very little to the imagination.

My breath hitched, and for a moment, neither of us moved. All I could think about was our brief, unfinished tryst in that hotel room. I still didn’t know what he looked like down… there. But if the subtle strain against the white fabric was any indication, then he was rather impressive.

“Enjoying the view?” he asked, a sly grin spreading across his face.

I felt a flush creep up my neck, and I snapped my gaze back up. “What? No! I was just passing by.”

He took a step closer, his eyes locked onto mine. “Mm. Sure you were.” His voice was still thick and gravelly with sleep, and I wanted to keel over and die.

I swallowed hard, my gaze inadvertently drifting downward once more before snapping back up to his face. “Put some clothes on,” I managed to say, although my voice betrayed me by wavering slightly.

He reached out, his fingers brushing a stray strand of hair away from my cheek. His touch was warm and damp, and it sent an unexpected shiver down my spine. I batted his hand away and took a step back.

“Why so flustered, Kayla?” he teased. “I am your husband, after all.”

“In name only.”

“Doesn’t seem to be stopping you from feasting your eyes.”

“You’re insufferable,” I muttered, turning on my heel.

As I hurried down the hallway, his voice followed me. “If you wanted to see me naked, all you had to do was ask!”

I nearly stumbled on the staircase in my haste to escape. “Prick!” I shouted back, my cheeks burning.

His rich laughter echoed through the corridor, a sound both infuriating and, annoyingly, somewhat pleasant.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be so shy, Kayla!” he called after me. “I’m more than happy to give you a private viewing if you’re so inclined!”

I could feel his eyes on me as I descended the stairs, and it only made me move faster.

“Go to hell, asshole!”

He guffawed even louder, the sound following me all the way to the kitchen.