Chapter 12
Ifelt my temptress tense beneath me before her snakes abruptly recoiled against her scalp as she bent over.
“I’m so sorry,” she mumbled before running toward the edge and vomiting again.
“Ew, gross!” Daria screeched.
“Daria!” Wade reprimanded her, but I couldn’t help laughing. And also feel bad at how much I was failing Vinni on this supposedly perfect date.
“Okay, you three. I need to talk to your dads and then get this one back on solid ground so she won’t vomit at the romantic dinner I have planned.” I winked at them.
“Ooh, did you get her flowers??” Kaia asked.
I winced and cursed internally at how I hadn’t thought about flowers.
“He knows I hate flowers, so he wouldn’t do that,” Vinni said from the edge of the boat. I looked at her and saw her staring back at me, probably seeing the regret on my face at the youngling’s words.
“It’s true. But there are candles and other romantic things.”
“Will you come take us on a date, Uncle Arch?” Jenni asked, causing the other two to jump up and down at the prospect.
“I think I might be able to arrange something.”
“For Valentine’s Day?” Kaia added.
“Yeah!” Daria echoed.
“Yes, with chocolates!” Jenni added.
“And flowers since we like them!”
“Okay, I will come take you three on a date, but only if you get going because I have to get Vinni back on solid ground.”
“Fine,” the little hellions answered before hugging me, then probably shocking Vinni by hugging her as well before diving back into the water, shifting midjump into their mer-forms with tails.
“Whoa,” Vinni said. “I think in all my travels I’ve never actually encountered a mer-shifter before. Their fins are so beautiful.”
“Aye, that they are. Not as beautiful as mine, though,” Dylan said, waiting for her to turn before wiggling his eyebrows.
“I’m going to murder your mate if you don’t get him to shut his mouth soon, bro,” I muttered to Wade before pulling Vinni closer to my side. My mate seemed to calm down when I rubbed circles on her back, and it was also one of the first times she wasn’t shying away from my touch. Instead, she leaned into it, and I felt her whole body relax at the small motion of my fingers under her puffy jacket but above her clothing.
Seeing her when she isn’t feeling her strongest and leaning on me for support, despite my causing the actual discomfort, had me puffing out my chest like her jacket. I was proud to bring her comfort, despite my causing it.
Damn right, I knew how to care for my mate.
“Can we hurry back to land? I don’t think I can make it much longer.”
“Yes, tell us what you’ve come to see us for.” Wade wrapped his arm around Dylan, pressing a soft kiss against his dark hair as he did so. It didn’t stop the flirt from still making heart eyes at my Vinni, but something about the bastard made him no actual threat.
“Have you heard of the new club in town?” I asked.
“Ooh yes!” Wade’s eyes brightened.
“Are ye talking bout the sex club?” Dylan asked. “Because that is all anyone has been talking about out here.”
“What? Have they?” Vinni asked, perking up and pulling slightly away from me.
“Of course they have, what kind of Fire Council chair would I be if I didn’t focus on spreading the word to everyone who didn’t stay in town or who might have missed a council meeting?”
This was the moment I’d been waiting for and what I hoped might impress her. I had spent the last two months not only focusing on the foundations and building of the club but also making sure everyone on the island, every single person, even if they were deep under the sea, knew about my mate’s club. She would need patrons, and before we could talk with Cliona, we needed as many folks as possible that were already cleared for residency to attend.
Vinni didn’t say much, but I felt her unspoken questions that I’d happily explain later.
“Ye want us to get the band back together, don’t ye?” Dylan asked. He bounced back and forth on his feet, his lithe and muscular body buzzing with anticipation at the prospect.
“Band?” Vinni asked.
“We had an act,” Wade started.
I took the moment to pull some gum out of the boat’s storage compartment. Vinni accepted it with a grin on her face, and the fact I was able to provide her even a small bit of reprieve with minty goodness instead of vomit breath had me preening.
“Have an act, ye bastard,” Dylan interrupted then turned to Vinni. “Think that Circus Doo Lay show, but without any clothes and more… fun bits intertwining?”
I looked at my mate and loved the equal parts excitement and awe in her gaze. She loved this idea, like I knew she would.
“We need to run it by the boss, but how would you feel about being a headliner at the opening on Valentine’s Day in a couple weeks?”
“Point us to the boss, and we’ll set ’em straight!” Dylan said. He didn’t lunge out of the way of Wade’s elbow in time and winced at the pain.
“Obviously, this beautiful creature before us is the owner, dipshit.” Wade shook his head. “Please forgive him. He knows not what he speaks because he’s an idiot. We need to talk to a couple other folks, but I think we’d be able to put something together in time.”
“Wow, I mean, this is so unexpected.” Vinni cleared her throat. I saw her mind working a million miles a minute as she thought of all the logistics.
“I am going to handle this one, temptress. All I need is your go-ahead and I’ll manage all the decision pieces about the act for you. All the logistics. All the timing. I’ve done it before, and I want to take this off your plate.”
The true test. I wanted her to see that I was here to support her, not take over or take away from her. She needed to consent, and then she could trust and delegate me to handle business.
“I don’t know, I mean, you know Venom is not in water, right?” she asked as she rubbed the back of her neck.
“I think we might know that, ye gorgeous specimen,” Dylan said, prowling forward. I couldn’t stop the hiss that came out of me as he approached her, and luckily he took the threat for real. I felt out of my senses for someone usually in more control; a moment ago, he’d not been a threat.
Guillermo had warned me about this, how I might be a bit feral around her until she accepted me as her mate, but I didn’t think it’d be this hard.
“All I need is for you to say yes, and I’ll handle all the logistics. Literally everything regarding the opening night entertainment will be off your hands and into mine, Vinni.” I hoped the earnestness showed in my gaze and she would look past the whole feral hissing moment when she considered my request.
She took a moment, closed her eyes, and was either thinking very hard or trying not to get sick again.
“There’s no rush. Think about it while I get you back on dry land,” I said. “You two jump ship before I try to kill Dylan for being a pest.”
“Hey! I take offense to that,” he said before saluting and doing a backflip into the ocean.
“Again, apologies for my mate. It does sound like a fun gig, and I know we’d put on a good show,” Wade offered before mimicking his mate while also showing some of his own acrobatic skills.
Vinni shivered in my arms, reminding me I had to get her back to dry land.
“I’m so sorry this day has been so awful so far, temptress. I can’t imagine how you must be?—”
My words were cut off when her beautiful plush lips pressed against mine. I felt her nails scraping against the base of my neck in their own kind of claiming, and then, shocking me even more, I felt the bottom half of her body pressing to my front. There was no way she’d miss the hardness of my trapped cock.
Despite my shock, I quickly recovered and dug my own fingertips into the softness of her hips. I groaned into her mouth, licking the opening to her lips and relishing the moment she finally opened for me.
Our tongues fought for dominance, warring over space in each other’s mouths. I hadn’t felt this unhinged since the night in my cabin when she was spread before me.
Which is the moment I came back to my senses, not letting myself get lost in my mate’s body, in her openness for me, or even the way she let out a small moan when I slid my hands down her perfect juicy ass cheeks that I’d definitely be biting later. I savored one last exploration of her mouth with my tongue, thankful I had given her the gum so there was no vomit taste in the kiss.
“Temptress,” I grumbled, pulling myself away from her in the most incredible show of strength I could muster. “As much as I’d like to keep going, I will not risk you getting sick again on my watch. Let me take you on the rest of our date, and we can revisit this.”
Vinni’s eyes widened in shock as I blew a bubble of the gum I’d managed to steal on her lips and started up the boat.
I had plannedto redeem myself.
Was I able to wake her up at her door with her favorite coffee in her new mug like I planned? No.
Was I able to whisk her away on a romantic boat ride, touring one of the lagoons of Glas Isle? Technically, I delivered on my end, but the plan happened to make her throw up.
All over.
A lot.
After starting the boat, I assumed the rest would be smooth sailing. How could anything else go wrong? I was Arch, the fucking Fire Council chair of Haven Pass. I was legendary. I was epic. I was romantic. I was sexy. I was everything.
I was also forgetful, and despite knowing there was a storm coming, I didn’t account for how the snowfall might impact the rest of the evening.
“Come on, come on,” I muttered into the phone. I stole a quick glance at Vinni, who didn’t even have a jacket on because she’d gotten some vomit on it, and then I dropped it (yes, me, with the vampire speed and catlike reflexes) into the water as we exited on our way back to the Jeep. She couldn’t spend the rest of the date in a soggy mess of a jacket, so I had taken her home to change before we made our way to the restaurant for dinner.
Luckily it was only a block from her apartment to La Cucina di Adelaide.
Only for us to find it closed.
“You’re a real bastard, wolf. You better get back down here and open up your doors to allow me to court my female or I will?—”
The line went dead before I could continue the scathing message I left on Drew’s machine. Apparently, my phone was now dead.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
“Arch?” my temptress asked, bracing herself against the freezing breeze that had picked up while she was changing. “I say we call it. I know you had dinner plans, but clearly the universe is against you today.”
“No,” I snarled. I would not let this night get away from me.
“No?” she snarled right back, and I remembered who I was trying to court.
Vinni. My vicious viper that would castrate me quicker than let me apologize. I walked forward to grab both her cheeks when I jumped at how cold they were.
“How long have you been this freezing?”
“Well…” She looked down like she was embarrassed. I took her features in more, and they were nearly frozen solid. “I don’t do well in the cold, but you were so excited.” Her cheeks were bright pink, and her eyes were the most crystal blue I’d seen them. Even her snakes were coiled up tight and not budging, as if they were preserving heat.
“Do you trust me?”
“No,” she answered. I took a step back and realized I might have been pushing for something too soon.
“Fair enough. But can you try to trust me? I don’t want today to end, but I need to get you warm. Can I take you back to my cabin? This time just for a meal, and I’ll run you right back home after. No expectations.” I meant every word, and I figured she trusted me enough by the way her shoulders released some of their tightness.
“Okay.”
She’d barely agreed before I hoisted her in my arms and ran toward my cottage. I kept the essentials there and could only hope she’d be willing to have some boxed macaroni or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.