45. Margo
After Jasmine and Edgar left to explore the ship, Margo leaned back on the plush couch, listening to Frankie and Mia talk about Karen.
”Gabi told me that Karen doesn”t want to do the test,” Mia said. ”I need to have a talk with the woman and explain that it”s not about making sure she has transitioned, but about tradition. All transitioned Dormants do it. It”s like a rite of passage.”
Frankie shrugged. ”Karen strikes me as the practical sort, and she doesn”t need the proof, so why go for it?”
”That”s what she says.” Mia let out a breath. ”Karen told Gabi that the disappearance of her fine lines was proof enough that it worked.”
As her friends debated the merits of Karen”s decision, Margo”s mind drifted to her own situation. Bridget believed that her symptoms were consistent with the transformation, and Negal was convinced of it, but part of her still doubted. What if they were all mistaken and something else was responsible for her symptoms?
Frankie”s test was a simple cut on the palm of her hand that had healed in a matter of moments. The ceremony around it had been a much bigger deal than what was needed for the test.
Margo wanted the certainty that came with concrete proof that she was truly becoming immortal, and as she listened to the others talk, an idea began to form in her mind.
A brief moment of pain was worth it, to know for sure, and she didn”t even need the doctor for that.
”I need to visit the bathroom.” Margo put her teacup down on the coffee table.
Mia smiled at her. ”I should go. I promised Toven that I wouldn”t stay long. He wanted to go to the Lido deck.”
”I think Dagor and I will join you,” Frankie said. ”Jasmine and Edgar headed there.” She cast a glance at Margo. ”Do you want to come? You can lie down on a lounger, and it will be like being on the couch here, just out in the fresh air. Am I right?”
”Maybe tomorrow.” Margo pushed to her feet and gave Frankie a quick hug and then another to Mia. ”I”m sure that by tomorrow, I”ll feel well enough to go out there, but today, I”d rather take it easy.”
She walked by Dagor and Negal, who were sitting on barstools in front of the tiny counter, sipping on bottles of that potent beer that the immortals liked.
She pecked Negal on the cheek. ”I”m just going to the bathroom. I will be right back.”
He nodded and got to his feet to open the door for Mia.
So far, so good.
Margo felt like a teenager sneaking away to smoke a cigarette where her parents wouldn”t find her.
Negal would be furious if he found out what she was about to do, but she needed to know.
After locking the bathroom door behind her, Margo rummaged through the drawers but found no scissors, no clippers, and not even a razor. Negal used an electric shaver, and she had forgotten to buy a disposable blade for the few stubborn armpit hairs that no amount of laser treatments had managed to obliterate. Not that it was such a big deal. The hairs were blond and barely visible, but they annoyed the heck out of her.
She should just tweeze them away.
Well, what do you know? She could use the tweezers to make a scratch, right?
The cool metal felt slightly ominous in her hand, and she hesitated for a moment, not because she was afraid of a little pain but because she was debating the wisdom of her plan.
When Frankie was transitioning, Bridget had claimed that she had to wait to test her until Dagor”s venom cleared her system because Frankie”s body had been saturated with it, so the wound could have healed because of that and not the transition.
That wasn”t the case with Margo. Negal had bitten her only once, so if she healed faster than normal, it would be a sign that she was transitioning.
Taking a deep breath, Margo hiked up her skirt, exposing an expanse of her thigh. She needed to make the scratch somewhere inconspicuous in case it didn”t heal faster than it should, and she would be stuck with the evidence of her subterfuge.
With a shaking hand, she pressed the tip of the tweezers against her skin, wincing at the sharp sting of pain. It wasn”t a deep cut like the one Bridget had given Frankie, but even a scratch would normally take days to heal on Margo”s fair skin.
Transfixed, she watched as a thin line of blood welled up along the shallow wound, the deep red a stark contrast against her pale flesh. It didn”t happen right away, and she was starting to despair, but then the blood flow stopped, and then the edges of the scratch started knitting together before her astonished eyes. It took long minutes until the wound vanished entirely, but it was still a miracle.
Normally, she would have never healed so fast.
A giddy laugh bubbled up from her throat. There was no more doubt. It was happening. She was truly transitioning.
Bursting out of the bathroom, she ran to the living room in a whirl of excitement and launched herself at Negal, who was sprawled on the couch. ”I”m becoming immortal.” She peppered his astonished face with kisses.
He let out a startled grunt, his arms coming up automatically to catch her as she clung to him like a koala. ”Did you doubt it?”
She nodded.
A slow grin spread across his face as he took in her elated expression. ”Of course you are, Nesha. But what has changed in the last five minutes?”
Margo”s smile turned sheepish, a blush staining her cheeks. ”I needed to see it for myself. I needed to know that this was really happening.”
Understanding dawned in Negal”s eyes, followed quickly by a flash of concern. ”What did you do?” His gaze roamed over her body as he searched for injury.
Margo shook her head, pressing a reassuring kiss to his lips. ”Just a little scratch to see how fast I would heal.”
Negal”s frown deepened, his hands tightening on her hips. ”Margo, you shouldn”t be doing stuff like that. Your body is going through enough changes as it is, and it”s too early for testing. You should have waited for Bridget to determine the right time.”
She sighed, resting her forehead against his. ”I needed to do it, Negal. I needed proof. The anxiety of the uncertainty was making me sick. I feel so much better now that I know for sure.”
He softened, one hand coming up to cup her cheek. ”I understand,” he murmured before taking her lips in a kiss. ”How much stronger do you feel?” He whispered against her ear.
”Much, much stronger.” Margo pulled back to look at Negal”s eyes, which were sparkling with mischief. ”And I feel like celebrating.”
His gaze darkened with desire, his hands sliding down to cup her backside. ”And what exactly did you have in mind for your celebration, Nesha?”
Margo grinned, pressing herself against him in a way that left no doubt as to her intentions. ”Oh, I can think of a few things,” she purred.
Negal”s answering growl sent a shiver down her spine, and then he was lifting her into his arms and carrying her toward the bedroom with single-minded purpose.
As he laid her down on the mattress, his body covering hers in a delicious weight, Margo wrapped her arms around her mate and held him to her. ”I love you.”
”And I love you, my soul.”
He began worshipping her body with gentle hands, lips, and tongue, and as he brought her to the heights of pleasure, Margo let herself get lost in the sensations.
Later, when she lay quivering and boneless in his arms, she looked into his beautiful blue eyes. ”What about you?” She reached between their bodies and took hold of his hard length through his pants.
He shook his head, removed her hand from his erection, and brought it to his lips for a kiss. ”I don”t think I should give you more venom while you are transitioning. In fact, I”m sure that I shouldn”t. Bridget told Frankie and Dagor to abstain until Frankie was out of the woods.”
She smiled sheepishly. ”That doesn”t preclude a hand job.”
”It does because I”m too tightly wound up to refrain from following up with a bite. I can survive one more day.”
”I love you.” She lifted her hand to cup his cheek.
Negal smiled, his hand coming up to cover hers. ”I love you too, Nesha. More than I ever thought possible to love someone.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. ”But now, you need to rest.”
”I do.” She let out a breath and nestled into his embrace, letting the steady beat of his heart lull her into a sense of peace.