Chapter 6 Erik
Anna insists on attending, though I tell her this isn’t that kind of wedding.
“Every wedding is that kind of wedding,” she says, standing in my bedroom doorway with a white rose in her hand. “Put this in your lapel.”
“No.”
“Erik.” She crosses the room and starts fussing with my tie, which is already perfectly straight. “You’re getting married. Even if it’s just a formality, even if you don’t have a choice—”
“It’s a farce, Anna. Not a proper wedding.”
Anna tucks the rose into my lapel anyway. I don’t stop her. I’ll let her have the rose.
The truth is, I’m grateful she’s here, annoying as she is, and even with her trying to add romantic flourishes to something I want to get over with as soon as possible.
At least with Anna fussing over my appearance, I don’t have to think about what’s actually happening today.
I’m marrying Nolan West of all people. It feels like the world has gone mad.
But Sara’s been through every possible legal avenue. As much as I dislike Sara taking my sister’s side on everything, when it comes to the law, she is worth every cent that I pay her. And I pay her well.
Admittedly, Sara doesn’t think we’re going to get away with the low level of contact that I’m insisting on, but she also said, “Okay, fine. I’ll admit there’s a chance you’ll get away with it.”
A chance. The level of exasperation in her voice made it clear that she thinks it’s not going to happen but a small chance is still a chance and I’m going to take it.
Anna steps back and assesses me with the critical eye she’d inherited from our mother, and grimaces. “No. This doesn’t work. You should change. Wear the navy one. It makes you look less like a funeral director.”
“Might as well be a funeral. The death of my freedom to choose my own mate.”
“Drama doesn’t suit you.” She is already at the closet, pulling out the navy suit. “Change. Your omega will be here soon.”
Your omega. The words send something uncomfortable crawling down my spine. Nolan West is not mine. He’d made that abundantly clear.
I change into the navy suit anyway. Anna smiles like she’s won something.
The doorbell rings at exactly one-thirty. Exactly the time that David Sun said he would arrive. I smooth my jacket and go to answer it.
I am not prepared for what I see when I open the door.
Nolan West stands in my hallway wearing jeans. Faded, worn jeans that hug his hips in ways I absolutely refuse to notice. A simple black t-shirt stretches across his shoulders and makes his green eyes look like something out of a fever dream.
His scent hits me like a freight train. Instinctively, I take a deep breath and suddenly the suit pants feel a lot tighter.
He looks... good. Infuriatingly good. The kind of good that makes my fingers itch to reach out and touch, to see if his skin is as warm as it looks.
He also looks like he’s here to fix my plumbing.
“You’re not serious,” I say.
He raises an eyebrow. “About what?”
“Your attire. This is a wedding, not a—” I gesture vaguely, unable to articulate exactly what his outfit suggests without admitting I’ve noticed how well those jeans fit.
“Not a what?” There’s a challenge in his voice, a dare in the tilt of his chin. He’s enjoying this, I realize. Enjoying making me uncomfortable in my own home.
“I expected at least a tie.”
Nolan’s laugh is short and humorless. “What? Did you want me to wear something white and fluffy? I’ve signed the contract and I’m not going to see you if I can help it as soon as the ceremony is over. Consider that my wedding gift to you. Can I come in, or are we doing this in the hallway?”
I step aside. Nolan walks past me, and his scent hits me even harder. I grit my teeth against it.
“Nice place,” Nolan says, looking around my penthouse with barely concealed disdain.
“You have to at least pretend to make an effort.”
He turns to face me, and for a moment, all I can see is the deep green of his eyes.
“I signed your paperwork. I showed up. That’s all the effort you’re getting.”
“The Bureau representative—”
“Will see exactly what he expects to see. A reluctant omega forced into a match he didn’t want.” Nolan’s smile is sharp enough to cut. “I don’t even have to act. Well done me.”
Anna chooses that moment to emerge from the kitchen, a glass of water in her hand that she nearly drops when she sees Nolan. Her eyes go wide, then narrow, and I recognize the look. It’s the same one that she gave me when she insisted I wear the rose.
“You must be Nolan.” She crosses the room and offers her hand. “I’m Anna. Erik’s sister. And you must be Nolan. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Nolan’s posture shifts slightly. Some of the hostility drains away as he shakes her hand. “Uh. Yeah. Likewise.”
“My brother is a jerk,” Anna says pleasantly, “but he’s right. Let’s get you something to wear.”
Nolan opens his mouth to protest, and I can see the refusal forming on his lips. The defensive anger that flares in his eyes.
“It’s for the ceremony,” she continues, steering him toward the guest room with a hand on his elbow. “To keep the Bureau happy. Then you can strip off whatever you like.”
Nolan’s eyes cut to me at that, and something electric passes between us. I do not need thoughts of him stripping off. I’ve had enough of them already.
“Fine,” he says. “Whatever gets this over with faster.”
They disappear down the hallway, and I stand alone, breathing in his scent which is wrapping around me like a vine, impossible to ignore.
I pour myself a whiskey and drink it too fast.
When they emerge, Nolan is wearing a suit from my college days, before I filled out across the shoulders, and it fits him almost perfectly. The dark blue brings out his eyes. The tie is slightly crooked, like he tied it himself and didn’t bother checking a mirror.
He looks uncomfortable. Self-conscious. And absolutely devastating. More than presentable.
“This good enough?” he asks, tugging at the collar.
“Perfect,” Anna says warmly. “Very handsome.”
Nolan’s cheeks flush slightly, and I have to look away before I do something stupid like agree with her or cross the room and straighten his tie just for an excuse to touch him.
“Better,” I say.
“Fuck off,” he replies.
“Are you ready?” Anna asks, looking between us.
No. I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready for this.
“Yes,” I say.
Sun arrives two minutes later and sets up in the living room, his Bureau credentials displayed prominently on the coffee table. Sara arrives shortly after, slightly breathless, her red hair windblown.
“Sorry I’m late. Traffic was—” She stops when she sees us in our suits. “Oh, you two look lovely.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Nolan mutters.
The ceremony is brief. David Sun reads from a standard script, something about the sanctity of matched bonds that draws compatible pairs together. I barely hear any of it. I’m too aware of Nolan standing beside me, rigid and silent, his scent growing stronger with what I recognize as stress.
I want to reach out to ease the tension radiating off him. I keep my hands at my sides.
Sara is standing to the back of the room, taking photos with her phone. I want to tell her to stop but then I remember that she told me she would. We need wedding photos. I’m supposed to put one on my phone as a screen saver. That’s not going to happen.
Sun finally finishes his preamble and gets to the important part.
“Do you, Erik David Nilsson, take Nolan Christian West as your lawfully wedded spouse?”
“I do.”
“And do you, Nolan Christian West, take Erik David Nilsson as your lawfully wedded spouse?”
There’s a pause. Long enough that I wonder if he’s going to refuse. If he’s going to walk out and damn the consequences.
“I do,” he says finally, his voice rough.
“...and now, the physical confirmation of your bond,” Sun says, looking up from his tablet. “A kiss, please.”
Nolan goes absolutely still.
“No,” I say, but I can’t help but look at his lips and wonder if they’re as soft as they look.
“It’s tradition,” Sun says. “The Bureau requires physical confirmation to complete the match.”
Physical confirmation. How ridiculous. I’m half expecting him to insist that I bend Nolan over right here and now.
The thought sends fire racing through my veins. I inhale sharply.
Across from me, I see Nolan scowl. His eyes meet mine and then his skin flushes a bright red. He’s thinking the exact same thing that I am.
I turn away from him, and make sure I only look at Sun. “We signed the paperwork. Isn’t that confirmation enough?”
Sun’s expression is patient but unyielding. “The kiss, please. It doesn’t need to be elaborate.”
I can feel Nolan’s fury like heat against my skin. He turns to face me, and his eyes are blazing.
“I—” I start.
“Fine.” He cuts me off. “Fine. Let’s just do it.”
I step closer. His scent intensifies, sweet and heady, and I have to force myself to focus. Part of me realizes how insane this all is.
I raise my hand to his jaw, tilting his face up toward mine. His skin is softer than I expect, warm under my fingers. His breath catches, and I feel the vibration of it against my palm.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” I say quietly, for his ears only.
“Then do it,” he breathes. “Stop talking about it. Get it over with. And get your hands off me.”
I lean in and press my lips to his.
The world stops.
His mouth is soft, so impossibly soft, and the moment we touch, something ignites between us.
My entire body lights up with it. I’m enveloped by a hunger so intense it steals my breath.
I hear him make a small sound, feel his hand grip the front of my suit jacket like he needs something to hold onto.
I deepen the kiss without meaning to. My tongue traces the seam of his lips, and he opens for me, and then I’m tasting him, really tasting him, and he’s—
We pull apart at the same moment, both of us breathing hard.
Nolan’s lips are parted, his pupils blown wide. He looks as shaken as I feel. His hand is still fisted in my jacket.
“Well,” Sun says, sounding pleased. “That was convincing.”
Nolan releases me like I’ve burned him. He steps back, putting space between us, and I let him go even though every instinct screams at me to pull him close again.
Sara coughs, looking away. Anna is watching us with an expression I can’t decipher. Nolan won’t meet my eyes.
Sun produces the wedding contract, laying it out on the coffee table. “If you’ll both just sign here...”
We move like automatons, picking up the pen, signing our names on the appropriate lines. My signature looks like a stranger’s. Nolan’s is messy, like his hands aren’t quite steady.
“Congratulations,” Sun says once the paperwork is complete. “You’re now legally married under Bureau regulations.”
I pour champagne, handing glasses to Anna and Sara and Sun. Nolan takes his but doesn’t drink, just stares into it like it might have answers.
“To the happy couple,” Anna says, raising her glass. Her tone is light, but her eyes are serious.
We all drink. Nolan still hasn’t looked me in the eye.
“And where is your sister, Nolan?” Sun asks as he takes a sip. “I expected her to attend.”
“Too unwell,” Nolan says flatly. “That’s why we’re here, remember? So I can get her treatment.”
“Of course.” Sun nods sympathetically. “And honeymoon plans?”
“We’ll arrange something as soon as it’s practical,” I say. “The wedding was on rather short notice. We’ll both be moving to a new apartment near the hospital. It will be more convenient for Nolan’s sister’s care.”
It’s a lie, of course. Or half a lie. Nolan will be living in the apartment. I’ll be staying here in the penthouse, visiting only if I absolutely have to in order to maintain the appearance of cohabitation.
Sun makes a note on his tablet, then turns to Nolan. “And how are you feeling about all this? I know matched bonds can be... challenging at first.”
Nolan’s expression is carefully blank. “I’m not going to pretend I want to be here. But I do want my sister taken care of.” He shrugs, a sharp motion. “When I registered, I told myself I’d marry the devil himself to keep her safe and I suppose I have.”
Something in my chest cracks. Sun doesn’t seem to notice my reaction. He just nods sympathetically. “I understand this is difficult. But I hope you’ll both give this match a genuine chance. Prime compatibility like yours is rare. It would be a shame to waste it.”
“We’ll do our best,” I say, the words automatic.
“Well,” Sun says, apparently satisfied with this answer, “I think that’s everything. Congratulations to you both. I’ll be in touch about your required check-ins.”
He finishes his champagne, shakes both our hands, and leaves.
The moment the door closes behind him, Nolan is moving toward the exit.
“I’ll have my driver take you to the apartment,” I say. “It’s ready for you.”
“Great.” He’s already stripping off the borrowed jacket, leaving it on the back of my couch. “Thanks for the hospitality.”
He doesn’t look at me as he leaves. The door closes behind him with a soft click, and then he’s gone.