Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
“Ladies! I can only make ten drinks at a time,” Titus laughed, holding his hands up to stop the tidal wave of orders that the crowd around his station launched at him.
The bar hadn’t operated for many weeks, but already the female regulars swarmed his spot at the bar every evening.
Titus loved how excited everyone was and did his over-the-top best to entertain.
Carina, Marcus’s mate, usually joined him when she was on the floor.
Tonight, however, she’d chosen to watch from the security deck with Marcus.
That immense vampire took his job as the head of Nightfall’s security very seriously.
Let me share the news. Carina’s voice burst into his mind. Titus almost dropped the tequila bottle he spun in the air. Carina had not mastered volume control.
Tell me what, sweetheart? Titus heard Marcus’s guttural growl at his use of the endearment and grinned.
Bram says your mate is at the bar.
What? Titus roared through his connection with the clan. My mate? Where is she?
She’s in Luke’s section, Bram told him.
Titus stared across the nightclub, picking out the handsome bartender.
Women and men occupied the stools in front of him.
Which one was she? He inhaled, not picking up her scent.
His gaze focused on a female whose beaded gown still dripped with rainwater.
That, combined with the perfume the crowd of gathered women at his station wore was why he hadn’t detected her.
Signal Luke that we’re rotating stations, Titus demanded. He finished the margarita he was working on and announced to the crowd, “The big boss is moving me. Have a great night and welcome Luke when he arrives. You’ll love him!”
Titus forced himself to maintain the charade of devilish bartender as he walked toward Luke’s station. “Hey, Luke! Thanks for switching!” he greeted the other bartender. Luke had worked at Nightfall since opening night. He was human, not a clan member.
“You’re throwing me to the wolves, Titus!” Luke ribbed him good-naturedly.
“They’re going to love you. Show them that flaming move,” Titus suggested. “Just don’t set yourself on fire.”
“I think I’ll practice that a dozen times more before I do that with a packed bar,” Luke said with a laugh. He didn’t protest when Titus slid past him to head for his mate. Obviously, the staff member who had told him to switch stations had clued him in that something special was happening as well.
As Titus got closer, he could sense her presence. His eyes zeroed in on a thin brunette with Mediterranean features. Italian? Instantly, he was concerned by her disheveled state.
Tell me about her, Bram!
Alessia Costa. Sister to Enzo. According to what I found, his least favorite sibling. He has two others, Mirabella and Serafina.
Titus growled through their connection. How could anyone not favor her? He rolled her name around in his mind. Alessia.
Is she here as a spy? Or do we think she has plans to cause harm? Titus had to know.
She passed through the scanner clean, Titus. Nothing about her that alerts as a threat. A scout, definitely. She wouldn’t have come here on her own volition.
Unable to delay any longer, he jogged the last steps and braced himself against the backside of the bar to keep from grabbing her into his arms. As he exchanged pleasantries with those at his station, Titus focused on Alessia.
She gripped the bar as if holding herself in place.
Before he could stop himself, Titus reached forward to smooth his fingers over her skin.
Instantly, she reacted. Like a sensual creature, she crawled over the bar into his arms. Titus pulled her tightly to him as their bond clicked into place inside him. His mate. His beautiful mate.
Someone take Titus’s place. He’s a goner. Marcus’s amused tone was enriched with Carina’s delighted cheers.
Titus didn’t wait. He carried his mate out the rear door of the bar and through the employee hallway to a private room. He had to get her alone. Now.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Titus lowered her feet to the carpet. Her gasp of pain made him reverse the process and sweep her back into his arms. “Alessia, what is wrong?”
“How do you know my name?” she demanded.
“You had to show your ID to get in, Alessia Costa.”
She stiffened in his arms. He could read her guilty conscience by the guarded expression that spread over her face.
“The attraction you’re experiencing is automatic when you meet your mate.”
“Mate? I don’t understand this,” she said, clinging to him.
“Let me explain.” Titus forced himself to stroll to the couch. He sat with her seated on his lap. “First, what hurts?”
“The ache isn’t important,” she said as her eyes roamed over his face, trying to make sense of the urgency he guessed she felt inside.
Ignoring that answer, Titus searched for himself. He whisked his hand down her back and then over her legs. When he reached her heels, Alessia inhaled sharply. He eased the stilettos off and noted the raw spots dotting her skin. “What happened?”
“My ride made me walk to the club. The combination of too high shoes and rain equals….” She waved a hand over her feet.
“That driver is a dead man or woman. What’s their name?” Titus demanded.
She laughed and then instantly sobered as she caught his angry expression. He wasn’t joking. “Titus, don’t worry about that. What’s happening here?”
“You’re mine.”
Alessia shook her head. “I don’t understand. Yours? You said mate before. We’re not animals.”
“At least one of us isn’t,” Titus said, delighted by her confused look.
“What? You’re a werewolf or something?”
His hand cupped her jaw, and he leaned forward to brush his lips over hers. He had to keep her from panicking. “Let’s go with the ‘or something’ option.” Before she could fret about that piece of information, Titus pressed his mouth firmly against hers.
Instant heat flared between them. Titus had enjoyed kisses during his long life, but nothing compared to this. She tasted of honey and desire. He couldn’t get enough, loving how she eagerly responded to him. Her hands tightened around fistfuls of his Nightfall polo as if she’d never let him go.
Titus wanted to shred her clothes from her gorgeous form and show her how good he could make her feel.
He struggled to remember that while he’d locked the door, this room, like most others, had security cameras, thanks to Marcus.
A growl rumbled in his chest. He’d kill one of his clan if they saw her naked.
That warning noise interrupted the magic brewing between them. She released his shirt and pushed away from his chest. Staring at him with a combination of desire and confusion on her face, Alessia asked, “Was that you?”
Titus called upon his ability to amuse people around him. As the youngest son of a nobleman, entertaining others had given him a role and a seat at the table. He might not have had a title, but others valued him for his ability to disrupt the boredom plaguing events and estates.
“Sorry, my pet. I am housebroken. Most of the time,” he said. To Marcus, he sent, Kill the cameras in this room. Now! Marcus’s answering chuckle assured him the video feed had ended.
“I don’t understand what’s happening here.” Alessia straightened her arms, distancing herself from him.
Titus sent her a mental message, hoping the psychic vibrations would register on her brain to reassure her. You are safe with me, Little girl. He didn’t dare to imagine she’d actually understand him.
Alessia scrambled off his lap and limped as she backed toward the door, keeping her gaze fixed on him. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?” he asked, smiling up at her.
“You spoke in my head. I understood you just as if you’d used your mouth. But you didn’t.”
You can hear me?
“Stop it! You’re freaking me out.”
Think a message to me, my pet.
She squeezed her eyes shut before opening those beautiful deep brown orbs to glare at him. “Like I can talk to your mind,” she said aloud.
“But you can, Alessia. Try.”
He’s going to kill me. Enzo will make me suffer for being holed up in a room away from everything. I need to get out of here.
As her unfiltered thoughts blasted into his mind, Titus lost every vestige of the entertaining bartender character. He stood and stalked forward. Automatically, Alessia backed up.
Stop, Little mate. Has no one ever told you it’s dangerous to run from a predator?
“A predator?” she repeated aloud.
He noticed she stiffened at the term Little mate. Titus wondered which word bothered her. Could she not know she was Little? He tried it again. “Yes, Little mate.”
“What do you think you are?”
“Perhaps it’s better if I ask who you are?” Titus asked. Would she tell him the truth?
“Fine. Go ahead and kill me. Then I won’t have to stand here in this drenched gown with torn-up feet, waiting for my brother to punish me in some mode that will hurt like hell but not clue the neighbors in that he’s abusing me,” she blurted.
“Your brother won’t touch you ever again.”
“The only way that happens is if he kills me.”
“He, being Enzo Costa, the mob boss?” Titus asked.
“I can’t catch a break, can I? Okay, you know who I am, and now you’ll probably eliminate me first.” Alessia thrust her fingers through her hair in exasperation. “Could I ask you to end me fast?”
Titus stared at her standing there defenseless, not putting up an ounce of protest or self-protection. “I’m not going to kill you, mate. That is the last thing I’d do.”
“Really?” Her voice squeaked with surprise.
“Truly. Let’s get you off those painful feet and figure out what happens next.” Titus picked her up and returned to retake his place on the couch.
“I could sit over there,” Alessia suggested, pointing to a chair across the room.
“Nope. I need to hold you. Can you feel this?” Titus gestured back and forth between them. He stripped off the small purse she wore across her torso and dropped the leather bag to the floor. Even the thin strap would be too much between them.
“I don’t understand what is happening.”
“My kind are blessed with mates. I have searched for years to find you. Now that I have, I will cherish and protect you from everything and everyone who would harm you.”
“Including Enzo?” Alessia asked, sounding skeptical.
“Enzo is an inconsequential player. I will ensure he doesn’t harm you.”
“I don’t understand,” Alessia said. “I’ve never acted like I did out there.”
“Do you mean crawling over the bar into my arms?” Titus asked, grinning widely. “That was pretty badass.”
“Crazy, maybe.”
“This has nothing to do with mental health, Alessia. This is pure biology. You are the one I’m destined to find. At our first touch, you responded. My presence will always excite you, as yours will tantalize me.”
Titus lowered his lips to hers. Instant heat flared between them.
Her hand gripped the material of his Nightfall polo, holding him close as she opened her mouth, inviting him to deepen the kiss.
He gathered from her astonished reaction and the degree of pleasure to her response that Alessia wasn’t experienced.
Or maybe she was shocked by the higher level of pleasure flowing between her and Titus after sexy times with other lovers. That thought totally pissed him off.
“Titus,” she moaned, and the sound made his dick stiffen harder than he ever remembered. He focused his attention completely on his mate.
He could smell her arousal. He lifted her to straddle his hips.
Immediately, Alessia ground her pelvis against his cock.
She was going to kill him, but he’d go willingly to his end.
The warmth of her body moving on him was exquisite torture.
Her pussy radiated heat, telling Titus she was eager for him.
Stroking his hand down her beaded gown, Titus explored her figure, savoring Alessia’s firm body.
He slid his fingers under her dress to cup her bottom.
Her ass was perfect, just like all the rest of her.
Titus couldn’t imagine a greater attraction than the sizzling ties between himself and his mate.
Only sheer willpower kept him from ripping her dress off.
Forcing himself to stay on the outside of the silky scrap of fabric she wore as panties, Titus traced her pussy lips.
The material was soaked with her juices.
He slid his fingers between her grinding pelvis and his cock, providing more direct contact over her clit.
Alessia sped up her movements as her breath came faster.
Her head reared back, ending their kiss.
Tense concentration was etched into her features.
A keening wail emerged from Alessia, and she shook with passion.
The gush of excitement drenched his fingers even through her panties as Titus groaned from the strain of preventing himself from coming in his jeans.
He would empty inside her the first time he orgasmed with his mate.
She collapsed onto his chest for support as she panted to regain her breath.
“Titus,” she whispered.
“Daddy,” he said, stroking her pink folds to extend her climax.
“Daddy, you’re going to make me come again,” she blurted and then stiffened as she processed what had escaped from her mouth.
“Mate, I already know you’re my Little girl.”