Chapter 47
Nix
We are two parts of one soul.
I stare into Volik’s eyes.
What is a person meant to say to that?
Volik gently bumps his forehead against mine.
And… he’s cute.
He’s big and intimidating and sweet and powerful.
And he believes what he says.
My eyes search his. Looking for any hint of hesitation. Any trace of deception.
But I find none.
It’s crazy. Totally nuts. But I think… I think I believe it.
Believe him.
But I still have to ask, and I do it in a whisper. “So it’s really real, then? We’re… mates?”
Volik nods.
“For life? Like, until death do us part?”
He slides his hands up until his palms are on either side of my neck, thumbs under my chin, holding me in place. Making me listen. “We are mates, you and me, until we die. After that, we continue onto the other side together.”
My breath hitches.
What a wonderful dream, to have someone so dedicated. Someone so sure of forever.
I swallow. “So… I just move in? We combine our lives? Easy as that?”
He lowers one of his hands until it’s over my heart. Our heartbeat. “Nothing could be easier.”
I probably shouldn’t.
I should probably talk to someone. Seek counsel.
But… I don’t want to.
I don’t want to play it safe.
I don’t want to deny the pull between us.
I don’t want to miss out on the chance that all this is real.
Slowly, I move my hand up between us, and I press it over his heart. “I’m scared.”
Volik swallows. “I know.” He presses his hand more firmly against my chest. “I am here.” He leans closer. “I will always be with you, Nixy. Even with distance between us, I will live inside you, here.”
My throat tightens at his words.
This man.
“Okay.” My voice cracks.
I can feel him searching my gaze. Looking for a sign of deception. Or hesitation. But he finds none.
I arch into him as he presses forward, and our mouths meet.
Our bodies are flush, but that weight in my chest tries to pull us even closer.
My arms go around his neck, his circle my back.
My tongue slides against his.
His body vibrates with that glorious purr.
My pulse is still racing. And my core is begging for more. But it all feels… calmer.
It’s nothing like that first time we kissed in the hallway.
That drugged feeling is gone.
The lust. The attraction. The need to be near him. That’s all still there. But the fuzz is gone. I feel this way.
Then I think about the classroom and remember I need to get ready for school.
Sighing, I pull myself away from his kiss.
He lets out a grunt of displeasure.
I can’t help my responding smile. “We can stay at your house tonight. If that’s what you’d like.”
Volik nods. “Da. Please.”
My smile softens.
He’s waited a long time for this.
My smile falters.
I hope I live up to the role.
I shove that thought aside as soon as I have it. I can only be me.
“Alright.” I blow out a breath, focusing on today. “I need to shower.”
“Would you like help?” Volik offers seriously.
I let him see my eye roll.
He grins. “Can I watch anyway?”
“No.” I poke him in the chest. “You need to go find some clothes. You’re not walking around naked under a robe. And you’re not wearing these pants, showing off your dick-print to everyone.”
Volik lifts an eyebrow. “Dick-print?”
I wiggle my ass, showing him exactly what I’m talking about.
Then I’m on my back.
Volik looms above me. Hips settled between mine. Length nestled where I want him most. “Careful, Mea Unica. You can go to work, or you can take my dick. We do not have time for both.”
Then his nostrils flare.
His groan is low and long. And my hips rock without my permission.
“Which is it going to be?” He lowers his mouth until it’s an inch from mine.
I swear I see the black inside his eyes shifting. Swirling. And I want to fall into them. But… I can’t.
Not right now.
“I’m going to work.”
Volik heaves out a breath and drops his head to the side of mine, face-planting against the bed.
A snicker gets caught in my chest as he settles his weight onto me.
He must hear the wheeze leave my lungs because he pushes himself back up. “Sorry.”
Then I have to press my lips together. Hard.
Volik glances up to see what I’m trying not to laugh at. Then he shakes his head, dislodging the pillow skewered onto his horns.
A few tufts of stuffing float down around us.
He grimaces. “I will get you a new one.”
I shake my head and lay a palm on his cheek, his short beard scratchy against my palm. “No need. It’s a crappy pillow.”
Volik leans into my touch. And my gods, he’s adorable when he’s being all cuddly like this.
“My mate will not use crappy pillows.”
Sighing, I drop my hand. “Your mate needs to get up.”
His length pulses against me.
It’s still pretty unbelievable. Being mates. But I can’t deny that I enjoy his reaction to the word.
Grunting with dissatisfaction, Volik climbs off the bed, grips me under the arms, and sets me on my feet.
Upright, I’m reminded of just how big he is.
I look up to the top of his horns and see how close he is to scraping them across the ceiling.
And I think about the pillow stuck to his horns. And the clothes that don’t fit…
Growing the way he did, hulking out as the videos called it, can’t be an easy change to deal with. Physically… Logistically…
“Is your home…” I try to think of the way to word this. “Now that you’re bigger, do you still fit in your home?”
Volik dips his chin. “Da. Though I need to reorganize my closet.”
I purse my lips, wanting to ask what that means, but I need to start getting ready for class.
He takes a step back. “I will go get clothes.”
“Where?”
“I know a man in Chicago. He will make me some.”
My brows furrow. “Do you have a car?”
Volik shakes his head.
“Then how…” I can’t really picture him taking public transportation.
His mouth pulls into a grin, and he looks… excited. “I will jump there.”
“I don’t…”
“I use my gravito. It is like flying.” He leans in close. “When your classes are done, I will take you above the trees to bring you home.”
It is like flying.
Butterflies flap furiously in my stomach.
“Should you like that?” Volik prompts when I don’t reply.
“I think I might. But…”
“But what, Mate?”
“I’m a little afraid of heights.”
He smirks. “I will not drop you.”
I will not drop you. My butterflies swoon.
Why is his formal way of speaking so sexy?
“I will find you at school.” Volik grips my chin and presses a kiss to my mouth.
Then he strides out of my room, ducking through the doorway.
I step into the hall to watch him go. To watch his ass in those plastered-on sweatpants. But he doesn’t open the front door.
I assume he’s grabbing something from the kitchen, but then I hear the sliding glass door open and close.
Rushing across my apartment, I drag open the door and step onto the balcony.
Hands gripping the railing, I look down.
No Volik.
It’s like flying.
I look up.
And a Volik-sized blur shoots overhead.