Chapter Two
Nikon cursed himself as he cracked the eggs in the bowl and began to whisk.
The situation was getting out of hand. He was originally going to stay a night or two. The plan had been to calm Leah down after everything that had happened. Instead, Nikon had found a comfort there he hadn’t been expecting, something that soothed his own wounded soul.
Alair was always the constant in his life, even when they had been kids under the control of the Horatius Group, forced to do training no boy should ever have to endure. His brother had always been there.
Now he was gone.
Just thinking about the loss, even then, made it seemed like it wasn’t real. Like at any moment, Nikon’s brother might come quietly in the room and tell him to stop being so full of himself.
The hybrid whisked the eggs harder as he added a bit of milk.
What the hell was he even doing there? Leah was his brother’s Vestal. Aside from offering her comfort, he really had no place there with her. She wasn’t meant for him, and she would never be his, even if he did feel the pull.
He placed the eggs in the pan with butter and turned down the heat on the stove. The eggs bubbled nicely in the pan, and he used a spatula to pull the cooked eggs from the side of the pan.
Nikon smiled. He’d gotten pretty good at cooking. His brother had always encouraged learning domestic skills, but it was never something Nikon found interesting. If it wasn’t about knocking heads together, Nikon didn’t want any part. Maybe he was still too much a creature of the Horatius Group.
That was, until Alair was gone, and he didn’t have much choice.
Another bitter memory surfaced. Nikon wondered if it would ever truly get better. If he were being completely honest, the only time he felt like it might be was when he spent time with Leah. There was something about the woman that made him want to see more in the world.
The scent of something burning wafted through the air. Nikon wrinkled his nose.
“Shit,” he said, and turned off the heat on the eggs. “The bacon.”
He quickly grabbed a potholder and pulled the pan of very crispy bacon out of the oven. Nikon pulled it off the rack and placed it onto the paper towel. Maybe it wasn’t as crispy as it seemed. His concerns turned to reality when a piece broke off.
Maybe if the hybrid had spent more time worrying about what was in front of him instead of a woman, that wouldn’t have happened. Of course, he also then wouldn’t be making breakfast for said woman.
Nikon grunted and shook his head. He couldn’t let what happened that morning be a common thing. Leah was fragile. She needed to be protected. Maybe even from him.
It had all felt so natural though. Waking up with her in his arms. For a moment he’d forgotten about his brother and the Horatius Group and everything else that had royally fucked up his life. For that one moment, he had just been a man and she a woman.
Despite his intent, Nikon wasn’t oblivious. Leah’s Vestal scent clung to his nostrils in a way nothing else ever would. Maybe because he and Alair shared the same DNA, Leah was his match as much as his brother’s.
Not that it mattered. She was intended for his brother. Leah had picked him.
Nikon turned back to the eggs, his heart in turmoil over the whole situation.
How could he want his brother’s Vestal? It was the ultimate betrayal.
“Hey,” Leah said.
He would have known she was there without her even saying anything. Her soft vanilla scent filled the air around him.
Nikon turned and was surprised to find her wearing a black form-fitting skirt and green sweater that accentuated all the spots he was trying to forget about. His cock hardened in his pants.
Leah looked amazing, too amazing to be going to some school for brats.
“Oh, bacon!” she said.
Nikon should have stepped back a little as she reached across him to grab a piece of bacon, but he liked the torture of it all. Her soft breasts brushed against his arm as she grabbed a piece.
In response, his cock tightened painfully against his pants. It was a good thing he was still facing the stove.
“It got burned a little,” he said tightly.
Leah shrugged and crunched on the piece she’d gotten. Oil coated her lips, making them seem plumper than they actually were. She licked her lips, and he found it hard to take his eyes off her.
Nikon nearly groaned when she popped her fingers into her mouth and sucked hard.
Visions of his cock in her mouth flashed though his head, and he shifted his weight to try and relieve the pain of his length pressing painfully against his zipper.
“You sure you want to go to this job?” Nikon asked again.
Leah turned her head to the side, as if she were trying to figure him out.
It did seem a little opposite of his normal chats with her. Usually, he tried not to get involved in other parts of her life. Maybe to assure himself that he wasn’t actually a part of her life, that his time was her with just a temporary relief, a final service to his slain brother.
But this job meant something more. It meant she was moving on. From her old life. From him.
They hadn’t talked about what would happen if Leah did take the job. She’d mentioned that it was an hour away, and if she accepted, they had living space for single teachers on campus. It meant she’d be moving away.
Nikon tried to tell himself that was fine, that Lucan and Jamie were moving, and the Lodge would be as well. It was best if Leah pushed forward to a new life. Still, something in him couldn’t leave it alone. She wasn’t supposed to just disappear from his life.
“It’s a good job,” Leah said, grabbing a few more pieces of bacon as he scooped eggs onto her plate. “I know it’s not ideal, especially since I had to get a car just for the interview, but it’s teaching.” A small sad smile played on her mouth. “I miss it,” she said softly.
When the hybrids kids and families had departed, Leah had been left without a job. He knew she missed the hybrid boys, and rich prep kids seemed like a big change.
“So what are you doing today?” Leah asked, clearly changing the subject.
Nikon followed her to the small dining table and sat next to her. Their knees bumped, and it felt like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“We’re still waiting on orders from the higher-ups,” Nikon said. “With the pending hearings about Woods and his actions, there’s no telling when that will come.”
Leah wrinkled her nose and stabbed an egg. “I hope they lock that asshole up and throw away the key.”
Nikon raised a brow. Leah didn’t normally say things like that.
“What?” she huffed. “You know he’s got it coming. All of them. Every single one of them can burn in hell for what they did to you.”
Nikon opened his mouth to respond but found it harder than he anticipated. She was angry because of what they had done to the hybrids. Something in that moved him in a way he wasn’t really comfortable with.
Leah glanced at the clock on the wall. “Crap.” She shoved a few forkfuls of eggs in her mouth. “Late.”
Nikon waved her away from the table. “I’ll clear,” he said. “You get going. Don’t want to be late on your first day.”
A bright smile spread across Leah’s face. He barely had time to react as she leaned forward and placed a kiss against his cheek.
“Thanks.” She smiled and sat back up. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Nikon sat there stunned as she raced around the apartment before jetting to the door.
Leah paused for a moment to look over at him. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something else but shook her head and smiled at him.
“Have a good day, Nikon. I’ll see you tonight.”
With that she closed the door and raced down the hall.
Leah’s words from before still echoed in Nikon’s head as he sat there.
What was he doing there?
Nikon picked up her unfinished plate and scraped it into the garbage before placing it in the dishwasher. He moved quietly around the kitchen, cleaning until it was back as it had been first thing in the morning.
By the time the hybrid finished putting everything away, his phone rang. He glanced at the number. Unsurprisingly, it was Lucan.
“What?” Nikon said.
“You burned your bacon.”
Nikon frowned. There were some negatives about having another hybrid living next door.
He shook his head. That wasn’t right. It wasn’t really his home.
“Whatever,” he mumbled.
Lucan chuckled into the phone. It was still surprising to see the change in the hybrid. A short time with Jamie, and he was like a new man. All the demons from his past just seemed to have floated away.
“Just be ready in an hour,” Lucan said. “I gotta do something to get away from the smell.”
This time Nikon snorted as well. “Whatever. It’s better than anything you can do. Let’s see you cook your woman some bacon.”
The words came out so easily. Too easily.
Silence answered him on the other line, and Nikon knew it hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“Let me grab a shower, and I’ll be ready in twenty,” he said.
He hurried got off the phone and set it down on the table.
“Leah’s not my woman,” Nikon said. He repeated the sentence a few times before standing. Whatever was going on between the two of them had to stop. Maybe this move was the best thing for all of them.