No Escape From Destiny (4 page)

“Yes, they belong with me, and I want them both there.”

Mikhaila looked a little confused by his statement but didn’t protest. He knew she had seen the looks that the boys had given each other in the past and had probably wondered if there wasn’t something more going on with the two of them than just being best friends. This probably just made her even more confused. He thought maybe Marcus had told her that they were outside fighting over the female. But now
Nikkos
was asking that both the female he thought was his and his best friend, who may be more than a friend, be placed in his bed.
Nikkos
couldn’t figure that one out yet, so he probably shouldn’t expect Mikhaila to. She shook her head but went to do as
Nikkos
had asked her to.

Lucian and Marcus helped her take the two of them to
Nikkos’s
room, and placed them both in his bed, side by side.
Nikkos
watched the whole time and flinched any time either of the two unconscious patients moaned. “Are they in pain?” he asked, anxious.

“They shouldn’t be, but I can give them some more painkillers in about an hour if they are still stable.”

“Okay I’ll see you in an hour. I’ll take care of them until then. By the way, did you find any ID on her? I don’t even know her name.”

“Yeah, she had ID in her pocket. It’s in the med room somewhere.” Mikhaila explained that she had found the ID while she was cutting the paramedic’s uniform off her. Since
Nikkos
wasn’t going to budge to go get the ID, Mikhaila sent Marcus after it.

He came back a few minutes later with everything that was in the female’s pockets, which wasn’t much, an ID, a necklace, and a debit card. They had found what they assumed was her cell phone in
Adrian
’s pocket. Of course, his was gone, and it was clear Marcus was really
pleased
with that. He had just given the boy a new one tonight because he broke the last one in a fight the week before.

“If you need anything, just call me and I’ll be right here,” Mikhaila told him as she left the room. Marcus and Lucian looked like they wanted to stay and find out what went on tonight, but they would be getting no answers out of
Adrian
for a few hours at least and even longer before the female came around, so she dragged them out of the room.

* * * *

“Maybe one of us should stay close by in case he decides to kill him for being so close to his female.”

Marcus couldn’t help but think this way. He was so protective of his mate that if a male looked at her in any way, he was in danger of losing his eyes. The only male he tolerated alone near her was his twin, Lucian, and that was pushing it sometimes, depending on the mood he was in.

“They will be fine. Let’s go clean up so we can have some dinner before dawn, shall we?” She gave Marcus a look that she wanted more than dinner before dawn. Lucian must have taken this as his cue to leave the two of them alone because he was gone in an instant.

Chapter Four

Nikkos
stood next to his
California
king-sized bed. It had black silk sheets and a thick, deep-red-and-black comforter. He had to have that size because he was six foot eight. Any other size bed and his feet would hang off the end. Adrian, who was all of six feet six inches and weighed two seventy-five, looked twice the size of the little human lying next to him.

He raked his fingers through his hair, pulled a chair up to the foot of the bed, and collapsed into it. He looked down at the female’s belongings in his hands. The first was a charm necklace with a cross, a bullet, a dragonfly, and a locket with a very worn picture of a baby.

Did she have a baby? He called Lucian and had him find her address and sent him over to check it out. The only other things on her were her paramedic ID and a debit card with the name Anstice Karra.
Greek? Anstice, one who will rise again. Let’s hope so. She may still need a miracle to get through this.
No one knew the effect their blood would have on a human, and that was why it was against the rules, but it was the only option at the time, and he had to do something. He just hoped his desperation did not hurt her more than she already was
.

Karra, dark
.
He hoped her future was bright and not dark, thanks to his blood that now ran through her veins.
He studied her for a while. Her hair was a dark auburn with blood-red highlights. He couldn’t see them, but knew her eyes were the palest gray he had ever seen. They were almost silver. They had placed her on her side so her back could heal, and she had immediately wrapped her arm around
Adrian
’s waist and snuggled into his side. It was almost as if she were the moon and
Adrian
the earth. She was pulled in by his gravity.

It was quite warm in the room, so they were both covered in only a sheet. He knew
Adrian
had boxers on, and the female was completely naked. They’d had to strip her to treat her injuries and since she was only about five feet tall, they had no clothes to fit her. He should have felt jealousy over another male being so close to her, but he didn’t. Honestly, they looked like they belonged lying in bed together, and he was more jealous that she was so close to
Adrian
.

He knew it would be hours before either of them woke up, so he leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. All he needed was a quick nap, and he would be good to go by the time
Adrian
woke up.

* * * *

Adrian
woke up and realized two things right away. One, he was not in his own bed, and two, he was not alone. There was someone lying almost on top of him with their arm draped over his stomach. All he could smell was
Nikkos’s
musk and woodsy scent filling the room. He looked around a little and recognized the room. He had been here many times since he had moved into the mansion years ago. He was definitely in
Nikkos’s
room, but why was he in his bed. Who was lying on top of him, and why did he have such a pounding headache?

All his memories came back in a rush as he felt the person next to him run their hand up to his chest and cuddle up closer with a soft moan. The scent hit him like a ton of bricks on his chest. She smelled of white jasmine and cherry blossoms. He turned his head, careful not to disturb the little female next to him, buried his face in her hair, and inhaled the unique scent of his female into his lungs. He found the combination of her and
Nikkos’s
scents combined to be too much. He hardened immediately, almost to the point of pain.

“Is that for me or her?” The voice was so quiet, if he didn’t have his excellent hearing he never would have heard the jealousy in his friend’s voice.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied, even though he was sure
Nikkos
was talking about his ever-growing erection beneath the thin sheet covering him.
Nikkos
sighed, and
Adrian
thought he heard him say “
Hopefully me,”
but he wasn’t sure.

* * * *

Nikkos
got to his feet slowly. He was stiff from waiting for his…whatever Adrian and Anstice were to him, to wake up. It had been hours, and
Adrian
should have woken first, but it looked like the female would be awake soon. She was already moving and had been talking in her sleep for about an hour now.
Who is Paul?
She had said his name several times in her restless sleep, and
Nikkos
saw red every time the other male’s name came from those kissable lips.

He knew he didn’t have time and needed to tell
Adrian
everything that happened while he was unconscious before she woke up.

“We need to talk. Get up and let’s go outside,” he said, looking down at those black eyes someone could get lost in. Man, why hadn’t he noticed that earlier. Now he was probably too late.
Adrian
was more likely than not lost to him forever.

“I’m not leaving her. You wanna talk, spit it out and get it over with.”
Adrian
looked away from him when he answered and buried his face back in the female’s hair, inhaling her scent.
Nikkos
couldn’t really blame him. She was the best-smelling female he ever smelled in his life, cherry blossoms and white jasmine, delicious. Yeah, he was sure now that he had lost
Adrian
forever. He could never compete with that.

“I just wanted to tell you what went down after you passed out.”

Adrian moved his head then to glare at his friend. “You gave her your blood didn’t you?”
Nikkos
watched as Adrian turned his face back into his female’s hair and inhale. He was sure Adrian would be able to smell
Nikkos
not only on her hair but coming
from
her hair and body also. She had
Nikkos
’ blood in her now and would always have a connection to him that
Adrian
would not have with her.

“Yeah,”
Nikkos
said. It was all he could say. He didn’t want to say something to set the other male off and have him hurt himself trying to attack him. He watched the male lying there looking content to have his female with him, but he was sure there was a little bit of jealousy in his expression. He was trying to decide if he should let him in on the fact that he had donated some to him also. He decided to let that go for now.

Nikkos
watched
Adrian
struggle with the fact that he was unable to help his female, and she had had to depend on
Nikkos
to save her life. “Is she going to be okay?”

“Doc says she’ll be fine.”

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for you.”

A low growl started somewhere deep in
Adrian
’s chest, loud enough the female wiggled a little more and started mumbling something that neither one of the males could understand.

“What I meant is I didn’t do it just for you. I did it for both of us. I knew what would happen to you if she didn’t make it, and even though I know it’s too late, I don’t want to lose you. I know I’ve pushed you away for so long that your feelings for me have probably changed. I couldn’t imagine you ever leaving me, and I’ve had hours sitting here watching you, and now I think I know what is going on between the three of us.”

“How long was I out?” By the tone in
Adrian
’s voice,
Nikkos
could tell
Adrian
didn’t want to hear his theories. But he was going to try and explain his reasons to
Adrian
so the man would understand and hopefully agree.

“About six hours after you were moved into here.”

“Yeah, about that, why are we here instead of my room?”

“I needed you to be close to me so I could watch over you.”
Adrian
looked a little surprised, a little excited, and a lot confused at the answer.

“I really need you to listen to what I have to say.”
Nikkos
raised his hand to stop his friend’s protest.
Adrian
stopped talking and settled deeper into the bed next to his female. Gods it looked as if she felt perfect lying with
Adrian
.
Nikkos
wondered if she would look the same way wrapped around him.
Adrian
looked as if he was in heaven.

“Just listen, and please don’t say anything until I’m done.
I love you
.” There was a slight pause while
Nikkos
waited for
Adrian
to digest the announcement a little. “I love you, and I have for a long time, I just didn’t see it until now. I know I’m not good enough for you and figured that if I kept you at a distance, you would find someone else and be happy. You could never be happy with me. You have seen me. You know I have never thought of settling down with one person, and after what happened with my parents I didn’t think I would ever change my mind. But now I’m not sure. I think I would like to give it a try.”