The Heir (26 page)

Jessica looked away.

"Jessica?"

"Yeah?" She bit her lip; waiting for what she
already knew was coming. She'd been positive that her inexperience
had gone unnoticed and now she knew she'd been wrong.

Nick watched her intently; he didn't miss the
fast pace throbbing of the vein in her neck. "Jessica, look at me."
She did so slowly and when she did, he leveled a look at her and
asked, "Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me you weren't
innocent?"

She shrugged before admitting. "I don't
know." The truth was that she'd been uncomfortable admitting to him
that she was old fashioned. He quirked an eyebrow and remember what
he'd told her about scenting lies so she told him some of the
truth. "I guess I didn't want to be a prize. I wanted you to want
me for me, not for what I would be giving you; I never want to be a
trophy."

That brought him up short.

Remembering why he'd approached her in the
first place, he realized that he would have to be tactful when he
clued her in on her true identity. He knew it would have to be soon
too, it was going to be hard to explain his reasoning but he could
start by clarifying one thing now.

"You are not a prize."

And she wasn't, not in that way, not anymore,
not after he'd gotten to know her. Somewhere along the line his
feelings had shifted, just like his life and his priorities. It no
longer mattered to him who her father was and he could foresee a
long uphill battle trying to prove it to her. One thing he did not
foresee was losing her, they were mates now and he refused to let
her go.

Tormented just from the thought, he swooped
down and kissed her, trying to convey all the feelings that he
could not put into words. He'd never been good at talking about his
feelings, growing up the way he had no one could blame him. His
home had been a cold one, to the outside world they had seemed like
the perfect family, but behind closed doors it was a different
story.

His parents married for mercenary reasons,
they cared little for each other and much less for their children.
Growing up people claimed that his parents were soul mates. He was
ten when his mother ran off with another man leaving him and his
sister at the mercy of a cold hearted pure blood lunatic.

He was ten when he decided that soul mates
did not exist.

He still didn't believe but he did believe
that the nameless emotion between Jessica and him was powerful. And
he vowed that it would only get stronger.

"You are not a prize." He repeated and
nuzzled her throat, in love with her scent.

Something was different about it but it was
so faint that he shrugged it off deciding that it was all due to
their mating. He nudged her legs apart and laid between them while
he kissed a trail down her neck. He reached his mark at the base of
her neck and gave it a soft lick before moving down to her
breasts.

Jessica sighed and he trailed back up to kiss
her lips again.

When they broke apart they were both
breathless and panting with need. He took a deep breath before
saying. "You are not a prize, but I am not going to lie, the cave
man in me is doing a victory dance, I am proud to know that I am
the only one that knows you so intimately. “ He kissed her again
and whispered against her lips. "Thank you for such a wonderful
gift."

Jessica buried her face against his chest and
trying to make light of the situation, said, "No the pleasure was
all mine."

She felt his whole body shake before she
heard his laughter, it was contagious and she began to laugh with
him. When their laughter finally died down their gazes connected
and at that moment the connection between them seemed to grow. Nick
kissed her softly at first then deepened the kiss as their passion
grew.

"You are good." She told him when they came
up for air.

Nick leered, mockingly, at her and proceeded
to show her just how good he was. Even though he didn't consider
himself a playboy growing up he'd taken advantage of some of the
willing women around him, he had sex with them but he never made
love to them. He'd never made love until Jessica came along. Using
his body he told her things that his lips could not.

Minutes later, after regaining her strength,
Jessica opened her eyes and gasped. "I see stars!"

Nick chuckled and raised his head from where
it rested on her chest, amazed that he had the energy to even do
that, and gave her a quick kiss. He tipped his imaginary hat and
with a western drawl said. "Yes ma'am you are welcome!"

Jessica laughed and swatted his arm
playfully. "Not that." she pointed up at the ceiling. “You have
glow in the dark stars up there!"

Nick rolled gently off of her and rubbed the
spot over his arm. "Ouch, I think my ego just took a beating."

Lying on their sides, facing each other, she
smiled wryly at him. "It could use a couple more."

He leaned forward and rubbed his nose against
hers. "Then it's a good thing I will have you around."

"Actually about that." She fidgeted
nervously. “I hope you don't expect me to move in right away. Not
that I don't want to. I'd just like to give my mom sometime to get
used to the idea that I'm moving out. I mean I don't want to go
home and start packing right away."

Nick nodded understandingly, even though his
wolf growled at the thought that he would have to be away from his
mate. "That's fine; it also gives me time to set up a gathering of
sorts to welcome you into the pack. People are dying to meet you."
He informed her with a smile.

"Really?" Nick nodded and was about to speak
but was interrupted by the ringing of Jessica's cellphone. She
answered it, promised to be home soon and hung up. Her smile held a
bit of sadness she looked at him and said. "I have to go."

Reluctantly, they got out of bed and after
they got dressed, went downstairs together. Axel, Christian and
Matt were sitting in the living room, waiting for them. When they
reached the living room entrance, all three clapped, whistled and
congratulated them. She didn't miss the knowing smiles and she
could feel her face burning but refused to try to hide her
embarrassment.

Thanking them, Nick chuckled, wrapped his arm
around her waist and drew her close to his side. She leaned her
head on his chest, over his heart, and he explained to them that
she wouldn't be moving in for a couple more weeks. Without waiting
for a response and turned around and he walked her out the door, to
her bike and helped her on.

"Do you think your mom will be OK with you
moving out in a couple of weeks?" He asked her before she put on
her helmet.

"Why?"

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and
looked down at the ground, hoping to hide the turmoil between his
two halves that letting her go home had caused. "Because I don't
think I can wait longer than that."

She shook her head and admitted in a low
voice. "Nor can I."

"Then we will have the party in a couple of
weeks and you can move in then."

She nodded her agreement, kissed him one more
time, ignored the smooching noises that the three stooges were
making and promised to call him when she got home. Nick stood back
and watched her go already missing her and feeling like two weeks
were an eternity away. When they, Jessica, Axel and Christian,
disappeared from sight he turned around, and with Matt, headed
inside to begin preparations for the homecoming of The Heir.

Looking back at the road, he decided that
when she was safely by his side he would come clean about
everything.

He only hoped that whatever feelings she had
for him were strong enough to stand their first test as mates. Half
a year ago he hadn't cared about her feelings towards him, about
her reaction to the revelation of her inheritance, he hadn't cared
at all and he'd only seen her as a means to an end.

Now he saw her as more, much more and deep
down he feared losing her.

Chapter 20

Was that mark in her eye getting darker?
Jessica asked herself.

Or were her eyes getting brighter?

The hand that held the mascara brush froze in
midair and she leaned over her en-suite counter; closer to the
mirror, to take a closer look at her eyes.

Or was it a combination of the two? She
wondered.

Before she could decide there was a knock at
the door followed by her mom’s voice, "Jess, are you ready to
go?"

"Almost mom."

She hastily brushed one last coat of mascara
on her eyelashes before taking a look at herself. Her eyes weren't
the only thing that had changed; her whole outer appearance was
different. She was different, but in a way that she was unable to
put in words.

Jessica shook her head before she could get
caught up in her own thoughts and she grabbed the jewelry case on
the counter and opened the door. "Mind helping me with my
necklace?"

Her mom readily agreed. Jessica gave her the
case before turning and lifting her hair.

"It really is a beautiful necklace." She
murmured.

"Thanks, I think so too."

"There." Lauren told her after she clasped
the necklace and took a step back. "You are almost perfect."

Jessica turned around to look at her mom. She
raised an eyebrow and asked. "Almost?"

Lauren took Jessica’s arms and spread them
away from her body; she stepped back, tapped her chin with her
index finger and took a long look at her. "You look gorgeous, but
something is missing."

"What?" Jessica asked, looking down at
herself.

She was wearing a white, one shoulder,
Grecian styled floor length dress with a belt made of thick locks
of gold beads around the waist and matching detail at the neck that
she'd paired with gladiator sandals. Jewelry wise she only wore the
necklace that Nick had given her on her birthday.

Worrying her lip, Jessica wondered what she
could be missing.

Seeing the look on her face her mom
laughed.

"You look fine." She assured her. "But you
are missing-" She reached into the pocket of her pants and her hand
came back up in a fist. Palm up she extended it towards Jessica and
slowly opened her hand, "-you are missing this."

A gasp escaped past Jessica’s lips and her
eyes grew wide as she eyed the treasure sitting on the palm of her
mom’s hands. "They are beautiful but I don’t think I can wear them.
They look too valuable."

Her mom nodded, not bothering to disagree.
"They are." She pointed at the ring. "This is over five hundred
years old." Lauren picked up the diamond studded earrings. "And
these belonged to my great grandmother."

Jessica shook her head, brought her hands up
and stepped away as if she was avoiding the plague. "I definitely
can’t borrow those."

"It's not a loan. It's a gift."

She shook her head even more fervently and
took another step back. "I can't accept those."

"Yes you can and you will." Lauren followed
every step she took until she was cornered against the wall. She
took Jessica’s hand, forced it open and slipped the ring onto her
middle finger. "Your father gave this to me and I think you should
have it."

"Really?" Lauren nodded and Jessica raised
her hand to admire the piece of jewelry that within seconds had
become as precious to her as the air around her.

The first thing she noticed was that the gem
was the same blue of her eyes. And the second was that it was a
perfect fit. Mesmerized, Jessica turned her hand back and forth;
the large square cut gem sat on a simple white gold band, flanked
by a rectangular diamond on either side.

It was beautiful.

She loved it.

She couldn't keep it.

Jessica smiled softly; slipped off the ring
and handed it back to her mom. "I can’t keep this. It's beautiful.
It's priceless. And it was a gift to you from my father, I just
couldn’t take it."

Now it was Laurens turn to shake her head.
"The ring is very beautiful and valuable, but I can part with it
because I still have the greatest gift he could have ever given me.
It's beautiful and it's priceless. You are that gift."

Her words earned her a watery smile. "Fine
but only if you're sure." Jessica was too in love with the ring to
really put up a fight.

"I'm sure." Lauren took the ring and slipped
it back on Jessica’s finger. "I think you should have something
that belonged to your father and besides, according to him the ring
is an heirloom passed down to the eldest child. It was always meant
to be yours; I just kept it safe for you."

Jessica fanned her eyes trying to keep the
tears at bay, if she started crying she didn't know if she would
ever stop. "Thank you."

"If you are really thankful, you will also
accept these." She indicated the diamond studs still lying on her
hand. "It would hurt my feelings if you accepted something from
your father and not from me."

"Is that emotional blackmail I hear?"
Jessica’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief and Lauren shrugged.

"If I must."

Jessica threw her head back and laughed.
"They are beautiful mom and if you insist then how can I say no?"
Jessica took the earrings and put them on. "How do I look now?"

"You look beautiful, just like a
princess."

Lauren smiled but Jessica noticed that the
happiness didn't reach her eyes. Jessica smiled back and hugged her
mom. "I'm still going to be around. Now that I've found you I'm not
going to lose you." She promised.

Now it was her mom’s turn to give her a
watery smile. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear that."

Before Jessica could respond, Riley came
barging in and told them it was time to go. He noticed a packed box
by the door and asked if it need to be taken downstairs. Jessica
nodded and trying not to laugh, she watched as a grumbling Riley
headed out of her room and took the heavy box down to the garage
with the rest of the things.