Chapter 2 Sex with my father’s deadly rival 1

Nicole’s POV

My grip tightened. “I’m sorry.”

Her hands clawed at my arm again, harder this time. I twisted the dagger where I’d been trained to aim.

Her resistance faltered.

Her hands fell limp, and body sagged against me.

I laid her on the bed, and placed a blanket over her.

My breathing was shallow, but inside my chest something twisted. I had killed plenty of times before. 

This wasn’t new. 

But every time I did it I felt that same pull…the desperate need to get it right, to be perfect, to come back with proof that I wasn’t the useless spare my father thought I was.

I wiped the blade on the inside lining of my skirt, and headed out of the room.

I left the room and went to the small space Father’s contact had prepared.

I changed into a short black silk dress with a low neckline, slit up the thigh. I tied the veil across the lower half of my face, leaving my eyes exposed. 

Then I wore a dark liner, and red lipstick, leaving my hair loose.

I looked like her…Kiara. 

I looked like sin.

I looked like someone who belonged in Desmond’s bed.

The bodyguards in the corridor nodded as I passed.

I slipped inside the Alpha’s suite.

I tore through the drawers and wardrobe, glass breaking somewhere behind me.

Nothing.

“Fuck!”

My hands trembled as I searched, and my father’s voice kept looping in my mind: It’s hidden in his room. Don’t come back without it. 

I couldn’t let myself breathe properly until I found it.

I checked the curtains, then dropped to the floor and ran my hands along the baseboards.

My heart thudded loudly in my chest.

Desmond wouldn’t be careless. He wouldn’t leave it where anyone could find it.

I turned back to the bed.

The wall beside it looked seamless. I ran my fingers over the panels.

One shifted and my heart slammed.

My heart slammed hard enough to make me dizzy.

“There,” I whispered.

My nails dug into the narrow seam. I pried at it, hands slick with sweat. It didn’t move.

“Come on…come on…come on!!!!”

I tried again, harder and harder. The edge lifted just enough for me to wedge my fingers in and pull.

“Mphhh…” The panel popped free.

Inside, nestled in black velvet, sat the humming relic.

Relief hit me so hard my knees almost gave out.

I was just about to grab it when the door opened. I jolted and my breath caught hard in my throat. 

I slammed the panel shut with the heel of my hand, spun away from the wall, and stepped quickly into the center of the room so my back was to the door. 

Desmond stepped inside and shut the door behind him.

His shirt was half unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up. He swayed just a little as he stopped, eyes narrowing. 

The room smelled of champagne and whiskey. He had clearly had more than a few drinks after the inauguration.

“Head… headache gone al-ready?” he asked, words slurring together, a small hiccup breaking the last syllable.

I didn’t answer.

I turned slowly, letting the dress catch the low light. I kept my head tipped down, veil in place.

“Mmm.”

That was enough.

He crossed the room, swaying a little, and his hands found my waist. 

He pulled me against him harder than he probably meant to. 

His mouth came down on mine, clumsy, tasting strongly of champagne and whiskey.

My body answered before I could stop it.

I hated that.

“Ki….ar…a,” he murmured against my mouth, hands already roaming my waist.

The name landed wrong. My fingers curled into his shirt instead of pushing him away.

“If only he knew I wasn’t his dear Kiara…who was laying dead on bed.”

Focus.

I kissed him back the same way, matching every press of his lips, every slide of his tongue, then pushed lightly at his chest.

“Wait,” I whispered.

He blinked slowly, eyes glassy. “Wha… what’s wrong?”

He was clearly too drunk, and couldn’t smell the difference in my scent from that of Kiara’s.

So I relaxed my arms and let him pull me closer again.

He laughed low, his movements clumsy. "That's better… c’mere.”

He claimed my lips, and I felt him hesitate for the smallest fraction of a second…his tongue pausing against mine, as if tasting something unfamiliar.

“You’re quiet,” he said.

I swallowed. “Just tired.”

“You taste… different tonight,” he mumbled against my skin, his brows twitching.

His mouth left mine, trailing down my jaw. He paused there, just long enough to look at my face.

“Mphh…hhh…” he groaned, slurring hard. “Not…just th…at. You….you smell….differen…”

“Oils,” I whispered back, the lie coming easily even as my pulse raced. “I got new ones…for the celebration.”

He didn’t question it.

He studied me another beat, then nodded once, accepting it. But the line between his brows stayed tight.

His thumb brushed under my veil, and I nudged.

The bond surged louder, drowning out the part of my brain that was still screaming to stay focused on the mission. 

He hiccuped again, then laughed against my throat. “Yeah… yeah, maybe. Champagne was… was strong.”

His hands were already moving…his rough palms sliding under the silk of the dress, dragging up my thighs until the fabric bunched around my hips. 

“But fuck it! Doesn’t matter. I want you.”

I arched into him without thinking. My breath caught in short, sharp gasps. 

My body responded before my mind could catch up…legs parting slightly, hips rolling against him in a slow rhythm. 

“Arghh…” He groaned low in his throat, the sound vibrating against my mouth.

His grip on my waist tightened as he lifted me without breaking the kiss, stumbled on the way to the bed, and laid me down on the sheets. 

His weight settled over me, pinning me in place in the best way. 

His mouth moved to my neck. Teeth grazed the pulse point there. 

I gasped when he bit down lightly, just enough to send heat shooting straight through me.

He inhaled deeply against my skin, nose pressing harder.

“Still off,” he mumbled. “But… fuck, you feel good.”

“Mhhh…” his mouth kept moving, teeth scraping lightly down my collarbone.

He shoved the dress higher, bunching it around my waist. 

His coordination was off. 

His fingers fumbled a little with the lace between my thighs before he tugged it aside.

I was already wet…achingly so, had been since the moment he walked in and looked at me like that. 

He pushed two fingers inside me without warning. 

“Ahhh…”