Page 145 of Bonds of Fate

“Um…hey, you two lovebirds, either get on with your date so I can get out of here, or I am coming out to join in. I am feeling a bit lonely.” They break apart just enough to breathe each other’s air, and Nix meets Grayson’s eyes. There is adoration and heat in them, but also amusement.

“We should go.” Grayson doesn’t sound like he really wants to, and Nix agrees. The box spring of the missing mattress would do just as well. Even if it’s uncomfortable, Nix would let Grayson have him anywhere—he wants Grayson anywhere and everywhere.

“Yeah. I set up the Art House. It’s romantic and shit.” Grayson says it offhandedly, but his half-bond tingles, and Nix knows this is important to him.

But he chuckles because he’s supposed to. “Okay, I’d like to see it. Let’s go.” Nix steps back and raises his voice. “We’re going now, Luca. Love you.” When he looks back, Luca has already cracked the door open a sliver to watch them go, waggling a single finger through the crack in goodbye, so Nix blows him a kiss as Grayson waves.

“Bye, Luc. Be good.”

The rest of the house is quiet, the living room bathed in a golden glow from the setting sun. Nix spares a moment to wonder where everyone is and if they have found a few minutes of peace from this afternoon’s debacle. He turns his mental radar into those mates whose bonds he can see, and everyone’slights are pulsing gently. Not content, exactly, but fine for the moment–even Jamie’s. He misses Finn’s and Leo’s lights and promises he will add them to his rainbow bouquet of bonds as soon as possible.

For now, though, he’s focused solely on Grayson Pearce.

The trip across the yard is chilly, as neither of them puts shoes on. They giggle and run down the faint path worn into the cool grass, and Nix gets his first look at Grayson’s Art House in the warm late afternoon sunshine—what do artists call it? The Golden Hour?

The sun glints off the skylights and the windows that surround most of the structure, burnishing it in the fading warmth of the fall sunshine. There is a door on the east side, and Grayson pulls him to a stop just outside.

“Promise me you won’t laugh?” The alpha’s scent is rich in nerves, and his half-formed bond buzzes like a live wire.

Pulling his mate’s hand to his lips, Nix whispers, “I would never.”

He must come to some conclusion because he nods and says, “Okay, and promise me that you’ll tell me if you don’t want to do anything I’ve got planned. Promise.” It’s sweet, and Nix just loves him more.

“I promise. Pinky swear.” Nix holds his pinky finger up, and Grayson grins, offering his own so they can link them together. “Come on, show me. I want to seeeverything.” Nix waggles his eyebrows, and the tension pops like a soap bubble.

The Art House is magnificent. Grayson has turned the inside of the large room into a beautiful fae wonderland. The late-day sunlight gilds everything in gold, and there are fairy lights hung high in the rafters. There is a tiny table in front of the fireplace, and Nix is sure he’s never eaten in front of a fire before. The low table is laden with covered dishes and beautiful, fragrant pinkflowers in a vase. It’s romantic, and it brings a hot pink flush to his cheeks.

Grayson leads him farther into the room, and Nix can see the low platform bed with a million candles lighting up the crisp white sheets. “Gray,” he says again, and this time Nix wants to say more. Wants to tell his soulmate that he’s overwhelmed with how thoughtful it all is. Wants to tell him that no one has ever taken the time to do anything so romantic as this.

He’s at a loss for words, but he can at least tell him, “Thank you for doing all this.” It must have taken hours, and, knowing Grayson, he thought about making Nix happy the whole time. “I love it, Gray. I loveyou.”

Laughing, Grayson picks Nix up so he can swing him around. “I am so fucking relieved.” It’s so cute to see this paragon of “cool” acting giddy and like a boy on his first date. It throws Nix even farther into love.

And Grayson is there to catch him.

Hey, do I smell dinner? I’m starving.”

Nix regrets the words the second they leave his mouth—memories he’d rather leave behind. Grayson’s face falls just slightly, but he rallies quickly, smoothing it over before Nix can take it back. He’s grateful for that. If Grayson isn’t ready to call him on it, then maybe he can keep it locked up a little longer. It’s easier that way.

But not here. Not now. Not in this beautiful space. Not with this beautiful person.

He clears his throat. “Yeah. Let’s eat while it’s hot. Jay and Leo picked it up for us a while ago. I hope you like it.”

Grayson ushers him to the small eating area and onto a fluffy cushion. The lovely bouquet of pink flowers smells of summer-past. They might be his new favorite. Grayson sits as close to him as he can manage while still being able to serve their dinner, soNix is warmed by the fire on one side and his glowing mate on the other.

There’s a delicious crisp, cold, white wine and a salad with a tangy dressing, followed by creamy pasta with vegetables. Nix still can’t eat as much as he’d like, but he makes his best effort—especially when Grayson offers morsels of savory peppers or tangy tomatoes on the tines of his fork.

While they eat, Grayson asks him all the questions Nix thinks must be first-date questions—What’s his favorite color? Yellow. Favorite animal? Dogs, big ones. But he likes all animals. Mountains or beach? Beach. He misses the beach most of all. Florida seems a lifetime away.

In turn, Nix learns that Grayson loves all colors. A rainbow of canvases hanging on the few solid walls is proof of that. When Nix asks about the house’s neutral decor, Grayson confides that it’s meant to be a canvas for their lives.

He wanted his family to be the color—to add parts of themselves. And Nix can see that’s true: Gideon’s bowls of fruit and turquoise enamel pots, Finn’s “family” bookshelf in the living room, the spines in every shade of the rainbow—little pieces of them filling the space with life.

It makes Nix want to add something, too. Someday.

Grayson revealed he loves dogs best and is allergic to cats, but would take daily antihistamines so Gideon could have a million cats if his mate wanted. He tells stories of a tiny dog he’d loved as a child and, when Rex passed, how it had been his first genuine experience with grief.

Grief is something Nix understands, and when he asks his next question, he does so with a kiss on his soulmate’s cheek. Turns out Grayson loves the beach, too—but truly, he loves anywhere he can see beautiful things and make memories.

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