Page 12 of Encore
“Can I be completely furious at Marsden and still wear this? Is there a sacred code about wearing dresses from men who could have gotten you killed?”
“If there is, there’s probably an exception for a Lavinia Diablo original. Youhaveto let me do your hair and makeup. I adore doing makeovers, but most people get on my nerves, so I never get to do them. Arden and Bevan let me do their stage makeup, but it’s not the same.”
“You have a deal. I’m so glad you ended up being my roommate, Nyx.”
“Me, too, but you’re getting feelings on me, and I don’t like it.”
I just laughed. Marsden may have put me with Nyx because she was a banshee and could give me a warning if someone was going to die, but she really was terrific and was becoming one of my best friends.
Chapter9
Arden
This situation was so fucked up, and it was more than just the curse. I always thought I wouldn’t meet my mate until I retired and had my fun exploring everything the kink life offered. I thought my mate would be another gryphon, and she might be open to exploring the lifestyle.
I wasn’t expecting Beyla or my gryphon to claim Bevan, too, but I was quite satisfied with that arrangement. I thought I would hate Nicolai and Merlin in the picture, but I didn’t. Witches weren’t monogamous, and really, was I anymore? I was asking Beyla to let me share Bevan with her. After that, I thought I could deal with Nicolai and Merlin.
Then, last night and today happened. Merlin saw what Beyla and Nyx needed, and he asked permission first. I knew that was a big thing for Beyla, but it was major for Nyx after what happened at her previous company when she left Canada to get away from her ex. Merlin went out of his way to help my mate and my best friend, and I could see how he made it better as the night went on.
The whole video was Merlin’s idea, but I was glad he suggested it. Some guys bonded over sports or role-playing games. We were dancers. Ballet was our life, and choreographing a dance and announcing how much Beyla meant to us to the rest of the world was perfect for that.
Marsden had put Nicolai, Merlin, and me on stage together before, but Julian was always with us, giving off his bad vibes. Julian was never front and center when he was dancing, but that didn’t mean he didn’t try to make his way there by force. I wasn’t being arrogant when I said we were all better dancers than Julian, and he’d never be placed above us in any dance when we were sharing a stage.
I think I spoke for all of us when I said we all would have preferred Bevan. He’d always been a stronger and more courteous dancer than Julian.
This dance just sealed it. Dancing with Beyla felt natural. It felt like they created her to be my dance partner. I had other partners besides Bellatrix and Ivory that were a dream to dance with, but nothing like Beyla. It was like that with the other guys, and I could put my jealousy aside and recognize that.
You could tell a lot about a person by dancing with them. I never really realized what generous stage partners Merlin and Nicolai were without Julian dancing with us and bringing down the whole vibe.
We choreographed this dance together, and we just meshed well. No one was trying to hog the limelight. Even though we couldn’t stand each other before, we could admit what the others were good at when it came to ballet.
It wasthrillingto set choreography on people I knew were amazing dancers and could do things that I would always struggle with. If I had any reservations about these guys before, it was gone now.
We were walking back to Beyla and Nyx’s apartment. I really hoped Nyx hadn’t bitten her. She could get a little feral sometimes. I’dneverask her to babysit any children I might have. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked her to watch my mate? If there was a smack down with a witch and a banshee in their apartment, Mrs. Garcia was going to have a stroke, and none of us could ever get to do our laundry again unless we carted it somewhere.
When I let us into the apartment, Nyx was surrounded by a mountain of pointe shoes, and Beyla heard me unlocking the door. She must have liked the video because she flung herself at the four of us. Like, she launched her body sideways at all of us.
We’d be shit dancers and even bigger shit boyfriends if we dropped her. Of course, she wasn’t the first woman to throw herself at any of us, but unlike most thirsty women, we gave a shit if she ended up on the floor. Merlin caught her head, Nicolai had her shoulders, I caught her middle, and Bevan got her feet.
I heard what we were all hoping to hear when we made that video—Beyla laughing. We set her down, and she kissed us all. It didn’t piss me off to watch her kiss Nicolai and Merlin like I thought it would. She needed them, and I could admit they all brought something to the table I didn’t.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it before, and I couldn’t believe I was saying this, but I needed to step back and stop hogging her time. I loved being alone with her. I adored the noises she made when I spanked her bottom, and she came on my tongue. She was with Nicolai at the studio before class, but I was there any other time she was with Nicolai and Merlin. I needed to step back and give them some alone time.
As much as I wanted to be with her, I didn’t want to be the kind of mate that was up her ass all the time. She needed her space and from what I understood about witches, forming a coven was a major thing. It couldn’t be rushed. I wasn’t going to stand in her way.
“Beyla, I’m going to kidnap Bevan and Nyx so you can have some alone time with Nicolai and Merlin,” I said.
“Seriously?” Nicolai said.
“I love it when Arden kidnaps me!” Nyx shrieked.
Beyla walked over and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Arden, I appreciate this, but are you okay with it?”
Thatwas why this witch was my mate. This was natural for her, but not for me. Now that it was actually happening to me, it didn’t feel like this was against my nature. I was okay with it, but she still wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing something I didn’t want just to make her happy.
I squeezed her and kissed the top of her head.
