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Once the cover up had dried and done its job, Isleeved, off the shoulder e exposure, which I preferred, but the dress was short enough and tight enough Nix would be pleased

I shuddered involuntarily at my appraisal

My red waves were swept over one shoulder in a fishtail braid that seemed complex, but wasn’t and my makeup was fresh and clean I slipped into soly necklace I stared atthe next four hours and then grabbedroo in the city skyline His reflection was mirrored in the clear pane, his expression intense and serious He didn’t turn autoainstfor him to notice me His broad shoulders were covered by a perfectly fitted navy blue suit, and his hair was expertly styled I studied his profile more from raw hypnosis than conscious desire His jaw line was chiseled and strong, his nose the perfect accent to his striking face, his dark eyes penetrating and always passionate He was gorgeous, that much was undeniable He screamed masculinity, testosterone and dorenades setting off inside my blood rely beautiful

That was Nix

Dazzling

And wicked

The worst kind of wicked

He finally turned to facewith one of the four buttons on his cuff He wasn’t wearing a tie and had left the button open at the collar of his crisp white oxford My nerves cal of how he commanded every room he stood in, how he stood out frood sent from Olympus That kind of outwardly perfection was inherently flawed on the inside

He had to be

Or I would never survive

My hand instinctively flew to my ribs and where the scraords I had picked so carefully were etched into my skin His eyes bore into mine froaze and defied logic by holding it

"I see that," hetowards me He took the room in four confident strides and was only two inches in front of ret the bravado I tried to pull off "You’re lovely tonight" His voice floated aroundand fawning But I couldn’t give in, not even a little bit His voice was dangerous

"Thank you," I replied because that hat I was taught to say

"Your retting I didn’t even want to speculate, so I took the arm he had offered me and let him lead me out the door and down the elevator

His sleek Jaguar C-X75 aiting for us in front of the building He opened the door for me and helped me slide onto the luxurious leather seat I hadn’t bothered with a coat and I had forgotten my purse, so I fiddled with my cellphone idly while I waited for Nix to climb into the driver’s seat

Nix put the car into drive and eased out of the circular driveway in front of our building We headed north, away from don and toward Dundee, a quaint section of Omaha with expensive bistros that served unique, but world class food It wasn’t that long of a drive, and silence filled the space between us Nix was intense while he drove Nix was always intense and never tolerated idle conversation unless he absolutely needed to I was intimidated and anxious, so silence was fine with nored it If Exie or Sloane were texting about Nix or really anything right now, I didn’t want hih We exchanged numbers yesterday and I didn’t want to have to explain too much about hiation and if Nix asked ards to the relationship I would have to say yes And I wasn’t ready for that

Nix found a parking spot directly in front of the restaurant, which I thought was lucky, but probably normal for someone like him The very best of life just fell into his lap, he was used to it, expected it even I stayed put in the car while he climbed out and walked around to open the door for ht me how to behave properly; I was a prisoner to manners and tradition

And the curse

Just like Nix was

My mother was already seated at a table inside the dimly lit French restaurant She stood alked in the door, greeting us each with a gentle hug and a kiss on both cheeks Her eyes flitted over e from her scrutiny She was of course, above reproach in stylishly cut, high waisted black tailored pants and a soft pink silk shirt She looked ht about her She was stunning, coant, poised and absolutely untouchable and distant

Eventually the beauty would fade, she would develop wrinkles, and her hair would thin and gray and her body would begin to sag It happened to every woman, ithout exception But my mother would never lose her allure; men would always be drawn to her

And to me No matter how I detested this outward beauty, men would alorship it

"How’s Honor?" Nix asked first while we settled behind our menus, and they sipped their wine

Myher wine and looking around the restaurant impatiently for our waiter I clenched at the napkin inwhatever had my mother so nervous Her eyes flickered everywhere in the room, except to Nix and this only made me more anxious

"She’s very devoted to her father," she finally adh my mouth and I felt lance but I s to avoid an explanation I loved that my sister had a father and they were so close I loved that she had been saved from our world, from my mother… From Nix But obviously I couldn’t explain that to thelass between his thuer slowly He didn’t have very reatest skills But his fingers hite with the effort to stop hiers

I wiped at the corners ofat his frustration "So she isn’t willing to go back to trial?" I asked in a reen eyes found mine with such intensity that it felt like she slapped me "No, she doesn’t want to dispute custody She says she’s happy with the way things are" My ue like malicious drops of acid How dare one of her children be happy…