Page 29 of Nicolette

Neither of them used a keycard, entered a code, or anything that showed the door was locked to the outside world. The lobby was clean but simple, like any normal apartment building, with a wall of mailboxes and a set of four elevators. There were a few chairs scattered around, but the space didn’t look all that used. The rest of the guys were waiting near the elevator, talking as we joined them.

“Why is she going to stay with you? That’s not fair,” Circus asked, a pout on his lips. “There are a few vacant apartments, so she can have her own space.”

Bless that man for understanding that I absolutely would prefer to live on my own. Too many people all the time was too much.

“That way, I can move in with her, and she won’t be mad because it’s her place… right?” Circus asked, turning to look at me with puppy dog eyes. Scratch that. They looked more like adorable large kitten eyes.

“You’re adorable, but how about instead of moving in, we have sleepovers?” I offered.

A wide smile bloomed on his face. “I’ve never had a sleepover before. Oh yes, let’s do that.”

“No,” Nine snapped. “She will be with me in my apartment. End of discussion.”

Circus practically deflated at this order. “Does that mean no sleepover?”

Everything in me wanted to hug the damn leopard, but I knew it would set Nine off, and Circus didn’t deserve that from him. Instead, I booped him on the nose to gain his attention and smiled. “I still want a sleepover. Maybe I can stay at your place for a night since we can’t do the other way around.”

“Enough, Nicolette. You’re staying with me not only because you’re my fated pair. You need one of us around you at all times. That rule didn’t change because of our situation. I take my role as alpha seriously, and making sure you adjust to shifter life is fucking important,” Nine said, his voice booming with his alpha magic. “Have I made myself clear?”

All of us nodded since his magic demanded a response from us.

“Good, now the rest of you do whatever is needed personally, but meet me in the clubhouse at six. There’s business to deal with, and we took four days off that weren’t planned. Shipments will be dropping in two days, and I don’t think we’re ready,” Nine ordered as he hit the button for the elevator and took my hand. “Oh, and let’s keep things quiet about the whole fated pair situation until I’ve spoken with the shifter council for more information.”

They all mumbled their agreement, and when the elevator doors opened, they didn’t follow after us. Nine hit the number thirty, and we were shooting upward to the top. “Fuck, this elevator is fast.”

“Some Fae owed us big money, so in exchange, they worked a little magic on all the elevators so they would never break down,” Nine shared as he watched the numbers on the screen rise. “A rather handy side effect of the spell is how fast they move.”

The doors popped open, revealing a simple tan carpeted hallway. The hall itself was rather narrow, with doors on the outside of the circle and none on the inside. I followed after Nine, taking note there were five apartments on this floor, and was curious if that was the same on the others because that didn’t provide much housing for as large as this building was. Pulling a set of keys out of his pocket, he unlocked apartment three and stepped inside.

I was surprised by how large the space was since it was shaped like a wide-tipped triangle. The kitchen was right at the entrance with minimal counter space and all the basic appliances you’d need but nothing fancy. The whole place had exposed brick, open ceiling, and hardwood floors giving it a bit of a loft warehouse vibe. A punching bag hung from one of the steel beams in the space between the kitchen and the living room. With the size of the apartment getting wider the further you went, the living room was quite roomy—large leather couch, coffee table, massive television on the wall, and some bookshelves. I didn’t see an eating area and took a wild guess that the gym area was where that was supposed to be.

It was a rather brilliant idea. Who the fuck ate at a table if they had a couch to sit on? A door on rolling hinges was half open, showing the bedroom just as he’d left it. King-size bed unmade, workout clothes that had been chucked at the hamper but didn’t make it in lying on the floor. A nightstand with a stack of books on it, along with an old analog alarm clock. Everything about this place screamed bachelor pad, but I didn’t mind. I wasn’t one for the frou-frou fancy type shit. If there was a bed that was decent enough to sleep on, I was good.

“Make yourself at home,” Nine announced as he stood in the middle of the living room, watching me intently. “This space is yours now too. I have no secrets hidden in here, so snoop to your heart’s content. It will all be pretty boring. I’ll need to make some space for your things in the dresser, but there’s room in the closet. Bathroom is the door on the right, closet to the left, but I’m sure you’d figure it out once you opened the door.”

“Speaking of things,” I said, slipping my hands into my pockets. “How exactly am I going to acquire a whole new wardrobe, basic personal hygiene items, and, oh… I don’t know… everything you could possibly think of since I own fucking nothing.”

Nine closed the two steps between us and cupped my face. “Look, I get it, you don’t want to be dependent on anyone, but for right now, that’s how it’s going to be at least to start. Once we can find you a place to work within the pride, you’ll be making your own money. No one pays rent or utilities. The pride takes care of that expense. So you’ll just need to worry about food, phone, personal expenses, and whatever else you want.”

“So this has nothing to do with me being your fated pair and the need to provide for me?” I challenged, for which my lioness snapped at me for being ungrateful.

“Let’s call it a bit of both. All members of the pride are given shelter if they don’t have any when they come to us. As for the clothes and other things, that would be me providing for you, but I would also do that for any female that needed my help,” Nine answered.

A snarl tore out of me as I slapped his hands away. “Do not speak of other females so casually, mate.”

Horrified at what came out of my mouth, I slapped both hands across it to keep from saying anything else. What the hell was that? I demanded from my lioness because I knew for damn sure I wasn’t the one who’d said that. She had her hackles raised as she paced in my mind waiting to see how Nine would make amends for his mistake.

His solution was to prowl toward me until my back hit the brick wall and wrap a hand around my neck, using his thumb to tip my head up. “Could it be that you’ve accepted our situation more than you’ve let on? Or is your control of your lioness weakened because of her strong feelings?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s the latter because she’s fucking pissed. Oh, and she’s waiting for an apology,” I added to appease her.

“Is she now?” Nine asked, closing the space between us to run his cheek along mine as he whispered into my ear, “What does she want as an apology?”

Desire for this man roared through me as he ran the back of his fingers over my nipple. Was this man trying to distract me with sex?

“There must be something I can do to show her that no other female will hold my attention,” he pressed, pinching my nipple and giving it a slight tug. “Although I’m tempted to show you just what I’ve been dealing with every time one of the guys gets too close to you. Fair play, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yet it doesn’t seem to apply to all men because there’s Rambler,” I countered.