Chapter 6

Nikki

A soft knock sounds on the door, ripping me from the light sleep I was in. The sound alarming me instantly and I brace myself, guarded by the two big pillows and a blanket. The door opens slowly, creaking with every inch it moves and a familiar blond head pops out from behind it. 

"Nikki, hey. How's my favorite barista?" Eamon sings out and swings the door completely open. 

"What the heck! What are you doing here?" I ask, staring at him. Of all the people I expected to come and check on me Eamon must have been the last. I didn’t even know he lives here! 

He shows me one of his million-dollar smiles; big, grinning and brightly shining. "Surprise, surprise. I live here. We're neighbors now." 

"Wait... What? You live here? Oh god, you're Eamon, like in his younger brother Eamon." I gasp, finally connecting the dots. 

"The one and only sis!" He walks in, mindlessly throwing the door closed behind him and flopping down on the sofa next to me. 

Eamon takes in the small fortress I made with the big pillows and the blanket. 

"We'll need to work on your barricading skills though." He chuckles and drapes his arm around my shoulders. "How are you?" 

His warm apple pie scent calms me down a bit, dampening the storm of emotions that grows inside and reminding me of the time my mother was around. 

I relax into the sofa, still in denial he is going to be my brother-in-law. "What are you doing here?" I ask.

"Just checking on you. You want a drink?" He pushes himself off the sofa and walks over to the black cabinet with the skeleton of a scorpion crafted in its doors. 

"Sure, a neat whiskey is fine." I say, spying a bottle of Tomatine when he opens the door. 

He looks back at me with a big smile on his face. "I knew you were a keeper!" 

I smile weakly at him, my insides still a mess from the rollercoaster that has been the last couple of hours. Eamon pours the both of us a glass of whiskey and sits down beside me again. "Now talk."

So, I talk.

I tell him about my father and mother, about the rocky history I share with them. I tell him about Jennifer, my best friend and that we had a girlsnight out before Kian snatched me out of my life. I don't tell him about the part where I kissed Robert, I don't think my new brother-in-law will be too happy to hear all about that.

I tell him everything that is on my mind, and I feel valued, cared for. He really listens to me, and I haven't felt like that for quite a while. He listens the entire time attentively and I feel so much better when I am finished. Happy and relieved to have it out of my system.

"Your father would never have agreed to that deal if he knew what he was getting you into." Eamon mutters softly, nursing his whiskey. 

I glance at him, surprised that he would say such a thing about his brother. "What do you mean?" Nerves vibrate through my voice and start gnawing at my spine. 

"Sorry sis, it's not up to me to tell you the reason why. Kian will explain it to you in the morning." He smiles apologetically. 

I grunt and flop back into the pillows, arms folded over my chest. "He better hurry the fuck up then."

A loud knock on the door pulls the both of us out of the conversation and before Eamon or I can permit the person on the other side to enter, the door swings open. 

The woman on the other side smiles from ear to ear. She must be somewhere in her early sixties, has soft curves, high cheekbones and the same shade of pitch-black hair Kian has. 

"Finally! Let me look at you child." She marches into the room; her arms open for me and somehow, I can't stay seated. I rise to my feet and meet the woman in the middle of the room. She swirls around me, her piercing gaze scanning every inch of me available like I am her newest trophy, making my skin crawl. 

She stops right in front of me, her piercing gaze finding my eyes and staring right back at me are the same shade green colored eyes Kian has. Fuck... She's his mother. 

I ransack my mind for her name. Jeanet, no. Sharon, eeh no. God what was her name again. 

But she beats me to it, with that same big smile on her face she holds out her hand for me. I take it and shake it, a short powerful handshake. 

"Nikki." I say firmly, holding her gaze. I can't afford to have this weird woman overpower me with a simple handshake, the sudden importance of it burning through me. 

"Nice to meet you Nikki, I am Siobhan. Kian's mother." 

She looks me over once more, like she is debating with herself what she should think of me. "You are quite stunning for a human; I can see why my son wants you." She says ‘for a human’ so casually the comment almost goes over my head. Almost. 

My mind goes blank and all alarm bells start ringing at the same time. How, what, huh?? What did she say? I somehow gather the courage or stupidity to form my thoughts into a sentence, to a question. 

"For a human?" I mutter, the words a mere whisper. But I know she heard me loud and clear as she claps a hand over her mouth and Eamon groans loud. 

"Really mom." 

"Oh! I'm sorry dear, but oh crap! Eamon?" Siobhan glances at her son, hoping for help. 

"No mom, you made the mess, you clean it up." He leans back in the cushions of the sofa; amusement plays on her features. 

"Kian is going to kill her, when he finds out she ran her mouth." Eamon chuckles into my ear, my eyes widen. 

"You can't be serious and what do you mean for a human? Are you aliens or something? Or do you just have a really fucked up sense of humor, because I don't find this funny." I almost snarl the last bit, getting fed up with the situation and the ridiculousness of everything.

A big smile breaks on Siobhan’s face. "You got a bite! I love it! And you don't have to worry about a thing. Kian may be powerful, but he still isn't as powerful as I am, and he won't harm you. You are his fiancé remember." She says happily and claps her hands. 

A second later, two young women enter the living room. They look identical with their golden hair, dressed in a white blouse and mahogany dressed pants with a crimson stripe down the side of their legs. 

They push a golden stroller in with them. The stroller has three dresses wrapped in safety covers hanging on the rail, with several pairs of high heels and a box bejeweled of sapphires, diamonds and other gemstones standing on the flooring. 

I look at the women and the golden trolley filled with wedding stuff., I am stunned, speechless, breathless even. This is really happening; I am really going to marry a man I know nothing about and ooh for fuck's sake! I am marrying him and I have got to sleep with him and do all the other stuff wives do!! 

Flashbacks from the heated kiss in the car cross my mind, the way his scent prickled my nose and the feel of his soft lips on mine. Maybe the sleeping part isn't so bad. 

I chuckle softly about my train of thought, way to go Nikki! One kiss and already swooning for your kidnapper, daydreaming about how sex with him would be. 

The two women bow deep before us. "Your Majesties, my Lady. Here are the dresses, shoes and jewelry you requested." They say in unison and I stare at them both, mouth agape, mind rattled again. 

"You can close your mouth now Nikki. This all comes with the title." Eamon chuckles and nudges my side. I close my mouth, but the main question in my mind is. Your Majesties? Like what?

"Wait, so you are a Prince and your mother is.." Realization dawns and I stare at them, wide-eyed and horrified at my own bluntness at a queen. 

"A Queen, yes. That makes you the Crown Princess after your wedding, since Kian is Crown Prince." Eamon says soberly. 

The world starts spinning around me, emotions and the reality and the absurdity of everything clashing into me. Pounding into the center of my being, until the world around me turns black and peacefully silent. 

~~

A cold cloth on my forehead, warm spices and an angry male voice pull me out of the darkness I was floating around in. "You told her what?!" Kian hisses, violence and power in his voice. I flinch, even in my clouded state the stinging power reaches to my bones. 

Soft fingers caress my cheek, there lays a comfort and warmth in them I didn't expect would accommodate the harsh tone. I breathe in the soothing mix of warm spices and male musk.

God, he smells good. 

My eyes flutter open and Kian's peridot green eyes stare down on me, somehow getting brighter the longer I gaze in them. "Hey." I muster with a small smile. 

"Hey." He smiles a fangy smile down on me and places a soft kiss on my forehead. 

The sight of his fangs brings everything that was revealed to me this evening crashing down and back into me. 

I gasp, “They aren't human” and push I myself up and away from him. But I push myself into another set of arms. 

Fuck! 

I try to get to my feet, but Kian catches my hands and pulls me towards him again. "Don't try to get away from me little hellcat." His voice is soft and pressing, but his eyes, they bleed black again. 

"Let go, just please let me go." My voice breaks and tears stream down my cheeks, there is no way out of this, no escape, no freedom, no nothing. 

My heart plummets into a deep abyss, swirling into deep pits of fear, sorrow and utter helplessness. As if he can feel it, he reaches out. His embrace is warm and chills me to the core at the same time, his touch tainting everything with a sticky blackness that turns to rot. 

"You'll be alright, just don't run from me. I'll explain everything to you." He whispers into my ear. I glance up in his perfectly normal green eyes, his expression is soft and somehow, I find a little piece of my bravery again. 

"Then, explain it to me."

Kian sighs deep and rakes a hand through his thick black hair. "Okay, please try to keep an open mind." He nods at his brother and mother. They disappear out of the room. 

I climb on the sofa, pull my knees to my face and wrap my arms around them. Kian drapes a blanket around my shoulders and pushes a glass of water in my hands before he sits down next to me. 

"Alright, I'll start at the beginning. My parents are the King and Queen of the United Lowlands, or as you know it, the Benelux. I am the Crown Prince to the empire and when we are wed, you will be the Crown Princess. We govern a, how should I say this, a shadow world. Unknown to most people, but more powerful than any of the governmental institutions you know. My brother is second to the crown, general to my armies and the one who has been keeping an eye on you while I figured out a way to get close to you." He pauses a moment, checking if I keep up with the information bomb he just dumped in my lap. 

The words circle in my head. King and Queen, he's a Crown Prince to some shadow kingdom and Eamon is.. Nah, he can't be a general. The guy is so light-hearted, it doesn't make any sense. 

"You are joking. There is no such thing as the United Lowlands or a shadow world, you are just making up stuff so this marriage thing doesn't look as absurd as it is." I say irritated, shaking my head in disbelief. "And come on, your brother as a general. The guy is way too relaxed for such a stiff position." I continue.

Kian just smiles. "Look around you Nikki, really look around you and think, then tell me you still don't believe me."

And I can't help but see the logic in his explanation. Eamon came out of nowhere into the coffee shop and kept coming regularly, even though the coffee isn't that great. I used to bump into him on the street at least once a week.

 Whenever I went out with friends, I always felt watched. The proof was the insane amount of wealth of this place and the staff who addressed Kian, Eamon and Siobhan with Your Majesties and me with My Lady. It does add up. No matter how troubling and nerve wrecking it may seem and feel; it adds up. 

I look at the man beside me, seeing him with new eyes. Why on earth would he want me? He's a Crown Prince;, he could have anyone. I'm a nobody, who barely finished college. I've got a meaningless job. The only thing I have going for me is the weird combination of tanned skin with natural silver/platinum hair and stormy eyes. I just don’t get it. 

"But why? Why me and what do you mean by shadow world?" I ask, murmuring the words barely loud enough for him to hear. 

He reaches and cups my cheek with his palm. "Because you are a rarity, you are honest and caring and unearthly stunning. You are intelligent enough to be wary around me, yet brave enough to stand up to me. You intrigue me; you're a rare flower amidst the chaos and putrid of the world around you." His eyes sparkle, gazing deep into my soul and I feel the honesty in his words. He really feels and believes I am all that. 

I am stunned by his confession; how could he already feel and think like that about me? We only just met. I swallow, hard. 

"You seem so sure, it's hard to wrap my head around it. So, what about that shadow world? I want answers, I need them." 

Kian grins. "I am sure. You have proved me right over and over again the past few months and I can't wait to make you my own. The shadow world part I'll explain to you after the wedding. You are already running late and just like in the normal, human world we believe it's bad luck to see the bride’s dress before the wedding. So, hurry up and let mom dress you up." 

He pushes his lips against mine, kissing me vigorously and tangling his hand in my hair. Surprised I kiss him back and he groans against my lips when I lick his bottom lip. 

"Behave little hellcat." Kian says to my lips and bites my bottom lip as a warning, a promise. I glance at him through my lashes, breathless from the kiss and all worked up from this impossible man. 

"I can't make any promises." I breathe and push him off of me, smirking like a mad woman. 

Kian smirks back at me, eyes full of mischief and amusement. "I'll see you at the altar princess."