Niko(Love Me Harder #2)(32)

“Bull. You’re just scared and you’re putting your fears on him. He has been doing nothing, but walking in front of this bed like it held the answers to all of life’s unanswered questions. Now tell me he’s not your man. Tell me you really want to walk away and never see him again.”

“I want him to live Rena. Obviously, one of the brothers hates me. Why else would they have tried to take me out?”

“What?”

“Niko wasn’t cruising Rena. Who else could have targeted me at that speed?”

“Dee, listen to me. It wasn’t one of Niko’s brothers. They have been here pacing and waiting for news of your recovery. Nobody has left. Each one of them has marched in here and knelt by your bedside and sworn an oath to help protect their new sister.”

Dee shook her head.

“Yes. Listen. The Dare brothers are not the only created on this planet. Dante and his brothers are not the exception. There are created in every city. I don’t know why one took a shot at you. Maybe he was jealous of Niko. We both know jealousy can drive men to extremes. What I do know is that the created in this house are your brothers and your mate. They would never hurt you.”

“Look at me Rena. I am a mess. Why would he want me?” She lowered her eyes. Most of her confidence, when it came to her looks, was a lie. The only thing she knew for sure was that she could work numbers until they sang. Who really needed someone like that?

“Because I love you.”

Niko stepped into the room. He had stopped not wanting to intrude on their conversation. He wouldn’t allow her to believe that he didn’t want her.

“Niko.”

He smiled at her. “Hi, kitten.”

He smiled at Rena and touched her shoulder saying thank you as he moved past her.

“How do you feel?”

“I hurt, but it’s getting better.”

“Liar. It will get better. You just need time to heal. I wish I could give you my healing ability.”

“Sorry I brought all this drama into your life.”

“Every life needs a little drama. Nicolas is going to want to see you now that you’re officially awake.”

“I know. Niko, Rena said that there are other created on the earth besides you and your brothers.”

He nodded his head. “There are many of us. My family is family because we share the same mother. Other families share different traits. The created is a family as a whole, because were all created.”

“Each of your brothers has a different father?”

“It’s not that simple. The male DNA was manipulated and combined with other male DNA. A different combination was used on each of us. We all hail from more than one male.”

“Does it make you mad?”

“No. It is who I am. I know things are different for many species, but this is how The Created were made.”

He sat on the side of the bed and took her hands in his.

She reached up and rubbed his cheek feeling his smooth skin.

“Dee?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to leave me?”





Chapter Nineteen




She had been thinking about it. From the moment she woke up, she had started to plan her escape. Her ‘it’s me not you’ routine was so fluid, she should patent it.

She allowed her eyes to close. He had been so direct. He knew her better than any of the others. If she were honest, she would say she liked that about him. She had no intentions of being honest.

She opened her mouth to reassure him that she was not leaving and closed it again. She wouldn’t lie. She wanted to. She did it so well. How had a few days changed her? Had it changed her or was she just on temporary hiatus?

“I don’t know. How do you stay with someone when you know you are putting their life in danger?”

“Seems selfish doesn’t it?” He got up and walked away from her, moving to the window. “Right now you should be home, laying in your bed watching television or maybe out drinking with some guy in a bar. It would have been that way, but I couldn’t leave well enough alone.”

He looked at her, giving her a smile that about broke her heart.

“I couldn’t walk away from you, even though I knew I should. You are so beautiful, but that’s not why I couldn’t leave you alone. The outside fades you know. It’s the fire in your eyes and the kindness in your heart that attracts me to you. The smell of your skin is intoxicating. I need to be around you. You make me feel alive. Selfish, I know. Now your life is in danger. You almost died, all because I want you.”

“Are you saying this is your fault?”

He nodded his head and broke eye contact. Turning he looked out of the window over his base, his home. It would be nothing without her here.