Nick’s POV
“Can we please go back?” I sighed.
Gabriel had been dragging me through the forest for the past half hour, telling me about plants and potions you could make from them. I have never been more bored in my life. I still didn’t understand why he wanted to take this walk.
“Why are you so cranky?” he asked me.
“I don’t like Aria being alone,” I said and stopped walking.
There was no way I was walking any further. We were going back. I missed her and I was not going to let him bore me to death.
“She is not alone,” he said and turned to look at me.
“I don’t like who she is with,” I growled.
I was thankful to Jacob for helping her the other day, but that still didn’t mean I like the guy. He wanted what was mine.
Gabriel rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine. We can go back.”
“Finally,” I muttered and turned around.
I swear to Goddess, the way back took us even longer. Gabriel was walking so slowly that I was tempted to pick him up and run back to the house.
“If you slow down a bit more, you will be moving backwards,” I growled at him.
Gabriel chuckled and started walking a bit faster. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he was keeping me away from the house. But why would he do that? My mate was there.
After a while, we finally reached the house. I recognized the area, but it was dark. Shouldn’t there be lights coming from the house?
My heart started beating faster.
What if something has happened? Where is Aria?!
My eye caught something that looked like Christmas tree lights. I hurried toward that. I could hear Gabriel behind me, but I didn’t turn around. I needed to find her.
I got out of the forest and immediately stopped walking.
“Happy birthday!” they screamed.
What?
My eyes roamed around. There were tables with drinks and snacks. The deck was decorated with string lights.
My eyes stopped on my mate.
Fucking hell.
Is she trying to kill me?
She was wearing a dress that let me see everything. The dress hugged her perfectly, and each and every curve of her body was on display. Her hair was curled slightly, and it fell down to her waist. She was wearing a little bit of makeup.
She was fucking beautiful.
And I don’t think I have ever been turned on more in my life. I was already hard as fuck, and I hadn’t even touched her yet.
“Happy birthday, man,” Gabriel said and patted me on the back.
“Thanks,” I muttered, not taking my eyes off my mate.
I started walking toward her. I need to touch her. Now.
She was smiling brightly, and she was so beautiful it fucking hurt me.
I took her in my arms. I wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her cheek. I couldn’t take my eyes off her face.
“Happy birthday, Nick,” she said and kissed me.
My whole body was on fire. Tingles and sparks felt like fucking fireworks under my skin. My brain was a complete mush. I didn’t see anything except her.
I opened my eyes and looked at her. “You are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly and smiled at me.
“Okay, stop staring at her, and let us wish you,” Cassie said and pulled Aria away from me.
I wanted to whine. I wanted to touch her.
Cassie hugged me. “Happy birthday.”
I hugged her back and took a deep breath. I should focus on others. They did this for me. I couldn’t ignore them. Although, that’s exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to throw Aria over my shoulder and take her to the bedroom.
Maybe I could do that later.
“Thank you, Cass,” I said.
She let go of me and Jacob and Blake shook my hand.
“So, how old are you?” Cassie asked me.
“25,” I said.
“Wow, an older man,” Cassie said with a smirk. “Nice, Ari.”
Aria chuckled and I frowned. “I am not old.”
“Keep telling yourself that, buddy,” Gabriel said and handed me a beer.
I took it from him and growled.
We spent the night chatting and laughing. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Aria. I kept imagining ripping that dress off of her body and tasting her. The alcohol wasn’t helping at all. The more I got, the more I wanted her. I almost took Jacob’s head off when I saw him staring at her. He shouldn’t see her like this. I was the only one who should see her like this.
My eyes were enjoying the view, but I was a little bit mad at her for letting other males see her like that.
After a while, I just couldn’t wait any longer to be alone with my mate. And I had enough of Jacob undressing her with his eyes.
She was standing near the drinks table talking to Cassie.
I walked behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“I am done celebrating my birthday with our friends,” I whispered as I leaned into her neck. “I am ready for a more private celebration.”
I could hear Aria’s heart beating faster, and I was sure she was blushing. I planted a small kiss on her neck, and she shivered.
Cassie chuckled and walked away from us.
I raised my head and turned to look at our friends.
“Good night, guys,” I said. “Thank you for the party. I will see you tomorrow.”
I took Aria’s hand in mine and started walking toward the house. As soon as we were out of sight, I grabbed her in my arms and started kissing her.
She tasted so sweet.
My heart was pounding fiercely in my chest, and I couldn’t get enough of her.
I picked her up in my arms and started walking toward our bedroom. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and I grabbed her butt. She moaned quietly, and it made me even harder. I didn’t think that was possible.
I entered our room and locked the door behind us.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” I asked, finally breaking our kiss and nibbling her lower lip.
“Your birthday present,” she answered, moaning slightly.
Oh, fuck.
I looked up at her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she whispered as she leaned in to kiss me. “I want you.”
I groaned and kissed her harder as I placed her down on the bed. This was the happiest day of my life. She was finally mine.
Aria’s POV
I woke up when I felt someone plant light kisses up and down my neck.
I moaned quietly and opened my eyes.
“Morning, love,” Nick said with a husky voice.
“Morning,” I smiled and turned my head to look at him.
“I would hate to be you, you know?” he said seriously as he traced his finger up and down my naked thigh.
My heart started beating painfully. Why? Did I do something wrong? Did he hate me? Was it bad for him? Oh, Goddess, it was. He has had so much experience, and I had none. It wasn’t good for him. He was going to reject me.
Fear and pain spread through my body like never before.
“Why?” I managed to ask.
I could feel my throat closing up and tears coming to the surface.
“I have absolutely no idea how you are going to top the present you gave me on my next birthday,” he said, not looking up at me. “The bar is pretty high up now.”
My eyes widened and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I clenched my fist and hit his shoulder.
“You almost gave me a heart attack!” I shouted.
He finally looked up at me with a playful smirk on his face. “Why?”
“I thought you were going to leave me,” I said.
His eyes widened and he instantly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to him.
“Why would you think that?” he asked me as he planted kisses on my face. “You are the best thing that happened to me. I am never leaving you. You are mine.”
I blushed and smiled at him.
“That was the best night of my life,” he said and kissed me deeply.
His tongue gently massaged mine, and it made me want him again.
“Really?” I asked him shyly when he stopped kissing me.
“Really,” he said with a big smile on his face.
I sighed in relief, and he raised his eyebrows at me. “What?”
“I was afraid it wasn’t good for you,” I said, staring at his chest so I could avoid his eyes. “You know, because I don’t have any experience.”
He placed a finger under my chin and raised my head to look at him.
“First of all, I can’t even begin to explain to you how happy I am that you don’t have any experience,” he said with a smile. “It means you were only ever mine and will only ever be mine. Second of all, every night I’ve spent with you since we met was the best night of my life. Because it was with you. We didn’t have to have sex. I was with you, and it was enough.”
His words were melting my insides. I didn’t know what to say, so I just leaned in and kissed him.
“I love you,” he said as I pulled back.
“I love you too,” I said quietly.
He gave me the biggest smile ever. “That is the first time you ever said that.”
I smiled and I could feel myself blushing.
He leaned in to kiss me again, but we were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Get up, Aria,” I heard Gabriel’s voice. “We have to practice.”
I groaned in annoyance. “I’m coming.”
“We will continue this tonight,” Nick said and kissed the tip of my nose.
I smiled and hopped out of the bed.
I took a quick shower and got dressed. Nick went to the bathroom after me.
“You are late,” Gabriel said when I got downstairs.
He seemed slightly angry.
“I am sorry,” I said and sat down beside him. “I slept in.”
“Mhm,” he mumbled.
“Is everything okay?” I asked him, slightly concerned. “You seem angry.”
“I am not,” he said, not looking at me.
He was a terrible liar.
“I can tell when you are lying,” I sighed. “I don’t know if it is because we are twins, or you are just terrible at it.”
He rolled his eyes and finally looked up at me. “I am not angry at you, okay?”
“But you are angry,” I said.
“Yes,” he sighed and leaned back on the couch.
“Why?” I asked him worriedly.
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
“I told him to go slow,” he said through his teeth. “He should have waited longer.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Who?”
“Nick,” he said and looked at me.
I was confused. What was he talking about? Why would Nick have to go slow? With what?
And then it dawned on me.
Shit.
I felt a blush forming on my cheeks. He told him to go slow with me. And he obviously knew what we did last night.
Oh, crap. I’d never been more embarrassed in my life.
I couldn’t come up with anything to say. I just stared at him, wide-eyed, praying for the earth to swallow me.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed,” Gabriel said when he saw my expression. “Sex is normal. But I wanted him to wait until you were completely ready.”
I cleared my throat and looked down at my sweaty hands. “I was ready.”
Gabriel placed his hand under my chin and raised my head.
“If he hurts you, you have to tell me,” he said sternly. “He is my friend, but you are my sister. I will rip him apart if one hair on your head gets hurt by him.”
I shivered at the tone of Gabriel’s voice. He was serious, wasn’t he?
“Do you understand, Aria?” Gabriel continued. “You have to tell me if he hurts you. Not just him. Anyone. You are mine to protect, and nobody hurts what’s mine. You have to tell me everything, okay?”
I nodded.
“Words, Aria,” he said, not letting go of my chin.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I will tell you if I get hurt.”
“Good,” he said and smiled.
He pulled me in for a hug, and I wrapped my hands around his neck. It felt a bit weird being protected like this. But I can’t begin to explain how happy I was. I was not alone. I had my brother. I had Nick. I had Cassie, Jake, and Blake. I was finally not alone.
