Falk Clan Tales - Chapter 99: Chapter 99

Minnie was waiting for the clay to finish baking in the kiln before she began painting the last of the three figurines that Roger had broken.
Of the three, this was the only one she had done in clay. The other two were a mix of wires and fabric string. That was the thing about sculpting, anything was her medium. Because of the holidays, she’d turned her attention to celestial beings like angels and constellations, bringing them to life with anything that took her fancy.
All day, though, she’d been dying to ask Nicholas for permission to use his form in her work. A hunk of stone Sunny had sent over to her sat in the corner of the room with a note identifying it as some kind of quartz. The silver, red, orange, and gold swirled through the beautiful specimen, reminding her of Nicholas’ eyes.
Ever since she’d seen it, Minnie had associated the stone with Nick. The seed was already planted, she just needed to confirm her imaginings with actual visual representation of Nick’s Dragon. Anticipation made her shiver, and she inhaled slowly, sipping tea as she tried to clear her mind.
He'd texted her an hour ago, stating he’d found Roger at the strip club and had everything handled, but Nicholas still had not returned. Her phone buzzed from its place on the worktable, and she turned to see a text coming in from Sunny.
Sunny
Minnie? Nick texted Devine to run an errand with him hours ago, but he still isn’t back. What is going on?
Minnie
Sorry Sunny, I should have known he would call his brother. Nothing to worry about, they just went to get some things Roger took from me.
Sunny
That creep stole from you again?
Minnie
Yeah. Fucking asshole broke some of my sold pieces, too. I am finishing up new ones now.
Sunny
OMG! I am so sorry, Min. That bites.
Minnie
It’s okay. I just don’t want the customers to be disappointed.
Sunny
I know how you are.
Minnie
So, how’s mated life?
Sunny
OMG, Min. Devine is the best. I am soooo happy. And I can’t wait to hear all about you and Nicholas. Has he claimed you yet? When are you going to tell your parents?
Minnie
Whoa! Down girl. Not happening. We’re just friends. Friends with benefits, Sunny.
Sunny
I am calling you.
Minnie sighed and waited for the phone to ring. She put it on speaker so she could work with her hands while they chatted. Some folks needed peace and quiet to create, but Minnie was a little more chaotic than that. It was a quality some critics remarked was the only human thing about her work.
“Friends with benefits? Are you fucking kidding me? I saw the way you watched him at the party today, Min. I have never seen you like that. You looked happy, and at ease, and you were laughing, for fuck’s sake⁠—”
“Sunny, slow your roll,” Minnie muttered into the phone.
“Slow my roll? Minnie, you love him. Admit it,” her annoying BFF demanded.
“Okay, you’re crazy. Multiple orgasms do not a love match make!” Minnie shouted, completely shocked by Sunny’s declaration.
“There is more to life than sex, Min.”
“Really, like what? Sunny, I love you and you are my best friend. Hell, you’re more sister to me than Artemis, but you need to stop your crazy talk.”
“Fine. Don’t believe me. But Minnie, these Graystone brothers aren’t like your other guys. These Dragons are tough to crack, but when they do, they stick for good,” Sunny said softly.
Unease welled within Minnie as she bid Sunny goodnight. This was not how things were supposed to go. Nicholas had busted into her life on a particularly chaotic night, and he’d seemed like the perfect distraction. She was a woman who prided herself on knowing what she wanted out of life.
Career as an artist? Done. Life outside the Pack? Have at it. Sex without strings? Yeppers.
Approaching Nicholas with her proposal might have been forward or even bizarre for a normal, but Minnie was a Wolf. Sex without emotional attachment was not new to her, but for some reason, thinking about Nick like that made her heart squeeze painfully. Sunny’s words suddenly drifted through her brain—you love him.
“I do not!” she exclaimed aloud.
Only Minnie could hear her own lie within her words. Nicholas was so much more than a hot body to ride until New Year’s Day. He was sexy and fun, and she loved teasing the grumpy man till he rewarded her with one of his thousand watt grins. They’d known each other for so short a time, but she’d already told him everything about herself. Including her humiliating experience with Roger the Creep.
When she’d told her brother about what happened, he’d laughed at her, and Artemis had told Minnie it was her own fault.
“That’s what you get messing with a human.”
True, she’d always dated humans, but that was because of her close proximity with them for her work. People in that world were mostly all human, with a few rare exceptions.
She’d never been able to truly be herself around them, keeping the Shifter secret was of course one of the most important jobs of their kind. History had proven time and again that normals could not deal with the existence of supernaturals on a global level. Most of those previous incidents had been handled by the experts.
Humans and supes could fall in love, of course, but it had never happened for her. Maybe because Minnie was always holding back. Being with a Dragon sure had its perks. For one thing, Minerva did not have to hold back with Nicholas.
She could tell him anything, say anything about being a Shifter, and he was okay with it. Eating had always been an issue since she could never eat her full capacity in front of normal boyfriends, but with Nick, he not only anticipated her appetite when he’d piled food onto her plate, but he appreciated it as well if his purring growls and the bites of food he'd hand fed her were anything to go by. Then there was the sex.
Holy fucking cow. Sex was usually just icing on the cake in her not so humble opinion. But sex with Nicholas was beyond anything she’d ever experienced.
He was the perfect combination of rough and tender, insatiable and fulfilling. His carnal knowledge of her body made her tremble with memories of his sweet kisses, sizzling caresses, and incomparable body.
When she’d given herself to him, Minnie had done so with open eyes. Regret was not part of her vocabulary, and she did not for a moment think she’d made a mistake with him. But what if Sunny was right?
The wheels in her head began turning and panic took hold. Where was he? It had been hours and Nicholas hadn’t called or returned. What if something had happened?
Her stomach turned with worry, and she paced. Was this love then? This feeling of going crazy, losing her mind with worry, and helplessness without a word from him. Is this anxiety ridden panic for another person really what love was about? If so, then Minnie did not want it.
Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.
The timer on the oven chimed, and she turned to remove it from the heat. Cool. Paint, Glaze, and then back inside. She spent the next few hours doing just that.
The clock chimed five by the time the front door opened, and Minnie had worked herself up into such a state she did something unforgivable when she met him at the door. Minerva Lykos covered her mouth with her hand, and she cried.
“Minerva, what’s wrong?” Nicholas’ eyes churned with worry as he dropped a bag on the floor inside the door. He was covered in snowflakes and his cheeks were ruddy with cold.
“This is your fault!” she yelled and stormed away.
“What are you talking about? Hold on a sec,” he growled and took off after her.
But she was not about to stop. She couldn’t. Minnie was having a full blown panic attack, and all because her no-strings attached policy was being blown to smithereens by a sexy Dragon.
“Minerva,” Nicholas snarled when he came upon her in the bedroom.
She was grabbing some clean clothes and stuffing them into her bag. This was not right. She had to leave before she was permanently stuck on this man. This big, beautiful man who had the power to hurt her more than anyone else.
“No. Nuh uh. No way. Not doing this,” she muttered.
“What is going on? What changed?”
“Nothing. Everything. This was supposed to be no strings.”
“Have I done something wrong, Minerva? I have made no demands,” he said, and she slowed her movements.
Fuck. He was right. Nicholas had not asked her for a single thing. He had done everything she said, and more. And that was what hurt the worst.
“You did nothing wrong, Nick. I did.”
“What are you saying?” he asked, eyes blazing silver as he looked at her.
“I fell in love with you,” she confessed, allowing her tears to spill down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to. Sunny pointed it out, and I denied it, but then you didn’t come home, and I worried. Me. I, I worried. I never worry, Nicky! Never ever. But I worried about you, and I feel all twisted up inside and I think I must be dying, or something, cause this sucks, and I know it is my fault, but I can’t do casual with you. I just can’t,” she finished, slumping to the floor, and burying her face in her hands.