Unexpected: Forever His (Book 1)

Chapter 22: The Morning After

*****Kayla pictured above*****

I stretched and stifled a yawn as I slowly sat up and pulled the sheet around my body. The fact that I was alone in my bed didn't surprise me, but I missed him with a passion. His kisses lingered on my skin. I wasn't sure there was a place his lips had not touched and it made me feel beautiful.

I sighed and stood up. I reached down and picked up my robe and slid it on just as a knock sounded on the other side of the door. I smiled hoping it was Dante, but when I got close enough I knew it wasn't. His scent was nowhere around except the lingering of it on my bed. I pulled the door open and Nina's brown eyes smiled in at me. "Girl! It is 2:00 in the afternoon. What in the world are you doing with your robe still on?" She pushed the door open and immediately spun around with a shocked expression on her face.

I smiled at her and raised my eyebrows. "What is it, Nina?"

She shook her head. "Oh, nothing. I just...umm...you smell like my brother. I'm not dumb, so don't try to act like I am." She smiled and I blushed and nodded. "I wouldn't try to Nina. I...I'm too happy to deny anything right now."

I felt like I was gushing, but I didn't care. She smiled and pulled me by the hands and we sat in the bay window together. "Look." She pointed out the window and I looked down. Below us, in the yard directly below was a group of warriors. I knew a couple of their names, but they were still new to me. Nothing particularly noticeable stuck out to me. "Am I supposed to be seeing anything in particular?"

Nina laughed and I looked back at her. "You're not really looking, Kayla. These people live to serve Dante. Now they live to serve you too." She reached out and grabbed my hand, careful to avoid touching my ring. "This ring means just as much to all of us as it does to you and Dante." She pushed the window open. "Even the birds are chirping happier than before last night."

I smiled even bigger and hugged her. "I wish everyone were happy. I had to have Xavon put Margie in the holding cells last night."

"What? Why? What happened?"

"She challenged me. I didn't want to meet the challenge because her reason for challenging me was stupid. She even tried to make me angry with lies about how Dante had visited her bed on numerous occasions before I came."

Nina pulled away from me suddenly and stood up. "Nina, what is it?"

She just shook her head. "I don't know how many times, Kayla, but I do know that when Corrina first left, Dante was not himself. He was so used to having that need satisfied that he allowed Margie to seduce him. Until she found out that his son was her mate, and Dante found out consequently, that went on between them. I'm still not sure it was numerous times, though, but it was enough that Nathanial rejected her. He refused to mate Margie after she had been with his father."

I spun around and headed to my suitcase. "Kayla, what are you doing?"

I picked out a pink boat-neck sweater and a pair of white flair jeans. A shower would have to wait because I only had one thing on my mind. Margie wanted a challenge and a challenge was what she was going to get. I dressed in 5 minutes and was out of my room and down the hall in 7. The sun seemed to lead me as I stepped out into the direction of the holding cells. "Kayla! Kayla, wait! You can't...it's not...it's not right!"

I spun around to face her. "And what would you have me do, let her challenge go unmet? She challenged me for Dante. I thought she was challenging me based on lies. Silly notions in her head. Now I realize that she really thinks she has a legitimate reason to challenge me!" I turned back around and continued in my pursuit. "And she's right. Dante gave her that right."

"But she's not thinking clearly. She's still blinded by rejection. You saw her the other night. She was clearly trying to get you to make the choice you made to go down to the beach. When Nathanial rejected her, he hurt her worse than anything ever could."