Femme Fetale

Thirteen

"You didn't think I'd forgotten you, had you, little vixen?" He asks, sideling up to me. The nickname makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight as I blink up at him. Too many memories surface too fast. He stands next to me. Too close and too far all at the same time. Little vixen. It's like all this time I've been merely drowning and now that he's here I can breath again. I stare at him, and he just looks back at me, his expression void of any emotion. There's something not right.

"Nickolas," I furrow my brow, "What are you-"

"I should be the one asking you," He hisses, eyes narrowing at me slightly. I blink at him, surprised by the venom in his voice. "Are you stalking me? Or did you find out-" He stops as he searches my gaze. His eyes soften the tiniest fraction. "Oh, you've no idea," He says quietly, almost to himself.

"No idea about what," I demand, confusion written all over my face. "Of course I'm not stalking you, if I was I'd have found you much sooner, Nickolas. I'm-" I stop talking. "It's just a coincidence. I've turned a new leaf," I explain, hoping he believes the lie. Maybe if I can get him to see that I've changed my life he'll keep my past hidden.

He snorts.

"Of course you did, and I'm the Queen of Jordan, aren't I?" He chuckles, shaking his head. That laugh makes my heart practically soar, and I hate myself for it. "Who sent you?" He asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Nobody, Nick-"

"I know someone sent you, either tell me of your own will, or we can take this somewhere private," He glares at me, but I can't help the idea of both of us alone in a room. Though what he was insinuating was probably far from the thoughts that roamed the crevices of my mind and made my skin light up little bonfires of desire. He takes another step forward, looking down his nose at me, but I stand my ground and merely look up at him.

"You might have forgotten, Nicky, but I'm not exactly someone to be messed with. I'll have your arm stuck up your own ass before you can say 'mercy'," I snap, narrowing my eyes at him. He may have had me wrapped around his little finger - maybe even a little wrapped right now - but that does not mean I'll let him intimidate me like this. He looks at me for a second, then grins widely.

"Nice to see the real you for a change, Adrianna," He tells me. But what was I seeing? Was this who Nickolas truly was? This cold, hard stranger standing in front of me wasn't the same adorable, funny man I'd fallen in love with all those years ago. This wasn't the man I had been well on my way to marrying. And this definitely wasn't the man that had grown in me the desire for children. The nostalgia comes as a wave, crashing into me and ebbing away.

"What happened to you," I whisper, shaking my head at him. He merely looks at me, a sly grin on his face.

"One red, for the lady," Zane says. His smile drops as he takes in the heated stances both me and Nickolas are in. He raises an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

"Oh-"

"Adrianna just told me how she actually adores these dances. I was just trying to get her to admit that they can't live up to live opera," Nickolas says smoothly, taking a step back and looking around with a bored expression. I roll my eyes.

"Opera. You can never understand what the hell they're saying, for God's Sake!" I sniff, rolling my eyes. Zane bursts out laughing.

"You too are way too similar." He chuckles and hands me my drink. "Anyway, they'll be opening the doors in a few minutes, so we should probably head in that direction." Zane glances at Nickolas. "Hey, Nick, where's Mag?"

Nickolas shrugs. "Off somewhere with her friends, I suppose. I didn't expect her to stick around long," He tells us, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I raise my eyebrows and glance around. She wasn't in sight. Quickly I check the time on my phone, then turn to Zane.