Chapter 663
The falling snow the night before had let up some time during the night. It was icy cold this morning but there was no snow piled up... that was only a matter of time.
Angelo brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face before going out to look for Nikolai. He had wanted to take his bath but he was too impatient.
The Alpha still hadn’t returned when he stepped out of the room so he went off to find him, curious about what had kept him away for so long. The only other room he could picture Nikolai in was the kitchen but it wasn’t like the Mafia King knew how to cook.
He stepped out of the room to find Nikolai on the other side of the door on the phone. Although he was clearly mid-conversation, he put his phone down, his eyes sweeping over him before settling on the curve of his neck.
"Did I wake you up?"
Angelo paused in the doorway, wondering why he had been so antsy. "No. I’m going to clean up. Finish up your call." He stepped back into the room.
It was a cold morning but Nikolai had been wearing the bottom half of the night robe he had on, so he had a clear view of the bite marks he sported, the mating mark on his scent gland standing out in stark relief.
Angelo made good his word, stepping into the shower for a proper bath. The bathroom door opening shortly after he got under the warm spray of water didn’t surprise him.
"That was Fallon," Nikolai was saying, even though Angelo hadn’t asked. "The casino is getting cleaned up today."
Angelo paused as he reached for the scented body wash, glancing over his shoulder at the Mafia King shamelessly joining him in the bath... well, Nikolai was his mate now.
He wrapped long fingers around the slender neck of the bottle, picking it up. "Will you go to have a look?"
Angelo sucked in an inaudible breath when Nikolai’s chest met his back, his mate’s arms wrapping around his waist.
"Will you come with me?"
Angelo glanced over his shoulder at the Alpha to make sure that he hadn’t stepped in with his pants on. Maybe he was still in shock from acquiring a mate, but he found that he wasn’t as self-conscious this morning.
"I have little else to do." He stated the obvious, keeping his worry close to his chest.
Cleaning up the destruction the High Council left behind was practically announcing that Nikolai intended to take back his turf, the High Council would unlikely let it slide.
Nikolai’s feverish eyes dimmed a bit at Angelo’s words. "Is there something else you would rather do?" He asked quietly.
Angelo skillfully slipped out of his hold so he could properly wash, turning around to face Nikolai. Maybe it was the steam clouding the glass shower, but he could hold the Mafia King’s gaze with ease despite his current state of undress.
"Nothing." He said quietly, lathering himself while carefully avoiding the sensitive spot on his neck. "Are you going to just stand there?"
Nikolai took a step forward, the shower was luxurious but there was only so much space in it. Angelo had his long hair tied up but it hardly spared it from the spray of warm water.
The marks on the Omega’s skin stood out in stark relief against his pale skin, his intense gaze scanned them until they settled on the mating mark. He took another step further, reaching past Angelo to take the body wash as well.
Their bodies slightly brushed from the proximity, wet and hot from the warmth of the shower.
Angelo was the one to take a step back, turning away from Nikolai slightly as he rinsed the scented lather of his body. The longer he spent in the shower, the thicker the tension grew. Nikolai was impossible to ignore, the Alpha took up most of the space in the shower, his dark gaze never leaving him.
He left the bathroom a little hastily, half-expecting to be caught and pulled back. There had been too much going on to take a closer look at their relationship, but now, Luis Caddel was dead and Nikolai was rebuilding the casino. All that was left was them.
Angelo’s hand absently trailed to the tender bite on his neck but he didn’t make contact, his fingers hovering over it. What did he feel for Nikolai? Dedication? Dependence?
He closed his hand into a fist and pulled away from his neck. There was no use agonizing over what he couldn’t do, he had laid out his cards. He still couldn’t love but just as he would have been fine simply working for Nikolai, he wasn’t averse to their current arrangement either.
He left for the bedroom, getting a proper look at his closet for the first time. It was filled to the brim, and it was clear who was the culprit. There was a remarkable similarity between the new clothes in the closet and the clothes he had worn to dinner the night before.
Angelo smiled faintly and reached for his own clothes, they were going down to the casino, delicate silk shirts and fur coats would only get in the way.
After dressing up, he wandered around the room briefly, searching for his knives. When he couldn’t find it, he didn’t worry, going over to dry and comb out his hair first, confident that Nikolai would know where it was.
The Alpha stepped out while he was running a brush through his hair, without mirrors, he instead stood by the window, looking out to the expanse of evergreen trees pockmarked by leafless trees ready for winter.
"Do you know where my knives are?"
Nikolai had been drying his hair with a towel, at Angelo’s question, he walked over to the assassin’s closet to pull out a box.
"Thanks," Angelo murmured, putting his hair in a braid. He walked over to the box and picked out a selection of knives for the day and strapped them up, throwing one of his ever growing collection of trench coats over it, all stolen from Nikolai.