"I thought we were going shopping?" I confusedly ask as I examine the humongous vehicle in front of me.

"You prefer going shopping than going on a cruise?" Matthias scoffs as he takes the stairs which will lead him on the boat.

"Don't worry, it's not my yacht, but I know there are a few shops inside," Katie says with a smile as she gracefully walks up the stairs ignoring the crew members desperately trying to haul her one thousand and fifty suitcases.

"What does she mean by that?" I say to myself as Nikolas leads me up the stairs to his private yacht while having his arm around my waist.

Once we reach the top, the bright blue ocean with the silky white clouds is the view that greets me. I can't believe that I would be so happy to see a view with the ocean in it. I have had enough of the rows and rows of trees that are surrounding my mate's house. When I turn around, I get momentarily blinded by the pool and everything that is around it.

"Where are we even going?" I ask after a while once we have reached our bedroom which is way more beautiful and bigger than I was thinking.

"Our honeymoon," Nikolas answers with a smile as he takes off his vest suit and throws it on the bed.

"With your siblings?" I raise an eyebrow as I cross my arms.

"Don't worry, the island is big enough, so we won't be seeing them."

"Island?" I repeat until it enters my mind, "You refer to the one you won in the bet against Matthias?"

"The one and only. I possess multiple estates, but an island is a first," he nonchalantly states as he pours himself a drink before handing a glass to me. I thank him and take a sip of the brandy. As soon as it touches my tongue, I detect some flavour notes like caramel, fruit, fire and grape. But once I swallow it, it burns the hell out of my throat, "Do you like it?"

I slowly nod hoping my facial expression doesn't betray me, "Which brand is it?"

"Hennessy."

I nod again even if I have never heard of it which was normal since I almost never drink brandy. I prefer wine mostly for its taste and the fact that it is a soft liquor.

When I hear Nikolas chuckles, I turn my head to be able to look at the man. "You're not as good as you think when you lie. Plus, your thoughts come through our link in waves. You should learn to control that, or it will give you troubles later on."

"I don't know how you do to drink this at all. All I can taste is the burning of the alcohol," I complain as I put down my glass which still contains the majority of the liquid and the huge ice cube. "I never had this problem before. How can I control it?"

My mate smirks at me, "You're still a kid if you can't handle the taste of brandy even if it does taste like shit." In answer to his comment, I give him a warning glare. "Anyways, we are on a vacation, I will teach you the technique later. For now, let's go shopping," he swiftly adds as he put down his own glass before extending his hand to me.

I take it without hesitation and allow him to pull me out of our room into the hallway. Before long, we leave the private quarters to reach a bigger hallway which leads to an enormous hall. The first thing I see is a damn waterfall which falls into the massive pool that makes its way on the outer part of the deck. In addition, there is an area with single sofa chairs and tables surrounded by flowers and trees. As we make our way inside the yacht, there are a few opens shops that are selling their products. I am surprised to see that all these expensive brands accepted to display their products here when it is a private yacht. Soon, I perceive Katie looking at a handbag that a woman in uniform with crisp white gloves is showing her. Further down, Matthias is sitting down on a sofa while reading a book with a cup of coffee in front of him.

"What do you usually do when you're here?" I ask after we have seated ourselves with a cup of coffee and a croissant each.

"I use the pool and take advantage of the sun to get a tan. My secretary doesn't stop saying that I look as pale as a ghost and that my dark hair doesn't help it," he sighs as he brings his cup to his lips.

"I see," I answer briefly as I look away to see a glimpse of Matthias and Katie arguing on something.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I grumble out.

"Are you perhaps jealous?" he teases making me tense.

"Stop reading my thoughts! Geez, didn't your parents teach you about privacy?"

Nikolas laughs at my outburst, "Oh, Micah. I don't need to read your thoughts to see that you are jealous. You're so cute. But to reassure you, nothing happened between her and me. Nothing in the past and nothing in the future."

"Good because I warn you, I may not be in love with you, but we are mated and I do not share. If one day I discover you had an affair," I menacingly growl as I grab my mate's collar and pull him towards me, "I will kill anyone involved. It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman and a vampire or not. I will kill them all."

Letting go of Nikolas, he straightens up his clothes before answering with a smug smirk, "I suppose I don't need to warn you too then. Don't do anything that will cause me to misunderstand," his eyes glow red before adding, "Plus, hearing you all growly and worked up is so sexy."

I look at the man in front of me for a moment before bursting into laughter. I can't believe he said that with such a serious expression. This is priceless. Maybe the relationship we are currently sharing will not end into a disaster. I have to say that after our mating bond was created, everything has been more pleasant. I was gradually starting to understand him. Even if he maintains walls around his thoughts, I can sometimes grasp a few thoughts here and there. What was more embarrassing is the fact every time I decipher something from his locked mind, it has something to do with me. It is as if he is doing it on purpose, so I know how much he thinks about me. But I will not be fooled. It isn't because he pays a little more attention to me that I will be accepting him so soon. There is always this little voice whispering in my head that Nikolas will also leave me someday. He may say that he likes me or that he finds me cute or sexy, but these are words. I too have lied to my preys without thinking twice about it. He is a Pure. He can easily get whoever he desires.

For the remaining of the day, Nikolas gives me a tour of his yacht. This boat has three floors. The first floor is composed of the pool and all the shops with a resting area. The second floor has a small casino, a few pool tables and a bar. Finally, the third one only has rooms and a kind of lobby area that leads outside and give a magnificent view on infinite crystal blue of the ocean.

Once it is time for dinner, Katie and Matthias join us at the table on the deck when food is about to be served. We all eat in a relaxed setting as we all talk about everything and anything with the glorious sunset shining on the infinite ocean surrounding us. Each dish is as delicious as the last which helps to contribute to enlighten the mood.

I lean back on my chair as I listen to the waves crash on the boat over a cup of tea. This sound is so soothing and calming that it makes me feel sleepy.

"Before I forget, dad called earlier," mentions Matthias with a smirk.

"What did he say?" Nikolas asks as he takes a sip of his coffee.

"Next week, you both lovebirds have to attend to the family supper," the older brother excitedly answers while looking at me.

"If you think meeting your parents will distress me, you are dreaming," I scoff as I feel Nikolas' gaze on me. "What?"

"What do you mean by that?" my mate asks with a frown.

"I mean the first time I did it, it was with Elizabeth and my parents not only kicked me out, but they also disowned me. I'm certain yours can't exceed that," I explain with a sigh as I clench my hand in annoyance.

I detest it when I feel like I have disappointed them. I shouldn't be. I purely did what I did to save my sister. Everything was for her. Elizabeth could have saved her, but the priests had to interfere. Curse them. Curse them all!

"I'm persuaded they won't kick you out, but..." Matthias starts which earn a hateful glare from Nikolas.

"Don't worry Micah. You already made a good impression on them the other night. Mom likes you," Katie softly adds as she put two sugar cubes into her tea while ignoring the glaring contest between her brothers.

"Mom likes him. What about dad?" Matthias scoffs which makes Katie to glare at him too.

It looks like Nikolas' dad will be hard to win over. As for his mom, I think I already know how to win her over, but I will have to gain more information on them. I will put all the chances on my side. I don't want our relationship to end just because his parents disapprove of us.

"Am I omitting something about your dad?" I ask the three of them.

"He doesn't like strangers and... He is relatively hard to please," Katie tries to explain always looking at her cup of tea.

"You will have to prove your worth to him. If you're incompetent he will eat you alive," Matthias adds with a smirk as I notice Nikolas rolling his eyes.

"Dad believes that the recipe to success doesn't only need talent, but a will to always achieve something higher. He is very old-fashioned, and the fact that he has almost lived for a thousand years doesn't help it," my mate explains making me nod.

"Old fashioned... Does he have something against homosexuality?"

"He won't say anything about it because our mother will go on a strike," Matthias chuckled causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"A strike?" I repeat unbelievably.

"A strike," the three siblings confirms making me laugh.

"Don't underestimate her. When she's angry, even dad can't do anything about it, but seek forgiveness," Matthias nods as if recalling something frightening.

"Anyone who says something demeaning about her babies, which means us, will get to know what fear really is," Katie chuckles as she plays with a strand of her hair.

"I remember the time when we were at school and some guy was harassing Katie about her not wanting to play with him or something like that. Nikolas and I were going to beat the guy up, but mom happened to be beside us and..." the older brother starts explaining before stopping himself.

"And?" I urge wanting to know more about Nikolas' past.

"The guy pissed in his pants once mother talked to him. I don't know what she said, but the guy changed school," Nikolas finishes making me frown.

"He got what he deserved. Who did he even think he was to force me to be his maid?" Katie huffs in annoyance. "He was lucky that it wasn't dad that came that time or soiled pants would have been the less of his concern," she smiles darkly.

Sometimes I think that the one that I have to fear the most isn't the men in the family, but the women. Nikolas' dad may have wounded him physically, but the wounds will heal. Contrary to the psychological attacks, those will leave deeper scars.

Once the moon is way over our head, we decide to call it a night. We don't even have time to reach our bedroom that I am pushed forward into our bedroom door. I can clearly feel Nikolas defined body pressing against my back even through our clothes. Even if I know the crew and the staff have their own quarters on a different floor than us and that his siblings are already in their own rooms, I can't deny the butterflies in my stomach. My breath hitches when I feel my mate's hands find its way under my shirt. If we do it in the hallway...

Not good... My body is already reacting on its own. I can clearly perceive his cock pushing against my ass cheek as he lands tender kisses on the back of my neck. An uncontrolled moan escapes from my mouth when I feel a sharp pinch on one of my erect nipples. Leisurely, Nikolas drags his nails on my skin. Gradually making its way near my crotch until he takes it in his hand. While gently stroking my cock and rolling my nipples, I bite on my arm hoping it will muffle my wanton moans.

"A-at least... L-let's get inside..." I moan my words trying to stop him from playing with my body.

"Don't be shy. You can make as much noise as you want," my mate whispers next to my ear before licking the inside. "Allow everyone to know you're mine," his voice drops a few octaves making me shiver in delight.

"T-they already k-know... Y-you stick to me l-like glue..." I gasp as his hand starts to stroke faster.

I nibble my lips when I feel the heat pooling from my balls to the tip of my cock. It is coming. I am going to come!

Just before I cream his hand, I feel his canines pierce the skin on my neck. My body freezes as I feel his sumptuous lips suck on my neck before an incomparable feeling coursed through my whole body making me shout as I come all over myself.

"Let's get you inside. The night is still young," Nikolas smirks evilly before opening the door I have been leaning on.