AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As her mate, the last thing Zenix wanted to do was make things more difficult for her, but his jealousy and concern for her safety were slowly driving him insane.
“So, how does it feel to be the most hated male in the entire universe?”
Zenix shot Xian a vicious glare as he and Nico walked over to join him by the railing. “Fuck you.”
Xian chuckled. “Who knew you could become a celebrity just for being Ayla’s plus one.”
“I am not a celebrity.”
“Sorry, but you are,” Nico countered sympathetically. “Word has spread that you and Ayla are mated, and it’s all over social media already.”
“Fucking hell, don’t people have anything better to do than gossip about this shit?”
Xian shook his head. “No, they don’t. I think you are going to have to lay low for a while. Since the people on this boat are mostly business moguls and celebrities in their own right, there isn’t a huge uproar. But back on shore, there is a mob waiting for both of you.”
Zenix groaned. “This is a fucking nightmare.”
“I heard social mags and other publications are offering a huge amount of credits for pictures of you together,” Nico added.
“Evo warned me,” Zenix said glumly. “Which is why I’m going to have to get Ayla off of here before the boat docks.”
“You could take one of the rescue boats on the lower level and head straight back to the island,” Xian said.
“That’s an idea.” They were close enough, Zenix thought as he glanced over at the island the boat would soon be passing by. “Speaking of, I think we are going to have to keep the island strictly private and closed off to visitors. Since Ayla’s brother is planning on moving into one of the guest villas, it would be simple enough to offer the other dwellings on the island to Ayla’s band members and personal protection team.”
Nico nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“What’s a good idea?” Ayla asked as she joined them.
After the concert was over, she had quickly showered and changed into a long, silvery-white gown that matched the color of her hair perfectly. He’d been amazed as he’d watched her stylist change her hair into soft waves, and the makeup artist had given her a sultry, seductive look with some dark eyeshadow and red lip stain.
While he thought she looked like a fucking goddess, he didn’t like that other men were looking at her. Zenix immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer to him, then he cursed when a couple of flashes went off as someone snuck a few pictures. Nico and Xian moved so that their large bodies blocked the couple from view, but the damage was already done.
“What did you say about people on the boat not caring?” Zenix hissed.
Xian shrugged. “Guess I was wrong.”
Ayla patted her keeper’s chest in a soothing motion. She knew he had been upset and tense for most of the night, but she didn’t know how to fix it. Attending events like the cruise was simply part of her job. It might look glamorous, but she would rather be home with him, eating the leftover cake from last night.
Although her mate had wanted to wear his standard uniform, as her official date, Zenix had changed into the suit she had chosen for him. He’d been amazed to discover that the black glittery suit had been made of a thin armored material that was similar to his uniform, and she’d thought that little detail might make wearing it more tolerable.
Her stylist had altered one of the suits that had been made for Artem, and since her brother had a closetful already, she’d figured he wouldn’t miss one. While Artem was slightly taller than Zenix, her mate was far more muscular. Because of that, her stylist had added a strip of a different armored material to the center of the suit jacket as well as down the sleeves and the sides of the pants.
The addition of the matte black stripes gave it a tuxedo-like look that was both stylish and elegant. They had paired it with a plain black shirt underneath to complete the monochrome look. Even though there were actors, models, and other musicians at the party, Ayla thought Zenix was the most handsome male there.
“We were talking about keeping our island private,” Xian explained.
“That would be fantastic,” she said, truly meaning it. “Having a safe space away from all the crazy would be a blessing.”
“Then, that’s what we’ll do. Once we—” Nico’s eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that the singer from that band you traveled with? Why the fuck is he standing so close to my mate? And why is he smiling like that?”
Startled by the fury in his tone, Ayla glanced around until she found Brielle in the crowd. Sure enough, the female was speaking to Sebastian, but there was an ocean of distance between them. Not to mention Razar was also part of their conversation. No one in their right mind would find the situation inappropriate, but Nico didn’t seem to care.
“Sebastian is a harmless flirt,” she tried to explain. “He smiles at everyone, male and female.”
“Let’s see if he can keep smiling once I rip one of his fingers off,” Nico growled before stomping off.
“He won’t really hurt him, will he?” Ayla asked, worried for her young friend.
