The Queen's Forbidden Love

Chapter 19

Claudia's POV:

"Claudia! It's been a week since we last seen one of the men needed for this pregnancy! You are running out of time! Are you trying to get the Grand Witch to come here because you're stubborn and can't do as told?" Bella shouted through the closed door just before I opened it.

The look on her face told me that she knew that I had plans for us tonight. I had my hair pinned up, creating the look of extra volume and curls that framed my face. I had a black hair snood holding the remaining hair in the back. I had on a black off-the-shoulder button decor dress that went to my ankles. There was an attached tribal print shaw in the colors of tan, pink, pale blue, and orange wrapped around my shoulders. There was a matching drawstring on the sides of the shaw that was just for decoration purposes. The same matching pattern of the shaw also appeared on the ends of the three-quarter sleeves and as an accent pleat of the dress next to the buttons that traveled the length of the skirt.

"Oh, so you do want to do as told," She commented after taking in a long look at my appearance.

"One of the men is at one of the casinos in town," I told her as I walked passed her.

"The casino?" She asked as she quickly caught up to me.

"Yes," I answered as I nodded before walking out of the cabin.

"Sounds like maybe he wouldn't be a good one to track down if he has a gambling habit and all," She continued as we walked to the car.

"Gambling addictions aren't exactly hereditary. Besides, just because he is at the casino doesn't mean he's gambling. He could just be at the restaurant." I informed her.

"What about the last guy instead? He seemed nice. You should just try him again," She continued to ask as she got in the driver's seat.

"The tracking cream would've worn off by now," I told her and she just looked at me as she sighed.

"Do you have the directions?" She asked as she put the car in drive and exited the driveway.

"Yep!" I exclaimed as I imputed the location into the GPS.

It took almost 30 minutes before we pulled up to the front of the casino. It was on the other side of town from our cabin and the traffic got heavier the closer to the casino we got. The lights were bright and sparkled with lots of different colors. The parking lots in the area were filled, making us have to park a couple of blocks away from the casino.

"I still have my doubts that he's just at the restaurant," Bella commented again as we walked closer with only a block left before we were to reach the casino.

"It doesn't really matter. I will meet the guy and decide then if I want to pursue getting to know him," I told her.

"I don't think you will have much time to get to know them, not anymore." She said, reminding me of my time limit getting smaller and smaller.

"Maybe not but I can at least talk with him for a bit before deciding if I want to choose him or not," I spoke and picked up my walking speed to the door as if I was trying to get into the building before she had a chance to say anything back or try to stop me from continuing.

Just as I walked in, the sounds of the slot machines, excited card players, and the angry voices of the gamblers who had lost their winnings filled my ears. There were quite a few people in the lobby that was right off of the main room. To the other side was a set of glass double doors that opened up into what looked like a restaurant. I could already sense the man in the building and knew that he was in the room that was full of game tables and slot machines.

"Is he in here?" I heard Bella ask and I nodded my head.

"He's in there," I responded to her as I looked into the large room.

Without either of us saying another word, we walked into the large room and took in the sights. People were dressed in expensive suits and gowns. Their hair was nicely styled and the women had club-style makeup on. You could tell the people who gambled at this casino were wealthy. All it did was make me feel underdressed and out of my league.

I looked around to see if I could figure out who the man was by seeing if any of them appeared to have sensed my presence in the room. No one at the tables appeared to notice that I was there. I started to walk to the other side of the room where the rows of slot machines were, glancing at anyone I walked passed and saw, hoping that one of them would give me an indication of knowing who I was. One of these wealthy people, from what I could see, may not be too bad to choose as the sperm donor.

I walked to the end of each of the rows of slot machines, glancing down each one to see if any of them were to look up at me with anticipation of my arrival. No one could tear their eyes away from the machines. They were glued to the machines, with their hands latched on to the handles, waiting for the free hand to drop in another coin. Their stressful and desperate anticipation for a win caused sweat to bead on their foreheads. The man was not down any of these rows.

"Do you still sense him nearby?" Bella asked as we got to the end of the slots.

"I do, but there are so many people in here that I can't tell in what direction he would be," I answered her as I turned back around and looked out into the open room of card tables and other games.

"Maybe he doesn't realize you are here. Maybe he's too involved in his game to figure out that he senses you," She commented as she too looked around the room for any suggestion of who he might be.

"I'm sure he realizes I'm here. It's a feeling one couldn't miss," I told her as I looked again at everyone while feeling the feeling of defeat flood my body.

All this time in this town, the several times I've looked for one of these men, I have only ever found one. Only one out of four. At this rate, I'm never going to get this done. One would think this would be an easy task but somehow, it always seems to backfire in my face.

"Maybe he isn't one of the players," She suddenly suggested, pulling me from my thoughts and looking in her direction.

"You think maybe a worker?" I asked and she nodded.

I looked back out in the open at any of the men that were walking around. Any of them behind the tables, or pushing the coin carts through the room. I even looked at a few of them who were walking around with trays of wine glasses for the customers in hopes of them getting drunk and spending more money than they should.

"I'm not finding him," I said as my eyes traveled quickly around the room once again.

"What about the bouncers?" She asked.

"Bouncers?" I asked, not catching right away what people she was referring to.

"Not bouncers, sorry. I meant those who look like fake cops. The security officers," She said as she pointed at the ones standing in different areas of the room along with a few walking around.

"I don't think he's one of those either. I've looked them over too," I told her as my eyes skimmed from one of the officers and landed on a rather large man who was standing at the other end of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

His eyes were boring into mine, watching my every move. The sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt were rolled up his arms, showing his massive forearms. I could see with my enhanced eyesight, the tattoos that lined his skin. His hair was shoulder-length with a slight wave texture. He appeared to be a little scruffy and needed a shave but I don't think clean shaving is something he does. He looks like he prefers his facial hair to be slightly trimmed short.

"I think that's him," I whispered to Bella as I nodded in his direction.

"Leaning against the wall by the crap tables with his arms folded," I continued to describe as I kept my eyes on him.

"The one in the maroon-colored button-down shirt?" She asked and all I could do was nod my head.

"He looks questionable, Claudia," She told me.

"I get the same feeling but he's the one. I can tell with his constant stare in my direction. As if he's been watching me this entire time and I never noticed," I informed her.

I could tell by looking at him that he was the one that the married man warned me about. He's the one that is part of the mafia in this town. I could tell just by the coldness in his stare that his whole demeanor screamed violence. Was he good looking? Hell yes, he was! That bad boy look with large muscles is always a sexy look to me which is probably why I'm so attracted to Jovian. Jovian's very muscular and everything about him screams dangerous yet he's so gentle. You would never think Jovian would have the personality he does by looking at him. A quality that is hard to find in a man like that. Or maybe it's just because he's forbidden that causes him to be so attractive to me, but with that guy in the casino, he does not come off as one who would be gentle. He was clearly the complete opposite.

"I think we need to stay away from him," I told her as I grabbed her arm and led her with me towards the exit.

"I have no intentions of meeting a man like that let alone getting involved with him to the point of having his child," I continued to say as we walked away.

I made sure to not look behind me, to not give any indication that I knew who he was even though I was certain he already knew. Maybe the fact that I'm walking away and not looking over my shoulder will be enough for him to know that I'm not going to choose him. That doesn't mean he'll listen, as I have found out with a few in the past. There have been a few that were pushy. Almost as if they felt it would be a great honor to be the father of the next queen or maybe they were just overly horney and wanted nothing but a good lay.

Once we got outside, I felt better. I even looked behind myself at that time and saw that no one had followed us out of the building. The idea of being that close to the one the married guy warned me about was enough to get my heart beating hard in my chest. I don't normally get scared because I know that I would be able to stop him from hurting me but that doesn't stop my body from reacting like it does to those like him.

Bella quickly unlocked the car doors and opened hers to get in. I walked around the front of the car to the passenger side but before I could open my door, a strong hand was on my shoulder, pushing me hard. My body turned, causing my back to hit hard against the side of the car. My eyes slowly looked up, taking in the strong muscular chest that hovered over me. He was large and very tall. I could tell from the strength of his hands that he was one of the guards of the mafia. He more than likely protected the leader with his brute strength or went after those who owed money.

"A woman like you doesn't go into a casino like that without certain intentions," He said in a deep tone as he glared down at me.

"We weren't doing anything other than checking the place out," I responded to him and a slight curve of his lip appeared.

"The place had nothing to do with why you were there, Claudia," He said, telling me that I was right about him being one of the men when he said my name.

"Regardless of why I was there, I have the right of choice in all of this and I have decided to move on to the next," I snapped at him as I glared into his dark eyes.

"You and I both know that it doesn't matter how the event takes place, the baby will still be created," He told me as his grip on my arm tightened.

"Let her go!" I heard Bella shout from behind me as she opened her car door and got out of the car.

"Stay out of this and get back in the car!" I snapped over my shoulder at her without taking my eyes off of him.

"I can handle it," I continued to tell her.

"Claudia..." She started to say but I hissed back at her through clenched teeth and anger, releasing my aura in her direction.

"Now!" I shouted.

A few seconds later, I heard the sounds of her car door opening and then closing, indicating that she was back in the car...safe.

"I'm sure you are also aware that I am allowed to protect myself even if that means from you," I told him and he chuckled.

"Be careful, Claudia. You are in my town now. You may be allowed to protect yourself but you also can't show who you are in public. Not everywhere in this town will be areas of innocent people." He told me, telling me that I would need to be very careful with where I go in this town.

"If you don't take your hand off of her right now, I will make you," I suddenly heard his voice coming from the other side of the car.

The man in front of me just laughed as he looked over me at the owner of the voice. I'm sure this man is more than aware of what is behind me and is probably trying to figure out why a creature of the night would want to protect me. The word of this, I'm sure, is making its way through the supernatural realm more than I would like it to be.

"We will continue this at a later time," He told me as he leaned down and placed his lips on my cheek.

He pulled away quickly and walked back to the door on the back side of the casino.

"What are you doing here, Claudia?" I heard him as if he was scolding me as he walked next to me beside the car.

"None of your business or concern, Jovian," I snapped at him as I quickly opened the car door and got in.