“I don’t know what to say,” she said and tried pulling from his arms again. This time he let her.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he told her and smiled at the look of confusion on her face. Confusion was a hell of a lot better than the look she’d had when he’d walked up. “I don’t expect you to feel the same way I do, but I felt you needed to know how I feel. Now, go shower and spend time with your daughter, and I’m going to help the VEB finish cleaning up and make sure we didn’t lose anyone.”
“I should be helping with that, too,” she said and sighed.
“No,” he told her then kissed her lips softly before stepping away from her. “Go be a mom, and not a Huntress for a few hours. We will have plenty of work to do over the course of the next few days.”
“Thank you, Nathan,” she said and stepped toward him. When she rose to her tip-toes and kissed him as softly as he’d kissed her, he nearly pulled her into his arms and carried her somewhere they could be alone. “Thank you for coming to me. I thought I wanted to be alone until you were there, then I realized I don’t think I ever want to be alone again.”
“That’s good, because if I have my way, you never will be,” he told her, then kissed her again before he turned and walked away. It took everything inside him not to stay with her, but she needed time with her daughter, and he needed to take care of some things before he could be with her again.
****
“We lost a Huntress in Miami,” Nevaeh said as she walked into the main dining room of the compound.
“Who?” Karma asked.
“Ashtyn,” Nevaeh answered, then looked at Baxter, who was piling dead vampire into a pit so they could be burned. “And Maggie was taken.”
“Fuck,” Baxter said and turned to face them. “How’s Johnson?”
“Not good,” Nevaeh answered.
“Fuck,” he said again and pulled his phone from his pocket just as it started ringing. Noting Jensen’s number, he answered immediately. “Baxter.”
“We have a situation,” Jensen said, and Baxter heard Johnson growl in the background.
“I heard already,” he responded.
“Maggie had one of our coms on her when she was taken. Woods is already flagging it so if it switches on, we will find her immediately.”
“And until then?”
“We’re heading to the apartment Johnson rented so we can organize a rescue mission.”
“Good, and Johnson? How is he?”
“Not good,” Jensen replied. “But we will find her.”
“Keep me posted,” Baxter said and sighed. “If we lose her, we lose him.”
“I know,” Jensen said and looked at Johnson. “I’ll call when I have more news.”
“Thanks, Jensen,” Baxter responded and ended the call.
“What’s going on?” Gina asked as she walked up behind him.
“Ashtyn was killed, and Maggie was taken,” Karma answered, trying not to cry over their fallen sister.
“Oh no,” Gina said softly, and Baxter turned to her.
When he took the two steps separating them and scooped her into his arms, she could feel the tension rolling off his body and knew he was worried about his friend.
“They will get her back, and Johnson will be okay,” Karma told him. “And we will get Ashtyn’s body back here and give her a traditional Huntress send off.”
“Yeah,” he responded then inhaled Gina’s scent. It was calming, and made him want nothing more than to take her to bed and make love to her till dawn. Instead of doing that, he released her and took two steps back. “I need to make a couple of calls. I have a feeling this isn’t going to end well.”
When he turned and walked away, Gina followed him with her eyes until he disappeared into the building the VEB was using as a bunkhouse before she turned to Nevaeh.
“If we lose Johnson, it’s going to crush him.”
“It’s going to crush all of us,” Karma said and thought back to when Martin was killed. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Yeah,” Gina responded and walked away before either of them could say anything else. She wanted nothing more than to go to Nathan and pull him into her arms and show him how she felt about him, but she would go to her house instead, and wait for him to come to her.
Chapter Fourteen
When a soft knock sounded on her front door, Gina looked up from the book she was reading and smiled. She knew it was Nathan. After setting her book on the table, she went to the door and peeked through the small window before opening it to the man she wanted to see more than anything else.
“You okay?” She asked when she saw the expression on his face.
“Not really,” he answered honestly. “I talked to Isaac. If Johnson violates any of the new laws, he wants him brought in immediately to face the Senate. I also alerted the Senate that we may have to head to DC. I just hope they can get Maggie back before anything happens that Johnson can’t come back from.”
“Do you want to go to Miami?” She asked. She didn’t want to leave Zora again just yet, but she’d go with him if he felt he needed to be there.
“No,” he answered then ran his hand through his hair. “What I want is to come inside and just hold you for a little while.”
Without another word, she stepped aside and let him walk into her home.
“Do you mind if I use your shower?” He asked, and held up the small bag he carried.
“Not at all,” she responded and took his hand.
When she pulled him through the small living room and down the hall, he took note of the two closed doors. He heard Zora’s soft breathing from behind the first, and from the second he smelled Gina. His cock jumped at the thought of being in her bed, but he pushed that aside. He wasn’t here for sex. He was here for a hot shower, and to hold the woman he loved in his arms.
He couldn’t imagine what Johnson was going through right now, but he knew if it were Gina who was missing, he’d be ripping apart anyone who stood between him and finding her.
“Nathan,” she said softly, pulling him from his thoughts. When he looked up, he saw she was standing in front of a small bathroom. “I’ll be in the living room if you need anything.”
“I need you,” he told her before she could walk away. “I need to touch you, to feel you, to know you’re safe.”
“I am safe,” she assured him and stepped closer to him. “And I am here.”
“Thank you,” he told her, then reached out and slid his hand into her hair. When he pulled her in for a kiss, she molded against him and lost herself in his taste for a moment before she pulled away.
“Go shower, then come join me in bed,” she told him.
“Five minutes,” he told her gruffly.
“I’ll be waiting,” she responded then kissed him softly before pulling from his hold and walking away.
It was less than five minutes later when Baxter opened her bedroom door. When his eyes landed on her, his cock jumped in the sweatpants he wore.
She was wearing the same thing she always slept in, and his mouth watered.
“You should wear sweats more often,” she said with a sly smile on her face.
“Oh? And why is that?” He asked, as he moved into the room and shut the door.
“Because you look sexy as fuck in them,” she responded. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and even though she’d seen him without one multiple times, there was something different about it tonight. The tattoo that started on his peck and wrapped around his shoulder was something she’d known was there, something she’d longed to touch and taste, and she was planning on doing just that.
“Why are you looking at me like I suddenly grew a third nipple?”
“I’ve seen you many times without your shirt, but have never taken the time to really look at you,” she told him and he grinned at her. “Take your tattoo for example. I’ve seen it, I knew it was there, and I’ve wanted to trace it with my fingers, but I never paid attention t
o what it was.”
“It’s a phoenix,” he told her and turned to the side so she could see it from that angle. “I got it after I was freed from my creator. You’ve wanted to touch it?”
“Vampire can get tattoos?” She asked, slightly shocked at this revelation. “And yes, touch it and taste it.”
“We can, but it takes a special ink to stay in our skin. A tattoo artist in New York did this one. He’s a vampire, and knew the combination needed to stay in my skin. It also took several hours and multiple layers of the ink before my skin stopped healing over it,” he answered and moved closer to her.
“That’s impressive,” she said and smiled at him again. “All the Huntresses have matching tattoos. We got them once we’re full-fledged Huntresses.”
“Really?” He asked, not remembering seeing a tattoo on her.
“Yep,” she responded and closed the distance between them. When she reached for the waistband of her leggings, and pulled the edge down over her left hip he saw it. It was a tribal style circle with what looked like a weird number four inside.
“What is it?”
“It’s an infinity circle with the symbol of Ares inside. It represents our never-ending commitment to one another, and plays off the theory the Amazons were the daughters of Ares and Harmonia.”
“That’s interesting,” he told her then bent down and kissed her tattoo. “How have I not heard about this tattoo before?”
“It’s not something most of us think about, honestly. You have to have so many hours of training before you become a Huntress, but once you do, you’re one of our sisters, and get the Huntress symbol on you.”
“That’s pretty cool,” he said and kissed it again before rising.
“The only one we consider a sister who doesn’t have one is Karma. She had the training hours in well before she turned eighteen, but we didn’t know if a tattoo would stay on her.”
“Does she want one?”
“You’d have to ask her,” she answered then took a step back. “But that can wait.”
“Indeed, it can,” he responded and closed the gap she’d just put between them. “But this can’t.”
When he scooped her into his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and cuddled into his embrace.
“No, it can’t,” she told him softly then kissed his neck.
“I’m going to make love to you, Gina,” he told her before he laid her on the bed then stretched out beside her. “I’m going to take my time with you. Savor you. Unravel you like you unravel me. Then, I’m going to repeat it, over and over again, until your body is lax, and your mind is clear.”
“Nathan,” she said and looked into his eyes. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” he responded then shifted so he could press his lips to hers.
Losing themselves in each other, they slowly undressed.
“Beautiful,” Baxter said then pressed his lips to her neck. Kissing his way down, he stopped at her breast and pulled one of her nipples into his mouth.
She moaned when his teeth scraped against the taunt peak, and his cock jumped at the sound. He wanted to be inside her, but he wanted her to experience all the pleasure she could before he filled her.
“Nathan,” she breathed out as his hand trailed up her leg and brushed against her heat.
“Like that?” He asked against her stomach, then slipped a finger inside her. When he stroked deep, she cried out and grew wetter.
Continuing his way down, he stopped and kissed her tattoo before shifting and nuzzling his way to the black curls covering her.
“I like these,” he said and brushed over them with his free hand before dipping his head down and burrowing in. When his tongue stroked her, she cried out again and he slipped a second finger inside her.
Needing no further encouragement, he buried his face between her legs and started feasting.
When she came, he removed his fingers and replaced them with his tongue.
“Delicious,” he said before diving in again. He could happily stay here, pleasuring her, until the end of time.
When she came again, she tugged on his hair, and he raised his head to look at her.
Her body was lax, and her legs were shaking, but he wasn’t finished.
Dipping his head back down, he slid his tongue back inside her, and fucked her slowly with it. When she came a third time, he raised up and moved so he was lying beside her once more.
“I’m not done with you,” he told her when her eyes started drifting closed.
Rolling her to her side, he slid behind her and lifted her leg until it was draped over the crook of his elbow.
“I’m going to fuck you now,” he whispered into her ear before plunging deep inside her. She closed around him like a custom sheath, and it took all his willpower not to come right then.
Leveling his breathing, and gripping his control, he started moving inside her.
She’d never been taken from his angle, and she wasn’t sure if she’d enjoy it when he first moved into this position, but all her doubts slipped away once he was inside her.
“Fuck, Nathan!” She cried out, as he stroked in and out of her.
“Come again, baby,” he whispered in her ear and she could tell he was close to snapping.
“Bite me,” she breathed, and he tensed beside her for a second before he struck.
His bite was just a pleasurable as his love making, and it sent her spiraling out of control. She exploded around him as he drank deep, and when he released his bite, he let himself go with her.
Chapter Fifteen
“Baxter,” he answered his phone on the first ring.
“We have Maggie and she’s safe,” Jensen reported.
“And Johnson?”
“He’s on edge still, but seems to be better now that she’s in his arms,” he answered, but Baxter heard something in his voice.
“Keep an eye on him, and keep me posted.”
“Will do, boss,” Jensen told him. “One more thing, Maggie’s ex is a vampire, and he’s the one who killed Ashtyn. The Huntresses will not let him face trial for that.”
“I will let Nevaeh know. Just keep Johnson from breaking any laws.”
“Doing my best. Anything on Caia yet?”
“I’m putting out some feelers today. Hopefully we’ll know something by the time you’re here.”
“Keep me updated and I’ll do the same,” he said and ended the call.
Baxter sat his phone down and looked over at Gina, who was sleeping soundly. He knew he’d never be able to walk away from her like he had her grandmother so many years ago. He just hoped she never asked him to.
Pushing that thought from his head, he sighed and climbed back into bed. The sun was just starting to rise, and he knew the compound would be active soon, but he wanted to have just a few more minutes to hold the woman he loved.
When he wrapped his arms around her, she turned in them and pressed against him. The scent of her hair made his cock jump, but there was no way he was going to break this moment.
“Nathan,” she muttered, and he kissed the top of her head.
“I’m right here,” he responded.
“Nathan,” she said again, and he held her closer. He was pretty sure she was dreaming, but she didn’t sound afraid, so he wasn’t going to wake her just yet.
He listened as her breathing increased, and when she tensed against him, the smell of her arousal hit him like a ton of bricks. His cock sprang to life, and his mouth watered at the thought of her having an erotic dream about them, but he would absolutely not take advantage of the situation.
“Gina,” he said softly and kissed the top of her head again. “Time to wake up, beautiful.”
“Nathan,” she said again and shifted in his arms.
When he loosened his hold on her, she rolled so she was covering him with her body, and it was all he could do not to let his cock free so it could slide into the wetness he felt through his boxer briefs.
�
��You’re killing me, baby,” he whispered before he rolled her off him and got out of bed.
The loss of contact with him made her eyes snap open and her cheeks redden.
“What…” she started, then stopped and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, God.”
“Gina,” he said softly and took a step toward her. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I…” she said and shook her head. “What did I do?”
“Nothing,” he told her.
“I was dreaming about you, about us,” she told him.
“I know,” he told her then sat beside her on the bed. “Wanna tell me about it?”
“No, it’s too embarrassing.”
“Gina, look at me,” he said softly, and she finally moved her hands from her face to look at him. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I haven’t had an erotic dream since I was fifteen,” she told him and shook her head again. “And that wasn’t anything like this.”
“Tell me about it,” he said and touched her shoulder. “Please.”
“Let me put some clothes on first,” she said and got out of bed. After she threw on her tank top and slipped on her leggings, she sat beside him on the bed.
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