Six Saviors Christmas Novella

by Christmas Novella (retail) (epub)

  She turned to him, her eyes the color of diamonds. Why they only turned color during orgasm, they’d never know. He liked it, though, because he always knew when he’d succeeded in pleasing his mate.

  She grinned. “That was amazing.”

  He reached for her and pulled her over to him. Draping his arm over her stomach, he nodded. “It always is with you.”

  They stared at each other a long while, then her eyes brimmed with tears. He felt so tired of seeing them, but at the same time, they worried him.

  “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

  She shook her head as she bit her bottom lip.

  “Then what?”

  “I just don’t know how to be a mother, a mate, a lover, a friend, a daughter … I don’t know how to do it all, Noah. I’m so tired all the time. Sometimes, by the end of a day, I feel like there’s nothing left for me to give to anyone.”

  He nodded, fully agreeing. He had also found it hard to fulfill all of his roles since Phoenix had been born, especially being so tired all the time. However, he would bear even more responsibility if Abby needed him to. “We need to change that.”

  “I know.”

  “What can I do to help you, Abby?”

  She ran her fingertips over his arm. “I don’t know. You already do so much. I just wish Phoenix would sleep.”

  Grinning, he agreed. “Me, too.”

  They sat in silence for a few moments, and he was glad they were having this talk. They needed to get things figured out because he didn't think either one of them could continue with the current situation.

  “You know, Abby, we have to be together like this. I know things are difficult right now, but we have to find the time. I miss you. I miss being with you. I miss us. I’m not trying to pressure you in any way, but I need my mate back.”

  “I do, too. I’ve felt so alone this past weeks, almost like we’re roommates instead of a couple.”

  He took a deep breath, glad to hear that her thoughts mirrored hers. However, he despised what he would say in the next few moments, hated that he needed to bring it up. It sounded stupid and childish, but they needed to clear the air with each other. He wanted to be honest with her. “When we’re together like this, I don’t feel like I’m in second place anymore. I feel like you love me, like I’m important to you.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Noah, you’ve never been in second place, and I do love you. You’re very important to me.”

  “I know, honey, but it used to just be you and me. You were all mine. Now, with the three of us—and Phoenix not sleeping very well and needing a lot of attention, I just feel … like I don’t matter any longer.”

  Shaking her head, she gave him a sad smile. “You matter to me, Noah.”

  “I know that, but I don’t feel it, Abby. We need to find a way to make it work so that we’re all happy. When we make love, I feel loved.”

  She nodded and placed her hand on his cheek. “But how? How do we make it all work? How do we find time to be together like this when our son won’t sleep?”

  He shrugged in frustration. Hell, he didn’t know.

  He supposed there’d be time to sort through it all later, to figure out a plan. But right now, he had to get his mate in the shower and wash off his blood from her breasts. As he glanced down at his own chest, seeing the marks caused his cock to stir with longing.

  “Come shower with me?”

  A sly grin crossed her lips. “Are you going to talk dirty to me?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You like that?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  As he stood and helped her off the bed, he glanced at the clock. They still had five hours, and he planned on running his mouth the whole damn time … except when it wasn’t on Abby, of course.

  Chapter 23

  As they drove home, their fingers intertwined, they joked about the state of the silo.

  Abby grinned. “Beverly and Hudson will meet us at the front door with Phoenix, completely exhausted, ready and willing to hand him over.”

  “Hell, yes, they will. They’ll be so tired, and Hudson will get me alone and curse me up and down and into next week for leaving him with a kid that doesn’t sleep.”

  She laughed. “Then, he’ll probably pound you if Phoenix has been cranky enough.”

  “Exactly. But not hard enough to leave any marks. He wouldn’t want his precious doha to see that. But, he’ll hurt me bad enough so that if I complain to you about it and there’s no bruising, I’ll look like a weakling.”

  Her gaze slid over to him, a slight smirk on her face. “I’ve never thought of you as a weakling, especially after the past twenty-four hours.”

  Squeezing her hand, he felt a surge of testosterone throughout his body. His chest seemed to expand, as did his dick. They’d pushed sexual boundaries they’d never considered crossing before, and it had been exciting, amazing, and so much fucking fun. In fact, his throat felt raspy from all the dirty talking he’d done.

  He’d found out Abby liked for him to take control. She liked him to tell her what to do. It proved to be something new, and he didn’t know where that stemmed from. He guessed it was because she had so much on her plate with Phoenix that for a while, she wanted someone else to take the wheel.

  They arrived back at the silo to little fanfare. He considered this a good thing. Nothing major had happened, and the place hadn’t burned down, so his utter relaxation continued as they made their way up the front steps.

  He glanced over at Abby, who smiled at him. He stared at their hands laced together, and it seemed they had become more of a united front in the past twenty-four hours than they had been since the pregnancy. It felt good to know that she was there beside him, and the feeling that he could conquer the world with one hand tied behind his back swelled in his chest. Yes, he and his female had become a team once again. They would make it through this baby stage and emerge stronger than ever. They’d get it all figured out.

  As they walked into the kitchen, silence greeted them. They exchanged confused looks, but then made their way to the Great Room. Beverly sat on the couch watching television with Hudson and Eden. Phoenix lay in Hudson’s lap, wide awake, and stared intently at Hudson as he made silly faces.

  Beverly was the first to see them. “Hey! How was your time away?”

  Noah glanced at all of them looking like the perfect little family unit. It could have been a commercial for insurance or cereal, for God’s sake. Where was the screaming baby? The mayhem? The irritable caregivers? “Good, thanks.”

  Hudson didn’t even glance up at them, just kept smiling and cooing at Phoenix. No one looked tired, either. In fact, they all seemed to be well-rested.

  They walked over and sat on the couch. “How did things go?”

  “Great.”

  Noah glanced over at Abby, who also seemed confused. “We really appreciate you taking care of him. We know it can be exhausting because of his crazy sleep schedule.”

  Beverly smiled. “It was fine. We put him down at nine last night, and he slept until seven this morning.”

  It felt as if an anvil had just been dropped on his chest. Phoenix had slept through the night?

  “H-how did that happen?”

  Based on her stuttering, Abby seemed pretty surprised, as well.

  “He was fussy after you left, so I had Cohen look at him. Turns out he had a little bit of acid reflux. Once Cohen calmed that down, he’s been fine.”

  Noah stared at his son, and a wave of guilt crashed over him. Why hadn’t he thought to have Cohen take a look at Phoenix? There’d been something wrong with his son for just over two months, and it could have been so easily fixed.

  Abby’s brow furrowed as she stood and took Phoenix from Hudson, then sat back down next to him. Cradling him, she kissed his forehead. “I feel like the worst mother in the world.”

  He gently grabbed Phoenix’s hand, loving the way his son gripped his thumb. “I know what you mean.”

  Beverly shook h
er head. “Don’t be silly, you two. It’s fine now, and I think things will be a lot easier for you.”

  Noah smiled at his boy. “Yeah, but we should have thought of that.”

  “Well, you didn’t. I’m a doctor, remember? I’m the one who feels badly because I didn’t suggest it before.”

  He glanced over at her with a grin. “You should feel bad, Bev. You could have saved us a lot of grief.”

  They all laughed, then Abby and he excused themselves to go downstairs with Phoenix. They’d had their time together and alone, and now, he would gladly spend the rest of the evening with his family.

  Later that night, Noah rocked Phoenix to sleep, and then laid him down in his bassinet. Abby sat up in the bed reading a book, her hair up in a sexy bun, her bare shoulders gleaming in the light. She wore her low cut blue nightgown, the one that offered him a peek of cleavage.

  He walked over to the bed and stretched out next to her. She grinned and set down her book.

  “Do you really think he’ll sleep through the night?” she whispered.

  “I hope so.”

  “I feel like I’m on pins and needles, just waiting to see what happens.”

  He nodded, feeling the same way. “I know.”

  They waited another few minutes, and when Phoenix remained quiet, he tried to relax a little bit. An hour later, he could barely keep his eyes open. Glancing over at Abby, he saw she’d already fallen asleep. Reaching over her, he turned off the light and sent up a prayer that all would remain quiet throughout the night.

  Chapter 24

  The next morning, Noah roused before Phoenix did. Wow. The kid had slept through the night. Energy bounded through him at actually having had two consecutive full nights of sleep.

  He heard water running in the bathroom, and he got up, noting his hard-on. He grinned at the plan that quickly formed in his mind. He tapped lightly on the door, and stepped inside. Before shutting it, he glanced over at Phoenix, who thankfully, still slept soundly.

  Abby smiled, looking refreshed with bright eyes and pink cheeks. “Good morning. Is he still sleeping?”

  “Yes.”

  He moved behind her and pulled her to his chest. She laid her head back on his shoulder and sighed as he kissed her neck.

  She met his gaze in the mirror. “It feels good to sleep.”

  “Hmm. You know what else feels good?”

  “What?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at her, then sank to his knees, lifting her nightgown.

  “Noah! What are you doing!”

  He ran his hands over her bare butt, then pushed her legs apart with his shoulders. “You better hang on to that counter, Abby, because I’m going to enjoy a tasty morning treat. I want to see that pretty, white light again.”

  As his fingers found her slick flesh, he grinned.

  Sex with his mate, sleep, and his family.

  Honestly, he really didn’t need much more of anything.

  What’s up next for the Six Saviors?

  With his tattoos, dark, dead eyes and sketchy past, almost everyone in the silo keeps their distance.

  Is there more to Axel than meets the eye?

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