by Wade, Maddie
The fact that she had reacted to his fertility issues as if they were theirs, not just his, floored him. It didn’t seem to cross her mind to walk away. She was a miracle, and one he would make sure he held onto with every breath in his body.
His thoughts turned to Noah. That boy had grabbed his heart, from the first time he’d called Nate his superhero, and never let go. He didn’t think he could love him more if he had been his own blood. The fact that his parents seemed to love them only cemented his decision.
He was going to make Skye and Noah his at the first opportunity. He just wanted to wait until the transplant was done and the threat from Hugo and Felicity Lockwood was over. With that thought, he drifted into a deep sleep, a smile gracing his face.
~~~
Waking at his usual five-thirty in the morning, Nate slipped from the warmth of the bed. His first thought had been to wake Skye by making slow sweet love to her, but she looked so peaceful and she’d been so tired that he decided to let her sleep for a bit.
Going downstairs, he went to the ground floor and the spare flat. He’d set up his home gym in there and it was time to get back into routine. He did an hour on the weights before going back up to the kitchen grab a glass of water. He downed it at the sink and set about making Skye breakfast.
He would take her breakfast and see if he could persuade her to take a shower with him. Mixing the eggs and with the cheese, ham, and mushrooms, he poured it into the pan. Grabbing a coffee for Skye and orange juice for himself, he plated up the omelettes and loaded everything onto a tray.
Climbing the stairs, he pushed open the door and nearly dropped the tray. Skye was lying on her back, the covers pulled down to her waist. Her arms flung behind her head, pushing her luscious breasts up.
He rushed to put the tray down before he dropped it and sat next to her on the bed. She didn’t even twitch. Placing an arm over her, he leaned down and he very gently trailed his tongue around her plump nipple then slowly sucked it into his mouth. She moaned and began to writhe.
Her eyes fluttered open and she groaned, “Mmm…can you wake me like that every morning?”
Nate let her nipple pop free from his mouth, “It would be my pleasure,” he chuckled. “I made you breakfast sleepy head. He stifled a groan and adjusted his gym shorts as she stretched her delectable body. “You did?” she looked so surprised, it sobered him. No one had been there to look out for her like that. “I did, but if you carry on flaunting all that in front of me, it will get cold.”
“Well, that would be a shame,” she said, but she leant forward, gripping his cheeks, and planted a soul-searing kiss on him.
“Someone is playful,” he growled.
“Yes, but I’m also starving, so hold that thought. I need to try your cooking before we get in too deep,” she said jokingly, “I would hate to fall for you anymore than I already have, only to find out your cooking doesn’t cut the mustard.”
“Well, if I’d known how important it was, I would have put more effort in.” he handed her a plate and put the coffee within reach. He watched as she took a bite, her eyes crossed in delight.
“You like?” he asked with a smile.
“I love,” she said. “Phew! I don’t have to kick you to the curb, because that would have been hard after the wonderful orgasms you gave me last night.” They had finished their food and Skye was drinking coffee.
“I need to call and check on Noah,” she said over her mug.
“I already called Lucy. He slept well and was eating toast and marmite when I called.”
Her face softened, “Thank you.”
He took the cup from her hand and placed it to the side. “So, I was thinking we could shower together. You know, to share water and conserve the planet.”
“Yeah.” She said on a soft sexy smile
“Yeah,” he echoed as his hand slid under the covers and stroked her thigh.
“I like how you think.” Skye replied. He picked her up in one smooth move and threw her over his shoulder as she screamed and laughed. Walking to the shower door, he caressed her bare ass as he did, making her laughter turn to soft sighs. Opening the shower door, he turned the water on and placed her under the warm water as he shed his shorts and t-shirt.
Joining her, he proceeded to wash every inch of her perfect body until she was panting for more. He pleasured her with his hands and mouth until the water went cold.
Helping her from the shower, he wrapped her in a warm towel from the heated towel rail and put one around his hips, ignoring the raging hard-on he had.
He patted her ass and asked, “What time do you want to be at the hospital?”
“Around nine is fine.”
“Okay, mi cielo,” he dropped a kiss onto her shoulder blade and walked past her into the bedroom. He looked through his wardrobe for clean cargo trousers and a long-sleeve t-shirt. He was dressed and sitting on the bed, putting on his socks, when he caught sight of Skye. She had combed her wet hair out and was leaning into the mirror over the sinks, putting on some make-up.
The towel had ridden up and was only just covering the peach of her ass. He couldn’t resist and walked up behind Skye. He caressed her ass with his hand and looked at her face in the mirror. Her eyes were hooded, as if reading his intent. He tugged the towel until it dropped from her body. He watched in the mirror as his hands travelled up over her breasts, pinched the nipples into hard peaks, making Skye dropped her hands to the counter, her head falling forward.
Nate ran his hand up her spine and gripped her hair lightly, forcing her to look up. His other hand went to his fly and he released his painfully hard cock.
“Grab a condom from the draw in front of you.” He commanded–and it was definitely a command. And by the way her legs quivered, she liked it. Passing him a condom, he rolled it over his hard cock and rubbed his length against her ass cheeks. His hand moved from her hair and went down her flat stomach and gently gripped her hip, his other hand travelled up over her stomach, over her breast and lightly held her shoulder, his fingers brushing her neck.
With one smooth, hard stroke, he filled her. It was the most erotic thing he had ever seen The sight of her watching them in the mirror, the desire on her face, evident in her flushed face. The tight, wetness of her channel gripping him so hard made him lose it.
He pumped into her hard and fast, his eyes never leaving hers, as he brought them both to a hard, fast climax that left them weak in the knees. He kissed along her spine.
“I love you, Skye.” He pulled out as he said it and she hissed at the loss of him.
“I love you, too. I didn’t know it could be like that in the real world.”
“Me, either.” He dealt with the condom then turned her around and kissed the breath out of her.
“Now, stop distracting me and get dressed,” he said, and swatted her ass and kissed her nose.
“Me? Distract you? I was innocently putting on my make-up when you ravished me.”
He nuzzled her neck, “Yeah I did, didn’t I? And I’ll do it again if you don’t get dressed, so hurry up.”
“Okay, Nate.” She touched her mouth to his then and walked into the bedroom to grab her clothes.
He stood in the bathroom and wondered how he would ever get anything done when all he could think about was being inside Skye. He’d just had her, and yet, he wanted her again. He shook off the stupid grin and finished getting dressed.
Chapter Twenty-One
They were out of the house thirty minutes later and on their way to the hospital when they got the call. Nate hit the speaker on the car.
“Dane, what’s up man?”
“Is Skye with you?” Dane asked, instantly putting Nate on guard.
“Yes, what’s going on?”
“There was a fire at Reg’s house last night.” Skye looked at Nate as she gasped. “He is all right, just a bit of smoke inhalation,” Dane continued, “They released him this morning. He was upset about losing the house. It’s completely destroyed
. He would have been fine except the stupid man went back in to grab a suitcase full of photos and mementos.”
“It’s all he has of his son.” Skye said quietly, trying to explain.
“The problem is, it wasn’t an accident. The fire investigator says it was arson.”
“Fuck!” Nate exclaimed, “Do we have any leads?”
“Yes, a definite message was sent. You need to come to the office. We had a video sent in to Drew at five this morning. It was the Divine Watchers letting us know that they want us to back off.”
“Okay, I’m going to drop Skye at the hospital and then I’ll be in.”
“Cool. See you soon, and just so you know, Zack has put a permanent guard on Skye and Noah until the Lockwoods have been found.” Nate bristled slightly at that. Skye and Noah were his to protect. Putting aside his own issues with the situation, he realized it was the sensible thing to do.
“Okay, see you soon,” Nate replied.
Nate disconnected the phone and glanced at Skye as they pulled into the hospital.
“You okay?” he asked, watching her face.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to get to Noah, now.”
“All right. I’m not sure who Zack has on you, but I’ll walk you up and check things out.”
They exited the vehicle and Nate grabbed her hand as they made their way up to the second floor. Walking towards the ward, they saw Zin at the door.
“Hey, man,” Nate shook Zin’s hand, “thanks for last night.”
“No problem. He’s a good kid and very good at chess.” He smiled and it encompassed his whole face, turning it from stern to stunning.
Skye smiled proudly at his comment.
“Who did Zack send to watch Skye and Noah?” Nate asked Zin.
“A man from Eidolon named Ambrose. He’s ex-spec ops and is one huge-ass mother fucker.” He looked at Skye, “Sorry.” Nate laughed inwardly at the blush that stained Zin`s cheeks.
“No problem. Reg is my uncle, remember? Nothing shocks me.” Skye replied with a smile. Zin nodded and his lips twitched, again. That was his Skye, always putting everyone at ease, thought Nate proudly.
“Let’s go meet Ambrose,” Nate said to Skye and put his palm to the small of her back. “Do you want me to send Lucy out?” he asked Zin.
“Yes please. We have to get back to Fortis and help with the investigation. It sounds like things are heating up.”
“Okay. I won’t be far behind you.”
Nate pushed through the outer door of the ward and headed for Noah’s room. He could hear laughing–one giggly and child-like, the other deeper and belonging to a man.
Lucy was sitting in the chair next to Noah’s bed and a tall, muscled black man was, at that very moment, arm wrestling Noah and pretending to lose. He looked up at Skye and Nate as they walked in.
“Mummy look,” exclaimed Noah, “I beat him. I beat Ambrose!”
“I see that, baby boy,” she said, kissing her son’s cheek.
“Hi. You must be Noah’s parents pleased to meet you.” Ambrose stuck out his hand for Nate and Skye to shake. Nate felt like he’d been punched in the chest. That someone would assume he was Noah’s father pleased him more than he could say.
He shook Ambrose’s hand, “Pleased to meet you.” He was about to correct Ambrose when, Noah beat him to it.
“Nate’s not my daddy yet, Ambrose,” he said matter-of-factly. “But when he marries mummy, he will be.”
“Noah!” Skye shrieked, clearly embarrassed.
“I’ll just let myself out. I’ll see you back at work, Nate,” said Lucy with a huge grin on her face. Nate just nodded before turning his attention to Noah.
“You got that right, buddy,” Nate replied with a massive grin of his own. Nate smiled at his mum, “See, I told you.” He said to his mother.
“Umm…yes, well…”
“I’m sorry, this is my fault. I just assumed. He looks just like you.”
Nate had never noticed it before, but Noah did have features similar to his.
“No problem, man,” Nate replied. He turned to Skye and pulled her flush with him, hooking his arm around her waist, “I’m going to have a quick chat with Ambrose and then get going. I’ll call you in a bit, but if you need for anything, just call.”
“Okay.”
He dropped a kiss on her mouth and followed Ambrose out the door.
After talking to Ambrose, he felt better. The man was clearly very good at what he did and was clued up about what was going on, leading Nate to the correct assumption that he was pretty high up the food chain at Eidolon. He would still check with Zack, though.
Leaving the hospital, Nate quickly drove to Fortis, pleased he missed the morning traffic. When he arrived at Fortis, he saw Reg’s Triumph Motorbike outside next to Lucy’s yellow Mazda. Beside that was Zin’s Harley, Zack’s Landrover, Dane’s 4x4, and Daniel’s Jeep. So, it looked like the whole team was in, unless Drew was out doing something. That meant something big was going down.
Walking into the reception area, he smiled at Celeste and petted Samson, who was lying next to her.
“Hi, Celeste. How you settling in?”
“Good, getting the hang of it.” She smiled and Nate wondered if she realised how pretty she was. The resemblance to Kanan was definitely there, but her features were softer. He felt sorry for her. He’d hate to have a sibling he knew nothing about. Although, after what happened with Lauren and Drew finding out they were brother and sister and having never known about each other that seemed to be a new theme around here.
“Good,” he nodded, “Catch ya later,” he said as he went through the door to the belly of things.
Nate walked straight to the conference room, he could hear Zack’s pissed-off voice. Great. What now? Pushing through the door, he saw that the whole team was assembled. The big screen had been set up and Zack was casting an exasperated look at Reg.
He didn’t look any worse for wear from the fire and was currently conducting an argument with his dead wife. Nate considered himself an open person, but the talking to the dead thing stretched even his beliefs in the unknown.
Nate felt that uneasy feeling creeping up his spine again. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go down. He just wished it would happen so he could deal with it. Limbo sucked, he was more of an action man.
Taking a seat opposite Reg, Nate watched as he continued his conversation with Tilly. He certainly seemed to believe that he was talking to his dead wife. The patient indulgence on his face as she ‘nagged him,’ told of the deep love he still felt for her despite his harsh words.
Nate turned his attention to Zack at the head of the table, standing with his hands on his hips, waiting for Lucy to finish doing something on the laptop next to him. Zack looked edgy and his eyes kept sliding to Ava Drake, who was seated next to him.
She appeared calm, except for the fact that she kept playing with a locket around her neck. She was perfectly dressed in a navy shift dress and dark burgundy jacket. Nate had only spoken to her once, but she seemed nice–and more importantly–she was finally getting them the answers they needed to move forward with this investigation.
“Right, everyone quiet,” Zack bellowed, clearly losing patience. Everyone immediately went quiet and looked to Zack.
“As we know, Reg had a fire at his place last night. Thankfully, he is okay.” Zack was interrupted by Reg.
“Only cos my Tilly girl warned me,” he said proudly, a smile breaking through his purple beard.
“Yes, and we are all very glad she did,” said Zack graciously, and everyone murmured their agreement.
“I’m not happy you went back in, but all is well,” Zack continued and again Reg interrupted.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m already getting an earache from the little wifey, don’t you lot start. That suitcase is all I have left of my wife and son now. If I didn’t have that, I would have nothing.” That was the saddest thing Nate had ever heard and he felt for Reg. H
e was a good guy, and despite his idiosyncrasies, Nate liked him and by the looks of everyone in the room, so did they.
It was Lucy that voiced it, though, “You have us, Reg.” She sat across from him and down from Nate.
“Thank you, girlie. That means a lot to me.” Reg’s eyes looked bright and Nate thought it best to turn the attention away from him to give him a minute to compose himself.
“So, what’s this about a video?” he asked Dane.
Dane’s jaw went hard as granite and Nate was shocked he couldn’t hear bones cracking; he was clenching his fists so tightly. This was bad. Dane was a pretty calm guy, and something had gotten him unusually riled.
“Play the video, Luce,” Zack said in answer.
Everyone turned to the screen and Nate was shocked when Marcus Preedy`s face filled the screen. What the fuck! He wasn’t on his own in his shock, he heard inhales of breath from others in the room.
Preedy was Lauren’s estranged father and had been behind the Divine Watchers plan to get Lauren to join them because of her special healing abilities. That explained Dane’s reaction.
Preedy was seated in a small room in with no windows and white walls. He was sitting in a small folding chair facing the camera. He stared at the screen, the coldness of his eyes making Nate wonder how he could possibly be related to Lauren.
Preedy started to speak, “Tonight was a warning to you all. Leave the Divine Watchers alone. This is bigger than all of you. You cannot stop us from our mission to rid the world of lesser beings. The true and rightful Divine ones will rid the world of weak and narrow minded people. Armageddon is coming–nothing can stop it. Hundreds will die and the world will be righted to its pure and natural state.
“Tonight proves that we can get to anyone who pokes their noses in where it shouldn’t belong. Enjoy the time you have left–make peace with your loved ones or join the cause. Zibuthides Melsambria.”
The room was silent for second as everyone tried to take it in. Nate was the first to speak.
“So, first things first, how the fuck did Preedy make that video from inside a secure prison?”