“Interesting,” Nathan muttered.
“I know what you’re thinking, Nathan,” Carter said, staring into his eyes. “I already asked my father why he wouldn’t just kill Silas. I’m not happy about his answer, but I’m trying my best to understand it. To forgive him for lying to me. He said it’s not easy for someone to kill their brother …”
Not even if he beat the shit out of the woman you loved, tormented her life, took her children away from her, and threaten to take your daughter? Nathan’s nostrils flared with stifled anger. That was a bunch of fucking bullshit, and his poor, beautiful wife was trying to be a good daughter and accept it. She was very forgiving. Nathan himself knew he wouldn’t be so forgiving of something like that; he was an expert grudge holder. Her father had had a choice that day he took a knife to Silas’s face, and the choice was simple: choose your daughter and the woman you love, or choose your brother. He’d chosen his brother.
Nathan kissed Carter’s forehead and changed the subject, deciding he’d just let it go. It wasn’t Robert’s responsibility to protect Carter anymore, it was Nathan’s. Robert didn’t have to choose Carter over his brother, because Nathan would. If Silas ever came anywhere near Carter Salerno again—in this life or the next—Nathan would torture the man until he begged for mercy.
“Tell me about your brother, baby,” Nathan said.
Something lit up in Carter’s eyes and a big smile graced her lips. She turned her body to lie on her stomach next to Nathan and he chuckled, amused by her excitement.
“He’s made that good of an impression, huh?”
She nodded emphatically. “He’s amazing, Nathan. I think I love him. Is that weird? I know we just met, but I really care about him.”
“No, baby.” Nathan laughed softly. “He is your twin. Of course it didn’t take long for you to bond with him.”
“He’s perfect, Nathan. His personality comes off a bit strong at first. He’s not really used to being around people again yet, so he may seem a bit … mean. But once you get to know him he’s so sweet, loving, and innocent.” She frowned for a moment. “Well, at least I think he’s innocent. We started off a little rocky because I scared him, but then I kind of had a little … umm …” She cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Mental breakdown, but it turned out to be okay,” she said brightly. “It humanized me for him and he loves me now. I want to call and talk to mom, but he’s scared, and secretly, so am I. Oh yeah, his name is Gabriel, did I tell you his name was Gabriel? I love my brother so much!”
Nathan chuckled softly. “All right, all right, calm down.”
She giggled. “I can’t, Nathan. Finding Gabe and my dad really made getting kidnapped seem like something that was supposed to happen. As fucked up as that sounds, it’s really what I feel.”
“Adrien Stone had mentioned that Silas had a son,” Nathan said, reaching forward to fiddle with strands of her hair.
“He did?” Carter asked. “You didn’t mention that.”
Nathan nodded. “It was rumored the boy was dead.”
“Wow.” She gazed off into the distance, obviously lost thought. After a moment she brought her eyes back to his. “Can he live with us?”
Caught off guard by the question, Nathan dropped the strand of hair in his hand and frowned.
Carter immediately began to plead. “Please, bubby,” she begged.
“Uhh … Carter—”
“Bubby, wait,” she said, stopping him mid-sentence. She sat up on her knees before easing back on her heels “I know how much you love our privacy, so I convinced him to live in our pool house. It is perfect for him, and gives us all of the privacy you desire.”
“And he wants this?” Nathan asked. “He’d rather live on our estate than have his own place?”
“He will have his own place. The pool house. It’s a beautiful house, bubby. And it has that private little pool for him. It just needs a little cleaning.” She reached forward and ran her fingers over his abdomen. “I want him to be close, Nathan. This way, he and I can continue to get to know each other, and you can become best friends with your new brother in-law.” She smiled. “He wants to go to college. That’s his dream. He doesn’t know what he wants to study yet, but we talk about his options often. And he’s been helping me, too. If it hadn’t been for him these last few days I wouldn’t have eaten anything. I can’t keep food down right now, and he’s been taking care of me. He held my hair every time I got sick, brought me cool rags when the headaches set in, and brings me salted crackers and fresh fruits to eat. It’s the only thing the baby likes.”
Nathan smiled. He briefly placed his hand to her belly before he sat up and kissed her, cupping the nape of her neck with his hand. Once he parted from her lips, he looked into her eyes and whispered, “Okay, baby. Whatever you want.”
Carter smiled wide. “Really?”
Nathan nodded. “He’s been taking care of my wife and child, my home is his home for as long as he wishes to stay.”
She squealed and lunged into his arms, sending them both falling back on the bed and laughing.
She kissed his face repeatedly. “Thank you, thank you! I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
Nathan laughed. “You’re damn right you are.”
Carter smiled, bit her lip, and lifted herself up with her hands to climb on top of him fully. Nathan arched an eyebrow as he watched her leaned forward to kiss him, her eyes bright with mischief. Right before their lips touched, she reached between their bodies and took hold to his now semi erect cock.
Grunting, Nathan bit down on his bottom lip hard when her hand wrapped around him, stroking him until he was fully erect.
“We’re going to have to go downstairs before my father breaks the door down and kills you, but … I think we have time for one more round.” She closed the distance between them and kissed him hungrily as she positioned him at her opening and sunk down on to his dick.
Nathan moaned into her mouth as her walls stretched and pulsed around him. “Damn, I love being rewarded for giving you what you want …” Carter giggled, but Nathan was not playing. God, it was the best fucking feeling, and so worth the ass kicking he was pretty sure that he was going to get from Spook Steele the moment he got down those stairs.
Kissing Carter deeply, Nathan guided her movements back and forth. He always loved the way she moved when she was on top of him. It was as if she were rotating her hips to the beat of a song. She ground on top of him in a circular motion, and the moment he thought he’d lose it, she’d switch up her movement. It felt so fucking incredible.
She broke away from the kiss, tossing her head back in ecstasy as her hips began to move at a vigorous pace. Nathan’s eyes were glued to her perfect bouncing breast while she rode him. He wasn’t quite sure if he was just lost in how damn good her pussy felt, or if he was actually seeing things clearly, but he could’ve sworn her tits had gotten bigger since he’d last seen them weeks ago.
Damn …
Carter’s warm walls continued to tighten around him and he fought against succumbing to the myriad of sensations ricocheting through his body, determined to let her come first. He reached forward and gripped her waist with one hand while he brought the other hand flat against her belly, pressing his thumb to her clit and rubbing it in quick circles.
“Ohhh! Nathan, yes,” she cried. “Oh God, babe … please don’t stop!”
She balanced her hands on his lower abdomen, digging her nails into his skin as she rode him harder. Nathan grunted and closed his eyes as the sensations flowing through his body intensified. “Shit, Carterina … so good, baby. Fuck,” he groaned. His free hand slid up her belly and covered one of her bouncing breast as he continued to massage her clit.
“I’m gonna come, Nathan! I’m gonna …” she gasped as her hand shot up to the hand he had covering her breast. She gripped on to his hand and squeezed her eyes closed. “Rub it harder, Nathan, please! Make me come.”
Nathan immediately obliged. God did he nee
d her to hurry up and come.
Much to his delight, Carter came with a loud cry. She bucked her hips against him in just the right motion that Nathan was unable resist coming any longer. He bit down hard on his bottom lip and grunted as he came inside his beautiful wife.
When Carter collapsed on top of him, he immediately captured her lips in a kiss. Spending time with her in their room alone was definitely worth the deal he’d made with her father downstairs after the man had come after him with a knife.
When they parted, they were both out of breath. Carter gave him a dazzling smile.
“I love you, Nathan Salerno” she sighed, kissing his chin. “I missed you so much.”
Nathan smiled and kissed her forehead. “And I love you, Carterina Salerno. I missed you, too...”
“Mmm …” she moaned. “Let’s take a bath together, bubby. I want some time to relax with you.”
Lifting her head to look at him, she touched his cheek gently. “You need a shave,” she kissed his stubbly cheek, “and a haircut. Let me take care of you.”
After they left the bed, Carter did exactly what she’d said she would do … she took care of him. She washed his body in their tub, gave his aching muscles a massage, and then gently washed his hair. After their bath, she set up a chair for him in the middle of the floor and re-bandaged his wound, gave him a shave, and a much needed haircut— which, of course, led to sex in said chair.
Afterward, Nathan felt like himself again; he’d regained the inner peace that only she could give him. Now that he had his wife back, all he could think about was going back home. He knew that his war with Silas Steele was far from over, but he didn’t have to stay overseas to fight it. After today, they would head back to the States.
Chapter 8: Killer-in-law
He’d been upstairs in the bedroom with his wife for two hours—two whole glorious hours—and Nathan knew what awaited him when he reached the bottom of the stairs. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and push back his fear. This was going happen, there was no stopping it. He’d married the hit man’s daughter, and truthfully, he’d always known that this was what would’ve happened to him if Spook Steele were alive.
Nathan glanced back at the bedroom door behind him. Carter was still in the room dressing; which, in Nathan’s opinion was perfect. He preferred that she not be there for what was about to happen to him anyway. All though he was uncharacteristically afraid, he didn’t want her to stop what was coming. This was something that needed to happen. If he was ever going to get the trust and respect he needed from his father-in-law—Spook fucking Steele—he had to endure the pain.
Nathan braced himself. Placing his hand to his side, he pressed against his gunshot wound. He didn’t even flinch when he felt the pain, which he was proud of. If he was going to make it through this, then he needed to have endurance. He’d never been accused of being a pussy in his life, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start today.
Quickly descending the stairs, the sound of the blaring television became louder with each step he took. When he entered the living room, every eye turned to look at him. Freddy, Mickey, Lucca, Dante, and Kyle, but no sign of Carter’s brother. Nathan was a little disappointed that he wasn’t in there, but—
Movement coming from the left of him nearly caused him to flinch. However, upon quick observation, he realized that the person walking toward him was not the killer, but his wife’s brother. Nathan turned to the man, and for the first time was finally able to survey the resemblance between him and Carter.
Damn, he thought, the kid is a Stone for sure.
There was no doubt in Nathan’s mind that he was Carter’s twin. He had the same color skin, as well as thick, shoulder-length, jet-black hair, and near identical features that were only set apart from Carter’s by the fact that he was a male. They even had the same big, expressive hazel eyes. Just as Carter did, the young man looked exactly like Anastacia’s father, Alexis, except he wasn’t as built as the man; Gabriel was built leaner. He stood about five or six inches shorter than Nathan, but his stance was confident. He didn’t cower back; he stared at Nathan as if he were looking into his thoughts.
Nathan was the first to offer a polite greeting. “Gabriel, is it?” Nathan smiled. “My name is Nathan Salerno, I’m your sister’s husband. She spoke very highly of you, so it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Nathan extended his hand, but Gabriel didn’t move, he just continued to stare him down. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Gabriel spoke.
“Do you love my sister?” he asked in a stern tone.
Caught off guard by his inquiry, and surprised that it didn’t irritate him like an interrogation normally would, Nathan didn’t answer immediately. Only after mentally pulling himself together could he reply, “Of course. I love her, she’s my wife.”
“Do you use her? Do you only see her as an object solely there for your satisfaction?”
Nathan frowned. “Of course not, that’s ridiculous,” he answered quickly, offended by the question. Carter wasn’t an object, she was the love of his life.
“Do you lose your temper easily with her?”
Nathan swallowed. “I don’t think I do, but I’m not perfect. She makes me angry sometimes, but not very often … ish.”
Suddenly it was becoming a little stifling in the room. Nathan was sort of starting to feel like the walls were closing in on him. This was new to him. When he and Carter had first become a couple he didn’t really have anyone to answer to. Yes, Anastacia had questioned him a little, but never like this. Gabriel was testing him right now, and for some reason … Nathan actually cared. He wanted Carter’s brother’s approval, he wanted his blessing. Not for himself, but because—in his gut—he knew that both Gabriel and Robert’s acceptance of him as Carter’s husband was important to her.
Shit!
“Do you emotionally abuse my sister?”
Gabriel’s questioning continued and Nathan swiftly answered swiftly, “No, I’d never intentionally hurt her.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he arched an eyebrow. “So you have hurt before?”
“N–no that’s not what I meant.” He’d fucking stuttered. Shit! He pulled himself together again. “I mean I have never hurt her intentionally. I fuck up sometimes, but I always apologize and learn from my mistake.” He released a silent sigh, satisfied with his answer.
“Have you or would you ever hit her?”
The question knocked Nathan back a bit. “Excuse me—”
“Have you ever put your hands on my sister?” he yelled sharply.
“Absolutely not,” Nathan answered in an equally sharp tone. “I would never even think of hitting my wife.”
Gabriel remained quiet after that for what seemed like an eternity. After glaring at him a little while longer, his features softened and he nodded. Extending his hand, he took Nathan’s in an impressively firm handshake.
“Then it’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Nathan Salerno,” he said in a much softer tone. “Carter has spoken highly of you as well. I was convinced you’d fly in here with a cape and an S on your chest.”
Nathan chuckled. “I’m far from being anyone’s superhero.”
He smiled warmly. “You’re her superhero. And I’m sure you will be the same for my niece or nephew.” He looked at Nathan thoughtfully. “Carter loves you quite a bit, so it must mean you have some good in you. I look forward to getting to know you, Nathan.”
“I look forward to getting to know you as well, Gabriel,” Nathan replied truthfully. He liked Gabriel. Even though this had been nothing but a brief interaction, the man had managed to reveal a lot about his character. It was a gift that Carter possessed, too; the ability to draw a person based on your personality alone. Must be a Stone thing … or maybe it was a Steele thing.
Who the fuck knew.
“Great,” Gabriel said as he turned and walked to the kitchen.
When he came back out of the kitchen, he had a weird looking drink in
his hand, a bottle of pills, a pack of salted wheat crackers, and was headed for the stairs. He noticed Nathan staring at him and sighed. Nathan could tell the guy didn’t want to talk any further, but he appreciated it when Gabriel still stopped to show him what he was carrying.
“Carter’s fruit smoothie, wheat crackers, and the nausea pills that will ensure she gets to eat and sleep tonight. I’ll fill you in on her—” His eyes cut to the hallway beyond the kitchen entrance before returning his eyes to Nathan’s. “I’ll fill you in on everything that works for her, while she’s still experiencing the excessive sickness. The doctor told her to make a nine week appointment with her doctor as soon as we get back to the States.”
Nathan listened closely, storing every bit of the information to memory. He knew that Carter would only tell him stuff like this if he asked her. The only problem there was that Nathan had no idea what questions to ask her.
“I give her fresh fruit smoothies, and salted crackers. It settles her stomach, then about thirty minutes after, she’s usually able to eat certain foods without throwing up from the taste or smell.”
Without another word he walked up the stairs.
“Gabriel,” Nathan called after him. When Gabriel stopped mid-step and turned to him, Nathan genuinely said, “Thank you.”
Gabriel nodded his head and began to ascend the stairs quickly before disappearing into Nathan and Carter’s bedroom.
When Gabriel was out of sight, Nathan groaned and raked his fingers through his hair. “Shit,” he muttered. Well at least he’d made it through the interrogation with the brother. Now all he had to do was survive the attempted murder from the father.
Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War Page 14