Stockholm

by Leigh Lennon

  “I want to ride your cock until you come inside me,” she said; her words were still shaky, but there now was a freedom Nolan had given her.

  Kissing her cheek, he winked his arrogant bastard look she secretly loved. “Now, sweetness, take it from me, take me, any way you’d like.”

  Pushing him down on the couch, she straddled him, continuing to stroke his cock. As she raised up just enough to place his cock at her entrance, she lubricated him with her own wetness and sat down on him, taking him in fully. Moving up and down, her body clenched at every sensation of him inside her.

  “We make love, sweetness, but this, this is more. This is a fuck with our love that seals the deal that you are forever mine.”

  Taking his hands in hers, she locked on his eyes, his brown merging with her green. “I’m yours, I’m yours—always.” At that moment, their bodies both climaxed because they were now one.

  Sex with Nolan was passionate, loving, and evoked a sense of belonging she’d never had before, and it canceled out the physical abuse inflicted by her brother for years.

  Still in his arms, he pulled her hair back. “Sweetness, I need to ask you something, and you have to answer me honestly.”

  She nodded in response, unsure what made him so serious after their passionate morning of making love.

  “Blake, did he ever touch you in a sexual way?” He’d asked this before, but she was still in denial about him abusing her in the first place.

  “No, never. It was always physical, but that was bad enough.”

  Shifting to sit up, in order to bring Mikayla to his lap, he replied, “You are right. It was bad enough, but as you are healing, I have to know how to help you. And quite honestly, I don’t think I could live on this earth with someone who hurt my girl in that sick way.”

  Facing him with her eyes full of tears, she asked, “Am I your girl?”

  Cupping her face, he only replied, “You will forever be my girl, if that’s okay with you?”

  There was so much she wanted to say but for now, she decided it was time to start her new identity. “Call me Colette.”

  Nolan stopped just above her as she reached for his erection, slightly stroking it while he moaned. Cupping her face, he replied, “Call me David.”

  “I want you, David. All of you.”

  “I want you too, Colette.”

  After she cleaned up the spilled eggs, and Nolan cooked more breakfast, he mentioned, “While we are here, I want to be Mikayla and Nolan, is that okay? To pretend we don’t have the world to contend with for now?” It had been a month, and all they did was make love. As he traced a heart with his fingers on her still bare stomach, she finally acknowledged the elephant in the room.

  She nodded in agreement but finally said, “What are we going to do, then? Eventually, we have to make a decision.”

  “I’m not sure. It’s totally up to you. We can go back, explain the truth, and deal with the consequences.”

  “I’m not going to press charges. They can’t prove I didn’t go willingly.”

  “And will your family believe you?”

  “After I tell them about Blake, yes, they will.”

  “Okay, we can go this evening. I will drive you home, and we can do it together.”

  She sat on the kitchen chair. “What if I’m not ready to go home? What happens if I want to stay here?”

  He looked at her, surprised. “What? Leave your family forever?”

  “Well, yes. I mean, my mom and I are close, very close, but really, how could they have missed what Blake did to me all these years? I feel my head is clear, clearer than it has been in a long time, and that is because of you, Nolan.”

  He sat up, trying to absorb everything she’d shared with him. “No, that is too much to ask of you. Sure, you’re upset at them now, but it will lessen. Sweetness, my brother and I lost our parents at an early age. It’s just us, and if I had to do it over again, I would do anything to see them. You don’t know what you are saying, sweetness. I promise you that it won’t always be like this.”

  “I hated you; at least, I wanted to. I haven’t been able to because I knew in my heart you were right about Blake.”

  He laughed at her. “Well, if that wasn’t hatred the past couple of months, I wouldn’t want to see full on hatred,” he said, leaning down to kiss her nose. “Anyway, sweetness, this can’t last forever. I do have to work eventually, and we have the issue of passports and an identity for you.”

  “Your brother, Luke, he’s a policeman. Can’t he help us?”

  “Mikayla, did I have dreams that you would come to care for me as I care for you? Yes, but not in my wildest dreams did I think it would work, and now that we are, well, whatever this is called, I have to tell you that we have our work cut out for us. You need to see your parents, if not now, then let’s give it a month, figure out what this is, and then go from there.”

  “You don’t know what this is?” she asked, pointing at her and him.

  “For me, it’s love, and I know that. I knew that the second your face looked at me with defeat in your eyes, and I saw the damage that bastard brought on you. But this is new to you.”

  “I care for you. I wouldn’t have been with you like this several times if I didn’t,” she said with a wry smile, winking at him. “I’ve loved two men—Ethan and Christopher. But with you, it’s more than I can explain. My love for you transcends everything, and as deranged as it is, I will never stop loving you. You, Nolan, are my future. If that means leaving my past behind, I’m willing to do anything it takes to be with you.”

  She couldn’t help the desperation she felt for Nolan at this moment. He was sent to protect her and was the first one who had his eyes wide open to the damage Blake caused. Nolan’s intervention had opened her mind, and she was healing and was no longer the scared little girl who Blake had tried to control. Even when he tried to force her to break it off with Christopher, she refused.

  Instead of continuing this type of conversation where he was encouraging her to face the life he had swooped her out of, she changed the topic altogether. “Tell me about Evangeline?”

  He raised his eyebrows at her, telling her silently that he knew what she was doing, but he let it go and started talking about Evangeline; by allowing this subject change. “Evie and I grew up next door to each other. She was just always there, and my parents adopted her basically as their third child. After me, Mom couldn’t get pregnant again, so Evie filled that void of the daughter she longed for. Plus, Evie didn’t have a mom, so it worked well. Luke was just too cool for us, and he treated Evie as badly as he treated me. Evie left to live with her grandparents for a year when her dad was traveling for a job, and she came back at the age of sixteen, completely different. And though Luke was nineteen, he started showing interest in her. He waited until she was eighteen to ask her out, and they fell in love quickly. But by nineteen, she was gone. Her dad said she was not allowed to leave him ever, and when Luke proposed, her dad went ballistic. She hid it from Luke and me. How did we miss it? Anyway, growing up, we had the same interests. She was going to be a nurse, and she had the most caring nature. If he hadn’t fled, I would have killed him. I hate him; I want to hurt him like I’ve never hurt anyone before. Except your brother. I could hurt him if I really wanted to, and while I really want to, it won’t solve the worst part, the victim he has made you.”

  It was as if she was this perfect collectible of his that he’d been protecting from rot or mold. She was that precious to him. In her battered psyche, she needed to feel cherished and loved.

  “I propose we stay for the rest of the six months as Mikayla and Nolan, getting to know one another, then as Colette and David, we can figure out where to go from there,” Mikayla interjected.

  He was tender with her all the time. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but this was how they got to be a couple, making it through this impossible task to where Nolan was her future. It didn’t make it unhealthy. Nor did the circumstance of how they met
and bonded. It was her fate to end up with him. Her body understood how to breathe without thought, and it knew she needed Nolan.

  Ever since the first time they made love, they hadn’t spent a night apart. Their love affair was quick and passionate. Mikayla grew to appreciate the way Nolan wanted to protect her. “Tell me something about yourself, something I don’t know,” she said, wrapped in his naked embrace. She enjoyed the days they only left the bed for food or drinks. She loved it more when they stayed in bed naked all day, and she studied every part of his body.

  “My parents died when my brother was twenty-two, and I was twenty. I went to Uni and continued, holding this farm. Lucas would never part with it, even though Evangeline is gone, he could never bring himself back here. But for me, Evangeline lives on in this house.”

  “I didn’t know you grew up here? Was this your family home then?”

  “One of them. Our parents were wealthy. Originally from Quebec, they moved here to farm; a dream of my dad’s because money was never an issue for them. Evangeline grew up on the adjacent land. Lucas bought it after her dad went to jail and burnt the house to the ground. Now, it’s just an abandoned field. I’ve gone there at times but not in a couple of years. I’m done with that part of my life. You have saved me.”

  Sitting up, Mikayla swiped a piece of hair from his eyes when she proclaimed, “I’m not going home, ever.”

  “What? I can’t keep you from your family, especially now. Your brother must be stopped. He’ll do this to another girl; if not you, his future wife. Believe me,” Nolan insisted, not breaking eye contact with her.

  “I know, and I’m going to have to live with it. But you saved me, and I can’t ever let the authorities come after you. You are my future now. When we leave here, we will never be Nolan and Mikayla again but Colette and David,” Mikayla said, then asked, “But what will I do? How will we live?”

  “I have a place in Edmonton near my brother and his fiancée.”

  She sat on her side as he caressed her bare breasts, smiling at her, attempting to seduce her at that moment, but she was shocked by what he said. “Your brother is engaged?”

  “He found love again in Maribel. She’s feisty and so good for him but she can never know what Lucas is doing for us.”

  He found love again, and something this huge, after such a loss, put a smile on her face. “Okay.” She was looking over his body and saw a blemish on his left shoulder. “Tell me about this,” she said, pointing at the inch-long scar.

  “Ah, this little thing. I’m not sure when or where I got this. I’ve had it for a while now. It showed up on me one day and never went away.”

  Mikayla raised her eyebrows at him. “That’s quite ominous.”

  “Mysterious,” he said, sweeping her in his arms, kissing along her neck, and then the next thing she knew, he was entering her, and it felt like it should have been like this the whole time. As she’d said since the first time they were together, she was home, finally, and never leaving.

  Libby

  Coming off the trip to Canada was what Libby needed. Everyone saw her renewed spirit the second she stepped back into the house. Always concerned that she’d put someone out, she arrived home at 5:30 p.m. that night. Jenna’s wedding was five days away, and she assured her mom that any last-minute issues were handled.

  At dinner that night, something Jenna took care of, the four of them sat down at the dining room table for the first time since Mikayla’s disappearance. Though they felt as if someone was certainly missing, they enjoyed their first real Mikayla-less dinner together.

  Blake had changed, stating he’d be helping his father during the summer term. He almost seemed back to his normal self, but when Libby asked, “Are you dating anyone, honey?” Blake just looked down and shook his head.

  However, he had a lot to say about Trent’s upcoming bachelor party, which he was given the honor of planning.

  “Oh, lord, Blake. Just promise me you will make sure my fiancé is at the wedding, or your ass will be the one being kicked.” Jenna could hold her own, and though she was kidding, everyone knew she was also serious.

  Libby needed this time with her little nuclear family. Even Adam looked renewed and refreshed, knowing part of his problem was the worry he had over his wife.

  “So, tell us, dear. What was your favorite place in Canada?”

  Blake teased and said, “Yeah, tell us, eh?” Trying to use his best French-Canadian accent though he failed, terribly.

  “I love Calgary Alberta. It was by far the most rustic. I tell you what, Adam, I think we should go there for our next anniversary. Take the train and stay in a bed and breakfast. It would be so romantic, you know.”

  Jenna and Blake laughed and then rolled their eyes. “Gross, can we not have this visual of you all having sex?” Jenna said.

  Blake added, “Yes, in my mind, you only had sex three times.”

  They all laughed, and it was the perfect ending of a trip that gave her the perspective she needed to move past this critical stage in her mourning and grieving.

  Taylor

  While in the midst of a bowl of Cheerios, Taylor announced to her parents at breakfast one morning, “I would like to finish in three and a half years, then get my student teaching out of the way early, which won’t be hard with starting my summer courses the week after graduation.”

  Her parents eyed each other. Before her dad could phrase it a lot more eloquently than her blunt mother, she said, “Oh, so you will still be pursuing education and not journalism?” Taylor had no idea if WWU had journalism, but since she decided several months ago for education over all other majors, she just laughed.

  “I know you wish this was a phase I was going through; however, I’m very dedicated to becoming a teacher. I thought I hated kids at first, but I’ve found I’m great with them, and I think one day when I have my own, it will be nice to have summers off with them.”

  “But the pay, Taylor honey, is atrocious.”

  “Well, it’s not like being a lawyer or a doctor, but I find this is what I want. I know you think I’m going through this stage, but I’ve changed, if you haven’t noticed,” Taylor said bluntly, a tone her mother hated hearing but never worried about saying herself.

  Her dad, ever the diplomat, took his wife’s hand to calm her and proclaimed, “I, for one, think it’s a very admirable profession, and I know you will excel at this.”

  When her mom knew she was defeated, she looked at Taylor and said, “Okay, then let’s discuss your graduation party.”

  28

  Present

  Nine weeks after the first letter

  Taylor

  Mikayla Jane was a wonderful baby. It had only been two days since her early arrival, and they were settling into their routine. Blake had even taken a couple of days off work to be attentive toward Taylor and MJ. However, after Taylor nursed her sweet little girl, she walked into their room and saw Blake packing.

  “Going somewhere?” she asked, a little too excited that he might be leaving them. Her marriage was over, so she didn’t press him for the details. She didn’t care; not about her marriage, not about him, and certainly not about being the one who could save him. She’d tried, she failed, and she was done.

  “I’m sorry to have to leave you. I won’t be gone but a day or two. Something came up last minute, and I must get this taken care of. I promise, after I get back, I’ll be off for the next two weeks to help you.”

  Since being home, Blake hadn’t mentioned the letter that had gone missing or Mikayla’s immersion back in their lives. He had been almost loving, so unlike his demeanor for the last ten of their eleven years.

  “Taylor, honey, I’m sorry.” But Taylor was not. She felt as if she was getting a little bit of a break from her life with Blake away and hoped in some way he wouldn’t be coming back.

  She hadn’t seen her phone since the hospital. Without concern for his trip, she blurted out, “Blake, where is my phone?”

 
He took his jacket pocket and pulled out a brand-new phone. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Dexter dropped it in water. I replaced it, and for some reason, they had to issue you a new number.”

  She didn’t buy it, knowing there was more to the story, but she didn’t press. She needed him gone. Even if he was coming home the day after tomorrow, it still gave her time to plan the departure of her and the kids from his life.

  Libby

  She had spoken to Taylor very little since the day of MJ’s birth. For now, she was safe with the impromptu trip Blake had taken. She wasn’t angry with Taylor for opening the letter intended for Libby. In her eyes, she let Taylor down, and in her shame, she wanted to hide from Blake’s violence. It was then, she wondered, if that was what she’d done all these years, excusing Blake’s behavior. She’d let down Taylor, and as she was starting to figure out, she’d let down Mikayla too.

  Her prideful nature let her think all these years of mothering was what she was made for; but she realized she was not this uniquely wonderful mom as she had led herself to believe. In her heart, she ached for all she missed. She grieved for the lives she let down, her son especially.

  Adam was still not talking to her, so she had to swallow her pride and be the first one to make amends with him. As she approached the study, she stared at her husband, the man she’d loved for many years. There was no one like him in her life, and he was a good father. However, how did they raise the monster their son became when both Adam and herself didn’t have a violent bone in their body? She gave the slightly opened door a light knock. Looking up while his glasses slid down the bridge of his nose, he gave her a gentle smile, one she had missed for the past several weeks, then she entered his study.