by S. M. Shade
I lift her chin until she’s looking at me. “I’m his father. And I signed the birth certificate so there’s never any doubt. Calvin never has to know. He can grow up without the stigma of being the offspring of a mass murderer. Blood doesn’t make a family, Mel. My parents never loved me. I was just a showpiece, like a fancy piece of furniture, and occasionally, a burden. They were blood, but not family. Us, we’re family, but not blood, and I’m never letting that go.”
Her forehead presses to mine, and she whispers, “I love you.”
“I love you, babe. We’re mired in this shit right now, but not for much longer. I’m going to take care of everything. We will be happy. Because we fucking deserve to be.”
“What are you going to do?” she asks, sitting back to watch my expression.
“I’m going to kill them. The First Men.”
There’s no shock in her reaction, only concern. “But the people?”
“We’re already working on that. We’re returning their money to them. They’ll be free.”
“Jeremy…”
I cup the back of her head. “Don’t ask me to spare them after what they did to you.”
“No, but I don’t want to lose you. You could get caught. I want Calvin to have you for a father.”
“He will. I don’t take risks. I can’t tell you the plan, Mel. This is something for ISH to handle, but I swear to you, everything is going to be okay.”
She cuddles against me. “I know we have more to talk about, but I’m exhausted. Tomorrow?”
I drop a kiss on her cool lips. “Okay. Let’s get some sleep.”
We move to her bed, and she’s asleep in seconds. She doesn’t budge when I grab my phone and call Dare.
“Yeah,” he says, answering in his usual curt way.
“Arrange for three at the disposal site. I don’t know when yet.”
He sighs into the phone. “Jeremy—”
“They raped her, Dare, like fucking animals. This isn’t negotiable. And look into an Officer Henreid. He’s one of them.”
“Understood,” he replies. “We just finished draining the accounts, but only the secondary ones. We have access to their primary, but we don’t want to siphon it yet. They’ll know something is up. They don’t check in on the others very often.”
Once we hang up, I strip down to my underwear, crawl back in bed, and stare at the dark ceiling. It seems like some sort of miracle, like the universe brought this all together. Calvin and Melissa needed to be loved as much as I needed to love. To heal. Calvin won’t have to grow up under the shadow of a serial killer father. No one but Melissa and I ever need to know his true roots.
Twenty-two people lost their lives, leaving a path of countless loved ones with a permanent hole in their lives. So many families torn apart by three psychos with assault rifles. There isn’t a bright side to something like that.
Still, some tiny bit of hope rose from the tragedy. A family that never would’ve been, has found its way together. It’s going to be hard to reconcile that in the years to come, that what I have was brought about by Frannie’s death, but I can just hear her scolding me now.
“What’s the matter with you? Have you always been this dense? You didn’t kill me or wish it this way. It doesn’t matter what you want. You get what life throws at you, dumbass.”
I wrap my arm around Melissa, bury my face in her soft hair, and fall asleep with a tiny smile on my face.
#
The sound of running water wakes me. The bathroom door is open just a crack, enough for me to get a glance of Melissa, up to her neck in a bubble bath. A faint scent of vanilla hangs in the steamy air. She turns and smiles when I tap on the door.
“About time you woke up.”
“If I’d known you were naked in the next room, I’d have fought my way to consciousness.”
The doctors told her she wouldn’t be able to resume sex for four to six weeks, and that the first few times may be uncomfortable. Not as bad as if she’d had a vaginal birth, but still. It’s been four weeks, and I’m dying to get inside of her. We don’t even have to worry about birth control since she had an implant put in after the birth. I went and got tested for everything as well, so we’d know we were both clean. I don’t want to rush her if she isn’t ready, but I can’t resist touching her.
I walk over and sit on the edge of the tub. Her tongue darts out to wet her lips when I grab a little poofy thing and run it up her smooth leg. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you look right now?”
“Not as good as you in those boxer briefs. Are you very attached to them? Because this tub is pretty big.” She doesn’t have to ask me twice. Her giggle fills the room as I make quick work of my underwear and slosh water onto the floor in my eagerness to join her.
“This is one of the reasons I love this house. This tub could hold three people.”
I sit across from her, our legs entwined underwater. She sits up a bit and her breasts crest the water line, covered in tiny patches of suds.
She leans in to kiss me, her hands running over my chest. When we break apart, she stares down at the sight of my cock pointing up between us. Her hand runs up my thigh, and she grins when the muscle in my leg jumps. “Finally, it’s all mine and I can do anything active I want with it.”
Her fingers wrap around me, and she gives it a few long, slow strokes. “Is that how you like it?” she murmurs.
I wrap my hand around hers and guide her a bit. “Squeeze a little harder. Fuck yeah, like that.” I let go, and she continues. I love that she isn’t ashamed to ask what I like, and I hope she’ll do the same when I ask her. Everyone likes different things, and some women just expect me to be a mind reader. I’d much rather they speak up and say what isn’t working for them. It’s a new experience for me to know a woman’s mind and heart before I know her body, but that’s exactly where I am.
Her lips are so soft under mine, but her tongue explores with an urgency that fires me right up. A soft gasp leaves her lips when I run my thumb over her nipple. They’re extra sensitive since she’s recently stopped pumping her milk, so I take it easy. One day soon I’m going to bite them and drive her crazy.
My hand travels over her slick skin, and down between her legs. Her sharp intake of breath makes me look up and study her face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, feels good,” she moans, letting her eyes fall shut when I run my finger over her clit. It’s swollen and begging for attention.
My lips suck at her neck, and she squirms, her breaths increasing, but her hand keeps stroking me.
“Wait,” she breathes. She grabs a nearby folded towel, and shoves it under the water, then moves to plant her knees on it, bending over me.
“Mel,” I groan when she wraps her lips around my cock.
Holy fuck, it’s everything I can do not to come right then. The way she works her tongue around me, and just the sight of her. Her long, shapely back, sloping to two dimples just above that perfect ass.
She gathers her hair with one hand and lays it to one side of her neck. I thread my fingers into it, gripping it in my fist, and she hums when I tug it a little. Stopping her is so fucking hard, but I want to be inside of her…if she’s ready.
She sits up, and I run my fingers over her clit, then tentatively dip one inside. “Is it too early? Do you need to wait before we try?”
“The bleeding stopped a few days ago. I feel fine. We can just take it easy. I don’t know if it’ll hurt, and I can’t guarantee I won’t still bleed a little.”
“Doesn’t bother me.” Her breathing picks up pace as I slide two fingers in and out of her. “But if you want to wait…”
She scoots forward onto my lap and wraps her legs around me. “I’m tired of waiting.” Lifting herself up, she lines up my cock, and sinks down onto it in one slow, steady movement.
Nothing has ever felt so good in my entire life. She’s tight, but to me, it feels like a perfect fit. Her mouth is open as she takes long breaths. “Does it hurt
? If it’s too much, we can wait.”
Her hand comes up to cup my jaw, and she plants a soft kiss on my lips. Her gaze stays locked on mine. “It’s so unfair. That gorgeous face and wavy hair, sexy beard and muscled body, and such a good heart. No man should get to have all that, and an amazing cock.”
“You’re what will make me the envy of men everywhere,” I reply, sliding my hands to her hips.
She raises and lowers herself carefully, taking things slow. If she feels any pain, she doesn’t show it. I don’t thrust into her, just let her take the lead. The water laps over onto the floor, but neither of us pays any attention.
She wraps her arms around me, and her wet tits stick to my chest as she grinds against me. “Oh god, so good,” she breathes.
I squeeze her ass cheeks and suck my way up her neck to whisper in her ear. “Come for me, Melissa.”
Her thighs tighten, and I take over, thrusting into her as she drops her head to my shoulder and digs in her teeth. She’s a biter. This girl is fucking perfect. She doesn’t scream, but gives a long, low moan as her body trembles.
It’s the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard, and it shoves me into my release. Her name jumps from my lips, and my fingers dig into her hips, holding her to me as I come inside her.
We stay that way for a long minute until she says. “The water’s getting cold. My nipples could key a car.”
Grinning down, I tweak one of them. “Yeah, we should stay here forever.”
Chapter Seventeen
Melissa
The last few days have been heaven. I wake up with Jeremy, have a multitude of orgasms, then spend the day with Calvin, who seems to grow stronger by the day. Jeremy returns in the evening, and we watch movies, or sometimes go out for dinner.
We’ve avoided a lot of the serious talk after our last conversation. We both just needed a few days to be together without all the questions and explanations. I’d really like to know more about Jeremy’s family, since he never mentions them, so once we’re done with our morning sex-a-thon, I ask.
“Do you ever see your parents?”
He’s quiet for just long enough for me to think I may have upset him. “No, I used to try to keep in touch, but they never reciprocated.”
“Did you have a fight or something?”
He plays with my hair. “No, they just don’t have any interest in me or my life. It was always that way. I had nannies to take care of me when I was growing up, while they flew around the world, living their carefree lives.” He grins down at me. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I never did without anything. I’m not the poor little rich boy. I went to great schools, had a lot of friends, and grew up pretty happy. They just weren’t a part of it.
“It was like they were two strangers who would step in occasionally to dole out punishments they wouldn’t be around long enough to enforce. When I got older, they were pissed that I wouldn’t date any of the debutantes they had lined up. I had no interest in getting married to some plastic girl and doing the twelve hour a day grind at their investing firm.
“They tried to put their foot down and threatened not to pay for college when I wouldn’t join their little high-class society jerkoff sessions.”
“What happened?”
“My grandpa happened.” A fond smile stretches across his face. “He always hated that whole scene too and supported me when I wanted to go into computers, not investing. Pissed my dad off something terrible when he stepped in, paid for my college, and set me up in a house near campus. The only thing he asked was that I keep my grades up and work a part time job. He told me that everyone needs to see what it’s like to work every day whether you need the money or not. That it would help me relate to the rest of society, who aren’t as lucky.”
I cuddle against him. “He sounds like a great guy.”
“He was. He died of a heart attack right after I graduated. I was glad he got to see me get my degree though, so he could see I took advantage of the opportunities he gave me.”
“I’m sure he was proud of you.”
“He was. The last time I saw my parents was at the reading of the will. He left me everything in a trust fund. His fortune, houses, and shares in multiple businesses.”
He peeks down at me. “That’s another little secret you should know, I guess. I’m filthy rich.”
Laughing, I slap his chest. “I already knew that. And since you’ve hacked your way into more than just my heart and bed, you know I don’t give two shits. I do very well.”
He rolls over until I’m pinned underneath him, and his boyish grin makes me smile. “Yes, and since you don’t want me for my money, my cock will have to suffice.”
“I want your heart, but your cock comes a close second.”
“And I make sure it never comes first.”
“Seriously, dick puns?” I love seeing him this way. He was always so serious and broody. I have a feeling I’m just now getting to know the real Jeremy.
“I’d switch to vagina puns, but I cunt think of any.”
“You’re terrible.” I plant a kiss on his lips, then roll out from underneath him. “Do you have to go to work?” My tone struggles to be nonchalant considering his work is plotting to kill the First Men.
“Yeah, are you going to see Calvin?”
“Later, first Leah and Zoe are coming over to help me put the finishing touches on the nursery.”
We go our separate ways as usual, and I try not to think about the danger he may be in. Soon, all this will be over. The cult will be gone, and my son will be home with me.
I swear, sometimes it feels like letting myself feel hopeful and happy just tempts the universe to take it away.
#
My shoes click against the highly polished floors of the Lindon Gallery as I peruse the halls, waiting for my meeting with Penelope. After the success of my last show, she’s eager to plan a future one, although I’ve cautioned her, it’ll be at least six months. Calvin needs all my time and attention.
“Ms. Sanders! It’s so good to see you again. How are you feeling?” Penelope approaches me in her usual mist of lavender scent.
“Much better than the last time I was here,” I laugh, giving her a quick hug.
“And how is the little one? Please tell me you brought a picture.”
“He’s doing well. If he keeps gaining weight this quickly, we may be able to bring him home in a month or so.”
We stand shoulder to shoulder while I swipe through the pictures of Calvin on my phone. “Oh my goodness. Look at those eyes! So much character for such a tiny slip of a thing.” She beams at me. “Another artist in the making.”
Before I can put it away, the phone jumps to life in my hand, buzzing and displaying the name of the hospital on the screen. My heart plummets to my toes. They never call me. I’m there most of every day, so they give me the reports and updates on him once I show up. This can’t be good news.
“Melissa?” I recognize the nurse, Clarissa’s voice. We’ve spent enough time together to be on a first name basis.
“Is he okay?” I ask frantically.
“Calvin has spiked a fever and he’s having some trouble breathing. The doctor is in with him now, but he may need to go back on the respirator.”
Oh god. He’s been doing so well with his breathing. He’s even been taking most of his meals through a bottle. “I’m on my way.”
“Melissa, he’s not in any eminent danger, so please take your time and drive carefully.”
“I will.” I turn to Penelope. “Calvin’s in distress. I have to go.”
“Of course,” she calls after me as I rush away. “I hope he’s okay.”
As soon as I’m in my car, I try to call Jeremy, but it goes straight to voicemail. Because of his work, he often leaves his phone in the car, but I was hoping today wasn’t going to be one of those days. My next call is to Justus.
“Well hello, baby mama, are you finally ready to get those margaritas?”
“Calvin’s sick. It soun
ds bad. They might have to intubate him again.”
“Fuck, where are you?”
I pull onto the highway at a speed that’s far from legal. “Five minutes away from the hospital. I can’t get a hold of Jeremy. I was hoping you’d be able to.”
“I’ll take care of it. And we’ll be there as soon as possible.”
It doesn’t take me long to find a parking space in the hospital’s parking garage. I know every inch of this place now that I’ve spent so much time here. It hasn’t been ten minutes since I got the call when I rush into the NICU.
Clarissa meets me at the door. “He’s doing a little better. We were able to get his oxygen stats up a little, but Dr. Hanlon put him back on the ventilator to be safe, until we figure out what’s going on.”
“Can I see him?”
She walks me back to where my son lays in his crib. The ventilator is breathing for him again, and the sight causes my body to shake with sobs. He’s so young and tiny, and he’s already been through so much.
Dr. Hanlon nods at me as he examines him.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“I suspect it’s pneumonia. We’re going to get a chest x-ray to confirm. It’s common in premature infants. We’ll treat him with antibiotics and keep him on the ventilator until his breathing improves.”
“But he’ll be okay?”
Dr. Hanlon gives me that neutral stare all doctors seem to perfect. “We’re going to do everything we can. We’ll know more in a few hours.”
Clarissa’s voice is soft when she adds, “Right now, we’re going to take him down to radiology. You’ll need to wait in the waiting room. I’ll come and get you as soon as we know anything.”
She walks me back out to the small waiting room where it seems like I’ve spent half my life. For the first couple of weeks after his birth, we were only allowed in the NICU for short periods of time, and I sat out here until they’d let me in again. It didn’t matter I couldn’t see him, I had to be as close as possible.