Maggie
is the best freakin' beta on earth. She deserves a
lot of credit for making my words make sense. The worlds of Kenyon and Hamilton
just overflow with ideas and I hope they don't mind my fun. I hope the people
that read this enjoy it. If you don't, then write something of your own. We
would love the competition.
Any characters
you recognize belong to Sherrilyn Kenyon or Laurell K. Hamilton. I’m just doing this for fun. This is
rated PG-13 to be safe.
Truth Be Known (Nate’s
Story Chapter 44)
His mind kept
telling him that he didn't want to go down there. She was there. She was going
to want answers, answers that she was not going to believe. There was no way he
was going to escape the grip of the two men supporting his weight between them.
His mind kept telling him that but his body was screaming in pain, red hot pain
where the daimon had scored a hit. He would heal. All he needed was time and
space far away from everyone here. Unfortunately that was not to be as the door
opened and they descended the steps into the Circus.
He tried his best to
stay awake, tried to keep them away. He didn't want them touching him. No
blood. Not this time. He would not be tied any closer to them. He knew he could
stay away. He had proven it but something kept dragging him back. Screw them
all and their insecurities. He was a Dark Hunter.
Maggie watched the
hunter as he slept. “What do you think he's dreaming about?”
Noah asked his
ex-lover. “How do you know he's dreaming?”
She sighed. “Watch
his eyes moving under the lids. It's called Rapid Eye Movement. We all do it
when we dream.”
“And that's why
you're the scientist.”
The doctor shook her
head. “Honestly Noah, that's eighth grade science.”
“I hated science.”
He grinned.
“I'd love to know
what's going on in his head.”
“No you wouldn't.”
Luna told her. The female leopard had come to stand in the doorway. “Trust me
on this.”
Her soul sister
pouted. “You're no fun.”
The other woman
grinned. “I am when I want to be.”
Noah turned to his pardmate. “What are you doing here?”
“I'm relieving you.”
The bodyguard shook his head at the woman’s reply so she added, “Don't make me
pull rank superman.”
“Like
you could. No I'm
staying.” The man insisted.
Maggie shrugged. “It's
not like he's going anywhere. I'm sure Anita wants to ask him questions.”
The male leopard
sighed. “Yeah, but I doubt he answers them. Hell, he could have her brought up
on charges.”
Luna shook her head.
“He won't. Why do you care anyway?”
“Because I think
he's getting the shaft.” He pulled something from his belt at the back and sat
down in a chair by the bed to study it. The dagger literally glittered in his
hand, as he moved it back and forth.
“Where did you get
that,” the cop in her asked.
“It's the knife the
demon used on Nathan.” She reached for it but Noah pulled it out of reach
telling her, “He gets the thing when he wakes up. Until then I hold onto it.”
“Hand it over.” Luna
told him. He shook his head as she added, “I just want to look at it.”
“See?” He held it up
in front of her before pulling it back.
Arguing ensued which turned into growling. Maggie just shook her head and
turned back toward her patient. Nathan was staring at her, his eyes dark and
ominous. It was as if he didn't recognize her.
She reached down to place a hand on his shoulder. When the contact was
made, they both screamed. The doctor staggered back. Her companions were
quickly by her side.
“Goddess
Hera!
Don't do that again doctor! You trying to kill me,” her patient asked, clearly
upset.
Noah looked from one
to the other. “What happened? Why did you scream?”
Maggie bit her lip,
not sure how to explain. Finally she told him, “His soul tried to push into me.”
Nathan shook his
head. “I don't have a soul doctor. That was all you.”
Luna reached over to
rub the other woman’s arm telling her, “He's right kitten.”
“I felt something and
it was not all me. Don't be so presumptuous,” she snapped pulling away from
both leopards who were looking at her like she’d grown
a second head.
Nathan sighed. “I'm
telling you Doctor Rhodes, Artemis wouldn't give up my soul that easily.”
“Yeah from what Nate has said I agree.” Noah offered but Maggie just stared
at him.
The hunter looked up
at other man. “Noah, you have a car?” The were nodded.
“Good. You can take me home.”
“Home? You were just stabbed last night. You aren't
going anywhere,” Maggie turned to tell her patient.
“Doctor, I will
heal. Now where are my clothes?”
Noah cut off any
reply from his ex, telling the man, “I'll get them.”
Luna growled. “Noah,
he can't leave. Anita wants him to stay here until Jean Claude comes back. You
don't want to piss her off.”
He shrugged. “I piss
her off no matter what I do.” He headed for the door then turned. “Oh yeah, here.” He handed Nathan the dagger. “This is what
it got you with. Be right back.” He left the room with that.
Nathan examined the
dagger. It was light weight with an excellent balance. He liked the way it
glittered in the light. It seemed familiar, like he'd seen it or one similar
before. He stared at the blade. Images played out like a movie. Some things he
remembered. Others he didn't… Mai, the temple, Ares. Ares? What the hell? It was too much, too fast, like one of
those flip books he had as a kid. Someone touched his shoulder and he jumped.
He looked up at Luna then back to the dagger but the images were gone. He
shuddered.
Luna had a concerned
look on her face. “What's wrong? What did you see?”
“Nothing.” The hunter got up and walked across the room
to the bathroom. Once inside he closed the door. Splashing water on his face,
he looked into the mirror. Everything was so screwed up just because he had
made a promise. A knock on the door signaled that Noah had returned. “Come on
in.” Noah came in and closed the door, handing Nathan his clothing. “Thanks.”
The
were nodded, “I'll drive
you home.”
“I don't want you to
get into trouble.”
Noah shook his head.
“Micah said that Anita won't be back for a few hours. So don't worry.”
Nathan nodded. “You
wouldn't happen to know if there's a barber shop open somewhere?”
The guard shook his
head. “Not really. Why?”
The hunter ran his
hands through his hair. It was past his shoulders. “I want a haircut.”
“Stephen can do that
for you. He's good at it.”
“Who is that,” he
asked as he slowly started getting dressed.
“He's one of the pack, a stripper. He does everybody's makeup and hair,” Noah
explained.
“I'm not going to
Guilty Pleasures for a haircut.”
The guard grinned. “I'll
see if I can get him to make a house call.”
“I'll pay him.” He
sat down on the edge of the tub. Noah saw the hunter wince when Nathan bent
over to pull on his boots. “Crap.”
“Are you sure you're
okay to be up?”
Nathan nodded. “Trust
me, I've been hurt worse. Is it dark out?”
“Yeah,
just.”
“Then let's go,
before Blake comes back.”
When the two men
exited the bathroom, the bedroom was empty. Nathan wasn't sure if that was a
good thing or not. He gathered up his things and left with Noah. Topside they
headed for Noah's car. It was a nice little red convertible. Luna cut them off.
Nathan frowned at
her. “Out of the way Luna.”
She ignored him,
concentrating on Noah. “I'm not going to let you take the brunt of Anita's
anger. I'll go with you.”
“I don't need you to
run interference for me Luna.” The were told his pardmate.
She crossed her
arms. “I'm going.”
He shook his head. “No
you're not. I am fully capable of dealing with Anita. Micah knows what I'm
doing.”
The cop sighed. “Superman
listen, this could cause all kinds of problems.”
“Not as many
problems if another bolt hole opens in the Circus.” The were
growled back.
Luna huffed at that.
“You're starting to sound just like him.”
While they stood
there arguing, Nathan started walking away. He could hail a cab and be home in
twenty minutes. It might take all night for them to stop arguing. Nathan pulled
out his cell phone and selected Roan’s cell number from the contact info. The katagari answered on the third ring.
“Roan, can you pick
me up?”
“Where the hell have
you been,” he heard from the other end of the line.
“I'll explain when
you get there. Meet me at Dead Druids.” He closed the cell.
He kept walking, staying
in the shadows. When he reached the club he was hurting. He walked in to the
strains of AFI. The band on stage was doing a cover of Love Like
Winter. Nathan actually stopped to give them a listen before making his way to
the bar. He didn't recognize the guy tending bar. He was a blond, short, about
5 feet seven.
The hunter told the
man, “Whiskey. Straight.”
The guy looked him
up and down. “How old are you?”
“Older than you are
Evan. Send us a bottle to the balcony.” Nathan hadn't seen Conor arrive and was
surprised by his voice.
The blond nodded. “Yes
sir.”
“Come on.” Irish
told him.
The two hunters made
their way up to the balcony that overlooked the main floor. They sat at a table
by the railing.
“You look like crap.”
The Irishman told his friend.
“Thanks Obi Wan.”
Conor grinned. The hunter explained, “Had a little altercation with some
daimons after Blake kidnapped me.” His friend stared at him but he shook his
head. “It’s a long story, which I will tell you when Roan gets here. Don't want
to expend the energy telling it twice.”
Irish shook his
head. “I don't get it. There haven't been any other jumps. Are you sure they
were daimons?”
“Well there wasn't a
Fabio convention in town that I know of,” Nathan grimaced.
“Makes
you kind of wonder if they're targeting you.” The other hunter speculated.
“Great.” A waitress
brought the whiskey and two glasses. “Thank you.” He paid and gave her a twenty
dollar tip. “Goddess, I love Irish whiskey.”
“Nothing
better.” His friend
agreed as he poured two glasses. “Slainte.”
“Cheers.” They each
drank down their glass and Conor poured another round.
Roan arrived ten
minutes later. He railed at Nathan for disappearing and not keeping in touch
saying that Mitch had called three times. Nathan told the wolf to shut up and
sit down. He then called Mitch and proceeded to tell the three men what had
transpired. Mitch told him that a move was in order. Nathan agreed. What Mitch
didn't say was that he was going to file charges against the
Roan looked at his
friend, “Do you think Blake will come looking for you?”
“I don't know. I'm
sure she'll take a lot of my disappearance out on Micah and Noah.” He winced then
downed the glass of whiskey.
Conor frowned at the
man. “How bad are you hurt?”
“Burns more than
hurts,” the hunter told them. He slid the knife out of his belt and laid it on
the table, telling them it was what Noah said the daimon had stabbed him with.
“Somebody is playing
dirty.” The Irishman whistled. The two men stared at him. “Unless I'm mistaken,
that looks like one of Ares'.”
Their Katagari companion was surprised. “How did a daimon get one
of those? Unless Ares is the help that Stryker is getting.”
Nate shook his head. “Why would the gods help
Stryker?”
“I doubt they
would,” Conor confessed. He picked up the dagger and examined it. “Let's go to
the office. I want to check out that wound.” Nathan opened his mouth to
protest. “For once, don't argue. Let's go.”
A couple of minutes
later, the trio was across the building and up more stairs to a set of offices
where Patrick and Conor ran the club from. Conor had Nathan pull off his shirt.
The Irishman expected to see a healing scar but instead found it red and puffy.
It wasn't healing. Conor picked up the phone and called downstairs. He rattled
off a list of things he needed to Liam and then hung up. Nathan's cell rang. It
was Luna.
He growled into the
phone. “I'm not telling you where I am. And I really don't give a rat's...” He
grinned at Roan. “No..” He hung up and laid down on the sofa. “Roan, you should let Kendra know
where you are.” He laid his phone and wallet on the coffee table in front of
the sofa.
“She knows,” the were told him. He sounded concerned for his friend.
“You don't have to
stay. It's not like I'm going to die.” The dark hunter told him then glanced at
Conor. “Right?”
The other hunter
sighed. “You're not going to die.”
“Not unless I kill
you myself,” Acheron proclaimed.
He was standing in a
doorway that no one heard open, behind Liam. Nathan groaned. Now what had he
done, he wondered. The two men came in and the door closed.
The dark hunter
looked up at his boss. “Why is it that every time you show up, you want to hurt me?”
“Because
it's usually warranted.”
The ancient frowned.
“Here,” Irish tossed
the dagger to Acheron.
The big man caught
it with one hand. “Where did you get this?” Nathan told him the story. “Ares
wouldn't work with Stryker.”
Nathan shrugged. “Then
maybe he should do an inventory.”
Liam set a tray he
had been carrying down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. The tray
carried a copper bowl, two vials of liquid, one blue, one clear. There was also
a silver knife and bandages.
The
were hunter asked, “How
would a daimon get a god’s dagger? Unless someone close to said god got it for
him.”
Acheron shook his
head. “I'll look into it.”
Conor uncapped the
vial of clear liquid and picked up the knife.
Nathan started to
move. “Whoa! What are you going to do?”
“I'm going to cut
out the stitches and take care of that infection. Now be still,” his friend
patiently explained.
He shook his head. “No
wait...”
“You want us to hold
him down?” Roan offered.
Nathan glared at the
wolf.
Acheron shrugged. “I
could knock him out.”
Nathan glared at his
boss. “I'm not sure you have my welfare in mind.”
“Nathan?” The hunter
turned his head toward the Irishman. Conor laid a hand on Nathan's brow. “Sleep.”
Warmth spread
through the hunter’s body and he closed his eyes. Liam chuckled. He then helped
Conor take care of the wound, while Roan and Acheron looked on.
“How long will he be
out,” Acheron asked the younger Irishman.
“A
few hours.”
He nodded. “Good,
I'll be back.”
The
were looked at him, “With
some answers?”
“Or reinforcements.”
He disappeared.
Liam moved toward
the door. “I'll get a pillow and blanket.” Conor nodded and the man left.
“Do you think Blake
will come looking for him,” Roan asked.
Irish shrugged. “How
could she know where he is?”
“What about Asher?
Their weird connection…”
“From what Nathan
said, Asher won't talk to him.” Liam came back in with a pillow and blanket. “Thanks.
Liam, let me know if anyone comes looking for Nathan.”
He looked from the
sleeping hunter to his friend, “You mean Jean Claude's people?” Conor nodded. “Alright.”
Nathan felt like he
had slept for days but it had only been a few hours. He woke to quiet voices
and a sense of... well he wasn't sure what really. Confusion wasn't anything new
to the hunter. It had reigned supreme since he had been exiled to this world… and
for what? A mistake? He was brought out of his musings
by two huge blue eyes looking down at him. He blinked, finally realizing who he
was looking at. The female katagari smiled, leaning
down to give the hunter a kiss. She was dressed in tight leather pants and a
dark green baby doll tee. Her strawberry blond hair hit her at mid back.
Nathan asked, “Roxie?”
She smiled. “What? Where?” He sat up.
“Nice to see you too
hunter,” She grinned.
“Nathan? How are you
feeling?” The hunter turned toward Conor’s voice as
Roxie sat down on his lap.
“Okay. I think.” He
told his friend.
The woman purred. “Are
you sure you don't need a woman's touch? It has been a while. I have missed our
workouts.”
He grinned at her. “You
miss kicking my ass.”
She nodded. “That too.”
Nathan shook his
head. “What are you doing here?”
Roxie shrugged. “Acheron
brought me here along with Kade and Zdenek.”
“They're our help,”
Roan explained.
The dark hunter
groaned. “Is he trying to piss off all the shifter communities?”
Acheron walked in
through the open door. “You don't like my choices?”
“Blake won't.”
Conor nodded. “That's
what I said.” Nathan got a pained expression worrying the Irishman. “What? Are
you hurting?”
“Did you say Zdenek,” he asked in reply.
The big guy assured
him. “He promises to behave.”
“Uh
huh.” The dark hunter
looked over at Conor. “You have insurance?” The Irishman sighed. “The last time
he behaved, Mama Lo wanted to castrate him.”
Roxie told the men,
“She would have too if she hadn't gotten distracted.” Nathan's cell phone rang
but Roxie grabbed it. “Hello?” She heard someone ask, ‘who is this’ from the
other end. “Who is this?”
“This is Luna. Put
Nathan on.” The woman growled from the other end.
Roxie looked at the
room, “Who is Luna?”
Nathan sighed. “Give
me that.” She stood and walked away. “Roxie, give me the phone.”
“I'm afraid Nathan
cannot take your call. Would you like to leave a message?” She held the phone
away from her ear. “Don't you take that tone with me!”
She closed up the cell phone.
The men in the room
all stared at her.
“What,” she snapped
at them as she handed the phone to Nathan.
Roan shook his head.
“Is there security downstairs?”
“She doesn't know
I'm here,” the dark hunter assured them.
“You want to bet?
All she has to do is get Asher to open up,” Roan pointed out.
The big guy looked
from one to the other. “Will this be a problem?”
They all looked at
Nathan who shrugged. “Might be fun to watch.” The Atlantean sighed, shaking his head. “Well it would.”
“Who is this woman,”
the female katagari asked.
“She's a cop,” the
wolf explained.
“And a leopard,”
Conor added.
“And a guard for the
local pard,” Nathan grimaced.
Roxie scoffed at
them. “She just sounded like an ordinary bitch to me.”
Both Conor and
Nathan groaned.
“Oh yeah, fun, fun, fun.”
The wolf shook his head.
Acheron turned to
the male were. “Roan, go get Zdenek and Kade. We need
to discuss some things.”
“Sure,” He agreed
and left the room.
Nathan finally
turned to his boss. “Who's Kade by the way?”
“One
of our enforcers.” It was
the woman who answered.
“Oh. Great. Conor is there a bathroom close?” The dark hunter
turned to his friend.
The Irishman nodded.
“Take a right, down the hall, second door on the left.”
“Thanks.” He stood
and wavered. Acheron grabbed him. “Stood too fast.
Thanks.”
Roxie looked
concerned. “You want me to go with you?”
“Um, no,” the hunter
sputtered out in reply.
Nathan followed the
directions and found the bathroom easy enough. He must have stayed too long
because there was a knock on the door, just before Acheron walked in. He found
the young hunter sitting on the floor his back to the wall, head in his hands.
The big man closed the door and sat down beside him. He assessed Nathan for a
long moment before speaking.
“I don't really hate
you. You know?” Nathan looked up and stared at his boss. “I don't.”
The young hunter
sighed. “I keep thinking it would have been better if you had left me in the
void.”
“I wanted to.”
He looked up at his
boss. “At least you finally said it.”
“You would have been
stronger. If you had had a few more years to soak everything up. You're a good
hunter Nathan but sometimes your heart gets in the way,” the big guy explained.
He nodded. “Maybe
you should just wipe it all away. Let me keep the memories I came here with.”
Acheron arched an
eyebrow. “Are you sure that's what you want?”
“No but it would cut
the ties to the district.”
“You may need them
if the attacks get worse.” Ash offered.
“I can't ask them to
fight.”
The big guy just
shrugged. “They may have no choice. Keep your alliance with the Master and the Nimir Raj. Just
in case.”
“What about Blake,”
Nathan asked.
“Just stay out of
her way. I talked Mitch out of filing kidnapping charges.”
“Oh
good. What? He what?” The hunter asked confused.
“Don't worry about it.”
The Atlantean stood. “Come on before they think I've
strangled you.” He gave Nathan a hand up. “We need to go over some things.”
When they reentered
the office the others were assembled. Kade was Asian,
and at 6'6” and built like a boxer; he screamed enforcer. He wore his hair
short. His dark brown eyes looked Nathan up and down like a predator wondering
how fast the hunter could run. He was dressed in jeans and a dark tee. It was a
contrast to the new hunter, who was wearing khaki slacks and a button down
arrow shirt that was just a shade darker. Zdenek Yubov had been a guard for the czars. He had been murdered
along with the Czar and his family during the revolt. He hadn't forgotten the
children's screams. It was one thing he and Nathan had in common. He always
called Nathan by his given name. No matter how hard everyone tried to get the
man to be less stiff, they never succeeded. His short cropped blond hair and
steel blue eyes made him look harder than he was. He gave Nathan a nod and a
smile which Nathan returned.
The younger hunter
looked at his new help. “Let's get this party started.”
Roan nodded. “I
agree. I want to get back to the Cafe.”
“Oh? Have a hot
date?” Roxie teased.
“As a matter of
fact…” the wolf grinned; Kade humphed.
“You have a problem cat?”
“Nothing
that I can't fix, dog.”
The new were enforcer told him.
Roan started forward
but Nathan grabbed his arm.
Acheron chided the were. “Play nice Kade, or I'll send you back to face Lexis. Now, this is how it's
going to be.”
After a couple of
hours Roan took the new arrivals to the condo. Nathan stayed at Dead Druids to
talk to Conor and listen to the band. Roxie stayed as well. This proved very
amusing when not only Luna, but Micah and Noah showed up as well.
“Nathan.” Micah
spoke first.
“Nimir
Raj.” Nathan nodded in greeting then introduced
Roxie. “She'll be staying awhile.”
The male were
nodded. “She has my permission.”
The woman bristled
at that. “I don't need your permission.”
Micah grinned sadly.
“Yes you do, because I doubt seriously you'll get it from Anita.”
Nathan explained. “Roxie. Micah is the leader of the leopard clan here.” She
nodded once. “What do you want?”
The smaller man
sighed. “Anita isn't happy that you “got away”.”
The hunter shrugged.
“I don't much care.” He looked at Noah and Luna. “But I will take the brunt of
her anger.”
His Irish friend
came to stand beside him. “He has backup now. He'll be harder to get to.”
The two male
leopards stared at Conor like they had seen a ghost.
Micah stared for a
moment before offering, “You look better than the last time I saw you.”
“You're supposed to
be dead.” Noah’s eyes were wide.
The Irishman smiled
wanly. “I get that a lot.”
“I could help with
that. Make it permanent.” Luna muttered.
Conor turned to his
ex-love. “Fickle as always Luna.”
Roxie finally
figured out the new woman’s identity with that. “Ah so you're the bit... um
cop.”
Luna glared. “I
recognize the voice. She your new bedmate Nathan?”
The other female
leopard grinned. “From what I've heard he needs new and better.”
Conor stifled a
chuckle.
Nathan sighed. “Enough Roxie.” She moved behind him making sure she slid
her arms around his waist as she did so. The action was not lost on the
princess. “Jean Claude should return soon.”
Micah looked
surprised. “So you do know where he is.”
The dark hunter
nodded. “I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone… Especially
Blake.”
Luna bristled at
that. “If you had just told her it may have gone better, if you had even told
Asher.”
“He's entitled to privacy
and I am almost sure that Asher does know. Besides he is the Master of the
City, not Anita Blake.” The hunter told her.
The cop shook her
head. “What's happened to you Nathan? I don't know you anymore.”
He offered her a sad
smile. “You never knew me.”
Micah walked over
and drew him close, whispering in his ear. “I know you. Don't forget that. You
still have my protection.”
“Thank you.” The
hunter told him then rubbed his cheek along Micah's before pulling away. “You
okay there Noah?”
The guard nodded. “Yeah,
like I said before, friends look out for one another.”
Nathan smiled. “That
they do.”
“If you'd like to
stay, drinks are on the house,” Conor offered.
Micah nodded at
that. “Sounds like a plan.”
Luna frowned at him.
“Don't you have coalition business in the morning?”
The Nimir-Raj looked at young leopard. “I think I can manage.
You can go back to the Circus and let Anita know that JC will be back soon.
Noah can stay with me unless of course you'd like to join us.”
Conor told her, “You
and Roxie could get to know one another.” Both women scowled. “Really Luna, stay.”
The cop shook her
head. “I think not.” She looked at Micah. “I'll report back to Anita and Asher.”
Micah nodded. “Alright.”
Nathan added, “Make
sure you tell them hi for me.” She gave him the finger and left.
“Ouch,” Noah
muttered at her retreating figure.
Roxie shook her
head. “Is she like that all of the time?”
The dark hunter
sighed. “No, she's just pissed at me and is taking it out on everybody.”
Micah turned to him.
“Nathan, can we talk in private?”
“Sure.”
While the others
found a table, Micah and Nathan walked outside and sat on the front steps.
The leopard began, “Nathaniel
told me what he did.” Nathan frowned as the other man added, “Attacking you in
your home.”
“He was upset.”
“That was no excuse.”
Nathan started to reply but Micah held up a hand. “Nathaniel doesn't have many
friends outside the District. You actually treated him like an adult. He valued
that.”
“I didn't want him
in trouble with Blake because of me.”
Micah smiled at the
man. “Let me worry about Anita.”
“I do kind of miss
him asking all those questions,” the hunter admitted. Micah laughed. “Okay, if
I can find a way to talk to him without going to Guilty Pleasures. At least he
isn't my friend because of my blood.” Micah nodded. “I could really use that
drink. What do you say?”
“Let's go.” The
leopard told him as he stood back up.
Inside, they found
the others at a table near the stage. Roxie and Noah had their heads together
and when Nathan and Micah sat down, Noah looked at Nathan and grinned. He knew
that Roxie had been entertaining Noah with tales at his expense. It was just
after midnight when Micah and Noah drove Nathan and Roxie to the condo. Kade was asleep on the sofa. Zdenek
was in Roan’s room. That left one room.
“You can have the
bed,” the dark hunter offered.
Roxie shook her
head. “I'm not kicking you out of your bed.”
“You aren't. I'm
letting you have it.”
She smiled at him
disarmingly. “But I just want to cuddle.”
He shook his head. “You
never just want to cuddle.”
“Please?” She
pouted. “Pretty Please?”
“Why do women have
to do that?”
“Do what?” She
grinned. “Come on to bed. I don't bite.”
“Yes you do.”
“You never
complained before.”
She undressed and
slipped between the covers then watched as Nathan undressed. She reached out
for him. He took her hand and climbed into bed beside her. Sliding his arms
around her, she rolled into him, burying her face in his hair and breathing in
his scent. It had been a long time since they had been this close. Sighing
contentedly, she closed her eyes and drifted off. Nathan soon followed. His
dreams were impressive, very sensual. Roxanne had always had that affect on
him. It beat the usual day of nightmares but Nathan knew it was just the calm
before the storm. He let his dreams take him deeper into sleep, further away
from reality and the tempest, peaking from the lid of the teapot.