Chapter Twenty-Two

Anubis carried his daughter into the second bedroom of the luxury suite that he'd reserved yesterday. Kadey hugged his neck as if she expected him to disappear into the air. He rubbed her back and laid her down on the bed.

"Are we really going back to the ranch?"

"Yep." Anubis took off her tennis shoes and pulled back the covers. He could sense Sky behind him watching.

He made a move to pull up her covers, but she stopped him. "And I can play with Lizzy every day?" Kadey put her hands on his cheeks, keeping him from turning his head.

He smiled down at her. She was an amazing little human being. He was truly in awe of the beautiful soul Sky had raised. "If your momma and Lizzy's momma say it's okay, then yes." Anubis bent down, kissed her cheek and then blew a raspberry on her neck sending her into a fit of giggles.

"I'm so happy, daddy! You're going to stay with us, too, right?"

The look of adoration in her eyes made him feel about forty-feet tall and bulletproof. "That's right, princess." He kissed her forehead again and stood. "The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner morning will come, and we'll get on the airplane to go back home."

"Yea!" Kadey flopped over and pulled her covers over her head with an excited squeal.

Sky moved beside him. A soft smile played across her face. She put her hand in his and gave his a squeeze. "I think it might take a minute or two to get her settled down and back to sleep. Go relax, and I'll be out as soon as she's asleep."

Anubis bent and kissed Sky, sending Kadey into another fit of giggles. Anubis felt himself laughing against Sky's lips.

"I see where she gets the giggles from." Sky laughed out the reprimand.

Anubis tried to feign shock, but couldn't manage it. He was too damn happy.

He left Sky to get Kadey settled and went through to the main bedroom. He smiled at the box that sat beside the bed. Anubis carried it out to the living area and quietly emptied the contents, arranging them on the small table. He nested the bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. Miss Amanda, Alpha's mother, had packed him a picnic of finger foods from food grown and raised on the ranch. Since she learned of his food phobia, she'd worked tirelessly to gain his trust, and she had. He emptied the box, making sure all the covers had the marks perfectly aligned before he took off the tops. He did leave the food alone in its insulated box, so the inspection was mandatory. He was getting better, but he doubted he'd ever trust without verification.

Anubis washed the champagne flutes-three times, and dried them before he popped the top off the bottle. The soft pfft noise muffled by his hand wouldn't be enough to bother Kadey as she struggled to go to sleep. The smile on her face when she'd seen him tonight was a priceless memory he prayed he never forgot. He glanced around the small table and nodded. It was the best he could do. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Anubis sat down on the couch and immediately popped back up. He paced the room and sat down again. His knee bounced as he waited, and he ran his hand through his hair for the twentieth time. He stood back up and re-checked the table, then checked the ice in the bucket and paced the room again. He knew it was insane to be so nervous, but there was so much on the line. The stakes were higher tonight than they'd ever been. Anubis dropped into the large armchair and scrubbed his face. Fuck, he hated not being prepared. He should be able to detail the events of the night, know the exact way things would unfold. This feeling of unease was foreign and decidedly unacceptable. He launched from the chair and went to the table to check everything again. The door to Kadey's room opened, and Sky slid out before shutting it softly behind her. Anubis moved before she could turn around.

When she spun, she stilled and raised her hand to her mouth. On one knee Anubis held a black velvet box up to her. "Sky, I've been a complete and total failure. I've made you doubt my love for you and for Kadey. Sky…" Anubis stopped as she dropped to her knees in front of him. She put her small hand on his cheek, tears crested in her eyes but they didn't fall. Anubis swallowed hard and lifted the ring from the box. "Will you marry me?"

Sky bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "You don't have to do this."

"I need to. I don't think I could live without knowing you were mine. Forever." Anubis sat the box down, still holding the ring in the other. "Sky, please. I know I don't deserve your trust, but I love you and Kadey. I will protect you both with the last breath in my body. My heart and my life are yours. Please, baby, let me cherish and protect you both. Let me take away the worries of your life and give you a place to find peace. You and Kadey are the only light I have in my life. Marry me?"

"Say yes, Momma!" Anubis turned and reached out his arm to his daughter. She flew across the room into his arms. She reached out to Sky. "Please, Momma! Say yes!"

Sky laughed and nodded. "Yes."

Kadey squealed and lunged toward Sky, throwing her arms around her mom's neck. Anubis wrapped his arms around both of them. There, on the floor of a hotel room in Pheonix, in the middle of the night, he found the most brilliant light in the world and embraced it.

Sky lay on the king-sized bed and watched the sunlight start to peek through the curtains. Instead of trying to make Kadey go back to sleep, Kaeden insisted she be allowed to stay up and celebrate, too. He had a marvelous array of finger foods and a bottle of champagne. They opened an apple juice from the small hotel refrigerator for Kadey. After Kaeden meticulously cleaned a glass they all toasted getting married. Sky's cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing. Kadey had lasted far longer than she'd expected, the excitement of having her daddy back and going back to South Dakota seemed to energize her like that fuzzy pink bunny on television, She kept going and going and going until she hit the wall. One minute she was telling Kaeden all about the Barbie dolls that Lizzy had and the next she was yawning and leaning against him. He winked at Sky and scooped up his daughter into his arms. Sky cleaned up the small living area and made her way into the larger bedroom.

Kaeden asked her to marry him. That she loved him was a foregone conclusion. The fear surrounding her love was what she needed to talk to him about, without Kadey present.

She heard Kaeden open and shut Kadey's door and then heard the front door to the unit open and shut. The lock turned, and she heard his footsteps coming towards their room. "Is she finally asleep?"

Kaeden chuckled and dropped to the foot of the bed and crawled up over her. "Sound asleep." He dropped to his elbows. His eyes traveled over her as if he'd been gone for months instead of minutes. "I will make up for not being here for you and her."

"I don't need you to make up for anything, Kaeden. I just need to know that you'll be here."

He dropped to his side and pulled her into him, tucking her against his chest and under his chin. She relaxed into his body. This felt so right… so good. "I told you I took a new position within the organization. I may have to travel for meetings in D.C. or maybe a trip out to meet with one of our…employees, but I'll be there for you. I promise."

"Are you sure you'll be happy?" Sky clenched her eyes shut. Please God, let him say yes.

"I'll be happy if you and Kadey are there with me." Sky let out the breath she'd sucked into her lungs and said a small prayer of thanks. However, there was still that lingering question. "Are you ever going to tell me what you do for a living?"

"Baby, if I could, I would, but if I told you anything, it could endanger the lives of other people… of my friends. I swear to you that what we do is for the greater good and I swear that's all I can tell you."

Sky let his words soak in, but more importantly, she let the emotion behind the words fill her. Kaeden was a good man. She knew it, and she was willing to forego a detailed explanation because of the love she knew he held in his heart.

With a spark of mischief, she teased, "So… now can you tell me what your real name is?"

"Kaeden Lang." It wasn't of course, but it was the name of the man that Sky Meyers loved, and that made it good enough for him. She eyed him suspiciously. "Some of your co-workers didn't recognize you by that name." "Baby, all they ever knew me by was my number. It was safer that way." "Oh." Her face brightened. "Hey, we're getting married." Sky changed the subject and lifted her left hand as she gazed at the huge diamond. The beautiful setting framed the round cut gem, and it glistened in the small amount of sunlight filtering into the room.

"Do you want a church wedding?" Kaeden's chest rumbled under her ear.

"No, I don't need a fancy ceremony. I just want to get married."

"Vegas isn't far."

Sky pushed away and looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"I've been told I have the plane and crew at my disposal until I have my private life straightened out. I won't add the adjectives my boss used when he told me to get off my ass and go get my family."

Sky examined the top button of his shirt, running her fingertip around the smooth edges. She didn't want a big church wedding, but Vegas? Elvis impersonators and drive through chapels? She didn't want that either.

"Could we maybe get married by a justice of the peace back in South Dakota?" She peeked at Kaeden to gauge his reaction.

"Baby, if you wanted to get married at the North Pole on Christmas Day by Santa Claus it wouldn't matter to me. I don't care where we get married as long as we do." Kaeden dropped a kiss on her lips. "You're wearing far too many clothes."

He rolled her onto her back and straddled her. His fingers trailed the edge of her white t-shirt and lifted it up slowly. She moved to allow him to pull it up over her head. He traced the edge of her bra with one hand before he lowered and tugged the elastic waistband of the short black skirt over her hips. He caught the top of her panties and pulled them down with the skirt. She sat up and unhooked the back of her bra, slipping it off her arms.

"Now you're wearing too many clothes." She unbuttoned the front of his shirt and pushed the cloth down over his shoulders. He'd gained weight since she last saw him. The firmness of his muscles was still there, but he looked… healthier. She leaned forward and kissed his chest. Her hands fell to his hips, and she looked up at him. "Take off your jeans, Kaeden." She watched as he moved away from her and stood beside the bed.

He unfastened his jeans and dropped the zipper, but that's as far as he got.

"Are you teasing me?" She lay back on the bed and slid her fingertips over her breast and down her abdomen to her sex.

With the exception of his eyes, Kaeden remained frozen, watching their journey.

"Kaeden?"

His eyes flew to hers.

"Take off your jeans."

He blinked and then shoved his jeans and briefs down his legs. His hard, long cock slapped against his abs. He grabbed his cock and stroked it twice before he lowered and crawled back over her.

"No. On your back."

Kaeden quirked an eyebrow but dropped to his side and rolled.

Sky moved down to his knees and wiggled in between them. Kaeden was up on his elbows watching her in an instant. She smiled at him and kissed the inside of his thigh. It quivered at her touch and a drop of clear liquid formed at the top of his cock. His dick held a deep red hue and pulsed when she dropped her lips to the juncture of his legs.

She licked the seam, and Kaeden groaned, "Fuck, baby."

Sky loved that she could make him shake with desire. They were explosive in bed, and this part of the relationship wasn't going to be a problem. She licked a stripe from his balls to the tip of his cock and swirled her tongue around the head of his shaft, taking in the glistening drop of pre-cum. He sucked air in on a hiss, which made her all the more daring. She swirled the head again and dropped down, taking him into her mouth. Holding the bottom of his cock she worked to take as much of him as she could before she started jacking the bottom of his cock to meet her lips. His hands found her hair, and he held her, careful and gentle. Sky loved the taste and smell of Kaeden, but she wanted more. She lifted off him and crawled up his body straddling him. She held his shaft as she lowered onto him and sank over his hardness. She moaned… or maybe he did, Sky couldn't tell. The sensation of him splitting her, filling her, was so damn good.

When she'd taken him all, she moved her hips in a figure eight, grinding her clit against his pubic bone before she rose, sank down, and shifted her hips again. The sensations of his hands on her body as she rose and fell, coupled with the way the nerves of her body sang from the sex was too much. She leaned forward and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Fuck me," she panted, as her body trembled with need.

"No. Never again. But I'll make love to you forever." Kaeden rolled, while still inside her. He held on tight and slowly stroked into her. His kisses promised everything they couldn't before.

Sky ran her hands over his body, claiming the man that loved her. Since he'd left Fresno, she'd never given herself permission to dream of the possibility of a life with him. Her body strained toward its finish. The kiss broke so they could breathe. Their lips barely separated, their breath co-mingled. She arched into him and clawed at his back trying to get closer.

Kaeden thrust into her, deeper and harder.

"Yes, more… like that." She begged him for the release her body demanded.

He held her tighter, his hips pounded into her, and she bit his shoulder to keep from screaming his name. She rode the waves of sensation as they pulsed through her. Kaeden found his release, his muscles tightened in a glorious display above her.

Sky panted under his collapsed weight until he rolled to the side and pulled her with him. She kissed his chest and tried to catch her breath.

"I love you. I always have, even when I thought I could never have you." He whispered in her ear.

She gasped and pulled away, gazing up at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wouldn't have been fair to you. What if you met someone else?" Kaeden smoothed her hair with his hand.

God, she'd tried and failed miserably. "I realize now that was never an option for me. I looked, but it was impossible to find what I was looking for. Nobody compared to you."

"And nobody could eclipse the light you've brought into my life. I love you."

Sky nestled into his chest and murmured her own words of love. She had everything she could ever ask for in life. A healthy child and the man she loved. All the hardships, the loneliness and the heartache dulled in comparison to the emotions that filled her life now. She sighed and let herself drift. If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake.