Tia

I can’t bear to go into the kitchen and listen to them. The men are in an uproar. Fear still courses through the house, but now there’s panic too.

Once the information about me is leaked to the press, my father will be basking in the glory he’s always sought. His daughter holds the miracle cure. I can see the headlines already. I won’t be the mother of the year, I will be the martyr of the century. And my father will be the man who made it happen.

I won’t be safe. The decision will be stripped from me. And my babies will die as a result. Banks pretty much guaranteed it.

In my bathroom, I turn on the shower but I don’t even have the energy to step inside. I’m emotionally drained and mentally exhausted. I sit on the cold tiled floor, my head resting against the glass door, the steam clouding the room and I try to close my eyes, let my anxious thoughts fade away.

It’s impossible.

Tears blur my vision as I rub my temples, wishing that I could see a way out of this mess. But I can’t see anything besides death. Even if I survive the procedure, my children won’t. Banks pretty much guaranteed it.

A knock on the door startles me, but when Giles pokes his head in, his warm smile softens my edges as the tears I’ve been blinking away are finally able to fall free. He sinks down beside me on the floor and wraps his strong arms around my shoulders, his dark red beard tickling the side of my face when he leans in.

“Oh, my love,” he says, kissing the side of my head. “You’re safe with me.”

“For now,” I whisper.

He doesn’t argue. “For now.”

I look up into his eyes, so comforting. “How did you deal with losing Caroline? Because I’ve never lost anyone I loved. I never met my mother. And now, now I will lose all six of my…” My words catch and I clutch his sweater, sobbing against his chest.

He smooths my hair, the steady beat of my heart keeping me grounded and I cling to that.

“Those babies are still inside of you, their hearts are still beating. Don’t give up yet, love.”

I try to cling to the hope he gives, but it’s so damn hard.

And yet he’s right. He is here and I am here and no one has come for us yet. I lean into him, taking his strength.

“Did Sal talk to his mom?” I ask when my tears have subsided.

Giles clears his throat. “They’re still working on arrangements. Obviously, there are risks with her having access to you as well.”

“I won’t be safe anywhere. I should just catch a plane and turn myself in. Not prolong the inevitable.”

“Don’t do that,” Giles says, his tone more gruff than I’ve ever heard it directed at me. “Our babies need you to believe that time is on our side.”

“Do you believe it is?” I ask, looking into his eyes, desperate to see more than fear in those dark green pools.

“I may be an untamed man, but I believe in the power of love, Tia.” He cups my face, his words reaching to the bottom of my heart.

“Oh, Giles,” I say, moving into his lap, wrapping my legs around him, suddenly desperate to feel him inside of me, taking me. Needing that connection.

Needing him.

“Tia,” he groans, raking his fingers through my hair. “I fucking love you.”

“I love you too,” I whimper, my mouth on his, his tongue pushing past my lips. I need to lose myself in him, at this moment. He needs it too.

His hands greedily pull up the hem of my nightie, tossing it aside. He runs his palms over my breasts as our tongues entwine, inhaling one another as if we are out of breath and out of time.

“I missed you,” he growls in my ear, his fingers pushing aside the fabric of my panties, running along my wet slit. My head falls back as he moves his hand against me, his fingers pressing inside my still tight pussy.

He moves against me hard, his hand working me into delirium. My eyes close and I lean back, resting on my elbows as he moves faster and faster over my folds. The friction feels so good, and I moan in pleasure. Then he takes my knees, tossing them over his shoulders as he begins to lick my pussy up and down. My head rests on a towel on the bathroom rug, and the steam of the shower makes the space feel warm and cozy.

His tongue licks me up and down, sucking on my clit as if he can’t get enough of me. I reach for his cock, hating that he’s still dressed, wanting him naked. Before I can complain, he manages to push me to the edge, my cries escaping my lips before I can consider holding anything back.

“Oh, God, please. Yes, Giles, yes,” I scream, the release so overwhelming and so absolutely right.

The orgasm is relentless.

“Oh Tia, you’re gushing,” he tells me, lowering his face to lick me as I come against his hand. “You taste so fucking good, baby,” he tells me, my heart pounding as my legs shake, my body awake and alive.

I feel every inch of my body, it’s hot and slick and I need him to run his hands over my skin, to touch me everywhere. I need his cock buried inside of me, because I need to come again, harder, with his thickness in my pussy. I drag him to his feet, ripping off his clothes, a hunger overwhelming me as we crash into the shower, our bodies a tangle of love and devotion.

The water is cooler now, the sharp heat is gone from it running so long. I stand under the shower head, my nipples hard, and my hands on Giles’ chiseled chest. Every inch of his skin is taut and firm, and I run my fingers over him, my body relaxing under his gaze.

“You make me feel so good,” I moan as I begin to stroke him. He is so hard, so ready, and I love the way his cock feels in my hand. I use my other fingers to caress his balls, his body so manly and capable. He cups my ass with one hand, my cheek with the other, and draws me to him in a way that makes me catch my breath.

“I need to fuck you, wife,” he tells me, holding my body firmly. There is no way I could get out of his hold even if I wanted to. But heaven knows there is no place on Earth I’d rather be. I need you to know that you’re alive,” he says. “ That you are here. Mine. That I’m not letting you go without a fight.”

His protective streak makes me weak in the knees, and he knows it because he picks me up and takes me against the tiled shower wall. I sink down against his cock, lost in the sensation, my pussy walls clenched tight against his massive hard-on, my arms wrapped around his and the only thing escaping me are moans of pleasure as he fucks me hard and fast, reminding me that I am his. Now and forever.

He comes inside me, my body releasing against him as he does. The orgasm rushes through me with a crash, a tidal wave of power, and I find myself clawing at his shoulders biting down on his name.

We come together, then catch our breaths, as a torrent of emotion swells inside of us both. I can see it in his eyes. He carries me from the shower, laying me on the bed, towering over me as the water drips from his face and his dark red hair. As the quilt beneath us becomes soaked, our eyes are locked on one another. He fills me up again, this time though, it’s not simply fucking.

He cradles me in his arms, our bodies pressed tightly together, and his eyes well up with tears. Mine do too. And I’m lost in him.

We are alive right now, at this moment, and the tears streaming down my mountain man’s face tell me everything I need to know.

He will stop at nothing to protect me.

And even then, his heart will beat for me until his dying breath.