Chapter Eighteen
Naomi
“I like this more than I should.” I sigh, giving into the contented feeling as I run my fingers idly over the ridges of Mack’s naked chest, enjoying the warmth beneath the grooves and crevasses.
“Being able to have sex in the morning if we’re really, really quiet?” He murmurs, his hand sliding down my side to curve around my thigh, making my body shiver in anticipation. “Yeah - me too.”
I laugh. “No—”
“No? Damn, woman, you know I’m going to have to fix that.”
He turns towards me before I can finish my sentence and that large, rough hand of his finds its way up to my breasts, squeezing and flicking over my nipple while his mouth moves down to meet it. I arch up into him, biting back the light cry I want to give at the jolt of pleasure, his warm mouth and quick tongue enough to awaken every nerve and start a deep, throbbing ache inside me.
I squirm, my hands running over his strong shoulders as I try to control the strength of my body’s response.
“Stop.” I whisper hurriedly to him, knowing that if he keeps that up, within a few minutes I won’t be able to resist. “Mack…”
“What?” The vibrations pass over my nipple and I feel it harden against his tongue.
“Tyler—”
“Tyler is sound asleep.”
“But—”
“Believe me, if he wakes up - we’ll hear him. He hasn’t quite mastered quiet yet.”
“Even with all your alarms to play with?” I murmur, unable to help my amusement at that image.
“Well, okay, maybe he’s a little more skilled outside.” Mack relents, murmuring against my skin as he climbs his way up to my mouth and nuzzles my lips. “But first thing in the morning, when he suddenly realizes he’s awake and the day has to start right that instant? Believe me, we’ll know. I’m surprised you haven’t already noticed that.”
“Mm, well, maybe…” I admit, kissing him back and starting to wrap my legs around him, my breasts tight and tender from his attention and my body undeniably wanting now. Even if that wasn’t what I’d been trying to say. “But I wasn’t talking about the sex.”
He arches an eyebrow, and I quickly correct myself before he takes it upon himself to do something about that again.
“Not just the sex…” I clarify, leaning forward to nip at his lips. “I meant…being here with you, Mack.”
He smiles, sleepy eyes filling with warmth as he looks down at me.
“Yeah.” He agrees. “Me too.”
He pulls me back into his arms, and I wrap myself around him, slipping my leg between his thighs and nuzzling into his chest. His hand finds my hair, stroking it gently as we cuddle up together - and I get another wave of that amazing contentment. The feeling that I’m in the right place, doing the right thing. Finally.
I don’t know what to make of it, or how much I can trust it - and I keep having to remind myself that this isn’t permanent. It’s a temporary solution to a bad situation, that’s all.
Except, when we’re lying here like this, it’s hard to remember it’s bad at all.
And that’s remarkable just in itself.
I didn’t want to tell Mack anything. I really didn’t want to tell him. But now that I have…I can’t even remember why I was so determined about that. I’ve never felt so supported and free, as I have in the last few days.
How’s that worked out, huh, Anton? Your attempt to scare me might just have given me one of the best things I’ve ever had…
I’m not sure it’s entirely true - I mean, Mack and I probably would have ended up at this point anyway - but it gives me a perverse satisfaction to think that way, so I do. And I’m totally unrepentant about it.
“I love waking up with you in the morning, Naomi.” Mack murmurs against my hair, his deep voice going all the way through me until it feels like I’m warmed to my very bones. “And going to bed with you at night…having you here with us…”
His hand is still running through my hair, and it makes me feel ready to drift off to sleep and sexually charged all at once.
“I know.” I whisper back, squeezing his hand around my waist and sighing as he leans down to nibble at my neck.
It feels like a dream come true.
Despite everything.
A family.
But I don’t say that. It’s been a few weeks. I can just about get over the ‘I love yous’. Talking about family? Presuming to be part of his life with Tyler?
That’s too much for right now.
But it’ll happen, Naomi. You know it will, now. In time.
It’s surprising how much I believe in that now. How much I believe in everything. I think I was all out of belief when I arrived in Mayfair.
“I’m not going to want this to end.” He says softly, breath whispering against my ear. I shudder from the sensation…and from the echo of that feeling, deep inside me.
I feel myself still anyway, glancing back at him - and I know he catches the uncertainty in my gaze. The amusement that comes over his makes it obvious. I say it anyway, though. This morning wistfulness is one thing, but…we have other responsibilities. He has other responsibilities.
Tyler.
We have to do this properly.
And more than that…he told me that this would just be a situational thing - until we deal with Anton, one way or another. I don’t know why, but there’s a fragile part of me that really needs to know that’s true. To know he meant it. That he respects my independence - for as long as I need to have it.
“You know…this is just temporary, right?” I say haltingly, meeting his knowing gaze. “We can’t…actually do this. It’s too—”
“Too soon.” He gives an exaggerated sigh. “Yes, I know. Slowly - like everything in my life these days. With feelings and emotions and all that fluffy shit to think about. Give me a gun and a mission any day.”
The reassurance bubbles up inside me, and I clutch him to me again. It’s probably ironic that his assurances that he understands that need in me make me want to hold him and never let go, but I don’t care. This is what makes me happy.
And I am happy. So happy, it feels unreal.
And after walking into my house to see that broken window…
“You do have a mission.” I point out, smiling at him.
“Mm.” He agrees, his hand wandering down my hip again. “And I’m going to do a damn good job of it, too.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less, from such a hardened, dangerous Marine.” My tone is light and teasing, but I mean more of it than I’m going to admit, and I get shivers all down my spine as he growls in my ear.
As far as I can tell, he is doing a good job of it. And even though I tease him about it - I know he’s pretty happy to have the ‘mission’.
I could feel how much it hurt him to hear about my past and what I’d gone through…and this way, he gets to do something about it.
And doing something is exactly what he’s good at.
We pulled up the footage from the cameras we’d installed at my house so far - and although we didn’t get much, there was something there. Enough to show us an outline of a hooded figure, wearing a beanie and swaggering as he approaches the house. A blurred impression of motion, ripples in the darkness that could be a moving object, but disappearing off the edge of the camera before it could be obvious.
There were no distinguishing features to the figure, either, but…the moment I saw it, I knew it was him. The recognition went beyond simple sight to the way he walked, the impression he gave…the bone-deep knowledge born from years of living with him.
I was glad Mack was there as we watched that clip - again and again. It’s still hard to actually believe it. Anton seems like almost a lifetime ago now - not my fear of him, sure, which is a monster all itself…but the man. Here in Mayfair - a ghost from the past appearing in my new life, my new town, my new house.
It’s almost impossible.
Except it’s true.
And maybe it’s a good thing there’s no doubt.
He’s here. He knows where I live.
And we’re going to do something about it.
Mack swung into action first thing the next day.
I gave him the letter that Anton sent, and with my history, and that, and the broken window, we finally applied for a restraining order. At this point, I’m not sure whether it will make much difference - but it makes me feel better anyway.
Just like the security features we’re adding to my house. Mack has already fixed the windowpane for me and we’ve cleaned it up alright, but even though he’s insistent I don’t live there until Anton is taken care of anyway, he still wants alarms and a larger fence and to continue with the plans I’d originally made with him.
Strangely, I find I’m much less bothered than I was before. Maybe it’s just because I’m staying with Mack, in his secure house and with his strong, reassuring presence all around me - but I’m not so scared anymore. Now that I have Mack to work this out with, Anton doesn’t seem such a big, impossible problem in my mind.
Maybe it’s just because Mack is so practical about it - but I think there’s something else, too. Something that I couldn’t help getting drawn to from the moment I met him. He’s big enough and powerful enough to be reassuring, but that gentle way he touches me…I couldn’t ask for any more.
He’s called up a few favors from some friends of his in the FBI - and apparently Desmond knows the local police in Portland well. We’re not exactly sure where Anton is at the moment, but we’re looking.
And when we find him…I’m going to press charges.
We talked about it for a long time, and that’s the only thing that really still makes my stomach clench tight with dread. But I want to anyway. I want to do whatever I can to keep him locked away and unable to come after me again - and if that means going through courts and judges and trials, telling people over and over again what happened…then I think I can do that now. With Mack beside me.
It feels almost impossible that I’ve gone from dealing with vague, indefinable fears in the middle of the night, all alone, to having all these people helping me out - with real action. It’s the first time I’ve ever tried to do anything.
And it feels so damn good.
But then, so does just being here.
So if it’s been a few days since I came to stay here…I can’t say I mind the slow progress.
As I turn around to look up at Mack, I think I might not mind however long it takes…
“What are you thinking?” He smiles, eyes glinting with something I’m sure is reflected in my face.
“That we should probably make the most of this little…temporary situation.” I murmur back, and then I slowly start to lower myself down his body.
He gives me a questioning look but when I start planting little kisses down his chest, slowly working my way towards that delicious ‘V’ down to his crotch, he sinks back into the bed with a soft sigh.
The covers fall away with me and when I’m finally hovering over his crotch, the thickness of his hard cock rising beautifully just under my mouth, I look back up - meeting his eyes over the stretch of pure, masculine strength laid out before me. It’s possibly one of the hottest things I’ve seen, his elbow tucked neatly under his head to prop it up and displaying his rough sexuality to full effect. My pussy clenches in anticipation before I even lean down to taste him.
“God, Naomi…” He mutters, as I wet my lips with the kind of wanton smile that only Mack has ever brought out of me. “You have no idea how good you look like that…”
My lips curve up, eyes sparkling at him as I think the exact same thing about the way he looks right now.
Then I close my hand around his silken shaft, guiding it into my waiting, eager mouth, feeling that satisfying way he goes tense and relaxes at the same time, one big breath leaving him. I wrap my lips around him, sucking him back into my mouth and letting my tongue roll around the gorgeous head of his cock, my hand pumping ever so slightly.
His hips flex beneath me, and I can feel him pushing up into me as I start to get into a rhythm, my mouth working as his taste floods my senses and I feel myself moaning. I’m already wet - I think I have been since I woke up - but the feeling of doing this to him is just intoxicating. My other hand roams around his thighs, running along the hard muscle as I crave that feeling of skin-against-skin - just needing to touch him more than I’ve ever needed anything else.
I start sucking harder, letting my head bob and taking more and more of his impressive cock into my mouth - looking up as I do so, meeting his eyes and feeling so completely mesmerized, neither of us able to look away as I take the subtle shifts of his body, the way he groans, just a little.
That makes me smirk, and I lift my head from his cock for one brief moment - his hips flexing in protest - and put a finger to my lips.
“Shhh…” I say gently, and watch as his fists clench at the sheets.
“Fuck, Naomi…”
The curse is quiet, at least, barely a muttered exhalation, and I give him a small grin before bending back to the glistening cock beneath me.
I can’t get enough of him. This.
The way he tastes, the way he looks at me, the way he grunts and groans and curses.
I can’t keep it teasing for long, wanting him too much for me to make it light and easy. My hand tugs harder at the base of his cock as I suck him back towards my throat, taking as much as I can and knowing it’s never going to be enough. I want too much of him. I want all of him.
I feel more than hear his breathing changing under me, the way his balls start drawing up under my hand, tight with lust and the need for release. I move faster, shifting the covers back further so he can see the line of my back, the way it runs down to my naked ass, shifting slightly as my head moves. I catch a barely restrained groan again, and put just a little bit more movement into it, knowing what it does to him.
I’ve never felt this wanted or desired in my life, and knowing that every part of my body seems to delight and arouse him is something I don’t think I’ll ever take for granted. He’s the first person to really make me feel sexy.
And I revel in it.
I suck and moan lightly, letting him feel the vibrations of it as my tongue traces that pulsing vein under his head. My pussy is aching with need too, my own arousal picking up as I see everything I do to him - but I don’t care about that right now. This is all I want. All I need.
Just before I finally get it - finally feel his release spurting into me, that explosion that comes just after his cock twitches just so—he pulls me back up towards him.
I moan in protest, and he smothers it with a kiss.
“Fucking hell, Naomi.” He mutters against my mouth. “I can’t resist a damn thing you do to me.”
I’m about to ask why the hell he stopped me, then, but he’s twisting us around before I can, rising on top of me and nudging his cock against my needy entrance.
“I need to feel you too badly, Naomi.” He murmurs. “Hear you scream. Have you clench around me and milk me dry.”
My eyes widen, my breath catching with lust, and he takes that moment to thrust inside me, my hips coming up to meet him as the friction lights up every part of my body.
I have to press his head against mine, his mouth against mine, to stop from moaning too loudly. You would’ve thought after a fair bit of practice that we’d get good at being quiet.
Nope. It’s fucking hard every time. He’s just too fucking good.
I wrap my legs around his hips as he plunges deep inside me. There’s no slow build up, nothing teasing about it - just hard and fast and exactly what I need right now. I’m too turned on - we both are - and I can feel my orgasm building up inside me, that tingling heat in my stomach getting closer to exploding throughout my body. His hands squeeze and tease my breasts, his mouth nibbles and nuzzles at my neck and he keeps slamming up against my clit with every stroke until I feel like I’m senseless and delirious, every nerve on fire.
And then he says it.
“I want to put a baby inside you, Naomi.”
The fantasy we’ve shared almost every time. The idea that he’ll get me pregnant. The thought of having a baby - his baby. It’s just a fantasy. I’m still on the pill. It won’t happen. But every time he does this, every time I feel him start to tense up inside me, his cock pulsing and twitching…that’s what I picture.
His seed filling me up until it happens.
His baby in my arms.
I turn my head against his neck, pressing my mouth hard into it to muffle my scream as everything explodes within me at once.
The orgasm, the warmth, the never-ending feeling of need and desire and want.
For him. His cock. His baby.
A family.
It all becomes one in my head, as that tingling feeling shoots throughout my body, making my body shudder. I wrap my arms around him, my legs squeezing tight, as I feel the same thing in him. He grunts as my pussy clenches tight around him, then thrusts deep inside me - once, twice…and then I feel it. The thought that just sent me shooting into the stars…his cum hitting my pussy, the pure heat of it inside me.
The potential.
One day.
I don’t realize I say it out loud until he threads his fingers through my hair, tilting my head to look up at him.
“Soon.” He murmurs, and his eyes are shining as he says it.
I feel him slip out of me, but we still lie like that, tangled together, and I find it hard to catch my breath.
“One day soon.” He says again, stroking the damp hair back from my face. “I want a family with you, Naomi.”
A family.
The thought hits me again, reaching deep inside me and tugging, and I squeeze him tighter to me.
“I love you, Mack.” I whisper into his chest.
I try to think of slow and temporary all over again, but I think being here with him like this - being around Mack and Tyler together, too - has started making time feel almost meaningless. However much I talk about it and protest to him…it’s getting harder and harder to imagine going back to my house, alone, after all this is over.
Yeah…maybe it’s fucked up…but I’m starting to hope it takes a real long time to find Anton.