I've slept less than two hours in the past two days, unable to get my mind to shut down after Katrina told us about the police finding Margaret's body at the Magnolia Inn and Suites. Both times, I had to have Andrea or Carson lie down with me, but I woke up in less than an hour, worried sick.

Now I'm sitting in the woods on the rock that overlooks the valley below us, praying with all my heart that Nathan's actually okay. I hear crunching on the ground behind me, and I see Carson's joined me. “Hey, just wanted to make sure you're okay.”

“I will be. Once Nathan's back,” I tell him, looking back down over the valley. “I just need to see his face, to feel his hands. I need to know for sure.”

Carson sighs and sits down on the rock next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders. “He will be. Jackson already went down to town and spoke with him on his new phone, and you read his e-mail at least three times. He's just having to take some extra time to make sure that his tail is clear.”

“You're pissed about your truck, aren't you?” I ask, and Carson shakes his head. “Really?”

“Really. It was just a truck, 'Lissa. And I can understand why Nathan had to get rid of it too. I just want him back safe.”

I give Carson a look, nervous. “Really?”

I feel like I'm just repeating myself, but Carson smiles and pats my leg. “Of course. I saw it in the way you kissed him goodbye, and it just took me a smack in the head from Andrea to realize the truth. I'm sorry about that.”

“Ma'am,” I say, and Carson looks up, startled. “Well?”

He chuckles, and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I'm sorry, ma'am. And if you ever have me call you that again I'm so gonna not be happy.”

“If I ever have you call me that again, then you've done something really stupid and I'm not happy either,” I remind him, smiling. “I love you, Carson. And regardless of what happens between me and Nathan, I need you in my life. You and Andrea both.”

Carson goes to answer, but his words are cut off as we hear the sound of an approaching truck engine. I look back, my eyes wide with excitement. “Nathan!”

“Sounds like a big engine,” Carson notes as we jog back toward the compound. I don't really care as I pick up speed, running hard over the last fifty yards or so before I come into the open area close to the house, and then around to the front where I see everyone else already gathered.

Nathan's new truck is bigger than Carson's old Ford, and I can see Jackson already running an appreciative hand over the rumbling hood. “Whoa man, I think I'll let you wreck our van next.”

“Very funny,” Nathan groans, sliding out of the seat. He nearly collapses, and I grab him, holding him up.

“I've got you,” I tell him, holding him up. His skin is blanched white, he's burning with fever, and his breath rasps in his throat. His face is splotchy, with red circles under his eyes and on his cheeks, scaring me silly. “What happened?”

“Infection,” Nathan hisses, coughing. “Caught a couple of scratches.”

“Come on, let's get you inside,” I tell him, grateful when Katrina comes over and takes his other arm, putting it over her shoulder. “Get you some rest.”

“Sounds good,” Nathan rasps before coughing again. “I missed you.”

“I missed you,” I inform him, finding enough strength somehow to help him inside. “Come, let's get you down and to bed.”

Nathan collapses into bed as soon as Katrina and I lay him down, sweat dotting his forehead even though it's chilly in his room. “Come on, let's get him stripped down, his shirt is soaked,” I tell Katrina, who nods and begins unbuttoning the shirt he's wearing. “He's burning up.”

“I'll send Jackson and Carson to town, they can get some medicine,” Katrina says as we peel back the shirt to reveal four angry red scratches on his chest. “Ouch, he got tagged good.”

“Is he going to be okay?” I ask nervously, and Katrina nods.

“He'll be fine. Best guess is, he pushed himself to exhaustion, trying to cover his tracks and get out safely. He needs sleep, some decent food, and the most important, medicine,” Katrina says, helping me with his pants and stripping him down to his boxer shorts.

“What's that?” I ask, and Katrina chuckles. “Penicillin?”

“He needs some TLC. Think you can provide that?” Katrina asks.

I nod, yawning. “That I can do.”

* * *

The sun is down when I wake up, and the first thing I see is Nathan's eyes looking at me, tender and loving. “Welcome back.”

“How long was I asleep?” I ask him, and he smiles, kissing my forehead.

“We both have been out about twelve hours. I woke up earlier and used the toilet, and Katrina got me two pills and some soup,” he says quietly. I notice he's still holding me though, and I feel warm and protected. “But I told her I needed some more bed rest and came back.”

“Everyone has questions,” I say. His fever is gone, and under my hands his skin feels smooth and amazing. “Although I think Carson's happy with his new truck.”

“Used, actually, but I hope he is,” Nathan says, his fingers stroking up and down my back. “But their questions can wait until morning.”

“I understand. You must be exhausted still,” I whisper, stopping when Nathan shakes his head. “What?”

“She had a gun on me,” Nathan says, his hands still stroking my back. “And what I saw... I don't want to remember. When I was running, Isis shooting at me, I could only think of one thing.”

“What?” I ask, unable to breathe under the intense fire in his eyes.

“You,” he whispers. “Being with Isis, I was reminded how... just how dirty she made me feel. Running away, thinking of you, I could only think that with you. You make me feel... clean.”

Nathan lowers his lips to mine, and we kiss, tender at first, but with growing intensity. His hands clutch at me more strongly, and at the first touch of his tongue on my lips, I open to him, warm tingles running down my body. Nathan rolls, pulling me on top of him in the narrow bed, my body burning as I press against him.

“'Lissa,” Nathan whispers as he kisses to my neck, his lips tracing my throat and causing me to moan. I've never felt this, it's amazing, and better than any dream or fantasy I could have ever imagined. Nathan's hands lift the back of my t-shirt and caress my back, each thrilling pressure a world I've never explored before. My body is waking up, warmth filling me between my legs, and I gasp when he kisses to the hollow of my neck, my hands grabbing the rail of the bed above our heads.

“I’m so glad you came back to me,” I whisper, sitting up to look down at him. The scratches on his chest have faded from an ugly red to a light pink, and I trace them, tears coming to my eyes, along with a deep anger. “Did that bitch do this to you?”

Nathan nods, but takes my hand and lifts it to his lips, kissing my fingertips. “It doesn't matter now. 'Lissa... I know now what I want to do.”

“What?” I ask, and Nathan swallows deeply.

“I want to stay with you the rest of my life. And I don’t want to hold back anymore.”

There's no words needed and I nod, reaching down and pulling my t-shirt over my head, followed by my bra. I'm nervous at first for some reason, I've never been nervous about showing my body before, but this time, I want Nathan to approve of what he sees.

I shouldn't have worried, as Nathan smiles, and between my legs, I feel a growing firm pressure as he hardens underneath me. I slide my hips a little and he moans lightly, more of a deep hum in his chest. It feels wonderful, and I do it again, echoing him this time. “Nathan,” I gasp, realizing what it is I'm feeling.

“I know,” he says. “And anytime you want to stop... we stop. No pressure.”

He brings his right hand up and strokes my face with his fingers, his eyes still burning with intensity.

“No more regrets,” I reply. His thumb brushes against my nipple and I gasp, electricity jolting through me as my body wakes up. My hips move again, Nathan sitting up and kissing me again before he trails his lips down my throat, capturing my nipple in between his lips.

I'm in heaven as I feel his hardness between my legs and his mouth sucking on my breast, his hands supporting my back as I hold onto his neck, pulling harder and harder with every nibble and lick of his tongue on my stiff, aching nipple. “Good, so good,” I moan thickly, lost in a haze of desire. “I never knew how good.”

“It gets better,” Nathan promises me, lifting his head from my chest and looking me in the eye.

I get off the bed and push my jeans and panties down, my former shyness replaced by desire and a feeling of power. Nathan, the strongest, and maybe the deadliest man I'll ever know, wants me. He wants to protect me and love me. And he desires me. These thoughts run around and around in my head as I stand here, watching with a growing hunger as he pushes his boxers down and takes them off, showing me his entire body.

He's beautiful. Even the scars that cross his body are sexy to me, and my eyes fix on what I see rising from between his legs. He's hard, and while I don't have anything personally to compare it to, he looks perfect. I feel hollow inside, between my legs where nothing has ever been before, and I want to be filled.

Nathan smiles and reaches out with one hand, taking my fingers and tugging me to the bed. He pulls me down on top of him, another jolt of pleasure going through me when I feel him pressed between us, hard and warm, “for your first time, at least at first, you climb on top.”

I nod and kiss him again, our tongues wrapping around each other, fresh thrills of anticipation and happiness going through me. I reach down and take him in my hand, lifting my hips while we kiss, amazed at how warm he feels, and how he's both soft as velvet and steel-hard at the same time.

I pause, feeling him at my entrance, and stop our kiss to look him in the eye. There's no going back from this point, but seeing the look on his face, the love in his eyes, I don't need to hesitate at all. I lower my hips slowly, feeling him ever so slowly spread me open.

Suddenly it's too much, too tight and I lift up, a warm thrill going through me as I do. I hum, lowering my hips again. The feeling grows as he goes in a little deeper before there's pain again and I lift up, my lip trembling it feels so good. “Mmm, so nice.”

I go slow, and Nathan's patient, never rushing me but letting me control how fast and how deep he enters me. I take a deep breath and nod. His green eyes find mine and he pulls back, until he's just inside me, then thrusts forward. The pain is sharp and I hiss, but he pauses, and I feel him all the way inside me, the pain replaced by a sense of closeness and security. “Keep going. I'm okay.”

He nods and pulls back again, thrusting in gently, the last of the pain washed away with that first slow, sensuous thrust that fills me with warm, liquid pleasure. He goes slow until he's all the way inside me, his eyes never leaving mine. “This may not last long. It’s been a while.”

“I just want to be your woman.”

Nathan pulls back, thrusting in again, sparks filling my body as he begins to fill me over and over. I can't believe how good it feels and I whimper, begging him for more. His hips start pistoning in and out, filling me the way that I've always dreamed, each thrust awakening the woman deep inside me, and I'm washed away in amazing feelings. I pull him down, kissing him deeply, his hips speeding up.

I feel something growing deep in my belly, and I wrap my legs around him, urging him on. “Yes Nathan, oh yes...”

He speeds up even more, but there's no pain, no sharpness to his thrusts anymore. Instead they're like constant waves from the ocean lapping between my legs, each one building on the other and building the tension inside me. I'm gasping, moaning deeply as he thrusts over and over, his breath huffing in and out of his mouth as his eyes flutter shut, he's so lost in the sensations. “'Lissa... I can't hold back much longer.”

“Don't hold back,” I moan. “Don't hold back, give me all of you.”

Nathan nods and speeds up even more, his hips meeting mine without the hard banging crashes I expected but instead just barely making contact. It's amazing, no pain, just sparkly fireworks of pleasure shooting from between my legs all the way to my brain, and I'm trembling on the edge for that final push into oblivion.

Nathan pulls back, pausing for an eternal half-second before driving into me harder, his hips smacking sharply into me and sending me tumbling. I cry out, the ball inside me exploding as I come hard, never anticipating that it could feel like this, like all the beauty and wonder I try to put into my art is squeezed into a single wave that starts between my legs and engulfing my entire body and soul.

“Nathan!” I cry out, holding him close as he shudders, and my orgasm peaks again as I feel him empty himself into me, bonding us together forever. His groan of release is music to my ears and I cry out again, joyous light filling me as he empties deep inside me. I hold onto it as long as I can before the flood of pleasure slowly sinks back, and I'm left trembling, sweat covered and gasping, Nathan still holding me. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” he whispers, tears choking his voice as he looks down on me. “Thank you for redeeming me, for showing me that the world is worth loving in again.”

“You complete me,” I whisper. “You completed the puzzle of my heart that Andrea and Carson started. I...”

“What?” Nathan asks, his eyes still so tender and accepting. “What is it, 'Lissa?”

“I want to spend my life with you,” I whisper, stroking his sweat-soaked hair. “I want to be your wife, to have your children. I know it's traditional for a man to ask, but... will you marry me?”

Nathan nods. “Yes, my love. Tomorrow, we can tell the others. Tonight though... tonight is just for us.”