Skye's Sanctuary (The Sanctuary Series Book 5)

by Nikita Slater

  His hands slide up my back, into my shirt, sending goosebumps skittering across my skin with his touch.

  I drop my fingers to the buttons of his shirt, tearing at them as I desperately seek flesh. I yank the leather aside and fill my hands with him. Hot, hard, all male chest. I press my face against him, sinking my teeth into his skin and leaving my mark before licking him.

  He growls above me, and I tip my head back, meeting his fierce kiss. His hands are everywhere, on my ass, sliding up my back, tangling in my hair, tugging at my clothes.

  I return the favour, tearing at his shirt until I’ve shoved it over his broad shoulders. I reach for his leathers next, but the fabric is too tough to tear. I groan my frustration until he shoves my fingers aside and opens the buttons on his pants.

  I fill my hands with him, pulling him from the confines while dropping to my knees in front of him.

  “Skye,” he growls my name in warning.

  I grin up at him. “Would you deny your Warlord?”

  I wrap my lips around his thick, veined cock, taking him deep inside. I want to taste every inch of him; I want to swallow his cock. I feel frantic as I hold him tight and bob my head, taking as much of him as I can, as deep as I can.

  He tangles his hands in my hair and anchors me, holding me tight as I lick and suck him, desperate for the feel of hot jets of semen splashing against my mouth and throat.

  I feel wild, right there on top of the world, showing my passion for the man who I just made mine.

  I know he feels the same.

  There’s a desperation tearing through us, sizzling and striking like an approaching storm. The surrounding air is charged, heated and ready to burst into flames right along with us.

  I roll my eyes up to look at the face of my husband. He stares at me with such fierce intent and desire, my entire body shakes in response. He pushes my head further onto his cock, forcing me to take him deep into my throat before dragging me back by the hair.

  Before I can protest my loss, he yanks me to my feet and makes quick work of my clothes. Within seconds I’m standing gloriously naked, the heat of the rising sun striking my back as Wolfe lifts me high, spreads my thighs and brings me down onto him.

  I grit my teeth as I take his girth into me, inch by thick inch. A gasp strangles in my throat as he bottoms out, thrusting up against my cervix. Pain and pleasure merge as he holds me still, pressing my hips to his, my face to his chest.

  Then he lifts me and forces me back down. Over and over, he lifts and drops me until I’m moaning and squirming against him, my legs wrapped around his waist, my ankles locked.

  I reach desperately for the orgasm just out of reach, until finally, gloriously, I’m there. He tips me back, holding me over the edge of the building and fingers my clit while thrusting deep inside. I shout my pleasure, uncaring if we wake up the world.

  I stare out across the landscape from my upside down position, taking in the sights and smells of a broken city made beautiful as mother nature reclaims it. Wolfe continues to slam into me, forcing me to cling to him as I teeter on the edge of the roof, content in the knowledge that my warrior will never drop me.

  His cock flares as he slams himself home, then jerks and stops. His groan coincides with the rush of heat through my channel as he floods me.

  He tips me up, lifting my naked body against his chest and taking my lips in a kiss, sealing our vows once more.

  Thirty-Eight

  Compared to our journey to the New York Sanctuary, our trip home is uneventful, except, of course, for the bridge collapse.

  We cram ourselves into the remaining two vehicles. Wolfe takes one of them, sending one of his men to the other vehicle so there’s room for me and Nova. He refuses to travel separately from us and I’m grateful.

  After four long days of travel, we arrive back in our Sanctuary. I’m surprised and pleased by a heartfelt greeting from our citizens as we drive through the gates. They cheer and wave, trying to peer into the vehicle. Tower security must’ve spread the word when they spotted our vehicles on the horizon. The crowd gathering is impressive.

  I watch in amusement as one man from the vehicle behind us leaps out the window of the slow-moving car, scoops up a woman off the sidewalk and kisses her soundly. I realize the two know each other when the woman grins up at him and holds a bundle out to him. A baby. He has a family.

  I feel shame as I realize how little I know of the people who work for me. I’ve been too busy with the immediate problems of our Sanctuary to develop a relationship with them. If I’d known the man had a wife and baby, I might not have brought him on such a dangerous mission.

  We lucked out by all of us making it back.

  I turn to Wolfe. “I want meetings with each of our warriors over the next several days.”

  “That’s over two hundred men,” he comments, but doesn’t dismiss the idea.

  “It’s important,” I tell him. “I also want you to add some women to our warrior regiment. You can train them like you’ve trained me.” I think about it for a moment, then add, “Well, not exactly like me. More of a hands-off approach.”

  Wolfe flashes me a heated look and says, “There is no one like you, but I will happily do as you say. If enough women will join our security force, then we might double our protective detail.”

  I nod, happy he understands.

  We need to move away from the backwards society that developed after the Great Fall. After the Fall, society proved that they hadn’t come as far as they thought with women’s rights.

  During the rebuild, the creation of Sanctuaries, women were once again forced into old-fashioned and stereotypical gender roles as humanity realized they would need to repopulate to build back stronger.

  This ideology was how I ended up in a harem, married to a man who’d been a stranger to me. Now, the world is opening up to me and I want to do the same for the women of our Sanctuary and maybe, eventually, beyond.

  As we approach the palace, I see a tall man making his way through the crowd. The people automatically part as he approaches our vehicle.

  Diogo strides around the car and opens the passenger side door, holding it for me as I climb out, Nova in my arms. His gaze drops to the child, and he frowns.

  “Pick up a souvenir out east?” he asks, humour in his voice.

  “More like precious cargo,” I tell him, then I look around for Taran. When I don’t see her, I ask worriedly, “How is my sister?”

  “She’s safe,” he assures me. “But moving slow as she approaches her labour. She’s eager to see you. Gave me hell for telling her to stay upstairs.”

  I laugh, relieved. “Maybe you just didn’t want to carry her pregnant ass down twenty flights of stairs.”

  I’m joking, of course. If feels good to be home and back with loved ones.

  Apparently he feels the same, because rather than punch me in the face, which he would do with anyone else who dares to diminish his wife, he says, “Don’t tell her that. She’s sensitive about her weight gain.”

  I shake my head in exasperation at my sister. “That’s because she’s small. The baby had no place to grow but out.”

  “Tell her that for me,” he says, escorting me around the vehicle, where Wolfe takes over, protecting my back as we walk into the building.

  Nova stares over my shoulder at the people cheering and waving behind us. The security forces stop them from entering the building behind us. I’m grateful for our privacy, and I feel uncomfortable with the adoration.

  I realize suddenly how much of a burden I’ve taken on by agreeing to become Warlord. I can’t take a walk without being recognized. I can no longer come and go as I please. I will always have to take security into consideration. Thankfully, I have Wolfe to take care of that for me.

  Wolfe dismisses the people who came with us to New York, telling them to go home, bathe and sleep.

  Before they leave, I thank each one personally for their service and hug Tabitha before she leaves.

>   Wolfe takes Nova from my arms, and she goes to him easily. It pleases me to watch her grow attached to both of us. All it took was a little kindness and now I think we have a fan for life. She likes to have eyes on one or both of us at all times, and she’s started coming to us when she needs something, tugging on our clothes until we pay attention. She still hasn’t spoken out loud, but I believe it’s only a matter of time. She makes noises so I know her voice isn’t damaged.

  Together, Wolfe, Diogo and I climb the stairs to the top of the palace. We leave Diogo at the harem, promising to drop by in a few hours to visit Taran. Wolfe and I continue up to the Warlord’s chambers with Nova. She stares around in curiosity at each sight.

  “Home,” I murmur as we open the door and enter our private sanctum.

  Wolfe sets Nova on her feet and stretches, cracking his shoulders and rolling his arms back. I grin as his muscles pop and stand out.

  I reach a hand out for Nova. “Time for a bath, sweetheart.”

  For the first time, Nova backs away from me.

  Once again, I’m reminded that even though she doesn’t speak, she understands what we’re saying.

  I drop to my knees. “Please don’t be afraid. I want to clean you up so you can be more comfortable. I promise, it won’t hurt a bit.”

  When she doesn’t move, but continues to stare at me with huge, fearful eyes, I inch closer on my knees. I move the collar of my leather vest aside and once again show her the bite marks on my neck.

  “I already know your secret, my love,” I say to her. “You have nothing to worry about.”

  I patiently wait for her to make up her mind while Wolfe watches, his expression unreadable.

  Finally, Nova lets a tiny sigh escape her lips and her shoulders relax. She walks to me and slips her hand in mine. Gently, I close my fingers around hers.

  My heart feels as if it’s bursting, and I vow that I will never do anything to break this child’s trust.

  I rise slowly so as not to startle her and say to Wolfe, “We’ll be about a half hour. She should eat after, then off to bed.”

  His expression gives nothing away, he just nods and turns on his heel, leaving the room. I watch him go, wondering what he’s thinking. Now that we’re safe, does he want Nova to go? Can I let her go if he doesn’t want her?

  My hand tightens around hers. “Let’s go.”

  Together we walk to the bathing chamber. She makes an excited noise when she sees the deep tub and rushes to the edge to look inside. She points at the bottom and grins at me.

  “Yes, you’ll go in there.”

  I help her take her clothes off while the water runs.

  I have to bite back an exclamation of anger and fear as I see her naked for the first time in proper light. She’s been bitten. Not once, but several times, in different places on her body. I carefully look her over, examining each mark, each ridge. I think they’re around a year old, but I’m not positive. All the marks have healed but are still clearly visible against her tan skin. Once again, I wonder how she survived.

  I decide not to fuss over them. The child has had enough trauma. It’s better if I don’t make a big deal out of the marks. I just hope that one day she’ll be able to tell me the story of how they came to be.

  I check the temperature of the water. I’m not entirely sure what’s a good temperature for a child but assume it’s something in between scalding and cold. Personally, I like my water hot enough to peel off a layer of skin, but that probably comes from too many river baths in my life.

  Nova doesn’t seem to mind the temperature I choose for her. She laughs and splashes water as she slides around the tub.

  I watch with amusement, showing her how to soap up a cloth and use it to scrub her body, which gives her a new fun toy to play with. I wish I’d known her for her entire life. I feel as though I’m watching a transformation, but I’m not sure what she was like before. All I know is the scared little girl who came out of the cupboard is rapidly becoming secure and happy.

  The speed of her transformation makes me believe she had a happy life before the fall of her Sanctuary. Or maybe I want to believe it. Either way, until she’s able to talk to me and impart some memories of her past life, I’ll just have to guess.

  I dream up a beautiful blond mother with sky blue eyes; a woman who is as pretty as the girl splashing in my tub. In my mind, her mother was a popular seamstress and loved her daughter dearly.

  I don’t try to imagine what happened to her. I don’t need to. I can guess and I don’t want to let my mind go there.

  A knock on the door startles me from my reverie.

  Nova doesn’t notice and continues her play time while I go to the door, peeking out at Wolfe, who stands on the other side. He hands me some fabric and I take it from him.

  My heart melts as I realize it’s one of his shirts.

  “For Nova,” he says gruffly.

  “Thank you.”

  She would be better off with one of mine, but I don’t say anything. It won’t make a difference to Nova if her nightshirt swims on her.

  “I told some of the men…” he stops himself, then starts over. “I told some of our people to bring up a bed for Nova and place it in the room next to ours.”

  I smile at him, blinking back tears. “That sounds permanent,” I whisper.

  “It’s what I want, if it’s what you want,” he says simply.

  I go up on my toes and kiss him, lingering for a moment before taking a step back. “There’s nothing I want more.”

  “Then it’s done,” he says, before turning away and leaving us to the bath.

  And just like that, Wolfe and I have adopted a little girl.

  Thirty-Nine

  Though I’m dead on my feet by the time I’ve finished bathing both Nova and myself, I make my way down to the harem to check in on my sister. I leave Nova with Wolfe, who is showing her his cache of weapons. When I left, she’d been gazing at his sword with wide-eyed interest.

  I nod to the guards as I pass, then I stop and retrace my steps, stopping in front of the nearest one. He looks younger than me, maybe early twenties. He has dirty blond hair and appears to be growing a patchy beard.

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  He looks alarmed, then stutters, “G-Godfrey Smith.”

  I nod. “Nice to meet you, Godfrey. Do you have a title?”

  I realize I really know nothing about how security works in my own Sanctuary. I’ve been relying on Wolfe for protection for so long, it never occurred to me to have a hand in it.

  “Uh… I guess my title is palace guard.”

  “I suppose that makes sense, since you seem to guard the inside of the palace.” I smile at him to show that I’m teasing and he attempts a smile back, though I can tell he’s still nervous.

  “I’m not going to have you jailed for speaking to me,” I assure him. “You can relax.”

  “Best leave the boy alone,” Kingston says, joining us. “Your husband won’t thank him for conversing with you.”

  I glare at Kingston. “I’m trying to get to know my staff. Is that a crime?”

  Kingston flashes me a careless grin. “Only if you want this man to remain alive.”

  I sigh and shake my head at Kingston. “Is there a reason you’re here? I believe you were told to make your way home.” I look him up and down, wrinkling my nose. “Take a bath, maybe.”

  He ignores my jab and straightens, his face falling into sober lines. “I have news from the hospital, and it concerns you.”

  “The flu?” I ask, worriedly.

  He shakes his head. “When the doctor went missing, some of the Mountain People brought a barrel full of the plant used to break your fever into the city. The hospital staff used it to treat those who were still infected. Thanks to the plant, the city seems to be getting back to normal.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief and then shake my head at myself. It should have been the first question I asked when I returned to the city. Though the
flu had been easing up when Dr. Summers went to meet with the Mountain People, many people were still sick. I’d only just recovered when we went after our kidnapped doctor.

  “If not the flu, then what’s going on at the hospital?” Then I remember the other project Sheela had been working on and gasp. “Hannah.”

  He nods. “Yes, Hannah, Silas and the other Primitives who were brought into Sanctuary. Hospital staff are dealing with a serious situation over there. The research project belonged to Dr. Summers and though she had help, no one knows what to do now that she’s gone.”

  I nod, my heart sinking. Damn it. How am I supposed to deal with a bunch of test subjects in various states of zombie-ism? “I’ll come to the hospital in a few minutes. I was on my way down to see my sister. She’s expecting me, but I won’t stay long.”

  “I’ll come with you.” There’s no room for argument in his voice, so I nod my agreement. It would appear now that we’re back in the city, I have my personal bodyguard firmly back by my side.

  I turn toward Godfrey. “Will you please let Wolfe know that I’m going to the hospital after I visit my sister?”

  He straightens and says, “Yes, Warlord, I’ll make sure he gets the message.”

  Kingston and I make our way down to the harem. I barely get the door open when a bundle of pregnant woman launches herself at me.

  “You should have come sooner!” she scolds, wrapping one arm around me and holding her belly with the other.

  When she finally releases me, I step back to look at her. I’m amazed at how big she’s become, even in the few weeks she’s spent in my Sanctuary. She looks more beautiful than I’ve ever seen her, with her auburn hair flowing in loose curls down her back. Her grey eyes are sparkling with happiness.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her, sitting on the couch and patting the seat beside me. “I had to settle Nova in.” At her questioning look, I add, “She’s a little girl we found in one of the abandoned cities we passed through.”