by Jaymin Eve
Nathan groaned, his arms hugging the walls of the shower as Melodee ran her tongue along his dick. Not only did she look like a wet dream come to life, she was incredible in the bedroom. He could never in his life remember such an explosion of want, need and arousal. But it was more than that. He never wanted to stop touching Melodee. Her skin was smooth and silky, and her smell … fuck he was hard just thinking about it. He was pretty sure that like a needy bitch he'd gone and fallen for the one woman who was adamant that she couldn't do a long term relationship. But Nathan had no doubts, Melodee belonged to him, or with him if he was going to be politically correct. Nah, fuck it, she was definitely his.
Reaching down, he lifted her up, and when her legs wrapped around him he backed her against the wall of the shower. She was tiny, but soft in all the right places and her breasts were perfect, high and full, with pink tips that demanded his attention. He could tell she was a fighter or athlete. She was perfectly toned, with lithe muscles, but still curvy and sexy as hell. The water surrounded them, and he might actually have to thank his mother for this crazy-ass shower.
A few babbles of baby talk caught his attention. He listened for a minute, but there was no more. Luckily the baby monitor was transportable; he knew Melodee liked to make sure Jewel was okay. Reaching for the protection he’d placed on the shower shelf earlier, he had the fleeting thought of how it would feel to be inside Melodee with nothing between them. He was either in love or completely screwed in the head to think this. Kids had definitely not been in his five year plan. But Jewel, like Melodee, had knocked him on his ass. And now he didn’t know what he wanted.
“Nate, please,” she begged him, her perfect teeth biting those luscious red lips.
Her sweet voice had him harder than a rock, not to mention the pleading in her eyes. She was so responsive, as if she’d been made to fit him perfectly. She had his caveman roaring to life – not that he wanted to knock her out and drag her into his cave forever – maybe he sort of wanted to, but it was more that he wanted to claim her.
He slid inside her; she was so wet that there was no resistance. Her warm, tight channel hugged him, making it hard not to lose it, which would be the second time tonight he had almost blown like a teenage boy watching porn for the first time. But her pleasure was important to him. For once it wasn’t just about his skill, but more about causing her to lose her mind. She was so light, there was no strain as he slammed into her over and over. When this obsessive need he had for her abated, maybe he’d trying slow lovemaking, so probably in ten years’ time. But for now it was hard and fast. Not that she seemed to mind, he already could tell when she was close; her eyes were wild. He held her tighter as she shattered around him, and he was right there with her. He had to bite back the ‘Fuck me’ that sprang to his lips. Melodee didn’t like that word and he was trying his damned hardest to stop saying it. But at moments like this he couldn’t think of another word strong enough to describe this sensation.
“So I was thinking,” Melodee said, leaning into him, her breathing hard. “If the NBA doesn’t work out, there’s got to be a career in the gigolo industry for you.”
Nathan laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment, but I’m not interested in sharing this particular skill with anyone but you.”
He lowered her to the ground, ripped off the condom, and sliding the glass door across, leaned out to throw it into the bin.
“So if you don’t make it, what will you do?” she murmured into his chest when he returned. He reached for the body wash and started to clean them up. He wasn’t one to ever enjoy the after-cuddle of sex, but for once he found a peace in this moment. He finally understood the complete package of the physical and emotional.
“I’ll finish college and figure out what to do with my businesses. I’m already running Gramps’ stables and a few other ventures.” He shook his head. “The reality is, I was left a huge trust fund and will never need to worry about money, so it’s more about figuring out what I love. For now basketball is my dream.”
She smiled. “If your performance tonight is any indication, you’ll have no problem making it, Slam Dunk.”
“What about you, Dee? If you hadn’t been handed this life, with the fighting and running, what would you do?” He wanted to give her a chance to live the life she deserved, college if she wanted or running a business. She was smart, resourceful, and would be an asset to any venture. But, he knew, that she would only see it as charity.
She stilled in front of him and he worried that he'd pushed too far, pried too deeply, but eventually she started to speak.
“I think my greatest desire has always been for a home, a family that loved me and didn’t use me for their own gains. But as I grew older and realized the impossibility of this dream, I gave up. Right now I'm happy with my life. I make good money and no one controls me.”
She hid her pain behind indifference, but he still saw it. Nathan wished her parents were not dead so he could kill them for her. Death didn’t seem like punishment enough for what they had done.
Eventually they were clean, dry and dressed. Nathan ordered in Thai and poured Melodee a glass of wine, while he grabbed a beer.
“Will you sleep in my room tonight?” Nathan asked. “I want to wake up with you.”
Melodee shook her head. “I’ve never shared a bed with anyone. Maybe we should work up to that.”
Nathan gave her a half smile, but didn’t comment further.
Melodee stared at him from across the table. “So do we just live in a semi-casual relationship until we find out about Jewel? Or was this a one night thing?” Her tone was light, but he could hear the real question there.
Nathan was brutally honest as always. “We have something real, Dee, and I will fight for you, but it’s going to be damned hard if you don’t meet me some of the way.”
She looked down, staring into her plate, before finally meeting his direct gaze. “For now I need things to stay free. Give me a chance to see if this is a life I can live.”
Nathan nodded. He didn’t have much choice, pushing Melodee would only shove her out of his life. And he was starting to realize that wasn’t something he could accept.
Chapter 8
The next day they were in a private room at the police station, waiting on the detective. Jack Morrins swept into the room. He was a big, brash man in his late forties. His hair was dark with just the start of gray peppering throughout. Nathan got to his feet and gave the man a hug.
“Jack, thanks for seeing us,” he said.
“For my favorite basketball star, anything. And who do we have here?” He smiled at Melodee and Jewel, who was perched on her lap.
Nathan moved and took his seat again. “Melodee and I have temporary foster care of Jewel, while they’re trying to find her family.” He leaned forward. “It’s for their safety that I need to deal with Leanna.”
Jack, sat across from them, and opened the file that had been on the table. “So, Leanna was released from the psych hospital a month ago. She was home with her mother, checking in regularly, but her handler lost contact with her last week.”
“How the hell did she end up on the cheer team?” Nathan bit out. “Surely the college is aware of the situation. It was all over the news last year.”
“We’re looking into it now, we suspect a stolen identity.” Jack thumped the file shut. “We will find her, Nate.”
Nathan nodded. “I know, I just don’t want it to escalate out of control like before.”
Jack stood then, lifting the paperwork. “I’m heading out now to interview the college. I’m going to come down hard until I figure out how this happened.”
Melodee followed Nathan’s lead, standing and shaking hands with the detective. She was a little surprised by such a personal touch on a simple stalker case. It seemed as if money and power did bring a certain level of special attention. Her parents’ deaths, which were still unsolved, had had a half-assed investigation. Although no one on the case had all o
f the information about their true lives and choice of careers, so that wasn’t really fair to the Dallas police.
Jack led them out of the room. “Do you still have your gun and permit?” he asked Nathan, just as they were about to leave the station.
“Yep, I hit the range at least once a month.”
“I’ll speak with the judge and see about upgrading you to a concealed permit, so you can carry.” Jack grinned. “Knowing who your parents are, I’m sure he won’t have a problem with the request.”
Melodee was surprised to see that Nathan seemed unhappy by this sentiment. Maybe he didn’t like falling back on his parents’ money and influence. But all he said was “Thanks, Jack.”
Nathan was quiet as they drove back toward his apartment.
“Do you have a problem with me having a gun?” he eventually said. “It's locked up, Jewel could never get near it.”
Melodee hesitated with her answer. She wasn’t sure how much she should tell him, or trust him with, in regards to her life in Texas. But considering his emotional shut-down at the police station had clearly not been about his parents, but more concern for her and Jewel, she decided he deserved the most honest answer she could give.
“My parents used the underside of my cot as a storage hold for one of their sniper rifles.” She stared out to the snow-covered world flashing by. “By the time I was six I could take apart and reassemble ten different styles of handgun in under a minute. Guns do not frighten me. An idiot with a gun in their hand, that’s a different story.” She smiled at him. “So going on the assumption that you’re not an idiot, I have no problem with it.”
He didn’t return her smile. “Are you ever going to tell me about your life, Dee? Because my parents are neglectful assholes, but yours sound like monsters.”
She shrugged. “My parents were bad people. And I can tell you this now because they’re dead and nothing should come back on you – they were elite, highly trained assassins.” She rubbed at her temples. Seriously, sometimes she even wondered if she was insane. But alas, it was more than real, the tale of her life. “I grew up believing they worked for the government, and I think they probably did, but in some underhanded, black-ops outfit. We mainly lived in Dallas. We were planted there, and for many years my parents played pretend families.” She laughed then; it was strangled. “I was born to cement their status as a family, but my sister, Chloe, she was a mistake and they treated her worse than an animal. For that I rejoice each moment I realize they’re dead.”
Nathan’s hands were tightening on the steering wheel, his voice rough. “So they taught you to fight and…” He hesitated.
“To kill,” Melodee finished. “Yeah, inside our perfect suburban home was a training zone that the CIA would have been proud of. Mom said if they had to have me around, I might as well be useful if a fight broke out.”
Nathan didn’t say anything. She thought his features looked more chiseled, but there was no look of disbelief. She continued to stare at him, her eyes wide. “Why aren’t you surprised when I tell you crazy things about me? Why don’t you accuse me of lying … or at least exaggerating?”
“Have you been called a liar before?”
Melodee shook her head. “I’ve never told anyone before, I don’t let people get close enough to even ask.”
“I know you’re not a liar or crazy,” Nathan said, “and I know this because for you to be the unique, strong and self-sufficient woman that has amazed me from our first meeting in the snow, you could never have been raised conventionally.”
Melodee’s heart fluttered. That stupid organ which she had thought dead had sprung to life under the care of Nathan. She inhaled loudly as she realized something.
“I trust you,” she said, sounding shocked. “I never believed I would say that about any human. Everything about me growing up was a lie and I believed from an early age that all people were liars. But there’s something honest in you, Nate.”
He took her hand. “Don’t paint me with a halo yet, I’ve told my share of mistruths for my own gain, but I’ve learned the value in honesty. I’ll do my best to never lie to you – on the important things anyways.”
Melodee’s voice thinned. “Why would you ever have to lie to me?”
His eyes softened. “I’m just talking about surprise parties and Christmas presents,” he said.
She just stared at him silence.
“Shit!” he said. “You’ve never had anyone give you a gift before.”
“We didn’t celebrate anything,” Melodee said. “Although I always got to put up a tree at Christmas, because we had to keep up appearances.”
Melodee was jolted then as Nathan swung the car over to the side of the road and brought it to a halt. He met her eyes. “This is not fucking happening. Starting right now, no more depressing talk. We’re having Christmas this year. I’ll tell my brothers, and now we’re heading for decorations.”
Waiting for a clear run, he spun the car around and headed back toward the shops. Melodee would have protested, but she couldn’t find the words. She realized deep down she was actually excited by a real family holiday.
Nathan continued the conversation as they drove. “So tell me about the life you lived.”
Melodee ran her teeth over her bottom lip. It was a little rough from all the icy weather. She tried to find the words to describe her younger years. The fear, the fighting, the cold methodical routine of her sociopathic parents. Probably easier to stick to the facts.
“I don’t really remember being under four, but the rest of my years are permanently imprinted. Every day was the same. If we didn’t abide to a strict schedule my mother would lose her shit. I had to be out of bed and dressed by 4am, then training for two hours.” She could hear Nathan’s breathing rate increase, but she didn’t stop speaking. “Fighting, weapons, bombs, poison. You name it, I learned how to use the weapon. I didn’t get a lot of food, but I never starved because they could not have the neighbors notice us. We blended in. The only time our daily routine changed was when they left for a job.”
“What happened then?” Nathan’s voice sounded raspy.
“I was locked in the basement.”
His voice burst free like a bullet from a gun. “And what would have happened if they hadn’t come home?”
Melodee shrugged. “When I was thirteen, they didn’t. They were killed by a sniper. He took them both out and then took out their target. Cleaned it all up and then dumped my parents far away. Luckily, I’d figured out how to escape my prison years earlier. After a week I knew they weren’t coming home.” She remembered the mixed feelings of fear and relief. “The police showed up the next morning; their bodies had been found in an alley. I went into the system that day.”
“How did you know they died that way?” he asked.
“I recognized the kill. Part of my studies was to follow the kill-patterns of others in the same field as my parents. They had me monitoring their jobs and others. It's very competitive, this old assassin field.” Melodee shook her head at the memories. It sounded like a bad movie script.
Nathan was quiet for a moment. Melodee finally glanced across. He had his hands clenched on the wheel, his eyes focused on the road.
“I’m not sure what to say.” He was speaking but his lips barely moved. “I want to fight against the life you lived, and yet there’s nothing I can do to change the past. There is literally no one I can fight for you.”
Melodee captured his hand. “That’s not true, you’ve been fighting my inner demons every moment since I met you. For the first time in my life I feel free and I feel … not alone.”
“You will never be alone again.” He kissed the top of her hand.
They were just pulling into the mall car park when Nathan’s phone rang. He hit the answer button on the Bluetooth speaker.
“Nathan Sinclair,” he said as a form of greeting.
“Hello Nathan, it’s Denise Ronin from CPS.”
Melodee’s heart started to pou
nd hard, and as if Nathan sensed her distress he took her hand.
“What did you find out on the baby?” he asked.
“We are struggling to identify the woman. So far no one has come forward, and no missing persons were reported that fit her description. I’m afraid that with the Christmas shutdown period it could be a bit longer.” She paused for a brief moment. “Are you happy to continue caring for the child, or would you like me to organize something else?”
“It’s been no problem. We’ll care for her for as long as you need,” Nathan said.
“Fantastic, Mr. Sinclair, I’ll be in touch soon. And great game yesterday.” Her voice went a bit fan-girl high at the end.
“Thank you, Denise,” Nathan said, reaching forward to flick his speaker off.
Melodee was out of the car now and already had Jewel snuggled in her arms. “I’m afraid I’ll freak out and run with her if they try and take her,” she confessed when Nathan joined them. “But I know if she has good family somewhere, they deserve her little baby kisses too.” Jewel proved her point by latching on to Melodee’s cheek.
Nathan didn’t say anything, he didn’t want to give Melodee false hope, but he too worried about the loss of Jewel. In large part for Melodee, but for himself too. He was starting to think it would be really quiet without her around.
Two days later, after a busy morning Melodee stepped back to admire her handy work.
“What do you think?” she asked Nathan.
He moved closer, Jewel in his arms. His head tilted to the side as he surveyed the green, gold and red Christmas decorations coating every surface.
“Kind of looks like Santa threw up in here,” he laughed. “Which is perfect. Matt, Charlie and Luke will love it.”
As if they’d been summoned, the front door slammed open and four people trooped in. The Sinclair brothers had arms filled with colorful presents and Melodee realized that she had not even thought of gifts for anyone. Shit, she was terrible at this family stuff.
