“Hey,” she whispered in a slightly groggy voice.
“Baby,” I placed my hands carefully on each side of her face and leaned over her lips. “Baby, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I’m so sorry…”
I felt her moving her head from side to side, before she brought her own hands up to cup my face. “I love you. You found me and that’s all that matters.”
A sob tore out of my mouth as she brushed her lips over mine, and I almost dropped on my knees from the power of the emotions raging inside me. “Ali, I love you so much.”
I claimed her mouth in a kiss that I made sure held every little piece of the despair I’d felt, the need that was consuming me, and the love I had for her. There was nothing soft about that kiss, and she gave back as hard as she got, her hands fisting my hair at the back of my head as a soft whimper escaped her lips.
“Sir, we need to get her inside.”
I broke the kiss leaving us both panting, and locked my gaze with hers. “You’re moving in with me. No more going back and forth and being away from me for another second. And no arguments.”
She giggled softly, causing my heart to jump happily in my chest. “Bossy much?”
I shook my head with a small smile, and jumped out of the ambulance as the paramedics pulled Ali’s gurney on the ground. “Careful there, England. You’re sounding more and more American every day. If you’re not careful you’re going to lose the accent too.”
Chapter 17
Alicia
“You seem to be handling things better than I was expecting,” Evy noted before shoving a spoonful of vanilla ice cream sprinkled with oregano flavored crisps – er, chips – in her mouth. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to try that out just yet.
I shrugged, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know. I guess I was so convinced I wasn’t going to make it out of that room alive, that everything else seems simple now that I’m unbelievably awake again. I had honestly thought I had taken my last breath.”
Evy cringed. “Yeah, tell me about it. I felt kind of the same way when I almost lost Kaylan last year. I’d felt his heart stopping for a moment, and when he came back, nothing else mattered. Strangely, I think it was how I dealt with Kiara’s death. I don’t know if that sounds wrong, but it is how it is.”
I nodded. “Coming at the edge of your life can jolt you awake. I hope I never lose my focus on it again. The years I lost pretending to be Mother’s toy are the last ones I will ever waste.”
She smirked. “Thankfully, Nate seems to be thinking the same way now. I can’t believe he demanded that you move in with him. Well, with us as it is.”
I blushed inwardly. “He didn’t demand it exactly. He was just very adamant about it.”
Evy snorted as she stood to throw away her now empty carton of ice cream. “When a guy tells you he’s not taking any arguments on a subject, they’re demanding it. Trust me. I know. It apparently runs in the Lockwood blood.” She returned to her seat. “But that’s a good thing. Means Nate finally knows what he wants and is claiming it.” She took a deep breath. “I’m bored. Where are they?”
We were in my hospital room, waiting for Nate and Sean to finish with my discharge papers. I’d spent almost two days in that hospital room, and I was more than ready to leave. In the meantime, Evy and Kay had moved all my possessions from my dormitory room to their – our – flat. Now Kay was with Luke at Luke’s house in Glendale, preparing a celebratory dinner. Sean was now officially part of the gang, and even though he seemed like the type of guy who preferred being alone, I could tell he liked hanging out with the other guys.
As if on cue, Nate and Sean entered the room, and I immediately shot up with a huge grin plastered across my face. Nate’s lips tipped up in the corners, and he was in front of me in two long strides, scooping me up in his arms. I wrapped my own arms around his neck, seeking his lips with mine. The soft contact caused my blood to burn through my veins, and the heat brought shivers all over my body.
“Ready to get out of here, babe?” he murmured against my lips.
“Yes, please,” I whispered back.
A soft chuckle came from Sean’s side. “She’s supposed to sign the papers first, Nate. Maybe you should consider putting her down for that.”
Nate snorted. “Bureaucracy is overrated.”
Sean sighed. “Boy, you’re preaching at the choir. Still…”
Nate took a deep breath, placed another soft kiss on my lips, and put me back on my feet. “Fine. I’m giving you twenty seconds to sign your discharge papers, England, and then I’m throwing you over my shoulder.”
I almost squirmed at the heat emanating from his emerald eyes.
Evy snorted. “What did I tell you? It’s the Lockwood caveman gene.”
“Ten seconds…” Nate warned. I quickly signed the papers he gave me, before he grabbed them from my hands and shoved them in Sean’s face. “Time’s up.” He squatted in front of me and pressed his shoulder against my stomach, before standing up and literally throwing me over his shoulder.
“Nate!” I squealed as I came face to bottom with him. Not that I complained – it was a fine bottom.
He wrapped his arms around my legs, and turned around to face Evy. “Evy, Sean will give you a ride. I’ll take Ali home to change clothes, and we’ll meet you at Luke’s, ‘kay?” And without waiting for an answer, he spun around and started towards the exit.
I grabbed his shirt to attain some kind of leverage and lifted my head up to look at Evy and Sean as they stayed behind, both with matching smirks on their faces.
“Nate, put me down!” I tried again a little softer.
His one hand wrapped around my thigh and squeezed. “Shush now. I’m taking my girl to our bed to make sweet love to her, and nothing’s going to stop me.”
Well, how could I say anything to that? Merely the thought of us together in his bed had my core dripping.
We reached the flat with Nate driving, while keeping a hand on the stirring wheel and the other between my legs. He’d pushed the band of my shorts down and thrust two fingers through my folds, bringing me close to the edge, but pulling back before I could tip over. He’d said he wanted to get me there, because he wasn’t going to last long.
The moment the door was closed behind us in the flat, Nate was on me. Or was I on Nate? It made no difference at that point. We were both on each other.
We struggled with our clothing on our way to the bedroom, devouring each other’s mouths like we hadn’t kissed in ages.
“Ali, I need you,” he mumbled against my lips, as his hands deftly undid the clasp of my strapless bra and threw it aside.
The back of my knees hit the side of the bed, and I let my body fall backwards, as he followed me with his arms wrapped around me. “I need you, Nate,” I whispered softly. “My whole body craves you.”
“Fuck,” he murmured before claiming my mouth in another scorching kiss. He pushed me further up on the bed, and removed one hand from where it had been tangled in my hair to grabble in the drawer for a condom. “Are you wet for me, Ali?” he asked in a husky voice as he rolled the condom down his length.
“I’m so wet for you, Nate. I’m dripping wet and I need you.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he bit out. He poised himself at my entrance and pushed inside with a long, hard thrust that drew a scream from my mouth. “I love it when you say the things I ask you to. I love filling your sweet mouth with dirty words.”
I smiled, but it was soon wiped away by another scream as he started moving inside me, deep and hard. He was swiftly taking me to the edge again. “Anything, Nate,” I managed to say. “I love everything you do to me.”
A low groan rumbled through his chest, and then we were lost in our frantic rhythm, until we both shouted our release and collapsed in each other’s arms.
When our breathing slowed down, Nate pushed his body off mine and rolled to his side, pulling me with him. “Fuck, I’m sorry Ali. I really meant to make it sweet and slow
, but you have a tendency to drive me crazy.”
I giggled. “Sure. Blame it on me.”
He softly tickled my side, holding me close when I tried to break free. “Nah. It’s all on me. But you do drive me crazy.” He placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.
I brushed my lips over his pulse point, feeling his skin break out in goose bumps. “The feeling is mutual, I assure you.”
He sighed in contentment, tightening his arms around me. “We should really get to Luke’s, or there won’t be any food left.”
I buried my face further in the crook of his neck. “Mmm,” was all I answered.
We stayed like that for a little while, both reveling in the pure act of listening to each other’s breaths and heartbeats.
“I can’t believe I almost lost you,” he whispered. My entire body shuddered with the tremor of fear in his voice. “Sean believes he stopped the prick just in time. Had he delivered one more hit, we might have not managed to save you. Not with all the vampire blood in the world.” I pressed further into him, needing the reassurance of his body’s heat, while giving him mine. “I would have drunk your blood to heal you if Sean wasn’t there. I didn’t do it because you need my blood for the vaccine, but I would have done it to save you. I need you to know that.”
I brought my hands up to clasp his cheeks, and scooted up to bring our faces at the same level. “Nate, I love you. You did save me. You were the reason I tried to fight him.” His eyes darkened, but I kept going. “You were all I thought about, and that’s all I want you to think about. I love you.”
He shook his head and let his fingers dive in my hair, clasping the back of my head, kissing my lips softly. “I almost died when I thought I’d lost you. I know I didn’t exactly ask you if you wanted to move in with me, but you need to understand that I felt completely helpless and destroyed when Kay called. I can’t lose you, Ali. And not because I’ve lost before, but because it’s you. You’re my light, my love and my life. You’re everything.”
Tears trickled down my cheeks – of the happy variety. In an attempt to lighten the mood again I said, “See? I told you Sean is a great guy, didn’t I?”
He chuckled softly and pressed his lips on my forehead. “Yeah, you did. Come on. I need to wash that gorgeous body of yours and then feed you. You’re going to need your strength for tonight.”
Nate
Even dogs couldn’t resist Ali. Luke’s two-month-old puppy – the guy brought a Siberian Husky in the heat of California for fuck’s sake – plopped on her lap and fell asleep, as soon as she was settled on the couch beside me, with my arms around her. Her fingers absently kept scratching its little head right behind its ear, and I knew the pup was a goner.
I could feel for him.
“I don’t know if I’m happy that you’re holding another man in your arms, babe,” I teased her.
“The dog is a girl, asshole,” Luke smirked. “And she, unlike you, knew immediately Ali is the best choice,” he finished with a pointed brow.
I huffed in mock exasperation. “Fine. Can I be spared the ‘asshole’ characterizations now that I too made the right choice?”
“I second that,” Ali said softly, lifting her hand up as if to vote for me. I kissed that hand.
“I don’t know, bro,” Kay pretended to consider. “Are you sure you’re not going to chicken your way out again? I say you keep the asshole classification until you marry the girl.”
I tightened my arms around Ali and shot my brother a dark look, but Evy answered before I could. “Shut up, Kaylan. Not everyone has to follow your lead. And besides, they’re still young. Ali is only eighteen and she’s just started college. She’s going for med school so she has a good six-years’ time until she can even think about marriage.”
Ali snorted. “Well, not that I’m right here and could have said all that myself but… what she said.”
Evy went on though, her eyes glimmering with mischief as her lips tipped up in an evil grin. “Unless of course it so happens that Ali gets knocked up by my sweet twin, and I get to become an aunt, say, in about two years?”
Luke, Sean and I burst out laughing, as I felt Ali’s jaw dropping. Kay shook his head in mock despair. “I’m starting to rethink the whole marriage idea.”
Evy swatted at Kay’s arm, but he shot forward and wrapped it around her waist, pulling her in a face-eating kiss.
“And there goes my dinner…” I said drily, diverting my gaze from the sickening sight.
Luke continued laughing. “Nate, I think Ali is having a small aneurism over there.”
I tilted my head to look at Ali’s face and, in all truthfulness, her mouth was still agape as she was staring at the engaged couple.
“Babe?” I asked in amusement.
“Is she for real?” Ali asked breathlessly.
I laughed softly and pressed my lips to her temple. “I can’t promise you’ll ever get used to her as it is, but yeah, she’s for real.”
Kay whispered something to Evy and she turned to Ali with cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry, Ali. I was just messing with you.”
Ali tilted her head to the side and watched as Evy and Kay settled back in their seats. “Now why do I have the distinct impression you were forced into making that apology?”
Kay chuckled. “Because you’d be right. I told her I wasn’t going to let her come if—”
“Oh, fuck off, Kay!” I yelled at him and dropped my head on the back of the couch. Everyone else started laughing so loudly, the poor puppy woke up from its slumber and ran off to hide under the dining table.
When the laughter finally subsided, and Luke picked up the puppy once more to cradle in his big arms, I pulled Ali back to settle her in my arms again and asked, “So what are we doing for Christmas?”
“Mom and Dad are staying home if you all want to go there again,” Evy suggested. “Sean, you too.”
Sean shook his head. “I’m on duty that week. I only have four days off around New Year’s, from the 30th to the 2nd.”
Ali sighed. “Bummer.” Sean gave her a wide grin.
“You can all come over at my sister’s in Mt. Vernon,” Luke offered. “After all, Christmas deserves a little snow, and if we go to San Diego we won’t have any.”
“What do you say, princess?” Kay asked Evy as he ran his hands softly up and down her arms.
Evy nodded. “We can always go for a hotel to avoid driving Luke’s sister crazy.”
“None of that,” Luke cut her off. “You’re not driving anyone crazy. Susan has been grilling me to get you all up there since last year.” He kicked Sean’s foot. “And you, asswipe, can come along for a day or too. Just call in sick.”
Sean flipped him off.
“So, that settles it then,” I concluded. “We’ll be visiting the state of Washington for Christmas.”
Ali leaned further into my shoulder, turned her head so her lips were next to my ear and whispered, “Maybe we can go over at Forks and look for a few vampires. What do you say?”
I chuckled and turned my head to brush my lips over hers. “Don’t you know it, baby? Vampires don’t exist. It’s all just a myth.”
*******
About the Author
I am a romance novel writer for older kids, but like to take it down a notch every now and then, with a little YA fantasy, under the pen name Vicky Andrianson. I often mix reality with fantasy, and am awfully fond of happily-ever-afters that usually come a little hard-earned. When I'm not relieving my ever-conniving mind of its ideas, I work in the Hospitality industry, read novels, and try to find my own happily-ever-after.
Small Thank you Note
Considering this feels like an Oscar winning speech, I’m picturing myself on stage, Tyler Hoechlin and B. T. Urruela on either side of me (because of course I get to choose who will give away MY Oscar), and my speech would go like this:
“I’d like to thank my mom and dad for not stopping at three children and finally having their dream child with me, my sis
ters for knowing I can kick their butts at any given moment, even being the youngest, and my friends for accepting I’m always the best.”
But since I speak with those guys every day and they know how I feel, there’s only one person I’d like to thank.
You.
The person that holds this book (or Kindle) in their hands, either by buying or borrowing it. You’ve given me the chance to make my dream come true and I owe you everything for it.
I love you all!
XOXO
Vicky
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