by Naomi Niles
"It's too creepy there after what happened to be there alone. I wanted to wait for you to be released from the hospital, and then things at the mansion can go back to the way they used to be." She kissed me goodbye and disappeared out the door.
I liked the sound of having my life go back to normal. Now that I was no longer suspected of murder, my business was sure to be revitalized. I'd be able to travel for work again, but I no longer wanted that to be my main focus. I wanted to dedicate a lot more time to family and spending time with Halle. I also wanted to spend more time with Rachelle, but not as Halle’s nanny. I wondered if she'd be willing to step down from the position and live with me as my girlfriend. She was the perfect match for me, and the thought of spending all my days with her made me happier than I had ever been.
That was a crazy thought, however. I was her boss. She dedicated herself to me and Halle because she was paid to, and after the gruesome crimes that had been endured at the mansion, I doubted she'd ever want to stay there if she didn't need the money to care for her mother. If I didn't want to lose her, I'd better just keep things the way they were.
I just hoped that when I got back home, my heart didn't overrule my head.
Chapter Forty-Nine: Rachelle
"He's here! He's here!" Halle shut the curtains she'd been peering out of and ran to me, beaming with excitement.
"Remember what I told you," I said to her.
"I know. Don't hug Daddy too hard or I'll hurt him," she said glumly, repeating my instructions.
"Good girl. Now help me hold up the sign we made for him," I said, and she picked up the far end of the large paper banner we'd made out of construction paper and glitter-markers, that said “Welcome Home!” I held up the other end, and Missy held the middle.
"Daddy! I missed you so much!" Halle squealed happily the moment Tate opened the door. She dropped the banner and bolted across the room, tackling him head-on.
"I missed you, too, sweetheart." He hugged her tight, despite the pain she must have been causing him, and I knew the advice I'd given her had been completely forgotten. You couldn't put a damper on love, and as the father/daughter pair held each other tight, it was clear just how much they meant to each other.
"It's good to be home," Tate said as he stood up, and Halle led him by the hand into the house.
"Welcome home," Missy said as the two stood face to face in an awkward moment.
"Missy, thank you so much for saving my life – for saving everyone. You're a real hero. I don't know how to thank you." He dropped all pretenses and hugged her.
She endured his embrace uncomfortably for a moment before pulling away with a smile. "You could buy me a car." She winked. "Oh, and double my monthly allowance."
"You got it." He grinned happily. Missy positively beamed, but then he said, "Just as soon as you complete rehab, we'll go the dealership and you can pick out any car you want. Then, for every month you stay drug and alcohol free, you'll get a big allowance, double what you've been getting. What do you say?"
It was clear from the expression on her face that she was not happy. I expected to lash out at him the way she did at me, telling him to go to hell because she'd never go to rehab, but to my surprise, she curled the corners of her face into a smile.
"Sound's great." Her lips were smiling, but there was something dark and malicious brooding in her eyes.
"Great. We'll book you into a program facility tomorrow."
"Terrific." Missy stretched her arms in an exaggerated yawn, then said, "Well, tomorrow’s a big day, and I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed early."
"Mommy, can I sleep with you like we did in the hotel?" Halle cried out, running after her mother. "Of course, you can, baby. Come with me to my room. We'll watch Cinderella and go to sleep together."
"Yeah! You're my best friend, Mommy!" Halle cheered as they left the room together hand in hand.
It hurt a little bit seeing her so attached to Missy, but I knew I should be happy for them. Tate had been in the hospital for nearly a week, and they spent that entire time together bonding as a mother and daughter should.
I spent the week at home with my own mother, and it had been great. Her treatments were going really well, and she looked and felt wonderful.
"You can move back home anytime you want," Mama had said to me.
"Thanks, Mama, but I'm really happy where I'm at," I’d said, referring to the mansion. The little apartment where she lived no longer felt like home to me. The mansion, with Tate and Halle, was my home now.
I didn't care about the money and the luxury – it was the people who surrounded me there. I loved waking up in the morning in Tate's bed and making pancakes with Halle. I loved playing games with her all in the nursery all day and playing a different kind of game with him in the bedroom all night. It was the perfect life, and I loved it so much. I loved them so much. They were the family I felt the most a part of, and I dreaded the day I would have to leave them.
Today, however, was not a day for dreading the future. Today was a day for celebrating. Tate and I were finally alone together.
"Welcome home." I walked up to him and put my arms around his neck. Pressing my breasts against his chest the way I knew he liked, I kissed his neck sensuously and said, "What do you say we go to bed early, too?"
"Are you kidding? That's all I've been thinking about for the last week." He squeezed my buttocks, holding me to him. Moisture grew between my legs at the feel of his erection grinding against my thigh.
"Let's go," I said in a breathless sigh and led him by the hand up the stairs to our bedroom.
No sooner was the door shut and locked behind us than we were all over each other, kissing and caressing. I yanked off my dress and let it fall to the floor, standing before him in nothing but a black thong, and put his hands on my bare tits, begging him to suck them. He hesitated, so I started to rip off his shirt, but he winced visibly with pain and clutched his chest.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." I unbuttoned his shirt carefully and checked the bandages of his wounds. They were fine, and he was healing nicely. Still, I felt bad for not remembering to be gentle with him, especially after I had warned Halle not to be too aggressive with her affection. Now I was guilty of the same thing.
"It's alright. I'm okay," he tried to reassure me with a sexy grin. "The doctor told me a little physical exercise would be good for me, as long as I didn't overexert myself."
"Well, in that case, let me do all the exerting." I grinned at him and stripped off his clothes slowly, one by one. I had him lay down naked on the bed and gently administered to him, kissing him all over.
I started at his lips and was pleased to find they were just as warm and soft as I remembered. Then I worked my way down his neck, letting my tongue run down the hollow of his throat. Next, I kissed every inch of his chest, arms, hands, and sucked his long fingers erotically.
He was fully erect by then, and I delighted in teasing him by ignoring his groin and focusing my attention on his muscular thighs and long, lean calves. Finally, I brought my mouth slowly to his hard dick, teasing him with my tongue before drawing him into my lips and sucking him there.
Lying on the bed, Ted groaned with pleasure, running his hands through my hair and clutching my head. "God, that feels good," he moaned. "You have such an amazing mouth, but I want to feel your pussy."
After a week of being apart, I wanted the same thing. I climbed on top of him, straddled his waist, and lowered myself onto his throbbing erection. A sigh of satisfaction escaped both our throats as he sank into my quivering folds all the way to the hilt. Gripping the headboard of the bed, I slowly began to thrust up and down the length of him as he gripped my waist and groaned with pleasure.
"Fuck me hard," he grunted. I happily obliged, pumping harder and faster until I could feel the orgasm building within me.
Tate reached up and cupped my breasts with his firm hands. He drew them towards his mouth and kissed my erect nipples with his lips. Thrills of
pleasure rushed through me, and I arched my back, wanting more.
He obliged, taking my right nipple into his hot, wet mouth and sucking me sensually. I gasped and cried out with pleasure at the feel, fucking him even harder with rapid thrusts of my hips. It spurred him on, and he moved to my left nipple, sucking me there for a moment before biting my delicate flesh with playful nips of his teeth. I went wild with pleasure, moving now with wild abandon. Harder and faster, deeper and stronger, until suddenly I was coming with noisy screams that echoed off the walls. I felt his muscles clench and seize as he climaxed along with me in perfect unison, and we came together in blissful rapture.
It was the perfect welcome home – not just for him, but for me, too.
Chapter Fifty: Rachelle
"Good morning, beautiful." I was greeted by Tate as I slowly opened my eyes, and he stroked my hair before kissing my lips.
"Good morning. How does it feel to be home?" I asked, placing my own hands on his gruff cheek and feeling the rough stubble there.
"Better than words can explain." He grinned at me. "I missed it so much when I was in the hospital. I missed my house, my bed, and most of all, you."
"Oh, really?" My eyes widened at the compliment. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and tried not to make too big a deal out of it. With a teasing smirk, I tickled my hands along his chest down towards his groin and said, "I know what part of you missed me the most. It's the part of you that I missed, too."
I found he was already hard, and I stroked his manhood with my hand, making him close his eyes and sigh with pleasure. Playfully, I asked, "And what part of me did you miss the most?"
"All of you," he said. "I missed this part, and this part, and most especially this part." He kissed my right breast and then my left one, and finally brought his hands down to my pussy and fingered me there. I was still wet from last night and spread my legs for him, inviting him in.
"I can't exert myself that way until my injuries heal." He looked down at me regret.
"That's okay. What if I took the strain off you and you didn't have to hold yourself up with your upper body muscles?" I offered with a wink and got up on my hand and knees, presenting myself to him doggy style.
"Yeah, that should be easier on me." He grinned and saddled up behind me. My pussy was wet and eager as he entered me easily with a firm thrust of his rigid organ. Slowly, he began to pump inside me, and I thrust my hips back to meet him, partly to take some of the exertion off him and partly because I liked seeing how deeply I could draw him in.
He gripped my hips, encouraging me to keep going, and I thrust back wildly against him as he smacked my ass and pounded into me from behind. It didn't take long before I began to come. I bent forward, gripping the bedspread as I cried out loudly with pleasure. The change of angle as Tate kept thrusting was more than he could bear, and he fell into orgasm, too, groaning loudly as his body convulsed with rapture.
"Now that's the way to start the day." He grinned, giving me a final playful smack on the ass.
"You mean, they don't do it this way at the hospital?" I teased. God, it is so good to have him home. Spending a week apart was the longest we'd gone without making love since I moved into the mansion, and I never wanted to be that long without him again.
"No, they usually started my day with dry toast and plain oatmeal. They didn't give me any butter, sugar, jam, nothing. Not even coffee."
"Well, how about I make pancakes, bacon, and a huge glass of orange juice," I offered. Now that Stuart was gone and Emma was on medical leave for a little while, I knew it was up to me to take care of the cooking, and probably a lot of cleaning, too. I didn't mind. I liked keeping a nice home, and that's what the mansion was to me now.
"Sounds great. I'm going to take a shower and get cleaned up for the day."
"Aren't you going to help me cook?" I put my hands on my hips and glared in mock irritation.
"Believe me; you don't want my help in the kitchen. There's a reason I hired a chef," he said with chagrin.
"I'll get Halle to help me. She's an excellent assistant chef," I said. Tate agreed it was a good idea.
I got dressed and went downstairs to Missy's room where the little girl had slept. I knocked on the door, but there was no answer. I knocked harder, but there was still no answer.
Amazed that Missy was such a hard sleeper, I went ahead and opened the door and walked in. To my surprise, the room was empty. It was too early in the morning for her to have gone anywhere. My instincts told me something wasn't right.
Feeling ill at ease, I hurried up the stairs to the nursery, telling myself they must be up there playing. "Halle, want to help me make pancakes?" I called out in a sing-song voice, but they weren't there, either.
"Halle? Where are you?" I asked in a trembling voice, feeling truly panicked now.
I threw open the doors to her closet, hoping that maybe she was just playing a game of hide-and-seek with me. To my horror, all her clothes were gone. I ran to her dresser and started yanking open drawers. Empty. They were all empty.
Halle was gone, and Missy had taken her.
Chapter Fifty-One: Rachelle
"Try calling her cell phone again," I cried out frantically to Tate.
"I am, but it just keeps going straight to voicemail," he said with obvious frustration. He sat impatiently on the edge of the living room couch and dialed Missy Stevens’ cell number on his phone rapidly for what felt like the hundredth time, then turned it off angrily when the sound of her voicemail came over the line once again.
Punching the cushions on the couch, he shouted out angrily, "That junkie bitch. How could I have been so stupid as to allow her to kidnap Halle?"
"It's not your fault." I put my hand gently on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off violently. His wavy dark brown hair, usually so well groomed, was in disarray, and his hazel green eyes were red. I'd never seen him so upset, and I felt terrible. The kidnapping Halle by Missy was as much my fault as his – but he didn't see it that way.
"Of course, it's my fault. I'm Halle's father." Tate got up and paced the room with rapid strides, practically wearing a path in the expensive carpet of his lavish mansion living room. "She depends on me to protect her, even from her own mother. I should have seen this coming, especially after pressuring Missy to go into a rehab program. I should have known it would push her to try some desperate stunt like this."
Not knowing what had happened to the sweet little girl was the worst kind of torture, and I couldn't stop fidgeting. Tate had called the police, and Detective Mitch Miller had promised to do everything he could to find them, but all we could do now was wait. It was excruciating, and my heart broke for Tate.
I pulled my pale blonde hair out of its usual ponytail and twisted it up into an intricate bun, just to give my fingers something to do. My blue eyes burned, and I knew I must look as terrible as I felt.
I'd grown to love Halle like she was my own daughter. The nights when she'd lean her cheek against my breast while I read her a bedtime story or the days when we'd walk together hand in hand looking for butterflies in the garden were some of my favorites. We'd even started our own little vegetable patch to learn about science, and she was so proud of our first red tomato.
"We did it together," she'd beamed. "I wish we could be together always, like a real mommy and daughter. You never go away like Mommy, and you never fight like she does with Daddy."
I wanted to hug her and tell her I wished I was her mother too, but instead I told her, "Your mommy and daddy both love you. You should be good for them and do whatever they tell you to do."
Now that Halle had been kidnapped by her birth mother while I was busy having sex with Tate, the emotions I felt inside were tearing me apart: fear, anger, and most especially, guilt.
I should have kept a closer eye on her. I should have spent the night in my bedroom that adjoined to the nursery, instead of selfishly indulging my desires in Tate's bed. If I had been right next door, Missy never would have
dared to steal the child away in the night, and if she had, I would have heard her through the walls or the baby monitor that was always on my nightstand.
Because of my neglectfulness, Halle was gone. She could be cold, hungry, or even hurt. Tate was busy blaming himself for her disappearance, but the person he should be pointing the finger at was me.
"You've been in the hospital recovering from surgery from when Stuart attacked you with that knife," I said to Tate in an effort to soothe him. "You entrusted me with Halle's care while you were recovering. As her nanny, it's been my responsibility to look after her. I was the one who allowed her to spend so much time with Missy this past week. If anyone is to blame, it's me."
As I broke down into sobs, Tate pulled me into his strong arms and held me against his chest, soothing me, instead of the other way around.
Stroking my back, he said, "Don't blame yourself. The ultimate responsibility lies with me. I hired you as Halle's nanny. I was the one who allowed Missy to stay at the house. You wouldn't have let Halle spend so much time with her mother if I hadn't encouraged it to begin with. You don't know Missy like I do. I should have seen it coming. It's my fault, not yours."
We held each other tight, and he wiped the tears from my cheeks. Pulling away from him, I drew in a deep breath and tried to be strong for him.
"We can't go on like this, each of us trying to take on the blame. The fact is, Missy was responsible for her own actions. She knew what she was doing when she took Halle and may have been planning it this entire time. We've got to find her and bring Halle back home safely," I stated. Tate nodded in agreement, drawing his courage from my own. Squeezing his hand, I asked, "Where do you think she would have gone?"
"Missy doesn't have any family," he said thoughtfully. "Her parents are both dead, and her only sister cut off ties with her years ago after Missy stole her car and wrecked it during a binge."
