Nathan
The music soared through the room in that familiar classic tempo that many saw as the very opportunity to grab a partner and follow the notes around the dance floor.. Violins sweetened the tones while the piano lifted them, on and on, slipping from a minute to the next, and effortlessly having me drift away in my own damned mind.
Kristin played the piano. Not that I had heard her in years, but I knew she practiced when she was younger. She could play a night and a day and I could listen every second of it. It seemed like the only melody I could really focus on. Everything else sounded the same to me.
That night was hers. The night she would remember her whole life. An engagement was a life-long promise in the world we lived in. I was glad she was at least happy. Even though she had doubts, her happiness was the only thing that mattered. And no matter how little trust I had in Montgomery, I was not going to stand in her way. That night I promised I wouldn't, no matter how much the fool bothered me.
Why they chose to have the engagement party at the house, I couldn't really understand. The place was enormous, the back gardens as wide as some parks, and there was no doubt in that, but I had considered that George would do as much as to at least give her that privilege to make the choice herself. He didn't.
However, what mattered was that Krissy was enjoying herself, and no one could deny that. Her eyes sparkled from the fairy lights Julia had arranged around the garden, her laughter filled the air more melodically than the music itself.. The slight breeze played with the soft waves of all that gold and amber that her hair was, the wild locks that tumbled all the way down her lower back..
She was exquisite that night.. From the crimson velvet that laid over her body like a second skin, to the same rubiness of her lips that constantly curled into smiles. One could only stop and stare.. Wish to cause another one of those captivating gurgles of laughter in her throat, and proudly admire when it was a success.
Jackson Montgomery however, stuck to his modesty and gentle manners that seemed to have her grin all the same. It was apparently his night as well. He was taking the sacred fortune of that della Broderies.. The beauty of Chicago. So that pride and delight in his eyes was undeniable.
But no matter how hard I tried, the fool sickened me. I did not like him. Oh, not at all. The sham was radiating off him and George was blind not to see it. He may had needed an alliance, but he was making it with the wrong one. Montgomery was nothing but a criminal with a tie, and hell perhaps all of us were, but he had something suspicious about him that I intended to get to the end of.
He was dancing with Kristin and while many joined, others observed. I was one of those on the side, with brandy in my hand and too much on my mind to follow anything but the little show that everyone seemed to be enjoying. The bastard had clung her against him in the most indecent way, definitely causing scandal that would go on for weeks, if not months.
The smile that stretched her red lips when he leaned closer to her ear burned my chest harsher than the whiskey did. It was not alright. Hell, it was everything but alright for him to show such intimacy when she was barely his fiancée. I could feel the fury thrive at the pit of my stomach like a ball of fire. The fool knew nothing of respect.
"They do make a wonderful couple, though, don't they?" Charlotte, the redhead Kristin had introduced me to at the beginning of the night was saying something, but I was hardly following. Unfortunately, she didn't have an off button once she started talking. "What do you think he's whispering to her? He could be making promises for their wedding night, I think men tend to do that, you know, once it's love at first sight,"
And she went on and on, but what caught my attention was the few things she had mentioned, and did as much as to have some kind of anger stuck in my throat. The last gulp of the liquor slid down but no longer had any effect, and to the sight of his hand moving down the line of her waist, the small of her back.. Hell, I lost all track of thoughts. The glass almost found its way against the wall.
But the fool surely wasn't as suicidal as to actually dare say something like that to her. Or to go as far as to slide his hand further down. He knew it would be either me or Noel to put a bullet through his head. Even Charles if he had had it.
I looked on the side where he was standing.. And he was glancing at me as well. Perhaps he was keeping an eye on me so that I wouldn't do exactly that. It seemed so, from the way he followed my empty glass, to the way he glanced back at the newly engaged couple.
"Dance with me," I had turned to Charlotte, and perhaps interrupted whatever she was saying because her lips were slightly parted. But then to my grin she responded with her own, taking my hand I had offered.
Charlotte was a pretty one, there was no doubt in that. It was perhaps the soft lines on her face that made her seem rather more adorable than anything.. Her eyes of firey amber were a bit downwards at the edges, but as wide and kind as those of a meek doe. And her whole face lighted up when she smiled.
I suppose it was the touch of fire she had in her hair that made her seem fragile and gentle too, but Charlotte Martin was all delicacy and manner when she slid her hand into mine and allowed me to lead her to the dance floor. It did make up for all the talking. Women like that could be easily quietened. A grin, a kiss or a touch on the right spot had her melting in my arms.
And it was what I did, in a way. I held her delicate body close to mine and lead her in the rhythm of the slow waltz, occasionally brushing my lips against her cheekbone or her brow, and hearing the slow sighs she released.
I did tell her a thing or two to have her laugh, but I seemed to had learned how to keep her rather quiet, and I needed her quiet because I was intending to overhear what that bastard Montgomery was saying to Kristin.
A simple glance was enough for me to see the very difference between the two young women. The one in my arms was all sweetness and vivacity, while Kristin.. She was now somewhat across, too focused on her fiancé's face and what he was saying to even follow the right steps to the waltz.
Her eyes were a smoky blue that night, the kinds that were titled upwards at the ends, even more with the way her lashes deliciously curled to the sides.. A flatter or a simple peek underneath their dark thickness, and she looked as if she were one of those tempting harem dancers.. Especially in that red that clung against her body in a matter that sent a wave of heat straight down my legs, and I cursed myself a thousand times for it.
Kristin was the very opposite of Charlotte, she truly was. Even though both of them were daughters of two of the most powerful Mafia lords in the city, those of innocence and purity, it was different effects their eyes sent, their smiles caused..
Kristin always chose the quietness over any conversation, but it was her eyes that danced, and the erotic curve over her lips that sent wicked thoughts to a man's mind. While I had Charlotte against my chest, I could hear Kristin's low sweet laugh that was one that only a true seductress could possess, one of a woman that was wanton and daring.. And I— Christ, I had too much to drink.
But I still lead Charlotte closer to the new love-birds, in a way so that my back was on Kristin. I wanted to hear, and also to perhaps also avoid the things she seemed to be so effortlessly doing to me. Perhaps it would be better if I'm not looking at her, I thought.
Because hell, from the moment she walked in my room earlier that evening, I could not calm that pulse she managed to cause straight to my groin, that burning in my stomach that flamed with each one of her glances.
I kept thinking, it was perhaps the way she walked.. The way her curved hips swayed with each step she took, wide against the narrowness of her waist. Or was it that dress that did that? That lined her body like that.. For fuck's sake, I was losing my mind anyway. Thinking about what it was that effected me so harshly was only part of that process.
"Kristin," The fool was saying, and her quiet 'yes?' mixed with the music. I listened, but also searched my mind for that moment that I had gone mad. I was certain I had. My sane self would never look at Kristin in that way.. "Where will you be seated for the dinner?"
Hell, the bastard had changed the subject by the time I got closer. That couldn't possibly be what Kristin was so lusciously laughing about. I straightened a bit, and felt Charlotte lean closer with her arms around my neck. It was that moment it hit me. The moment Krissy changed in my eyes, the moment my thoughts chose a different direction for her was— It was the night I returned from Paris..
Damnation. My eyes closed in that sudden frustration, a curse leaving from somewhere deep in my chest, yet the music covered it enough for Charlotte not to hear. It couldn't possibly— Christ. I almost groaned out loud. It couldn't possibly be going on for so long. It had been almost a month, damn it.
Yet that night.. That night was vivid in my mind. During that dinner she had me staring restlessly at the way she drank her wine and ran her fingers through her hair, the way her chest rose and fell as she breathed and the way her throat moved while she laughed.. I was analyzing her too damn much since it was the first time seeing her after— After eight damned years.
She was no longer my Krissy, she was Kristin della Broderie, and I seemed to had met her that very night.. That night, in George's study, before the desert was served.. Her scent of roses and wine had done something to me, that black dress she had been wearing blurred my mind, and that deep cleavage played with me wickedly. And I— I had blamed it on tiredness. Exhaustion.
No, it had been that. It had probably been only that. I was only being paranoid. I was paying too much attention to her. Still, that dress she was wearing now was something else.. Damn worse. It made her luscious and daring and damn irresistible throughout the entire night. I've had too much brandy, I told myself again, giving Charlotte a spin so that she had her back on Kristin. Or I'm losing my damned mind.
"May I?" It was Montgomery that had said that, though I regretted moving away because I didn't hear what he was suggesting..
And I realized he was backing up a step. With one hand still holding hers, he was reaching in his inner pocket and taking out a small velvet box. It almost matched Kristin's dress. I knew immediately what was going on, especially once the dance floor started clearing out with the 'Awhs' and 'Ohs', the crowd creating a circle around them.
I tugged Charlotte on the side as well to see better. I heard her own comment on the scene, how she pressed a hand over her chest as Montgomery came to one knee. Hell, the bastard was only making a show.
Everyone knew the reason for that party, and it was plain and simple. They had been matched and betrothed for the benefits of her father and that very fiancé that was now making an even bigger fool of himself.
Kristin was shocked, I understood that, but her hand going over her mouth was an exaggeration. Then again, no one thought he would actually propose. Apparently he was determined to make it believable to the people that the engagement was real, even though it was merely for an alliance.
He didn't rise until she said a 'yes' and once the ring was on her finger, he was back on his feet giving her a kiss, that of course was as lousy as any gentleman would give. Not that he was any gentleman to start with, but a peck on her lips was well respectable for the people around.. Of course, most for her father, brother, and me that were supposed to applaud along with the rest.
George and Noel were doing that, but I didn't bother because the applause was already loud enough. His hug was far too long as well, and I could feel damn nausea in my stomach from the mere sight of that. Damned bastard thought he was fooling everyone. He kissed her hair as if he had known her his entire life; as if she were the prize he had just won.
It was either to leave and bear with myself and the torture that that night had been, or punch the bastard the first chance I got.. Of course there would had been plenty of chances to do so after that night, since he was now considered part of the family, and damn me, but I couldn't accept that. So I turned around and left.
It wasn't hard to get away from Charlotte because she was too amazed with the show as well as every other person out there, so I was inside in seconds. My tie was too tight, my heart was thumping in rage as if I had ran a mile.. My whole damn body was on fire, and I wasn't even sure why.
I was about to head up the stairs when a harsh pull had me turn around. Charles. With the anger that seemed to be thriving inside me, my clenched fist that threatened a punch when he tugged on my shoulder could've broken his jaw.
"Damn it, Charles." I stopped myself on time, and took a step back. "What?"
"What do you mean, what? The hell is wrong with you tonight? Where are you even going?"
Apparently, my eyes had given me away. Charles knew how to read me well enough to see that I almost spilled all rage on him. He was my friend for as long as I could remember, but I did not need his hissing and tugging at that point.
"I'm tired," I was pulling on my tie to loosen it. It was choking me. Perhaps I didn't have enough oxygen in my brain because all I had on my mind was Kristin, Kristin, Kristin. Jesus Christ. I changed wight from one leg to another and Charles followed my every move.
Damn he was annoying. "Listen, do not analyze me, Charles, I'm tired and I need some damn sleep. We're supposed to be on the road at five tomorrow morning. So if there is something, just spill it, because I'm losing my patience." He looked down at where my gun was, even though it was covered with the tux.
"I should be taking your gun tonight." I snorted at that because he knew damn well the house had a gun in every corner. He took a step closer. "I'll be keeping an eye on that fool Montgomery, so just go to sleep like you're planning to." His eyes spoke more than his words did. "And don't do anything stupid."
With that he turned around and left back to the garden, while I pulled on my tie one more time and went up the stairs.
Kristin
It made little sense to me that so many people had accepted the invitations. Of course, there were others responsible for the guest list, but I could see that whoever Julia hired did a good job.. Except, there was of course one little problem. Out of all those people, I couldn't find the one I needed most at that point. Nathan.
I wanted to see how it was going with Charlotte, but he was nowhere to be seen. And it seemed only a reminder of those days.. All those years he was away in France. He had spent a great deal of time in Paris, traveling and getting his business started, but it was different being in the same city, same house, waiting, all those years.
When I noticed he wasn't around, I felt that familiar unease down my stomach.. I looked around, where he had been standing, where him and Charlotte were dancing.. They seemed to be getting along perfectly. Yet I only saw her in the crowd, alongside the other women that asked to see the ring right away..
Someone was holding my hand, someone else asking me questions that I had no clue how to answer because I was certain the whole thing was scened and planned.. But I couldn't— I couldn't see him. The fake smile fell off my face as I looked around. He was not going to leave my engagement party.. Work was important for him, but not on that night. I was sure in that.
"Charlotte," I pulled her on the side, away from the rest. "Where is Nathan? I thought you two were together."
She seemed dumbstruck for a moment. Her eyes widen. "Oh," She looked around herself. "He was here a second ago. We were dancing when Jackson proposed. He was then watching with me.."
Great. I gave her Nathan Alexander Thorn and she lost him. Hell, was it that hard to keep his attention? Still, it was not her fault. If he saw some other woman that caught his eye he was probably already rolling around sheets with her.
I felt a heavy sigh leave my chest. No, that wasn't possible. Again, it was the engagement night. We had discussed it. He had promised he would be around. Not that there was any particular reason I needed him.. But was there really supposed to be a reason in this world of ours to want to see someone? For all I knew, there could be another attack and—
I stormed off with that thought in my mind. Noel had mentioned that some few days back there was some guy spying on papa and Nathan. Of course, Nathan had probably killed him on the spot, if it was only one guy, but if the attacks were becoming more and more frequent, then it was certainly not a good sign.
Before I knew it, I found myself sliding my hand up the cold marble railing of the stairs, heading up. I should had probably looked around the kitchen first, but I had some angst feeling in my stomach that something— It wasn't right. He never would've left if something didn't happen. He was probably at the upstairs study..
But the study was empty. It was only at that point that a sigh escaped me, as if I had been holding it in the whole way from the back gardens. I glanced towards his room. And then went to check. It didn't take me much hesitation. My mind didn't seem to be functioning all so well after the few glasses of champagne with strawberries. It was deliciously sweet.
I wasn't sure if I had yet snapped to reality after what happened downstairs. I did not like being in the center of attention, but apparently my husband-to-be was a fan of making shows. Quite extravagant ones since no one had been expecting that. And I cannot say I took it oh so pleasantly either.
The door to Nathan's room was slightly opened. No voices were heard, just some kind of a muffed curse of his and his footsteps. Or perhaps it was something in between a curse and a prayer. Something wasn't right. No female voice could be heard either. Good. I pushed the door opened, slightly knocking in the process.
"Nathan?"
And I found him just like I did earlier that evening, in front of the mirror, but this time pulling his tie over his head and throwing it on the nearest armchair. He saw me in the mirror.. A sigh rose from his chest and there was something else into it.. He seemed awfully frustrated when he turned to face me.
"Yes, Kristin?"
He eyed me as I pushed the door back, leaning back on it till it clicked closed. I was looking back at him.. I couldn't understand what had him so frustrated. Was it with me? He seemed awfully angry. And Nathan was never angry at me.
Not that I had never done anything to make him angry, but he just usually blamed someone else.. When we were kids. Now.. Now the look behind his eyes was dark. It was shadowy and unreadable.. The way he allowed the silence to fall over and waited for my answer patiently.
But nothing about Nathan could frighten me. Not his brawny posture, nor all his muscularity.. Not the sharpness on his face or the darkness behind those eyes.
I took in the air slowly. "You left.. And I— I didn't see you, I got worried." I was looking around the room, glancing at the shoes he had taken off, the tie he just threw on the side. And when I looked back at him, I realized it was not plain anger. There was fury there, and it wasn't towards me. "Everything alright?"
I was careful with my words, most careful with my step forward. He followed it, followed me with that look in his eyes, and focused on my hand for a second.
"Your ring.. How do you like it?" His voice was in great control, I could tell..
"It is old styled.. But it's exquisite." I smiled down at my hand and wiggled my fingers. But when I looked up, he simply nodded his head and the narrowness of his eyes seemed to had turned into a frown. "Hey, what is it?"
I found myself walking towards him, suddenly steady on my heels even after all that champagne. It worried me to see him like that.. To hear that muffed growl somewhere deep his throat as he turned back towards the mirror. The next thing to throw on the armchair was apparently his watch.
I followed it with my gaze, and looking back at Nathan, I noticed the muscles on his back flex against the thin material shirt with the way he had put his hands over the buttons in the front. In the mirror, I noticed how little patience he had in his fingers to unbutton it. He pulled once, it opened down the middle. Twice, and it was fully unbuttoned.. With a few flying across the floor.
"I do not trust him." The shirt was next to fly on the armchair. I had stopped, gulping down the dryness of my throat.
It didn't take one a lot of time— even someone as tipsy as I was at that point, to figure out what it was that some found so intimidating about Nathan. It wasn't only the towering height, but he was built robustly, with rippling muscles carved across his back and chest, sharp and broad, and smooth skin covering like satin.
He had changed since he left for Paris. He had grown, definitely. And always having considered myself to be drawn to men more lean and delicate, I had a moment of realization that in fact I could understand why women worshipped at his alter.
Despite the fact that nothing about him was gentle or delicate, he had some male beauty that he always possessed. It was— I cleared my throat, glancing at the shirt he had thrown. It was clear, I mean, why they did. Nathan was— Well, he was Nathan. That itself was enough
I realized I had intertwined my fingers together. "Who?" I finally asked, and there was something in my voice that drifted away. I wasn't sure what the last thing he had said was.. I just knew I meant to ask 'who' so I asked 'who'.
His glance as he turned to the side and started walking was quite softer, confused in a way, perhaps from my question, but still frustrated enough to have me keep my spot.
"Montgomery." It was the drinking cabinet he had reached, on the other side of his room. He was pouring himself a drink. "What did your father tell you to change your mind?" He took a sip, his back still somewhat turned on me.
"I'm still not okay with this, Nathan,"
"It didn't seem like it down there.." It was that moment he turned around, only to look at me, scan me long enough to confuse me. Was that what he was so upset about? "You trust him now?"
"I don't." I followed how he leaned on the table, how he looked away and almost snorted at my words before taking a sip. "But I trust father, and Noel.." Perhaps he too had a few drinks more than he should've down there. "And you."
I suppose I only added that to see that softening in his eyes, those deep greens trying understand something, to read me. How could he truly think that I was alright with that? Didn't he know the choice wasn't up to me?
"I had no word in choosing your husband.." It was as simple as that. He sipped from his drink once more, and then put it back onto the cabinet. "If I did—"
"What? You would've chosen someone else from the list of men that asked for my hand?" Of course the irony in my voice was clear. And of course I wasn't alright with having a price on my head so that some of those that wished for me would pay away and take me as their wife.
He out of all people knew that. And I saw that he did. His expression fell when he looked back at me. My words had effected him in a way that those strong sides of his jaw moved, his lips in a hard line as he started walking.. His wide chest rose and fell with those deep breaths he released.. His shoulders broad and stiff. He worried far too much. And I knew it wasn't me he was so frustrated with.
Then he was there in front of me. "None of them are worthy of you." A breath, an angry promise that was so low it seemed to had left some dark place in his chest.
I ran a hand through my hair, unable to focus on him from the thoughts that crossed my mind. Those words were supposed to sooth me, but how could they when I was already wearing a ring on my hand? I was already promised to someone. And I had accepted my fate, somewhat..
"Thank you.. For saying that."
"I'm not just saying that. I mean it." I felt his touch on my face, so light it tingled. "If it were up to me.." He held my chin in that familiar matter, having me look up at him and see how focused he was on his words that his eyes didn't meet mine but rather roamed around my face for a second. "I would kill them all before I let any of them touch you."
It was a growl, an assurance, a vow. He wanted me to know it. And I did because it was impossible not to take that seriously.. With the darkness behind his eyes that night, the sharpness in his words, his whole vigor that was reflected from his face to his toes.. It showed that whatever Nathan Thorn said, it was nothing but the painful truth. A dangerous truth, in this situation.
"My time has come.." I tried smiling; I somewhat did because I needed to see relief on his face. "Our words are empty words for father." But that smile faded with the abhor the whole situation dared in me. I passed by him; his touch disappeared. "Besides, I think I can handle it. I'm ready for this life."
It was me that reached the drinking cabinet this time, taking the glass he had put down and sipping. The amber liquor burned down my throat and even more in my stomach. "God, what is this?"
When I glanced back towards him, he had walked towards a chair on the side, taking a shirt and pulling it over his head. It was a slight smile that stretched his lips as he pulled it down on his chest. I found myself following his hands, the buffy muscles on his chest, those carved ones down his stomach, covered by the material.
"Brandy." I looked down at the glass I was holding, swirling what was left of it and following the golden color like fire in the glass. "You're trying to get yourself drunk on your own engagement party. That shows just how ready you are more than your words do."
His statement took me by surprise. I looked back at him for a second.. Those eyes were narrowed once again, the dimness in the room sending sharp shadows underneath his high cheekbones.
I knew him so well, I could feel every edge and hollow of his features on my fingertips. Those lines were symmetric, sharp, daring to touch.. Everything about him was. I suppose I wasn't as immune as I considered myself.
I cleared my throat. "I hate gatherings, you know this." Downing the last sip, I felt the bitterness as harsh as a ball of fire. "Especially ones that are about me.. And my future husband." I managed through that frown that knitted my brows, glancing back at him for a second. It was just then I realized he had changed his shirt, even though his pants were still elegant. "You're not coming back downstairs?"
He looked down at himself as if he forgot he had changed. "I have a long trip tomorrow." His words were dragged and quiet as he walked towards me.
I found myself tapping my finger against the glass I was still holding. I was looking at him as if I hadn't seen him in ages, as if I was trying to take in that sight of— Of all that height and broadness. I hadn't been aware how intimidating his vigor could be. And yet I wasn't intimidated.
"Right. I forgot you were leaving." I forgot a lot of things at that point. But him leaving.. It was perhaps hardest to accept. He wasn't going so far, just returning to his house that was away from the city an hour or so.
Still, there was more to it. It wasn't just home he was going.. There was more to it. I knew there was. It was another one of those bloodbaths.. Missions or whatever they called them. I hated that he took part it it.
"I have men in training and those that wait for my next command. I must go."
"I understand." I had turned towards the cabinet, putting down the empty glass. "It's just that, you're back, but.." I felt his large body towering over me from behind and it was as if I was inhaling his presence for the last time in weeks. "I still barely see you."
There was a mirror to his closet far across.. I glanced at him in it, saw how he was focused on my hair that fell down my back and felt his touch so light over my curls, it tingled. His face was unreadable to me. With the dimmed light and in the reflection of the far mirror.. It was darker, sharper, angrier if not.. But again, I knew it was not towards me.
His eyes then met mine in the mirror and I spoke again. "I miss talking to you. I have for so long now. And I thought that everything would be better when you come back, but there are other things I have to worry about now and—"
I was looking down, my hands still around the wide glass on the table.. My voice disappeared somewhere in the air. I could remember how hard it was having to adjust living without him. I didn't want to do it again. And perhaps his touch trailing over my bare back, the line of my spine and upwards over my hair was another reason for my words trailing off..
The breath I took in almost quivered when he kissed my bare shoulder.. When he left another one of those kisses on the side of my neck. It sent a wave of heat down my legs.. It tingled deep in my chest. My eyes closed.
Something wasn't right that night. His fingertips were simply a caress, but it was electricity they left over my skin, a burning trace down my arm. It was never like that. I shouldn't had— I shouldn't had mixed brandy with champagne.
"I need you happy, Kris," And with a simple press of his hands over my shoulders, he tugged slightly so that I turned around to face him. "And I fuckíng hate that I cannot do anything about this, that I cannot give you what you deserve.." The strand that was falling over my cheek was put away.. "It is not in my power to.."
His eyes held a deeper green that night, a deeper shadow that I couldn't quite understand. He really had mesmerizing eyes. Dim and dark and mysterious. It was hard to read Nathan. I just never thought it would be hard for me.
"I know.." That dimple in the middle of his chin I had always adored.. His beard slightly covered it, sharp and needly underneath my finger as I traced it. "And I told you, I can handle this situation.."
Then my hand was on the side of his face, the high edge of his cheekbone, the silky skin above his slight beard.. It was almost as if I was trying to memorize his face, the smoothness of his skin and the fullness of his lips.
He had really full lips for a man. A dark color, an arrowy cupid's bow.. He was all maleness and masculinity, but beautiful in some dangerous kind of way. I was going to miss that face.
"Stay safe, will you?" I hated the weakness in my voice. His hand suddenly covered mine, pulling it against his lips and leaving one of those slow soft kisses in the middle of my palm. The way his eyes closed erased all that anger from his face despite his furrowed brows.. He inhaled against my hand. "And think of me a little."
It was what I always told him. And he would say it broke his heart a little to hear me say it because he claimed it was no goodbye. But I knew what it meant when he said his people were waiting on him. I knew the danger of that.
And I knew that look in his eyes when our gazes met. Like green ink spilled, with sparks and shadows from the lamp. It was warmness his eyes on me gave me at moments like that, muting the heaviness I felt in my chest.
His hand moved behind my neck and he pulled me closer. I heard my own breath in the silence; my eyes closing at the brush of his lips against my skin.. Over my cheekbone and my brow, over my forehead before he kissed that spot right there.
I needed him safe. My words perhaps broke his heart but the thought of him hurt could have mine stop. His scent was sharp and familiar to me. It was his cologne and brandy and.. Him. Underneath my hands, I felt the warmness of his skin even through his shirt. I felt his chest rise and fall with the breath he inhaled against my hair.
His strong arms took me into his embrace and I breathed him in. "Always." He said, caressing my hair. There was no need for me to say it. He knew I always thought of him as well.
•••
Well seems like Krissy will be praying for our Nathan to return home safely. Men waiting for his next command.. Could it be a mission?
Comment your thoughts about this one babes, I wanna know what y'all think of these two.. How far can this affection go?
See ya soon, vampss 😉❤️