“You can’t sleep,” he paused by the edge of the bed, bending to scoop me into his strong arms. I giggled and he continued. “So I figured I’d find a way to relax you so that you can sleep.”
“You don’t think you’ve tired me out enough already?”
“Not even close.”
He chuckled, and the sound was a deep melody I knew I would forever hear in my mind, whenever the world became too much. It was a record I was filing away for later use - because our war wasn’t nearly fought and won - and I knew there would come a time when the melody would guide me through a seducing kind of darkness that would aim to hold me captive within the mocking deception of its safe confines.
Calix kicked the bathroom door closed behind him, shutting out the cold from the bedroom and encasing the warm steam from the bathwater filling the enormous tub. Bubbles glistened like domed rainbows of radiance in the dancing light of the candles lining the foot of the tub. The room smelled warm, like honey and brown sugar. It was positively divine. I appreciated the scent wafting in aromatic swirls in the air surrounding us, because I knew Calix had chosen them particularly because of me, and my unexplainable infatuation with honey.
Gently, he placed me on my feet next to the tub and I gazed down into the water. “Are you joining me?”
“Absolutely.”
I watched as Calix stepped into the water, slowly lowering his large body into the large tub, before crooking his finger at me. “Come, love.”
I didn’t need more prompting. The water looked divine and the candles gave the space a romantic feeling that no woman could refuse. Before I could count to three, I was in the water between Calix’s outstretched legs. His hands gripped my hips immediately; his fingertips coarse against my delicate skin as he pulled me back against the hard warmth of his chest.
Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back into the nook of his shoulder and sighed. This was just the kind of relaxation I needed.
For long moments, Calix’s hands simply caressed the skin of my belly as we sat together in silence. The warm water soothed every aching muscle in my body and the aroma calmed the quick pace my heart had taken to beating. I was feeling a heavy kind of peace settling over us as my lids grew tired and my breathing evened. As sleepy as I was, I wasn’t ready for this to be over.
So, I asked the first thing that came to my mind. “Why Alaska? Of all places, why here?”
Calix stiffened and I thought for a moment, that I had upset him with my question. I’d been seconds from a retraction when he replied. “I owned this house already, so there was no need to purchase new property.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t known he’d owned property in Alaska.
“It’s one of the best places to do business.” He offered.
“Alaska?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “Taxes are good here.”
“I see.” I had a feeling he was dancing around the real reason he was here with minutely interesting fun facts, but if he didn’t want to tell me, I didn’t want to press.
Calix sighed and his hands flattened over the expanse of my belly, where our baby was growing. “My parent’s owned this house.” I gasped audibly before wrangling in my shock. I didn’t want to do anything that might deter his opening up to me, so I remained breathlessly still as I waited for him to continue. When he did, it was almost hard to contain my relief.
“Apart from the shipping business I now run, this house is the only thing my parents left me. It was their vacation house, which was more their only house as they tended to live on the ships.” He gave a small chuckle. “I suppose they were kinda like modern day pirates. They loved the water, but when they began to ache for land, this was where they came.”
“It’s a beautiful place.” I offered when his silence indicated he was waiting for a reply. “They chose a beautiful place to grow their roots, Calix.”
“Yeah.” His voice was low. “I barely remember much from my childhood, but I do remember this house. I could never bring myself to sell it, but I’ve never been able to stay here either.”
“What did you do with it?”
“I’ve always rented it out.” He sighed. “I’ve had a few permanent residents, and I’ve had others who rent it for vacation purposes. It was pure happenstance that this house was available when I was in need of a place to stay - so I came here.” He tightened his arms around me. “I do a light renovation every five years to keep it up to date.”
“Will my father find us here?” I asked breathlessly. “If you own the property, won’t he look here?”
“He might.” Calix admitted. “We’d just have to be ready for him, I suppose. But I don’t think he’s going to come in this direction any time soon. In all the years I’ve owned this house, I’ve never come here. Currently, it’s being rented by a Mr. and Mrs. Butler.”
“Butler?” I laughed.
Calix crooked his head to press his lips to my temple. He spoke huskily through teasing tones. “Do you have a problem with the name, love?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“Really?”
“Umhmm.” I nodded. “I happen to like McKnight.”
His breath caught and I felt a flutter in my belly. “I love you, Nova McKnight.”
“I love you too, Calix McKnight.” I smiled as I tilted my head back, opening myself to his kiss.
When his lips touched mine every fear, disillusion, and uncertainty fell away until there was nothing left in my world but Calix and myself. We were just two souls, who couldn’t possibly survive without each other.
His mouth on mine was slow and warm, but I sensed a rushing to his breathing that sent my heart to racing in my chest. His hands on my belly, moving slowly south, were enough to spark a new desire in my core for him. And behind me, against the small of my back, I felt his desire for me grow. Deepening the kiss, I twisted in the bath in his lap, to face him. Sitting on my knees between his legs, I kissed him hard. The kiss was nearing on violent, but I didn’t care about the bruised flesh of my lips. The only thing I cared about was the fire building inside me - and I knew without a doubt that Calix was the only one who could quench its burning.
“Love.” He moaned into my mouth. His hands moved to my thighs as I spread my legs around his waist, crawling into his lap. Lowering myself over him, I felt his swollen tip against my sensitive sweet spot, and my breath caught sharply in my throat. “Slow, Nova.” Calix warned.
“I just want you.” I protested, moving down over him.
Catching my hips tightly in his strong hands, he commanded. “Take it slow. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t.” I whispered, nipping his bottom lip gently. “Please, I just need to feel you.”
The desperation infiltrating my system was overbearing and consuming to a point of painful, but Calix was having none of it. Taking my hips in his hands, he slowly guided me to his swollen cock, rubbing me against his length, working my painful need for him to an all-time, excruciatingly delicious high. I was a moaning mess by the time I felt his tip press into my entrance and I couldn’t help but marvel at the hunger my body entertained for Calix. I had a feeling that I could have this man a thousand times, and it wouldn’t be enough. I craved him with a deepness that existed in the very marrow of my bones.
As he penetrated me, stretching me with the decadent fullness of his cock, I let my head fall back on a sigh of relief filled ecstasy. My body took on a mind of its own, entirely separate from my head, as it moved in rhythmic motions against him. Slowly, so as to appease him, I moved over him. He filled me at a new angle this way, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t love this.
Gripping his shoulders, I brought my lips to his once again. He kissed me with the hunger of a starved man as our bodies rocked together as one. The water splashed around us, a miracle that we maintained the ability to keep it from falling to the floor. As his tongue moved between my lips, suckling gently at my mouth, I felt a familiar sensation building within my core - a tightening that promised blissful euphoria.
As I rode him, my breasts whispered across the skin of his chest. My nipples were tight and hard, my skin felt sensitive and I was entirely aware of him as he moved inside me, his motions even and erotic. The flexing of his hips between my legs as he moved to meet my every thrust encouraged my insides to tingle with warmth. And as I slammed myself against him, my muscles contracting with pulsating throbs, I found my release.
My eyes were closed as I felt him join me in orgasm. His head fell forward to my shoulder, and I felt his teeth nip gently at my tender flesh as he came undone inside me.
Then, his rough growl sounded in the breathy silence. “Fuck, I love you.”
I woke surprisingly late into the next day. Rolling over in the large bed, I reached out a hand in search of Calix. When I realized he wasn’t in the bed with me, I felt my heart thump heavily, and uncomfortably, in my chest.
Fear sizzled in the base of my throat as I concentrated on straining my ears to listen for him. When I didn’t hear anything - and I mean, anything - the panic that I’d woken with ignited full force. Tossing back the blankets, I ran quickly to the closet where I pulled a large t-shirt from a built in cubby. I didn’t even glance at the clothing he’d purchased for me. It would take too long to pick something from the girly clothes he’d bought, and with the worry building inside of me, I didn’t have time to be choosy with what I decided to wear. I was already at the door of our bedroom, the burgundy t-shirt pulled over my head, as every negative thought swarmed me.
What if my father found us?
What if he finished what he started this time - and killed Calix?
How would I live?
Could I live?
My bare feet stomped against the floor as I ran from the bedroom, through the long stretch of hallway, to the stairs. I took them quick, my vision already blurring with salty hot tears. By the time I made it to the base of the stairs, Calix was there. His blue eyes were sharp and his jaw was ticking the way it did sometimes when he was angry or thoughtful. “What is it?”
“Calix,” the sobs I’d been holding back broke from between my lips as I launched myself into his arms. He enveloped me in his embrace, rubbing my back with caressing circles as I cried against his bare shoulder. “You’re okay.”
“Love,” his voice was so deep and so confused. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I woke up and you weren’t there - I feared,”
He interrupted me. Catching my face in his hands, he silenced my fear-filled words with a hard kiss. I couldn’t help but think he was trying to prove to my crazed state that he was still there, with me - real, alive, and well.
“Nova, I am not going anywhere without you. Ever.” His voice was filled with a determination I knew wasn’t something that could be argued. “I will never leave you again, love. But you need to get your rest, so I let you sleep.”
Another tear slipped from my eye despite my efforts to keep them locked away. “I was scared.”
“I can see that.” His eyes moved over my body. “But you have nothing to fear. Not with me. I’ll protect you, love, and I’ll never let you leave me again.”
“I’m not afraid for me, Calix.” I whispered. “I’m afraid for you.”
His eyes darkened and he wrapped his hand around my wrist. “I made you breakfast. Come and eat something.”
My stomach gave a little spin at the thought of eating so soon after waking, but I didn’t want to protest. Since becoming pregnant, I didn’t eat until I’d been awake for at least an hour, but I usually waited for two to be safe. If I ate within the first hour of being awake, I was basically signing myself up to toss my cookies.
As we walked to the kitchen, I caught the simmering scent of bacon. Cringing, I asked. “You didn’t make eggs, did you?”
Calix raised a brow. “You don’t like eggs?”
“The baby doesn’t like eggs.” I gave a little shiver, because no matter what time of day I ate eggs, they came back up. There was no keeping them down and I’d given up.
“They are an excellent source of protein.” Calix announced, as though that little tidbit would have the baby saying,
oh hell, a source of protein, bring it on!
I snorted. My reply was dry. “So is peanut butter.”
He tossed a glare at me as he settled me down on the island stool. “Nova,”
“Calix, don’t get bossy with me - get bossy with the baby. The baby’s the one who doesn’t eat eggs, not me.”
His eyes darkened, but he finally nodded. “What about bacon and hash browns?”
I pondered that for all of - a second. Then I grinned. “I think the baby likes bacon.”
He cocked a grin. “I think
you
like bacon.”
I shrugged. “Think what you want.” I inhaled deeply at the scent of the salty deliciousness. “But you really don’t want me eating eggs.”
He shook his head, moving to the plates he’d placed beside the stove. I watched as he filled the plates with food and when he placed mine in front of me, I couldn’t help when my eyes bulged. Pointing down to my plate, I demanded. “You think I can eat all this? What is that, a whole package of bacon?”
He sighed. “You’re being dramatic, Nova. You need to eat, and you are now eating for two.”
“No, I’m not!” I was nipping that in the bud now. “I am eating for my body to sustain our child. I am not eating for two! That’s how you double your pant size!”
Calix’s blue eyes shimmered with unexpected humor as he rounded the counter to sit on the stool beside me. Before he sat, he pressed a kiss to my temple. “I missed your mouth, love.”
“Mmm.” I was already nibbling on a piece of bacon. “This is a good source of protein right here.”
He scoffed, but he didn’t reply to my smartass statement. It would be lying if I said it didn’t surprise me. Calix wasn’t one who tended to find amusement in my mouthy replies, so to see his lips curling at the corners in the formations of a grin was definitely unexpected.
We ate in silence - a comfortable silence I prayed we would forever have between us. When I had eaten a good dent of the food on my plate, I pushed the dish away and rubbed my belly. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel ill. I felt content and full. Hmm, maybe the baby liked being near his daddy as much as I did. And there it was again - his. I didn’t know if it was motherly instinct, or premonition, but I really believed our baby would be a boy. A baby boy who would miraculously have his father’s icy blue eyes and ebony hair - a boy who would grow up to be a man who was just as strong as his father.