Authors: Sarah Brocious
He couldn't help his grin despite the depression he felt.
"After all of this is through I just want it to be you and me." Her fingers toyed with his hair. She loved that he didn't protest. "I love my friends and I love my Thanatos. But I'll be okay if I don't see a single soul except for you for a long long time." She took his face in her hands and set another delicate kiss against his mouth. "Will you promise me that? Just you and me?"
Nolan nodded. "If you're still want me after all this, I will do anything you want."
"So," she sighed as she looked back at the bed forlornly. "We will have to be patient?"
Nolan chuckled and squeezed her waist again. "It will make it that much more worth it, my love." He didn't voice his worry that that time for them may never come. He had no way to know how she would react to the coming events.
Raina pouted and turned back to him. She let her fingers travel back down to the buttons she had been worrying earlier. She released another and then another.
"Aelan?" Nolan's voice had warning in it.
Raina looked at him and instantly. "I'm not trying to seduce you. But if I have to wait can't I just look?"
He felt the pull of desire at the innocence in her face. "Is that such a good idea?"
She frowned at him. "Don't tell me you're going back to boundaries. I'd say they are a moot point now aren't they?" She ignored his gorgeous frowny face and finished with the last button on his shirt. She looked up at him with a smile of mischief. "May I?"
He rolled his eyes. "What would you do if I said no?"
She pulled back the sides of the shirt.
"That's what I thought," he laughed.
Raina admired him. Such perfection! Even the scar that marred his abdomen was a welcomed sight. She brushed her fingertips over the scar and looked into his eyes.
It was too much for him. Nolan cleared his throat and swallowed hard. "Okay, that’s enough of that."
“What?” Her blue eyes blinked.
He gently removed her from his lap. "You know what, little vixen.”
She smiled, and then frowned. “We aren’t really going back to boundaries are we?”
He rose to his feet and planted a kiss on her pouting lips. “What are boundaries?” He gave her a wink. “We just need to show a bit of restraint.”
She sighed as he moved toward the door. It was a lovely view, and she was shameless in her admiration.
He stopped at the door and turned to catch her. He liked the flush in her cheeks. “Why don't you go take a shower and I will make some coffee. We need to talk some things out and I need to get back in contact with Thanatos. My cell is charging right now and I'm anticipating thirty or so messages." He shook his head and chuckled.
"Do we even know where he is?"
"Well, he's one of two places. He's either hanging around this town waiting to ring my neck, or he is heading to where the action is." He shrugged. "I'm going to go find out." He let his eyes give her a once over. She looked so dang cute standing there in a T-shirt.
She tugged at the already long shirt self-consciously. She hoped she didn't look too disgustingly curvy.
He smiled. She hadn’t been this inhibited a couple minutes ago. "You're stunning, Aelan I could stand here and look at you all day."
She blushed. She felt the same way about him.
"Enjoy a long shower. We aren't in a hurry at the moment. I'll have coffee and breakfast waiting for you." His silvers softened and then he was gone.
Raina drew in a cavernous breath and went to take her long hot shower.
Downstairs, Nolan picked up his phone and, as he had predicted, there were several messages waiting for help. He listened to the first two and decided he better put Thanatos out of his misery. He dialed the number with a bit of trepidation.
"God, Nolan, where are you? Do you have her? Why did you wait so long to call me? You know what I been going through? I left all those messages and nothing absolutely nothing!" He was hopping mad.
Nolan took in a deep breath. "I'm at Raina's. I most certainly have her. My phone was dead. And yes, I believed that I know what you are going through." It was silent on the other end of the line. "Did I answer all of your questions?"
Thanatos audibly sighed. "I'm sorry, man. I'm really happy to hear your voice. Sorry it came across so salty. When did you get to the house?"
"Late last night."
"How did she handle everything with the escape?"
"I told her to wake up," he said guiltily.
“Oh Lord…did she give you hell?”
“She did,” Nolan laughed.
“So after you told her to wake up….”
"I took out the guard when he came to bring her breakfast. I didn’t kill him but he'll be incapacitated for some time. It was early enough that I got through pretty undetected. I carried her over my shoulder," he chuckled remembering her words and thought it was quite amusing that she guessed her mode of transportation out of that place. "I had to put her down several times to do much the same to a few others. The element of surprise was on my side. The three gangbusters must not have told the guards of my gifts. I think they just assumed the beating they gave me would be enough. I'm not saying it wasn't hard, that beating, but if either of the three had been there I wouldn’t have made it home maybe. I know they need me but they probably would've beaten me with an inch of my life. They certainly wouldn’t have put me in handcuffs as the guards did. They would have shackled me to the wall. The guards must have been told to keep me alive. Still, it took a few hours before I was fully recovered.
Raina told me all the ins and outs of the days she had been there and I thought out my plan from there. I took account as they brought me in as well.
I figured early in the morning like that after a night of beating they would think I would be pretty tame. There weren’t many guards to get past. As soon as I took the one at the outside door to the out, it was easy travel to the car that I had stowed away in the woods nearby."
Thanatos laughed out loud. "Boy I would've loved to have seen the guards face when he brought in the breakfast."
Nolan could laugh now that it was over.
"Are you staying there long? If so, I'm coming home. I don't like the idea of the two of you being there all by yourself. I'll call Arabella and she’ll come over. At least you have a little bit of strength on your side." Thanatos grinned. "You'll like her. She's a sweet girl."
Nolan heard the admiration in his friend's voice. "Is she now?" He so badly wanted to tease Thanatos but that would come later. They needed to be serious now.
"How is Raina doing?"
"She's up taking a shower now and I am supposed to be making breakfast. She’s handling this very well.”
Thanatos snorted. “Of course she is…she has her Nolan again!”
Nolan liked the sound of that. He couldn’t help his smirk. “She's a tough lady. For all her sweetness and gentle nature, she's tough."
Thanatos chuckled. "Have the two of you been able to keep your hands to yourself?"
"Barely," Nolan growled. "But I don't want to talk about that now. Nothing's going to happen until we get all of the straightened out."
Thanatos didn't push the point any longer. He knew Nolan was the noble sort.
Nolan cleared his throat. "Besides, if I do anything with her now she may regret after. I don't want her to have any regrets about me. Except for the obvious one that's to come."
"Bull shit," Thanatos growled back. "She will not regret you. I think she's going to be shocked and maybe upset but it's not going to change who you are to her."
Nolan closed his eyes and shook his head. "Well, whatever happens, I want us to wait."
"You know it's going to be okay right?"
"I don't know what any of its going to be. The outcome of this is really up in the air. I suppose it also depends on who will be there when we arrive." He felt a bit of panic rise up and him. "Who's all there now?"
"Titus just arrived this morning after Isaac. Emmanuel came last night. I don't see any sign of Richard or Elenora."
"I'm not worried about any of them," Nolan sighed.
"I don't think he’s coming…not yet. We have a little time to prepare. Don't tell her yet, Nolan," Thanatos said softly. "You can wait until you arrive and you and I can tell her together. I don't want you to have to do this alone. I've made you bear it all this time and I haven't been true friend.”
“You didn’t even know I was protecting her. How would you know you would need to cover for me? I’m surprised you didn’t rat me out in the beginning”
Thanatos laughed. “Well, even if I had, she would have hated me too.”
“How?”
“I was there. I knew the truth too, Nolan. I just didn’t know how involved we both would become in the lie.”
“But you never told her a lie to cover it.”
“It was for her good, Nolan.”
Nolan shook his head. “You don’t need to cover for me,” he whispered.
“It's different between the two of us and your friendship means everything to me. I've been realizing it more and more every day and when you left to go get her, and I thought of the chance of you being harmed, it scared the hell out of me. Not in the same way as with Raina, that’s different. I can't help that, it’s an unconscious need to protect. I've never felt the need to protect you until then. So from here on out I'm going to be a better friend to you. I promise you that, brother."
Nolan swallowed around the lump in his throat. "I appreciate that, brother."
"When are you coming out?"
"I think we should leave this afternoon. I'm going to call Emily so that she's not worrying. I probably will talk to Michael too since he’s home with Melinda." He smiled suddenly. "Isn't it funny all the allies that we’ve built since Raina allowed us into her life? She really is something special."
Thanatos chuckled on the other end. "She is. Now just get here. I need to kick your ass and I need to hug your girl."
Nolan smiled at the teasing. "We'll be there. And God help us whatever happens."
“It’s going to be okay,” Thanatos assured him.
“I can only hope you are right,” Nolan sighed. He hung up the phone and went to make Raina’s coffee.
Chapter 14 Silent Partner
Thanatos anxiously paced back and forth. Usually he felt comfortable at Joseph's but this time it was different. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared out the window watching down the road for Raina and Nolan's arrival. He knew it wouldn't be for another hour or so but he still couldn't help himself from growing impatient.
Turk lay on the bed his head in his paws just watching him. He was being his old patient self.
"I could learn a thing or two from you couldn't I boy?"
Turk lifted his head expectantly.
"Let's go outside," he suggested. He grinned when the dog jumped from the bed. He'd take him outside for a run and distract himself at the same time.
As they went down the stairs Thanatos saw Titus entering the hall. He gave them a slight smile.
"All is well?" Titus asked. He patted Turk as the dog came rushing to him. Turk was a good judge of character.
"All is well," Thanatos answered. "Was just taking the dog outside. Have to admit I'm a little stir crazy waiting for Nolan to get here. I'll feel better once both of them are safely here."
Titus nodded. "Why don't I join you?"
Thanatos liked that suggestion, so he also gave an answering nod and they continued out the back.
It was a bit cool outside but still warmer than any spring day back home. Thanatos felt that he could get used to Florida winters. He grabbed up a fallen stick and tossed it for Turk. The dog was quickly back. wanting another go.
"Nolan says great things about you," Titus began. The older immortal continued walking through the yard and away from the house.
Thanatos took this as a sign that he wanted a little privacy. He followed willingly grabbing the stick from Turk each time the dog came back. He launched it a little harder to give the dog a greater distance to run.
"He says much the same about you," Thanatos complemented. "Not many people earn his trust so easily. He has the gift of healing but he's also very discerning. For that fact, I decided to like you before I even met you."
Titus blue eyes glittered with humor. "Is that a fact?"
The green eyes met his with a steady stare. "I never put much into trusting anyone before. Nolan helped cure me of that."