Enjoying the Chase (72 page)

“DJ likes the idea of us getting married,”
I told her proudly.

“That
’
s a coincidence, because I like the idea too,” she replied,
blushing. She sighed and nodded towards the door. “My parents want to come in
and say hi before they leave.

I nodded. “Okay, I could get the other
person done today then too. Then you
’
ll be free to tell whoever you want,” I agreed.

Her mouth twitched up into a smile as she
bent forward and pressed her lips against mine softly. When she pulled back I
had the strong urge to grab her and trap her there forever, I just felt like I
couldn
’
t get enough of her
attention. She pulled back, and I didn
’
t even need her to say the words, I could see what she was thinking.
‘I love you
’
was clearly written
across her face. I smiled and kissed her again before nodding to the door.

 “Let him in then, let
’
s get this official,”
I suggested.

She grinned, chewing on her lip as she
pushed herself up and headed to the door, opening it and waving them in. As
soon as they stepped into the room, Tracy immediately ran over and hugged me
carefully.

“Oh goodness, Nate, you were so brave
saving DJ like that. Thank you so much,” she gushed, her awed eyes glazed over
with tears.

I waved my hand dismissively; I didn
’
t need everyone to keep telling me they were
grateful. I didn
’
t do it for
glory. “You don
’
t need to keep
thanking me. Anyone would have done the same thing,” I muttered, shifting
uncomfortably under her intense gaze.

Rosie made a scoffing noise in the back of
her throat. “No, they really wouldn
’
t.”

“No, they wouldn
’
t,” Tracy agreed. “You
’
re
a real hero.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I
’
m a regular Superman,
” I
joked.

DJ grinned next to me. “
You can
’
t be Superman,” he
protested. He looked back at Tracy and smiled. “My daddy
’
s a hero like Batman, because he can
’
t fly either.”

I burst out laughing then immediately
winced when it hurt my ribs. I grinned down at DJ, who was giggling to himself
at his joke. “That was classic. Good job,” I congratulated, holding out my hand
for a high five. He grinned and slapped his hand on mine.

When I glanced up at Rosie, she was chewing
on her lip, her hands clasped together, just looking at us like we were the
sweetest things in the world. That was when his words hit me. ‘My daddy
’
s a hero like Batman
’
. My daddy. DJ had just called me his dad for the first time.

A moronic grin stretched across my face
because of that choice of word. I guess he really was happy that I was going to
adopt him.

   George stepped forward and held out his
hand to me, his eyes beaming with gratitude. I shook his hand as he seemed to
struggle for words to say. “Well, you look like something the cat dragged in,”
he finally joked. “Don
’
t know what
you see in him, pumpkin. He looks like he hasn
’
t washed in weeks,” he said to Rosie.

I burst out laughing and nodded in
agreement. “Yeah, she could do much better,” I agreed, smirking at Rosie.

She rolled her eyes in response. “You two
play nice,” she scolded, shaking her head with mock annoyance. She looked down
at DJ and smiled. “Baby, I should really get you back to your ward,” she
stated, looking almost apologetic.

“But I
’
m not readys to go yet, Momma,” he whined.

She shrugged. “The nurse said you could
come and say hi, then you had to come straight back,” she explained. She nodded
towards me. “
You gonna say bye to Nate?
”

DJ turned back to me and sighed sadly.
“I gots to go,” he grumbled. “But, I
’
m gonna leave Woody here with you. He
’
ll look after you when you
’
re on your own, okay?” He held out his new Woody doll to me.

My heart melted all over again. “You keep
him, Kid. You know you don
’
t sleep
without Woody,” I protested, pushing the doll back to him.

He shook his head fiercely. “Momma
’
s sleeping in bed with me tonight but you
’
ll be on your own. I want you to keeped him
here. He
’
ll look after you,” he
replied, putting the doll on my lap and bending forward and kissing my cheek.
“I
’
ll see you tomorrows. Momma
said I have to stay here tonight, but I can go home tomorrows. Will I be coming
home with you?” he asked hopefully.

I smiled but shook my head. “I need to stay
here for a few extra days. But you and Momma are gonna go camp out at my
apartment. How does that sound?”

He nodded eagerly, smiling now.

“Anyway, you
’
d better go. Thanks for Woody. You sure you don
’
t want to take him with you?” I asked, patting Woody on the head
jokingly.

“You have him for the night and I
’
ll get him back tomorrow.” He bent forward
again, hugging me tightly.

“Night. I love you,” he whispered in my
ear.

I closed my eyes and hugged him back. “I
love you too, DJ,” I whispered. He pulled back and grinned, climbing off the
bed.

Rosie immediately took his place, her eyes
filled with happy tears. “I really didn
’
t think it was possible for me to fall in love with you any more
than I already was, but I was
so
wrong,” she said quietly so that her
parents couldn
’
t hear.

I smiled and stroked the side of her face.
“It
’
s the Nate Peters magic,” I
joked, winking at her.

She laughed and nodded in agreement. “We
’
d better go. I
’
ll see you in the morning, okay? You need anything?” she asked,
looking like she really didn
’
t
want to leave.

“I
’
m all good,” I assured her.

She bent forward and kissed me softly
before whispering in my ear. “I
’
ll
come back later, when he
’
s
sleeping. If you need me at all then tell the nurse and she
’
ll call upstairs in the children
’
s ward.” She looked at me sternly, and I nodded
in agreement. She turned back to her parents. “So, are you guys leaving now
then?” 

“Yeah, we
’
re getting the train home. We
’
ll come back tomorrow around mid-morning,” George replied. He turned
back to me and smiled. “I
’
m glad
you
’
re doing good, Nate. I
’
ll see you tomorrow.”

“Actually, George, do you think you could
hang back for a couple of minutes? I just want to talk to you about something
real quick,” I requested.

He nodded in agreement, so Tracy, Rosie and
DJ, said their goodbyes to me again and then left to go back to his ward. Once
we were alone, George smiled down at me knowingly. “I think I know what this is
going to be about.”

“Well, if you already know then that
’
s going to make this speech a whole lot
easier. Maybe I
’
ll just give you
the abridged version,” I joked, nodding towards the chair that was at the side
of my bed. He laughed and sat down. “Right, so here goes nothing… I know I
’
m not the greatest guy in the world. I
’
m never going to earn a fortune or change the
world, but I promise to make them both happy. So, I just wanted to ask your
permission to marry your daughter.”

He didn
’
t look shocked at my revelations at all. He smirked at me as he sat
back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. The same hard expression
was on his face like when I first met him, but I knew it was an act. I knew he
liked me, so this was just a joke – at least, I
hoped
it was a joke;
otherwise I was in big trouble.

I grinned before adding, “Just so you know
though, George, I
’
m doing the
right thing by asking here, you know, the old fashioned thing, but if you say
no then I
’
m marrying her anyway.”

The hard expression fell of his face as he
rolled his eyes playfully. “So, you want to marry her. Have you knocked her
up?” he asked, raising one eyebrow at me curiously.

I shrugged confidently.
“Not yet, but I will.” 

He laughed and shook his head. “I bet you
will too!” he replied. “I should cut that thing off while you don
’
t have a chance to run away from me,” he
joked, nodding down at my crotch.

I laughed, remembering his threat from a
few weeks ago about hunting me down and chopping it off if I knocked up his
daughter.

He smiled and looked up at the ceiling,
seeming to think for a few seconds. When he looked back at me, he blew out a
big breath before he spoke. “You
’
re
probably one of the nicest guys I
’
ve
ever met, Nate. What you did for my daughter and my grandson showed what type
of person you are, and how much you care for them. I always hoped that one day
she would find a guy that she loved, but I never expected her to find someone
like you. I would be honoured to call you my son-in-law,” he said, his voice
coloured with emotion.

His eyes seemed to glaze over as he spoke
and for one god-awful second I thought he was going to cry. I totally panicked;
I wasn
’
t good with tears at all. A
man hug or punch on the shoulder was about as far as my emotional support went.

“Alright, George, chill buddy, less of the
emotion, huh? Otherwise people will think we
’
re the ones getting married,” I joked. He chuckled and seemed to
compose himself, which I was grateful for. I liked the guy and everything, but
I wasn
’
t ready to be hugging him
while he cried it out.

“You really are a cocky little shit,” he
stated – but the grin on his face told me that it was an affectionate term.

“You
’
ll get used to it eventually,” I replied, winking at him.

He laughed and stood up, shaking his head.
“I
’
m sure I will.” He patted my
shoulder gently. “I
’
m gonna go,
our train leaves in half an hour. You want anything?”

“I have everything I need,” I replied. I
smiled at the double meaning in my words – I really did have everything I
needed now, life was just about perfect.

Chapter
Thirty-Eight

~ Rosie ~

“Are you sure it’s straight?” I asked,
frowning at the homemade banner with the words ‘Welcome Home’ emblazoned across
it that was now tacked to the wall of the lounge. 

“It
’
s straight. The same as it was straight before you climbed on the
chair and started fiddling with it. Will you stop stressing?” Anna teased,
chuckling.

I hopped down off the chair and nodded,
forcing myself to take a couple of deep breaths. I
’
d planned this day out for the last two weeks that Nate had been
stuck in the hospital for, I just could hardly wait to have him home so I could
fuss over him and treat him like the hero that he really was. Seeing him for an
hour at a time at the hospital just wasn
’
t enough for me.

“How much longer do you think they
’
ll be?
” I asked, checking
my watch for the hundredth time today. I could barely wait another second. 

Anna shrugged, selecting a cupcake from the
table that was laden with buffet style welcome home afternoon tea we
’
d made. “Shouldn
’
t be too much longer, Ashton said he
’
d text when they got downstairs.”

I nodded absentmindedly, wringing my hands,
checking through everything in my mind to make sure that everything was in hand
for the mini party DJ wanted to throw. It wasn
’
t exactly a party, just Anna, Ashton and Cameron over for some sandwiches
and a couple of drinks, but DJ had insisted on party poppers.

Suddenly Anna
’
s cell phone announced a new message, and she checked it before grinning.
“They
’
re downstairs and now
getting into the elevator.”

My eyes widened as the excitement bumped up
another couple of levels. I hadn
’
t
seen him at all today. “Nate
’
s on
his way up,” I told DJ. His eyes lit up as he immediately grabbed a party
popper from the bowl on the table. I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Don
’
t aim it at anyone
’
s faces, remember?”

He nodded in agreement. We
’
d already had a few practice runs with them
this morning; he knew how they worked.

I held my breath, watching the door
eagerly, unable to stand still. When a key slid into the lock, my heart
stuttered, but as the door swung open and Ashton pushed a wheelchair ridden
Nate into the apartment, my heart stopped altogether and then began thumping
wildly in my chest.

As DJ set off a party popper, Nate
’
s eyes widened before a dazzling grin broke
out on his face. “What
’
s all
this?” he asked, shaking his head and looking around at Anna, DJ and I standing
there surrounded by balloons and a Batman themed cake that DJ and I had
attempted to make.

“Welcome home!” DJ cheered, reaching for
more party poppers and firing them off one by one, making Cameron burst into
tears.

“
Thanks, Kid.
” Nate laughed, and his gaze drifted to me. Even from across the
room I could see the affection sparkling in his eyes. He raised one hand,
beckoning me with one finger. As if in a dream, I sauntered to his side and smiled
down at him before bending and pressing my lips against his, sighing
contentedly because he was now home and at my side and I could hold him
whenever I wanted without visiting hours being imposed. As his good hand
reached up, cupping the back of my neck and holding my mouth to his, my body
weakened and my knees trembled. He always managed to cause this reaction in me.

Behind Nate, Ashton fake coughed
dramatically, before coughing the words, “Get a room.”

I chuckled and pulled back, chewing on my
lip as I looked at the guy I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. “Welcome
home, Nate.”

He nodded, drawing one fingertip across my
cheekbone. “Thanks. You have no idea how much I
’
ve missed you.”

“And me!” DJ chimed in at my side, shoving
on my leg, trying to get me out of the way as he grinned at Nate.

Nate chuckled. “And you. I think I
’
ve missed you the most actually,” he answered.
“You been looking after my computer for me?”

DJ beamed up at him proudly, nodding in
confirmation, before stepping forward and raising one leg as if going to climb
onto Nate
’
s lap. I opened my mouth
to scold him, but Nate
’
s grin
widened and he carefully wrapped his one good arm around my son and hoisted him
onto his lap, wincing as he did it.

“Nate,” I scolded, shaking my head in
disbelief.

“Oh hush, woman.” He winked at me
playfully, before his hand slipped into mine, squeezing affectionately.

“I mades you a cake,” DJ announced. “Me and
Momma mades it this morning. It
’
s
a Batman one. That was Momma
’
s
idea.”

Nate burst out laughing, hugging DJ tightly
before smiling up at me so tenderly that my heart melted to a puddle at his
broken feet.

Anna and Ashton didn’t end up staying
long, just long enough for Ashton to polish off the rest of the tray of
sandwiches and potato chips. When Anna stood and started gathering Cam’s
things, DJ got up and headed to his bedroom without being asked and came back
with his overnight bag strapped to his back.

“Where do you think you
’
re going?” Nate asked, clearly confused as DJ
started putting his shoes on.

“
Auntie Anna
’
s,” DJ answered as if it was obvious. “Momma
saids I could stay the night there.”

Nate
’
s eyebrows pulled together as he looked at me. “How come?”

Embarrassed heat crept up my neck and over
my cheeks, and I hoped no one else noticed. “Just thought we could do with a
little alone time, you know, to help you settle in properly.”

One of his eyebrows rose in response, and
his full lips pulled up into that sexy smirk that made my tummy flutter. “Oh
really? I like where this is going.”

DJ cocked his head to the side. “Where what
’
s going? You going outs too?”

Everyone laughed, and I stood, chewing on
my lip, trying to ignore the excited flutter of my heart. It had been a long time
coming, but tonight, come it would.

It took a painful amount of time for them
to finally leave. As I stood at the door and waved, watching DJ walk off with
Anna and Ashton and Cam, I could barely stand still. Once I
’
d closed the door, I turned back to see Nate
attempting to clear away the table, loading plates and trash onto his lap
before awkwardly wheeling himself to the kitchen with one hand.

I couldn
’
t stop the moronic grin stretching across my face as I looked at my
fiancé. I loved him more than I ever thought possible to love a man.

I walked to the kitchen, leaning on the
doorframe and just studying him, taking him all in and memorising him as he was
in that exact moment. When I couldn
’
t stand not touching him for a moment longer, I walked over and took
the plates that he was currently scraping into the trash, and placed them on
the counter.

“I
’
ll tidy up in the morning. Right now I just want to go to bed.” The
words evoked a powerful lust inside me, and I sank my teeth into my lip just
thinking about what was about to happen.

“It
’
s not even eight o
’
clock
yet,” Nate answered, glancing at the clock on the wall.

I grinned and, without saying another word,
reached for the bottom of my sweater, tugging it off over my head and dropping
it onto the tiled floor, leaving me in a long black camisole with lace trim
that barely came to the tops of my thighs. Nate
’
s eyes widened before his lips parted and his tongue made a
tantalising slow sweep of his bottom lip. I knew then that we were both on the
same page.

“Oh, fuck. Yeah, I
’
m ready for bed,” Nate hissed.

I smiled and stepped to the side, taking
hold of the handles of his wheelchair. “Let me help you,” I whispered, bending
and planting a soft kiss on the side of his neck, loving the smell of him and the
warmth of his skin as I pushed him towards our bedroom.

By the time we made it into the bedroom and
I
’
d wheeled the chair to the side
of the bed, my breathing was already coming in pants. As I went to help Nate
out of the chair, he cringed and shook his head.

 “I can do it. I don
’
t want you to think I
’
m
less of a man or anything,” he rejected, awkwardly manoeuvring himself out of
the chair on his busted knee and broken leg. He hopped unsteadily and then
plopped down on the bed, wincing as he shuffled up the bed, using his one good
arm and the elbow of his broken one.

I laughed at his absurdity. “Less of a man?
Nate, you
’
re the manliest person I
know. Helping you out of a wheelchair isn
’
t going to ruin that image I have of you, you know.” That was the truth.
If I was honest, I actually quite liked fussing over him and having him need me
for things. In a ridiculously small way, it made me feel like I was paying him
back for what he did.

“Manly is a much better word than sweet.”

I chuckled, pushing the wheelchair to the
side of the room. “Oh, you
’
re
still sweet.” I turned back to him and smiled, chewing on my lip as the lust
inside me built to preposterous heights. His eyes were wild and excited as I
gripped my leggings and pushed them all the way down, kicking them off. I smirked
over at him, raising one eyebrow. “Now something of yours,” I suggested,
nodding to his fully clad body.

Without needing another prompt, his T-shirt
was wrenched over his head and tossed onto the floor, exposing all of his brilliance
and tightly bunched muscles. I giggled at his eagerness and made sure I had his
full attention before taking hold of the bottom of my camisole and, ever so
slowly, easing it up. With every inch of skin that I exposed, his jaw seemed to
tighten, and his eyes narrowed in appreciation. When I finally tugged it over
my head, his bottom lip rolled up into his mouth as he made a low groan in the
back of his throat.

I smiled to myself; happy with my choice of
lingerie for our first time. I
’
d
chosen it especially for tonight – a pink and white stripy set that left very
little to the imagination.

“Oh, I like those.” His eyes latched on my
underwear, alternating between the top half and bottom half as if he couldn
’
t decide which he liked the most. “Striped underwear.
You
’
ve thought of everything,
huh?”

“I
’
ve been thinking about this night for a while, yeah,” I admitted,
not even ashamed to say that I
’
d
played this night out hundreds of times in my head since we
’
d first met.

“Me too,” he whispered, as I climbed onto
the bed, crawling up his body but being careful of his injuries.

As I straddled his hips, resting my
forearms either side of his head, our chests pressed together, and the warmth
from his skin made my mouth water. I just looked down at him, not having any
words to describe how I felt about him. He was my hero, my saviour in more ways
than one, and the love of my life. My heart ached as one of his hands slid up
my back and guided my mouth to his.

The kiss was earth shattering, passionate
and full-on panty-moistening. My body was a mess of nerves, sensations and
emotions as we peeled each other
’
s
clothes off carelessly. I pulled back, smiling down at him, revelling in the
lustful, loving expression on his face as I reached into the bedside drawer for
the box of condoms that I
’
d
purchased for tonight.

As I pulled one out, a small frown lined
his forehead. “
I don’
t think we
should bother with that,” he said as, I ripped it open.

I gulped, praying he didn
’
t mean that he didn
’
t want to go all the way with me tonight, because if he was saying
that, then my body was sure to burst into flames and burn into a pile of
cinders.