Obsession (Endurance) (12 page)

My
cheek was over his heart and I was hypnotized by the strong, steady beat.
 I didn’t remember the last time I’d slept so much without
medication.  I was disoriented but not stressed in any way.

I
found my reaction strange since I’d spent a large portion of the last hours
snuggling with both Jonas and Jordan.  My body was alongside Jordan’s, my
knee over his thigh, my arm over his waist.  That he was playing with my
hair told me he was awake.  I lifted my head to look at him. 

“You
are achingly beautiful, Ellie.”

“No…I…thank
you.”  He lifted his other hand slowly and traced along my cheek.  I
know there had never been a time in my life when touch had affected me as much
as the touch of Jordan and Jonas.  I went up on my knees beside his
torso. 

He
picked up my hand, holding it palm down over his heart so I could feel it thump
against his sternum.  Neither of us spoke. 

Jonas
approached from the dining area and leaned over the back of the couch on his
forearms.  “Do you feel rested, Ellie?”  I nodded and he picked up my
other hand, kissing the back and wrapping it in both of his.  “You must be
hungry.  Si is making those fruit crepes you like with fresh cream.” 

Then
he leaned over and scooped me up, being careful to tuck my dress around my legs
as he lifted me over the back of the couch and put me on my feet. 

In
one fluid movement, Jordan bounded over the back of the couch and landed beside
his brother.  He raked my hair back from my temples and dropped all of it
down my back.  He gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead then he nudged me
from the room to get ready for the day. 

I
somehow managed to make it to my room without tripping.

At
breakfast, I had a long talk with Robyn and we established what she was looking
for in her position and what expectations I had for her. 

Katie
sat in her reclined baby seat beside me and I tended to keep a hand on
her.  When she got a case of the hiccups, I picked her up with a smile and
patted her back until she fell asleep. 

“You’re
really very good with her, Ellie,” Robyn said approvingly.

I
blushed.  “I’m probably one of the most clueless moms on the planet. 
I know nothing about little kids.  She makes it easy on me though.” 

That
was the truth.  Had she been sickly or a big crier there’s no telling how
lost I’d feel on an hourly basis.  “Once she hits three or four, I’ll feel
more familiar.  Once she can ride, I’ll really feel like I know what I’m
doing.”

Robyn
leaned against the table on her arms.  “I’ve met a
lot
of parents
over the years, Ellie.  You are far from clueless.  Most parents from
money foist their kids off on others like a burden to get off their
hands.  My own parents were that way.  I bet you didn’t even want a
nanny, huh?”

“I
realized my ignorance could be dangerous if there were a situation.  I
wanted one person who
only
focused on Katie during an emergency. 
Not me, not my parents, just my baby.”  Katie opened her eyes and smiled
when her gaze landed on mine.  “You look more like Grandma every
day.  So pretty.  I can see the purple coming out in your eyes. 
Get older, just a little older, so I don’t feel like I’m going to break you,
Katie.” 

She
laughed at me and I set her butt on the edge of the table, holding her where we
were eye-to-eye.  Then my daughter reached out and touched my face. 
I turned and kissed her little hand.  “What a
good
girl.” 

Unintentionally
ignoring everyone at the table, I stood and walked outside to the tiled
patio.  The sun was glinting off the pool I’d designed to resemble a
mountain spring.  Kicking off my flip flops, I sat on the side with my
feet in the water. 

“You
are my very best decision, Katie.  Nothing will ever make me regret
you.”  I scooped handfuls of water and dribbled it on her bare toes. 
She laughed hysterically so I did it again.  “A water baby.  I love
the water, Katie.” 

Pulling
my sundress over my head, I carried her down the steps and walked around the
warm pool with her.  She laughed and smiled, kicking her feet in the
water.  I smoothed my damp hand over her blond hair and she kicked
more.  I held her and talked to her.  I think she understood
everything I had to say. 

“Elliana
Monica
Fields
…are you in the pool in your bra and panties?” my mother’s
voice asked from the back of the house.  Diva lifted her head from the
patio, humphed, and went back to sleep. 

Without
looking up, I smiled at Katie.  “Grandma forgets this covers more than the
bathing suits she used to swear looked so good on me.  Moms are like
that…selective memory.”  I shook my head at her before I glanced up and
smiled cheekily, “Hi, Mom.  I think there are fruit crepes left if you’re
hungry.”

“Did
Si make the cream with ground vanilla bean?”  I nodded, containing my
laughter.  “Sweet lord.  I’ll be right back.” 

Katie
and I whispered some more about silly grownups and how I would never be silly
like Grandma.  From the corner of my eye I saw my dad walking a huge bay
stallion to the edge of the patio.  “Ellie, you look so relaxed.  I
wanted to see if you were settled in and saw your mother heading this
way.”  He paused and blushed.  “Honey, are you wearing undergarments
in the pool?”

“Yes,
Dad.”

He
gave a heavy sigh then shrugged, “Better than some of those scraps your mother
bought you to wear actually.  Please tell me you have coffee.”  He
tied off the bay before crouching on the edge of the pool and kissing Katie’s
head then mine. 

“Dads
are so much mellower about some things, Katie.  They bluff and bellow but
in the end they are thoroughly wrapped around your finger.  You must only
use your powers for good with Grandpa.  He will be unable to resist
you.”  Katie thought this was extremely funny and I held her close,
walking around the pool and humming to her. 

“You
put her right out, Ellie.”  Robyn’s voice said nearby.  I turned and
she was holding a thick towel and grinning.  I unbuttoned the cotton dress
Katie was wearing and peeled it from her in the water, throwing it on one of
the chairs.  When her diaper was removed, I set her in Robyn’s hands and
watched as she was bundled snuggly. 

I
powered up on the side and kissed her head before taking another towel from
Padme.  “I’ll change her and put her down for a little while.  I’m
truly glad to be here, Ellie.”

“I’m
glad to have you, Robyn.  Make no mistake.”  My parents were sitting
at the patio table and I kissed them both, scooped up my dress, and dashed
upstairs to change. 

When
I left my room, Jonas and Jordan were waiting on either side of my door. 
They hugged me but it wasn’t like any hug I’d ever received.  They stood
in front and behind me and gave me a full body hug pressed between their warm,
hard frames. 

It
was incredible.

Their
heads were bent to either side of mine, their mouths at my ears.  They
took turns talking to me and at first I could remember which was which but soon
I lost track of who was who.  “You are so lovely, Ellie.  So pure of
heart.  No one has ever held our emotions in the palm of their hand. 
Only you, Ellie.  We will never hurt you.  No one will
ever
hurt you again.  No pressure, no rush.  Just allow us to touch you
like this, to hold you while you sleep.  Let us try to keep the bad dreams
away.  We’ll slay your dragons, Ellie.” 

On
and on, they whispered until I lifted one hand to a muscled chest in front of
me and lowered the other to the hard thigh behind me.  My eyes drifted
closed.  Anything to anchor me, to keep me from losing my way as my own
feelings flooded my system and overwhelmed my ability to think.  My heart
was pounding, my breath came in rapid little pants.

Hands
smoothed over my shoulders, my waist.  Strong fingers massaged me through
my tank top.  They were laying soft, open-mouthed kisses along my jaw and
down my neck. 

Fingertips
tipped my head back and firm lips settled over my mouth.  A gentle
exploration, kisses across my lips.  The tip of a tongue made me gasp
softly and I moaned at the feeling of that same tongue licking into my mouth
without force.  Pulling back and kissing my lips again. 

Another
hand under my chin, turning my face to the side, another mouth dropped to mine,
another careful exploration.  By the time I’d been switched from one to
the other twice more, I was unsure if I could function. 

I’d
been maneuvered to the wall just outside my room and they stood shoulder to
shoulder in front of me, leaning on forearms over my head.  My hands were
on their waists though I didn’t remember putting them there. 

Jonas,
I think, asked softly, “Are you alright, Ellie?”  I nodded and felt heat
climb from my chest to my face.  “What a pretty blush.  We have to
get you downstairs, Ellie.”

With
that, they lifted away but took me with them.  Jonas smoothed back my hair
and Jordan lifted the strap of my tank top back in place. 

One
in front, one behind, they led me back to the patio.  My mother was in
heaven, devouring Si’s crepes piled with fresh cream.  “Ellie!  If Si
doesn’t give Cook the recipe for this manna from heaven, we are
going
to
have words.”

“You
know how he guards his recipes, Mom.  Are you kidding?”

“Don’t
you have it?” my mother’s brow lifted haughtily.

“Yes
but I’m of the inner circle.  If you spar with him I bet he’ll let you
have it.”  I winked at her cheekily and she laughed at the image.

“I’d
likely break a hip at my age.”

That
made me laugh loudly, “Yeah right, there isn’t anything brittle about
you.  You’d probably kick his butt.”  She pulled me down in the chair
beside her and stroked the back of her hand over my cheek.  As usual, I
felt like she could see into the heart of me.

“You
look so pretty, Ellie.  More relaxed than I’ve seen you in
years
.” 
She suddenly grinned, “Your daddy had the stable hands exercise Sarafina all
last week so you could get back in the saddle.  Sarah and Thadias said
Cameron is asking them constantly about when you’ll ride.”

“I
can’t disappoint Cameron.  We can go for a short ride today.  I’ll
grab my boots.”  Padme set them beside me with a smile.  Laughing, I
tugged them over the socks she’d placed inside and pulled my hair into a
ponytail. 

Bianca
said she’d let Robyn know I’d left for a little while since Katie was napping. 
I rose and kissed my mother, leaving her to another plate of crepes that Si
placed in front of her with a wink in my direction. 

I
watched as Mom slipped a bit of crepe to Diva under the table.  I raised a
brow and she raised one right back which cracked me up.  “You’re going to
spoil my dog.”  She nodded but said nothing because her mouth was stuffed
with Si’s delicious offering.  “Love you, Mom.”  Using exaggerated
sign language, she let me know she loved me back.

Dad
headed for his horse and I followed him through the back gate.  We walked
side by side toward the stables.  “Thank you, Dad.”

Chuckling,
he wrapped the arm not holding his bay’s reins around my shoulders.  “The
world is your oyster and such simple things please you, Poppet.”  I
laughed.  It had been years since he’d called me the pet name. 

I
glanced around but didn’t see his security team.  He and Mom had doubled
security but it was rare to catch a glimpse of the professionals who guarded us
behind the scenes.  I didn’t doubt I had many such invisible protectors
now myself.   

As
we neared the stables, I saw Cameron waving madly from the back of a golf cart
driven by his dad.  They were coming down the rambling path between our
properties.  I waved back, unable to keep from smiling. 

“That
boy is going to be a hit with girls in a few years.  I can’t believe he’s
already nine.  Where did the time go?”

My
father turned to me and took my hand, “It goes far too fast, Ellie.  Savor
every minute and make no excuses to anyone.”  He twined our fingers and I
saw a shine in his eyes that clenched my heart.  “You are the best thing
to ever happen to your mother and me, Elliana.  I would give every dime I
have to keep you safe, to see you happy.” 

“I
love you and Mom so much.”

His
eyes closed for a moment before he opened them and cleared his throat.  “I
want to tell you, now that time has passed and you have precious Kit Kat to
love, that I have never been so proud of another human being in my life. 
I’m sorry we lost sight of you for one second.  In the space of a blink
you and Jonas were just…gone.  Within minutes teams were crawling all over
that park, looking for signs.  The 911 call from the Vasquez family was
the most terrified I’ve ever been.”

“You…you
were there when they…found us?”  The thought of my dad seeing me like
that, broken and weak after what had been done to my body,
destroyed
me.

Swallowing,
he whispered, “You were hurt so bad.  You…you kept saying to find
Hyde.  You told Mom and me that you loved us, asked us to find him and
save him.  Both brothers had been found but you couldn’t hear us or
understand.  Of all the things I’ve been through, that was the worst day
of my life, Ellie.”  He scrubbed angrily at the tear that escaped him.