Retribution: An Alpha Billionaire Romance (Secrets & Lies Book 3) (14 page)

“You complete me,” I whisper. “You completed the puzzle of my heart that Andrea and Carson started. I...”

“What?” Nathan asks, his eyes still so tender and accepting. “What is it, 'Lissa?”

“I want to spend my life with you,” I whisper, stroking his sweat-soaked hair. “I want to be your wife, to have your children. I know it's traditional for a man to ask, but... will you marry me?”

Nathan nods. “Yes, my love. Tomorrow, we can tell the others. Tonight though... tonight is just for us.”

O
f the five
sets of eyes that greet Melissa and I when we come out of my bedroom the next morning, four of them are filled with questions, while BA just looks like she's happy to see us.

“Uh, hi,” I greet them, running my right hand through my hair. “Thanks for letting me sleep.”

“I'm glad you're rested,” Andrea says, smiling softly. “But we've got a lot of questions about the past few days.”

“And not just about New Orleans,” I reply, causing everyone to nod. “Okay, so which do you want, the news about what happened in New Orleans or what happened last night?”

“Bad news first,” Jackson says, shaking his head. “I want to end this all on a high note. And I heard enough to know the news between you two is good.”

I glance at Melissa, who nods. Our little decision can wait a little bit. “Okay guys. But if you don't mind, can we do it outside? I could use some fresh air.”

“Why not?” Carson says, standing up. “Hey Katrina, you mind if I hold my niece for a bit?”

BA is happy with the arrangement, nestling against Carson in her little sling as we head out behind the main house, where I see the truck I bought, parked in a different spot than where I stopped when I pulled up. “So I guess you and Jackson drove it down to town?”

“Yep. Nice ride, man,” Carson says, running his hand over the front fender of the five year old GMC Super Duty. It's not a Duramax diesel, but the engine's got plenty of power, and it's still a crew cab. “You certainly upgrade when you get my stuff crushed up.”

“Well, that and I have to ask you to lend me a pistol out of your collection,” I tell him, sighing. “I liked that Colt, too. Had it totally tweaked to my needs.”

Carson shrugs and pats the hood of the truck. “No problem, I brought another 1911 with me. So what happened down there, anyway?”

I tell them everything about what happened, not wanting to give the gory details but forcing myself to, even though I can see from the look on her face that Melissa's happy she hasn't had breakfast yet. Jackson and Andrea take it hardest, they both knew Margaret better than I did. Even if she was a terrible excuse for a mother, she was the woman that Jackson called Mom for most of his life.

“Jesus...” Jackson finally says after I finish the New Orleans part of my story, lowering his head and leaning against the truck. “Jesus. And she did it just to fuck with your head?”

“I doubt it was just that,” I tell Jackson, hoping to move on quickly. “If she just wanted to divert my attention, Isis would have left Margaret alive long enough to distract me, killing Margaret cleanly afterward. No, I thought about it on the drive back, she did it under orders.”

“You mean... Peter wanted that done to her?” Andrea asks, pale with disgust. “Why would... I'm sorry, I need a minute to settle down.”

She walks away, heading into the trees where we hear the sound of retching for a minute, then she comes back, wiping her lips with the back of her sleeve. “Sorry. Pregnancy, you know?”

“It's not just that,” I reassure her, pushing on. “I suspect Peter is going over the deep end. Isis is a crazy bitch, but she does draw a line. At least, she used to. She is more like what happened later.”

“So what's this about you getting shot in the ass, anyway?” Katrina asks, forcing a chuckle. Anything to change the subject from Margaret getting a Colombian necktie. “Did she really put one in your butt?”

“Yep. When she tried to collect the contract on my head the last time, I was nearly as lucky as this time, but she grooved me a good one,” I say, turning to the side and unbuttoning my pants. I'm not trying to show off my ass, but the forced humor is needed, and I understand what Katrina's trying to do. The scar is pretty impressive, starting about two-thirds of the way to the outside of my butt and halfway down, just where the muscle is at its biggest before arcing up to end right at where the waistband of my pants lies, and is about two fingers wide for most of it. “Ironically, I was jumping out a window last time when she shot me, that time with my own pistol. I was lucky, I'd mistimed my jump and caught some of the ledge of the window on my thighs which flipped me down, or else you guys wouldn't be talking with me right now.”

I pull my jeans up, snapping up and buckling my belt quickly. “So after that, I dumped Carson's truck. Sorry Carson, I tried to get anything personal out of it.”

“When did you start getting a fever?” Jackson asks, his eyes hardening as the news of his mother's death starts to sink past the initial shock. “In Memphis?”

“About,” I agree. “I had to drive super calm all the way out of Louisiana, and I didn't get that shirt until I stopped for gas in Brookhaven, Mississippi.”

“Let's cut to the chase. What now?” Andrea asks.

“What do you mean?” Melissa asks nervously. “Taking the fight to them?”

“I think Andrea means yes and no,” I answer her, taking her hand. “We need some sort of advantage. Peter has the advantage in New Orleans, with the people who still owe him favors, and Isis. She is too good for us to take her and Peter down without one of us getting hurt or even killed.”

“So what do we do? Spend the rest of our lives here?” Melissa asks, and I shake my head. “What?”

“We can’t stay here the rest of our lives, no matter how wonderful a retreat this is,” I tell her gently. “I'm sure people in town are already wondering about us, and with Andrea's baby coming, we can’t just stay up here the whole time. MCS needs us, and more. So we take the fight to Peter, but with help.”

“Who do you know?” Jackson asks, seeing where I'm going.

“I know some men, good men I used to work with in the Special Forces and some less than good men during my time afterward that might be willing to take a contract on Peter. But to go against him or Isis is going to be expensive,” I say, thinking. “I’ll be honest, I don't know if I have the money immediately available to guarantee loyalty. I mean, I have it, but it's tied up offshore.”

“How much are we talking?” Carson asks, and I tap the hood of the truck, calculating in my head.

“At a minimum? Even my closest contacts would not take on Isis for less than a million. For Peter, too? Two million in cash possibly, plus expenses. Whoever takes a contract on Peter knows they will be pissing off a lot of very heavy hitters in the Gulf Coast area. A group like the people I am thinking of has to know they are getting enough to pay for the futures of their widows and children.”

Everyone looks around, knowing the full gravity of what I'm saying. The men and women I want to hire aren't criminal scum, I can't trust that sort of operator. That sort of person would turn on us as soon as the going got tough, or Peter offered them a better cut to turn on us. The people I need to hire are professionals, as professional as Isis, as unfortunate as it sounds to call that psycho a professional.

“Can someone do it without dying?” Katrina asks, and I shrug.

“If they get lucky, and they have time, maybe. I'll need to make some phone calls to see what Major Munchak can assemble for me. He works with some of the best in the country.”

I look around at everyone, and can see it in everyone's face. Once we cross this line, there's no going back. Ironically it's Melissa who nods first, followed by Jackson, then the others. “Okay. I'll make the phone calls this afternoon.”

“Good,” Andrea says, then forces a smile. “So, now that we've gotten that nasty bit out of the way, the good news?”

I look at Melissa, who blushes and takes my hand. “Do you want to tell them or should I?” I ask, and Melissa looks up, smiling. “Okay, you do it.”

“Well, I asked Nathan something,” Melissa continues, moving close enough that I wrap her in a hug. “I asked Nathan to marry me. Uh, Andrea, Carson, do you guys mind if maybe your little ceremony becomes a double wedding?”

“Mind?” Carson asks with a smile and a laugh after the shock of Melissa asking me to marry her wears off. “Of course not. In fact, that sounds like the best idea ever.”

“Well
y’all
don’t waste any time, do you?” Andrea asks smiling. “But seriously, of course we don’t mind. At this pace we're going to have to rename ourselves to the Brady Bunch by spring.”

* * *

I
'm watching
the sunset while the girls are all inside preparing dinner. I don't really think it’s needed, but Katrina insisted. “Besides,” she told me as she shooed me out the door, “we already bought the steaks. So if not tonight, when?”

Her logic was pretty much inarguable, so I'm out here now, watching the sun go down in the west over the last of the hills. I'm thinking of the bloody road ahead of us, and how much I wish it didn't have to happen. Jackson and Carson are in the chapel getting some exercise in, and I think I'd rather take a day to just finish healing up. Besides, I got engaged today, doesn't that grant a man a day off from exercise?

Just as the sun dips below the horizon, Carson comes out, tugging his sweatshirt straight as he comes over while Jackson goes inside. “Hey Nathan, how's the sunset?”

“Dramatic. How was your workout?” I ask, and he chuckles. “What?”

“I thought I could fight before getting to know you people,” he says with a discouraged shake of his head. “I mean, I scrapped all the time when I was younger, usually starting shit with guys who'd harass Melissa until the word got around, but you guys hand me my ass every time I try to do anything.”

I hum, and watch the sky some more. Carson stays totally still, patient in the way that I can appreciate, waiting for me to reply. “You know, the thing that makes American Special Forces so damn good isn't that each person in the team is a superman?”

“Really? Then what does?”

“Teamwork,” I reply, choosing my words carefully. “We all acknowledged and coordinated with each other. In that team, I knew the strengths and weaknesses of each of my brothers, and I trusted my leaders to put us in the right places at the right time. Carson, each person in this family has their strengths and weaknesses. Jackson's our heavy hitter, Katrina's our hacker, and if I go down I expect her to be the leader. Andrea's smart, even if she isn't a fighter, although she could be. You... you're our patience, and our sniper. If Isis ever comes here, you're the one I'd want to counter her with a rifle.”

“I've never fired a rifle in my life though,” Carson says, squatting down. “And playing with pistols doesn't exactly make me a great sniper.”

“Being a good sniper has nothing to do with what toys you play with,” I tell him, smirking. “Sure, you have to become one with your weapon, but you do that already with your pistols. But the important thing is something that either you have, or you don't. I've got it a little bit, Katrina less than me. Jackson doesn't have it at all. Andrea has it to a degree. It's a deep well of stillness, of patience and control that you can apply when you need to. That, more than anything, is what your biggest strength is.

“I notice you didn't mention Melissa,” Carson says quietly, and I shrug. “Because she can't fight?”

I stand up, watching the first stars come out. “She’s not a fighter. She's something even more important, at least to me.”

“What's that?” Carson asks, and I turn to him, clapping him on the shoulder.

“The thing that every warrior needs, even more than the bonds of brotherhood within the team. Every warrior needs a reason to fight. That's 'Lissa for me. She’s my heart, my soul, and the reason I’m willing to continue to wade through hell if needed in order to finish this. BA is the reason for Katrina and Jackson, and was my reason before. Now... it’s her.”

Carson stops, then claps me on the back. “Thank you, Nathan. You’re the man good enough for my Melissa.”

Before I can reply, the back door opens, and Melissa sticks her head out. “Hey guys! Dinner's ready!”

“Let's celebrate.”

I
watch
as my mother fades, the light in her eyes dimming even as she falls back onto the bed, and I wake up, a scream barely held behind my lips, my eyes flying open in the dim orange light.

“Shh,” Nathan says, my fear immediately dissolving as his arms wrap more tightly around my waist. We stayed out here in the big room tonight, the couch is wider and more comfortable than Nathan's bed, something we're going to fix tomorrow. Everyone talked about it after dinner, and we're going to take Andrea and Carson's recommendation to abandon the metal frame and lay our mattresses directly on the floor. “Shh, I've got you.”

“Nathan,” I say, sighing happily as his hands run over my stomach. “Thank you. Did I wake you?”

“A little, but I was only sleeping lightly,” he confesses, kissing me on the back of the neck and behind my ear. “I can’t believe how wonderful it feels to have you in my arms, and I have been lying here, convinced I'm out of my mind. I still can’t believe I’m getting married.”

“I can barely believe you said yes,” I whisper, squirming on the couch and turning over while not moving from Nathan's embrace. “And I've never been happier in my entire life. Can you tell me why? What turned it around so much for you so quickly?”

“I suppose you won't believe me if I just say waking up with you in my bed was enough?” Nathan teases, kissing the hollow of my neck again and sending a wonderful shiver down my spine. “That when all else failed, using the oldest tool in a woman's arsenal was more than enough?”

I chuckle. “Mmm, yes and no. I know you've seen me pretty well stripped down in the months at the farm. So if it was just my body, you'd have tried to make a move a while back. So there had to have been something else.”

“There is. It is a bit of a mood killer though, maybe.”

“That's okay,” I protest, sitting up and already missing his lips on my neck and his hand on my breast. “I really want to know, Nathan. Please? Does it... does it have something to do with Isis?”

“A bit,” he says, sitting up. “Before Isis, there was her half-sister, Aisha. She was the woman who, until I met you, was the love of my life. I was considering spending the rest of my life with her until she was killed in Iraq.”

“You've never told me all the details, but I've heard the name before. She sounds like she was a remarkable woman. I'm not jealous, if you are wondering.”

Nathan gives me a smile and puts an arm around my shoulder, holding me comfortingly. “I have never doubted that. But that same love was twisted, perverted by Isis. It was never about love with her. She took the love I had for Aisha and turned it on itself, used it to twist me up in knots. And I have never been able to forgive her or forgive myself for that perversion.”

“So you stayed away from me because you didn't want to pervert your feelings?” I ask, and Nathan nods. “What changed?”

“Seeing her again, trying to seduce me again. But I was never attracted, never felt anything but revulsion, and I realized something about it as I drove back here.”

“What?” I ask, leaning against him and relaxing into his chest, enjoying the feel of his body under my hand.

“That it is not what we do, it's the feeling behind it that makes it good or bad,” Nathan says, rubbing my shoulder. “Like Carson and Andrea.”

“Okay. I have to admit, last night you surprised me. I guess I got too used to listening to Carson and Andrea. They get... pretty athletic.”

Nathan laughs softly and nods. “If you mean they can get kinky as hell, I agree. But everything they do, is all in the spirit of love. They don't have to ever be ashamed or shy about anything they do. Some people would say Andrea's hurting women or something by being submissive to Carson, but look at her, she’s a strong woman.”

“I know.” I sigh and rub his chest. “I just don’t think I’d ever be into something like that, but you never know.”

He gives me a look, and I continue. “Can you show me what you enjoy doing most?”

Nathan's eyes twinkle and he nods. He slides off the couch and kneels in front of me, reaching for the waistband of my pants. I lift my hips and he slowly pulls my sweatpants off, his eyes widening as he looks at me. “Even more beautiful in the light.”

He leans in, kissing me tenderly before whispering in my ear. “What I want to do more than anything else is to lick your pussy.”

I shiver at the power and passion in his voice and nod, feeling sexy. Even last night, when he and I came together, I didn't feel this sexy and desired, and I whimper as he kisses his way down my neck. He pushes my t-shirt up to expose my upper body to him before pausing, his eyes teasing me as his tongue snakes out to lick around my breast. I can feel ripples of heat building inside me as he circles around my nipple, a smile on his face as he licks. I run my hands through his hair again and offer my breast to him, gasping as his tongue flicks over my nipple, a teasing jolt of pleasure that rockets down my body to the heat that's building between my legs, the space between my thighs wet and quivering in anticipation.

“My love,” he whispers, kissing lower, pausing when I giggle as he kisses my stomach. “Ticklish?”

“Very,” I warn him, “please don't.”

“I won't,” he promises, lowering himself more until his breath tickles the warm wetness between my thighs.

Nathan looks up at me as he brings his tongue to touch my lips, heaven exploding in my mind as he drags his tongue up gently, slipping between and setting my nerves on fire.

“Oh my God...” I groan, leaning back and sliding my hips forward, spreading my knees as far as I can, begging him silently to do it again.

I want to sing out my joy at the feelings that crash through my body as Nathan licks again and again, warm waves when his tongue is outside me but growing sharper, more intense when the tip of his tongue parts my lips and he tastes the pink inner folds of my most intimate of places. But I can't, my mind whirls and I'm dizzy with the amazing pleasure as he guides me, building me up and showing me a level of pleasure I've never even thought possible. Instead, all I can do is moan and breathe, holding Nathan's head as he tastes me over and over, his mumbles of pleasure adding to the feeling.

I feel his tongue touch me higher, higher toward the top of my pussy, pausing before suddenly giving my clit a flick. My hips jerk and I buck, grinding my pussy into his lips even as he brings his hands up to hold my hips and thighs, his tongue flicking back and forth, each touch sending me to new spasms. I lose control, thrashing and crying out uncontrolled as my first orgasm rocks me, but Nathan doesn't stop. Instead he flicks faster and harder, building me up fast and hard. I'm barely able to breathe, my chest hurts I'm aching for air, but my lungs won't pull in any more, and my body is totally in his control. I almost feel like I'm dying, but I don't care, it feels so amazing and so good.

Nathan sucks at my clit, and I come again, my body going stiff, harder than I ever thought possible, wetness shooting out of me to cover his eagerly lapping tongue until my lungs give out and I go gray temporarily, my vision shutting down. In the semi-darkness, I feel him let go and his hand rest on my chest, comforting and supporting me, letting me know that he's there, that I'm safe, and that no matter what, I have nothing to fear.

When I come to, I'm smiling gently, and Nathan is still kneeling between my legs, a gentle smile on his face. “That... that was what heaven feels like.”

I smile and look down between his legs, where he's so hard he's tenting his sweats, bulging straight out. “What about you?”

Nathan looks down and chuckles, reaching into his pants to adjust himself. “Later. Your body's been through enough for a little while, I can see it in your eyes.”

My heart melts again at his words, which are delivered with such patience and love that I don't feel bad at all. Instead, I let him help me on with my panties and sweats again, my body so boneless I can't even shift myself back onto the couch to lie down, Nathan rolling himself behind me so I can lie against him, sleep tugging at my eyelids even before he wraps his arms around me again.

“Mmm, Nathan?”

“Yes, my love?”

“Next time I have a nightmare, can you do that again?”

“Happy to. Goodnight.”

I try to answer, but I can't, my body has already given up, and sleep drops over me like a black curtain, one that is warm, comfortable, and loved.

* * *

“
H
ey sleepyheads
.”

My eyes flutter open to see Andrea kneeling next to the couch, an amused and loving expression on her lips. “Good morning, Andi.”

“Good morning, sis. Comfortable?”

I pull Nathan's arms tighter around me, nodding sleepily. “Very.”

“Good. Listen, the four of us are going to go get a workout in together in the woods, you mind if we leave BA here with you?”

I shake my head, smiling. “That'd be nice. What time is it, anyway?”

“Six fifteen. You two rest.”

I smile, snuggling down into Nathan's arms some more. “Mmm, sounds good.”

Andrea gets up and leaves, and I close my eyes, eager to get what sleep I can until BA wants to get up.