Wicked Intentions (25 page)

CHAPTER 29

Nathan heard the shots just as they were exiting the cabin. Trading a shocked look with Randall, he took off in the direction of the gunfire. He raced to the back of the cabin and towards the forest. Easily finding the path between the line of trees, he darted in with Randall right on his heels.

Until now, Nathan had never known real desperation. It raced in his veins like hot lava scalding him until he was sure his whole body was a volcano on the verge of erupting. If something had happened to Shakira….he didn’t know how he was going to live without her. He couldn’t.

Not knowing whether he was going in the right direction, he followed his instincts and the muddy path. Panting in hushed irregular bursts and aware of Randall’s heavy steps beside his, he weaved through the thick foliage and to the opening at the end of it.

They emerged from the trees just in time to see Karyn limping across the deck of the white sailboat, gun raised and her head whipping back and forth as if hunting for something. So intent was she on her search that she didn’t notice the two men racing towards her until they were almost upon her.

“Put your gun down,” Randall bellowed as they hurtled down the dock, the wood creaking and groaning under them and threatening to collapse. He yelled again, “Gun down.”

She backed away as her shocked eyes fixed on Nathan and Randall. She turned the gun on them but before she could pull the trigger, shots rang out. Nathan wasn’t sure which one of them caught her in the leg but her gun fell to the deck, its thump masked by the woman’s shrill scream.

Nathan barely heard the agent’s screeching, as he hurtled closer to the sail boat and his eyes scanned the deck seeking Shakira. Nothing! Instinctively he turned his hunt the murky grey depths of the lake. His heart almost stopped when he spotted the blue jacket floating above the water.

Without second thought, Nathan dropped his gun and dived into the lake, his entire being occupied with the need to save her. Slicing across the water with quick sharp strokes, he swam towards her. She was face down. Treading the water, he turned her.

Jesus.

Her skin was an ashen grey, there was a swelling lump on her jaw and her eyes were closed. She looked dead.

You’re not dead. You’re not dead.
Nathan chanted desperately as he hauled Shakira’s soaked, prone form towards the sailboat. Randall was there to help him lift her on deck. His clothes were wet and heavy as he scrambled up the side ladder but he barely noticed them or Karyn who was now handcuffed to the guardrail. He rushed to Shakira who was now on her back.

Randall had already turned her head to the side to drain water from her mouth and nose. He moved aside for Nathan to take over. Turning her head back to the center and pinching her nose, Nathan took a strong gulp of air then bent. He connected his lips to hers then pushed air into her lungs.
Four strong breaths later, he put his ear on her mouth to see if she was breathing.

Nothing.

She didn’t cough.

Her chest didn’t move either.

You’re not dead. You’re not dead.

He placed two fingers on her wrist for ten seconds. There was no pulse.

Please dear God. Don’t let her die.

Aware of the tears that were slipping down his cheeks, he took another deep breath and dipped his mouth to hers. As he pushed four breaths into her, he skimmed over the strange peak right below her shoulder and moved his hand to her chest. Ignoring the wet t-shirt clinging to her body, he knelt then pushed the heel of his hand downwards starting chest compressions.

“Wake up, Kira,” he pleaded as he pumped rhythmically on her chest. “Wake up.”

On the seventeenth compression, her body spasmed upwards violently - and then she coughed.

“That’s it.” Nathan had never been that happy to see someone coughing and retching water.

She’d come back to him.

CHAPTER 30

Shakira found herself in a waking fantasy; a soft bed cushioning her body, the sweet scent of flowers tickling her nose and best of all, silence.

Sweet silence!

Considering the kind of commotion that’d been going on around her, it was a blessed relief. There were no hands on her aching body mending it or adjusting her position. No uncomfortable pricks on her arm as they forced medication into her. No voices in her ear begging her to come back. Even Eve had cut short her Jamaican holiday to come bother Shakira with shrill claims of how she was going to give herself to the Lord if her baby just woke up. Hmph!

Oh, how she’d wished to cuss them out and tell them to leave her alone.
Can I get some peace and quiet in here?
She’d wanted to shout. But her voice seemed to have locked itself in the same tight vice of unconsciousness that her eyes, bones, joints and muscles were in. She couldn’t open her eyes, she couldn’t speak and she couldn’t move. It was damn irritating.

And now finally they were gone.

Silence.

Her lips curved in pleasure as she opened her eyes. Her vision smarted from the soft glow of a nearby lamp but soon cleared up and the ceiling came into focus. She sucked in a deep breath but nearly choked on it when it scoured her throat painfully. In response, she jerked slightly in the bed but that small movement was enough to send needles of pain pricking at her right shoulder. When she turned her head, it was to find her right arm bound to her side with a large bandage to match her white gown.

Good God! What happened to me?

Bemused she turned her head again. The bedside table looked like a flower garden. Vase after vase after vase decked its tops and then trailed off to the floor. But it wasn’t the flowers that caught her attention. It was him.

He was deep asleep, his shoulders hunched and his arms propping his head on the bed right beside her waist. His hair was a mess, some of the long spikes standing on end as if he’d raked his fingers through them repeatedly and in frustration. Reaching out, she smoothed her palm over the silky strands.

“Nath-” Her voice was the rough croak of frogs singing on the bayou and he didn’t even stir. Clearing her throat, she tried again, “Nathan.”

This time he heard. He came awake slowly, peering over his arms with blurry and reddened eyes as if still half in his dreams. Then his eyes lit up. “You’re awake.”

Shakira smiled in response. “Yes.”

Before she knew it, he was gathering her into his arms. Gingerly supporting her injured arm, he compressed her body against his. As if reassuring himself he whispered, “You’re awake.”

Dragging in a shuddering breath, he angled his head and covered her lips. It was only when he did that she realized how she’d missed his kiss. It seemed like days since she’d last tasted him, months since he’d slowed her racing tongue with his, years since his lips had suckled hers passionately. He eased her into the kiss, teased her with his mouth and turned her senses on their head with his mouth. When they finally broke the kiss, they were both breathing heavily.

“What happened to my arm?” she asked when she’d finally drawn in enough air.

“I think Karyn dislocated it. The doctors had to pop it back in.”

Shakira squinted in confusion. “Why would Karyn dislocate my arm?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“Um…I.” Her brow furrowed as she searched her memories. “I remember sitting in the hotel room with you discussing Wayne and his scam. Then we rushed out of the room. You kissed me at the elevator…then…then…” her words trailed off as her memory tapered off into blankness.

His palm moved over her nape in slow calming strokes. “You don’t remember Alim?”

“Alim?” She mimicked him in panicked confusion. “The guy who’s following me?” Her gaze skittered past Nathan to the door as she combed through her memory trying to figure out how she’d gotten here to now avail. “Is he the one who did this to me? Have they arrested him? Have they arrested Wayne?” She cried out desperately, “Why can’t I remember?”

“Shhhh, calm down,” he soothed as he drew her head to his chest. “You’re with me now. It’s safe. It’s going to be alright.”

It wasn’t. According to the doctors she’d lost almost a full day’s memories along with four days to unconsciousness. Having Nathan tell her that it was Karyn behind the whole scam, and not Wayne, and that the agent had been arrested was a small consolation but not enough. She wanted her memories back.

“In most cases, it comes back within a few days,” the doctor assured them. “But we’ll wait and see.”

Her memory came back, not within a few days as they’d hoped, but a month later and in the middle of the night. And when they came back, Shakira regretted every single day she’d prayed for their return. She woke up with a terrified cry as they spilled in like acid rain through a leaking roof during a thunderstorm. They were painful, relentless and inescapable.

“I was dying.” She punched Nathan’s chest trying to push his arms away from her. “You weren’t there.”

He wouldn’t release her. His arms were a tight band around her body as he whispered, “I’m sorry,” over and over again.

“You weren’t there.” She knew it wasn’t his fault but now that she was relieving the memory of sinking into the water, rationality was the furthest thing on her mind. She could remember the icy water blocking her eyes, nose and mouth. She could feel it paralyzing her limbs and burning her lungs. It felt like she was once more battling for air as the water engulfed her.

As the tears leaked out her eyes, she stopped pushing Nathan away and clung to him as if he was her lifeline. She gasped at the relief of having his warm body pressing against hers instead of freezing water. He was so hard, so strong, so safe. She buried her head on his naked shoulder as she absorbed the comfort he offered.

“I should’ve been there.” At first she thought the whispered words against her hair were in her imagination but when he repeated them, she looked at his face. Even by the soft glow of the bedside lamp, she could see the tortured look of guilt in his eyes. “I should’ve been there.”

In the face of Nathan’s own tumultuous emotion, her own reason returned. Cupping his cheek with his palms she met his. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry I even made you think so.”

“No, you’re right.” He shook his head as a tremor of fierce emotion clouded his eyes darkening them until they appeared black instead of blue. “I shouldn’t have tried to convince you to give the thumb-drive to Karyn. I shouldn’t have-”

“Stop it, Nathan.” She pressed her finger to his mouth. She knew how Nathan was. He was quite capable of holding onto this and torturing himself with it for the next several years if she didn’t put a stop to it. “Karyn fooled both of us. We’re not going to beat ourselves up for the rest of our lives with should’as, could’as and would’as. She is tightly locked up in prison and her fellow cheats are paying for their crimes.” Her voice softened as she added, “And I’m safe. We’re both safe.”

His jaw hardened. “If anything had happened to you-”

“It didn’t.” She leant upwards and pecked his lip. “You got there just in time. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.”

“But I want to,” she teased a smile tugging on the edges of her lips. Once more she pressed a kiss to his lips. This one was much longer and she capped it by tagging on his lip before releasing it.

He let out a tortured groan of reluctantly awakening passion. “Don’t.”

“Why not?” Rising on her knees, she shifted her body so she was lightly straddling him. “If it wasn’t for your quick thinking – and dangerous driving-” She cocked her eyebrow to indicate muted disapproval. “I would’ve been dead.”

His arms snaked around her waist. The ivory negligee she was wearing was no barrier for his warm touch and it sent electric awareness cruising about her senses. Unaware of the effect he was having on her, Nathan shook his head. “I don’t deserve you.”

She tilted her head, contemplating before she nodded. “Probably. You did spy on me.”

“Kira.” His voice rose in warning.

“I’m just saying.”

“You also said you’d forgiven me.”

“You’re gonna learn Nathan,” she murmured as she bent her head, “that women have long, long memories.”

“Then what’s the point of-” Nathan shut up the moment her lips met his. The next time he spoke again was to groan, “Oh shit, you’re killing me,” as his fingers dug into her hair.

Despite Nathan’s firm grip, Shakira continued to bob her head up and down as she pleasured him with her mouth. It wasn’t something she’d ever done, but this seemed like the perfect time to begin and the perfect man to begin it on. He’d proved over and over again that he was willing to do anything for her – and this was her way of showing that she returned the sentiment.

She reveled in his pleasured groans as she circled her tongue over the head of his shaft then suckled on it and stroked it with her hands. Her heart burst with pride as his guttural pleas for her to stop. “Baby, please. Too much. I need to come inside you.”

With a pop she let him go. He pulled her upwards and with a quick shift set her on her back as he came over her. She expected him to plunge right into her. Her pussy was already contracting in desperate need for his filling. Instead he hovered over her, his cock protruding against her stomach, one muscled thigh in between hers.

He didn’t say anything; just looked at her with an undefined emotion in his eyes. Reaching upwards, she stroked the nape of his neck. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you know how much I love you?” he asked huskily.

She nodded.

He shook his head. “You don’t.”

She did. “Does it feel like your heart would stop if I walked out today? Does it feel like if anything happened to me today you wouldn’t be able to live? Does it feel like you hadn’t been truly living until we met? I know how it feels because I love you just as much - actually more.”

His eyes, dark and luminous, shone. “Shakira Dalton, I love you.”

“I love you too, Nathan Hollis.” His name was a soft sigh on her lips as finally he positioned himself at her opening and began to push in. When he sealed himself completely into her, it felt like they’d merged more than their bodies. Their hearts and souls moved in tune to the beat of his strokes.

“Oh, oh, oh,” Shakira whimpered as he pushed his cock in and out of her pussy with excruciating slowness. Each scrape against her inner nerves was like being set aflame. Her arms and legs were like tight bands around his body as her walls gripped and milked his dick hungrily with each long, hard stroke.

“Let go,” he urged, his voice muffled in her hair even as he ground his cock into her and tucked it in so deep, her eyes shot open. That last stroke hit her just at the right spot. Shakira opened her mouth in a silent scream as her pussy began to contract around him.

Above her, Nathan’s features hardened, sweat misted on his forehead and his strokes sped up into quick pistoning movements. With a growl, he sunk his head downwards and latched onto her lips. It was the last stroke. Arching her back, Shakira crested in a powerful orgasm just as he reached his.

With a few final thrusts and a deep groan of satisfaction, Nathan sunk onto the bed half over her. Shakira ran her hands limply over his shoulders as she struggled to get her breath back. When he was finally capable of moving his body, he turned on his back, bringing her over him.

With a satisfied sigh, she nestled in his arms. She felt his mouth touch her forehead and whisper, “I love you,” just before she drifted into sleep.

Safe. Loved. Complete.