Suck It Up (10 page)

Nathan sat there, his eyes lost in the distance. He’d muted the mated link between him and Kellie as soon as he’d left her house that day, not wanting her to feel what he was going through. He hadn’t been proud, and it was worse today. He hadn’t been there to take care of her. She’d been hurt, and where had he been? Drinking beer at the town’s bar! Fuck but he hated himself.

She deserved more than what he could give her. It still didn’t stop him from stumbling upward, staggering toward the bathroom and the shower he so desperately needed. Maybe, it would help clear his mind before he went to her. Maybe.

* * * *

Kellie had needed to keep herself busy, and so she’d taken over the practice. All by herself. The cases she couldn’t deal with, she’d redirected to the next town’s clinic, hoping the doctors there wouldn’t look too hard at the shifters’ charts. She couldn’t do anything else though. She was just a nurse, and their doctor was in hiding.

It was close to seven p.m. when she finally walked down the corridor, hoping no one would be waiting up front and she’d be able to lock up for the night. A man stood in front of the reception desk, his back to her. Fear overwhelmed her, threatening to undo everything she’d worked on for the past days. Alistair had helped, too, visiting her as much as he could, sharing his strength like only an Alpha could. It’d have been better if it’d been her mate, but it was still better than nothing.

The man turned, and she gasped. “Nate?” He stood there, unmoving, making her go to him. Once she was only inches from him, she stopped and looked up. “Are you okay?”

He visibly shook. “I should be the one asking that,” he replied, his voice husky, almost as if he hadn’t used it in a long time.

“I’m fine.”

“Are you really?”

She nodded. “It’s not perfect, but I’ve gotten past worse.”

He stared back at her for a long minute. Finally, he said, “I’m sorry.”

Frowning, she reached out for him, her palm brushing the soft cotton of his shirt. “Why? You stopped her! I thought you’d gone, but you came back and you saved me, Nate.”

“I was too late.”

“No!” She shook her head. “You stopped her before she could do too much. I…I knew she was going to rape me, but she hadn’t gone that far yet.”

He jerked back. “Ra-rape you?” he stammered.

“She had toys,” she replied, hoping he wouldn’t ask her to elaborate. She really wanted to think of something else. “You saved me.” This time, before he could stop her, she leaned into him.

He didn’t pull her closer, didn’t acknowledge her proximity in any way. Instead, he replied, his voice harsh, “I killed someone, Kellie.”

“You did. And I’m so very grateful.”

Fingers grasped her shoulders, pushing her back. “You don’t understand.”

“I do.” She looked into his eyes. “I do. I’ve been through this before. It made me stronger, Nathan, don’t you see? And this time, this time, I have you. I have a mate and an Alpha and a family. A Pride. All these things I didn’t have before, I do now…because of you.
Thanks
to you.”

“I—” He cut himself off, his forehead lined almost as if he were repeating her words inwardly and was trying to make sense of them.

“I owe you my life, Nate. I owe you everything.”

His eyes wide, he took a step back, but she didn’t let him go any further. She’d waited all these days for him, and now that he was here, she wanted him to stay. Forever.

When she’d been tied to the bed, pain echoing through every corner of her body, only one thing had made her hold on. The thought of their future together. And as she stepped closer once more, she told him.

“You saved me, Nathan. Don’t you see? You were my white knight, the one I thought I’d never have.”

“I’m not… Damn it, Kellie!”

She smiled for the first time in days, and it felt amazing. “You don’t understand. Even if you hadn’t arrived in time, I would have still recovered from this. You know why? Because I was no longer in the room with her. Not in my mind anyway. I was thinking about you, about our future together. I was imagining little boys with your eyes and smile. I wanted that picture so badly I knew I had to hold on and survive.”

“Little boys?” he repeated, his voice shaky. “Kellie?”

She fidgeted under his intent gaze. “You do want children, right?”

Something sparked in his eyes. His lips moved into the semblance of a smile, as if he couldn’t quite remember how to do it. ”I do.”

“Oh God.” And suddenly, as if someone had cut the ties that had been holding her up since that fateful night, as if she’d needed to know he was better before she could live again, her body let go. She fell onto her knees.

Pain lanced up her legs but she ignored it. Because in the next instant, he was on his knees in front of her. His hands slid down her back, pulling her forward. She fell into his embrace and rejoiced in the moment, in the complete rightness of it all.

“I love you,” he murmured against her hair.

Feeling tears trickle down her cheeks, she rubbed her face against his, marking him, scenting him as her lioness urged her to do. “I love you too,” she finally said.

She closed her eyes and snuggled against him.

Both remained silent.

Both knew they didn’t need words. Not anymore…

About the Author

Emma Hillman never plans her stories. She just lets the characters have fun and hopes the ending will make sense. It usually does.

Besides being a multi-published author of erotic romances, she works full-time and lives in Paris with a (nice) husband, a (cute) little girl, and two sweet but (very) loud pets. She also reads far too much as the postman (and her banker) could attest, but shhhh.

For more information on her current and future releases, you can visit her blog at
http://emmahillmanbooks.blogspot.com/
or chat with her on Twitter (@droptheglasses). She’d love to hear from you!

Want to read more from Emma Hillman?

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