American Heroes Series - 03 - Purgatory (19 page)

“I guess my point is this,” he
continued. “I should have known that you and my mom were… well, you know, that
you guys were hot for each other, but it just never occurred to me until Penny
said something. Then I noticed. I watched you two together, the way you look at
each other and the way you treat her.  You’re nice to her and you care about
her.  My dad treated her really well, too. He said she was the most precious
thing in the world to him next to me and Penny.  All I have to say is that I
hope you’re not playing with her, because if you are, I swear to God I’ll kill
you.”

Nash sighed faintly, seeing how
deadly serious Alec was. But more than that, it was as if he was begging Nash
not to hurt his mother. The threat touched Nash deeply.

“When I look at your mom, I see
an angel,” Nash said softly. “I see the most beautiful woman I have ever seen
and I would never, ever play with her or treat her poorly.  She deserves to be
put on a pedestal and worshipped and if I could get away with doing it, I
would. I don’t want to hurt your mom, Alec.  I love her very much.  I promise I
will do everything in my power to make her very happy, always.”

Alec seemed to visibly relax,
looking at Penelope for the first time and seeing her encouraging expression.
But he didn’t really have anything more to say so Penelope stepped forward.

“We had to say this, Sheriff,”
she said softly. “I hope you understand. We love our mom and she’s been through
a lot. We just want to see her happy and I think you make her very happy.”

Nash smiled faintly. “I’m doing
my best.”

“It seems to be working.”

They stood there a moment in
awkward silence, Alec and Penelope fidgeting while Nash just stood and watched
them. They were such decent young people and he felt very fortunate to know
them.

Finally, Nash walked over to the
pair and put his arms around them just because they looked like they needed
it.  The kids hugged him back, fiercely, before letting him go. Alec looked a
little embarrassed about his display of emotion, breaking into a grin when Nash
smacked him affectionately on the side of the head.

“Does this mean you’re going to
be our stepdad?” Alec asked.

Nash was caught off guard by the
question. He gave an embarrassed little laugh. “I… I don’t know. I haven’t
asked her yet.”

“Take her to New Orleans this
weekend and propose. She’d like that.”

Nash’s eyebrows lifted in
surprise until he looked at Penelope and saw that she was giggling. He started
laughing just because she was.

“Give me time,” he put up is
hands as if to slow everything down. “I’ve only known her a week.”

“How long did it take you to know
you loved her?”

“Good point.”

Alec grinned. “I’ll forget we had
this conversation if you break out your magic wallet and give us twenty bucks
for alligator ribs.”

Nash rolled his eyes but
dutifully pulled out his wallet, handing over two twenty dollar bills. “That’s
not because you blackmailed me,” he told him. “That’s because I want to get you
kids out of the house. I need to talk to your mother.”

Alec started laughing. “Forty
dollars is only good for an hour. Give us sixty and we won’t come back for at
least three.”

Nash snorted, shaking his head at
the kid. “Get out of here before I throw you to the alligators over there,” he
threatened.

Penelope snatched the money from
her brother and took off running, screaming when he went in hot pursuit. Nash
listened to the distant screaming, grinning all the way back to the house.
Entering through the kitchen door, he realized that there were appliances
installed. He guessed that was what Elliot had been trying so hard to show him.
He took a good look at the new refrigerator and stove, letting out a long
whistle of appreciation.  They were nice, new and hooked in.

“Ellie?” he called.

“In here,” came the response.

He followed the sound of her
voice, finding her in the double parlors digging through a box. Without a word,
he bent over and scooped her into his arms.  Elliot whooped with surprise as he
carried her out into the central hall, heading for the sweeping spiral stairs.

“What are you doing?” she asked,
arms wrapped around his neck.

Nash didn’t look at her as he
took the stairs. “Something I have permission to do.”

“Permission from whom?” she asked
curiously. “And what are we doing?”

He reached the top of the stairs
and carried her towards her bedroom.

“Your son and daughter have given
me their blessing,” he said, finally looking at her as they reached the
bedroom. “I gave them forty bucks to get lost for awhile. They said that was
okay.

Elliot looked at him in shock,
then surprise, then giddy pleasure.  “Really?”

“Really.”

He reached her bed and carefully
lowered her onto the mattress. Elliot watched as he pulled off his Sam Browne
and laid it across a chair. Then he began to unbutton the top of his shirt.

“Are you doing what I think
you’re doing?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye. 

He looked at her, on the fourth
button. “What do you think I’m doing?”

She giggled. “Is that the best
you can do to get me into bed?” she wanted to know. “Seriously, Nash? Is this
your best come-on?”

He pulled his shirt off, followed
by the undershirt.  Elliot’s humor faded when she gazed at his sexy chest
again, feeling her cheeks grow warm. Suddenly, he collapsed on top of her,
cuddling her up against him as he gazed down into her lovely face from the
dominant position. He was on top of her and loving every minute of it.

“No,” he whispered. “My best come-on
is to take you to New Orleans for a romantic weekend of fine dining, shopping,
and anything else you want to do. I’m going to tell you twenty times a day how
beautiful you are and how much I love you, and how much I’m looking forward to
the rest of my life because, God willing, I’ll be spending it with you. I love
you and I don’t ever want to be without you, Ellie. I mean it.”

Elliot gazed up into his handsome
face, feeling more emotion than she could adequately express. Everything seemed
to be happening so fast, but in retrospect, nothing had ever seemed so right. 
Nash was everything she could have hoped for.

She eventually squirmed out from
under him and Nash reluctantly rolled off of her, watching her as she stood up
and quietly closed the bedroom door. The room was fairly dark as the setting
sun dipped below the horizon and she went to the table next to her bed that had
several candles on it, lighting only one of them. 

Nash watched her curiously
because she seemed thoughtful and subdued.  He was coming to wonder if his
intimation of a marriage proposal hadn’t been too much, too soon, as she went
into the bathroom and he could hear her banging around. He lay back on the bed,
not saying a word, listening to her move around in the bathroom and wondering
with increasing concern if he had said too much. He wasn’t prepared for what
came next.

With the shadows of the room and
only the faint glow of a small candle to illuminate her, Elliot emerged from
the bathroom completely naked.  Her long blond hair was out of its ponytail,
draping sensually over her shoulders and back. 

Startled, but in a good way, Nash
sat up in bed as she approached. He couldn’t help but look at her, her perfect
breasts, flat belly and deliciously flaring hips. She was absolutely spectacular.
As he sat up, she positioned herself between his legs.  Cupping his face
between her hands, she leaned forward and gently kissed his mouth.

“I’m not on birth control and I
don’t have any condoms,” she whispered.  “I don’t have any sexually transmitted
diseases and I haven’t had sex with anyone since Rob died. I’m just letting you
know now in case things get out of control.”

Nash wrapped his arms around her,
flipping her over on to the bed. “They’re already out of control,” he whispered
against her mouth. “I love you, Ellie.”

“I love you, too,” she murmured.

He closed down over her and it
was only a matter of time before his pants came off.  In the faint glow of the
single golden candle, he lay down next to her, pulling the sheet up over them
both and studying her beauty, just for a moment.

Then his hands began to move,
touching her everywhere, feeling the texture of her skin before he would smell
it and then taste it.  Her nipples drew his lust and he suckled her tenderly,
listening to her soft pants of pleasure. 

Nash took his time with her, at
least at first, but as their lust built, so did the power of his touch. Soon
enough, he had Elliot panting beneath him, her legs wrapped around his hips and
their bodies fused in the primal mating ritual.

He thrust into her tight body
repeatedly, feeling more pleasure than he ever imagined possible as her sensual
body responded as if she was made for him alone. He took her once on her back,
stretched up over her, and then flipped her over and took her a second time as
she lay on her belly. 

He was able to withdraw in time
for his first climax but not in time for his second. When he realized he has
spilled himself inside of her, he didn’t miss a stroke because there was no use
in pulling out after the deed was done. Elliot didn’t say a word; in fact, when
he came deep inside of her, she had two very powerful orgasms, one after the
other, the cries of which were drowned out in the pillow. 

Nash lay on top of her, spent,
his hands stroking every inch of flesh he could come into contact with and his
lips on her neck and shoulders.  When he tried to withdraw from her body, she
had another series of orgasms that aroused him so much he ended up making love
to her a third time, turning her over so he could watch her face as he loved
her up. The feelings, the act itself, were pure magic.

Emotionally and physically
exhausted, Elliot curled up against him when their passion had cooled and dozed
heavily. Nash had his arms and legs wrapped around her, staring off into the
dim light of the room and never feeling as close to anyone as he did to her at
this moment. 

He stroked her back gently as she
dozed, his touch conveying more than his words ever could. He had no idea how
long they lay there, wrapped in each other’s arms in a world of utter
contentment, when he heard a car pull up the driveway. 

Glancing at his watch, he noticed
that the kids had stayed away nearly three hours. Grinning to himself, he
kissed Elliot on her cheeks and forehead until she stirred awake.

“What time is it?” she asked
sleepily.

He kissed her mouth. “Almost
nine.  Penny and Alec are back.”

She blinked the grogginess from
her eyes as Nash sat up and pulled her up with him.

“I should probably get dressed,”
she yawned.

“So should I,” he said, climbing
out of bed and collecting his boxer-briefs from the floor. 

They could hear the car doors
slamming outside. As Nash pulled his briefs on, Elliot stumbled back into her
bathroom and found her clothes, pulling them on and emerging into the bedroom
just as Nash was pulling on his uniform shirt. She pulled her hair back into a
ponytail, fastened the rubber band, and handed Nash his Sam Browne just as he
finished tucking in his shirt.  He took it from her with a kiss.

“Do you really have to go?” she
asked softly.

He paused as he put his belt
around his waist and looked at her. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Only if you want to. I won’t
force you.”

He resumed fastening his belt in
a thoughtful manner. “I’d love to stay,” he said, finishing with the belt and
facing her. “But this is all happening so fast. I’m afraid that one of these
days you’re going to realize just how fast and put on the breaks.”

She cocked her head at him,
moving for the bedroom door and opening it to hear her children’s voices down
stairs.

“Do
you
think this has all
happened too fast?” she asked quietly.

He shook his head. “I don’t think
there’s a rulebook for this kind of thing.  If it’s right, you’ll know it’s
right whether it’s in a day or a year or ten years. I knew I loved you the day I
met you. That feeling has only grown stronger.  It’s not me I’m worried about;
it’s you.”

She smiled faintly at him,
hearing her children coming up the stairs and being distracted by the
conversation to make sure there were no left-over signs of their sexual
activities. Elliot tossed the covers up over the mattress just to be sure as
Alec and Penelope neared her bedroom.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said
softly. “I’m not going to put the brakes on.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Someone knocked on the half-open
door and Eliot pulled it all the way open to admit her children. Alex handed
her a bag.

“We brought you guys some
alligator ribs,” he said.

“Thanks,” Elliot peered into the
bag. “Are they really alligator ribs?”