From The Shadows (From The Shadows #1) (17 page)

Oh shit this was so not good. I needed to stop this before they both got so heated that blows were going to fly, and judging by the growl behind Nathan’s words, it wouldn´t be long before that was exactly what would happen. But I was stuck in place. Part of me would have punched Mike in the face long ago, if he hadn´t installed such fear in me for so many years, and part of me didn´t want to see Nathan getting hurt.

“No I am her God damn boyfriend and you keep trying to hurt the girl I love with all my heart! Now fucking get over the fact you lost your psycho games, and leave us the hell alone!”.

That did not go down well. Mike began turning a shade of crimson that was not to be mistaken. He didn´t like to lose and that Nathan just called him out on it had set him completely off. It was, and always had been, a game to him; he had never truly loved me. The only thing he loved was the control he had had over me and now when that was gone he was going off the deep end.

Before I could realize what was going to happen Mike’s fist flew through the air and I saw Nathan stumble a step back and reach for his own cheek. When his hand moved away from his face I saw a smear of blood on it and that was when my feet found the will to move again.

“Nathan!” I yelled with worry coloring my cry.

“Nikki, stay back!” He yelled back. “Stay back and call the fucking cops”. Then he caught Mike’s next punch with his left hand, before paying Mike back a fist to his jaw.

I reached into the inner pocket of my jacket and found my phone, but with my shaking hands I was unable to hit the right buttons to call the cops. Tears began rolling down my cheeks, making my sight blurry and making it even harder to accomplish my task. As I tried for the third time a hand reached out for mine and I looked up. Sasha had walked out to me without me even noticing her presence. “Nikki, I just called the cops for you, so why don’t you walk back inside with me?” She asked.

I looked into her eyes and shook my head. “I can’t”.

Understanding slipped over her face and she nodded before putting her arm around me. “Okay, but then I am going to stay right here with you”.

More and more blows were flying while we waited for the cops to arrive and I was pretty sure I saw Nathan blocking more blows than he took, which calmed my heart a little. It did however not stop the shaking my entire body was experiencing. I wanted to stop their fight but I had no idea how to accomplish that, I wasn’t strong or big enough to dare go in between them and I was pretty sure none of them would listen to much reason at this point. I could see so much anger in both their eyes, but what made it run cold down my spine was when I saw Mike throwing me a twisted smile. He was getting off on this; he was getting off on the fact that every punch he got through Nathan’s defenses hurt me too.

I gritted my teeth and looked over to Sasha. “How long did the cops say they were going to be?”

“They didn’t, just said that they’d be here as fast as they could”.

Nathan was bleeding from different places now, and I began worrying that he was losing the fight, when Mike began to gloat too early. “I am going to punch your fucking lights out and when I do I am taking Nikki back. You are never going to see that whore again!”.

You didn´t threaten anyone Nathan cared about. I knew that, and Mike should too, the guy had grown up with him for fucks sake. “You think you won?” Nathan growled in the deepest voice I had ever heard him use and then he hit Mike so hard that he fell to the ground. “You will NEVER fucking win over me and you will never again trash talk or fucking touch Nikki again! You hear me?!”

Mike began coughing and spitting out blood, but that was the only movement I saw from him. He must have said something though because I heard Nathan yell, “What did you say?”

And then Mike croaked. “Okay mate, I’ll stop”. 

Nathan lifted his right eyebrow. “I ain’t your fucking mate! We’re done, you’re done!” And then he turned his back and walked towards Sasha and me just as the cops arrived.

We ended up having to talk to the cops for half an hour and then they decided to take Nathan in for further questioning. Mike got sent to the hospital because he kept slipping in and out of consciousness, which served him right if you asked me. He had taunted Nathan too much and hurt me for too long.

Nathan and Sasha decided, without me, that Sasha would drop me off at home, they didn´t see any reason for me to sit and wait at the police station. “But I need to be with Nate!” I protested.

“No babe, you don’t, you are still shaking and I would feel better to know you were at home”. He gave me a swift kiss on the lips before turning around to let the police drive him away.

“Let’s go inside. I hope you can survive to hang for half an hour, just until my shift is over” Sasha told me as she put her arm through mine to drag me along. I just numbly followed her to the bar, and when she put down a drink in front of me I didn´t question the fact that it was alcohol induced.

Chapter 20

The next half an hour went by fast in my comatose state and Sasha drove me home. Not in silence though. All the way home she would interrogate me about how I was feeling and what was to happen next, but I had no answers for her because I wasn´t even able to process it myself. I did however after a longer discussing, manage to convince her that I wouldn’t go mental and that I was able to be by myself until Nathan got back home. I didn´t feel much like being anything but alone.

With heavy feet I walked from Sasha’s car to Nathan’s door and went inside, relieved to finally be left alone. Then I went straight to the bathroom to get ready for bed. All I could think of was cuddling up under our covers and let the tiredness overtake me while surrounded by Nathan’s scent, hoping he would be home very soon.

My mind was beginning to fight the coma it had been in for the last hour or so and the thoughts went amok; questioning everything that had happened over the weeks since I left Mike. Did I end it in the best way possible? Had Mike acted better if I had tried harder to talk to him? What would happen to Nathan after tonight? And it went on and on like that until I finally slipped into a deep, exhausted slumber, the stress of the day finally overwhelming my body.

I have no idea for how long I had been sleeping when a rustling of clothes made me stir. I turned towards Nathan’s side of the bed and cracked open my eyes to see Nathan shedding his clothes, leaving it in a pile on the floor. I looked up to his face and saw emotional exhaustion tainting his eyes, making him look so very tired and vulnerable, and all I wanted was to make him forget about today and just hold him close to me so he could feel the love I had for him. I wanted him to know how much I appreciated him always protecting and loving me.

Nathan crawled onto the bed, where he slid his body under the covers, into mine. “Hey Babe” He whispered into the top of my head in a raspy voice. It almost sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “Sorry I woke you”.

“’s okay”. I yawned, cuddling even closer into him. “Just glad you’re back home.. With me”.

“I’ll always come back home to you Nik” He assured me and I put my head back offering him a tender kiss.

Nathan, to my surprise, returned my kiss with an amount of hunger and need that I hadn´t expected and though I was tired, it ignited a burning lust which ran through my body; making me crave his touch. He ran his hand down my side, all the while not breaking the contact of our lips and as he reached my butt he pulled me hard into him making me feel how hard he was for me. We uttered no words, as he took over my body, but his hunger spoke volumes and I knew he needed me in order to drown out the stress of this dreadful day.

He rolled me back on my back where he settled between my thighs and when he finally broke our kiss to take a deep breath, his eyes caught mine. I could see him trying to decipher my mood before he returned his attention to my lips yet again.

In the last few weeks I had taken to sleeping naked, for the most part, just as Nathan always did, which meant there was no barrier between his hardness and the softness of my core, and therefore no hindrance for his warm, hard cock to drive me mad with lust. He was getting me worked up in no time, but I had never expected for him to do what he did next. Nathan always took so good care of me and made sure I was ready for him, but just then he slammed into me hard, drawing a scream from my lips as I threw my head back breaking our hungry kiss in a flash. I had been surprised, but understanding soon followed. After a day like today, me getting him mad, maybe even a bit unsure about his claim on me, and then followed by the dreadful fight with Mike, he needed to reclaim me. Make sure I truly was his.

When he was deep inside me, he allowed me to get use to the tight fit and I looked back into his eyes. “I love you, Nathan” I stated.

“I love you, Nikki.” He told me back in a tense voice as he began moving again. He was still taking me much harder than he had ever done before, but the anger and frustration that fueled his need to claim me also set off my own need. It allowed me to let go of the tension that had built inside my heart over the day, and before I knew it he had set off an inferno of heat within my core that nearly made it impossible to breath. I was so close to burning up from the inside when he thrust hard one last time, setting us both off on an all-consuming orgasm, that left us both trembling.

We were both having a hard time regaining our breath, after that, but it didn´t matter. There was no doubt any longer; I was Nathan’s and I never wanted that to become untrue. I belonged to him, body and soul, and for maybe the first time ever I felt a calm settling over my heart. I was finally safe, I had a man who truly did love me, so much that he would sacrifice himself for me, and I was finally becoming someone.

As I drifted into sleep in a twisted mess of mine and Nathan’s limbs, I whispered “I will be okay.. We will be okay!”

Nathan hugged me closer into him as he whispered back. “Yea babe, we will, and tomorrow we are moving you in here permanently!”.

I think I smiled from the authority in his voice but I can’t be sure because I was a goner. Going into a deep sleep where no more dark times existed.

Epilogue

Nathan

Next day I woke Nikki up around 10am. I had been awake for maybe half an hour, just lying there, trying not to stir her as I enjoyed the feel of her body snuggled into my side. She was beautiful and as she slept I finally saw some peace had come over her face. She had been under so much heartache for far too long and not even in her sleep had she been able to let go. I hadn´t told her that she had been whimpering in her sleep a lot of nights, because I figured she didn´t need the reminder if she didn´t even remember her dreams. But last night there had been no whimpers, only a peaceful smile lingering on her lips.
I put that smile there
, I thought to myself, and I swore that I would always keep her safe and help her rebuild herself. She had slowly begun doing that on her own and seeing her getting stronger little by little, realizing that she had something to give to world and that she did have people who cared, made me so happy, and I was proud of her for finding her voice.

I didn´t know if she had heard my promise before she had fallen into her deep slumber last night, but I was keeping it no matter what. Mike was in the hospital and as soon as he got better, the cops would be making sure he paid for stalking Nikki and I even after we had gotten the restraining order made. He was going down. And today I was going to take advantage of him being away to allow my girl to get her last piece of closure. We were going to pick up the rest of her stuff at the apartment she had shared with Mike, and we were going to move her address permanently. Her home was here with me, and I wanted her name alongside mine on the door.

I leaned my head down and let my lips linger in a soft kiss on her forehead as I promised “I will always keep her safe.”

Nikki groaned and began nuzzling. “Mmhmm.. What time is it?” She murmured.

“It’s around 10.” I told her, running my nose down her neck giving her Goosebumps. I loved how easily her body responded to my touch.

“I am taking you to get your stuff today. I want to make sure that Mike is a finished chapter so we can move on for good.”

She turned her face towards me giving, me a shy smile. “Are you sure you don’t want me to find my own place?”

“Yea babe, I have come to realize that I feel at home where you are and I want you to share my address.” She lifted her eyebrow, giving me a questioning look which she kept up until I took a deep breath and divulging the reason behind my statement.

“I never really felt like this was home when I was here alone!” I said, shrugging my shoulders, not feeling very manly for having to admit shit like that, but she was my woman after all and she saw right through me.

Nikki gave me a beaming smile as she sat up in a rush, taking her soft, warmth with her. “Then let’s get this show on the road.” 

I reached out for her and pulled her down on my chest. “Easy now baby.” I chuckled and grabbed her ass, holding her to me. “I wasn´t quite ready for you to hide this beautiful, naked body away from me just yet.”

She started giggling. “Nate you are crazy.”

“Yea crazy about you, baby.” I told her and then I took over her lips, the need to make love to her too strong to push to a later time.