Hush - Fighting Fate #2 (35 page)

I hummed in agreement, weakly nodding my head. Running my hands over his back, I pressed a kiss to his shoulder and breathed him in. I loved
his scent. To me, it meant safety. Protection. Home.

He went to pull back, but I wasn’t ready yet.
I needed him close for a little while longer. I tightened my hold, keeping my lips pressed to his skin, breathing him in.

Noah sighed and relaxed again, his warm breath
amazingly soothing over my neck.

“I don’t want to crush you,” he murmured, his fingers tangling in my hair.

I made some sort of noise of disagreement, continuing to smooth my hands over his skin, listening to him sigh in contentment and feel him breathe against my skin.

After a few more minutes, I sighed. “I didn’t realize it would feel so different without a condom.”

Noah pulled back, ultimately unjoining our bodies. I shivered. He looked down at me with a sheepish kind of expression that confused me.

“Uh…that may have had something to do with my other new piercing…”

His words took a few moments to process, then I gawked at him. “You got it pierced?”

He smirked. “If
by ‘it’, you mean my cock, then yes, I did.”

I automatically looked down, but he was still lying between my legs so I couldn’t see. “Seriously? Show me.”

He chuckled, but he didn’t move. “But it looks more impressive when I’m hard…”

I searched his face to try to figure out if he was just teasing me, but then he rolled over beside me, onto his back, and I saw it.

“Oh my god, Noah,” I said, shifting to sit up as I stared at it. It looked kind of like a bar that went through from the top side of the head, all the way through to the underside, with a silver ball on either end. I could just visualize how that would rub inside me. No wonder it felt good. “Didn’t it hurt?”

His hand smoothed over my spine, sneaking under my hair, making me shiver. “Like a bitch,” he said. “But I was having a hard time with everything while I was in rehab and I just wanted to feel something real.”

I shook my head. “So you decided getting something stuck through your dick would do the trick?”

He laughed. “Something like that.”

As his laugh washed over me, I gazed back at him in wonder, letting my eyes run over his gorgeous body. Now that the urgency of wanting him had been satisfied, I was starting to notice things about him that were really quite obvious now. The disappearance of tattoos for example.

The one that had been on his pec was still visible, but only just. And the one that’d been on his neck was completely gone. It was fascinating.

Moving myself around so I could touch him more freely, I stroked his pec. “How did you get rid of the tattoos?”

Shifting so his hands were behind his head, he gazed down at my hand. “Laser treatment. I’ve still got a couple to go on that one before it’s totally gone, but the one on my neck was gone after the first treatment.”

“Really? I didn’t even know you could get rid of a tattoo once you had it.”

“Some are harder than others I think. The one on my neck was easier because it was an amateur job. And that one was relatively easy because of the colors. Apparently some colors are more difficult to remove than others.”

I ran my fingers over the barely visible lines before letting my gaze wander to his arms. “Can I see?”

He watched me intently as he placed one arm across my lap. I studied the intricate design with fascination. It was a dragon, wrapped around the entire length of his arm, from the tail on the back of his hand, to the fire breathing head up over his shoulder. I was amazed by the detail in it. It must’ve taken ages to do.

Flicking my gaze to his other arm, I reached for it and he offered it to me with the same intense gaze. This one was more of a mixture of things. I could see claw marks mingled with the churning sea, old parchment with script on it, an amazingly detailed angel statue and what looked like the devil surrounded by flames.

I shook my head, bewildered. I honestly could spend hours gazing at them both and still not see every little detail that had been inked there.

Looking up, I met his cautious gaze. “They’re amazing.”

His face seemed to soften with my words, and I realized he’d been worried about what I thought.

Letting my gaze drift back over his body, I saw what I’d missed before. On his shoulder there was a puckered scar, about the size of a quarter. My heart started beating faster when I realized what it was then, searching down to his stomach, I found another one.

I swallowed. “Are these from bullets?”

His expression turned weary again. I knew he was picking up on my anxiousness, but I didn’t know how to pretend to be otherwise. I hated that he’d been shot.

He didn’t answer me other than to hum in confirmation.

I touched them reverently in turn then turned my sad gaze on his. “How did they happen?”

He sighed. “The one in my shoulder was from S.W.A.T. He didn’t have much
of a choice. It was either that or blow my cover.”

I felt the horror in my expression.
“He shot you on purpose?”

He
shrugged. Freaking shrugged! “It was just a shoulder wound.”

I shook my head. It was spinning so fast I was having trouble remembering the sequence of events.
I remembered his stomach bleeding, but not his shoulder.

“Was that before or after you saved me?”

“Uh…” He shifted uncomfortably. “After.”

I glanced down at the mark on his stomach. “So, this one happened while you were saving me?”

Another uncomfortable look. “Uh…yeah, that was from Pock.”

My eyes widened
as reality hit me. “Pock was shooting at me?”

Noah cringed before clenching his jaw. It seemed it was still a tender topic for him.

I shook my head slowly, trying to comprehend the enormity of what he was telling me. I looked down, not knowing how to even start explaining my gratitude.

“You sacrificed so much,” I whispered, looking back up to meet his perfect hazel gaze. “I don’t know how I could ever thank you for what you did for me.”

He shook his head, his eyes flickering with something that made my heart ache. “You don’t need to do anything, Kaeli,” he said, brushing his thumb over the side of my face. “You don’t know how much you gave to me in those last couple of months while I was at the Den. You were like a tiny ray of light to the world of darkness that had suffocated me for so long. When you came, I found I could finally breathe again. You gave me purpose and strength to finish what I’d started. I honestly don’t think I could’ve done it without you.”

A hint of a smile touched my lips.
“So, we saved each other then…”

His face softened in response.
“I guess so.”

Chapter 60

Noah

Being back inside a high school was more than a little strange. Although it’d only been two years since I’d been in one, it felt like
forever, and as I watched the graduating students of Kaeli’s year throw their caps in the air and cheer, I couldn’t help but feel a little envious.

I remembered being there. The thrill of the unknown
. A future with endless possibilities. Naivety.

I knew the world I’d been thrown into
after graduating wasn’t by any means the norm when it came to the ‘real world’, but after everything I’d been through since I’d left the academy, I thought it’d be nice to go back to a time when the worst I had to worry about was waking up on time. It excited me to think, from here on out, that might actually be a possibility.

Kaeli and I had lain awake for a long time the night before, talking about the past and the future.
I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when she told me she was going to nursing school. I could easily see her filling that role. She was just a natural at wanting to look after people, and I knew first hand that she wasn’t squirmish when it came to gore.

Talking about her future
got me thinking though. A lot. I liked being a cop, but I wanted more. I wanted to aim higher. I wanted to be something Kaeli could be proud of. Something that would enable me to support a family should the time come.

After I’d dropped Kaeli home
that morning, I’d gone in to talk to Walt, my captain, and together, we’d managed to work out an arrangement that seemed to benefit the both of us. To say I was a little excited was an understatement. And I couldn’t wait to share it with Kaeli.

As she came bounding over to where I was standing with her mom, she surprised me by throwing herself into my arms.
She kept doing that. Surprising me. I didn’t know what she saw in me, but I was fucking happy she did.

Laughing, I squeezed her hard, lifting her off her feet
and swinging her around, hoping I wasn’t going to take anyone out in the process.

“Congratulations, beautiful,” I whispered in her ear.

She squeezed me harder, slowly lowering herself to the ground. When she smiled up at me, my heart stumbled. Damn, she was gorgeous.

“Thanks,” she said sweetly.

I watched her turn to her mom and hug her too. Mel had tears streaming down her face, but she was smiling with pride.

“I’m so proud of you,” she said, laughing
as she swiped at her tears. “Your father would’ve been too. I wish he could’ve been here to see.”

Kaeli hugged her again and I saw tears glisten in her own eyes. “Thanks, Mom.”

Another pair of arms went around them, then another, and before I knew it, they were swamped. It didn’t take me long to realize it was her friends. I’d yet to meet them all - that was supposed to be happening later that night, but I recognized Mia, Jace and Aiden.

When they broke apart, one of the girls, tall and blonde, moved closer to me, her
blue eyes curious. “Hi. I’m Amber, one of Kaeli’s friends.”

I smiled. I liked this girl. She oozed confidence, but not in a flirty way. I shook her outstretched hand. “Noah,” I said.

“So, what do you do, Noah?” she asked, mischief in her eyes.

I smirked at her. I knew all of Kaeli’s friends knew I was a cop, but Kaeli had convinced them all to keep it low key until I went back on duty.

“Just keeping my options open at the moment.”

She smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

I looked up when Aiden squeezed in and threw an arm over Amber’s shoulder. I wondered if he was marking his territory. I watched him grin down at her.

“Hey, junkie,” he said.

Alarms went off in my head. Junkie?

Amber scowled at him and pushed him away. “Stop it! You make me sound like a druggie.” Looking at me, she sighed. “He means adrenalin. Not drugs.”

I relaxed. Thank god. “So, you’re an adrenalin junkie?”

She rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Yes,” Aiden countered.

She shoved him again. “I am not.”

“Sure you are, princess. You like doing all sorts of crazy shit. What was the last one? Bungee jumping off the Bridge to Nowhere?”

She crossed her arms and huffed, but she was trying hard not to smile. Aiden seemed to have that effect on people I noticed. I suspected he was a born protector and needed to make sure those he loved were always okay and happy. It was a good trait.

Kaeli appeared at my side and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’m going to have to go. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

Both Kaeli and her mom had invited me to come with them to celebrate her graduation, but I thought they needed that time just for themselves. It had been hard to say no, but I knew I’d be seeing her later
at the party. Besides, I needed to go see my parents about what I’d organized with Walt. I had a feeling they were going to be just as excited as I was.

“Not really, but I need to go see my folks. What time do you want me to pick you up?”

I watched her pout a little before she sighed. “Is seven okay?”

Pulling her into me, I kissed her forehead. “Seven’s perfect. Have a good time with your mom.”

Burying her face in my chest, I felt her softly exhale. “I will. Thanks for coming. I liked having you here.”

I smiled at that.
I hoped she was going to like having me around a lot, because I was banking on it.

Saying goodbye to everyone, I
slipped out to my car and headed towards Mom and Dad’s place. This was going to be part one of my decider. Part two was Kaeli.

Pulling into the drive,
I was surprised to find everyone’s car there but Micah’s. Letting myself in, I found everyone standing around the kitchen.

Mom’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw me, then she glanced around at the others. “Oh my goodness. What’s with all the surprise visits today? Is Micah going to show up next?”

Eli rolled his eyes. “Uh…I live here, Mom…”