Nelson, page 17
part #21 of SEALs of Honor Series
Nelson pulled Chelsea to her feet, and she stood here, shaking, shivering in the aftermath. She looked at Taylor and said, “Shoot me. Please shoot me.”
He shook his head. “Hell no. I don’t kill indiscriminately.”
“It won’t be,” she said, her tone dead. “I’ve killed a lot. I don’t deserve to live. So much cleaner if you just take me out.”
He shook his head. “No, you can pay the price for what you’ve done. Everybody here may have gotten off easy, but that was your doing. You had your chance to kill yourself, but you were all about trying to kill Elizabeth instead.”
Chelsea’s legs were shaky. “At least let me sit beside King so I can hold his hand and say my goodbyes.”
The two men looked at each other. Elizabeth shrugged. “I can see she might need to do that.”
With the men standing over her, she crouched at King’s side. They could see her tears falling.
Nelson stepped off to the side and picked up his phone to call Mason. “It’s over. Skunk is here.” He looked to see Skunk staring out the window. “We still don’t have the full story yet, but King had him kidnapped a few days ago. I guess they saw him, figured out that maybe he had some use only to find out later that Elizabeth was looking for him too. King wanted to trade Chris for Elizabeth.” Mason’s expletive on the other end made Nelson smile. “Yeah, I know, it’s totally messed up. But we need law enforcement here, and we need several ambulances. Chelsea shot a lot of men. There won’t be a whole lot to prosecute after this, just her.”
Nelson heard Chelsea cry out. He turned in time to see her snatch the leather opener from on top of the desk where King had sat and plunge it into her throat hard enough that it stuck out the back of her neck. Staring at him, her eyes wide with the pain and the triumph, her features twisted as she collapsed on top of the man she’d loved and had hated enough to kill.
“Scratch that last point,” Nelson said to Mason. “She won’t be prosecuted either.”
Chapter 13
Elizabeth and the others, both dead and alive, had been stuck in the building until the cops and the ambulances arrived, and then the witnesses all tried to give statements. Some of it was garbled; some of it was clear, but it was obvious her brother was traumatized. Hell, so was she. The cops said they would go after the two henchmen who’d taken the opportunity to run, but they didn’t appear to be too enthusiastic about it.
One of the medical technicians walked up to Nelson and Elizabeth and asked if he could check their vital signs. Nelson immediately declined and demanded that Elizabeth be looked over. She was too weak to argue. The technician measured her body temp, blood pressure, pulse rate and respiratory rate. Then he saw the blood on the back of her head and flashed a light in her eyes and had her gaze follow his finger. He carefully cleaned her wound and said she needed no stitches, but she already had one hell of a goose egg back there, which was a good sign but would be very painful for about a week. He asked her for her name and what year it was.
She laughed, then winced.
“That’s a good sign,” he said, “the laugh, not the wince, but I still need to hear your answers.” Once confirmed, he nodded his head. “I would prefer for you to spend one night in our hospital for observation”—he raised both his hands to stop both of them from arguing—“but I understand your desire to just get away from all this.”
“Thank you, sir,” Nelson said.
Elizabeth nodded, winced again, and her hand immediately went to her head.
“Yes, you may travel home tomorrow. I understand you’ll be riding back with Nelson to the States. Take breaks as needed, but otherwise you’ll hurt for several days regardless. So take it easy, okay? And here are some pain meds to get you through tonight and tomorrow until you can see your American doctor.” With a smile he as gone.
This time Elizabeth just raised her hand in thanks as the technician moved on to help the next person.
Despite being stuck here so long, they were reassured to hear King and Queen were dead. Elizabeth knew more assholes would step up and take their places. Asshole positions never stayed empty. They always filled quickly.
Her brother talked with Taylor on the other side of the room; afterward Chris contacted his commander and NCIS. It was just a huge waiting game to sort out his future, but she had hopes everyone would understand his actions. She certainly did.
Hours later, exhausted, Elizabeth collapsed on her bed in her hotel room and stared up at the ceiling. Nelson lay beside her, wrapped her up in his arms and just held her. She loved that about him; he always seemed to know what she needed. And, for the moment, it was just to be held, to know she was safe, that he was safe, that Taylor was safe, and—thank heavens—that her brother was safe too. “I can’t believe it’s over,” she whispered.
Nelson dropped a kiss on her temple, holding her tight. “We did it.”
She smiled and kissed his cheek. “Tomorrow is four days, isn’t it? We’re supposed to go home in the morning.”
“We’ll make it,” he said. “I’ll drive carefully, missing all the potholes so you aren’t jarred. There’ll be some stuff to sort out later. And a lot of that can be done at home. NCIS and the local law enforcement here have our contact information and know we leave tomorrow. They’ll call us if they need to, so it doesn’t matter where we are. More important, your brother needs to go to the hospital and get checked over.”
His phone beeped just then. He read the text and smiled. “NCIS just found Matt. Now it truly is over.” In a louder voice he told the others.
“Yes,” Chris said in a loud voice. “Damn, I’m glad to hear that.”
“And on that note:”
Taylor called out, “Nelson. I’m taking Chris to the hospital. He’s already torn some of his stitches on the cuts on his ankles and his wrists. Plus, I think he’s got a busted rib or two. Wouldn’t hurt to get an X-ray on that.”
“The technician did a good job to stop the bleeding, but we should have taken him to the hospital earlier,” Nelson said. He hopped off the bed and assessed Skunk. “Man, you look like shit.”
“I feel it.” Skunk gave him a crooked smile. “And thanks. You look damn beautiful. I’m so grateful for the rescue.”
“Go with Taylor. He’ll get you looked after and delivered back here again,” Nelson said. “No way I’m leaving your sister alone.”
“Sounds like you’ll be part of the family now, huh?” Skunk flashed him a big grin. “Told you a long time ago she was worth it.”
“A long time ago I wasn’t looking,” Nelson said.
“You weren’t looking now either,” Taylor said, his smirk a mile wide.
“No,” Nelson said with a big grin. “But somehow she sneaked in anyway.”
“That’s the way it works,” Taylor said. “We’ll be back in a couple hours.”
“Bring food,” Elizabeth called out from the other bedroom as she joined them in this room. “And bring lots of it.” She gave her brother a gentle hug. “Hurry back so we can get some sleep and then go home tomorrow.”
He reached down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Will do. That’s one order I’m happy to take from you.”
She smiled mistily and watched as the two left. She turned to Nelson and threw her arms around him. “Oh, my God! I still can’t believe it’s over.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s hard to comprehend. Things got a little crazy there at the end.”
They lay down on his bed, and she said, “I just want to sleep.”
“Go ahead and sleep. Nothing’s stopping you.”
“Yeah, there is,” she said. “You.”
“I’m not stopping you,” he said. “Just close your eyes.”
She leaned up and kissed him hard. “You see? We now have an opportunity and plenty of time.”
His eyebrows shot up toward his hairline.
She chuckled. “Are you telling me that you didn’t think about it?”
“I’ve thought about nothing else,” he confessed. “But we’re on a job. Now you’re injured.”
“No, we were on a job, and I was injured,” she said, nuzzling his cheek and chin. “But we’re not now.”
“Are those drugs doing the job?” he asked with a smirk. “Not sure I should take advantage like that.”
Elizabeth smirked right back at him. “Chris and Taylor will be gone for at least two hours.”
Nelson thought about it, swung off the bed, picked her up gently in his arms, padded into the other room, closed the connecting door and said, “Lock it.”
She laughed. With one arm around his neck and the other arm free, she locked the connecting door. Effortlessly he lay down with her still in his arms. She chuckled and rolled to the side and tucked up close.
“Now maybe we can have some privacy too.”
“Yeah? And what are your plans if we do?” she whispered teasingly.
“First, I should punish you for not staying safe inside.” He shifted to the side so he could place kisses on her cheekbones and forehead. “Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I came back and found your room empty?”
Her arms snaked up around his neck. “I’m so sorry. I knew you would be terrified, but the guy did something so weird to me. It’s like I was paralyzed afterward for a few minutes. He was running down the alleyway, and I was flopping like a fish, conscious but completely unable to move. It was horrifying. Then he dumped me in a room and shut the door. But he never locked any of the doors.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through any of that. As for the unlocked doors, I don’t think they ever needed guards, just the fear of King,” he said, “because, if you think about it, King was always upstairs. Nobody would ever go past him.”
“But you see how betrayal always happens from within?” she said sadly. “I felt so sorry for Chelsea.”
“Don’t,” he said. “She might have had a rough childhood, but she didn’t have to end it all that way. Neither did she have to try to kill you.”
“I think, in her heart of hearts, it’s the only way she thought she could survive this. Or maybe it was her elaborate murder-suicide mission that got way out of hand. I don’t know.”
“I vote we don’t talk about her anymore,” Nelson said. “I vote we don’t talk about any of this anymore.” And he dropped a kiss on her lips, then on her nose, then on her chin. “I vote we talk about us.”
“What? A man who wants to have a heart-to-heart conversation?” she asked with a mocking laugh.
He rose up over her and came down, his lips kissing the breath out of her.
When he raised his head again, she said, “Okay. Now that sounds like my kind of heart-to-heart talk.”
A chuckle slid out as he kissed her gently over and over again. Her warm breath mingling with his, stroking the fires they’d both kept banked deep inside. His fingers slid over her T-shirt to cup her breasts, his lips moving up her throat, her chin, across her cheek and down to her collarbone. He nipped her once, twice, tickled her, made her laugh and wiggle as her hands reached up into his hair, pulling him closer so she could get more of those incredible kisses. He gave her one and then another and then he was gone again.
She protested, craving his hot passionate mouth. “Maybe I want more kisses.”
“And you can have more,” he muttered, but his attention was on her T-shirt that he’d pulled up over her chest, and the front clasp of her bra was suddenly dispensed with.
She groaned as his mouth came down over her nipple, and he suckled it deep into his mouth. “Oh, my God,” she said, arching into his mouth. “That feels so good.”
His hand stroked up her back, down her ribs, around her belly to cup and hold her breast. He laved first one nipple and then the other.
She twisted in his arms, so damn grateful to be alive, and even more grateful to be holding him like this. She whispered, “Did you ever think …”
He shook his head. “No,” he said, his voice thick. “But I had hoped.” He drew his lips down, kissing her ribs, each one along the way. When he got to her belly button, he kissed and licked it. She chuckled and squirmed on the bed, but he slipped two hands inside her jeans waistband, popped the button and separated the zipper. He sat up, pulled her jeans off very slowly, his eyes watching as every inch became visible.
She lay here on the bed feeling beautiful as he watched her. “You’re really good at this.”
He looked up at her with surprise in his eyes. “I don’t know why I would be because this feels like it’s new, feels like it’s something I’ve never really experienced before. It’s so damn different with you.” He reached up and stroked her from her nipples to her hips. She sat up with a chuckle and threw her T-shirt and bra off and lay back down. She motioned at him. “I think you should stand up and match me for clothing.”
“Absolutely.” He stepped off the bed and stripped down to his boxers.
She gasped, rose to her knees in front of him, her hands reaching for him as he stood proud in front of her, his erection poking out the top of his underwear. She slid his underwear down to free him, her hands gently cupping his testicles, then sliding up the long shaft.
He made a strangled sound. “None of that,” he said. “Not this time.”
She chuckled. “I hear you. I don’t want to wait either.”
With his boxers off, she lay back down again and opened her arms. He reached down, gently pulled off the tiny piece of lace that was her panties, then stopped and stared. In a fervent whisper he murmured, “Wow, you’re so stunningly beautiful.”
She raised a knee almost shyly.
He shook his head. “None of that.” He reached down, stroked her legs, the legs that never seemed to quit, up to her hips and tiny waist before gently stroking through the reddish blond curls at the heart of her. He groaned, leaned over and kissed her navel, and then right in the nest of curls.
She gasped, grabbed his hair and pulled him toward her mouth. Her kiss was frantic. She kissed him again and again and again.
Finally he caught her face in his hands and kissed her deeply—their mouths and tongues warring, enjoying, coaxing, searing each other’s passions to a higher and higher point. She tried to explore him, but he held her hands up above her head.
“I’m not kidding. Not this time.” He reached down, took her nipple in his mouth deeply.
She groaned, spread her legs underneath him, wrapped them around his hips and said, “Me either. Now. Come to me now.”
He took one look at her, raised himself up on one elbow, fitted himself to the right place, and holding her hips, he plunged deep.
She gasped, arched beneath him and cried out.
He gave her a moment to adjust to having him inside, and then, with his hands on her hips, he started to move slowly, then faster and faster and faster.
She twisted underneath him, urging him on, her legs wrapped around him as she rose to meet every thrust.
He caught her nape in his hands, tilted her head up and kissed her neck, down to her collarbone, as he moved faster and faster. And then he took her lips in a searing kiss as his body shuddered and shook as he tried to hold back. But just a touch of his tongue into her mouth, matching the plunge of his body, the total possession, the complete ownership—more than that, the complete surrender—was when she willingly gave herself to him and received in return all she’d ever wanted.
Her climax ripped through her, sending her over the edge. In the background she dimly heard his groan as his body throbbed and pulsed both atop and in her.
Finally he rolled onto the side, gathered her into his arms and tucked her up close.
She said on a half-groan, half-whisper, “You know what? I almost thought I would be killed earlier tonight. Then I just thought that now too.”
He gave a half bark of a laugh and said, “As long as I’m killing you with joy, that’s all that matters.”
“Definitely,” she whispered. “I so want to go home.”
“Is your brother moving in with you, do you think?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a happy sigh. “I don’t mind either way. He has to face his own bosses and get his life sorted out first. I guess the better question is, are you moving in with me?”
He reared up and looked down at her.
She smiled. “Unless you think this is a one-off.”
“It’s hardly a one-off,” he said, kissing her gently. “But we could take things slow.”
“Like we did just now?” she asked archly.
He chuckled. “Good point. We still have an hour before they get back.”
“In that case,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “Let’s not waste it.”
He lowered his head. “Maybe that’s all you want me for.”
“I don’t ask every man I take to bed to move in with me,” she whispered against his lips. “Only the man I love.”
He stared at her.
She smiled again. “I know it’s early. It doesn’t change how I feel though.”
“I hope not,” he said, “because, when I listened to King speaking about you, I could hear the exact same sentiment in my own heart.” He whispered, “I love you too. I don’t know how it happened, and I don’t know when, and I would never have believed it could have been so fast.”
She placed a finger against his lips. “No more questions, no more doubts. Let’s just take it one day at a time and see where this goes.”
“I can get behind that.” He kissed her with passion.
She smiled, wrapped her arms around him and held him close. They’d have time to talk later. They’d have time to work out everything later. But right now, this was just for them. This was just for the two of them to enjoy. All the rest would happen in its own good time. Like any good relationship, it would only get better with time.
Epilogue
Taylor Robinson walked into his small apartment on base, dropped his bag on the floor, strode to his couch and threw himself down, full length, and collapsed. He groaned to the empty space, “Thank God for my own space.”
