Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War (19 page)

“We’re going to have to go downstairs before my father breaks the door down and kills you, but … I think we have time for one more round.” She closed the distance between them and kissed him hungrily as she positioned him at her opening and sunk down on to his dick.

Nathan moaned into her mouth as her walls stretched and pulsed around him. “Damn, I love being rewarded for giving you what you want …” Carter giggled, but Nathan was not playing. God, it was
the
best fucking feeling, and
so
worth the ass kicking he was pretty sure that he was going to get from Spook Steele the moment he got down those stairs.

Kissing Carter deeply, Nathan guided her movements back and forth. He always loved the way she moved when she was on top of him. It was as if she were rotating her hips to the beat of a song. She ground on top of him in a circular motion, and the moment he thought he’d lose it, she’d switch up her movement. It felt so fucking incredible.

She broke away from the kiss, tossing her head back in ecstasy as her hips began to move at a vigorous pace. Nathan’s eyes were glued to her perfect bouncing breast while she rode him. He wasn’t quite sure if he was just lost in how
damn good
her pussy felt, or if he was actually seeing things clearly, but he could’ve sworn her tits had gotten bigger since he’d last seen them weeks ago.

Damn …

Carter’s warm walls continued to tighten around him and he fought against succumbing to the myriad of sensations ricocheting through his body, determined to let her come first. He reached forward and gripped her waist with one hand while he brought the other hand flat against her belly, pressing his thumb to her clit and rubbing it in quick circles.

“Ohhh! Nathan, yes,” she cried. “
Oh God, babe
… please don’t stop!”

She balanced her hands on his lower abdomen, digging her nails into his skin as she rode him harder. Nathan grunted and closed his eyes as the sensations flowing through his body intensified.
“
Shit, Carterina
… so good,
baby
. Fuck,”
he groaned. His free hand slid up her belly and covered one of her bouncing breast as he continued to massage her clit.

“I’m gonna come, Nathan! I’m gonna …” she gasped as her hand shot up to the hand he had covering her breast. She gripped on to his hand and squeezed her eyes closed. “Rub it harder, Nathan
, please!
Make me come.”

Nathan immediately obliged.
God
did he need her to hurry up and come.

Much to his delight, Carter came with a loud cry. She bucked her hips against him in just the right motion that Nathan was unable resist coming any longer. He bit down hard on his bottom lip and grunted as he came inside his beautiful wife.

When Carter collapsed on top of him, he immediately captured her lips in a kiss. Spending time with her in their room alone was definitely worth the deal he’d made with her father downstairs after the man had come after him with a knife.

When they parted, they were both out of breath. Carter gave him a dazzling smile.

“I love you, Nathan Salerno” she sighed, kissing his chin. “I missed you so much.”

Nathan smiled and kissed her forehead. “And I love you, Carterina Salerno. I missed you, too...”

“Mmm …” she moaned. “Let’s take a bath together, bubby. I want some time to relax with you.”

Lifting her head to look at him, she touched his cheek gently. “You need a shave,” she kissed his stubbly cheek, “and a haircut. Let me take care of you.”

After they left the bed, Carter did exactly what she’d said she would do … she took care of him. She washed his body in their tub, gave his aching muscles a massage, and then gently washed his hair. After their bath, she set up a chair for him in the middle of the floor and re-bandaged his wound, gave him a shave, and a much needed haircut— which, of course, led to sex in said chair.

Afterward, Nathan felt like himself again; he’d regained the inner peace that only she could give him. Now that he had his wife back, all he could think about was going back home. He knew that his war with Silas Steele was far from over, but he didn’t have to stay overseas to fight it. After today, they would head back to the States.

Chapter 8: Killer-in-law

He’d been upstairs in the bedroom with his wife for two hours—two whole glorious hours—and Nathan knew what awaited him when he reached the bottom of the stairs. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and push back his fear. This was going happen, there was no stopping it. He’d married the hit man’s daughter, and truthfully, he’d always known that this was what would’ve happened to him if Spook Steele were alive.

Nathan glanced back at the bedroom door behind him. Carter was still in the room dressing; which, in Nathan’s opinion was perfect. He preferred that she not be there for what was about to happen to him anyway. All though he was uncharacteristically afraid, he didn’t want her to stop what was coming. This was something that needed to happen. If he was ever going to get the trust and respect he needed from his father-in-law—
Spook fucking Steele
—he had to endure the pain.

Nathan braced himself. Placing his hand to his side, he pressed against his gunshot wound. He didn’t even flinch when he felt the pain, which he was proud of. If he was going to make it through this, then he needed to have endurance. He’d never been accused of being a pussy in his life, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start today.

Quickly descending the stairs, the sound of the blaring television became louder with each step he took. When he entered the living room, every eye turned to look at him. Freddy, Mickey, Lucca, Dante, and Kyle, but no sign of Carter’s brother. Nathan was a little disappointed that he wasn’t in there, but—

Movement coming from the left of him nearly caused him to flinch. However, upon quick observation, he realized that the person walking toward him was not the killer, but his wife’s brother. Nathan turned to the man, and for the first time was finally able to survey the resemblance between him and Carter.

Damn
, he thought,
the kid is a Stone for sure
.

There was no doubt in Nathan’s mind that he was Carter’s twin. He had the same color skin, as well as thick, shoulder-length, jet-black hair, and near identical features that were only set apart from Carter’s by the fact that he was a male. They even had the same big, expressive hazel eyes. Just as Carter did, the young man looked exactly like Anastacia’s father, Alexis, except he wasn’t as built as the man; Gabriel was built leaner. He stood about five or six inches shorter than Nathan, but his stance was confident. He didn’t cower back; he stared at Nathan as if he were looking into his thoughts.

Nathan was the first to offer a polite greeting. “Gabriel, is it?” Nathan smiled. “My name is Nathan Salerno, I’m your sister’s husband. She spoke very highly of you, so it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Nathan extended his hand, but Gabriel didn’t move, he just continued to stare him down. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Gabriel spoke.

“Do you love my sister?” he asked in a stern tone.

Caught off guard by his inquiry, and surprised that it didn’t irritate him like an interrogation normally would, Nathan didn’t answer immediately. Only after mentally pulling himself together could he reply, “Of course. I love her, she’s my wife.”

“Do you use her? Do you only see her as an object solely there for your satisfaction?”

Nathan frowned. “Of course not, that’s ridiculous,” he answered quickly, offended by the question. Carter wasn’t an object, she was the love of his life.

“Do you lose your temper easily with her?”

Nathan swallowed. “I don’t think I do, but I’m not perfect. She makes me angry sometimes, but not very often …
ish
.”

Suddenly it was becoming a little stifling in the room. Nathan was sort of starting to feel like the walls were closing in on him. This was new to him. When he and Carter had first become a couple he didn’t really have anyone to answer to. Yes, Anastacia had questioned him a little, but never like this. Gabriel was testing him right now, and for some reason … Nathan actually cared. He wanted Carter’s brother’s approval, he wanted his blessing. Not for himself, but because—in his gut—he knew that both Gabriel and Robert’s acceptance of him as Carter’s husband was important to her.

Shit!

“Do you emotionally abuse my sister?”

Gabriel’s questioning continued and Nathan swiftly answered swiftly, “No, I’d never intentionally hurt her.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he arched an eyebrow. “So you have hurt before?”

“N–no that’s not what I meant.” He’d fucking stuttered. Shit! He pulled himself together again. “I mean I have never hurt her intentionally. I fuck up sometimes, but I always apologize and learn from my mistake.” He released a silent sigh, satisfied with his answer.

“Have you or
would you
ever hit her?”

The question knocked Nathan back a bit. “Excuse me—”

“Have you ever put your hands on my sister?” he yelled sharply.

“Absolutely not,” Nathan answered in an equally sharp tone. “I would never even think of hitting my wife.”

Gabriel remained quiet after that for what seemed like an eternity. After glaring at him a little while longer, his features softened and he nodded. Extending his hand, he took Nathan’s in an impressively firm handshake.

“Then it’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Nathan Salerno,” he said in a much softer tone. “Carter has spoken highly of you as well. I was convinced you’d fly in here with a cape and an S on your chest.”

Nathan chuckled. “I’m far from being anyone’s superhero.”

He smiled warmly. “You’re her superhero. And I’m sure you will be the same for my niece or nephew.” He looked at Nathan thoughtfully. “Carter loves you quite a bit, so it must mean you have some good in you. I look forward to getting to know you, Nathan.”

“I look forward to getting to know you as well, Gabriel,” Nathan replied truthfully. He liked Gabriel. Even though this had been nothing but a brief interaction, the man had managed to reveal a lot about his character. It was a gift that Carter possessed, too; the ability to draw a person based on your personality alone. Must be a Stone thing … or maybe it was a Steele thing.

Who the fuck knew.

“Great,” Gabriel said as he turned and walked to the kitchen.

When he came back out of the kitchen, he had a weird looking drink in his hand, a bottle of pills, a pack of salted wheat crackers, and was headed for the stairs. He noticed Nathan staring at him and sighed. Nathan could tell the guy didn’t want to talk any further, but he appreciated it when Gabriel still stopped to show him what he was carrying.

“Carter’s fruit smoothie, wheat crackers, and the nausea pills that will ensure she gets to eat and sleep tonight. I’ll fill you in on her—” His eyes cut to the hallway beyond the kitchen entrance before returning his eyes to Nathan’s. “I’ll fill you in on everything that works for her, while she’s still experiencing the excessive sickness. The doctor told her to make a nine week appointment with her doctor as soon as we get back to the States.”

Nathan listened closely, storing every bit of the information to memory. He knew that Carter would only tell him stuff like this if he asked her. The only problem there was that Nathan had no idea what questions to ask her.

“I give her fresh fruit smoothies, and salted crackers. It settles her stomach, then about thirty minutes after, she’s usually able to eat certain foods without throwing up from the taste or smell.”

Without another word he walked up the stairs.

“Gabriel,” Nathan called after him. When Gabriel stopped mid-step and turned to him, Nathan genuinely said, “Thank you.”

Gabriel nodded his head and began to ascend the stairs quickly before disappearing into Nathan and Carter’s bedroom.

When Gabriel was out of sight, Nathan groaned and raked his fingers through his hair. “Shit,” he muttered. Well at least he’d made it through the interrogation with the brother. Now all he had to do was survive the attempted murder from the father.

He glanced over at the guys, who gave him un-sympathetic looks.
The bastards
. Placing his hands on his hips, he paced nervously. “That was good. I did okay, right?” he asked them. He at least needed to make sure that he hadn’t sounded like an idiot.

The guys chuckled.

“I have no fucking idea,” Mickey said. “I’ve fucked a lot of girls, but I’ve never had to answer to anyone about it.”

“I don’t know, I like him,” Nathan muttered as he continued to pace.

“I like him, too,” the guys said simultaneously.

“I still can’t believe he exists.”

“He’s a good-lookin’ motherfucker, ain’t he?” Mickey said, looking toward the stairs with a frown.

The guys voiced their agreement once again.

“He’s strong, too” Freddy added. “He looked you in the eyes, spoke with authority, and pretty much told you that if you fuck with his sister he’d fuck you up. You have no choice but to respect a man that protects his family. He hadn’t said a word until you came down. He just went about his business. I thought he was frightened or something.”