Shoving the door open in a rush, I burst into the room, ready to yell for Miranda. I allowed her to help me with Noah during the day, when I was too tired to care for him. But at night, that precious little baby was all mine.
I hurried toward the crib, my heart lodged in my throat.
"What are you doing, mate?" Roark's low voice stopped me cold.
Whirling, I turned to find him in the rocking chair next to the bay window, our son lying contentedly in his arms, drinking from a bottle. "Roark? What are you doing?"
"Feeding my son." His face was so relaxed, so serene. I'd never seen that expression on his face before. He looked up at me with a soft smile. "You should be asleep, mate. You need rest, and I know my demands on you were too much. Return to bed. Noah is content, as am I. We are learning one another."
I watched, shocked, as Noah's little hands drifted to his father's chin. Roark dipped his head so Noah could grab his nose, his lips, his beard. Noah's eyes were wide open and curious as he drank from the bottle. A second bottle sat in the warmer next to the crib, as he was generally a very hungry little boy.
"He'll drink both bottles," I told him.
"Greedy, are you?" Roark didn't lift his head from his son. They were gazing into each other's eyes in a mutual love-fest that made my heart ache so badly I lifted my hand to my chest and rubbed the area. Tears gathered against my will, slipping silently from my eyes to slide down my cheeks in the darkness.
I used my sleeve to wipe them away and that action caught Roark's attention. "Are you unwell, Natalie?"
"No. I'm perfect." I sniffed then, because the tears were starting to back up and making my nose run.
Roark grinned. "Come here."
I went to them, to my boys, and felt like a kid at Christmas as Roark shifted Noah to the side and made room for me on his lap. I crawled onto him, leaned my head on his chest and listened to his heart beating.
Roark settled Noah half on my lap, half on his chest, his strong arms keeping us both safe and warm.
"I love you, Roark." The words burst from me and I couldn't hold them back. This moment was the best of my entire life. And all of it was due to the man who held me, my matched mate. I'd have to thank Warden Egara when I saw her again.
"You are my heart and soul, Natalie. You and our son. A few days ago, I was a tortured, lost man. You are a miracle. You made me whole again."
Noah finished the bottle in record time, burping like a world-class champion before settling against us and drifting back to sleep. Normally, he wanted both bottles, a few minutes of play, and then, after a couple hours, would finally settle back down for another two or three hours of sleep.
But Roark sang to him, a strange, haunting melody I'd never heard before. The words of the song were about stardust and moonlight, singing birds and sleep. I assumed it was a Trion lullaby, one I would learn.
"When are we going home?" I asked.
Roark stilled and I heard his breath catch. "You are ready to return to Trion?"
Smiling, I lifted my hand to touch Noah's soft cheek as he slept. "Of course. You can't stay here. Don't you run a whole continent or something? Your people need you."
"Your home is beautiful, Natalie. I wasn't sure … "
It was my turn to stiffen. "Sure about what? You don't want us to come home with you?"
"Without question." When I did not respond, Roark continued. "Look at me."
Predawn light filtered into the room. It was still dark, in a shadowy gray, but I could see him well enough to know his eyes had gone dark with an emotion I could not name.
"I will not leave Earth without you, mate. You are mine. Do you understand?"
"Yes." I knew I belonged to him. My body, sore in all the right places, knew it, too.
"But we can take some time, if you prefer. I calculated the time difference as you slept. We can spend weeks here, if that would make you happy and it will only be a day or less on Trion. I left Seton in charge. He is a good and capable leader. We do not need to rush, mate. I want you to be happy, to be ready."
"I'm ready now." Looking around the room, I knew I spoke the truth. Nothing in this house mattered to me. My home was in Roark's arms. I lifted my hand to his cheek and made sure my heart was in my eyes. "I go where you go, Roark. You are my home now."
With a soft groan, he lowered his head to kiss me, our son jostled between us just enough to fidget and squirm. We both ignored him, the gentle heat of the kiss too heady, too intoxicating to hurry.
The door handle rattled and I leaned back, ending the kiss, expecting Miranda to enter the room to check on Noah.
But the man who stood in the entry was dressed head to toe in black, and the weapon in his hand was pointed at the crib, where Noah's sweet body would have been if Roark were not here, holding us.
Before I could react, Roark rose from the chair like a monster in the dark. He turned his back to the intruder, spinning Noah and I away from the door. I stumbled, then instinctively grabbed Noah from him.
I heard gunfire with a silencer, like I'd heard a hundred times in an action movie, but it was louder than I expected and Roark jerked in pain as he was shot in the back.
I wrapped my body around Noah and kept my back to the door as Roark released us both with a bellow of rage. He spun around and rushed the door.
Two more gunshots. One must have hit Roark, for I heard him grunt in pain. The other went wide, a burst of sound to my right as the wall above Noah's crib disintegrated where the bullet hit.
I dropped to my knees and scrambled for the open door to my bedroom. I had a handgun in my bedside drawer, right next to the small dagger Roark had given me, the gold blade that saved my life. Since the attack on Trion, knowing I had weapons nearby was the only way I could sleep at night, alone.
Noah woke and began to cry. Roark bellowed in rage and I heard his huge body crash into the attacker. The sounds of fists and snarls urged me on.
The crib in Noah's room collapsed with a loud snapping sound.
Out of sight, I rose to my feet and ran. When I reached the other side of the bed, I placed my screaming son on the floor and pulled open the drawer. The gun was there, as was the blade. I grabbed both and ran back to the open door just as Roark threw the intruder out into the hallway.
I raised the gun, my hands shaking, but couldn't get a clear shot around Roark's huge frame.
Blood ran down Roark's bare back from at least two gunshot wounds, but he stood tall and strong like a beast among men.
The attacker must have panicked, for he scrambled through the hallway, his footsteps loud as he raced down the curved wooden staircase.
I expected Roark to give chase, but he stood there panting and I could not leave my post, half in, half out of my bedroom. I could not leave Noah unprotected.
"Roark?"
The front door slammed against the wall and I knew the attacker was gone. Across the hall, Miranda opened her door and screamed when she saw Roark.
He staggered then, leaning against the wall.
Miranda rushed past me, saw the destroyed crib and gasped. "Where's Noah? Where's the baby?"
Even though I could hear his angry crying, I said, "He's in my room, on the floor."
"I'll get him." Miranda rushed past me and I sighed in relief as Noah's wails calmed immediately to the sound of her crooning words. She reappeared in the door, Noah safely in her arms.
"Natalie."
I rushed to his side and slid under his arm, helping to hold him upright. He was heavy and I bit my lip as he leaned against me with a lot more weight than I was expecting. God, he was huge.
"Miranda, call 9-1-1. Roark needs an ambulance."
"No, mate. I would not let your hack physicians touch me. Your Earth bullets, fortunately, went through me, so there is no need to retrieve them. Get my bag and use the ReGen Wand. That will heal me enough to get back to Trion and the pod." I dashed into the other room, grabbed the small bag he'd brought with him, pulled out a small metal wand thing. It looked much like the device he'd used on me for his medical exam. Well, the probing. It was more of an orgasm by magical dildo than exam. Running back, I gave it to Roark, who pushed a button. A blue light came on.
"Wave this over my back."
I did as he said and watched as his body healed somewhat, thankful it didn't go someplace private. While Roark was sweating and he breathed raggedly, I could see the tenseness leave his shoulders. The pain was lessening. As Miranda and I watched over the next few minutes, the wounds had closed up mostly, the blood stopping.
"Good. Enough," he said, reaching to grab the wand. "If it gets worse, we'll use it again and again to stave off the worst. We must get back to the brides processing center. Someone on Earth wants to do us harm."
I shook my head. "But that's in Miami!"