Missing You

Chapter Eight: Is it all just a dream?

She leaned down to give him a soft kiss and continued reading. Around dinner time, Nina’s phone rang. Hearing the tone, it was Blaine. Picking it up, “Hey, Wolf.”

“Hey, sissy. I just wanted to tell you that I have been called up.”

Nina nodded, “Watch your six.”

“I will.”

“Come back with your shield or on it.”

She could hear him smile, “Sister.”

“Brother,” and the phone disconnected. Nina stood for a moment and prayed for her brother and his team. When she opened her eyes, she turned to put her phone down. Draven was looking at her having stopped preparing dinner. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded, “Wolf. He just got called up.”

“What was that whole shield thing about?”

She laughed, “My brothers loved the movie 300, in fact, so did I,” smirking, “After that, we started a thing when they would get called up. I would say the shield line. I guess in a way whichever brother I was speaking to it was our way of saying goodbye and preparing ourselves for the wanted and potential outcome.”

He looked at her, “I am pretty sure that your brothers liked 300 because of the action and I am guessing you liked it because of the abs.”

She shook her head, “Nope. I liked it for Gerard Butler. The man was built,” and bite her lip and moaned.

He moved away from the counter, “What’s Gerard Butler have that I don’t?”

Nina pretended to think, “Hmm, abs of steel.”

“And I don’t?”

She shook her head, “Nope.” He removed his shirt and her eyes settled on his built body. Her eyes went to his tattoos and recognized the Polynesian and the Naval influence on his body. Her eyes trained over the definition of muscles on his entire body. Her mouth started to drool. “Well then, I guess we should end things right here, huh?” he asked.

“I guess so. You know, before either of us really gets attached,” and made a face of indifference and turned like she was going to leave.

He growled, “I didn’t give you permission to leave, Rowena.”

She turned around to look at him and feigned ignorance, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought you said you wanted to end things. Was I wrong?”

He slowly stalked to her, his muscular form almost intimidating, and c****d an eyebrow at her, “On your knees, Rowena.”

She looked up at him, “And if I don’t?” challenging him.

“I will make you.”

Nina acted like she was going to go to her knees, then looked up at him and with a smirk spun and swept his legs. He landed hard on the floor of his kitchen with an oomph. Before he realized what happened, Nina was sitting on his chest and had him completely immobile even as he tried and was smiling down at him. “So, what was that about you making me get on my knees?”

“Nina,” he said warningly.

“Don’t Nina me.” He tried to sit up, but she easily stopped him, “I didn’t give you permission to get up yet, now did I, Draven?”

He swallowed deep. He had never been at the mercy of a woman before, and it seriously turned him on. “No.”

“No, what?”

“No. Ma’am.”

“That’s right. I didn’t. And I prefer Mistress. How do you think I should punish you?” she asked c*****g her head to the side.

“I don’t know. Mistress.”

“I see. Well then, I think we are going to need to see what your pain tolerance is. Shall we?” She could see he swallowed hard. Looking into his green eyes, almost dark with lust, she said, “Your safe word is hula. What is your safe word?”

He stuttered, “Who-hula.”

He watched as she reached down to his cargo shorts and undid his belt. Then she looked at him, “When I move, you will get on all fours.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

She moved away from him, and he indeed moved to all fours on his knees and his hands flat on the floor. “Good,” and rewarded him with a small stroke to his hair which he leaned into. She could see he enjoyed it as his skin broke out in goosebumps. Smiling, she let her hand wonder over his warm skin. Occasionally, she kissed or licked his skin to see his reaction. “Now, when a wolf pack hunts a prey together, they will play with it for a little bit to make it think that it has a fighting chance. When a prey attempts to flee, the pack will give chase or if it tries to take a stand, the wolf will ignore it.”

“So what you are saying is if I try to flee or take a stand, you will ignore it?”

He then felt the sharp sting of his belt against his backside. Grunting, he took the pain and then looked over his shoulder at Nina. She looked at him, “Did I give you permission to speak?”

“No. Mistress,” he gritted through his teeth.

“For your defiance, you will be given three spankings. Are you ready?”

He nodded, “Yes, Mistress.”

She reached back and landed the first spanking to him, giving it all she had. He grunted. She did the next one, he grunted, and she noticed that he was turned on. She landed the third one and was surprised that he didn’t say his safe word. She then went to her knees next to him and reached to undo his shorts, “How turned on are you?” He clenched his teeth and felt her reach into his shorts and touch his aching manhood. The softness from her hand on him was almost too much for him and found himself moaning as she caressed him. She noticed that he clenched his hands into fists and closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth.

“Interesting,” and continued to stroke him slowly. “As I was saying, when a wolf pack has their prey right where they want it, they will usually bite their preys’ neck to submit him into submission and wait for the fight to leave as the rest of the pack begin to eat him.” He moaned in response and at her skilled hand. Then without warning, he felt her teeth graze his ribs and then moaned when she bit down on his flesh as her hand moved faster. As she knew he was near his orgasm, she released his flesh and said, “On your back.”

Without argument, he moved to his back and put his hands at his sides clenched in fists. He wanted to grab her hips and impale her on him. He watched as she lowered his shorts and continued to stroke him and bite him a few more times. As she knew he was near coming, she then moved quickly to remove her shorts and panties and then roughly sat on him and guided him inside of her at the same time. Both of them moaned at the feeling. His eyes locked with hers as she moved them both towards a mind-blowing climax. Just before he came, Draven saw Nina lean forward and as she came, she bit the skin between his shoulder and neck as her nails drew hard down his sides. From her biting him and scratching him, he came harder than he ever had and saw stars.

They lay that way in the kitchen for a while, until Nina heard his stomach growl. Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes, “Hungry?” He laughed, “Yeah,” and she joined him. She moved away from him and with a smile they both stood up. Nina pulled her panties and her shorts back on, while Draven put his c**k up and did his shorts back up, replaced his belt, and pulled his shirt back on.

Together they then made dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese, that they made with three cheeses of brie, gouda, and sharp cheddar. Tiredly, they both then cleaned the kitchen and separately took a shower. Nina went first and when she came back out, she wore one of his shirts and a pair of black boycut panties with her hair in a braid over her shoulder. Draven then went into the bathroom by himself. Looking in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, he smirked to see how she had marked his body.

After his shower, he pulled on some boxer briefs and went into the bedroom to see that Nina had fallen asleep waiting for him. Smiling, he covered her up and then made sure the house was secure and then got into bed. He drew a sleeping Nina to his chest and with a content smile drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, as Nina lay sleeping, Draven got up and did a quick workout. When he returned, Nina was still asleep and so he made sure that the door was secure, and the blackout curtains were drawn closed. After taking a shower, he pulled on some boxer briefs and got back into bed with Nina and spooned her from behind. He smiled realizing that in her sleep, she had discarded his shirt and was laying in just her boy cut panties that he had grown to love and appreciate as it teased him with just a peak of her luscious ass cheeks. Then he heard Nina say, “Tell me something true.”

He held her to his chest, “You are not like any woman I have ever known.”

She turned in his arms, “Am I?”

He moved her braid out of the way and looked into her eyes, “You aren’t. Nina, you have taken a s**t ton of lemons that were thrown at you and managed to pulverize them into f*****g hard lemonade while kicking ass and taking names. That is more than what others could even hope or dream for. You blow me away.”

“I don’t tell many people about my background, Draven.”

“Well thank you for sharing it with me.”

“Wherever this thing between us goes, please don’t ever use it against me. I could take it from anyone else and destroy them, but you,” seeing the seriousness in her eyes, “you could destroy me.”

He looked at her, “What do you mean, destroy you? Why would I do that?”

“People have tried once they find out who I am.”

“You told me who you are already, baby.”

“Not everything.”

He felt his heart skip, “What do you mean?”

“What I tell you right now, you have to promise me that you will never disclose what you know to anyone else. Ever. Because if you do, it will and would destroy me.”

“Nina,” he said trying to understand.

“Yes, my name is Rowena Moreno. I write under the name Sky Hawkings. Yes, my books have been turned into movies. What you don’t know about me, is that I am co-Chair of the Board of Directors for Wolf Pack, Incorporated.” She waited for the recognition to set in before she continued. “Wolf is my fellow co-Chair, the rest of my brothers and Jedi are the ninety-five percent of the Board, while an anonymous five percent of unknown benefactors making up the silent minority.”

He stared at her in complete and utter awe, “You and your brothers are responsible for Wolf Pack, Incorporated? The world conglomerate? The one that works almost exclusively with veterans, the orphaned, the deaf, and with diabetes foundations?”

She nodded, “We are.”

“That is why Elliott’s name sounded so familiar.”

She nodded again.

“Why would I use any of that against you?”

She took a deep breath, “Do you remember meeting Calvin after Wesley died?”

“Yeah, your ex.”

“Yes, he cheated on me with a leggy b***h. After I dumped him after walking in on them, he tried to turn around and sue me for neglecting to give him the love and care he desperately needed. He thought he could get money out of me because of what he knew. What he didn’t know was that I have a very long line of lawyers that love to chew people like him apart. Technically before I even told you I was supposed to get you to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but something is telling me that I can trust you.”

He moved closer to her and pressed her hands to his chest, “Because you can. You can trust me,” soothing her cheek, “You can. I would never hurt you, Nina. You have come to mean so much to me in this small amount of time. I would rather hurt myself first before I ever hurt you,” and leaned in to kiss her gently on the lips. After he drew her to his chest and they drifted off to sleep together.

That afternoon, Nina’s phone rang waking them both up for a nap. Reaching across Draven, Nina answered it just before it went to voicemail. “Hello?” Draven slowing coming awake to find her stretched over his chest. He watched her on the phone and took his time touching her bare skin, loving when her skin turned into goosebumps. When his mouth closed over her taut n****e, she smiled and leaned down to nip at his chin and then moved out of the bed. He moved to sit up against the headboard and settled the sheet over his lap as he waited for Nina to come back to his room.

When she did, she was dressed in a red summer spaghetti strap dress that dipped low in the back and went down to her feet and she had pulled her long hair into a braid over her shoulder. She sat down on the bed next to him, still on the phone and tied her brown sandals around her ankle. When she was finally off the phone, she turned to him, “I’m sorry. I have to leave.”

“Where are you going?”

She smiled, “Don’t worry. I have a standing lunch s***h dinner with my girls from social dance. I’ll be back in a few hours. I promise,” and kissed him gently on the lips.

“Do you have to?”

“I do. But Duke and his bros are coming here to take you out for beer, wings and darts,” seeing the sparkle in his eyes, “Are you up for it?”

He smirked, “f**k yeah.”

She kissed him, “Good,” and went in the bathroom to brush her teeth and apply a little makeup. When she came back out of the bathroom, he was dressed in a pair of cargo shorts, a light green Billabong t-shirt and was pulling on some tennis. With one last kiss, he saw her to her Jeep and waved her off. Just as she left his driveway, a four door Jeep like his but navy blue pulled up with the music blaring. Duke pulled up next to him, “Let’s go brah!” Smiling, he jogged around and got in the passenger seat and barely bucked as Duke peeled out and got his Jeep on the way to the next destination.

Nina pulled up to a Mom and Pop restaurant on the beach called D’lish for Taco Tuesday. As she neared the table, the girls are smiled and cheered when she walked up. A girl by the name of Piper hugged her, “We already ordered. And this is your margarita.”

Sitting down, she hugged the rest of the girls. Sipping her margarita, “Damn, that is good.”

“Glad you could make it, babes. We were wondering if Frog Man was ever going to let you up for air,” said Jay.

Nina blushed, “I know, right?”

The girls laughed. Dina, the last of their group held up her margarita, “I’ll toast to endless amounts of sex.”

The girls laughed and raised their glasses. They talked and enjoyed hanging out as girls. As their lunch s***h early dinner came to an end, Nina hugged them all and got in her Jeep. Just as she was about to start the engine, her FaceTime rang to show that her best friend, Misty was calling her. Smiling, she held up her phone and answered, “Hey, babes!”

Misty smiled back at her, “Right back at you Mamas! You look good. Glad to hear the Frogman made his way back to you.”

“Thanks. And how are you doing?”

Misty’s blue eyes had her regular heavy black eye liner with her striking blue hair up in a messy bun, her nasal septum ring, and black lipstick, she was gorgeous but never thought so. She smiled, “I’m okay. Just had yet again, another bad date last night. I mean bad. I mean, like we are making out hot and heavy and the clothes didn’t even come off and he blew his load.” Nina tried not to laugh, “Ah, Miss.”

Misty shrugged, “I don’t think I’m going to date anymore. This s**t is too complicated, and I always wind up disappointed.”

“Well, I understand but I am sure that the right guy is out there for you. You just haven’t found him yet.”

“Well, anyway. I was calling to let you know that in your wonderful world for Hawkings extravaganza, I have been called upon to do another screen write for you.”

Nina smiled, “Well that is awesome. But I knew you were.”

Misty smiled, “And you didn’t tell me!”

“Hey, you know how it goes. They tell me who they want and have to wait to ask and then when they get the affirmative, you call me. So yeah. Congratulations nonetheless!”

Misty smiled, “Thanks, Mamas. So, once it is done, you know how it goes. I have six weeks to write it with revisions. Once they get the final approval, we will cast, and then film. And last I heard from the casting director, all the regulars were Jonesing to sign on, so I think you’re good.”

“Well, that sounds promising.”

“Babe, in case you haven’t noticed, people love your books and love to be part of the movies. It gives them a name. You are a living legend my dear.”

“I guess so,” she said with a shrug.

“How are things going with Draven?”

Nina looked at the water and then back at her, “I love him.”

Misty smiled softly, “Really?”

She nodded and felt tears coming on, “I do. Miss, he is not like anyone else. He is not like the other men I have dated. He is so different. And so f*****g intense.”

“Mamas, you can be just as intense back.”

“I know. But to have someone that matches that intenseness just f*****g terrifies me. I didn’t think I would ever fall for another SpecOps guy. One that I really for all intents and purposes do not know him. I mean, he was there for me after two dates when Wesley died, then he was gone for like five months and the moment he comes back, we pick up where we left off like we never stopped. How can I be in love with a man that I have really only known for like two, maybe three weeks?”

Misty c****d her head to side, “Because you do, Mamas. I mean, I am no psychologist,” seeing Nina smirk, “But, I think that he lights your fire because he matches you in every way. From your dominance to submission, to how you handle your life and the bros. Has he ever given you a reason not to trust him?”

Nina shook her head, “No. Never.”

“Then, I say let it happen. See where it could go. I mean, what is the worst that could happen?”

They spoke a while longer and then hung up with promises to call each other once the script had been approved. Nina then drove to her cottage to get some clothes as she was running low at Draven’s. As she was packing up a bag, she just happened to look at the urns resting on a vanity she had in the front and felt her heart grow heavy. Remembering the last time she saw Wesley alive, she sat down on her bed with a shirt in her hand. Before the realization of that set in, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

Some hours later after Draven returned home when the sun had long since set, he was slightly disappointed when Nina wasn’t there. Grabbing a water from his fridge, he went to sit on the couch and wait for her. When she still hadn’t come back another hour later, he called Duke so he could ask Shelby if she had seen Nina. When she hadn’t, he took a deep breath and called Jay and when she said they parted ways after dinner, he started to panic. Calling his team tech guy, Radar, like he had done a few times before to find where she was. When he said that her phone was pinging at her cottage, Draven got in his Jeep to go find her. When he got to her cottage, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the lights were off, but he calmed slightly when he saw that her Jeep was in the driveway.

Getting out, he jogged to her door and knocked. When he didn’t hear anything, he looked in the window and saw no movement. Going around to her room, he looked in her room through the sliding glass door to find that she was laying on her bed curled around her brother’s urn and was sobbing uncontrollably. Quickly picking the lock, he was at her side and gathered her in arms as she cried. He gently rocked her back and forth as he held her to his chest.

When her crying slowed to soft hiccups, he continued to hold her and soothe her back with his hand and arms. He heard her say with a raw voice, “How did you know where I was?”

“I got back to my house, and you weren’t there. I waited and when you didn’t show I asked my tech guy, who is on my team, to find you. He said your phone was pinging here at your house. I’m sorry I did that, but I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She nodded in his chest, “Thank you for finding me.”

He lifted her chin with the crook of his finger to see the pain in her eyes, “I will always find you. I will always come looking for you. I will always come back to you,” and gently kissed her. She nodded and settled against his chest, “I’m sorry. I’m not usually the damsel in distress,” wiping at her eyes.

“I’m not usually the knight in shining armor,” which earned him a small laugh, “Are you okay, Nina?”

She swallowed, “I was. I had a great time with the girls, and I came back here to get more clothes so I could get back to your house. As I was packing, my eyes fell on Wesley’s urn and I,” biting back a sob, “It just hit me,” her voice wobbling with emotion.

“I’m sorry, Nina. I’m sorry you lost your brother the way you did.”

Nina took in a deep breath, “You know, the last conversation I had with him was the night I saw you at the hotel bar.” He didn’t say anything and just let her talk. “We had dinner with the brothers, and we had all decided where our family vacation was going to be this year. We decided to go to Salem, Massachusetts during Halloween, visit the Witches Museum. He was so excited because he wanted to see the leaves change and feel the autumn weather on his skin. He was stationed there in San Antonio and wanted away from the heat if only for a week. Then we departed ways. The boys wanted to go out and Wolf and I headed back to the hotel to turn in since we needed to talk logistics about some of things that were coming up for Wolf Pack and the now trip we were going to take,” hearing her take in a shaking breath, “Anyway, we got back to the hotel, I was feeling off all day and failed to realize I hadn’t put my pump on, the rest you know until we were on our flight. But just before that the next afternoon, just before we each boarded our planes, I hugged each of my brothers and kissed them and told them to watch their six. Wesley was the last one I hugged. He hugged me, kissed my cheek, and said, ‘I love you, sissy.’ I just never thought that those would be his last words to me,” and started sobbing. Draven just held her close and let her cry. When she stopped, he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms holding Wesley’s urn.

He got them comfortable on her bed against the headboard and covered them up. He held her close as she held Wesley and listened to her breathe. Eventually, Draven slowly fell asleep. As he dreamed, he dreamed of a man that looked much like Nina, a little taller with dark brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. He was sitting on a rock on the beach as he approached. When Draven drew up to be even with him, he turned to look at him with a similar smile to Nina’s. “Ah, you must be Draven.”

He nodded, “I am.”

“I’m Wesley. Ur, Tiny. It’s a pleasure to meet the man that has stolen my sister’s heart.”

“Thanks. You, too. I’m sorry I never got to meet you in person.”

He smiled, “It’s okay. I knew you were there. And thank you for being there for my sister, she is usually the one there for everyone else.”

“I gather that.”

“Let her know that our mother says hello and that she is very proud of the woman she has become.”

“I will.”

They both stared out at the ocean.

Then Wesley said, “Draven, I was sent to you to tell you that you are and will be everything that she needs or will ever need. But you will be tested to the limit before you will be allowed to be with her.”

“What do you mean?”

He smiled, “I can’t tell you that. But what I can tell you is that your strength and your will, will be tested to the max, brother. Being a young Ranger, I didn’t have many missions, but the one you will endure, you can either fight and come out on top, or let it kill and consume you.”

Draven felt a sense of dread fill his gut.

Wesley stood up, and Nina was right, compared to his own six foot two, frame, he felt Tiny though he wasn’t. “I know they call you Shadow,” Draven snapped his head up and looked at him. Wesley continued, “The Shadows are coming. And I know you are comfortable in them, but don’t get too comfortable in them bro,” he said with a smirk.

“I feel like this is one big riddle.”

“You will understand when the time comes.”

Draven looked at his hands and then back at Wesley, “Am I going to die?”

He looked dead-on at him, “Yes.”

Draven felt himself swallow deeply, lower his head and nod.

“Death isn’t the end brother.”

Draven could only nod.

“My time is growing short here.”

“I’m glad I got to meet you.”

“You can call me Tiny. All my brothers do.”

Draven nodded and tried to smile, “Will it hurt?”

Wesley smiled and said, “I can’t tell you that. But I will tell you, you have to wake up now.”

“What?”

“It’s time to wake up, Draven.”