Malum: Part 1 (The Elite King's Club 4)

“Nate,” I sigh, shaking my head. “I love that you would do that for her—”

“—and you…”

I smile, trying to ignore how that makes me feel. When you’ve wanted someone and something for so long, when it finally happens, the feeling is surreal. “And me. But this is your world. Your family.”

He shakes his head. “Baby, if they come for you or her, they will no longer be any of those things. In fact, they’ll be my enemies.”

That scares me. Not because I know Nate can’t hold his own, because God knows he can, but this is The Kings. There’s no way.

“Okay,” I answer instead, keeping my frantic thoughts to myself. “Well, maybe call Hector, and you can see him later tonight? I sort of want us to have a family day today. You know, since we haven’t had one of those yet.”

A lazy smile spreads over his face. “Yeah, I’d like that. Give me a second.” Reaching for his phone, I pick Micaela up and take her into the bathroom to change her. He’s still on the phone when I enter the bedroom, but he’s not being hostile, so I take it as a good sign.

“Yeah, good,” he murmurs, and then hangs up the phone.

The truth is, I don’t know what he and I are, or where this is going, but over the last twenty-four hours, there has been progress. So I’m going to go with it and see where that takes us.

“What’s the plan, do you have one or had you not thought that far ahead?” Nate asks, taking Micaela from me and heading into the kitchen to feed her.

“I hadn’t, but I’m sure we can think of something.” Normal. I want one normal day.

The day goes rather quickly. Nate decided to take her to a small beach that his mom used to take him to as a young boy. He just couldn’t resist himself when we walked past a Tiffany & Co store and purchased a little silver charm bangle for Michaela. Her first of many, was his exact words. We snapped a whole bunch of photos and even went as far as to burying Nate in the sand with Micaela next to him sprawled out on a towel, laughing. Her eyes are always on her daddy, and his on her. Their bond is something indescribable. Unmovable. After the beach, we went to get ice cream and Nate fed her up on a whole bunch of sugar and food that no child her age should be having. It’s sundown and Micaela is yawning when we finally head home. Taking the steps two at a time, Nate’s hand touches mine just as I’m entering the pool house.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I answer back, searching his eyes. I saw Nate today. Really saw him, in his element with our daughter, and it was a beautiful thing.

His fingers graze my cheek. “I might be out late, but I’ll come in in the morning.”

I smile, knowing that this is probably the closest I’ve ever felt to him. I want to wrap this feeling around me and keep it forever. “Okay.”

He leaves, after kissing me and Micaela on the lips and I get busy with her bath. I put some random playlist through the sound dock and wash her up, dressing her in nice warm pajamas. When it’s time for her to go to bed, I pull out a children’s book that I found in the closet. The worn crinkled edges exhibit the age. I’m guessing over one-hundred years.

“Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies…”

Minutes later, I’m lost in the story when I hear Micaela snoring softly, her body limp. I take this time to twirl one of her curls around my finger, smiling down at her. She may have come unexpectedly, and her father and I may battle like War and Peace, but if everything I have lived through would bring me to this very moment, I would go through it over and over again just to have her in my arms, like this, snoring her sweet little head off. With my heart full and my legs throbbing from our long day, I gently tuck her into bed and press a few too many kisses on her warm forehead, closing my eyes as her soft inhale and exhale of breaths mist against my cheek. I gave life, and I would take one if it meant saving her.

“I love you, my angel. For always and forever.”

With a smile on my face, I slip under the covers, turn the lamp off and drift to sleep. In the back of my mind, I argue with myself on whether or not I locked the door, and just as I get up, I remember pushing the lock in after Micaela’s bath. Sleep sucks me deep.

When I was thirteen, I had a crush. This one was different from my last. Jordan Samuel was innocent. As innocent as butterflies fluttering in your belly. This one was electricity, zapping through my guts.