Saving Sky Read online

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “It’s just that, I feel so wrong for all the shit I’ve done in life. You’ve been so upstanding, and if you knew the things I did before even all this, you’d think otherwise,” I said.

  He laughed, and I looked at him. “I’m being serious.”

  “I know you are,” he said with a smile. “I ran a background check on you as soon as I knew your real name.”

  “You did?” I asked, shocked to hear it. “You know?”

  “You haven’t done anything that would stop me from wanting to be with you. And I don’t think you ever could,” he said. I looked down again. My eyes were filling with tears, and I couldn’t speak with the lump in my throat. I wanted to run to him, but I also felt like I was going to sink on the bed and just cry.

  I had held in so many emotions for so long, it was hard to hear that someone accepted me for who I was. Jack looked around the room, then he grabbed a chair and pushed it under the door handle.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as I looked up.

  “Come here,” he said. He walked over to me and pulled me close. I was careful of his bandages, but I more than welcomed his lips as he kissed me.

  “A nurse is going to be here any minute!” I said. “We can’t!”

  “Don’t tell me after all you’ve been through you don’t have some sense of adventure,” he teased. I grinned. He was right, it would be fun to have sex when we might be caught.

  “You’re going to get us kicked out,” I said with a smile.

  “Of the hospital?” he asked with a laugh. “I don’t think that’s a thing.”

  “It could be!” I said.

  “Shh,” he whispered. He kept kissing me, his hands working their way over my body. I was getting more and more turned on by the second, despite the fact I was worried a nurse was going to walk in the room and catch us. It wasn’t going to go over well that he’d blocked them out with the chair. They were sure to know something was going on.

  But still, his hands up my shirt, running over my body, it was more than I could ask for.

  I wasn’t wearing a bra. I hadn’t been since the day I arrived. I didn’t want to be constricted by anything right now. I wanted to be free and comfortable. My nipples stiffened under his touch, and I let out a slight moan.

  “Come on,” he breathed. “Let’s be naughty.”

  It was the last I needed to hear. We pulled off each other’s clothes. The more that came off, the more turned on I was, and the less I cared if we got caught. Let a nurse walk in on us for all I cared. I loved this man, and I wanted to feel him inside me. I had nearly lost him, and I needed to make sure he was still whole. It was fate that brought us together and kept us together when it seemed impossible.

  I moaned as he kissed my neck, working his way down to my tits. He pushed me back on the bed, pulling my ass to the edge. We were both trying to be quiet, but it was difficult as we were caught up in the heat of the moment. I couldn’t get enough of him. I had to have him inside me.

  And I had to have him right the fuck then.

  He pushed his cock inside my pussy, causing me to moan again. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he braced himself against the bed. He leaned over me and our mouths met, and I teased him with my tongue. He let out a soft moan as I took his bottom lip in my teeth, gently pulling out and letting it go.

  His hands explored my body as mine did the same. The only thing that held me back was being careful of his wound.

  Jack thrust into me, pushing himself in as hard and fast as he could. He needed it just as much as I did. I realized that it was the first time we were able to truly be together and not have to worry about the future. Jack wanted to be with me, and I wanted him.

  Faster and harder he thrust, and the closer I was pushed to climax.

  “You’re going to make me come!” I gasped.

  “Shh,” he warned. “Or they might hear.”

  But the look on his face was mischievous, and I had a feeling he wouldn’t care if anyone did. He wanted it just as much as I did, and we were both happy to finally be together. I was as quiet as I could be as the waves of pleasure ran through my body.

  Jack thrust into me twice more before he joined me in ecstasy. He let out a moan, too, one that I feared was too loud. But then, he held me to him. I loved the feel of him spurting deep inside me, and I couldn’t get enough of his arms around me. It was the best feeling in the world.

  As the waves subsided, Jack held me for a moment. “I love you.”

  It was a simple phrase, but it was enough to make a lump rise in my throat once more.

  “Promise?” I asked. “Will you always love me?”

  “I promise,” he said. “No matter what life throws our way, I want to spend my life with you. You are made for me, and I can’t imagine being with anyone else. Promise, no matter what you do with your life next, your plans will include me?”

  “I promise,” I said. There were tears running down my eyes, and he kissed them away. He brushed the hair out of my face as he always did, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Do you realize we just had sex in a hospital bed?” I whispered.

  “They change the sheets when we leave anyway. Don’t worry,” he said. But there was a grin on his face as well.

  We were interrupted by a knock at the door, and I nearly leapt from the bed. “Just a minute!”

  “Are you alright in there?” the nurse called out.

  “Yes, I was just changing clothes!” I called out. I hoped it was a different nurse than the one who had left me before or I’d be caught in my lie and she’d know what we’d been up to. We both looked at each other, and it was hard not to burst into laughter as we pulled our clothes back on.

  I straightened the sheets as best as I could and grabbed my things off the bed. Jack struggled to get his shirt on, so I helped him before we headed back to the door. He silently put the chair back in its place, then I smiled nervously as I pulled the door open.

  The nurse looked surprised to see Jack in there, but neither of us mentioned it.

  “I’m ready,” I said. “Thank you.”

  “Okay. The discharge papers are on the front desk. Just sign those and you’re free to go,” the nurse looked confused. She was talking to me but staring at Jack. We both pushed past her, and I hurried to the desk as quickly as I could. Jack followed, giving me a kiss before I left.

  But there was no hiding the grins that were on our faces. We’d be laughing about it for a long time to come.

  It was so refreshing to be able to think about my life that far into the future. A future I could be proud of. One that would make my mom smile down on me from above. I didn’t need to be ashamed of my choices anymore. Jack helped me to see that I could do anything.

  He made me the happiest woman on the planet.

  And I was determined to return the favor.

  Epilogue

  Jack - Six Months Later

  “Sir, if we can pull off this drug bust, it’s going to be the biggest in history,” Welsh said.

  “Do you think we can do it?” I asked.

  “I know we can,” he replied. “We’re going to need two units, but if we have one coming in as backup, then we’re going to bring down the whole show. What do you think?”

  I thought for a second. It was harder than I thought, being Captain, but here I was. Captain Thomas, in charge of six units. I was now the man the rest of the officers reported to. I was the one who had to make these tough calls. And as that man, I felt sorry for some of the shit I’d put Captain Markel through.

  All the times that I’d thought he was a jerk, he was really doing his best to make the right decision for all of us. He didn’t just have to worry about the lives of civilians, he had to worry about the lives of the men and women in his units as well. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Sky that day, he cared about me, too. We were both his responsibility.

  He didn’t want to give me permission to do
something that was going to put my own life in danger. If he had, then he was going to have my death on his head. Even if he didn’t get in trouble for that, it was a hard burden to bear.

  I knew, because even though I’d only been captain of the division for three months, that had already happened. It was a tough night, and it wasn’t my personal fault that an officer fell, but I still carried his death with me every day. It was something Captain Markel had warned me about, and something I knew I could handle.

  But it wasn’t something I intended to make a habit of.

  “Okay. I need you to figure out when we can get the most men in that house at once. I want to bring as many in as we can at the same time, but I don’t want to spread this out,” I said at last. “It’s going to at least be next week. We know they have a mule bringing in more drugs next Wednesday, and it’s a big load.”

  Welsh nodded. “Next Thursday would be a good day to make the hit. That would be enough time for us to get the units together, form a plan, make sure we have our dates and location right, and make sure the drugs really are there. If we play our cards right, no shots will even be fired.”

  “That’s the way I like it,” I said with a grin. “Get it done and let me know.”

  He nodded and turned to go. Welsh had matured a lot over the past six months, and I was proud to give him a promotion. A lot of people had gotten promotions after Sky’s rescue. Though it had been rather lucky for us, we had managed to bring down three major mob bosses as well as Rocco with our sting.

  At first, Captain Markel had been pissed at me. He wanted me to wait for the backup to go in, too. Since I didn’t listen to him, I had nearly been killed for my own rebellion, and now that I was a captain, I hated that I’d done that to him.

  Sure, I’d managed to get to the right location and stop them from harming Sky, but in Markel’s eyes, that wasn’t something that was worth my life. It was still something we didn’t see eye to eye on, and we rarely spoke of it.

  We’d only point out how well we’d done bringing down the mob bosses and talk about how we were going to continue with that same mission. The more garbage we could clear from the streets, the less likely it was for that shit to happen again.

  He had initially wanted to fire me for my disobedience to his orders, but the Commissioner didn’t see things the same way. I had done wrong, that was for sure, but I had also done something the department had been trying for years to do.

  I’d been the one who was honored for bringing down the rest of the bosses. They didn’t want to fire an officer who was so bold or brave, they wanted to promote him. Captain Markel was already ready to go to a less intensive division of the department, and with his transfer coming, his place would be open.

  It didn’t take the Commissioner long to decide I was the right man for the job, and I took it with honor. I worked hard, I stood by my men, and I promoted Welsh. I wanted him to have a rank in the unit, and he was already doing a fine job with my old spot.

  With a partner of his own, he was calling the shots, and reporting back to me. It was working better than ever, and crime rate was falling.

  But, even more importantly to me than my job was my personal life. There was a time when the only thing I cared about was work. I didn’t care about putting my life on the line. All I cared about was justice for the victims. But now, things were different.

  Though I still would do anything to protect the peace, there was another person in my life who was my priority. And now that I’d finished with Welsh, I was going to go see her.

  I hopped in one of the cruisers and pulled out of the parking lot. I had to start early if I was going to get to campus in time. She only had a half hour lunch, and this was important.

  I was so proud of how far Sky had come. I’d taken to calling her Susie most of the time. Though Sky had been a childhood nickname, it had also been one she associated with a particularly awful time in her life. She didn’t want to be reminded of the things she’d had to do to survive as Sky. She had saved a lot of money during the time she was under Rocco’s thumb. Though she was scraping by with most of her life, she had a bag where she kept as much money she could spare as possible. After she got home from the hospital, she counted it.

  And it was more than she ever dreamed.

  Instead of finding a new job, she decided it was time for her to fulfill her dream of going through veterinarian school, getting a degree, and finally opening her own clinic. I knew it was ambitious, and she wasn’t sure she could do it, but I was proud of her for trying.

  As soon as I was able to move my arm easily again, we had moved her into my place. She could focus entirely on her school while I made enough money to support us both, and when she graduated, I’d help her start her clinic.

  And to make things even better for her, she was offered a position as an intern during her time in school. She wasn’t getting paid, but that didn’t matter. She was getting the experience she needed, and she was making friends. Her life was changing by leaps and bounds, and I was proud to be there by her side as it did.

  She was becoming a whole new person. There were aspects to her personality that I’d only gotten glimpses of before, and they were coming out in full force. The girl who was once afraid to look me in the eye was now walking down the sidewalk with her head held high.

  She was able to talk to people she didn’t know without feeling like she had to hide who she was, and she carried herself with a confidence that I’d never seen before.

  As for Smitty’s, it had been shut down for a few months. An investigation was launched into the treatment of the women who worked there, and a new man purchased the building. It was under new management, and while it was still a gentleman’s club, I was pleased to say that the women there were treated with dignity and respect.

  Anyone who disrespected any of them was thrown out without a second chance. They were treated right by the owner of the place, and the bouncers were there to make sure they were guarded. Though it was rare for Sky to visit because of the memories she had there, when she did drop by to see her old friends, she approved of the changes that had been made.

  Life was better than I ever imagined it could be, and I was proud of what we had accomplished. My life had meaning now, and I was excited for the future. I knew I worked a dangerous job, and there was a lot of risks that I had to take, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

  Now, there was just one more thing that I had to do. One last thing that would make my life complete.

  It was something I’d thought about long before we had Rocco behind bars. The day I left the hospital I made the stop that would make this happen. I had just been waiting for the right time.

  And now, I felt the time had come.

  I pulled into the parking lot outside her class, then I got out of the car and waited. The students were filing out slowly, some chatting with each other, others looking like they were overwhelmed. When Sky appeared, there was a grin on her face. She stopped for a second, clearly surprised that I was there.

  Some days I was able to see her for lunch, others she didn’t see me much at all. We worked around it and spent time together when we could. Our lives were busy, after all, and we had to make compromises.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked with a grin. She held her books to her chest as she stepped across the parking lot toward me. I merely smiled, not answering.

  “What’s the matter?” she teased. “Cat got your tongue?”

  I chuckled. She loved her puns now that she was in vet school. I put up with them, but right now, there was something more important on my mind. Instead of answering, I got down on my knee.

  “Oh, my God,” she gasped. “What are you doing?”

  “I could give you a big speech,” I said. “But I know you hate those as much as I do.”

  “Jack?” she looked at me with one raised eyebrow as I pulled out the ring. Her hand flew to her chest, and she had tears in her eyes. I knew the answer before I even asked,
but I had to say the words.

  “Susie Blake, will you marry me?”

  The End

  Forbidden Daddy (Sample)

  1

  Drake

  I splashed water over my face and looked at myself in the mirror. Dark circles were under my normally bright blue eyes, but even today they looked dull. Not to mention the creases in my forehead made me look older than I was. The scar on my chest stared back at me. A bullet wound that was lucky to have missed my heart but left me a permanent reminder regardless.

  I sighed. I might have been a little worse for wear after getting out of the military, but that was to be expected. It wasn’t easy being a Navy SEAL, and I’d seen my fair share of combat over the course of the ten years I was enlisted.

  But it wasn’t the Navy that had left me so despondent. It was the fact that I was home. I didn’t want to be home. Home was the last place on the planet I ever thought I’d return to.

  The city life bustled outside, but I stayed in my hotel room. I didn’t want to go out there and see people. I didn’t want to buy drinks and pretend to be having a good time. I didn’t want to even think. I missed the regimented routine of a mission.

  Thoughts were relentless, however, and they focused on one person and one person only. Anna Marie, my ex-wife.

  Anna Marie and I had been high school sweethearts after growing up two doors down from one another most of our lives. Neither of us really knew how it happened, it just did. We fit together so well, and our plans for the future matched perfectly. We knew we wanted to have a family, we knew we wanted to stay in Chicago, and most importantly, we knew we wanted to be together.

  She was beautiful. Tall, blonde, and fun-loving. She wanted to be a model more than anything, and I had no doubts in my mind that she would make it her career. She was a natural in front of the camera, and I didn’t pretend not to notice when she turned heads everywhere we went.