Chapter 10
10
“ L et’s go.” Bellamy patted his leg and both Tucker and Roxy raced past him, flying up the stairs, nearly knocking him over. Hayden lazily strolled up the stairs as if he didn’t have a care in the world. No matter where the dogs landed on the bed, Hayden got her way. Whatever space he wanted, Roxy would gladly give it up, and Tucker would lose the battle.
Bellamy stood in the center of the stairs and jingled the bell, calling Ollie and Maverick. He didn’t typically force them to follow him, but tonight was one of those nights where he would close the bedroom door, locking in all the animals. He needed to do that with the cats because of the kitty litter.
And the dogs were working.
But they would have stayed with him anyway.
Well, Tucker never left his side unless he put her in the kennel. Roxy was a different story. While he continued to train her, retirement was no longer in her future. It was her present. It wasn’t that she didn’t have the skill set any longer because she did. But she wasn’t as quick. And honestly, she didn’t have the drive to perform and please like she used to.
That was okay. She was getting up there in years and she knew the second he brought home Tucker that her time as a working dog was limited. The first few months, Roxy didn’t pay Tucker any attention. As a matter of fact, she was downright mean. However, that didn’t last. Roxy was a smart dog, and she knew she could never be replaced in his heart.
Ollie flew around the corner at the base of the stairs, skidding to a stop before leaping up the staircase toward Bellamy’s legs. He laughed as she tried to climb up his jeans to get her treat.
“Not yet, you silly girl. Where is your brother?” Bellamy rang the bell a second time and a tiny little meow echoed from the top of the stairs. “All right. Let’s all go to bed.” He scooped up the two little kittens, tucking them under his arms.
The door at the top of the stairs squeaked open and Nova stuck her head out. “What the hell was that dinging?”
Bellamy chuckled. “Just collecting all the animals so if you open your door in the middle of the night, one of the cats doesn’t get trapped in there and go nuts on you.”
She reached out and ran her fingers through Maverick’s soft coat. “I wouldn’t mind snuggling in with one of these cuties. But I get the whole litter box thing and these two run for cover every time they see me.”
“Give them one more day and they will be your best friend.”
“And what about their owner?” Nova dropped her hand and lifted her gaze. “Are you going to be mad at me forever?”
“No, and I should have said I was sorry when you first showed up. Running late for a meeting is no excuse and I appreciate you being here for Octavia. It’s good for her to have you around. You serve as a bridge from the last five years into the present.”
“She’s struggling with her decision to stay dead. Besides the hurt it’s causing those she cares about, she believes it’s why Tate is dead.”
“It’s not her fault. Not to beat a dead horse, but you and Tate made a huge mistake by trying to do this alone.” Sometimes Bellamy didn’t know when to shut his trap. One of the many reasons the few women he’d tried to have relationships with after Octavia had told him to take a hike.
Nova leaned against the doorjamb. “While I don’t necessarily disagree with you, the situation was complicated and if you’d take five seconds to look at it from a different perspective, you might understand.” She held up her hand and lowered her chin. “I totally get your point of view. I’d be upset if I were walking in your shoes. But you need to take out the fact that you have a past history with Octavia, that she was your girlfriend, and only consider her as an informant and person who needed protection in a raid that didn’t make sense. If you can do that, you might be able to see that you probably would have done exactly the same thing.”
“Nova, you’re not telling me shit that a dozen other people haven’t tried to get me to see. Trust me, I understand the ripple effect. I get what you and Tate were trying to do and honestly, I’m tired of having the same old argument. We’re good. However, I need you to be honest with me and my team from this point forward.”
She nodded. “You should know that your parents are worried about you. So much so that they expect me to report back each night. I hate lying to them and they think you’re going to go off the deep end, especially if Eric makes his way to Hawaii.”
“I’m a little worried about that myself,” Bellamy admitted. “I was going to text you before I went to bed about one piece of information I got at the office today.”
“If it’s about Eric putting in for a couple of days off, Cooper already told me. ”
Bellamy had asked Cooper about Nova twice while at the Brotherhood Protectors ranch and all he got was a couple of grunts followed by they were just friends. Bellamy wasn’t so sure about Cooper’s true feelings for Nova. Maybe they had only gone out on a handful of dates, but anyone with eyes could see there was something brewing between those two.
Rusty and Ethan both agreed.
Even Waylen asked about it.
“Don’t give me that look,” Nova said.
Bellamy jerked his head back. The kittens in his arms had started to squirm, while Hayden rolled around on his back halfway down the hall. Both Roxy and Tucker were well aware they were working and sat tall at the top of the stairs.
Good dogs.
“And what look would that be?”
“The one where you’re halfway between judging me and trying to figure out what you don’t know. I hate it when you do that. Just come out and ask me what you want to know, although I’m sure my answer won’t be any different than your best friend’s.” She pursed her lips and cocked her head.
“Fine. Have it your way.” He adjusted his kittens before they started scratching his arms. “But I’ve got fifty bucks that the two of you end up together.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. Hard. “ Right. Next thing you’re going to tell me is you’re not in love with Octavia.”
His heart dropped to his toes and then flew right to his throat. Not because he couldn’t admit it. He could and would. But he couldn’t say it to Octavia. Not yet. Too much had happened in the last few days. Not to mention, he needed to solve the problem so she could have her life back.
Then he’d tell her exactly how he felt. Hopefully that happened before she took that damn test. His chest tightened. That did scare the crap out of him. It wasn’t anything he was prepared for. “I’m not having that discussion with you,” he said. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the master. Either text or knock on the door.”
“Master bedroom?” She pushed from the doorjamb and stared at him with wide eyes.
He laughed. “Good night, Nova. See you bright and early.” He turned on his heel, both dogs following his lead. Hayden rolled, scrambled to his feet, and scurried off into the master. Once inside, he closed the door, setting the kittens down and pulling little treats for everyone from his pockets. He eyed the bed, which was empty.
Octavia had mentioned she might take another long hot bath before turning in. He was glad she was taking full advantage of his massive bathroom. However, he neglected to discuss tonight’s sleeping arrangement. He wasn’t about to separate the dogs. That wouldn’t go over well and the cats wouldn’t appreciate it either. He could leave the door open to whatever room he chose to sleep in, but that meant the cats and Roxy would be going back and forth and it was just so much easier to close the master.
And share a bed with Octavia.
He could be a gentleman and he could keep his hands to himself. If that’s what she wanted. And if that was the case, he’d let Roxy sleep half the night in the bed and then change places with Tucker.
That was one nice thing about having two working dogs. Actually, Tucker would take the lion’s share of the work. He’d split it three ways, having Roxy take maybe three hours in the middle of the night.
If Octavia had other things on her mind, well, there was a full box of condoms in the nightstand. But that would be her call.
“Tucker, guard.” He pointed toward the door. If he hadn’t heard rumblings about Eric wanting to take time off work and more chatter about possibly coming to Hawaii, he wouldn’t bother with the exercise.
The bathroom door opened and Octavia crossed the threshold wearing his boxers and his shirt.
He swallowed. “Hello,” he managed, unable to tear his gaze from her beautiful body. Even the animals paused what they were doing to soak in her radiance. Without giving too much thought to what he was doing, he ripped off his shirt, breezed past her, and dumped it in the dirty hamper. He snagged his toothbrush and loaded it with toothpaste. “I see you’re enjoying the heated floor.” He chuckled, wiggling his toes. “I think I’ve turned it on twice. Seems odd to have in Hawaii.” He rinsed his toothbrush under the water and went about the business of getting ready for bed, not paying too much attention to Octavia, other than her puzzled expression as she pulled back the comforter and climbed under the sheets.
“Not when your floor for the last five years has been made up of mostly dirt.” She fluffed the pillow and glared as he strolled around the foot of the bed and climbed in next to her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Do I really need to answer that?” He lifted the TV remote and found the latest game before dimming the lights. “Before you go and try to kick me out, I need both dogs in one place. We have to run on the assumption that Eric is coming. He’s a sneaky devil and I don’t trust him. For the foreseeable future, we’re in the same bedroom until this is over.”
She arched a brow. “Nova is down the hall. Some big dude by the name of Mano is parked down the street.” She waggled her finger under his nose. “And your buddies are taking turns driving by. Not to mention you snuck out of here last night because you don’t know how to have an adult conversation.”
He pursed his lips and folded his arms across his chest. “Not true. You needed sleep and I had work to do.” While part of what she said was true, so was the fact he had piles of paperwork he needed to comb through. There were so many details Tate hadn’t left behind, and Nova had only scratched the surface.
He still didn’t have a good handle on it.
But he was closer.
All he had to do was put the pieces of the puzzle together before Eric landed in Hawaii.
He gave himself less than a week.
“Speaking of work, did you talk to my father today?” She rolled to her side, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand.
“He was in meetings all day. He texted and said he’d call me on the way to the office in the morning.” Bellamy set the remote on the coffee table. He’d been given two reports from the Brotherhood Protectors man following Claudius. Currently, her father was in his home entertaining a few buddies for a poker game. What Bellamy didn’t know was if this was a regular game or an impromptu one.
He figured that might make a difference.
“I did have a lengthy conversation with both my parents. They gave us some good intel regarding some of the things Tate was working on.” He tucked a piece of Octavia’s hair behind her ear. “We all know my folks didn’t care for Eric and not because of you.” He ran his hand up and down her arm, enjoying her silky skin. “Turns out, both my mom and dad were helping Tate and Nova gather anything they could to prove Eric was up to something in South America, especially after they connected your missing youths as drug runners, but no matter how much they tried, they could never bring it back to Eric. My dad mentioned having a discussion with Tate regarding human trafficking, but Tate said it was only a theory and had no evidence. My parents couldn’t pull too many resources without hard evidence.”
“And Tate couldn’t out me as the one who had been in Eric’s ear. Not after I died. There was no way to explain where he would have learned that juicy piece of information.”
“Exactly.” Bellamy wrapped his arms around her body. “My parents are smart. They know something is up. They didn’t push me too hard, which tells me they think they know what it is. That scares me. Especially because when they mentioned you, they didn’t start in on how I need to move on with my life.” He pressed his finger over her lips. “Nova came at me a little bit ago, saying my parents were worried about me and they wanted reports each evening. That shouldn’t strike me as odd, but in this context it does.”
“Why?”
“They’ve always worried about my anger toward Eric and that if I were in the same room with him—alone—that my temper would get the better of me. I’ve struggled for years to comprehend what happened with Roxy and the other K9s. Compound that with Eric being the one to tell me and my team we weren’t fit for the K9 Military Pilot program. He actually rubbed what happened that day in my face. As if your death was my fault. He pushed my buttons during the meeting and again in the hallway. Cooper and the guys had to hold me back.”
“Eric enjoyed goading you.”
“I won’t disagree with that, but you know my parents better than most. They wouldn’t have Nova reporting back to them regarding my demeanor if they weren’t fishing for something. If they didn’t believe the chatter. And they wouldn’t come right out and ask me unless they were alone in their car on a secure line and that would require one of us to set it up.”
Octavia bolted to an upright position, clutching the covers to her chin and shaking her head. “They’re playing Nova. Working her for information and she’s giving it to them without even knowing it. So are you. They know I’m alive. ”
“Based on the fact they didn’t even ask me about my last mission, where it was, or anything related to Tate and Colombia, I’d say your assessment is correct.”
“This is not good.”
“It’s not bad.” He tugged her back to his chest, fiddling with the fabric of her shirt. “You rising from the dead is a play I’ve been thinking about all day. It brings the players to my territory and allows me to control the narrative and the takedown. It also strips Eric of some power. He can’t come slinking in here like a fucking snake in the dark of night.”
She shivered.
“Sorry. Me and my stupid analogies.”
“It was a good one.” She pressed her lips against his neck. They were warm. Seductive. Her tongue darted out and caressed the sensitive spot just under his earlobe.
He couldn’t concentrate on anything but her when she did that. “Keep that up and I’ll be reaching for those condoms tucked in the top drawer of my nightstand.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t use you like this, but I need my mind to stop this endless loop and sex is the only action I know that will do that.”
He cupped her chin. “You can’t use me if I’m a willing participant.” He kissed her. Hard. Wild. Passionate .
As the kiss deepened, Bellamy's resolve to keep Octavia safe hardened. For years he'd lived with a painful void in his heart, thinking she was gone forever. Now that he had her back, he knew one thing was certain. He wouldn't let her slip away again.
"Promise me something," Octavia whispered against his lips as they broke apart, her eyes shimmering under the moonrays filtering from the skylight.
"Anything," he vowed, stroking a thumb over the delicate scar marring her cheek—a stark reminder of the trauma she had survived.
"Promise me you won't let Eric hurt me… or use me to gain power." Her voice was barely a whisper but her words resounded in his heart, sinking deep.
A surge of protectiveness overwhelmed him. "I'll burn the world down before letting that happen, O." His voice was fierce, leaving no room for doubt.
She nodded, pressing her body closer to his as if seeking solace. Her hand traced a path on his chest, and she glanced up at him through her lashes, an unspoken question lingering in her gaze. "Bellamy… what we have… this second chance… it's real, right?"
His heart clenched at the vulnerability in her voice.
"Yes, it's real. More real than anything I've ever known." He lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it across the room. Being with her again was literally a dream come true. He could only hope he was man enough this time not to ruin everything.
Octavia's lips curved into a small, hopeful smile at his words, and she relaxed in his arms. As Bellamy watched her, his heart hammered inside his chest, as if his love for her etched itself more deeply into his soul with every passing moment.
His fingers traced a path down her bare shoulder, awe washing over him at the privilege of having her trust again. His decision was clear; he would expose Eric's manipulation and greed, no matter the cost. As long as Octavia remained safe and unaffected.
Suddenly, Octavia’s fingers danced over the tattoo on his chest, the Marine Raider insignia inked over his heart. It was a mark of his past, one that he wore with rugged pride.
"Do you ever miss it?" she asked softly, her gaze locked on the intricate design.
He hesitated for a moment before replying. "The action? The adrenaline rush? Sometimes," Bellamy admitted. There was an inherent thrill in being part of the military—in knowing that you were serving your country. But he knew all too well the toll it took on personal lives. "But not more than how much I've missed you."
Octavia's smile widened. Her touch was gentle yet firm against his skin—grounding him, assuaging any lingering doubts he had about their past and future.
There was too much at stake now—Octavia’s safety, exposing Eric’s malicious intentions, and dealing with whatever consequences this investigation would bring forth. But for now, he wanted to lose himself in Octavia—to cherish this second chance they had been given.
She’d always been the rhythm of his heart. The one thing that made his soul connect to the outside world. She gave his purpose in life more of a singular meaning.
But he’d been too wrapped up in what he thought—instead of what he felt—to follow what his heart knew he needed more than anything.
Not this time.
No way could he live through her walking out of his life again.
With more aggression than necessary, he yanked her boxers to her ankles and kissed his way to her core. The need to give her pleasure filled every cell in his body. It roared through his veins like a roller coaster. He tried to be gentle, but his desperation gripped his better judgment.
Her fingernails dug into his scalp, encouraging him to go deeper. Harder.
He refused to relent until her body rocked and shook with a violent orgasm.
And that’s exactly what happened as she slammed her thighs against his face, arching her back and calling out his name.
It was hard not to have a moment of pride.
Kissing her taut stomach, his breath hitched. He paused for a second, splaying his hand over her midsection before reluctantly reaching for the drawer of his nightstand.
He contemplated going without. They were already waiting to find out if there were consequences to the last time. The fact that it might already be a possibility didn’t give him the right to keep doing it.
A mistake was meant to be learned from and not repeated.
Only, being with Octavia could never been seen as a mistake and how could a child with her be viewed as that way too?
He shoved those thoughts right out of his head as he scooted up the bed, while she kept grabbing his hand, stopping him from opening the drawer.
“O. I need to get the protection,” he managed between ragged breaths.
She blinked. Her eyes filled with water. Visions of their painful past stared back at him. Their loss filled his heart and soul as if it hadn’t happened eight years ago but was happening now. It had crushed them both and then tore them apart.
He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He kissed her temple. Her forehead. Her cheek. And finally, pressed his lips over her mouth. “I know, O. I know.” The only thing he could do now was let her know she was loved. That their baby had been loved.
And he did love her. More than anything in the world.
Kissing away a few tears that escaped her eyes, he accepted he’d give Octavia whatever she wanted. Needed. But he hadn’t the slightest clue what that was in this moment. In years past, he didn’t dare ask. He’d take a calculated risk and hope he’d made the right decision.
But he was a changed man.
He fanned her face, staring into her beautiful, loving eyes. He managed to stick his hand in the drawer and pulled out one of the condoms. “Do you want me to use this or not?” He honestly had no idea what he wanted her answer to be. He knew what it should be.
Neither one of them were ready or equipped to deal with a family. It had less to do with the situation and more that they still needed time to heal. Time to get to know one another. Time to prove he was truly a better man. One worthy of her love.
Her eyes grew wide and hint of shock glimmered in her irises.
“We’ve already danced with fate. I can admit I don’t really understand how the female?— ”
“That’s a load of crap. You know exactly how the biology works and you know it.”
“It’s not an exact science and not the point.” He waved the foil package under her nose. “This is your call.”
“It affects you too.”
He sighed, dropping his forehead to her shoulder. If this had been anyone other than Octavia, it wouldn’t even be a discussion. He’d be putting it on so fast it would make his head spin. “It’s nuts to go without, but when it comes to you, no one has ever said I’ve done the logical thing.”
“That’s the best nonanswer I’ve ever heard.” She lifted his chin. “You should wear it.”
“Okay.” Deep down, he knew it was the right thing to do. However, a small part of him wanted to push the boundaries. He wanted to ride this wave in hopes he never crashed and burned.
But reality seeped into his bones.
He slid the condom into place and rolled to his back. If he was going to have to wear the damn thing, he was at least going to get his favorite position. Rising up, he toyed with one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, while he took the other into his mouth. He was rewarded with an arch of her back as she rolled her hips over him, accepting his length.
Gripping her thighs, he guided her, slowly at first, so as to make sure he didn’t lose it before it really began. The condom should have helped, but with Octavia, nothing could have kept the passion from her body seeping over to his. The need to give her another orgasm rippled from his toes to his fingertips. He lowered his hand, rubbing his thumb across her hard nub.
She tossed her head back and moaned, jerking her hips, grinding against him in an intoxicating dance. Her hands slammed against his chest. Her muscles tightened. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
He exploded with force inside her, his fingers digging into her thighs. His breath stuck in his lungs like a caged animal. He couldn’t swallow, much less speak.
But he didn’t need to.
All he needed was Octavia.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, letting out a long sigh, kissing her temple. “My sweet O,” he whispered.
She snuggled in next to him as he pulled the covers up over their bodies. The moon and the stars shined bright in the dark sky. The irony of the broken condom wasn’t lost on him, but he’d wait until fresh light to bring that up.
For now, he’d relish in holding her in his arms. Engulfed by their shared warmth and unspoken promises, oblivious to the storm that was sure to come his way in the light of day.