A/N Happy New Year to all you loyal readers, the last few chapters have been 'relatively' drama free, but there are a few more crises on the horizon, hope you enjoy. And hope you all have a prosperous 2017.

Mz

Chapter Forty One

And it was. With every moment, every hot look, every sexily eaten mouthful of food, the ante between them just upped in huge, gigantic steps. Neither plate was empty when Theo threw down his cutlery, stood up and dragged Nina to her feet.

"Can't wait any longer," he groaned as he thrust his mouth to hers, tongue invading her mouth almost aggressively, hands clawing at her. But she was as desperate as him, before they bounced into the kitchen doorframe she had half the buttons of his shirt undone and the hand that wasn't clinging to his shoulder was inside the shirt sliding over his contoured chest and tweaking at his hard flat nipple.

"Fuck!" He hissed, the air escaping his lips like a whistle. "You fucking kill me Nina, every fucking time!"

With a grunt, he lifted her, tossing her over his shoulder in another caveman gesture, then almost sprinted up the steps to the sanctuary of his large bedroom.

Tossing her down onto the bed, he stood over her slowly unbuttoning the rest of his shirt, his eyes penetrating her almost burning her skin.

"Strip."

Her eyes widened at that. "What?"

"You heard. You said you liked caveman...so you get caveman. Strip and get on your knees, I'm in charge tonight."

Nina's whole body gushed at the words, and she knew that he knew that. His lips curved into a smirk, "I'm waiting."

Pounding heart, dizzy head, throbbing core...she was a pool of helplessness on the bed.

"You need help?"

He watched her for a few second before he reached for her belt, dragging her jeans and knickers over her hips before tossing them over his shoulder. The look in his eyes was predatory, the way he was watching her, appraising her, she had a feeling she'd struggle to survive the night with any part of her heart or soul left.

"T-shirt," he commanded, lifting her right leg and nibbling at her ankle.

Instead of feeling mortified that she was open to him, that he could see every part of her, her body just seemed to throb more, she wanted his hands on her, wanted his mouth to devour her, and every part of her joined inextricably to her.

Without any conscious involvement, her thighs fell apart offering herself to him, at the same moment she pulled her shirt up dragging it over her head, at the very second his tongue buried between her legs.

In a ridiculously short amount of time she was bucking off the bed, her fingers in his hair dragging his face deeper against her. She was panting as though she'd run a marathon when he finally lowered himself over her, burying himself inside her still vibrating body.

"Shit," she gasped as she crested once more, and as she exploded, she wondered if she'd ever be the same again.

I love you. Three little words, but they were choking in her throat. Since her multiple orgasm event the previous night, those three little words had been stuck in her throat threatening to spill out and it terrified her. She'd not said those words since Josh was the biggest thing in her life back in her school days. And that hadn't worked out exactly well.

But she did love him, she knew that, there was no use hiding that, and he made her feel special, his desperation to see her, to be with her, the effect they had on each other was mutual. When they'd collapsed together he'd kissed the top of her head, pulling her close, wrapping in his arms as he breathed the word "amazing" repeatedly into her hair. This thing was no longer casual between them, not that it ever had been, but with each passing day it got more serious, and at some point they had to acknowledge that.

But throwing the 'ILY' thing into the situation would only complicate things; so instead, she bit her tongue and allowed him to overwhelm her senses with his ardour.

"You going to join me before anyone else wakes?" Theo watched from the door to the en suite as Nina slowly woke. It was dark, just after six, but he wanted them to be out of the bedroom when Melody woke. He was starting to expose her to whatever this was with Nina, it was a little too erratic to be a relationship, but it was real, and he wanted it to go on, so that meant letting Melody into this, but not whilst they were naked...in bed.

Nina was cute when she was asleep, and as her eyes peeled open, his heart surged, "is it morning? It feels like the middle of the night."

"After all we did it couldn't possibly still be the middle of the night...shower? With me?"

She sighed, rolling onto her stomach, burying her head in the pillows, and he couldn't help but stare at her shapely backside, she was petite, her legs weren't long, but they were perfect. Everything about her was just that...different, yet perfect for him.

"You don't have to; I quite like the thought of you being aware of me and what I've done to you all day."

She groaned, "gross, you really are pushing the caveman bullshit today."

Laughing he stepped back into the bathroom and turned on the shower, he'd barely moved under the spray when two arms encircled his waist, and a simple shower became another thing he didn't think he could ever forget.

When he came downstairs with Melody clamped to his back, Nina had cleared away the dishes from the previous day, but was on the phone talking anxiously.

She glanced up and gave an awkward smile then spoke into the handset leaving the room. A few moments later she came back into the room.

"I'm sorry. I have to go..."

His disappointment was overwhelming, she was always rushing off, and he just wanted to spend more time with her, he watched her cross the room and ruffle Melody's hair, "See you soon cherub."

Then she turned to him, "sorry."

He gave a wry smile as she stretched up to kiss his cheek, "it's ok."

Shaking her head she slipped her arms into her coat, "no it's not. But I really can't change this. I'll make it up for you."

"I'll hold you to it."

She hadn't reached the end of the street before she had called Lilah back, but all she got was her answer phone. She'd been verging on hysterical, and whilst she'd understandably not coped well with much since her assault, this was different. She seemed distraught...defeated. She was on her way to the hospital to meet with her consultant at the special post-assault maternity unit, but she was bleeding, had pain.

Nina wasn't sure what to think, but she didn't think that Lilah could take much more heartbreak. The taxi she waved to limbered through rush hour traffic to the hospital at both great time and expense, and Nina wished she'd gone with the tube more than a dozen times before they finally stopped at the entrance to the hospital.

Running into the corridor she was more scared than she had been in a long time, Lilah had sounded terrified, and since hanging up she wasn't answering any more calls. The receptionist looked up stunned as the door was flung open.

"I'm looking for Lilah..." Before she had a chance to finish her question, the woman held up her hand to silence her.

"You must be Nina. She's calling out for you; she's just along here to the right."

Nina gasped, realising how unfit she was, the run from the road had almost killed her.

Lilah was sat in the bed, pale, tired, scared. Lilah rushed up to her, "what's wrong darling?"

Immediately her friend started to cry, "she's gone. The baby's gone."

Nina felt real pain and grief on behalf of her friend as she slid on to the bed next to her and held her tightly in her arms. After a few moments Lilah was a little more composed, resting her head on Nina's shoulder.

"It's my fault. I didn't want it...and now it's my fault that she's gone. I didn't deserve her."

Nina shook her head, pulling Lilah to look at her, "don't ever say that, you've had to cope with a ton of shit, none of this is your fault. You can't think that. What happened? You were so happy when I left you."

And that was true, Lilah had been so up and down flicking from devastated to euphoric at the drop of a hat, it had made for traumatic living, but the last few days she'd been so much better, happy with her choices, settled.

Now this. She deserved a break from it all. Her luck just had to change.

An hour later Lilah was ready to talk.

"I woke up feeling tired...more than usual even for me. I was meeting those friends' of Amelia to show your ideas, but I'd barely sat down and I felt rough, bad stomach, just off colour. I thought it was a stomach upset, but then I went to the bathroom and I was bleeding. I knew then that it was the end, but I came here hoping, praying that my baby would be ok. But she wasn't."

Nina rubbed her arm supportively, "some things aren't meant to be, you know? There'll be other times, and it'll be when the time is right and when you've got an amazing partner at your side. Not that this baby would have been a disaster, it just wasn't planned the same way, was it?"

She gave a knowing laugh, "no, this wasn't planned. I don't think I could ever go through it again...I never want to get pregnant as I can't cope with this pain."

Nina shook her head, "this was the sole happy thing to come out of a living hell. It wasn't a perfect situation, but in the future...any other time will be different, happy, planned...loved. You have done nothing wrong, nothing at all. This is just something that happens."

Lilah's bottom lip quivered, "but why is it always to me?"

Shaking her head she pulled her close, "I don't know darling, I really don't."

She was kept in that night as she'd lost a lot of blood, so Nina took the chance to visit her family home. She hadn't been there in years, and it had stood empty since she'd helped evict her brother and Imelda almost a month earlier. They'd been quiet after the first few days, James had bombarded her with calls, but those days she hadn't heard from them, and neither had Larry, the solicitor. That in usual circumstances would be a good thing, but in the case of those two, who knew what they were planning.

She'd had a few meetings with financial advisors, and also Larry himself, as she didn't want to sell the house, not now that the two evil people were out of it. It had a hefty debt against it, but she was financially solvent, she had no major outgoings, but taking on a large mortgage wasn't the most relaxing thought. But selling it wasn't any easier. Maybe it was the blossoming relationship with Theo, or all that had happened to Lilah, either way, she was feeling rather territorial over her roots, her own history...plus it was the last thing that linked her to her father...and mother.

In an ideal world she'd discuss it with Theo, but she'd walked out on him that morning, again. She was doing a lot of that lately.

The house was across the City, but not a million miles, so she jumped a cab and made her way rather anxiously towards it. They'd changed the locks and she had a set of keys. She had to make a decision about it soon, and this seemed a perfect time to make that decision.

As she paid the driver, her phone rang, and glancing at the handset she was rewarded with Theo's name flashing at her. Connecting the call she almost swooned at his warm voice.

"Hey, just wondering how you're doing?"

She leaned against the wall, she'd stopped the cab at the end of the street, she needed some time to build up to entering the house. "Good. Thanks. Sorry to abandon you earlier...and I'm sorry that I can't tell you about it."

He sighed, "I wasn't phoning for a reason, I just wanted to see how you are. Are you back in Brighton? Will we catch up again soon?"

She chuckled, "no, I'm still in London. I'm about to enter my family home for the first time in years."

"Kensington? Are you nervous about it?"

She knew she was chewing on her lip, she was nervous, he'd hit the nail on the head, "apprehensive is the word I'd use...but yes...it is unsettling."

"You want me to join you? Everyone's settled at home...I could be there in fifteen minutes."

For someone used to doing everything alone, this unexpected offer warmed her heart, "you'd do that?"

"Of course. The usual carer is here for Mansell. She'll listen out for Melody. Stay where you are I'll drive over."

She sighed with relief. "There's a pub, opposite the end of the road, the Royal Britannia. I can wait there for you?"

"You'd rather wait in a pub alone rather than your family home. Such a sad thing."

Nina half laughed, "that just about sums up my life."

True to his word, he was there within fifteen minutes. He was a welcome sight; he was the definite highlight of a very strained day.

Walking up to her he swooped down and claimed her lips in a kiss that mirrored her own desperation and was totally inappropriate for a public area. But uncaring, it was long moments before they separated, but his arms stayed wrapped around her.

"I think I'm becoming addicted to you."

She purred at that, "I like to hear that confession Mr Peterson."

"Shall we get this sorted? Quash these demons?"

Nina nodded, "it is wrong that I'm terrified of going to my own home?"

He took her hand and led her to the door, "What's wrong is that your family have made this situation occur. You've done nothing wrong here, you are the victim here."

Sighing she strolled alongside him down the street she'd skipped down hundreds of times as an innocent school girl.