“Holy hell,” I gasped, his nose in my neck, my dry lips beside his ear, and our cocks soft and sticky, resting on our hands.
“That was… fucking stellar!”
“Yeah, yeah it was,” I replied then captured his soft, sweet lips for a kiss that went on and on and on before I rolled off to lie flat on my back. “Talk about flying to the moon.”
“You sent me into orbit.”
We both sniggered like fools. “Would it be too soon to mention wanting to explore Uranus?”
That made him snort, which made me laugh, which made him kiss me with the intensity of a sun going supernova. Science was sexy. Who knew?! We laid there making lame space cracks until his phone rang. He wiped his hand on his shirt as I tucked and zipped.
“My hand is a mess,” he complained while wrestling his phone from his back pocket.
“I can lick it clean.” He laughed lightly and then placed his phone to his ear. “I was being serious.”
He held out his right hand. I took it in mine and began lapping at the cooling spunk. We tasted fucking fantastic together.
“What? No, what?! Oh my God, are you and Emma okay?!” I sat up, worry crashing down on me at the panicked tone of his voice, all licking coming to a screeching halt. “Oh thank God! I’ll be right there. It’s okay, it’ll all be okay. I’m coming now.”
I got to my feet as Joe flung himself out of my bed. “What happened?”
Joe turned his head to face me, his eyes wide. “I have to go. It’s Natalie. Our house just burned down.”
Twelve
Joseph
I recall Simon telling everyone at the party to leave. Then he scooped us me, Colorado and Maddie into the car and headed to my sister and Emma. I remember sirens, and arriving at the house too late. I know they told us my sister and Emma were at the hospital. They must have told us, even if I didn’t hear, because Simon yanked me back from running into the smoking ruins of my family home, and into the car. We sped toward the hospital at speed but why did we have a police escort? Was it to give me time to say goodbye? Was my sister dead? Was Emma gone?
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Colorado kept saying, but he didn’t know, he couldn’t know.
When we screeched to a halt outside the emergency room I yanked open my door, twisted in the seatbelt, fighting the restraint, until I finally fell out of the car on my knees onto the hot asphalt, Simon helping me up.
I yanked away, ran around the car, crashing into Colorado.
“It’s okay,” he said again.
I shoved him, and ran to the doors, barely missing slamming into them as they opened. I ended up in a sterile white environment, with eyes on me, and fear so real I could taste it. “My family,” I said, willing someone to tell me what had happened.
“Uncle Joseph!”
Emma wriggled in the nurse’s hold so hard that she had to let her go, and then I met her in the middle and fell to my knees to hug her. She was okay, she was alive, and I gripped her so close that I didn’t know where her crying started and mine ended.
“My sister?” I asked over Emma’s head, as quietly as I could, because what if she was dead? What if I’d lost her? What if Emma’s mom was gone? I’d be there for Emma, raise her like my own, because she was everything to me. I stopped myself crying and I shoved up a wall so damn hard that I could cope with whatever they told me.
“Uncle Joseph, Momma’s burned.”
Oh my god, no. I couldn’t imagine what I was going to see, or how much pain my sister would be in, I couldn’t feel anything but cold icy fear.
“This way, sir,” someone said, and I stood with help, stumbling after them until a door closed on me and Emma and I was suddenly alone with two people, one in a suit, and the nurse who’d been holding Emma. “Your sister has superficial burns on her hands and left arm, a broken leg, and there are concerns about smoke inhalation, plus the obvious contraindications with her diabetes. She’s in safe hands, and as soon as we can take you to her, we will.”
“Sh—she’s okay?” I slumped to the nearest seat, holding a sobbing Emma on my lap and staring up at the kindly face of the nurse.
“I want my momma,” Emma wailed, then buried her face deeper into my jacket, the scent of smoke in her soft curls. What if I’d lost them both? What was the point of a universe of possibilities if I didn’t have my sister and niece in my life?
The nurse pressed a hand to Emma’s head. “Your momma is fine, sweetheart, your uncle is here now and he’ll look after you.” I expected her to leave but she didn’t, and it appeared it was the suited woman’s turn to speak.
“My name is Hillary Bright, and I’m a hospital liaison,” she held out a hand, but dropped it when she realized there was no way I’d let go of Emma. “It’s okay,” she murmured, and took a seat next to me. “I don’t expect you to have all the answers, but Natalie’s records show that you’re her next of kin, and Emma’s legal guardian in the event anything should happen to her.”
I nodded. I remember the day she’d signed all the paperwork, not long after Emma was born, and on
