Page 51 of Natasha
Natasha wavered, but she could hear the warning in James' voice, so she opted not to press for details. After all, she had trusted these two men with her safety, and no harm had come to her so far. She nodded at James, who was clearly on his way out, now that Silas had returned. Silas had joined him at the door, and the two were standing in awkward silence. There had been a friendship once between them; of that much, she was sure. Natasha could tell there was something that needed to be said, but for some reason, neither man seemed capable of bridging the gap, so she took it upon herself to do what she could.
Quickly standing, she crossed the room and, without hesitation, threw her arms around James. "Thank you," she whispered, leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. "It was fun tonight."
James smiled at her, his eyes soft. "Not a problem. Enjoyed it, doll." He gave her a squeeze before she stepped back to Silas' side. The hug seemed to have been the last little bit that Silas needed to reach out to James.
"We should talk," he said.
James gave a jerky nod. "'Bout time."
Silas blew out a sigh and rocked back on his heels. "Later this week?"
"Text me." James opened the door. "Coffee or somethin'?" he asked, already stepping through the doorway.
"Sounds good." Silas reached out, catching James before he could leave the apartment. "Thank you for looking after her."
James stopped, and when he looked at Silas, Natasha knew she'd been right that they had been close friends at one time. "You know I'm there when you need me."
"I know." Silas looked down at his feet. "Thanks, James."
"Anytime." James flashed a smile at Natasha. "I'll see you 'round, little doll. Next time, we'll order nothing but sweets. That'll really piss him off."
Silas rolled his eyes, and a second later, he was slamming the door in James' face. Natasha giggled because she could hear James laughing on the other side of the door for a moment before he walked away.
"I like him," Natasha declared with a broad smile.
"Was afraid of that." Silas looked at where the cards were sitting on the floor, a pile of candy between where they had been sitting. "He taught you poker?" he exclaimed, a pained look on his face.
"And it turns out, I'm excellent!" Natasha laughed, practically skipping around the room.
Silas closed his eyes in a grimace at the thought of his baby girl learning how to play poker, even if it was just for candy. He couldn't help but open one eye and smile at the sound of her laughter. It was beautiful watching this woman open up to him, seeing how carefree she was in this moment and comparing it to the times he'd glimpsed her through the windows of her classroom. She'd been so poised then, composed and subdued in her expressions. There were the occasional bright smiles and laughs that she shared with her students, but those had seemed like the bright spots in a sea of gray.
Now, with her green eyes flashing and her smile wide, her face completely open to him, it was like night and day, and Silas fell a little more deeply in love with her watching her dance around his living room around a pile of candy.
Silas held out an arm to her. "C'mere, baby girl."
Natasha bounded forward, narrowly missing the pile of candy she had won from James, and flung herself into his arms. "I missed you," she whispered, slipping her arms around his neck.
"I know. I missed you, too." Silas swept her up in his arms, her feet leaving the ground, and squeezed her tightly. "Kept thinkin' of you back here the entire time I was handling that asshole. All I wanted to do was come straight home to you."
Natasha's eyes popped open at Silas' use of the word home. She liked the way the word sounded coming out of his mouth. "Is that what this is?" She drew back and looked up at Silas with expectant eyes.
"Home?"
His eyes, that she had come to love, were all summer skies right now, and all that sunshine and warmth was wholly directed at her. "Yes, baby," he whispered. He carded a hand through her hair and tugged her head back to look up at him. "You're my home now, Tash. My everything."
Tears pricked her eyes, but this time, she didn't fight to hold them back from Silas. This time, she let the tears, hot and heavy, roll down her cheeks with a little hiccupping sob. Her hands tightened on his shirt as she wept and let out a loud sob that she muffled by shoving her face into his chest.
"Baby?" Silas carried her over to the couch and set her down to look at her. "Look at me, Tash." He smoothed his hands over her hair, down her arms, over her legs, touching and petting every part of her he was able to.
"What's wrong?" he whispered as she continued to cry into her hands. There was something about a woman crying that stirred something in a man like Silas, and seeing Natasha cry was the one thing he found he couldn't handle.
"Baby, please. Talk to me. What can I do?" Silas tried again, voice bordering on desperation.
Natasha finally lowered her hands and looked at him, but when she did, she was smiling. Still crying heavily, but with a smile on her face.
Silas opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. This was proof he didn't understand the fairer sex at all. "Baby?" He tilted his head to the side and cleared his throat. "I-is everything okay?"
"Yes." Natasha burst out with a laugh. "Everything is better than okay; it's amazing." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry I'm crying so much. I'm just so happy."
