Chapter Sixty

The moonlight dripped through the window and up along the bed. He'd been awake for a couple of hours now, he was sure of it. He'd been listening to the sound of her steady breathing, the gentle rise and fall against his body. It comforted him as well as scared the crap out of him. He'd grown used to having her around and although they'd cemented that they meant so much to each now there was still a strong possibility that he could lose her if tomorrow didn't go quite as planned. His belly churned as that reality rolled through him and he knew he wouldn't be prepared for that kind of loss.

On the other had Freedom could be just hours away for him and MacKenzie but unlike other situations in his life, he didn't have the certainty that he almost always did. The certainty that this would be the best show he could make it, or the best day with the kids he could provide, none of this was any kind of certain at all. He wiggled restlessly and she stirred under him, the warmth of her cheek pressed against his back. She was wrapped around him from behind and her hands were clasped low at his belly. There was something to be said about having a strong woman behind you, figuratively and physically.

"Can't sleep huh?" His brow winged as the voice vibrated gently against his back.

"Nope." He chuckled and patted her hands. "Sorry, did my restlessness wake you?"

MacKenzie yawned and settled in closer to his back. "No, I've been drifting in and out but have noticed each time I've come to, you've been awake."

"I'm fine, just can't shut off my brain. It's an old habit from years back with the band."

"It's pk Jon. I'm just as tightly wound up like you are."

"Yeah? You feel relaxed."

He felt her smile against his skin. "It's an old habit I learned from way back."

Looks like they weren't going back to sleep anytime soon so he rolled her slowly in her grasp until she faced him. Through the moonlight her eyes glittered and her grin was sleepy and sexy. She lifted her hands to his face and leaned in, letting the heat between them simmer with a slow kiss. "You trying to seduce me?" He brushed back her hair and stroked it softly as it fanned out onto the pillows.

She ran the pad of her finger over his lips and flicked her gaze to his. "I'm kinda hungry actually."

"Now why doesn't that surprise me? I don't know where you put it all." He teased and then regretted it as she shifted her leg between his. "Hey! I'm just sayin. Nothing wrong with a healthy appetite."

"I used to eat more than Brian as a matter of fact and he played football."

Jon paused and ran his hand down her arm. "You've really missed him haven't you?" She hid it well, but now that he knew her every-time she mentioned his name he could see the emptiness in her eyes she tried to hide.

She nodded and her gaze fell way from his. "Yeah I do. More than I thought after I found you." She shrugged. "Maybe I really just miss that someone that understands me so well, and I can just be myself around." Her fingers curled around his arms. "I haven't really given relationships since then an honest go. I've always been busy, there have been men but they've come and go none have really stuck but again if I'm honest maybe I didn't try hard enough."

Jon sighed, "I know all about that Kenz. I had a very wonderful wife, just took me a long time to see it and when I did it was too late. We'd grown apart." And that was the truth, he was to blame for a lot of it but both Dot and him had fallen into the routine of being apart easily over the years.

"Well the upside of that though is you have four very wonderful children."

The bands around his chest tightened as he realized just how much he missed them. "That I do, I don't regret any of that at all. Are you seriously ok with all of that? I mean after this is all over, I'm gonna be all over those kids. You OK with that? I want them staying over, hell I want to take them everything and anywhere."

MacKenzie smiled. "Of course dummy. I wouldn't expect anything less, as long as you can handle your ass getting kicked in football by us again, I'm good with that."

He raised his brow. "You're a little sure of yourself there babes. I wouldn't be so sure on that one." He wondered what MacKenzie's thoughts on having her own children were. Nowadays it wasn't so uncommon for woman in their early forties to have babies and it wasn't as if she wasn't fit and healthy. "Did you ever want your own children? I mean I only ask because you seem to fit in with them so well."

She chuckled and rolled back a little. "Wow, we're pulling out the big questions tonight aren't we?"

"I didn't mean--"

"Relax, I'm just teasing and it's a valid question if we're going to do this whole being together thing." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I've never had a desire to be a mom, if it had happened sure, I'd deal with it and I'd probably have ended up loving it but it didn't happen." She shrugged. "It just wasn't meant to be. Would you even want to go through all that baby stuff again? Sleepless nights, dirty nappies...come on I know that had to be balls of fun four times over."

He sat up and scratched his head, "It wasn't fun but it's something I'd go through again for us if I had to."

"Well you won't, I don't want children now I just want to enjoy my life preferably with you." Her hair fanned out on the pillow and her brown gaze fell soft.

He flopped back down against the pillows. "Thank god!"

She slapped him lightly. "I knew it."

He hauled her in and dragged her up on top of him. Her breasts pressed into his chest and she wound her legs through his. "I would have for you, that's what I'm saying."

The corners of her mouth curled into a smile. "Thank you, but you're safe and I've already got an instant family in yours of they allow me to be a part of it." She sifted her fingers through his chest hair. "I'd really like that."

He squeezed her ass and grinned. "They'd like that too, I know that they would." His lips met hers, rubbing them in a soft rhythm. He kept it gentle and sucked her lower lip into his mouth, his tongue gliding in and tasting each corner of her mouth. He pulled her closer, twisted his tongue around hers letting the kiss flow from innocent to lethal. The need for possession took over as he warred with the fact he couldn't lose her tomorrow, not now. Not when he had a woman that completely understood and fit him the way she did. His fingers traced a line down her spine as she shifted on top of him, her soft moans breaking the stillness of the night.

Her fingers threaded through his hair and he growled as her lips left his mouth and slid down his throat. The tips of her nipples brushed against his, the friction causing his cock to flex. She was hot against his skin, like fire as she inched slower down his chest. Kicking down the blanket he tucked his hands behind his head and arched as her destructive mouth slid down and over his belly. Her tongue swirled around his navel and then her fingers outlined the v down his hips as she went lower.

"Kenzie." His head tipped back and the raw sensation of pleasure washed over him as her delicious mouth found the top of his shaft. She licked the crown and his fingers dug into the feather pillows. His eyes clamped closed as she wrapped her lips around him and began taking him slowly but tightly. Dear god, he knew her strength and knew damn well she could practically pin him and do what the hell she wanted with him so the force of her mouth didn't surprise him at all.

The under vein throbbed as her tongue glided across it. He twisted his toes, stretched as she sucked, licked him to breaking point. He felt her lick from top to bottom while the other hand sought to tease his balls. She tickled them lightly; the tips of her fingers pulling the fine hair that covered them.

"You're evil." But it was so fucking good. He moaned as she slid his cock all the way into his mouth and out again. His head rolled back into the pillow and his throat vibrated with guttural groans as he his body arched. His balls were tight and his cock throbbed as let himself go, spilling deep into her mouth. His eyes focused, his brain was foggy and his breathing was shallow. "Shit."

The sheets shuffled and she shifted. He sat up and scooped her onto his lap, straddling her across him so his cock bumped against her heat. The blankets all slipped away they sat tangled around one another in the dim light of the moon. His hand splayed on her lower back keeping her close, their bodies pressed together. He sipped down the lovely column of her neck, across her shoulder and over the water soft curve of her breast. She sighed as his tongue flicked over nipple and arched back in his arms as he laid slow deliberate kisses back up the centre of her.

Her arms coiled around his neck as she kissed him ever so gently. "Now who's evil?"

He slid easily into her cuppingthe back of her head holding as he pressed his forehead against hers as he moved inside her. "No matter what happens tomorrow...." His breathing fell short. "I love you Kenzie Cooper."

Her eyes glassed over and she smiled, her lips parted as she moaned. "No fair with the sweet talk while you've got your cock inside me." She dragged him down, leaving him on top and wrapped her legs tight around his hips. "I love you Jon. Always. So you better get used to it, because none of us are going anywhere. You hear me?"

He swallowed, the lump dissolving in his throat. "You got it." He let himself go, in the last moments that they could. They made love until the sun started to rise, knowing that the fate of everything just lay hours away.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

It was endless. The cop's barrage of questions from the minute they stepped off the plane. He let her do all the talking; she had it down straight what she needed to say. He popped his knuckles as he sat with her in the backseat of the cop car. MacKenzie wasn't flat out lying to the cops as she retold the story, she just didn't mention the fact that the gang leader had called her and that he had convinced her it was a good idea to meet him. Idiot.

He had to be fucking crazy. Jon didn't operate on gut feels all that much - but this one was overwhelming and was probably out of desperation the more he tried to make sense of it. He needed his life back and whatever the gang guy wanted, maybe it was money now. Maybe he'd changed his mind but Jon was certain that he would pretty much give him anything to get his life back and he'd made this decision to do it, so he'd be held responsible for the consequences.

They checked into the Four Seasons in Miami and he flipped open his wallet as the receptionist typed in his name, the fake one he often used while travelling. It used to be Frank Sinatra but it became more apparent to fans to ask for the musical influences he so often talked about in interviews so it had led him to be more creative.

"So is that one night Mr McLane?"

MacKenzie raised her eyebrow. "John McLane?"

Jon nodded as the corner of his mouth twitched. "That's right. Just the one night."

She smiled sweetly and tapped on her keyboard and handed the card over. "Is there anything else I can do for you and Mrs McLane?"

He laughed as MacKenzie snorted. "No, thank you. This is all."

"You know if anyone was John McLane it would be me." She whispered in his ear as they reached the elevators.

He pressed the button as she hooked his arm through his. "And what the hell does that make me?"

"My trusty side kick of course."

"Pfffffff. A little full of yourself there aren't you Mr McLane?"

Down to years of swivelling his hips on stage he avoided her elbow jab as they entered the elevator. Thankfully the police escort left them at their floor once they were satisfied that they were safe. He swiped his key card and had never been more relieved to see the little green light flash as he turned the handle to safety. MacKenzie dumped the go-bag on the bed and he walked to the window. He was used to different hotel rooms but still felt the push-pull to wanting to be in here versus feeling like he was trapped.

He jammed his hands in his pocket and took a deep breath. “Do you think the kids will be ok?”

Mackenzie stood behind him as her arms slid around his waist and under his sweater against his skin. Her chin rested on his shoulder. “Yes, I do. I think they will be silent now until we meet them.”

He closed his eyes as her fingers brushed through his belly hair. He cupped his hand over hers and squeezed it. “Good.”

Her lips ran across the side of his neck. “We’ll talk about how that’s going to go down. We need to have a very solid plan and understanding between each other for this meeting ok?”

He nodded. “I’m completely at your mercy.” He twisted in her grip and relaxed his arms around her waist and leaned forward. “Maybe in more ways than one.” Their lips met and the heat flooded his mouth. He closed his eyes as he took the kiss deeper, the fear of losing everything that he’d found in her came pouring out of him and into her.

If anything happened to her, well it was unimaginable to even think about that. He lifted her chin, his tongue slid into her mouth and tasted her. He tasted the heart of her, and the heart of him and everything that they stood for.

His hand slid down to the small of her back and he drew her in, her belly pressed against his stirring groin. He broke the kiss but let his lips slide up her cheek. “I love you.” He hadn’t said that nearly enough to Dot when he was in love with her and hell, he wrote the songs that dictated love and freedom but didn’t even live it in his heart of hearts.

She curled her arm up around his neck and buried her face into the side of his neck. “I love you.” His fingers dipped down under the waistband of her jeans and down over the perfect curve of her ass. She moaned and her breath tickled his ear. “Make me feel safe Jon.”

He took the moment and he wanted to make her feel safe. It was all part of being a man, no matter how strong and capable she was. She tilted her head back as took his time kissing down the lovely line of her neck. His hand cupped her breast and his thumb drew out her nipple through her sweater eliciting a groan from her.

He walked them towards the bed, his heart threatened to bust through his chest. A storm of adrenaline and longing was swirling inside his gut. He peeled her sweater up and over her head, his hands cupped her cheeks and he kissed her as they fell back onto the bed. His nose ran along the scalloped satin of her bra as she arched under him.

She tugged his sweater and he lifted his arms as she pulled it off him. He hovered over her and gently kissed her on the lips. His hissed as her fingers raked through his chest hair and groaned as her thumbs circled his nipples. She could drive him insane point blank and he just hoped he would get more of a chance to explore this once this thing was over.

He unhooked the clasp and dragged down the lace to free her breast straight into his mouth. His tongue swirled around the tip and she moaned under him. Her fingers sifted through his hair as he tasted her. His gut unclenched that had been full of worry and the bands in his chest eased as he lost himself in her.

There was a world out there just in reach that was full of love and full of hope and he wanted that back. He wanted that back more than he wanted to breathe right now.

His mouth moved down her centre over her flat belly and over the curves of her hips. Her skin was still scented with that spicy ginger that he’d been tormented by when he'd fought so hard to ignore her. For how long he didn't know but one thing was clear, he was going to make the most of it and make sure she knew just how much she'd come to mean to him over the weeks.

She arched under him as he dragged down her pants over her legs and off. His mouth followed devouring any skin it could reach. He parted her legs and took the heart of her with a slow strong lick. She quivered and lifted her leg up over his shoulder. She was wet, she was his and he was taking her. His tongue swirled around inside of her thighs became slick as he parted her folds to rub her clit.

She groaned throwing her head back into the pillows. His cock was rock hard and he let the arousal wash over him like a summer rainstorm. His hands slid under her, lifting her as he cupped her ass and released more pressure against her pussy.

~

MacKenzie's fingers curled up around the top of the bed-head as she let Jon ravage her. Her nipples puckered and she was so tense that every flick of his tongue threatened to shatter her in half as she neared release. Her nails ate into wood above her as she rode the wave of pleasure. She wanted more than anything to let go and let her body scream with him. Her protector, her need to always have one eye on the ball was holding her back. They were safe for now, she could do this, she could just let go. God she wanted to let go, his tongue after-all was incredible.

She gasped for breath and met his intense stare, the stare that said he was taking and he wasn't going to ask first. His eyes focused on hers, his fingers now curled around her thigh as he stroked her. "God Jon." She breathed it like a benediction as she twisted underneath him. It was a delicious sensation, she was warm all over and the need to be broken boiled inside her.

She closed her eyes as he tipped her over the edge and nothing but pleasure rolled through her. Good god. Her heart raced madly as she slumped back down into the bed. Jon crawled back up her body kissing her as he went. His lips slid up her neck and his body pressed against his he lay flat on top of her. His hand cupped her breast as his mouth fused to hers in a long hot kiss. Her hands shot up into his hair as his thumb rolled across her nipple. She locked her legs around his waist as she deepened the kiss, her tongue found his and slowly she tasted his dark flavour.

He groaned as she let her hands glide over his shoulders and down his pecks, brushing over his nipples as she went. She always had an appreciation for a tight body and Jon's was ridiculous for a guy his age. Her nails raked through his belly fur as the kiss grew stronger and he ground his cock against her already sensitive skin.

He smirked into the kiss as the weight of him became stronger. "Think I can make you cum this way?" The length of his cock slid down her centre teasing the holy hell out of her sending goosebumps over her skin.

Their teeth clicked. "You were always a smartass."

He kissed her and ground against her until she moaned. "Takes one to know one."

Her fingers dug into his shoulders. "I don't think you can." She laughed as his eyes popped open and then narrowed.

"Oh really? That sounds like a challenge."

"Possibly one you'll lose." It was her turn to smirk, his forehead pressed against hers and his lips hovered over hers.

"Oh I know your game Ms Cooper. You think you know me so well don't you? That I have to be the best--and I am." The glint in his eyes darkened.

His knee shifted between her thighs and she gasped as the pressure against her already sensitive skin zinged. "That's cheating."

His palms covered hers and he linked his fingers through hers pinning her hands at each side of her shoulder on the bed. His lips curved into a smile. "I always win." His eyes locked with hers and she swallowed the lump in her throat as how true those words applied to everything right now, not just sex.

She nipped his chin as he teased her more by lifting his head, staying out of reach from her the full impact of the kiss she was fighting for. Only he had this impact on her, only he could make her want to lose control at his mercy and feel safe. Only Jon.

She made the move while his victorious smirk beamed down at her. She lifted her knee between his legs and shifted her weight pinning him on his back. It was self-defence 101. She held his hands down just like he had hers and grinned. "You forget who you're dealing with here buddy." She shifted her body weight so she had him pinned and slid herself onto his cock. She groaned and watched his lips part as she moved enough to ignite a small amount of friction.

He watched her through hooded eyes as she slowly moved above him, stretching as she accommodated him. She tipped her head back and released her hands, smoothing them down his chest sifting through his downy fur. Jon's hands drifted down her body and toyed with her breasts. She hissed as his touch was light and teasing on her sensitive tips but it heightened the friction more. "More, harder...please...” Her hair tumbled around her shoulders, the ends brushing against his hands. His thumbs rolled over her nipples and his thumb found her clit rubbing it from side to side as she rode him.

She jolted back and came hard around his cock, gasping for breath as it punched through her. He rolled her quickly and reversed the move, as her head hit the pillows. He lifted her leg up over his shoulder and grunted as he drove in deep. Skin slapped against skin as she felt herself breaking. "Oh god."

"Kenz..." He gasped and he released exploding inside of her. His head drew back, eyes closed in a state of ecstasy which was enough to send her right over the edge again.

She gripped his arms as she curled her toes and the orgasm ripped through her. He slumped down beside her curling her into him. Her hand slide up over his chest and rested on his shoulder as she laid her cheek against his chest. His heartbeat raced under her as their breathing steadied. She hooked her leg through his and closed her eyes, relishing the moment, relishing the calm before the possible storm.

Update---Where I'm at.

Hi all.

Well I never thought I'd be here again but I am. If you hadn't heard my city was hit with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake on the 22nd Feb---this time it was just 10km from the city center and where I live and only 5km deep which meant destruction and loss of life was inevitable.

I was at home that day but I work right where the CBD crumbled to the ground---and possibly over 200 people lost their lives. The CBD is completely "munted" as we say here in New Zealand and they think at least a third of it will be demolished and have to be rebuilt.

It was a very very day for our city, and our country.

It's been with no doubt, the worst week of my life that I remember. I am grateful to be alive and still a little stunned as to what happened and it's only just sinking in. Many people in Christchurch, their homes were destroyed. Mine is still standing but I have some significant damage in the infrastructure around it---particularly water systems and right now I am without power so it's frustrating.

I have been working on the next chapter of DT though, so there is some good news. I find it helps take my mind off things around here when I do have a moment to relax :)

Anyway I am safe, all my friends and family are as well and that is the best news of all. Things are going to take months to get back to normal here.

Here is an idea of the devastation that's occured, it's just heart-breaking. The city I knew has definitely gone. But we'll move on, rebuild etc---it'll just take time.

Before and After Shots

So I'll be in touch--promise. This story is definitely still in me :)

Kiwi
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