The Protector

Since the first moment

You ever heard the expression 'cat got your tongue.' Yes? Well, that's what I felt like right now. I was speechless. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the damn words to come out. And believe me, I had a lot to say. Nathan on the other hand was having a field day. The amusement in his eyes was going off like fireworks. 'That asshole.'

'You know I can still hear you right?'

I swear I couldn't be any more embarrassed. "Shit."

"Relax." He chuckled, pulling me into a tight hug. He was a good foot taller than me. My ear laid right over his heat beat, soothing me in a way. "It's just me."

"B-but how?"

"I ran into Hotchner and your brother last night." He pulled back just enough to look at me, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "We talked and they may have mentioned something about you roaming the city alone today."

Of course, Matt would be the one. That man could never keep his mouth shut. "And you came looking for me?" He nodded rapidly, a cheeky grin on his lips.

"I have missed you to much Alex." He whispered, resting his forehead on mine. "I even came looking for you a few days ago. Hoping I to see you again, but I ran into your friend."

"Elston." I didn't miss the slight growl rumbling in his chest. It vibrated through my body. "He told me you two got into it."

"Are you two together?" He suddenly asked.

I frowned, not really expecting that question. "What?"

His hands tighten around me as if he already knew the answer. "Are you and Elston together?"

I could hear Nathan speaking to me, but I was too drawn into his body heat. In that simple moment, with his arms wrapped around me, I let my head rest upon his chest. All my thoughts stopped as if my heart took over from my head. Next, he would squeeze as if he needed to check I was really there with him, really there and really real... and I was, body and soul. I doubt anyone else ever felt the way I do about his arms, though I pity them if they did love this much and lost it.

In those moments, Hotchner's words came back to haunt me.

'It's getting the feeling that everything is going to be okay. That you have found some of that happiness taken from you. Safe and loved.'

Right here and now in his arms, I felt both safe and loved. Nothing bad could ever happen to me. No one could ever hurt me here. He wouldn't let them. I know you all might think I am being stupid. 'You just met him. You don't know him. You're just lonely and hurt.' But I felt it all. It was him. Nathan was the one that would give me the happiness I was missing.

"Alex?" Nathan whispered. "Are you?"

I turned my face into his chest. My hands clenching the back of his shirt. "I don't want to." It knew my words come out muffled, but at the moment I couldn't care less. "It's you isn't it." He leaned down, kissing the top of my head softly. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling a 'yes'. "When did you know?"

"I have known since the first day I laid eyes on you."

I pulled away quickly, gaping at him. "You knew? You knew all this time and you never told me!" I shoved him back, growling at his attempt to pull me back towards him. "Back off. I can't believe you! Why the hell did you not tell me?!"

"How the hell was I suppose to tell you?" He growled back, his eyes shifting. "You were so hell-bent on making it work with that human. What was I supposed to say?! 'No don't, I am your rebound mate!'. I left to avoid any more heartache. To avoid seeing you with him every fucken day!" With every step he took forward, I took one back. Until he had me up against a tree, his hands on each side of my head. "It was hell seeing you chase after someone that doesn't deserve you. Doesn't treat you like a mate should." He was quick to stop me from defending Gibbs. "That fact that he isn't a wolf has nothing to do with it. He still feels Alex, every time he causes you pain, he feels it. Every time you are in pain, I feel it. I have felt every tear and blood that has dripped from you. I came back for you. For my mate, but to my surprise, you already had plans to mate with another wolf."

'I swear I am going to kill Matt.' I forced myself to look up at his blazing eyes. Gone were the green-blue eyes, in their place, were bright blue ones. "I never meant to cause you any harm Nathan. Had I known, I would have done something. Anything to avoid you the pain."

He moved his left hand, grabbing my chin with the softest touch. His eyes slowly going back to the ones I have come to enjoy in such little time. "I have been holding it all in since that first meeting in the woods. As soon as we meet I knew you were the one. The one I would spend my days thinking of and the one I would spend my nights dreaming about." His eyes scanned across my face, searching for who knows what. He released my chin, reaching for my hand and placing it over his beating heart. "I have lived long enough to know that what we share I can't replicate with anyone else. This love, this feeling, is just you and me. I could travel the world and the seven seas; I'd still have to come right back here if I wanted my true happiness. It's not that nobody else wants me, or you, but that we were born to spark and run the same course. We are the protectors of one another, confident and true friends. The trust I give you, that you would hopefully give me one day, is what keeps us safe in this world, in this life. So whether this heart beats another day or another hundred years - it will always be yours."

I was speechless once more. Here he was pouring his heart and soul to me. Yet I couldn't even form a complete sentence. "Nathan, I-"

"Don't." He whispered, his eyes not once wavering from me.

Unexpectedly, his hand drifted to my hip. He settled there and pulled me closer. I inhaled sharply. I was against his warm chest, chiseled to perfection. Must he be so perfect? I splayed my hand against it, intending to push him away, but instead, I left it there. His breathing quickened as did mine. He leaned down nuzzling my neck, causing me to gasp at the delicate kisses. So faint, they were whispers. I urged myself to push away, but couldn't. My limp body began to tremble uncontrollably. His head was angled slightly to the side as his lips came closer and closer to mine. I was surprised to find my own lips parted, eager for what was next. Our breaths mingled. My heart fluttered inside my chest. At first, it was a delicate butterfly of a kiss. Then his arms encircled me.

The next thing I knew, he had slammed his lips to mine and nearly knocked all wind from my lungs. I hardly had a moment to react before he pressed his tongue to the seam of my lips and, at my grant of access, delved inside my mouth. My arms reached up and wrapped around his strong neck. In an instant I had pulled away and arched up into his broad chest, moaning in the contact of body heat against my own, before I drew back into his lips.

Nathan pulled back, trying his hardest to regulate his breathing. When he kissed her his brain lit on fire and the warmth spread throughout his entire body. After that Nathan was addicted, he couldn't bear to be without her and Nathan learned quickly he could barely breathe when she was around. Those kisses were his salvation and his torment. Nathan lived for them and would die with the memory of them on his lips. He would dedicate his life to being with her from the moment of that first kiss, for he knew that if he lost her he would lose himself. She was the half that made him whole. 

"This was not what I had in mind accepting your ice cream offer." I kept my eyes fixed on his chest, not daring to look up. If I did, I knew I would give in once more.

Nathan cupped my jaw, gently lifting my face. "I did."

"We have a lot to talk about." I couldn't let myself be drawn into his eyes again. Not now. "This is just too much for me."

"We can go to my place. It's just a few minutes from here." He suggested, gesturing to a parked car on the street. "My car is just right there."

"Alright."