Stand By You
~Sequel to Every Day~
(Live or Die Series Final Part)
Chapter 1
Bolting upright in bed, sweating profusely, her midnight blue eyes were wide in both fear and relief.
Looking around the huge bedroom, Juliana suddenly remembered where she was and let out a trembling sigh, running a hand through her cropped shoulder length black hair. She cut it shortly after Keira was born, her now nine year old daughter. Nine years. She still couldn't believe it'd been that long since her and Taker had been together, though Juliana rarely called him by his birth name. He couldn't stand it, preferring Taker, though Keira melted him whenever she called him Daddy.
It was the cutest thing to watch a nine year old little girl bring such a dominating and intimidating presence like Taker to his knees when she batted her midnight blue eyes at him. Eyes that mirrored her mother's even though there was a hint of green throughout them, so technically she had hazel eyes. Juliana slowly slid out of bed and frowned, wrapping her arms around herself, knowing she only had nightmares whenever Taker was away on another job, refusing to give up what he loved doing most. He hadn't been home in two months and Juliana missed him terribly as she blinked back tears and went to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.
Juliana stepped out of the bathroom upstairs of the two story house, the Texas heat not helping matters, though the AC was on. She sighed and left the bathroom light on, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling a chill rush down her back. Something wasn't right; she could feel it down to her bone marrow.
"You're being paranoid again." She muttered and chuckled half-heartedly, knowing exactly what Taker would say if he walked in at that moment. "Calm down Jules, quit jumping to conclusions you fool ass woman." Juliana mocked and began laughing softly while trying to impersonate Taker's deep rich Texan accented voice, missing it like crazy, a heaving sigh following. Her ears perked up when she heard giggling coming from downstairs, eyes narrowing, deciding to go investigate.
Downstairs, on the XBOX when she should have been in bed, was Keira. She was trying not to giggle, listening to her Uncle John through the headset she wore as they worked together -though from their own respective homes and systems- through the war game they were playing. "Two o'clock, sniper." She narrowed her hazel eyes, grinning in a way that was reminiscent of her father, thoroughly evil, when John nailed the shot.
"And THAT, baby girl, is how you blow a motha's head right off!" John crowed, his enthusiasm spilling over through the set.
"I can't concentrate when you do that!" Keira, in her excitement, was forgetting that it was three AM and she wasn't supposed to be up…much less playing a war game on the XBOX with Uncle John. "You made me MISS, Johnny!"
"YOU GOT ME BLOWN THE FUCK UP, KEIRA! You SUCK!" John groaned, waiting for the game to respawn itself. "You seriously got to work on your aim."
"You can bite my backside."
"I'm going to kick your little ass when I see you!" John growled when he heard her snickering, wondering how a nine year old could possess so much attitude. "I mean it; I'm going to put my foot so far up your ass you'll taste my shoe-"
"KEIRA GET YOUR ASS TO BED!"
"Oh FUCK!"
Startled, Keira began to scream, finally shutting it when the man behind the angry baritone stepped out of the doorway. "Daddy!"
"Good girl, suck up to him, save our asses."
Juliana heard that tone and felt a shiver run down her back, knowing Taker had arrived home from whatever job he did for the mayor. Taker was well known around town, especially with the authority since he saved the mayor's life on more than one occasion. Now he was home and yelling at their disobedient daughter…and Juliana had a sinking feeling she knew why Keira was up at three AM instead of in bed like any normal nine year old.
"Keira, what the hell are you doing up this late?" Juliana demanded, stepping out of the shadows while the little girl slowly pulled the headset off of her head. Juliana narrowed her eyes and stalked over, snatching it from her and could hear her best friend's voice on the other end. "JONATHAN FELIX-ANTHONY CENA, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING KEEPING MY DAUGHTER UP AT THREE AM IN THE DAMN MORNING PLAYING VIDEO GAMES?"
"You, bed."
Taker pointed at his daughter, trying to keep the scowl firmly on his face. It wasn't her he was really angry with but Cena, the moron ADULT who had a little girl up shooting Russian commies on the gaming console at three in the fucking morning. Kids generally got into trouble; it was the adult's job to keep them OUT of it.
Muttering under her breath, Keira gave him a hug before turning towards the stairs. She knew better than to even look at her mother, instead opting to keep her head down and hope to make it up the steps with her backside in one piece.
"John, when I get my hands on you, I'll-"
Juliana blinked when the headset was snatched out of her hands, a pair of acid green eyes locking with midnight blue, all the anger suddenly draining from her. A small smile crossed her face as he walked over to shut the game console off, setting the headset back on the stand. John made the mistake of buying Keira a gaming system with a brand new forty two inch television and the works. Juliana wanted to kill him, but one look from her daughter's shining bluish green eyes and she couldn't take it away, though at three AM in the damn morning she could!
Taker slowly turned around, letting out a breath. He could feel the anger leaving him at the sight of his woman. He loved his job, but at the same time he hated being away from Juliana and Keira for weeks at a time. Of course, before leaving, he was usually glad to be getting out of the house and away from two females, not to mention the addition of Jule's adopted brother, John. But that usually wore off quickly. Returning her smile, he crossed the living room until he was in front of her, pulling her into his arms.
Juliana sighed in contentment, her legs wrapping around his waist as soon as Taker lifted her up, pressing her forehead against his. "I'm not going to ask why you're here, I'm just glad you are." Especially after the nightmare she just had, Juliana needed his warmth and comfort, kissing him softly, missing him more than words could say. Hard to believe they were finally content with life after everything they'd been through together, having a beautiful daughter in the process.
The fact that they were still together, with a beautiful daughter, and him resuming his old job spoke volumes to Taker. He had once challenged Juliana to love him, to trust him, and the results had been...a very, very bad time for him. He would have never thought that all these years later, they would be together, let alone have a daughter. Holding her close, Taker rested his head on top of hers, letting out a contented sigh.
"I'm glad too." He rumbled huskily.
"You better be." She smirked and jumped when Taker slapped her ass, biting back a squeal of surprise. "Don't do that with prying ears nearby." She ordered, her mouth right by his ear as she hugged him again, knowing Keira was already in her room.
One thing Keira didn't do was disobey her father's orders, regardless of what they were. With Juliana, she hardly listened and when she did, it was slim to none. She ended up sneaking around doing what she wanted anyway...like staying up at three A.M. playing video games with her godfather. Juliana was going to kill John, but right now, all she wanted to do was be in Mark's arms.
"Welcome home." She whispered and felt him slowly walk toward the stairs, nuzzling his neck.
"Good to be home." He murmured, navigating the stairs carefully.
He knew his way around the house; he could navigate the house blind. However, the variable was Keira. He had once been walking upstairs, stepped on a Barbie car, and gone flying backwards. Not one of his finer moments and not one he cared to repeat with Juliana in his arms.
At Keira's door, he gently set her down and listened. He half expected her to be awake and bouncing on the bed. Instead, he heard the soft sighs she made while sleeping. Smiling slightly, he began backing Juliana towards their bedroom, an evil predatory gleam shining in his eyes.
Keira was a sound sleeper just like Taker, hardly anything fazed the girl. She could sleep through a tornado, Juliana would bet her life on it. The look Taker suddenly gave her sent chills of anticipation through her body and Juliana couldn't help smirking, knowing he missed her.
She slowly backed into the room, crooking her finger at him and watched with hungry eyes as Mark shut the door with his foot lightly. The clicking sound let Juliana know two things: She was trapped and wouldn't be getting anymore sleep that night since Mark hadn't been home in two very long months. Just to make his simmering blood and raging desire flare, Juliana purposely removed her nightgown, leaving her clad in just a pair of white panties.
And that was enough to make Taker want to adjust himself as the confines of his now too tight jeans was really uncomfortable. It had been a very long two months. He had never believed he would be the kind of man to be in a committed, exclusive relationship, let alone WANT to be in one, but here he was. And now his cock was really suffering, not helped by Juliana's wicked ways and taunts. Taking a moment, he tilted his head to the side, using the light coming through the window to study her, a low growl escaping his throat.
His growling always sent shivers down her back and it was no different this time, his eyes darkening to almost black pools. "Problem Taker?" Juliana asked innocently.
She smirked and slid into the welcoming cold bed that she'd slept alone in for two months, missing his warmth. Taker was her furnace and Juliana didn't sleep well whenever he was away from her. She didn't know if it was the fact they had a rocky past or maybe it was just her insomnia kicking in, Juliana shoved every other thought from her mind when Taker joined her in bed and yanked her against him, kissing the breath right out of her.
If the bed was cold, he didn't feel it. All he felt was Juliana's body against his as his hands ravaged her, reacquainting himself with her curves. He could feel goose bumps breaking out over his flesh as his large calloused hands skimmed down her ribs to the waistband of her white panties, not removing them just yet. He broke the kiss only when it seemed they both would go faint from lack of air, trailing his mouth across her cheek to her earlobe and then down the side of her throat, savoring the feel and taste of her.
Hours later, Juliana lay in bed gently tracing Taker's tattoos with her fingertip feather lightly, coming down from the heights of passion only her and Taker experienced together. She was so happy to have him back home, but knew sooner or later he would find another job and be away again. Juliana didn't like the fact he still enjoyed being a bodyguard for a living, especially since she still considered him HER bodyguard in a way.
He was her protector, her and Keira's.
Another thing that bothered Juliana was the fact that Taker hadn't mentioned marriage since they'd been together. At first she thought it was because he didn't fully trust her with his heart, which she didn't blame him for, but after having Keira and deciding they were in this for the long haul, the trust and love grew until it became unconditional. Juliana wanted nothing more than to marry this man, but knew Taker wasn't the marrying kind and knew that if he really wanted to, he could up and leave her at any given moment without a second thought.
He was perfectly content to just lie there, enjoy the contented, languorous feeling that he felt every time they made love. He loved the feeling of her in his arms, just lazily touching him as she always did; the woman had to have all his tattoos memorized by now. When she hesitated for a moment, he knew her mind was probably quite active and kissed the top of her head.
"What're you thinkin' bout darlin'?" He murmured his voice a lazy husky drawl, something that only happened at night, when it was just them.
No secrets between them was one of the conditions Taker gave Juliana when they first got back together...after he came back from the dead and found out she was pregnant. But there were some thoughts that Juliana still kept to herself and the marriage thing was one of them. She was happy and didn't want to complicate things, though her and Taker still had their heated arguments followed by rough passionate make up sex.
"Nothing really, I'm just happy you're here with me." She snuggled against him, her hand resting over his steady beating heart, her head resting on his arm and draped one of her legs over his. She loved how Taker ran his fingers in circles on her back absentmindedly, the feeling always lulling her to sleep. "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about what you're thinking." He replied with a smirk, catching her hand when she lazily swatted him, bringing her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. "I missed you and Keira." He murmured, placing her palm over his heart, resting his hand on top of hers. "I don't think I'll take any more jobs for awhile." He missed his family and wanted to spend some serious time with them, to not be called away to protect some prick politician who probably deserved to be shot anyway.
Juliana's eyes shot open when he said that and she rolled to sit up a little, her black hair framing her face haphazardly while he still continued playing with her fingertips. "You won't? But I thought you love what you do?" She hoped it wasn't because of her that Taker decided not to take any more jobs for awhile, though one look in his eyes told her the entire story. It killed him to be away from them, from her, and that made Juliana's heart sore to the heavens. "You know I love you and I support you in any decision you make, right?"
"Of course I know that." He replied simply, hugging her tightly against him for a moment before relaxing again. "I just want a break from it. It's not like we're hurting for money." She was rich, having inherited everything from her murdered father and insane psycho bitch, thankfully dead mother. He was fairly well off too. They could have travelled the world a few times without overly taxing their funds. "I want to spend time with my family."
The biggest smile crossed her lips when he said that and Juliana moved to where she straddled him again, leaning down to kiss his lips softly, slowly, enjoying the feeling of his lips against hers. "Me and Keira having you all to ourselves?" Well, John was also a factor since he lived right down the road, but Juliana wasn't thinking about that at the moment. "Mmm the possibilities..." She laced their fingers together and laughed when Taker suddenly growled, rolling her on her back, hovering as their noses touched. "Keira is going to be VERY happy to hear that her daddy is staying home for awhile." That little girl had Taker wrapped around her little finger and Juliana knew she was born a daddy's girl.
"As long as she promises not to try to convince me to let her drive the motorcycle."
He chuckled, his eyes twinkling at the recollection of when she had been six. Pleading for him to let her steer while he drove, 'just a short trip, daddy, please', Taker could still hear her sweet angelic voice echoing in his head. She almost had him convinced before Juliana had walked out into the garage and put a stop to it. When it came to his little girl, Taker was complete and total mush.
"What about you, hmm?" He asked huskily, digging his hips against hers. "How happy are you to hear it?"
"Ecstatic." She whispered, cupping his face in her soft hand as their lips touched again, her legs instantly parting for him without Juliana realizing it. "I can finally sleep normal again and get more than three hours of sleep." When Taker frowned, Juliana couldn't help chuckling softly, knowing he worried about her insomnia and lack of sleep. "You already know when you're away I don't sleep well, but you're here now and I can catch up on sleep..." She trailed off, wrapping her legs around his waist, gasping when he brushed against her. "Just not tonight..."
Round two commenced after that and no other words were spoken.