The Gamble – Epilogue

Summary: Carlo was taken out by a sharpshooter, but not dead. Natalie talked Cristian out of killing her and the others, but he turned the gun on himself. John saved him.

Major SMUT Warning>>>>

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"Cristian." Natalie crawled over and touched his still body. He moved and looked at her.

"You're all right." Natalie whispered brokenly and helped him to a sitting position.

"Why'd he stop me?" Cristian's voice was hollow, but it was Cristian once again.

Natalie covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

"Hey," John put his hand on her shoulder tentatively. Was she still in love with Cristian after all? He wondered, his heart hurting more than his body.

"Oh, John. You saved him. Thank you." She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. He rubbed her back as the room exploded in commotion as the police and INL burst in, along with paramedics. Carlo was taken out on a stretcher and Cristian taken into custody, with Antonio at his side vowing to get his brother the help he needed.

John and Natalie continued to sit on the floor wrapped in each other's arms. Over her shoulder he quietly asked Bo to leave them alone.

When the room was empty, John stroked Natalie's hair off her wet cheeks and cupped her cheeks so he could look in her eyes. Tears were still running down her cheeks.

"Do you still…love him?" John asked.

"Yes." Natalie nodded and let out a sob. John's heart stopped beating until he heard her next words. "But I'm in love with you. I choose you, John McBain. You are the man I want to be with tonight and every night."

John started breathing again and pressed his lips to Natalie's in a hard kiss.

"Are you finally going to tell me?" He asked, his voice husky and his lips curved in a slight smile.

"About what?" She asked.

He laughed and cupped her stomach.

"I forgot." She laughed and put her hands on his cheeks. She tenderly stroked him. "I'm going to have our baby. You already knew, didn't you?"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice the changes in your body? These." He caressed the side of one breast. "Got bigger, for one thing."

She chuckled and then got serious again. "You need to be checked out and then I need some food."

"I'm not going to the hospital. Just take me home and we'll feed you two."

Natalie helped John stand up.

"If my stubborn brother won't go to the hospital, then I'm coming home with you." Michael walked into the room. "I got tired of waiting for you two."

"Should he be in the hospital?" Natalie asked.

John and Michael shared a challenging look, then Michael sighed. "Probably, but as long as he's up and breathing he's fine." Michael walked over and put his shoulder under John's arm and helped him out of the room.

>>>> SMUT>>>>>

"When did you get this place?" John asked after Michael left. They were sitting at the kitchen table eating the Rodi's take out Michael had brought with him knowing that Natalie's fridge would be empty.

"A couple of months. I could have stayed at Llanfair, but I wanted to make a home for us."

"It's nice."

"You think so? Would you consider living here with us?"

"Yeah? I think I can handle that." John dipped a fry in ketchup and fed it to Natalie. John smiled softly, his eyes full of love and caressed her face.

Major SMUT Warning

"You should take a bath like Michael said and relax those muscles," Natalie said leading a slow walking John into the master bedroom. She walked through the room into the bathroom which had a large, sunken, jet tub.

"Nice," John said when he came in behind her and watched her turn the water on. "Going to join me?"

"This is supposed to be therapeutic." Natalie reached up and began to unbutton his shirt. "Who buttoned this for you?"

"Antonio," John mumbled.

Natalie laughed as she undid the mis-buttoned shirt.

"We were in a hurry." John cleared his throat and put his hand on her hips. "I really think I need you to join me."

"I'll wash your back, but doctors orders are for you to rest and let your ribs heal. No gymnastics."

"Aww, come on," John pulled her forward to press against his pulsing arousal.

"It'll give you something to look forward to." Natalie pushed the shirt off his shoulders and bit her lip at the sight of his bruised and battered torso.

"I was locked up in prison for months with a bunch of guys. I've been looking forward to this forever already."

"This needs to heal," Natalie whispered as she gently undid the bandage around his ribs.

John sighed, seeing the concern in her eyes. He squirmed when she began to undo his pants and then put his hands over hers. "If you do that I'm not going to be able to not…" He trailed off and slid her hand over his burgeoning arousal.

Natalie sighed wistfully and looked back up him. "If you need help, yell. I'll help you into the tub." She walked back into the bedroom to fuss with the bed.

"You were supposed to wait for me to help you." Natalie stood over John who was already buck naked and leaning back in the tub.

"These pain pills that Michael gave me kicked in, I can't feel a thing. I can probably do some gymnastics." John leered up at her.

Natalie grinned at him and knelt down on the bathroom floor and poured some soap on a wash cloth.

"What are you doing?" John asked, his eyes twinkling.

Natalie grinned at him and moved to the other end of the tub and reached in and began to soap his foot. John groaned and sunk down into the water more.

Slowly. Very slowly. Natalie gave careful attention to every bit of skin on both of John's legs. The first time she got near his thigh his cock exploded into an orgasm so deep he couldn't catch his breath. Embarrassed he apologized profusely, explaining that he'd been locked up for months with no release. Natalie just kissed his concern away and continued her gentle ministrations on the next leg, between his legs and up his stomach.

John was panting as she washed his hair. His hands gripped the sides of the tub, his penis standing proud and firm out of the water and resting on his stomach.

"Touch yourself," Natalie whispered in his ear.

Unable to resist her command, John used his right hand and gripped himself.

"Pleasure yourself."

John groaned and began to stroke himself fast, hard, faster, harder. "Aaah!" he exclaimed as he reached his second release. His body shook with it as she whispered words of love and rinsed off his hair.

Without a word, she helped him stand and wrapped a big, fluffy towel around his body. She sat him on the counter and began to dry his body. She smiled seductively up at him as his penis once again began to harden and his pulse quicken.

She stood up and stroked him and placed tiny kisses on his chest and shoulder. With her other hand she picked up his bandage and letting him go began to wind it around his torso as Michael had shown her. John steadied himself by holding her shoulders, his eyes shooting blue fire at her.

"Are you planning to keep me here naked for days? All of my stuff is in storage." John sounded a bit hopeful as he sat down on the bed and let her settle him against a stack of pillows.

"Well, we could still do that, but l don't think it's necessary." She walked over and opened one of the closet doors. "I arranged everything by shade of black."

John's breath caught as he saw his clothes in her closet, he took a good look around for the first time and saw his stuff scattered around the room, already home.

"I had Michael get your stuff as soon as I got this place. I wanted you to have a home to come to. Next door is where we'll set up the nursery." She put her hand on her stomach and crawled up on the bed next to him.

"God, I love you." John slid his hand over her bare neck and pulled her in for a sweet kiss that quickly turned heated. He pushed the blanket off his lap and put her hand on his aroused member. "I want to be inside you. Close to you."

"I don't want to hurt you," she said breathlessly against his mouth.

"It's hurts more not making love to you." He tore at her shirt.

Natalie took a deep breath and pulled back and pulled off her clothes. When she was naked she got back on the bed and straddled herself over him. He touched her core, surprised and pleased to find her already soaked with need and ready for him. He caressed over her stomach and cupped her breasts.

Groaning with aching need, Natalie lowered herself over him, taking his thick member deep inside. Her inner muscles clenched him and he put his arms under hers and grabbed her back. She grabbed his hands and began to ride him, slowly at first, then with a hunger that blinded her to everything but what had been building inside her for him for months.

Their moans and aroused noises echoed off the walls of the room. She came first, milking him with her frantic orgasm, pulling him with her into the miasma of release.

In the aftermath, she lay at his side and they made out like teenagers until the pain killers dragged John into sleep.

"I love you," he whispered before slipping into a deep, healing slumber.

"I love you. I choose you, John McBain." Natalie closed her eyes and lay there soaking in his warmth.