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kmomof4 · 2 years

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Clipping an Angel’s Wings: An Outlaw Queen Story in the Universe of A Family Affair Chapter 5

I’m on time this week!!! Yay me!!! We are almost to the end of our journey but there’s still some important things that need to happen first! Trigger warning for mentions of miscarriage in this chapter. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

All the love and appreciation to @hollyethecurious @jrob64 and @betweengalaxies2 for all their help in making this fic the best it could possibly be! I couldn’t have done it without them!

Rating: M (language, smut, mortal character peril)

Words: 8363 of approx 47,600

Tags: Inspired by Skin Deep The O’Hurley’s by Nora Roberts, Smut, Stalker, Hollywood, Mentions of Miscarriage, Minor Character Death, Enemies to Lovers

On ao3 From Beginning/ Current Chapter

Series on ao3

Tagging the usuals. Please let me know if you’d like to be added or removed.

@hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @snowbellewells @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @jennjenn615 @kingofmyheart14 @profdanglaisstuff @branlovestowrite @thisonesatellite @ultraluckycatnd @flslp87 @whimsicallyenchantedrose @let-it-raines @shireness-says @kymbersmith-90 @darkcolinodonorgasm @bethacaciakay @searchingwardrobes @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @aprilqueen84 @qualitycoffeethings @superchocovian @artistic-writer @donteattheappleshook @doodlelolly0910 @seriouslyhooked @tiganasummertree @lfh1226-linda @xsajx @klynn-stormz @jrob64 @wefoundloveunderthelight @zaharadessert @elizabeethan @xhookswenchx @gingerpolyglot @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 @sailtoafarawayland @justanother-unluckysoul @veryverynotgoodwrites @jonesfandomfanatic @deckerstarblanche @the-darkdragonfly @batana54 @purplehawkcaptain @k-leemac @motherkatereloyshipper @apiratewhopines @killiansqueenofthejollyroger @onceuponahookandswan @meat-pie-with-sauce @cosette141 @pirateprincessofpizza @xarandomdreamx @fleurdepetite @hookmecaptain

Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

“Do you mind being recruited into the family?”

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Robin asked, walking into the room, a towel wrapped around his waist. There was a suit hanging in the closet that he didn’t want to even think about. Much less put on.

“Dad said you need to be in Graham’s suite an hour before the ceremony,” Regina informed him, doing one last sweep to make sure she had everything to get herself and her sisters ready for the big day. “Just what is it that guys do before a wedding?”

“State secret,” he said, sitting on the bed, “and no, I don’t mind.”

She turned toward him on the bed and almost lost her train of thought. He was still wet from his shower and the bare chest and low slung towel around his hips made her breath stutter and heart rate increase. Down girl.

“What did you think of Graham, Robin?” she asked. “I met him at Ruby’s premiere last summer, and I know you only met him last night, but I just wondered what your impressions were.”

“Looking out for your sister?”

She shrugged. “It goes with the territory.” She may not look like a mother hen, but when it came to her family, beneath the ice cold exterior, she was a marshmallow.

“Dependable, conservative, honorable,” he mused. “He won’t hurt her.”

“That’s what I think, too,” she agreed. “And Ruby?”

“A free spirit, a bit scattered, loving, theatrical.”

“That’s Ruby. It doesn’t seem like they have anything in common, and yet…” She looked at him trailing off. “They fit. They just really seem to fit.”

“They balance each other out,” he agreed. “So what are you worried about?”

She shrugged again. “She’s my baby sister.”

Robin chuckled wryly. “By how many minutes?”

“Time has nothing to do with it.” She said it with such offhand certainty, he was sure she’d been asked the question many times over the years. “She is my baby sister. She’s always been the most trusting one, the most loving. Emma’s so… solid. Strong. And I have enough meanness in me to keep my head above water. But Ruby, she dances her way through life- no pun intended- never worrying about anything, always ready to jump head first into whatever life throws at her. I don’t want to see her lose that wide-eyed, wondrous view of the world.”

“I think your sister knows what she wants and exactly how to make it work,” he reassured her.

“So do I,” she murmured. “I guess I’m just being sentimental.”

“Why don’t you come over here and be sentimental?” he asked, a salacious smirk on his face.

“I thought you were waiting for breakfast,” she replied, a matching smirk lifting the corner of her lips.

“I hate to wait alone.”

She sighed. “If I get back in that bed…”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be late heading downstairs.”

“And we can’t have that can we?” he asked, rising from the bed and stalking toward her.

“Robin,” she warned, holding her hand out. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, capturing her lips with his own. She moaned as she opened to him, her tongue dueling with his. He held her close and she thrilled to the flex of muscle under her hands- a reminder of how strong he was.

She giggled against his lips. “Something funny?” he asked, pulling back. Her eyes were happy and it made him smile.

“No,” she promised him. “I just feel safe. So wonderfully safe.”

“Safe’s not the only thing I want you to feel.”

“Oh, no?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “What else?”

Love, trust, devotion. It frightened him how those were the first thoughts he had and how quickly they came to him. He didn’t say them out loud, however. “Why don’t I show you instead?” He lowered his head toward hers again when there was a knock at the door. He groaned in agitation.

“You just had to have breakfast didn’t you?” she groused. “I’ll get it. Hold that thought.”

He got back on the bed as Regina walked into the sitting room. Looking around the room, he pictured a home with her. Not hers and not his, but theirs. A home they made together. When you loved, you thought about the future and everything that went with it. He wanted Regina to be his wife with all the traditional trappings that he’d never had use of before. The thought should have terrified him, but instead it almost amused him. He wanted the world to know with his ring on her finger and her ring on his. Robin Locksley, family man. Suddenly, somehow, it fit.

He knew he needed to tell her. She would probably balk. Thinking about it made him smile a little. Persuading Regina Mills to marry him might just be the toughest nut he’d ever cracked.

“Robin?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you come in here for a moment, please?” He could hear just a bit of tension in her voice. He pushed aside his musings and grabbed the robe, wrapping it around himself as he walked into the other room. He saw them the moment he came in. A dozen blood red roses sitting on the small table next to the door. Her face was as white as the card she held in her hand.

“He knows I’m here.” Her voice was steady, she was thankful for that. “He says he’d follow me anywhere.”

When he took the card from her, her fingers were like ice. “He says he’s waiting for the perfect time,” she whispered. He scanned the card and saw the name of the florist shop, Game of Thorns, in the corner.

“He just made his first mistake,” he murmured. “Who brought them up?”

“A bellboy,” she said, still in a daze. “I didn’t even tip him.”

“Stop that.”

His voice brought her back. She knew she wouldn’t get sympathy from Robin, or soothing words or empty promises. She didn’t want them. She wanted answers.

“He’s here, isn’t he?” she asked him. “Maybe in this hotel.”

“Sit down.” He tried to take her arm, but she backed away from him.

“I don’t need to sit down, I need answers.”

The knock on the door made her jump, a terrified squeak coming out of her. Robin moved to the door and looked through the peephole.

“It’s just room service,” he informed her, opening the door. He scribbled his name on the tab then followed the waiter back out to the hallway, looking left and right before entering the room again. “You could use some coffee,” he said, moving past her to the tray.

Her knees may be wobbly, but she refused to sit down. “No, answers,” she insisted. “And for some reason, I feel like you have them. You knew he’d be here,” she accused.

“Yeah,” he admitted, ignoring her protest and pouring two cups of coffee.

“Yeah?” she scoffed. “You’re not one to elaborate, are you, Robin? How? Sixth sense? Gut instinct?”

“Any of those would do,” he agreed. “I expect him to go where you go. But he also said he’d be here in the last few notes he sent.”

Regina’s jaw dropped. “And you didn’t think I should know about that?”

He met her dumbfounded stare steadily. “If I thought you should know, I’d’ve told you. Why don’t you eat something?”

The numb feeling was gone, swallowed up in fury. She very deliberately picked up a plate from the tray and let it drop, the dish shattering on the floor.

“Just who the hell do you think you are?” Her voice carried a venom he hadn’t heard from her before. “How dare you treat me like some brainless, gutless female who needs to be led around by the nose? I had a right to know he intended to follow me! That things would be no better here than they were there.”

He could follow his temper or he could control it. She was furious and he’d let it carry her as far as it would. “I handled it my way,” his words clipped and forceful before taking a sip of his coffee. “That’s what you pay me to do.”

She took a step back in shock. How could she have forgotten? She paid him. This was only a job to him. She straightened up and glared at him. “I expect to be kept informed of your progress, Locksley.”

“Fine,” he said, picking up a piece of toast and spreading it with jam.

“I’ll just leave you to your breakfast,” she snapped and spun toward the bathroom to grab her things. Coming out again, she shot a glare at Robin that would’ve had Will shaking in his boots, but which Robin completely ignored. She crossed to the sitting room when his soft voice reached her.

“Regina.” There was a thread of warning in that single word and it stopped her in her tracks. “You might as well sit down. You’re not going anywhere by yourself.”

“I’m going down to Ruby’s room,” she informed him, icily.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “You can try to leave this room,” he replied. “You won’t make it. I’ll take you down myself as soon as I’m dressed.”

She glanced at the door of the room and back at Robin, catching the look in his eyes. She was almost angry enough to take her chances, but dropped down into the seat behind her instead.

~*~*~

Robin entered the small cramped shop and was immediately assaulted by a barrage of sultry floral scents. There were three other customers in the store, and one very harried man behind the counter trying to take care of all of them at once while ignoring the shrill ringing of the telephone. It was complete chaos.

Robin looked around as the man hurried to and fro between customers.

“Are you going to buy flowers or just look at them?” the man finally asked several minutes later.

Robin turned toward him to see him piling papers on the counter. “Pretty busy today,” he commented.

“You’re telling me nothin’,” the man exclaimed. “Saturdays mean weddings, my clerk is home sick, my daughter and her boyfriend are in town,” the man pulled a face that made it perfectly clear to Robin exactly what he thought about that situation, “and too many people are dying.”

Robin’s brows rose to his hairline. The man looked sheepish. “Funerals. Lots of them this week.” Robin nodded in understanding and pulled out the card that came with the flowers this morning.

“This you?” he asked.

“Game of Thorns, Moe French, Proprietor,” he read. “Says so right there. I’m Moe, what can I do for you?”

“A dozen red roses were delivered to the Plaza Hotel this morning. I want to know who sent them.”

“Who sent them?” he exclaimed. “Are you kidding me? I don’t have time for that!”

Robin pulled a twenty out of his wallet and held it up in front of the man. He sniffed indignantly. “I don’t take bribes. You have a twenty, buy twenty dollars worth of flowers.”

“Fine. Check your receipts? Dozen red roses, Plaza Hotel about ten this morning,” he reminded the man.

He grumbled, but opened a box full of the day’s receipts. “No red roses for delivery to the Plaza this morning.”

“What about yesterday?”

“You a cop?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Private.”

He flipped through more receipts until he held one up. “A dozen red roses to the Plaza Hotel for delivery this morning, Suite 1203.”

Robin held his hand out. “Let me see?” The man handed him the receipt. Robin exhaled with a huff. “Paid cash.” Cash meant no signature and no name.

“I got no problem with cash.”

“What’d he look like?”

“What’d he look like?” he parroted. “I don’t know. I wasn’t here. I already said my daughter and her boyfriend are in town this weekend. I was at home with my family. The clerk that’s home sick today took the order.”

Robin cursed under his breath. “Surveillance video,” he said, looking up at the cameras stationed around the place. “Can I see the videos from yesterday?”

“Sure,” he agreed. “It’ll be tomorrow before I can get it to you, though.”

Robin pulled out his card. “I’ll be heading back home to California tomorrow. Can you email the footage?”

“Sure,” he said, taking the card. “Robin Locksley. Let me get through all these weddings today, and it’ll be in your inbox tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” Robin turned to go.

“Don’t forget your flowers,” Moe reminded him, handing him a bunch of carnations surrounded by greenery and baby’s breath.

“Thanks.” As soon as he walked out, he handed the flowers to a lady passing on the sidewalk and continued on his way.

~*~*~

“Three more hours,” Ruby said, excitedly. “Why didn’t we get married in the morning?”

Regina chuckled at her sister’s exuberance. “It’ll be afternoon before you know it. Come sit down,” she urged, patting the sofa beside her. “Think about something else.”

“How can I think about anything else?” Ruby asked. “I love him so much, Regina.” The glow of love on her sister’s face made Regina smile softly. “I can’t wait to be his wife.”

“I know,” she replied, rising and moving toward Ruby. She took her hands, forcing her to still. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re happy.”

Ruby spun away from her, looking at the door. “Where’s Emma? Shouldn’t she be here by now?”

Regina laughed. “She’ll be here as soon as she drops Killian and Henry off with Dad.”

Ruby turned back to her sister and the two of them sat back down on the sofa. “So, tell me about Robin.”

“Oh, he’s…” Regina shrugged and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “He’s… fine. Just, uh, a man…”

Ruby’s brow furrowed. “Just a man?” she asked. “Come on, Regina. This is Ruby. I’ve seen you with just a man before.” She took her sister’s hands in her own. She couldn’t remember ever seeing Regina this flustered. “You seemed so happy last night. You were glowing.”

“Of course I’m happy,” Regina deflected. “My baby sister is marrying a man I’ve decided is nearly worthy of her.” Ruby rolled her eyes at the baby sister designation then turned abruptly serious as she looked directly into her sister’s eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong, Regina?”

“Nothing,” she assured her. The nerves on Regina were palpable and Ruby’s excitement for the day suddenly turned to worry for her older sister. There was a knock on the door and Regina’s head snapped toward it and her hands tensed. “Make sure who it is before you open the door. Don’t want an overenthusiastic bridegroom coming in here.”

Ruby rose with a serious look at her sister and moved toward the door.

“It’s Emma,” she said, looking through the peephole. Between the two of them, they’d get to the bottom of what was bothering their sister.

“Why aren’t you fat yet?” Ruby joked with a laugh as she opened the door.

“Because I still have five months to go,” Emma replied with a grin. She came in and dropped the garment bag she held on the chair. “Why aren’t you getting ready yet?”

“Because the wedding’s not for three hours.”

Emma put her arm around Ruby and addressed Regina. “Just enough time,” she asserted. “Think we can whip her into shape?”

“Yep,” she agreed. “At least it will get her to stop her pacing. The guys with Dad?”

“I dropped them at Graham’s door. Mom is getting her hair done and Dad was tuning the banjo. I can’t wait to see Henry in his tux,” she continued. “He looks like such a little man. He’s annoyed we’re only renting it, though. By the way,” she said, coming over and wrapping her arms around Regina, “I like your Robin.”

Regina rolled her eyes, but managed a small smile. “The possessive pronoun’s a bit premature.” On impulse she moved to the phone. “I know what’s missing here,” she said, dialing room service. “Yes, I’d like a bottle of champagne, three glasses. Dom Pérignon ‘71, please. Yes, Ruby Lucas’ suite, thank you.”

Emma’s eyebrows rose. “It’s only eleven.”

“Who’s counting?” she asked. “The Swan triplets are going to celebrate.” Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. “Oh, God,” she breathed. “Sometimes I miss you both so much, I can hardly stand it.”

In an instant, they were together, holding each other close, just like they had been in the womb. Ruby sniffled, Emma soothed, and then to her sisters’ complete surprise, Regina broke down completely.

“Oh, baby,” Emma cried, lowering them all to the sofa and casting a quick concerned glance at Ruby. “What’s wrong, Regina?”

“Nothing, nothing,” she protested, wiping away her tears. “Just being overly emotional. I’m just so happy to be here with both of you, Emma with your beautiful family and Ruby starting one of her own.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Maybe if things had been different…” she trailed away. “But no,” she continued, straightening her spine, “I made my choices, and now I have to live with them.”

Emma swept Regina’s hair away from her face. “Is this about Robin?”

“No… yes. ” She lifted her hands and then dropped them helplessly. “I don’t know.” Her breath hitched. “I hired Robin to keep an overenthusiastic fan at a safe distance,” she said with a shrug, still trying to downplay the situation. “But now I’ve fallen in love with him, and…” She lifted her head, her hand covering her mouth, a look of fearful wonder on her face as she looked at her sisters. “I just said it out loud.”

“Did it help?” Ruby asked, her voice so gentle, it made Regina want to weep again.

“Maybe? I’m being an idiot.” She wiped her face and rose to grab a tissue. “And I’ll be damned if I walk down the aisle as Maid of Honor with red and puffy eyes.”

Ruby grinned. “That sounds more like Regina. And besides, if you love him, it will all work out.”

Regina sent Ruby a watery smile. “Always the optimist.”

“Absolutely! Emma found Killian, I found Graham, so now it’s your turn.” Her face turned speculative. “Now, if we could just pin down David.”

Regina laughed. “Now you’re really reaching. If there’s a woman out there that can put a hobble on big brother, I’d love to meet her.” She started at the knock on the door, but brought herself back quickly. “Must be the champagne,” she said, moving toward the door and looking through the peephole, “Whoops, that’s not all. We have a love-sick maniac out here, too.”

“Graham? Is it Graham?” Ruby asked, halfway to the door already.

“Oh, uh-uh,” Emma said, hooking an arm around Ruby’s waist and dragging her toward the bedroom. She may be four months pregnant, but she was still agile. “We’re not risking any bad luck. You get in there,” she continued, pushing Ruby into the bedroom. “Regina and I can transmit any messages.”

“This is silly,” Ruby said, wrinkling her nose.

Regina shrugged as she leaned against the door. “I’m not opening it until you’re all the way out with the door shut.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine.” Once the door was shut, Emma planted herself in front of it and nodded at Regina.

“Just over there,” she directed the waiter. “And you…” she put a perfectly manicured finger to Graham’s chest, “not a step further.”

“I just want to see her for a minute.”

Regina could feel the love, the nerves, the longing coming off of him and she shook her head. He hadn’t changed into his tux yet and was dressed like the executive he was in khaki pants and a button down dress shirt. He was the furthest thing she would have imagined for her free-spirited, bohemian sister, and yet, they somehow complemented each other perfectly.

“Look, I have something for her.” Used to getting his way, Graham stepped forward, but Regina moved in front of him easily. “I’ll be in and out before you know it.”

“You won’t be in at all,” Regina corrected him. “Seriously, Graham, we’re theater people. You won’t find a group more superstitious. Do you really think you’re going to get past us? You’ll see Ruby at the church.”

Hearing a stirring behind the door, Emma grabbed the knob. “I’m sure you’re too much of a gentleman to try and get through both of us.” Deploying the ultimate weapon, she placed her hand on her middle. “Or should I say, all three of us?”

Graham was suddenly doubtful of the ultimate success of his plan. He wanted to see Ruby, if only for a moment, touch her, reassure himself this was all real. He’d managed to get past both Marco and Killian, but he knew now he was out of his depth. “Would you give her this, please?” he asked. “It belonged to my grandmother. I was going to give it to her later, but I’d like for her to wear it today.”

“She’ll wear it,” Regina promised, taking the small box from him. “Oh, and Graham?”

“Yes?”

“Welcome to the family.” She shut the door in his face and leaned back on it. “Anymore of that, and I’d be blubbering again.” She nodded at Emma. “Let her out.”

Ruby was halfway across the room in the next second. “Did he give you something? What is it?”

Regina opened the box and saw a silver heart made of diamonds on a thin silver chain. “Oh,” Ruby breathed, taking it out of the box. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“And it’ll look even more beautiful against your dress,” Emma said, running her finger along the stones. “Here, let me clasp it for you.”

Ruby turned and fanned her face. “Now I’m gonna cry.”

“No,” Regina insisted. “No more tears.” She popped the cork on the champagne with a flourish and filled the three glasses. “We’re going to get a little drunk- well, two of us are going to get a little drunk, and Emma’s going to have half a glass. And then, between the three of us, we’re going to create the most beautiful bride to ever walk down the aisle at St. Pat’s. Here’s to you, little sister,” she finished, raising her glass.

“No,” Ruby demurred, tapping her glass to Regina’s and then Emma’s. “Here’s to all of us. The Swan triplets. As long as we have each other, we’ll never be alone.”

~*~*~

At Regina’s insistence, she and Robin caught the red-eye back to LA Saturday evening. New York hadn’t been the haven she’d hoped it would be. With the wedding over and Ruby and Graham off on a Caribbean honeymoon, Regina could only think about getting home.

What could she say to Robin? She felt betrayed by his silence, yet had she, by her unwillingness to listen to his reports, asked for it? Was she so weak, so cowardly that he felt he had to shield her from everything? For only one brief time in her life, she had not had her hands firmly on the wheel, in control of her own life. Because of fear, she’d all but fully relinquished that control again and it was time to take back the helm.

Robin wondered how long it would take her to unfreeze. She’d been cool, aloof, distant all through the wedding and reception. He had no choice but to accept it. Yet, when he’d seen her walking down the aisle in a beautiful red gown in front of her sister, he’d wanted to carry her off somewhere, anywhere.

He wondered what it’d be like to stand where Graham had stood this afternoon and see Regina walking toward him in a gown of white lace. To hear her make the promises her sister had today. To make promises of his own.

They were almost ready to land and Regina dozed restlessly beside him. Couldn’t she understand he did what he did for her? To give her a chance to relax, if only for a little while. No, she didn’t understand and he couldn’t explain. Maybe if he was one of her leading men with a script he could memorize. But he wasn’t. He didn’t have the words. All he had were the emotions.

On the way home in the back of the limo, Regina’s leg moved restlessly.

“I’d like to see all your reports by noon tomorrow.”

“Fine. I have the file at the house.” Streetlights flashed in the windows but there wasn’t enough light to see his expression.

“And I’d like an update of anything you found out in New York.”

“You’re the boss.”

“I’m glad you remember that.”

He wanted to strangle her. He thought of ways that were quick and quiet, but instead he simply sat back and bided his time. Once they were back inside the house, she walked regally past him toward the stairs without a word.

“Something eating you, angel?” he asked, grabbing her arm as she reached them.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She looked pointedly at his hand on her arm and then back at him. “Will you excuse me now, Robin? I want to take a nice long bath.”

No one did it better. He had to give her that as he watched her climb the stairs and then walk down the hall to her room. She could, with a look, an inflection, slice a man in half without leaving a drop of blood.

He thought he was calm. He thought he was in control. Until he heard the lock click on her door. Then the rage he’d been holding back all day clawed free. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t even think. He moved to her bedroom door and kicked it in.

She wasn’t often speechless. Regina just stood there, the jacket of her pantsuit already off and laying across the chaise lounge at the foot of the bed. She’d seen fury before, real and simulated, but she’d never seen anything like what blazed in Robin’s eyes right now.

“Don’t you ever lock a door on me.” His voice was low and quiet after the crash of the splintering door.

“I want you to leave.” Her heartbeat thundered in her chest, but she raised her chin at him defiantly.

Robin chuckled darkly. “Haven’t you learned, angel? We don’t get everything we want. I’m here to stay. You’re gonna have to do a hell of a lot more than turn a key to keep me out.”

When he moved toward her, she stiffened but refused to retreat. She was done backing away from anything, even him.

“You wanted to slap me down, and that’s fine,” he barked, moving into her personal space. “But I’ll be damned if I take it from you for doing my job.”

“I won’t be treated like a fool, or a weakling,” she shot back. She took a deep breath. “You knew he was going to follow me to New York. You knew I’d be no safer there than I was here.”

“That’s right,” he confirmed, pointing in her face. “I knew and you didn’t. And you had one night when you didn’t toss in your sleep.”

“You had no right…”

“I had every right,” he interrupted. “I have the right to do anything, everything necessary to keep you safe. And I am going to keep on doing it, because there is nothing that matters to me more than you.”

Regina gasped. She’d seen it in his eyes. Beneath the rage and frustration, but hadn’t been sure she could believe it. “Is that…” She trailed away and took a fortifying breath. She couldn’t let her voice tremble now. “Is that your way of telling me you love me?”

He stared down at her, a great deal more stunned by his pronouncement than she was. He hadn’t meant to throw it at her like a threat. He meant to coax her along until she realized she needed him. But patience was never his strong suit.

“Take it or leave it.”

“Take it or leave it,” she murmured before she blew out a long breath and wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling into him.

Robin exhaled with profound relief. He buried his face in her hair and wondered how he’d ever survived without her touch. “I guess that means you’re taking it.”

“Yeah,” she breathed into him. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make you fall in love with me so you wouldn’t walk away when this is all over.”

“I’m not going anywhere, angel.” He found her lips and made it a promise. “Let me hear you say it. Look at me and say it. No lights, no script, no cameras.”

“I love you, Robin. More than I ever thought possible. It scares the hell out of me.”

“Good,” he said before kissing her again, harder. “It scares the hell out of me, too.”

“We’ve got some things we need to talk about.”

“Later,” he said. He was already pulling the red cami she wore out of the waistband of her slacks.

“Later,” she agreed, doing the same to the shirt he wore and pulling it off of him. She smirked appreciatively. “Want to take a bath?”

“Yeah.”

“Before?” she laughed, stepping into him and peppering his jaw with her kisses, “Or after?”

“After,” he affirmed before he pulled her to the bed.

It had been frantic and passionate before, it had been soft and tender, but now there was love- felt, spoken, and answered. She’d stopped believing that she could ever have this, love, respect, acceptance, understanding. She mewled under him as his hands, mouth, and tongue mapped every curve, every inch of her skin. He buried his face in her hair and held her close as if he realized, too, what a gift they’d been given.

She thought he trembled. She ran her hands along his back and felt the quick tensing of muscle. She didn’t want to soothe it. She wanted him just as she was- stunned, a little afraid, and deliriously happy. In an uncharacteristically possessive move, she ran her hands all the way down his back and then back up again. He was hers. From this moment, he was hers. There would be a tomorrow with Robin. There would be a lifetime of tomorrows.

He didn’t search for her. He never knew he wanted, needed someone to share his life with. Still, he had found her, and she was everything. The perfect complement to his rough and tumble exterior and the other half of his soul that he never knew he was missing. She was his mate. There was something primal and yet profoundly soothing in the word. It meant someone to share passionate nights with, someone to wake up with on lazy mornings, someone to reach out for, to protect, cherish. Someone to build a future with.

He looked down at her, the soft lights of the lamps making her skin glow. “So beautiful,” he murmured. “Not just here,” he said, tenderly stroking her face, “but here, too,” he said, pressing an open mouth kiss to her sternum. “Inside.”

“No, I…”

“Don’t contradict the man who loves you,” he admonished her. He laced his fingers with hers and brought them up to his mouth, kissing the pad of each finger. He didn’t know how to show her how he felt. He wasn’t used to pampering. Romance was for the movies or for books. And yet, he needed to show her the feelings he had were so far beyond desire, he couldn’t measure them.

When he made them one, they clung to one another, exquisite pleasure their only guide as they carried one another into the dark.

~*~*~

“Thank God it’s Sunday,” Regina moaned, sinking into the whirlpool tub filled to the brim with fragrant bubbles. She laughed when she caught the look on Robin’s face. “You’re supposed to enjoy the bubbles, not scowl at them.”

“I don’t know what it is about women and bubbles…”

Regina shrugged. “They’re decadent and they smell nice.”

A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. “Well, if it’s the bubbles that keep you smelling good enough to eat,” he admitted, “then I guess I can endure them.”

The tub was plenty big for two, but she hadn’t considered the amount of bubbles and water needed when adding another person. The water nearly reached the rim and the bubbles came up to her chin. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him, both of them slipping under the water. They came up, hair and faces covered with the fragrant mess, laughing like children.

Robin hadn’t lost his grip on Regina’s arm so he kept pulling her forward as he wiped his face with the other. She straddled his thighs and rocked into his rapidly hardening length. She caressed his face tenderly and sighed.

“What?” he asked.

“I just never thought I’d have this,” she murmured, brushing his lips with hers. “I love you, Robin.”

“I love you, too,” he said, kissing her tenderly as he slipped into her warmth. He thrust into her slowly, she could feel every inch of him along her walls. On top of him, her breasts were just above the water line. He licked and laved the sensitive skin as the pleasure sent her higher and higher, her orgasm coiling tightly in her belly. The water sloshed over the edge of the tub as their rhythm faltered, clinging tightly to one another as they climaxed together.

Regina drew in a shuddering breath as she was rocked with aftershocks. She could still feel him throbbing within her, his head buried where her neck joined her shoulder. Her head rolled as he brushed sweet and soft kisses along her pulsepoint and collar bone.

“I never thought I’d have this, either,” he whispered into her skin in between kisses. “It was never something I considered. Never something I wanted. Until I met you.”

She pulled back and looked at him. The love in his eyes made her catch her breath and her eyes fill with tears.

Robin reached up and caught a tear as it slipped down her cheek. “Don’t cry, Regina.”

“I can’t help it,” she said on a watery exhale. “The happiness inside has no other outlet.” She surged forward and captured his lips with hers in a passionate kiss that seemed to go on forever.

“I guess we should get out before I turn into a prune,” she said when they finally parted. She rose and Robin caught his breath. She was utter perfection, her raven locks brushing her shoulders, the honey almond tone of her skin positively glowing with rivulets of water running down her body back into the tub. He flipped the lever to drain the water and rose with her. He placed his hands on her hips and noticed the chill bumps on her skin.

“You’re cold,” he observed, grabbing a towel from the rack and wrapping it around her. “Can’t have you going back to work tomorrow with a sniffle.”

“I never have a sniffle, it’s in my contract,” she quipped right back at him as she wrapped a towel around him.

“Once we’re married,” he began, stepping out of the tub, “the rules of the bath are gonna have to change. Bubbles are fine, but they have to be unscented. It’s one thing for the staff to sniff, but we can’t have the kids wondering if their father wears perfume.”

“We’re getting married?”

She’d just taken about half a dozen steps back. He could hear it in her voice. He turned back to her to see her stock still, her face nearly drained of color.

“That’s usually what people in love do, angel,” he pointed out. “There a problem?”

She cut her eyes to the side before answering. “Well, you haven’t exactly asked me.”

He moved to her and rubbed his hands across her shoulders and down her arms, looking her square in the eye.

“Well then,” he murmured, “allow me to correct that.” He sank down on one knee and looked up at her. “Regina Louise Veronica Swan…” he trailed off and Regina had to giggle at the confusion on his face. “Swan or Mills?” he asked.

“Either works,” she choked out.

“Regina Louise Veronica Swan, will you please marry me?” he asked.

Regina’s face fell and Robin felt his heart stop in his chest.

“Before I answer,” she began, her voice shaking slightly, “there’s something I have to tell you first.”

Robin rose and looked into her eyes. A deep and lasting pain dulled the sparkle he loved in her brown eyes.

“You want children…” she murmured.

“Yes,” he drawled, nodding slowly. “Don’t you? Or does a husband and kids not fit the image?” He couldn’t keep the bite of hurt out of his words.

She looked at him, anger flashing within the despair in their chocolate depths. “My parents raised four children on the road. There’s nothing more important than family, not a career, and certainly not an image.”

“Then what is it?” he asked gently.

“First, let me say there’s nothing I’d love more than to marry you and start a family.” She turned away from him and entered the bedroom, discarding the towel and wrapping herself in a red fluffy robe. Robin moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to her neck. She relaxed into him and sighed before pulling away and facing him. “Could you sit? This would be easier for me if you would sit.”

He moved to the chair and sat down. The hurt and fear of what she had to say were waning, but the look on her face had him tensing anyway.

“There’s something you need to know before we go any further,” she informed him. “If I had listened to Mom, I would have told you before now, but…” she paused briefly and took a deep breath. “Here we are.”

“Regina, if you’re trying to tell me you’ve been with other men…”

She interrupted him with a bitter laugh. “Not exactly. That definitely doesn’t fit the image, does it? But I only slept with one other man before you. Surprise,” she said when he simply stared. She moved to the window. “I was almost twenty when I met him. I’d been in Hollywood for about a year and a half, doing commercials, taking acting classes, I even had a part time job selling magazines over the phone. I kept telling myself it was only a matter of time, and I believed it, but it was tough. Oh God, it was so tough being alone.” She clasped her hands in front of her and her eyes were far away, lost in the memory. “Then Will called and said he’d gotten me a test for a small part on a feature. Lawless, my first real break. The producer was…”

“Samdi Facillier.”

She stared at him dumbfounded. “Yes, how did you know?”

Robin shrugged. “A lot of movie buffs might, but the fact is, I already knew about him. He came up in your background check.”

“You did a background check? On me?”

“It’s standard, Regina,” he assured her. “I run a check on you and maybe someone comes up that you’ve forgotten about or didn’t think to mention. Like Samdi Facillier. He’s clean, by the way. Been in the UK the last eighteen months.”

“Standard,” Regina murmured. “I see.”

“What difference does it make now? So you slept with him.” He shrugged. “You needed a break and he could give you one. It was years ago and I don’t give a damn.”

Regina’s eyes widened and every muscle in her body tensed. “You think I slept with him to get a part?”

“I’m telling you, I don’t care,” he said, standing and reaching for her.

“Don’t touch me,” she snapped, pulling back out of his reach. “I don’t have to sleep with someone to get a part and I never have. I may have made a grievous error that I’m still paying for today, I may have given much more of myself than I should have, but I’ve never prostituted myself.”

“I’m sorry,” he said gently, taking her into his arms despite her protests. “I’m not doing this very well. What I mean to say is that whatever happened between you doesn’t matter.”

She laughed bitterly again. “Oh, it matters. Believe me, it matters.” She relaxed into him, resting her head on his chest, letting him hold her. “When Will called to tell me I got the part, I was so happy. I knew it was only the beginning.” She swallowed hard and took a deep breath, so thankful to have his arms around her, supporting her, helping her get through this. “Samdi sent me a dozen roses, a bottle of champagne and a lovely letter of congratulations. He said he knew I was going to be a star and suggested we have dinner to discuss the film and my career.”

Robin stroked her back trying to soothe her. He wished he could see her face, look into her eyes as she told her story, but something told him that she needed his touch more.

“Of course, I agreed. He was one of the top producers, riding a wave of three box office smashes. I knew he was married, but I didn’t think twice about that.” The self-derision, the self-disgust in her voice broke his heart.

“Regina, it was years ago,” he tried again.

She pulled back and looked at him, tears in her eyes. “There are some things you never stop paying for,” she whispered before resting her head on his chest again. “We were just going to have dinner, as colleagues. God, he was charming.” The memory still hurt, but the pain was dull now, covered with scar tissue. “The dinners kept coming, the flowers. He knew so much about the business, the people. Who to talk to, who to be seen with. All of that was so important to me then. I thought I could handle it.” Her breath hitched. “The truth was I was just a naive young girl on her own for the first time.”

“I fell in love with him. I believed everything he said about he and his wife living together for appearances only, that a quiet divorce was already in the works. About the two of us making the best and brightest team Hollywood had seen since the golden age. The whole thing might have run its natural course as I got a bit smarter and he a bit bored. But before that happened, I made a mistake.” She paused and Robin held his breath. “I got pregnant.” She swallowed heavily. “You didn’t find that in your background check did you?”

Rage hit but he smothered it. “No.”

“He had enough money, enough influence to keep it quiet. It wasn’t an issue very long.”

He was struggling, fighting desperately to keep his anger at bay, keep himself under control. As he’d already said, it was years ago. There wasn’t anything he could do about any of this now. “You had an abortion?”

“That was what he wanted. He was furious. I guess any man would be when their mistress- and that’s what I was really- turns up pregnant and threatens their very comfortable marriage. Of course, there were no plans to get a divorce and marry me.”

“He used you,” Robin spit out, tightening his arms around her. “You were a kid and he used you.”

She nodded into his chest. “Anyhow, I told him he could go to hell, but I was keeping the baby. Things got ugly then. He threatened to destroy my career if I didn’t play his way. There’s no use going into what was said, but the affair was over and my eyes were wide open.”

“You’re still hurting,” he murmured into her hair.

“Yes,” she acknowledged, “but not for the reasons you might think. I thought I loved him, but once the glitter washed off, I knew I never had. I called my parents. I was ready to run back to them and leave everything behind. I bought my plane ticket. Robin, I don’t know what I would have ultimately done once I was thinking clearly.” She paused again and took another deep breath. “That’s the worst part, not knowing,” she whispered. “There was an accident on the way to the airport.”

Robin shut his eyes, guessing what came next. He bent down and picked Regina up bridal style and walked over to the chair, sitting down with her in his lap. He held her close, her head tucked under his chin.

“Nothing major,” she continued, “the driver had a couple of broken bones, and I… I lost the baby.”

Her breath caught on a sob and Robin shut his eyes, willing the tears in his eyes not to fall.

“I lost the baby,” she cried, “and I tried to tell myself it was for the best, but all I could think of was that it never had a chance. I was only six weeks pregnant. Six weeks. There, then gone. Will pulled me out of it. Got me back to work almost as soon as I was out of the hospital. Everything clicked for me, then- the parts, the people, the fame I’d always wanted. All I had to do was lose a baby.”

“Regina,” he murmured, kissing her head. “There’s nothing I can say. Nothing I know how to do.”

“There’s more.”

“No more.”

“There’s more you have to hear,” she insisted, her head still buried in his chest. “When I lost the baby, there were complications. The doctors told me it was possible for me to have other children, but it wasn’t something they could guarantee. Possible. Only possible. Not even probable. There might never be another baby, another chance. Do you understand?” she asked, finally pulling back enough to look at him.

“Are you going to marry me?”

Regina’s face was slack and he wanted to cover it with his kisses, his love. “Robin, did you hear what I just said?” she asked. “I said…”

“I heard what you said,” he interrupted. “You might not be able to have children. I want them, Regina. Yours, mine. But first and foremost, I want you. The rest is up to chance.”

The stunned wonder in her eyes made him want to hold her close to him for the rest of his days. “I love you, Robin.”

“Good. Let’s get married tomorrow,” he urged her, only half joking.

“No,” she said, putting her hands to his chest. “I want you to think about this. Really think about it. A few days, at least.”

“I don’t need a few days,” he asserted, “I need you.”

“I feel like I owe it to you. Please, Robin. Just a few days.”

“A very few days, angel.” He held her close again. “I’m never going to let anyone hurt you again.”

She smiled before kissing him soundly. “Let’s go to bed, Robin.”

He stood from the chair with her still in his arms and carried her to the bed. “I like that plan.”

~*~*~

Late Sunday night, Robin sat in Regina’s office in front of his laptop. Regina slept soundly across the hall after the day they had spent in bed and he wished he was with her, sound asleep and holding her in his arms.

He rubbed his face in frustration. What in the hell had he been thinking asking for the surveillance footage? He had no idea what time the order had been made and had been fast forwarding through Friday’s footage for the last hour. Moe had been in the shop until mid afternoon, Robin could see him moving about behind the counter, but once he left, he slowed the speed down and started paying more attention to the customers. He knew it was a long shot, but perhaps he’d recognize someone from the studio or Regina’s life on the footage. Not long after Moe had left, Robin noticed a man on the street. A man with a very familiar profile. No.

Robin’s eyes narrowed as he sat up and moved closer to the screen. The footage was digital, but it was definitely not the best. The man came in the shop and moved to the counter before Robin could positively identify him. His mouth hung open and he scrubbed his hand down his face in disbelief.

Surely not.

It couldn’t be.

Will Scarlet stood at the counter of Game of Thorns late Friday afternoon. He didn’t want to believe it. Will was a friend. To them both and Robin knew just how hard it was to make and keep friends in this business. Yet how well did he really know Will? He hadn’t known about the gambling until he dug it up. Was it possible that an addiction could have led him down this path now?

Robin sighed. He was being stupid. The next step was to see where Will was this weekend. Doppelgangers were a real thing and it was certainly possible that someone who strongly resembled Will Scarlet lived in New York City. He opened his contacts and found Will’s number.

“Answering for Will Scarlet.”

“I need to speak with him.”

“I’m sorry. Mr. Scarlet is unavailable until Monday.”

“Make him available. This is important.”

The voice became very prim. “I’m sorry. Mr. Scarlet is out of town.”

Nerves skimmed down Robin’s spine. “Where?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

“This is Robin Locksley calling for Regina Mills.”

The voice suddenly became much more conciliatory. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Locksley. You should have told me who you were. Mr. Scarlet is out of town this weekend. Should I have him call you if he checks in?”

“I’ll catch up with him Monday. Where is he?”

“He flew to New York on some personal business.”

“Yeah.” He bit off an oath as he hung up. It was personal alright. Very personal. This was gonna hurt. And it was gonna hurt deeply.

~*~*~

Thank you for reading and sharing! Next week everything gets tied up! Sneak peek will be up on Tuesday! Until then, y’all!!

#clipping an angel's wings #oq fic #a family affair #krystal writes #art by krystal

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