Tonight, We are Betrayed

Nathan sat somewhat slouched in his chair, head resting against his palm, and stared ahead, at the hologram pictures of Marni lining the walls, at her body, face veiled and lost, so far ahead. He just sat there, staring, wondering if she was watching, if she knew what he'd done. If she knew the monster he'd become.

He couldn't get the image of their daughter out of his head, of the way Shilo's hair had cascaded over Marni's name, how in that instant there was never a Marni, there was only his Shilo, his precious daughter.

He loved her. He loved his daughter, his flesh and blood. He loved every second of holding her, from the gentle hugs when she had nightmares, to how he'd held her just barely two nights before, her body so warm with arousal in his arms.

` He grimaced, running his hands over his eyes and squeezing his temples. What was he thinking? How could he ever have gotten into this? He should have left the room when Shilo started acting so strangely, he should have let her sleep it off. But no, it'd been so long, he'd been so weak. And how could he ever deny such a beautiful creature?

Nathan slouched back, closing his eyes and trying to clear his head. He didn't hear the soft patter of footsteps on the floor, but felt a pair of deep brown eyes on him. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who was looking at him.

"Shilo?" he asked, and she blushed, tugging on her nightgown.

"You left my door unlocked," she stated, the strangeness of it causing her to come down and find her father. He didn't just forget.

Nathan said nothing, and Shilo took it upon herself to get comfortable. She settled down on Nathan's lap, and instead of protesting or adjusting her, he just wrapped an arm loosely around her waist, stroking the curve of her hip gently. They sat there, and she looked forward, at all the images of her mother. A pang of jealous struck her heart, and she consciously shifted more so she sat in the center of her father's lap and not on his thigh. He didn't seem to notice.

Shilo would have loved this moment if they had been anywhere but here. She didn't want to see her father staring off at Marni, at a mother she didn't know, that she felt little or nothing for now. She didn't want him reminiscing about her, missing her. She didn't want to share.

Finally, she spoke. "Do you miss mom?" Nathan blinked back to consciousness and looked at her, but Shilo wouldn't meet his gaze. She just stared forward.

"Shi?"

"Do you miss her?" she asked again, her hands resting on the arms of the chair. She gripped it, and Nathan tightened his arm around her waist.

"Don't you?" he asked, and Shilo didn't move.

"I can't miss someone I don't know," was all she said, now staring intently at her mother's body, on display at the end of the hallway. She wondered if her skin could compare to her mother's, who was paler, who was softer? Did Marni kiss like she did? Did Marni ever press herself to Nathan like Shilo had, so close that they melted into one liquid form?

Nathan sighed and pulled Shilo back to him, so her chest rested against his chest. He kept stroking her hip, her night gown having pushed up so his fingers moved over the wrinkles and the soft cotton of her panties.

After another moment, Shilo reached down and placed her hand on his, stilling it. She laced her fingers with his, and he squeezed her hand.

"I don't want you to miss her," Shilo admitted, and Nathan turned and looked at her, unable to see most of her face. "I don't want you to miss her at all. I want you to miss me, every time you leave, every time you're down here and I'm locked in my room. I just want there to be me."

"Shi," Nathan whispered, wrapping his other arm around her and holding her. "I miss you every second I'm not with you."

"But not how you miss her," she whispered, gripping his hands, then running her fingers over his arms. "You miss her lips, her skin, her very presence. You miss her like you'd miss a wife, a lover. You miss me like a daughter-"

"That's what you are-"

"I should be more," Shilo whispered, still tracing his forearms. Nathan sighed and leaned forward, burying his face in her hair. "You know you feel it too, dad. You know you want me to be more."

"I know," Nathan whispered, and her hands clung to his. "I know what I want Shi, I know."

Shilo fidgeted, and Nathan released her. She struggled, but managed to turn around and straddle him, so she could stare into his eyes.

"Then say it," she whispered, placing her hands on his cheeks. "Say it, say you love me, dad. Say you want me." Nathan placed his hands on her back and drew her closer, and leaned forward, placing his forehead to yours.

"Shi," he whispered, his voice in near agony, "Don't-"

"Just say it," she pleaded, her fingers slipping back into his soft hair.

"I love you," he whispered, the agony still on his face, and despite how close she was, Shilo could see it.

"Are you in love with me?" Shilo whispered, her fingers brushing the back of his neck.

"Honey, stop-"

"Are you?" she asked, a little harsh, her heart racing. She was beginning to feel like her very sanity hung on his words.

He didn't respond, just ran his hands down her sides, before locking them around her and pulling her to his chest. He rested his head on hers and stared forward, unwilling to speak, and Shilo was torn. Part of her wanted to push him away, to run to her room and locked the door. She didn't want to see him, to feel him, to know he was so close.

But the rest of her was content as she curled up in his arms, clutching his shirt, hiding her face. Her eyes watered and she cried softly. He was the only person in her life, the only real tie she had to humanity. He had been for the longest time, and even now, with the messages she had been receiving from Rotti, with meeting that exotic and probably mentally disturbed Grave robber, he was still the one person she felt comfortable with. He was the world to her.

She chocked on her breath, and felt his fingers tracing her spine gently. His other hand rested on the small of her back.

"Precious," he whispered, kissing the top of her head, trying to sooth her. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Maybe you should go lay down…"

Grunting in frustration, she pushed herself off of her father's lap and rushed off, towards the stairs and her room. Nathan sighed when she left, sitting in the chair another moment, before he pushed himself up and headed up the stairs himself. He resisted looking down the hallway towards Shilo's room, instead headed towards the bathroom. He locked himself inside and turned the shower on. He stripped as steam began filling the room and stepped in; standing under the water as it almost scalded his body. He reached up, running his fingers through his hair, pushing it away from his face.

He grimaced as the heat melted into his skin, reminded him about the ache in his groin, and the heat from Shilo as she had nestled into him just minutes ago. He cursed himself quietly, closing his eyes as the water rushed over his face, streaming over his eyelids. All he could imagine were Shilo's fingertips running over his eyelids, her tongue the water that ran down his neck. He sighed and ran a hand over his chest, longing to run to her room and lift her into his arms, kiss her lips and tell her yes, he was in love with her. So in love that his heart had swelled within his chest, and it ached to breathe.

But…she was his daughter, his soft flesh and warm blood. Everything he felt for her was wrong, sick, but yet the feelings didn't fade. If anything they only grew.

"Shilo," he whispered, leaning forward and bracing himself against the wall with one hand. He hung his head in shame as his heart beat heavily.

He emerged later with a towel around his waist, his hair wet and pushed back off his forehead. When he opened the door he was taken aback to see Shilo standing there, hands on her hips.

"Shi?" he asked, "Why aren't you in your room?"

"Because you never answered my question," she stated flatly. Nathan sighed and stepped past her, but she followed. "Why can't you just say something?" she asked as she kept at his heels until they reached his room.

Still ignoring her, Nathan shut his door. Shilo stood; motionless in her shock, unbelieving that he had shut the door in her face. Frowning deeply, she grabbed the knob and threw the door open, storming in.

"Bastard!" she yelled, barely seeing through her teenage temper. Nathan looked up from where he stood, across the room in nothing but his black boxer-briefs.

"Shilo!" he responded, and she ignored him. She marched up to him and yelled,

"I just want an answer!" she folded her arms over her breasts, heart thumping loudly in her chest. "Don't leave me like this! I feel like I might explode!" She threw her arms out, looking as if she was ready to be crucified. "Either hold me, or shove me away! But daddy, don't just hold me at arm's length! I…I can't t-take it."

Tears filled her dark eyes again, but she held them in. Her gaze was stuck on Nathan's, unwavering, and he felt all the tension in his chest explode. He reached out, just brushing her cheek, unable to watch her cry. The tears were the most painful thing he'd ever seen.

He pulled her to him, and she folded into his embrace, against his warm, bare chest.

"Shi-"

"Whatever you say," she whispered, one hand splaying on his chest, the other arm wrapping behind him, "Can't be unsaid."

Nathan paused, as if doubting his words for a moment.

"You're my daughter," he whispered, "I'll always love you." He kept her folded in his arms. "But I…" his throat closed, and Nathan choked on his words. He sighed, kissing the top of Shilo's head. "Give me a minute, honey, please."

She looked up at him, then sighed and nodded, leaving him and heading down the stairs, he could hear, while he dressed.

When he was done he headed down the stairs, instinctively towards the hallway where he often viewed Marni. Shilo was sitting in his chair, curled up, eyes just watching the holograms ahead of her. She didn't need to see her father to know he was there. She stood up and he sat down, pulling her once against onto his lap. She sat, facing her mother as his arms encircled her waist and he kissed just below her ear, softly.

"Shilo, you're the world to me," he whispered, kissing her again gently. For a moment he looked ahead, stared at Marni, at her veiled face, before closing his eyes and concentrating on Shilo's warmth. "I...I love you, Shilo, in every way. I can't deny what you do to me." He paused, and her hands covered his. "I want to hold you like this every night, to touch you every way you ask me to..." One of his hands trailed down, brushed the top of her thigh, and she leaned back. "But I can't forget you're my daughter, my little Shilo-"

"Then don't forget," she breathed, heart pumping quickly. "You can love me as many ways as you want…just remember me when you're alone, at night, and know I'm here, daddy."

The moment "daddy" left her lips Nathan's hand pressed between her thighs, stroking Shilo's sex gently. She gasped and opened her legs more, gripping onto the chair's arms as his fingers slid into her panties. He spread her lips, stroking them gently as he teased her clit. She bit her lip, moaning low in her throat, the slickness between her womanhood and his hand growing.

Nathan moved lower, tentatively pushing a finger inside her. She gasped, pushing her hips against it. He thrust a few times before pushing in a second digit. Shilo's chest began heaving with her breaths as they moved, stroking the top of her passage and targeting her bundle of nerves more precisely than he ever had before. Each gentle stroke left Shilo crying out to him, trembling in his lap as if she may explode.

Smiling, Nathan dragged along the upper wall once more, but this time he pulled his fingers completely out and ran them over her clit. Shilo cried out, pressing her back into his chest as that one touch threw her over the edge. She melted into her father, gasping for air while he kissed her neck gently.

They didn't move until she began to regain her breath. When Nathan did move his hand, Shilo gripped his wrist and moved it to her lips. She licked the tip of one, before sucking it into her mouth. Nathan groaned "Shilo" as she repeated it with the other finger, tasting her own sex on her lips.

Before Nathan could say another word, or even breathe, Shilo had slipped off his lap and turned around on her knees. She ran a hand over her father's groin, feeling his excitement. Nathan groaned as she massaged him, her other hand working his pants open. When she successfully opened them, she stroked Nathan through his underwear, kissing the head of his length softly and feeling the damp fabric against her lips. Nathan exhaled, watching as she was careful to free him.

She held him in her hand gently, stroking as she leaned in to lap at his head and kiss it once again. When she began to take him into her mouth she moved slower than the last time, careful not to choke herself. Nathan, meanwhile, had let his head tip back as Shilo worked him gently, but so perfectly. Her own orgasm had turned him on to the point of what he was sure was near death, and he knew he was already so far gone.

He reached for the arms of the chairs, gripping them, murmuring Shilo's name, and feeling her lips curve as she tried to smile.

Dear Marni, I am so sorry…

Then he was crying out, gasping "Shi!" as his orgasm wracked him, as his essence coated her tongue. She let him slip from her mouth and licked her lips before launching up and capturing his lips in a kiss. It was rough, passionate, and so needy that Nathan was sure Shilo was ready for more. He groaned, sinking his hands into her hair, when a buzzer suddenly filled his ears.

They stopped, and Nathan was quick to fix his clothing. He stood up and Shilo crawled into the chair.

"Stay here," he said, and let her, walking to the door. He opened it, eyebrows rising when Amber smirked at him.

"Amber-"

"Hello," she said, slipping past him and walking in, followed by her two stoic body guards.

"What do you want?"

"My father wants to see you," she said, brushing her fingers along a small table as she walked around.

"Why didn't he call?"

"It's personal-"

"Dad?" Nathan and Amber both jerked their heads towards the noise, and saw Shilo standing just in the room. She looked from Amber to her father, and the singer noticed the subtlest passion in their eyes…

And then Nathan's hair, damp with a few tufts pushed just out of place, and the slight flush on his cheeks.

"Shilo, it's your bedtime," he said, and she disappeared up the stairs. Nathan looked back at Amber, who smirked again.

"Don't keep my father waiting," she said as she reached out and ran her fingers over some of his hair, "too long." Her eyes glittered at the last two words, and she walked out, leaving Nathan's stomach heavy.

He wanted to yell after her, to try and explain, to keep his passion hidden, but he knew the infatuation in his eyes upon Shilo's mere name would betray him.