EPILOGUE
I made my way up the front steps and punched my code into the key pad. My security question popped up and I typed in the words, thinking I really should’ve picked something shorter than ‘I love Grayson Whitmore more than anything else in the world.’ When I’d been given the opportunity to pick a new password five years ago, I’d picked the first thing that popped into my head. Grayson always laughed at me because it took me five times longer than him to get through the gate and into the house. And God forbid I missed one letter, I’d have to start all over again. His was simply, ‘Angie’.
Smartass!
I was happy to finally be back home. I’d been at the doctor’s office all morning, mostly waiting. Grayson usually came with me, but today I was just getting blood work, so I told him to stay home. My doctor’s appointments were the only time he voluntarily left the house. I could persuade him to go to an occasional movie, but Grayson always took advantage of the darkness and I’d end up missing most of the movie.
I also knew that today he’d wanted to be home with Peter, our four year old who was sick and had stayed home from preschool. Although our nanny, Alice, was in the house, Grayson always took care of Peter when he wasn’t feeling well. He’d lovingly dote over him and nurse him back to health. I felt bad thinking about him sitting at Peter’s bedside all morning, worrying.
I pushed open the door and quickly realized that my worries were unwarranted. Grayson was on the floor with Peter on his back. They were playing a boisterous game of horsey. Grayson pranced around on all fours, neighing and bucking like a bronco while Peter, wearing a giant cowboy hat that kept falling down on his face, rode him like a seasoned cowboy. Peter whipped one hand in the air, whooping and laughing, while his other tiny fist grabbed hold of Grayson’s shirt.
“Faster, Daddy! Faster!” Peter yelled. Grayson neighed, laughing and galloping around the room.
The afternoon light illuminated the massive space, streaming in through the large colonial windows that had been replaced when the house was renovated. It bounced around the room and landed on the two ‘children’ prancing around joyfully. Yes, children, because when my husband was around our four year old, he was as whimsical as a kid. I didn’t know how he kept up with Peter. I was often exhausted from just watching Peter ping around the house like a pinball.
“Ride ‘em, Cowboy!” Grayson’s voice rang through the room.
“Gitty-up! Gitty-up!”
“Alright, last ride, Cowboy. We have to get you back to bed before your mother comes home!”
Just as I suspected… Again, Peter had feigned being ill in order to stay home and play with his dad. This time, though, I suspected collusion.
I crossed my arms across my chest and my hip closed the door with a bang, making sure it was a loud one.
I stifled the laugh that threatened to burst out when, upon seeing me, Grayson reared up, unseating the cowboy and toppling them both onto the Turkish rug. The two Whitmore boys laid together on the floor, two pairs of bright sky blue eyes warily watching me as I drew closer.
“Are we in twouble, Daddy?” Peter whispered, and I could see his sweet little face wrinkle with worry.
“I’m pretty sure of it,” Grayson whispered back.
“Oh, no!”
“Let’s just stick together, okay? I got this. Don’t say a word.”
I stopped at their feet, skewering them both with the stern look my mom used to give me when I did something wrong. Peter’s lips firmed into a thin line, then our gazes locked and his face crumbled. He bounded up from the floor, hugging my legs, his dark waves a mop on his head.
“I love you, Mom! Daddy made me do it!” he rushed out, and then took off up the stairs to his room with his little legs churning beneath him.
Grayson stood up, laughing and shaking his head. He towered over me as he stepped closer. I watched the fine lines crinkle at the corners of his eyes and his brows pleat.
“That little monster!” he laughed. His strong arms folded around my body, pulling me against him. “You know he made me do it, right? He tricked me into letting him stay home from school.”
“Oh, now you both turn on each other,” I tsked, my body relaxing against his. “You are in so much trouble.”
His lips brushed over mine, taking samples of the side of my mouth. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
I rolled my eyes, but the absolute knowledge of that truth spun a coil of warmth through my body.
“You’re just changing the subject. You’re trying to get on my good side.” My arms crept around his neck.
“Yes, I am,” he admitted with a smile, stamping kisses along my jaw. “But I do love you.” He looked up, his blue gaze seizing mine. “More than I can ever express. You and Peter are my world.”
I tiptoed, kissed the tip of his nose and pulled back to line up our gazes. “And you both are mine. Now, about Peter…”
“How was your visit with the doctor? How’s our little girl?”
I laughed, knowing he was detouring again, but answered, “Girl?”
“Yes. And I hope she’ll be just like you.”
I smiled at the thought. “Everything went great. The baby is fine.”
I was just starting to show, entering my second trimester of pregnancy. We’d told my parents last weekend, and they’d been thrilled. It had taken my dad some time to get used to my marriage to Grayson. He hadn’t been thrilled with his daughter marrying a much older man, and one with a mental illness, but eventually he’d come around. My mom had loved Grayson instantly. She’d seen how happy he made me, and how he filled my life with joy.
I angled my neck, giving Grayson better access to his favorite spots. He traced his lips along my cheek and plotted a scintillating course to my neck, sending a shiver down my body to my toes.
“I’m still mad at you,” I breathed, my fingers spearing into his hair that was now all salt and pepper. It fit him perfectly. He was the spice of my life.
His lips found mine and he kissed me deeply, our tongues dueling slowly. I could feel his growing erection against my abdomen and I flexed into him, causing him to inhale a quiet breath.
“How about we have Alice take Peter for a walk? I think he’s feeling much better, now.” He smiled against my lips. “Then I’ll take you upstairs and you can tell me how mad you are.”
I couldn’t help chuckling. “I think Alice knows what we do every time you ask her to take Peter for a walk. It’s like your code phrase for ‘we’re going to have sex.’
He straightened and grinned down at me, stealing my breath away as always.
“This time, I think I’ll ask her to take him for a long walk. What do you think she’ll make of that?”
“She’ll think we’re having kinky, crazy sex.”
He sucked on my bottom lip. “Hmm…that’s the best kind of sex, don’t you think?”
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, unable to help my wide smile. Grayson’s delusional episodes were rare. Although he still had his unique quirks and some rigid beliefs he’d probably never abandon, he was taking his medication regularly on his own, and now only seeing his psychiatrist every few months.
It had taken him a while to adjust to having Alice in the house, but she’d been with us now for almost four years, and we loved her like a member of our family. The book fort had been steadily deconstructed and as of two years ago our living room was free of books.
Grayson’s palms cupped my heavy breasts and his thumbs and forefingers teased my nipples to rigid points. I was much more sensitive because of my pregnancy, and I gasped as a bolt of pleasure streaked directly to my pussy. I squeezed my thighs together, growing wet and achy with my need for him.
A throat cleared pointedly behind us, and I turned to see Anna standing by the front door. My face heated with a blush and I put a safe distance between my enticing husband and myself. She surveyed the two of us and rolled her eyes dramatically.
“Geez! Don’t tell me you two are at it again,” she scoffed, and then inclined her head to Grayson. “She’s already knocked up!”
Grayson grinned and stepped behind me, slipping both arms around my torso as he pulled me back against his solid chest. I snuggled in, loving the familiar comfort of his embrace. I tried hard to ignore the steady press of his cock against my lower back. His teeth sank gently into my earlobe.
“We have to keep practicing or—” he mumbled.
Anna raised a palm, cutting Grayson off as she made her way further into the room. Her hair was chopped short in a chic modern style and she wore a neat sundress with wedges. Her face crinkled with exasperation. “Puleeze, I do not need the visual of you two practicing. After all, she is my sister. I may be scarred for life.”
“I somehow doubt that,” Grayson responded, ignoring her drama.
“I may end up on the couch with you at your next therapy session.”
His soft chuckle brushed against my ear.
“Believe me, Anna. With all your baggage, you’d need your own couch.” he tossed back at her.
“Funny,” Anna responded dryly, but I noticed her lips twitch with mirth.
I laughed at the look of censure on her face as Grayson returned his attention to my earlobe.
“I swear, you two are worse than two teenagers!” She shot an appalled glance at Grayson. “And aren’t you like—eighty?”
Grayson’s deep laughter resonated through his chest. “Almost, but some parts of me are still seventeen.”
I bit my lip, suppressing my laughter. Anna and Grayson were always verbally sparring. The two seemed to delight in their good-natured teasing. I usually hung out on the sidelines and enjoyed the show. Grayson could more than hold his own with my snarky sister.
Anna was working and living in the city now, not far from our house. It was great having her nearby. She’d matured a lot, but I knew she still bore scars from her experience with Charles. She hardly dated, but I hoped that one day she’d find the kind of happiness I’d found with Grayson. Anna and I had grown close, and we truly were best friends. She adored her nephew and often came by to spend time with us.
Charles was living somewhere downtown. He’d been forced to move out of the penthouse once his funds were cut off. Last I heard, he was working as a busboy in a seedy restaurant on the Lower East Side. We saw him occasionally—when he needed money.
“I came by to visit my nephew,” Anna informed. “I heard he isn’t feeling well.”
“Long story,” I sighed. “He’s had a miraculously recovery.”
“Don’t tell me he conned you two again?” Anna shook her head, laughing.
Grayson took another nip of my ear and uttered in Anna’s direction, “I’m the tough one, but you know your sister—umphf!” He sucked in a startled breath and grinned widely when I jerked my elbow back into his ribs.
“Where’s the cutie? In his room?” she asked with another eye roll in Grayson’s direction.
I nodded in response to her question, and she headed toward the door that led upstairs.
Grayson’s arms slipped back around my waist and I was wrapped in the sensuous heat of his body.
“We were thinking that you and Alice should take Peter out for a walk,” he drawled.
Anna pivoted in front of the door, her brows disappearing into her shaggy bangs. It was obvious she knew what we were up to.
“A walk?” Her voice dripped with innuendo.
“A looong wa—umphf!”
Another elbow in the rib had Grayson chuckling behind me. I grinned innocently at Anna and she rolled her eyes and mumbled something about bunny rabbits before disappearing through the door.
Although I knew there must’ve been amusement in my eyes, I turned in Grayson’s arms with a reprimand on my tongue. The words were effectively silenced as his lips swooped down on mine for a voracious kiss, his tongue twirling over mine. Powerless against his heady taste and the promise of his delicious body, I sank into him.
I could never get enough of Grayson. He was woven into the very fabric of my soul and his love had a permanent imprint on my heart.
“So, what do you say?” he asked, skating his lips over mine. His voice was hoarse with desire. His hands came up to palm my breasts and my breaths rushed from my lips.
“I say that Peter should stretch his legs.” Gazing into his loving blue eyes, I could barely think straight. I needed to be naked in his arms. I needed to be loved by this man who filled me so completely. A smile tugged the corner of my lips. “Then you can take me upstairs and show me what you’ve got, old man.”
Ready for the challenge, his gorgeous grin slowly widened. I’d never loved him more than at that very moment.