“OH, MY GOD.”
“Get there, baby.”
My entire body catches fire, and I scream out as I explode around Jay.
“Fuck, you’re so hot when you come.” Jay buries his face in my neck and bites down as he pounds his release into me.
“Wow.”
He falls on top of me, and I wrap my arms around him. Tremors still pass between us, and after a moment, he kisses between my breasts, which look totally different than they did before Jaydon… but Jay doesn’t see the stretch marks and notice the sagging like I do, so I shouldn’t be too self-conscious about it. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
After he stands, he finishes taking his pants off. I love that I have the power to make him so desperate that he can’t even take the time to get all the way undressed. I watch his ass flex as he wets a washcloth, and he looks back at me through the reflection in the mirror in the bathroom. “You’re so beautiful, Olive. God, I’m a lucky bastard.”
I smile at him, loving that he still thinks that even though I’m clearly not as skinny as I used to be. Or as smooth. My stomach has marks that I don’t think will ever go away, and I still have about ten pounds to drop to get back to what I was before I got pregnant. But none of that matters to him. He still worships my body like he did the first time.
The hotel room we’re in for the night is the nicest one in the city and the perfect honeymoon night for us. Neither of us felt comfortable leaving Jaydon for more than one night, so tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go pick him up from my parents’. But for tonight, this man is mine. Alone.
My husband. I can’t really even believe it. I think about what we’ve been through, and it humbles me that we’re here today.
“Open for me.” Jay taps my knee, and my legs fall open. He licks his lips and just stares for a moment. I don’t need to ask because I can feel the combination of our releases pooling in my most intimate place. He drags his eyes up and stops on my face. With a gentle hand, he cleans me up and then tosses the cloth on the floor. “If we don’t order room service or something, I’m going to go at you again.”
My stomach rumbles at the thought of food, and I giggle. “As much as I’d love to let you have your way with me, I’m starving.”
His dark eyebrows draw down with concern. “Shit, I’m sorry, love. I wasn’t thinking.” He shakes his head.
“Hey. I wanted you more than food, so don’t even go there. But now that we did it, we can eat something. Then maybe do it again?”
“Do what again?” He props his head up with one arm and uses the other hand to trace a pattern. The tip of his fingers circles my nipple then goes across to the other one before he gently pinches it… just enough to make me want more, but not enough to give me anything other than a promise of what could be. “What do you want to do again, wife?”
“You,” I pant.
He throws his head back, laughing like he only does for me. “Tell you what.” He reaches for the phone. “Let’s order then I’ll take care of you before the food comes. Once we eat, I’ll do you again, and then we’ll see about getting a couple of hours sleep before I wake you up with my head between your thighs.”
I lick my lips; just thinking about it is making me wetter by the second. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Then we spend the night doing just what he said. And there has never been a more perfect night in the history of nights ever.
“I feel like such a shitty mom,” I whine to Jay as we pull up to my parents’ house.
“Why?”
“Because I left my baby for a night to get my brains fucked out.”
He laughs and puts his Tahoe in park. “Sweet pea, it was one night, and you deserved it. We deserved it, okay? We talked to your parents, and he was fine. Really, it was like ten hours, so stop feeling bad. It was our wedding night.”
I sigh. “But it’s not like—”
He places a firm kiss on my lips. “Stop. You’re a fantastic mother. One night with his grandparents isn’t going to hurt him, I promise.”
“Okay.”
“Good.” He comes around and opens my door then helps me down.
We head inside rather quickly because we both miss our baby. “Hey! There are the newlyweds!” my dad shouts as soon as we walk in.
“We’re here! Where’s Jaydon?”
“Hey, Don.” Jay shakes my dad’s hand.
“Hiya, son.”
“Where’s Jaydon?” he asks.
“He’s right here.” My mom comes in carrying our baby. I squeal and take him, sticking my face right against his little head, loving his baby smell.
Olivia runs out of the living room and jumps at Jay. “Hi!”
He picks her up and kisses her cheek. “Hey, baby girl.”
“Where’s your mama?” I ask her.
My mom clears her throat, and Dad coughs. “What?” I ask.
“Ryan,” Olivia says.
“Excuse me?” Jay snaps. Olivia’s face bunches up, but before she can cry, he kisses her head. “Shh. It’s okay. I’m sorry.”
“She’s with Ryan? Since when?”
“She had a sleepover,” Olivia chimes in.
Jay’s eyes snap to my dad. “You let her?”
“I thought you said he was a good guy?” my mom states.
“He is.” Jay nods. “But she’s my little sister. Nobody’s good enough for her.”
Jaydon fusses, and I start rocking him in my arms. “We should get home.”
“Okay, guys. I hope you had a good night.”
My face heats up, and Jay laughs. “Yeah. It was a good night.”
Jay takes Jaydon from me and puts him in his car seat then grabs his diaper bag. “Thanks, guys. We appreciate it.”
I hug and kiss my parents goodbye then follow Jay to the car. Our property is about fifteen minutes from their place, and when we arrive at our brand-new house, I twirl in a circle. “God, I still can’t believe we live here.”
Jay kisses the top of my head and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “I can’t believe you agreed to marry me. Twice.”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the best.”
“Let’s go get him inside.” He hikes the car seat up on his arm. “He needs a bottle.” I wasn’t able to breastfeed. It was really difficult at first, but my supply just wasn’t there for him. I’m thankful his pediatrician was encouraging about formula feeding and didn’t make me feel inadequate.
I follow Jay inside and wait for him to disarm the alarm. He sets Jaydon’s seat down then walks around the entire house. While he’s doing his rounds, I pull my baby out of the seat.
“All good, baby,” he says as he walks back into the entryway.
He does this every time we get home. I tried telling him that he was overreacting, and that got me nothing but an incredulous look. Later that night when we were about to go to sleep, he said something I will never forget.
“Nothing is more important than keeping my family safe, Livvie. Nothing.”
I place my hand on his cheek. “I know that.”
“We’re out in the open here, baby. Neighbors aren’t close enough to hear anything. Which is good when I’m inside you because you tend to be a screamer.”
“Shut up.” I elbow him.
“But if something happened. God forbid, if someone got past me or if you were home alone, there’s nobody around.”
We’ve been moved in for a month now and have finally gotten fully settled. Jaydon’s room is across from ours, and it’s come in handy since he’s only a month old. Jay was able to time the construction so that when we brought our son home, we brought him to the house he was going to grow up in.
My wedding planning business is still building. But I’m not worried about it right now at all because I’m loving just being home with Jaydon.
Jay’s fingers trace up and down my arm. “It’s a great house. I’m glad we got to build it together.”
“Me too.”
He holds me tight and kisses the spot just below my ear.
“Everything is okay, Jay.”
“I know.”
“No.” I pull my head back to look at him. “I mean it’s okay. Nobody’s trying to get me. Marco is dead. His empire crumbled. Nobody is going to take me away from you. Not again.”
He kisses the tip of my nose then rests his forehead against mine. “Well, I’m going to love you like they are. I’m going to protect you like they are. And I’m going to fight for you like they are. I am never, Livvie… I am never going to live without you. So I’ll do what I have to in order to make sure of it.”
So when he does his rounds throughout the day, or when I see him walk to the door with a gun in his hand, I don’t say anything. He’s doing what he has to in order to give himself peace of mind and protect his family.
And I love him for it. I wouldn’t change him for anything in the world.
I carry Jaydon to the living room, and Jay brings me a bottle. He sits next to me, gently rubbing the top of our son’s head while he eats. I look up at Jay and can’t wipe the smile off my face. I call myself lucky. But really, every bit of luck I had ran out when I met my man. And when my luck ran out, love took its place.
I’m holding that love in my arms right now. So, if I had to do it all over again—go through the pain and the loss of time—I’d do it in a heartbeat… because where we are now is exactly where I want to be. Forever.