EPILOGUE
Two Years Later
“I don’t ever want to leave, Mr. Russell.” I sighed, rolling my head against the lounge chair. Flipping my sunglasses to the top of my head, I looked at Dylan. “Can we please just stay here forever?”
He was stretched out on his matching chair, two weeks’ worth of sun darkening his skin. Shades covered his eyes from the sun in the sky, and the ocean’s mist sprayed every now and again when we hit a wave.
He turned his head in my direction and reached for my hand, bringing my fingers to his lips and kissing them.
“Whatever your heart desires, Mrs. Russell.”
My heart kicked against my chest whenever he called me that. It was hardly something I was used to hearing after a year and a half since I took it, but I loved the sound of it.
“I’ll remember that when it’s next week, and you’re making me pack.”
“Sweetheart, we own this yacht. We can come back anytime you want.”
“Mmmhmm.” I flipped my sunglasses back over my eyes and rested my head against the chair.
We’d been in paradise for two weeks, and with only one more left to go, I wasn’t ready to head back to Atlanta anytime soon.
It had been the first time we’d been able to get away since Isabella Alexis Russell had been born, and I needed the vacation.
The past two years had been a crazy whirlwind after the day Dylan showed up in the café. Isabella was born, we got married, and Dylan began working for Petrova, learning the ins and outs of the company.
He was a natural, picking up on the security processes and coding quickly, shocking even me. It was then that I found out he had a Master of Science and a degree in business analytics. Within a year, he was officially sworn onto the board of Petrova Technologies.
We’d bought a beautiful four-bedroom house and decorated every inch of it, except one room, which I was itching to do something with. Somehow, I took on the role of mother and wife, enjoying every second of it.
With Dylan taking over at Petrova, I was able to go back to work at the hospital and pick up where I’d left off after my maternity leave. The kids adored Isabella; every one of them thought of her as their baby sister, and they all had fussed over her each time I’d brought her in. I loved that they got to watch her grow the way I was getting to watch them grow.
Dylan had promised me a honeymoon, and with things finally slowing down for both of us, he’d delivered on his promise. He did so well, in fact, that I was considering never going back.
“It’s almost lunchtime. Are you hungry?” I didn’t move as I soaked up the sun and waited for him to reply.
Suddenly, I was covered in by a shadow, and I opened my eyes, squinting around Dylan’s silhouette as he hovered above me.
“I’m always hungry for you.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I sighed when his lips found my neck.
“Yet I’m still hungry.” I yelped when my chair gave way and then I was on my back. “Feed me, woman.”
“Dylan …” I moaned because my bathing suit top was gone, and his lips and hands were on my breasts, pulling at my nipples with his teeth and fingers.
“Just one bite.” His teeth closed around my other nipple, and I lost my fingers in his hair. “And another.” His teeth nipped at my ribs and then my stomach. “And another.”
He untied the sides of my bikini bottom, and his teeth softly nipped at my exposed flesh. He pushed my thighs apart as he devoured me until I was writhing against his mouth.
“God, you’re fucking delicious,” he growled.
Later, when we were both satisfied, Dylan helped me put my bathing suit back on, and we called down below for Nina, Isabella’s nanny, so she could bring her up on deck to have lunch with us. I struggled with hiring a nanny, but in the end, I knew if I wanted to go back to work, I would need the help. We loved Nina, and she had pretty much become a part of our family. While I didn’t work as much as before, I was able to get to the hospital two to three times a week while working mostly from home.
“There’s my gorgeous girl.” I lit up when Nina handed her to me, and her tiny arms wrapped around my neck. I couldn’t believe she was almost two. Time had flown by way too fast. “Say hi to Daddy, baby.”
“Hello, moy tsvetok.” Dylan leaned over, planting a soft kiss on her dark hair.
I loved that he used the nickname my father had given me for our daughter. I’d cried the first time he’d called her that in the hospital. It was the perfect way to bring my father’s memory with us. I missed him every single day, still waiting for the pain to ease, but Isabella made it easier.
I saw so much of him in her. She was the perfect combo of me and Dylan. With her ebony hair and Dylan’s bright blue eyes and the pieces of her that reminded me of my father.
Unzipping Isabelle’s jacket, I turned her so Dylan could see her. “What do you think?”
He looked over at our daughter and the shirt she was wearing, and his mouth relaxed into a grin. Getting up, he lifted Isabella into the air, laughing when she squealed with joy.
“Is this true, Izzy? Are you Mommy and Daddy’s lil heartbreaker?” She laughed before leaning over to give him a sloppy kiss on his cheek. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “As long as she’s the one doing the heartbreaking. I’ll kill any son of a bitch who even thinks about breaking her heart.”
“You’re sexy when you’re being all alpha protector.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt my girls.”
And I believed him.
I knew Dylan still had a hard time forgiving himself for what he did, but I didn’t. I’d forgiven him fully, and I was happy and in love.
My father told me that every man had a redeemable moment, and Dylan had more than one. Every day, he proved just how much love he had for me and Isabella, and he continued to sweep me off my feet.
“Dylan?”
“Hmm?”
I was still tucked against his side. “How about we have another lil heartbreaker? Maybe a boy this time?”
He laughed, tossing his head back and making Isabella giggle with him.
“I don’t know, baby. I’m not sure the world’s ready.”
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