“Dad, hurry up! We’re going to be late!”

I parked the car in the community college’s parking lot, where there were already a lot of other vehicles parked. That was Isla’s fourth reminder to hurry, and I stifled a grin as we both got out of the car and hurried to the school.

“You’d think with how excited you are, you were the one graduating,” I muttered in a teasing tone, ruffling her hair. Isla shot me a look and grinned.

“My mom is graduating. So, of course, I’m excited!”

Then she began dragging me towards the main area, where the graduation was being held.

Rachel had gone ahead and gone to school early to prepare with her classmates, and I’d taken care of getting Isla ready so we could follow after. By the time we got there, the principal was just giving the opening speech. I could see Rachel looking around, and my eyes met hers as Isla and I found a seat near the back.

Rachel grinned. Isla gave her the thumbs up.

Soon, name after name was being called, and Rachel Bartlett was among them. She stood up and walked gracefully in her toga towards the stage, and our cheers were deafening. Isla was clapping so hard, and I was doing the same, so proud of my wife for achieving her dream.

I remembered when she first told me how she wanted to major in interior design—the spark in her eyes that indicated she’d found her calling. That had been over a year ago, and she’d done her best to juggle her studies and take care of Isla. I also juggled work and spending more time with my family, and we tried to make it work as best as we could. It was a busy year, but we still made time for each other.

And now, with her graduating, we had plenty of time to come.

Coincidentally, my missions have ceased recently, giving me a few months off to enjoy and bask in my family. It really was the best gift the boss could have given me, and he said that it was his thank you for rescuing him from such a deadly situation and for my hard work throughout my whole service in the Navy. We’d been through hell and back—me and my unit, aka the men who’d attended the wedding and had to be abruptly called to undergo an emergency mission—but we’d gotten stronger because of it, our bond deeper than ever.

My bond with Rachel had also grown deeper as the months passed by. Sometimes, it amazed me what a lucky bastard I was to have a wife like her: caring, compassionate, bright and so, so sweet. She was also a good mother to Isla and a good wife to me, and honestly, that was all a man could ever ask for.

Day by day, I just kept falling more in love with her and being amazed that someone so wonderful could be single for so long. But then again, it also made me think that maybe her decision to quit school and my decision to hire a nanny during that certain moment hadn’t been a coincidence. I often didn’t believe in fate, but with how Rachel and I just sort of…fell towards each other, with one ready to catch the other, I suspected something had been at work to push us together. It all just made sense for both of us.

After the graduation was done, Rachel took some pictures with her classmates, then made a beeline over to us. I hugged her tight, feeling Isla wrap her arms around us and chattering about how we needed to celebrate. And so we did, with Rachel removing the toga in the car, me driving, and Isla making suggestions about where we could go. In the end, we decided to go to this new restaurant that was just a little bit away from town, which was located near the beach and served seafood in a boardwalk-style setup. It was a pretty fun lunch, with laughter being shared and me just looking at the two of them in contentment.

After lunch, we got ice cream in cones and took a walk on the beach. It was a cloudy, slightly windy day, perfect for walking. Isla was completely healed and had gone back to ballet. But other than that, after she’d done some running exercises to practice her leg, she discovered a new passion and realized that she loved running as much as she loved dancing. It amused me to no end how my daughter had so many interests, and I couldn’t wait to see which one she would stick to when she grew up. I would definitely support her in whatever it was she wanted, because really, all I wanted was for her to be healthy and happy.

Now Isla ran around us in circles, and I could see just how fast and slick she was. I couldn’t believe how I missed it before. She must have gotten it from me, really.

After the beach, we bought more ice cream in a tub and finally drove home, where we just lounged around. Our house was so different now than it was before Rachel arrived. It was more…homey now, with a mix of masculine and feminine touches that was pleasing to the eyes. Rachel had a knack for finding cheap stuff and turning them into creative pieces for different areas of a house, and it really was a talent how she combined colors and just recreated everything. Even the garage was now bright and fun, considering how dull and boring it was before.

We would have settled in for a movie and some popcorn, but Isla announced that she wanted to visit her neighbor instead. She’d gotten close to this old woman, Laura, who just moved in more than a year ago with her little boy, Jared. Jared and Isla hit it off, and oftentimes Jared would visit our house, too, just to hang out. He’d been intimidated by me in the beginning being the shy boy he was, but after a few more visits, I made sure to make him feel at home.

We waved goodbye to Isla as she raced across the side road. Then Rachel and I settled on the porch, where I attached a swinging bench for us to sit on. I held her hand there, squeezing it as I kissed her forehead.

“Congratulations, again,” I said. “Mrs. Interior Designer.”

Rachel laughed. “Soon-to-be.” She shot me a look, her beautiful green eyes twinkling in amusement. “Actually, I just got offered a job at the place I was interning in for a few months. It’s a starting rate, but…”

She didn’t need to finish, because I was already pulling her in and kissing her lips.

“That’s awesome,” I murmured. “You’ll be great at it, I’m sure.”

Her smile bloomed, and I couldn’t resist kissing her deeper. She tasted as delicious as the first time I kissed her, which was during our wedding. I found that the more I kissed her, the more I couldn’t get enough of her. She was so shy at first, but it only took some coaxing to get her to open up and try new things—and God, we certainly tried a lot of new things.

My cock hardened just at the thought, and the list of things that I still wanted to try out with her.

Naughty things.

Things that we could do while Isla was not home.

Feeling cheeky, I snuck a hand under her shirt and caressed her skin starting from her stomach, wanting to get her worked up. Rachel laid a hand on top of mine, as if to make me stop, but I placed my mouth on the spot on her throat that I knew she would love, alternating between sucking and licking. Tiny moans came out of her mouth, urging me on and making me ache so much that all I wanted was to yank her skirt up and just plunge myself inside her.

Before I could seriously consider the idea, Rachel leaned her head closer, her mouth softy biting my ear. Then she whispered something, and at first it didn’t register. Then I got out of my sexual haze, enough to absorb the words.

“I’m pregnant.”

I looked at her in disbelief and saw her green eyes shining with hope. She was hoping I’d be happy with the news. To let her know how I was feeling, I yanked her in my lap until she was sitting there, ignoring her startled laugh. Then I was hugging her tight and telling her that it was the best news and the best gift she could give me. Excitement filled me at the thought of having a child again, and I knew Isla would be excited too once she found out the news.

Oh, it was going to be so much fun trying to guess the gender this time.

I laid my hand on her stomach, fascinated that there was already a life inside there.

Rachel kept wriggling her butt against me, and I realized that while I was fascinated, she’d been teasing me all along—and now her actions had taken affect as I felt myself swell again and dig against her ass, which had her wriggling all the more. We kissed again, hungrier this time, our tongues tangling and my hand finally moving up to cup her breast underneath her shirt. I even slid her bra down slightly, so I could feel her nipples stiffening against my thumb. She moaned for me, then said in a raspy voice that maybe we should head inside.

With a nod, we raced inside the house, locked the door and hurriedly started removing our upper clothes. But we only got to the stairs before we were kissing again, and I saw the gleam enter Rachel’s eyes. Then she was bending over at the bottom of the stairs.

“You wanted to try this out, didn’t you?” she asked, mischievously.

My blood pounded.

I nodded. Then I was groaning as I slid Rachel’s skirt up, exposing her lace panties which I slid down. Then I was unzipping my pants and yanking it to my knees, positioning my already rock hard shaft at her glistening entrance. A flash of worry slid through me as I asked if it was okay to do this while she was pregnant, and Rachel laughed and explained that it was perfectly fine.

There was no stopping us after that. I entered her in one swift move, and she held on to my hand on her stomach as I filled her to the hilt. Despite all the times we made love, it still felt so exciting and new, with her so tight and wrapping around me like a velvet vice. I started with slow thrusts, setting the rhythm and removing her bra so I could watch her ripe breasts sway at my every thrust in. Rachel was so damn sexy that every time I tried to keep it slow, I almost always failed—and the same thing happened now as I went from slow to fast, encouraged by her urging pleas.

It was so intense that I felt my knees burning on the floor and knew her knees were probably the same. Wanting Rachel to feel comfortable, I slipped out of her and tugged her up, ignoring her whimpered protest as she begged me to make her come. I carried her to the couch, sitting on it with her straddling my lap. Then I slid back inside her, sucking on her neck before whispering at her to ride me hard.

Her sexy curls fell all around us, smelling of lemons and heaven. She needed no further invitation as she slid up and down my cock, and my eyes just about crossed at how energetic and thorough she was. Her hands also moved everywhere, her thumbs swirling on my chest and her mouth going down to lick on my nipple. I hissed out a breath, then yanked her back up so I could capture one of her aroused nipples in my mouth and suck it to my heart’s content.

Again, what started out slow between us turned fast as Rachel bounced repeatedly on top of me in search of her release. Her face in rapture was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and I watched with lust-filled eyes as she clung on to my shoulders. To help her out, I placed my hands on her butt and lifted her up, then pushed her down against my cock. I also pumped up into her until every move had her moaning out that she was near.

Then I felt her clench against me, her orgasm taking her to another world, and I had to grit my teeth at the pleasure it washed over me as well. So goddamn tight. I waited her out, kissing every part of her skin I could reach as she rode out her climax.

When she was done, it was my turn, and I held nothing back as I took her with me again. This time, we came together, lost in each other’s scent and feel.

Each lovemaking session with Rachel was more intense than the last, and I couldn’t wait for more. For now, I settled for holding her close and breathing her in. She looked at me with a sleepy, satisfied smile, and I was wrong then.

This was the most beautiful Rachel I’d ever seen.

My body was tired and my thoughts were scattered. But one thought was clear.

I loved this woman with all my heart.

And I couldn’t wait to spend a lifetime with her and be happy in our ever-growing family.