Epilogue Callum
In the last three months, there was nothing in the world I loved more than watching my daughter sleep. To see the peace and contentment etched across her tiny face as she snuggled against me. To feel the warmth of her body pressed against my chest. To have my nose overwhelmed with her sweet baby smell.
Whenever I was home, she napped on me. Although we’d been advised to sleep when she slept, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. She was like her mother in that regard. I wanted my gaze to rest upon her at all times.
But not today.
As soon as Caterina eased Julianna’s sleeping form onto the crib mattress, I took her by the hand. When I started pulling her out of our sitting room that had become a makeshift nursery and into our bedroom, Caterina tugged against me. In a whisper she asked, “Don’t you want to wait to make sure she doesn’t wake up?”
“She’s been in a milk coma for the last ten minutes,” I protested quietly.
Although she looked uncertain, Caterina allowed me to shut the bedroom door. “At least turn on the monitor,” she instructed as I hurried her over to the bed.
I rolled my eyes. “Do you honestly think we won’t hear her in the next room?”
She shot me a wicked grin as she began to unbutton her blouse. “Maybe I’ll be too vocal and drown her out.”
I groaned as I ripped off my tie. “Considering you both have a set of lungs on you, it is a possibility.”
Once I’d shed my tie, I made quick work of my shirt. As I started on my belt, my gaze went to watch Caterina undress. I never grew tired of seeing her naked. Although she worried about her body post Julianna, I loved the extra curves in her hips and breasts.
When she stood before me in just her bra and panties, I couldn’t wait a second longer to touch and taste her. After depositing my belt on the floor, I went to her side. As I slipped my hands around her waist, she shivered. I tilted my head at her. “Are you sure about this?”
She nodded. “I’ve missed your hands on me.”
I brought my lips to kiss the hollow of her throat. “I’ve missed putting my hands on you, Kitten. More than you’ll ever know.” I then kissed up the silky-smooth skin of her neck and over her chin to her velvet lips. As my mouth met hers in a frenzied kiss, my hands slid up her ribcage to cup her breasts. When I squeezed them, she moaned into my mouth.
After undoing her bra, I pulled the straps down her arms. I licked my lips in anticipation, which caused Caterina to laugh. “They aren’t that much bigger, are they?”
“You sure as hell won’t hear any complaints from me,” I mused.
She playfully smacked my arm before I took her naked flesh in my hands. Her breath hitched as I rolled her nipples in my fingers, tweaking the hardening buds. My mouth watered at the thoughts of having them in my mouth once again.
“I need to taste you, Kitten.” When she nodded, I leaned down to suck her nipple into my mouth. Caterina’s hands came to fist in my hair as I swirled my tongue over her peaked bud. “Mm, Callum,” Caterina murmured.
As her nipple popped free from my mouth, I kissed a trail over to her other breast. While I sucked and nipped at the hardened bud, a drop of milk landed on my tongue. Although I should’ve expected it, it still surprised me. A lesser man might’ve been turned off by it, but there was nothing that could diminish Caterina’s sexiness.
I continued teasing her breasts. My hand slid down Caterina’s abdomen. When I reached her center, arousal had already coated her panties. Touching her over the cotton, I couldn’t help but smile. “Three months without sex and you’ve gone back to your Nun’s Knickers.”
She huffed out a breath. “Since my pre-baby thongs are too tight, I had to resort to these.”
I slipped my hand down inside the waistband. “I’m not complaining. I happen to like these a lot.”
When my fingers found her clit, she gasped. “You’d say anything to get me to fuck you, wouldn’t you?” she panted.
Those words coming out of her mouth coupled with the feel of her scorching hot pussy caused my cock to jerk painfully in my briefs. “There is nothing sexier than you with your tits out and a soaked pair of nun’s knickers,” I replied as I sped up my fingers.
Caterina grinned as her chest rose and fell. Unable to wait any longer, I plunged two fingers inside her slick walls, causing both of us to moan. Caterina’s hips began to rise and fall as I thrust my fingers deep inside her pussy. My mouth found its way back to her breasts and I teased and licked at the hardened nipples.
“Mm, Callum, I’m so close.”
Curving my fingers inside of her, I rubbed her G-spot. A cry of immense pleasure erupted from Caterina’s lips. As I continued swirling my fingers, her walls began to clench around me. “Yes, Callum, yes!” Caterina shrieked as she clawed my shoulders.
I welcomed the pain that brought her so much pleasure. While her walls continued trembling, I removed my fingers and brought them to my lips. As I sucked her taste off of my skin, Caterina sank down on the mattress and ran her hands over her face. “Thank God.”
“Isn’t it me you should be thanking?” I questioned as I unbuttoned my pants.
She gave me a lazy grin. “You’re right. I should give credit where it’s due.” Leaning up, she pulled my pants and underwear down over my hips. “After tearing so badly, I was afraid I might not be able to orgasm that hard again,” she admitted.
“I’m glad I could put your worries to rest.”
She smiled as she wrapped her fingers around my cock. “So am I.”
I stilled her movements. At her surprise, I said, “Kitten, as much as I love your hand and blow jobs, I want nothing more than to be buried in your pussy right now.”
Fear flashed momentarily in her eyes but she nodded. Before I could ease onto the bed with her, she pressed a hand to my chest. “Condom.”
Since I’d never had to suit up to be inside Caterina, a smirk curved on my lips. “We could get started on giving Julianna a sibling,” I suggested.
Caterina scowled at me. “If you want to fuck me, you’ll wear a condom.”
With a laugh, I held up my hands. “It was just a thought.”
She shook her head. “It won’t be a thought until Julianna’s first birthday.”
Now it was my turn to scowl. “You expect me to wear condoms for the next seven months?”
“That or go without.”
Grunting, I bent over and fished my wallet out of my pants’ pocket. After ripping into the foil, I slid the condom down my length. I then climbed on top of Caterina, easing us into the middle of the bed. At the feel of my cock against her entrance, Caterina tensed. I knew I had to do something to put her at ease.
I decided to take us back to our first time together. I rolled us over, bringing her up to straddle me. “You take control, Kitten.”
“Really?”
Nodding, I replied, “I’ll take whatever you can give me.”
“And if I can’t?”
“Then we’ll try again another day.” And it was the truth. The last thing in the world I would ever do was hurt her physically. Just the thought sent an ache through my chest.
But like the strong-willed goddess she was, a determined glint flashed in Caterina’s eyes as she took my cock in her hand. Bringing it to her center, we both hissed at the feel. Then she began to slide inch by glorious inch down my cock. The slow burn had me aching to thrust up my hips, but I knew it would cause her pain.
When I was finally sheathed within her, I shuddered at the feeling. Staring up at her, I asked, “How does it feel?”
She bit down on her lip. “Stretched…but good.” She looked at me. “How does it feel for you?”
Shifting my hips, I groaned in ecstasy. “Fucking amazing.” That was an understatement. Nothing felt like being buried deep within Caterina–her walls clenching me in a vise.
The apprehension on Caterina’s face evaporated at my comment, and she grinned down at me. “I love you, Callum.”
I returned her grin. “I love you more, Kitten.”
“Will you fuck me now?”
“My pleasure.”
As Caterina began to slowly ride me, I eased my hips slightly up and down. Once she found her stride, she began to speed up her pace. My hands came to grip her hips, and I pushed her on and off of me. “Yes, fuck, yes,” she murmured.
Digging my feet into the mattress, I began to thrust harder inside her. “Are you still okay?” I grunted.
“Mm, hmm.” She bit her lip as she stared down at me. “So good, baby.”
That was music to my fucking ears. As I fucked her faster, my balls began to slap her ass. Caterina splayed her hands on my chest as hips swiveled on my cock. Her pants and my grunts of pleasure filled the room. “Oh, oh, oh!” she cried as her walls began to clench around my dick. That was all it took to set me off. It was probably better for her if I didn’t last too long.
Once I finished coming, I slowly eased out of her and pulled off the condom. After throwing it into the trash, I joined her back in the bed. I bestowed a passionate kiss on her lips before lying down beside her. “That was amazing.”
“It was.” She smiled up at me. “It is always with you.”
“I feel the same way, Kitten.” I leaned in to kiss her again when a wail went off in the sitting room. “I think our cock blocker has woken up.”
Caterina swatted my arm. “Don’t ever call her that,” she huffed, although the corners of her lips did turn up.
I rose off the bed. “I’ll throw on some pants and grab her.”
Nodding, Caterina said, “I’ll go clean up.”
As she started for the bathroom, I opened the sitting room door. At the sound of my footsteps, Julianna’s waning cries ratcheted up several decibels. “Da’s coming, mo stoirín.”
When I reached her crib, she held her arms up for me. I quickly picked her up and snuggled her to my chest. I peppered the top of her head with kisses. Her cries quieted to snubs as she burrowed her face into my neck.
I cooed words of comfort to her in Irish. Between Caterina and me, she was sure to be trilingual with Irish and Italian. When Caterina appeared in the doorway in yoga pants and a t-shirt, adoration filled her face. As she walked over to us, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the rise and fall of her hips and the way her top stretched across her tits.
She wagged a finger at me. “You better put those thoughts on the back burner until she goes to bed tonight.”
“I have a feeling it’ll be longer than that. Mam said she’d probably be fretful today after her shots and not sleep well.”
Caterina jutted her chin at me. “Our spoiled girl is back asleep.”
I winked at her. “She just needed her da.”
Instead of giving me grief, Caterina merely smiled up at me. “Although I should be angry, I love how you spoil and adore her.”
“Just like I do you.”
Caterina leaned over Julianna to kiss me. “Yes, we’re your spoiled and adored girls.” She tenderly ran her fingers through Julianna’s silky black curls. “I’m so thankful our daughter has you as a father.”
Her words shot straight to my heart. When I’d imagined loving a child, I’d never fathomed just how deep that love would be. I’d known the love of my brothers, my precious Maeve, and my rock of a mother. By the grace of God, I’d come to know the adoring love of my wife who amazed me each and every day with her capacity to love a miserable bastard like me.
But something long dormant and deep within me came alive the moment I locked eyes with my daughter. She lit a fire within me that I never imagined existed. In my world where we faced our mortality each and every day, she was a piece of my immortality. Through her, I would continue to live on long after I was gone.
Just like her mother, Julianna was everything good and pure that I wasn’t. Until I’d married Caterina, I hadn’t given a fuck about the men I killed or the crimes I committed. But something about her pure soul made me regret it…but not enough to stop the life I’d been born into.
Cocking my brows at Caterina, I countered, “I’m a cold-hearted killer.”
“Yes, you are.” She gave me a pointed stare. “But when it comes down to it, you have a loving and giving heart.”
“Whatever heart I have, it belongs to you and Julianna.”
She smiled up at me. “And we happily take it.”
Pulling her into my arms, I brought my lips to Caterina’s–my beautiful wife, my fiery Kitten, and the sweet wine that made the poison of the underworld worth living.