Chapter 25 Deanna
Aris had discovered it in the garage and had been tinkering with it ever since. Today was warm enough that they rolled it out while the cleaning service worked inside.
“Are you sure you don’t want a baby shower, Mom?” Tia asked.
“I’m sure, baby. But I was thinking, since you don’t live here full-time, I could convert the downstairs guest room into yours and Santo’s. That way your upstairs bedroom can become the nursery since it’s bigger.”
Tia went very still. “You want to give away my bedroom.”
“I need more space for the nursery, and you live in Greece—”
“Sure, why not? Why not erase me completely?” Tia’s voice rose. “Matter of fact, why bother to give me a bedroom at all? Just throw all my things away.”
“What are you talking about?”
She waved her hand toward my belly. “Do whatever you want.” She huffed, eyes glistening. “You have your new family, so you don’t need me!”
The words knocked the breath out of my lungs. Because I knew that feeling. I had been that child, watching my father with the family he’d chosen instead of me.
“Tia, that’s not…”
Before I could finish, Aris and Santo came up the porch steps.
Santo immediately went to his wife, crouching beside her chair. Aris remained a step behind, his gaze moving between us, assessing.
“What’s wrong?” Santo’s voice was soft.
“Nothing.” Tia shook her head, but Santo reached up to brush a tear from her cheek.
“That doesn’t look like nothing,” he said quietly, his thumb lingering on her face. “Talk to me.”
“Can we just go driving now?” Tia asked.
Santo exchanged a look with his father. “I’ll need a shower first,” he said, standing.
As he moved past me, he stopped suddenly, staring. One of the twins had chosen that moment to turn over, creating a visible ripple across my belly.
“Does that... does that happen all the time?” His attention shifted completely.
Everyone’s attention shifted to me, all eyes on my belly.
“All the time,” I confirmed. “You can touch my stomach if you want to.”
He glanced at Tia and then his father before placing his palm against my abdomen. One of the babies moved right then.
“Oh, wow.” His hand remained there, waiting for another movement.
I smiled. “That’s how I know they’re healthy.”
“They?” Tia asked, giving me a look.
“I’m having twins.”
Tia’s face went blank.
Santo pulled his hand back. “I was a twin.” His expression grew serious. “My sister died during childbirth, along with my mother.”
The revelation stunned me. My eyes found Aris’s face. His protectiveness, his fears, and need to control things all made more sense now.
Tia finally spoke. “Do you know what you’re having?”
“You’re going to have a brother and a sister,” I said. “The doctor says they’re doing well.”
She said nothing.
The silence stretched too long. I couldn’t leave it like this.
“Tia, I need to tell you something.” My eyes flicked to Aris. “About me and your father—”
“Don’t.” Tia held up her hand. “I don’t want to hear it right now, Mom.”
“But you need to know—”
“Chrysanthos, you and Tia should begin getting ready, yes.”
Santo’s eyes moved between his father and me. “Come on, aggelé mou.” He guided Tia toward the door.
When they were gone, Aris turned to me. “You do not drop this on her when she is already upset.”
“I thought this was what you wanted?” My voice rose.
“It is, yes, but now it is not the time.” He looked at his watch. “I need to shower. We have appointment with doctor soon, yes?”
He moved toward the door, but I caught his arm. “Aris.”
He stopped, looking down at where my hand gripped his grease-stained forearm. “I’m trying.”
“I know this, yes.” His hand covered mine briefly before entering the house.
Aris stood by my side as the shadowy images of our babies showed up on the screen. It was my 32-week checkup, and we were both relieved to hear everything was progressing perfectly.
“Your glucose levels look great. Right on target,” Dr. Bedi said, frowning slightly as she checked my chart. “But I’m concerned about your blood pressure. It’s been consistently elevated over the last few visits.”
I didn’t need to look at Aris to know what he was thinking. All this hiding and pretending I was doing to protect my relationship with Tia was physically stressing me out and putting me and the twins at risk.
“What can I do?”
Aris’s hand found mine, his grip firm. I could feel the tension radiating off him.
Dr. Bedi looked between us. “Reduce stress where you can. More rest. Are you experiencing any particular anxiety or tension at home?”
I opened my mouth, but Aris spoke first. “She is, yes.”
My head snapped toward him. “Aris…”
Dr. Bedi clicked her pen, setting the chart down.
“At this stage of a twin pregnancy, elevated blood pressure puts you at higher risk for preeclampsia. I’m recommending that you cut back your work hours immediately and implement stress reduction techniques.
Meditation, prenatal yoga, whatever helps you relax.
If these numbers don’t improve by next week, we may need to discuss medication. ”
“I’ll handle it,” I said, wiping the gel off my belly.
The car ride started in silence. I watched the scenery blur past my window, Dr. Bedi’s warnings replaying in my head.
“You never mentioned your daughter,” I said, turning to face him. “Santo’s twin.”
Aris’s jaw tightened. He signaled and pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road, putting it in park before turning to face me.
“It is not something I talk about, no.”
“But I’m carrying your babies, Aris. You want us to marry. Don’t you think that’s something I should’ve known?”
He released my thigh and reached for my hand. “You are right. I should have told you.” He took a deep breath. “Her name, it was Kalliope. She was stillborn, yes. Santo came out screaming, perfectly healthy. My baby girl... she was just gone.”
“Oh, Aris.”
“The cruelest part, it was the delivery took everything out of Lydia. She hemorrhaged, and they could not save her.” He was quiet for a moment. “I became a father and a widower in the same hour. Gained a son, lost a daughter and wife.”
“That’s why you’ve been so worried.”
“No, it is not this. I am terrified, Dede.” His voice cracked. “I cannot lose you too, no.”
My throat tightened as tears pricked my eyes. All this time, I’d been focused on protecting Tia’s feelings, and unintentionally dismissed his.
I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned across the console, wrapping my arms around him as best I could with my belly between us. His arms came around me immediately.
“We’ll talk to the kids when we get home,” I said against his neck. “I’ll tell Tia everything.”
“Dede—”
“I’ve been so worried about losing her that I haven’t been taking care of what matters most. Our family. These babies.” I pulled back to look at him. “Us.”
The rest of the drive home was quiet, but it was a soothing kind of silence. When we pulled into the driveway, I noticed my car was gone.
Inside, the chef was finishing up in the kitchen. “Oh, Ms. White. Mr. Christakis. I didn’t expect you back so soon. Tia and Santo said they were going out for dinner and a movie, so I prepared dinner for two tonight. There’s plenty if they’re hungry when they get back, though.”
“Thank you, Reid,” I said with a smile.
After he left the house, Aris came up behind me, his hands settling on my shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“I will be. After we talk to the kids.” The emotional weight of the day pressed down on me. “Let’s go to bed,” I said softly, turning to face him. “I don’t want to be alone.”
His eyes darkened. “It is five PM.”
“After everything today, I just... I need you.”
“Then you have me, agápi mou.”
Half an hour later, heat coursed through my veins as Aris worked magic from behind. I lay on my stomach with a pile of pillows propped beneath my hips to support my pregnant belly and elevate my ass.
My cheek pressed against the sheets while my fingers clutched them. This pregnancy had heightened every touch and every flick of his tongue against sensitive flesh.
“Sweet Jesus,” I breathed, biting my lip to keep from crying out. “These babies got me...”
He spread my ass cheeks further, and the words dissolved into a silent gasp as he sucked hard on my clit. My body jerked in response; the sensation was almost too intense to bear.
My thighs began to quiver uncontrollably as pleasure built to an almost unbearable peak. I pressed my face into the mattress to muffle the sounds threatening to escape.
I reached back blindly, finding his hair, not sure if I wanted to pull him closer or push him away from the overwhelming sensation. Every muscle in my body tensed as I hovered on the edge, completely at his mercy.
Then my orgasm ripped through every nerve ending, making my toes curl and my back arch as much as the pillows would allow. I cried out into the sheets as waves of ecstasy pulsed from my core, leaving me trembling and slick with sweat.
Before I could draw a full breath or the aftershocks had a chance to fade, I felt the thick head of his dick pressing against my entrance, sliding in deep and sure from behind.
He gave me a moment to adjust before pulling me back onto him as he thrust. The position kept my belly safe and supported, but it left me open and exposed.
“Oh Aris, yes,” I moaned, my body already climbing again, the sensitivity from my first release making everything more intense.
He moved like a man possessed, his breaths coming in rough grunts against my back, one hand sliding around to gently cradle the underside of my belly while the other held my ass steady. I felt the babies shift, as if sensing the storm raging through me.
But Aris didn’t let up. He pounded into me with a rhythm that coiled the tension tight again, faster this time, my pussy clenching around him in a desperate rhythm of its own.
It hit me out of nowhere, the second orgasm exploding like fireworks, harder than the first, making me sob his name as I exploded around him, my walls milking his cock in rhythmic spasms. He groaned low in his throat, thrusting a few more times before stopping.
We stayed like that for a full minute, connected and breathless. Finally, he eased out gently, helping me roll onto my side with the pillows rearranged for comfort.
His hand came to rest on my belly as he pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “You are amazing, agápi mou.” His voice was husky with satisfaction.
I turned to face him, still catching my breath. “That’s one way to put a girl to bed.”
I captured his lips in a lazy kiss. His mouth was warm, tasting faintly of me, and I melted into it.
We kissed languidly, tongues dancing in a gentle rhythm, no rush, just the lingering heat from what we’d just shared. Minutes stretched out as I lost myself in the feel of him.
But then his hand, the one not on my belly, began to wander. It trailed down my side, over the curve of my hip, and delved between my legs, seeking the slick warmth he’d left behind. A fresh spark of arousal flickered, but I caught his wrist, pulling away from the kiss with a smile.
“We should get some sleep,” I whispered against his lips, even as my body hummed. “Big day tomorrow.”
“Mm,” he agreed, but made no move to pull away. Instead, he shifted us both, spooning behind me with his hand protective over my belly.
I was about to drift off when Aris’ bedroom door swung open.
Santo stood frozen in the doorway, one hand still touching his freshly dyed black hair, his face cycling through confusion, shock, and then mortified realization as he took in the scene of his father and me in bed together.
“Panagía mou,” Santo breathed, his face going red. “Father, I thought—” He spun around, facing the hallway. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Chrys?” Tia’s voice came from down the hall. “What’s wrong?”
My heart stopped as Tia appeared in front of her husband, peering around him before he could stop her. Her eyes widened, taking in her father-in-law’s arm wrapped around me and the rumpled sheets.
“Mom?” she whispered, her voice cracking with disbelief.
I scrambled to sit up, the afterglow of pleasure instantly replaced by cold dread. The sheet slipped, and I clutched it to my chest. “Tia, I can explain—”
“You’re having Daddy’s babies, but sleeping with Chrys’s father?”
“Everyone out.” Aris shifted behind me, his voice calm but commanding. “Close the door and wait for us downstairs.”