Epilogue
VALERIA
Eight Months Later
“Sit down.”
“I’m not doing that.”
Nico frowns and crosses his arms. The movement should be awkward with our sleeping baby strapped against his chest, but he still manages to look imposing, waves of dark hair framing his sharp features and amber eyes.
I sum up all my irritation and frustration and glare right back.
“The doctor said you need to be resting,” he says.
“Only for four weeks—”
“She said six weeks.”
I exhale, lowering the sudsy baby bottle into the sink.
Our kitchen is, at the best of times, cozy, which means we don’t have the storage space for extra baby bottles.
It’s a temporary solution while Nico and I binge home improvement videos to figure out how to tear down the adjacent wall into the dining room and open up extra space for Nico’s fleet of kitchen appliances.
Don Salvatore’s extremely generous donation—and undoubtedly creative accounting—to “Luis and Maria Martins” meant Nico and I could settle into a lovely, buttery-yellow home in a peaceful neighborhood in Torres Vedras, Portugal.
We visit the beach constantly. We cross cobblestone paths through beautifully-maintained historical buildings to pick up our morning espresso and pastries. In a few years, we’ll adopt a dog.
This is everything I could have dreamed to ask for.
But if Nico keeps looking at me like that, I’m going to scream.
“You were in the other room,” I say. I wipe my hands on a dish towel and take a step toward him, ignoring the look of suspicion in his eyes. “I’m not going to bother you for a single dish.”
His suspicion deepens as I trace a finger up his arm. He catches my wrist. “Bother me next time. Now go sit down and relax. I’ll wash it.”
I trace my other hand up his arm. “I have some thoughts on what could really help me relax.”
“The doctor said six weeks for that too.”
I bite back the flare of irritation.
I’m exhausted from Mia’s late-night feedings, and I don’t look or feel my best, but meanwhile, Nico’s done the most Nico thing possible by somehow getting hotter while I slowly transform into a bridge troll.
We’ve both grown out our hair to hide our appearance. I miss my bangs, but being able to push all of my hair into a lopsided bun well out of Mia’s reach is worth it.
Nico’s hair has grown into thick, dark waves that curl effortlessly around his face without any styling, and his short beard only makes his gorgeous eyes stand out even more.
He’s also found a gym to go to while Mia and I cuddle in the mornings, and now his abs have abs.
And when he’s home, all he does is feed me delicious, home-cooked food or take Mia for walks on the beach.
I’m sick of it.
I stand to my full height. “Nico Matassa—”
“It’s Luis Martins now.” He smirks.
“It’s going to be ‘Loving father and husband, gone before his time.’ The doctor said four to six weeks. It’s been exactly four weeks.”
“Is that why you’ve been so angry lately?”
“Yes.”
“You know I think it’s sexy when you’re angry.”
“Prove it.” I hook a hand around the back of his neck. “Fuck. Me.”
A spark of interest lights in his face, his mouth curving into a satisfied smile, and a pulse of arousal sinks straight between my legs.
My belly flips when he leans over me, his lips parting—
Mia lets out a cry.
Nico drops his face toward hers, that sharp look in his eyes softening to one of gentle adoration. He kisses the top of her head. “Look who’s hungry.”
“Nico,” I warn between gritted teeth.
He eyes me from beneath his dark eyelashes. “I haven’t forgotten about you. Feed Mia, and I’ll set her up in the crib.”
Some of my annoyance at my stupidly sexy husband fades as he passes our beautiful daughter to me.
Mia wraps one pudgy hand around my finger, and my heart squeezes.
Nico strokes her tuft of dark hair. “If I knew we would make such a perfect baby, I would’ve gotten you pregnant on the first try.”
“If I knew, I might’ve let you.”
He trails behind as I make my way to the rocking chair and set Mia up to nurse.
Being moved from safe house to safe house and fitting in a small courthouse wedding made for the most stressful pregnancy imaginable, but somehow, Mia came out without any major complications.
All ten fingers and toes, dark eyes and hair, and a pinched little face that I cover in a thousand kisses every day.
I sigh and settle into the chair, holding her close.
It’s the quiet moments like these that I’ll feel a pinch of longing for the people we left behind. Lacey and Mei, Nico’s mom and sister.
But the peace I feel when I look at my baby’s infant-grey eyes reminds me how much more we gained.
I’m not scared for my life when I step outside my house for a walk in the sunshine.
I can collect seashells on the beach and not feel an extra set of eyes watching me.
If we’re smart with our money, Nico and I could never work again.
We have so much more than I ever could’ve hoped for.
When she’s done feeding, Nico has me undress and lay in the bed while he sets her up in the crib next to the window.
All my annoyance fades away as Nico strips his clothes and crawls up the bed to me, a hungry look in his eyes.
He frames my face with a light, gentle touch, but the kiss that meets my mouth is deep and hard, his tongue licking into my mouth and chest rubbing against my nipples. My hips buck to meet his, seeking relief for a frustration that’s mounted for weeks.
Nico, waking up every night when Mia so much as yawns. Nico, cooking me perfect BLTs every morning after I gave birth. The sound of his voice humming lullabies to our baby from another room.
He’s been everything I could’ve asked for as the father of my child.
But I’ve missed my husband.
He presses his forehead to mine, exhaling roughly. “I missed you.”
My breath hitches. “You did?”
While my frustration has coiled more and more tightly inside me, he has seemed perfectly at peace in our new life.
His laugh is hoarse. “Why do you think I’ve been going to the gym every day? I had to burn off that energy somehow. Seeing how sweet you are with Mia has been driving me nuts.” He kisses me again and fists his cock, guiding himself between my legs. “I love this side of you.”
He swirls the tip along my entrance, coating himself in my wetness. My pussy pulses hungrily. I hook my legs around him, pulling him closer.
“You’re so sweet,” he says and drops a kiss to my neck. I think I’m losing my mind. “And gentle. And selfless. And that look in your eyes when you stare at her?”
I thrust my hips against him mindlessly. “Nico, please.”
His lips graze my ear. “Makes me want to fill you up. Breed you with another one. But I know we can’t do that, we have to wait a few years, don’t we? So this is just for practice.”
My eyelids shudder closed, stars bursting behind them. “Nico, yes. I want that. I want you. Fill me up. Please, I need it rough, please.”
“Of course, you do,” he says, chuckling roughly. “We’re taking it nice and slow this round, and then we’ll work back up to whatever my pretty girl needs.”
I groan in frustration until he presses against my entrance, and all thought flies out of my head. Rough, soft—everything is perfect with Nico.
His muscles tense as he eases himself into me. “God, Val.”
I can barely think, the stretch he gives me all-encompassing, the weight of him on top of me solid and so right.
The pressure swells. We’ve barely started, and I think I might already finish.
“You’re so beautiful,” Nico says, kissing my mouth with a fierce hunger. “You’re such a good mom. You’re an amazing wife. And you’re going to take it all for me, aren’t you?”
I nod furiously. The pressure starts to tip, cresting like a wave.
I hold him tightly, my clit throbbing. “Yes, Nico. I need you, give me everything.”
“Fuck, Val.” His mouth claims mine, and even though the rhythm of his hips is slow and steady, his bruising kiss is intense.
As the first wave of my orgasm drags me under, I melt onto the bed, dissolving into pleasure as Nico wrings out every last drop.
He finishes a moment after, driving his hips into me and clutching me against him with an intensity I’d thought he’d forgotten.
As he collapses onto me, his cock still pulsing inside, and murmurs phrases about love and babies and forever, I realize his love and his possession are as relentless as always, they’ve just been lurking under the surface of our daily life.
After a while, as I start to drift into a nap, Nico brings Mia into the bed with us. He murmurs sweetly to her and chuckles as she grabs at his face.
My eyelids heavy, I sneak one last peek before I fall asleep.
Nico and I meet each other’s gaze over Mia. A gentle smile touches my mouth. I have the most beautiful life I ever could have dreamed of, with the man I love and our sweet baby, right now and always.