Chapter 35 #3
She lets out a strangled cry, and when her hands begin to shake, I take the folder from her. “Nate, are you seeing this?”
I nod, lost for words, then wrap her with my other arm and pull her close into my body.
“Are the two of you okay?” Anne’s voice cuts through Maddie’s sobs.
“Can you give us a moment?”
When Anne’s out of the room, I lean back, swiping Maddie’s hair away from her face. “Are you okay?”
She nods and picks up the folder that fell out of my hands.
Origin: Spain
Age: Two
Gender: Female
Name: Valentina Rosa
“Her name is Rosa.” Maddie’s bottom lip wobbles, trying to rein in her emotions. “Valentina Rosa, Nate. This is our baby. I don’t care what anyone says. This is her. Everything is lining up…Healing Horizons. Rosa. This is it, this is our future.”
I nod, swallowing my own emotions. “From Spain,” I add, and we sit on that, staring down at the picture of this brown-eyed beauty.
“She’s perfect.” Maddie traces her finger softly around the photo.
She’s tiny. Tinier than Claudina was at this age, with curly brown hair and big, curious brown eyes.
I know in my gut she’s ours too.
“I can’t read her story.” Maddie turns her head into my shoulder.
“Me neither,” I murmur. “Not yet anyway.”
The thought of someone abusing this child, an innocent two-year-old, makes me sick to my stomach.
Anne knocks on the door a second later, then reenters, taking a seat.
“Are these good or bad tears?”
I take Maddie back into my arms, pulling her into my side. “The woman who saved me from my abusive childhood, her name was Rosa.” Anne’s face pales. “And…she’s from Spain.”
“Oh my.” Anne leans forward to grab a tissue, then leans over to hand me the box.
I pull out my phone and show her a picture. “This is my living angel, Rosa Morales. She saved me from a life I never chose. From that day on, she became the most important woman in my life. My mother.” I rub Maddie’s arm, adding, “Until I met Madeline, of course.”
Maddie and Anne both chuckle, but it dies quickly.
Maddie calms her breathing. “I’m so sorry, Anne. I promise I don’t normally overreact, but if this isn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.”
Anne is trying to keep her composure, but I can see she is fighting back her emotions as much as we are.
“So what are the two of you saying?”
“That this is our daughter.” Maddie looks up to me with hope. “And we’d like to adopt her.”
We walk into the penthouse, and although we are exhausted from the last three days, we’re both on cloud nine. “Right to bed, babe.”
She frowns, looking around the apartment. “I wish Skye were here.”
“She’ll be back tomorrow.” I lead her upstairs, wishing my girl were here too.
While we were in Vermont, Skye stayed at Seb’s since Leo was working overtime without Maddie and had no time to himself, let alone Skye.
After we both wash up and get ready for bed, we cuddle under the covers, and it’s like an instant relaxant.
There’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed.
I wrap my arms tightly around Maddie’s body, and she slackens against me.
“I can’t wait to meet our baby, Nate.”
“Me too, Mads.”
Our baby.
She yawns and cuddles in closer, then wiggles her behind. “I thought you were tired,” she mumbles into the pillow.
“I am,” I mutter. “But my dick is wide awake when he sees you in this white, silky nightie. You’re too sexy for your own good. I can’t help myself.” I kiss the back of her neck. “Go to sleep, you’re tired. We can talk about this in the morning.”
So then I can get up when you’re passed out and take care of business.
She chuckles and rolls her ass into me, the little tease.
It’s nearly impossible, but I attempt to pull her closer, needing to feel every inch of her against my body.
My hand grips her hip, and she yawns again.
What the hell am I doing?”
“Don’t stop,” she mutters. “Even if I fall asleep.”
My cock jumps at the thought, fuck, that’s hot.
I run my hand up the outside of her smooth, toned leg, dragging up her night gown as I go.
“Mmm,” she sighs when my hand drags down her stomach and slowly slides through her dripping wet sex. I don’t rush it; I take my time, admiring how she reacts to every touch. “Feels good,” she whispers.
“Even if you fall asleep.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I push her lips apart and line my dick up at her entrance, and the second my head makes contact, my eyes roll.
It never ceases to amaze me how fucking amazing she feels.
I slide in easily, with no lube. She’s soaked. Then I wrap my arm around her and bury my face in her neck.
“I love you.”
She mumbles something incoherent, barely conscious. But her cunt is wide awake as it clenches around me. I lazily move in and out, and her soft, sleepy moans have my balls tightening.
Why is this such a turn-on?
I don’t want this to end. I want to be inside of her forever.
“I love you,” I whisper again against her ear, and slow my movements.
When I said I wanted every inch of her touching me forever, this is exactly what I meant.
My phone rings, waking me up at three in the morning. The second I see Matteo’s name, I answer immediately.
“Hey,” I croak, slipping out of bed, moving quietly downstairs not to wake Maddie.
“We found him, and they’ve already gone to work.” He hesitates. “Corey, that scumbag, confessed to everything. He wanted revenge, that’s what it all came down to.”
“Fuck,” I hiss. “I hope he’s suffering.”
“My cousins are sadistic bastards who also have a soft spot for women and family. They know how important you are to me. So trust me, Corey will be hurting for a long, long time.”
“Good.” I let out a breath of relief.
Knowing Maddie can rest easy and focus on us and our future, with our daughter, settles something within me. She’s been putting on a brave face, trying to hide that she’s been an anxious mess all week.
Who can blame her?
“Nate?” Maddie’s sleepy voice drifts from upstairs.
“I gotta go, I woke up Maddie.” I pause. “Thanks for everything, and we’ll see you next month in Italy?”
“Can’t fucking wait.”
I end the call and head back upstairs, where Maddie is standing in the doorway, eyes heavy with sleep, hair tousled, looking so soft it nearly undoes me.
“Come here, Goddess.” I lead her back to bed and wrap my arms tightly around her.
“It’s over, Mads.”
“What is?” she says barely above a whisper.
“Our past is fully behind us.” I brush my lips over one of her dimples, causing her to smile with her eyes closed. “And the future for us is so bright it’s blinding.”