Epilogue
Epilogue
CARLY
I ’d experienced more than my fair share of pain in my life, but none of it fully prepared me for childbirth. My original plan had been to go the natural route. I figured I could do it without drugs, but I was wrong. Oh boy, was I fucking wrong. About an hour into my labor, Brandon was ordering the doctor around and telling her to do something to ease my pain. When they offered me an epidural, I accepted. It helped, but by the end of the next ten hours, I was sure I’d never want to have another baby. Then, the moment I held our beautiful baby girl in my arms, it was as though the hours of pain had never happened. “I can’t wait to do this again,” I sighed.
Brandon looked horrified at the idea. “Fuck no! I can’t watch you go through this again, kitten. I’m going to have to go in and get snipped or something.”
He looked just as horrified by the idea of letting a doctor near the family jewels, and I giggled while I traced the baby’s cheeks with a fingertip. Lowering my head, I nuzzled her dark curls, the shade an exact match to her daddy’s hair, and breathed her scent into my lungs. I had a secret weapon to help persuade Brandon to my way of thinking, and I wasn’t afraid to use it.
“I think someone wants her daddy to hold her.”
Strong hands reached for the baby and gently lifted her out of my arms. I’d been in awe of how small she was, and she looked even tinier held against Brandon’s chest. The sight of my tough and sexy husband holding our beautiful baby girl had tears filling my eyes. I’d never been happier than I was in that moment, and then Brandon added to my joy.
“Fine, but we’re going to wait a little bit before I knock you up again,” he agreed. “And the next one had better be a boy.”
“You’re only saying that because you want to pick the name the next time around.” We’d agreed early on in this pregnancy that I’d get to name any girls we had and Brandon would name the boys.
“It’s more like I know I’m going to need some help watching over you two.”
Our family grew, but Brandon didn’t get the help he was hoping for. We found ourselves in the delivery room again eleven and a half months later, and then again twelve months after that. Irish triplets, so to speak, since they were born so closely together. Three little girls I got to name—Regan, Claire, and Molly.
Showering at four o’clock in the afternoon might seem strange to some, but as the mother of three children under the age of four, I’d quickly learned to grab one during those rare times when they were all down for a nap together. Living so close to Anna, we helped each other out often, but she had her hands full with her own trio of children—Sophia, Niccolo Jr., and Natalia. With Sophia on her first week of summer break from school, Nic and Anna took the family on a vacation to the Bahamas. The girls missed their friends, and they’d been acting out a bit because of it. The minutes I’d managed to steal in the shower were glorious, and I felt like a new woman when I stepped out wrapped in a towel.
“So fucking gorgeous,” Brandon murmured from the doorway, his eyes hungry as they swept up and down my body. He padded into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him, then strode towards me purposefully. With a quick flick of his fingers, my towel dropped to the floor. Then he backed me up against the counter and lifted me onto it.
When he dropped to his knees, I gasped in surprise. “You’d better not make too much noise, or else you’ll wake the girls up,” he warned.
I nodded, biting down on my lip to keep from moaning when he buried his face against me. The last thing I wanted was to be interrupted before I came. He licked me with single-minded purpose, driving me to the edge quickly, as though he knew how desperate I was to climax. When he plunged two fingers inside me, stroking along the perfect spot, I couldn’t help the whimper which burst from my lips. His tongue moved up to my clit, and he sucked at it hard. With a twist of his wrist and another hard pull at my clit, I came. My hands tightened in his hair, and he nuzzled me through the powerful aftershocks. When I felt his head pull back, I looked down at him.
“I could eat you all day, but I know we don’t have much time before one of our hellions demands our attention,” he told me, rising to his feet and unbuttoning his pants.
I licked my lips hungrily as he pulled out his cock and pumped it a few times with his fist. I climbed off the counter, lowering myself to my knees in front of him. Just as I placed my hands on his thighs and bent forward to lick along his shaft, a sweet voice sounded outside the bathroom door.
“Mommy, I’m thirsty.”
My startled eyes flew towards the baby monitor on the corner of the counter next to the sink. The light was still on, but neither of us had heard a peep as Regan woke up and left her room.
“I’ll be right out,” I called to her, getting up and tossing my shirt over my head.
“She’s not even four yet,” Brandon grumbled as he stuffed his still hard cock into his pants. “She shouldn’t be able to sneak up on us so easily.”
“Regan might have your looks, but she’s light on her feet just like her mama.” I couldn’t help the pride in my tone, even considering what she’d stopped us from doing.
“If only she had better timing. It’s like the little cock-blocker knows exactly when to interrupt us,” he complained.
“Someone’s grouchy because he didn’t get to finish what he’d started,” I teased, in a great mood since I’d gotten a shower and an orgasm.
“Laugh now, kitten” he growled. “Because you’re the one who’s going to pay for it later.”
I was sure he meant it as a threat, but we both knew I’d more than enjoy whatever form of punishment he doled out later.
I was completely relaxed, leaning against Brandon’s side while I enjoyed a delicious slice of chocolate cake and a glass of wine. Anna and Nic were in much the same position across from us. We’d finished cleaning up from an impromptu barbecue in our backyard about ten minutes ago, and the children had raced off to play in the yard. Sophia sat in the grass near the play set, her legs crossed while she texted with friends on her cell phone. Regan and Niccolo Jr. were in a competition to see who could swing the highest, while Claire, Molly, and Natalia were busy pretending to cook in the play house.
“I forgot to tell you, the school called me about Niccolo this morning,” Nic told Anna. “Apparently, he gave another boy a black eye during recess.”
“My little boy hit someone?” she gasped, sounding horrified. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? We should have talked to him about it before coming over for dinner and letting him play with Regan like nothing bad happened today.”
“Calm down, bellissima ,” he murmured soothingly while stroking her back. “He had a good reason to hit the other kid.”
“What could another kindergartner do that possibly warranted getting a black eye?”
Nic’s gaze slid towards Brandon, and I braced myself for his answer at the hint of apprehension I saw there.
“He tried to steal a kiss from Regan.”
My husband’s body stiffened as Nic’s response sunk in. “Some little punk tried to kiss my baby girl?”
“Blackening his eye seems like an overreaction when they’re only in kindergarten,” Anna inserted.
Brandon glared at her while I tried to stifle a giggle. Nic ignored us all and continued with his story.
“Niccolo said she went down the slide before he did, but he was less than a minute behind her. While she was waiting for him, the other boy cornered her and demanded a kiss. When he saw what was happening, Niccolo pulled him away from her and socked him one, right in the face.”
“Exactly as he should have done,” Brandon muttered.
“No less than what I would expect of my boy,” Nic agreed proudly.
“Remind me to buy him something special tomorrow,” Brandon told him. “Without boys of my own, I could use all the help he can give me watching out for my girls. I’m not above a little bribery to make sure I get it.”
“Bribes aren’t needed,” Nic replied.
“Maybe not, but I’m sure they’re appreciated.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Nic chuckled and waved his hand towards Regan. “From what my son told me, your daughter is more than able to defend herself. Part of the reason he was so easily able to get the boy away from her is because she’d already kneed him in the balls. The kid didn’t share that information with the teacher because he was too ashamed to admit he’d been hurt by a girl.”
“Not just any girl,” Brandon said smugly. “My girl.”
I hadn’t planned to say anything until tomorrow morning when I took a test to confirm my suspicions, but this conversation was too good an opportunity to pass up. We could still continue our tradition with me taking a pregnancy test with Brandon hovering over me like he’d done the last two times since he’d missed out on it when I was pregnant with Regan. He could just look forward to it all night like I was going to do.
“About that help you seem to think you need,” I whispered in his ear, sliding his hand around my waist until it rested on my stomach. “Maybe you'll get lucky and we'll have a boy this time.”
Eight months later, we were in for a surprise. Little Callum had tricked us during the ultrasound, and we’d been expecting another girl. Brandon ended up getting his son after all.