And we were making the most of it, re-cementing our relationship so we were in the best place possible before the baby came along.
I was ripped out of my thoughts as my body went haywire.
He was sucking my clit into his mouth.
Ah! Yes! He was done teasing me.
“Oh, fuck! Yes, Cole! I’m gonna come! I’m gonna come so hard! Yes!”
In the next second as he exerted more pressure, I exploded around him, screaming his name as I came apart.
“Sexy as all fuck,” he said, rising up on me and kissing my forehead.
He settled himself beside me and pulled me against him. He tugged the covers up over us and held me, one hand stroking my hair and the other stroking my mammoth belly.
“Thank you,” I whispered to him.
“Good, huh?”
“Mmm… so good.” I shifted my weight, which had me grunting from the effort.
“Baby, relax,” Cole cautioned me. “What are you doing?”
“I just wanted to look at you.”
“Oh,” he said, smiling.
I laid my hand on his arm. “Thank you for bringing us here.”
We were taking a mini-vacation at a luxurious five-star hotel, just relaxing and enjoying one another. We were basically in our own little bubble, away from the club, work, everything and everyone.
“I figured we deserved some downtime after everything that’d been happening.”
I relaxed back against the mountain of pillows behind me. “Understatement.”
He sidled closer to me and wrapped me up in his arms. “Now all of that’s behind us. It’s all uphill from here, Tasha.” He ran his fingers over my engagement ring. “We’re together now with absolutely nothing standing in our way.”
“I know,” I responded. “It all seems so surreal.”
“Well, for the longest time, it was something we didn’t think we could have.”
“Nobody saw it, but us. They all thought we were so wrong together.”
“Now they’ve wised up,” he said, reaching out and stroking my cheek. “I always knew you were the right one, the only one, Tasha.”
“Me too.”
“So many wasted years,” he mused bittersweetly.
“We’ve got many more to make up for it,” I assured him.
“You’re my world, Tasha.” His hand drifted down to my bump. “You and this little baby girl.”
“I love you,” I told him, smiling up at him.
“I love you.”
I sank into him.
But it was short-lived, as a violent pain tore through my belly. “Ah!” I exclaimed, jolting.
“What? Tasha? Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, his eyes darting over me erratically.
I cringed as the pain intensified, only just managing to choke out, “I think it’s time.”
His eyes widened and he sat bolt upright, his relaxed state gone completely and the commanding, take-charge, action-bound side of him taking its place. “The baby’s coming?”
“I’m pretty sure she’s on her way.”
“Pretty sure?”
“I’ve never done this before, Cole. They say first births can take a long time, so we might as well just—”
“No. We’re calling your midwife right now,” he cut in, snatching up his phone from the bedside table and dialing right away.
As he spoke to the midwife, he ran around the hotel room packing up our belongings.
I couldn’t hold back a laugh as I watched him. He was so cute, so excited. So amazing.
My nervousness of the painful intensity of labor ahead of me took a backseat for a few moments as my enthusiasm and desperation to meet our daughter settled within me.
I couldn’t wait.
I couldn’t wait to meet my daughter.
I couldn’t wait for our family to come into being.
After so long spent in the dark and danger, I was now surrounded by love, warmth and hope.
I was finally happy.
EPILOGUE
~Cole~
Three Months Later.
“DON’T YOU THINK this is a little overkill?” Tasha called, a hint of amusement in her voice.
“No,” I grunted, as I finished prepping the security cameras for installation on the exterior and the interior of our new home.
We’d bought the raised bungalow with a fully-finished basement on the outskirts of town. It was out of the way of everyone and any other houses, concealed nicely down a private driveway. Easy to fortify and run good quality security on. Once I put my final step into place—the security cameras—I’d be satisfied it was all good to go, that my family was protected with the best of everything.
Turning from the kitchen counter where I had all my equipment laid out, I smiled at the sight of Tasha lounging on the couch in the living room, breastfeeding our baby daughter.
We’d made it back from the hotel in time and she’d had the homebirth she’d wanted in our bedroom suite in the basement. The two midwives that’d been involved had been great and Tasha had been a fucking goddess. The strength of that woman… it was immeasurable.
She’d given me a beautiful baby daughter.
Ella.
Ella Louise Taylor.
I smiled at her fuzzy blonde hair, her face mashed against Tasha’s breast as she fed.
Both of us were pretty much walking zombies at the moment. The stories were true about the sleeplessness that parents of a newborn suffered. Fortunately, we were both also pumped with our excitement that this had actually happened for us.
That we’d brought a child into the world.
That our worst enemies were gone.
That we were finally free.
I watched Ella finish breastfeeding, then dose off.
Tasha eased her down into the bassinet, then sank back against the pillows propped up on the couch, her weary eyes watching our daughter nap.
I walked over and joined her, gathering her into my arms and holding her tightly.
She turned her head and kissed my cheek.
As we settled in together, the sound from the TV and some sort of trucker reality show that Tasha had gotten into lately played quietly in the background, I took all of it in.
Talk about taking time to count my blessings.
After everything we’d been through, how could I not?
There’d been so many times when I’d seriously doubted we’d have this, that we’d win out against everything that’d stood in our way.
Yet, we had.
Together.
Against all odds, it’d actually worked out.
Now I finally had the love of my life with me.
I had a baby
