A Real Man: Volume Two

by Snow, Jenika

  Roxie smiled at me, and I could see the teasing note in her expression.

  “You don’t even like wine,” she said and reached for her water.

  “Yeah, I don’t, not really, but wine makes things more romantic, right?”

  She smiled again, and it was so damn sweet.

  I reached out and took her hand in mine. I didn’t know how in the fuck I was going to do this right now, but I knew what I wanted to do.

  I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this woman, wanted to have a family with her, give her everything she deserved.

  So, without wasting any more time, I rose up, moved around the table, and got down on one knee in front of her. She covered her mouth with a hand and glanced around, probably seeing all the people now staring at us. I felt their gazes on us, but that was okay. I wanted them to know, for everyone to know that I wanted to make this commitment with this woman.

  I reached into my pocket, grabbed the little black box, and held it up.

  In my head I’d seen this exact moment a million times, the outcome perfect, the setup like it had been written just for us. But the truth was I was scared as fuck, not even sure she was ready for this.

  I’d been ready since I knew I loved her more than anything else, and I wanted to tell her that, show her that for the rest of my life.

  * * *

  Roxie

  I don’t know why I was so surprised at this situation. I knew Axel loved me, and I knew he wanted to marry me. He’d told me plenty of times since we made it official between us.

  But seeing him on his knee, the black box in front of him, this look of pure devotion in his eyes as he stared at me, I was thrown for a loop.

  “Roxie Isabella Crater, you are the only good and right thing in this world, the only person who means anything to me.”

  I held my breath as I listened to Axel, very aware that everyone in the restaurant was watching us. Even the waiter who was bringing us the wine was standing a few feet back, giving Axel space to do this.

  “I’ve known you for longer than I can remember, and you’ve been the most important person in my life. Without you I cease to be anything, to breathe, be alive. Without you I’m not a man. I’m not anything.”

  I was crying now, big fat tears rolling down my cheeks, splashing onto my hands, which I had in tight fists on my lap. He opened the box, and the most beautiful ring was inside, the light catching the diamonds, sending a thousand little flickers into the open air.

  The breath I’d been holding left me, rushing out of my lungs on this wave, like it was crashing against the shore.

  “I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children.” He took the ring out and held it up. “I need the other half of my soul by me always. Will you marry me, Roxie?”

  I wiped the tears away, but they kept falling. I was so damn happy, so ecstatic that this piece in the puzzle had finally fallen into place. I’d been dreaming of this moment since I was a girl, and I looked into Axel’s eyes, knowing he was the only boy I ever wanted to marry.

  “Yes,” I said before I knew what I was doing. The smile he gave me was brighter than the diamond he was now putting on my finger.

  He pulled me up, holding me to his hard body, and everyone in the restaurant cheered for us.

  “I’m going to make you the happiest woman in the world,” he whispered against my ear.

  I pulled back, cupping his face in my hands, and said, “You already have.”

  Epilogue One

  Axel

  Two years later

  I always got this rush of energy, this adrenaline boost when I knew my girl—my wife—was watching me. I dodged the punch and delivered an uppercut before my opponent could react. He went down like a ton of fucking bricks.

  The crowd went wild, absolutely insane, and I loved it. I sucked that shit in. I felt myself get more pumped up because of it.

  I breathed hard, my chest rising and falling, my body heating, and my heart racing. Glancing over at Roxie, I saw that her smile was wide. My girl was happy I’d won.

  I’d put two big motherfuckers on either side of her. If she insisted on coming to the fights when she was seven months pregnant with our son, I didn’t want any fuckers to mess with her.

  I let the rush of the crowd, my trainer, my fellow fighters, all congratulate me. But my focus was on the one person who meant more to me than life itself. I stared at Roxie, held her gorgeous gaze with mine, and made sure she knew that no matter what, even amid chaos, she was what I focused on.

  I pushed past everyone, made my way out of the ring, and embraced my girl. She was mine, always would be, always had been.

  The feel of her rounded belly pressing against me had my heart racing. God, I loved her, so fucking much it hurt.

  When I pulled back, I cupped her face, leaned down, and kissed her. She was the reason I lived, why I breathed.

  Without Roxie I was nothing, and I’d prove that to her every single day for the rest of my life.

  I led her away from the crowd, into the back room, and shut the door.

  Once the door was shut behind us, I embraced her, had my hand on her hair, holding her close, keeping her head right over my heart. God, I loved her, would die for her, kill for her.

  “You feeling okay?”

  She nodded, her hands around my waist, her warm breath skating along my bare chest. I was sweaty, but it was clear she didn’t care. I didn’t either. I wanted my scent on her, marking her, like I was some kind of fucking animal.

  I pulled back and dropped to my knees, cupping her rounded belly, feeling our son kick. I looked up, grinning, feeling like I had the whole fucking world in the palm of my hands.

  “I love you,” I said and leaned in to kiss her. “I love you so much my heart hurts, my blood rushes through my veins, and the very earth quakes beneath me every time you’re near.” I felt her hands in my hair, pulling lightly at the strands. I tipped my head back, seeing the smile on her face, the same one that always stopped me in my tracks.

  “I love you.”

  I stood, embraced her, and just let everything sink in.

  I was kind of crazy, a whole lot brutal in the ring, but when it came to the one I loved, my best friend, my wife and soul mate, and the future mother of my children, she was my queen.

  For her I’d level the world just so she had a clear path. That’s how it would always be.

  * * *

  Axel

  Five years later

  My world.

  Everything in this room was what I’d die for.

  Madden, our son, called out for me, and I smiled, scooping him in my arms when he ran to me.

  “Come on, honey,” Roxie said, taking Madden from me. “Bedtime, big boy.”

  “We’ll play trains or trucks or whatever you want tomorrow, buddy,” I said and ruffled his blond hair.

  Leena, our two-year-old daughter, started crying, and I got up and went to her room. She sat up in her toddler bed, her darker hair mussed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

  “What’s wrong, princess?”

  “Dweam,” she whispered.

  I scooped her up, cradling her little body to mine, and took her out to the living room. I sat on the couch with her, listening to her little voice replay her dream despite the fact I wasn’t sure of half the stuff she was saying.

  Madden came barreling out of the hallway, this grin on his face as he jumped on the couch.

  “Tell us a story, Daddy.”

  I glanced over at Roxie, who leaned against the wall, a smile on her face.

  I wanted my wife with me. I wanted her close. Holding my hand out, I gestured her over.

  “Okay, one story but then it’s bedtime.”

  Leena and Madden both nodded.

  I pulled Roxie in close to me, smelling the sweet scent that always surrounded her and feeling at home. In five years much had changed. Roxie worked part-time at a firm handling business contracts. And I now trained other boxers at the gym where I u
sed to fight.

  But what hadn’t changed was my love for her.

  I smiled at my wife, feeling like I was the luckiest bastard in the world.

  There was nothing more important to me than my wife and our children.

  And I’d make sure that there was so much love in this house we suffocated from it.

  I’d make sure there was never a day where they questioned that.

  The End

  Epilogue Two

  Roxie

  I sat off to the side and watched Axel sparring with the punching bag. The tattered and faded red bag swung back and forth as he slammed his fist into it. Sweat covered his big, hard body, and his muscles strained under his golden skin.

  Even all these years later I loved watching him work out, loved seeing him fight. It had the feminine side of me rising up, made me see what a real man he was. He never backed down, never stopped. That’s why he was undefeated.

  I placed my hand on my belly even though I wasn’t showing yet. I hadn’t told Axel I was expecting baby number three yet, but even though this was a surprise I knew he’d be happy. He talked about wanting more children, about having a house full of little ones running around, making noise and destruction.

  I wanted that too.

  He stopped bouncing on the balls of his feet and braced his hands on his knees as he breathed in and out, catching his breath. He was so big, so strong. I loved coming here and watching him, even if it was for a short time, even if it was the same thing over and over again. I didn’t care. Being close to Axel always made me feel happy, made me feel connected to him.

  I’d never believed in soul mates until he came along, until I realized my feelings for him were more than just friendship. And now that he was in my life as my husband, my partner, my better half, I couldn’t envision myself without him.

  He turned and looked at me, the sweat dripping down his body, his chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out harshly. The look he gave me was intense, powerful. It was one that held promise, that held love. He winked at me and I felt my stomach clench, my heart race.

  I was still affected by him. Even all these years later he made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. He made me feel like there was nobody else in the room but the two of us.

  And it was that feeling that I had when I was with him that told me this is exactly where I was meant to be. He was the other piece of the puzzle that made me complete. As corny or cliché as that sounded, it was the hard truth and I embraced every single moment I had with him.

  * * *

  Axel

  Watching Roxie feed our youngest had my heart so full I wouldn’t be surprised if it burst through my chest. It didn’t matter that I was this fighter, masculine and powerful, willing to take down anyone who thought they could hurt the people I cared about the most.

  She was my best friend, always had been, and always would be. Now she was my wife and the mother of my children, and my love for her grew every day. Our daughter giggled, food all over her face, her bright eyes twinkling as she looked at her mother.

  I don’t know how my life ended up here, with her, with my children, but I was the luckiest bastard in the world.

  When she was finished feeding our daughter I helped her tuck our children into bed for the night. I looked forward to this time we had in the evenings, where it was just the two of us, her warm body pressed against mine, the feeling of completion filling me.

  I pulled her down on the couch beside me and wrapped my arms around her body. She curled her legs under her bottom and rested her head on my shoulder. For long seconds we did nothing but sit there, holding each other, listening to the other breathing gently, evenly. I could stay like this forever, never saying anything, but knowing she was by my side.

  I could stay like this forever because I knew she was mine.

  “Axel?” She said my name softly and I pulled back and looked down at her. She had her head tipped back so we were looking into each other’s eyes. I lifted my hand and cupped her cheek, my knuckles busted, scabbed over from the fights.

  She was perfection where I was destruction.

  She was smooth where I was rough.

  She was mine as I was hers.

  “What would you say if I mentioned having more children?”

  My heart sped up and I didn’t hold back my smile. I stroked her cheek with my thumb and stared into her eyes. “Nothing would make me happier, baby.”

  She smiled and it lit up the whole fucking room. I looked down as I saw motion, and watched as she placed her hand on her belly.

  “Well, what if I said that day was here sooner rather than later?”

  I didn’t stop myself from leaning in and kissing her, from stealing that small moment as I pressed my mouth against hers. She tasted sweet and was warm. She tasted like everything that was mine.

  When she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and held me as tightly as I held her, nothing else mattered in the world. I could have lost every physical possession I owned, could have been homeless, broken, beaten. None of that would have mattered because I had this woman and our family. They were all that mattered anymore.

  When I broke the kiss and disentangled my body from hers, I dropped to my knees in front of her. I pushed up her shirt, exposing her flat belly, knowing my child grew in there. I leaned in and kissed her smooth skin, closing my eyes and feeling so much happiness I could have suffocated from it.

  Lifting my head, I stared into her eyes. “Give me a hundred babies, Roxie, because I want a houseful of little ones driving us crazy.” She laughed softly and I rose up to pull her into an embrace. “I love you, baby.” She kissed my neck and I grunted, feeling myself harden, sensing my arousal rising up like this intense beast wanting out. “I’m never letting you go. You’ll always be mine.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered, her warm breath brushing along my neck.

  I might say this day in and day out, but it was the truth. Roxie had been mine before I told her I loved her, before I even knew what wanting her in my life forever meant.

  And it would always be like that. Always.

  Copyright

  KILT ME (A Real Man, 12)

  By Jenika Snow

  www.JenikaSnow.com

  Jenika_Snow@Yahoo.com

  Copyright © May 2017 by Jenika Snow

  First E-book Publication: May 2017

  Photographer: Wander Aguiar :: Photography

  Cover model: Robert Westbrook

  Photo provided by: Wander Book Club

  Editor: Kasi Alexander

  Line Editor: Lea Schafer

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  He’ll show her exactly what’s under his kilt.

  Molly

  The first time I saw Mr. McGowan, he was walking into our class wearing a kilt. Our substitute professor, he was big and brooding, masculine, and had a sexy Scottish brogue going on.

  Maybe I didn’t need that extra tutoring, but I sure as hell wanted it.

  Alastair

  I noticed Molly the moment I stepped into the classroom. She was the wee lass with the fire-colored hair, the intense green eyes, and a body that had me burning alive. I didn’t want to look away from her because I knew she was mine.

  Maybe there was a rule about staff not fraternizing with students. But given that I’m just the substitute professor, and that I wanted her like a fiend, I was about to cross some lines
and break some rules.

  1

  Molly

  It was a hot May day, hotter than I ever remembered it being before. My hair was sticking to the back of my neck, and I grabbed a hair tie and lifted the long, heavy locks off my nape. After tying it in a messy bun, I glanced around the room. Everyone seemed miserable.

  I was tempted to just leave, to skip this class and head back to my apartment to take a cold shower, but before I could do anything, the door opened. I expected to see Mrs. Lane walk in, her big belly rounded, her expression annoyed. She was due next month, but she looked miserable every time I saw her.

  But it wasn’t Mrs. Lane who stepped through the door.

  The air seemed to get hotter, thicker, and the room grew silent as everyone stared at the man who was like no one I had ever seen before. And I didn’t mean that in the literal sense.

  “Good morning, class. I’m Alastair McGowan, your substitute professor as Mrs. Lane is no’ able tae be here.”

  He had this thick Scottish brogue going on, but then again he was wearing a kilt. God, and does he look good wearing it.

  He set his briefcase on the desk, turned to face us, and my breath stalled. The substitute professor was over six feet tall, heavily muscled, and had this commanding persona that surrounded him.

  I shifted on the seat, my dress sticking to my legs, my body heating, which had nothing to do with the fact it was hot as hell in this room. I’d been attracted to plenty of guys, but this was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.