by Shyla Colt
It’ll be hard forging new bonds, but I think we’re both up for the challenge. It’s the perfect frame of mine to be in before we unit in front of our families.
Epilogue
Blanche
I’m a bundle of nerves as we make our way toward the airport. The honeymoon had been Jagger’s baby. He insisted that I allow him to do the planning, since I did all the leg work on the wedding, pun intended. He enjoys leg humor. Mostly because I think it takes people who don’t know him by surprise. He still has his moments of disappointment and depression, but they’re few and far between. I’m proud of his progress. Going back to work for the club, five months ago, and getting his adapted car had a lot to do with it. He no longer has to rely on others so much, and he is back in his element. In some ways, being the Treasurer has placed him in the inner circle, making him vital to the club’s well-being. He needs that.
I admire his profile as he drives. Instead of being dropped off and picked up, we’re parking our car at the airport.
“You’re not going to give me a little hint?” I ask.
He chuckles. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
I sit back in the seat and squirm. Thanks to Jess, I hadn’t even packed my own things. When the two of them put their heads together, nothing was impossible. We pull into the parking lot and unpack. I grab our suitcases and follow him into the airport. We walk up to the counter, and I hold my breath as he pulls out the tickets with our I.D.’s.
“Two tickets to Turks and Caicos.”
My jaw drops.
“We’re going to Turk’s and Caicos!” I squeal.
He laughs and nods. “I found a wheelchair accessible resort. The only thing I want to see for the next two weeks is you in itty-bitty bikinis, and trust me, there are plenty of them packed.”
“I can’t believe you did this,” I whisper, awed and excited. Sun, Sea, and the Caribbean for the next two weeks. The initiative he’d shown in planning the trip is a better gift than the trip itself. We’ve come full circle. He’s thriving. The last of the worries that clung to me break away. He’s going to be fine. Relief nearly takes my legs out from under me. The check in process is a blur as we head to the gate and he fills me in on the detail. Just when I think I’m full of joy, he shows me how naïve I’ve been. He’d say I expected too little because I deserve more.
“Hey,” I whisper as we wait to board.
“Hmm?” He turns to look at me.
“I love you.”
His lips curve up into a smile. “I know.”
I pinch his arm playfully, and he laughs. The rich sound sends tingles through my body. “Love you too, B.”
***
I’m speechless as we walk into the honeymoon Suite. The walls are a soft, light yellow that accents the tropical themed blue curtains with bright flowers; the blue throw rugs placed through the room over the tile are lovely. The teak wood furniture is done in beiges. The large cushiony chairs and couch, look inviting and a touch regal.
I walk forward, feeling like I’m in a dream. I vaguely register Jagger speaking to the bellhop as I explore. The bathroom is fit for a Queen with its large Jacuzzi tub, double vanity with marble countertop. The four poster bed makes my stomach clench. The curtains in the day room are beige, and the view from the balcony off the bedroom makes me gasp. Lush, green foliage with bright pink flowers surround the white lattice work railing. The bedroom door closes, and I see him wheel into the restroom out of the corner of my eyes.
I have some thank you sex to deliver to my husband along with some news I’d saved as a post wedding present. The light is beginning to wane, the sun begins its descent turning the sky into a painting as blue yields to burnt orange, rose and lilac hues.
A few minutes later, he resurfaces. I turn to smile at him over my shoulder.
“Did hubby do good?” he asks.
I nod my head. “Hubby did amazing.” I crook my finger, and he comes to me. “Let me show you how well he did.” I straddle him, and he grins cupping the back of my head as I take his lips.
I trace the seam until he opens up and lets me inside. Our tongues glide together, and I grind against the bulge forming in his pants as I trail my fingers down his arms the way he likes. The erection is a reflex. I know it logically, but it doesn’t make me any less wet. I break the kiss and lean back to tug his shirt over his head. I toss it behind me as I trail my nails over his chest and around his taut nipples.
A moan rumbles through his chest. His eyelids lower to half-mast as he squeezes my hips.
“You’re so beautiful, B.” The love shining in his eyes steals my breath. Unable to put the way he makes me feel into words I plunge my tongue into his mouth and tug on his nipples. He groans, returning the kiss. He slants his mouth over mine and tightens his grip on my neck, holding me into place, as he takes control. I melt against him, continuing to stimulate his nipples and his flesh. Goosebumps line his skin. His upper body has become much more sensitive since he lost the feeling from the waist down.
Foreplay is different, but no less effective or arousing. I pull back and hold his gaze as I turn my head and kiss his hand. He groans as I lick the sensitive skin between his fingers. I know he washed his hands thoroughly just for me. He tastes clean and masculine. His skin is still warm from the water. I suck his middle digit into my mouth, and he reaches under my tank top to massage my breast through my bra. I’m soaking wet, and his puffs of air tell me he’s right there with me.
“I want you inside me, J.”
“Then take me,” he rasps.
I move back long enough to unbuckle his pants and free him from his boxers. I’m too impatient to pull them all the way down. I stroke his cock to full length as I suck on his fingers, bobbing my head.
“Shit, B. Yes. Like that, baby.”
He tugs my skirt up and moves my panties to the side. I grip his base and ease down, crying out around his fingers as he fills me. I tweak his nipples, and he cries out.
“Close?” I whisper.
“So close.”
I lift and lower, focusing on the sensitive spots that bring him higher and higher with me. He yanks my tank top and bra up and latches onto my breast. I clench around him, shaking as the pressure builds. I massage his scalp as I continue to nibble and suck his fingers. He stiffens, releases me with a pop, and his muscles contract. He cries out my name. The husky cry topples me. I bury my face in his neck as I feel his heated spray coats my insides.
“What was left of my birth control is gone,” I whisper.
He jerks. “So we might’ve just made a baby?”
I laugh. “Uh huh.”
“Fuck, I love you.”
I close my eyes and soak up the three words; he worked so hard to be able to say them.
“I Love you too, baby.”
***
“How are you feeling?”
I roll onto my side toward Jagger’s gentle voice.
“Like I’ve been hit by a train,” I croak.
My stomach muscles ache from getting sick, and if I get up too fast, I feel dizzy. I’ve been guzzling water and fruit juices while I try to kick the flu.
“It’s like the world is trying to punish me for having too much fun on our honeymoon,” I groan. Returning to the real world had been a slow and process. I loved reconnecting with my regular clients. The honeymoon was amazing, and coming back to the real world has been more difficult than I expected. I missed my patients, and reconnecting with them after three weeks of wedding fun was amazing. But I missed the one on one time I got with Jagger, and then the flu hit. It started off as a cold I couldn’t shake, and now it’s gone full bubonic plague.
“Babe, I don’t think you’re getting better. And maybe…that’s because it’s not the flu as we thought.”
“W-what do you think it is?”
His eyes sparkl
e. “I think we brought another souvenir home from our honeymoon.”
I push myself into a sitting position. “Do you think?”
“Only one way to find out.” He pulls a plastic bag from the pouch attached to his wheelchair.
“I made a pit stop on the way home from work.”
My hands shake. I’m afraid to hope. With my age and his condition, the odds are against us. Could it really have been that easy?
“What if I’m not?”
“Then we keep having fun trying,” he says with a shrug.
“O-okay.”
I slip from the bed and take the bag from him before I walk into the bathroom.
Three minutes have never taken so long as we wait on the bed. The timer on the phone beeps.
We look at each other, and I take a shaky breath.
“Whatever happens we’ll be fine,” he says firmly.
I nod my head and take his hand as we walk into the bathroom. The screen on the test is flashing at us. I focus. Pregnant.
“Oh my God,” I cover my flat belly.
“We did it, B!” he yells. His child-like enthusiasm is contagious. I dance a jig in the bathroom as he spins around, and the next few minutes are filled with silliness and a joy I’ll never forget as long as I live. Still, on a high, we make our way into the room.
“I made an appointment today to see the doctor tomorrow, but this changes everything.”
“We should tell, Whitney.”
“No.” I glance down. “I want to wait. I know I’m a high-risk pregnancy.”
He covers my hand with his. “Then we’ll wait a while before we share the news.”
His understanding is my undoing. My eyes tear.
“What’s wrong?” he whispers, confused.
“Welcome to pregnancy hormones,” I whisper.
He wipes the tears away with his thumb and chuckles. “Life’s never boring with you, Mrs. Ryan. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Freeze
“Are you seriously going to make me send this?” Blanche asks as she perches on the couch.
“Hell yeah. I’m proud.”
She laughs. “Okay, here we go.”
She hits send and I grin as the picture of us holding up the sonogram with the words It still works is sent in a mass text.
I cup her face and pull her mouth to mine. “Thank you,” I whisper as I kiss her gently.
“You’re welcome. But you helped too you know?” she says with a laugh.
I take in her glowing face, and I have to disagree. I was a heartless bastard before she appeared out of nowhere with a siren’s call I couldn’t resist. “No, this was all you. You’ve got some kind of magic inside you that thawed me out little by little, brought me to life, and taught me a different way to live. I never thought I’d have this.” I pick her hand up and kiss her ring finger. “I love you.”
“I know.”
I shake my head and laugh. “Your mouth is going to get you into trouble.”
“Promise?” She winks. “Love you too, J.”
***
Six months later, our olive skinned baby boy is born with a head of golden brown curls, and lungs that would put any rock star to shame. Cash Atticus Ryan is the perfect blend of Blanche and me with his full lips and thick winged eyebrows so like my own. He’s born into a massive extended family, but it’s the four of us in the room now that mean the most to me.
“When’s your mom get here?” Whitney asks.
“In a few weeks, I told her I wanted some time with just the four of us to bond,” I say. It’s amazing that I can smile when I think of my mother now. We’ve come a long way.
“He’s beautiful,” Whitney whispers as she stares ddown at the baby brother in her lap.
“How could he not be, with B as his mother?” I ask as I lean up to kiss her.
She gives me a sleepy smile, and I know I would live through the accident a million times over to get here. This is the family I’ve always longed for, and the love I never felt worthy of. This woman is my everything. No matter what happens, I’ll walk the road that leads me back to her.
About the Author
Shyla Colt is the sassy international bestseller of the popular series Kings of Chaos and Dueling Devils M.C. This genre-hopper’s stories feature three of her favorite things: strong females, pop culture, and alternate routes to happy ever after. Listening to her Romani soul, she pens from the heart, allowing the dynamic characters, eccentric interests, and travels as a former flight attendant to take her down untraveled roads.
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, this mid-west girl is proud of her roots. She used her hometown and the surrounding areas as a backdrop for a number of books. So, if you’re a Buckeye, keep an eye out for familiar places.
As a full-time writer, stay at home mother, and wife, there’s never a dull moment in her household. She weaves her tales in spare moments and the evenings with a cup of coffee or tea at her side and the characters in her head for company.
Visit Shyla Colt
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Other Books by Shyla Colt
Kings of Chaos
Spun #1
Lighter Shade of Blue #2
For the Love of Dixie #3
Resurrecting Ghosts #4
Walk the Line #5
Wesson Rebel MC
Always #1
Forever #2
Resurrection #3
Lords of Mayhem
The Biker’s Librarian #1
One Wild Ride #2
Live Free #3
Final Ride #4
Jinx Tattoos
Enzo #1
Broken But Breathing #2
Singles
A Lakota Claiming
Love From the Wreckage
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