by Ella Brooke
Hanna stroked her hands though Mateo’s hair, and when he looked up, she sighed in contentment at the sight of his perfect face, his shining dark green eyes. They had a mischievous glint dancing in them.
“I don’t hear music,” he said.
“Well, I was meditating— Oh. No, Sam’s out with Davide.”
Wickedly, Mateo grinned. His hands hooked on the edges of her skirt, and in one smooth motion, jerked both her skirt and her panties down. Hanna feigned outrage and moved a hand below her belly to cover herself, but Mateo laughed as he hooked his hands behind her knees, spreading her legs slowly.
“I don’t know how much longer you’re gonna be able to do this,” Hanna admitted.
“As long as you’ll allow.” Mateo took her hand away and locked their fingers together as he gave her belly another kiss just below the navel. It was shallower than it had been but hadn’t yet popped out the way that some women’s did toward the end.
Mateo, ever taking her transformation in stride, propped her hips up on the pillow and bowed down before her. Worshipfully, he set his tongue to work, and Hanna gasped. She was so sensitive down there already that the slightest touch caused her to gush, and she squirmed, already trembling from his touch.
One hand gripping her right thigh, Mateo used the other to stroke her outer lips. He eased back with his tongue, lapping against her broadly, and setting everything between her legs, and even her upper thighs, on fire. Hanna moaned, loud and long, and she could hear Mateo’s chuckle in response.
“Don’t make fun of me!”
“I’ve barely done anything yet,” he said. “You’re making it too easy on me.”
Hanna squeezed her knees together toward his head, and he held up his hand.
“I surrender.”
“Get back to work!”
And he did, lapping, stroking, rubbing, and teasing. He brought feelings from her body that she hadn’t known were there. At last, he hooked a finger inside her, rubbing in a focused spot less than an inch from her opening. The result was explosive, and her hips jerked upward as a flood of pleasure erupted from her and held her fast.
“Ah-ah-ah-ah!”
As the flood subsided, Hanna felt twitches between her legs, like little aftershocks. She sprawled back on the floor, spent and drowsy. But then, she felt his hardness entering her, and she opened her legs again, inviting him in. Mateo met her eye, looking for the go-ahead, and she smiled at how careful he was with her.
Still swollen and twitching from her orgasm, her opening was hot and tight for him. He slid in slowly, inch by inch, and she let out little gasps.
“I love you,” she murmured.
Mateo pressed one hand to the floor and placed the other on her hip. Leaning over her, he brushed his lips against hers.
“I love you, too, Hanna. You’re my world.”
He pushed into her then, moving unhurriedly at first. This leisurely lovemaking, a slow-build of passion, it grew and grew, with each thrust. The two of them panted and grunted, pleasure growing again in the way the air grows tight before an earthquake and you can sense that soon the very earth with move. Hanna held on, gripping the pillow and clenching her teeth.
She came again, clenching around him and sounding her ecstasy with staccato cries. He continued thrusting, faster now, and gripped her hip as he closed his eyes. Hanna looked up and saw the look on his face growing intense and focused.
“C’mon, baby, c’mon,” she cheered softly.
And he did. Powerfully, and at length. The two of them fell side by side on the floor, and Hanna rolled her head over to gently kiss his lips. For a moment, they said nothing. Nothing needed to be said. He was home, and he was with her, and the two of them were free to live their lives and love this little baby growing inside her with all their hearts.
As she began to doze, she was aware that Mateo had risen and slipped her skirt back on her before picking her up. He carried her into the bedroom, where he laid her on the bed and curled up behind her. He tucked his chin over her shoulder and wrapped his arm around her waist. Together, their hands intertwined over her belly, they fell deeply asleep.
Epilogue
Hanna was a bright and lively flower. Her hair, shorter than it had been when Mateo had first met her, was woven through with daisies, and their rosy-cheeked daughter Cecily sat on her hip as they walked through the palace gardens. Their summer visits here were always nice. If for no other reason than to escape the Southern heat that came with the summers in Louisiana.
Mateo crossed the field and gave them both a kiss before hugging his wife to him. In the end, they had bucked tradition, refusing to wait until after Cecily was born to get married. They’d had their ceremony in the Shreveport rose garden, to the delicate sounds of a cello and violin duo. Hanna had been a vision, eight months pregnant in her flowing pink dress (she had refused white for both her complexion and the obvious reasons). Of course, during their first visit to Artigua, his mother had insisted on a wedding there, and Hanna’s dress had been white, and she had been gorgeous then, too.
After convincing Hanna it would be better for Cecily to have the room of a house to grow up in, they had moved into one. A beautiful Victorian, minus the ghosts. Hanna had insisted that Sam and Davide take the apartment above the art house, on the condition that they keep a room for Cecily and occasionally babysit, which given Sam’s attachment to his “niece” was no trouble at all.
In Louisiana, they never lacked company or support in raising Cecily. The art house was gaining some notoriety now, with their expanded efforts to show their work and offer classes. In Artigua, the people only really knew Hanna as the sweet girl from America that had tamed their feckless prince. And it suited them fine, when they came to visit.
Hanna took his hand and headed for the palace. “Your sisters are waiting. God, I cannot believe how little I know about them. I don’t understand your family at all. How are you so disconnected?”
“You know how many women in the South are passive-aggressive? My mother is active-aggressive. Tomasina and Valaria cannot stand her.” Mateo thought for a moment about his older sisters. He hadn’t seen them in an age, and it said something, to him, at least, that they had come in force to see their niece. “Maybe they’d be willing to come visit us in Louisiana. At the apartment in New Orleans, if not Shreveport. Though, I’d sort of like them to see what we have there, too.”
“Do they have embarrassing nicknames for you? Matty?”
“My mother calls me Maté. Isn’t that good enough?”
“No, I need something to tease you with.”
Mateo wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her close. “You tease me plenty. It keeps me honest.”
As they entered the palace, Mateo watched Hanna’s eyes grow soft and amazed, as they always did. She had visited a few times now, but she was yet to get used to how lovely it was. She had commented on the architecture several times, noting how it was beautiful, but not overly opulent. Mateo never thought much about it. But he did like the murals along some of the longer hallways.
That part of himself had grown over the past two years, as well. Not quickly, and not in any kind of linear fashion, but he was slowly becoming confident enough in his work to show a few pieces. For now, he’d been content painting Cecily’s room in the house, and with Sam’s guidance on the line-work, a scene on one of the walls of their library.
All in all, though it had come in the most roundabout way, Mateo’s life had fallen into place. His art, his home, his daughter, and the love of his life. This woman who was so much of everything, so grounded and kind, so perfectly imperfect. Hanna matched him in every way and made him better than he was, and he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life with her and their equally lovely daughter.
The End
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Copyright © 2019 by Ella Brooke & Jessica Brooke
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Chapter One
Vanessa
The cold wind of a winter quickly approaching nipped at Vanessa’s cheeks. She held her son’s hand as they walked through the park, he in a green coat and hat, and she in purple. Jonah clutched the small bag of groceries with two DVDs from Redbox to his chest proudly. Smiles were hard to come by sometimes, but Vanessa couldn’t help but smile as she looked down on the sweet five-year-old trying so hard to do this one errand. When he looked up at her, dark curls escaped from his woolen hat, framing his little cherubic face.
Vanessa took a deep breath and patted Jonah’s back. Then, she froze. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a man sitting on a nearby bench. Over the years, she’d spent a lot of time thinking she’d seen James. It was New York. There were a lot of tall, dark haired men out there. Many that were handsome, even, with hawkish noses and broad, straight jawlines. She’d given up hope of ever seeing him again, though. James Agosti. God, James. Her first and last real relationship. There had been one guy, a year ago, but he had been a possessive creep, and it made her nervous to even try again. No need for Jonah to get attached to some guy who might just disappear on them.
The last night she had spent with James had been special, but it had also been one passionate handful of hours out of nearly six months of passion. She’d really never met anyone quite like him, and their attraction and been fast and powerful.
She bit her lip, thinking about how she’d arrived at his apartment that night. She had just gotten off her shift at the diner, and checked her online school account via phone, only to find that someone (who probably had her laptop in his apartment) had paid her tuition for the upcoming semester. Normally, Vanessa didn’t believe in a tit-for-tat kind of relationship, but that night she had determined a show of appreciation was in order. Even though she’d told him she would handle it, the thought of trying to pay for the next semester had been weighing on her. She’d greeted James at his door in her long coat… with a blue satin teddy underneath.
“What, no bestie here tonight?” Vanessa had teased, entering the apartment without taking her coat off.
“Lorenzo’s out. I wanted us to be alone tonight.”
His lilting accent gave her a bit of a chill. He put his hands on her shoulders and bowed his head over her. For a moment, she worried that she was being too bold, or maybe even silly. James was secure financially. Vanessa had no idea what was chump change to someone from his kind of family. She’d not met any of them yet, but it was pretty clear that James came from a wildly different background to her. Maybe to him, a couple of thousand dollars in tuition wasn’t something that demanded a great show of gratitude.
It was in this mood that she slipped off her coat and stood before him, vulnerable but determined. She met his fiery green eyes and curved her lips slightly in a soft smile.
James’s hands swooped to where her waist narrowed, and he grinned. “Aren’t I a lucky one?”
“Lucky boy,” she whispered, beckoning him closer with a finger.
Their lips came together, and immediately, they fell into their familiar positions. His hand on her back, her hands grasping the back of his neck and moving through his hair. She sighed softly as he cupped her ass. Their kisses came unhurried but sloppy and the chill up her back returned. Pressing against him, she felt his desire for her expanding with each kiss.
His hand moved down to the place where her leg met her backside and he lifted her slightly to get a better angle. Moving his mouth down her neck, he worshiped the skin there, then her breasts. She trembled in his grasp.
They didn’t make it to the bed. Those frisky hands slipped off her satin panties, and soon she was being laid back on the expansive red sofa that sprawled over his television area. He cupped one of her breasts and brushed his finger over her nipple. Her breasts, full and sensitive, responded, and both nipples sprung up. She arched her back and curled one of her legs around his, pinning him to her. She smiled when he looked up at her. James’s fingers moved down to softly massage her mound, which was throbbing in anticipation. While he worked circular magic on that sensitive spot, his thick length pressed into her, and she spread her legs wider to accommodate him. After their time together, she was used to him, but with him inside her, she still felt very full.
He buried himself inside her slowly. Inch by inch, she encouraged him with nods and soft gasps. James cupped her face before he began to rock his hips back and forth. Together they moved on the sofa, Vanessa’s moans growing louder, the faster they went.
“Yes, yes,” James encouraged her. “Come for me, baby.”
“Unnnn…”
The feeling inside her grew stronger and stronger, until pleasure was radiating from her core to almost every part of her body. She felt herself tightening around him and let out a staccato cry. He followed moments later, finishing with one final thrust of his hips and a bit of a roar.
She lay spent, her arm draped above her head, and blinked slowly. “Hmmm…”
“I’m glad you came over tonight,” he muttered, stroking her hair as he lay beside her. “I love you, Van.”
Vanessa was suddenly at her apartment. She’d gotten lost in remembering what it was like to be with James. He’d said he’d loved her. They’d spent the night curled together, talking and making love. He’d promised to meet her in the park the next evening after she’d finished her classes, but…
She’d never seen him again. And she’d waited. She’d gone to his apartment, only to be denied by his doorman. She called, leaving so many messages that his inbox was full. It had made her feel needy and pathetic. But James had just disappeared. There was no reason, no explanation. No closure.
Though, as it turned out, Vanessa wasn’t alone. Eight months later, there was Jonah.
It hadn’t been easy finishing her program, first pregnant and then with an infant, but she had done her best with what she’d had to work with. Her mother had died the year before, so all Vanessa had was a few friends and herself.
“C’mon, sweetie.” Vanessa unlocked the front door and let Jonah inside before she entered.
She got him a box of juice and set to work preparing dinner. Time to stop thinking about the past and focus on her present, here with the only man she needed in her life.
Morning always came too soon. Vanessa rolled over and hit the clock before the alarm went off. Beside her, Jonah lay like a slug. She moved him a little and slipped over the side of the bed to get ready.
There was coffee to be made, breakfast, and then getting them both dressed and out the door with everything they needed for the day. She had to get to the bakery to help her co-owner, Anisa, get the morning bread and traditional breakfast pastries ready for the day, and then drop Jonah off at kindergarten. It was a whirlwind from four to nine a.m. every day.
Then, thankfully, the employees would come in to handle the front of the house, and Vanessa could get to work on special orders and maybe plan promotions and products for upcoming holidays. It was a hectic job, but Vanessa didn’t ever doubt how lucky she was. Anisa was a clever business woman, and it was hard enough in the current economy to make a living. Vanessa had a job she enjoyed and enough to live on. If their apartment was a little too small, and she spent too much time working… Well, that was life. Sometimes she did wish for things to be easier. After all, she was doing it on her own. God knew there had been times in the year after her mother had died and the months after James had disappeared that Vanessa hadn’t been sure she could do any of this.
“And then what did the duck say?” Vanessa asked Jonah.
; “He said, umm…”
Vanessa filled her basket for dinner while she listened to Jonah talk about what had happened in kindergarten, or maybe it was at his afterschool group. It was hard to tell which one he was talking about. Either way, he seemed incredibly excited about the duck, so she responded with the proper amount of interest, getting them through the checkout and out the door as quickly as possible. When they had to get up so early, it became absolutely necessary to have dinner early and get Jonah into bed by seven.
Walking through the park, Vanessa braced herself against the memories. If she was honest with herself, Vanessa might admit that she didn’t like to go too long without thinking of James. He had made such a significant impact on her life, first good, then bad. She wouldn’t have been able to secure the life she had without James’s generosity. She wouldn’t have Jonah.
But he also caused her a lot of pain. Some day she was going to stop walking through this park.
As per usual, she and Jonah chatted as they passed the large birch trees and foliage spilling over the sidewalk. His class would be painting tomorrow, and he half-skipped along the path talking about how he was going to paint the dinosaurs he liked. (The kind with feathers.)
As they approached the bench by the large elm tree, Vanessa thought back to the day after her last night with James. After class, she had come here. It was where they had met. She remembered the minutes turning to hours as she had waited for him, remembered her annoyance turning to alarm. The night came, and the weather grew cold.
Some days she bothered to look to see if anyone was sitting there. Today, she refused. She looked at her son and ruffled his curls and asked him what his dinosaurs would be doing.
