by Susan Stoker
Piper couldn’t breathe. “You wouldn’t?”
“No,” he said immediately. “I haven’t made a secret of the fact I want more children. And I can’t think of anything better than having them with you.”
“How many more do you want?” she asked, still trying to process what he was saying.
“As many as you’ll give me.”
She blinked. “What if I said I wanted eight?” she asked with a small grin.
“Then I’d start looking for a bigger house.”
Piper shook her head. “I don’t want eight more kids,” she replied.
“I’m sorry about tonight. I meant to grab a condom from my bag on our way in here, but I got carried away. If you’re not too sore in the morning, I’d like to try that again. Maybe take my time a little more. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex, and you were just too fucking beautiful for me to be able to hold back. I’d like to taste you, explore. See what makes you writhe and what sets you off. But I need to know what you want in regards to birth control, Piper. I’ll happily wear a condom if you aren’t ready for a baby right now, on top of everything else on our plate.”
Once the thought of having a child with Ace had entered her head, she couldn’t shake it. She loved him. More than she’d ever thought possible. “You don’t have to use condoms,” she said softly.
“You want my baby?” Ace flat-out asked.
There was no hiding from him. Taking a deep breath, she nodded.
The smile that formed on his lips was beautiful, and Piper wished she could take a picture and save it forever. But then, she knew he’d smile like that again for her. Because he did it all the time.
He leaned up and kissed her on the lips. A long, slow kiss that made her wiggle a bit on top of him. Ace put a hand on her back and held her to him as his head flopped back down on the pillow. “Sleep, Piper. I’ll wake you up later and we can explore. Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered.
She tried to stay awake, to relish the fact that she and Ace were finally officially man and wife, but two orgasms and the heat from the man under her made that impossible. In minutes, she was dead to the world, secure in the knowledge she was in the arms of the man who loved her, and who she loved right back.
Their children were safe in their house, being looked after by good friends, and even as she drifted off, the possibility that another child was being formed deep inside her womb made her smile and snuggle into her man contentedly.
On the other side of town, Paul Solberg sat in his car a few houses down from Piper and Ace’s and studied it intently. Somehow, he needed to get Kalee out so they could flee the country and start a new life.
But how?
He’d been able to obtain a passport for Kalee using a picture he’d taken of her one day, when he’d followed Piper and the kids to the beach. The woman had stolen his Kalee, and he was going to get her back, one way or another.
He would rescue his baby girl soon. They’d cross into Mexico first, then make their way into South America. With her darker coloring, Kalee would blend in more down there.
Paul’s head was throbbing, and he couldn’t remember when he’d last eaten. But food didn’t matter. Kalee was the only thing that mattered.
Thinking about her dark hair made his head hurt more…something wasn’t right about that…but he pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes until his head hurt a little less.
He felt guilty. He’d promised his Kalee he’d always take the pills the doctor had prescribed for him, but he’d flushed them all down the toilet two weeks ago. Paul took a deep breath. He didn’t need the pills. He was fine without them. Just fine.
Looking back to the house, Paul knew Piper and Ace weren’t there, that they’d left his Kalee with babysitters. That was good. That meant they were lowering their guard. He just had to keep watch and, when the time was right, take his daughter back. She’d been stolen from him. Piper had stolen his daughter…and it was nearing time for her to come home.
An eye for an eye.
He was doing the right thing.
Chapter Fourteen
The next two weeks went by in a flash for Ace. He was as busy as ever, but with the change in his relationship with Piper came a relaxation that he hadn’t known he needed. Piper loved him. He loved her. All the chaos and nonstop running around that went with having three children no longer seemed quite so insurmountable.
The girls were finally getting brave and eating more than the bland food they’d wanted when they’d first gotten to the States. Little Rani had a sweet tooth to rival all sweet tooths. She’d do anything for a piece of chocolate, and Ace wasn’t ashamed to admit he’d bribed her more than once with treats.
Sinta had discovered how much she loved cereal. She would eat it morning, noon, and night, if allowed. Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, Life, Shredded Wheat, Lucky Charms…it didn’t matter what it was, she ate it up as if she’d been given a big ol’ piece of pie.
Even Kemala had done her best to try different foods. She finally discovered she liked macaroni and cheese, but wasn’t so sure about mashed potatoes yet. She adored ranch dressing, and more often than not covered everything from vegetables to pizza with the stuff.
Ace had gotten curious about Piper’s cartoons, and one night she’d caught him looking at her blog. She’d sat down and they’d spent almost two hours looking at her older cartoons. She described what she was thinking as she drew each picture. They’d laughed together, and he’d been even more amazed at her talent and ability to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.
One of his favorite drawings was of an older woman sitting in a grocery cart with her arms spread out and her head thrown back. An older man, her husband, was pushing her through the parking lot, a huge grin on his face. The joy and love she’d been able to show in that one drawing, and the fact that she’d seen the beauty in the moment, rather than shaking her head at the couple and thinking they were crazy, was part of what made him love her.
She’d also shown him the latest drawings she’d done, and he could see the impact their girls had already had on her work. Most of her new cartoons had children in them, showing the beautiful side of the innocence of youth.
But his favorite drawing of all was one she’d made for them alone. He’d had it framed, and it now hung in their bedroom, so he could see it first thing when he got up, and as he and Piper were crawling into bed at night.
She’d drawn her cartoon self, lying on top of a man in a bed, which he knew was supposed to be him. His head was turned to the side, as was hers. One of her hands was curled around his neck. He had one hand resting on the small of her back, and the other higher up between her shoulder blades. The sheet was low on her back and it was obvious they were both naked.
Piper had written the word Home under the drawing, and the first time he’d seen it, Ace had felt his throat close up.
She’d captured exactly what he felt every time she cuddled up with him at night. She was his home. No matter if they were in their bed in their house, or if they were lying in the jungle in Timor-Leste.
Their sex life was robust, albeit not very regular. They were both tired at the end of the day, and many nights, both were content to lie together talking quietly in bed before falling into a deep sleep.
But the nights they still had energy after a long day of wrangling children, were erotic and beautiful. They’d made love in the shower, standing up, and in just about every position he could think of. Piper was sensual and giving in the bedroom, just as she was aggressive and demanding. He loved every facet to her personality, and knew he’d bend over backward to give her everything she needed and wanted in their bed.
She wasn’t pregnant yet, but that didn’t worry Ace. It would happen when it happened, and if it didn’t, then they’d adopt once more. Maybe even foster a few kids. They both had a strong desire for more children, and Ace knew without a doubt it would happen one way or the other. For now, he was enjoying simply living
his hectic life with Piper by his side.
Unfortunately, he knew they had some tough times on the horizon. Things were heating up at work, and it was likely their commander would call them in for a mission at any time. They’d been reviewing likely scenarios to prepare, and if the intel coming through was verified, the team would probably be called up sooner rather than later.
Ace hated to leave Piper, but it couldn’t be helped. Both Sidney and Caite had reassured them both that they’d be available to help whenever needed, which made him feel better, but he hated knowing how hard Piper would be working when he wasn’t there to help.
With Kemala and Sinta going to class on base, and Rani going to half-day preschool closer to their house, Piper would spend a lot of time driving everyone around. She’d reassured him that she’d be fine, but Ace still worried.
But today, he was going to try not to think about missions and leaving Piper to fend for herself. Today, Gumby and Sidney were getting married. Everyone was meeting at their beach house, and Rear Admiral Creasy was going to marry them out on the sand in their backyard. They’d planned a laid-back barbeque for after the ceremony, and everyone would just hang out and relax, probably until Gumby got sick of them all and kicked them out.
Ace reached over and took Piper’s hand in his own as they drove to the beach house. Unbeknownst to Gumby or Sidney, the guys had all gotten together and decided to wear their dress whites for the ceremony. Their friends may not have wanted anything fancy, but wearing their uniform was one of the best ways they knew to show respect for their brother-in-arms.
Caite and Piper had coordinated as well and were wearing lilac-colored dresses. Sidney was planning on wearing a pretty white summer dress, and had chosen purple daisies and lilacs for her simple bouquet. After hearing that, Caite and Piper had gone shopping one afternoon and found dresses of similar colors.
Ace loved how his wife had contributed to make Sidney’s day memorable. He thought she looked beautiful in the knee-length, flowy dress. It was cut low in front and zipped all the way to her neck in the back. She’d put her blonde hair up in a twist, and he couldn’t take his eyes off her or keep his hands to himself…as usual.
Somehow she’d gotten them all out of the house on time and they’d soon arrive at the beach house.
“Can we swim?” Sinta asked from the back seat.
“Maybe,” Piper told her. “But definitely not until after the ceremony. You girls need to try your hardest to stay clean and sand-free until after pictures, okay?”
Ace chuckled under his breath. His girls were drawn to dirt. They had no problem digging in the dirt or crawling under beds and other furniture, finding every little dust bunny his cleaning service hadn’t managed to sweep up. All three were also wearing dresses. Rani had on a dark blue poofy thing that she’d fallen in love with on first sight. Sinta wore an ankle-length dress with just enough flowy material to let her spin in circles and watch it twirl around her. And Kemala was wearing a beautiful light gray sheath dress, which Ace thought made her look way too grown up.
Piper had brushed and styled their daughters’ hair, and had even let them use a bit of her lip gloss.
“Will Hannah be there?” Kemala asked.
Ace marveled at how much better his oldest daughter’s English had gotten. Yes, she was in a special ESL class, but it was still a major difference after only a month.
“Yes,” Piper told her. “Sidney said she was going to be the ring bearer…she’ll bring the ring Gumby bought for her down the aisle, toward her people.”
“What if she run away?” Sinta asked.
“Then you guys need to grab her,” Piper said with a laugh.
Sinta was also getting more proficient at speaking and understanding English. His girls were so smart, Ace couldn’t even imagine them having to stop their education after turning twelve, as they would have if they were still in Timor-Leste.
Rani still hadn’t said a word, in English or Tetum, but from everything they’d read, the professionals said that wasn’t abnormal. Her brain was absorbing everything, and when she felt ready to talk, she would. In the meantime, she managed to more than get her point across with nonverbal gestures, huge doe eyes, pouting, and the occasional grunt.
“Are you sorry we didn’t have a real wedding?” Piper asked him as they neared the house.
Ace looked over at her. “As far as I’m concerned, we did have a real wedding.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the rings that rested on her finger.
“Good answer,” Piper said. “But do you feel bad that you didn’t get to share something like this with your friends?”
“No,” Ace told her. “I truly believe things happened the way they were supposed to. If you want to throw a big-ass party, I’m perfectly okay with that, but I don’t need to put on my uniform or see you all dressed up to feel one hundred percent committed to you and our girls.”
Piper smiled at him. “I just don’t want you to regret anything.”
“The only thing I’ll regret is you feeling as if you missed out,” he told her.
She shook her head. “I’m good. Honestly, I hadn’t thought much about a wedding because I wasn’t sure I’d ever get married. It’s hard to meet someone when you sit inside your apartment all day.”
“I love you,” Ace told her as he parked on the street near Gumby’s house.
“And I love you,” Piper returned.
“You ready?”
“Absolutely. Let’s do this.”
Ace kissed the palm of her hand once more, then they got out of the Denali and opened both back doors to gather their kids and head inside.
“That went well, don’t you think?” Caite asked Piper many hours later. They were sitting on the back porch watching the guys play with the kids. They’d changed out of their uniforms and dresses and had spent a bit of time playing in the water. Now they were throwing a beach ball back and forth. Hannah had performed perfectly in the ceremony, and Piper knew she’d never forget this day as long as she lived.
Gumby and Sidney had disappeared an hour ago. He’d taken his bride off to a hotel for the night, telling them to stay as long as they wanted at the house. Caite and Rocco were planning on spending the night there to look after Hannah, and when the girls seemed as if they were getting tired, Piper and Ace would take them home. But for now they were having a wonderful time with no signs of slowing down.
The sun was beginning to set and it was getting late, but Piper didn’t have the heart to tell the girls they had to go. Deciding giving her children fantastic memories that would hopefully last them a lifetime was more important than getting them to bed, she settled back in her chair and watched everyone playing on the beach and reflected on the day.
Sidney and Gumby had made a stunning couple, and their vows were heartfelt and beautiful. The ceremony itself was quick and to the point; in fact, the pictures took longer to get through than the actual wedding ceremony. In the middle of the ceremony, Ace had taken her right hand in his, and as his thumb caressed the cheap ring he’d gotten in Timor-Leste—that she hadn’t been willing to take off—she knew he was remembering their wedding day as clearly as she was.
The most surprising part of the ceremony was after it was over—Rocco had gotten down on one knee and proposed to Caite.
All the women had cried and, from beginning to end, it had literally been a perfect day. Piper loved seeing all her friends so happy and the men relaxed.
The rear admiral and his wife had left thirty minutes ago, and Piper had been pleasantly surprised at how much she’d liked them. She’d been intimidated by his rank, but after hearing how Brenae Creasy and Caite had been held hostage in their apartment complex, and seeing how open and friendly the older woman was, she’d quickly lost her nervousness around them.
“It was perfect,” Piper told Caite, answering her earlier question. “Your ring is beautiful.”
Caite held up her left hand and admired the ring her man had put there earlie
r. “It is, isn’t it?”
Piper nodded. “That solitaire seems exactly right for you. It’s very traditional.”
“I love it,” Caite said. “I was afraid he’d end up getting something huge that would look weird on my finger.”
Piper chuckled. “I know the feeling. What is it with our men and their need to make sure every guy within a ten-mile radius knows we’re taken?”
Caite laughed right along with her. “I have no idea, but I have to admit that I don’t really mind.”
“Me either. Was your mom excited?” Piper asked.
“I thought she was going to have a heart attack right there on the phone,” Caite said. “I mean, I know they already knew Blake was going to ask me, since he sneakily flew out to meet with my dad and ask for my hand, but still.”
“He did? Holy crap!”
“I know. It’s so old fashioned but the gesture was still really sweet. My mom told me that he promised to always keep me safe and happy,” Caite said with a small smile.
“That’s so awesome,” Piper told her. “Do you know when you’re going to have the ceremony?”
Caite rolled her eyes. “Not you too. I want to enjoy actually being a fiancée for a hot minute before everyone starts in on the freaking ceremony. To answer your question, no, we don’t, but I’m thinking now that I want something like Sidney had today. Low key. Relaxed. I’m too old to want to have the twenty bridesmaids and spend a ton of money. I’d rather save and spend it on a new house or something.”
“I don’t blame you,” Piper said. “But please tell me you’ll have the guys wear their uniforms. I swear to God, I don’t think they could’ve looked any hotter today.”
“Right?” Caite said. “Good Lord. With their beards and all those medals on their chests, it was all I could do not to drool.”
