Emily looked at me, narrowing her eyes as she assessed the view.
"I dunno," She hummed warily. "I think I'd miss the stubble grazing against my inner thigh."
"Dirty girl." I said with a snigger. "So that's a no then?"
"It's up to you. I guess there are advantages, like this."
She pulled the hair at the end of my chin, tugging me forward to kiss her. Her hand smoothed over the barely-there beard that she said made me look like an old man. I felt like an old man, after trekking through the jungle for hours this morning, I was tired and ready for a long afternoon nap.
But I wasn't the only one who was tired, Emily was sleeping a lot of late, her body was tired and heavy. As our kiss ended, she looked up at me and I could see the lethargy.
"Lay down Em."
"I can't. Too much to do, somebody needs to get ready for this afternoon."
"I'll be fine."
She smiled wryly at me and I grinned, shrugging.
"Can't blame a man for trying. Especially when he's feeling rather neglected."
"Oh you poor thing."
Emily sat on the lounge, sprawled out and sighing rather heavily. She was always gorgeous but of late, she was incredible. In fact, one might say that she was glowing. That little mound protruded from her body, four months into the second pregnancy. The first one? Oh, he was at my feet, munching on his teething ring.
Sixteen years had passed for us before Nate arrived, a year old and already we were having another one. I was a little shocked when Emily said that she'd taken a test out of curiosity because it wasn't common to have another child so quickly after the first one. But one little test confirmed that my beloved wife was indeed pregnant again, maybe her body was making up for lost time.
I picked Nate up off the floor, he was an amazing child. He was a placid baby, the worst of his moods was right before dinner and bed and for the rest of his time awake, he was happy.
"And what do you think?"
Nate looked at me and grinned, one little tooth had emerged from his gums.
"You like it, don't you?"
He continued to much on the little blue ring, his bright red eyes watching me.
"Of course you do. And what about your birthday present? Did you play with it while daddy was off chasing the monkeys?"
"No, he played with the box."
I sat on the lounge beside Emily, Nate stood and planted a slobbery kiss on her cheek.
"Thanks baby boy."
As my hand smoothed over the large swell, I could feel someone pushing her limbs out. Like with Nate, Emily's pregnancies were easy. Even though she would spend her mornings of the first few weeks with her head in the toilet bowl, she still looked radiant.
The sound of blipping drew closer, I turned to see Emilio walking towards the front door. Long and lanky, Emilio was the spitting image of our father aside from the greasy mop of hair that hung in his eyes and ripped jeans and the band shirt.
I'd become a mixture of the two of them whereas Cara and Delaney were very much our mother. And even though it was painful to watch the family grow again, there was in fact another dude in the brood. Flynn was five now and I was grateful that Emily and I had been able to clock a few years before he arrived, we were in a stronger place and it helped us cope.
In Emilio's hands was the permanent attachment, a handheld game device. Briefly he looked up, flicking the strands of black fringe out of his eyes with a swing of his head.
"Hey, mom said to get up there soon. People are starting to arrive."
Then he turned without another word, his head lowering back to his game.
"And hello to you too." I muttered and turned to Emily. "Is Nate going to be like that?"
"Probably. Now go and get ready, you stink jungle monkey man."
I stood with Nate in my arms, helping Emily off the lounge. That mound was proving troublesome when it came to soft furnishings. She waddled up the stairs ahead of me, muttering something under her breath.
Putting Nate into his playpen, I put a few toys in to keep him occupied.
"Into the shower with you, woman."
"We don't have time for that Bran."
"I wasn't suggesting that, I was going to give you an awesome massage on your sore back but if you don't want my help." I shrugged, pretending that I was miffed.
Emily chuckled as she walked into the bathroom, stripping clothes off as she moved. I liked the sight of her pregnant and naked, she was gorgeous. As I stripped off, Emily looked down at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Thought it was just a massage."
I grinned at her and turned on the water.
"It is, an internal massage."
"As much as I don't want to say no, we really don't have time for it. Emilio said the guests are arriving."
"He probably means Nick and Rowan are there which is normal anyway."
Warm water cascaded over her full form, I soaped my hands with the thrill of anticipation burning through me. Emily rolled her eyes with a grin as both of my hands landed on her breasts.
"You do know that there are other parts to my body that need cleaning, right?"
"Are there? I hadn't noticed. Okay, you're clean, get on the bed."
"Bran." She chided me with a laugh.
I leaned forward and kissed her gently, my hand moving over her stomach.
"How about, my beautiful wife, you are as clean as you are ever going to be considering that you only had a shower a few hours ago so how about we migrate to the bed for a quick and fulfilling session of love?"
"Well that's much nicer."
She stepped out of the shower, leaving me to quickly clean the morning's efforts off my body. Turning the water off, I wrapped a towel around my waist and ventured out to the bedroom. Glancing through the doors, I saw that Nate was on his side, facing the wall that had him distracted. He munched on his ring and gurgled a conversation to the shadow on the wall.
Laying behind Emily, I teased her legs apart with an unspoken offer of pleasure. As we kissed my fingers turned the skin, circling within the folds. Her brows knitted together as the pleasure rose fast, I loved how responsive she was. We'd lived our sixteen years together against walls, in showers, on various pieces of furniture and to my sinful delight, in public.
Moaning with the pleasure that surged through her, her body shivered and a wicked smile crossed her face. Amused by it, I kissed the edge of her shoulder and pushed into her. Not waiting for her pleasure to die off, I wanted to keep it going, to make it a mind melting orgasm that would keep her in a happy mood all afternoon.
Why was that? Wasn't it enough that our baby was having his first birthday and we were going to the castle to celebrate with family and friends? Well it was but the problem was with the friend part. The Delacroix's were coming, as in all of them. We'd not seen much of Chloe over the past sixteen years. From what Luca had said, she was happy and living her life with the guy from the bank.
My father had said that he had checked her mind and that everything was stable and there was no chance of any of the memories returning but still, Emily worried. I worried. But there was nothing that I could do other than hoping my father was right.
Emily moaned again, dragging me out of my thoughts of Chloe. I was a fool for it and shouldn't be thinking of anyone other than my wife. Her love was all that I wanted and needed and as it tightened with her own resurgence of pleasure, I joined her and ended our quick love.
She smiled at me as I leaned down to kiss her softly. In his room, Nate was still gurgling with a few happy shrieks. Time was running out so rather than laying in the bliss of the moment, we dressed quickly, got Nate ready and hurried to the castle. Well, hurried wasn't the right word to use. One of us fast wobbled and the other walked slowly.
The castle had changed over the years. As Cara and Delaney grew up, their needs changed and they wanted for a little independence. Cara was always going to be fiercely independent and at eighteen she got herself a place with the belief that she was going to move there permanently. It had lasted about a week before she reappeared at the castle, missing her family and desperate for company. So the not so fiercely independent woman backed off for a few years, spending time between both places.
As for Delaney, well she was always going to be daddy's little girl. She had moved to the next floor up, commanding a broader space that allowed for her own version of independence that wasn't too far from those she loved.
The second we walked through the door, everyone knew we were there. That was because of the little man in my arms, babbling rather loudly. Then he wanted down, the eager walker was still uneasy on his feet but always determined and stubborn like his mother.
Setting him to the ground, I held his hands as he walked towards his grandmother. My mother was still struggling with the concept that she was a grandmother and that her baby was a father now but she adored Nate, smothering him with kisses and raspberries on his cheeks. Which naturally made him happy and giggled until she stopped.
"Hello birthday boy." My mother cooed, scooping him up into her arms.
She looked at me and offered a dubious smile.
"You look like a woolly mammoth."
"It's neatly trimmed. Good grief." I grumbled.
Emily chuckled as she waddled into the sitting room, greeting everyone and basking in the glow of their attention.
"So?"
My mother shrugged as she looked into the room.
"Your father said everything is fine. I don't know what you're worried about Brannon."
"It's not me, it's for Em. I don't want her faced with that."
She offered a sympathetic smile as she rubbed my arm.
"You worry too much, just smile and enjoy the day. It's not every day your first born turns one. Wait until he's eighteen and off roaming the world, getting drunk with his mates. Then you'll know what being worried is all about."
I scoffed, as if I was ever in any danger.
"Then he'll come home one day and tell you he's in love with an angel and you'll realise he's not your baby anymore. But it's okay Bran, he'll never be far away. Before you know it, he'll be on your doorstep asking what to do when there's smoke pouring out of the oven."
Not my finest moment.
We looked into the room, Emily was seated on the lounge with Luca pressing his head to her stomach. He was adamant that he could hear things which of course he could, it was Emily's stomach growling because she was always hungry when she was pregnant.
"Life goes on Brannon and you will be fine so long as you put on a smile and be happy. You two are strong, you've spent these years creating a relationship that is built on trust and love. Your life is amazing and even if the unthinkable happens, life will still carry on regardless. But it won't, you need to trust your father."
I nodded and followed her into the party. Chloe had made her way to the other side of Emily, cooing over how much she'd grown since the last time she'd seen her. That was at my birthday, Emily was only just showing. I looked at the tense face as she glanced up at me, offering a smile it seemed to settle her.
Chloe smiled at me as I approached, Luca had already moved away.
"Hey Bran." She said as she stood.
"Hey Chloe, thanks for coming."
"Anytime, he's just so cute, who could refuse that smile? Do you think he'll like his presents?"
"He's one, he finds a shadow on the wall interesting."
Those bright green eyes looked at me with hope.
"But yeah, he probably will."
That made her happier, she smiled brightly and moved out of my way. As I sat down beside Emily, I could feel her warm and reassuring caress over my back. Turning to face her, I watched the limb press against the stomach wall and smiled. The sounds of people talking, Nate's babbles and our friendly, flaming pooch's horde bounding through the entry, all things that made me happy. But the woman in front of me, she made me the happiest of all.
I battled against heaven to love this woman and if I had to do it again then there wouldn't be a thing that I'd change. Those moments of darkness had made us stronger, brought us together and created a bond that would never break. I might have wished that certain things didn't happen but I knew that they happened for a reason.
Emily smiled at me, toying with the edge of my shirt.
"What's going through that mind Bran?"
"Just thinking how much I love and adore you."
I leaned over, kissing her and ignoring the grossed out teenager sitting near us.
"Smooth," She offered, the smile widened. "I love you too, now bring that mammoth pelt back and give mamma some more sugar."
Always ready to give her my love, I leaned in and kissed her again. I'd happily spend an eternity giving them to her so long as she stopped picking on my beard.
"It's manly," I whispered against her lips. "The strong and virile man, dashing and debonair."
"That resembles the floor mat in the bathroom."
I scoffed, rolling my eyes as I leaned back from her.
"I think I saw lice."
"Is that even possible?"
She shrugged playfully with a cheeky smile.
"Oh my lovely wife, whatever am I going to do with you?"
The smile broadened and I chuckled.
"Yeah, that's later."
"Well for now you can tell me again how much you love me."
"With everything that I have, always and forever."