Until the End (Sea Breeze #9)(84)

“Just because I’m pregnant doesn’t mean we have to hurry up and get married. Two months isn’t that long to wait.”

He shook his head as if that was the incorrect answer. “I want a wedding band on your finger. I want your last name to be mine. I want to be able to say ‘Have you met my wife, Sienna?’” he said, looking exasperated.

“So I’m to be your trophy wife?” I teased because of his last comment.

He smirked. “Come on, babe. Marry me. Let’s not wait.”

When the most beautiful, perfect man in the world, who you loved more than life, asked you to hurry up and marry him, it was hard to say no. Especially when he was only wearing a pair of sweatpants.

“Two weeks,” I said, trying to sound firm.

He groaned. “Two weeks? That’s forever.”

Laughing because he sounded just like Micah right then, I slipped my arms around his waist. “Next week is a big week because we go to the doctor. I need time to adjust to the pregnancy and plan at the same time. I don’t want anything extreme, but even a little wedding takes some time.”

He sighed, then finally nodded. “Fine. Two weeks. But two weeks from today, you will be Mrs. Sienna Falco.”

“Agreed.”

One week and six days later . . .

I watched as Dewayne walked Micah over to his parents’. The little blue rolling suitcase that Mama T had given him was trailing behind them. He was staying with them for the next week. Tomorrow afternoon Dewayne and I would pledge forever together at a small, simple beach wedding. Then, for our honeymoon, we were going somewhere—but I didn’t know where because Dewayne wouldn’t tell me.

If Micah didn’t love Tabby and Dave so much, I wouldn’t have been able to leave him that long. But he’d be so taken care of and spoiled while we were away, I knew everything would be fine. Tonight Dewayne wanted it to be just us. If he didn’t get to see me tomorrow until the wedding, then he wanted to spend the night before with me. Alone.

Smiling to myself, I went to the bedroom and slipped out of the clothes I had worn to work today and turned on the faucet to fill up the bath. I needed to be clean. I felt yucky from working all day. Before Dewayne ran his wonderful mouth over me everywhere, I needed a bath.

Once the water was warm enough, I slipped inside and sank down. With a sigh I closed my eyes and laid my head back. Soaking in the tub was one of my favorite things to do.

The front door opened and closed. He was back. I would need to make this bath quick because, even with Micah there, he had been frisky this evening. His hands had kept slipping under my shirt while I cooked dinner.

I felt his presence the moment he filled up the doorway. Opening my eyes, I turned my head to look over at him. “I needed to get clean,” I told him.

He smirked. “I’ll take you clean or dirty, babe. In fact, I like you dirty.”

Laughing, I reached up with my toes and turned off the water. Dewayne walked over to the tub and picked up the washcloth lying beside me, then picked up my body wash. “But bathing you has its advantages too,” he said as he dipped the cloth into the water and ran it up my thigh while his eyes roamed over my body. “I’m looking forward to seeing that flat stomach get nice and round,” he said as he brushed the cloth over it.

Enjoying his touch, I closed my eyes and let him play all he wanted. His breath was on my face just before his lips touched mine. He licked my bottom lip, then nibbled on it before trailing kisses across my jawbone and down my neck. “Smell good when you’re dirty,” he whispered. “But I’ll make you smell better.”

Shivering, I waited for the cloth to touch my body again. But what I felt instead was better. Dewayne had soaped up both his hands and used them to wash my body thoroughly.

This man wrecked me with things like this. He never made me question if he loved me. He never made me wonder if this was forever. With every look and every touch, Dewayne Falco proved to me that I was it for him. That our story was going to be full of happiness and love. Our house would be full of laughter as we raised our children together. Then one day, when we were old and gray, we would sit on the front porch swing, holding hands and talking about all the memories we had made.

Cage And Eva from While It Lasts and Sometimes It Lasts

Cage

Today was my baby girl’s third birthday. I blinked and she had gone from being a tiny little bundle in pink to wearing tutus and tiaras—literally, and daily. Like all the time. Even when she went to preschool. They had just learned to accept the fact that Bliss was wearing what she wanted.

For a while she had looked a lot like me, but that was fading. Every day she grew to look more and more like her mother. Which only stressed me out. I couldn’t imagine dealing with this when she became a teenager. I now understood why Eva’s dad had wanted her to have nothing to do with me. I’d have locked Bliss up in her room and thrown away the key if someone like me had shown up sniffing around her.

Chuckling, I reached over and tucked my beautiful wife closer to my chest. She wasn’t awake yet. I was trying my damndest to let her sleep late since she had a birthday party to pull off today. I had tried to tell her we didn’t have to invite every friend we had and feed them all. But she had told me I was wrong.

I accepted her correction. Besides, it was my baby girl’s birthday, and she loved having everyone here giving her attention. She was three going on thirty. She talked like she was grown, and poor Eli Hardy was one of her loyal subjects. She bossed that boy around, and he just took it. His dad would chuckle and say Eli knew a pretty girl when he saw one.