Of course, I need to issue a few warnings:
Contains Spoilers
Sexual content makes this NSFW and is intended for persons 18 and older
Chapter One
Sebastian...
“Fuck,” The caramel sauce I was
stirring on the stove boiled, popped and exploded all over the front of my
apron.
“Language, Sebastian,” my mother
said when she entered the kitchen. “Did
you not follow the recipe I gave you?”
She walked over to me and gave me a playful nudge aside. “Good God, is
this supposed to be the caramel sauce for the cheesecake?” She removed the pot
with the offensive substance from the stove and set it inside my sink.
“Yes.”
“We’ll just have to try it
again. This time make sure you don’t
turn the heat up so high. Making caramel from scratch takes patience, which
isn’t your virtue.” Many would say I have no virtues at all. “If I know you,
you were plotting corporate takeovers and strategizing on how quickly you can
get your husband upstairs once I take Hank for the night.
“Maybe.” She knew me so well. I looked into Mercedes King’s smiling, hazel
eyes that were a slightly darker shade than mine. The journey to reconciliation
was a long and painful one, but every day I’m thankful that my mom is back in
my life. Dr. Katherine worked with us individually and together so that we
could reach this point in our lives. Dr. Katherine made me see that my mom was
my father’s victim, also.
In a joint session, my mom told me
how she had planned to take my siblings, Lilyana and Wesley, and leave my
father to come find me. She told me she hid every penny she could spare for an
emergency fund, but my dad found it hidden in her closet. He convinced her that
a judge would give him custody of my younger brother and sister, because she
had no way of supporting them. She already suspected that Wesley was gay and
she wouldn’t risk leaving him with my dad. I asked her why she didn’t seek me
out after the hateful bastard dropped dead of a stroke several years back. Her
answer was the turning point in our reconciliation.
“Too
much time had passed by then and you’d already become a huge success. I didn’t want you to think I only wanted you
back in our lives because of your money, and I didn’t think I deserved your
forgiveness. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I deserve it now.”
Her answer was honest and sincere
and I knew at that moment I had to forgive her so she could forgive
herself. She was still the woman who
nursed me through illnesses and encouraged me to dream and explore. She gave me
complete, unconditional love up until that horrible night in the Hamptons. If I
was honest with myself, I would allow myself to recall the anguish in her voice
when she pleaded with my father before he struck her nearly unconscious. Yes,
my mother was also his victim and it was past time we stopped letting him
control our lives, which he was still doing from the grave.
“Love, stop and live in the moment,
because this moment is all that we have. It’s great that you want to focus on
the moments you will have alone with Adam tonight, but let’s first make sure
you don’t send him to the ER with a case of food poisoning.” As she was talking, the oven time went off.
“The pot roast,” I said nervously. I
pulled open the oven door and a delicious aroma wafted out. “Jesus, this
actually looks good,” I said, grabbing for pot holders. I pulled the pan out of
the oven and placed it on top of the stove.
“It looks delicious. I’m very proud
of you and I know Adam will love his romantic dinner for two. What time are
Adam and Hank supposed to get home?”
“He took Hank to Toddler Tumbler
class that ended at five.” I looked down
at my watch and noticed the time. He was due home any minute and I didn’t have
the table set. Fuck!
“Language!”
“I didn’t say anything,” I said
defensively.
“You were thinking it!”
“Honey, I’m home.” Adam’s sexy voice, which still gave me goose bumps,
echoed throughout the first story of our home.
“Sebastian?”
“Daddy,” Hank called out in his
sweet voice that I loved so much.
“I’m in the kitchen with Grammy.”
“Grammmmy,” Hank yelled as he
launched himself into my mother’s arms.
“I’m staying all night at your house.”
“I know, my darling, and I can’t
wait to have you allllll to myself.” My
mom aimed that remark in my direction.
Okay, so I had a hard time letting Hank stay overnight places. It was
something I needed to work on for all of our sakes. Adam and I could use more
alone time together and Hank needed time with his grandparents.
“Hi, baby,” Adam said as he entered
the kitchen behind Hank. “Mercedes, you didn’t have to cook us dinner before
you took Hank with you. We could have
gone out or ordered pizza.”
“I didn’t make this gorgeous pot
roast, handsome boy. Sebastian made it for you.”
“You
made this dinner? Baby, you can’t
boil water.”
“My mom gave me her recipe and
walked me through it.” I walked over and pulled my husband into my arms and
gave him a quick kiss on his lips. “This
was my favorite childhood dinner and I wanted to surprise you for Valentine’s
Day.”
“Aw, that is so sweet of you, but
totally unnecessary. You know how I feel about those made-up, card company
holidays.” Adam hated Valentine’s Day and Sweetest Day with a passion. “You do
wonderful and amazing things for me every day.”
“You deserve so much more.”
“Well, I can see that you no longer
need my help tonight, so I’ll just take the Hankster and head home. You’ll call
me if there are any updates on Operation Baby Watch.”
“You’ll be the first to know,
Mercedes,” Adam told her. My mom stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“Natasha swears it’s going to be any day now.”
Natasha, our surrogate, was pregnant
a second time and not due until the end of the month. Adam and I went with her
to her weekly checkup yesterday and our doctor felt like the delivery might be
sooner. Natasha said the pressure was really intense and felt like it would be
any day now.
“I guess it’s really hard to know
for sure. We had quite a few false alarms with the Hankster,” I answered,
grinning at the memories.
“Well this is her second pregnancy
and she will have a better understanding of what is going on with her body,” my
mom told us. “Are you suspicious of that sweet woman’s motives for this
pregnancy, too, Adam?”
Adam was a freaking basket case
during Hank’s pregnancy. He was
convinced that Natasha, who is Jazmyn’s cousin and someone we’d known for
years, was setting us up so she could run off with my genius offspring. He
couldn’t make up his mind if she was going to extort millions of dollars or
just keep him for herself. Adam didn’t
start out that crazy, but he saw some horrible cable movie about a similar
situation and projected it onto us.
“What
exactly is in this for her, Sebastian?”
He paced the floor in front of my desk. “She doesn’t want any monetary
compensation beyond us paying for her medical expenses. Doesn’t that make you
suspect? ‘I want to know what it feels like to have a child grow inside me, but
I have no desire to be an actual mother.’ I’m not sure I believe her and I
think Travers should assign a team to keep an eye on her,” he’d said.
Adam turned bright red with
embarrassment. “I’m much calmer this time around.” I raised an eyebrow at him.
“At least about that.”
“I wish you guys had found out if
you are having boys or girls this time. I would have loved to buy pink or blue
clothes, maybe even both!”
“Two babies,” Hank piped in. “Two
sissers or two bruvers.”
“You could also have one sister and
one brother,” I told our adorable son.
He scrunched his face in concentration. He easily understood that
Natasha was having two babies, but having one of each gender stumped him for
some reasons.
“Tasha said I did backfwips and
pwayed kickbaw with her bwadder when I was in her tummy,” Hank said proudly.
“That you did, Sport.”
We welcomed Natasha into our lives
so she could watch the life she helped create grow and flourish. In fact, it
was at Hank’s second birthday party that Natasha asked if we were ready to do
it again. Adam and I had discussed it and we were ready to have another child.
It turned out that we were going to have two more children.
“Hank, are you ready to go to
Grammy’s and stay the night?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes.” He squirmed out of her arms and ran out of
the kitchen and into the living room. He
returned to the kitchen dragging his backpack behind him. “Ready, Grammy.”
“Aren’t you going to kiss us
goodbye, Sport,” I asked him. He dropped
his backpack and launched himself at me.
I squatted down and picked him up, loving the way he wrapped his arms
tightly around my neck.
“Bye, Daddy. Love you.”
“I love you, baby.” I kissed his cheeks several times and handed
him to Adam.
“Love you, big guy. Give me
kisses.” Hank kissed Adam several times
on the cheek.
“Love you, Dad. See you amorrow.” My
mom gave us both hugs and kisses before leaving with Hank, who was skipping
beside her and talking a mile a minute.
“I still can’t believe we’re having
twins,” Adam said. “It took longer with this second pregnancy and I began to
worry that there was something wrong with my sperm. I mean, your swimmers hit a homerun on their
first trip to the plate. Mine struck out. Twice.”
“Third time is a charm, I guess. I
never had any doubts and neither did the doctor.” I backed him up against the kitchen island
and pressed my body against his. “My swimmers produced a single, not a home
run. Your sexy lil guys hit a double.”
We had the night to ourselves, and as excited as I was about the babies,
I didn’t want to talk about them just then. I tipped Adam’s head back, exposing
his throat. “I have a very sexy night planned for us.” I kissed and nibbled his neck, loving the
feel of his pulse beating wildly for me beneath his skin.
“Yeah?”
“Mmm hmm. We are going to eat dinner
and then I’m taking you upstairs for a sexy surprise. Are you hungry enough to
eat dinner now or do I put the roast back in the oven to keep it warm?”
“Sebastian, we have the house to
ourselves for the first time in months. What I hunger for is a night of dirty,
sweaty sex where we don’t have to worry about our kid hearing us down the hall.
I want to moan and yell at the top of my lungs, then claw and bite you while
you fuck me stupid.”
My dick perked up, more than willing
to give Adam whatever he needed from me. Things have been tamer since we became
fathers, which is pretty typical. We still enjoyed a lot of sex, sometimes more
than once a day, but it was quicker and quieter than what we preferred. Lately,
I’ve been craving that wild and physical sex he just described. I grabbed his
hand and we practically sprinted to our suite, so eager to be alone together.
“Oh my God. Sebastian,” Adam said
when opened our door. He stood just inside the doorway and looked around the
room. Vanilla and lavender scented candles were set on every hard surface, the
glow and the aroma setting a romantic atmosphere. A trail of pink, red and
white rose petals led a path to our bed. In the center of the bed sat a silver
tray with gourmet chocolates, berries with creamy dipping sauce, an ice bucket
with a bottle of champagne, and two flutes. “It’s so beautiful.”
“It’s not too cheesy?”
He turned to me and threw his arms
around me. “It’s absolutely perfect and I love it.”
“I love you, Adam.”
“Would it kill the moment if I asked
you to fuck me now?” His green eyes were lit up with mischief and lust.
“Oh baby,” he said and started to
get undressed. “It’s been a while since you’ve tied me up.”
“Wait,” I said firmly. Adam stopped
suddenly and looked at me curiously. “I want you to tie me up and fuck
me.”
Chapter Two
Nothing would have surprised me more
than what he said. There was nothing that frightened him more than being bound
and vulnerable, except for losing me or Hank. Being tied down and fucked is
something he hasn’t allowed since…
“Adam, look at me.” I snapped my eyes away from the silky ropes
and look into his eyes. I didn’t see any
fear or hesitation in his eyes, only complete trust. “I need this for my healing to be complete. I
have faced every one of my demons, except for this last one. Will you help me?”
“Of course, I will.” I was so fucking scared, though. What if I did or said the wrong thing and I
caused him more harm than good? Was this
really something I should be doing for him? “I will do this for you if you are
certain it’s what you want.”
“Need.”
“Okay, need.”
“One condition,” he stated
solemnly. “I don’t…I can’t be
blindfolded,” he said after I nodded for him to continue. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Whatever you need, baby. You’ll
have to guide me, because I don’t know what I’m doing here. I know nothing about bondage or even tying
knots, really.” I reached out and
lightly stroked my hand over the cord of red, silky threads. My breathing and
heart rate kicked up a notch in anticipation over an image of Sebastian tied
down and spread wide for me. “Where do we start?”
“How about we start by taking off
our clothes,” Sebastian replied with a devilish smile. He placed his hands on
the bottom of my sweater and slowly lifted it over my head and tossed it
aside. His eyes immediately went to the
tattoo I wore for him over my heart. His
fingers traced the words Only You and
our wedding date that was inked below. “This is still my favorite gift I’ve
ever received.”
“It’s true, Sebastian. I’m yours and
only yours.” We removed one another’s
clothes in between soft kisses and lingering touches. “Now what?” He handed me
the silky cords.
Sebastian removed the silver tray of
goodies from our bed and placed it on our dresser. He climbed into the center
of our bed, laid on his back, and then raised his arms above his head. “Come closer,” he said huskily. By now my
heart was racing and I had to remind myself to breathe. I walked on unsteady
legs to the side of our bed. “Closer still.” I climbed on the bed and kneeled
beside him. Sebastian demonstrated the proper knot tying technique. My hands shook so bad it took me several
tries before I got it right. Sebastian placed a calming hand on my bare thigh.
“It’s alright, baby. Take your time.”
I secured one of his bound arms to
the bed post, but stopped to assess him before I bound his other arm. “You
still with me, love?” He nodded and smiled
at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Are you ready?” Again he only nodded. I secured his other arm
before I lost my courage. I kneeled back beside him and looked at his
face. His eyes were squeezed shut, his
lips trembled, and I could see his throat working to swallow down his fear. “Eyes on me, Sebastian.” I’m not sure where I
got the insight to take firm command, but I was grateful that I did when his
eyes opened and met mine. I saw panic and fear in his beautiful hazel eyes. “Stay
with me, baby. I will never, ever hurt you.”
“Adam, kiss me. Please make it go
away.” He was the strongest man I’ve ever known and to see him scared hurt me
just as bad as getting stabbed in the heart. He needed me to be strong for him
and replace those horrible memories with good ones. He was trusting me to help
him heal and I wasn’t going to let him down.
I eased my body on top of his and
Sebastian spread his legs to make room for me. “You are the most amazing man
and I love you so much.” I pressed my lips softly against his, then I kissed
his nose and eyelids before returning to his lips. I made love to his mouth,
slowly and completely before moving lower. I nipped that strong, stubborn chin
and kissed a path down his neck, knowing that is such an erogenous zone for
him. I could feel the tension fading slightly as my lips worshiped his flesh.
“Adam.” He cried softly when I
sucked his tender skin between my lips just how he liked.
I kept my hands on his body,
lovingly caressing him as I kissed my way down his chest and abdomen. I felt
his muscles bunch when I stuck my tongue inside his navel. I glanced up at him
and saw that lust was winning out over fear, so I continued downward until I
was laying between his legs with my nose resting against pubis. This is where
his scent was the strongest and I loved to breathe him deep into my lungs.
Sebastian’s natural scent was better than anything you could buy in a bottle.
Normally by this point, he’d have
his hands tangled in my hair urging me to suck his cock, but not this time. I
missed his hands in my hair, but I did like having control over how I worshiped
him. I kept my eyes on his the entire time I nibbled a path to his erection. I
skimmed my tongue across his hard flesh and continued to nibble the other side
of his pubis until I reached his hip bone.
“Adam,” he pleaded.
I grinned wickedly when I placed my
tongue at the base of his cock and slowly licked upwards until I reached the
crown. I swirled my tongue around the tip, capturing the clear drop of pre-cum
on my tongue. “I love the taste of you on my tongue, Sebastian.” His only response was a groan. The look in
his eyes promised retribution and I couldn’t wait for his special brand of
punishment.
Sebastian’s dick twitched and jumped
beneath my lips when I kissed my way back down his cock. “Fuck,” he yelled when I sucked one of his
smooth, firm balls into my mouth. I’ve learned over the years just how much he
loves it when I suck on his balls and perineum.
“God, you do that so well.”
“Thank you.”
“More, Adam.” He moved his hips in
an attempt to get me where he wanted me.
“Hmm mmm.” I took my time licking
and sucking the other firm globe before moving beneath to his perineum. I
placed my hands firmly on Sebastian’s hips, pinning him to the bed. I
scrutinized him closely to see if I had pushed him too far, but all I saw
staring back at me was raw need. The power and control he gave me went straight
to my dick, urging me to mount him and claim him, but that wasn’t what he
needed from me.
I stroked his steel-hard length,
using his pre-cum as lubricant, while I licked, sucked, and nibbled Sebastian’s
perineum. It always drove him wild and I pressed my free hand hard against his
pelvis to hold him still.
“Adam,” he growled.
“Relax, baby, because I’m just
getting started on loving you.” I’ve topped Sebastian many times, but even then
he was always in control. I wanted…needed for this to be about more than sex,
or even healing old wounds. I needed
Sebastian to know that he doesn’t always have to be in control, can’t possibly
always be the one in control. There were
still times that he retreated inside himself when he felt his control slipping
away and it’s not healthy. “I promise to make you feel so good.”
I decided to take a little pity on
him and suck his hard length into my mouth. He tried to drive his dick further
in my mouth, so I placed my forearms against his thighs and held him down. I maintained
eye contact with him and sucked him into my throat, swallowing around his
dripping head. I watched as he yanked on his arm restraints and thrashed his
head from side to side. Those sexy moans coming from his sweet lips were from
intense pleasure, not distress.
“Please.” Sebastian never begged and
I almost gave in. Almost.
I continued my sensual torture of
long, slow licks followed by sucking him into my throat. I kept changing the
tempo from fast and hard to soft and slow, keeping him on the edge. I loved
every sound he made, the way his excitement burst onto my tongue, and the way
his eyes lost their focus from the sexual high I was giving him. He was ready
to come, he was one more lick or deep pull of my mouth away, so I pulled back.
“Adam,” My name was growled between
those sexy lips. His eyes were on fire for me and his body trembled with need.
I left him long enough to get the
lubricant out of the bedside table then I crawled up and laid on top of his
splayed body, loving the feel of skin on skin contact. Of all the small
sacrifices we made when we became parents, sleeping in the nude was the one I
missed the most. My emotions were too strong for words, so I showed Sebastian
how I was feeling with my kiss. Every breath I took was mingled with his, every
sigh and moan was given right back to me. The lust and need we were feeling was
so tangible I could taste it.
I made quick work of lubricating my
dick, but took my sweet time opening Sebastian to receive me. I teased him with
one finger before adding a second, and then gently crooked them up to hit that
sweet spot. I felt sweat popping out all over my body as I stretched his tight,
hot channel and tested both of our patience. When I knew neither of us could
stand it any longer, I placed the head of my dick at his tight entrance.
“Adam.” He looked unsure and I had
to be certain he was okay before I would take this any further. “I need you.” I
had my answer.
“You were my first, Sebastian, and
you will forever be my only.” My emotions bubbled over and I felt tears sliding
down my cheeks as I slowly entered his body. “I need you and want you more and
more every day.” I held myself deep
inside him, allowing his body to adjust. “I am so proud to be your husband.” I
lowered my forehead until it rested against his and began to slowly rock my
hips. Sebastian wrapped his long, muscular legs around me and dug his heels in
my ass.
“God, you feel so good, Adam.”
Our gazes held as I lazily made love
to my husband. Every nerve ending in my body came alive, threatening to short
circuit my brain from the pleasure. Needing a closer connection, I placed my
hands over his bound ones and laced our fingers together. I’d rather have his
arms wrapped around me, but that isn’t what he asked me to do for him. Sebastian
moved his legs from my hips to my waist, raising his ass in the air a little to
change the angle of my penetration.
“More,” he pleaded with me.
“Harder.” He raised his hips to meet my downward thrusts, urging me to unleash
myself on him. I loved to fuck him wildly, but not tonight.
“Not, yet.”
Sebastian raised his head off his
pillow and bit my bottom lip hard. “Fuck me, Adam.”
I wouldn’t let him goad me. I kissed
his face, nibbled his ear, and whispered dirty words into his ear. I kept my pace
slow and torturous, loving the feel of his tight ass squeezing every hard inch
of my dick. My body shook with the need to drive into him over and over,
chasing my orgasm, but I paid no heed.
“You are shaking all over,
baby. You want to fuck me so hard, don’t
you? I can feel it vibrating through your body. Fuck me, Adam. Own me.” And
then the hunter became the prey, or so he thought. I reminded myself that I was in control tonight. I set the pace
and was solely responsible for both of our pleasure. It was an intoxicating
feeling to be given this much power over his pleasure.
I pulled back until just the head of
my dick remained inside him. I hit him with a diabolical smile right before I
slammed into him as hard as I could. His back arched off the bed and his arms
pulled at his restraints. He yelled my name so loud it echoed throughout our
bedroom. “You can be as loud as you want tonight, lover,” I reminded him. The
evil grin remained on my face as I pulled my hips back one slow inch at a time.
“Evil,” Sebastian said. “You can’t
keep me tied to this bed forever.”
“Hmmm. We’ll see,” I replied right before
I pounded into him, nailing his happy button perfectly.
“Fuck, Adam.”
I nailed that spot several more
times, fast and hard, before I switched back to a gentle pace. My orgasm was
right there, simmering below the surface and waiting to explode through me. I
didn’t want to come without him, though. I untangled my hands from Sebastian’s,
braced myself above him with one hand and began to jack his cock with the
other. Sebastian’s eyes rolled back in his head. He was so excited and wet that
I didn’t need to add any lubricant to aid me.
“Go hard, Adam.” He raised his knees
up until they were almost touching his chest.
I looked between our bodies and watched my cock glide in and out of his
ass. “Do you like what you see, baby? Are you going to fill me up?”
“Damn you, Sebastian.” I snapped my
hips hard against his ass, nearly out of my mind with the need to come so bad.
“So close, Adam. Don’t stop.” I powered into him, giving
Sebastian what he wanted. His toes curled and he arched his head back into his
pillow. “Adam.” Sebastian’s ass tightened
almost painfully around my cock, signaling he was coming just seconds before
his hot release splashed all over my hand and his stomach. His orgasm was so intense that his mouth
opened, but no sound came out. I watched the orgasm convulse through him and
then I untied his hands.
“I want your hands on me when I lose
myself inside you, Sebastian.” He
wrapped his arms around me and held tight while I fucked him furiously.
“That’s it, babe. Come for me.”
And I did. It felt like someone placed a live wire
against my sac, shooting electricity though my body as I exploded into a billion
pieces. I felt like I would have floated away if not for Sebastian’s strong
arms anchoring me to him. “That was…”
“Amazing, Adam. You are so sexy when
you’re in charge.”
I had collapsed against him like a
weak kitten after my orgasm finally faded. “I probably looked like I was being
electrocuted, because it felt like someone hit my balls with stun gun.”
“It was beautiful.” Sebastian
stroked his hands up and down my back in a soothing manner. I was on the verge
of falling asleep when a sound penetrated my foggy brain.
“Holy fuck,” I said and rose above
him.
“It was pretty inspirational, babe,
but I’m not sure I’d call it a holy fuck.”
I pulled my dick slowly out of Sebastian, careful not to hurt him. The sound got louder and louder, just as I
programmed it. “Is that the theme song from Mission
Impossible? Where the hell is it
coming from?”
I untangled myself from my confused
husband and hopped off my bed. Too bad,
I was still love drunk from the feel of Sebastian’s tight ass. I tripped over
my feet and face-planted on the floor.
“Adam?” Sebastian’s voice held concern for me, but
mostly he wanted to laugh his ass off at my clumsiness.
My jeans were in reach, so I fished
my cellphone out of my pocket and answered it before it could go to voice
mail. “Natasha,” I panted into the
phone, “is it time?”
Chapter Three
Sebastian…
“Her water broke,” Adam said to me
and quickly turned back to Natasha. “Are you having any contractions?” He jumped up off the floor and started to
pick up his clothes.
My heart was pounding in my chest as
I started to put my clothes back on. Witnessing the birth of my child was the
most exciting, but nerve-wracking experience.
I felt so scared and helpless when Hank was born. We coached and
supported Natasha the best we could, but it was terrible to see her in so much
pain and not being able to help in any way.
“We’re on our way, sweetie,” Adam
said soothingly before hanging up the phone. “The babies are coming. The babies
are coming,” he said to me. I had hoped that Adam would be calmer this time
around, but nope. He had that panicked,
unfocused look in his eyes just like the first time.
“Babe, we’ve been through this with
Hank. Take a few cleansing breaths and
then we can get ready to leave. I will
call Hanson and have him get the car ready to take us to the hospital. You grab the baby bag and we’ll be all set.”
“Fuck, I haven’t packed the bag,
yet. I’m a shitty father.”
I pulled Adam tight against my chest
and wrapped my arms around him. This man, who has always been the voice of
reason, totally loses it during childbirth.
The nurse actually hooked him up to the oxygen mask that was situated
above Natasha’s bed in case she needed it. Adam hyperventilated so badly that
his face became numb and his hands began to tingle. The patient nurse kindly
set him in the chair and hooked the mask to his face. She talked him through his near panic attack and
got him to calm down.
“You are an amazing father who is
raising one child, while trying to redecorate the nursery for two new babies
and give Hank a wonderful big brother room.”
I kissed him softly and then pulled back. “The babies don’t need you to
pack much, babe. Just put a few things together for them and I will call our
folks and send a joint text to our friends.
Okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” He looked slightly calmer.
We quickly got dressed then went our
separate ways to complete our tasks. I
got done first and Adam still wasn’t downstairs. I went up to the nursery to
find him. I hadn’t been inside the
nursery for a few weeks and was stunned to find how much Adam was able to
accomplish in that timespan, then it occurred to me that I was seeing a whole
lot of pink in the room.
“Why is our nursery pink?” Adam gasped and spun around from the dresser
where he was placing tiny pink outfits in brown and pink striped diaper bag.
“We’re having little girls?” My heart
squeezed in my chest and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. Wait, how did he
know?
“One of the nurses let it slip
during one of the office visits,” he said, reading my mind. “It was when you
were in Japan last month. The nurse
referred to them as girls after looking in Natasha’s chart.”
“You didn’t tell me?” Ouch, that hurt.
“Baby, you said you didn’t want to
know. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise
for you.” He looked around the obviously
feminine space. “Okay, so I gambled you
wouldn’t come in here until they were born.”
He came to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Please don’t be mad at me for not telling
you. I thought it was what you
wanted.” He was right, I didn’t want to
know their gender until they were born. “It wasn’t deliberate and I’d never
willing hurt your feelings.”
“Ssh.” I kissed his lips to quiet him. “I’m not mad
at you. I’m just surprised.” I swatted
him on his ass. “Let’s get going, babe.”
I helped Adam finish packing the bag, my heart swelling up with every
tiny, pink item I touched until I feared it would explode. “Ambrosia and
Abigail,” I said their names out loud. “We’ll be bringing home two little girls
in just a few days.”
“It’s amazing, right?” He nearly blinded me with his megawatt smile.
“Ready?” He reached out and took my hand and we calmly made our way to the
parking garage where Hanson was waiting for us. “I’m not going to spaz this
time,” Adam said with a sweet smile.
“Yes you will, but I find it
completely adorable.”
We rode in silence to the hospital,
holding hands and silently praying for an easy labor for Natasha and the safe
arrival of Ambrosia and Abigail. I could see Adam’s demeanor change the second
we walked through the hospital’s automatic doors. Natasha had sent me a text to
let me know the room number and we headed straight to labor and delivery.
“Natasha, how are you feeling,” Adam
said as he burst through the door, startling Natasha and her nurse. “Have your
contractions started, yet? Are you in
pain?”
“You must be Adam,” the nurse said
with an ornery smile on her face. “I’ve
already been warned about you.” She
holds two fingers up to her eyes and then points them at Adam. “I’ll have my eye on you.”
“Yes ma’am,” Adam said sweetly. He calmly walked to the side of Natasha’s
bed. She was hooked up to the fetal monitor and we could hear Ambrosia and
Abigail’s hearts beating steadily. “Music to my ears,” Adam said to Natasha.
“Seriously, are you feeling okay?”
“You’re so sweet,” she told Adam,
ruffling his hair. “You,” she said to me, “might have to get tough and use your
badass CEO voice when it comes time to push.”
“I’m on it.” I crossed my heart, which made her smile. “Is
there anything we can do for you?”
“Not really,” she said
shrugging. “My water broke, but labor
hasn’t started, yet. The nurse did a
quick exam and said I’m only at two centimeters. I think these girls are going to be more stubborn
than Hank.” She slapped her hands over
her mouth as soon as she realize what she let slip. Her bulging eyes reminded
me of a cartoon character. “Oops,” came her muffled cry behind her hand.
“He knows,” Adam said and patted her
on the leg. “He came into the nursery
and saw the pink explosion.” He grinned
sheepishly.
“It looks beautiful,” I told him and
kissed his temple. “You did an amazing job.”
“I forgot to introduce myself to you
gents earlier,” said the nurse as she returned to the room. “My name is Marcy and I will be your labor
and delivery nurse.” She turned to
Natasha and said, “I’ve spoken with Dr. Halpin and updated him. He said he would like to wait a little bit to
see if you progress into labor on your own, and if not, we will start inducing
labor. For now, I think it’s really important that you get some rest.” She looks back at us and smiles kindly. “I know you are both so excited about the
birth of your babies, but right now Natasha needs to turn down the lights and
rest as long as she can.”
I could tell that Adam didn’t like
that idea one bit, but I thought Marcy was right. Natasha was going to need her
strength for that final phase of labor.
She wasn’t in any pain just then and there wasn’t anything Adam or I
could do for her, unless she wanted us to stay and keep her company.
“I’ll be fine,” she told us. “I’m going to turn down the lights and just
rest while I can. Marcy will come get you if something changes, won’t you?”
“Absolutely,” she assured us.
“Come on, love,” I said to
Adam. I wrapped my arm around his elbow
and guided him from the room. “Everything will be fine. Let’s go watch some crappy television and
drink motor oil disguised as coffee.”
Adam wrapped his arm around my waist and we walked to the L&D family
waiting room, where we found our mothers already waiting.
“Hank is with Edward and Lilyana,”
Adam’s mother, Beatrice, said when she saw us.
“He’s in very good hands.”
“Thanks for being here,” I said to
my mom. No matter how many years passed without her in my life, no matter how
bitter I was toward her once, I couldn’t imagine going through this without her
support. This woman used to read me the most amazing bed time stories of
adventure and exploration when I was a child, and it’s because of her that I
went on to develop software and technology.
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else, my
beautiful boy.” She reached up and
stroked my hair off my forehead like she used to when I was a little boy.
“I can’t wait for you and Bea to
meet Ambrosia and Abigail,” I said casually.
“What?”
“Girls?”
“When did you find out?”
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell
us!”
They both talked on top of each
other, making it impossible to answer them. Adam interjected and explained to
them what had happened and why he kept it to himself, which seemed to appease
them a little.
“What’s with all the squealing and
carrying on,” said a voice from behind me. “Are the babies here already?” I
turned and found my brother, Wesley, standing behind me. “Did I miss it?” It
was fucking scary how much he looked like me. It was like I was looking at a
younger version of myself.
I crooked my arm around his neck and
pulled him in for a quick hug. “Nah, the party is just getting started.”
“Cool.”
Wesley had missed Hank’s birth,
because he was out of state attending graduate school. Things were really strained
between us at that time and he probably wouldn’t have showed up if he had been
in town. I always thought that being thrown out of a family was the worst thing
that could happen to a child, but looking at what Wesley endured made me
re-evaluate my feelings. Wesley grew up in a house where his oldest brother was
discarded like yesterday’s trash due to his sexuality. He had to listen to my
father rage about my immoral lifestyle and my certain path to hell, all the
while knowing that he was gay, also.
When our family reconnected, he was
resentful and belligerent towards me. He’d already started to self-medicate
himself with drugs and alcohol and my reappearance only made things worse. He’d
started having run-ins with the law that led to a few arrests. His careless
ways nearly killed him when he overdosed at a party two years ago. His
so-called friends did nothing to help him, choosing to step over his prone body
and continue on with their night. My family is thankful every day that Becca
Mason showed up when she did. If not for her, I never would’ve gotten to
rediscover my wonderful kid brother. Becca and Wes formed a tightly bound
friendship, similar to the one Adam shares with Caroline.
“They just learned that they’re
getting two granddaughters and they’re a little excited.”
“Girls? That’s so awesome.”
“Ambrosia and Abigail after their
great grandmothers,” Adam added. He gave
Wes a tight hug. “I’m glad you came, but
you realize it’s going to be a very long night, right?”
Truer words were never spoken.
Natasha’s labor was induced and things were moving along at a fair pace and
then suddenly came to a halt. She was in extreme pain, not even the epidural
helped. Thankfully, Natasha and the girls’ vitals stayed strong throughout the
ordeal. Dr. Halpin did an exam and then brought in the ultrasound equipment.
“Well, it looks like we are going to
have to deliver by C-section,” he informed us. “The girls are not positioning
themselves for delivery. It looks like they’re both trying to come out first.”
“Oh great, they’re already fighting
and they’re not even born, yet,” Adam said. He was trying to cover up his fear
with jokes. I hugged him tightly and
told him everything would be okay.
While Natasha was being prepped for
surgery, Adam and I let our families know what was going on. When we got back
to Natasha’s room, Adam and I had to put on scrubs, booties, and hairnets so we
could be with her when the babies were born. We had planned to do the
skin-to-skin bonding like we did with Hank, but that might have to wait a
little while.
Adam and I took our positions by
Natasha’s head, sitting on either side of her bed. We both held her hands to
offer her comfort when her lips started to tremble and tears slid down her
face. God, I hated feeling helpless.
“It’s going to be okay,” I told her
soothingly. “You’re going to be just fine and so will the little ladies.”
“I know” she said in a tearful
voice. “It’s just that…I think I want to keep one of the girls after all this
trouble and now a scar.”
“What?” Adam’s eyes were bulging out of his head. He
turned white as a ghost and I feared he might faint from shock. It’s not that I
wasn’t scared too, but…
“I mean, you already have the
Hankster and it’s kind of greedy of you to want both of the girls.” I saw her lips twitch into an impish smile.
“You can’t be serious,” Adam
demanded. He looked at me. “What did I
tell you, Sebastian?”
At this point, Natasha burst into
laughter. “Gotcha,” she said to
Adam.” She laughed hysterically for
several seconds while Adam finally registered that she was winding him up. “Oh
my God,” she said between laughs, “you should…you should see your face.”
“Hardy har har,” Adam replied
snappily. “That was not funny, brat.” He
looked at me then. “Did you tell her I was a freak during Hank’s pregnancy?”
“No,” Natasha interjected before I
could answer, “he didn’t have to. You
kept watching me like I was going to snatch the baby and run. Oh Adam, you’re a
trip.” She giggled again and then gasped
loudly. “Oh my.”
“You’re going to feel a lot of
pressure,” Dr. Halpin told her.
“Yeah, no fucking kidding,” she
snapped at him. The good-natured doctor only chuckled.
“Here comes baby girl number one,”
he said. We couldn’t see anything around that curtain thing they set up over
Natasha’s belly. Seconds later we heard the faint sound of our daughter’s cry.
“Ambrosia,” Adam said. Tears were
running down his face.
“Ten finger, ten toes, and a head
full of dark hair,” Marcy said. My hands twitched with the need to hold our
daughter, but I knew they had to examine her.
“And, baby girl number two,” the
doctor said, which was followed by another soft cry.
“Abigail,” I said, knowing I was
crying just as hard as Adam.
“Ten fingers, ten toes, and another
head of dark hair,” said the other nurse who was assisting.
It felt like eternity before the
nurses placed a pink bundle in each of our arms. We held the babies up for
Natasha to see. We cooed and fussed over their hair, their toes, and their tiny
little fingers. I was so in love with our daughters and I knew I was seriously
screwed now. It was hard enough to say no to Adam and Hank, but I had a feeling
these two beauties would have me wrapped around their fingers in no time at
all, especially if they end up with their daddy’s green eyes.
I looked over at my husband, who sat
staring down at his little miracle and kissing her tiny fist. He looked up at
me and gave me the smile that made everything better. There were no more dark
days and cold, lonely nights. Instead, my world was filled with laughter,
happiness, and a love so pure it never failed to amaze me. I had no more
bitterness in my heart, only joy and love for my family and friends. Moments like these with Adam restored my
faith and gave me hope.
“Thank you, Adam.” He knew I meant
more than just our beautiful daughters.
“Excuse me,” Marcy said. “I’m sorry
to intrude at such a beautiful moment, but your mothers are creating quite a
ruckus out in the waiting room. We’re having a hard time holding them back. We
better get those babies to the nursery so they can visit before the grandmas
come looking for them.”
Natasha, who had drifted to sleep,
woke up when the nurse spoke. She started laughing softly. “You think I should tell them I want to keep
one of the babies?”
“No,” Adam and I said in unison.
“You guys come with me,” Marcy
said. “We’ll wheel the babies over to
the nursery in their bassinettes.”
We reluctantly placed our babies in
the plastic bassinettes and then returned to Natasha’s side. Adam and I kissed
Natasha on her forehead and thanked her repeatedly for helping to make our
dreams come true again. She was so tired
she could barely keep her eyes open. We promised to bring the girls to her
hospital room for a visit after she had a chance to rest.
Adam and I each pushed a bassinette
down the hallway behind Marcy. Once we got inside the nursery, we could hear
the grandmas sobbing and carrying on through the glass. I looked up and saw
that almost everyone we love was present to share this moment with us. We
picked up our daughters and carried them over to the window so they could get a
better look.
Caroline and Jaz smiled and gave us
thumbs up. Wesley grinned from ear to ear when he saw his tiny nieces. Lilyana
was holding our beautiful Hank, who was clapping his little hands. Edward had
his arms around Bea and they looked at their newest grandbabies with tears of
love running down their faces. Finally, I looked into my mom’s eyes and saw
such radiant joy. She blew me a kiss as tears streamed down her lovely face.
“We are so lucky,” I told my husband.
“Yes we are, babe. Yes we are.”
The End
XOXO
Aimee
