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“That’s it. Breathe.” Nurse Lani said, once the contraction was over. But I was already heaving in deep gasps of air.
Too soon, contractions hit in fresh waves of pain. I leaned forward, gripping the guardrails of the bed with the hand that wasn’t holding Jax like he was the only thing in the world that could ground me, as I gathered every bit of my strength and pushed.
“You’re okay, you got this,” Jax murmured into my ear. The voice of my lover sounded as confident as ever, though right now he looked pale.
“The head’s almost out, one more big push ought to do it.” The doctor said, sitting at the end of my bed, hunched down like a catcher in a baseball game.
As the next contraction hit, my world narrowed to the downward force, as something primal took over. With everything in me—every bit of strength and power—from a well of ferocity that went bone deep. All of me was tensing, straining, shoving against that wave of burning pressure.
Until it suddenly loosened, like everything down there went numb as all that pressure slid straight out of me.
I was so out of it. Lying there on the hospital bed, still trying to catch my breath, when Nurse Lani placed a baby on my chest.
Looking down at the wrinkled face in a daze. Whose baby is—oh. Oh!
That was my little one. He was here.
Tiny fingers balled up to his face, with Jax’s nose and cheekbones—miniaturized and squashed into the form of a grumpy little man.
Just arrived in the world, my son looked like I’d disturbed his rest and inconvenienced him by giving birth to him. His little eyes were getting heavy, like all he wanted was to take his first nap.
He was perfect.
THIRTY-ONE
JAX
Liam, my firstborn, was finally settling down. He’d managed to projectile vomit all over the carpet. Twice.
That was my tough little guy.
I’d scrubbed the carpet, scraping the fibers over and over until it stopped smelling like cheese. In the other room, Delila soothed the little man. She sang to him, rocking him in her arms until finally—finally—he settled down to sleep.
Delila would take some time watching him. Making sure that he was really down for the count before sneaking out of his room. That gave me a few minutes to get ready.
I pulled the restraints out from where I’d buried them in the depths of my closet, hooking them to the bolts under the bed, before hiding them strategically under the comforter. With my father gone, there was no need to store them in the closet anymore—I could leave them attached to our bed, until once again they helped me get the job done.
My task finished, I stood in the hallway outside the nursery, waiting.
Delila snuck out of the room like she was breaking out of a prison. The doorknob turned almost comically slowly, and she backed out of the room at a snail’s pace, watching Liam the whole time… as if he could notice the lack of eye contact and would bolt awake.
My gorgeous woman.
Throughout the whole pregnancy, she’d been glowing. Her tits were plumper now, after the baby. I couldn’t wait to get my turn, to feel the silk of her skin and the heft of her full breasts.
She was so focused on closing the door slowly, Delila didn’t even notice me until I’d grabbed her, lifting her into my arms bridal style.
She squeaked like a startled mouse and whisper-shouted my name as I carried her to our bed.
I couldn’t help it—I kissed her. Softly at first, but my kisses soon turned hungry. I’d been good, following the doctor’s orders to the letter, holding back. Focused on helping Delila raise our son, I hadn’t touched her, giving her all the time she needed to heal.
It had been so long; I was starving for her. By the way that Delila melted into the kiss, I could tell that she had been missing this too.
Crashing onto the bed with her, I deepened the kiss, feeling the slick heat of her hot little mouth. The press of soft lips. The puffs of warm air as she gasped.
Settling my weight over her, I distracted Delila with kisses as I took her hand in mine, squeezing it gently, before I closed the soft bondage around her wrist. Without breaking the kiss and giving Delila a moment to realize what I was doing, I moved to the other wrist, binding it.
There.
