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Her consciousness floods through me, pleasure-drugged and blissful, filling me up until there is not a single empty space left in any part of my being. Everything I am, everything I’ll ever be—she’ll be right there with me.
Forever mine.
EPILOGUE
MILK & COOKIES
Christmas Eve - 1 year later
Snow falls like powder perfect little puffs of cotton, covering our balcony and Mattenburg beyond in a blanket of white.
From up here, the city looks almost serene—like a picture-perfect postcard—no sight of street grime or sounds of angry car horns disturbing my peaceful vigil. No matter how many times I come out here, I’ll never get tired of this view.
My son makes a little squeaking sound, alerting me that he’s waking up.
“Hello, baby,” I coo, shifting my attention from the city to his wool-clad little head barely poking up from the protective shelter of my winter coat. “Did you have a good nap?”
Jake squeaks again, drawing a gentle smile from me as I carefully hug him closer to my chest where he’s been napping in his sling for the past two hours. Before he was born, I was frequently overwhelmed with anxiety that I wouldn’t know how to be a mom, or that I’d regret having him. Adam always soothed my fears, promising me I’d make the best mother and that he would be there every step of the way, shielding and supporting me.
He kept his promise. Jake is three months old, and there hasn’t been a day where Adam hasn’t been fawning all over both of us, elbow-deep in his duties as a father and husband. I’m pretty sure no one at McCain Enterprises would believe their own eyes if they saw the fearsome CEO wrangling poopy diapers while cooing and coddling like a mother hen, but that’s a sight I’m treated to on a daily basis.
I stroke a finger over my son’s cheek and smile wider when he looks up at me with his dark, serious eyes. He looks so much like his father already, and barring while I was in labor, I haven’t regretted him for so much as a second. I love this little man so much his dad occasionally gets jealous. Not that he ever tells me—but I feel the small stab in our bond when I’ve been entirely focused on the baby for too long.
Speaking of our bond…
I turn toward the glass door leading back into the penthouse. Adam is crossing the living room, his focus solely on me.
I light up in a smile, the warmth in my chest spreading outward at the sight of him.
Our bond flutters in response to my smile, a wave of affection reaching me from his end of it as he opens the door and joins me on the balcony.
“It’s cold. You should be inside,” he says, immediately wrapping an arm around me so he can pull both me and Jake into his chest. That’s where he prefers to keep us both—safe and protected. If he could get away with it, I think he’d insist we both live in his protective embrace. Alphas are gonna alpha, as Noelle says.
“Well, hello to you too, Mr. Bossypants,” I greet him with a teasing smile. “Welcome home. How was work?”
Adam’s eyes soften at my greeting. “Welcome home?” he echoes in a murmur, nudging my chin up with the crook of his knuckle. “Oh, darling—you don’t know how every part of me lights up when you say that. To know you’re my home… you and the little one. I hate the days I have to leave you to go to the office, but getting to come home to you is the greatest gift of my life.”
“You’re wrong. I know exactly how you light up,” I say softly. “I feel you in our bond. Your love ismygreatest gift.” I peer down at Jake. “Well, you and the munchkin.”
Adam kisses the top of my head and touches the pad of his index finger to Jake’s chin. Our son immediately latches onto it, then promptly begins to fuss at the size and lack of milk.
“He’s hungry,” Adam rumbles. “It’s time to feed, Mama.”
“He’s not,” I say with an eyeroll. “Trust me, when he’s hungry, he wails like a siren and my breasts transform me into a dairy cow. He’s just a spoiled little piglet who wants to comfort-nurse.”
“Nevertheless, let’s get you two back inside and out of this cold.”
Without waiting for my compliance, Adam uses his arm around my shoulders to guide me back into the penthouse. Once inside, he helps me out of my winter coat and boots, then grabs Jake from the sling and cradle him in one arm so he can better herd me onto the sofa.
“I was thinking… since we’re having people over tomorrow, we could watch your beloved Christmas movies tonight instead?” he asks as he pulls soft blankets and pillows down around me before handing me back the baby. “Just the three of us—celebrating our one-year anniversary.”
“The one-year anniversary of what—Jake’s conception, or his daddy’s debut as a midnight burglar?” I tease.
Adam raises an eyebrow. “Careful with the sass, Mrs. McCain, oryourdaddy will have to remind you what happens to bad girls, hmm?”
“All right, all right, I’ll behave,” I grin, cuddling deeper into the pile of blankets. “Thank you for remembering how much I love Christmas movies. I can’t wait to see everyone tomorrow, but a night with my two favorite guys and some cozy holiday flicks sound like the perfect Christmas Eve to me.”
Adam gives me a look as if to suggest he quite liked how we spent last year’s too, and my abdomen tightens traitorously. However, before the smolder in my alpha’s eyes can ignite, Jake decides it’s time for dinner. An ear-splitting baby-yowl makes both of us cringe, all amorous intentions withering to dust.
