by Sarah Bailey
I put my hand to my mouth as tears welled in my eyes. It’d finally happened. All the paperwork had duly been filed and now I had the irrefutable documentation showing who I really was. I jumped up out of Quinn’s lap and did a little victory dance, not caring about four sets of amused and confused eyes on me.
“This, my amazing, wonderful and incredibly sexy boyfriends, is the best possible news in the world,” I practically sang as I carefully placed the letters on the table.
I levelled my gaze with each one of them, smiling from ear to ear.
“Allow me to introduce to you to your new and improved girlfriend… Ashleigh Bykov.”
“What? The paperwork came through?” Xav asked, eyebrows shooting up.
I nodded, pressing my hands to my heart as I couldn’t contain my excitement.
“And I got my updated birth certificate too. I can’t wait to tell Dad, he’s going to be so happy.”
It might not seem much to anyone else but letting go of my Russo heritage meant everything to me. It closed the door on that chapter of my life completely.
Xav jumped up and enveloped me in a hug.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, angel.”
“Thank you for everything you did to help me with this, tesoro. It means the world to me.”
He’d been the one to research how to do it all, go through the proper legal channels and helped me fill out the paperwork.
“You know I’d do anything for you. You own my fucking heart.”
We heard a cough from beside us.
“And that fool does too, but don’t tell him, he’ll get all smug and shit about it.”
I snorted and pulled away in time to see Eric rolling his eyes. Xav glanced over at him with a grin.
“Aww, man, you know I fucking well love you, you big idiot.”
“You’re the only idiot here,” Eric muttered, but he was smiling too.
He got up and hugged me too, nuzzling my hair with his nose.
“I can’t wait to tame you, Miss Bykov,” he whispered and I squirmed in his arms.
There’d be plenty of taming from him. I was well and truly under his spell, intoxicated by the wildly sensual man underneath his gentlemanly exterior.
“I’d like to see you try.”
He grabbed a handful of my behind, pressing me harder against him.
“Brave words, hellcat, brave fucking words.”
I kissed his cheek before pulling away, giving him a wink.
My eyes fell on Rory who smiled at me before letting out a grunt as I jumped into his lap, straddling his thighs. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I stared down into his hazel eyes as he tipped his head up me. His hands gripped my hips in a possessive hold which only made me wriggle in his lap, something I’m not so sure he appreciated judging by the way his eyes darkened.
“Are you happy?”
I nodded, biting down on my lip.
“I can see it in your eyes, you’re shining so brightly, little star, I’m in awe.”
My heart tightened so hard, I thought I might die a thousand times over. The intense feeling of joy coursed through my veins, spreading like wildfire.
“Ror…”
He smiled and I swear to god I’d never seen such happiness and peace radiating from him before.
“I’m yours, forever,” he whispered. “You own my heart.”
I held back from outright crying over his words and settled for kissing him instead. A gentle, tender kiss which demonstrated the depth of our affection for each other.
He let me go when I pulled away and I found Quinn standing and staring down at me with those stunning dark eyes of his.
“This calls for a celebration, little girl.”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“What kind of celebration?”
His eyes filled with heat and my skin prickled.
“The kind involving stripping you down and pleasuring you until you’re screaming our names.”
Then I found myself hoisted up and flipped over his shoulder. He turned and started towards the patio doors. He paused at them, looking back over his other shoulder.
“Coming boys?”
I raised my head to find the three of them looking particularly eager as Quinn carried me through into the conservatory. Then I realised what Quinn intended.
“Wait! All four of you again?”
Quinn slapped my arse and I yelped.
“You’re damn fucking right all four of us, little girl. You belong to us and we’re going to make sure you know it.”
I smiled all the way up to my bedroom. I might belong to them, but they belonged to me too. We were permanent. Our quintet was imperfectly perfect. We were it for each other. I loved them and they loved me. And that was all I could ever want in this world.
The five of us as one.
Forever.
Epilogue
Eight years later
The front door slammed and I stepped out of the kitchen in time to see Aurora rushing towards me, dragging Eric along behind her.
“Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!”
She let go of Eric’s hand and slammed into my legs, wrapping her small arms around me. I grinned and stroked her dark hair.
“Hello, sweetie, how was your first day at school?”
My beautiful girl had turned five over the summer and started full time at school today. Aurora was Quinn’s daughter and a cheeky little madam, which he constantly said she’d got from me. She’d inherited her temper from him. It caused no end of drama in our household. Especially since she was the only other female and liked to boss her brothers around. We’d name her Aurora as a tribute to Rory and his love of the night’s sky as he and Quinn were like brothers to each other.
“I had so much fun, Mummy. I met this girl called Colleen and she’s the same age as me and has blonde hair like you. She’s really pretty, Mummy. I want to be her friend.”
I smiled at Eric who’d picked her up from school.
“She sounds lovely. I’m sure she’d be happy to be your friend. Now, Mummy has to finish up in the kitchen so why don’t you go find the boys, okay? I think they’re in the playroom with Xav.”
Aurora pulled away and pouted, crossing her arms over her chest and stomping her foot.
“I want to see Daddy!”
She was talking about Quinn.
“You know Daddy is busy, sweetie. You can tell him all about your first day later, I promise. Now, please go see the boys as Grandpa and Grandma will be here soon.”
Her arms fell and her eyes lit up.
“YAY! Grandpa and Gran-Gran.”
Then she rushed off towards the playroom.
“How was she really?” I asked, stepping up to Eric who leant down and kissed me.
“Just fine, beautiful. Her teacher said she’s sure Rora will fit right in. You know how she outgoing she is.”
“More like boisterous.”
He chuckled.
“And here I thought you wanted a girl.”
I trudged back into the kitchen with him on my heels.
“You know, I’d rather it’d been with you, then she might have had an even temper.”
He snorted and rubbed my back, glancing over at Rory who held our baby boy in his arm and was reading a comic at the counter.
“You not helping our girl prepare Viktor’s birthday dinner?”
Rory stuck his finger up at Eric and stroked our son’s head. Cole had been born six months ago. He had a tuff of dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes like his daddy. Rory doted on him, surprisingly the most hands-on dad out of the four of them. To be honest, I needed all the help I could get with a baby boy, two toddlers and a boisterous daughter running around the house all day. I was glad Aurora had started school now.
“You can help me instead.”
“Your wish is my command, hellcat.”
I shoved him and rolled my eyes, getting back to the stove where I’d
left the curry simmering. We were having quite the feast tonight. Four different types of curry, homemade naans and rice along with salads and a huge chocolate birthday cake for dessert. Since it was Viktor’s fiftieth birthday, I’d wanted to go all out for him.
“Raphi, get back here, you cheeky little monkey,” Xav’s voice echoed down the hallway.
My little boy with chestnut hair and green eyes ran into the kitchen and charged around the counter, giggling away to himself. Xav followed in afterwards, looking particularly aggrieved. Eric was quick to grab his son by his collar and pick him up. Raphael had come along two years ago and looked like a mini version of his father.
“Jesus Christ, your son is ridiculously fast,” Xav complained, as he leant against the kitchen island. “He’s wearing me out.”
“As if anyone could wear you out,” Eric retorted give Xav a soft smile.
Those two were still as in love as ever. We’d never been anything but open with the kids about our rather unorthodox relationship. We knew it might be an issue when they started going to school and met other kids. We had explained it to Aurora’s headteacher so they could deal with any problems that could potentially arise. Knowing my little girl, she’d likely tell any kids who gave her shit for it where to go.
“Daddy, is I in twuble?” Raphael asked, putting his hands on Eric’s cheeks.
“No, Raphi, you’re not, but you have to stop running away from Xav, okay? He’s just trying to look after you.”
“NO! Give it back!” came Duke’s voice from behind us.
He was backing into the room with Aurora, a toy between them as they wrestled for control of it. This was a usual occurrence between brother and sister so hardly surprised me.
“Daddy, Rora won’t give it back!” he screeched.
Xav rolled his eyes and walked over to the two struggling children, taking the toy off both of them.
“If you two can’t play nice, neither of you gets it.”
“But Xav! I wanted it first!” Aurora said, stamping her foot.
“Aurora, you know you need to play nicely with your brothers,” I called to her as I stirred one of the pots of curry bubbling away on the stove.
“But Mummy—”
“No buts. Do you want me to tell Daddy you haven’t been behaving?”
Her dark eyes widened.
“NO! Please don’t, Mummy!”
I held back from smirking. The only person Aurora rarely misbehaved for was Quinn. She was such a daddy’s girl.
“Well, apologise to your brother then.”
Aurora pouted but turned to Duke.
“Sorry.”
He stuck his tongue out at her.
“Duke, do not do that to your sister. Accept her apology like a good boy.”
He put his arms out to her and Aurora let him hug her.
“Sorry, Rora. Love you.”
“Love you too, smelly bum.”
Xav rolled his eyes as things were about to kick off. Duke was three and a half with blonde hair and sky blue eyes. He was beautiful and would be a heartbreaker when he grew up, but he was also naughty and forever winding his sister up. Their relationship mirrored Quinn and Xav’s which amused me no end.
“I AM NOT A SMELLY BUM!”
“Oh Jesus, here we go again,” Xav muttered, taking Duke by the hand and pulling him away from his sister.
“Daddy, Rora is being mean to me.”
“I know, Dukey, your sister needs to learn some manners.”
Aurora stuck her tongue out at Xav but I decided to ignore it as Quinn walked into the room.
“What on earth is all this racket?”
“DADDY!” Aurora screeched, jumping up and down and rushing towards Quinn.
He picked her up and kissed her cheek.
“Hello, sweetheart, how was school?”
“I loved it, Daddy. Didn’t have to be with smelly boys all day.”
“Your brothers are not smelly, Rora. What have I told you about saying that?”
Quinn was forever telling her to be good to her brothers just as I was. She loved them, but since she was the oldest, she often bossed them around, which drove Duke crazy. He hated how demanding his sister was. Raphael didn’t seem to mind so much. He was the quieter out of the two boys, but it didn’t mean he was any less of a troublemaker.
“Sorry, Daddy.”
The doorbell rang. Quinn set Aurora down and smiled at me from across the room, mouthing ‘I love you.’ My heart thumped against my chest and my hands went instinctively to the infinity pendant necklace around my neck. The one he’d given me all those years ago when he’d first declared his love for me. To this day, I’d never taken it off. Our love had only grown over the past eight years.
Quinn was still as beautiful as he had been when we’d met, but now he had a more distinguished look with his hair greying at his temples. I’d never get over the way his dark eyes roamed across me, caressing my skin nor the sharp pain of his palm when I misbehaved. We kept it behind closed doors now we had the kids.
No matter how much time passed, I still loved all my men wholeheartedly. And with our little family, I felt complete.
“I’ll get that. Come on, Rora, let’s go say hello to Grandpa and Grandma, okay?”
Quinn took her hand, leading her out of the kitchen. Eric set Raphael down and he ran over to Xav and Duke.
“I’ll set the table,” Eric told me, pressing a kiss to my temple and grabbing the plates I’d left on the counter.
“Thank you.”
I spooned the curries into serving dishes whilst Xav took the boys out into the living room to say hello to their grandparents.
“Is Cole okay?” I asked Rory over my shoulder.
“He’s fine, little star. I’m sure Bella will want to hold him.”
My mother had fallen over herself with joy at being a grandmother. She loved the kids to bits and was over here a lot to spend time with them. To be honest, I didn’t mind since the kids were a handful even for the five of us and having her babysit them gave us time to ourselves. Something we didn’t always get much of these days.
I walked over and leant down, pressing a kiss to my baby boy’s head. He gurgled and reached out with his hand. I let him take my finger, my heart soaring. Rory stared at me over the top of our son’s head, smiling softly.
“You think he’s going to be quiet like you?”
Cole rarely cried and was such a smiley boy who had an infectious laugh. I loved him to bits.
“No, I think he’s going to be a chatty little man who will drive us both up the wall.”
“Lucky for us he can’t talk yet then, we already have three kids who talk non-stop.”
I leant over and kissed Rory.
“Too right,” he grinned as I pulled away.
“Where is my grandson?” came Isabella’s voice as she stepped into the kitchen.
“Aren’t you going to say hello to your daughter first?”
I walked over to her and we embraced.
“Hello, darling. Everything in here smells wonderful. Now, where is my little Cole?”
I rolled my eyes, pulling back and waving at Rory who’d stood up with our baby in his arms. Isabella’s eyes shone as she went over to him.
“Hello, Rory, I hope you’re well.”
“Yes, all good, Bella.”
The boys had taken to calling her that now she was part of the family. Rory handed Cole over to her and she stroked his little face.
“You are the cutest little munchkin,” she cooed as she took him out of the kitchen. “Grandma is going to spoil you. Yes, I am. Yes, I am.”
Eric came back in the room to help me carry all the dishes into the dining room. Rory gave us a hand and once the table was set, I called for everyone to come through from the living room. It was still the afternoon, but with the kids’ bedtimes being early evening, I always did dinner for them long before then.
As soon as I spied my dad, I rushed straight into his arms and hugged him tightly.
“Happy birthday, Dad.”
“Thank you, kotik. This all looks wonderful.”
I smiled as I pulled back and kissed his cheek.
“A wonderful feast for a wonderful father.”
He grinned, stroking my face before we turned to the table. The boys had started dishing up for the kids. Duke was hanging off Xav’s arm and driving him crazy.
“Dukey, Raphi… come over here, boys.”
The two of them rushed towards me in an instant. Raphi put his arms up as Duke wrapped his arm around my leg.
“Up, Mummy, up!”
I laughed and hoisted my little chestnut-haired boy up into my arms.
“Are you being a good boy for Xav and Daddy?”
He nodded and leant his head against my shoulder, wrapping his small arm around my neck.
“Lub you, Mummy.”
“I love you too, my baby boy.”
“Raphi’s not a baby, Mummy, Cole is,” Duke chimed in, putting his arms up to me.
“I can’t carry both of you at the same time, Dukey.”
Thankfully, Viktor picked Duke up and ruffled his blonde hair. I leant over and kissed my son on the forehead which made him smile.
“I love you more than Raphi does, Mummy.”
I snorted. Duke was always trying to one-up his siblings.
“If you say so.”
“I DO! Grandpa, I don’t fink Mummy believes me.”
Raphael ignored him and kept hugging me whilst sticking his thumb in his mouth, a habit he’d picked up from when he’d been a baby. Eric and I had attempted to discourage him, but our son had held strong against us.
“Your mummy knows you love her, Duke, and she loves you very much too.”
Duke grinned and looked like he was about to explode with happiness.
“Dukey, come here and get your dinner,” Xav called.
Viktor set my son down and he ran over to his father. I carried Raphi over to the table and sat down with him as Eric placed a plate in front of us.
“You want some din-dins, Raphi?”
He nodded and sat up, his thumb popping out of his mouth.
“Mummy, help.”
I chuckled.
“Mummy will help you. Now, make sure to blow on it because it’s hot, okay?”