So that’s what we did. We all piled into Ezra’s car, because mine was entirely too small for everyone, and went to get pizza and ice cream. It’s how we celebrated finally being the family we knew we were supposed to be.
I made my first bad parenting decision when I let Malachi stay up until one in the morning. He was a whiny mess when I tried to get him into bed. I didn’t care though. I’d take the whining and everything else as long as it meant he was safe and nobody could ever take him away from me.
When I finally got him to go down. Ezra and I snuck away to our room. I stood in the mirror and took my hair down from its sleek bun letting it tumble to my waist. Ezra came up behind me and ran his fingers through it. It felt good but I was too busy staring at my swollen cheek and black eye. At least I couldn’t see the two broken ribs.
I cast my stare down and looked at my tattoo.
“What’s wrong?” Ezra asked, kissing my shoulder. I lifted my eyes to look at his handsome face. His beard was even fuller and I loved the way it looked on him.
“I feel hideous,” I sighed, touching my fingertips to my stitches.
“Nah. Don’t. Sunflowers aren’t allowed to feel hideous because no matter what, they’re still beautiful.”
“With swollen eyes and cheeks?” I laughed bitterly. “He fucked me up, Ezra.”
“I know. He could never take away how gorgeous you are though. That comes from right here.” He pointed to my chest then slid my spaghetti straps down my shoulders. “Can I show you how beautiful you are to me? Hmm? Come on, baby mama.” He rubbed my stomach and I hit him.
“I told you to stop calling me that shit,” I warned.
“Oh, you mean like I asked you to stop calling me little boy?” He quizzed, lifting an eyebrow. I couldn’t fight him on it so I laughed.
“Uh huh. That’s a guilty laugh.” He turned me around to face him then he undressed me slowly, taking time to kiss every part of me gently. “Every inch of you is fucking flawless, Solana.” He knelt before me and eased my skirt over my hips and down my legs. As I stepped out of it, he kissed each one of my feet. “You know I worship the ground you walk on, right?” He kissed his way back up my legs, taking special care to use his tongue on my thighs, making me squirm.
“I don’t know why,” I chuckled. He stood up, towering over me then he lifted me onto the dresser, spreading my legs. My eyes fell to the huge bulge in his pants. My stomach clenched when I heard his zipper come undone.
“Because you’re a fucking goddess. You know it.” He moved closer and kissed my lips while he teased my stiff clit with the head of his cock.
“Ezra,” I moaned into his mouth.
“You taste so sweet. Every part of you.” He guided his rigid cock inside of me and I gasped. We hadn’t made love since I’d been in the hospital and I missed him more than I knew.
My pussy tightened around his girth and he groaned. “I love you. You’re perfect,” he said before he kissed my neck and thrust deeper inside of me. I dug the heels of my feet into the top of his ass and he slipped in deeper. “So fucking wet for me.”
“Always,” I said hungrily. The dresser thumped against the wall while he stroked the deepest parts of me.
“I’m not going to last long inside your tight pussy, Solo,” he hissed. as “I missed you so much.” He fucked me slowly and deliberately then he grabbed my hips and dug in deeper, making me lose my breath. I draped my arms around his neck and held on while he stared into my eyes.
“I missed you too,” I whined. Ezra always made me feel like I was flying. We moved around the stars creating our own constellations. Each one was a testament to our love painted against the sky.
He didn’t break eye contact with me when I climaxed and it was so fucking intense. I couldn’t give him a warning or speak. I opened my mouth and staggered sounds fell out while I came hard around his thick dick.
“Shit, Solana.” He looked between our bodies as he shot deep inside of me. I dug my nails into his broad shoulders and he thrust inside of me once more before slowing his strokes and letting his cock pulse inside of me.
He touched the side of my face and made me look at him. “You’re always going to be the most beautiful girl in the world. I need you to know that.” He pulled my bottom lip into his mouth and slipped me his tongue. I nodded, resting my forehead against his.
“I love you so much, Ezra.”
“I know you do. You know I love you right back.”
I did.
I felt it vibrating through him and that’s what made me feel more beautiful than anything.
While I laid beside him in bed, drifting off to sleep, I made sure to thank the universe for my family. I realized that the family you choose was just as important as the family you were born into. My family wasn’t perfect. It was stitched together like a quilt but it warmed my heart no matter how it was made.
Ezra held me close in his sleep with his hand splayed out across my stomach and I smiled before falling asleep. I would always be his sunflower. Even if I had to grow through the darkness and dirt before I could reach for the sun.
We had that in common though.
That’s why we fit so well together and we always would.
…
EZRA
“Baby, can you check on the monitor in the nursery? I can’t see anything,” Solana asked. We’d only been in our new house for a month so we were still working out electrical kinks.
She put the twins down for a nap and turned on their monitor to find static instead of images of their sleeping faces. I got up and walked into their nursery, my eyes trained on the crib near the window. They had separate cribs but neither one of them liked to sleep alone. They had to be near each other, holding hands. They were just like Everett and me.
Even a year after losing him, my heart still ached. I missed my twin every day but being able to see my sons have a bond identical to the one I had with Ev made me feel better. Solana told me I’d heal through raising them and I believed her. It was already working. The twins were only three months old and I already felt some of the devastating ache of grief subsiding.
When I looked into their crib, I saw a pair of brandy eyes staring back at me. I smiled and scooped him into my arms. “I knew it would be you that was awake, Everett,” I chuckled. He was always the active twin. Right out of the womb, he looked for Solana’s breast. Meanwhile his brother, Elijah wanted to sleep.
Elijah definitely took after me.
I looked at the video monitor and wiggled the plug in the wall a bit. “It’s back on!” Solo shouted from downstairs.
“Hey, Hulk are the twins up? I wanna play,” Malachi raced into the room with heavy feet. He stood on his tiptoes so he could look into the crib.
“Everett is up but Elijah is still sleeping. Go ask Mom if you can play with the rowdy twin.” He raced out of the nursery and down the steps to Solana.
We had to make some major adjustments once the boys were born because Solo’s little house couldn’t hold three kids plus us. Besides, we wanted to be long gone by the time my mother got out of jail. I didn’t want her to be able to find us for a while. I hoped she never found us. I didn’t want her toxicity anywhere near my kids. Hell, I didn’t want her toxicity anywhere near me.
In a year, I’d grown Sunflower Tea Company into its own storefront generating six-figures every month. Solana wasn’t doing too bad either. She opened up two other Sun Goddess locations. Her classes became so popular across the country that she launched a Sun Goddess website and sold virtual classes.
We were doing so well I was able to upgrade her yellow tin can to a Lexus SUV. She had an appointment to get it painted yellow next week. I tried to stop her. Trust me. She wouldn’t be swayed.
I noticed Elijah squirming around in his sleep, flailing his little arm back and forth. When he didn’t connect with his brother, he let out a cry in his sleep that Everett responded to with his own cry. I picked both boys up in my arms and carried them downstairs. Malachi
was elated to see them both awake.
“Oh god, I just put them down,” Solana whined.
“I know. It’s probably my fault. You can punish me later.” I winked at her and she flipped me off when Malachi ran out of the room to get the basket of toys. It didn’t matter to him that the boys were too young to really play with him. He got a kick out of watching them follow his every movement while he played with noisy toys that lit up.
Once he was away from Vince, he flourished in ways I would have never imagined. I was proud that he wanted to call me dad even though he opted for Hulk most of the time. It was fine by me. I wanted him to know I’d always be his superhero and protect him.
That went for my entire brood.
I’d kill for them if anyone tried to hurt them. I think Vince got that message the night I beat the fuck out of him. Pretty sure he was getting his ass handed to him every day while he was in prison though.
“Hulk, look! Ev smiled at me!” Malachi chirped. I glanced down at Everett and sure enough, his cheeks were pushed up into a smile. Moments later, Elijah followed suit.
“Oh my god! I need my phone!” Solana hopped up and grabbed her phone from the coffee table to record the boys’ first smiles. I was glad she actually got it because the moment only lasted for ten seconds before they let out identical farts.
I didn’t have the heart to tell Malachi they just had gas.
“You wanna tell him or should I?” Solana whispered.
“Nah, let him have it,” I laughed. She shrugged, leaned over to kiss my lips then took the boys from my arms to feed them because they were always hungry.
I said a silent thank you to the universe for giving me everything I needed and more even though I had to lose the person closest to me in the process. Sometimes life worked out in ways you’d never expect.
Sometimes happiness is born from grief.
Sometimes love comes when you least expect it.
Sometimes sunflowers fall in love with defects.
Sometimes defects rise above everything meant to break them.
Sometimes the broken pieces meld together and transform into something beautiful.
Something to be cherished forever.
The end.
Other books by Danielle James
Twisted
The Twisted Series (Books 1-6)
Flowers Behind the Gates Series:
Flowers Behind the Gates
Sleeping Monsters
Power Trip
Death of a Rose
Garden of Secrets
LUCY Duet (Books 1&2)
Naughty R&B (A six story anthology)
Have Mercy
Dangerous Territory
Tortured Whispers
The Monarch Room
The Moreau Estates
Wisteria
Nocturnal Sins
BOMB
Margot
Trust Issues
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About the author:
Danielle James is a wife and mother of two, who has written and published over twenty romance novels. Danielle’s work spans from sweet and romantic to dark and taboo.
She prides herself on writing bold romance for bold readers.
Her books are sexually charged with alpha female characters that leap off the pages. Each book sucks you into an entirely different world with steamy scenes, drama, and amazing plot twists along the way. Her goal is to hook you and keep you addicted so you'll come back for more.
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