“Upstairs eating. We have to have a small chat. Rylan snuck in last night into the room she was sleeping in. He happened to crash over the table in front of the window alerting us. I think I scared him bad enough with my gun when we came running.”
“Those two,” Mia groused. “She just got off punishment. What was she thinking?”
“I don’t know. He said he got locked out of his house after leaving here, as we saw on the security feed at the pool hall. Ailyn slept in bed with her and I slept by him down here.”
Dire chuckled. “Thanks. We knew it was a matter of time before the Mom, Dad we’re nothing…we’ve been friends forever dynamic would change. Kinda figured after Rylan laid Rex out, he’d have to decide what he wanted.”
“I don’t like the sneaking.” Mia shook her head. “Where is Ash?”
“Upstairs eating with Rylan. She’s pretty embarrassed and ashamed at being caught right now.”
“As well she should be. She promised Ailyn and us she wouldn’t break the rules again. We’ll deal with her after practice. Let her stew on what’s going to happen for her disobedience.”
“You cool, Dire?”
“Yeah, when Eva goes through this stage, then you’ll have your answer.” Dire headed up the stairs to retrieve his daughter with Mia trailing behind him.
Five minutes later, a contrite teenager came down the stairs with her bag slung over her shoulder. Rylan followed behind her, his hand tucked in hers. The two parents followed all spilling out into the foyer.
“See you later, Ash.” Seth dug in his wallet and pulled out two twenty dollar bills.
“Thanks, Mr. Mahone and I’m sorry for not minding.” She sighed as her parents ushered them all out.
Seth waved at his friends and trudged downstairs to his daughter.
The sound of jazz and blues trickled up the stairwell. He jogged down and sat on the bottom stair to see Eva perform a series of jumps and turns to the music mixed with acrobatics and tumbling. While she watched herself in the mirror, he could see her mouth counting steps as she concentrated, stopped and started over to get her moves right. He admired her dedication and how pretty she looked spinning without becoming dizzy and losing her balance. The steps creaked. Seth, turned to see Ailyn coming toward him and moved so she could sit beside him.
“She’s pretty terrific. It’s no surprise that you raised such a great kid. I always knew you’d make a phenomenal parent. You’re a great mother, Ailyn.” He squeezed her thigh and continued to watch their daughter lost in her own world.
Epilogue
7 Months Later- The Bahamas
“You got this, firecracker. Show me why we came all this way so you could snorkel. You can’t do that from the back of the boat.”
“Can’t we snorkel in the swimming pool at home? I don’t think I can swim in the ocean. What if a shark or a fish bites me?”
“Aw, love, c’mon. I’m out here and nothing is biting me. We’ve been practicing for months at home. Swimming in the ocean is just like swimming in the pool.”
“No it’s not. I can’t see the bottom, which means there might not be one and I’ll drown.” Eva held onto the boat edge, peering down at her father.
“I won’t let anything bad happen to you, lil darlin’.” He called out the big guns with that soft nickname. Their daughter became mush when he dropped his voice to his smooth whiskey tone. Ailyn smiled at them from her perch on the deck chair. “Go on, peanut.”
Eva tightened her glittery lifejacket and lowered herself into the cerulean waters.
“It’s cold.” She gripped the boat ladder.
Seth laughed from two feet away from her crooking his finger for her to swim to him. She adamantly shook her head no, and crooked her finger for him to come to her.
“You two are silly.” Ailyn rose and walked over to the edge of the boat. So she earned a big fat F in parenting as she never taught Eva how to swim. Cord couldn’t talk Eva into trying no matter how many times he came down and offered. Ailyn signed her up one year, after day one, she screamed bloody murder each time they went by the pool. To this day she wondered what the instructor did to terrify her daughter.
“Mama, I don’t see you in here.” Her daughter glared at her, sticking up her stubborn chin in the process, although snorkeling equipment covered most of her face.
“The baby doesn’t want to swim.” Ailyn smoothed her hand over her rounded belly and sat on the deck chair next to the ladder and spun her wedding band and engagement ring on her finger. Why put the baby and herself in a stressful situation if she didn’t have to, she was perfectly happy catching sun on the yacht deck and avoiding waters with sharks and other fish that might bite.
“Firecracker, you come on out here to me and show your sissy mommy how this is done, and maybe after you snorkel, we can get your pretty mama out here in the water with us.”
“Mama is happy right where she is, watching her two favorite people in the world. Go on, peanut, swim to your papi.” As the blinding sun beat down on her, she reached over and picked up her floppy sunhat, giving her some shade and helping her see them better.
Eva let out a ragged sigh and let go of the boat with one hand, and then the other. Seth and Eva bonded quick, though not as quick as he’d have liked. The transition was near seamless, with some testing and arguing on all sides.
Watching her daughter take her first swim in a large body of water excited Ailyn. Seth proved he excelled in everything he gave his all to. He’d proved to be such a patient father, as he treaded water until she reached him, without giving in to her motioning to meet her halfway.
To Eva, the two feet must’ve felt like miles and Seth treated those few feet as if she’d swum across the English Channel. He swept her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. He showed her how to put the snorkel in her mouth, as practiced in the indoor pool at the gym. Then hand in hand, they both went face forward into the water and floated on their bellies.
Ailyn captured their adventure on her video recorder on zoom. Of course deep down she wanted to be out there with them, and would soon join their party, but first she wanted Seth to have his time with Eva, knowing these special few moments built lasting memories.
Eva came up and took the snorkel out of her mouth. “Mama, you have to see the fish down here. I think I saw a stingray. Did you know the mama sting ray can hold the male sting ray’s sperm and get pregnant when she wants to? We learned that in biology this year. I think it’s really gross, but my teacher thought it was cool. And there’s a red sea horse here. Did you know the male sea horse is the one that gets pregnant? I think that’s weird, but cool too. Wow, I even saw a tiny shark, they’re just swimming down there minding their business. Maybe we’ll see some more cool fish.”
Sneaky Seth took the opportunity to dive down a litter deeper in the water. Eva looked at her and at where her papi was in the clear water and followed him. The two disappeared from her direct sight. She stood up to get a better view.
They came up a few seconds later and swam back in her direction. Seth doing the side stroke to watch over Eva and assist her if she needed help due to her bulky life jacket. When they reached the edge of the boat, he lifted Eva on the ladder and helped her up. “Take a break, firecracker, you did great. Now for your mama.”
“I’m sunbathing.” Ailyn slapped at his cool wet hands dripping water over her feet. She helped Eva get the snorkeling gear off and sat her in the deck chair. Seth climbed the ladder and wrapped an arm around her waist and drew her down into the water with him. The cold water paralyzed her—much as he had when he walked back into her life. After her body acclimated to the cold, she found the water a refreshing respite from the heat baking her on the yacht.
Ailyn splashed him with water. “I’m so glad I have on a bathing suit this time.” She chuckled and unwrapped her arm from his. “I’m good.” She put her snorkel on and dipped her head into the water. Multicolored fish swam underneath them, darting in every direction. She saw n
urse sharks swimming below them, along with a blue and neon yellow Angelfish, a really ugly orange bumpy fish and a black fish with white polka dots.
“Come swim with me, darlin’. You know, I didn’t let you get bit by snakes in the lake. You can trust me to take care of you.”
“Just for a few minutes.”
“Baby girl, Tio Cord is making lunch, why don’t you go down into the galley and help him. Your beautiful mama and I’ll be up there in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” Eva jumped up from the chair and dashed down the stairs to her tio. Ailyn leaned back against her husband, whose hand cradled her baby bump.
“I have you all to myself now.” He kissed the shell of her ear as he murmured the things he wanted to do to her. Ailyn wrapped her legs around him, holding to him as he caged her between the boat ladder and his body.
“We don’t have time. Lunch is almost ready.” She kissed the corded muscle of his broad shoulders. Seth didn’t listen, he’d already moved her bikini bottoms, giving him enough room to slip inside her body, before she could object. The water lapped around them as he moved within her. In the most romantic setting of her life, the beautiful cove they’d dropped anchor at, the smell of ocean water surrounding them, Ailyn locked her ankles around him and rode him.
“I love how full your breasts are, how sensitive they’ve become, especially when I do this...” He bit her sensitive nipple through her top, causing her body to ripple in waves of pleasure. In the last leg of her second trimester, her enlarged sensitive breasts couldn’t take much torture. Seth flexed in her as she trailed her fingers down his arms, her fingers brushing over his wedding band, down his rib cage, to grip him. The slow and steady pumps worked her body into a tizzy, she fisted her hands in his hair and threw her head back as she came, careful not to scream and alert an audience. Seth’s cock jerked, spreading jets of warmth in her body. He slipped her bottoms back in place and brushed a thumb across her slit, eliciting a soft moan just loud enough for his ears.
“You’re the sexiest woman alive.” He rounded his hands over her body and nuzzled her cleavage. “I’ve had my lunch but you need yours.”
Ailyn climbed the ladder and grabbed her towel. She turned to see her golden Adonis hoist himself up all tan and thick sinew, dripping water all over the deck. When he raked his hands over his hair, his muscles flexed giving her a delicious view of his six pack abs and the V disappearing under his black board-trunks.
“Careful or we may end back in the water for another round.” Seth smacked her lightly on the butt, propelling her to move toward the galley.
“Behave, you.” She grinned as the baby began to kick and snatched his hand, placing it over the moving bump. “You woke Dylan.”
“I can rock you and him back to sleep if you like. I’m sure Cord will keep Eva entertained while we sneak away.” Mischief sparkled in his gaze.
“No. He needs to stay awake so he sleeps when we sleep. Bad Papi.” She slapped his grabby hands. “Enough, Lieutenant Mahone. I also want to check on my brother’s injuries. He took a good beating in the last fight. I thought he was going to lose.” Seth held onto her as she navigated the narrow steps into the eating and sleeping quarters.
“I smell something wonderful.”
“This delicious smell is my special dish, chicken in a creamy Queso sauce with spinach and black beans and rice.”
“How are you feeling?” Ailyn walked over to her brother and fussed over his healing face, brushing a finger over the butterfly bandage adorning the corner of his eye.
“Stop mother henning me. I’m a fighter, we get hurt sometimes. What’s a split brow and a few cracked ribs in comparison to winning the title? Worth every painful reminder, that’s what.” Cordero kissed her.
“Alpha still giving you the silent treatment?” Now that he’d found a great woman, she worried his job would ruin the relationship. He’d tried once before to have a relationship while traveling and fighting, his ex couldn’t handle the life, or the women who came with it, no matter that he didn’t take up any of those offers.
“She will either get over it or she won’t. This was my second fight since I began dating her. I’m not ready to retire and I don’t bitch, I mean complain about the areas her job takes her into or the risk. She has to learn to deal. I think this week apart will be good for us. I needed a vacation, thanks for allowing me to be your honeymoon nanny. Now sit and let me serve you.”
“We’re not on a honeymoon we’re on a family-moon. How could we leave Eva behind? I am enjoying having him to myself though, I have to admit, having two siblings was hard enough growing up, I didn’t expect to be thrust into another family with so much testosterone.”
“Hey, I’m in the room here while you’re trash talkin’ my team.” Seth swatted her behind and parked it in a seat next to Eva. “Your mama just can’t handle having so many people watching out for her.”
Ailyn planted a hand and cocked her hip out. “This,” she pointed to her baby bump, “doesn’t make me fragile. I can still rock it in my heels and thigh highs, thank you very much.”
“I’m just excited that we’re having a baby brother. So are Abuela Genoveva and Abuelo Salvador, and Abuela Meara and Abuelo Sean. Can we chat with them tonight? It’s been a whole week already.”
“Peanut, we discussed this already, not while we’re on vacation. You can tell them all about vacation when we return home. Okay? I’m sure Tia Rianna will be excited to hear all you have to say too.”
“I say let’s eat and take a nap after we’re done.” Ailyn picked up her fork and dug into Cordero’s delicious meal, dining in comfortable silence. She watched the secret glances passing between uncle and niece, wondering what the two conspirators were up to.
She didn’t have a chance to ask. Cordero tossed the paper plate and plastic cutlery into the trash, Eva followed suit, and the two disappeared.
“No swimming for an hour.”
“We’re not going swimming,” Eva yelled.
Ailyn polished off her lunch quickly, then waited impatiently while Seth finished his.
“I’m dying to know what they’re doing. Come on.” She tossed her trash and headed up the stairwell to the shrieking voices outside. Eva’s infectious laughter warmed her heart.
“Tio that was a perfect ten. My turn.”
Ailyn looked for her impulsive brother and equally impulsive daughter only to find them diving from the boat without life jackets. Eva came hurtling past her and over the edge in a full front flip.
“Dear Lord, he’s talked her into flipping off the bow of the yacht and she’s going to throw up. She just ate.”
“At least they’ll be in the water when they hurl. Either she’s overcome her fear of the water or she is a brilliant actress. Cord’s waiting for her darlin’ it’ll be okay.” He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.
“I think she was genuinely scared but once she saw it wasn’t so bad she loosened up. You’re a good teacher.” Ailyn turned and kissed her husband. “I love you.” He’d told her months before she could say it back without thinking something wrong would happen and he’d be gone, either from the stress of having an instafamily or death by fire. They’d married in the park near their house, with family and friends, his parents came along with hers. Two old Catholic women fussing over the small ceremony, instead of a grand one. Only when Seth threatened to elope, did they come to terms with small and simple. Their vows were anything but. He taught her to move forward, quelled her fears and gave her reason to hope for the best and to learn to live by faith.
Together they watched their daughter play in the water, with no worries or cares, sweet innocence. Life couldn’t be more perfect.
*The End*
About the Author
Being smart and sassy with a great sense of humor comes easily for Mahalia Levey. An avid reader of books, she found herself enchanted with disappearing completely into the worlds authors created. One day she vowed to herself she’d be one of them. Then f
amily life came, and college right after. Swayed from her childhood course of action, it took many years for her to get back to that place she held dear as a child. Now she is running full steam ahead to keep up with the many ideas flowing freely. She plans on taking her work to higher levels and expanding her genres. Her main focus is giving her readers variety. Her works in progress include paranormal, fantasy and mainstream romance. Taking characters and watching them grow past what she’s imagined is her true passion.
Other Books by Mahalia
All Bets Are Off
Briar’s Champion
Cherry Flavored Sex
Heaven Sent
Kiss Me Like You Mean It
Only Skin Deep
Rhapsody (Hot Flash)
Shut Up and Kiss Me
Soulbound
Taming Chaos
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
9781618858368ForbiddenDeceptionlLeveyNC Page 17