by Aimie Grey
“Your mother and I discussed it, and we will go with you. We also spoke to Nana, and she wants to come with us. Said she wants one more adventure.”
“Where would we go?”
“Marina told me that there’s a house down the street from her that’s for sale,” Sawyer said to me. “The owners want to move quickly, so it is listed way below market value.” He must have seen the indecision on my face. “It’s two-thousand miles away and is in a secure gated community. It’s only half an hour from my parents, so the kids would be able to grow up with both sets of grandparents.”
“If that’s what we need to do to keep Peyton safe, then we have to do it.” There were worse things than beautiful weather and miles of beaches.
“Great. I’ll start making arrangements for your mother and me to move out there, too,” Dad said.
“Wait a minute,” I said as my dad started to head toward the door. “What’s going on with you and Mami?”
“We’ve been talking for a few weeks. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I can’t wait to find out.” He gave me a wink and then left the room.
Sawyer climbed into bed with me as soon as the door closed behind my father. “I want to get married today,” he said casually. I laughed at his joke. “I’m serious. I can’t go another day without being married to you.”
“We can’t. We don’t have a license, or a minister…not to mention the fact that I haven’t showered or brushed my teeth in God knows how long.”
“We’ve taken care of the first two things. The minister is in the waiting room, and a clerk from the courthouse is on her way over with the license for you to sign. It’s amazing what people will do when Marina asks nicely. I don’t care about the rest.” To prove it, he lowered his head to mine and thoroughly explored the inside of my mouth with his tongue. It only took a second to forget about my embarrassment as our lips moved together. He broke the kiss much too soon for my liking.
“There are still other things to consider,” I said as I caught my breath. I looked at the gorgeous oval diamond set in platinum that rested on my finger, still not able to believe that it was really happening.
“Like what?”
“Kristy. She may be my biological sister and your sister-in-law, but I refuse to be in the same place as her. The kids and I won’t go to family gatherings if she’s there. If that means we have to have separate Christmases with your parents, then that’s what we’ll have to do. I’d prefer if you weren’t around her either, but I know that’s not always going to be possible.”
“Not a problem at all. I’d already made that decision a while ago. What else are you worried about?”
“We need time to draft a pre-nup,” I said. “I’m sure Aaron will help.”
“Why would we need one of those?” He looked genuinely confused.
“Because you’re loaded, and I’m not. I don’t want finances to be what keeps us together or breaks us apart. I don’t want you to have to wonder why I’m with you.”
“I already know why you’re with me. You love me, just like I love you. We’re never going to get divorced, so we don’t need a pre-nup. What’s next on the list?”
“Don’t you want to be able to fuck on our wedding night? Maybe we should wait until I’m cleared for that.” It would also give him time to make sure he wanted to go through with it.
“I don’t care about that. I seriously just want—no, I need to be married to you. I love you, and I can’t wait another minute to belong to you in every way possible.” His words nearly made me forget about my pain. “By the way, we aren’t going to fuck anymore.”
My eyes opened almost painfully wide. “What happened? Did you break your dick while I was unconscious?”
“No,” he said with a laugh. “He’s still fully functional.” He tapped his finger on the end of my nose and then looked into my eyes. “From now on when we’re together, we’ll be making love, and I want to be your husband when we do it.”
What woman in her right mind could resist that? “All right, I’ll marry you today on one condition.”
“Anything.”
“Find me a toothbrush.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
Madison
I admired the photographs on the mantle of my new home in California. The image of baby Peyton in her daddy’s arms sat next to a picture of my baby in Sawyer’s. I ran a finger over the engraved frame that bore my son’s name: Gabriel Alexander Ramsay. I finally had the photo to go along with the family I’d always wanted.
“Are you ready?” Sawyer wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and nuzzled my neck.
“I don’t think I can do it,” I confessed.
“Of course you can.” He chuckled. “If nothing else, you can just lay there and I’ll do all of the work.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I was more than ready to be an active participant.
“Gabe is three months old and sleeping through the night. He’ll be fine staying with Auntie Marina and Uncle Tate tonight.”
“But I’ve never been away from him overnight. Maybe Marina can stay here—or maybe we can do it at their house.”
“Babe, I’ve waited six months to make love to my wife. The kids won’t be able to sleep through the noise if they are in the same house.” He placed a kiss on the curve of my neck. “I also don’t think that’s how you want Peyton to learn about the birds and the bees.”
“What if he does something really cute or what if he needs me? What if Peyton loses her tooth?” It had been wiggly for weeks and was just hanging on by a thread.
“How about we ask Marina to hire a film crew to document the entire visit, so you don’t miss anything?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Do you really think I’m being that ridiculous?” I asked. He just stood there looking at me. “Maybe we can drop them off, do it, and then pick them up?”
“Two words: six months.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault it’s been so long. I was ready to go six weeks after the surgery.” Sawyer had been so scared of hurting me that he would barely even touch me. Then another six weeks got tacked on to our sexual embargo when the baby was born. The doctors insisted he be delivered via Caesarean section because they didn’t want me to push after having recent abdominal trauma. Of course, Sawyer decided that we should wait twelve weeks, just to be safe.
Gabe chose that moment to wake up crying. I lifted him from the bassinette in the middle of the living room and settled onto the couch. Sawyer sat next to me as I nursed our tiny son.
“You’d better get your fill, little man,” Sawyer said to Gabe. “Daddy’s getting your leftovers tonight.”
“Just what I need: a second Ramsay man gnawing on my boobs,” I said with a laugh.
Sawyer stood, grabbed his keys and wallet from the coffee table, and started walking toward the front door.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked.
“If there’s a one-Ramsay limit, I’m going to the store to buy some formula,” he said with a panty-dropping smile.
“Did you hear that, Gabers?” I asked. “Your daddy wants to make you drink nasty formula.” As if on cue, our baby decided to let his father know exactly what he thought of that idea. “You smell that, Ramsay? Your son made you a present.”
“Why do I get all the presents?”
“It’s the way Mother Nature intended: I put it in; you take it out.”
“That wouldn’t be the case if you’d let me go get the formula.”
“Do you actually think sharing dirty diaper duty with you is incentive for me to agree to that?”
He sighed. “Hand the little stinker over.”
I handed Gabe to his father and then rearranged my clothes. “Be sure to burp him, so he doesn’t barf on your sister.”
“I kind of want him to. I could get a lot of money for a picture of Marina covered in puke.”
I laughed at my silly husband. “All right, Mr. Ramsay. Go take care of Master Ramsay�
��s bum, and I’ll make sure Miss Miller-Ramsay is ready to go.”
“Whatever you say, Mrs. Ramsay.”
“That’s more like it.”
*
“I’m nervous,” I confessed. Sawyer and I had the entire house to ourselves. I had changed into a short black robe, and he was down to his boxers.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Sawyer asked.
“I don’t know; it just feels different. It’s been so long, and things have changed so much.”
“Different in a good way, right?” he asked.
“Yes, of course.” I fiddled with the sash holding my robe closed. “Maybe I just have performance anxiety.”
He laughed. “I’ve never heard of a woman having that before.”
“I just don’t want to let you down. We spent our wedding night in a hospital bed, so I want this to be special for you.”
“That was the best night of my life,” he said. “It was the first time I’d fallen asleep beside you knowing I’d never have to fall asleep without you again.” I had no idea how I’d gotten so lucky. “Something else is bothering you.”
He could read me so easily. “I’m worried it won’t be as good for you because my body is so messed up,” I said as I gestured in the general area of my breasts.
“They’re huge,” he said with a sultry smile. He stepped closer to me and untied my satin robe.
“But they’re hard, and they leak. What if one of them squirts you in the eye? Maybe I should pump again.”
“I’ll wear my glasses just to be safe.”
I stifled a moan at the thought of him wearing his glasses and nothing else. He started to pull apart the fabric that I was hiding behind. “My stomach is saggy, and I have scars now. You’ve got your six pack back, and now I have a keg”
“It’s not a keg; you just had a baby.” He got down on his knees. “I love the scars. I hate the reason you have them, but I love what they represent.” He kissed the scar from the stab wound and the resulting surgery. “You got this one when you fought to stay with me and to save our baby. This also represents the doctors saving your life after what happened to you.” He moved down to the more recent scar from the C-section. “You got this scar bringing our son into the world.” He looked up my body to reach my eyes with his. “I think you are more beautiful now than ever before.”
His hot tongue ran the short distance from my scar to my clit. “Oh, God!” I screamed. I’d been taking care of myself for a while, but nothing compared to the real thing. Now I understood why the kids needed to be in another house; hell they probably should have been in another zip code. I scooted back to lie down before I fell over.
He followed me onto the bed and ran his tongue back up my belly, pausing at my navel. “How long until I can put another baby in here?”
“How can you even think about having another one right now?”
“I loved knowing there was a piece of me inside of you, even when we were apart.”
“I’m waiting for you to put a piece of you inside of me right now.”
He made his way up the rest of my body and settled his hips between my thighs for the first time in ages. I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged his lips down to mine.
“I love you,” I said freely. I would never get used to how good it felt to say those words to him. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he said as he pushed inside my body for the first time as my husband. I felt the jolt of pleasure from my toes all the way up to my heart. “I’m going to love you forever.”
“Forever is a really long time,” I said.
“It’s not nearly long enough.”
The End
Letter from Aimie
Dear Reader,
I am honored and humbled that you chose to spend so much of your valuable time with me. I hope you loved Sawyer and Madison as much as I do. I appreciate you more than you know.
Please keep in mind that it is a work of fiction. I am not a doctor, nurse, or lawyer, and nothing in this book should be considered medical or legal advice.
I’d love to know what you thought of the book. Please consider leaving a review where you purchased it, or on Goodreads. Even a sentence or two would make a world of difference.
You can find me online at:
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/aimie.grey
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/AimieGrey
Website:
www.aimiegrey.com
Love,
Aimie
Acknowledgements
I’ve had stories floating around in my head for many years. Every now and then, I would think to myself, “If I enjoy them, maybe other people would, too.” I would quickly dismiss the idea because I didn’t feel that I had the skills to turn the pictures in my mind into a proper story.
A year or so after my dear friend Shawna finally convinced me to turn off my TV and read, though, I started to think that maybe I really could do it. I began to write one of the stories I’d been dreaming up for a few years, only to have other characters in my head beg me to let them go first. I put away Marina and Tate to focus on a story about a teacher.
This book never would have come to fruition without the help of many people.
Shawna and Emily: Thank you for sending me down this path and encouraging me every step of the way. Thank you for putting up with my crazy obsession with all things related to this project. Thank you for listening to me, offering advice, and reading the story in various states of completion, over and over again. Most of all, thank you for being the best friends I could have ever asked for.
My amazing husband: Thank you for supporting me throughout this project and for believing in me, even when I didn’t. I love you.
My sister: Thank you for your unwavering faith and encouragement. I can’t tell you how much you mean to me. You really are the best sister in the world.
Mom and Dad: Thank you for your unconditional support and encouragement and for loving me despite my obsessive tendencies.
My first-round editor: Even though I don’t know your name, you helped me more than I can say. Your feedback taught me how to show, instead of tell, and to round out plots, among many other things.
Liz Aguilar of Book Peddler’s Editing: The second-round edit and proofreading were invaluable. Your feedback and advice exceeded my expectations. Thank you for everything you’ve done to make this book shine and for putting up with my craziness. Your professionalism and friendliness really put me at ease throughout this process. I will never be able to thank you enough.
Kari Ayasha of Cover to Cover Designs: The cover (and everything else you designed for me) is gorgeous and exceeded my wildest dreams. You are absolutely incredible at what you do and are an absolute delight to work with. Thank you so much for everything.
Heather at Book Plug Promotions, Debra at Book Enthusiast Promotions, and all of the amazing bloggers out there: Thank you for helping me introduce Madison and Sawyer to the world.
Thank you to everyone else who helped me with this project.
About the Author
Aimie Grey didn’t read a single book until she was in her early thirties. One fateful day, her friend decided to put an end to the madness and shoved a steamy romance novel under Aimie’s nose. After being forced to read one of “those” scenes, Aimie went home and bought the book, and the next one, and the one after that.
In the two years since, Aimie has read close to four hundred books. Somewhere along the way, she became frustrated with reading repetitive stories revolving around the experienced man seducing the still virginal woman. Aimie decided to take matters into her own hands and wrote her debut full length erotic romance novel Never to Keep.
In addition to her day job as an IT system administrator, and her new evening gig as a writer, Aimie’s primary role in life is wife and mother. Aimie lives in the Midwest with her husband and two teenage daughters.
Aimie Grey, Never to Keep (Accepting Fate #1)