Perfectly Seduced

by Lacey Silks

  The doctors looked at each other and then back to me.

  “Yes, we’re sure. But since his medical records show that he died before, we’ll need you to identify the body at the morgue. When you’re ready, that is.”

  I didn’t really want to see Simon ever again.

  “I’ll do it. I’m April’s brother,” Dave said. “Dad’s coming. I thought you might want him here.”

  I mouthed a Thank you to my brother and then turned to the doctor.

  “So we can see Sean?”

  “It’s family only, Ms. Davis.”

  “She’s family,” Lily said. “They’re engaged.”

  Wait, what?

  Lily gave me a Don’t argue look, and I didn’t.

  “This way.” Doctor Lyons pointed to the door.

  Dave and Millie remained behind. I felt him kiss my cheek and heard him mention something about going to identify the body, but my attention was on Doctor Lyons.

  We followed him through the hallways. Both Charlie and Parker never let go of my hands. Lily was in front of me, leading like a matriarch. It felt like we walked through the hallways for miles, and the hospital was one long labyrinth.

  My heart drummed with hope, each of my steps getting more confident and impatient. If I could, I would have run. Why was the doctor walking so slowly?

  It wasn’t until we entered the private room and I saw Sean lying in the bed that I let myself believe in miracles. There was a man sitting at his side. I wasn’t sure who he was, but when he came over to embrace Lily, I gathered that he knew Sean. Charlie let go of my hand and hugged him, saying, “Hi, Uncle Gord.”

  The man turned to me next. “You must be April. He’s been mumbling your name over and over again.”

  I sat at the bedside on the right, and Lily sat on the left. My gaze flew to the heart monitor, which confirmed that he was alive. I took his hand in mine. It was warm, and I felt relief wash over me. Sean’s eyes were closed and his chest rose slowly up and down.

  “He’s sleeping off the anaesthetic, but should be waking up soon,” the doctor said. “Please call the nurse when he wakes up.”

  “Sean? Can you hear me?” I asked.

  Nothing. Lily gave me an encouraging look, and I pulled my chair closer, the legs screeching against the linoleum floor.

  Charlie and Parker sat on the chair beside Lily.

  “Is Daddy going to be okay, Grandma?” Charlie asked.

  Sean’s eyes moved underneath his eyelids.

  “Say something else, Charlie,” I said.

  His eyes moved again.

  “I was worried about you, but the doctor said you’ll wake up soon. I love you.”

  Slowly, Sean opened his eyes and smiled.

  “Hey, there.”

  “Hi, Daddy.” Charlie stood up, leaned over, and hugged him gently. “You’re at the hospital.”

  “I guess I am. Are Parker and April okay?” he asked, and I squeezed his hand. He slowly turned his head toward me and said, “Hey, beautiful.”

  “We’re fine, and you’ll be fine too.” I wiped away the tears on my cheeks.

  “Why are you crying?” he asked.

  “I thought you left us. I thought you were gone.”

  “It would take much more than a bullet for me to stay away from you, gorgeous.”

  “I hope you’re not making any plans for the ‘much more’,” I said.

  His eyes mellowed and shone with more warmth than I’d ever seen. “You’re my much more. I love you, April. I love you and Parker with all my heart, and I want you both in our lives.” He shifted on the bed, his face twisting in pain. “And I think I’m going to need a short break from work.”

  “I love you too, Sean Marks.”

  At my words, Parker and Charlie exchanged a high-five, and I laughed, asking my son, “I guess you’re okay with that?”

  My son nodded with excitement as his face split into the brightest smile possible.

  “So you’ll move in with us? Please? I never had a real mother.” Charlie walked around the bed and sat in my lap. I stroked her hair gently. It was as soft as Sean’s.

  “If it’s okay with your dad and grandma, I guess we just may,” I said.

  “That means yes, and I won’t have it any other way,” Sean confirmed.

  “Does that mean you’ll be my new dad?” Parker asked. “Because mine died two years ago, and you’re a very good dad.”

  My heart broke.

  “There’s nothing that would be a greater honor than to have a son as brave as you.”

  “Thank you for saving my life, Dad.” Parker leaned over and put his arms around Sean.

  “Anytime, buddy.”

  Sean yawned.

  “I need to use the washroom. You better get some rest, son. And I think that Parker and Charlie are tired too.” Lily stood up and excused herself.

  I turned to Sean, raking my fingers through his hair. “I’d like to stay, if that’s all right. My dad should be here to take Parker any…”

  The door opened and my dad stepped through. Parker rammed into him. “Hi, Grandpa!”

  The familiar sound of quarters jiggled in his pockets. My dad ruffled Parker’s hair. “I heard you’re one heck of a hero, Parker. I’m very proud of you.” He then approached the bed, asking, “How are you doing, Sean? I see you’re in one piece, which must mean you’re better than most who visit my workplace.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m sorry I put your daughter in danger.”

  “You didn’t. If it weren’t for you, I would still have a price on my head.”

  “I hope someone will tell me the whole truth once you’re well.” Even when my father wanted to sound mean, he couldn’t. Especially when people were hurt.

  “I promise I will, sir. And I promise to take care of April and Parker,” Sean said.

  “You’ll understand if I’m going to keep a close eye on you. The last guy who made that promise failed.”

  “I do. I will never hurt them.”

  “And he also ended up dead. Twice.”

  “Got it.”

  Lily stepped out of the washroom, and my father turned around. He stared at Lily as if he’d just seen a ghost. The two of them locked their gazes, and I’d never seen my dad’s mouth open so wide. His face looked like he had at least a thousand questions, and so did Lily’s. Her cheeks lost their color, and my father moved in to help her sit. He crouched at the side of the chair. Lily reached for his face and smoothed it with her hand. The touch was the most intimate I’d ever seen.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Are you all right, Liliana?”

  “Yes, I… well, this is definitely a surprise.”

  “You two know each other?” Sean asked.

  “This is Christopher,” Lily said.

  “The quarters one?”

  My dad patted his pocket, and Lily nodded.

  “You’re the coffee shop girl,” I said.

  “I guess I am.”

  That was the moment my family felt complete.

  Epilogue

  April - three years later

  * * *

  “She’s here!” I screamed.

  Wearing their best outfits, Parker and Charlie ran to the front door and waited. Sean grasped my hand tightly, and we followed them down the hall that seemed to stretch for miles.

  “Ready for this?” he asked.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready. Please tell me again that we’re doing the right thing.”

  “Of course we are. Eve needs a home, and we have too many empty bedrooms in this house.”

  We had decided to adopt a teenage daughter. Yup, it wasn’t enough that we were three years shy of Parker and Charlie hitting puberty. But when I met Eve at one of the temporary foster homes our new foundation became a sponsor of, I saw something special in her. She had that same look of positivity in her eyes that Millie had. And there weren’t enough good people like my best friend who got a chance to have a good life
in the world. If Eve turned out anything like her, I’d be one lucky mother, because in a couple of weeks Millie was going to give us the miracle we’d never thought was possible without someone as selfless as her.

  And Eve, she had that rare charisma of a child who could be so much if guided properly. So what if this house would be full? I wouldn’t care if we had to move to a smaller property so long as we both had the family we’d always wanted.

  “Bedrooms that will all be full in a couple of weeks,” I smiled, my gaze slowly shifting to the back of the house where the rest of our family, including my father and Lily, both my brothers, and Millie were anxiously waiting.

  I still couldn’t believe that we’d lived in this house for almost three years now. So much had changed. My career was blossoming, Sean had switched his focus from seeking justice where the system failed to helping me manage a foundation we’d set up with the forty million dollars of insurance money. It was supposed to provide sufficient aid and screening of foster families, so that the kids could get sponsored into safe homes, ones where the parents actually cared.

  And I was once again married. It had happened exactly a year ago, in a quiet family-only ceremony, right here on our property. Getting Eve today was the best present ever.

  “Any regrets?” Sean asked.

  “None. Never.”

  “Okay, let’s do this.”

  By the time we reached the front door, my nerves had somewhat calmed down. We’d met Eve a few times during our visits with the counselors, lawyers, and previous foster parents, but it still didn’t change the fact that she would now officially be our daughter. She was fourteen and a star student at school, who’d lost her parents and brother in a house fire two years before. At the time we decided to adopt her, we hadn’t known our family was going to expand even more.

  I rubbed my hand over my stomach, close to where my c-section scar was. I hadn’t had a cramp in a long time. Was it part of a motherly instinct?

  I pulled the door open, and Charlie and Parker both screamed, “Welcome Home,” waving a big sign they’d prepared. They’d met Eve before and accepted her as part of our family the same way they’d so quickly accepted each other.

  After many hugs, and some tears as well, a huge lump formed in my throat, hand in hand we all walked out to the patio where the rest of our family was anxiously waiting.

  “Well, isn’t this a blessed sight,” Lily said. “Welcome home, Eve.”

  “Thank you. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this.” She looked from me to Sean and back to me. “But I promise to make you all proud.”

  “You don’t have to promise anything. Just be yourself.”

  “Come on, we’ll show you to your room.” Parker pulled on her hand.

  “We voted for you to have the one beside Charlie because you’re both girls, and Charlie always wanted a sister, and I’m about to be a big brother twice in a month and...”

  Parker’s voice faded as he led the way upstairs, Charlie and Eve both following him.

  I sat down at the patio chair beside Millie and took a sip of my wine.

  “If you’re going to drink, do it far away from me,” my best friend said.

  “I’m so sorry. But I thought this would ease my nerves. And my stomach is aching.”

  “Your stomach is aching? Jeez, someone forgot what it’s like to have your uterus stretch into a watermelon.” She looked down at her stomach, rubbing it. “Actually, make that two watermelons.”

  “Have I recently said thank you?” I whispered. Each time I looked at Millie and her big belly I felt blessed. My best friend had agreed to be our surrogate. Since I still had my ovaries, we’d been able to fertilize my egg with Sean’s sperm, and Millie agreed to carry the baby for us – except the baby turned out to be babies. Two boys. In about two weeks we would welcome two baby boys into our family.

  That’s what I meant when I said that so much good could come out of foster children. Millie was the perfect example. She’d gone through so much in her life, I still couldn’t believe how much strength she had in that body to overcome it all.

  “Hopefully after these two, I can get more grandchildren from you two.” My dad looked at Dave and Millie.

  “If Dave is willing to carry them, no problem.”

  “Oh, come on, babe. You’ve done so well.”

  “Ouch.” she rubbed her belly again, and I swore I could feel her pain stretch my insides.

  “Are you all right?” Sean asked.

  “I think I’m having sympathy pains,” I joked, but I felt another cramp just as Millie’s eyes grew wide.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  “Ahm, I think it’s time.”

  “Time for what?” I followed her gaze down to below her chair, where water was dripping and beginning to form a small puddle.

  “Oh, my God!”

  And then everything happened so quickly, I didn’t know how we ended up at the hospital. I’d held Millie’s hand all the way in the ambulance. My fingers were red, squashed and aching as Sean took my spot at the side of Millie’s bed.

  “Millie, breathe,” Sean encouraged. “Hee, hee, haw.”

  “Go hug a cactus!”

  I held in the laughter that was about to burst my lungs open. I knew exactly what Millie was going through. And this was just the beginning of labor. She was looking from Sean to Dave on her other side, ready to kill them both with her gaze.

  “I didn’t even get to enjoy your perfect equipment,” she said through her teeth. Maybe I should have stopped referring to Sean’s cock as such, but it truly was perfect.

  Sweat beaded down her face, and her hair was pulled back with a head band. Millie definitely looked like a mother in labor. I knew I should have insisted on her having the epidural, but she said she wanted natural child birth, the way it was intended to be.

  “My body will never be the same,” she cried.

  “Because it will be better.” Dave squeezed Millie’s hand on the other side.

  “Aww, do you want to push them out until your ass rips?” she asked.

  “Honey, if there is anyone’s ass that can handle it, it’s yours.”

  “Eww, stop it you two. Our kids are about to be born, and what you do with your asses is the last thing I want to think about right now.”

  “Drugs. I need drugs.”

  “I thought you said no pain killers.”

  “Pain killers are not the same as drugs. I need someone to knock me out.”

  “Ms. Carlton, it’s time.” The doctor peeked from underneath the covers. “You’re fully dilated.”

  “Remember the rules, guys. Stay on this side of the curtain or deal with her wrath afterwards,” I warned.

  “Got it.” Both Sean and Dave had fear in their eyes, and I was sure neither one would break their promise. Millie’s only requirement if they wanted to remain in the room as she gave birth was for them not to see the damage that would be done to her va-jay-jay.

  With determination, Millie pushed, and minutes later, our first son was born. We named him Xavier, after Sean’s father. On the next push, Jason was born. Dave wiped Millie’s forehead with a cold cloth and kissed her with so much passion I was sure wedding bells were about to ring again in this family. That day, the cries in that room were the most beautiful ones I’d ever heard; the tears, the most honest I’d ever felt; and the smiles the happiest I’d ever seen and it was all because of the man standing at my side, who had perfectly seduced me.

  * * *

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  Afterword

  Dear Reader:

  I hope you enjoyed reading about April’s and Sean’s adventures. This is one strong couple who overcame life’s adversities, together. What’s next?

  Millie! I absolute
ly love her! She’s funny, witty, strong and comfortable in her own skin (sometimes too comfortable for her own good). If you’re interested in finding out what happened during the three years before she became a surrogate to April and Sean, Millie’s story will be told in Perfectly Loved, available March 16, 2016.

  Pre-Order Perfectly Loved Now

  For a limited time only, get a complimentary copy of these first in series erotic romances:

  Dazzled by Silver (prequel to Layers Trilogy)

  Crossed (prequel to Crossed Series)

  Also by Lacey Silks

  Also by Lacey Silks

  Dazzled by Silver (prequel to the Layers Trilogy)

  Layers Deep (Book 1)

  Layers Peeled (Book 2)

  Layers Off (Book 3)

  Crossed (prequel to the Crossed Series)

  Layers Crossed (Book 1)

  Double Crossed (Book 2)

  Crossed Off (Book 3)

  When Things Go Wrong (short prequel)

  Cheaters Anonymous (Book 1)

  Loyal Cheaters (Book 2)

  Perfectly Equipped (short prequel)

  Perfectly Seduced (Book 1)

  Perfectly Loved (Book 2)

  My First, My Last: a standalone erotic romance novel

  Short Stories

  My Only One | Dance With Me | Teacher’s Pet

  Bossy Request | Over The Limit | My Neighbor’s Will

  Mistresses (a five story collection)

  Connect with Me Online:

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  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author Lacey Silks writes erotic and contemporary romances with a touch of suspense. Her stories come from her life, dreams and fantasies. She’s a happily married wife with two kids who uses her husband to test out the more intimate scenes for her writing – he said he doesn’t mind it at all.

  Lacey likes to make her readers blush and experience the story as if they were the characters. Drawing on the reader’s most sensitive emotions through realistic stories satisfies her more than… …ok not really, but you get the point ;)