As the aftershocks of her release rippled through her, he moved up beside her, kissed her lips and eased her gently over onto her good side.
"Yes?" he asked, as he pressed his erection against her buttocks. "I will be very careful not to hurt you."
"Yes," she told him. "Yes, yes, yes."
Yes to his lovemaking, to the sweet joining of their bodies. And yes to the love he offered her and she returned to him with equal passion and devotion. Yes to a future together as man and wife. And yes to all the joys and sorrows, all the triumphs and disappointments, to every moment, every hour, every day, every year they would share for the rest of their lives.
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Epilogue
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Today the Ramirez family gathered their friends together at the presidential palace for a double celebration. Miguel had just been elected to his third term as el presidente. And he and J.J. had been married for eight years. They had married on election day, in the church in the Aguilar barrio where Miguel had been christened, with only a handful of their loved ones there. Several months later, after the inauguration, J.J.'s mother and stepfather had flown in from Mobile and hosted a lavish reception at the palace.
Dolores waddled toward J.J., a wide smile on her full face. She was expecting her third child, another boy the doctors had told her, which made Emilio exceedingly happy.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Dolores asked. "Four more years of this insanity. I do not know how you do it, Jennifer. Being Miguel's constant helpmate, serving on a hundred different committees, hosting endless social events and somehow managing to win Mother of the Year awards."
J.J. slipped her arm around Miguel's waist and hugged him to her. "I can do all this because I have such a good husband. He somehow not only manages to run this country, but he finds the time to be a loving, attentive husband and a hands-on father."
Ramona brought the children in to say good-night to their parents. Dolores and Emilio's two strapping boys, young Emilio, the image of his mother, would soon turn eight and four year-old Dario, the little mischief maker, resembled his father. Behind the two Lopez boys came three adorable little girls. Six-year-old Carlotta Josephina Esteban ran straight to her proud papa's arms. The spoiled only child was not only lovely but had a winning personality.
Not allowing their young cousin to outdo them, seven-year-old twins, Luz and Lenore, named for their grandmothers, rushed straight to their father. He gathered them up in his arms and placed one on each hip. They looked a great deal like J.J., both petite and raved-haired, but they had inherited their father's golden eyes. Then last but not least three-year-old Cesar escaped from Ramona and ran to his father, grabbing Miguel around the leg. Curly-haired and chubby, his blue-violet eyes gazed up adoringly at his papa.
"We are richly blessed," Aunt Josephina said. "Three happy marriages, six perfect children—" she eyed Dolores's protruding belly "—soon to be seven. And a democratic nation in which to raise the next generation."
J.J. walked over to Seina's side and put her arm around her sister-in-law, then gave her a hug. She understood the momentary sadness in Seina's eyes, a sadness that soon vanished. Carlotta Fernandez had never forgiven her daughter for marrying Juan and befriending her half-brother. And although she occasionally saw Diego and his wife, their relationship had never quite recovered. So the people gathered here this evening had become Seina's new family, as they had become J.J.'s.
Her father had died last spring. A heart attack at the age of sixty-six. Miguel had gone with her to his funeral to pay her last respects to a man who had never loved or respected her. And he had held her in his arms while she wept that night and many nights afterward. But in the end, the most precious solace he had given her had been the joy of watching him with his own two daughters, whom he not only loved as dearly as he did his son, but of whom he was every bit as proud.
Tears misted J.J.'s eyes as she laughed when Miguel tumbled onto the floor and took all three of their children with him. He tickled them, then hugged them and kissed them good-night before turning them back over to Ramona.
"Your mother and I will come upstairs in a few minutes to tuck each of you in," Miguel promised them and they knew, even at their tender ages that their father never made promises he did not keep.
After Ramona had ushered the band of wild little heathens out of the room, Miguel came over and slipped his arm around J.J.'s waist. "Family and friends, feel free to stay up as late as you wish, continue the party until dawn. But my wife and I are going up to say good-night to our children and then we are turning in for the evening."
He then urged J.J. into movement and led her into the hallway. As soon as they were alone for half a minute, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
"And after we say good-night to our children, Señora Ramirez, the president would like to see you alone in his bedroom. I believe he intends to make love to you. Does his request meet with your approval?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe and rubbed herself against him seductively. "Sí, sí, el presidente. Sí, Sí."
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RAMIREZ'S WOMAN Page 23