Page 44 of Witch's Rebirth
And inside me, I swore I felt Deidre kick. I laid a hand on my belly and smiled. This was all I wanted. To be with those I loved without fear, without looking over my shoulder constantly. It felt so surreal that this was my life now, for at least this lifetime. There would always be fighting, sometimes running, sometimes dying. But moments like these were worth all of it.
"Holy fuck, I need a shower." I fanned myself, peeling up from Ash's torso.
"Want some alone time in there?" Raum asked, his dark eyes taking in my post-sex nakedness like he was seeing me for the first time.
"Hell no," I grinned. "Someone's gotta scrub my back."
Everyone laughed as I sat up, padding over to the large walk-in shower to turn on the water. Behind me, the guys joked and snapped towels at each other as they followed me. I watched them shamelessly. The four loves of my life, unique and perfect in their own ways. Whatever happened between now and eternity, I knew I would always have them.
Epilogue
FIVE YEARS LATER
DEJA
Iwaddled toward the kitchen, my hands pressed against the terrible ache in my lower back. Advil did absolutely nothing for my back pain at this point in my pregnancy.
Careful not to step on any legos I could barely see past my stomach, I rounded the corner to find a sight that pulled hard on my heart strings.
My three-year-old son Braxton standing on his stool at the counter, carefully mixing something in a bowl while Sal watched closely.
"Like this, Dad?" he asked, looking up with his round emerald eyes for approval.
"Very good, buddy." Sal ruffled our son's hair, a gorgeous mix of reddish-blonde, before looking up to me with a smile. "Hey, beautiful. How was your nap?"
"Good until this fuh, I mean, darn back pain woke me up again," I grumbled, joining them at the counter. Still, my chest fluttered with the way he looked at me. No matter how sick or pregnant or grumpy I was, he never stopped calling me beautiful.
Sal made a sympathetic noise and drew me close, his arms encircling me until his firm fingers pressed right into the painful spot and gently massaged.
"Mm, you're better than any pain pills," I murmured, catching his mouth with mine. He tasted like chocolate. I let out a small moan of approval and flicked his tongue with mine for more.
"Eww kiss," Brax scolded us.
We parted laughing. "Oh no! Here come the kisses, ahhhh!" I leaned down and aggressively kissed Brax's cheeks until he was squirming and giggling. "Whatcha making, buddy?"
"Mole sauce," he said proudly. "It has chocolate, Mom!"
"Really?" I lifted an eyebrow at Sal. "Who's idea was that?"
"Mine!" Braxton declared. "But Dad a'ready ate most of it."
"Is that so?" I grabbed Sal's chin. "Better check for evidence." He smirked as I leaned in to taste him again, savoring the sweetness of the chocolate and just the intoxicating flavor of him on my lips. We kissed slowly, sensually, our signature way until Braxton complained again.
"Such a narc," Sal teased, looking down at our boy adoringly. His hands resumed their place on my lower back, massaging my pain away as he kissed my forehead. "Craving anything, Mama?"
"Mole sounds amazing, actually," I said. "I'm craving spicy food like crazy."
"Coming right up." He kissed me again and pulled back with a smile. "I promise we'll add peppers in addition to the chocolate."
"My boys take such good care of me." I ruffled Brax's hair, who was determined not to be distracted from his mixing. "Where's everyone else?"
"Ash and Deidre are pouring over books in the study like usual. I think Raum went for a flight and Seth is doing his usual meditation thing."
"Thanks." I kissed him again. "I'm gonna check on the book nerds. Can't wait for dinner."
Ash was alone in the study, lying back on his leather couch with no shirt and his reading glasses on. His beard had grown out longer since the kids were born but he still kept it maintained and neat. I think he secretly liked hearing the kids scream with laughter when he tickled them with his face.
"Hey angel." I knocked at the open study door.
