Permanent Bliss (2 page)

I swallow down the huge lump in my throat. “Yes,” I answer, my voice quivering as another tear falls down my cheek. “Yes!” I yell, leaning forward into Daniel’s waiting arms.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” I whisper against his lips as I kiss him hard. This is not a polite, public peck. No, this moment deserves more than that. This is a full on, passionate, no holds barred kiss. I pour everything I have into this kiss, leaving him no doubt as to the certainty of my answer.

I sit back in my seat as he slips the gorgeous rock on my finger. He stands and holds out his hand for me, pulling me up and enveloping me in a huge hug. The crowd around us cheers loudly as Kate suddenly appears beside us.

“Congratulations, hon.”

“You ... you … God, you were in on this, weren’t you?”

She gives me a sly smile, and I pull her into our hug.

Best birthday ever!

Chapter 1: “When I Grow Up”

Mac

Are you sitting down? You’ll need to be.

Brace yourself because it’s still sinking in for me, and I’ve had a year and two kids to get used to the idea.

I, Makenna Lewis, am getting married. Wed. Hitched. Becoming someone’s ball & chain. Speaking of balls, Daniel’s will be in my purse for the rest of his life. Nice thought, isn’t it?

Who would have thought that me, the eternal bachelorette repulsed by anything resembling an emotional commitment with a man, would meet her match.

But what a damn fine match he is.

I’m lying in bed, relishing in the deathly quiet house which, believe me, is a very rare occurrence these days.

Raking my eyes down the toned expanse of male back in front of me, I can’t resist the urge to touch the warm skin that tempts me. I mean, hello? If Daniel fucking Winters was lying face down, naked as the day he was born in your bed, wouldn’t you want to touch him? Do more than touch him? Exactly, I thought as much.

But hands off! He’s mine!

Well, he will be in exactly fourteen days, eight hours and thirty-five minutes.

And for the next thirty minutes or so, I plan on reminding him just why he’s marrying me.

One of the reasons anyway.

Propping my head up on my bent arm, I place my hand on his smooth chest and slowly run my fingers down his body, watching them rise and fall as he continues to feign sleep. Yes, I know he’s awake. The fact that he’s deathly quiet and his mouth is closed proves that fact. But I’ll let him continue the charade for as long as he is able to because in exactly five minutes or less my mouth is going to be occupying him. And there is no way Superman can resist tangling his fingers in my hair while he watches me take his cock in my mouth.

Slowly moving my body down the bed, I trail my hand down to his hip, my finger tracing that delectable V that all women dream to have on their men. I’m one of the lucky ones who gets that daily, nightly … actually, whenever the twins let us. Anyway, back to the object at hand.

I decide to tease him, test his dedication to this pretend sleep business. I circle his now straining cock with my hand, wrapping my fingers around him and stroking up and down achingly slow before releasing him and running my hand back up his abs.

“Don’t you fucking dare, gorgeous,” he murmurs huskily. The edge in his voice only serves to turn me on even more, so I decide it’s time to invite my mouth to the party. Bending my head down, I pepper his torso with wet, open-mouthed kisses as I move the short distance down to his pelvis.

“You want me to finish this?” I whisper just before I run the point of my tongue down his entire length, taking time to kiss him around the base gently, then moving my mouth back to the head of his cock and wrapping my lips around him.

“Fuck! Please! I fucking love your mouth.”

I hum in approval as I bob my head up and down, increasing my speed as I lift my body up onto my knees beside him.

“I’m going to have to make you pay for waking me up.”

I pull my mouth off him and turn my head to meet his gaze, running my tongue around the tip and watching as his head drops back against his pillow with a groan. “Making me come isn’t exactly a punishment, Superman.”

He reaches over and grabs my hips, swinging them over his body so my knees are positioned on either side of his head. “Didn’t say how many times I’d do it, Mac. And besides, I’m starving and now I want breakfast in bed …”

Before I can give a smart ass retort, he buries his face in my pussy, spearing his tongue inside me as his chin rubs against my clit, the friction of his stubble sending a fantastic jolt of pleasure through me. “Holy shit.”

I decide to take up the challenge, doubling my efforts as I take him deep, swallowing around him and relishing in the full body shudder it causes. Not to be outdone, I feel Daniel’s hands move around to my ass and pull me impossibly close as he tilts my hips and circles my clit with the tip of his tongue before sucking it hard, thrusting two fingers inside me at the same time. Unable to take anymore, I lay my head on his thigh as I cry out his name, my orgasm wracking my body. He continues to lick and suck slowly as I come back down to earth, catching my breath and quietly whimpering in satisfaction.

Before I know what’s happening, he’s pushing my legs forward and sitting up behind me, his arms wrapped around my chest and his hands cupping his favorite body part, my breasts. Suddenly I’m being lifted up as he thrusts his cock deep inside me, causing my head to drop back onto his shoulder and a guttural moan to escape my mouth.

“Gorgeous, you’re so wet. I love the feel of your pussy wrapped around my cock, almost as good as your mouth.” I tense my kegels around him and he growls in response. “Okay, better than your mouth. Much fucking better.”

“Less … talk … more … sex,” I pant as we hit our stride, my hips dropping just as he bucks his up, pushing his impossibly hard length all the way inside me.

One of his hands teases my hard nipple while the other glides down between my legs as he frames my clit with two fingers and rubs hard, catapulting me head first into a second mind blowing orgasm. He thrusts himself to the hilt and releases inside me with a rumbling growl, my name an epitaph on his lips as he kisses my back and wraps his arms around my waist, taking me with him when he collapses back onto the bed.

“Morning, gorgeous,” he mutters breathlessly. I grunt a response, my body limp from coming twice in short succession but fuck if it wasn’t worth it.

“Fourteen days to go till you’re officially mine, gorgeous.”

“Can’t wait.” I turn my head and brush my lips against his before closing my eyes and relaxing against him.

Until I hear the tell-tale cry over the baby monitor.

Daniel

Walking into the twins’ bedroom, I’m assaulted by an unholy stench then two matching smiles that would melt even the coldest hearts. Bless them, I couldn’t ever resist these two.

I step toward Jared first as the most likely offender of the dirty diaper. “Hey, baby boy, how are you today?” I receive a garbled response around a slobbery tiny fist, and I grin as I lift him out of his crib. Doing the lift and sniff trick that only a parent is ever willing to do, I determine it is in fact Jared who dealt it. Stepping over to the change table, I set about changing him before putting him down and walking over to my princess who is patiently waiting for me to finish dealing with her brother.

Giving me a look that tells me she has suffered long and hard this morning, she states loud and proud, “Dada!” then claps excitedly. And just like that, I’m wrapped tightly around her little finger. I would hang the moon for my little girl when she greets me like that.

“Hello, beautiful girl.” I hold my hands out and she mimics me, holding her arms out as well. I carry her over to the change table and change her diaper as well. I pick her up and look down to feel a tugging on my pant leg as Jared pulls himself up. With both twins in my arms, I walk down the hall to find Mac dressed and lying on top of the covers waiting for our morning tradition of family cuddles in bed.

Seeing the three most important people in my life so happy and content goes a long way to distract me from the stress in my life. It should be one of the happiest times in my life, but in all honesty, I’m a mess.

Two weeks until the wedding and life is not holding back any punches. Work is a nightmare, my mother is driving me insane with guest list changes and last minute requests, and not only is my best friend fucking my ex-girlfriend (old news,) he wants her to be his plus one. Then there is my deep-seated fear that Mac is going to bolt. I know it’s irrational, especially when nothing she’s done in the past eighteen months has given me any indication that she is unhappy or not committed to our future together but I remember the back and forward dance we had when we first met and part of me is waiting for the ball to drop.

Some days I still can’t believe that this beautiful woman is in love with me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t lack self-confidence and can ego it up with the best of them. But when it comes to Mac, I’m more sensitive than most.

That woman and those twins are my entire world. They’re the reason I wake up in the morning and the reason I work my ass off to give them everything they could ever need or want. Mac doesn’t have to work, but she wants to which just makes me love her even more. We’re lucky that my sister lives nearby and watches the twins for us whenever we need childcare. We’re more blessed than most, but I have never taken it for granted.

Which probably explains why I’ve been walking on eggshells as the wedding draws near. How am I supposed to tell her that Noah wants to bring Nikki to our wedding as his DATE? I already lost my shit at him. I don’t care if he’s screwing her because I’ve known for years that Noah liked Nikki. But there is no way in hell Mac wants Nikki at our wedding. What woman would? My mother succeeded in wrangling an invite for Nikki’s parents because they are close family friends, but Mac and I drew the line at inviting my ex-girlfriend.

Ever since Mac saw her at the café with me, she’s been against me having any contact with Nikki and I’ve had absolutely no problem with that. So what am I supposed to say to Mac? “Gorgeous, Noah wants to bring Nikki as his plus one for our wedding. Do ya mind?”

I value my balls right where they are, thank you.

I don’t keep secrets from Mac. Ever. Surprises don’t count. But something like this? Never in a million years. I’m not a fan of fucking up, and I don’t plan on starting now
. Tonight is 
Mac’s bachelorette party tonight—and once she’s recovered from her mammoth hangover that Kate has pre-warned me they all will have—then we’ll sit down like rational adults and discuss Noah’s request.

It’ll be fine. It has to be.

There isn’t any other option.

Chapter 2: “Faithfully”

Mac

I watch him from across the room, something I do more often than I care to admit.

He’s in our family room with Riley and Jared as they try to team up on him. For two little eighteen-month old terrorizers, they’ve mastered the art of attacking their parents. Watching him horse around with them is one of the hottest and most heart-warming things I will ever see; the man I love playing with his children.

Never one to miss an opportunity, I take stock of my life as it stands right now.

I’m in love with the most gorgeous superhero in Chicago. With his caramel-colored eyes, his dark brown hair that I’m forever running my fingers through, his perpetual smirk that captured my heart before my brain could even catch on, his body …

Shit, is it getting hot in here?

Then there are the things I love the most about him. The way he cherishes our two little menaces melts my heart on a daily basis. He is honestly the best father I could have ever chosen for my children, playful but firm, protective but open minded. The best man I have ever known other than my own father. And to sound super cheesy, it’s like he was made to be with me.

He treats me with respect, he listens to what I say and everything in our lives is discussed and agreed upon. We’re a true partnership, not just two people in a relationship. The only thing that I didn’t have a say in was our house. That was a Daniel surprise of epic proportions. We moved in about a month before the birth of the twins. He told me we were going to visit his parents for the weekend, but I knew something was up when we started driving in a completely different direction to their house. Then we were pulling up in front of a massive, yet quite understated brick family home in the suburb of Beverly and I knew that something was amiss.

He got out of the car and rounded the hood, coming around to my side and helping me out because, let’s be honest, I was fifty-nine weeks pregnant—or felt like it—and needed help getting vertical in all situations, including the toilet.
Mortifying.
Anyway, he put his hand in mine and walked right up to the door, pulling a key from his pocket and opening the door.

“Daniel … what’s going on?” I asked as he pulled away from me and gestured for me to enter.

“What do you think, gorgeous?” he closed the door behind us and there we were, standing in the foyer of a huge three-level house.