When I Lie With You (23 page)

Rory

One Month Later…

The girls were one month old now and I wished I could tell you that it was a walk in the park. Adjusting to parenthood wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Ashley and Ariel were only getting up one time a night now versus the every hour and a half they were when we first brought them home. I tried to breastfeed, but it became too impossible for me to keep up with both babies, and my milk wasn’t coming in the way it was supposed to, so their pediatrician put them on baby formula. Ian wasn’t happy about that until I said a few choice words to him. He quickly changed his mind. He was an amazing father. He got up with me every night. Usually, both girls would cry and want to be fed at the same time, so he would feed one and I would feed the other. Watching the way he was with his girls was so surreal. He was the perfect daddy as far as I was concerned, and nobody could say anything different. Both girls were finally sleeping and I wanted to take a shower. I also wanted to make love to my husband. I hadn’t gotten clearance yet from the doctor, but I didn’t care. I needed Ian, and I knew he needed me. I got up from the bed and stripped out of my panties and nightgown before heading into the bathroom. I opened the shower door and Ian looked at me and smiled.

“What are you doing, sweetheart?” he asked.

“I think you know what I’m doing.” I smiled as I stepped in the shower and closed the door.

“But—” he said.

“Shh,” I said as I brought my finger to his lips.

He placed his hands on my hips and smiled as I took his cock in my hand and started stroking it. “Ah, sweetheart. Are you sure?”

“I’m very sure. I need you and I want you. It’s been far too long.”

His hands traveled from my hips and up to my breasts as he cupped them gently. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t. I promise. Now fuck me!”

He moaned as his lips brushed against mine, going from a soft, light kiss to a passionate, deep one. His hard cock was ready and I couldn’t wait any longer to have him inside me. I turned and placed my hands on the shower wall.

“Oh God, Rory,” he said as he grabbed my ass firmly. “You don’t know how much I want you right now.”

“Stop talking, babe.”

“I’m going to go slow and, if at any time you’re uncomfortable, we’re stopping.”

He took his hard cock and placed it between my legs, gently inserting himself into me. I could tell he was nervous because he was going to
o slowly.

“Ian, I love you
, but if you don’t speed it up, I’m afraid the girls will wake up and we’ll lose our chance.”

That lit a fire under him because he pushed inside of me. I felt a little pain, but not enough to make me want to stop. His thrusts were slow and deep, and his moans in my ear heightened my arousal. Once he was fully inside me, he reached his hands up and grabbed onto my breasts, kneading them and pinching my hardened nipples.

“God, you feel so good, sweetheart. I feel like I’m already about to come.”

“Faster, Ian. I’m almost there.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Ian, it’s not a request; it’s a command. Do you understand me?!” I exclaimed.

Those words were enough to make him thrust in and out of me at a rapid pace. His hand left my breast and traveled down to my clit, which he forcefully rubbed. I let out a howl as my body tightened and he sent me over the edge with an amazing orgasm.

“That’s it, sweetheart, come for me because I’m coming now,” he cried out as he buried himself deep inside me and held me tight
ly.

I took in a deep breath as he pulled out of me and turned me around. He placed his hands on each side of my face and stared into my eyes as the hot water poured down
on us.

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you more.” I smiled.

****

We brought the girls down to breakfast with us since they were awake. Ian held Ashley, and I held Ariel as we sat and ate our breakfast.

“See this, Ashley, this is a blueberry muffin. This is
Daddy’s favorite thing to eat in the morning, and I know you’ll love them too. Please tell Daddy that you’ll love blueberry muffins,” he pouted.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Ian, what are you going to do if she hates them?”

He looked up at me with a confused look on his face. “Well, out of both girls, one of them has to like them. How great is it going to be to share blueberry muffins with my daughters? I can see it now, Rory, all four of us sitting at the table, you eating your chocolate chip muffin and me and the girls eating blueberry muffins and them telling me how wonderful they are.”

“Really, Ian? Is that what you’re envisioning with your daughters? A breakfast of blueberry muffins?” Adalynn said as she strolled in and kissed us all on the cheek
s.

“Are you always just going to pop in like this in the mornings?” Ian asked.

“Of course I am. In fact, I’ll probably be here more because I need my daily dose of my goddaughters.” She smiled as she took Ashley from him.

“Great.” Ian sighed.

“What are you plans for today?” Adalynn asked.

“Ian and I are going to take the girls to visit Stephen’s grave,” I said.

“That’s a wonderful idea, and it’s such a beautiful day out. Well, I’m off. I just wanted to say hi to my girls and you, of course, Ian.” She winked.

“Thanks, Adalynn, it means a lot to me,” he replied.

“I know it does, sweetie.” She smiled as she kissed us goodbye.

“She’s crazy,” Ian said.

“You’re both crazy and you both love each other.” I smiled. “Let’s go get the diaper bags packed so we can get to the cemetery,” I said as I walked upstairs.

****

Ian took the double stroller from the trunk and set it up. We put Ashley and Ariel in and pushed them to Stephen’s grave. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. The sun was shining brightly and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Ian and I took the girls from the stroller and sat down on the grass.

“Thank you for coming with us, Ian.”

“Aw, sweetheart, you’re welcome. I plan on bringing the three of you here every Thursday. I miss him just as much as you do, and I know he would’ve been so happy for us.”

“Yeah. He loved kids,” I said as I looked down.

Ian put his arm around me. “I know it’s still hard, sweetheart, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you through it, even if it takes the rest of our lives.”

“Life goes on, Ian. Things change and people come and go; it’s inevitable and it’s the cycle of life. I’m okay. I know Stephen is in a better place. Even though Ashley and Ariel never got the chance to meet him, I’ll tell them all about their uncle and how wonderful he was. Minus the little stabbing incident.” I smiled.

“Yeah, let’s not bring that up. But, that’s how we met. What are we going to tell them when they ask us?”

I laid my head on his shoulder. “We’ll figure that out when the time comes.”

We stood the girls up on Stephen’s grave and pointed to his headstone. We introduced them, and I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelmingly wonderful feeling. I couldn’t describe it, but it felt like Stephen was there with us. We both stood up and, as I turned, I saw Stephen and my mother standing next to a tree that was across the way. They looked at me and smiled, nodding their heads as they turned around and walked away, fading into the distance. I smiled as I kissed my girls and Ian. I finally felt at peace, and my life was fully complete. I had married the man of my dreams and gave birth to two beautiful little angels. I knew my mom and Stephen would always be with us. I was truly blessed, and I thanked God every day for this beautiful and wonderful life.

“Daddy, Daddy, look at what we found!” Ashley exclaimed.

I walked over to them as they stood near the shoreline and held out their hands, showing me an oyster.

“What is it, Daddy?” Ariel asked.

I knelt down in front of them. “It’s an oyster,” I said as I examined it. “Let’s open it.”

I gasped as I split the oyster in half and, sitting in the middle, was a white pearl. “Look, girls, a pearl.”

Their eyes widened as the corners of their mouths curved up. “It’s so pretty! I can’t wait to tell Mommy what we found!” Ariel said excitedly.

“I have an idea. Let’s keep this our little secret. Mommy’s birthday is next week. I’ll take both of you to the jewelers and we can have this pearl made into a beautiful necklace for her. Just from the both of you.” I smiled.

I held the pearl tightly in my hand as I stared at my two little girls who were now seven years old. It was hard to believe that they were growing up so fast. It seemed like only yesterday that they were born and I was holding them in my arms. As I was reflecting on the past, I heard Rory yell to the girls.

“Ariel, Ashley, it’s time for your piano lessons. Please come inside.”

I turned around and smiled at her as she smiled back and blew me a kiss. Our life was perfect. We barely argued and, when we did, we had the best makeup sex. Sometimes
, I argued with her just because. I loved her and my girls more than anything in the world. As I followed Ashley and Ariel to the house, I pulled my ringing phone from my pocket and saw that it was Adalynn calling.

“Hi, Adalynn. I hope you have good news for me.”

“Hello, darling, and I have great news.
Prim
has reached the top spot over in Europe as best international magazine. Our stocks have doubled already. We did it, Ian!”

“Excellent news! I knew we would. Why don’t you and Daniel come over tonight for dinner and we’ll celebrate.”

“Will do. Tell Rory I said hi.”

Not only was Braxton Development doing extremely well,
Prim
was too. I always knew that Adalynn had a fierce business side, and I’d had no doubt that she’d take the magazine to the top. I followed the girls inside and they went right to the piano. I walked over to Rory and kissed her softly.

“Adalynn and Daniel are coming over for dinner tonight to celebrate
Prim’s
top spot in Europe."

“That’s wonderful news, my love. Congratulations!” She smiled as she kissed me.

“Where’s Leon? I thought it was time for the girl’s piano lessons.”

“He just went to go get the sheet music out of his car. He’ll be right back.”

I placed my hands on her hips and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Good, because I’m going to take you upstairs and fuck you up against the wall.” I smiled.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” She winked at me.

Leon walked back in the house, said hello, and sat down at the piano in between the girls. Rory looked at me and casually walked upstairs.

“Enjoy your lessons
, girls,” I said before I followed Rory up the stairs.

****

It was hard to believe that my father had been deceased for about five years. He passed away just before Ashley and Ariel’s second birthday. Those little girls brought him great joy and I believe that was why he hung on as long as he did, considering the chemo didn’t help him much. I had a hard time when he died and Rory helped me through it. I fully understood what she went through and what she felt when Stephen passed away. I arranged it so that Richard’s grave was next to Stephen’s so that when we visited, we could visit both at the same time. The girls enjoyed visiting every week because they liked to put the flowers down on each grave.

Rory and her father bonded over the past several years and he ended up marrying Rosie. It was a small, simple Vegas wedding held in a little white chapel. I
, too, had become close with my mother. She and Richard had spent quite a bit of time together during his illness. There’s always forgiveness somewhere inside us, even if things that are done are unforgivable.

Rory and I had forgiven Andrew for his past mistakes. He’d been in therapy for about five years and then ended up marrying a girl named Olivia. She was good for Andrew because she was a strong woman who didn’t put up with any bullshit. She kept Andrew on a tight leash and that
was exactly where he needed to be. We never fully recovered our friendship, but we would occasionally meet up for dinner for a couple of hours and then I wouldn’t see him again for months.

Mandy and Andre got married,
and she and her daughter ended up moving to Paris. Rory was ecstatic because now it gave us an excuse to go to Paris more often. The two of them had a baby boy of their own. We visited them two to three times a year and we would Skype with them about once a month. Ashley and Ariel loved Paris and were so excited to go every time.

Rory was sitting up in bed reading a book when I climbed in and wrapped my arms around her. I began kissing her neck as she smiled and wrapped her legs around me. Suddenly, we heard the pitter patter of little feet heading towards our room. Rory and I quickly sat up and looked at each other and laughed. The girls always had perfect timing.

“Mommy, Daddy!” they yelled as the door flew open.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as they both climbed into bed with us.

“We’re scared,” Ashley pouted.

“Yeah, we’re scared,” Ariel said.

“What scared you?” Rory asked.

“Umm…” Ashley said.

“Umm…” Ariel copied.

“Just stuff. We want to sleep with you.”

I looked at Rory and she looked at me. We both laughed because we knew they just wanted to be with us. They weren’t scared. This was something they did about once a month.

“All right, get under the covers.” I smiled as I tickled them both.

I leaned over and gave Rory a kiss, Ashley a kiss, and then finally, Ariel.

“Good night
, my queen and princesses.”

“Good night
, my king,” Rory said.

“Good night
, my wonderful daddy and mommy.” Both girls giggled.

I lay there, in my king
-sized bed with the love of my life and my daughters. I smiled because this was exactly where I wanted to be. I turned to face Rory at the same time she turned and faced me. We both extended our hands to each other over the girls and interlaced our fingers.

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you more,” she whispered.

The End