36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Christian - Epilogue

12 Years Later

"Teddy! Slow down!"

I rushed to try to catch my toddler as he ran through the nursing home, just barely out of my reach, his blond waves flowing behind him. He really needed a haircut, but Darren loved his hair.

Heck, Teddy looked just like Darren—a mini-Darren, and just as stubborn.

We'd conceived him through surrogacy with Darren's sperm. Our next child used mine, and we were pregnant again. We wanted our children not to be separated by too many years between them.

"Theodore Jude Mallory-Wilson!"

He giggled as I almost caught his little green T-shirt covered in dinosaurs, making the staff and residents laugh at the scene. I supposed I looked ridiculous.

"Dang it!"

At least he knew where we were going. When he reached the cracked-open door, he pushed it all the way open and rushed to the older lady, who was playing one of her solitaire games on her phone.

He reached her and grabbed her leg, making her smile.

"Well, isn't it the handsome little Teddy bear?"

He giggled, "Em!"

Emma Cartright was ninety-three and had been in this place for the past five years. All her family, including her two children, was long gone. She had a few grandchildren living their lives and forgetting about her, which was sad.

I'd often bring Teddy with me because, while he was wild, he was very sweet and rarely cried, and the residents here loved him. But Emma quickly became his favorite. She'd read to him while he sat on her lap, or she'd sing him songs. She really was the sweetest woman.

After I received my PhD, I started a non-profit organization to bring joy to the elderly and give them a holding hand when they passed. I called it the Samuelson Foundation.

Other programs brought pets and such or volunteers who worked as friends, like I had when I was a teen, but there weren't enough of them. I went beyond that and had volunteers who would help people not be alone while they died in hospice care.

The job was rough sometimes, but my team and I all supported and uplifted each other.

When Teddy climbed on Emma's lap, she opened her phone to a child's app that had songs on it, and they sang together. I watched them both, lighting each other up. There really was no joy like a child's joy. It was so pure and innocent .

After our visit, I drove us home so Teddy could have some lunch and a nap.

Darren was probably home, tinkering with the house, his truck, or the other old cars he'd been collecting since he didn't play football anymore. ‘Tinker' was his new nickname.

Teddy and I walked in to the scent of cheese. No doubt his favorite meal of mac and cheese.

We stepped into the kitchen in time to see Gloria, our nanny and cook, pulling out a casserole dish from the oven. Her light brown hair, threaded with gray, piled high on her head.

"Stand back, Mr. Teddy," she said when he got too close to her.

"Cheese!" he yelled, saying the ‘z' sounds like an ‘s.'

I lifted him up, snuffled his neck to make him giggle, and put him in his booster seat.

"It smells amazing, Glor," I said when she spooned the noodles and cheese onto plates. Teddy also got some sliced apples and carrots.

"Thank you, thank you."

I'd wanted to raise Teddy myself with Darren, but between playing football and now coaching for the Ravens, and me running my foundation, it was hard. Gloria was a blessing.

Before I sat down with Teddy to eat, Darren came in, looking oddly sexy and all sweaty with some car grease or whatever it was smudged on his face. I only put up with dirt and sweat when it came to Darren.

I didn't think it was possible for him to get any bigger, but since he'd been in the NFL, he'd grown even broader and more muscular.

He bent over and gave me a sweaty kiss, tasting salty. "Gross!"

He chuckled and kissed me again.

"Goss! Goss!" Teddy yelled, mimicking me when Darren kissed him, too.

"How was today for my two favorite men?" Darren asked.

"Good. We saw Teddy's favorite person, Emma, today."

"You did? How fun. "

Darren ruffled Teddy's hair and headed to the sink to wash his hands and have lunch with us.

I was so proud of my husband. He'd met all his dreams and even helped get the Ravens to the playoffs several times, though they never made it to the Super Bowl. The last time they won was way back in 2012.

Generally, offensive linemen only played for a few years before retiring because of injuries and such, and Darren had been injured too many times. Then, there was the high competition in the NFL. So, he'd retired after playing for four years. Now, he was an offensive coach for the Ravens, working his way up to being a head coach one day. He also did some sports broadcasting whenever he was invited.

I was just grateful he didn't end up with too many serious injuries or concussions.

"What are you looking at?" he asked, breaking me out of my bubble. I hadn't realized I'd been staring.

"I was thinking about how much I love you."

He stood, walked behind me, and pressed his lips to my ear. "Care to show me how much you love me tonight?"

"You stink." I playfully shoved him away. "But yes, I think I can pencil you in."

He rolled his eyes and kissed my cheek. "I should feel so honored."

Darren pushed deeper into me as I clawed at his firm, bare back, arching into him. I was full of his cock, and the stretch burned, having not had sex in a while.

"God, baby… remind me why we haven't done this in… how many weeks?"

"Two months," I panted .

Darren kissed and nibbled my throat as my legs barely wrapped around his hips.

"You feel… so fucking good wrapped around me."

All I could do was nod, and barely that.

His heavy body blanketed me, consuming me inside and out.

"Shit… too soon. I'm not ready to come," he complained. "Fuck it."

He quickly sat up, pushed my legs back, and thrust harder and faster into me. "Stroke yourself. Come for me."

I grabbed my dick and quickly pumped to keep up with my husband.

"Hurry," he demanded.

The burning pressure spread throughout my body as he hit my prostate over and over. Suddenly, I froze and came all over my hand and stomach.

"Yes!" I wasn't quite sure who said that.

Darren wasn't far behind me as he came, hot cum filling me. Once he finished, he pulled out, making me wince, and fell into the bed next to me.

"Shit… we needed that."

I nodded. "Wait until Teddy starts climbing into our bed. We'll never get alone time. It's what I used to do."

Darren huffed. "We'll find a way."

He got out of bed, left the room, and came back shortly after with a warm washcloth to wipe me down. After tossing it on the floor, he climbed back into bed, wrapped his protective arms around me, and pulled me close.

"Let's go somewhere for our anniversary coming up."

"Just let me know where and when, and I'll make arrangements at work."

"Let's go to Greece, or somewhere interesting."

"Remember, we have a two-year-old."

"Yeah, we can handle it. But you're right. Maybe somewhere easier to get him down for naps and shit. "

"How about the beach?"

Darren kissed my head. "As long as it's a nice beach, like Grand Cayman or something. We'll get a place at some fancy resort."

"Fancy and resort. My two favorite words."

He rolled over to face me and pressed gentle fingers on my face. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Only every day."

"Clearly, it's not enough."

I leaned in and gave him a short kiss.

"Chris?"

I yawned and closed my eyes. "Yeah?"

"Thank you for loving me back."

I opened my eyes and furrowed my brow. "Where'd that come from?"

"Sometimes I have these moments when I'm filled with so much warmth and love for you… it almost aches. I'm having one of those moments."

I smiled and closed my eyes again as I cupped his cheek. "Don't ever worry about me not loving you. I always will until we can no longer breathe."

The End