Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ELISE

I t took me almost six years to finish my degree, but that was what happened when your husband kept knocking you up. Even though I switched to online classes after we got engaged, it was difficult to keep up with my schoolwork while pregnant. Especially when I already had a baby to take care of. And definitely when I was pregnant with a toddler and another baby.

No matter how much help Toby gave me, there were only so many hours in the day. Plus, he had his hands full between his ER shifts at the hospital and tending to his club brothers when one of them got injured. But we had plenty of help from our Iron Rogues family—including my brother and his wife. However, they were just as busy building their family as Toby and I were.

I'd put my foot down after our third had been born. Toby Jr. and Danny were already a handful, and we'd finally gotten a baby girl their daddy could spoil with Emily.

I loved that I never had to worry about my babies experiencing the same loneliness that my childhood had been filled with, but there were times when I wished things weren't quite so hectic in the house we'd built on the Iron Rogues compound. It was only a few hundred yards from the clinic, so Toby was available in the middle of the night if there was an emergency, making it a handy place for all the kids to hang out. They often did, especially after Toby had a giant playground installed because our baby girl kept babbling about wanting a slide to go down right before her third birthday.

Their laughter drifted through my office window as I worked on the schedule for the last two weeks of the month at Midnight Rebel. It was just one of the tasks I'd taken over for the club after I graduated with my bachelor's degree in business administration. I got to put my love of spreadsheets and organization to good use, and Toby's club brothers could hand off tasks they hated to do. It was a complete win-win all around.

Getting to my feet, I looked outside, my lips curving into a soft smile when I saw Toby pushing Emily on the full bucket swing she'd used for dozens of hours already. Even though the playground had only been finished a few weeks ago, we'd more than gotten our money's worth out of it.

Watching Toby Jr. and Danny race around the perimeter of the soft rubber covering that had been set down on the ground to make sure none of the kids got hurt, my smile widened. They were playing tag with a bunch of their cousins—some who were related by blood and others who were their Iron Rogues family.

It was a beautiful day, and everyone was having a blast, so I decided to leave my work until later and join them. Toby's gaze zeroed in on me as soon as I stepped outside. While I padded across the yard, he bent down to whisper in our baby girl's ear. She was such a daddy's girl, so I wasn't surprised when she tilted her head back and beamed a smile at him. "Otay, Daddy. I be good for Unca Gideon."

My brother took Toby's place behind the swing—Emily had him wrapped around her little finger just as much as her daddy since they only had boys. Then my husband strode toward me.

"I thought you had a couple of hours of work left to do." Pulling me close for a kiss, he asked, "Decided to take a little break?"

Twining my arms around his neck, I beamed a smile up at him. "More like a not-so little one."

"How much time are you talking about?" He wagged his brows at me. "Because your brother owes us for when we babysat his kids last week. I bet we could sneak away while everyone's distracted and put your break to good use."

Going up on my toes, I gave him a quick kiss. "Great, you can help me with a project I decided to start."

His brows drew together as he grumbled, "Damn, I must be losing my touch if you didn't get the sexual innuendo in my suggestion."

"Nope, I didn't miss it." Wrapping my fingers around his wrist, I pressed his palm against my belly. "Having sex is vital to what I have planned. We'll never get the result I have in mind without you filling me up with your come."

His grip on my waist tightened. "Are you trying to tell me that you're ready to give me another baby?"

"Now I'm the one wondering if I'm losing my touch," I teased. "I thought I'd made it kind of obvious."

"Fuck yeah," he breathed, claiming my mouth in another deep kiss that made the kids giggle as they raced past us. I was breathless when he was done, so all I could do was gasp when he tossed me over his shoulder and called out to my brother, "You're in charge for a little while, Storm."

"You gotta be kidding me," Gideon grumbled, his mouth puckering as though he'd tasted something sour. Although Toby and I had been together for years and never hesitated with the public displays of affection in front of him, Gideon still hated any hint of our sex life.

I usually teased him about his reaction, but that was hard to do when I dangled upside down over my husband's shoulder. Then any thought of my brother was wiped from my head when Toby raced upstairs to our bedroom and dumped me on our bed.

Nine and a half months later, we got another baby girl for Toby to spoil. Luckily, Emily loved the idea of being a big sister, so she was willing to share her precious daddy with Lilah.