Epilogue

Sera

Six years later …

"Hold still," I say, easing the needle through my brother Dmitri's skin.

"Are you making it hurt on purpose?" he whines.

He's become much more responsible and likable since Leo and Alexei took over. Even Alexei likes him now and they play softball in a league together on weekends sometimes. He's still Dmitri though, and he's still always trying to get under my skin. But then again, I'm the one with the needle, so really, I'm the one getting under his skin, actually. And I'll admit it—I might be making it hurt a little more than necessary as payback for all the times he made me miserable as a kid.

"Maybe don't get in knife fights so much," I say.

"Maybe tell your husband not to order raids on those upstarts," he answers.

We share a chuckle at that as I tie off the last stitch in his arm. We both know the raid was necessary to keep our territory safe from a new organization that finally became too annoying to keep ignoring. Of course our side came out ahead, but there were still some injuries I needed to patch up for a few of our guys.

"Thanks for sewing me up on your day off, Sera," I say in a sarcastic tone and Dmitri reaches over and messes up my hair.

Even though I work as an ER nurse at the best teaching hospital in the city, it wouldn't be wise for a bunch of our men to show up there with stab wounds and bashed up faces. Alexei runs a tight ship and still tries to keep as much of our side of things as legitimate as possible, but we're still the mob. A lot of our business isn't exactly squeaky clean once you look closely. Since I'm as capable as anyone, it's just safer to do it here in our house, where we have heavy security and a tall privacy wall to hide the men limping around as they recover.

We still keep the penthouse apartment for romantic weekends, but I like being closer to the old family compound where I can visit my sister and her kids. Plus, Alexei loves the backyard with the big, heated pool where we often skinny dip together after dark.

When Dmitri finally does thank me and leaves my kitchen in a mess of bloody bandages, I shake my head and turn to wash up at the sink. I can hear him joking around with Alexei as he and the other guys say goodbye.

It's amazing what good management can do for a family business, as well as a family, because now all my siblings and I are close. I never thought we'd get to that, but I'm forever glad we did.

Closing my eyes, I let the hot water run over my hands, rolling my head to work the kinks out of my neck. Strong arms slide around my waist and my husband's hard chest presses against my back.

"Thank you, gorgeous," he murmurs against my hair.

I lean back against him, letting all the tension out of my body. He kisses the top of my head and hands me a towel as I turn in his arms. He knows how much I worry about our people, our family, and he scowls.

"I hate it, too," he says, knowing my thoughts without me having to say them. "But it's best to make an example so no one else gets any ideas."

"I know," I tell him as I reach up to smooth the spot between his furrowed brows. "I know you always do what you think is best."

In our six years together, he's never given me a reason to doubt him. I have and will always trust him.

"It just sucks that anyone got hurt," he says.

With a raised brow, I pull up his t-shirt to reveal the bandage. Just a few inches below the spot where my name is tattooed over his heart. Much too close for comfort. He was the first one I treated. Luckily, it was very minor, just a superficial flesh wound that only needed a rinse with antibacterial solution and four stitches.

But he was there in the thick of it, just like he always is.

"You'd never order any of your men to do something you're not prepared to do as well," I remind him. "They take pride in working for you, and I'm proud of how you take care of everyone so well." Then I give him a fake frown. "I just hate giving you stitches. I hate that one day it might be more serious than I can handle."

He laughs. "Oh, Sera. There's nothing you can't handle."

Pressing my face to his chest, I hold him tight. "I couldn't handle losing you." Not ever, but especially not now.

"You won't." He tips my chin up and searches my face. His hand slides into my hair and he leans down to kiss me. "You won't," he promises against my mouth.

I tighten my hold around his neck and press my body tight against his. I can remain calm in emergencies like the one I was faced with today, but then the adrenaline hits. I need a way to work it off, and Alexei knows this well. I smile and pull away, just taking him in. He's looking more and more like the leader he is, but he's just as breathtakingly handsome as when I first saw him on our wedding day.

Even more so, because now I know his soul, which is the most beautiful part of him.

He lifts me onto the counter and shakes his head at the apron I have on over my sundress, spattered with blood. He pulls it off and tosses it in the trash, then slides one of the straps off my shoulder and kisses along my collarbone.

"Have I ever told you how fucking sexy you are when you're stabbing a needle through my skin?" he asks.

I'd laugh but he's got me in a daze from the way he's trailing his tongue along the edge of my dress, pushing it further down. "You're a crazy man," I say.

"And you love me," he retorts.

"I also love this," I murmur as he nudges my bra aside.

Drawing my nipple into my mouth, he glances up at me with a wicked gleam in his dark eyes. "Stay just like this," he says, stepping back, then reaching for me. "No, like this." He unclasps my bra and pulls my dress down further, then looks at my breasts like they're works of art. "God I love looking at you. Almost as much as touching—no, tasting."

I gasp as he licks my nipple and then pulls me to the edge of the counter, spreading my legs wide. Shoving my skirt up to my hips, he plunges his face between my thighs and nuzzles me through my panties. They're already soaked—have been since he pulled me against him and I felt his cock stirring against my backside.

He moans in satisfaction as he pushes the cotton fabric aside and delves deeper with his tongue. There's nothing I love more than Alexei eating my pussy—well, unless he's fucking me.

"More," I beg. "Deeper."

I push on his head and tug on his hair, wrapping my legs around his shoulders. I can't keep still, arching into his expert tongue. With a growl, he grabs my hips and holds on, pinning me to the counter. I want to hold out and make this last longer, but he's going to force me to come. It's a battle I don't mind losing.

I reach above me and hold onto the cupboard. There's no use trying to stay quiet. At the first moan, our guards will have scampered off to lay low until the final scream. They're used to us. I've gotten used to them.

Alexei hits the magic spot and I buck off his tight grasp on my hips, nearly knocking him to the ground as the first orgasm rocks through me. With a laugh, and a smooth, practiced motion, he whips open his jeans to reveal his massive cock. I swallow hard, already craving it but still too weak to do much more than stare. He doesn't give me any time to recover, but lifts me up and drags me close. I wrap my legs around him, grinding against his silky rod to get every last delicious pulse as he carries me toward the back patio.

"Let's watch the sunset," he says. I swat him and yelp. "No," he clarifies. "I mean, let's watch the sunset while I fuck you."

He smothers my laughter with a kiss and before he can settle on a spot, I take his face in my hands. "Wait, stop. I have something to tell you."

I'm giddy from the release he's given me and the news I'm about to tell him, but something on my face makes him freeze. "Oh, Sera. What? Tell me."

Now my laughter is nervous. We've waited a long time for this, so I could get through school and start my career. We've never really talked about it except as some far off someday. What if he's not happy?

"Tell me," he urges, looking desperate.

"I just found out this morning," I say. He starts to put me down but I keep my legs locked around him, still cradling his stubbled jaw in my hands. "I'm pregnant."

There's a moment where he's blank, like he leaves the planet somehow. It's like he forgot the whole conversation we had a few months ago about me getting off birth control since everything feels more stable. Then his spirit revives and he twirls us in a circle before pressing me against a wide pillar. "Oh my god, I put a baby in you."

His cock pulses against my core, hard and hot. "Yes, you did," I say. "Are you happy?"

Before he answers he slides that big cock deep inside me with a long moan. I wrap my arms around his neck as he eases out, his eyes locked with mine.

"Deliriously happy," he says, slamming home. "Tell me again while I'm inside your tight little pussy. Tell me while I fuck you, Sera."

I shiver and let my head fall forward, loving the feel of every inch of him. "I'm pregnant," I gasp. "We're going to have a baby."

He pushes my chin up, searing me with his intense gaze. "I can't wait until your belly is round and your tits don't fit in my hands anymore. I can't wait to see you naked and full with my child."

Holy shit. I've never been so turned on. I can almost imagine my slight frame with a huge stomach—our baby. And him taking me in every possible way as he looks at my changing body. "Tell me what you'll do."

"I'll kiss every inch of you, suckle your milk, fuck you from behind like the animal I am. But damn it, Sera, I'm going to be fucking you senseless."

I'm breathing hard. "You're fucking me senseless right now."

"You're so beautiful, baby," he says, less frenzied, more tender now. "Every day you get more beautiful."

I guess it was silly to be worried he might not find me attractive in a few months. I think he's going to be more voracious than ever. And I can't wait.

"I love you," I tell him, kissing him hard. "Hurry, Alexei, I'm going to come again."

With a growl, he increases his pace, holding me up against the pillar. He roars at the same time as the next orgasm takes me and I scream, wrapping my arms around his head and crushing him to me.

When I can see and hear and breathe properly again, he's laughing against my chest.

"Oh my god, I was suffocating you," I say.

He slides me down, keeping his hands on my waist until he's sure I won't continue heading bonelessly to the ground. We both collapse onto the closest lounge chair, with me draped across him like a blanket.

"I can't think of a better way to go," he says.

I fake a stern glare. "No more of that kind of talk. And no more raids. It's peace treaties for everyone from now on.

"Hmmm, we'll see."

"I mean it, Alexei. You're going to be a father soon. Our baby needs you."

He hugs me tighter, trying to pull my dress back down around my legs. "You're right." Looking down at me, his face is serious. "I can't wait for this."

"Well, yeah, now that I know you have this pregnancy kink."

He snickers. "I have a Sera kink. All you, baby."

"Everything's going to change," I say.

"Are you scared?"

"Are you?" I counter. "Even a little?"

"Not even a little." He kisses my forehead, then my nose. "We've already proven we can do anything together. This is just another adventure."

Tugging my hair back, he kisses me on the lips before smiling and we settle in to watch the sunset.

"The best one yet."

~The End