“Yeah,
only
two. I was thinking you’d want to wait until they were like ... five. I mean, it took me six damn months to get the weight off. And what if we have twins again, Nathan? We’d be screwed.” More like she’d be screwed. She remembered how huge she’d been when she was pregnant with the boys. She had barely been able to see anything in front of her. She hadn’t been able bend, and she couldn’t even put on her own damn shoes.
“We wouldn’t be screwed, baby, we’d be blessed,” he said with a soft smile. “Come on. I know you love being a mama as much as I love being a papa.”
“I do love it.”
“Let’s have another one. Then we’ll wait however long you want for the next one. Just one this time, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that, Nathan,” she giggled.
He chuckled and laced his fingers with hers. “You’re right, I can’t. But I can promise you that this is a good idea.”
“Can you?”
“Yes, I can. Come on, Carterina. You’re telling me that you don’t want to try for a baby girl?”
Carter had hoped he didn’t see the answer to that in her eyes, but his wide grin indicated that he had seen it.
“See, I told you,” he laughed.
Carter bit his chest and he laughed harder. He was such a jerk. He knew her weakness was the possibility of them having a little girl. Her baby boys would be good big brothers to a little sister. Just the thought made her smile.
“I see that smile, Carterina. You want to try for another baby, too.”
Dammit! I do want another baby
. “What the hell, Nathan? I can’t believe you just made me want another baby,” she groaned.
“Blame me if you want. You know you wanted to try, too,” he chuckled. Reaching forward, he tucked her hair behind her ear. “We make some beautiful babies, Carterina Salerno.”
“We do,” Carter agreed with a bright smile. “Sometimes I still can’t believe they’re ours; that we made them.”
“They look so much like us.”
“They
act
so much like us. Maksim is a sweetheart like you. He’s polite, and caring.”
Nathan nodded. “But he’s headstrong, just like you. And I swear to you he’s a little genius. So much so, that he terrifies me sometimes.”
Carter laughed. “Seriously, Nathan?”
“Yes, seriously, woman. And Aleksandr’s a genius, too. He’s just more of an—”
“Evil genius,” Carter finished with an amused grin.
Nathan chuckled. “He acts like you.”
“Yes, he does, but he has that
finger pointing syndrome
, like you. Always quick to say something’s someone else’s fault.”
“That’s because
it is
everyone else’s fault. It’s not his fault that he does everything right all the time.”
Grinning, Carter sat up. “You’re arrogance has plagued our son, bubby.”
“You say arrogance, I say confidence.” He smiled slyly. “You should be proud of our boys for being so perfect like their papa. They will face much jealousy for it in the future.”
Carter leaned forward and kissed his smiling lips. “You’re so silly, Nathan.” It was one of the things she loved most about him. Those who didn’t know him would never believe how funny he was, how much he loved to joke around after he stripped off the hard demeanor that he had to have at work. He was indeed perfect. The perfect man, husband, and father. “You’re a good papa,” Carter whispered. “Do I tell you that enough?”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “You tell me every day, and every day it means more to me than the day before. Thank you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered in return, right before she captured his lips in a deep, passionate kiss.
Carter inhaled, reveling in the incredible feeling of his mouth moving against her own; the softness of his full lips, the gentle caresses of his tongue, the low, involuntary moans he released into her mouth as he kissed her deeply.
God,
she loved him so much. They’d been through hell over the past few years, yet he had managed to give her countless moments of pure happiness. He’d found her when she was lost, gave her a family, a smile, love, two beautiful, perfect twin boys, and she wanted more with him. So much more with the love of her life. She wanted to give him anything and everything he wanted from her. She wanted to make him as happy as he’d made her from the first moment they’d met each other as children.
Slowly, Carter pulled back from his lips, sat up, and removed the shirt covering her body. Her husband’s stormy gray eyes darkened, and he slowly dragged his gaze over every curve of her naked flesh. He wasn’t even touching her yet, but Carter could have sworn that his hands were all over her. It was the hot, tingly feeling she felt every time they were about to make love, and it spread, gradually, throughout her body. The moment he did touch her, it felt as if her whole body was consumed by a fire of sensation.
His hands made a slow journey up her thighs. “Did you take your pill today?” he asked, his eyes never ceasing their perusal of her body.
After the boys were born, Carter had started taking the birth control pills instead of going for the shot again. She’d been taking them faithfully up until yesterday.
She shook her head. “No,” she whispered.
Resting his hand on her waist, Nathan sat up and placed his forehead to hers. “So this morning?”
Carter smiled. “We technically started trying for a baby.”
Nathan kissed her lips, then her jaw, and finally the sweet spot on her neck. Carter moaned while lacing her fingers in his hair. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her body closer to his, loving the feel of his soft growl against her neck when her sex ground against his erection. Her head fell back, allowing him more access to her neck. Nathan sucked, licked, and nipped on her neck, making her body quiver with every sharp bolt of pleasure shooting through her.
“Make love to me, Nathan. Give me another baby boy, or a baby girl with your eyes and your big heart.”
Nathan turned them over and laid Carter gently on her back in the middle of their bed. He brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her softly. “Give me a baby girl with your smile, and your beautiful laugh.” His gentle kisses began to journey down her body. “She’d grow to be smart, confident, and strong. Just like her mother.” He pressed a kiss to one of her sensitive nipples.
“Nathan,” she moaned breathlessly, “please …”
Right before he captured the nipple in his mouth, he sighed as if he knew how much enjoyment it would bring both of them. Carter gasped as her back arched from the bed and her fingers sunk into his silky hair. So amazing! Everything he did to her body never ceased to drive her wild. She tried her best to catch her breath, but the struggle seemed pointless. Her head fell back and she surrendered to the sweet, hot sensations sweeping through her body. He released her nipple and continued his journey down her body, pausing at her navel and running his masterful tongue over her scorching hot skin, while pressing his hands to her inner thighs, opening her legs wider to him.
She closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip in effort to prepare herself, but there was no use. Nathan delivered a quick lick to her sensitive clit, and she jumped back from the host of sensations that shot through her body. It felt so damn good that she swore it hurt. Nathan held her firm and moaned right before he gave her one long lick that made her body shake. She gripped the bed sheet tightly and released a cry through clenched teeth. “Nathan!”
“Quiet,” he whispered with a sly smile, “I’m concentrating.”
When his mouth descended on her once again, Carter nearly exploded. Slowly, he worked her until she nearly lost her mind, desperate with need for release. He took her higher and higher, then pulled back the moment she nearly fell over the edge. Carter wanted to kill him, but she couldn’t release her death grip on the bed sheet. She could only beg him even though she knew it would make him want to torture her even more. By the time he began the slow journey up her body, she had tears in her eyes and sweat beading on her forehead. When his mouth neared hers, she grabbed his face impatiently and kissed him hard. She’d past the point of mere arousal and was now nearing desperation. She swore if he didn’t make love to her now that she’d die.
“Make love to me, Nathan.
Now
.”
And
God
, did he make love to her. No more games. Pure, fiery passion ignited, and surrounded them like a raging wildfire. Carter spent the next two hours either holding on tightly to the bed, or clinging even tighter to her husband, crying out her pleasure while their bodies moved together in a perfect, fluid, motion. Nathan held on to her just as tightly as they both slipped into that familiar world that was reserved for just the two of them.
He made love to her in a way he hadn’t in what seemed like a lifetime. Though their sex life was still satisfying, lately—with the kids and work—it seemed that the time they spent together was always so rushed.
Tonight was different. Tonight they took their time, reacquainting themselves with one another. Tonight was their reassurance that no matter how much work they had, or how much parenting had lessened the time they spent in each other’s arms, they were still connected, they were still solid, and they were still one. Their bond—the love that tied them together—was impenetrable and ever growing.
She loved him more. She didn’t think it was possible, but she did. And that love bound her to him. So even when they weren’t in the same city, even when they were fighting a never-ending war, or chasing their sons around the house, they were still Nathan and Carter. Even now, as she lay in his arms gazing at him while he slept soundly after hours of making love to her, all she could do was think about how lucky she was. Pressing her ear to Nathan’s chest, she listened to the strong beating of his heart. She hadn’t asked him about it, but she knew he’d increased security around the house, and she was positive he’d only added it based on one of his gut feelings. Over the years, Carter had come to find that his feelings were to be trusted. She didn’t know what he felt coming, but she hoped to God it wasn’t Silas. Closing her eyes tightly, she silently prayed the same prayer of protection for her family that she’d been repeating every night for the past eighteen months. However, this time she added to it, praying that her biological father wouldn’t do anything stupid and attack their family after all of the progress he’d made with her and Gabriel throughout the last year. They barely talked about Silas Steele because Carter had been sure that all of the gifts he’d been sending to the twins meant they were at peace. But now she wasn’t sure. She just had a bad feeling.
She didn’t want a war with Silas … she just didn’t.
Chapter 26: Daddy Day! 1 week later…
“Aleksandr Salerno!”
Nathan used the exact same tone that his father used to get his attention when he was a child. Just as Nathan had done, Aleksandr turned to face him with a look of innocence, acting as if he weren’t just doing something that he knew he shouldn’t have been doing.
Nathan raised his hand and waved his son over to him. Being the exceptionally smart nineteen-month-old that he was, Aleksandr knew exactly what the gesture meant. He clasped his little fingers around the red suspenders connected to his blue jeans, and ran over to him. Nathan took a minute to acknowledge how adorably his sons were dressed today—dark blue jeans, a perfectly tucked red and blue plaid button-down shirt with the sleeves folded to the elbow, red suspenders, and a pair of white sneakers—then he slipped right back into daddy mode, ready to asked his clever son why he was journeying to an area of the house that he knew was off limits to unaccompanied toddlers.
When Aleksandr stood in front of the living room couch, where Nathan sat, a big Salerno smile spread across his face, revealing his deep dimples that were perfectly placed on his chubby cheeks. Nathan smirked and shook his head at his son. There was no way that cuteness would keep his little behind from being reprimanded. Nathan knew that smile; he’d invented it. Hell, he used it with Carter all the time.
Nathan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. “Aleksandr, do you remember what Mama and Papa told you about that hallway?”
The look of innocence returned immediately, this time accompanied with an adorable bewildered expression. The kid was good … very good. Nathan was kind of proud.
Aleksandr shook his head no and pointed to the little white gate that blocked off the area. “Hallway, Da-da,” he said. “The door—”
“The gate,” Nathan corrected.
“Gate,” he repeated. “It’s open, Da-da. Somebody open it.” He put his hands up and shrugged his shoulders in a gesture showing that he had no idea who the gate opener was.
Even as the soft laughter of Kyle and Lucca sounded behind him, Nathan did not give in to his amusement. He needed to teach his son that lying was wrong, but the task was proving to be harder and harder with every one of their conversations.
Nathan narrowed his eyes on the toddler. “Aleksandr, you opened it. I sat here and watched you.”
He shook his head. “I not open it, Da-da.”
“Yes you did, and you need to go close it please.”
His brows furrowed in confusion. “Maksi?” he asked.