The Dom with the Dragon Tattoo [Masters of Submission 5] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (18 page)

Almost in a trance, Rebecca checked it again. The result was exactly the same as the other four. Jesus, was this really happening, or would she wake up at any moment only to find Tyler breathing easily next to her? No, no, she was awake all right, but she pinched the back of her hand, hard, just to make sure. Still reeling with disbelief, she shook her head and looked through the window, taking in the garden outside. It was July and the flowers were in full bloom. Their vibrant colors never failed to make her smile every time she looked at them.

Such a perfect day
.

She laughed out loud when she saw the boys wrestling on the lawn, and her heart simply ached with love for them. She would willingly die before she would let anything bad happen to either of her children. Joshua and Ryan had thrived since they’d become much-loved members of the Stone family some three years ago. They were happy, healthy five-year-old identical twins who had a great future ahead of them, just waiting to be explored. Tyler and herself hadn’t realized that adopting a child was such a long, drawn-out process. First, they had to prove to the adoption agency that they would make worthy parents. Then they had to show they had the financial means to give that child a nurturing, loving upbringing, and then they’d had to wait. And wait. And wait…for the telephone to ring.

So when a child came up for adoption almost exactly three years ago, she and Tyler literally dropped everything and rushed across town to the agency. But there was a catch. The agency didn’t just have a beautiful flaxen-haired two-year-old boy who needed their love. They had his identical twin brother, too. This wasn’t a problem for Tyler and herself. In fact, it was manna from heaven. The agency quite rightly refused to split the boys, so she and Tyler willingly offered to take them both.

Such a perfect day
.

The boys had just celebrated their fifth birthday and were cherished members of the family. Sadly, their biological parents had died in a horrific car crash when Joshua and Ryan were just twenty months old. Life could be so cruel.

They were just like any other family now. They’d often enjoy a bucket of KFC on Friday nights, and Tyler would take them to see the Texans play whenever he could.

Rebecca scooped up all five boxes and, before putting them in the bathroom cabinet, took one final lingering look. She felt it. It was real. There was no mistaking the pale blue cross at the end of each strip. She held her hand to her mouth and blinked back tears, still unable to believe she was really pregnant. Obviously, she’d need to see her doctor to be one hundred percent sure, but she knew, she just knew. A woman always knew. Perhaps miracles really did happen. After all, she was married to the most wonderful man in the world, and she had two beautiful boys. So maybe Mother Nature had been kind enough to allow some of her eggs to survive the chemotherapy.

“Mom, what are all those?” Joshua asked as she crammed the pregnancy testing kits into the bathroom cabinet.

Rebecca smiled at her little boy as she washed her hands. “It’s a surprise. If you’re good, I’ll tell you later. Now go tell Ryan to come inside and wash up for dinner. Daddy will be home any minute now.”

“Okay, Mom.” He started to run away.

“Oh, and Joshy.”

“Yes, Mom?”

“I love you, honey.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

And then he was gone, rushing to find his brother before she had time to say, “Want a hug?”

A few seconds later Ryan came bounding up to her. “Mom, what’s for dinner?” he yelled at the top of his voice.

“Well, as you and your brother have been so good, I thought we’d all go out tonight.”

Ryan jumped up and down with the unbridled enthusiasm only a five-year-old could muster. “Yay, McDon—”

Joshua elbowed his identical twin out of the way. “No, Mom, I want pizza.”

Rebecca hugged her boys. “We’ll see what your dad says.”

They seemed happy with her compromise, saying in unison, “Okay, Mom.”

Mom.
Just to hear that one simple word made everything worthwhile. Her position at Cerberus Technology may have been put on hold for the time being, but she was happy in the knowledge that Operation Fire Wall had proved a resounding success. The state-of-the-art biometric software she’d designed, had been approved for use with the US military, and was now protecting the lives of millions of people all around the world. It had been a very proud moment, but even that didn’t compare to being a proud mom of two wonderful boys.

She watched Ryan and Joshua rush to the front door when they heard Tyler’s key in the lock.

Ryan got to his father first, throwing himself at Tyler. “Dad, Mom says we can go to McDonald’s tonight.”

Not to be outdone, Joshua hurled himself at his father, too. “No she didn’t, Mom says we’re having pizza.”

“Didn’t.”

“Did.”

“Didn’t.”

“Did.”

Well aware that world war three was about to break out, Tyler tried to calm the situation. “Hey, guys, whatever we’re having will be just great.”

Joshua piped up again, “Mom’s been acting funny all day. I saw her hiding something in the bathroom cabinet. I think it’s pirates’ treasure.”

As Tyler allowed the twins to play wrestle him to the floor, his gorgeous amber eyes twinkled across at her. Now they had children, they had to be far more discreet when they made love, but she recognized the sexy look he gave her. She’d seen it a thousand times before. It was the look that told he loved her as much as he ever did, and he still longed to devour her as soon as they were alone. Instead, he asked, “Pirates’ treasure, huh? That’s interesting.” He finally managed to free himself from a tangle of five-year-old limbs and walked across to her.

She kissed his lips and purred, “Ty, baby, I’ve got something important to tell you.”

Such a perfect day.

THE END

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The tagline for my website is
Writing Passion with an Emotional Twist
. I guess that sums up the feel for all my books. I like writing about strong heroes and heroines who aren’t perfect. Their flaws are many and their emotions strong and consuming, but whatever troubles lie ahead, readers can always be assured of a
Happily Ever After
.

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