Page 105 of Bound By Flames

“Fiery girl, just like her mother.” Ares grins, his rough hands trailing down my belly, feeling the soft kicks of our baby girl. I roll my eyes, though the smile on my face betrays me. Atlas, still hiding between my legs, pokes his head out.

“Daddy… baby… kick?” Atlas mumbles, looking up at Ares with wide, curious green eyes.

"She is," Ares confirms, ruffling his messy brown hair, the spitting image of him. "She’s getting ready to meet you." Lifting our two-year-old effortlessly into his arms, he asks him, "You’re ready to be a big brother?" Atlas nods, his little face furrowed in determination. My husband smiles back at our sonbut there’s something deeper in his eyes, something that shines and takes my breath away.

"You’ll be her protector, just like I protect you and your mom,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. Atlas giggles, but Ares’s gaze remains on mine, that unspoken promise between us growing stronger with each day, each laugh, each moment of our wild, chaotic life.

"I love you," I whisper, resting my hand on his chest.

Ares kisses the top of my head, then lowers his voice so only I can hear, "I love you, princess,” his emerald gaze locks with mine, “until my last breath, and even after.”

I bite my smile, my two favorite men in the whole wide world around me and our daughter snuggling in the warmth of my belly.

A home, a family.

Everything I’ve ever dreamed of.

I look at my husband and sigh.

Happiness.

Yes, right here. A love that can’t be shaken, no matter what life throws at us.

And I know, without a doubt, that Ares has found it too.