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EVERLASTING

XANDER

Two years later

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is my daughter’s sleeping face.

Smiling, I touch her cheek with my fingertips.

Her small mouth trembles, as if she’s having a nice dream.

The sight of her makes my already full heart burst with joy.

Starting my day with a dose of cuteness like this fuels my body and mind.

Now I have the energy to accomplish everything on my mile-long to-do list.

Slowly, I prop myself up and discover that Bella is gone. I shouldn’t be surprised, I guess. She’s an early riser.

I move carefully, ensuring I don’t wake my baby girl, then arrange pillows on either side of her so she won’t roll off the bed in her sleep.

I hover over her, my chest aching with love.

She has been my universe since the moment the doctor put her on Bella’s chest in the delivery room.

My daughter and her mom are the only people in this world I need by my side to feel complete.

I take a step forward and almost trip over Milo.

“Dammit,” I whisper-yell.

He opens his eyes and blinks but doesn’t even lift his head. He won’t leave the room without Isla. As soon as she learned how to crawl, he shifted the attention he’d always given Bella to our daughter. They’re best buddies now.

“Do you think it will work?” Bella’s voice drifts down the hallway as I close the bedroom door behind me.

She’s standing near the table with her back turned to me, tapping her fingers over the tabletop. A composition of inked peonies with a dragon Haku from Spirited Away covers the scars Miller left on her wrist. She designed the tattoo and had the work done after she stopped breastfeeding.

She’s in her white sports bra and leggings.

Some things definitely never change. With her determination and her love for working out, she quickly bounced back after her pregnancy.

Though I can’t say she ever stopped exercising.

Even nine months pregnant, she was doing yoga and whatever else she was capable of…

Dear God, my fiancée is the sexiest girl on the planet.

“Sounds great,” she says softly into the phone.

I gently wrap my arms around her waist and bring my mouth to her other ear. “I hate waking up without you.”

As she relaxes into me, pressing her back to my chest, I hide my face in her hair, inhaling her coconut scent.

“Thank you… Uh-huh. Call me when you have some news for me. You too. Bye!” She ends the call, then spins in my arms and presses her lips to mine. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, babe.” I slip my hands around her hips and squeeze the globes of her ass. “How come I found Isla in our bed?”

“Who knows?” She lifts her shoulder in a shrug.

Inching forward, I catch her bottom lip with my mouth and rake my teeth over it.

“Ouch!” She pulls back and retaliates by tugging at the hair on the back of my head.

Push and pull. Exactly what I love the most about her. The game. A little hunting. Praising. Role-playing. We’re up for anything. And even after bringing a child into the mix, our sex life is as intense as ever.

“She woke up as I was starting my morning routine, so I brought her into bed and left after she fell asleep again,” she explains.

“What’d you do this morning? Yoga? Stretching?” Her morning routine always starts out in a way that turns me on. If I don’t wake up with morning wood, I always have it after watching her.

“A lady has to have some secrets.” She winks at me.

With a chuckle, I toss her over my shoulder and head to the kitchen. It’s Sunday morning, and the season is over, so on days like this, I like to cook breakfast.

“I can walk, you know.”

“But you fit perfectly in my arms.” I give her ass a firm slap.

I set her on the kitchen counter, then pull out ingredients. Isla loves pancakes with bananas, so I’ve mastered them. Anything for my little girl.

“Can you get the coffee started?” I ask Bella.

“Yes, sir.” She sticks her tongue out at me as she hops to her feet and heads to the coffee maker.

“Stop taunting me. I’m already debating whether I should continue making breakfast or punish you.”

She glances over her shoulder, eyes blazing with heat. Then she shakes her head. “No matter how tempting it sounds, I think you should continue with our breakfast. Our daughter will be up soon.”

“Fine. I forgive you—for now .” I point a spatula at her, making her giggle. “But I won’t forget.”

“I’m counting on it.” She pulls plates from the cabinet and sets the table, then refills Milo’s water bowl.

“Were you talking to Lou this morning?” I ask, setting my first pancake on the plate.

She hums. “Kelly loved the nursery design we came up with for baby number two, and we’ve found just about everything except the damned wallpaper.” A small smile forms on her lips. “Lou called me to say she finally found it.”

I stack another pancake on the plate. “That’s great.”

“It’s a relief. Once that’s up, we can put the room together and move on to our next project.”

“Colton and Ava’s kitchen?” I shake my head. “Who would’ve thought I’d get along so well with the center from the Thunders? I’ve never even been into hockey.”

“You’re missing out.” She winks at me. “You guys get along almost as well as Isla and their little boy.”

The sound of tiny feet on bare floors echoes down the hall, along with the clicking of nails. Then Isla appears, her dark hair tangled and her face creased with sleep, Milo on her heels. Bella pushes herself from the kitchen counter and catches our daughter in her arms.

“There you are, sweetie. How did you sleep?”

At the sight of them, warmth surges through my veins. The love I have for them is immense and irrevocable.

When the pancakes are ready, I scoop Isla up and drag her plate next to mine. Bella is a stickler for routine, but my girl hates her high chair, so I usually give in.

Unsurprisingly, Bella glares at me.

“What?” I ask, feigning innocence.

“What is this contraption?” Bella points at the high chair.

“A chair for kids,” I say.

She huffs triumphantly, like she thinks she’ll win this argument.

“And also a prison.”

“Unbelievable.” She presses her palms to her face. “It’s a high chair designed specifically for children. She’s a child . It’s a chair for her .”

“Babe,” I say, using the edge of my fork to cut a pancake into bite-sized pieces, “when I’m not around, you can put her in that chair. I won’t say a word.” I kiss my little girl’s head, soaking in the scent of her baby shampoo. “When I’m here, she can sit with us. End of story.”

Eyes narrowed, Bella picks up her coffee. I know that look well; the comeback is forming in her head. And a moment later, she breaks into a radiant smile, one elbow propped on the table.

“Okay, then next week, when we’re in Cancún, I won’t ask for a high chair. We don’t need one, right? She can always sit on her dad’s lap.”

I frown at her. Our friends are all coming with us. I can’t imagine sitting down to every meal with my daughter on my lap.

“You sound a little jealous.” I lean over, voice lowered. “You can always sit on my lap too.”

Her jaw drops, and she hauls herself to her feet, taking her plate and her cup with her. “I’m done with you.” Veering left, she stomps out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Isla and Milo. She should know by now that when it comes to banter, I always win.

“Don’t worry, baby. Daddy will always be there for you.” I kiss Isla’s cheek. “Who do you love most?”

She peers up at me, her big, deep blue eyes focused on my face. She has the same little upturned nose, full lips, and dark hair as her mom. She’s as beautiful as Bella, and that terrifies me. I won’t let any boy close to her until she’s sixteen, or eighteen, or better yet, twenty-one.

Yeah, twenty-one definitely sounds better.

“Daddy,” she says, continuing to chew on her pancake.

Delight zips through me as I hug her tighter. Last month, when my parents were here, Mom said my daughter has me wrapped around her finger, and that I’m spoiling her. She’s probably right, but I don’t have it in me to say no to any of Isla’s demands.

“Mommy,” she adds, smiling at me.

Chuckling, I shake my head. That illusion didn’t last long. She loves us both the same.

At eight p.m. on the dot, I close the door to Isla’s room and amble into the living room. The lights are dimmed, and Bella is sitting on the couch with her Kindle in hand, a glass of white wine and an open beer bottle on the table. Light music plays from her speaker, which is somewhere in the room.

“She’s asleep,” I announce, plopping myself down beside her.

“Took you twenty minutes.” She snorts quietly, setting her Kindle aside. “Last night, it took me fifteen.”

“Are we competing?” I tug on her ponytail.

“Maybe,” she purrs, snuggling closer. “I talked to Ben. He says hi.”

“What about Tom? He doesn’t miss me anymore?” I pick up the beer she left out for me and take a sip, relishing the cool liquid as it slides down my throat.

“He was busy with Damon. Apparently, my nephew is a little monster.” Her melodic laughter reverberates through my body. “I can’t wait to see them in June. Aunt Millie says she’s coming too.”

“Looks like our house will be full of people soon.” I take another swig of my beer and then set the bottle on the table near her glass.

“With your parents? And my family? Definitely.”

We fall into comfortable silence, each lost in our own thoughts. Absentmindedly, I drop my hand to her breast, and I swear her body heats up. Just the feel of her has my dick hardening in my sweatpants.

Jesus, will there ever be a day I don’t react like this? Probably not.

When she side-eyes me with a naughty little smirk, I give her tit a light squeeze.

A breathy sigh leaves her parted lips, giving me more encouragement.

I put my other hand on her cheek, forcing her to turn her head so I can press my lips to hers.

As I slip my tongue into her mouth, I pinch her nipple between my thumb and index finger.