Page 111 of Everything After

“Yeah, it feels…” she shook her head. “I don’t have words for how I feel right now.”

“That’s okay, you don’t need words, baby. Just let me take care of you.” As we laid skin-to-skin in the hot, soapy water, I began to slowly gyrate beneath her while I played with her tits, until eventually I let a hand wander down to her clit.

“Ahh,” Lily gasped while she wriggled atop me, a moan quickly following that let me know she was near. Lifting her off me, I took her weight in my hands then fucked her a little faster from beneath. Water sloshed back and forth in waves as I licked and bit at her neck.

“Alfie,” she breathed, my name bursting from her lips, quickly followed by an echoey scream that bounced around our bathroom. I smiled because something had changed for us, and Ifigured I no longer wanted the same animalistic fucking with my wife while she carried our baby, I’d much rather take her with gentle loving care.

CHAPTER 60

LILY

Just as Alfie promised, he flew us to Key West, where he’d rented a quaint little place called Passover Cottage. The blue-washed wooden cladding and whitewashed windows made the place appear cozy, discreet and inviting.

“What do you think?” Alfie said once he’d parked our rental car and gestured at the place outside the windshield.

My heart squeezed when I saw the nervous look on his face that said he wanted to please me. “It’s perfect, low-key and intimate, just what I think we need.”

“Me too. It looked pretty when I saw it online.” Alfie got out of the car, came around and opened the door for me. “I figured we’d best take advantage of some time on our own like this… Do you know how late you can fly when you’re pregnant?”

“I don’t think there’s a time limit on a helicopter and with planes it has something to do with the air pressure. I think I read somewhere it’s risky after twenty-eight weeks.”

The inside of the house was as inviting as the outside with its cool, light and airy feel, lemon soft furnishings, and its quaint wooden kitchen. The master bed wasn’t the biggest, but the sloping roof either side made it feel like the attic in a fairy tale.

“What do you think?” Alfie cuddled me from behind and splayed his hand over my growing belly.

“I love it. We need to do this more often.”

“We do. And now that I’m going to be at home all the time, I can plan to whisk you away at every opportunity that presents itself. I mean, it’s nice to be home, but there’s always someone demanding something of us.”

“Or visiting because they know we’re at home.”

“Exactly. Getting time just for us will become even more important once our son gets here.”

“Or daughter,” I said, smiling.

“Are we going to find out what it is?”

“No, that’s like opening our Christmas gifts early,” I scolded.

Alfie turned me in his arms and clasped his hands behind my back. “Can I tell you something?”

“I hope you feel you can tell me anything,” I replied, pouting.

“I know you’re apprehensive about what will happen once our baby is here, but my heart lifts every time I hear you say something like you just did.”

“Like I just did?”

“Yeah, the comment about wanting a surprise when the baby is born. There have been a few things that you’ve said that makeme believe that as time goes on, you’re becoming excited about the prospect of being a mom.”

“There are times when I am. Like, I feel excited when I think about you holding our baby in your arms, you know, and being able to give you the child you’ve wanted for so long. Then there are times when the thought of bringing a child into the crazy world we live in scares me to death.”

“You mean with the world as it is today, or as in what we do for a living?”

“Both,” I said without hesitation.

“Baby, we have an advantage most other people don’t have.”

“I know… financial security and such, but I’m concerned about bringing up a child in the spotlight. We chose the lives we live. This little one has no say in the matter.”