Page 190 of Savage Empire

“I amneverhaving sex with you again!” I hiss, squeezing his hand so hard, I swear he winces.

“Just breathe, love.”

“You try breathing with your cock splitting open, you fucking prick!”

“You’re so strong?—”

“Don’t kiss up to me,” I growl, snapping my teeth at him. “I already told you, you’re never getting fucked again, Apollo Moretti. You’re celibate from today on.Ahhhh, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.You did this to me!”

“Can you seriously not give her something?” my husband snaps, scaring the doctor and nurses surrounding us.

“Her labor is progressing too quickly for an epidural,” the head nurse explains for the third time. “She’s at ten centimeters and nearly crowning. An epidural will only slow her down, or even be impossible to place right now.”

Before he can bite out another comment, the doctor between my legs speaks up. “All right, give us another push, Rayna.”

I feel the urge to bear down right as he instructs me to, and a scream cracks from behind my lips as soon as I do. There’s so much stretching and burning, I feel tears blur my vision as the contraction comes to an end.

“I can’t do this,” I sob, lips wobbling. “It hurts so bad, Apollo.”

“Yes, you can,” he replies, bringing our locked hands up to his lips to kiss. “You’re so close, it’ll be over so soon, love.”

I sniffle and shake my head. “This is all your fault.”

“I know, baby,” he agrees, unaffected by my misplaced anger. “You can punish me after our son is here, okay? I take full responsibility.”

“S-stop being sweet,” I croak, hand shaking in his. “It’s hard to be mad at you when you’re sweet.”

Apollo dips down, pressing a kiss to the crown of my head, uncaring about the sweat building there. “I love you so much,micina.How could I stop being sweet to my wife as she’s creating life before my eyes?”

I don’t have time to respond before another contraction hits me hard. Everything becomes an excruciating haze as the height of labor takes over. I push and push, and scream, and fucking cry. Breathing feels more like an exercise ritual than a natural process as I struggle to keep up.

So many minutes pass that I don’t have the faintest idea how long I’m pushing for. It feels incredibly fast and dizzyingbut like it will never end all at the same time. I wish I would have prepared more thoroughly for this, and yet, I don’t think anything could have captured how intense the experience is.

But finally, after the hardest push of them all, something changes. The pressure releases with a whoosh, and air fills my lungs easier than before. I inhale deeply, trying to catch my breath like I’ve just run a marathon, and I realize how wet I suddenly feel.

“You fucking did it, baby,” Apollo says, kissing the side of my face.

It’s then that I understand, it’s over. Our son is here.

A shattered, sharp cry echoes around the room and my heart hammers.

“Congratulations, Rayna,” the doctor says, reaching forward to give me a pale and wailing infant. She settles the wiggling form onto my chest, and smiles. “You have a very healthy baby boy.”

“O-oh God,” I stammer, holding onto the slippery little thing. My baby. Holy shit, he’s real. “Apollo, oh my God.”

“I know, my love,” he whispers thickly, gently running the back of his index finger down our son’s cheek.

“H-he’s so gross,” I rasp, referring to the creamy white stuff scattered over his skin. “I love him.”

Apollo chuckles. “I love you both.”

“What’s he covered in?” I ask, wrinkling my nose. “Is it safe?”

“Vernix Caseosa,” the closest nurse answers kindly. “It’s safe, I assure you. It’s beneficial for him to remain unwashed for at least the first hour or so. The film can help regulate his body temperature, keeping your baby warm by trapping heat to his skin. It also contains antimicrobial substances that can help protect him from infection. We’ll give him a warm wipe down soon, and he’ll be all clean and happy.”

“O-okay,” I agree, nodding. Turning down to look at my son, I add, “I’m glad you’re covered in the gross-looking stuff. It’s good for you.”

“She’s shaking,” Apollo suddenly says worriedly, attention swinging to the doctor. “Is she okay? She’s not bleeding, is she?”