SWNOVELS Chapter I Promise You: Epilogue
My dick stirs inside of my uniform when I see Ari in her maternity dress.
She’s seven months pregnant with our twins and it’s been a fucking blessing watching her grow what I left inside of her the night I rescued her from Omar.
She got pregnant that night I spilled all of my love inside of her against that tree. The night that was full of chaotic doom flashes in my head like it was yesterday. Her black hair glowed against the winter moonlight. Her breasts bounced over and over again as I drilled myself deep inside of her.
Women are beautiful creatures. Ari’s small frame growing our twin babies amazes me every day when I wake up and see her stomach swollen so preciously perfect.
She’s creating life.
I never thought I would be a man that believed in God after everything I’ve experienced in my career. But watching my angel come into my life in a time I needed her. She obliterated my demons by saving me from my fucking self.
If it weren’t for her, I probably would continue the life of a selfish asshole, drinking and killing my life away.
And now she’s cradling two innocent souls I’m committed to protect for as long as I live.
How could I not believe in heaven when Ari’s existence is evidence of it all?
I was never a religious man, but that’s changed. I’ve attended Sunday morning mass at our local Catholic church on base with Ari and her mother since we got married. I have a lot to learn but it’s a start.
I’m about to leave on a deployment and she could give birth any day. There’s a real possibility I might miss it.
“I could spend the rest of my days with my tongue inside your cunt and my hand wrapped around your ass.”
Ari draws in a breath, her thighs quivering over my shoulders as I suck on her sensitive swollen clit.
My cock throbs in pain, and the need to feel her burns inside of me. The only thing that will extinguish this lustrous fire is her velvet insides.
And she will…but first I need to make my pregnant wife come.
Her hands tug at my hair strands on the top of my head as her soft weeping moans fill our bedroom.
“That’s my good girl. You sound just as sweet as you taste, baby.” Her cries make even more blood rush to the head of my cock, and I’m about to finish in my own pants, just getting off to the sounds she makes when my tongue fucks her perfect cunt.
“Danny… I’m about to—” She exhales another high-pitched moan, unable to finish her squeaks of ecstasy.
“I’m about to—” she repeats as my tongue flicks her clit repeatedly, up from her folds, tasting the honey she drips for me. I push three of my fingers, thrusting them over and over again. She buckles her thighs, tightening over my hand. Her soft skin presses against my cheeks and my angel is about to play me a symphony with her screams.
Then she’s crying out for me. Her toes and feet curl in as her orgasm rips through her body and her heavy breathing echoes through our bedroom.
She’s so intoxicating. I can’t ever get enough of tasting her cherry lips.
“I want you to come again.”
“What?” Her chest rises and falls. Looking at me, her whole body still trembling from coming all over my face and fingers.
“You heard me. I need to feel my pregnant wife come all over my cock.”
I reach over and pull on her dress so that she’s more exposed.
She wanted to take maternity photos before I left on the mission tonight. I’m not a person who takes photos. I fucking hate anything dealing with social media and taking pictures isn’t something I do.
My camera has pictures of random shit. Most of it is work stuff. And if there are pictures of me, Ari’s in them too.
Whatever my bride wants, she gets.
She rolls over to her side, her bump on display.
I throw off my uniform in seconds, determined to get inside her.
I lean on the bed next to her, the bed dipping underneath my knuckles. My weight makes Ari sink a little as I adjust my cock so that her ass is hugging it.
My hands go to palm the side of her stomach.
I trail my finger on her hips as I kiss her shoulder, then I bite down on her shoulder and she moans in response.
My fingers trail down onto her hips, my hard cock pressed between her ass cheeks, and I’m tempted to fuck her there too.
A few more months, and I’ll be wrecking her ass. A few more months and I get to watch her bleed beautiful tears while she chokes on my cock.
Just a few. More. Months.
When my hand touches her purple stretch marks, she flinches, tensing up.
I raise my brows in confusion.
“I’m sorry. Is it bad that I don’t like them?” she murmurs, tightening her grip on my fingers, wanting to push me away.
“Don’t be ashamed of your body, baby. You have these because of me. Just another reminder that you’re mine. These parts of you are my favorite.”
She dips her head back, so she’s resting more on my shoulder.
I take advantage of her arching her back into me. I take her swollen breast into my mouth, sucking and biting on her sensitive nipple over her shoulder, all the while fingering her.
I enter her slowly, and she hisses while I stretch her. I continue to suck on her breast as I rock my hips inside her.
I stop sucking on her breasts and my hand goes to palm her throat as I fuck her, savoring every second like it’s my last. Because it might as well be. I never know if I’ll be coming back alive from the mission, but Ari and our babies give me more of a reason to fight like hell.
“You’ll always be beautiful to me, little angel.”
She hasn’t looked more beautiful to me, knowing that her stretch marks are there because of me.
I pick up my pace, pushing in and out of her.
Fuck, she just feels so damn good.
“I love you,” she whispers as she grabs my hand and kisses each knuckle.
I suck on her neck, leaving her marks there too.
There’s not a place on her skin where I haven’t left a mark. I circle her clit as I pound inside of her.
“Oh, oh, oh,” she whimpers from solace. Every flick makes a moan come out of her sweet tongue.
Then she clenches down on my dick and it sends me roaring behind her, in my own climax. I push myself deeper, tightening my muscles all over her body, yet careful not to harm her or her cervix. I don’t need her entering early labor on me.
I’m coming hard, grunting while I bite down on her shoulder just enough to reflect my claim on her.
“I love you, Mrs. Rider,” I tell her as I slow down my movements, emptying every single drop of my come inside her.
“I love you, infinitely.”
I could listen to her say those words over and over again and I would die a happy, fulfilled man.
I grab a hold of her breast again and suck on it. Her hard nipple in between my teeth. I’m playing with it as she continues to recover from her orgasm.
I pull out of her, standing by the bed, headed for a last-minute shower before I’m on a C17 back to Iraq at around midnight. She doesn’t know I’m going back there, but she understands the classification of the missions and hasn’t asked.
She takes off her dress, slipping under the blankets.
Her long black hair has grown out tremendously and it goes all the way down past her breasts onto her bump, guarding her nipples.
I touch the doorknob to our bathroom, about to swing it open, but Ari’s sniffles stop me.
I turn to face her. Tears all the way down her cheeks.
Shit.
“I don’t want you to go. I’m about to give birth any day to our son and daughter. What if you miss it?” She holds onto her pregnancy pillow for comfort, squeezing it underneath her fingers. “What if…you don’t come back? Forgive me for saying it, Danny, but I can’t do this without you. You have to come back to us. Y-you have to.” Her brown eyes, glistening with tears, plead with me.
I don’t say anything at first. There’s nothing I can say. After everything that’s happened to us, I understand why she’s having a moment like this.
I walk over to her, then plant a kiss on her forehead.
“I won’t miss the birth. You’re my home, Ari. I’ll come back. I always have. I promise you.” She grabs my hand, intertwining her soft fingers in mine.
“You know I’ve always thought of you as my ocean.” I squeeze her hand.
She slaps my arm, snapping her teeth.
“Your ocean! I knew it, you think I’m a whale.” She crosses her arms.
“No, Ari,” I kiss her lips profoundly. God, I’m a lucky bastard with a wife like her. “You’re my ocean because to me, an ocean has always been a place of tranquility, serenity, but most of all, natural beauty. Your waves represent patience, second chances, and ever since I met you, you’ve washed away all of my doubts…my demons. Our love is like an ocean, limitless and never-ending. Our story will always have more to explore.”
I kiss her tummy once before standing. She watches me, biting her lip.
When I surprised her at her friends’ wedding, watching her look out at sea, that’s when I knew she truly was heaven-sent.
“And you’re like Wrightsville Beach. Your love comes in different waves, fracturing my boundaries, pushing and pulling me past my limits in ways that transcend me further. You’re relentless, unforgiving, and unpredictable, but smooth in the most remarkable ways, my love. Strong and unyielding. Your eyes are as blue as the water, especially during the summer when the sun shines on it just right. Your hair is as sandy as the beach, and when a sea breeze hits, I always get lost in the peaceful scent just like yours. And when the sun sets, it’s my favorite. You know why?”
“Why?”
“When the sun sets, the sky turns orange, red, and gold, and it reminds me of the summer we fell in love in Iraq.”
I look away from her, licking my lips, and I know the first thing I’m going to do when our kids can walk.
“Let’s have our wedding there,” I tell her, leaning on the wall.
Her brown eyes do that thing I love so much, and they sparkle.
“Wrightsville Beach? Where Emilia got married?”
“Yes. Our babies can watch their parents say, ‘I Do.’ Our little man can be my best man alongside Rooker, and our little lady can be the ring bearer.”
“I would love that, Danny.” She smiles, holding her bump. Then her smile fades, and she’s lost in thought.
“What is it, angel?”
She shakes her head, and her eyes widen, but she’s not looking at me. It’s like she’s still entranced by something on the wall.
“I just realized I have to give birth. I’m 5’1,” She points to her chest, “you’re 6’6!” she points to me. “I’m carrying your babies. Two babies.”
I laugh, looking at the floor.
“God have mercy on my vagina.”
Ari
It’s afternoon, and Danny wanted to say goodbye to my mother too before he left tonight. I’ve finished up dinner and he has to go in a few minutes.
‘My love, just try it!’ I beg him as I straddle his lap on the couch.
I dangle one of my favorite pieces of candy over his mouth, and he purses his lips, smirking handsomely. I arch my brows, opening my mouth so he can mimic my movements.
He shakes his head, gripping my waist tight, and I can feel his bulge harden as he forces me to rub more against him.
“Danny, my mother is outside. Behave.” I laugh.
“Fine!” He grabs the candy from my hand and eyes the purple striped candy suspiciously. “What is this?”
“Try it! You’ll love it. It’s a Mexican candy. It’s sweet and spicy.” I giggle over his skeptical expression.
“Oh, so like you?”
I roll my eyes.
“Just eat it already!”
He raises it to his mouth and just when I think he’s about to take a bite, he closes his mouth again. I let my hands fall to my side, frustrated.
“What’s this called again?”
I cross my arms.
“Pulparindo.”
“A what?”
“A Pulparindo!” I say, rolling the r on my tongue.
“A vulva-rindo?”
I sigh, frustrated, pushing his shoulder, and he chuckles.
“No! Stop!”
“Sounds like vulva.” He studies the candy, flipping it.
“Just eat it before we have to say goodbye.”
“Baby, it’s never a goodbye.”
He plants a kiss on my lips before letting himself fall back onto the couch again.
“It’s a—’
“See you soon.”
We say it together, and he smiles, flashing me that trillion dollar smile.
He takes a bite out of the candy, and I snatch it out of his hand before he can eat any more of it.
He chews on it, looking straight into my eyes. I’m watching him like a Hawk, anticipating his reaction to the taste.
“Wow, it’s fucking good.” He swallows before reaching back for it.
“Nope. Mine.” I take off from his lap, and he groans.
“Ari, let me take these to where I’m going!” he calls out for me as I run toward the front porch where my mother is at.
“I guess you can’t leave me now until you get more of these!” I shout over my shoulder. He stands from the couch, chasing after me. I wish I could say I was truly running from him, but it’s more like waddling like a penguin. I swing the door open to the house and stop in my tracks. My smile fades away and confusion replaces the calmness in my chest.
A young woman stands in front of my mother. They’re both in mid-conversation by her plants to the left of the porch. A baby girl that looks to be about a year or two hugs her like she’s shy. She has brown hair and wide honey eyes.
My eyebrows furrow as I study the woman. She looks familiar.
“Oh, I’m sorry, who’s this, Mom?” I ask politely. I feel big hands grip my shoulder and I peek a glance at Danny towering over me behind me, matching my expression. He stiffens and steps in front of me protectively. After what happened with Ms. Salem, he’s been extra cautious.
“This is Paul’s…friend.” Mom looks at her dubiously.
The woman and child turn toward Danny and I. He steps in front of me, like my guardian knight, and places his hand on my baby bump.
When I see her brown eyes soften sadly, I remember where I’ve seen her before. She was in one of the photographs that Paul kept hidden in his nightstand.
The beautiful woman in the picture.
“Hi. I’m sorry I just showed up like this, but this can’t wait any longer.” She readjusts the baby on her hip.
“Okay?” I step out from behind Danny, furrowing my brows.
What could she possibly want this late at night? How does she know where we live?
“I’m Adriana and this is Celine, my daughter.” She motions to her baby. Celine holds a stuffed bear in her hands, looking around the porch. “My husband isn’t the father, which means the only other person it could have been…”
Husband? She’s married? The baby isn’t his? Does she mean what I think she means?
“Who are you?” Danny presses the woman in a grumpy tone.
I squeeze his hand, and he looks down at me protectively.
“I’m Paul’s old friend…and I’m pretty sure your brother is my child’s father.”
What?
“Come again? What do you mean? He didn’t have a girlfriend.”
How?
I drop the candy, covering my mouth. The blood drains from my face while all types of emotions hit me like lightning.
“I, uh, had an affair. I’m not proud of it.” Adriana murmurs like she’s embarrassed.
Could this mean that a piece of Paul lives on? Is she telling the truth?
“We can talk about the details inside. Just please don’t faint.” Adriana begs.
My mother sobs, incoherent cries of happiness wiping them away as they fall.
“You mean—?” I whisper, tears falling down my cheeks. A blip of happiness and hope pulls at my heartstrings. Danny pulls me in closer to his body, holding me like he’s afraid I’ll pass out.
Is this possible?
“Celine is your niece and your mother’s granddaughter.”
My mom grabs the little girl’s hand like she’s holding onto a miracle, and Adriana smiles.
And that’s when Paul’s dimples curve onto Celine’s face. Mom wipes away another tear before telling us, “I knew a part of him was always going to come back home. I knew he wasn’t truly gone.”