Page 23 of Bang it Out

I throw my head back and dig my nails into the back of his neck as he pistons in and out of me, grunting each time he hits home. Archer feasts on my breasts, switching between flicking his tongue lightly over my nipples and then sucking me down deep.

My thighs squeeze around his torso as I rub my pussy against him, grinding down and rolling my hips in time with his thrusts. Each hard stroke breaks me open a little more, creating a chasm deep in my core. My sore, swollen pussy pulses around his dick as I claw at his back. He tightens his hold on me and hammers in and out of me relentlessly.

“Come for me,” he growls, the sound more animal than human.

My entire body shakes and my breath catches in my throat as my orgasm tears me open completely, splintering me into a thousand pieces. I’m vaguely aware of a warmth trickling inside of me and a feral grunt, but my vision is cloudy and everything sounds like it’s coming from underwater.

The next thing I know, I’m blinking my eyes open, surrounded by Archer's warm embrace while he presses soft kisses on my cheeks and forehead. Hot water is beating down on my back as I snuggle into his chest.

“Are you okay, love?”

“Mm-hm,” I mumble into his chest. He squeezes me and then lets me go. I stumble forward a bit, but Archer catches me and steadies me with an arm around the small of my back.

“I’ve got you,” he chuckles, reaching behind me for the soap.

Archer washes me with such care and then turns me around to wash my hair, too. The way he ravishes me and then treats me like the most precious thing in the world is almost too much for me to handle. He's perfect. He's everything I've ever wanted but never dared to hope for.

“I love you,” I tell him when we finish in the shower.

Archer finishes drying his hair, then grabs another towel and starts drying me off, too. “Love you more with every breath, sweetheart,” he whispers, kissing my nose, cheeks, and forehead.

I cherish these moments, holding each one in my soul, knowing we’re going to have a thousand more just like it.

EPILOGUE

ARCHER

“Do these ones go together, mama?” Lucy, our oldest, asks Delilah. She just turned seven. Lucy is holding up a sprig of lavender and some baby’s breath.

“Oh, wow, how beautiful!” Delilah exclaims, giving Lucy a great big smile. “And maybe we could add a pink peony in the middle. What do you think?”

Lucy nods and grabs one of the broken-stemmed peonies from the box of cuttings and leftovers. Our daughter has been more and more interested in botany and helping her mother around the shop. While Delilah lets her help out with some actual arrangements, Lucy is still learning the ropes. She's been practicing making her own arrangements from some of the leftovers from previous projects and displaying them around the house.

With my two girls and their love of plants and flowers, our home is always filled with bright colors, lush greens, and a sweet, floral scent that I will always associate with my Delilah.

“I’m bored,” Tyler, our youngest, announces. I hold back a laugh as I stare down at my son. He’s so matter-of-fact, so serious, and a little bit of a grumpy old man, even at five years old. I love the kid. We have similar communication styles, and I’m hoping some of his mother’s and sister’s sweetness will rub off on him over the years.

“Why don’t you and I go warm up the car for the girls?” I ask my son, hoping to de-escalate the situation.

“Great idea,” Delilah encourages, giving me a wink.

God, I somehow love her more after all these years than when we first got together. We’ve been married over a decade at this point, but every single day I find new reasons to fall even more in love with Delilah.

I hold out my hand for Tyler to take as we head out of Blushing Blooms. Delilah moved her shop to a bigger location several years ago and hired a handful of employees so she doesn't have to work as much. I'm so damn proud of her and everything she's accomplished.

After getting Tyler loaded up in the back of the car and strapped into the booster seat he hates so much, I hop in the car and start it up, turning on the heat and heated seats. We got a cold snap in the weather earlier this week, and I want to make sure my girls stay nice and warm.

“What do you want for dinner, buddy?” I ask my son.

“Dino-nuggies and mac n cheese!” he exclaims. I should have known.

“Mac n cheese?!” Lucy says as she opens the back door and scoots in next to Tyler. I make sure she buckles her seatbelt before turning to my wife and resting my hand on the center console. Just like every time, she lays her hand in mine and laces our fingers together.

“Sounds like you guys have dinner all figured out,” Delilah says over her shoulder, smiling at our children.

As we head home, I reminisce about what an incredible mother my wife is. Knowing how she grew up, feeling like a burden, a mistake, an inconvenience… and then having her own mother abandon her…

She pours all of herself, her past, and her pain, into being the exact opposite. Delilah is so supportive of whatever our kids want to do. Swimming, karate, spelling bees, whatever their interests are, she wants to encourage it.

Delilah also never misses an opportunity to praise Tyler and Lucy and tell them how loved they are. I hope every time she says it to her own daughter, a piece of the little girl inside is healed.

“You’re awfully quiet,” my wife says after a few moments. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is perfect, love. You’re perfect.”

I come to a stop at a red light, then lean over the console and kiss my wife. Our kids make gagging and sputtering noises from the backseat, but I don’t care. I hope they grow up and find someone to love and be loved by the same way we’ve found each other.

I never dared to hope for someone like Delilah in my life. I didn't even know I needed her until I was so wrapped up in her teasing smiles and the mischievous sparkle in her eyes, that I couldn't untangle myself if I wanted to. And I don't. Ever.

THE END

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