Page 89 of Rough Ride

“And I plan on having my hands on your flesh, Crysta.”

As she had lead him before, he did the same to the bed. Cupping her face, he leaned closer to kiss her. She opened her mouth to him, willingly allowing him to steal inside. When they pulled back from the kiss, they were both breathing heavily.

“That sounds like a fantastic plan,” she said, her voice breathless.

“Good, because I suggest we start right now.” And with that, he grabbed her and tumbled them both onto the bed.

They were both laughing when he rolled them over the bed, happy with life, happy in love.

They never made it back to the reception.

epilogue 2

Several Years Later

Giggling was the first thing Crysta heard before she was fully awake. The lyrical sound filtered through the closed bedroom door. She blinked awake and realized from the slant of the sun she had slept in. It wasn’t a regular thing since they had their two kids, but it was Mother’s Day, so Eli had probably made sure the girls didn’t wake her. Plus, she was just into her second trimester with her third pregnancy. Her first two pregnancies had left her tired, but this one was kicking her butt. Mainly because she spent the first three months up close and personal with the toilet. Thankfully, the morning sickness had passed.

“Daddeeee, hurry!” their youngest, Regina said. She just turned five and thought she ran the house.

“Settle down, Middle,” Kanani said. Her seven-year-old was the true ruler of Team St. John. She had started calling Regina when they told her they were expecting another baby.

“My name is not Middle.”

“Whatever you say, Middle.”

“Daddeeee!”

Crysta tried not to laugh, but it was difficult. She’d always wanted a sibling, so she had been overjoyed when they could have two of their kids relatively close in age. They argued, but they were close. It had been challenging to get pregnant with Kanani, and they had to use IVF to have Regina. Pregnancy number three had been a complete surprise.

“Girls, we agreed to let Mommy sleep, right?”

“Mommies are supposed to have breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day,” Regina said. She repeated it like she had learned all the words by heart. Regina was probably going to end up becoming a cop or a Dominatrix. Or maybe both.

“We’ll give Mommy her one cup of coffee and then return to the kitchen. You know how Mommy doesn’t like crumbs in bed.”

There was a long silence. She could just imagine her youngest staring Eli down. For a man who dallied with women so quickly in his single days, he was utterly wound around the fingers of his girls. There wasn’t a more insane girl dad in the world. He even wore the t-shirt the girls bought him for his birthday that read You don’t scare me, I’m a girl dad to a cookout at Micah and Dee’s house. If the crowds at Rough ‘n Ready could see him now.

Granted, they did hop over to Oahu to play occasionally. They were still good friends with Micah, Evan, and the rest of the crew. Sean visited them so often that the girls called him Uncle Sean.

“Knock softly and see if she’s awake,” Eli said.

“How could she sleep with Middle here making so much noise?” Kanani said, sarcasm threading her voice.

“Nani,” Eli admonished. He never raised his voice at the girls, but he would get that disappointed tone. They would do anything to make him happy after that tone, but Kanani had been testing those boundaries lately.

“Sorry, but you know I’m right.”

Crysta rolled her eyes. That girl was going to get in trouble one of these days. Knowing they were close to a battle royale, she said, “I’m awake.”

The door squeaked open, and the girls came tumbling into the room. Regina was first, as she was always in a rush to do things. It was like she was trying to experience life as fast as possible to catch up with her sister. Her hair was always a mess of curls, no matter how many times Eli tried to tame them. Yep, big, bad Dom was a hair stylist in his house of women. She wore a sparkly purple skirt and a pink tank top with purple flowers. Her hazel eyes were alight with excitement.

Kanini followed her, walking in her usual slow way. She was the epitome of the older sister vibe, irritated with her younger sibling, but Krysta knew she loved her. Her hair was tamed, a ponytail swinging behind her. She was dressed already—these were ranch kids—wearing a blue shirt that matched her blue-green eyes. She wore a pair of faded jean shorts.

Eli followed them in, his girl dad shirt on and a cup of coffee in his hand. She would never get sick of seeing this man. He was tamed—to a point—but the fact that he was all hers would never get old. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he waited for her to pull herself into a sitting position. She had learned to start dressing in at least a shirt for bed when Kanini began to climb out of her crib in the morning.

“Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy!” Regina said as she jumped on the bed.

“Woah, there, Regina. Calm down,” Eli said in that slow, deep way of his. Immediately, Regina did as he said.

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