Page 28 of Our Time

Our firstborn lets out a cry, her face all scrunched up now that she’s outside the comforts of my body. Her skin is too pink and too pruney and yet, my heart tells me she’s literal perfection. Those omega hormones are really kicking my ass but I’m not upset about that even a little bit.

“Harper,” I whisper, wishing I could reach up and touch her keep. Soon, I remind myself. First they have to finish stitching me up and making sure I’m okay. Before I know it, I’ll be in my hospital room and able to hold my girls. “Her name is Harper.”

The nurse walks over, holding my other daughter and tears finally spring to my eyes, unable to hold them back a moment longer. They’re identical and they’rebeautiful. They both have a shock of dark hair on the top of their head, no doubt like their alpha daddy.

“And this is Allison. Harper and Allison.”

“Those are beautiful names,” the nurse tells me.

“To match beautiful little babies,” Ben says, running his fingers through my hair.

“Alright boys,” another nurse says, “let’s finish getting these babies cleaned up while you two head to your hospital room, alright? We’ll get you all patched up so you can hold your babies.”

“That sounds great,” I say with a grin, excitement washing over me. Ben stays beside me as I’m wheeled to our room, overwhelmed with joy.

“I’m going to text everyone and let them know Harper and Allison are here,” Ben says, pulling out his phone.

“Tell them they have to wait to visit until tomorrow. Today I want just the four of us.”

Ben smiles over at me, giving me a nod. “You got it, baby.”

After the nurses take care of me, they wheel our babies into the room. My chest feels near bursting. Since I was an adult, my entire heart beat for Ben. He was my alpha, he was my mate. Now, I can feel my heart rearranging. There’s not less space for Ben. Somehow my heart is growing and making space for these two as well as Ben.

“I feel so fucking lucky,” I murmur, carefully spreading my legs so I can lay each baby down side by side between them. I touch each of their heads gently, just taking them in. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this but fuck, I’m so glad I did.”

“You deserve it just for being you.”

I look over at Ben. I take his hand and kiss the back of it. “The same can be said for you, alpha.”

He gives me a knowing look, smiling softly. We spend the rest of the night taking turns holding the twins, getting used to their cries and what they need. I’m exhausted and sore and emotional, but at the same time I don’t think I’ve ever felt such intense, all-encompassing joy. I wouldn’t trade this for the world.

We have a new home. I’ve been taking online classes. We’remated. We’re parents! So much has changed in the past year.

As much as I mourn the time we missed out on between our teen years and now, I can’t help but be glad for that gap. We took the time to accept ourselves and become the people we are today. Our time was destined to happen and now that it has, I realize it was all worth the wait.

EPILOGUE

BEN

I holdmy camera in shaky hands, my eyes skimming over Ryder’s body. Fuck. He’s so gorgeous. There’s no way I’ll be able to use any of these pictures. They’re either going to be out of focus or justtoosexy to share with anyone. I’ve decided I’m going to be like a dragon and hoard all of them for myself.

I’ve been trying my hand at boudoir photoshoots. I thought it could be a fun way to help people feel sexy or make intimate gifts for their partners while also making a little extra money on the side. Ryder supported this idea wholeheartedly and demanded I try on him first.

How could I refuse?

Ryder has always been the perfect muse. It’s so easy to capture his sexy side because every single one of his sides is sexy. At the studio it was easy for me to turn my own desires off and focus on the art of capturing everything. Right now it’s just the two of us in a bedroom and I’m having the hardest time focusing, too busy checking out my mate.

I clear my throat. “Arch your back a little more. Yeah, just like that.” I snap the shot and bring my camera down, looking at the picture. I lick my lips. Fuck, the lighting is perfect and Ryder’s back looks so smooth and pretty at this angle. My cock is rock hard in my jeans but I can’t really be blamed when my mate looks likethat.

“Did you get the shot?”

I look up at Ryder, giving him a soft smile. “Picture perfect,” I tell him. “Now I want you to lean against the headboard. Wrap your hands around the bars and tilt your head up towards the ceiling. Yeah, like that. Maybe spread your thighs just a little bit. Mhmm, that’s perfect, love.”

Ryder follows my instructions perfectly, giving me another amazing shot. He’s wearing a tiny pair of black underwear that leaves nothing to the imagination. Fuck, he’s so sexy like this and the smell of my lust grows thicker the longer we snap pictures. Thank god the twins have been sleeping through the night lately.

Ryder looks over his shoulder at me and I snap another picture. His eyes are lidded with lust, just as turned on as I am. He bites his bottom lip.Snap. Those lips curl into a knowing smile. “I have an idea for a shot,” he murmurs, his grin turning downright sinful.

“I’m all ears.”

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