Page 47 of Miami Heat (Urban Heat 3)

Shiya wept, and Shae hugged her. A lump of emotion rose in Sakura’s throat. She felt for this poor man who had suffered so much. Sure he lived after almost dying, but he continued to suffer every day. Losing her mother had broken him, and they weren’t even mated.

“Did you turn my mother?”

He shook his head. “I could have, but unless she chose to be my mate, I wouldn’t have.”

“I’m so sorry, Savino,” Sakura said. She reached across the table and touched his hand. He flinched but didn’t pull away. “If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll do whatever I can. I promise you that.”

Her sisters echoed the vow, and she spotted moisture in the bull shifter’s eyes. He bowed his head. “Thank you. I am happy living a simple life in Deveron’s service. I don’t need anything more, but I’m glad I was able to meet my Yvonne’s daughters. You all three have inherited her beauty, and make me feel like I got to see her one more time.”

Each of them gave the older man a hug, which he accepted awkwardly. Then they said their good-byes. Sakura would do all she could for him and demand Deveron treat him as more than just as an employee. She intended to keep in touch, and maybe by some miracle and with time, Savino’s broken heart would heal. That was the least the Keith family could do.

She and her sisters left Deveron’s company to return to the villa with their mates, Sakura knowing her sisters felt as she did that she was fortunate to have the man she loved and who loved her still by her sister, for now and forever.

Epilogue

Sakura screamed, but this time it had nothing to do with pleasure and everything to do with pain and panic that she was giving birth. The estimated eight-pound baby was ripping his way out of her womb, and she had already told Adam more than once he would pay with his life.

Miserable, her husband stood by holding her hand despite how she’d tried her best to break it, blaming him for this craziness. “It’s okay, Sakura,” he soothed. “It’s almost over, and our son will be here with us.”

“I can’t do this,” she shouted. “I can’t! It’s too much. I want more drugs!” She thrashed on the bed, or tried to. All energy had been sapped, and she didn’t think she had it in her to push even once more.

“The drugs don’t last, baby,” he said, almost sounding like he chanted it. He probably did because she had demanded something to soothe the pain for the last umpteen hours. After the initial epidural, which lasted all of a half hour because of her ridiculous healing ability, she was left to suffer. Why the hell couldn’t the healing take care of all this pain?

“You’re going to pay for getting me pregnant! You hear me, Adam?”

“Yes, Sakura. I hear you. You’ve threatened castration a hundred times.”

“Are you getting impatient with me?” she shouted. “You are, aren’t you?”

“Never, baby. Shh, it’s fine.”

On and on she argued with him until the tiny voice of Adam Michael Martinez, Jr.’s voice echoed around the room. In an instant, Sakura’s mood lifted, and the pain eased. She stared in wonder at her little one. After he had been cleaned up and handed to her, she couldn’t resist opening the blanket to check him over. Beside her, Adam chuckled.

“Looking for mutation?” he teased.

She glared at him. “You’re not off the hook, buddy.” Then she smiled, her chest constricting. “Thank you for him, Adam. He’s perfect, isn’t he?”

“Si, just like you, mami.” He kissed her lips, and weariness had her eyes fluttering closed. The next time she opened them, she was in a different room, and Adam paced at the foot of the bed holding their son and singing to him something in Spanish. Tears flooded her eyes. Look at me with all this emotion. Get a grip, Sakura. As much as she lectured herself, her heart still swelled as she watched her family. She’d given in to Adam and married him, pretending at first she did it for him. Her sisters had teased her that no woman’s face shown as much as hers when she spoke her vows. She’d threatened them all, but that had made them laugh harder.

A knock on the door turned her attention there, and in walked Shiya holding her twins’ hands. The two toddlers, one boy and one girl, each had a lollipop stuck in their mouths. They ran over to the bed and were about to hop onto it when Kotori appeared and calmly scooped the two into his arms, a stern expression on his face. Sakura had heard from her sister that the boy was Kotori’s, and the girl was Birk’s. She’d asked how they knew and was told it was all in the scent. Yet, from the look of it, they were all one happy family, and the kids considered both men to be their daddies.

Kotori muttered his apology for the disturbance, kissed her forehead and the baby’s, and then left with his children. Shiya sat down beside her and hugged Sakura. “I heard from Shae.”

Sakura sat straighter. “How are they?”

Shiya sighed. “Shae has too much mouth for her in-laws, so Eiji moved them to a house in Tokyo.”

Sakura shook her head. “I don’t blame her though. She finally got pregnant, and I know for myself those hormones go whackadoodle. She hasn’t adjusted to the culture over there, so I guess being four months pregnant didn’t help.”

“Please,” Shiya said. “She’s not trying to adjust. Shae’s getting antsy. How much you want to bet Eiji’s going to bring her back to the U.S. before the baby’s born?”

“Probably,” Sakura agreed.

“She said she wanted to wait to get pregnant, but these damn shifter men have super human sperm.”

“You should know.” Sakura laughed, and her sister smacked her arm. “I know what you mean. I said I wasn’t having any, and then this one”—she glared at Adam, but he seemed oblivious playing with their son—“got me knocked up before I knew it.”

“You’ll have another one by next year.”

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